Island Living is the EP I have wanted the most, and I think the Sims Team has done a marvellous job considering the limitations of the game engine. I would have liked to see more options (as always). For this pack specifically, the option to have Sims vacation there (just one rental lot would do it) as well as Sims living there.
Others have already written about the unfortunate exclusions that could have made this a blockbuster, and I commiserate with those feelings. Again, with what they have to work with, this EP is really a triumph of will - and willingness - by The Sims 4 Team over low-tier technology.
It looks ok, probably will wait for LGR to do his review before buying as he tends to give out the most honest opinions about the packs.
Exactly the review I will be waiting to see, @halloweenchild!
Ikr? He always has the best reviews, making them both informative and funny at the same time. @HCSau
Give our Vampires back their fangs!!! Reverse the Nerf!!! Occult simmers should not be shoved aside for the "realism players"! It's time Occult lovers/players started to demand equal treatment. #JusticeForOccults
I love it! I’m going to buy it the day it releases.
Have preordered and can't wait til I have some free time to play it! I've wanted another tropical world since Bon Voyage, but Island Paradise was too buggy and full of issues to even play. It'll be a dream to finally have a tropical pack that I can really get into this time.
I love it! I’m going to buy it the day it releases.
I am so excited! I watched the stream of EA Play and I was smiling all the way through the presentation because I liked what I saw. I can not wait for 21.june to come. Like Christmas to me :-)
Phillipa Erdnuss
Mayoress of SimCity and all associated districts
It does sound cool but there are some things that i dislike such as
* No surfing
* No Volleyball, no frisbee, no ball, probably no Laptop while sitting at the towel or reading a book
* No Picknick (but thats just me in general)
Basically, where are the group activities? No hopping on a boat together! Can Sims splash each other?!
* Only two Boats...
oohh you will be missed:
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
*No Pool Games, No pool slides, No pool Party... I know its focused on the ocean but still...
___
But at the other side I like that you can snorkel and take pictures
I am looking forward for the new Events and story that sulani will tell.
I think sunbathing sounds really well done! And
__
I dont really care about mermaids or the active career that much, but it does sound nice.
*Even tough no secret UNDERWATER lot for them… I tought i could make a Mermaid group and they would always meet up at a secret grotto or casually underwater. What they could do together? Swimming competiton, teach how to swim faster, drown sims together, allure sims together, practice singing together. I dont know...
Underwater spots you will be missed.
[img][/img]
So i am kinda cool with it, but you know it feels watered down a little. But thats the Sims4, i got used to it, i guess... #LowExpectations.
The laziness of this pack compared to Island paradise is actually staggering. And now I'm starting to feel less and less happy with sims 4.
Well, I definitely disagree. I find this VERY ambitious, and full of the things I would love to see in such a pack. I don't recall much about Island Paradise, I barely played it because I was bored with Sims 3 at the time and quit shortly after.
I am curious tho: People like you keep talking about laziness, but it seems to me that's just a translation of "I didn't get an exact copy of pack X and I am going to pretend that the features they put in here doesn't exist because they're not the exact same features".
Not sure why you feel the need to argue with me regarding my opinion.
It's more the wording of "lazyness" I react to. It gets thrown around a lot here (the forums not just this thread) but for the life of me I cannot understand what people mean.
The pack is lazy to me. It's a stripped down, lesser version if the previous Island pack we had. The mermaids are the only feature that was enhanced since the last time they did this theme.
And that, to me, shows a very strong lack of understanding about a lot of issues.
1. "Stripped functionality"? Really? I prefer quality over quantity, and most things in Sims 3 were just worse. Not only look-wise, but content wise. I definitely think Sims 4 feels much more alive, in general. Better animations. Better facial impressions. Deeper meaning to the actual interactions.
2. Compare Island Living and Paradise: Not only is the art better, but yes, the culture is thoroughly thought thru, just like in Jungle Adventure. It's not a copy of a country, but it is very close, and quite respectful, to actual IRL cultures. The music, the habits, the look of the Sims, the fashion, the... This can be summarized the same for virtually all the packs. NO, the places are not serious, or realistic... But Windenburg, San Mushuno or these islands are NOT theme park versions of these cultures. Windenburg, beneath all the Sims nonsense with ghosts and evil 8 year olds leading clubs feels like a REAL Germanic city to me. Same with Selvadorada. It feels like a lived in space, with a very thought-thru, fairly respectful and distinct culture. And again, so does City Living. It is by far the best large city ever in a Sims game. Because of how it feels, the "vibe" of it. The people. Sims 3 feels like so incredibly plastic in comparison.
3. It is quite possible that you don't care about those things, or just disagrees. That's fine, but to ME, again, it is quality over quantity. And quality means all the small touches, not "X number of lots" or "I can't go treasure hunting under water".
They censored my last response to you. So here I will address this again.
Island Living is less ambitious, less impressive and less immersive in every way than Island Paradise. Just because Sims 4 has LESS content , does NOT automatically equate to HIGHER quality. In fact the lack of quality is glaringly obvious.
There are some nice features here, but Island Paradise had substantially more depth of content.
You are free to like this IL more, but to try to paint it as more ambitious than or higher quality than Island paradise is quite different.
Treasure hunting under water was an awesome feature on a LONG list of awesome features they deleted from Sims 4. The game is so weak in comparison that I guess it weak points are lauded as strong points??? I disagree.
"Let Our Hearts And Hands Be Streched Out In Compassion Toward Others."
And also, im a big fan of the Sims 4. I prefer many, many things about it over Sims 3. But I will not hold back criticisms, where I see a lack of effort. This is a nice pack, but it is more on the level of a game pack and should not be an EP. I honestly think Get Famous adds more gameplay and storytelling options.
"Let Our Hearts And Hands Be Streched Out In Compassion Toward Others."
Breadth is not the same as depth, and more objects or activities are not necessarily better. You can't just compare the catalogues or activities, especially when not everything in TS3 was well executed. On the weekend, I was playing TS3 Island Paradise because all the gameplay videos of Island Living were making me nostalgic. While it was and still is beautiful (especially the dive lots, you are right about that), there are certain problematic aspects that I had forgotten. Steering a houseboat myself caused some lag, and I also had issues with some NPCs steering their houseboats and getting stuck, which caused even more lag in the whole game (and I was playing with Twallan's mods installed). And I had completely forgotten that resorts required rabbit holes to run (it came back to me what a disappointment that was at the time. Some commentators seem to like to gloss over them). I had my sim try a jet ski as well, and the animation stuttered and stopped completely at one point.
I haven't played IL yet, so this is a bit premature, but some aspects seem better and more immersive to me too, just as Beardedgeek wrote. First, the mermaids are definitely more unique, developed and powerful than in TS3 with their strong swimming styles, siren song abilities, new vocalizations and ability to befriend sea animals like the dolphin. Lots of options for gameplay there which wouldn't have been possible in TS3. As well, nothing like the dolphin appeared in TS3. Second, I also feel like this is a very community-based pack, so in IL you also have new parties and dishes to reflect the culture -- a lot of new dishes, both fish-based and ethnic, and a new communal event (on top of the various festivals, including a fire festival) called Extra Food where your neighbours will bring you extra food. Build-Buy are definitely superior in TS4; the objects in TS3 were tropical but otherwise not that unique. CAS is better too -- definitely more island-based and well-designed.
In TS4 you can build over water and dive off the deck; there are lovely thatched roofs and carved pillars, fences, stairs etc. Cool new lot traits, including a free Off-the-grid trait open up new possibilities and aspects of gameplay. Swimming and fishing are being revamped for the whole game, with lots of new fish and different swimming styles (including at last a front crawl). There is a detailed semi-active conservation career which involves cleaning up the island and pleasing the elemental spirits, also very different from anything in TS3. Finally the beauty of the islands themselves, with a live volcano, waterfalls, monsoon weather/ tropical storms, and the new sea life animations (dolphins and sea turtles, shoaling fish, tiny swimming frogs, crawling crabs on the beach, jellyfish, flying seagulls, brown shorebirds and wild chickens) seem more immersive. Isla Paradiso was not even my favourite Beach world as it was kinda generic (I preferred Sunlit Tides and it was much less laggy; however, even there it was jarring to see the school bus show up).
Oh, and there are now tan lines, which will make for the best executed tanning ever. To me, this seems like a lot of new features. Very different from IP but not substantially less. Whether or not it is to your taste, it definitely has more gameplay in it than you typically find in a GP -- that is one criticism I definitely do not understand.
Breadth is not the same as depth, and more objects or activities are not necessarily better. You can't just compare the catalogues or activities, especially when not everything in TS3 was well executed. On the weekend, I was playing TS3 Island Paradise because all the gameplay videos of Island Living were making me nostalgic. While it was and still is beautiful (especially the dive lots, you are right about that), there are certain problematic aspects that I had forgotten. Steering a houseboat myself caused some lag, and I also had issues with some NPCs steering their houseboats and getting stuck, which caused even more lag in the whole game (and I was playing with Twallan's mods installed). And I had completely forgotten that resorts required rabbit holes to run (it came back to me what a disappointment that was at the time. Some commentators seem to like to gloss over them). I had my sim try a jet ski as well, and the animation stuttered and stopped completely at one point.
I haven't played IL yet, so this is a bit premature, but some aspects seem better and more immersive to me too, just as Beardedgeek wrote. First, the mermaids are definitely more unique, developed and powerful than in TS3 with their strong swimming styles, siren song abilities, new vocalizations and ability to befriend sea animals like the dolphin. Lots of options for gameplay there which wouldn't have been possible in TS3. As well, nothing like the dolphin appeared in TS3. Second, I also feel like this is a very community-based pack, so in IL you also have new parties and dishes to reflect the culture -- a lot of new dishes, both fish-based and ethnic, and a new communal event (on top of the various festivals, including a fire festival) called Extra Food where your neighbours will bring you extra food. Build-Buy are definitely superior in TS4; the objects in TS3 were tropical but otherwise not that unique. CAS is better too -- definitely more island-based and well-designed.
In TS4 you can build over water and dive off the deck; there are lovely thatched roofs and carved pillars, fences, stairs etc. Cool new lot traits, including a free Off-the-grid trait open up new possibilities and aspects of gameplay. Swimming and fishing are being revamped for the whole game, with lots of new fish and different swimming styles (including at last a front crawl). There is a detailed semi-active conservation career which involves cleaning up the island and pleasing the elemental spirits, also very different from anything in TS3. Finally the beauty of the islands themselves, with a live volcano, waterfalls, monsoon weather/ tropical storms, and the new sea life animations (dolphins and sea turtles, shoaling fish, tiny swimming frogs, crawling crabs on the beach, jellyfish, flying seagulls, brown shorebirds and wild chickens) seem more immersive. Isla Paradiso was not even my favourite Beach world as it was kinda generic (I preferred Sunlit Tides and it was much less laggy; however, even there it was jarring to see the school bus show up).
Oh, and there are now tan lines, which will make for the best executed tanning ever. To me, this seems like a lot of new features. Very different from IP but not substantially less. Whether or not it is to your taste, it definitely has more gameplay in it than you typically find in a GP -- that is one criticism I definitely do not understand.
Island Living, for me, is just OK. The world is beautiful and so is the new build/buy stuff. Im actually going to buy it because I can afford to and I own all the rest of the packs including the stuff packs anyway. But Island Paradise is a really , really good pack. I wasn't a huge fan of the actual sims characters in sims 3, but the way the content was done was much, much better. I never had any issues with the houseboats at all. The game ran flawlessly, in fact I never really had all of the issues other people report with Sims 3.
No matter what is said, its all opinion. There's no way for you to be right and me to be wrong, because its all based on preference. However, what is factual, is the fact that Island Paradise was not short on features or gameplay. There was plenty to do and the houseboats were a really nice touch. If I remember correctly , sims could fish from those as well. It was very nice.
I don't think downplaying just how innovative and feature-rich sims 3 Island Paradise is, is the answer to sims 4's problems. If Island Living was just as good as Island Paradise , I would say it. As is, I like some things about Sims 4 a LOT more than sims 3. And I have been known to be very much an admirer of the things Sims 4 did do right. But what it doesnt do correctly, is provide players with feature-rich games, that feel complete. Every EP feels "almost" good enough. But not quite there yet. And Island Living is no exception.
A lot of the things you mentioned, are just small little details that enhance the environment and the vibrance of he world. While I do admire those little touches. Im focused more on gameplay. Which means new activities , new feaures that involve the player and affect or influence the sims stories. Frogs in the water or crawling crabs on the beach dont do that. And the build/buy stuff also does nothing for live mode gameplay, which for me is most important.
Where is the group activities? Beach volleyball or a similar game would have been nice. Of course you could always say its not necessary. But fun is not about whats necessary.Fun is about the possibilities and there aren't many with Island Living. They could have included new group activities and stuff to do that wasn't in Island Paradise as well.
Overall, this Island Living pack doesn't have a lot of gameplay.
"Let Our Hearts And Hands Be Streched Out In Compassion Toward Others."
James from SimSupply said that they were only allowed to play with the base game and the new pack at EA Play so we still don't know what we can fully do when all the packs are used. As far as group activities go wouldn't Get Together allow clubs to go there and Seasons allow Scouting to be done?
I don't understand all the criticism when we don't know how the other packs work with it yet.
James from SimSupply said that they were only allowed to play with the base game and the new pack at EA Play so we still don't know what we can fully do when all the packs are used. As far as group activities go wouldn't Get Together allow clubs to go there and Seasons allow Scouting to be done?
I don't understand all the criticism when we don't know how the other packs work with it yet.
I don't understand opposition to criticism. The packs's features have already been detailed and released.
"Let Our Hearts And Hands Be Streched Out In Compassion Toward Others."
James from SimSupply said that they were only allowed to play with the base game and the new pack at EA Play so we still don't know what we can fully do when all the packs are used. As far as group activities go wouldn't Get Together allow clubs to go there and Seasons allow Scouting to be done?
I don't understand all the criticism when we don't know how the other packs work with it yet.
I don't understand opposition to criticism. The packs's features have already been detailed and released.
Yes, but not the impact on the other packs working with it. There's lots more to find out. Of course if you only have the basegame that would be the end of it. I have all the packs and will probably find lots more that I can do, so won't criticise until I get it installed.
You said: 'Overall, this Island Living pack doesn't have a lot of gameplay.' Frankly, this discussion is a bit premature until we've all played the new EP. But maybe you didn't notice that I was commenting favourably on the gameplay features as well as more atmospheric things like the ocean life animations etc, including new gameplay features like the mermaids, dolphins, island culture (festivals, visitors and new foods). This was my way of showing that this pack is adding a lot of gameplay, even though it is doing some things differently -- or maybe even better (or, at least, more to my taste) than did TS3.
And it wasn't my intention to denigrate TS3 Island Paradise. I actually had a lot of fun playing with it this past weekend (especially the diving). I do think that some posters do talk about it now in a way that somewhat ignores its limitations, which annoys me a bit, and this is why I mentioned a few of the bugs and annoyances I encountered while playing recently. These were not game-breaking but definitely worthy of a mention.
I do think there will be an equivalent amount of gameplay in TS4 IL as in TS3 IP, but it will probably be differently focussed. It seems on first glance to be less about leisure activities and vacation fun, and more about a lifestyle which is environmentally friendly and connected to the islands and the water. Certain players will prefer the first, and others will prefer the latter. But the latter is still real gameplay which builds on existing features of the game, even if it is not to your taste.
On the subject of beach volleyball, I enjoyed the volleyball court that came with Vacation in TS1, and I also really liked Marco Polo in TS2 (TS2 had the best, most involved and well-animated group activities imo, which all raised fun, social and friendship). I don't recall Volleyball in a sims game since (if you don't count Freeplay), so it would be nice to have it back. Again, though, it is more of a leisure activity, so it might be nicer in a vacation-style pack.
I love it! I’m going to buy it the day it releases.
tru tru @EnjoyfulSimmer, but maybe the Sim Guru just used it as a cross promo (?) I don't really know. That way they could advertise the new hyped up pack, and try to bring to light some of the older ones?
It's a good take on a previous pack. I get that it's missing a bit of work to make it a proper EP but for me I do like what's there. I do think that alot of content doesn't necessarily mean the pack will be good. I mostly judge on replay value which I do feel this pack has I also feel it has better replay value then IP had. I am also a fan of playing occult Sims and I'm happy to see the mermaids fleshed out. Although I'm cautious of the ep feeling so small I do feel the content that was added is very fleshed out. I'd rather have a small amount of good quality content then a large amount of bad quality content.
@EnjoyfulSimmer I have to agree...Sometimes when we criticize something about a pack, more often than not about how its kind of lacking gameplay, they always use the excuse "You have other packs to make it fun too!" Right...but we are paying for THAT pack to be fun. Looks and graphics are lovely yes but even the prettiest games will be boring after no new mechanics. While there are some new mechanics here-how long will they be fun? If they had more active careers for this pack (still hoping for lifeguard) its more time consuming and gives more things to do. While strangerville isnt the most liked of packs it required some time for me to do, which im glad as i hate to get through a pack so quickly. Vampires was packed with activities and goals and again time consuming and is very well liked. Imagine if each pack had that same sort of follow up-nobody will ever complain of "too much" gameplay. With all this in mind im excited, but knowing myself i can only have so much fun with these types of packs.
I love the sims, honest. And i dont wanna come off as hateful-but its become predictable, and it could be more. As always if that means waiting more for content if its A+ sign me up.
@EnjoyfulSimmer I have to agree...Sometimes when we criticize something about a pack, more often than not about how its kind of lacking gameplay, they always use the excuse "You have other packs to make it fun too!" Right...but we are paying for THAT pack to be fun. Looks and graphics are lovely yes but even the prettiest games will be boring after no new mechanics. While there are some new mechanics here-how long will they be fun? If they had more active careers for this pack (still hoping for lifeguard) its more time consuming and gives more things to do. While strangerville isnt the most liked of packs it required some time for me to do, which im glad as i hate to get through a pack so quickly. Vampires was packed with activities and goals and again time consuming and is very well liked. Imagine if each pack had that same sort of follow up-nobody will ever complain of "too much" gameplay. With all this in mind im excited, but knowing myself i can only have so much fun with these types of packs.
I love the sims, honest. And i dont wanna come off as hateful-but its become predictable, and it could be more. As always if that means waiting more for content if its A+ sign me up.
Im with you on everything you said, 100 percent! You made some good points. Would have been nice to see this pack be as detailed as Seasons or City Living. Those are nice EP's too @xxJaixx
Post edited by EnjoyfulSimmer on
"Let Our Hearts And Hands Be Streched Out In Compassion Toward Others."
Comments
Others have already written about the unfortunate exclusions that could have made this a blockbuster, and I commiserate with those feelings. Again, with what they have to work with, this EP is really a triumph of will - and willingness - by The Sims 4 Team over low-tier technology.
Ikr? He always has the best reviews, making them both informative and funny at the same time. @HCSau
Mayoress of SimCity and all associated districts
My Top 5
It does sound cool but there are some things that i dislike such as
* No surfing
* No Volleyball, no frisbee, no ball, probably no Laptop while sitting at the towel or reading a book
* No Picknick (but thats just me in general)
Basically, where are the group activities? No hopping on a boat together! Can Sims splash each other?!
* Only two Boats...
oohh you will be missed:
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
*No Pool Games, No pool slides, No pool Party... I know its focused on the ocean but still...
___
But at the other side I like that you can snorkel and take pictures
I am looking forward for the new Events and story that sulani will tell.
I think sunbathing sounds really well done! And
__
I dont really care about mermaids or the active career that much, but it does sound nice.
*Even tough no secret UNDERWATER lot for them… I tought i could make a Mermaid group and they would always meet up at a secret grotto or casually underwater. What they could do together? Swimming competiton, teach how to swim faster, drown sims together, allure sims together, practice singing together. I dont know...
Underwater spots you will be missed.
[img][/img]
So i am kinda cool with it, but you know it feels watered down a little. But thats the Sims4, i got used to it, i guess... #LowExpectations.
They censored my last response to you. So here I will address this again.
Island Living is less ambitious, less impressive and less immersive in every way than Island Paradise. Just because Sims 4 has LESS content , does NOT automatically equate to HIGHER quality. In fact the lack of quality is glaringly obvious.
There are some nice features here, but Island Paradise had substantially more depth of content.
You are free to like this IL more, but to try to paint it as more ambitious than or higher quality than Island paradise is quite different.
Treasure hunting under water was an awesome feature on a LONG list of awesome features they deleted from Sims 4. The game is so weak in comparison that I guess it weak points are lauded as strong points??? I disagree.
I haven't played IL yet, so this is a bit premature, but some aspects seem better and more immersive to me too, just as Beardedgeek wrote. First, the mermaids are definitely more unique, developed and powerful than in TS3 with their strong swimming styles, siren song abilities, new vocalizations and ability to befriend sea animals like the dolphin. Lots of options for gameplay there which wouldn't have been possible in TS3. As well, nothing like the dolphin appeared in TS3. Second, I also feel like this is a very community-based pack, so in IL you also have new parties and dishes to reflect the culture -- a lot of new dishes, both fish-based and ethnic, and a new communal event (on top of the various festivals, including a fire festival) called Extra Food where your neighbours will bring you extra food. Build-Buy are definitely superior in TS4; the objects in TS3 were tropical but otherwise not that unique. CAS is better too -- definitely more island-based and well-designed.
In TS4 you can build over water and dive off the deck; there are lovely thatched roofs and carved pillars, fences, stairs etc. Cool new lot traits, including a free Off-the-grid trait open up new possibilities and aspects of gameplay. Swimming and fishing are being revamped for the whole game, with lots of new fish and different swimming styles (including at last a front crawl). There is a detailed semi-active conservation career which involves cleaning up the island and pleasing the elemental spirits, also very different from anything in TS3. Finally the beauty of the islands themselves, with a live volcano, waterfalls, monsoon weather/ tropical storms, and the new sea life animations (dolphins and sea turtles, shoaling fish, tiny swimming frogs, crawling crabs on the beach, jellyfish, flying seagulls, brown shorebirds and wild chickens) seem more immersive. Isla Paradiso was not even my favourite Beach world as it was kinda generic (I preferred Sunlit Tides and it was much less laggy; however, even there it was jarring to see the school bus show up).
Oh, and there are now tan lines, which will make for the best executed tanning ever. To me, this seems like a lot of new features. Very different from IP but not substantially less. Whether or not it is to your taste, it definitely has more gameplay in it than you typically find in a GP -- that is one criticism I definitely do not understand.
Island Living, for me, is just OK. The world is beautiful and so is the new build/buy stuff. Im actually going to buy it because I can afford to and I own all the rest of the packs including the stuff packs anyway. But Island Paradise is a really , really good pack. I wasn't a huge fan of the actual sims characters in sims 3, but the way the content was done was much, much better. I never had any issues with the houseboats at all. The game ran flawlessly, in fact I never really had all of the issues other people report with Sims 3.
No matter what is said, its all opinion. There's no way for you to be right and me to be wrong, because its all based on preference. However, what is factual, is the fact that Island Paradise was not short on features or gameplay. There was plenty to do and the houseboats were a really nice touch. If I remember correctly , sims could fish from those as well. It was very nice.
I don't think downplaying just how innovative and feature-rich sims 3 Island Paradise is, is the answer to sims 4's problems. If Island Living was just as good as Island Paradise , I would say it. As is, I like some things about Sims 4 a LOT more than sims 3. And I have been known to be very much an admirer of the things Sims 4 did do right. But what it doesnt do correctly, is provide players with feature-rich games, that feel complete. Every EP feels "almost" good enough. But not quite there yet. And Island Living is no exception.
A lot of the things you mentioned, are just small little details that enhance the environment and the vibrance of he world. While I do admire those little touches. Im focused more on gameplay. Which means new activities , new feaures that involve the player and affect or influence the sims stories. Frogs in the water or crawling crabs on the beach dont do that. And the build/buy stuff also does nothing for live mode gameplay, which for me is most important.
Where is the group activities? Beach volleyball or a similar game would have been nice. Of course you could always say its not necessary. But fun is not about whats necessary.Fun is about the possibilities and there aren't many with Island Living. They could have included new group activities and stuff to do that wasn't in Island Paradise as well.
Overall, this Island Living pack doesn't have a lot of gameplay.
I don't understand all the criticism when we don't know how the other packs work with it yet.
I don't understand opposition to criticism. The packs's features have already been detailed and released.
Yes, but not the impact on the other packs working with it. There's lots more to find out. Of course if you only have the basegame that would be the end of it. I have all the packs and will probably find lots more that I can do, so won't criticise until I get it installed.
And it wasn't my intention to denigrate TS3 Island Paradise. I actually had a lot of fun playing with it this past weekend (especially the diving). I do think that some posters do talk about it now in a way that somewhat ignores its limitations, which annoys me a bit, and this is why I mentioned a few of the bugs and annoyances I encountered while playing recently. These were not game-breaking but definitely worthy of a mention.
I do think there will be an equivalent amount of gameplay in TS4 IL as in TS3 IP, but it will probably be differently focussed. It seems on first glance to be less about leisure activities and vacation fun, and more about a lifestyle which is environmentally friendly and connected to the islands and the water. Certain players will prefer the first, and others will prefer the latter. But the latter is still real gameplay which builds on existing features of the game, even if it is not to your taste.
On the subject of beach volleyball, I enjoyed the volleyball court that came with Vacation in TS1, and I also really liked Marco Polo in TS2 (TS2 had the best, most involved and well-animated group activities imo, which all raised fun, social and friendship). I don't recall Volleyball in a sims game since (if you don't count Freeplay), so it would be nice to have it back. Again, though, it is more of a leisure activity, so it might be nicer in a vacation-style pack.
Add-on DLC should not be necessary to bolster an expansion pack. It should be able to stand on its own for $40.00
Definitely putting a spa in Sulani!
Same, it's a good idea!
I love the sims, honest. And i dont wanna come off as hateful-but its become predictable, and it could be more. As always if that means waiting more for content if its A+ sign me up.
Im with you on everything you said, 100 percent!