Get To Work (+the careers, + office BB, +PhotoStudio, -never played aliens) Get Together (+Windenburg, +Clubs) City Living (+City world, +Apartments, +Festivals, +Karaoke, -Loading between neighbor apartments) Cats & Dogs (+Brindleton world, +BB, -Pets (they are great, but they are no good for rotation as they too often are sick on arrival)) Seasons (+seasons, +weather, +calendar)
Get Famous (+fame system, +acting career, -Del Sol Valley too small)
Island Living (+Sulani world, + local culture, +swimming/boating, -needs hotels (never played mermaids))
Discover University (+Britechester world, +Uni vibes incl good class system, +CAS, +BB, -too few lots for community stuff, -repetative) ECO Lifestyle (+homebusinesses, +CAS, -ECO aspect feels too intense to combine with nor mal sims, -NAP would be more fun if we could add our own NAPs)
Outdoor Retreat (+Forest world, +Herbs & herbal cooking)
Spa Day (+yoga) Dine Out (+level of customization) Vampires (+world, +BB, +Vamps/lores feel well designed) Parenthood (+kids activities, +new traits, -pop up advices driving me nuts) Jungle Adventures (+jungle world, +culture, +archaeology (I did only scratch the surface of jungle exploring so far as it doesn't work well with day-to-day rotation))
Strangerville (+world, +story, +infection that spreads (did not play the full mystery yet)
Vintage Glamour (+vanity table, +butler - but when playing rotational, the butler keep charging fees, so I can no longer use this feature) Nifty Knitting (+knitting, + Plopsy)
Paranormal (+BB, +haunting, -most is too restricted to a haunted house meaning most of my households will not take part)
No kits
Of these, my favorites are bold and less favorites are strikethrough (where did those colors go?).
- Get to Work.
Love the careers, going to work with sims and meeting other sims there is fun and feels more organic (but it's also good that you can just send them to a rabbit hole if you want to, there are times when that is very much needed too).
There are few interesting pieces in the bb mode, but on overall I don't use them as often as some other packs. Don't like how the retail items were treated, there are some exceptions but other than that it's all very mundane (the swatches don't help either) , not enough variety and attention to detail. I wish we could have other options than having full outfit dolls for clothes, that one probably is the biggest obstacle when I want to build a cute small boutique, they are very "chain store". In general all of retail is geared toward big chain store in my eyes. Also wish the aliens were given more attention and I don't know if it's just my game but them wandering on the streets as is without their disguise really makes no sense to me, considering that they are suppose to be hiding. In CAS there are some items I like a lot and other that I wish didn't existed.
- Get Together.
Love Windenburg and the whole Tudor aesthetic. Can't live without clubs mechanics, they are very handy at assigning sims to specific non-residential lots so that the town feels more organic and dealing with kids. There are several BB items that I use a lot, CAS is mostly a miss for me.
-City Living.
The festivals are ok, I hate the situational outfits from the bottom of my heart tho. They annoy me as much as sims washing dishes in the bathroom annoy others. I wish there was a switch off button. The apartments are fun, but not my favorite type of build mainly because the city with its festivals functions like a mini open world and I notice a bit of lag (which is why I'm totally fine with sims4 not having open world) also not fan of the fact that there are lot traits you can remove (or add). There are some items that I like but CAS is mostly a miss for me, same with BB items.
-Cats and Dogs.
Love Brindleton Bay. Pets are fun, but what I like the most is how much detail went into the animation of their behavior. I often see the cats in game behaving like my own, love it! Haven't dabbled much with the vet career. Don't have much interest in it. In BB there are items that I use a lot and other that I wish had different swatches. CAS is kinda ok.
-Seasons.
Weather is a must! Calendar I haven't used much, but I can see how it can be useful, however I don't like how I always need to be alert for the random events the game adds to it (the buzz zapping day and the fighting one in particular, don't really find either of them appealing). Again CAS is a mixed bag, some useful items in Build mode but otherwise not much.
-Get Famous.
The world is too small, but I mostly don't like the fame system. I have couple sims using it because it goes with their career, but otherwise i avoid it as plague. I'm not much into celebrities as a person (don't follow, don't know their names), so maybe that's why. There are some very interesting pieces in BB mode. CAS is hit or miss, but it comes with several costumes that I do use.
-Island Living
The world is pretty, but I don't play in it much. I don't really know what to do with mermaids. I think the whole preservation concept could have been developed more, it was a missed opportunity. There are some nice CAS and BB items.
-Discover University.
The gameplay is ok, the world is too tiny (Windenburg is much better example of a world I would like to have with this pack). The Build and Buy is god tier. Loving the Georgian architecture and the fact that it's a coherent set. The CAS is good too.
-Eco Living.
The gameplay could use some polishing, but love it and the fact that we can change the look of the surroundings. Good CAS and BB for the theme. I do wish that many BB items were not locked behind the crafting wall, but I can live with that. I had a lot of doubts when it was first announced but it turned out to be a solid pack for me.
-Snowy escape.
I appreciate the winter outfits a lot, the research into Japanese culture too. The CAS and BB is good, but I haven't gotten into the whole gameplay much yet.
(this is getting long, will write about the GP, SP and Kits later.)
- Outdoor Retreat
The clutter is useful, there are couple items in CAS that I like, but I don't like the idea of vacation only world. I wish sims could live in it permanently.
- Spa Day.
Not a bad sporty pack, some nice BB items, less so CAS.
- Dine Out.
Mostly use it for BB, there is some CAS I like, but I haven't had a chance to own a restaurant, so idk.
- Vampires.
Adore the atmosphere of Forgotten Hollow and have a whole clan of vampires running about. CAS and BB are nice for its theme. Would love it more if it had even more Gothic architectural elements. I wish the world was bigger.
-Parenhood
Kinda hard to judge because I got it from the very beginning and have no idea how the game feels without it. The BB is ok, CAS less so.
-Jungle Adventure
See Outdoor Retreat. However I do find the build items a lot more useful, wouldn't be able to build some things without them.
-StrangerVille.
At first I was excited to do the story, once done I realized that I would need to do it again for every new save and got a lot less excited, but then I discovered that I don't mind not progressing the story and having my sims living in all that strangeness. It adds flavor, so now I'm like that. Also chronologically was probably the first pack that piqued my interest as far as CAS goes. Has some nice BB items too that I use a lot.
-Realm of Magic.
Love the gameplay. Love the world again wish the world was bigger. Usually I do find charm in EA buildings that others tend to bash, but this is the exception. It's like they are build by a person who had never used the tools before and never had seen a house before. I also don't like the furniture much, whoever though it had any resemblance to art nouveau, need to re-examine that thought. I do like the wallpapers, flooring, kitchen, bathroom and columns, but not the furniture, that is also a good example as to how uniformity can make things very dull. I rarely use it together, once maybe to pieces at most.
-Journey to Batuu.
I don't like when franchises mix together, not just in sims in any game, it doesn't appeal to me. Aside from that and that I don't like vacation only world, I think the way the gameplay was approached was not well done, but unlike the other two vacation worlds, I actually found a use for it. My scientist goes there on the weekend and my head canon is that it's his feverish dream. That said I do like the BB items and have found a pretty good everyday outfit use for many of the outfits in CAS even though they are suppose to be well... costumes.
I ahve every pack besides the KITS, and they all bring content to my game. The worlds my Sims visits most often is Newcrest, where I added shops, reaturants and places for them to do leisure activites. Windenburg for the gyms, coffeshops and library and San MyShino where there are a lot of activities.
Comments
Of the packs I own, Eco Lifestyle is the only one I don't have installed because I dislike NAPs that much.
I can't choose a favorite there is something I like about so many.
Get To Work (+the careers, + office BB, +PhotoStudio, -never played aliens)
Get Together (+Windenburg, +Clubs)
City Living (+City world, +Apartments, +Festivals, +Karaoke, -Loading between neighbor apartments)
Cats & Dogs (+Brindleton world, +BB, -Pets (they are great, but they are no good for rotation as they too often are sick on arrival))
Seasons (+seasons, +weather, +calendar)
Get Famous (+fame system, +acting career, -Del Sol Valley too small)
Island Living (+Sulani world, + local culture, +swimming/boating, -needs hotels (never played mermaids))
Discover University (+Britechester world, +Uni vibes incl good class system, +CAS, +BB, -too few lots for community stuff, -repetative)
ECO Lifestyle (+homebusinesses, +CAS, -ECO aspect feels too intense to combine with nor mal sims, -NAP would be more fun if we could add our own NAPs)
Outdoor Retreat (+Forest world, +Herbs & herbal cooking)
Spa Day (+yoga)
Dine Out (+level of customization)
Vampires (+world, +BB, +Vamps/lores feel well designed)
Parenthood (+kids activities, +new traits, -pop up advices driving me nuts)
Jungle Adventures (+jungle world, +culture, +archaeology (I did only scratch the surface of jungle exploring so far as it doesn't work well with day-to-day rotation))
Strangerville (+world, +story, +infection that spreads (did not play the full mystery yet)
Vintage Glamour (+vanity table, +butler - but when playing rotational, the butler keep charging fees, so I can no longer use this feature)
Nifty Knitting (+knitting, + Plopsy)
Paranormal (+BB, +haunting, -most is too restricted to a haunted house meaning most of my households will not take part)
No kits
Of these, my favorites are bold and less favorites are strikethrough (where did those colors go?).
- Get to Work.
Love the careers, going to work with sims and meeting other sims there is fun and feels more organic (but it's also good that you can just send them to a rabbit hole if you want to, there are times when that is very much needed too).
There are few interesting pieces in the bb mode, but on overall I don't use them as often as some other packs. Don't like how the retail items were treated, there are some exceptions but other than that it's all very mundane (the swatches don't help either) , not enough variety and attention to detail. I wish we could have other options than having full outfit dolls for clothes, that one probably is the biggest obstacle when I want to build a cute small boutique, they are very "chain store". In general all of retail is geared toward big chain store in my eyes. Also wish the aliens were given more attention and I don't know if it's just my game but them wandering on the streets as is without their disguise really makes no sense to me, considering that they are suppose to be hiding. In CAS there are some items I like a lot and other that I wish didn't existed.
- Get Together.
Love Windenburg and the whole Tudor aesthetic. Can't live without clubs mechanics, they are very handy at assigning sims to specific non-residential lots so that the town feels more organic and dealing with kids. There are several BB items that I use a lot, CAS is mostly a miss for me.
-City Living.
The festivals are ok, I hate the situational outfits from the bottom of my heart tho. They annoy me as much as sims washing dishes in the bathroom annoy others. I wish there was a switch off button. The apartments are fun, but not my favorite type of build mainly because the city with its festivals functions like a mini open world and I notice a bit of lag (which is why I'm totally fine with sims4 not having open world) also not fan of the fact that there are lot traits you can remove (or add). There are some items that I like but CAS is mostly a miss for me, same with BB items.
-Cats and Dogs.
Love Brindleton Bay. Pets are fun, but what I like the most is how much detail went into the animation of their behavior. I often see the cats in game behaving like my own, love it! Haven't dabbled much with the vet career. Don't have much interest in it. In BB there are items that I use a lot and other that I wish had different swatches. CAS is kinda ok.
-Seasons.
Weather is a must! Calendar I haven't used much, but I can see how it can be useful, however I don't like how I always need to be alert for the random events the game adds to it (the buzz zapping day and the fighting one in particular, don't really find either of them appealing). Again CAS is a mixed bag, some useful items in Build mode but otherwise not much.
-Get Famous.
The world is too small, but I mostly don't like the fame system. I have couple sims using it because it goes with their career, but otherwise i avoid it as plague. I'm not much into celebrities as a person (don't follow, don't know their names), so maybe that's why. There are some very interesting pieces in BB mode. CAS is hit or miss, but it comes with several costumes that I do use.
-Island Living
The world is pretty, but I don't play in it much. I don't really know what to do with mermaids. I think the whole preservation concept could have been developed more, it was a missed opportunity. There are some nice CAS and BB items.
-Discover University.
The gameplay is ok, the world is too tiny (Windenburg is much better example of a world I would like to have with this pack). The Build and Buy is god tier. Loving the Georgian architecture and the fact that it's a coherent set. The CAS is good too.
-Eco Living.
The gameplay could use some polishing, but love it and the fact that we can change the look of the surroundings. Good CAS and BB for the theme. I do wish that many BB items were not locked behind the crafting wall, but I can live with that. I had a lot of doubts when it was first announced but it turned out to be a solid pack for me.
-Snowy escape.
I appreciate the winter outfits a lot, the research into Japanese culture too. The CAS and BB is good, but I haven't gotten into the whole gameplay much yet.
(this is getting long, will write about the GP, SP and Kits later.)
- Outdoor Retreat
The clutter is useful, there are couple items in CAS that I like, but I don't like the idea of vacation only world. I wish sims could live in it permanently.
- Spa Day.
Not a bad sporty pack, some nice BB items, less so CAS.
- Dine Out.
Mostly use it for BB, there is some CAS I like, but I haven't had a chance to own a restaurant, so idk.
- Vampires.
Adore the atmosphere of Forgotten Hollow and have a whole clan of vampires running about. CAS and BB are nice for its theme. Would love it more if it had even more Gothic architectural elements. I wish the world was bigger.
-Parenhood
Kinda hard to judge because I got it from the very beginning and have no idea how the game feels without it. The BB is ok, CAS less so.
-Jungle Adventure
See Outdoor Retreat. However I do find the build items a lot more useful, wouldn't be able to build some things without them.
-StrangerVille.
At first I was excited to do the story, once done I realized that I would need to do it again for every new save and got a lot less excited, but then I discovered that I don't mind not progressing the story and having my sims living in all that strangeness. It adds flavor, so now I'm like that. Also chronologically was probably the first pack that piqued my interest as far as CAS goes. Has some nice BB items too that I use a lot.
-Realm of Magic.
Love the gameplay. Love the world again wish the world was bigger. Usually I do find charm in EA buildings that others tend to bash, but this is the exception. It's like they are build by a person who had never used the tools before and never had seen a house before. I also don't like the furniture much, whoever though it had any resemblance to art nouveau, need to re-examine that thought. I do like the wallpapers, flooring, kitchen, bathroom and columns, but not the furniture, that is also a good example as to how uniformity can make things very dull. I rarely use it together, once maybe to pieces at most.
-Journey to Batuu.
I don't like when franchises mix together, not just in sims in any game, it doesn't appeal to me. Aside from that and that I don't like vacation only world, I think the way the gameplay was approached was not well done, but unlike the other two vacation worlds, I actually found a use for it. My scientist goes there on the weekend and my head canon is that it's his feverish dream. That said I do like the BB items and have found a pretty good everyday outfit use for many of the outfits in CAS even though they are suppose to be well... costumes.