I was really excited when I saw the Cottage Living pack was coming out and overall I am very happy with it. Paired with the new lot Challenges update I am finally able to live my dream of having an off-the-grid farm where my sims grow and harvest everything they need (simple living). One problem. The off the grid cooking as it stands makes no sense whatsoever. My sims can cook pumpkin stew but not chili (not even vegetable chili)-inconsistentThey cannot bake pies, scones, or crumpets despite all recipes predating the modern oven-mostly by a lot.Some recipes they can only cook one serving at a time (grilled cheese, eggs and toast, etc.)They cannot make pan-fried tilapia or fried fish or even some other obviously soup-ish and stovetop recipes.I.e. pancakes, eggs and bacon, etc.All of these are grayed out and say "no power off the grid" when scrolled over.I am mostly upset because this shows a clear lack of research on food history as it seems the developers largely said anything that must be baked is obviously impossible without electricity- WRONG! Baking has been around in many forms for thousands of years. Therefore my sims, living off the grid, should be able to bake some things like pies, scones, and shepherd's pie, etc. And really, it should at least be consistent about the recipes allowed to cook off the grid.

@jpkarlsenI understand how cooking in the Sims works. You seem to be under the impression I was asking for help. I am not. I am giving feedback that I do not agree with some of the choices that were made regarding what can and cannot be cooked off the grid. I understand that currently there are many recipes that cannot be cooked off the grid. However, the choices made for that are not consistent with food history. It is not even consistent with what types of recipes are able to be cooked off the grid. I repeat, am not asking for help, I am commenting on a flaw in the way Off the grid has been set up. It should be more compatible with a lot of the recipes and Simple Living than it is.The issues with servings were specifically only a couple of recipes and are not the main point of this post.Just because today is the first time I bothered to make a forum account does not mean I am new to the game. I have been playing the sims for years. Please do not patronize me.

@jpkarlsen I was not "confusing" the two. My sims are using both Off the Grid and Simply Living Lot challenges. Not one or the other. I understand the requirements of both but the fact remains that there are recipes that if I have all the ingredients for I should be able to cook them off the grid and I cannot. I am very familiar with both challenges requirements as I have used Off the grid as a lot trait many times before. As for the servings you are mistaken. I have plenty of ingredients and yet for the some of the recipes I can do I still am only given a single serving cooking option. I hope this clears things up for you on my position. And there are chilis btw. Those are recipes in the sims.

I completely agree. I was doing a decades challenge and had both the off the grid and simple living lot challenges and noticed the weird choices too in regards to foods available. The off the grid trait in general needs a whole revamp and is so often overlooked. Like I have bust the dust and there is no off the grid way to vacuum so my sims either have to be uncomfortable all the time or I have to take off the trait and let them vacuum and then put it back. I also should be able to use the black wood stove off the grid too.There also is a glitch If you try and gather water from the new ponds there is no icon just a red x.

@xochiquetzl_xkvn and @shamelle71 Glad you both joined the discussion! @xochiquetzl_xkvn you would be correct that I am going for something more similar to the decades challenge which is why I am avoiding the green energy options for off the grid. I really wanted to play a more "little house on the prairie" type game now that there is the option of real farming and the simple living lot challenge is available. Give the game more of a frontier or olden day feel. The fact that I am unable to bake a pie-which dates bake to Queen Elizabeth the 1st days in it's modern form- but can make bread? Shepherd's pie (AKA cottage pie) is kinda an old recipe too dating to at least the 1700'sThe Dev's know what a dutch oven is right?Speaking of which i think it would be cool if we could do some cooking in the fireplaces-at least the nice wide one that came with Cottage Living. And truly,I understand not being able to cook everything off the grid, but it should at least be consistant. If I can cook a soup pot dish I should be able to cook all soup pot dishes.As for the challenge aspect I think having more recipes available for OTG would not change that. They would still have to cook it. They would still have no electricity or internet. Would still have briney water, tepid baths, have to fill the fridge with ice, and have no central heating or air conditioning. What else do you think should be added or changed to improve the off the grid lot challenge?

This is something that really bothers me. I had been waiting for a pack like cottage living for a really long tme and I had wanted to beable to do something like simple living since Igot the game but it really makes me crazy that I cant cook hardly anything off the grid and simple living even when I am growing all my ingredients and I cant even find a mod to help me. I shouldnt have to "pretend" to be off the grid or ruin my game play by putting solar panals or eco stuff on a farm that isnt suppose to have those things. why cant we just vbe off the grid and simple living and be able to cook anything with a stove that has wood under it. it is obviously suppose to be an old fashioned woodburning stove. i just dont get it. it is very annoying.

Off The Grid Cooking Needs Revamp | EA Forums

29 Replies

dstevensjr1975
3 years ago
I do also agree with your statement. I am doing an apocalyptical off-the-grid challenge without cottage living or eco lifestyle. Even then, there are still a lot of recipes as you level up cooking skill. Still, using the fridges and stoves available for off-the-grid, you can only make salads, soups, stews, and other recipes that just aren't enough. Most of the recipes you get after leveling up are greyed out and you can't make them. What about cakes? My toddler sim is about to age up and I can't bake them a cake for their birthday? It's like these recipes didn't exist before... So, now I have to find a mod that enables these, which does exist because others are irritated about this as well.
SJWmama
3 years ago
I agree that having to install a mod to cook a birthday cake or other simple baked recipes is nonsense. The solution would seem to be that off grid cooking is a separate skill which would reflect real life, you do need to learn how to make the right type of fire for the cooking you're doing. At it's simplest cooking on top of a stove/heat source would be lower skill than cooking inside an oven. In addition you might need to buy/collect fuel to cook with, in the same way we collect water for all the plumbing items in the house from a body of water we also collect fuel for the fire from trees.
For those who can mod, there are workarounds like mods that disguise eco lifestyle wind turbines as traditional windmills or a mod that expands the number of recipes available for off grid cooking.
ReneHollyDesign1
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago
Would be nice to have the pizza/bread oven we had in sims 3.
xochiquetzl_xkvn
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago
FWIW, I don't know about base game, but if you have Cats and Dogs or Cottage Living, there are venues with public kitchens that I ended up using for my birthday cakes. It's the Pub and... the bar on the Wharf, is the bar named Whiskerman's Wharf or is that the neighborhood? I'm blanking. [Edit: Salty Paws Saloon, I think.] And City Living has one at Myshuno Meadows.
I do understand that this is iimersion-breaking for folks doing a decades challenge, etc.
line123462
New Traveler
10 months ago
Home cheff hustle have only made it worse, now you need dough for a bunch of stuff, and you can only make that with the mixer that needs electricity.
PipMenace
Hero
9 months ago
@line123462You can uncheck use prepped ingredients to bypass needing a mixer.

But I'd still like to be able to cook more off the grid. A birthday cake option, at the very least...
stunewlin
New Rookie
2 months ago
It has been four years and this thread is still very much relevant. I honestly don't understand how such a huge part of the game is still being overlooked.
Miataplay
Legend
2 months ago
I agree. Off the grid needs a total refresh starting with adding more outdoor cooking, appliances, recipes and natural grills or BBQ's (a grill on top of hot rocks by the river..).
Miataplay
Legend
2 months ago
Simple off the grid outdoor cooking as a barbeque option in the game with...realistic Ground Fire Pits and BBQ's for cooking.