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Mad Poster
#551 Old 8th Jul 2012 at 4:14 AM
Bon Voyage adds vacations, which by definition are off to one side. I really like them, but your sims can only take them when they have enough money to fly there, they can't visit anybody, nobody can visit them, and you can't play a day or two of the teens being home alone while the parents are on their second honeymoon. Also, you'll get a sudden influx of new townies (tourists) whose ID numbers will be higher than those of existing sims, so for quite awhile - until new sims reach the relevant ages - you'll be bringing tourist children and teens home from school instead of playables, and you can't call tourists because they have no phones. Also, the limo stops coming at the end of the wedding. Instead, your sims roll wants to go on a vacation for a honeymoon. The new animations are a couple of new dances and some gestures that spread through the neighborhood in a viral manner, which many people find annoying.

Open for Business has the potential to add quite a bit, as it becomes possible for your sims to own community lots and run them as businesses. If you don't happen to be interested in getting into the businesses right away, you still have crafting stations which allow them to make toys, robots, and flower arrangements, and for which they get badges. The ability to add shopping districts - basically, as many subhoods as you feel like attaching, in addition to Downtown, University, and the vacation destinations - also allows the creation (with some care and study; fortunately, by now most of this has been done for you and clean, non-game-breaking templates are available for download) of megahoods including some or all of the premade neighborhoods, so it's finally possible for Cassandra Goth to marry Nervous Subject. The star animation for this EP is children dancing on the feet of older sims.

Apartment Life adds magic, which if you're interested in it will cause you to be hunting down the head witches to befriend them so you can learn how to do magic; and if you're not, will cause you to groan as the game lags to let the head witches show up on the lot and do their good witch/bad witch routines when all you want is to get that 20th woohoo under your sim's belt. Apartments themselves play very differently from normal residences, and if you're the kind who spends a lot of time with your sims at home you'll want to explore this, and new features like apartment neighbors watching kids, social groups, and networking. There will be consequences to that running feud with your mother-in-law now...A grab bag of wonderful animations came with this EP, notably the universally loved "morning cuddle."

So whether AL or OfB adds more gameplay is entirely a matter of your playstyle.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
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Field Researcher
#552 Old 8th Jul 2012 at 4:15 PM
I have to say from reading your post and watching a few videos im slighly swaying towards OFB and the moment, but i defo want AL in the end that sounds good too. Thanks for the reply!

-and in that moment, i was infinate.
Mad Poster
#553 Old 8th Jul 2012 at 4:33 PM
Bon Voyage adds beach lots! Swimming, building sandcastles, sunbathing. I rarely send my sims on vacation, especially now I play a strict (but fun for me!) rotation, but it was worth it just for the beach lots for me. So many of my sims now get married at the beach... :-) The vacation gestures/dances can be annoying though, like Peni said. In my experience the limo does still come (sometimes?) at the end of the wedding if no honeymoon has been booked. I may be wrong about that though...

Open For Business is awesome, it's one of my favourites. I don't play many owned businesses, but they are useful for making graveyards, schools and churches with groundskeepers, teachers or priests owning them. The crafting is fun but repetitive - if you also have University you can get a mod that gives teens with Silver crafting badges scholarships, which I use and find very helpful indeed. One of my sims, Leanne Jitsukamol, just went to university with scholarships in flower arranging and sewing, as well as Creativity and good grades. As sims in my game have to have three scholarships to be eligible for a university education, without crafting she wouldn't have made it! And yes, in my opinion the ability to have Megahoods using shopping districts makes OFB one of my absolute favourites.

Apartment Life is a lot of fun, in my opinion. I'm not that keen on witches, though they're better with hacks to stop evil ones from being green skinned! :-) Learning magic as a witch/warlock is a bit too repetitive for my tastes. I love apartments though - like Peni said, it's fun watching neighbours interact whilst you play one apartment household. With ACR installed I find that all sorts of drama can happen! Being able to ask neighbours to watch your kids (combined with a hack to allow it on residential lots as well) is a godsend for some households in my no-nannies 'hoods.

So yes, I basically think they're all great - not very helpful, I know! :-) I think OFB is probably cheaper than AL, and offers more in terms of gameplay than BV, so I'd probably go for that one. But that's a decision I've reached after playing with all EP's and SP's installed for many years now! :-D
Alchemist
#554 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 2:11 AM
Do you think the Holiday pack adds a lot to the game? Also, there are a few different versions, and I don't know the difference between them.
Test Subject
#555 Old 19th Jul 2012 at 12:19 PM Last edited by magic08 : 19th Jul 2012 at 4:57 PM.
I'm re-buying OFB because my old disk is unworkable, and I might buy a few stuff packs mostly so I can qualify for super saver shipping on amazon lol. So what are the opinions(positive and negative) about these three stuff packs listed below?

The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff
The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff
The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff

Overall since I'm only really thinking about buying two out of those three which two would give me more stuff like for example clothes and hair? Thanks

If Celebration becomes one of the ones I get will I have to play from the disk, since it comes after Seasons, or since its still just a stuff pack will Seasons still do?


Omglo, I recently purchased the Holiday stuff pack, and in my opinion it was a severe disappointment,and no it adds pretty much nothing to the game. Most of the few items you get( and I do mean few) are Christmas themed(mistletoe, a few different looking Christmas trees,lights to hang, etc),but the other holidays are underrepresented to the point of nonexistent. You really can't do any real interacting with most of the stuff, and everything is overall pathetic. The only small highlight is Santa comes. I brought this used, for barely six dollars, and still feel ripped off.

As for which version The Sims 2 Happy Holiday Stuff is the one to get. The other just has the base game added.
Lab Assistant
#556 Old 21st Jul 2012 at 4:47 AM
magic08, if I were you, I would choose Celebration and Glamour Life.

Family Fun Stuff is a load of crap. The object sets are incredibly cheesy and tacky, and (being 100% honest here) I haven't used them once. IMO this is the worst SP of all TS2 SPs. I only own it/have it installed so that I can have a complete TS2 collection.

Glamour Life Stuff is a better. If you have a lot of rich yuppie Sims, and don't use a lot of CC, this is probably a good pack for you.

Celebration! Stuff is great if you're into the whole birthday/big wedding thing. I myself rarely throw a wedding or birthday party, but when I do, these items sure do come in handy.

The bottom line is to pick the SPs you think will suit your play style most. If you click the hyperlinks, you will be taken to the SP's info page on TS2.com, and if you click 'items' you can see pictures of the items included in the pack. Good luck on your decision!
Field Researcher
#557 Old 21st Jul 2012 at 4:03 PM
Yeah I agree, Family Fun Stuff is terrible. There are only a handful of nice clothes that I MIGHT use.

But seriously who needs a mermaid theme?
Mad Poster
#558 Old 21st Jul 2012 at 4:25 PM
A mermaid-obsessed little girl.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
e3 d3 Ne2 Nd2 Nb3 Ng3
retired moderator
#559 Old 21st Jul 2012 at 10:07 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Bananas8338
Family Fun Stuff[/URL] is a load of crap.

*Gasp* How can you not love that colour changing lamp, and the curly-wurly chair?
#560 Old 25th Jul 2012 at 2:39 PM
Where can you buy the Sims 2 games other than Amazon?
I ordered Freetime and Univeristy Life Collection.
That will finish the series except for Happy/Festive Holiday Stuff.
I don't know if I'll ever get it. The only use I would have with it would be for the Sims 2 Series I'm making.

Magic08, your description is helpful, but I'd like to hear others opinnions as well.
Thanks!
Mad Poster
#561 Old 25th Jul 2012 at 4:23 PM
Work your way back through the thread, then. There's 23 pages of different takes on the EPs.

I bought most of mine on e-bay, with Amazon and brick-and-mortar used book/media stores for the others. Yes, there's still physical stores out there selling stuff. It's a crap shoot, but it never hurts to look.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
#562 Old 28th Jul 2012 at 5:13 PM Last edited by BeckyBoo8 : 28th Jul 2012 at 5:14 PM. Reason: Forgot something, oops!
I will post my ratings for all the expansions (Excluding University and Freetime) and stuff packs (Excluding Happy Holiday, Teen Style, and Ikea).

Favorites: Apartment Life and Seasons
Least Favorite: Pets

Ratings:
1. Apartment Life <3 My favorite expansion pack because it was the last, I feel it has the most heart and care in it. I love the possibilities of different apartments I can make. Ex: Trailer Park, Townhouses, two-family home, fancy-expensive large penthouses, etc. The witches is probably one of my favorite life states. I like the furniture it comes with, and although the helicopter is cool, I have yet to use it. I love that there's a new interaction for toddlers, to huggle!
2. Seasons! Seasons adds so much to the game. Gardening and fishing gives new options for businesses, and the country theme is so nice! The graphics are really good, and this is a must have expansion. I love all the things you can do outside and new interactions between family members like Marco Polo and a Snowball Fight. Other items are really nice to have like the pool slide and ice/roller blading rinks.
3. Bon Voyage is definately one that adds a lot to the game. I love beach lots and vacation homes. The momentos to collect definitely keep vacations fun. But there are somethings I wish to change: Toddlers can come and more features to Three Lakes/mountain destination.
4. Open For Business. The introduction to talent badges and crafting items, the little tycoons are fun! I love seeing poor folks not have to give up anything by making their business a sucess. The items you can craft are really cool, and other expansions add more options to different types of businesses. I like the dresses for children it comes with!
5. Night Life: I don't really have an opinnion on this one, since it came with my base game (Double Deluxe). Although I could not imagine my game without the dating, cars, and restaurants.
6. Pets, I really feel like this was rushed. I would love to see other pets like horses. This pack basically comes with nothing except for the ability to adopt dogs, cats, womrats, fish, and birds. But I do like the pets, so I like this expansion. I honestly like all expansions.

Stuff Pack Ratings

Favorites: H&M and Mansion and Garden
Least Favorite: Family Fun

1. H&M I like the theme to build the store and name brand clothes. I love these outfits, and find myself using them a lot.
2. Mansion and Garden. My houses' gardens and front yards would be so ugly without this pack! Also, the Second Empire theme is really nice.
3. Celebration. The party stuff definitely adds a lot for gameplay and decoration. The dresses are beautiful, and I find myself often using the formal wear for all ages. Except for female elder, strapless dresses on them is quite odd. They'd be nice with a sweater or something.
4. Glamour Life. There are some outfits I don't like, but others that come with this really make up for it. I love the new bedroom theme!
5. Kitchen and Bath. I like the realism the decorations add. The appliances are nicer too.
6. Family Fun. Don't use the stuff with this very often.
Test Subject
#563 Old 3rd Aug 2012 at 3:19 AM Last edited by magic08 : 3rd Aug 2012 at 3:49 AM.
Thanks everyone. I ended up getting all three since they were all barely 6 dollars apiece. The packs actually forced me to play my families right for a change. I'm a player that likes to screw my Sims up to the max instead of playing normally lol. Family Fun stuff actually forced me to decorate my entire house, especially the children bedrooms, instead of putting in the bare minimum so I can start screwing them up faster. Glamour actually made Nightlife have a point for me besides cars,cellphones and a few clothes. I also found some of the glamour decor nice which gave me more added incentive to actually decorate a home. Lastly, Celebration made me actually feel like throwing parties. I actually know what a wedding and a birthday for the Sims look like now lol.
Test Subject
#564 Old 3rd Aug 2012 at 4:28 AM
I've Nightlife (I don't like it, but it came with my Sims2 original - it's called Deluxe version, I believe?) and Seasons. Nightlife is useless to me, because it takes too much time to load Downtown, and anyway I find going there about as interesting and fun as looking at my left shoe.

I've also tried University, but it bothered me to go through all that work of, once Sims were Teenagers, they had to leave the house, and I'd have to wait 4746 years while the University hood loaded, and they were put in a dorm, etc etc. The only stuff I liked about it were that dorm shower, because it came in very handy when trying to fit a shower in one-tile spaces, and the cellphones. I eventually found out the "semester tester" cheat, which made things much better but...enforced in me the idea that it was a waste of time for Sims to go to Uni, because they'd win some Diploma and nothing else, ending up getting back to their hometown and maybe get a heads up in whatever job they'd choose to have.

The same friend that lent me the University EP, then lent me Pets...and despite animals being my main passion (I'm a vegan aha) I...couldn't handle it ㅠㅠ I felt so bad for every stray I saw, I adopted them all, and put up little houses and food in my garden, and then felt terrible for not interacting with them enough, so it basically only served for me to feel powerless and like a bad human companion.

And I absolutely adore Seasons It's my favourite ever and I never want to be parted from it. I was thinking about buying the Freetime EP too, it seems really nice and fun! I think it would fit me nicely because I often get bored with my Sims when they're back from work/school and there's still lots of hours before they have to go to sleep, so they just lay around the house being boring and watching tv/interacting/painting/insert boring activity here. My only problem is that each EP is around 15€, so I'm not so sure if I should buy it.
And now that I think about it, Open for Business too! I'd love to run a bakery, and it seems like another great way to not get bored with my Sims (because when that happens I either end up killing every elder and forcing everyone to grow up to have new family members, or I go around creating new families and then end up having too many).
#565 Old 6th Aug 2012 at 5:08 PM
I just got the Univeristy Life Collection and Freetime for my birthday, and am very excited to try them out!
University is installed, and I will be testing it out in a couple minutes.
Once I am used to both packs, I will post my opinnion of the whole complete series.
Test Subject
#566 Old 7th Aug 2012 at 3:45 AM
I only had the first three EPs originally, and I bought the rest all together this year (Pets as the "Fun with Pets" bundle pack). Pets was predictably underwhelming, and I wouldn't have gotten it unless it was in that bundle pack with M&G. But so far the biggest disappointment has been Bon Voyage. I took some Sims on their (and my) first vacation, to Twikki Island. They went to the Boardwalk, and they couldn't buy jewelry because the counters were facing the wrong way, against the wall. Then, they got stuck in their hotel, because something invisible was blocking the stairs. I don't like building that much, so I really don't want to have to go through each BV lot and look for issues to fix.

And I just don't get the vacation memories - it doesn't seem like there is any benefit to them, and it seems arbitrary that you can do many of those things at home and not get "credit" for it.

I should add that I like the items and build mode stuff that came with BV, just so far not the actual vacation.
Field Researcher
#567 Old 7th Aug 2012 at 5:54 AM
The best thing about the EP's are mostly the stuff and clothing if you ask me.

FT gave me the most for my money because HOLY CRAP LOOK AT ALL THESE CLOTHES! LOOK AT ALL THESE OBJECTS! The Genie is cool too, but the hobby-spam annoys me.
As someone said in another thread, the hobby-related wants clog the whole want bar up and you can't rally do anything other than birdwatching and playing the violin after a while -.-

BV again. Awesome objects. Clothes not so much. I never play vacations as well because they're boring as hell. I never even add the vacation sub-hoods any more.
But the massage tables and saunas are great for spas or rich Sims

AL brought us great clothes and objects. And I never had a problem with any of the apartments. I find them really nice.

Uni is lame. Who the hell uses any of the "Groovy" furniture and wallpapers? The clothes are just the teen clothes recycled for the YA's.
I'm not really too fond of the whole university thing in the Sims.

Pets was crap. I can't believe I paid money for it -.-

Yeah the other expansions rocked as well. Seasons, Nightlife, I wouldn't want to miss them.
Open for Business brought us good clothes but I'm not a business person. My businesses never make profit xD
Instructor
#568 Old 7th Aug 2012 at 8:23 AM
Quote: Originally posted by julmoo
Pets was crap. I can't believe I paid money for it -.-


I so agree! Total disappointment!
#569 Old 7th Aug 2012 at 4:27 PM Last edited by BeckyBoo8 : 10th Aug 2012 at 8:02 PM.
I have all the expansions now, so here is my full review

1. Apartment Life- Best best best expansion in my opinnion! Apartments give a lot of building possibilities, new interactions which are nice (Including the toddler huggle <3) Really nice furniture additions, like the TVs. Disapointing clothes, except I like one style for the female adult casual/formal dresses.
2. Seasons- Awesome weather, adds a lot of gameplay options. New cool pool slide. Also has roller and ice skating rinks. Gardening and fishing is really nice too.
3. Freetime- A lot of new objects, stuff for every kind of sim! Really fun, new rewards and LTA meter. Predestined hobbies. Way better than I expected. Love it!
4. Bon Voyage- Fun vacations with new objects (sauna, massage table). I love vacations- mainly Twikkii Island, but disapointment was that toddlers can't join the family. (Babies would be pointless to take, they dont do anything)
5. University- New life stage, which adds time for love, skill building, friendships, completing wants, and oh yeah, streaking! Again like Freetime, wayyy better than I expected. Dorms, greek houses, and rental homes add nice stuff. Groovy theme belongs in the trash can though.
6. Open For Business- New businesses and crafting objects, which are cool to have. Love the spinny toy and water wiggler. Don't really use the robotics station, I'll hire a maid or gardener instead.
7. Nightlife- New community lots, cars, and dating. Overall great addition.
8. Pets- The only pack that disapointed me. Pets are nice, but nothing else comes with the pack. Only worth it cause I got the collection. (With Family Fun and Mansion & Garden stuff)
Theorist
#570 Old 23rd Sep 2012 at 9:58 PM
Hi folks,

I'm an old Simmer who's thinking of getting back into the game. I recently acquired TS2 Double Deluxe, which is the only game I presently own, having sold all my original purchases years ago.

I was wondering which expansions are the best ones to get, primarily from a lot designer's perspective.
I know I want OFB for the elevators and AL for the apartments, but what else? For example, which EP has spiral stairs?

In short, which EPs have the best building tools?

Thanks.
Instructor
#571 Old 27th Sep 2012 at 1:51 AM
Mansions and Gardens? They have some amazing things. It's an SP, but it works more like an EP. Apartment Life is where the spiral staircases come from. Kitchen and Bath is also nice, again its a stuff pack. For building I'd recommend Apartment Life, OFB, and Mansions and Gardens.
Top Secret Researcher
#572 Old 27th Sep 2012 at 8:59 AM
My least favourite stuff pack has to be manison and garden stuff deacuse when I uninstalled to fix my game and wiped everything off it. My least favourite expansion pack would be freetime as I found that I did not like the stuff added to it such as the zone the glow which loathe with a passion.

My favourite stuff pack is teen stuff as I just love the gothic themed stuff that was added to the game and also as it was a nice chanage to the other stuff packs for sims I had. I have two favourites them being seasons and apartment life as I love the weather and seasons added in seasons. I also love the magic and the dark magic themed items espically the throne in apartment life.

"I know, and it breaks my heart to do it, but we must remain vigilant. If you cannot tell me another way, do not brand me a tyrant!" - knight commander Meredith (dragon age 2)

My sims stories: Witch queen
Nocturnal Dawn
Instructor
#573 Old 27th Sep 2012 at 10:22 AM
Okay - I've got a situation and I don't know which way to go with this...
I could either:

1) Buy Freetime
2) Buy two stuff packs (Teen Style and H&M)

I've been wanting Freetime for a while, and I know it adds some great features, but TWO stuff packs! I can imagine myself drooling over all that STUFF! But then again...Freeeetime!! What do you guys/girls should I do, what would you do?

(Yes. This is the most important decision of my life.)
Mad Poster
#574 Old 27th Sep 2012 at 12:54 PM
You get Stuff with Freetime, too, you know. Stuff that does stuff. Sewing machines. Pottery wheels. Comfort soup to cure your sick sims and prevent Llama Flu from spoiling all your parties.

ETA: ScaryRob, you want Mansions & Garden for sure if you're primarily a builder. It's the only one that lets you change roof angle; and it has building themes, so you can now build Painted Ladies, Spanish style with Moorish influence, all kinds of things!

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#575 Old 27th Sep 2012 at 1:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by ella_in_wonderland
Okay - I've got a situation and I don't know which way to go with this...
I could either:

1) Buy Freetime
2) Buy two stuff packs (Teen Style and H&M)

I've been wanting Freetime for a while, and I know it adds some great features, but TWO stuff packs! I can imagine myself drooling over all that STUFF! But then again...Freeeetime!! What do you guys/girls should I do, what would you do?

(Yes. This is the most important decision of my life.)


Just buy all of them (when you are financially capable, of course), although I prefer an EP before an SP.
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