How to keep wanting to play the game without the new DLC?

There are a lot of mods out there that add interesting bits of gameplay, like the zombie apocalypse one. I sometimes add CC like that and play it for a bit, then remove it and return to 'normality'.

"Smellincoffee;c-18293150" wrote:
There are a lot of mods out there that add interesting bits of gameplay, like the zombie apocalypse one. I sometimes add CC like that and play it for a bit, then remove it and return to 'normality'.

Thats a fun idea, thanks!

@Callum2000 if I were a doctor I'd diagnose you with PEPS (Pre Expansion Pack Syndrome) ?. If you haven't already maybe create the sim you want to be a rancher & start working on their skills, maybe start designing their ranch & put temp doors, windows & furniture in & save it to your Library for placement/updating when you get the pack. You could play an easy scenario or watch YouTube lets plays or build videos to get some ideas/inspiration for when you *can* play Horse Ranch.

"Callum2000;d-1010068" wrote:
This is kind of a silly discussion lol. I really want Horse Ranch but i’m not able to get it for another 2 weeks. How can I stay motivated to play the game until I get it?

I’m always like this when new packs come out and find it hard to play the game without it ? but this is the longest im having to wait to buy a pack that I want (im very fortunate that 2 weeks is my longest wait I know).

Do any of you get this feeling as well, and what do you do in the game to keep you invested until you get the new pack you want? I have all packs other that Battu, so I dont have a lack of content to play. I just find the motivation and coming up with an idea hard.

I sometimes get PEPS as well, although I don't have it this time. I do plan on getting the pack eventually but not right now. I also have to wait a bit but I'm fine with waiting. I'm not super excited about this one, just mildly excited.

As for what I do, I typically plan what I'll build and the stories I'll make once I get the pack. I also began preparing my current household for the new pack.

I'm in the waiting boat too
so I've just been doing file management,
painting some ceilings and working on builds and households I don't exactly need this pack for

but also taking some time off game while waiting might be good idea

for example I have been doing some exercise instead
cause I know the moment I have the pack
I'm gonna just sit on my computer chair slowly turning into moss gal?

I have waited for up to six months for many EP because that was the time it used to take them to get a 50% discount. The first month or so is the hardest because that is when they are new and everyone is talking about them. After that it gets easier again. I try to focus on other things in the game. This is often the time when I temporarily switch from playing live mode to building for a few gameplay sessions (two or three weeks) . It helps to shift the focus away from gameplay for a little while.

Sometimes I do a throwback to how I'd play in the Sims 2 days - create a family based on a tv show, making them look as accurate as possible with only the stuff already available to you (so no searching for 10 hours to find the one hair CC that looks closest), and then build their house as close as possible. The house building is often a real challenge because very rarely do tv show house exteriors make sense with the interior, and usually the upstairs and downstairs don't make much sense with each other either, with the added difficulty of how stupid the sims are sometimes so you have to make the house accurate but also usable so they can get past a chair or whatever.

Also something like a decades challenge could keep you engaged! You could definitely do an abbreviated version of one if you don't feel like dealing with the "1 sim week = about 9 months" timeframe, just put everyone on the Long lifespan and play as normal. The addition of stuff like death rolls for children, childbirth, war, and disease adds some flavor, and changing the house gradually as the decades go on to change what's available for them to use and do is fun (also a quibble about the rules for the decades challenge - the rules for starting in 1890 are like "no wallpaper, no upholstery, no smoke alarms, etc" but all of those things existed in 1890. Upholstered furniture had been been a thing for hundreds of years, wallpaper was commercially available decades earlier, and the smoke alarm and fire sprinklers were invented in like the 1870s!)

I get really antsy when I don't get a pack soon after launch but then I don't really do anything with it. Like I only actually went with a sim to school for the first time 3 weeks ago even though I got HSY like a week after release.

"Callum2000;d-1010068" wrote:
This is kind of a silly discussion lol. I really want Horse Ranch but i’m not able to get it for another 2 weeks. How can I stay motivated to play the game until I get it?

I’m always like this when new packs come out and find it hard to play the game without it ? but this is the longest im having to wait to buy a pack that I want (im very fortunate that 2 weeks is my longest wait I know).

Do any of you get this feeling as well, and what do you do in the game to keep you invested until you get the new pack you want? I have all packs other that Battu, so I dont have a lack of content to play. I just find the motivation and coming up with an idea hard.

What you're suffering from has a name. It's called PEPS as in Pre-Expansion Pack Syndrome. I would suggest you try to come up with goals for your Sims to achieve in the meantime. Maybe something that will get them ready for the horse experience? Maybe do some building? PEPS is very hard to work through I will admit. I got fairly lucky this time around. I am currently on a road trip. My laptop has been giving me fits, or should I say my Windows OS. My machine keeps updating itself every time I open it! Mind you, it's not as if it's been sitting idle for the past several weeks and has a lot of updates to get through. I had that and driving to keep my mind occupied.

You all had HSY for several months, while I was the lone hold out still on Snowy Escape. The PEPS effect was real for sure but eventually I got used to it.

Edit: And for the record, I got all the packs now.

Find something in the game that you haven't done before. Play a premade. Build something for when you get the new EP. Try a scenario or challenge.

It's easier for me to distract myself with another game or hobby. Taking a sim break can be quite refreshing and you might feel more creative when you're ready to play again.