Do you immediately jump in and complete all the new content, essentially playing the pack, or do you incorporate the new game play features into an existing save.

I just incorporate it into my existing gameplay....and sometimes don't get around to fully exploring the options until years after I buy the pack. My gameplay is about following Sim households that I play through generations and I still haven't included a vampire or an alien sim into any of the households I've played in TS4, nor have I done anything to investigate what's going on in Strangerville yet, despite buying that pack as soon as it came out.Based on how long it takes me to 'get around' to things I think I'm good for at least 10 more years of play just in what packs have already been released. I know a lot of people are clamouring for more game and expansion packs after 6 months of nothing but kits, but I've been simming since TS1 and, just mho, TS4 already has more gameplay elements than any of the previous games in the franchise ever did (individual player opinions on quantity over quality will vary regarding that though).That said, I also would like to see more gameplay packs myself....just because "more to do" is good, even if it takes me forever to get to it.

I never focus on just one pack in any of my gameplay. I incorporate everything within my story. I like to discover everything on my own when a new pack/kit is released as well, so I only watch the official trailers, never any game changers or let's plays or anything at all. I also do not look at any pre-pack leaks of the CAS or BB preview pics that people like to post because again, I like to see everything in person and be surprised.If a kit/pack doesn't interest me from the official trailers, then it's a no brainer and I have no need to research it further. The only kits/packs I have not bought are JtB (which I had zero interest in that theme, I'm not a sci-fi player or Star Wars fanatic, nor do I play "fantasy" gameplay and none of the CAS/BB stuff were remotely my style and the Modern Menswear kits I knew was not ever something I'd use either, so those 2 I skipped). I have found something I can/will use in every kit/pack I've bought.

I play the pack and explore it, I feel this is often how Maxis designs the packs as well, they are often built to invite the player. Sims come knocking on the door, or call you, or you get a notification that a festival, fair whatever is going on. As I unlock more things in the pack, I start building more, and create more sims, look on the gallery what other simmers have created and try to create more sims myself. If I find the pack interesting enough, I start to try and do different things with the pack, but this is more difficult to do if I feel that the pack is more isolated, don't offer enough new things, don't work well with other packs or if I have already done very similar things already. I often end up creating a "hero" sim household and once that household is maxed out, I struggle to create new ones to play if the experience is too similar to what I have already played.

If I play the pack with a test save, I figure out HOW I want to incorporate the pack into gameplay.Do I like this feature? Nope, won't go there in a kept save.

Though this may count as "other"I have a test save (well, had, I'll need to make a new one) where I make a new household and play focusing on the pack features for about a week or two sims time.Then I go back to my regular save and incorporate it all in. It also lets me find bugs so that I can be aware of them before they mess up my regular save.

What's Your Approach To New Packs?

Sheepiling
New Rookie
3 years ago
I usually wait until the next generation of my legacy before I buy a new pack and play with it with my new heir. c:
OldeSimsFan
New Traveler
3 years ago
Depends on pack. Usually blend in with existing gameplay, but Cottage Living has been the exception. That has been my virtual ticket to Heathrow and the countryside beyond.
MayaRose1138
New Traveler
3 years ago
Mine is actually probably a bit of both. In my legacy save, I simply try out some of the new features as I get new packs, though I have a family who tests them in new saves. When I got JtB, which was the first game pack I got, I used the youngest daughter of my first sim family to test it out. Each subsequent heir is doing one of the aspirations that come with that pack: Jade - Resistance; Ahsoka - Smuggler; Qi’ra (who is married to Kylo Ren) - First Order. I’m thinking the next heir will check out the IL pack because I haven’t done too much with that.

One of the cousins, who I liked the look of, tested out City Living. Two of Shanna’s grandchildren tested out other packs, either through trials or straight play. Bellamy tested Eco Living and Darcy is currently testing University (and also did the GF trial). One of Bellamy’s children - Rylee - currently testing out Cottage Living, and one of Darcy’s kids - most likely Story - will test out RoM.
Kimmer_one
Rising Traveler
3 years ago
It depends. If the pack has a lot of new gameplay I like to learn how to play with all the new things and I either start with new Sim(s) or just play with existing household, but concentrate on the new pack. Sometimes I'm not interested to start anything new and I just continue playing my saves normally and use the new pack features whenever I want to.
Daravi
New Traveler
3 years ago
I incorporate it into my game. Sometimes I start a new game, if I really just want to test it, because I already it doesn't fit in my current game, but most of the time I discover them slowly and put things on my game what to-do next list. So snowy escape has been out for a while now, but my sims has never been on the top of Mount Komorebi. But one day they will :)
TTNcreates
Rising Novice
3 years ago
Whenever a pack is announced I always have a plan of what I want to do with so when it is released I immediately jump on it amd explore all the new features. Thinking about it though I could profit from exploring the new features slowly. I might try this with the wedding pack.
kukkahilla
Seasoned Hotshot
3 years ago
I have one save, three main families and some background sims whom I play sometimes, so usually I slowly incorporate the new pack into my play and already have some sim that is suitable to try some of the new things.

For example with CoL I first looked at the premades and decided which ones I wanted to save and keep around longer and which ones I'd let age and eventually go away. Then I went to play with one of my main families that lives in Sulani and gave them chickens and tried the simple living challenge. I played them quite some time. Then I played a different main family and explored the Henford-on-Bagley neighbourhoods with a child sim that likes camping, but after some time I somehow ended up to explore the Chalet Gardens in Windenburg and got into Bernard and Mimsy's story (I hadn't explored it so carefully before and had a lot of fun, my child sim was camping in Mimsy's garden and spent a lot of time with them. There was also an accident in which vampire Wolfgang Munch died! It was awful, but also very fun when the child sim and her grandma (both spellcasters and mediums) managed to get Wolfgang's ghost back to his boyfriend and their haunted mansion :joy: ). Then I went to age up one toddler and gave him the new animal enthusiast trait and ended up giving simple living challenge to that family as well. So it all just happens very gradually :smiley:
amapola76
Seasoned Hotshot
3 years ago
"Oldeseadogge;c-18037507" wrote:
Depends on pack. Usually blend in with existing gameplay, but Cottage Living has been the exception. That has been my virtual ticket to Heathrow and the countryside beyond.

Same, Cottage Living has been almost the only pack that I have played through extensively instead of just incorporating elements into my existing gameplay. Well, and Strangerville, but that wasn't because I was excited about the content, it was because I wanted to get the story out of the way as quickly as possible so I could just use the neighborhood for normal purposes.
SEREFRAS
Seasoned Veteran
3 years ago
When Cottage Living came out my first reaction was this will so tie with Get Together & finally give me room for my historical sims to move into. <3

When Strangerville came out, I thought why wasn't this in Get To Work. Also, when Journey to Batuu came out, I thought yeah more sifi to go with my Get To Work & Strangerville. B)
Onverser
3 years ago
I usually buy packs because I'm bored of my existing gameplay.. Whenever I buy a new pack the first thing I do is move my sims into the new world, give them a makeover with the new items and play exclusively with the new pack. I'm not personally interested in packs that just enhance existing gameplay, if they don't give me completely new things to do I skip them