@RonneeSimmer, while people can give you a truthful opinion, keep in mind that when asking these types of questions, every answer is an opinion no matter how truthful the person giving their opinion may be. ๐คจ I honestly think mint chocolate chip ice-cream is far better than strawberry ice-cream, but my friend honestly disagrees with me. It is the same with the Sims!
Nobody can tell you what packs you will definitely like. ๐ Your best bet is to ask someone who really knows you who plays the Sims 4... but not all of us have someone like that. ๐
The best strangers can do is to mention what they like and dislike about certain packs, or to mention what seems to be the general consensus. For example, most people's favorite pack (based on what they write on sites like these, and fan sites as well) is Seasons. There will be some people who hate Seasons, but most love it because it fits into gameplay no matter what your playing style is! While Outdoor Retreat is fun, it can't be used nearly as often as a pack like Seasons. You don't have to send your Sims anywhere to enjoy Seasons because Seasons just exist in the game! So a person is more likely to actually use Seasons, making it worth the money! That said, there are people who don't like dealing with bad weather , or who don't enjoy the holidays that come with the pack (even though you can make your own!)
Outdoor Retreat was one of the first packs for TS4, and in some ways they were just figuring out how this game would work out. It does have new vegetation, quite a lot of it! But that vegetation will only be found in Granite falls, unless you plant it on your Sims' lots. The vegetation can be used to make salves to treat bug bites or bad odor, or other things, as well as for pranks. This is done through the Herbalism skill. I do like using features of this pack along with the Spa Day pack as they can work nicely together. However, neither of these are my favorite packs. (Cats and Dogs is my favorite pack, but you can probably tell that by my screenname!) ๐
Island Living is a beautiful pack, and many like it for Build/Buy Mode items. This is a good pack if you mainly like to build homes and venues for your Sims! But this is not a vacation pack! If you expect to rent a cabana for your Sims, you will be disappointed. This is a place to live. If you want vacation destination packs, either choose Outdoor Retreat or Jungle Adventure! I prefer the gameplay with Jungle Adventure over that of Outdoor Retreat, but I do like Outdoor Retreat better for families! While you can bring toddlers and children to Jungle Adventure, it is more difficult to use the gameplay features when children are present as ancient tombs and a harsh jungles are not the best locations for youngsters! But it is great for teens or older!
Every pack will have bugs. This will happen no matter which pack you get.โน๏ธ They are working on the bugs, but there are a lot, and it takes time. ๐ It might seem like they aren't working on them, but there is a long process they have to go through. Many reported bugs end up not being actual bugs and that has to be sorted out. Bugs have to be able to be replicable by EA and often it isn't clear why a person reporting a bug is having a problem. This process is slowed down if people who use Mods and Custom Content (CC) don't test their problems to see if Mods/CC is causing the problems in the first place! ๐ ๐
If they weren't fixing bugs they wouldn't not have just released a patch in which a lot of them were fixed! Unfortunately, sometimes when you fix one thing, another thing breaks. (This is rather like going to the doctor! ๐) It is a long process, but they are working on it!
And yes, I honestly can say I have every pack (from the Original The Sims, TS2, TS3, and TS4) and I've never regretted a pack (even though TS3 tried my patience the most! ๐ The Stuff Packs for TS3 were twice as expensive as they are for TS4 and add that to the fact that TS3 was pretty much unplayable by halfway through its reign! ๐ฌ ๐ข ) Still, I did honestly enjoy something out of every pack! ๐ฅณ I realize I am rare on this view. But I can almost always find something to enjoy.
With TS4 there are many ways to get the most out of your game. I like to tell stories. Others like to only achieve goals. Others like to primarily build. I also love to crate Sims and households, and I also love to experiment,. Others like to explore mods. Also, for people who like to mostly play families, they might try to play with Single Sims, or partiers! People who like to explore the Single life might change things up from time to time and play a large multi-generational family! ๐
And then there are the challenges! I can't even beging to name them all, but some popular ones are the "100 Baby Challenge" the "Rags to Riches Challenge", the "Apocalypse Challenge" , and the "Off the Grid Challenge". I am a fan of Doctor Who โค๏ธโค๏ธ and am thinking of doing the "Doctor Who Challenge" sometime after Christmas! ๐ค๐
I'm sorry I'm long-winded, but I am very passionate about the Sims! ๐ณ ๐ฅณ
Anyway, since you are having problems with your computer, I would wait and tend to that before getting any pack! Adding packs will only make your computer run worse! ๐ข When you get your comptuer fixed or get a new one, then you can take all the information you have gathered and make the best decision for yourself! ๐๐
