Ok so in my opinion, this is the worst EP they've released. I'm comparing it to Cottage Living, in terms of gameplay, new things to do etc.
It should definitely be a game pack. I love the horses, and the mini sheep/goats are really cute but that's about it. No new career, two new aspirations that are just the one stage to complete (with other aspirations there's alot of steps to get to the end if you get what I mean lol). The new traits are ok. My sim kept getting the 'Ranch needs me' tense moodlet, but all she can go is clear manure?!
The horse CAS is bare. Nectar making only goes to skill 5...Usually, with a new EP, I spend hours and hours just figuring it out and learning how to use new features/game play but with this one...After an hour I felt bored of it already.
I just feel like I'm completely missing something. Am I playing it wrong or something?! Haha!
It's all mostly rabbit holes. I entered my horse in a competition and I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting it to be a rabbit hole.
-MAXIMUM OF SIMS IN A HOUSEHOLD- I use MCC to play with more sims. BUT.. when I bought a horse.. it replaced my beloved barn dog.. I didn't thought that this would happen, because I never had problems with such cases, as adoption. Now I am searching for the reason. Did any of you guys already experienced the same thing?.. it would calm me down, because then it's most certainly a problem from mcc itself.. not updated or something.
Maybe a special, weird, npc horse that does strange things, like have magic poop or something idk. Obviously, I don't need [or want, really] all of this, or most of it, but anything would've been nice. [Anything, like, idk, a unicorn that did things maybe.]
Kind of related to this, but did anyone see Jackofallgames twitter post? There is a dubug unicorn. Like a legit, fully white like the one in TS3, horse-sized unicorn, in debug. It really does seem like they intended to include them but they had to be scrapped. And if so, it begs the question, what was the time constraint for this pack? why have to scrap an idea if the full model for it already exists. Just another disappointment
-MAXIMUM OF SIMS IN A HOUSEHOLD- I use MCC to play with more sims. BUT.. when I bought a horse.. it replaced my beloved barn dog.. I didn't thought that this would happen, because I never had problems with such cases, as adoption. Now I am searching for the reason. Did any of you guys already experienced the same thing?.. it would calm me down, because then it's most certainly a problem from mcc itself.. not updated or something.
Sorry to hear this! Hopefully someone has an answer for you but all I could think of is that it's an mcc glitch. It's why I badly want expanded household but rarely use mods for it. Even before this pack, expanded households with Mcc gave me odd glitches and one of the worse is when my child sim dissappeared. I did everything I could but never found him again. I really don't know if he was deleted or what. But now I ALWAYS keep backup sims updated in my library just in case. And my tray backup as well.
Can't in good faith even buy this pack because it feels more like a game pack than anything. Would love to have nectar making, but how can I when the dang GARDENING bug STILL exists. How can anyone enjoy it if you always have your plants constantly resetting to it's first stage?
There needs to be a few more things in this pack for it to be passable for a EP for me and not just horses and yee-haw aesthetics.
I do love the build/buy but not $40 worth for me for that and CAS. Has about the same aesthetics to Strangerville when I look at CAS and Build/buy
All of this The B/B is actually gorgeous from what I've seen, but this desperately needed more gameplay objects and even more rabbit hole child school activities or something for this to qualify as an EP in my eyes. It really is not worth $40 and I don't even want to get it for 50% off when it goes on sale because I don't want to support such shallow packs and make it seem like it is okay to continue to do this to consumers.
The haystack is painful because it would have also doubled as fun decor for barns. But no, we just got a reskin of the same WooHoo bush we've had for years. And tbh it's barely a reskin, since they're almost exactly the same aside from the flowers.
The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017
Maybe a special, weird, npc horse that does strange things, like have magic poop or something idk. Obviously, I don't need [or want, really] all of this, or most of it, but anything would've been nice. [Anything, like, idk, a unicorn that did things maybe.]
Kind of related to this, but did anyone see Jackofallgames twitter post? There is a dubug unicorn. Like a legit, fully white like the one in TS3, horse-sized unicorn, in debug. It really does seem like they intended to include them but they had to be scrapped. And if so, it begs the question, what was the time constraint for this pack? why have to scrap an idea if the full model for it already exists. Just another disappointment
Yeah, I saw it. It's pretty strange to just scrap something like that. Maybe it was really glitchy, or there were time constraints like you said, or it didn't work out? idk.
After one day of playing, here's my not-so-enthusiastic opinion:
Nectarmaking is...basic.
I loved it in Sims3, I tried out all kinds of combinations with different percentages of fruit and grapes, kept all my bottles and had my own system of storing them. Per main ingredient, per age - with a hidden cellar for all the super expensive and good stuff. Sims I did not like had to drink expensive put horrible tasting nectar. It was one of the few generational saves I had and the new generation inherited the nectar! And my garden, supporting my nectarium, was a thing of beauty. I bought addons mostly for the new crops so I could add more variety to my nectar making.
Nectar making in Sims4 is like cooking. You have recipes, you produce and the product is dependent on your skill, the quality of the ingredients and subsequently the age(ing) of the nectar. Different nectars have different side effects, which is nice and new at least. I have only played with my Nectarium for a few hours but I can't help but feel... bored.
What I hoped for was that I would be able to create my own recipes, mix some grapes with death flowers, create poisonous nectar... It was so much fun for me to experiment and then find out what came out of the machine in Sims3.
My next step, after filling up my cellar, will be to try and make my Sim into a nectar merchant with their own shop. Or transform my Nectarium into a shop and live there full-time to sell surplus. But that will only add a little more game play.
The farmhand, btw, has some very strange rooting issues, fine when the layout of the garden is straightforward, but I have to check his work and tend to some plants myself because he seems to get distracted and forgets to tend to some plants. OK, my garden is huge.
I have created a stable and will adopt an old horse so it can enjoy my orchard and I can use the fertilizer.
Expecting a more elaborate game mechanic, is that really too much to dream of? There's this thing called progress?
After watching lots of game changer reviews, and in recognition of a classic spaghetti western movie, I now give you....
The Good:
- The new world looks amazing, I think it's my new favourite desert-y world
- The BB catalogue looks to be great quality with a good attention to detail, especially all the swatch choices
- I like the human CAS items, good quality and the clean/dirty swatches are fab
- The nectar hobby seems to be pretty well thought out (5 skill levels is enough), super happy for the aging racks
- Mini goats and sheep are cute and small enough to be played on any size lot, in any type of world, which is a bonus
The Bad:
- No native/indigenous hobbies, small or otherwise (ie: basket weaving, blanket/rug looming, clay pottery, leather/bead working)
- No quintessential swinging saloon doors
- No return of the iconic mechanical bull
- No rocking horse or spring riders for kids/toddlers (major missed opportunity?)
- There's only a small choice of CAS accessories for horses, whereas their human counterparts seemed to benefit more in this category
- The grapes are still just standard bushes instead of a proper grapevine orchard/vineyard setup. Why not a new crop type (grapevines)?
- No new crops for the Three Sisters chili recipe to accommodate the simple living lot trait (corn and squash). Really??
and The Ugly:
- The new world is desperately lacking in large ranch sized lots, I'm really tired of hearing the excuse that these packs need to accommodate lower end computers while the majority of players are being deprived of better gameplay options because of this. The game suffers and players are feeling ripped off.
- The 'exalted' indigenous representation ends up to be but a few hairs, a new food, and a few decor objects. This kind of lip service just doesn't cut it anymore. Bad EA, very bad.... I think this particular lack of effort in the pack is what disappoints me the most because I was really looking forward to finally seeing some proper North American indigenous peoples' representation in the game. It's been long overdue.
In real life, I create beaded leather goods as a side hobby making things like moccasins, mukluks, leather mitts and gauntlets, tobacco pouches, jingle dresses, and beaded hair accessories. I also sell my wares at our local farmers' market and craft shows several times a year. Native crafts are a big part of my life and I take a lot of pride in what I do. Representative of the culture(s) I grew up around and being taught these traditional skills by elder neighbours and friends has been such a privilege in my life. So it's no small thing when I say I'm so very disappointed that we didn't get some kind of new indigenous hobby for our sims (I would have been happy enough with just something small and simple like basket weaving).
*heavy sigh*
Anyways, I've said my piece and I'll leave it at that.
My Gallery ID: AncientMuse2
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." ~ Mark Twain
-MAXIMUM OF SIMS IN A HOUSEHOLD- I use MCC to play with more sims. BUT.. when I bought a horse.. it replaced my beloved barn dog.. I didn't thought that this would happen, because I never had problems with such cases, as adoption. Now I am searching for the reason. Did any of you guys already experienced the same thing?.. it would calm me down, because then it's most certainly a problem from mcc itself.. not updated or something.
Sorry to hear this! Hopefully someone has an answer for you but all I could think of is that it's an mcc glitch. It's why I badly want expanded household but rarely use mods for it. Even before this pack, expanded households with Mcc gave me odd glitches and one of the worse is when my child sim dissappeared. I did everything I could but never found him again. I really don't know if he was deleted or what. But now I ALWAYS keep backup sims updated in my library just in case. And my tray backup as well.
One of warnings giving on the MCCC page is that the CAS breaks with it.
What happens is, if you have more than 8 in your household and then go into the CAS, everyone after the 8th person is deleted.
Another thing is if you have more than 8 and try to transfer sims between households, the game wont let you complete the transfer until the household is less than or equal to 8.
That being said, the household limit increase is the less used MCCC feature for me.
Edit: I think the author (Deaderpool?) is unable to change the internal parameters for the CAS UI/Household transfer UI.
I feel like I'm missing something, there is no nectar skill book, I've checked Plopsy several times and it doesn't appear to be sold there either, you can serve a single serving of basic nectar on bars but is there really no way to buy aged bottles unless you make them yourself ?
I already have plans to have a dedicated nectarmaker with a store, but I'm surprised, usually everything TS4 has to be easy and available right away.
I saw the interview with the consultant that was supposed to be involved with the Native American aspects...and the pack has very few Native aspects, so I feel like they pulled everything the consultant worked on and it's going to be a game pack or kit. Kind of dirty honestly.
A review from simmer who actually owns and rides horses.
I'm with her over the disappointment of not being able to create courses like we could in TS3, as well as her other points.
It still looks like an interesting pack to own, but not at $40. I just want it for nectar making to be honest, because that was a fun part of my game play in TS3. I also loved horses in TS3, but I am not feeling it for this pack. It looks like a step back.
Since this is an EP, I wish it had European themed version of the objects so it fits well in Hendord-on Bagley.
I'm really not into the worlds of Oasis Springs, Strangerville, or this new one. I would rather add horses to Henford and maybe even a few of the lots in Brindleton Bay.
I finally got to start creating my sims for the game and realized how little the children and younger have in CAS with this pack. I want more for them too, and would love to at least see some western themed PJs!
-MAXIMUM OF SIMS IN A HOUSEHOLD- I use MCC to play with more sims. BUT.. when I bought a horse.. it replaced my beloved barn dog.. I didn't thought that this would happen, because I never had problems with such cases, as adoption. Now I am searching for the reason. Did any of you guys already experienced the same thing?.. it would calm me down, because then it's most certainly a problem from mcc itself.. not updated or something.
I would check the MCCC Discord about this. I'm sure others are trying to use it expand their households for the same reason.
Would have been nice if EA had just thought about the implications for two seconds and given us more household slots, eh?
Did infants only get the onesie and that’s it? i saw some CAS reviews but didn’t get to see infant or child CAS
Lol, yeah, and some people are happy with that for some reason. And IIRC, the kids didn't get actual riding clothes but toddlers got chaps even though they don't have so much as a rocking horse to ride on. There is no logic to any of this, obviously.
I feel like the people who are most thrilled with this pack are people who just wanted horses, no matter the cost, cross-pack compatibility, additional gameplay, bugs, etc. There are so many comments like, "Yeah, they could have added XYZ, but" or "This feature could have been better, but," or "Sure it has bugs, but... I love horses and that's all I care about!" It's fine if they want to pay an EP price for just horses, but it doesn't negate the fact that this is not an EP in terms of the gameplay value an expansion pack has traditionally added to the game until now.
My concern is that this pack will devalue EPs going forward. Future EPs might be pseudo-GPs as well, hyperfocused on one theme with limited cross-pack potential, and GPs will then become like SPs, and SPs don't exist anymore because we now call them kits.
I think the hairstyle's pretty. A lot of them are pretty basic, but if you guys are talking about the one I think you're talking about, I think it's really nice- probably the best hair of the pack considering we've gotten almost all of the rest of previously, or something like them.
My concern is that this pack will devalue EPs going forward. Future EPs might be pseudo-GPs as well, hyperfocused on one theme with limited cross-pack potential, and GPs will then become like SPs, and SPs don't exist anymore because we now call them kits.
Tbh I feel like the quality has been all over the place for a long time now. We get island Living, but then we get Eco Lifestyle. We get Cottage Living and Growing Together, but then we get High School Years and Horse Ranch.
The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017
> @Gordy said: > Tbh I feel like the quality has been all over the place for a long time now. We get island Living, but then we get Eco Lifestyle. We get Cottage Living and Growing Together, but then we get High School Years and Horse Ranch.
I get uncomfortable, like in this case, when it is something directed at a very narrowly defined customer group (like Horse fans) and not something that adds a lot to the overall gameplay (like Seasons). It is focused on something that did not exist before this pack, if that makes sense? Eco living added a lot of stuff you can ignore but it influences every world unless toggles off and even if it is active, it makes the world feel more complete even if the player is not interested, it adds immersion.
The thing is, Werewolves had more gameplay, a ton of build/buy, a narrow focus and it was not 40 dollars. Horse Ranch feels similar, even if it does not have as many gameplay and story as Werewolves, which is why people are angry.
And yes, if EA sees that they can get away with selling us less content for more money, they'll try again and it will become a trend. They are business people and Sims4 is coming to an end, they will milk that cow DRY.
Shortsighted, in my opinion, because it destroys customers' faith in the product and people who are not devoted and unquestioning fans will hesitate to buy Sims5.
If I wasn't a rider and nectar making wasn't included I would not have bought it. And I will not buy 'My first Unicorn stuff' or whatever it will be called. And after this on your nose, cash grabby expansion I will not buy sight unseen in the future.
Comments
It should definitely be a game pack. I love the horses, and the mini sheep/goats are really cute but that's about it. No new career, two new aspirations that are just the one stage to complete (with other aspirations there's alot of steps to get to the end if you get what I mean lol). The new traits are ok. My sim kept getting the 'Ranch needs me' tense moodlet, but all she can go is clear manure?!
The horse CAS is bare. Nectar making only goes to skill 5...Usually, with a new EP, I spend hours and hours just figuring it out and learning how to use new features/game play but with this one...After an hour I felt bored of it already.
I just feel like I'm completely missing something. Am I playing it wrong or something?! Haha!
It's all mostly rabbit holes. I entered my horse in a competition and I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting it to be a rabbit hole.
Very disappointing pack.
Kind of related to this, but did anyone see Jackofallgames twitter post? There is a dubug unicorn. Like a legit, fully white like the one in TS3, horse-sized unicorn, in debug. It really does seem like they intended to include them but they had to be scrapped. And if so, it begs the question, what was the time constraint for this pack? why have to scrap an idea if the full model for it already exists. Just another disappointment
Sorry to hear this! Hopefully someone has an answer for you but all I could think of is that it's an mcc glitch. It's why I badly want expanded household but rarely use mods for it. Even before this pack, expanded households with Mcc gave me odd glitches and one of the worse is when my child sim dissappeared. I did everything I could but never found him again. I really don't know if he was deleted or what. But now I ALWAYS keep backup sims updated in my library just in case. And my tray backup as well.
All of this
The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017
Yeah, I saw it. It's pretty strange to just scrap something like that. Maybe it was really glitchy, or there were time constraints like you said, or it didn't work out? idk.
Nectarmaking is...basic.
I loved it in Sims3, I tried out all kinds of combinations with different percentages of fruit and grapes, kept all my bottles and had my own system of storing them. Per main ingredient, per age - with a hidden cellar for all the super expensive and good stuff. Sims I did not like had to drink expensive put horrible tasting nectar. It was one of the few generational saves I had and the new generation inherited the nectar! And my garden, supporting my nectarium, was a thing of beauty. I bought addons mostly for the new crops so I could add more variety to my nectar making.
Nectar making in Sims4 is like cooking. You have recipes, you produce and the product is dependent on your skill, the quality of the ingredients and subsequently the age(ing) of the nectar. Different nectars have different side effects, which is nice and new at least. I have only played with my Nectarium for a few hours but I can't help but feel... bored.
What I hoped for was that I would be able to create my own recipes, mix some grapes with death flowers, create poisonous nectar... It was so much fun for me to experiment and then find out what came out of the machine in Sims3.
My next step, after filling up my cellar, will be to try and make my Sim into a nectar merchant with their own shop. Or transform my Nectarium into a shop and live there full-time to sell surplus. But that will only add a little more game play.
The farmhand, btw, has some very strange rooting issues, fine when the layout of the garden is straightforward, but I have to check his work and tend to some plants myself because he seems to get distracted and forgets to tend to some plants. OK, my garden is huge.
I have created a stable and will adopt an old horse so it can enjoy my orchard and I can use the fertilizer.
Expecting a more elaborate game mechanic, is that really too much to dream of? There's this thing called progress?
The Good:
- The new world looks amazing, I think it's my new favourite desert-y world
- The BB catalogue looks to be great quality with a good attention to detail, especially all the swatch choices
- I like the human CAS items, good quality and the clean/dirty swatches are fab
- The nectar hobby seems to be pretty well thought out (5 skill levels is enough), super happy for the aging racks
- Mini goats and sheep are cute and small enough to be played on any size lot, in any type of world, which is a bonus
The Bad:
- No native/indigenous hobbies, small or otherwise (ie: basket weaving, blanket/rug looming, clay pottery, leather/bead working)
- No quintessential swinging saloon doors
- No return of the iconic mechanical bull
- No rocking horse or spring riders for kids/toddlers (major missed opportunity?)
- There's only a small choice of CAS accessories for horses, whereas their human counterparts seemed to benefit more in this category
- The grapes are still just standard bushes instead of a proper grapevine orchard/vineyard setup. Why not a new crop type (grapevines)?
- No new crops for the Three Sisters chili recipe to accommodate the simple living lot trait (corn and squash). Really??
and The Ugly:
- The new world is desperately lacking in large ranch sized lots, I'm really tired of hearing the excuse that these packs need to accommodate lower end computers while the majority of players are being deprived of better gameplay options because of this. The game suffers and players are feeling ripped off.
- The 'exalted' indigenous representation ends up to be but a few hairs, a new food, and a few decor objects. This kind of lip service just doesn't cut it anymore. Bad EA, very bad.... I think this particular lack of effort in the pack is what disappoints me the most because I was really looking forward to finally seeing some proper North American indigenous peoples' representation in the game. It's been long overdue.
In real life, I create beaded leather goods as a side hobby making things like moccasins, mukluks, leather mitts and gauntlets, tobacco pouches, jingle dresses, and beaded hair accessories. I also sell my wares at our local farmers' market and craft shows several times a year. Native crafts are a big part of my life and I take a lot of pride in what I do. Representative of the culture(s) I grew up around and being taught these traditional skills by elder neighbours and friends has been such a privilege in my life. So it's no small thing when I say I'm so very disappointed that we didn't get some kind of new indigenous hobby for our sims (I would have been happy enough with just something small and simple like basket weaving).
*heavy sigh*
Anyways, I've said my piece and I'll leave it at that.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." ~ Mark Twain
One of warnings giving on the MCCC page is that the CAS breaks with it.
What happens is, if you have more than 8 in your household and then go into the CAS, everyone after the 8th person is deleted.
Another thing is if you have more than 8 and try to transfer sims between households, the game wont let you complete the transfer until the household is less than or equal to 8.
That being said, the household limit increase is the less used MCCC feature for me.
Edit: I think the author (Deaderpool?) is unable to change the internal parameters for the CAS UI/Household transfer UI.
I already have plans to have a dedicated nectarmaker with a store, but I'm surprised, usually everything TS4 has to be easy and available right away.
A review from simmer who actually owns and rides horses.
I'm with her over the disappointment of not being able to create courses like we could in TS3, as well as her other points.
It still looks like an interesting pack to own, but not at $40. I just want it for nectar making to be honest, because that was a fun part of my game play in TS3. I also loved horses in TS3, but I am not feeling it for this pack. It looks like a step back.
Since this is an EP, I wish it had European themed version of the objects so it fits well in Hendord-on Bagley.
I'm really not into the worlds of Oasis Springs, Strangerville, or this new one. I would rather add horses to Henford and maybe even a few of the lots in Brindleton Bay.
I would check the MCCC Discord about this. I'm sure others are trying to use it expand their households for the same reason.
Would have been nice if EA had just thought about the implications for two seconds and given us more household slots, eh?
Lol, yeah, and some people are happy with that for some reason. And IIRC, the kids didn't get actual riding clothes but toddlers got chaps even though they don't have so much as a rocking horse to ride on. There is no logic to any of this, obviously.
Ahhhh that is so frustrating 😭
My concern is that this pack will devalue EPs going forward. Future EPs might be pseudo-GPs as well, hyperfocused on one theme with limited cross-pack potential, and GPs will then become like SPs, and SPs don't exist anymore because we now call them kits.
The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017
IS it? Because I assumed it was still like it was since nothing was mentioned in patch notes about fixing it.
> Tbh I feel like the quality has been all over the place for a long time now. We get island Living, but then we get Eco Lifestyle. We get Cottage Living and Growing Together, but then we get High School Years and Horse Ranch.
I get uncomfortable, like in this case, when it is something directed at a very narrowly defined customer group (like Horse fans) and not something that adds a lot to the overall gameplay (like Seasons). It is focused on something that did not exist before this pack, if that makes sense? Eco living added a lot of stuff you can ignore but it influences every world unless toggles off and even if it is active, it makes the world feel more complete even if the player is not interested, it adds immersion.
The thing is, Werewolves had more gameplay, a ton of build/buy, a narrow focus and it was not 40 dollars. Horse Ranch feels similar, even if it does not have as many gameplay and story as Werewolves, which is why people are angry.
And yes, if EA sees that they can get away with selling us less content for more money, they'll try again and it will become a trend. They are business people and Sims4 is coming to an end, they will milk that cow DRY.
Shortsighted, in my opinion, because it destroys customers' faith in the product and people who are not devoted and unquestioning fans will hesitate to buy Sims5.
If I wasn't a rider and nectar making wasn't included I would not have bought it. And I will not buy 'My first Unicorn stuff' or whatever it will be called. And after this on your nose, cash grabby expansion I will not buy sight unseen in the future.
I've been playing it and my garden didn't drop down to dirt pile for a while, but then it did and I was like, grumble, grumble.