I miss needing to stock up on groceries. I badly want a way to source the fresh ingredients for cooking. Even just the tomatoes, potatoes, spices etc would be good (eggs, cheese, milk, flour... would be better).Closest I have so far is hoping a produce stand is included in a San Myshuno communal area (like in the Spice Market space). I have tried looking for supermarkets in the gallery, but none truly fit {playing in Oasis Springs right now}.Anyone got a supermarket, green grocer or farmers market they love? Could someone even tell me how to get the fruit and vegetables in build mode and I might just have a go at building one myself (I know it all has to be placed item by item by item).Thanks.

This is a misconception honestly. Grocery stores was introduced with Get To Work Expansion. Maxis did not just build a pre built lot for it, which makes simmers think that grocery shopping is non-existent. Here is how it works (a copy-paste comment of mine from reddit) Spoiler (Highlight to read)"Ok I want to be clear about point One :)"Buying groceries. I actually miss the option of being able to buy and stock up on any ingredients I needed for particular recipes instead of having to grow, pick, and/or fish for what I need."Up to this point there is still a huge misconception about grocery shopping. I will also include other types especially since people claim that you cannot buy on bookstores anymore, you cannot shop anymore on etc. etc.This is a big misconception in the game and I hope many people will know it. Grocery Stores, Bookstores, etc. are already in the game if you have Get to Work (released 5 years ago). That expansion pack bought retail stores which means not rabbithole shops.Grocery Stores/Bookstores/ and etc are already in the game, it is just that EA did not build a Pre-built lot for those. You have to make them. I personally have those in my game and everytime my sim needs ingredietns I or books i do not plant or click on the bookshelf. I go to the retail stores.Just Built a retail Lot. Now after you built it have a sim own the retail store, place the "Lice Cold Freezer" and the "warming Rack". Download rooms from the gallery that has all of the Plants in the game, as well as all of food unlocks in the game then place those food objects in those freezers and viola. Sell the store and you have a working grocery.Here is the thing. You only have to place like one type of food each. If you sell the store and come back as a customer, you can buy as many types of those food that you wanted. If you own the store and want to run it, you have to restock sold items. So Yep. Grocery shopping are already in the game. EA/Maxis did not just built a prebuild lot for it.You can also shop for a lot more things now in TS4 to the point that I rarely go to build mode anymore. Want some TV? Go to electronics store. Want to try new hobby? Go to a hobby store and buy those equipment. I dont want my sim to become a flower arranger but want flower arrangements to a date? Go to a flower shop. And hey, I maybe I can even meet new sims on those shops.So yep hope this helps. Shopping is already in TS4 you just have to utilize it because the Devs only made Clothing store as the prebuilt lot in the game.What I miss on previous game is animation.MORE Animation. More sitting animations and etc. I mean Ever since the base game launch you can only count with your 10 fingers which social interactions only add new animations. The rest are from 2014. We need more variety imo""Ok I want to be clear about point One :)"Buying groceries. I actually miss the option of being able to buy and stock up on any ingredients I needed for particular recipes instead of having to grow, pick, and/or fish for what I need."Up to this point there is still a huge misconception about grocery shopping. I will also include other types especially since people claim that you cannot buy on bookstores anymore, you cannot shop anymore on etc. etc.This is a big misconception in the game and I hope many people will know it. Grocery Stores, Bookstores, etc. are already in the game if you have Get to Work (released 5 years ago). That expansion pack bought retail stores which means not rabbithole shops.Grocery Stores/Bookstores/ and etc are already in the game, it is just that EA did not build a Pre-built lot for those. You have to make them. I personally have those in my game and everytime my sim needs ingredietns I or books i do not plant or click on the bookshelf. I go to the retail stores.Just Built a retail Lot. Now after you built it have a sim own the retail store, place the "Lice Cold Freezer" and the "warming Rack". Download rooms from the gallery that has all of the Plants in the game, as well as all of food unlocks in the game then place those food objects in those freezers and viola. Sell the store and you have a working grocery.Here is the thing. You only have to place like one type of food each. If you sell the store and come back as a customer, you can buy as many types of those food that you wanted. If you own the store and want to run it, you have to restock sold items. So Yep. Grocery shopping are already in the game. EA/Maxis did not just built a prebuild lot for it.You can also shop for a lot more things now in TS4 to the point that I rarely go to build mode anymore. Want some TV? Go to electronics store. Want to try new hobby? Go to a hobby store and buy those equipment. I dont want my sim to become a flower arranger but want flower arrangements to a date? Go to a flower shop. And hey, I maybe I can even meet new sims on those shops.So yep hope this helps. Shopping is already in TS4 you just have to utilize it because the Devs only made Clothing store as the prebuilt lot in the game.What I miss on previous game is animation.MORE Animation. More sitting animations and etc. I mean Ever since the base game launch you can only count with your 10 fingers which social interactions only add new animations. The rest are from 2014. We need more variety imo"The only thing that you need is a mod that is able to add fish in the retail freezer to be sold. It was possible in the past but got broke in the patch. Many people do not know that it is possible and it even exist so I doubt that Maxis would bother fixing it. But I do know there is one (as far as I remember)

If you're ok with using mods (and assuming you're on PC), there is a mod that not only overhauls the cooking in the game and adds a bunch of real ingredients like eggs, cheese, flour, sugar, milk, etc, and let you buy said items to cook, but they've also created a grocery store to go with the mod.SrslySims Complete Cooking Overhaul | Greenfield Grocery Store lotThe mod also allows you to go to a rabbit hole grocery store to quickly buy fresh ingredients (all fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers, fish, spices, etc) when you need to.

Here are some screenshots of my build so far...Fronthttps://i.imgur.com/EjtSnA9.pngFront from side and close up of entranceSpoiler (Highlight to read)https://i.imgur.com/zEbcfIw.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/ebnHMTD.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/zEbcfIw.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/ebnHMTD.pngLaundromat areahttps://i.imgur.com/Dquq9dm.pngProduce Sectionhttps://i.imgur.com/MZZiYw4.pngAisles and other viewsSpoiler (Highlight to read)https://i.imgur.com/OGLexSQ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/gb6umA1.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/qTfywdi.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/OGLexSQ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/gb6umA1.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/qTfywdi.pngFloral Selectionhttps://i.imgur.com/E50APK9.pngCheckoutshttps://i.imgur.com/AmBkLXZ.pngAerial ViewsSpoiler (Highlight to read)https://i.imgur.com/ZgJBb23.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/WiHMXsa.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/ZgJBb23.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/WiHMXsa.png

That looks really cool!!! I don't have the patience to build as I'm not much of a builder... I consider myself more of a CAS perfectionist tbh. Any tips on how I could get better at building???

This is something I thought ever since starting playing. Part of everyday life is organising a weekly or monthly shop and making lists and having to buy certain items for a party or barbeque etc.There is so much potential for this and it would be really useful if you have to actually buy ready meals or you could buy a ready made cake for a sim. This way, certain sims won't gain cooking skill either because most of my sims end up with level 10 cooking when they seem more like a ready meal person if you know what I mean. And the quick meals in the game are FREE and they don't fill your hunger which isn't always realistic.

Grocery Shopping (in TS4) | EA Forums

14 Replies

cb2342z
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I think bb.showliveeditobjects and buydebugmode on should bring all the fruits/vegetables up in the game. It's what I use to make my builds more lively, using the various props/clutter that normally doesn't show up. My problem is that most of it is named simply DEBUG.

TS2 (having an active grocery store lot!) and even TS3's rabbithole added so much to the depth of the game.
TS1299
5 years ago
This is a misconception honestly. Grocery stores was introduced with Get To Work Expansion. Maxis did not just build a pre built lot for it, which makes simmers think that grocery shopping is non-existent. Here is how it works (a copy-paste comment of mine from reddit)

Spoiler
"Ok I want to be clear about point One :)

"Buying groceries. I actually miss the option of being able to buy and stock up on any ingredients I needed for particular recipes instead of having to grow, pick, and/or fish for what I need."

Up to this point there is still a huge misconception about grocery shopping. I will also include other types especially since people claim that you cannot buy on bookstores anymore, you cannot shop anymore on etc. etc.

This is a big misconception in the game and I hope many people will know it. Grocery Stores, Bookstores, etc. are already in the game if you have Get to Work (released 5 years ago). That expansion pack bought retail stores which means not rabbithole shops.

Grocery Stores/Bookstores/ and etc are already in the game, it is just that EA did not build a Pre-built lot for those. You have to make them. I personally have those in my game and everytime my sim needs ingredietns I or books i do not plant or click on the bookshelf. I go to the retail stores.

Just Built a retail Lot. Now after you built it have a sim own the retail store, place the "Lice Cold Freezer" and the "warming Rack". Download rooms from the gallery that has all of the Plants in the game, as well as all of food unlocks in the game then place those food objects in those freezers and viola. Sell the store and you have a working grocery.

Here is the thing. You only have to place like one type of food each. If you sell the store and come back as a customer, you can buy as many types of those food that you wanted. If you own the store and want to run it, you have to restock sold items. So Yep. Grocery shopping are already in the game. EA/Maxis did not just built a prebuild lot for it.

You can also shop for a lot more things now in TS4 to the point that I rarely go to build mode anymore. Want some TV? Go to electronics store. Want to try new hobby? Go to a hobby store and buy those equipment. I dont want my sim to become a flower arranger but want flower arrangements to a date? Go to a flower shop. And hey, I maybe I can even meet new sims on those shops.

So yep hope this helps. Shopping is already in TS4 you just have to utilize it because the Devs only made Clothing store as the prebuilt lot in the game.

What I miss on previous game is animation.

MORE Animation. More sitting animations and etc. I mean Ever since the base game launch you can only count with your 10 fingers which social interactions only add new animations. The rest are from 2014. We need more variety imo"

The only thing that you need is a mod that is able to add fish in the retail freezer to be sold. It was possible in the past but got broke in the patch. Many people do not know that it is possible and it even exist so I doubt that Maxis would bother fixing it. But I do know there is one (as far as I remember)
CherryBerryCloud
5 years ago
If you're ok with using mods (and assuming you're on PC), there is a mod that not only overhauls the cooking in the game and adds a bunch of real ingredients like eggs, cheese, flour, sugar, milk, etc, and let you buy said items to cook, but they've also created a grocery store to go with the mod.

SrslySims Complete Cooking Overhaul | Greenfield Grocery Store lot

The mod also allows you to go to a rabbit hole grocery store to quickly buy fresh ingredients (all fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers, fish, spices, etc) when you need to.
moppy14w
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Thanks @cody6268. I tried bb.showhiddenobjects. It has revealed a bunch of stuff, though I'm not sure I am doing it right; yet.

I get that we have a (somewhat clunky IMO) shopping system @TS1299. And it is a decent distinction that the developers have not built shops, making it easy to stock up on the ingredients for cooking.

Will look at the mod @CherryBerryCloud. I do use some carefully selected mods, but am a little hesitant to add more; especially one that seems so large.
moppy14w
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Here are some screenshots of my build so far...

Front
https://i.imgur.com/EjtSnA9.png

Front from side and close up of entrance
Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/zEbcfIw.png
https://i.imgur.com/ebnHMTD.png

Laundromat area
https://i.imgur.com/Dquq9dm.png

Produce Section
https://i.imgur.com/MZZiYw4.png

Aisles and other views
Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/OGLexSQ.png
https://i.imgur.com/gb6umA1.png
https://i.imgur.com/qTfywdi.png

Floral Selection
https://i.imgur.com/E50APK9.png

Checkouts
https://i.imgur.com/AmBkLXZ.png

Aerial Views
Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/ZgJBb23.png
https://i.imgur.com/WiHMXsa.png
moppy14w
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Obviously it's a Work in Progress.
I have done less than a handful of big projects like this (normally stick to renovating small apartments, lol).

Haven't figured out yet how to stock the fridge displays. HELP Appreciated!
AninaBeana
5 years ago
That looks really cool!!! I don't have the patience to build as I'm not much of a builder... I consider myself more of a CAS perfectionist tbh. Any tips on how I could get better at building???
smilepanda209
New Spectator
5 years ago
This is something I thought ever since starting playing. Part of everyday life is organising a weekly or monthly shop and making lists and having to buy certain items for a party or barbeque etc.

There is so much potential for this and it would be really useful if you have to actually buy ready meals or you could buy a ready made cake for a sim. This way, certain sims won't gain cooking skill either because most of my sims end up with level 10 cooking when they seem more like a ready meal person if you know what I mean. And the quick meals in the game are FREE and they don't fill your hunger which isn't always realistic.
moppy14w
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
"AninaBeana;c-17777270" wrote:
That looks really cool!!! I don't have the patience to build as I'm not much of a builder... I consider myself more of a CAS perfectionist tbh. Any tips on how I could get better at building???

Thank you AninaBeana. And welcome to the forums.
As mentioned, I’m not a huge builder myself. I consider myself something of a casual player (CAS, build and live mode; but there are weeks at a time I won’t play).
I suggest starting with simple, real life floor plans. www.houseplants.com is pretty good.
Starting with a floor plan and working from a basic colour palette were huge steps forward in my building. There was a great thread on the old TS3 forum “Builders 101” and that’s where it all started for me. :) Also, practice, practice, practice.
It’s probably worth noting that my grocery build here is a gutted out EA house too. :*
moppy14w
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Welcome too @smilepanda
I agree about nearly all Sims ending up with very high cooking skill. At least they shouldn’t starve as long as they have a fridge though, right? Can’t remember if that used to be a risk in older Sims games...
Did you know that if you have Dine Out you can “order cake” to be bought out at most restaurants? One time I tried and it didn’t quite work. Cakes ended up in one inventory or another. But it could be worth trying again??