Pack Refreshes
i would so love an outdoor retreat refresh. this pack would include summer camps, new jobs (counselor and park ranger), parks and lakes. summer camps: -children would go for the entire summer -te...
Forum Discussion
Some great ideas here.
I love outdoor retreat. I'd love to be able to edit the Hermit's cottage as on console I can't do that and I've got Claire Huber the hermit in a beautiful and picturesque location but her home needs work. I'm not talking glass walls and Scandi modern living but certainly I'd like to make her a cosier cottage as she always looks unhappy and unkempt, bless the poor love. I did get her some nice clothes though in keeping with her style, country patchwork chic!
I'd love a waterfall feature to be added somewhere that can be used on regular lots, just a small one as I keep trying to create my own but they mainly consist of ponds on steps! I'd like to be able to release the frogs in the garden too as I love frogs as a country girl myself and had 2 pet frogs as a child. My Sims ponds always have frogs on lily pads but I'd love to add the rare ones so you can see them and not just catch them.
There's not that much for kids to do at Granite Falls so I generally don't take them. I edited a few of the holiday homes to make them kid and pet friendly but an outdoor themed play area/kids camp would be good. I might try that one day if I get Little Campers.
In the UK we have things called Assault Courses (no we don't beat people up) or Outward Bound courses, in the US it might be a kind of boot camp I suppose. With climbing walls/rope climbs, ziplines, high wire rope walks, tire jumps and more. All of these probably aren't feasible but I'm sure some would be. Even a rock climb would be good as I love this in Snowy Escape.
I've played granite falls every which way, my Sims stay there for weeks. Some of them take fireflies home and add them as decor. Maybe a (kinder and critter free) firefly jar lamp could be a new item as a reward.
The aspiration needs a little work too as it's pretty buggy. It gets confused if your Sim already knows the Unidentified Plants and won't unlock without the hassle of rooting through every bit of fruit in the inventory till you find one in the batch that says Unidentified. Spending the night in the tent 5 times is also tricky, if your Sim doesn't stay in the tent for a strict number of hours it won't register.
I'd love pony trekking to be added. It's been said that horses would be tricky to add and I've tried to suggest every which way to add them somewhere so here's another one! Pony trekking in the forest!
@simsplayer818 and @Player_jp5s5eav , you both have added a lot of ideas! 😎
@simsplayer818 , I know the kind of course you are talking about! The kind that have you go between trees using rope bridges, or even scramble along giant rope nets and then roll down others, and then use a zip-line ! 🥳 That would be so much fun for our Sims (and us to watch them!). The only problem is it would probably require a lot of new animations.😓, so I don't know if this is possible. But I sure love this idea! 😀
@Player_jp5s5eav , so you have the idea to make visiting Vlad's mansion a reward for seeking him out by doing something in the game? Interesting idea!😀 The only thing is that I would still want to be able to play as Vlad, or use his house! 🤔 But I like the idea of a reward for those Sims who are curious and persistent enough to seek out his home!
I didn't mind how small Forgotten Hollow is for a while, but you are right in that is seems empty without at least one community lot in the area. I love the houses that they built but I wish there was one library, bar, or something, mostly because it seems odd that any non-Vampire Sim would wonder through that neighborhood on their own -- there should be some reason for them to be there! They added bars to Glimmerbrook and Moonwood Mill so it makes sense that regular Sims would visit. And don't even get me started on how they need proper, functioning graveyards in TS4! 😭 Forgotton Hollow would have been perfect!
I have had various thoughts regarding how Vlad could work if there was a revamp of the Vampires pack. Again, he could be as he has always been - a playable premade Sim. Nevertheless, there is potential of making him something a bit more in the pack beyond "You befriend me enough, I'll then turn you into a vampire if you ask and then send you a few messages about what is happening to you." After that, he just kind of... calls you up whenever he wants to hang out because you took time to build a close enough relation to him. So, what about making him even more of a mentor and source of information? I'd say in a way that is a bit like the Sages in Realm of Magic but also as a way to gain lore. The closer your relationship, the meatier the information becomes.
I'd still expand the world some via one of three ways:1. A sixth lot to the present map to add a community lot... one that may face opposite of Vlad's Mansion but is still closer to the town square.
2. Turn Vlad's mansion into a community lot that he still lives on. Again, the place is huge and only one Sim is living there. Edit the inside a bit to be sort of a tribute to his heritage. The manor is like a historical landmark that the public has access to, but must treat with respect like a museum. Change some of the rooms that are practically never used into something more. The living room could have more bookshelves and be a library or be changed into a music area. The dining room could become more of a dusty, spider web covered computer room. Upstairs with the bedrooms could be changed to the main library if the downstairs is made into a music area, otherwise one room could become an art room and the other room could be a music room. Higher up could become a gym area with an outdoor hot tub. Then the very top that you can access could more or less remain the same as Vlad's office as he is still owner of the place, but is also the manager. The basement meanwhile would be his private domain that you cannot access unless he invites you in. Of course, it would need an updo to better suit that. Change the two sections with the lesser quality coffins into cleaner, more decadent rooms that would make more sense for him. The question would be whether he would be so much a philanthropist to do such a thing (I don't really see that)... or if he made the manor into that as a way to lure plenty of curious humans who think the library is a place they can be safe in to Forgotten Hollow. Make the unusable graveyard area into an actual usable one.
3. Completely convert the lot with Vlad's mansion into a new build community lot and create a "hidden world" like how you go through a passage to get to the Hermit in Outdoor Retreat. There you can find Vlad, his castle, perhaps a greater sense of danger and maybe you could discover something interesting (like an item) that you cannot find elsewhere.
Either way, it would still be nice to be able to find more interesting lore on the history of Forgotten Hollow and the premade vampires. The library could likely provide random tidbits of the creation of Forgotten Hollow. Vlad, Lilith and Caleb meanwhile could provide greater information on themselves and the vampires we've only seen mentioned and in the Gallery, their pasts, how they got there. Oh, heck... Miss Hell and the others could actually have their own "shell" areas that they lurk around or at least they could appear in the world despite not having actual lots to live on.
<super unpopular opinion>Am I the only person who actually likes some of EA's lots?
Not because they look super-realistic-amazing, or are especially beautiful, but because THEY WORK. Like, sometimes I download something cute off the gallery and have to run around deleting things to put my own objects in, or correcting pathing errors, or whatever. It's super popular to fill EVERY SINGLE AVAILABLE SQUARE INCH with clutter and decorations and I move in a Sim with objects of their own and have to find a way to reno the adorable house to accommodate them and... yeah. I am admittedly not an amazing builder and renoing someone's beautiful creation so I can put items related to MY SIM instead of the imaginary family the builder had in mind... yeah. Not always awesome.
The EA lots are blank canvases and sometimes that's what I want.
Also, some of the Game Changer lots are AMAZING and one is LOVELY but also the subject of a recent bug report. No matter how lovely a house is, if my Sim drops their queue every time they step up or down a platform and there are 7 platforms on the ground floor, I'm not playing there. I feel a little like some of the Townie lots weren't tested as vigorously as the starters but then Neighborhood Stories came along and freed those houses up for me to move in, and... yeah.
(Shoutout to James Turner's starter in Werewolves for being super playable and versatile.)</super unpopular>
That said, well. I was just telling a friend the other night that I really love Riverside Roost, mostly because a couple of my favorite Sims have lived there, and LilSimsie did an entire video on that lot entitled "I tried to renovate the ugliest house in The Sims 4 base game" so maybe my opinion is suspect. 😉 That said, it's legitimately a New Orleans style house! So it's mostly happy memories and partly that there's room for things that actually belong to my Sim.
Other EA faves include Pier Palace, Von Windenburg Estate, Hounds Head, Yuma Heights, and the Chieftan's Villa. I love Ophelia Villa for happy memories playing there, but the master bath that eats people is... something I deal with every time. 😉 Oh, and the Admiral's Shipwreck, I did a R2R there with a klepto teen and it was PERFECTION.
I WILL say that some other EA lots are... questionable. 😉 But they're not all awful!
@Player_jp5s5eav , I would prefer option #1 where the new community lot is facing Vlad's estate! But your other ideas are interesting too. And I do like that Vlad would continue to mentor you. I also would prefer a library , which you mentioned, because it fits better in that neighborhood than something like a bar or gym would. It honestly was the first community lot that came to mind when I thought about it! I would love to read lore on Vlad's family as well as the Vatores!
@xochiquetzl_xkvn , I like some of EA's lots! I loved the Goth house (except that one modern turquoise chair that is in their kitchen for some reason! 🤷♀️😅 And I know they got a lot of flack for the large houses in Strangerville, but to me it made sense... one house is owned by a group of 3 roommates, so it is going to be a bit mismatched and eclectic. The Rosswell's house is supposed to tell the story of a once wealthy family who are now struggling, having to sell off most of their possessions but still trying to keep the old family house. This is also an opportunity for those who like to decorate but don't like to place the walls, rooms, etc. As for the Sigworth's house, it is bad, but base housing (housing for the military) is not pretty! So again, it makes sense! But I did see LilSimsie's renovation of that house and liked it much better. 😄 I would have put the kitchen in the front as well!
My main problems with EA houses were the modern one that came with Get Famous with 3 or 4 bathrooms but only one toilette! And also the Glimmerbrook one in ROM that the windows and counters interact so that they all go to the third floor bathroom to wash dishes ! 🤦♀️😓 I fixed it once in one of my saves, but then forgot how I fixed it! 😅
And I love the start home in Moonwood Mill that James Turner made! It is perfect for just one or two Sims! I also saw his video on how he made it ! 😎
The Shipwreck in Island Living and the Plane crash bunker in Stragnerville are a lot of fun!
I do not remember all the names of the houses that I like or dislike, so I guess I should pay more attention to that! 😅 i will have to revisit the ones you mentioned.... right now I only remember Ophelia Villa because I was thinking it was a nod to The Sims 2's Ophelia Nigmos! 😀 I do love Ophelia Villa! But then again, I love that style of house!
I like houses on the Gallery that have a lot of detail in it, but I like clutter because it feels more live-in and not so sterile. And there are some builders on the Gallery that do play test their builds! (And that one Glimmerbrook house that I mentioned must not have been playtested by EA or they would have found you can't wash dishes in the kitchen!). So, for me, it just varies on which EA house you are talking about! 😉
