Lving off the Grid

I've been able to store food in the fridge while off grid without a problem. I just wish there were more than a couple of recipes available for cooking, between the fridge and the "cook with gas" option on the stove. I can understand taking away many of the more complicated recipes, but shouldn't stuff like soup and chili still be available? Its not that hard to make them, and you just need a big pot to cook it in on the stove (or grill, even). I've done it before when power has been out.

Overall, I get the feeling the gurus don't have a lot of experience doing camp-cooking, or making meals when the power is out.

"QuillWriter;c-17131539" wrote:
I've been able to store food in the fridge while off grid without a problem. I just wish there were more than a couple of recipes available for cooking, between the fridge and the "cook with gas" option on the stove. I can understand taking away many of the more complicated recipes, but shouldn't stuff like soup and chili still be available? Its not that hard to make them, and you just need a big pot to cook it in on the stove (or grill, even). I've done it before when power has been out.

Overall, I get the feeling the gurus don't have a lot of experience doing camp-cooking, or making meals when the power is out.

So far I've only used a grill... what can you cook on the stove?

"Corenren;c-17125265" wrote:
The wash tub that came with laundry day does not work with the off the grid trait

That's too bad. :/ I was really looking forward to adding the challenge of laundry to off the grid living. I would imagine it's an oversight and hopefully they'll fix it.

"treece01;c-17131644" wrote:

"QuillWriter;c-17131539" wrote:
I've been able to store food in the fridge while off grid without a problem. I just wish there were more than a couple of recipes available for cooking, between the fridge and the "cook with gas" option on the stove. I can understand taking away many of the more complicated recipes, but shouldn't stuff like soup and chili still be available? Its not that hard to make them, and you just need a big pot to cook it in on the stove (or grill, even). I've done it before when power has been out.

Overall, I get the feeling the gurus don't have a lot of experience doing camp-cooking, or making meals when the power is out.

So far I've only used a grill... what can you cook on the stove?

Only grilled cheese and eggs and toast. I've been hoping more recipes would become available as my Sim levels up cooking skill, but so far nothing.

Also, did I mention this Sim is a vegetarian? :D So even when I use the grill, her options are still quite limited! Aargh! Learn from my mistakes, guys!

"Corenren;c-17125265" wrote:
The wash tub that came with laundry day does not work with the off the grid trait

I just tried it and it works for me. Maybe it's a bug?

"treece01;c-17132760" wrote:

"Corenren;c-17125265" wrote:
The wash tub that came with laundry day does not work with the off the grid trait

I just tried it and it works for me. Maybe it's a bug?

The problem comes when you try to change the water and there's no plumbing. There's a mod for it though. :P

"Simpatsyann;c-17132766" wrote:

"treece01;c-17132760" wrote:

"Corenren;c-17125265" wrote:
The wash tub that came with laundry day does not work with the off the grid trait

I just tried it and it works for me. Maybe it's a bug?

The problem comes when you try to change the water and there's no plumbing. There's a mod for it though. :P

Oh... ok. Ugh! Thanks. I had to quit my game mid wash. I hope they improve the off the grid trait (hopefully soon) I like it but it needs tweeking, especially with the plumbing.

Hi, Simmers. Here is what I have experienced from Off The Grid gameplay with regards to cooking:
Use the Island Living Banana Leaves stoves. It will offer you far more options than the standard grills in the long run, particularly Island Dishes such as Pork Adobo and Island Vegetarian.

For a start, you can put a normal grill, just the gas can one or the silver one that are the cheapest; they work fine. My Sim gets Happy Moodlet eating food from those right from the start (my Sim is not a Foodie Sim).

All fridges work. I use Spa Day fridge.

You can put a stove that says "functions when off-the-grid". I use the one that has the wood underneath. But you get only two choices of food from the "cook with gas" option. So, I think you are much better off buying a banana leaves island grill.

In addition, the island grill gives you 7 or 8 servings per cook. You have to wait a bit longer but the food is ready when the banana leaves kind of disappears/look burnt. I have waited overnight before and it does not char the food at all! This means that you can go do your gardening, painting, photography, etc, while waiting for food.

Store the 7 servings in the fridge and your Sim can get leftovers every morning and night for the next few days.

If you are still into the modern day grill, you will get options such as Shish Kebabs, Hot Dogs, the usual.

If you have Outdoors pack, it is not worth it to get the bonfire unless you just want to see the graphics and increase the fun meter. Roasting fish and hotdogs takes too long. And Sims get an Uncomfortable Moodlet from poor food using the roast.

Plus, it is easier to go swimming to increase fun when you play in Sulani.

I would say, you can just get the cheapest fridge possible because it is used for storing only.

For bathing, getting the cheapest shower stall is fine. I started wooden shack one that uses solar power one, and I tried the most expensive bath and shower handmade one, etc. I ended up with Vampires Shower because it seems to increase my Sim's hygiene meter the fastest and it is the prettiest.

You can only take tepid showers regardless and it almost always gives my Sim a red uncomfortable moodlet.

Taking a shower at the waterfall makes the Sim feel grimy and uncomfortable too.

I always deal with it by doing something that overwrites the mood a lot.

The best way to shower is by Scuba Diving or Free Diving. It is extremely cleansing and increases the Fun Meter super fast.

You can also simply swim but it is slower at increasing the hygiene meter.

Basically, I only use the shower stall on my lot once every 2-3 Sim days because there is far greater benefit to go Scuba Diving for seashells.

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I do my best make my Sim wake up with all needs fully green, and I spend the entire day on Scuba Diving or swimming around to take photos with the $2000 camera.

The profits from selling seashells and treasures from yard sale table is around $3000 from 12 hours of seashells/treasures. I have found that setting 200% profits on seashells gives a steady flow of customers. 300% mark up is a hard deal to drive and you end up feeling very tired with the sales pitch. If you set to less than 200% markup, the customers will take the items on their own so that it is easier that way.

The Salvadorian table is $100 cheaper than the City Living table, and looks better with Island Living.

And the profits from photography from swimming around all the islands until my Energy go bust is an average of $20 per photo. If you click close to 100 photos, you can increase photography skill from Level 5 to 10 in one shot. That means about $2000 (to "buy back" your camera) and about 2-stars in Get Famous.

If you go photography after that, everything is profit. This means that you can lead a relaxed island life to do what you want but ALWAYS remember to take 5-10 photos a day to get a couple of hundreds to continue living.

You can really live the way you like - lazing around, do nothing. But if you want to get rich and famous, and build a millionaire's house, shift lots, etc, you have to continue the daily grind of 50 - 100 photos a day.

Finally, gardening is as lucrative on the beach as it is anywhere else! So if you collect all the seeds available (especially from festivals in City Living) and start planting, it is a sure-win way to get rich quick. But then, your game play will be real tedious and boring.

Roses and Birds of Paradise are the easiest to obtain and have the shortest bloom cycle. I usually skip Dragonfruit and Alien plant just because they are hard to find at the start.

And I like to grow coconuts and pineapples to store in my Sim's inventory. It helps to just eat those while you swim around Sulani so that you travel back all the time to eat.

Fishing is good way to get cowplant berries and treasures of Sulani right from the start. Sell them ALL. And you will quickly have money for your basic needs.

Child of the Ocean Sim will feel wretched fishing though. In the end, my Sim never fish because of the lousy moodlets from it.