Midnight Hollow and Lunar Lakes (Need honest opinions!)

Zei

Hello everyone, today I wish to bring the subject of some Store worlds to the attention of this helpful community. I have played in all the Store worlds except for Midnight Hollow and Lunar Lakes, and every time I read/watch reviews to decide if they're worth it, I get even more confused! I normally love different, quirky custom worlds but somehow for these two I couldn't make up my mind. My pre-purchase thoughts:

- Midnight Hollow looks way too gloomy to be "playable" for me, but I found a lot of mods that replace the terrain/lights/plants and make the world a little bit brighter. I also think the townies are very well-made and it's a win for me because I love playing with townies. All of them having the same spooky style is a bit off-putting though.
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- Lunar Lakes as an idea seems so interesting, and the atmosphere looks amazing, but I watched some let's plays and the interior architecture of the pre-made buildings look a little too impractical with a lot of wasted space and too many floors with little objects on them. The fact that the majority of the rabbitholes are just the same portal over and over again also disappointed me a little. Contrary to ML, the townies look less exciting, but at least they differ amongst each other in style and atmosphere.

As to my pre-owned Store worlds, my favorites are Monte Vista, Roaring Heights and Lucky Palms. Dragon Valley was also stunning, albeit unplayable for me in the long-term because of its strictly medieval setting. I was also disappointed with Aurora Skies, couldn't get immersed in Sunlit Tides and never got Barnacle Bay. Just started playing Hidden Springs and liking it at the moment.

I would really appreciate any insight into the two worlds I'm planning on getting, and any comments on other Store worlds as well. Thank you!

GraceyManor

What you could do is download lots and homes for Lunar Lakes and replace the premade ones with the ones you downloaded.
A lot of EA premade houses lack decor and clutter and feel like waste of space.

Camkat

Lunar Lakes is personally one of my favourites. I did rebuild and refurnish a lot of the lots. I had a lot of fun designing new buildings for that world though because you could be so very different with architecture types. There's also a lot of really good player made lots to replace some of the Maxis ones with on the exchange if you're really not happy with the lots it comes with.

bekkasan

I didn't like Midnight Hollow until I added a lighting mod to it so I could actually see. There is also a mod to help with the grass and foliage being so dark. I did not add that as I didn't want to potentially mess up an ongoing save. I love the town and the quirky people and my main save is based in Midnight Hollow although the younger gen has moved to Dragon Valley. I've been playing this particular family since 2017.

I have only played one story in Lunar Lakes and thought it was fun for a change. The interiors are typical of EA houses being made for the player to decorate rather than EA employes. There are a few packs in the store that have a 'futuristic' style that could help flesh out the homes.

Happy simming whatever you decide.

StephSteb

I tried playing Midnight Hollow and even with a lighting mod it was still too dark. That's really the only problem I have with it, but I have taken families out and played them in other worlds. I really, really like the concept, it's just frustrating because it's SO dark and it makes it more difficult than it needs to be to play. I love the stuff (except all of the dead plants) and sims, but I can NOT play in that world.

Lunar Lakes is ok, I don't play it often and don't have it installed so I guess that tells you something, lol. It's not bad, it's just different if that makes sense? Amelia Loveland from that world is absolutely gorgeous. I play her when (if lol) I play that world.

My absolute favorite world is Sunlit Tides so take all of that with a grain of salt You might enjoy them more than I did, lol!

starguru

I’m not sure my insight will be all that helpful, but I can share some thoughts.

Some people find Midnight Hollow too dark as well as claustrophobic with the looming mountains that surround it. However, it’s one of my favorite Store worlds. I love all things gothic/Victorian/steampunk. I find MH too dark to properly build in, but I use a quick loading custom world for creating my lots. I have no issues playing in it, with or without a lighting mod (although I do prefer using one). If things seem too dim indoors, turning the lighting on the brightest setting helps, or you can add buydebug lights. I generally don’t play with townies, but if I did, I would definitely play MH residents! They are indeed very well-made, have interesting bios and I enjoy having my own Sims interact with them. The houses are unique and interesting inside and out, without the bland interiors as is typical of most EA builds. I always tweak or replace the premade lots in my neighborhoods to some degree, but didn’t feel I had to do as much of that in MH. I like themed neighborhoods, so the uniform gothic style is not a drawback for me personally. My current save in MH is sort of a darker version of Moonlight Falls, with a mix of sinister supernaturals and eccentric human Sims.

I like Lunar Lakes, but I did have to do more with it as far as makeovers. However, setting up worlds is something I enjoy and is part of playing for me. I used a lot of items from the Futureshock and Atomic Age Store sets and some things from Oasis Landing/ITF to fit the theme, and added additional ultra modern/futuristic lots to suit. I was not keen on all the RHs looking alike either, considering there are so many inventive architectural designs that could have been utilized instead, but the portal concept works and they do save space. My current save in LL consists of several alien households, and I made use of EA colored skin tones and a few non-default skins to add more “extraterrestrial” diversity to the population.

For comparison in regards to the other Store worlds, I love Lucky Palms and Monte Vista; both are beautiful and suitable for a vast range of stories and play styles. I’m not a fan of Roaring Heights, Riverview or Barnacle Bay, but enjoy the content. Aurora Skies was disappointing for me due to the snow/sea level issue, but okay otherwise. I think Sunlit Tides is beautiful but I dislike the routing, so it’s more of a travel/vacation world for me. I like the landscaping of Hidden Springs, but was underwhelmed by the builds and needed to do quite a few lot replacements/makeovers. I love the medieval setting of Dragon Valley.

Given the fact that you found DV unplayable long-term because of the medieval theme, I’d guess that’s the reason MH and LL are causing you some uncertainty. The settings of these worlds are not just different, but based on very specific, niche themes. Perhaps the fact that they may be seen as “limited” in that way is giving you pause because you don’t know if they fit your play style or if you’d get much use out of them? If that’s the case, deciding how much tweaking you’d be willing to do to make them your own, or if you’d want them only for the additional content, may be a point to consider.

Turjan

I guess most people have already stated my own opinion with regard to these worlds.

Midnight Hollow consists of interesting people in an interesting world with nice houses, but is entirely too dark and depressing for my liking. I haven't tried any of the mods that make this better - except some lighting mod that allowed me to look at things - but I can see this to be worth a try.

Lunar Lakes has the worst interiors I have seen in any EA world, period. This includes Roaring Heights, where claustrophobic tiny rooms meet vast hallways (those at least look nice, and you can always turn them into nurseries or hobby rooms). Just look at the mansions: the Landgraab Manor consists of one big staircase (IIRC up to five width on the lowest level), and the usable area may be smaller than that of some Twinbrook swamp shacks. One of the neighboring "manors" is made up from extremely long hallways that connect tiny living spaces. It's as if you have the plague and your wife suffers from cholera, and you try to not get too close to each other to make things even more complicated. Some of the smaller houses on the hills take this "winding traffic way" theme through several domes that leave hardly any space to do anything other than move around.

TLDR: I wasn't impressed.

ldmarko

I've just come back to Sims 3 & started several new saves, and these are the only 2 worlds I'm not using for reasons mentioned in above posts. If you like playing occult sims, or want to create an alien or post-apocalyptic world, they could be useful, but I don't really find them useful for the every day ordinary families I like to play. I do think the houses in MH are pretty amazing though, & used to lift them from that world & place them in others, even if it was a lot of work to replace all those dead trees & shrubs with green ones.

bluzkat65

starguru, I love DV too, but find it a little weird seeing cars zip by in a medieval setting. I deleted all of the castles-save for one, changed that into a museum, then turned the world into an Irish countryside. Looks really nice now. Regarding MH, I don't know how to install S3 mods so I can't use any lighting mod there.

Zei

@starguru I agree about Hidden Springs' builds, they aren't very neatly done and some of them look really out of place in a forest/mountain reserve type of world. (The huge concrete main square and funky dance club downtown are among the main culprits).
@Turjan Bad interiors are a major put-off for me! Some people love remodeling and redecorating but I'm not one of them.. Some minor tweaks here and there are okay but re-doing the whole architecture for a Store world is too much for me. Monte Vista had some beautifully done interiors & exteriors for example..
@ldmarko I usually play ordinary families too, save for my alien families and I play them in Strangetown. Maybe Strangetown became a sort of custom Lunar Lakes replacement for me?
@StephSteb I think Amelia Loveland is supposed to be a descendant of Gracie Loveland from Appaloosa Plains, they look like they have the same DNA.

Zei

I caved in and got Midnight Hollow. I'm trying the default replacement mods now to lighten up the world a bit. Do you know if this default replacement mod goes directly to my mods/packages folder or do I need to put it somewhere inside the world files?

https://brntwaffles.tumblr.com/post/62465381974/this-lighting-mod-was-made-to-replace-the-lighting

starguru

Zei wrote: »

I caved in and got Midnight Hollow. I'm trying the default replacement mods now to lighten up the world a bit. Do you know if this default replacement mod goes directly to my mods/packages folder or do I need to put it somewhere inside the world files?

https://brntwaffles.tumblr.com/post/62465381974/this-lighting-mod-was-made-to-replace-the-lighting

I love brntwaffles lighting mods and that's the one I use for MH. And yes, that would go straight into mods/packages.

starguru

bluzkat65 wrote: »

starguru, I love DV too, but find it a little weird seeing cars zip by in a medieval setting. I deleted all of the castles-save for one, changed that into a museum, then turned the world into an Irish countryside. Looks really nice now. Regarding MH, I don't know how to install S3 mods so I can't use any lighting mod there.

It doesn't bother me too much, but I do use mods and other techniques to minimize modern traffic in DV.

If you ever decide you'd like to use mods for TS3, this link explains how to set up your folders and includes a downloadable framework setup:

http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files

And if you ever have questions about modding your game, there are ongoing threads and many simmers on these boards who'd be more than happy to help.

Karritz

For me, Midnight Hollow is a beautiful world with lots to do in it but I find dark grey on darker grey a bit difficult to cope with. So I don't play there often, but the Gold version comes with some fun things that can't be purchased separately. I forget exactly what now but if you're getting the world it would be an idea to find out which version of the world you want.

As for Lunar Lakes, I got it when it was released. Had a quick look at it and decided it was a waste of space. Then I got Into the Future Expansion and Lunar Lakes suddenly became one of my favourite worlds and I'm very happy I got it. Additionally, the Tree of Prosperity comes with Lunar Lakes.

StephSteb

@Zei It says they're related on the wiki I don't ever get to play Gracie, though because I don't use Pets. It borks my game, every time! I use BrntWaffles Blue Skies and Sunshine lighting mod for all of my worlds.

@Karritz ITF + The FutureShock collection from the store + Lunar Lakes = SO FUN! I agree, if I do play in Lunar Lakes, those make it the best!

Zei

Hi guys, I got Lunar Lakes too!!

My comments:

@Turjan you are so right about the interiors... I ended up getting rid of quite a few lots and replacing them with new ones.

@starguru I got rid of most of the rabbithole/portals and replaced them with rabbitholes from other packs using the castable rabbitholes mod from modthesims. I added the hospital, school, theater, grocery/diner and police/military outpost from Aurora skies, City Hall and Space Observation Rabbithole from Oasis Landing, and Office rabbithole from Dragon Age, and stadium from Bridgeport, all recolored to fit the Lunar Lakes theme. Right now I only use the portals for spa, bistro and criminal hq. I managed to find some well-made lots to download and replace the pre-made residential and community lots with, although I still have some empty lots available if you have any suggested lots I can download... I'm especially short on houses since I straight-up deleted some ugly and disfunctional houses.

starguru

@Zei — My approach was different. I didn’t replace the LL RH portals in my save; instead, I chose to keep them on their tiny lots in order to leave the larger lots open for non-RH buildings. I even added a few non-base game portal RHs that weren’t available at the time LL became available.

http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/1399

I’ve been adding in various CC alien plants for more variety, as well as a few futuristic lots from OL. And since I didn’t delete any buildings until I had a workable replacement, some of the original houses remain standing as placeholders until I find something I prefer or finish some builds I’m working on. My current save is still very much a WIP.

Most of the houses and community lots I have included in my save so far were downloaded from the Exchange, and all further edited and furnished to suit my particular needs. It’s hard to make recommendations as IDK what lot sizes you may still have available, your personal preferences or what you’ve already discovered yourself, but here are a few options/ideas:

https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9166137

https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=6514324

https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=5195362

https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=7250443

https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=8550357

http://www.modthesims.info/d/510694/zoolie-s-interstellar-cantina-dive-bar.html

http://www.modthesims.info/d/616989/the-sciramid.html

https://crowkeeperthesimmer.tumblr.com/post/162178136948/the-sine-wave-download-over-at-saturenorn

There is also the old Lunar Lakes Sharing Thread which may be of some use to you. Granted, many of the thread images are now broken and some lots may have been deleted from the Exchange over the years, but odds are you may still find a few things that would work for you.

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/7696012