EL: The good AND the bad
I'm going to state upfront that EL is my least favourite expansion pack to date, just so people know where I'm coming from here. But I think I'm a fairly typical player in that I find many things to enjoy in any new content. So, EL most certainly isn't all bad and I feel there are some actually rather delightful features I wouldn't want to play without now.
I also liked EL enough to resist deinstalling it even when the NAPs started raging out of control, and instead I fixed my save using the very helpful advice on this thread: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/OPEN-ECO-NPC-Autonoamy-commodities-incorrectly-being-saved-on/m-p/9351944#M150469. My game is playable again, and as I keep seeing people on this forum still struggling with NAPs, I strongly recommend that link, especially if next week's patch doesn't fix anything. (It will be great to get the new skin tones, but I think it's best not to hope for much else, since the last few patches were mostly useless on fixes, and the last one *broke* something new!)
So, since I don't feel my opinion of EL fits into the negative or positive threads I've seen on it so far, I thought it might be worth debating the pros and the cons together, and here are mine.
The bad
- The BUGS! So much is broken. The NAPs, gardening, the maker career, the billing system, the eco footprint... EL would be a much better pack if the stuff in it just *worked*.
- Pretty much all dumpster related activity with the possible exception of diving for deals. Who wants to woohoo in a dumpster? I like to think my sims are a pretty varied lot, and some of them are very open minded, but this is not in character for a single one. So, none ever have done this and I don't see that changing. People whose sims have tried it, is it as appalling as it sounds?!
- The new food is disgusting, and my sims avoid the EH food truck for anything except drinks. A few have sampled the cricket dish when they were absolutely starving, but really, just yuck.
- The maker career is repetitive and boring. Since my maker sim got skilled enough, she just churns out wall hangings and nothing else. The other freelance careers are much better, when they work.
- The insect farm is pointless unless you want your sim to waste many hours each day cuddling bugs for no decent reward. I've never got mine to a higher level than 'fine' no matter how much nurturing my sims do. Since I only did the compost update to a toilet once, and it immediately blew up, I don't need the bio fuel. And I don't want the bug food ingredients either, thanks. Unlike the beehive, which was a great addition to the game, I find this object a dud.
- The juice fizzer is really poor compared with the nectar maker in S3. Why can't we mix ingredients? Also, if you use it on a community lot, someone *always* steals your sim's juice. Mine kept getting into fights over this, especially with Knox who is the worst offender, and now I mostly use it on home lots. My sims haven't tried stealing anyone else's juice yet though, so I will have one do that to see what happens.
The good
- I love Evergreen Harbor, in any eco state and with or without the green and modernisation Naps. It's nice to have more everyday neighbourhoods, a bit like the town area in StrangerVille but more suburban.
- The civil designer career is really enjoyable. I like how it can suit sims with a broad range of traits and ambitions - the nerds, loners, creative types and politicians.
- The candle maker is fun and loads of my sims are either into this activity, or visit the community lots to stock up on candles.
- The fabricator is also fun, though it breaks down too often and should be upgradeable.
- The recycler is handy especially when I'm moving my sims or renovating their homes, because if it's IC I keep a lot of objects back to recycle that I'd just have sold otherwise.
- The off the grid lot trait has finally realised its potential due to all the stuff we got to make it work properly. I like finessing the number of solar panels and turbines to make enough power, though it would be more satisfying if the bills system worked properly. The food you can make off the grid is also all edible, unlike the bug dishes, which is a plus.
- The BB is great, especially the build items which work particularly well on modern homes.
- The three new community roles, which I particularly like as the premades holding them are all *so* annoying. I initially thought I'd quickly usurp the roles for my own sims, but I haven't so far because instead they all love to hate on sanctimonious Knox, dodge stalker Tina and berate Bess over their (so far) non-existent investment returns.
Just my views obviously, and I would love to know what others think (anyone want to defend dumpster woohoo?). I also feel I really haven't explored EL fully yet, and am still missing a lot. Maybe I would have found some redeeming feature of the insect farm if I hadn't got bored and given up.
I also liked EL enough to resist deinstalling it even when the NAPs started raging out of control, and instead I fixed my save using the very helpful advice on this thread: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/OPEN-ECO-NPC-Autonoamy-commodities-incorrectly-being-saved-on/m-p/9351944#M150469. My game is playable again, and as I keep seeing people on this forum still struggling with NAPs, I strongly recommend that link, especially if next week's patch doesn't fix anything. (It will be great to get the new skin tones, but I think it's best not to hope for much else, since the last few patches were mostly useless on fixes, and the last one *broke* something new!)
So, since I don't feel my opinion of EL fits into the negative or positive threads I've seen on it so far, I thought it might be worth debating the pros and the cons together, and here are mine.
The bad
- The BUGS! So much is broken. The NAPs, gardening, the maker career, the billing system, the eco footprint... EL would be a much better pack if the stuff in it just *worked*.
- Pretty much all dumpster related activity with the possible exception of diving for deals. Who wants to woohoo in a dumpster? I like to think my sims are a pretty varied lot, and some of them are very open minded, but this is not in character for a single one. So, none ever have done this and I don't see that changing. People whose sims have tried it, is it as appalling as it sounds?!
- The new food is disgusting, and my sims avoid the EH food truck for anything except drinks. A few have sampled the cricket dish when they were absolutely starving, but really, just yuck.
- The maker career is repetitive and boring. Since my maker sim got skilled enough, she just churns out wall hangings and nothing else. The other freelance careers are much better, when they work.
- The insect farm is pointless unless you want your sim to waste many hours each day cuddling bugs for no decent reward. I've never got mine to a higher level than 'fine' no matter how much nurturing my sims do. Since I only did the compost update to a toilet once, and it immediately blew up, I don't need the bio fuel. And I don't want the bug food ingredients either, thanks. Unlike the beehive, which was a great addition to the game, I find this object a dud.
- The juice fizzer is really poor compared with the nectar maker in S3. Why can't we mix ingredients? Also, if you use it on a community lot, someone *always* steals your sim's juice. Mine kept getting into fights over this, especially with Knox who is the worst offender, and now I mostly use it on home lots. My sims haven't tried stealing anyone else's juice yet though, so I will have one do that to see what happens.
The good
- I love Evergreen Harbor, in any eco state and with or without the green and modernisation Naps. It's nice to have more everyday neighbourhoods, a bit like the town area in StrangerVille but more suburban.
- The civil designer career is really enjoyable. I like how it can suit sims with a broad range of traits and ambitions - the nerds, loners, creative types and politicians.
- The candle maker is fun and loads of my sims are either into this activity, or visit the community lots to stock up on candles.
- The fabricator is also fun, though it breaks down too often and should be upgradeable.
- The recycler is handy especially when I'm moving my sims or renovating their homes, because if it's IC I keep a lot of objects back to recycle that I'd just have sold otherwise.
- The off the grid lot trait has finally realised its potential due to all the stuff we got to make it work properly. I like finessing the number of solar panels and turbines to make enough power, though it would be more satisfying if the bills system worked properly. The food you can make off the grid is also all edible, unlike the bug dishes, which is a plus.
- The BB is great, especially the build items which work particularly well on modern homes.
- The three new community roles, which I particularly like as the premades holding them are all *so* annoying. I initially thought I'd quickly usurp the roles for my own sims, but I haven't so far because instead they all love to hate on sanctimonious Knox, dodge stalker Tina and berate Bess over their (so far) non-existent investment returns.
Just my views obviously, and I would love to know what others think (anyone want to defend dumpster woohoo?). I also feel I really haven't explored EL fully yet, and am still missing a lot. Maybe I would have found some redeeming feature of the insect farm if I hadn't got bored and given up.
