Since they ended up making an Eco Lifestyle expansion, I wish they didn't include all the eco-related stuff in Island Living (off the grid, environmental clean up career, etc.) and instead just incorporated that into EL. I think IL would have been a lot better if they only focused on the culture and adding more gameplay for mermaids and actually made underwater swimming, scuba diving, and surfing.
I think the point of the OP is that Ea seemed to focus on Island Living, rather than, Island Vacationing. As a resident of the real life Sulani, I was glad that it wasn't based on hotels and resorts. People actually LIVE in Polynesia, not everyone here is on a vacation,
@randy2355 Yes. Exactly that. I love tropical beachy places but hate commercialized high-rise resorts crowding the beaches. I've never been to the Polynesian Islands, but whenever I visit someplace, I try to leave a small footprint. I was glad that Sulani was designed to reflect the islands as a place with its own culture and life, and not just a tourist trap.
@cyncie A visit to the islands... I will give you a travel tip.... do a Google search for "ABC Stores" That is the touristy places. That part of Hawai'i can be and is fun. It is a bit more authentic if you go places where there are not "ABC Stores." LOL
The focus on culture isn't an issue. It's that the game doesn't have nearly enough content/gameplay and the game is mostly pretty set dressing. Folks have alreafy listed a lot of Polynesian centric content (surfing, musical instruments, island dancing, hammocks, etc.).
The lack of hotels/making island locations synonymous with tourism is a big boon imo. I'm not against a hotel pack in the future but im glad they focused on the polynesian culture/identity. Just needed more interactable content + mermaids needed more stuff.
The focus on culture isn't an issue. It's that the game doesn't have nearly enough content/gameplay and the game is mostly pretty set dressing. Folks have alreafy listed a lot of Polynesian centric content (surfing, musical instruments, island dancing, hammocks, etc.).
The lack of hotels/making island locations synonymous with tourism is a big boon imo. I'm not against a hotel pack in the future but im glad they focused on the polynesian culture/identity. Just needed more interactable content + mermaids needed more stuff.
I do agree... they could have more playability in the pack. I do agree... the mermaids dont seem to be done that well. These are issues that seem to plague The Sims 4 in general, not just IL, and none of the occults are done all that well. Its a shame that we have to talk about poor playability for every pack that we discuss. I dont think that is gonna get much better, until maybe, The Sims 5.
Edit: sometimes I wonder if all of the "window dressing" they do in they do in The Sims 4 is to hide the fact that the game engine is a hamster on a wheel, held together with duct tape and rubber bands.
The focus on culture isn't an issue. It's that the game doesn't have nearly enough content/gameplay and the game is mostly pretty set dressing. Folks have alreafy listed a lot of Polynesian centric content (surfing, musical instruments, island dancing, hammocks, etc.).
The lack of hotels/making island locations synonymous with tourism is a big boon imo. I'm not against a hotel pack in the future but im glad they focused on the polynesian culture/identity. Just needed more interactable content + mermaids needed more stuff.
I do agree... they could have more playability in the pack. I do agree... the mermaids dont seem to be done that well. These are issues that seem to plague The Sims 4 in general, not just IL, and none of the occults are done all that well. Its a shame that we have to talk about poor playability for every pack that we discuss. I dont think that is gonna get much better, until maybe, The Sims 5.
Edit: sometimes I wonder if all of the "window dressing" they do in they do in The Sims 4 is to hide the fact that the game engine is a hamster on a wheel, held together with duct tape and rubber bands.
Vampires were fantastic imo. Not sure on spellcasters, but in general most occults that can get a gamepack dedicated to them generally have a strong chance to be well done it seems.
Aliens and merfolk suffer from "visually nice but generally boring." Worse being that aliens are currently glitched with that facial genetics glitch that takes away any fun of playing with them.
I think for me Island Living just seems like they ran out of time. I've played with the pack a lot, and there's so many hidden details in this pack that I've found and just thought "is that it?". Genuine interesting ideas there but absolutely no depth to them at all.
It's the same problem all round; the pack adds mermaids, cave exploration, the islands culture and lore, diving, island events, island elementals, island spirits, working to clean up the island and change the environment, etc. All interesting ideas, but it feels like they didn't have the time to fully execute any of these things so all of them are half baked. The Island Elementals especially, there's a clear idea there but in game they're just some random ghosts that appear and they were never made into anything more.
If all of this stuff was fleshed out it'd be a pretty solid pack in my opinion. It seems like there was supposed to be much more island culture and lore than there actually is, so I'm guessing it has to be down to time constraints. Unpopular opinion but I hope if they refresh it they'll focus on improving mermaids and expanding on what they started with the island culture and fully flesh that out, rather than adding entirely new things like gimmicky underwater diving spots which would just be a copy paste of Sims 3...
There should've been a swimming skill. Like what even is the point of the life guard career, if by default all sims can swim? Could've been a great pack to bring back the hydrophobic trait, and also could've been a realistic way for sims to die in water because as it stands sims will only drown if you block off the pool or have autonomy off.
The mermaids are boring and pointless. I just want EA to actually bring something new to the franchise again. Nothing in Sims 4 feels new anymore.
Snowy Escape and Island Living should've been one expansion pack and called Vacation Worlds EP or something like that.
To be honest, I partially agree. While they should've been in one pack, I don't believe they should be called "Vacations Worlds" but rather something related to contrast - hence the hot and cold weathers, because EA specifically made Sulani and Mt. Komorebi residential worlds so they won't make the mistake of treating other cultures as just vacation spots and nothing else. Anywho, I think the pack could be called "Contradistinction Climates" or something among those lines.
Ambitions > Island Paradise > World Adventures > Generations > Showtime > Seasons > Supernatural > University Life > Pets > Late Night > Into The Future
I do agree... they could have more playability in the pack. I do agree... the mermaids dont seem to be done that well. These are issues that seem to plague The Sims 4 in general, not just IL, and none of the occults are done all that well.
For me, the Sims 4 Vampires were great. I rarely played vampires in previous Sims games, but Sims 4 was the first time I wanted more of the vampires.
I haven’t had a chance to get deep into the spellcaster stuff, but they seemed to have some kind of depth as well.
I loved the mermaids/merfolk in Sims 3, but I wished Sims 4 mermaids/merfolk had more to do or more powers. I’m a huge merfolk fan, so I was somewhat disappointed with the mermaids. I loved what they had, but wished they had even more powers and more lethal abilities, etc.
I would loved more underwater exploration, as that was beautiful to see in Sims 3 (especially with the mermaids/merfolk). I once had a merman in Sims 3 who carried his toddler in the water as he swam, which I don’t know was a glitch or not, but that kind of stuff was cute to see. I did miss seeing the kraken and sharks, too. That was cool.
Since they ended up making an Eco Lifestyle expansion, I wish they didn't include all the eco-related stuff in Island Living (off the grid, environmental clean up career, etc.) and instead just incorporated that into EL. I think IL would have been a lot better if they only focused on the culture and adding more gameplay for mermaids and actually made underwater swimming, scuba diving, and surfing.
Since they ended up making an Eco Lifestyle expansion, I wish they didn't include all the eco-related stuff in Island Living (off the grid, environmental clean up career, etc.) and instead just incorporated that into EL. I think IL would have been a lot better if they only focused on the culture and adding more gameplay for mermaids and actually made underwater swimming, scuba diving, and surfing.
I agree with this a lot! But like EmmaVane said, off the grid lot type is in the base game.
Ambitions > Island Paradise > World Adventures > Generations > Showtime > Seasons > Supernatural > University Life > Pets > Late Night > Into The Future
Hmm I understand, the game play aspect, I recently acquired island living and I’m like “this is it?”
I have a family and they are of Pacific Islander background, I was thinking of going in the direction of Moana + The Little Mermaid + Luca So the family is of the sea, majority of the population are merman. (Mermaids alone don’t really have a lot, they’re like Aliens swept aside into the shadows Or into the depths of the ocean. They definitely should have done under water lots where mermaids could live and divers could explore.) any way even on land I’m like okay, this definitely more of a vacation world, I don’t see me playing a lot in Sulani. Which is fine, most of my mermaids now reside on the coast of Brindleton Bay.
When it comes to cultures I think they shouldn’t go to much into detail, rather take inspiration, or at least make it available and let the player decide if they want to vibe with it.
If they wanted to focus on Polynesian culture then there should have been a Sulani Culture skill, like Jungle adventure had, with food, recipes, and maybe even a hula dance.
The fact that island living has no new skills is pathetic, we need a swimming and culture skill.
Why do we have to settle for culture added to packs or gameplay? especially in an expansion. Not once have I ever thought I really want an expansion with Polynesian culture and nothing to do but I wanted a fun ocean world with things to do with water activities to be able to run a or go to a beach resort, watch my Sims scuba dive and surf play some beach volleyball.
Sims and their worlds should be mine to do so however I want I never wanted a forced heavily styled un-editable Polynesian world the first thing I did was delete everything lots and premades my world a vacation world so when I do away with their culture aspect of the pack I never really wanted in the first place you see truly how empty this expansion is some jet skis and rabbit hole scuba diving.
Sims 4 went from "You Rule" to "One of the stories we want you to tell"
What I like about IL is how easy it is for my own sims to connect. I always delete pre-mades. The first thing I did when it came out was move my sims into different lots. Three of those sims were sisters so they visited each other constantly. For me it made more sense to have friends and families bring food to each other rather than strangers. I don't follow in-game pre-established "culture" either. Like to play my way.
As for resorts/hotels, I don't think they would have worked anyway because of the state of the game. Just look at Dine Out and Get To Work cafes or any public lot in general. Your sims would be hounded by townies 24/7 instead of relaxing at the hotel lol.
I wished it had more group activities. More than playing in the sand or invisible snorkelling/scuba diving. Not that I expected any underwater gameplay either. Even sailing and jet skiing are limited to one sim per ride.
The only things I felt the pack was lacking in were the mermaids, which need more fleshing out, and having no underwater exploration like Sims 3. (I also missed houseboats.)
Personally, I'm 50/50 on them taking out the houseboats. While they're a unique and a cool idea, they also lag the game (from my experience with IP).
I'm quite sure that houseboats (aka floating lots) are impossible in the closed word of TS4 ... sadly.
Why do we have to settle for culture added to packs or gameplay? especially in an expansion. Not once have I ever thought I really want an expansion with Polynesian culture and nothing to do but I wanted a fun ocean world with things to do with water activities to be able to run a or go to a beach resort, watch my Sims scuba dive and surf play some beach volleyball.
Sims and their worlds should be mine to do so however I want I never wanted a forced heavily styled un-editable Polynesian world the first thing I did was delete everything lots and premades my world a vacation world so when I do away with their culture aspect of the pack I never really wanted in the first place you see truly how empty this expansion is some jet skis and rabbit hole scuba diving.
You may not have wanted it, but having the ability to represent your culture is important in a life sim.
Do you really think you're going to find an American tropical island?
The builds in Sulani are literally how they look in the real world lol, and like you said, you deleted them and rebuilt them so you should be fine.
Comments
I think the point of the OP is that Ea seemed to focus on Island Living, rather than, Island Vacationing. As a resident of the real life Sulani, I was glad that it wasn't based on hotels and resorts. People actually LIVE in Polynesia, not everyone here is on a vacation,
Tales From The Myst
The Blue Moon Jukebox
The lack of hotels/making island locations synonymous with tourism is a big boon imo. I'm not against a hotel pack in the future but im glad they focused on the polynesian culture/identity. Just needed more interactable content + mermaids needed more stuff.
I do agree... they could have more playability in the pack. I do agree... the mermaids dont seem to be done that well. These are issues that seem to plague The Sims 4 in general, not just IL, and none of the occults are done all that well. Its a shame that we have to talk about poor playability for every pack that we discuss. I dont think that is gonna get much better, until maybe, The Sims 5.
Edit: sometimes I wonder if all of the "window dressing" they do in they do in The Sims 4 is to hide the fact that the game engine is a hamster on a wheel, held together with duct tape and rubber bands.
Vampires were fantastic imo. Not sure on spellcasters, but in general most occults that can get a gamepack dedicated to them generally have a strong chance to be well done it seems.
Aliens and merfolk suffer from "visually nice but generally boring." Worse being that aliens are currently glitched with that facial genetics glitch that takes away any fun of playing with them.
It's the same problem all round; the pack adds mermaids, cave exploration, the islands culture and lore, diving, island events, island elementals, island spirits, working to clean up the island and change the environment, etc. All interesting ideas, but it feels like they didn't have the time to fully execute any of these things so all of them are half baked. The Island Elementals especially, there's a clear idea there but in game they're just some random ghosts that appear and they were never made into anything more.
If all of this stuff was fleshed out it'd be a pretty solid pack in my opinion. It seems like there was supposed to be much more island culture and lore than there actually is, so I'm guessing it has to be down to time constraints. Unpopular opinion but I hope if they refresh it they'll focus on improving mermaids and expanding on what they started with the island culture and fully flesh that out, rather than adding entirely new things like gimmicky underwater diving spots which would just be a copy paste of Sims 3...
The mermaids are boring and pointless. I just want EA to actually bring something new to the franchise again. Nothing in Sims 4 feels new anymore.
To be honest, I partially agree. While they should've been in one pack, I don't believe they should be called "Vacations Worlds" but rather something related to contrast - hence the hot and cold weathers, because EA specifically made Sulani and Mt. Komorebi residential worlds so they won't make the mistake of treating other cultures as just vacation spots and nothing else. Anywho, I think the pack could be called "Contradistinction Climates" or something among those lines.
For me, the Sims 4 Vampires were great. I rarely played vampires in previous Sims games, but Sims 4 was the first time I wanted more of the vampires.
I haven’t had a chance to get deep into the spellcaster stuff, but they seemed to have some kind of depth as well.
I loved the mermaids/merfolk in Sims 3, but I wished Sims 4 mermaids/merfolk had more to do or more powers. I’m a huge merfolk fan, so I was somewhat disappointed with the mermaids. I loved what they had, but wished they had even more powers and more lethal abilities, etc.
I would loved more underwater exploration, as that was beautiful to see in Sims 3 (especially with the mermaids/merfolk). I once had a merman in Sims 3 who carried his toddler in the water as he swam, which I don’t know was a glitch or not, but that kind of stuff was cute to see. I did miss seeing the kraken and sharks, too. That was cool.
(She/her)
Off the Grid is base game.
I agree with this a lot! But like EmmaVane said, off the grid lot type is in the base game.
I have a family and they are of Pacific Islander background, I was thinking of going in the direction of Moana + The Little Mermaid + Luca So the family is of the sea, majority of the population are merman. (Mermaids alone don’t really have a lot, they’re like Aliens swept aside into the shadows Or into the depths of the ocean. They definitely should have done under water lots where mermaids could live and divers could explore.) any way even on land I’m like okay, this definitely more of a vacation world, I don’t see me playing a lot in Sulani. Which is fine, most of my mermaids now reside on the coast of Brindleton Bay.
When it comes to cultures I think they shouldn’t go to much into detail, rather take inspiration, or at least make it available and let the player decide if they want to vibe with it.
My Mood:
The fact that island living has no new skills is pathetic, we need a swimming and culture skill.
Sims and their worlds should be mine to do so however I want I never wanted a forced heavily styled un-editable Polynesian world the first thing I did was delete everything lots and premades my world a vacation world so when I do away with their culture aspect of the pack I never really wanted in the first place you see truly how empty this expansion is some jet skis and rabbit hole scuba diving.
As for resorts/hotels, I don't think they would have worked anyway because of the state of the game. Just look at Dine Out and Get To Work cafes or any public lot in general. Your sims would be hounded by townies 24/7 instead of relaxing at the hotel lol.
I wished it had more group activities. More than playing in the sand or invisible snorkelling/scuba diving. Not that I expected any underwater gameplay either. Even sailing and jet skiing are limited to one sim per ride.
I'm quite sure that houseboats (aka floating lots) are impossible in the closed word of TS4 ... sadly.
You may not have wanted it, but having the ability to represent your culture is important in a life sim.
Do you really think you're going to find an American tropical island?
The builds in Sulani are literally how they look in the real world lol, and like you said, you deleted them and rebuilt them so you should be fine.