Off the grid: why can't we cook anything?

SlayeurTown · October 2019

Hey simmers!

I've been trying to play with off the grid but that lot trait is a huge half-baked disappointment.

Why can't sims cook anything on the stove apart from grilled cheese and have a fruit salad? Why can't they bake cakes and regular meals? Technically, it wouldn't be unrealistic!

Because of this, I've stopped using that lot trait. It's too much of a burden when it could be so much fun....

Anyone found a way or mod to counter this issue?

Atreya33 · October 2019

I am having the same issues. I would use off the grid if the cooking options were more realistic. I think it is better now with the cauldron from RoM but you need that specific pack so this is not an option for everyone.

I would also like a mod like that, especially for baking birthday cakes.

simfriend1968 · October 2019

The Off the grid stove is supposed to be a gas cooker, but that only applies to the top apparently, and not to the oven (which I agree is ridiculous). I tend to use the counter (to make salads), and the barbecue and the pit barbecue for food on these lots. I do wish you could make at least the coconut cake or a birthday cake in the oven. I took to keeping a stove on the community lot (the Sand Bat) so my Sims could bake cakes when needed. I also wish there was a way to take baths, even if the sims still got the “tepid water” moodlet from them. There’s definitely some room for improvement with this trait.

BlkBarbiegal · October 2019

definitely a challenging lot trait, but i enjoy it. For birthday cakes, I'll have my sims visit relatives and bake one in their home. I have them cook few other dishes too. Another option is, if you have a retail lot where they sell family meals, have your sims buy them, and desserts!

lisamwitt · October 2019

I've been having a vampire live in my off the grid lot, so I don't have to worry about it. But, having a grill will give you a few more options.
It's stupid though.. I happen to have a gas oven irl (which I can light with a lighter if the power goes out) and it cooks everything an electric one would just fine. Better, imo. We should have all the same options honestly. I could see limiting stove types, but not what we can make. It's not like people didn't make cakes when they always cooked with gas or coal.
I have my Sim go to another lot too if I need a cake.
The bath thing is also stupid. A bath off the grid makes more sense than a shower. I think they just didn't put much thought or effort into it. I wish they would though. I like the lot trait for my older houses, like Orchard House.

LaBlue0314 · October 2019

I completely agree with the thought on how they must have not put much effort into it. This would have been nice to get input from the players, because I'm pretty sure there have been a few of us who have lived off the grid, myself being one of those. If they would have asked I would have pointed to the one stove/oven thave that looks like a wood-burning oven, for example, this one that came with the base game.

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Or to add something like this.

GalacticGal · October 2019

LaBlue0314 wrote: »

I completely agree with the thought on how they must have not put much effort into it. This would have been nice to get input from the players, because I'm pretty sure there have been a few of us who have lived off the grid, myself being one of those. If they would have asked I would have pointed to the one stove/oven thave that looks like a wood-burning oven, for example, this one that came with the base game.

Or to add something like this.

I much prefer the wood-burning stove. Decades ago, I met a gal up in Washington State who lived in a very old house. The stove was a wood-burning stove, but she had no problem baking items with it. Short of giving us a Beehive 'oven', what did they think people in the 18th century did? They had bread, which is baked. How many of us have cooked over campfires? Anything you can cook indoors, you can cook outdoors. This trait, unfortunately, is an epic fail.

MsShaSha · October 2019

I'm having the same issue and am rather frustrated, and seriously disappointed... Off Grid is something I've been hoping/wishing/wanting for years (Sims player since TS1) and only more so since the HUGE tease of it when the community polling was happening to make what ended up being Laundry Day Stuff.

There's no reason a sim wouldn't be able to cook everything possible on a normal stove in/on the off-grid wood stove - maybe an added chance of baked goods getting a bit burnt could be true and funny, but otherwise there's nothing you can't make.

While I'm on the subject though, it's also extremely frustrating and unrealistic for sims to constantly get negative moodlets from doing ANYTHING - shower, they feel just barely clean; wash hands, warmish water... I get what I believe they were thinking in these things, however it's just not very realistic by todays off grid standards.

All of the items that should work off grid and don't as well! An oil lamp doesn't work off grid?

* editing to add - A couple of items should have been added to really help make this trait more functional as well, along with a few I mention below, a new smaller fireplace would be really nice seeing as it's the only way to heat an off grid home during winter. Off grid is just all too perfect for tiny homes, yet every fireplace we have is HUGE, making another aspect of this trait a big disappointment. *

Solar power, on-demand water heaters, the list of things that make every day "traditional" living possible off grid is almost endless... however back to the wood stove, the ability to cook and bake anything possible over/on wood isn't anything new, and that we can't says a lot about how little was actually put into this trait.

As someone who has been hoping for a TRUE off grid pack, this trait is a horrible tease that I truly wish they would have kept as it's the complete opposite of everything it could (and should) be, and it's just absolutely heartbreaking. 💔

Nushnushganay · October 2019

Glad it wasn't just me not doing it right or something. Off-grid was going to be fun in the cozy little cabin I built for it, but instead, my Sim was always miserable from being told they could never get a hot bath (uh, got a woodstove and a large basin and a tub? There's your hot bath), could never cook a proper meal..yet devices like laptops and tablets work off-grid?! Sure they should start up, but without wifi, they shouldn't do much and then how to charge them? Made me wonder if the dev's had anyone on their team who had actually lived off grid, if they thought hot baths and decent food were out of reach, but the all-important devices weren't.

danceswithchaos · October 2019

Darn it, I was hoping one of the patches had fixed the cooking issue. I really want to try this lot trait, but I agree, the inability to bake things and for sims to always be depressed they couldn't get a hot shower? Really? (sigh) I really hope this fix this in a future patch, and make the off grid stoves include oven items and have way to bathe a sim in warm water (they shouldn't have to be a mermaid to get around this).

rosepuckett · July 2021

Was hoping the update today with the off grid challenge would have fixed it but um no.

Cynel1 · July 2021

rosepuckett wrote: »

Was hoping the update today with the off grid challenge would have fixed it but um no.

not unless you have Eco lifestyle

CelSims · July 2021

Having just endured a month without running water whilst our well was relocated, I can tell you that far from giving you a miserable moodlet, that sweet sweet 3 inches of water in the tub after spending an hour heating water on the stove feels absolutely FANTASTIC when you have had a few days of only washing with a sponge from a kettle's worth in a bucket

Cooking options increase as your skill in cooking goes up and I do like that off the grid gets some recipes that are specific to it, like tomato soup. I agree it's not realistic as it is but how would you have them make the game play different from a normal lot? I'm interested what the people who have experienced it would suggest.

DominicLaurence · July 2021

In my country wood-stoven went from a low-quality life indicator to a fancy, almost gourmet-style, form of cooking. It's like an evolution of a barbecue here. A bit ecological and all, wood from broken benches and construction leftovers; heat for the plumbing; made with some kind of local clay.

All that to say is about time they upgrade that state of it in game lol

Pamtastic72 · July 2021

Yup, it's completely broken. You should with the fuel cell upgrade be able to cook normal recipes so long as you fuel the stove with bits & pieces in addition to the off the grid recipes, but it doesn't work. It says "power doesn't work off the grid" which is the same thing that happens with vacuum cleaners when you upgrade them with the self charging fuel cell upgrade. So it seems that their fuel cell upgrade system that should allow appliances to function normally off the grid is broken.

Cynel1 · July 2021

Pamtastic72 wrote: »

Yup, it's completely broken. You should with the fuel cell upgrade be able to cook normal recipes so long as you fuel the stove with bits & pieces in addition to the off the grid recipes, but it doesn't work. It says "power doesn't work off the grid" which is the same thing that happens with vacuum cleaners when you upgrade them with the self charging fuel cell upgrade. So it seems that their fuel cell upgrade system that should allow appliances to function normally off the grid is broken.

or with a green power source

SheriSim57 · July 2021

Nushnushganay wrote: »

Glad it wasn't just me not doing it right or something. Off-grid was going to be fun in the cozy little cabin I built for it, but instead, my Sim was always miserable from being told they could never get a hot bath (uh, got a woodstove and a large basin and a tub? There's your hot bath), could never cook a proper meal..yet devices like laptops and tablets work off-grid?! Sure they should start up, but without wifi, they shouldn't do much and then how to charge them? Made me wonder if the dev's had anyone on their team who had actually lived off grid, if they thought hot baths and decent food were out of reach, but the all-important devices weren't.

I doubt any of them have lived off the grid. That’s not very common here in the states.

CelSims · July 2021

Just some added info about off the grid with Cottage Living. There is OTG options for canning and for making cheese or other items that are needed for larger meals. My sim was only level 4 cooking and had quite a few options available to her.

Zasz · July 2021

I have the same problem. I have this family, living in sulani on an island with off the grid and simple living traits. Cooking or rather preparing meals with the fridge is bad enough. But the stove offers the ability to cook some meals but the sims stop half way. Then I tried it with insects to get bio fuel but it still doesnt work. I added the lot trait for geothermal energy. Still nothing.

I dont want to ruin the immersion with any technology. The fridge and stove are already pushing it.

The sims have lvl10 cooking but can cook only a handful or receipes with the incredients present. They even start to prepare bread until they need the stove... which doesnt work. The top part of the stove works. But the lower part does not. Even with bio fuel which is supposed to make it work.

We need something like a base game pizza oven.

Aggs_427 · August 2021

TRY HAVING AN EMPTY KITCHEN COUNTER NOTHING ON IT (NOT EVEN WITH CHEATS) OR TOO CLOSE TO IT ON THE WALL.
OR
TRY BB.IGNOREGAMEPLAYUNLOCKSENTITLEMENT CHEAT. I JUST COOKED BREAD IN THE BASE GAME OVEN. WITH SIMPLE LIVING AND OFF THE GRID CHALLANGE BOTH ON.

mikamakimon · August 2021

I managed to muddle through playing off grid in Sulani. I had the same frustrations myself, but with my sim living on Key Point island, without any modern luxuries, I felt that cooking using mostly the grill and the pit that came with the pack was fairly realistic.
I can't say the same about playing off grid in Henford on Bagley though, and I gave up on that lot challenge after trying for a few sim weeks (the simple living lot challenge is great, however). My sims were missing out on so many recipes that came with the pack that couldn't be made off grid. It hindered their ability to complete some of the errands, and they couldn't participate in the pie contests at the fair. The limitations on the cooking appliances didn't really make sense. I've even gone as far as to research how wood stoves actually work. And by 'research', all it took was watching a couple of videos to find out that yes, you can bake using the wood stove, you just need lots of wood! I don't mind a challenge, but it has to make sense and be worthwhile for my sims. It can't be all negative moodlets with no pay off.

Gamer_34567544 · August 2021

If you have Island Living, you can cook off the grid with a steam vent, which, oddly enough, is available for a thousand simoleons.

QueenSaraphine · August 2021

Aggs_427 wrote: »

TRY HAVING AN EMPTY KITCHEN COUNTER NOTHING ON IT (NOT EVEN WITH CHEATS) OR TOO CLOSE TO IT ON THE WALL.
OR
TRY BB.IGNOREGAMEPLAYUNLOCKSENTITLEMENT CHEAT. I JUST COOKED BREAD IN THE BASE GAME OVEN. WITH SIMPLE LIVING AND OFF THE GRID CHALLANGE BOTH ON.

I mean no offence, but try to press caps lock again please. I don’t liked to be yelled at.

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Off the grid: why can't we cook anything?

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