It's pretty and very relaxing, which is why I find this pack very appealing.
However, even paradise gets boring after an extended amount of time there.
And that's why I don't want my sims to live there. I want to regret leaving and look forward to returning.
I get it that this pack is about living there,
but considering how many simmers wanted a tropical island vacation getaway, it boggles my
mind that no concession was made to
at least owning a vacation home there.
No hotels necessary, no BNB necessary, just tweaking the existing game play to allow sims to own a second home and request vacation time to stay there instead of a daily vacation time call.
I wasn't going to get this pack since my main sims don't have much use for it.
However, I do have my Get Famous sims that I used to try out that expansion pack. Seeing them in the new lounge chairs made me want more.
I get this...
...and this from the patch while Island Living exists?
Of course I am going to cave and buy it. :)
I really liked the idea of them being able to get away from Del Sol Valley and fame and also a way of spending
some of that cash laying around in their money vault.
So I went with the retail store lot work-around.
It seemed like a great idea, but I forgot about the paparazzi.
I didn't mind them hanging around the property, until they start coming into the house despite locked doors.
They were there 24-7. You ask them to leave and they come right back. It was unplayable.
So I went for the generic lot workaround, which I don't like since it's free access,
and now I have island residents walking up to the property and hanging out despite it being a generic lot.
You can't ask them to leave.
I like you Nalani, but go home.
I was lucky that most of the household members were in the same club, so I could allow only
club members through the doors. But I had to send one household member home because I haven't unlocked enough member slots
to add her to the club.
This is Meadow Thayer and she is sad because she lost a fame level while on "vacation".
AND I LOVE IT!
There is some tension between getting away from the celebrity scene and losing celebrity status for being away too long.
When she goes back we can get back to it and get her status back.
It just seems so short sighted to me not to build vacation lot ownership in.
My sims that can most use this have to deal with not so satisfying workarounds in a beautiful paradise, or they can go camping in a bug infested forest. And for my sims that do live there, long term, this pack will just feel like another neighborhood after the honeymoon phase has worn off and it won't feel like a special place anymore because you are there all the time.
EA, please add purchasable vacation home lots to the game and work in the vacation time mechanic to them.
