I re-downloaded Sims 3 and my god how I've missed it! Now, I just started with the base game and Ambitions and Generations EPs. I know that Sims 3 can get really unstable when loaded up with all of the EPs and so I wanted to get input into what EPs people think are the must haves for gameplay, particularly family gameplay and story progression. I took out Generations because I feel like that's a given and you're only allowed to have 10 poll options.
Must Have EPs for Gameplay 48 votes
Showtime
1 vote
Pets
2 votes
Island Paradise
1 vote
2
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I had to give some love to World Adventures. I would normally pick Supernatural as that is my favorite for gameplay as I love the occult and Moonlight Falls, but you were looking at family play and story progression. I think going on vacation is important for families and if you use the traveler mod from Nraas you can take everyone with you and would not be limited to just those three worlds.
I recently started playing on a desktop and added back my two missing packs which were Seasons and Pets. Yep, I'm totally loving having seasons in again as well as Pets. When you can afford it, get a desktop and have them all! Happy Simming!
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
For me it's a tie between Ambitions for the self-employed careers and Late Night for the musical instruments, dance clubs, subways, and mixology. I'm voting for Late Night because it doesn't have any other votes yet and I always like to support the underdog.
(in fact, I almost voted for Showtime because I don't expect it will get many votes at all and I felt sorry for it...a little)
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I also find myself using the stuff from this EP the most when building worlds, creating sims and decorating lots. The clothing, hair and decor seem very hip, sleek and jazzy.
In my game, World Adventures is the one pack I couldn't do without. It adds so much flexibility to the game. The objects help expand nearly every career in the base game. Plus, I love the ethnic diversity of Sims from other lands. I also like my Sim being able to make 'long distance' phone calls to a friend they met while on vacation or pursuing (or expanding) their career.
My close runner-up expansions would be Seasons (for atmospheric depth of days), Pets (extending and sharing love to animals deepens the game-play) and Showtime (for not only adding entertainment but for all of the social objects which comes with it).
Sadly, Sunset Valley is a bad place for trying to be a showman (or woman). There are few to now venues by default, and there's no real community hot spots you can to to for busking. The park sort of works, but there are rarely more then 2 or 3 sims there. And that's only if you send your sim there. Outside of the theater doesn't work because sims in that town rarely go to the theater. Maybe the sports center, but in my experience that only really gets busy when sims are going to work or getting off work. I haven't found a decent busking location in Sunset Valley.
These problems you mention is why I started building my own worlds. I always found the official worlds so lacking when it came to incorporating new EP stuff that I just wound up building worlds that made the most of EP content.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The other point is that if the OP is worried about the game's instability when running all packs together, Ambitions is a great choice, since it's much less stressful on the game engine than later packs. The same can be said for World Adventures and Late Night, and maybe Generations to some extent as well. Having all of them installed together may have less of an impact than just playing with Pets, and as nice as it is to have pets, three or four EPs together add a lot more content. So why not keep the early packs installed, and swap out the more demanding ones if necessary?
That's why I didn't vote. I have them all and can't work out which one I'd be happy to play with without the others.
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