Understanding "Journey to Batuu" issues

I really enjoy the pack for what it is and I love the CAS and b/b. But I do wish it had included Force powers so we could play Jedi and Sith Lords.

I haven't sent anyone to Batuu in a while, simply because there's so much to do in the game now but I like the quest and goal oriented play. I've enjoyed using it in game pretty much like the real Disney attraction.

What specific issues are you referring to?

It's Star Wars product placement, that's the biggest issue. But I bought it for the CAS + my nieces wanted some things from it, so I gave it a shot. My biggest problems with it are

• Batuu is very wide and empty, and can be confusing to navigate because most of the buildings look exactly the same.
  
• Many of the missions are dull and tedious.
  
• A lot of things are done off-screen, which makes it feel less engaging.
  
• No pets or occult powers
  
• Droids can't even walk around outside of Batuu, so there goes my idea of making a futuristic Oasis Springs with DU's robots.
  
• We needed some Batuu-exclusive skills. Using the hacking stick boosts Programming because it's the closest thing the base game has. Lightsabering is tied to Fitness because it's the only athletic skill we have in the basegame. Lightsaber duels aren't even an activity in the likes/dislikes thingy.
  
• You have to interact with the sequel trilogy characters, which makes it even harder to pretend Batuu isn't based on an outside property.
  
• Overall, it's just so self-contained to Batuu. Like I get it, it's the BATUU pack. But with most packs, you can take a lot of its content out of its original world and still enjoy it.
  
• More of a meta sense than an issue with the pack itself: it came at a time when fans were begging for things they wanted. We weren't getting a lot of transparency, and the game was really lacking. It was always destined to be hated, but it could have had a better reception if it came out now that we have more stuff.
  
• Also I don't like Star Wars, Disney or product placement.
  

I'd probably like it more if the pack wasn't so restrictive with its content. I could see myself making lightsaber duels a sport in my regular gameplay, or have sims hang out with droids. As it stands, I just use the clothes and BB for my desert orc builds.

I’m a bit of a Star Wars enthusiast so I’m a little biased - but I really like this pack and I find it to be very useful for non- Star Wars related gameplay. It’s one of my favorites among all fantasy / occult GPs.

I use CAS & BB all the time ( CAS is extra wonderful if you’re a medieval player too) and I love the fact that my sims can choose to align themselves with 3 different factions.
Most of my main sims are scoundrels + having the option to generate galactic credits / simoleons with sabacc = ??.

What would have made JtB a better pack for me:

• To be able to activate droid follow protocol beyond the planet of Batuu. It’s a real shame we cannot do this.
  
• The addition of a Force Skill.
  
• To be able to own and fly Spaceships anywhere without them disappearing off screen. Its similar to how spellcasters fly their broomsticks: absolute nonsense.
  
• To be able to build and own a residence and live on Batuu.
  
• To have occult powers enabled on Batuu.
  

Those are my main gripes.

May Journey to Batuu Be With You.

I'm a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, but haven't really watched much of the newer additions. I had mixed feelings about this pack. Mainly because I don't want real world branding, products, entertainment, or franchises directly referenced in my sims' world. (Parodies of real world stuff with a Sims humor twist are totally fine).

But I eventually got it anyway, because I wanted to use a lot of the CAS and build/buy stuff for non-Star Wars reasons. There is a lot of really cool decor and clutter, and some outfits, that I have used for things as wide ranging as my werewolves junky trailer house, to a gang of high seas pirates. And with recolors (which I know how to do) I have been able to transform things into stuff I needed for my simlit story (such as a Sim Nation Air Force flight suit).

I do have one save in which I am actually playing in the Batuu world. Mostly my sim just hangs out at the cantina and earns tips bar tending. Occasionally he gambles, tries to swindle random people, or goes on a mission for the scoundrel leader. But mostly, he bar tends. It's just fun for me to see him serving drinks to aliens. I built an underground inn with sleeping rooms, restroom, and shower room on the cantina lot using the "freebuild" cheat, and that makes staying there a lot more fun for me than the rabbit hole "inn" that comes with the game. I'm planning to add some rec room stuff as well, like a gym and hot tubs.

I actually do find myself getting a kick out of my sim interacting with iconic Star Wars motifs in very "Sims 4" ways. He comforted a sad storm trooper who was supposed to be stopping him from hacking into a security panel, and another pesky storm trooper he got rid of by telling them a gross joke. I love that I can do this.

My biggest complaints are:

• Occult sims lose their occult abilities in Batuu. This is ridiculous and make NO sense. I got a mod to fix that.
  
• Your sim is forced to dress in only Batuu/Star Wars clothes when in Batuu. This is also ridiculous. I got a mod for that too.
  
• You can't bring stuff from home in your sim's personal inventory. I want to bring a painting easel, a good quality camera, and a tripod so my sim can paint and do photography in Batuu. It drives me nuts that I can't do this, and I'm stuck just using the extremely limited phone camera which can only take tiny size pictures. I've looked for a mod, but can't find one.
  

I'm mostly with Captain_NXR7 on this. I like the pack, and there are a few Batuu items that work their way into winter wear for my sims on a regular basis, but the way it's features are locked off - including the features that don't need to be, like droids, and the lack of ability to build anything there without cheats were a bummer.

I've been meaning to send more sims there, but it just hasn't fit right with my sims in a while. It is part of my (untested) 7 Basic Plots Story Challenge (Voyage and Return), but updates keep getting in the way of my complteting that.

I still think they should have made the Homestead a "galactic cruiser cabin" (Galactic starcruiser was in development at the time, even if that is - soon to be was, thanks to bad marketing - down in Florida, and not by Batuu West/Disneyland) we could build and decorate on our own like an apartment.

I didn't mind not having force powers as an option, but I really understand why other people wanted them. (I generally play smugglers when I've played Star Wars TTRPG - Classic West End, the real start of the Extended Universe.)

I like Journey to Batuu because all the SciFi objects & outfits are so handy for my Futuristic 2525 & Beyond Game Save.? Also, Get to Work & Strangerville just isn’t enough.?
Now if only we could get a Parody Star Trek,
Stargate & Doctor Who Packs. Ooo…???
Yup I know I’m just dreaming. Oh well.?

I haven't played much Batuu mainly because my sims run out of money & I can't have my own sims home that I can decorate. I do love the cas & build/buy items. I would like the opportunity to have an apartment in the main town & a tent in the rebel area. I think the rebel area would benefit from a mess tent where you could get food, drinks, gamble & carouse with your friends. I haven't made it to other areas though I hadn't thought of bar-tending to make money so thanks @GlacierSnow for that idea. I managed to gamble my sims money away trying to get ahead - I know, have my sims attend Gamblers Anonymous.
I bought it because it was Star Wars even though my son kept telling me it was a giant rabbit hole & I wouldn't like it that much. I agree that once you have a light saber your sim should be able to use it outside of Batuu. Maybe even having dueling competitions & I had hoped to have a droid outside of Batuu as a part of the family like the sims robots. It would be cool to have an R2D2 unit serve drinks at home, garden & maybe even zap the cat or dog when they're out of line.
As I said I've only taken my sims there a few times. It would be nice if your sims works through the ranks of any faction they received a house or lot to build on. Even if you had to build a hidden base using a bookcase like hidden door.
It has been a disappointment for me & a reason that I took a step back from blindly purchasing everything Sims 4. Still, if I had to do it again I would still buy into the Star Wars aspect of it & know that I was throwing my money away for the sake of having the pack.

I like that pack a lot, my one complaint is that it is a weird choice for a sims 4 add on, it would probably work better as a more complete standalone doing its own thing, à la Sims Medieval.
I have one household with a smuggler, her toddler, her twi'lek girlfriend and a servo nanny, living permanently in Batuu in their own separate save and I never plan to bring them back or play them "normally".
That said, I would have missed the CAS, B&B and gameplay from other packs, if it was a standalone game. The other way around too, Batuu has such good B&B items.

Compared to Galaxy's Edge it feels empty. I'm sure many people in the real Galaxy's Edge theme park wish it was a little bit emptier when they visit, but I would have liked streets that feel more alive, with NPCs doing more than passing through, even simple actions like window shopping, or buying food. I'm never in the first order district so maybe they have a wider variety of actions there for all I know.
I wish NPC behavior felt more purposeful, kinda like this concept art of Ferrix in Andor
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PGM-CA-000021.jpg

But that's a problem with sims 4 gameplay in itself. All townies flock to the same activities, like lemmings.

"GlacierSnow;c-18287219" wrote:
You can't bring stuff from home in your sim's personal inventory. I want to bring a painting easel, a good quality camera, and a tripod so my sim can paint and do photography in Batuu. It drives me nuts that I can't do this, and I'm stuck just using the extremely limited phone camera which can only take tiny size pictures. I've looked for a mod, but can't find one.

When I renovated the Batuu lots, I added a tripod and a camera to specific location (i.e. facing the Falcon) to take pictures. You can't own it but it does the job.
https://i.imgur.com/4cwilJz.png

There are not enough toilets in Batuu. My sim has to put adventure on hold and go back to the hotel because of toilet needs and it's rather obvious and jarring if you happen to be in a different neighbourhood when the need strikes. Streets must smell awful there. Also, all the huge rabbit hole buildings suck, would have been nice to actually be able to enter them, and this includes the hotel. They should have made the hotel into a rentable space that we could decorate.