I'm always surprised by how many people love generations. (I'm not criticizing just giving my opinion that is admittedly worth approximately 2 cents minus a 2 cent tax) To me it only added a nag system. One thing that would help it is if there was a cut scene for big events like for sims2ult like when a sim is graduating you could see the sim get the diploma and her/his parents in the audience. But, I dislike for my sims' lives to be interrupted, dragged off to the rabbithole school while I have to wait. There's no fun in that for me.
I agree with the prom thing, like others said it could be an open party (as other EPs offers parties...).
But graduation ceremony? I mean, I don't know, it's mostly formal, even in real life it's boring:) and it *does* add new animation after the ceremony (when they throw the diploma in the air.. I think it's cute).
Other than that, Generations adds so much to all life stages... like the custom chest for kids, and tree house, and the video camera (you could record toddler and than watch it when he grows up- that's adorable), and bachelors parties with the dancer, and giving gifts, and the daycare proffession... all of these examples are pretty basic in my game. I think this EP would fit someone who is a family player and likes realism as myself.
Yeah graduations are boring. It's if I get no choice in whether or not my sims get whisked off I'd at least like to get a 1 minute movie like the ones in s2ult in which you get see your sim walk across the stage and the parents in the audience looking proud. Proms should definitely be open. I do miss the tree house and I was unaware of the video camera might play gens one day to see what that does. Yeah, I'm not into realism, my play style is a bit wacky.
For me, Generations gets rid of freedom. For example, most baby-boomer men I know say that when they were 8 or 9 they'd camp out with other boys in the mountains without adult supervision. But, you can't do that with the curfew system because the psychic police will find you and send you home and then the parents regardless of what the simmer wants is going to ground them. ...
I often have my child sim learn fishing. It is one of only a few skills they can actually learn as children. I usually like for the child and their parents to watch the fishing channel together before bed. They all increase their fishing skill, increase their relationships and fill their fun meters. With generations I could no longer send the child to go fishing before 6 AM because they got caught every time and the locked in scolding/grounding ruined family relationships. I can still send the child with a parent but it's not the same a sneaking across the street from the legacy lot or out the back gate to fish on the beach. Now I have a mod that can eliminate or limit curfew.
Besides the locked in scolding Generations introduced the new relationship system and the mid-life crisis that almost guarantees a couple will break up/divorce if any "cheating" is confessed or found out whether you want them to break up or not. Just another way EA removed freedom to play the way you want. Generations introduced a much stricter idea of cheating than previously used. What's really strange is if a sim has more than one romantic interest they get a naughty reputation or worse. Kissing creates a romantic interest but woohooing does not. So the moral is your sim can go around woohooing with as many sims as you want, just don't kiss them.
Ah. Yes, I can see how this would affect your game play. I don't have issues with those things, but that's a play style thing. Do you use mods?
As a baby boomer I can confirm that kids went camping on occasion without adult supervision - we did a lot of things without supervision. It was a different world view and a different concept of personal freedom and responsibility.
My top 3 would have to be Seasons and Pets and Supernatural, with World Adventures being a very close runner up. I currently play with those + Generations & Ambitions. I don't have any stuff packs installed at the moment as they are just... well, stuff, and since I am playing on a laptop at the moment I don't want to put too much strain on the game for the sake of having more choices of sinks or something, I prefer to download custom content to get more items that fit my style.
Seasons just makes the game feel far more real, as you're no longer stuck with eternal Summer, you get fun holidays like Christmas, Valentines Day and Halloween(all called differently in the game), your sims can get cold, hot, wet from rain, etc., they can get sick with flu or have hay fever. There are plenty of new activities and interactions like (ice)skating, water balloon fights, eating contests and more. For me it makes a lot of difference in gameplay, especially when my sims get kids cause it feels like it they can have more quality family time now
Pets & Supernatural are definitely just a personal preference - I am a huge fantasy fan, I love fantasy books, movies, cartoons, comics, events - you name it Even if I don't always use magical abilities of my sims that often, it is important to me that my sim is a fairy/vampire/werewolf/witch for the sake of my story. The town that comes with that expansion pack is my favourite in terms of feel & look, so I feel like Supernatural is something that would be 100% down to her preference - I know some people prefer to play their sims as close to real life as possible and having fairies might make that almost impossible I am also a big animal lover, so obviously I cannot imagine my sims NOT having pets, I have created my boyfriend's cat in the game and add her to any family I create haha I could never have a horse in real life, so having one in the Sims also fills that void for me
World Adventures is fun as it sort of adds a game within the game when it comes to exploring the tombs. I genuinely enjoy exploring new locations, but it can become pretty repetitive, especially after you have completed them all. I think Ambitions is nice if your niece wants to play closer to what real life is like, as it creates some jobs where you actually get to follow the sim to work rather than have them disappear in a building for a few hours. Some of those jobs can be very annoying on a lower performance computer, as being an architect or a stylist requires constant switching to buy/build mode or create a sim, which can take a while to load and ultimately cause problems with saves or crash the game
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Yeah graduations are boring. It's if I get no choice in whether or not my sims get whisked off I'd at least like to get a 1 minute movie like the ones in s2ult in which you get see your sim walk across the stage and the parents in the audience looking proud. Proms should definitely be open. I do miss the tree house and I was unaware of the video camera might play gens one day to see what that does. Yeah, I'm not into realism, my play style is a bit wacky.
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The Sims2 Land Rich: Cash Poor Challenge
The Gods of Monte Vista
Athena & Crog: Life in Sims 4
Hit the Like Button - and let me know you liked my story.
Ah. Yes, I can see how this would affect your game play. I don't have issues with those things, but that's a play style thing. Do you use mods?
As a baby boomer I can confirm that kids went camping on occasion without adult supervision - we did a lot of things without supervision. It was a different world view and a different concept of personal freedom and responsibility.
Funny that the game mirrors that.
Seasons just makes the game feel far more real, as you're no longer stuck with eternal Summer, you get fun holidays like Christmas, Valentines Day and Halloween(all called differently in the game), your sims can get cold, hot, wet from rain, etc., they can get sick with flu or have hay fever. There are plenty of new activities and interactions like (ice)skating, water balloon fights, eating contests and more. For me it makes a lot of difference in gameplay, especially when my sims get kids cause it feels like it they can have more quality family time now
Pets & Supernatural are definitely just a personal preference - I am a huge fantasy fan, I love fantasy books, movies, cartoons, comics, events - you name it
World Adventures is fun as it sort of adds a game within the game when it comes to exploring the tombs. I genuinely enjoy exploring new locations, but it can become pretty repetitive, especially after you have completed them all. I think Ambitions is nice if your niece wants to play closer to what real life is like, as it creates some jobs where you actually get to follow the sim to work rather than have them disappear in a building for a few hours. Some of those jobs can be very annoying on a lower performance computer, as being an architect or a stylist requires constant switching to buy/build mode or create a sim, which can take a while to load and ultimately cause problems with saves or crash the game
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