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 e...
Forum Discussion
Like you I haven't been playing it long, but this is what I found.
The cons:
I agree about the bugs (computer kind, not the insects). It does seem like the core gameplay of the pack is unusable when the NAPs and the environmental settings are both still buggy this far after release.
NAPs voting is not friendly to my style of rotational play. I think I could probably make it work if I redid all the worlds so none of my sims lived in sub-hoods that have community lots, but I don't feel like doing that much work so I just play with NPC voting turned off. I'll just have to experience that part of the gameplay in another save after the bugs are fixed.
I wish the community spaces had more options. They sounded at first like they'd be a primary component of gameplay, but they're just kind of like mini-NAPs that only affect one lot in one of three possible ways. If I could have designed the pack I'd probably have gone with more community space variety and no neighborhood-wide NAPs. Like all voting would primarily affect activities on that lot, not every house and community lot in the area.
Hugging insects is just odd and I don't know why that would be a significant component of insect care when in real life it seems like it would stress bugs out if it affected them at all.
If I was primarily playing just this pack, the never wanted NAPs like Sharing is Caring would work as an incentive to vote and use my influence to make sure it never gets enacted. But when you have a lot of other things going on in your game (fame, magic, vacations, etc), sometimes you don't want that much of a punishment for ignoring one aspect of gameplay for one sim week.
The neutral:
I have not yet found any of my sims to be the dumpster woohoo types, but I never say never. Definitely not a huge draw for me. I have some frugal or creative sims who should enjoy upgrading found objects, but that doesn't always correspond to who would enjoy digging through a dumpster. Still, I don't dislike the dumpsters I just don't use them much yet.
I haven't had time to try the careers yet, because in my large rotational save it takes me forever to get through careers.
The pros:
See, the insect recipes work for me. I may not agree with all aspects of bug care, but my super outdoorsy sim who was already roasting beetles over campfires would totally raise these in his backyard. My Addams-esque witch family may also add bugs to their diet. And I use them on my off the grid castaway lot in Sulani. It's something I can use in a lot of different settings, not only for sims like Knox.
I agree the look of Evergreen Harbor is nice and I love the NAPs that change the look of each neighborhood. I haven't gotten to see every possibility for every neighborhood yet but from what I have seen they did this part really well.
I like the off the grid improvements and the new recipes. Putting ice in the fridge is a nice touch. I'm still working on finding the balance between generating and using power and water, which is fun.
I'm really happy to have additional craftables in the game. I love having a variety of hobbies for my sims, so three more crafting options is great!
The candles burning down as they get used is nice. I'd like to get a lot of these made for my spellcaster and vampire and island castaway households for more realism.
I still like the community spaces, and the option for my sims in apartments or smaller houses to have access to public gardening, crafting and selling spaces, even while I wish they were more fleshed out. I'm finding creative ways to work them into a few of my communities, not just in Evergreen Harbor.
I'm still highly amused by the free love NAP and might use it in certain neighborhoods. Also the meat wall. I like weird and wacky stuff.
The cons:
I agree about the bugs (computer kind, not the insects). It does seem like the core gameplay of the pack is unusable when the NAPs and the environmental settings are both still buggy this far after release.
NAPs voting is not friendly to my style of rotational play. I think I could probably make it work if I redid all the worlds so none of my sims lived in sub-hoods that have community lots, but I don't feel like doing that much work so I just play with NPC voting turned off. I'll just have to experience that part of the gameplay in another save after the bugs are fixed.
I wish the community spaces had more options. They sounded at first like they'd be a primary component of gameplay, but they're just kind of like mini-NAPs that only affect one lot in one of three possible ways. If I could have designed the pack I'd probably have gone with more community space variety and no neighborhood-wide NAPs. Like all voting would primarily affect activities on that lot, not every house and community lot in the area.
Hugging insects is just odd and I don't know why that would be a significant component of insect care when in real life it seems like it would stress bugs out if it affected them at all.
If I was primarily playing just this pack, the never wanted NAPs like Sharing is Caring would work as an incentive to vote and use my influence to make sure it never gets enacted. But when you have a lot of other things going on in your game (fame, magic, vacations, etc), sometimes you don't want that much of a punishment for ignoring one aspect of gameplay for one sim week.
The neutral:
I have not yet found any of my sims to be the dumpster woohoo types, but I never say never. Definitely not a huge draw for me. I have some frugal or creative sims who should enjoy upgrading found objects, but that doesn't always correspond to who would enjoy digging through a dumpster. Still, I don't dislike the dumpsters I just don't use them much yet.
I haven't had time to try the careers yet, because in my large rotational save it takes me forever to get through careers.
The pros:
See, the insect recipes work for me. I may not agree with all aspects of bug care, but my super outdoorsy sim who was already roasting beetles over campfires would totally raise these in his backyard. My Addams-esque witch family may also add bugs to their diet. And I use them on my off the grid castaway lot in Sulani. It's something I can use in a lot of different settings, not only for sims like Knox.
I agree the look of Evergreen Harbor is nice and I love the NAPs that change the look of each neighborhood. I haven't gotten to see every possibility for every neighborhood yet but from what I have seen they did this part really well.
I like the off the grid improvements and the new recipes. Putting ice in the fridge is a nice touch. I'm still working on finding the balance between generating and using power and water, which is fun.
I'm really happy to have additional craftables in the game. I love having a variety of hobbies for my sims, so three more crafting options is great!
The candles burning down as they get used is nice. I'd like to get a lot of these made for my spellcaster and vampire and island castaway households for more realism.
I still like the community spaces, and the option for my sims in apartments or smaller houses to have access to public gardening, crafting and selling spaces, even while I wish they were more fleshed out. I'm finding creative ways to work them into a few of my communities, not just in Evergreen Harbor.
I'm still highly amused by the free love NAP and might use it in certain neighborhoods. Also the meat wall. I like weird and wacky stuff.
