You will get more family play out of OR. It's not very convenient to drag the kids through the jungle. Strangerville really has no play except around solving the mystery - it doesn't offer any family play and it doesn't carry anything over for other worlds other than the martial arts dummy.
OR and JA actually go together quite well -- OR has the tents so you can build a cheaper lot for your Sims to stay. I found a lot on the Gallery that has a tent, some of the wood awnings to place over a picnic table and seating area, and a bunch of excavation spots so I'll have my Sims stay there to clear out all the excavation sites then replace the lot from my Library between trips to refresh the excavation sites. It's a good lot for when you're still trying to build up Archaeology Skill so you can find dig sites elsewhere, or if you're just trying to find artifacts to sell and make extra money or to display in your home.
I agree that OR is the best of the bunch if you're a family player (though I've sent moms and teen daughters to JA as a mother-daughter bonding trip). With the new laptop and the portable sketch pad, I like to send my creatives to OR for a writing/artist retreat, and the kids can fish -- I don't remember if they can catch bugs. I usually add a lot of base game items to my worlds though to make them suitable for families, like I'll add playground equipment to a corner of the National Park lot so my Sim kids have a place to play. I'm thinking of converting the campground lot to a bar/bowling alley/game area since camping can be a bit problematic in bad weather.
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I was stuck between strangerville and jungle adventure but at the last I'm with strangerville. I love the new career and sparring. Ah and also the listening device.
I picked outdoor retreat as my sims have had quite a few good family holidays there. (the less said about the time that Joaquin was invited to a weenie roast and burned to death the better - some traumatised kids that day). The other 2 I don't own but from watching others play, they seem more adult sim on their own or in a couple enjoying adventures.
Outdoor retreat has plenty to do and on short 3 or 4 day holidays your family so many opportunities and activities and places to explore every time they visit. Plus you can collect new plants and bugs and won't get them all in one trip. And I think there is new fish to catch too.
I like Outdoor Retreat the best of those three and I really think it's underrated. I'm a family style player too and it's definitely the one I get the most gameplay out of. I love taking my sim families on holidays to Granite Falls and I also really love the Squeamish trait. Jungle Adventure would be my second choice - I like the items, but the jungle doesn't really suit many of my sim characters. I love the world of Strangerville and the CAS/build objects, but I prefer more open, sandbox play.
They all can be considered a 1 time playthrough and done pack, but at least with OR, I feel like the herbalism skill has an everyday use for regular gameplay. The other two really do not have skills that I see as useful for gameplay.
I do use Outdoor Retreat a lot more than Jungle Adventures and Strangerville. But I may be a bit biased as I live in the Pacific Northwest and love our mountains and trees. Taking a Sim family to Granite Falls reminds me of the treks I took my kids on while they were growing up. Outdoor Retreat is a natural fit for me, so I guess that's why I enjoy it as much as I do. There is nothing that soothes my soul more than sitting beside a river or lake and watch Nature. I have not delved into the potion making or the bug collecting in that pack, though. I take my Sims there to relax, sit around a campfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows, tell scary stories, level up in fishing skill, and explore the forest. The rental lots are pet-ready so the entire family gets to enjoy the trip.
I wouldn't say any of those packs offer what family players are looking for, but Outdoor Retreat and Jungle Adventure definitely more so than StrangerVille. You can spend beautiful family vacations in both Granite Falls and Selvadorada, with children being more useful in the latter because even though they can't build the archaeology skill, they can help adults dig out artefacts. Also, once your adult becomes a good enough archaeologist, they get sent artefacts to authenticate, which a stay-at-home parent can conveniently do at home and earn money while taking care of the kids, so on closer inspection, I'd say Jungle Adventure is the most useful pack for family players, at least out of those three.
Regardless, the poll asks about our personal favourites, and for me, that is StrangerVille.
Jungle Adventures by far as it gives so much more to see and do. It provides two new skills, one of which can become a very well paying career path. New people to meet and build relationships with. There are the local foods to try and learn to cook and a new dance style. The jungle has many sites to visit with things to do/find/learn about, and some of the most beautiful senic artwork I've seen anywhere, not just in a Sims game. The only improvements I can think of are: make the Selvadorian culture skill more that 5 levels for deeper imersion, the tools and vacant lots to add more places to explore - I can think of at least 5 types, providing the option for making the place one's regular residence upon maxing out the higher culture skill.
Of those three, JA no doubt. The world is beautiful, and there's plenty to do and see. I love the music we got with the pack too, its one of my top choices whenever I turn a stereo on in game.
Jungle Adventures by far as it gives so much more to see and do. It provides two new skills, one of which can become a very well paying career path. New people to meet and build relationships with. There are the local foods to try and learn to cook and a new dance style. The jungle has many sites to visit with things to do/find/learn about, and some of the most beautiful senic artwork I've seen anywhere, not just in a Sims game. The only improvements I can think of are: make the Selvadorian culture skill more that 5 levels for deeper imersion, the tools and vacant lots to add more places to explore - I can think of at least 5 types, providing the option for making the place one's regular residence upon maxing out the higher culture skill.
I wish Selvadorian Culture skill was at least 10 levels.
This one was a tough call. I really enjoyed Strangerville, but I went for Jungle Adventure. I love the Rumbasim dance, the food, the build/buy and CAS items that came with it. The two skills that came with it are nice, too.
Oh, and how about those Latin radio stations? Like the Jazz one, I love listening to it in the background when my Sim is at home.
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This was a hard choice for me because I equally like Outdoor Retreat. And I agree with someone else that said the two go together well because I think they do too. In JA I like that you can be an archeologist now that you can make a name for your own career. I also like the beautiful scenery, and that dogs and cats show up to befriend. It was a nice touch to add the garden from a random house that you can harvest stuff from, and the sales tables and food stall. I also think some of the furniture is adorable.
I also like OR because of the herbalism skill, the outdoor furniture like tents, ice chest, chairs and portable shower ( I don’t think you should get embarrassed because of the portable shower though). I also love that kids can catch bugs to take home and that there is all of the wooden and rock furniture that doesn’t look like furniture. I use a lot of the stuff from OR just about everywhere.
I would also love a leisure vacation pack with casino stuff, elevators, hotels, amusement park rides and games ( like popping balloons and horse race game). Also a few more arcade games ( a couple that you can play with 2 people).
To be fair, I don't own the other two. But I suspect if I did outdoor retreat would still win. I feel like you get a pretty decent amount of CAS and Build/buy objects, plus I think there are a few special woodworking items you can make? Lots of discoverable things like plants and insects, and fire pits are a cool social activity. I haven't been there since I got seasons, but I'm sure granite falls is amazing in autumn. I'm a family player as well and this one probably has the most opportunity with that, at least how I play. Also herbalism rocks.
Neither of these packs are great or even good I give Strangerville the slight advantage just because it has a livable world its to bad they put no real effort in the military career could at least given us a obstacle course for training like in Sims 2...
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I agree that OR is the best of the bunch if you're a family player (though I've sent moms and teen daughters to JA as a mother-daughter bonding trip). With the new laptop and the portable sketch pad, I like to send my creatives to OR for a writing/artist retreat, and the kids can fish -- I don't remember if they can catch bugs. I usually add a lot of base game items to my worlds though to make them suitable for families, like I'll add playground equipment to a corner of the National Park lot so my Sim kids have a place to play. I'm thinking of converting the campground lot to a bar/bowling alley/game area since camping can be a bit problematic in bad weather.
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Outdoor retreat has plenty to do and on short 3 or 4 day holidays your family so many opportunities and activities and places to explore every time they visit. Plus you can collect new plants and bugs and won't get them all in one trip. And I think there is new fish to catch too.
One of my Sims married Fredrick Coyle, a park ranger she met there. (After they married he became "unemployed", so now he's an astronaut.) lol
Regardless, the poll asks about our personal favourites, and for me, that is StrangerVille.
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I don't use MCCC.
tho vampire and parenthood are my top favorites
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And I very much agree with this:
I wish Selvadorian Culture skill was at least 10 levels.
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Oh, and how about those Latin radio stations? Like the Jazz one, I love listening to it in the background when my Sim is at home.
I also like OR because of the herbalism skill, the outdoor furniture like tents, ice chest, chairs and portable shower ( I don’t think you should get embarrassed because of the portable shower though). I also love that kids can catch bugs to take home and that there is all of the wooden and rock furniture that doesn’t look like furniture. I use a lot of the stuff from OR just about everywhere.
I would also love a leisure vacation pack with casino stuff, elevators, hotels, amusement park rides and games ( like popping balloons and horse race game). Also a few more arcade games ( a couple that you can play with 2 people).