Island Living is a good “Expansion Pack”
I see very 50/50 opinions on Island Living. A lot of people who are unhappy feel there’s isn’t enough new gameplay avenues. For me, Island Living is perfect for what an Expansion Pack original...
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Sulani being a livable world is fine. It has beautiful scenery, and the water is gorgeous. The Islanders are friendly to the point of being a bit rude when they bring over plates of food whenever a Sim's hunger dips too low, then proceed to clean out my fridges. They also raided the fridge after bringing over a bowl of kava, while my Sim was sleeping it off in a lounge chair. Then one member of the party decided it was okay to sleep in her bed and spend the night, but he did make another go at raiding the fridge before he left. This odd behavior has impacted my entire game. All of my restaurants are havens for food thieves now. So I guess if an expansion is meant to have an impact on the base game, then Island Living succeeded in impacting much more than just the base game in this instance.
We have been complaining about the lack of gameplay in packs for a couple of years, and nothing has changed. Personally, I feel Parenthood, even as a game pack, added a lot more to the game than Island Living has. But that is my opinion among many different opinions I have seen expressed. I dislike seeing the community split like this again. Some love Island Living, some don't. I am in the middle somewhere, a bit lost because my initial plans for Sulani will have to be changed in order to accommodate for what isn't in Island Living. Like a lot trait that doesn't make any sense. The teams obviously forgot what it means to live off-the-grid. A functioning dishwasher on a lot without running water and electricity? Yet we can't use a washtub and clothesline? But...but....weren't those two items requested as part of a pack based on off-the-grid gameplay? This little snafu has altered my plans to have a conservationist Sim living in the backcountry while saving the island from ecological disaster. What good is an off-the-grid lot trait if it doesn't play like an off-the-grid lot? Or have its own assets that work only on that lot? Well, that's because that lot trait came in the pre-ep update, and was never intended to be part of Island Living. It was an upgrade to the base game. I guess we'll have to wait for off-the-grid items and hope those are included in a patch that will be released someday. Soon. Can't forget about the 'soon' part. Every question we ask is met with the same reply: Soon.
There are bits and pieces of Island Living I do enjoy. But there is much more that just wasn't implemented very well. I guess that is the main reason why I regret paying full price for it. The canoes....why can't our Sims travel together in one boat? Where are the matching island counters for the new counters? I have a lot of questions about why certain things were overlooked or handed to us half finished. It's as if the teams stopped just a yard short of reaching the goal line. I can't call Island Living an expansion because it feels as if two unfinished game packs were hurriedly thrown together so they could call it an expansion. If Island Living were an expansion, and expansions are supposed to expand on the base game, why were all the assets that actually expand the base game handed out in a free update for everyone? That pre-ep update was huge, and contained fifteen changes made to everything from foundations and door swatches to new swimming actions, part time jobs, two new lot traits, a fishing upgrade with new fish,and the lounge chair was finally added. But there is more about the changes in the update notes. It's an interesting read. I recommend reading it to everyone I know that plays the Sims4.
So, since everyone still playing on 32-bit systems has had their game updated with all these new features, does this mean we can finally move ahead to seeing what the teams can do with 64-bit? Now before someone takes that the wrong way, I am not begrudging the fact those players were able to take advantage of the new update. They deserve something before EA drops support for 32-bit. But we were told many moons ago better things would be coming our way once the conversion is made. And since there are only two days left in June, I suppose this means we might see it happen in July. Or has that plan been scrapped? I hope not. After playing Island Living and seeing so many missed opportunities to create new gameplay, even I can see the teams are struggling to add the features we have been asking for. Complex gameplay, new animations, new interactions, better socials. All of those require more RAM usage. So we won't see any of those new features in future packs until the teams are able to create content that takes advantage of having more RAM. Until that day happens, we are stuck with what we have. Or at best, we will see a few new, relatively simple, animations, and less complex gameplay. Given the fact that Sulani is more complicated than any of the other worlds, maybe this is why we find Island Living lacking as far as new gameplay and group activities. Perhaps this is the best they are able to accomplish while trying to remain compatible with 32-bit systems. Have we been asking the wrong questions and being upset over the wrong things, and Island Living is not at fault here? Maybe this is the best the devs could do with the tools they have. If all that is true, I wish they had waited to make this pack. It could have been a really great expansion.
We have been complaining about the lack of gameplay in packs for a couple of years, and nothing has changed. Personally, I feel Parenthood, even as a game pack, added a lot more to the game than Island Living has. But that is my opinion among many different opinions I have seen expressed. I dislike seeing the community split like this again. Some love Island Living, some don't. I am in the middle somewhere, a bit lost because my initial plans for Sulani will have to be changed in order to accommodate for what isn't in Island Living. Like a lot trait that doesn't make any sense. The teams obviously forgot what it means to live off-the-grid. A functioning dishwasher on a lot without running water and electricity? Yet we can't use a washtub and clothesline? But...but....weren't those two items requested as part of a pack based on off-the-grid gameplay? This little snafu has altered my plans to have a conservationist Sim living in the backcountry while saving the island from ecological disaster. What good is an off-the-grid lot trait if it doesn't play like an off-the-grid lot? Or have its own assets that work only on that lot? Well, that's because that lot trait came in the pre-ep update, and was never intended to be part of Island Living. It was an upgrade to the base game. I guess we'll have to wait for off-the-grid items and hope those are included in a patch that will be released someday. Soon. Can't forget about the 'soon' part. Every question we ask is met with the same reply: Soon.
There are bits and pieces of Island Living I do enjoy. But there is much more that just wasn't implemented very well. I guess that is the main reason why I regret paying full price for it. The canoes....why can't our Sims travel together in one boat? Where are the matching island counters for the new counters? I have a lot of questions about why certain things were overlooked or handed to us half finished. It's as if the teams stopped just a yard short of reaching the goal line. I can't call Island Living an expansion because it feels as if two unfinished game packs were hurriedly thrown together so they could call it an expansion. If Island Living were an expansion, and expansions are supposed to expand on the base game, why were all the assets that actually expand the base game handed out in a free update for everyone? That pre-ep update was huge, and contained fifteen changes made to everything from foundations and door swatches to new swimming actions, part time jobs, two new lot traits, a fishing upgrade with new fish,and the lounge chair was finally added. But there is more about the changes in the update notes. It's an interesting read. I recommend reading it to everyone I know that plays the Sims4.
So, since everyone still playing on 32-bit systems has had their game updated with all these new features, does this mean we can finally move ahead to seeing what the teams can do with 64-bit? Now before someone takes that the wrong way, I am not begrudging the fact those players were able to take advantage of the new update. They deserve something before EA drops support for 32-bit. But we were told many moons ago better things would be coming our way once the conversion is made. And since there are only two days left in June, I suppose this means we might see it happen in July. Or has that plan been scrapped? I hope not. After playing Island Living and seeing so many missed opportunities to create new gameplay, even I can see the teams are struggling to add the features we have been asking for. Complex gameplay, new animations, new interactions, better socials. All of those require more RAM usage. So we won't see any of those new features in future packs until the teams are able to create content that takes advantage of having more RAM. Until that day happens, we are stuck with what we have. Or at best, we will see a few new, relatively simple, animations, and less complex gameplay. Given the fact that Sulani is more complicated than any of the other worlds, maybe this is why we find Island Living lacking as far as new gameplay and group activities. Perhaps this is the best they are able to accomplish while trying to remain compatible with 32-bit systems. Have we been asking the wrong questions and being upset over the wrong things, and Island Living is not at fault here? Maybe this is the best the devs could do with the tools they have. If all that is true, I wish they had waited to make this pack. It could have been a really great expansion.
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