Is outdoor retreat worth it?
I like to have a least one of my sims collect, fish and cook new things. Without telling me specifics please, does outdoor living provide "new" things in these areas. New harestables? Trying to decid...
Forum Discussion
@RonneeSimmer - Both @MapleSimmer & @PugLove888 have given you great overviews of these two packs. I can only provide a bit more specific info about Island Living as I don't have any direct experience with Outdoor Retreat. I am like you, I like to have at least one of my sims concentrate on collecting and gardening. I usually have a different one concentrate on cooking & mixology, since there are specific traits that can help them become focused for the collecting or inspired for the cooking.
To be honest, I didn't think I was going to like Island Living at all. I was not super excited about making a mermaid and in real life, I find beaches and water sports boring. So, I was pleasantly surprised that there was so much involved with this expansion pack and I'm still exploring some of the features.
I'm also thinking of buying Island living. Same question though. Without specifics are there new collectables, fish, harvestables, recipes? Is the game with it overall?
New collectibles: Seashells and Treasures. No specifics, but one of the seashells has a secret "power" 🙂 There are also a bunch of new underwater photos to collect, but they're not listed in the collections panel. I wish they were listed, because I'm not sure I've gotten them all. But they are really pretty and add decor bonuses to rooms when you display them.
New fish: Lots of new fish!!! Also, new ways & types of fishing. There are shallow, medium and deep water fish; you can also fish by setting traps, with or without bait; spear fishing from a deep ocean buoy; or fish from the boats that come with the pack. There is also a new mechanic with mermaids called "Aquatic Lure" that results in a fishing sign looking all sparkly. If you see a fishing spot where the sign is sparkly, it means that a mermaid has cast this ability, and any sims fishing there will fish as though their skill level is 2 levels higher & catch rates are improved. You don't have to play a mermaid in order to see this - mermaids I don't know have apparently cast this ability on a few of the fishing spots around the islands.
Some of the new fish are endangered species, and you will get a popup asking if you're going to abide by the law and throw the fish back, or take it anyway. The fish will count towards your collection regardless of your choice, but you will get different moodlets depending on your choices and maybe even take some hits to relationships if you decide to poach a fish in front of other people.
New Harvestables: Yes, but not a lot. I had hoped for more, honestly, but the 3 they added make sense for tropical islands. They are all uncommon plants, but wild plants are readily found all over the place for harvesting or grafting purposes. One of the new plants has several uses for making a new drink, giving different moodlets by drinking it, and there's even a new party associated with the drink.
New Recipes: New food item Coconut Cake is added to the level 3 cooking list; New drink item Lotta Cocolatte is added to the level 6 mixology list. There are several new food items you can purchase from food stands, but I don't think you can learn to make them. The other new recipes are tied to specific items added to build/buy. There is a kava bowl, which you can use to make the kava drink (no minimum level, but your sim will get better quality drinks the more they use it), and a barbecue pit where you can make a huge amount of 3 new barbecue recipes.
Is the game worth it overall? Oh, geez, there's really no way to say if you think it will be worth it to you. I can only say that I never buy anything unless it's on sale (I'm waiting for those deep discounts on Black Friday, too!). Like I said earlier, I was surprised how much there was to explore - there are so many more features, some are little things, some are more in-depth.
I personally like the gameplay feature of cleaning up the islands and the focus on conservation. A bit disappointed that scuba diving and snorkeling are not interactive - a sim will go into a rabbit hole and return with something from scuba diving; snorkeling is just watching them swim around with a snorkel mask on. Dolphins are fun and different traits and mermaids can have more unique relationships with them. After I've explored all of the choices with them, it's kind of boring for me, but that's because I'm not a storyteller kind of player. I'm much more goal-oriented and although I feel the dolphins and interactions are well-done and adorable, once I've become a friend or soulmate with one, I've met my goal.
The two new traits - Child of the Islands and Child of the Ocean - have unique and interesting mechanics with them. I was surprised and then happy to see that the Child of the Ocean sim gets joy from releasing fish from traps and swimming around, but is not a happy camper if you intend to decorate your house with mounted fish or make him/her a fisherman 🙂 I enjoy and use the Child of the Islands ability to summon the elementals and ask for judgement. Just keep in mind that they're expecting you to do things to help the islands, so cleaning up litter from the beaches or any of the other environmental things will have them look favorably upon you.
New lot traits - I really enjoy Island Spirits lot trait. It's easy to get addicted to this one. Don't confuse with the Elementals from the Child of the Islands trait, Island Spirits are ghost-like figures that appear on the lot nearly every morning and if you choose to "interact" with the spirit they grant you some awesome moodlets that last from 12 - 48 hours. Like, super awesome! You can get a moodlet that fills your energy bar or food bar for a couple of days, or your skill learning is enhanced, or other "gifts" like that. I'm a little addicted to it now. The Volcanic Lot trait can be fun or just annoying, depending on what you like to do. It will give you another way to get your collectibles, though.
Then, the two new careers have some great features, and the only careers that award a trait if you reach the highest level. There was an annoying bug that prevented you from getting a raise at level 10, but they fixed that one with the last patch, so that made my Islanders very happy.
I've already written way too much about this lol, but there are many more features to IL. Like I said, I didn't think I'd like it, and turned out I did. It is a livable world with a whole different community feel, weather and it is really beautiful. Since it's not a vacation spot, but a place where you can live and work, I felt it was better for me than OR, but your views and goals might be different.
I hope this helped!
