Recommendations For New Players

One of my favorite features is how easy it is to change your aspiration and not lose any progress on the current aspiration.

- Take lots of screenshots! Even if they do not turn out any good, there's nothing like looking back at your first hours with the sims years later.

- Create a real big puddle and then use the design tool on it. It's just a minor and very silly thing, but it will make you chuckle.

- If you desperately need something (a rare collectable or Ambrosia), look in the gallery.

- Almost forgot my favorite: You can disable the filters when dressing up your sim. That way you can use every piece of clothing in every category!

Yes lots of screenshots. Pause the game and experiment with angles and perspective in your shots. And remember to put your walls up. All my early shots I didn't pause or use walls and they look funny.

Start with a cat not a dog to learn pets. They need less help and attention and you can get used to caring for a pet.

The gallery is your best friend! Can't build can't cas well - other people make amazing stuff and it enhances your game play.

Don't make a club where the activity is singing and everyone has zero singing skill
You will regret hearing what you hear for ever!

- Don’t get the cheapest stove, it’s a death trap waiting to happen.
- There’s lots of different settings you can play with. Why not experiment a little and figure out how you like to play?
- Start with more than one sim. This way if something happens to one of them (set on fire, at work, etc), you have another sim to help out.
- There’s a magic tree somewhere in Willow Creek. Try and find it!

I second the taking lots of screenshots, and don't forget to share them here!

Eat lots of grilled cheese for a fun throwback to sims 2.

As for pack recommendations, Dine Out, Seasons, Cats and Dogs and Parenthood are all great for realism every day, but if you like supernatural stuff then Vampires is the pack for you.

Just avoid My first pet's stuff ;)

turn on the whims in the options menu the sims isn't sims with out them

Try to complete all the collections! There are a bunch of cool things you can find.

if you are lazy but want to get your sim and another sims friendship up (without cheats) and have the get together pack, i suggest having the sims do star gazing/cloud gazing! gets their friendship up so much!!

If your Sim needs some quick simoleons, and you have the Get to Work EP, send them to fish at the pier in Magnolia Promenade! This spot has rare fish, plus you'll get Voodoo dolls, Dragonfruit and Cowberries in the mystery boxes, all worth big simoleons. They could sell it all, but I'd advise planting the Dragonfruit for a TON of simoleons in the long run. In that same vein, if you get the City Living EP, your Sims can find the rare Bird of Paradise at the Romance Festival.

If all you have is the base game, your Sim can fish up Dragonfruit at the way back fishing spot in Magnolia Blossom park in Willow Creek. Make sure they fish in the middle spot out of the three available there. There is also a rare fishing spot in the public area behind the Library in Willow Creek. It's next to a small cliff, down the hill from a picnic area.

Grafting for rare plants like that only has a 1% chance of producing the rare that you wanted. Why wait for what you 'might' get months later when they can have them now? :)

Also, just to expand on the very good advice from the above post, you'll need the Outdoor Retreat GP if your Sims want to cloudgaze/stargaze. That option isn't available in the Get Together EP.

Happy Simming Y'all! <3

"AriaMad2;c-17073659" wrote:
- Don’t get the cheapest stove, it’s a death trap waiting to happen.
- There’s lots of different settings you can play with. Why not experiment a little and figure out how you like to play?
- Start with more than one sim. This way if something happens to one of them (set on fire, at work, etc), you have another sim to help out.
- There’s a magic tree somewhere in Willow Creek. Try and find it!

When just starting out with cooking, start with foods that don't require a stove. Yeah, that means a lot of garden salads but it's a good way to build a few skill points so you can make better meals while avoiding fires. Watch the Cooking Channel if you need to watch TV to build Fun, that way you're building cooking skill at the same time.

When your Sim gets some extra money, start updating your appliances, plumbing and furniture. If you're in a starter house get a better stove and refrigerator so you can make better meals and reduce fire risk. Next tackle the plumbing to get a showeror tub that'll help with hygiene and don't leave a Cold Shower moodlet. Then make sure you have a bed that doesn't leave you feeling uncomforable in the morning when you need to head to work. Also remember you'll want to have some of their career/skill building items at home so you don't have to leave the house all the time -- a computer if you're a writer or tech guru, an easel if you're a painter, etc. Some careers will actually give usable skill building items as rewards -- using those saves a lot of money layout. For example writing supplies a low-level but useful computer, and as you progress in the Painter career you'll get easels that increase in quality.

You don't need every type of venue in each world. You can have your gym in Oasis Springs, your museum in Willow Creek etc. You'll have Newcrest as an empty world, you can add some of the base game venues there. Remember to leave some vacant lots for future expansion like if you want to get Dine Out for restaurants or Bowling Night Stuff to make bowling alleys (you can zone them either as bars, lounges or nightclubs so they can do multiple duty).

If you download a residential lot from the Gallery, for an extra challenge place it in Unfurnished mode, then furnish it yourself, challenging yourself to stay within a certain price range. It's especially fun to do when you have a few packs under your belt, more than just Base Game.

If you get really stuck, you could look up some Let's Plays and other videos from around September/October of 2014 (when the game first released) on YouTube to see what other players did with just the Base Game.

There are some great online resources out there if you need some help with an aspect of the game. I really recommend Carl's Guide especially as you get more in depth and add content.

Finally, now that you have the base, keep an eye on Origin for good sales to pick up additional content. There are some great packs out there that can add more depth to your game or even just expand your Sims wardrobe and furniture choices.