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Mostly Off The Grid Frustration

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Hello,

I've been playing (or trying to play) with off the grid since Island living came out and I've encountered a few things that are raising frustration to near the point of wanting walking away. It was a feature I was really looking forward to.
  • Can't clean toilets or sinks
  • Can't change the water for the wash-bin
  • Can't wash toddler in any off-the-grid functioning bathtubs; nor does he gain any hygiene for playing in the ocean (not sure if they are also supposed to)
  • Off-the-grid friendly lights are not labelled (not sure if this was intentional)
  • (from Key Point lot) anti-environmentalists are in my queue from half the island away to argue with me, then stay on my lot as an invited guest (when they were not...)
  • Some routing issues in the island cleanup, more-so with volcanic waste
  • I'm also not sure if it's intentional that if you live off-the-grid, that there is no feasible way to adopt a child or a pet
  • Oh, and sometimes fish traps disappear when you attempt to place them in-world. Sometimes they reappear if you exit the save, then re-load
  • I also got some bugs with "fire" on my lot. I had a campfire, and nothing caught fire. Literal nothing, the tile next to it, caught fire and no sim could route to put it out. I had to wait until it died out completely from burning absolutely nothing.
  • Also for the "angling ace" aspiration, the "fish at 3 different locations" - it doesn't count any fishing places in Sulani

Comments

  • Sigzy05Sigzy05 Posts: 19,406 Member
    Have you tried going to a library computer and adopt from there?
    mHdgPlU.jpg?1
  • JCStormy1JCStormy1 Posts: 67 Member
    Sigzy05 wrote: »
    Have you tried going to a library computer and adopt from there?

    Yes, I've tried that and it does not work. The option does not show up at all.

  • Sigzy05Sigzy05 Posts: 19,406 Member
    edited June 2019
    JCStormy1 wrote: »
    Sigzy05 wrote: »
    Have you tried going to a library computer and adopt from there?

    Yes, I've tried that and it does not work. The option does not show up at all.

    I guess it doesn't work on a computer that we don't own. Perhaps there should be an option to "send adoption papers to pet shelter" or "send adoption papers to social worker" through the mail box.
    mHdgPlU.jpg?1
  • PrincipleOfEntropyPrincipleOfEntropy Posts: 389 Member
    Is it still possible for handy Sims to upgrade plumbing objects with Self Cleaning, perhaps? I've not had the chance to play with the lot trait yet.
    Madotsuki-Chair-Spin.gif
  • PlainevilPlainevil Posts: 221 Member
    JCStormy1 wrote: »
    Hello,

    I've been playing (or trying to play) with off the grid since Island living came out and I've encountered a few things that are raising frustration to near the point of wanting walking away. It was a feature I was really looking forward to.
    • Can't clean toilets or sinks
    • Can't change the water for the wash-bin
    • Can't wash toddler in any off-the-grid functioning bathtubs; nor does he gain any hygiene for playing in the ocean (not sure if they are also supposed to)
    • Off-the-grid friendly lights are not labelled (not sure if this was intentional)
    • (from Key Point lot) anti-environmentalists are in my queue from half the island away to argue with me, then stay on my lot as an invited guest (when they were not...)
    • Some routing issues in the island cleanup, more-so with volcanic waste
    • I'm also not sure if it's intentional that if you live off-the-grid, that there is no feasible way to adopt a child or a pet
    • Oh, and sometimes fish traps disappear when you attempt to place them in-world. Sometimes they reappear if you exit the save, then re-load
    • I also got some bugs with "fire" on my lot. I had a campfire, and nothing caught fire. Literal nothing, the tile next to it, caught fire and no sim could route to put it out. I had to wait until it died out completely from burning absolutely nothing.
    • Also for the "angling ace" aspiration, the "fish at 3 different locations" - it doesn't count any fishing places in Sulani

    Not fixes but things that can help.

    Toilets, sinks, showers and cookers can be upgraded to self cleaning. Since we allow our Sims to wash in less than clean water, I would allow my my Sim to clean her plumbing items with it.
    Wash Bin no plumbing or access to clean water, really needs the self cleaning upgrade added or access to clean water.
    Bath, apparently you can have the parent or child/dog click the other and can bath from there instead of on the bath itself.
    Adoption like buying plumbing parts most likely requires you own the PC, if you have a laptop taking it to the library or a lot with power may work.
  • JCStormy1JCStormy1 Posts: 67 Member
    Plainevil wrote: »
    JCStormy1 wrote: »
    Hello,

    I've been playing (or trying to play) with off the grid since Island living came out and I've encountered a few things that are raising frustration to near the point of wanting walking away. It was a feature I was really looking forward to.
    • Can't clean toilets or sinks
    • Can't change the water for the wash-bin
    • Can't wash toddler in any off-the-grid functioning bathtubs; nor does he gain any hygiene for playing in the ocean (not sure if they are also supposed to)
    • Off-the-grid friendly lights are not labelled (not sure if this was intentional)
    • (from Key Point lot) anti-environmentalists are in my queue from half the island away to argue with me, then stay on my lot as an invited guest (when they were not...)
    • Some routing issues in the island cleanup, more-so with volcanic waste
    • I'm also not sure if it's intentional that if you live off-the-grid, that there is no feasible way to adopt a child or a pet
    • Oh, and sometimes fish traps disappear when you attempt to place them in-world. Sometimes they reappear if you exit the save, then re-load
    • I also got some bugs with "fire" on my lot. I had a campfire, and nothing caught fire. Literal nothing, the tile next to it, caught fire and no sim could route to put it out. I had to wait until it died out completely from burning absolutely nothing.
    • Also for the "angling ace" aspiration, the "fish at 3 different locations" - it doesn't count any fishing places in Sulani

    Not fixes but things that can help.

    Toilets, sinks, showers and cookers can be upgraded to self cleaning. Since we allow our Sims to wash in less than clean water, I would allow my my Sim to clean her plumbing items with it.
    Wash Bin no plumbing or access to clean water, really needs the self cleaning upgrade added or access to clean water.
    Bath, apparently you can have the parent or child/dog click the other and can bath from there instead of on the bath itself.
    Adoption like buying plumbing parts most likely requires you own the PC, if you have a laptop taking it to the library or a lot with power may work.

    Thanks, I gave it a try. The toddler can ask for a bath, but then the sim handflails saying that there's no bath. Toddler can't ask for a bath by clicking on the tub, either. And I bought a laptop to bring to a public venue and the option was not there to adopt anything - same options as if you were to use a public computer
  • PlainevilPlainevil Posts: 221 Member
    Thanks, I gave it a try. The toddler can ask for a bath, but then the sim handflails saying that there's no bath. Toddler can't ask for a bath by clicking on the tub, either. And I bought a laptop to bring to a public venue and the option was not there to adopt anything - same options as if you were to use a public computer[/quote]

    I can see there is no adoption option. Must need to be on lot. You should probably file a bug report but for now the only way i can see you getting around it, is to temporally remove the lot trait.
  • CelSimsCelSims Posts: 2,270 Member
    edited July 2019
    JCStormy1 wrote: »

    Thanks, I gave it a try. The toddler can ask for a bath, but then the sim handflails saying that there's no bath. Toddler can't ask for a bath by clicking on the tub, either. And I bought a laptop to bring to a public venue and the option was not there to adopt anything - same options as if you were to use a public computer

    Hi, I just popped into one of my off the grid families and double checked exactly how I do it. Control the toddler, click parent and choose ask for bath under the Help option. For the dog, (who conveniently got sprayed by a skunk and needed a bath anyway), I simply clicked on the pet and chose give bath. Clicking on the bath itself will not work at all at the moment.

    The bathtub used for the toddler was one my sim had made with the woodworking table. The one used for the dog was the Under the Sea combo shower/bath.

    If it's not working for you try checking the obvious things we all have 'doh' moments with, can they get to it, could mods be causing an issue, does the game need repair, is the one your sim has labelled for off the grid, is it bugged because it needs cleaning and you can't.


  • MarvinKoshMarvinKosh Posts: 20 Member
    I ended up converting one of the existing retail lots to sell the upgrade parts so my Off the Grid sims could go somewhere to acquire them.
  • CelSimsCelSims Posts: 2,270 Member
    MarvinKosh wrote: »
    I ended up converting one of the existing retail lots to sell the upgrade parts so my Off the Grid sims could go somewhere to acquire them.

    Great idea! I'll add some to my herbal store. Meanwhile I killed 4 sims on my lot and let them break stuff til I had enough repair parts, then released them ]:-)
  • EveryDaySimEveryDaySim Posts: 193 Member
    My teen scout ran into a problem with badges last night, because he couldn't use a telescope off the grid.

    Galileo himself had a telescope, and he definitely lived off the grid, so it really shouldn't be that hard.

    Frustrations doesn't even begin to describe it at this point.
  • DOLLDRMS1DOLLDRMS1 Posts: 2,955 Member
    My teen scout ran into a problem with badges last night, because he couldn't use a telescope off the grid.

    Galileo himself had a telescope, and he definitely lived off the grid, so it really shouldn't be that hard.

    Frustrations doesn't even begin to describe it at this point.

    Yet another good reason to make a smaller telescope for home use. One that could be coded to work off the grid.
  • ThenyoukissmeThenyoukissme Posts: 304 Member
    My teen scout ran into a problem with badges last night, because he couldn't use a telescope off the grid.

    Galileo himself had a telescope, and he definitely lived off the grid, so it really shouldn't be that hard.

    Frustrations doesn't even begin to describe it at this point.


    It is a shame that the off the grid feature doesnt tie in nicely with the rest of the game. It makes me wonder how much time was spent on this. The amount of mistakes/oversights make it almost completely unplayable. Huge let down, I was very excited for it.
  • catitude5catitude5 Posts: 2,537 Member
    Just make it as residence and play it as off the grid.
  • Mariefoxprice83Mariefoxprice83 Posts: 8,106 Member
    edited July 2019
    My teen scout ran into a problem with badges last night, because he couldn't use a telescope off the grid.

    Galileo himself had a telescope, and he definitely lived off the grid, so it really shouldn't be that hard.

    Frustrations doesn't even begin to describe it at this point.

    I haven't used the trait yet but I find it strange that we haven't got a normal-sized telescope after all this time. The same with the microscope - we could do with one of the desk microscopes. I'm sure one of the previous games had such a thing.
    Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.
  • AlbaWaterhouseAlbaWaterhouse Posts: 3,953 Member
    I find that the decision to cut off newspapers from the game was a mistake more than ever now. Playing off the grid with newspapers would have given our sims the option to for example find jobs without having to travel to another lot and do crosswords to get their fun up in an off the grid way among other little things.
    Origin ID is: AlbaWaterhouse
    All my creations are CC free.
  • Renato10Renato10 Posts: 472 Member
    I find that the decision to cut off newspapers from the game was a mistake more than ever now. Playing off the grid with newspapers would have given our sims the option to for example find jobs without having to travel to another lot and do crosswords to get their fun up in an off the grid way among other little things.

    plus that doesn't make any sence having a wallpaper made of newspapers pages aswell "rugs" made in the same way. LOL
  • asimbsimasimbsim Posts: 476 Member
    Yeah, I tried to adopt a pet in my off grid camp and I couldn't, nor from a community lot pc. I think you have to be on a home lot to adopt :/ I became so frustrated with all the off grid odd limitations that I keep turning the off grid trait on and off. I'd love to see things like water collection tanks, so my sims can use baths and toilets, or to be able to fill a bath tub up with sea water, or something like that. Or some solar panels so my sims could use a little bit of electricity each day for emergencies or cooking. I know it probably defeats the object of a completely off grid location, but even in real life off grid places people can find ingenious ways of using small amount of fresh water or electricity.
  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    JCStormy1 wrote: »
    Hello,

    I've been playing (or trying to play) with off the grid since Island living came out and I've encountered a few things that are raising frustration to near the point of wanting walking away. It was a feature I was really looking forward to.
    • Can't clean toilets or sinks
    • Can't change the water for the wash-bin
    • Can't wash toddler in any off-the-grid functioning bathtubs; nor does he gain any hygiene for playing in the ocean (not sure if they are also supposed to)
    • Off-the-grid friendly lights are not labelled (not sure if this was intentional)
    • (from Key Point lot) anti-environmentalists are in my queue from half the island away to argue with me, then stay on my lot as an invited guest (when they were not...)
    • Some routing issues in the island cleanup, more-so with volcanic waste
    • I'm also not sure if it's intentional that if you live off-the-grid, that there is no feasible way to adopt a child or a pet
    • Oh, and sometimes fish traps disappear when you attempt to place them in-world. Sometimes they reappear if you exit the save, then re-load
    • I also got some bugs with "fire" on my lot. I had a campfire, and nothing caught fire. Literal nothing, the tile next to it, caught fire and no sim could route to put it out. I had to wait until it died out completely from burning absolutely nothing.
    • Also for the "angling ace" aspiration, the "fish at 3 different locations" - it doesn't count any fishing places in Sulani

    In new patch the off the grid fixes are:

    Multiple updates for the Off the Grid lot trait:

    A new search term was added to Buy Mode, “Off the Grid”, to make finding valid items in the catalog easier.
    Fish can now be added to Fish Bowls.
    Sims can now clean dirty sinks that work Off the Grid
    In a Flash Photo Studio no longer emits light when placed on a lot with the Off the Grid lot trait.
    The following objects now work Off the Grid and/or are labeled appropriately in the catalog:
    All photography cameras
    Sulani Volcanic BBQ Searer
    NanoCan Touchless Trash Can
    Wabbit Tablet, Slablet, and Digitalistic Sketchpad
    Digirad Keyboard
    Fireplaces
    Rocks of Fire and Roast'em and Toast'em Campfire from Outdoor Retreat
    The Quadpod Grill from Toddler Stuff
    Ole Timmy's WashTub from Laundry Day Stuff
    Kiddie Pools from Seasons
    To make caring for Pets easier the Petmate Programmatic Pet Feeder, Litter-Laser: Self-Cleaning Litter Box, and Litter-Matic Scoop Free are now battery powered

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • ierolovrr31ierolovrr31 Posts: 52 Member
    I feel as though the off-the-grid trait is missing the point of what it actually means. Off the grid doesn't mean you have NO power/water at all. It means your residence is not connected to the municipal grid... so you are self sustaining by creating your own power (solar, wind etc) and water (using fresh water sources, or a water pump/well etc) They should patch in some ways do actually be off the grid for it to make sense.

    Even with these "fixes" I still find it very lacking and not true to what off the grid means. I would love a water pump that my sims actually have to pump to have water, like you want to change the water for the wash tub? gotta pump your own water first! want to have a couple of hours of electricity? hop on a spin bike hooked up to a generator to create energy to run your appliances etc while also upping the fitness skill (could be a little silly but sounded like a cool idea in my head...)

    I just wish there could be some more gameplay that actually made off the grid... well off the grid. While also having to make my sims actually work towards being off the grid. That's usually the goal of wanting to be self sustaining.

    anywho... just some suggestions :smiley:
  • minimonsterscottminimonsterscott Posts: 22 Member
    I spent the better parts of almost two days combing through the tuning to try to locate ANY tuning indication that may allow for 'power' (electricity) to be generated for the lot trait, thinking that the debug wind turbines would be PERFECT to utilize for creating electricity. Nothing, but nothing showed up that would natively allow for that. (Anyone remember the Community Questionnaire about a 'choice' between O-T-G or laundry? Pepperidge Farms remembers...)

    For those who are wondering how much time was spent on creating this trait - I believe that the answer would be much less than I spent looking for a way to generate electricity. How great that they made such things as the Nanocan and Digirad et al. to use magical 'batteries' that come from the ether (not knocking Nikolai at all)...
  • ejpdejpd Posts: 3 New Member
    I would love to play off-the-grid, but seeing how the lot trait is rather sloppy, there is no way to make playing on one of those lots fun. Being off-the-grid shouldn't mean you don't have a cool place to store your perishables. I wish the developers took some time and drew ideas from how people used to/still live in rural areas. You could have
    - a cool basement (like how they used to keep food underground so it wouldn't spoil)
    - a sauna that is wood-fired
    - oil lamps, candles
    - renewable energy as already mentioned above
    - maybe even be able to grow wood that you could chop?

    All the comments are good ideas and suggestions. I hope we'll be heard.
  • SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,907 Member
    Maxis appear to be adding off the grid items bit by bit in most packs. I suppose we'll be getting woodcutters and axes to chop wood in the Realm of Magic pack? Maybe Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf too? :D

    They still have a bit of time to add them..........
  • TheIncredibleSimTheIncredibleSim Posts: 1 New Member
    I have had the most fun playing Sims 4 ever with my most recent (and still current) playthrough in Sulani with the off-the-grid lot trait. Sure, there have been a couple of difficulties -- a few of which have now been patched or at least resolved with tricks like clicking the toddler to give a bath instead of the tub -- but overall, it's been a wonderful new experience for me.

    For years, I've played Sims off and on, getting bored quickly and moving on to other games. Now, it's like I'm obsessed! As for frustrations, I would like to see a lot more off-the-grid items added soon for both functionality and variety. Not only do I enjoy working up the chain of nicer and higher quality items, but it's also nice to have more options, visually, to customize based on my sim's personality. It's no fun if every off-the-grid house uses the same tub/shower/toilet, etc.
  • AloyDawnAloyDawn Posts: 1 New Member
    [quote="JCStormy1;d-962073"]Hello,

    I've been playing (or trying to play) with off the grid since Island living came out and I've encountered a few things that are raising frustration to near the point of wanting walking away. It was a feature I was really looking forward to.

    [list]
    [*] Can't clean toilets or sinks
    [*] Can't change the water for the wash-bin
    [*] Can't wash toddler in any off-the-grid functioning bathtubs; nor does he gain any hygiene for playing in the ocean (not sure if they are also supposed to)
    [*] Off-the-grid friendly lights are not labelled (not sure if this was intentional)
    [*] (from Key Point lot) anti-environmentalists are in my queue from half the island away to argue with me, then stay on my lot as an invited guest (when they were not...)
    [*] Some routing issues in the island cleanup, more-so with volcanic waste
    [*] I'm also not sure if it's intentional that if you live off-the-grid, that there is no feasible way to adopt a child or a pet
    [*] Oh, and sometimes fish traps disappear when you attempt to place them in-world. Sometimes they reappear if you exit the save, then re-load
    [*] I also got some bugs with "fire" on my lot. I had a campfire, and nothing caught fire. Literal nothing, the tile next to it, caught fire and no sim could route to put it out. I had to wait until it died out completely from burning absolutely nothing.
    [*] Also for the "angling ace" aspiration, the "fish at 3 different locations" - it doesn't count any fishing places in Sulani
    [/list]
    [/quote]

    When it comes to adopting a pet or child off grid (I know it's kind of cheating to do it but...) just go into manage worlds, select the build mode on the lot, remove the Off Grid trait, go in, adopt, go back out and put it back on. It's the only way I could get it to work until they come up with a way to make it work off grid. Hope that helps!! ♡
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