Okay so after playing a bit more, I think for me it's around a 6.8 (hence why I picked 7, but I thought of picking 6 as well). I really wanted to like this pack more, but for some reason, it just doesn't inspire as much as I'd hoped. I got way more lost in IL when that released.
Positives:
- Aesthetics are top-notch: this goes for the world, CAS & BB
- I love the addition of Sentiments & Lifestyles
- The new table, hot pot & small radiators are excellent
- I like the Onsen and that you have to shower before you use it
- The skiing / snowboarding is really great, love that there are many slopes
- Sledding with tots
- The mountain climbing skill is very deep and I love that there's a good amount of progression there and that not just any sim can make it to the mountain top
- Lots of new food types and recipes, really cool for making Asian-style restaurants
Negatives:
- I like the hiking but it doesn't feel as pleasing to me as I'd have thought, I don't like that conversations / actions can't be queued at the same time, so it feels a bit too scripted for me
- Really no inside activities whatsoever except eating. Would've loved to see maybe a typical Japanese game, tea set (also for kids), being able to craft something new like Japanese fans, origami, etc.
- I would have liked to see more lifestyles that are negative and also more occult-related lifestyles (as well as sentiments)
- I don't like that Mt. Komorebi is full of sims from worlds like Windenburg/Brindleton/...
- I would've LOVED something to do with mangas/anime, it's just so Japan
- I love festivals but these here seem especially bland to me? Like what is there to do except hangout and eat? At least we have the love guru & sakura tea at the Love Festival, rocket / video games / challenges at Geekcon and the whole picking sides stuff at the Humor & Hijinks festival (I quite hate this festival though), but here idk .. The closest thing I guess is the voidcritter hunt, but it's just sim kids using their phones.
I can't really put my finger on it, I just don't love it. It has so many things that are really well done, but maybe they're just not my kind of things. It's funny cause I always thought I'd love a winter world more than an island one, but for me personally, IL is a lot more fun. This one may have more activities, but somehow by contrast, it leaves me a little cold
I haven't got through a great many things yet, but so far so good. And I know I am going to love the rest of it too.
The world is stunning.
I have been enjoying the simplicity of seeing my sims relaxing in their house with no shoes on - how unnatural it always seemed to me to go about the house in shoes before this. I am adding the no shoe ability to all of my houses! (Shame I had to use a mod to take away the awful animation though).
I love all the build/buy and most of the CAS. The only build/buy item I would alter is the kitchen counters - I would have liked a 'full' version to go with the empty shelves, because we do not have much decor that will fit there. Or some extra pots, pans and plates decor It's great to have more Winter clothing.
I like the small additions of choosing to eat with chopsticks if you want, and the little portable heater (I still wish they made the previous radiator useable though).
I’m kind of in love. Yes that love will probably wear off a bit in a couple weeks but so far this is one of my favorite packs.
The CAS is beautiful and I love all the fun colors and new winter wear plus that new snow outfit for toddlers may be the cutest thing ever to exist.
The Build/Buy is glorious. The new square windows, the beautiful wood tones in all of the furniture, the new open shelved counters. I love it all so much.
The world is very pretty. Up there with sulani and windenburg in terms of beauty. Plus I love how much you can interact with the world with rock climbing, winter sports and hiking. Unlike previous vacation worlds I feel like there is enough to do on that I don’t need to go in and add all kinds of fun lots just to get more enjoyment out of the vacation. Plus I love you can also live there.
I love little things too. Hot pot, vending machines, new recipes and even though I’m not overly fond of the new festivals I love that they have one for kids that includes an exclusive activity for them. Plus that heater add on is golden and will be used so much in my sims homes.
Only negatives are the festivals seem kind of bland and the shoe off animation is bit annoying over and over again. You know sims like to wander outside a lot and that constant whirl around their feet is a bit of a pain. Will probably install the mod that fixes it.
Overall I can really see myself using this pack a lot. Yes it’s a bit like a snowy island living but I feel like there is much more to do in this pack and it’s got more family activities.
One thing I did forget to mention: the premade families & career are excellent, and now that I've been to the festival of youth with one of the neighborhood kids, I have to admit, it's actually quite fun and I'm happy kids finally get some love. Maybe this is really a family pack with snow and I've been going at it wrong idk I'll leave it with 7, I think that's fair!
My fiancé bought this pack for me when he traded in his PS4 last week, and I love it!!
I’m giving it a 9, only because I wish the community areas were busier, I wish the activities added gameplay to other areas (placeable ski or toboggan areas, even if they were just little hills), there needed to be some more little stalls around to buy things from and I don’t like the city part of town.
I love the CAS and Build/Buy items but I'm taking points off for the game crashes. I can't give a 9 or a 10 when I can't play it long enough to form an opinion on game play.
"That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero." - Stan Lee
I gave it a nine and would have given it a ten if they had snuck horses in there for me. Its actually got me back playing more. Can't really explain it but my sims just seem more personable, more alive. Still have a lot of exploring to do but taking my time as I have restarted my legacy family. Keep The Sim!
"Every child matters. If we fail our children, we are bound to fail our present, our future, faith, cultures, and civilizations as well."
I took a personal day on Friday, which is good, because I ended up playing the game for hours this weekend - up until it crashed last night. Crashing is definitely not a normal problem for me - I can count on one hand the number of times Sims4 has crashed in all these years. Hopefully, that gets fixed soon - mom and tot were planning to go sledding. I'm loving the sentiments, and pleased that they didn't leave my toddlers out. (The new 'clean up' interaction, which came in the patch, is cute, too.)
I had one issue with the new aspirations - I had my Sim rock climbing in thundersnow, but couldn't complete the requirement that she go skiing or rock climbing in inclement weather (which specifically includes thundersnow). Maybe she has to do it on an 'expert' wall, but I think the only expert wall is the one you can only reach by joining an excursion to climb the mountain. It's a minor issue, though - on balance, I had a lot of fun with the game, and I'm very sad that I'm going to be spending too much time working this week to play until next weekend. (I should say hopefully working - my internet is very dodgy this morning, and I'm privileged to work from home, which doesn't quite work when the internet doesn't.)
I love the pack. I love the non-snowy neighborhoods, the hiking, the build/buy objects, and the CAS items. I like what I have seen of the festivals so far, and I like the shrines and statues.
I love this EP! I took off a few points because Sims gain lifestyles that don’t always match their personality, often due to work related skill building. At least they offered ways to change/remove them, so it doesn’t lose a lot of points from me. I also find the festivals to be a bit lackluster, although the snow one is pretty. I would have loved a few more indoor activities, but the foods kind of make up for that IMO. Overall this will be one of my favorites once the crashing is fixed.
Other than Lifestyle the pack doesn't really have much to offer. I mean, it's nice, I like the Sentiments (but that came with the free update). Gameplay-wise it's not as impressive. Also anyone noticed that there was no new landing screen?
I love this pack! The only reason I didn't give it a "10" was needed more lots, well maybe a couple more. I hate evicting resident townies. The outdoor activities blow me away. Love, love toddlers can go sledding, so cute. I moved my active, military sim into Mt. Komorebi and he is in his element.
Thanks so much devs.
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
I wrote a long review that somehow deleted itself before I can post it. I'm on my phone so I'm too annoyed to type it again lol. Ugh. But long story short I give it a 10 despite minor complaints.
I bought the EP for the winter sports, therefore any shortcomings regarding the japanese content do not affect my rating (I read there are several and I'd have liked a futon matress/bed, but it would only have been a bonus.).
Skiing, sledding and snowboarding meet my expectations. I love seeing my sims get gradually better or just play around if they are only there for the weekend. I spend most of my time watching my sims do these activities and watch my screenshot folder explode.
I love that the EP doesn't require Seasons, but still includes snowpal building and snowball fights, and that we get weather in the snow neighborhood. I also love CAS.
I haven't delved into the new career yet, but if what I read about harder promotions and unpaid work overtime is true and not a bug, then this is exactly what I need. My corporate drones that are currently in Business and Tech Guru will soon get to know the real world.
Hiking is surprisingly relaxing, albeit glitchy. After wildlife attacks or when I make them stop to collect a spirit my sims cancel the hike. Since I can make them take awalk without being officially hiking this isn't too bad. I make them bring stereos, soccer balls, juice kegs, coolers, graphics tablets, tents and (cc) potty bushes for prolonged expeditions.
This is where the 8 points come from.
Festivals are utterly boring. Sims can eat, buy clothes an dance with the mascot. Unlike with hikes I do not feel like bringing my own stuff here to spice it up.
This is what cost the ninths point. It's really bad, considering that they did okay with festivals in City Living and that with the Seasons holidays they proved that user-customized events are possible. If the devs didn't feel like fleshing out festivals, they should have let us do it.
Mountain Climbing is a so-so. The mountain in different weather conditions is amazing, no doubt, as is the act of climbing iself. But if I take a game-controlled sim along for an expedition that sim always succeeds at the tasks regardless of skill level, what is immersion breaking. Sims will also become sad and embarassed if they do not make it up all the way. I could see that maybe for an ambitious sim, but not for a level 4 couple that was so proud to have made it halfway up and had a romantic day at the plateau. The game shouldn't make them feel bad for their "failure".
I dislike that rock climbing raises both climbing and fitness skill. A master climber shouldn't be able to outswim a dedicated swimmer. I had hoped that the new skill would alleviate exactly that problem, but apparently it didn't.
The onsen is nice, but the new showers are finnicky. Adult sims cannot shower with teens and children and teens cannot shower with children, even though everyone wears swimwear. Unwilling to suffer wait times I changed the showers to closed cabins, but as a result my sims now register as not having showered (probably because they change back into winter wear when exiting the shower cabin). I've yet to find a way to make this work smoothly. I expect to run into this problem often, since I like sending families that are friends with each other and teen/YA groups vacationing. Hardly anyone is blood-related, so the wait times accumulate. It would be good to have door locks for "YA and older" or ones that keep out both teens AND children instead of just one age group.
I like that sims can automatically take off their shoes now. Wear slippers indoors is useless if there is no way to define what style of slipper the house owners provide for their guests. I do not want my sims to wear random indoor slippers.
These three gripes cost the tenth point, because they are neglible and the features still fun.
I gave it an 6 even though I like it as much as GT and the reason is it still has limitations that keep some features locked to the pack and cannot expand to other neighborhoods and it seem like EA/Maxis is going to keep going down that road and for me yes it an expansion pack but it is an expansion pack that does not expand the whole game itself like packs did from older versions.
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I gave it an 6 even though I like it as much as GT and the reason is it still has limitations that keep some features locked to the pack and cannot expand to other neighborhoods and it seem like EA/Maxis is going to keep going down that road and for me yes it an expansion pack but it is an expansion pack that does not expand the whole game itself like packs did from older versions.
Expanding everything in Sims 4 is next to impossible. This is why they elected to expand the game in a series of packs and not all in one pack.
I'll refrain from voting until I get a chance to play it, but I'm hopeful that it'll be one of my favorite packs.
Same here I am looking at everyone's reviews of the actual pack and not problems with the updates to judge whether to get it full price now or later when it goes on sale next month and hopefully the game will have some of the major issues fixed by then that were caused by the initial update on Nov 10th.
Playtesting - not just tabletop games and card games any more. Really that should have been playtested in Beta and not [img]just with accounting and marketing but actual players. https://i.imgur.com/t48COW6.jpg[/img]
Hiking is surprisingly relaxing, albeit glitchy. After wildlife attacks or when I make them stop to collect a spirit my sims cancel the hike. Since I can make them take awalk without being officially hiking this isn't too bad. I make them bring stereos, soccer balls, juice kegs, coolers, graphics tablets, tents and (cc) potty bushes for prolonged expeditions.
(Clipped for brevity.)
That's probably my one complaint, as well. I've been trying to capture the mountain spirits (there is a minor bonus you can get, but I won't spoil), but to get them to go after the mountain spirits, or dig at a dig spot, you have to stop the hike, and there is no way to resume, other than going all the way back to the hiking board.
The rock carvings to which you can offer gifts seem to like the Simmi statues that have high star ratings, by the way.
Also, I noticed that toddler pots can now be dragged into the inventory, and per your comment, evidently the potty bushes are also draggable, which they weren't before. That's a nice improvement for our expedition-minded Sims. That residential lot on the mountain will come in handy for playing an off-the-grid snowed-in story. I've done that with Outdoor Retreat, but it became a problem if there were kids and teens in the house, because they couldn't attend school. I still haven't climbed the mountain - can't wait to get back to the game over Thanksgiving hols.
I gave it a 8.
It's definitely one of the better expansion packs, there's not much to dislike here except for some of the hairstyles maybe.
I really love the world and I'm very happy that they decided to let Deli, James, lilsimsie and Simlicy build the lots.
It really shows, these are some of the best looking houses in the entire game.
I would've giving it a higher score if not for the fact that my sims were often sad for various reasons and because of how the new sentiments system works, if one was sad the others in the family started to feel sad also.
I am NOT throwing shade at all on these builders. I love the work they do and their channels on YouTube. This is just my opinion and NOT meant to offend anybody here. It's NOT an attack on them or their work. It's just an observation that I feel other builders from the building community would have made a better choice. My opinion is simply based on them having a lack of experience that is all. Sorry thinking like HR with somebody coming in for an interview with zero knowledge and zero experience. That person wouldn't be hired unless it was to work behind a register. bag your groceries or flip burgers.
Whenever I go to Philadelphia for whatever reasons I go to the Shofuso House and Garden in Fairmount Park, which is a beautiful Japanese House and Japanese Garden where everybody is dressed in Japanese regalia. It's like a piece of Japan was moved into Philly. I love it. The first time I was there was as a kid with my mom and sis. Normally my sis and I would have been bored and would have found a way to escape to find something less boring to do. We loved it. It's because of it we learned everything we could about Japanese culture and I learned calligraphy and how to do a proper tea ceremony. It's my favourite place to go whenever I'm in Philly.
With that said I wish and would have prefered builders with experience in doing Japanese or at the very least Asian inspired builds prior to the pack. Again this isn't meant to throw shade on these builders. I love their work and their channels and love watching their builds but from their videos. What I've seen of the past work they do Western-style builds prior to this pack. It's just a preference I would have liked to have seen.
Playtesting - not just tabletop games and card games any more. Really that should have been playtested in Beta and not [img]just with accounting and marketing but actual players. https://i.imgur.com/t48COW6.jpg[/img]
I gave it an 6 even though I like it as much as GT and the reason is it still has limitations that keep some features locked to the pack and cannot expand to other neighborhoods and it seem like EA/Maxis is going to keep going down that road and for me yes it an expansion pack but it is an expansion pack that does not expand the whole game itself like packs did from older versions.
Expanding everything in Sims 4 is next to impossible. This is why they elected to expand the game in a series of packs and not all in one pack.
Actually, it is not as I was talking about features which in older packs was available in the whole game regardless of the pack used. If that can't be done then that points out an weakness in Sims 4 even more as EA/Maxis fails at tweaking the game for me with how they doing it and it is really lessening the creativity and one really can't "Challenge Everything" as that was their motto once upon an time. For some the features of Sims 3 was an problem but it was possible as long one tweaks and improve on the features by using the technology that becomes available and they failed even at that. I owe no allegiance to EA/Maxis as I am an customer not an employee so I can critique them as I see fit. I played an lot of franchises over the years and I truly never seen any other developer make moves as drastic as EA/Maxis had to this series.
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It's a 6 for me, I like the theme of the pack but feel like there's a lot of missed opportunities and ways it could've brought something more.
Popping back in now that I've got the pack and have been playing for a while to say that my opinion hasn't changed at all since before it came out when I previously commented. It's pretty much met expectations, love the world and the build stuff but otherwise eh. Disappointing for me since it could've been so much more but instead it's just another pretty box. It's staying at 6 as it's on the positive side for me, but I couldn't call it great or the best pack by any stretch of the imagination
I like it and I feel so many things were in it that are great. I wish it had just a couple more things like:
New bathing suits
Old style ladies hair updo
Standing ornate screens
Yeti
Harvestibles- one or two more
graveyard like in the Sims3
Souvenir shop, but love the machines so much
Maybe a Japanese porcelain collection
I like pretty stuff, so just a little more and it would've been worth a 10.
- Deducted 1 point for the pack including festivals. This is now the 3rd pack with events/festivals and I hate them in each one.
- Deducted 1 point for how confusing hiking and outdoor activities are. I would have liked if there was a map where I could see everything available and have my Sim go to that particular place, instead of having to just wonder around looking for a slope or a wall or a board. Plus I don’t like that there aren’t any ways for Sims who are in these random spots to use the bathroom! There should be bushes or those all-in-one bathrooms along the hike.
- Deducted 1 point for lack of replay ability. I had a Sim go to the mountain once and it seemed like he did everything there was for him to do on that one trip. I had him vacation for 7 days. He walked around the town for the 1st day and the 2nd day went to the spa and the mountain. The remaining 5 days he was sad. He literally wouldn’t stop crying and I have no idea why. I joke that he was probably bored on vacation, as bored as I was watching him lol. Plus there’s nothing to do relating to the new pack when you get back home.
So, so far the pack is a 7 for me. The only thing I haven’t looked at in detail is CAS.
Comments
Positives:
- Aesthetics are top-notch: this goes for the world, CAS & BB
- I love the addition of Sentiments & Lifestyles
- The new table, hot pot & small radiators are excellent
- I like the Onsen and that you have to shower before you use it
- The skiing / snowboarding is really great, love that there are many slopes
- Sledding with tots
- The mountain climbing skill is very deep and I love that there's a good amount of progression there and that not just any sim can make it to the mountain top
- Lots of new food types and recipes, really cool for making Asian-style restaurants
Negatives:
- I like the hiking but it doesn't feel as pleasing to me as I'd have thought, I don't like that conversations / actions can't be queued at the same time, so it feels a bit too scripted for me
- Really no inside activities whatsoever except eating. Would've loved to see maybe a typical Japanese game, tea set (also for kids), being able to craft something new like Japanese fans, origami, etc.
- I would have liked to see more lifestyles that are negative and also more occult-related lifestyles (as well as sentiments)
- I don't like that Mt. Komorebi is full of sims from worlds like Windenburg/Brindleton/...
- I would've LOVED something to do with mangas/anime, it's just so Japan
- I love festivals but these here seem especially bland to me? Like what is there to do except hangout and eat? At least we have the love guru & sakura tea at the Love Festival, rocket / video games / challenges at Geekcon and the whole picking sides stuff at the Humor & Hijinks festival (I quite hate this festival though), but here idk .. The closest thing I guess is the voidcritter hunt, but it's just sim kids using their phones.
I can't really put my finger on it, I just don't love it. It has so many things that are really well done, but maybe they're just not my kind of things. It's funny cause I always thought I'd love a winter world more than an island one, but for me personally, IL is a lot more fun. This one may have more activities, but somehow by contrast, it leaves me a little cold
The world is stunning.
I have been enjoying the simplicity of seeing my sims relaxing in their house with no shoes on - how unnatural it always seemed to me to go about the house in shoes before this. I am adding the no shoe ability to all of my houses! (Shame I had to use a mod to take away the awful animation though).
I love all the build/buy and most of the CAS. The only build/buy item I would alter is the kitchen counters - I would have liked a 'full' version to go with the empty shelves, because we do not have much decor that will fit there. Or some extra pots, pans and plates decor
I like the small additions of choosing to eat with chopsticks if you want, and the little portable heater (I still wish they made the previous radiator useable though).
The CAS is beautiful and I love all the fun colors and new winter wear plus that new snow outfit for toddlers may be the cutest thing ever to exist.
The Build/Buy is glorious. The new square windows, the beautiful wood tones in all of the furniture, the new open shelved counters. I love it all so much.
The world is very pretty. Up there with sulani and windenburg in terms of beauty. Plus I love how much you can interact with the world with rock climbing, winter sports and hiking. Unlike previous vacation worlds I feel like there is enough to do on that I don’t need to go in and add all kinds of fun lots just to get more enjoyment out of the vacation. Plus I love you can also live there.
I love little things too. Hot pot, vending machines, new recipes and even though I’m not overly fond of the new festivals I love that they have one for kids that includes an exclusive activity for them. Plus that heater add on is golden and will be used so much in my sims homes.
Only negatives are the festivals seem kind of bland and the shoe off animation is bit annoying over and over again. You know sims like to wander outside a lot and that constant whirl around their feet is a bit of a pain. Will probably install the mod that fixes it.
Overall I can really see myself using this pack a lot. Yes it’s a bit like a snowy island living but I feel like there is much more to do in this pack and it’s got more family activities.
I’m giving it a 9, only because I wish the community areas were busier, I wish the activities added gameplay to other areas (placeable ski or toboggan areas, even if they were just little hills), there needed to be some more little stalls around to buy things from and I don’t like the city part of town.
AHQ Champion
I had one issue with the new aspirations - I had my Sim rock climbing in thundersnow, but couldn't complete the requirement that she go skiing or rock climbing in inclement weather (which specifically includes thundersnow). Maybe she has to do it on an 'expert' wall, but I think the only expert wall is the one you can only reach by joining an excursion to climb the mountain. It's a minor issue, though - on balance, I had a lot of fun with the game, and I'm very sad that I'm going to be spending too much time working this week to play until next weekend. (I should say hopefully working - my internet is very dodgy this morning, and I'm privileged to work from home, which doesn't quite work when the internet doesn't.)
Thanks so much devs.
Repose en paix mamie tu va me manquer :
1923-2016 mamie
Skiing, sledding and snowboarding meet my expectations. I love seeing my sims get gradually better or just play around if they are only there for the weekend. I spend most of my time watching my sims do these activities and watch my screenshot folder explode.
I love that the EP doesn't require Seasons, but still includes snowpal building and snowball fights, and that we get weather in the snow neighborhood. I also love CAS.
I haven't delved into the new career yet, but if what I read about harder promotions and unpaid work overtime is true and not a bug, then this is exactly what I need. My corporate drones that are currently in Business and Tech Guru will soon get to know the real world.
Hiking is surprisingly relaxing, albeit glitchy. After wildlife attacks or when I make them stop to collect a spirit my sims cancel the hike. Since I can make them take awalk without being officially hiking this isn't too bad. I make them bring stereos, soccer balls, juice kegs, coolers, graphics tablets, tents and (cc) potty bushes for prolonged expeditions.
This is where the 8 points come from.
Festivals are utterly boring. Sims can eat, buy clothes an dance with the mascot. Unlike with hikes I do not feel like bringing my own stuff here to spice it up.
This is what cost the ninths point. It's really bad, considering that they did okay with festivals in City Living and that with the Seasons holidays they proved that user-customized events are possible. If the devs didn't feel like fleshing out festivals, they should have let us do it.
Mountain Climbing is a so-so. The mountain in different weather conditions is amazing, no doubt, as is the act of climbing iself. But if I take a game-controlled sim along for an expedition that sim always succeeds at the tasks regardless of skill level, what is immersion breaking. Sims will also become sad and embarassed if they do not make it up all the way. I could see that maybe for an ambitious sim, but not for a level 4 couple that was so proud to have made it halfway up and had a romantic day at the plateau. The game shouldn't make them feel bad for their "failure".
I dislike that rock climbing raises both climbing and fitness skill. A master climber shouldn't be able to outswim a dedicated swimmer. I had hoped that the new skill would alleviate exactly that problem, but apparently it didn't.
The onsen is nice, but the new showers are finnicky. Adult sims cannot shower with teens and children and teens cannot shower with children, even though everyone wears swimwear. Unwilling to suffer wait times I changed the showers to closed cabins, but as a result my sims now register as not having showered (probably because they change back into winter wear when exiting the shower cabin). I've yet to find a way to make this work smoothly. I expect to run into this problem often, since I like sending families that are friends with each other and teen/YA groups vacationing. Hardly anyone is blood-related, so the wait times accumulate. It would be good to have door locks for "YA and older" or ones that keep out both teens AND children instead of just one age group.
I like that sims can automatically take off their shoes now. Wear slippers indoors is useless if there is no way to define what style of slipper the house owners provide for their guests. I do not want my sims to wear random indoor slippers.
These three gripes cost the tenth point, because they are neglible and the features still fun.
Same here I am looking at everyone's reviews of the actual pack and not problems with the updates to judge whether to get it full price now or later when it goes on sale next month and hopefully the game will have some of the major issues fixed by then that were caused by the initial update on Nov 10th.
That's probably my one complaint, as well. I've been trying to capture the mountain spirits (there is a minor bonus you can get, but I won't spoil), but to get them to go after the mountain spirits, or dig at a dig spot, you have to stop the hike, and there is no way to resume, other than going all the way back to the hiking board.
The rock carvings to which you can offer gifts seem to like the Simmi statues that have high star ratings, by the way.
Also, I noticed that toddler pots can now be dragged into the inventory, and per your comment, evidently the potty bushes are also draggable, which they weren't before. That's a nice improvement for our expedition-minded Sims. That residential lot on the mountain will come in handy for playing an off-the-grid snowed-in story. I've done that with Outdoor Retreat, but it became a problem if there were kids and teens in the house, because they couldn't attend school. I still haven't climbed the mountain - can't wait to get back to the game over Thanksgiving hols.
So much Simming to do, so little time!
I am NOT throwing shade at all on these builders. I love the work they do and their channels on YouTube. This is just my opinion and NOT meant to offend anybody here. It's NOT an attack on them or their work. It's just an observation that I feel other builders from the building community would have made a better choice. My opinion is simply based on them having a lack of experience that is all. Sorry thinking like HR with somebody coming in for an interview with zero knowledge and zero experience. That person wouldn't be hired unless it was to work behind a register. bag your groceries or flip burgers.
Whenever I go to Philadelphia for whatever reasons I go to the Shofuso House and Garden in Fairmount Park, which is a beautiful Japanese House and Japanese Garden where everybody is dressed in Japanese regalia. It's like a piece of Japan was moved into Philly. I love it. The first time I was there was as a kid with my mom and sis. Normally my sis and I would have been bored and would have found a way to escape to find something less boring to do. We loved it. It's because of it we learned everything we could about Japanese culture and I learned calligraphy and how to do a proper tea ceremony. It's my favourite place to go whenever I'm in Philly.
With that said I wish and would have prefered builders with experience in doing Japanese or at the very least Asian inspired builds prior to the pack. Again this isn't meant to throw shade on these builders. I love their work and their channels and love watching their builds but from their videos. What I've seen of the past work they do Western-style builds prior to this pack. It's just a preference I would have liked to have seen.
Actually, it is not as I was talking about features which in older packs was available in the whole game regardless of the pack used. If that can't be done then that points out an weakness in Sims 4 even more as EA/Maxis fails at tweaking the game for me with how they doing it and it is really lessening the creativity and one really can't "Challenge Everything" as that was their motto once upon an time. For some the features of Sims 3 was an problem but it was possible as long one tweaks and improve on the features by using the technology that becomes available and they failed even at that. I owe no allegiance to EA/Maxis as I am an customer not an employee so I can critique them as I see fit. I played an lot of franchises over the years and I truly never seen any other developer make moves as drastic as EA/Maxis had to this series.
Popping back in now that I've got the pack and have been playing for a while to say that my opinion hasn't changed at all since before it came out when I previously commented. It's pretty much met expectations, love the world and the build stuff but otherwise eh. Disappointing for me since it could've been so much more but instead it's just another pretty box. It's staying at 6 as it's on the positive side for me, but I couldn't call it great or the best pack by any stretch of the imagination
New bathing suits
Old style ladies hair updo
Standing ornate screens
Yeti
Harvestibles- one or two more
graveyard like in the Sims3
Souvenir shop, but love the machines so much
Maybe a Japanese porcelain collection
I like pretty stuff, so just a little more and it would've been worth a 10.
- Deducted 1 point for how confusing hiking and outdoor activities are. I would have liked if there was a map where I could see everything available and have my Sim go to that particular place, instead of having to just wonder around looking for a slope or a wall or a board. Plus I don’t like that there aren’t any ways for Sims who are in these random spots to use the bathroom! There should be bushes or those all-in-one bathrooms along the hike.
- Deducted 1 point for lack of replay ability. I had a Sim go to the mountain once and it seemed like he did everything there was for him to do on that one trip. I had him vacation for 7 days. He walked around the town for the 1st day and the 2nd day went to the spa and the mountain. The remaining 5 days he was sad. He literally wouldn’t stop crying and I have no idea why. I joke that he was probably bored on vacation, as bored as I was watching him lol. Plus there’s nothing to do relating to the new pack when you get back home.
So, so far the pack is a 7 for me. The only thing I haven’t looked at in detail is CAS.