Most worthwhile expansions and stuff packs?

[funkilla]

Children can use the teleprompter podium too, I believe, for charisma.

I can definitely live without pets. I ban strays and stuff, and I just got a werewolf for my supernatural experimenting hood (werewolfs, plantsims, zombies, servos, vampires, witches). I haven't played with the vacation lots, but I do like the extra career paths they bring. I get tired of having to choose between doctor, mayor, scientist, slacker, and athlete all the time. I like having the wide array of careers.

My essentials would be:
University, Nightlife, OFB, FT/AL

I can live without seasons or bon voyage and definitely Pets.

[jsalemi]

Kids can play with the podiums, but I don't think they get charisma from them while doing so. They do get charisma from the business reward (the putting green) though.

[Faizah]

Kids certainly can gain charisma from the podiums. I have been using macro>charisma to get those last couple of points, and they get them just fine as children, with a podium in the house. (The current family has the base game politics podium, though the I-forget-what-EP legal career also has a podium as the reward.)

Kids have a 'Play' option, but they also have the same 'Practice speech' option as older Sims.

[Kyna]

Going back to the point about kids & charisma & Pets: the caged parrot is the only buyable object that children can use to train charisma.  Yes, they can use the career rewards for education, business, law, or politics to train it, but those aren't buyable objects.

[jsalemi]

Interesting -- I've never had a kid gain charisma on the podium, only the putting green.  I'll have to check that out now...

[zherok]

Going back to the point about kids & charisma & Pets: the caged parrot is the only buyable object that children can use to train charisma.  Yes, they can use the career rewards for education, business, law, or politics to train it, but those aren't buyable objects.

Kinda a lot of overhead just for that though. Plus you can't really avoid animals like you can say, an extra lot like Bon Voyage.

[Sette]

IMHO, I'd not recommend Pets, as it doesn't add much to the core, and the Sims have enough to do without adding pets to the situation.  Because I installed FT, AL and Seasons on the same day, I pulled out my Seasons manual to check what new features it added.  Features include the giving of gifts (great for transferring rewards and such to other sims), an option to have different hair styles for different outfits (ie, low poly hair for everyday, ponytail for sleep and swim, high poly hair for formal occasions), you can put leftover food into the fridge (great for small families, and kids can feed themselves omelets in the morning without ma or pa waking up), new careers (lawyer career rewards you with another podium that pays 5$ every minute, but the "cha-ching" is irritating and the flying 5s lag my lappy), and a juicer to make smoothies with your crops (you get to garden).  New objects are limited though, but who cares with all the CC available.

On a side note, as far as I know, if a child can use a reward, they can build the skill.  I've maxed out children's charisma with the podium before they even become teens.

So, as stated in a previous post, I don't think Pets or BV are worth it.  As for SPs, don't bother or don't pay for them.

Normally I don't endorse "arr-ing", but after EA screwed us with Spore by treating the innocent like pirates while cracks have no DRM, feck those asses, don't give them any more money.  Too bad I'll miss out on Sims3, unless I arr, which I won't.  ;-)

Hope this helped.

[zherok]

Yeah, I'm leery about three. The leap to two from one is solid, but fairly obvious concepts like dates still require an entire expansion instead of being a core feature? Vacations, pets, weather, dates, and probably college'll all have their own separate expansions all over again. Oh boy, I love spending $40 for a feature I've already played with in a Sims game!

[Kyna]

Going back to the point about kids & charisma & Pets: the caged parrot is the only buyable object that children can use to train charisma.  Yes, they can use the career rewards for education, business, law, or politics to train it, but those aren't buyable objects.

Kinda a lot of overhead just for that though. Plus you can't really avoid animals like you can say, an extra lot like Bon Voyage.

I wasn't recommending Pets, merely clarifying the earlier point made about the caged bird.  I've never used the caged bird in my game.  I only keep Pets installed because I like some of the objects.  Or was it some of the walls & floors?  Can't quite remember now.

Personally I install EPs based on three things.  Point 2 applies to SPs too.
1. Does it add new careers (ignoring pet careers)?
2. Does it add items I would consider using in my game (whether objects, walls, floors, hair or clothing)?  Some EP/SPs are better than others at this.
3. Does it add new features that I would use in my game that are not available in a later EP.  For example: The ninja teleport (especially the way it works with macrotastics) and beach lots are the two main reasons I keep BV in my game.  BV also introduced "walk to lot" and new turn-ons & turn-offs, however I believe those features are also included in a later EP.

[Liz]

I enjoyed having the caged bird for a while, but I hardly ever buy it for my sims anymore. A lot of times they'll get the Want to buy the cage, but they never Want the actual bird. Fine with me, really. I like that it's a charisma-builder that can be used autonomously. I *don't* like that anyone and everyone who comes over will zoom straight for the cage to let the damned bird out (not to mention that before cagedpetfixes, those birds were starving to death left and right).

[zherok]

I wasn't recommending Pets, merely clarifying the earlier point made about the caged bird.  I've never used the caged bird in my game.  I only keep Pets installed because I like some of the objects.  Or was it some of the walls & floors?  Can't quite remember now.

Personally I install EPs based on three things.  Point 2 applies to SPs too.
1. Does it add new careers (ignoring pet careers)?
2. Does it add items I would consider using in my game (whether objects, walls, floors, hair or clothing)?  Some EP/SPs are better than others at this.
3. Does it add new features that I would use in my game that are not available in a later EP.  For example: The ninja teleport (especially the way it works with macrotastics) and beach lots are the two main reasons I keep BV in my game.  BV also introduced "walk to lot" and new turn-ons & turn-offs, however I believe those features are also included in a later EP.

Yeah, walk to lot and new turnons/turnoffs were present in my game with AL and FT but not BV installed. I tossed BV into the mix anyway, I don't see any major core additions (vacations I'm guessing are mostly just expanded dates, right?), but I like beach lots. I'm a pretty big Japanophile too, so kimonos are nice. Hairwise I tend to avoid the Maxis stuff, most just can't compare to CC with the textures they use, even if the shapes are ok.

That brings the setup to every EP but Pets, which seems to be pretty universally considered unnecessary. At least I confirmed most of the stuff packs weren't worth it (that said, I did get the Holiday Stuff pack, kimonos again.)

It'd be nice if the expansions built off each other a bit more. I can understand the issue of requiring a daisy chain of EPs to enjoy something, but something like Outerwear is added in one expansion, and not a single EP after that bothers with the whole clothes category.

[IgnorantBliss]

I have all EPs except for Bon Voyage, because sims going on vacations doesn't interest me one bit, although I'm somewhat curious about beach lots.

Of the later EPs that I do have, Pets is one whose features I use the least, my sims rarely have pets nowadays.

I like Seasons, Freetime and Apartment Life quite a bit. The different seasons and gardening are features I enjoy playing, hobbies are a central part of my sims' lives now, and so far playing apartments has been fun.

Of the stuff packs, I liked the clothing in Teen and H&M packs, the furniture options in Ikea, and to some degree in K&B, but the new features (particularly the quarter tile placement) in M&G have made it the best stuff pack of them all.

[Zazazu]

I wouldn't go without Pets. Wolves, I could do without. A hack like wolfwatchers, or TJ's visitor controller to ban them by lot can work. That's what I do...ban them by lot. But pets themselves add flavor. I like seeing Luke Marderosian walk by with Mips, and being able to invite them both in so that Mips the cat can play with Allegra the dog. I only have two pets plus one wolf in my 'hood, but they add flavor.

Of course, I'm a completionist as far as EP go. The only one I truly don't use the features of is Nightlife. I almost never have a Downtown, I don't use vamps, and I rarely do the date thing.

[Mandapotpie]

Interesting -- I've never had a kid gain charisma on the podium, only the putting green.  I'll have to check that out now...

I believe that I only ever have the option to play on the podium if I am using just a child. If they have someone teach them, however, they can learn charisma on the podium with the adult or teen.

[Faizah]

Going back to the point about kids & charisma & Pets: the caged parrot is the only buyable object that children can use to train charisma.  Yes, they can use the career rewards for education, business, law, or politics to train it, but those aren't buyable objects.

Kinda a lot of overhead just for that though. Plus you can't really avoid animals like you can say, an extra lot like Bon Voyage.

I wasn't recommending Pets, merely clarifying the earlier point made about the caged bird.  I've never used the caged bird in my game.  I only keep Pets installed because I like some of the objects.  Or was it some of the walls & floors?  Can't quite remember now.

I wouldn't recommend Pets either, but I do like the floor divider 'fences', I use those quite a bit. I think they came with Pets?

I really think the one EP I couldn't live without is also the one I was least impressed with prior to getting it: Open For Business. Sure, community lot businesses might be pricy for the beginning entrepreneur, but even Brandi Broke can run a home business at a profit. It's even possible to deliberately run a business at a loss, if a family has too much money. (Each EP adds a new money-making thing, after all.)

[Yecats]

OFB compliments the later EP's by making any sort of business possible.

You can use OFB to sell the craftables from FT, the produce and fish from Seasons, animals from Pets, and even use the ticket machine for your Uni house parties.

[Kyna]

I wasn't recommending Pets, merely clarifying the earlier point made about the caged bird.  I've never used the caged bird in my game.  I only keep Pets installed because I like some of the objects.  Or was it some of the walls & floors?  Can't quite remember now.

I wouldn't recommend Pets either, but I do like the floor divider 'fences', I use those quite a bit. I think they came with Pets?

Thanks Faizah.  THAT'S the reason I keep Pets installed.

* Kyna must be getting senile to have forgotten that.

[Sette]

It'd be nice if the expansions built off each other a bit more. I can understand the issue of requiring a daisy chain of EPs to enjoy something, but something like Outerwear is added in one expansion, and not a single EP after that bothers with the whole clothes category.

Somebody on MTS2 was crazy kind enough to go through the Maxis defaults and reclassify all the clothing and hats that needed it.  In the process, he/she moved a lot of stuff into Outerwear.

[talysman]

My own personal assessment, with reasons:

Uni - adds kicky bag and Hang Out, which are fairly good for friend building, musical instruments, and the Resurrect-o-nomitron, all of which might be available w/o the EP. Adds the YA age stage, assuming you want more time for meeting LTWs. Also added LTWs, I think, but that's almost certainly available with other EPs. Otherwise, useless. Benefits are minor.

Nightlife - adds drivable cars, and as far as I know, EA's been pretty strict about not giving you these with other EPs. Not sure if you can build restaurants on non-hotel lots without NL. Also not sure if dating is available at all w/o it. Dating is definitely a must-have, as boring as it is, because of the exploitability. Free mood and energy boost at the end of the date, and possibly free gifts and an unearned Cleaning, even if your date has lower Cleaning skill than your sim? Sign me up!

OFB - robots, if you want them. A wider range of commercial lots, even if you don't want to build businesses yourself. Create a dummy sim and Motherlode him, have him buy commercial lots, and build all sorts of shops. Plus, it's supposed to be the most stable of the early expansion packs.

Pets - unless you like pets, doesn't add much to the game. Animals are an easy way to get a social boost, though. The floor dividers are useful, but before I installed Pets, I was able to do the same thing with the railroad ties.

Seasons - the most visually interesting EP, and the season bonuses are great for exploitation. Also adds some challenge, since now you actually have to consider building at least a roof, if not walls.

Bon Voyage - adds ninja teleport and tai chi, which I find more useful that just about any other skill. The viral nature of tai chi gave me a good idea for an OFB business: a dojo, which has been pretty successful. Tai chi builds energy, so it's an easy way to extend a trip to a commercial lot. Still, you can probably skip BV. Even though I find my Bigfoot mayor pretty amusing. Bonuses from having a good trip just don't last long enough or have big enough an effect to matter.

Freetime - adds some variety to sim behaviors, but nothing really important. I do find the superpowers useful, though.

Apartment Life - haven't explored AL much, yet. Mayor Bigfoot is now a warlock, and his robot friend wants to be one, too, so this may wind up breaking my game. Can't tell you whether Al is worth it yet, even for magic, but my guess is that actual apartments, with neighbors hanging out in common areas, will make the game a little more interesting. Like the teen next-door neighbor who stayed up all night swinging his little brother around by the arms.

Mansion & Garden - don't have this yet, don't know much about it, don't know if I'll get it. Only have a few of the stuff packs, too. Can't really recommend any of them.

Summary: NL and OFB are definite must-haves. Seasons adds lots of variety and gaming options, so it's also a good choice. Everything else is up to whim.

[PirateFaafy]

Going back to the point about kids & charisma & Pets: the caged parrot is the only buyable object that children can use to train charisma.  Yes, they can use the career rewards for education, business, law, or politics to train it, but those aren't buyable objects.

Kinda a lot of overhead just for that though. Plus you can't really avoid animals like you can say, an extra lot like Bon Voyage.

I wasn't recommending Pets, merely clarifying the earlier point made about the caged bird.  I've never used the caged bird in my game.  I only keep Pets installed because I like some of the objects.  Or was it some of the walls & floors?  Can't quite remember now.

I wouldn't recommend Pets either, but I do like the floor divider 'fences', I use those quite a bit. I think they came with Pets?

I really think the one EP I couldn't live without is also the one I was least impressed with prior to getting it: Open For Business. Sure, community lot businesses might be pricy for the beginning entrepreneur, but even Brandi Broke can run a home business at a profit. It's even possible to deliberately run a business at a loss, if a family has too much money. (Each EP adds a new money-making thing, after all.)

I had a fun competition with my sister to see who could have a teenage Sim make the most money before going off to university/aging up to adulthood. I won by a landslide - Bon Voyage's digging got me quite a few treasure chests, plus a ticket booth at 30$ an hour meant that I didn't need to perform any sales interactions on them to get them to come in and spend MONEYS. Pinball machines are powerful. Basically, everyone stood on the lawn doing viral tai-chi from this one freestylin' grandma.

Of course, I now know that you can get someone to pay 800 simoleons an hour with a well-executed dazzling. Unfortunately, she does now, too, so it's very interesting to do such challenges now.

Personally, I'm loving AL with Pescadoian fixes because of how interesting it is to run lots with NOTHING inside the apartments. Everything's in the common area. It's like an asylum, and it's great fun, not to mention CHEAP! An utterly empty 1x2 apartment is quite inexpensive, you may find.

[aussieone]

The only stuff pack that I haven't arrquired yet is Glamour Life stuff and that's only because every single file I've found on TPB has been labelled as having a bloody virus. Is it worth getting or should I just not bother to keep looking fpor a clean one?

[Angie]

BV also made it possible to age up your townies when one of your playables has a birthday.  As far as I know, this feature was not carried forward to later EPs.

[Sette]

The only stuff pack that I haven't arrquired yet is Glamour Life stuff and that's only because every single file I've found on TPB has been labelled as having a bloody virus. Is it worth getting or should I just not bother to keep looking fpor a clean one?

I bought it and feel my $20 would have been better spent on rhum and cigarettes.

BV also made it possible to age up your townies when one of your playables has a birthday.  As far as I know, this feature was not carried forward to later EPs.

FT allows you to age up three townies per Sim, but never had a chance to figure out how to do it.  Probably helps to have non-adult townie friends at the birthday party, which I never did.

[Angie]

BV also made it possible to age up your townies when one of your playables has a birthday.  As far as I know, this feature was not carried forward to later EPs.

FT allows you to age up three townies per Sim, but never had a chance to figure out how to do it.  Probably helps to have non-adult townie friends at the birthday party, which I never did.

Oh, you are right.  That feature did come with FT.  My bad.

You don't have to have a birthday party to age up townies.  A window will pop up as your sim is age-transitioning, asking who is growing up along with your sim.  All the townies who are in the same age group as your sim, and who your sim has actually met, should be listed in the pop-up.  (Though I have also seen YAs in the list when adults age-transition, but I figured they were close enough in age to qualify as the same age group.  Meh.)

[talysman]

BV also made it possible to age up your townies when one of your playables has a birthday.  As far as I know, this feature was not carried forward to later EPs.

FT allows you to age up three townies per Sim, but never had a chance to figure out how to do it.  Probably helps to have non-adult townie friends at the birthday party, which I never did.

Yeah, I seem to recall it being an FT feature, but I never saw it in action until after I installed AL. I've been aging up some of those annoying children that call their friends long after they've grown up, gone to college, got married, and had children of their own. Like Chloe Gozanga. Turns out one teen Romance sim has a triple bolt attraction to teen Chloe, so that's working out fine so far. Although there was a temporary borkage on their first date where Appreciate > Backrub didn't work quite right: the teen would turn in a random direction as Chloe turned her back to him, and he would reach towards her actual location and "rub" her back no matter where she was actually located. Which amazed me, because I didn't think the arms were animated separately from the body and thus the sims were capable of more varied actions than we actually see.