Decisions...help, please?

"Alwe1507;c-17292068" wrote:

"darrenfroggy;c-17291870" wrote:
Reading through what you enjoyed previously & putting it against packs I have:

GTW and GF are the ones with active careers, C&D has the vet career that's run like a business/retail.
GT has the clubs which can be useful for rotational play when you want more Sims in your rotation to gain skills and if you enjoy the socializing aspect.

The best worlds imo are Windenburg (GT) and Brindleton Bay (C&D). They're beautiful, varied in areas, and fun to be around and build on.

Seasons is a must and works with every other pack. The only downside for me was that it's I think the only EP that didn't come with its own world. Makes sense since it's packed with features but still.

For family play, I think if you're not super into it and want to focus more on the work side of things, you can do without the kid-related packs. They do add new activities for the younger lifestages that are fun, but then children's after-school clubs are in Seasons (scouting) and Get Famous (drama club), so that already adds a layer to what they normally do.

Personally, I'm 50/50 on GF. I like some of the aspects and the build/buy certainly adds the flashy items to buy if you want your rich Sims to be opulent and showy. And going through the ranks of fame is entertaining (more so if you challenge yourself and do it through unusual means instead of the acting career). But it's not something I generally do in my gameplay besides my one GF-specific playthrough.
Celebs roam all the worlds but the premade ones live in that EPs world, Del Sol Valley. It's worth noting that you can turn off the fame gain progress in a save if you don't want your Sims to become famous (fame has its downsides). Celebs will still be around the world though.

Hope that didn't cause more questions than answers ;)

@darrenfroggy

GTW, Seasons & CL are on the list. Thank you :)

I like the idea of GF - similarly to you, I think, I would probably play a couple of my Sims through as Celebs but not the whole town.

I do have a couple of questions - you mentioned turning off fame gain in a save. Can that be done without losing my Sim their fame? Also, do Sims gain fame without my input?

Do you have the Vampires GP? Do I control who becomes Vamps?

One downside to either TS2 Apartment Life, or TS3 Supernatural I found that once I turned one Sim, it seemed to spread like a virus! I don't want to hide everyone from the sun!!

The switch I mentioned is about the way Sims start, my apologies, I should have been clearer. You can have Sims start "Out of the Spotlight" in a save and then you can choose which Sim will be on the track to fame individually. Or you can have all Sims start "in the Spotlight" and then they'll gain fame with every relevant interaction.
The turning on and off (on the individual Sim) does make your Sim lose their fame status though. It's not super hard to gain it back but it's literally an off switch for the Sim's fame so they become just a regular Sim. If you have it off for the save, it doesn't affect the individual setting though.

Personally I have it turned off so I can choose who's working on being famous because there are so many ways to gain fame/attention that the start is easy but the maintaining of the level gets tedious. (outside of that one save where my Sim, Emery, is a Global Superstar & doesn't have to worry about that anymore).

The only level at which Fame doesn't decay is Global Superstar (the top level). At any level below you'll need to do interactions with the +Fame indicator to keep the Sim famous. On the upside, there are a good few simple ones that don't take up much time or effort.

Regarding off-screen fame gain, I don't believe so. The game generates townies with various fame levels (though I think only the first two) but they don't gain or lose that level if you don't play them.

I don't have Vampires - it's not my thing and to be completely honest, I did hear that when the GP first released, the vamps were everywhere. I believe it's been toned down but you'd probably still need to have garlic everywhere to keep your Sims safe. Still, that's only things I've read, not actual experience.