This was a hard choice for me. But I had to go with Vampires over Dine Out, as others said the vampire is very customizable in personality and powers, and they are the best in The Sims series. But I also felt DO and the act of actually dining out was one of the better packs for TS4, and in some ways better than eating out at a restaurant in TS2 other than missing romantic table interactions TS2 has that TS4 doesn't. But conversation time, at table, was an improvement along with the menu options. But being a deviant player Vampires won out for me.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
When TS4 was released I absolutely hated it from first minutes and decided to wait couple of years for EP similar to "Night Life"/"Late Night" for vampires of course and because city theme usualy goes early in The Sims series (...and supernatural EP at the very end). However with first EP release (Get together?) there were confirmation that life states wouldn't be included in every EP. So I threw away my plan and abandoned idea to ever play TS4. And then you know Vampires GP was released and toddlers at the same time. That's when I realy started to play TS4 and learn to love this game.
The excitement for Vamps got me interested in playing TS4. Toddlers came out and I actually had fun for the first time playing TS4 (and I've never really cared for playing toddlers in the past - I still wanted them because something was missng without them though).
Vampires were so well done - it was the deciding factor in wanting to continue to play TS4. Yet again, I didn't play with Vamps much in the previous versions because in 2, they died too easily and in 3, they didn't die and they frigging sparkled.
I think Vampires is the best pack period, followed closely by Parenthood because these two packs include the gameplay I actually enjoy.
Vampires is what really got me into TS4 in the first place, it's what got me to switch over from TS3, which I held quite tightly onto - it wins. No question.
I kind of made the dude in my avatar by accident, while I was supposed to take pictures of some CC I had just made. See, I wanted to try out the vampire customization while I was at it...And then I fell in love, and came up with a backstory for the guy. Oops.
They're easily the best vampires of the series; highly customizable in both looks and powers, and it opens up so many gameplay possibilities. The sun, by default, actually kills them if you're not careful, and they're actually immortal this time! Unlike in TS3. They kinda really sucked in TS3.
This gamepack even came with its own appropriate neighbourhood; the only other gamepack that did this was Outdoor Retreat. And the build/buy stuff is really great too.
It might as well be the thing that got me hooked on vampires in the first place this year. It made me realize just how much I could do with them. It's been rather fun to mess around with!
I like all of the GPs to some extent. I picked Dine Out but it's actually the combo of Dine Out and Spa Day that I use the most. I love sending my sims out to a restaurant or to relax at the spas in different ways. I have multiple different spas in different neighborhoods and many restaurants. I converted the Salty Paws Saloon from a bar into a restaurant (that still has the small bar). I probably have 7 or 8 restaurants in the world and I can send different sims to different places depending on their moods. I also customized all of the menus. My sims all have their own preferences as to where they like to go and what they like to eat. I also like how they can go into a restaurant or the spa and run into others from around town for more interactions. I guess I'm someone who likes to randomly send my sims out to different places to do different activities.
That said, I like Parenthood and it added a lot to my game. I can appreciate why others like vampires but supernatural play is definitely not my dominant style. I did add the vamps as part of a sale so they are in my game. I actually like that they don't break into my other sims' houses uninvited. I have occasionally had other sims interact with them, but I generally just have them there as strange, beautiful people who are a bit anachronistic. (No, not Twilight style, they all will bite and get aggressive if they want to). They are just mostly peripheral characters in my game but because they don't age in the normal way, their stories will occur over a longer stretch of time in my game. I play with them but they are very much secondary for me.
I like Outdoor Retreat but it's probably my least favorite because I'd like more to do and more varied vacation options. I do still send certain sims camping because it does suit some of their personalities. It's a honeymoon or dating getaway for outdoorsy or more casual couples. It's also good for families to bond together if they like the outdoors.
I like and enjoy playing all of those but Vampires is just so much better than anything ever done in any sims game, IMO. I can not wait to see what they do with other occults.
For all this time I had parenthood I am still discovering new things about it almost every time I play. Just the other day I was playing my game when my sims brother gave him a call, a speech bubble of their dad showed up and later a playful buff appeared with the title "Juicy Family Gossip," or something along the lines of that. I thought that was so funny, my sims brother called basically to gossip about their dad.
> @Terra said: > Outdoor Retreat is my favourite because it has a huge impact on my main legacy storyline. However, I also use Spa Day all the time and LOVE designing restaurants. Haven't fully explored vampires and parenthood yet but I enjoy what I've seen of both of them so far.
I wish more people had your logic with regarding the vampire pack.
Give our Vampires back their fangs!!! Reverse the Nerf!!! Occult simmers should not be shoved aside for the "realism players"! It's time Occult lovers/players started to demand equal treatment. #JusticeForOccults
Vampires because they are the best version of the life state I have seen. They have best cusomisation, the best CAS items (if not slightly limited) the best build/buy options and the most interesting leveklibng system I've seen in non RPG's, JRPG's and ARPG's. This pack has set the bar high for the other occult life-states.
Give our Vampires back their fangs!!! Reverse the Nerf!!! Occult simmers should not be shoved aside for the "realism players"! It's time Occult lovers/players started to demand equal treatment. #JusticeForOccults
Dine out def, I have so much fun with restaurants. All the rest of the packs I feel aren't at their full potential and they are missing a lot of crucial gameplay that they should include.
I did a push-up today!
Well, actually I fell down. But I had to use my arms to get back up so...you know, close enough.
I need some chocolate.
I chose Parenthood. Vampires is a close runner up but I use Parenthood in ALL saves and Vampires in only a few. Besides it's very interesting to see for example an identical twin with the same traits are very different depending how they were raised.
Comments
My top 5 : http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16200302/#Comment_16200302
English isn't my first language, please don't judge me if you see spelling mistakes.
and install alot of mods
When TS4 was released I absolutely hated it from first minutes and decided to wait couple of years for EP similar to "Night Life"/"Late Night" for vampires of course and because city theme usualy goes early in The Sims series (...and supernatural EP at the very end). However with first EP release (Get together?) there were confirmation that life states wouldn't be included in every EP. So I threw away my plan and abandoned idea to ever play TS4. And then you know Vampires GP was released and toddlers at the same time. That's when I realy started to play TS4 and learn to love this game.
Vampires were so well done - it was the deciding factor in wanting to continue to play TS4. Yet again, I didn't play with Vamps much in the previous versions because in 2, they died too easily and in 3, they didn't die and they frigging sparkled.
I think Vampires is the best pack period, followed closely by Parenthood because these two packs include the gameplay I actually enjoy.
I kind of made the dude in my avatar by accident, while I was supposed to take pictures of some CC I had just made. See, I wanted to try out the vampire customization while I was at it...And then I fell in love, and came up with a backstory for the guy. Oops.
They're easily the best vampires of the series; highly customizable in both looks and powers, and it opens up so many gameplay possibilities. The sun, by default, actually kills them if you're not careful, and they're actually immortal this time! Unlike in TS3. They kinda really sucked in TS3.
This gamepack even came with its own appropriate neighbourhood; the only other gamepack that did this was Outdoor Retreat. And the build/buy stuff is really great too.
It might as well be the thing that got me hooked on vampires in the first place this year. It made me realize just how much I could do with them. It's been rather fun to mess around with!
Overall, it's a super solid gamepack, A+++
they/he
simblr
That said, I like Parenthood and it added a lot to my game. I can appreciate why others like vampires but supernatural play is definitely not my dominant style. I did add the vamps as part of a sale so they are in my game. I actually like that they don't break into my other sims' houses uninvited. I have occasionally had other sims interact with them, but I generally just have them there as strange, beautiful people who are a bit anachronistic. (No, not Twilight style, they all will bite and get aggressive if they want to). They are just mostly peripheral characters in my game but because they don't age in the normal way, their stories will occur over a longer stretch of time in my game. I play with them but they are very much secondary for me.
I like Outdoor Retreat but it's probably my least favorite because I'd like more to do and more varied vacation options. I do still send certain sims camping because it does suit some of their personalities. It's a honeymoon or dating getaway for outdoorsy or more casual couples. It's also good for families to bond together if they like the outdoors.
I look forward to seeing what else comes out.
> Outdoor Retreat is my favourite because it has a huge impact on my main legacy storyline. However, I also use Spa Day all the time and LOVE designing restaurants. Haven't fully explored vampires and parenthood yet but I enjoy what I've seen of both of them so far.
Agree!
I wish more people had your logic with regarding the vampire pack.
Edit: Outdoor Retreat is just like Vacations for Sims 1... Utterly UTTERLY pointless and boring.
Well, actually I fell down. But I had to use my arms to get back up so...you know, close enough.
I need some chocolate.
My CC!
My screenshot comics!
My Family tree!