So, I haven't bought a Sims 4 pack in like...2 years, I think? I haven't bought a pack since the release of Island Living due to a culmination of lack of interest in playing the series (sick & tired of their business practices + quality of products), budget restrictions, and waiting for big sales. But now my interest in the game series have spiked up a bit; but I only want to get packs that are on sale (preferably half off, but for some I am willing to pay for a closer to a smaller sale).The main packs I'm interested in are...1.) Island Living2.) Realm of Magic Pack3.) Eco Lifestyle Pack4.) Paranormal Stuff Pack5.) Snowy EscapeThose in the 'Maybe' Category:1.) My First Pet Stuff Pack2.) Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack3.) Tiny Living Stuff PackHowever, besides pricing, I am concerned about glitches/bugs. I know some bugs still are prevalent in past packs while some have a chronic "fixed at one point but now back again" status. I don't want to get a pack that is borked; even if at half price.TL;DR -1.) When is approximately the next "big sale" for the Sims games on Origin? 2.) Do any of the packs listed above feature any chronic/major bugs/glitches in it that would majorly harm gameplay?Apologies if this isn't the right section for this kind of question, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Island Living and Eco Lifestyle are both 50% off on Origin right now. Paranormal is currently 20% off. Your 3 maybes are also 20% off right now.

Of the packs you listed, the only 2 I have are Island Living and Nifty Knitting (I'm very picky, and not a completionist). There was a small bug with Nifty Knitting for a while, (Sims couldn't resume knitting projects) but that was fixed in the last patch or 2, can't remember exactly. My main sim knits frequently without issue. I've never had any problems with Island Living, everything works as it should. Be aware though, I've never had a sim live there, I use it exclusively for a vacation world. I hope this helps you some.

I skipped Eco Lifestyle and I’m really glad I did. Make sure you know what you are getting into with that one. The NAPs (neighborhood action plans) can be annoying on a new level of NPC annoyance, like everyone swiping objects from your lot or community lots (breaking them). If you want to play without the NAPs, you can turn them off in settings but you still need to go find all the ones that come active in the game and cheat them away. It just seems like more trouble than it’s worth, but I don’t like the features at all so that’s my opinion, but also I have seen a lot of people mention they have to jump through hoops to get control back of their game, and Game Changers who were so enthusiastic about the EP are now just voting the least obtrusive thing through every week like it’s a chore, and totally ignoring them otherwise.

I got eco lifestyle and my sims are living in the world it came with. I’m not doing any of the NAPS or voting or whatever it called. And the effects of that pack are not effecting my game at all. I haven’t had any bugs either so ?♂️ I thought it would be bugging my game or forcing the NAPS on my sims but they are not.

Out of the packs you listed only Eco Lifestyle comes with some really annoying stuff, but thankfully there's a menu option that lets you switch off NAP voting.There was also a bug with Snowy Escape that made it impossible to remove a lifestyle on a sim, as well as the game ignoring the maximum limit of three lifestyles per sim. I'm not sure if it was fixed, but lifestyles can also be turned off in the menu, so at least it won't break your game.The rest of the packs are fine, bug-wise, as far as I know.

Question on the Sims' big sales + state of bug/glitches in certain packs

17 Replies

Moridhus
New Ace
5 years ago
Island Living and Eco Lifestyle are both 50% off on Origin right now.

Paranormal is currently 20% off. Your 3 maybes are also 20% off right now.
br0se
5 years ago
"Tammors;c-17906994" wrote:
Island Living and Eco Lifestyle are both 50% off on Origin right now.

Paranormal is currently 20% off. Your 3 maybes are also 20% off right now.

Thank you! Do you know the general bug state of any of them? I heard that Eco Lifestyle might be still buggy (possibly related to the gardening glitch? Which I never seemed to notice in my games but could be just I wasn't paying attention).
FatTribble23
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Of the packs you listed, the only 2 I have are Island Living and Nifty Knitting (I'm very picky, and not a completionist). There was a small bug with Nifty Knitting for a while, (Sims couldn't resume knitting projects) but that was fixed in the last patch or 2, can't remember exactly. My main sim knits frequently without issue. I've never had any problems with Island Living, everything works as it should. Be aware though, I've never had a sim live there, I use it exclusively for a vacation world.

I hope this helps you some.
babajayne
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I skipped Eco Lifestyle and I’m really glad I did. Make sure you know what you are getting into with that one. The NAPs (neighborhood action plans) can be annoying on a new level of NPC annoyance, like everyone swiping objects from your lot or community lots (breaking them). If you want to play without the NAPs, you can turn them off in settings but you still need to go find all the ones that come active in the game and cheat them away. It just seems like more trouble than it’s worth, but I don’t like the features at all so that’s my opinion, but also I have seen a lot of people mention they have to jump through hoops to get control back of their game, and Game Changers who were so enthusiastic about the EP are now just voting the least obtrusive thing through every week like it’s a chore, and totally ignoring them otherwise.
CaptainMe120
5 years ago
I got eco lifestyle and my sims are living in the world it came with. I’m not doing any of the NAPS or voting or whatever it called. And the effects of that pack are not effecting my game at all. I haven’t had any bugs either so ?‍♂️ I thought it would be bugging my game or forcing the NAPS on my sims but they are not.
Feestbloempje
5 years ago
Out of the packs you listed only Eco Lifestyle comes with some really annoying stuff, but thankfully there's a menu option that lets you switch off NAP voting.

There was also a bug with Snowy Escape that made it impossible to remove a lifestyle on a sim, as well as the game ignoring the maximum limit of three lifestyles per sim. I'm not sure if it was fixed, but lifestyles can also be turned off in the menu, so at least it won't break your game.

The rest of the packs are fine, bug-wise, as far as I know.
SimuLord
5 years ago
Eco Lifestyle can be profoundly annoying if you get into a neighborhood with some of the more bothersome NAPs in place, but with a bit of clever gameplay (or cheat codes) you can mold them to your liking. My sims get downright politically active, cajoling their neighbors into repealing stuff like Free Love, Roughhousing Encouraged, and Go Ahead, Steal My Stuff, The Watcher Won't Kill You, Honest!

Also, if you're making the best use of the eco-footprint game mechanics, your buildings will start looking a bit samey since there aren't a lot of eco-friendly wall and floor patterns, and if you like certain aesthetics (especially heavy use of brick as a building material), the game will penalize you in terms of making the footprint "industrial".

It's worth it for two things, although they're both massive YMMV playstyle factors. One, the green eco-boost with its attendant boons to gardening and general sim health, and two, the power and water options that make off-the-grid living not only practical but a slam dunk good idea.

As for bugs, I don't really notice them above and beyond the game itself being buggy as all get-out sometimes.
OldeSimsFan
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Of the packs on your list: I've heard a lot about Eco Living, and all of it bad. My first Pet is DLC off of DLC (Cats & Dogs) so you need both for it to work properly. In general, go only for what you are genuinely interested in and will use, sale status notwithstanding.
br0se
5 years ago
Went ahead and got IL and University. Glad I got them on sale, esp IL. Beautiful location, but so little gameplay.

Anyone know if the lifestyle bug from SE (that GreenTurtle mentioned) is still active? There are a few select things about Eco Living that I like but the NAPs sound frustrating. I'll have to do more research.
d3r3v4un
5 years ago
I recently bought Eco Lifestyle from CDKeys, figuring if I dislike the gameplay before becoming too attached to the world, I'll disable it and only be out $13. I installed a couple mods to tone down the NAP thing and am generally enjoying it. But I haven't done much visiting lately, so maybe there are neighborhoods where sharing is caring is doing serious damage. I really like Evergreen Harbor--it totally does feel like Portland.