Re: Is outdoor retreat worth it?

@PugLove888Oh I forgot to tell you, I do already have the City Living EP and you are absolutely right, it is a very good fit for my style of play :D Seasons even makes city life more fun and interesting. My Sim once got hit by lightning at the Humor and Hijinx Festival... not much humor in that but pretty much the ultimate when it comes to hijinx pranks! xDDD Poor thing had to hide out in the art gallery until it was safe to come out again.

One of my favorite weather effects is how glass windows frosts over when it's freezing outside. It's so cool to tinker around in a greenhouse/ workshop while there is a blizzard blowing outside.

I currently have Cats and Dogs, City Living, Get Together, and Seasons. With the help of you and others (especially my NZ Sims bestie @finelinetracksix if you read this, love you heaps!) I have decided that Island Living will definitely be my next EP and Laundry Day Stuff will be my next Stuff Pack.

@RonneeSimmer @RandomBuzziness @PugLove888 I love your information and suggestions! I think gardening lovers who don't have seasons miss out on so many aspects that are really fun (and some great challenges). It allows you to nuance and customize your gardening in so many great ways! I agree... I hate that the lightening can make my rocket ships or Patchy go poof if I forget to put them in inventory in a storm or add a shelter for patchy... but the sound and visual effects of them are awesome!! (Also note... even if you have lightening and blizzards disabled on 'mystery weather' days on the calendar... you may get them anyway. all bets are off on mystery weather days!

RonneeSimmer... I also didn't mention this part (since you didn't voice interest in pets - which I also consider a very nice pack - the pets are awesome), but if you get pets and go into Brindleton Bay at night with a nice snowfall occurring...
It's breathtaking. Seriously.
EA outdid themselves with this pack, imho. 🙂

@RonneeSimmer Getting back to the Outdoor Retreat game pack, I've found some cool things to do with the Build Mode camping equipment that comes with this pack. I created an unofficial campground on an empty residential lot in Windenburg (from the Get Together EP). All I did with this lot was add some landscaping and changed the designation from residential to generic. The game let me "place in world" all of my camping gear, tent, outdoor shower, cooler, chairs, etc., and rearrange them as I wished. Everything worked fine, even that pesky campfire that usually catches EVERYTHING nearby on fire! Yep, I used that campfire 3 days in a row with no accidents! A miracle, right? I think this might have something to do with me changing the lot designation to Generic but I need to do more experimentation on this. Anyhow that is getting off topic and I'll keep any further discussion on campfires over on the Bug Forum.

I will try to upload some screen shots of my unofficial campground. There were lots of fishing locations, collectibles spawning spots, and harvestable plants nearby and also a beach with a bonfire. My Sim had an awesome camping trip, roasting marshmallows, singing campfire songs, and stargazing. I don't intend for this to replace camping in Granite Falls, that is still A LOT of fun and has all those unique collectibles, but just as a change of pace or for more variety in my game. There are several other lots in other worlds that I think would also work well for this. An unofficial camping lot like this would probably also be a great place for a family camping weekend.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share some of this as to why I think Outdoor Retreat is definitely worth getting if you love outdoor activities for your Sims.

Thanks so much @PugLove888 and @SheriGR  and others for the info and discussions, I enjoyed them very much!

EDIT: All CAS and Build Mode items in the screenshots are Base Game or are included with the Outdoor Retreat Game Pack. No CC or items from any other packs were used (other than the location, oops!).

@RandomBuzziness ...good points well made. I had fun building up my 'herbalist collection' of bugs and plants in that world. I took my large household there on vacation a couple of times (along with my pause button), then went 2-3 other times with just my herbalist sim (who stayed with the hermit for a while to get the remainder of what I wanted). Hunting down the plants and bugs in different seasons and times of day/night was a fun challenge. 🙌

@RandomBuzzinessThe campsite lot you made is gorgeous! ❤️  I'm so glad you are having fun with the Outdoor Retreat GP! 🥳  I also love that this pack has a lot of items that work with the Off the Grid lot trait and are great for Off the Grid Challenges!  😎

Yes!  The frosted glass is very cozy, in my opinion! Love that effect! ❤️

It seems like you got a good range of packs! Thanks for updating us, and thanks for the pictures! 🙌

@RandomBuzziness, your Brindleton Bay rustic fishing shack sounds fun! 🥳 It certainly would have beautiful scenery! ❤️ You will have to tell us how your Sulani one works out when you are finished building it! 😉
Did you ever find the Hermit's House (as well at the Hermit) in Outdoor Retreat?🤔

@PugLove888Happy Thanksgiving! Yes, one of my Sims finished the Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration so she spent quite a lot of time in the Hermit's part of the forest. There was a particular collectible I REALLY wanted, as far as I know you could only find it in one place, and the Hermit had the only bathroom in the area xD

SPOILER ALERT: For anyone who hasn't played Outdoor Retreat and does not want any spoilers, don't read below! 

@RandomBuzziness, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! ❤️

I'm glad you found the Hermit and the Hermit Shack! 🙌 Some people don't even realize this is in the pack! 😢 

I once had a family of 3 camp out on the Hermit's property -- they had a tent, but that meant 4 people had to share the toilet and shower!  Had one of my Sims make it up to the Hermit by upgrading the toillet, sinks, and shower.  😇  I figured it was the only way I could repay her hospitality!  (Everytime I have found the Hermit, it has been a woman, but I want to say that I've heard some people have a man as the Hermit in their games.)

I'm happy you got your collectable from this area! 🙌

@PugLove888 That's funny... I never knew the hermit could vary. I figured it was like Santa - one person. Mine was a man. 🙂

@SheriGR, thanks for confirming that !😃  I had heard that some people's Hermit was a man, but had never seen it! 🤨 Mine has always been a woman so far.

@PugLove888I did have a very nice Thanksgiving :D Thanks!

The hermit in my outdoor enthusiast save was male. I would occasionally see him walking around or fishing but he was almost never at home so I did not feel too bad about using his bathroom ;-D

@SheriGR  My Sim happened to meet Santa (Father Winter) at the vet's office one day in Brindleton Bay. He later invited my Sim to join him for tea at the Romance Festival. BAD SANTA! True story! xD

@RandomBuzziness, that's funny about your Santa at the Romance Festival! 😃 As long as he isn't married , he's allowed to find romance at the festival! 😇  
@RandomBuzziness  and @SheriGR , Ah yes, another male Hermit!  I need to see if I can get a male for a Hermit in a new save game! 💡  The female Hermit in the picture befriended the entire family!  ❤️

@RandomBuzziness So funny about Santa at the Romance Festival! I had him live with my main household for quite a while (he's actually still in that save in their home, I believe). I was a bit freaked out the first time I saw him skipping around the house. I had never played an adult with the childish trait! Lol! (I built them a a retail store that sold Christmas items and baked goods, and he lives in the apartment there... but when not playing that store he comes to their home and has a room there also. He is really nice, loves the computer, and has mad handiness skills! (Which makes sense, of course.) So... if you need all your stuff upgraded move Santa in with you for a while and have him upgrade for you. You'll probably want to keep him since he's a nice & friendly guy! 🙌

@PugLove888 Was one of your sims staying with the Hermit pursuing the Herbalist career and needing to be besties with the Hermit to get his recipe? That was my goal. It seemed lie a bit of a 'not too smooth' process, but I managed. Seasons definitely made that all more challenging, since the plants you collect have certain seasons. (Especially when juggling a large household, which I almost always am). I didn't upgrade or mess with his stuff or camp out in the yard, and had another sim I was bringing back and forth some of the time while one stayed there. That did get tricky since there is only one (double) bed. Anyway, it was a good challenge, but I haven't gone back to do it with another sim so far. 🙂

@SheriGR, It's been a while since I played with that family for anything other than testing purposes. I think I just had them stay with the Hermit originally just because I could do so! 😃 Then I wanted to fish in her lake and get her blackberries, (which at the time were hard to get, but now are much easier!)  I don't know if I got her recipe or not.🤭  I don't remember. 😳

@RandomBuzziness& @SheriGR  childish adult Sims (like Father Winter)  will play with any toys by themselves! 🥳 I especially get a kick out of them playing with toys from the toybox because they act just like children with them! 🙌😃

I also have heard that if you have children with Father Winter , the children will inherit a special trait … but I have not tried it yet! 🤨

@PugLove888and @SheriGR  I had spent a significant amount of time in Granite Falls in a previous save while trying to complete the Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration and to search for the unique collectibles that are only found there. Lately I have been going back with my current save and for the first time since I added the Seasons EP. I am so pleased with how well Granite Falls works with Seasons! The forest seems to react differently to certain weather conditions than any other place I've seen (spoilers attached below). It just adds a new level of uniqueness to the campground and forest in a way that I love! It makes me want to keep going back :D

I've also noticed the Park Rangers are different in this save than in my previous save, so there appears to be some randomness there too. They've all had the Loves The Outdoors trait, but other than that they vary in age and gender.

Warning: Spoilers Below

@RandomBuzziness That is so cool! I'm glad you're loving the changes the the Seasons EP added to Granite Falls. It's an amazing how well they made the Seasons pack enhance the worlds and gameplay! Thanks for sharing that! 🙌

@RandomBuzziness  & @SheriGR , yes, I love the heavy rain and thunderstorms you can get at Granite Falls if you have Seasons!  It does make the camping experience of Outdoor Retreat more life-like and more of an adventure! ❤️  My Sims weren't too happy with me for making them trek out to the Outlook station and then to the Hermit's House during the storms, but I had a blast! 🙌