Personally, I don’t see their value. It seems to me as though expansion and stuff packs have been stripped of a few elements each / watered down of what they should be in order to justify the introduction of game packs. There’s not a single game pack in TS4 series which stands out as being a unqiue, independent concept which adds value to the game for me. There’s a few I like such as parenthood and dine out, but I just feel like these could’ve been part of a wider expansion pack? It’s very confusing having 3 different categories especially when some of the game packs seem to add more value than the expansion packs. I would’ve preferred if they went back to just creating bulkier expansion and stuff packs which were released less often but we’re good value for money, then for the more niche content, they went back to having a ‘Sims Store’ or we got community voted game packs every 2 years or so.I actually liked The Sims 3 store. It was a cash grab, but It was great for giving us access to the specific & targeted content we wanted as individuals & while freeing the developers to properly focus on expansions & stuff packsWhat’s your thoughts on how you’d like the SimGuru’s to divide content?

I really love the game packs. I own all of them except Dine Out and I won't be getting the Star Wars pack either, but I really find they have good separate concepts. I couldn't play without Parenthood in particular. I also think it was an excellent idea to give Vampires and Spellcasters their own packs.

I like the expansion/game/stuff pack divide because it means we get new content regularly so I don't mind them.

I think Game Packs are great but should focus on niche content only.Realistic content such as Parenthood, spas, and restaurants should be part of bigger EPs to add more depth to these packs. Stuff packs are fine and have been getting much better value for price lately, at least in my opinion. If I compare Nifty Knitting and Moschino with Perfect Patio and that Party pack, there is a huge huge difference in both quantity and quality. For a tenner I believe they’re still better value than S3 stuff packs or store content. Game Packs should be for the minority of players who are interested in more fleshed out occults, story driven gameplay, sci fi etc. They’re not for everyone, but this is exactly why EPs should focus on more content for realism and family players.The biggest pack should cater to the majority of players and ensure that there’s always something in them that folks have been asking for. The medium pack should cater to the minority, because they too deserve packs that enrich their gameplay experience. Whether that’s Star Wars or werewolves, it shouldn’t matter. As long as it’s experimental or niche. Stuff packs exist to fill the gaps and I think that’s fine. I have to say I did prefer the regular monthly updates on the sims 3 store, but the premium content was extremely expensive.

I'm fine with them as long as they aren't an excuse to remove content from the EPs. I also think more weird, niche etc. gameplay elements should be there and if they are well executed then it's all good.

They are all different with their own uniqueness. I love Vampires, Jungle Adventure & Realm of Magic. I still think that Strangerville should have been in Get to Work.

What’s your thoughts on game packs in general?

19 Replies

Onverser
6 years ago
I like game packs. They're my favorite type of pack in the game and I get the most out of them. The themes of the expansions don't really interest me in general whereas pretty much all the game packs are themes I'm into.

Jungle vacations, vampires, restaurants, realm of magic, etc are all things that interest me. Spa day was neat aswell although it should've been a stuff pack and I had fun with Strangerville when I played through it. Whilst on the other hand I couldn't really care less about packs like get famous, university, get together, pets and eco lifestyle. I've gotten way more fun out of the game packs as the themes interest me more.

I think in general it depends on your play style, EPs and SPs are more for realism players whilst game packs have more out there themes.
g01denswan
Rising Ace
6 years ago
"nucleonide;c-17650696" wrote:
I don't mind the existence of GPs, but, personally, I still don't understand what their scope is supposed to be, aside from being vaguely in-between EPs and SPs in size.

Like for example, I first assumed GPs were "gameplay"-focused packs (hence the name) so I did not expect a world included with them, but just adding new interactions or systems probably. This was the case for Spa Day and Dine Out (which granted had a new lot type), and also Parenthood (no new world, no new lot type). But then the last few GPs all had a new world included, though usually smaller than the EP worlds *looking at you GTW :lol:*

If it's made more consistently clear what separates a GP from the other pack types, then we can more clearly see its value, and we'd have fewer cases of a GP seeming like cut content from an EP.

I think game packs contain features that appeal to a minority of simmers and could be included in expansion packs, but would be very shallow if they were. They are,therefore, given their own packs so the feature can be given more depth. Vampires, for example, have more depth than mermaids. And a new world is included only if it makes sense to do so. Restaurants and spas don’t need a new world, but Batuu would look strange in a normal world.

And stuff packs are mainly for people who don’t use custom content.
keekee53
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
I used to enjoy game packs more than the expansions. Lately, they have been worse than stuff packs.
PERAL01
6 years ago
I love them all!
ChadSims2
Seasoned Rookie
6 years ago
I don't feel as game packs are that great packs such as Dine Out leave so much to be desired and are so limited in game play you cant even play as a chef or waiter now the same can be said for expansions this is Sims 4. I will say of all the game packs Spa Day is the only one where I'm like this feels complete.

I do miss the days expansions were not stripped of content to piece sell everything Nightlife alone gave us DJ booth, Restaurants, Bowling, Karaoke machine and so much more. These items were main features in multiple Sims 4 packs but yet these were the smaller features done right in Nitelife where cars were introduced, attraction systems were added, mini dating games it was cohesive jammed packed of content that worked well together the same cant be said for the piece sell content Sims 4 offers slowly drizzled in random packs.
marea_a_moon
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
I really like the ones i have. I wouldnt actually mind if they cancel expansions and give us more game packs a year instead. It does seem like they vary in quality though according to what i read about some of the ones that i dont have, but it could be all just a matter of personal opinions.
Lonewolf1044
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
For me with the exception of SPs, the GPs and EPs are now trending to being restricted packs meaning you can't use some content in all areas as you could have in previous versions So I see them as an lesser value for me.
cb2342z
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
Most of the GPs have value, and are usable with most play styles. Strangerville is often criticized for the linear storyline with little replay, but it's a great world. However, the new Star Wars pack is so out of place. It's not set on (the Sims version of) Earth, so much of the stuff is out of place for most building, and for regular players, the clothing may see use as cosplay items, but that's it. And, not a single person here requested it. Back when the icon leaked, I figured this is what we ended up with.
Cinebar
6 years ago
Some of them have been a money grab, and we know some of that stuff should have been in a correlating EP. I think the only two I feel were worth the price and or even worth getting were DO and Vampires, but even those should have been in a correlating EP since EPs are such money grabs and pratically empty other than maybe a tiny world thrown in so people won't fuss too much. SV world means nothing without the enviorment spawning zombies and or the other things people did enjoy like that store or kiosk etc. I won't buy a pack just for a world, if we are going to do that, then TS4 should start selling worlds like TS3.

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What’s your thoughts on game packs in general?

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