Horse Ranch Positive Thoughts Thread

I just heard the news five minutes ago. Since then, I’ve said, “Oh, wow!” out loud approximately 55,984 times.

I'm so excited. FINALLY, there's going to be an Olden Days Western Pack. Also, the new world so reminds me of Appaloosa Plains in Sims 3. This pack will so go way perfectly with my Get Together, Cottage Living, Outdoor Retreat, Cats & Dogs and even Strangerville packs. <3 B) :p ;)

Stupid question....Has this been confirmed by EA? If this is official, I think it's awesome and I'm very excited about this.

"bluzkat65;c-18278784" wrote:
Stupid question....Has this been confirmed by EA? If this is official, I think it's awesome and I'm very excited about this.

Apparently there was a full leak via the Steam page (which seems to have been taken down). There’s a link to the tweet from the Sims Community which has all the information on the first page of this thread.

I’m hoping that there’s a horse forum community (kind of like Equus-Sims) for all kinds of CC and nifty horse breeding stuff. I’ll definitely have my horse farm like I had in up in Sims 3, but make it Haflingers. ?

I'm on the fence about this one o:)


On the one hand, I already have 2 farming packs (Cottage Living is one, and Eco Lifestyle and Seasons basically count for 1/2 a farming pack each.) I don't need another one. I'm happy for those who have wanted horses forever, but horses are not a big deal to me.

On the other hand... nectar making and line dancing make me happy.
But $40 happy?

And of course standard procedure about definitely not buying it before I see the bug reports start to come out...

Anyhow, this is going in the positive thread because it does look cool and fun and I hope all the people who want horses get what they have been hoping for!

I'm most excited for nectar making! I will build a French nectar farm with grapes & goats in Tartosa and then open a wine shop.

The first screenshots look interesting.
- I noticed the kid riding the horse so it is nice that it's not only adults. But horses in general are a nice thing to have, not something I absolutely need. So this might be a 'wait for the sale' pack but I like what I have seen too much to skip it. (based on the limited info we do have)
- The baby sheep and goats are cute but I wonder if they ever grow up? I hope we get wool from the sheep that can be used like llama wool to knit clothing?
- Nectar making sounds interesting. I am curious how this will differ from juice fizzing because that was also making drinks. (I never played with nectar making in sims 3). I hope it works off grid too. I can already see my sims earn money with making and selling Nectar
- Another upright piano. First they make us wait for 9 years and then we get an upright piano two packs in a row? not complaing though, it is good upright pianos aren't exclusive to only the growing together EP.
- Paintable ceilings are so needed. I really hope this is a base game update.

Note: this is not my full opinion. I will now head over to the negative thread as well.

The pack looks cool if it is to be released. It looks like there will be horse jumping so maybe there will be barrel racing. It would be nice to see calf roping and bull riding too. Especially if they tie in the fair from Henford Bagley and make it a real county fair. Maybe they will throw in quilts like from Sims 2 and being able to actually show an animal at the fair. Because fairs aren't just about the best canned goods, pies and talking to other sims. It's about watching the trained animals put through their paces, learning new agricultural techniques, seeing critters from other parts of the world, pig races, three legged races, eating contests, barrel racing, trick riding, bull riding and showing how that lama or horse can rear up on its back legs. Its watching the kids lead those animals they've worked with for so long out in the ring and show off their talents.
The very first fair I ever saw was the Montana State Fair and my sister showed her horse. She placed but I don't remember whether it was 1st or 2nd. My folks had pictures taken which she covets to this day. He was a stubborn but beautiful horse and he would do anything for my sister.

Though I think it's quite ludicrous to split farm animals into two packs, I think in this case it's kinda smart. When Cottage Living was leaked, people were split between wanting a country ranch or cottage core/non-American approach. This way, we can have both :) I want more rural worlds in general, but this specific theme makes me feel nostalgic and happy. If the world has a good amount of lots, I'll probably play there a lot since I've tried renovating Oasis Springs to a country theme but failed, and Strangerville is beautiful but the infected are off-putting for normal gameplay. I enjoy desert worlds a lot since they're so visually different from all the green worlds, and having more of them will allow me to appreciate each one as unique instead of trying to turn it into something else. I'll probably also play with cows more in this world since I haven't played in Henford-on-Bagley much so far, and there aren't always space for them in the suburbs.

I really hope that we'll get something new to do with wool and milk, such as sewing and soap-making (goat milk soap!). If not, I'd feel cheated for paying for the same feature twice.
I am very excited for nectar making, which I hope will be customizable and have depth. I also hope we'll get corn and wheat, which can be distilled into bourbon/whiskey, and that we can make brandy or "fruit nectar" with fruits.

Tbh, I don't care about horses (barely touched them in TS3), except for their use in historic saves for transport and aesthetics. I doubt we're getting jousting lol. The equestrian center looks like a rabbithole, and I think that makes sense since all the animations required for races and competitions would easily take up the entire pack budget. I hope we can at least see the training on obstacle course objects etc. And I hope that the center can host charity events. I'd love to make a snobby equestrian fundraiser club that I can infiltrate and corrupt.

Overall, I'm curious to learn more.