Off the grid issues/suggestions

Suggestion: Don't hang on to the concept of conveniency

"unsatisfied;c-17130344" wrote:
Also would like water pumps, to drink water from, wash dishes and hands. Also compostable toilets.

This. Just this. It would be great.

Upvoting the idea of an off the grid filter. Im trying to do a cabin and sorting through everything to find the items that will work is kind of a pain. I was kind of surprised it didn't already exist!

The off the grid trait has some strange limitations.
- if we can use an object, we should be able to clean them. And refill the water on the laundry stuff wash tub. This item should have all options off grid.
- taking a bath should be possible off grid, filling a tub with water is easier than building a shower that doesn't need plumbing. I'm just talking about the basic 'take a bath', the spa option and bubblebath don't have to be enabled off grid.
- cooking on gas needs more dishes. I understand the need for fewer meals, but just 2? We could use a few more, for example soup or pasta/spaghetti. I cooked on gas for 2 years in real life and have only two dishes is ridiculous.
- logic in which lamps can be used. What I miss most is the jungle adventure chandelier and portable lamp. (the more modern portable lamp from OR works, so the old fashioned one from JA should work too.)

overall this trait is a very good addition but it feels as if it needs a bit more fine tuning.

Oh man, I agree with all these. It makes no sense why a Wash Tub, literally a bucket for washing clothes, is not fully functional on a lot with no power. The plumbing works enough for you to have a shower, so you should be able to replace the water. You should also be able to take a bath.

And yess to the water pump!! I’ve lived off the grid for a period of time, and had to go to a well for water... I would love if we could have a functional well or a water pump. And then by having a well, the plumbing options would be available. That would make sense to me.

Also! I wish my sims wouldn’t ALWAYS have a negative moodlet from using the water. The sims I made were supposed to prefer living off the grid, but it makes them miserable and messes with my story telling too. I feel like there is no benefit to off the grid but the no bills perk... since everything else (no options plus negative moodlets) leaves both me and my sims frustrated.

More recipes would be great!! I would love to be able to cook with my vegetables and fruits and caught fish, etc on gas, so my sims can fully live off the grid. It’s like I need a fridge in order to cook in a reasonable manner. Also it’d be great if the cooler let us store food when off the grid, or could act as the fridge on off the grid lots. I’ll make my sims purchase ice through the cooler if I had to!

And def yes to the lamp logic — anything that in the description is “battery powered” (like battery powered lanterns from outdoor retreat) should also work off grid, not just candles!

Also solar panels would be so cool to have too if possible, to fully upgrade our sims’ if they were able to save up enough money... then they could have electricity with cheaper or discounted bills.

And I totally agree - it would be so great if we could filter the buy/build options for “off the grid” friendly things that’s be soooo helpful.

(Also for all the items created from the wood making table to be useable OTG, that’d be great too!)

And random side note - the OTG trait makes me miss getting a newspaper in the Sims. I want a way for my sim to be able to look up jobs/odd jobs without needing to leave the lot to use their cell phone.

Pretty sure this is my full OTG wish list. I was so excited to see this trait (ever since it was a potential option during the fan made pack time). I would love to see it live up to it’s full potential. For the time being I’ve found it easier to just leave the trait off and just pretend like I used to that the home is off grid. Way less negative moodlets.

Two huge issues with being able to somehow use showers but not bathtubs:

- Toddlers can only be washed using tubs--so I guess no families living OTG, even though this should be more feasible
- You can make a tub from the woodworking table--and then not be able to use it off-the-grid. Why?

It's great that we can use the woodworking toilet, for instance--that can contribute to a type of aesthetic you're going for. A shower totally messes with the rustic setting some will be aiming for, meanwhile. People in reality and history have been using bathtubs before plumbing was common; I don't think most showers should be usable, by comparison, unless they're outside showers.

I also feel like it's immersion breaking in some cases (like the shower is) to have super normal refrigerators: I can wait for another update for more options, but they should make another form of storage, or at least make a more rustic or old-fashioned fridge than just the first default option. You also shouldn't be able to use any high-end refrigerators at all but it seems you can, for some reason--it should be limited to the very basic ones.

Shame to hear about some of the cleaning issues and a lack of OTG sim trait benefits; it shouldn't be a totally miserable existence, just a limited one.

I think it'd be good to have more options for the BBQ for sure, in light of the update. It doesn't have to cook everything a stove+other kitchen stuff can, but being able to do more than 2-3 items seems reasonable. Being able to use your garden veggies and fruits, at the very least, would be better than nothing.

I too miss newspapers and wish we could have them back, with the caveat that you should be able to cancel a subscription if you don't want to deal with it. Or even the option to subscribe, so lots (unless they're OTG) don't automatically start with newspaper delivery.

I love that they've done this, for free no less, but I'd be much happier if *at the very least* just gave us some dang tubs, and of course fix the cleaning issues--that doesn't seem like it should be happening, OTG doesn't mean no available soap, does it?

I posted this in a different thread, but it fits here too and I don't want to re-type all of it:

I wish they had included more new items to go with it, such as the ability to generate solar/wind power and gather rain/ocean water and convert it to potable water. These could have been neat little extras that wear down and need to be repaired like the items in some of the City Living apartments. New battery-powered lamps and radios along with some updated kitchen/bathroom items that feel more off-grid-y (like propane stoves and ice fridges).

"AWildMishie;c-17132205" wrote:
I posted this in a different thread, but it fits here too and I don't want to re-type all of it:

I wish they had included more new items to go with it, such as the ability to generate solar/wind power and gather rain/ocean water and convert it to potable water. These could have been neat little extras that wear down and need to be repaired like the items in some of the City Living apartments. New battery-powered lamps and radios along with some updated kitchen/bathroom items that feel more off-grid-y (like propane stoves and ice fridges).

I agree with this. Off The Grid certainly isn't the same as no electricity. Someone pointed out in another thread a little while back that a fair few people in Hawaii live "off the grid" and generate their own electricity through the use of things like solar panels. For those with Island Living, being able to generate electricity through a hydroelectric form might have been nice too.

It's a pretty big addition in terms of a lot trait, and definitely an interesting one, but at the moment it feels as if not enough thought went into it (with certain objects many people have mentioned not being compatible and oversights with cleaning, for instance). Things like one's own source of power or water collection should have come out with it for the sake of functionality.

@PrincipleOfEntropy said:

> I agree with this. Off The Grid certainly isn't the same as no electricity. Someone pointed out in another thread a little while back that a fair few people in Hawaii live "off the grid" and generate their own electricity through the use of things like solar panels. For those with Island Living, being able to generate electricity through a hydroelectric form might have been nice too.
>
> It's a pretty big addition in terms of a lot trait, and definitely an interesting one, but at the moment it feels as if not enough thought went into it (with certain objects many people have mentioned not being compatible and oversights with cleaning, for instance). Things like one's own source of power or water collection should have come out with it for the sake of functionality.

I am **so** happy to have found this thread. I feel the same way about the issues with trying to live off the grid the way the developers presently designed it. NO way to search for specific off-the-grid items is the issue that brought me here. I've not experienced all the other issues yet, hence my joy in finding this before putting in a lot of time and effort into creating my Magneto hideout off the grid, lol. The inability to was items is a bit baffling. Running water should not be an issue since even desert dwelling nomads have used sand for centuries to clean their items. :D

Heads up:

• Toilets/sinks need to be upgraded to Self-Cleaning. This is actually not that hard if you consider that you (should) be doing a lot of fishing (See: Admirals Fish Trap) and get lots of random upgrade parts and your sim has plenty of spare time to read skill books on boosting that skill. There is also a cheat you can use to set the level (stats.set_skill_level Major_Handiness 10), and you can set it to 4 (the level required for self-cleaning).
  
• You can use the "Open Air Natural Toilet", "Anything Goes Party Bush or "Duty Calls Model Citizen Bush" if you have Jungle Adventure or Get Together. They get "smelly" status for several hours after use so have 2-3 on your lot.
  
• COOKING NEEDS HELP - This is the one I haven't found a fun, workable solution to. I use the Vintage Fridge to store fresh food, which is not listed as Off The Grid but should be or the coolers should at least be functional to stick food in like fridges. I also use the "Auld-Crow Wood-Burning Stove", and I now have a garden in which to grow veggies. I *should* be able to cook fish tacos and other recipes for which I have the ingredients, on my wood-burning stove! If it works on gas, it should work as a stove with whatever ingredients are ON SITE. Period. Currently, if you want a better range of cooking options you can only use the outdoor grills. Which reminds me that Sims should set down food after grilling it if there is a surface nearby, instead of putting it into their inventory.