I guess I'm unusual amongst the frequent contributors here in that I can, and do, live without all the EPs except Nightlife. I've got Double Deluxe and have never had any other EPs or SPs. Perhaps it's a case of not missing what I've never had, but I don't even have much of an urge to get the other EPs. In some cases I'm pretty sure that I'll never get them. I'd like the gardening in Seasons, but I hate anything that's a threat to my Simmies' lives, so I'd have to mod out the weather and the temperature. And in University, I'd like the espresso bars and (perhaps) the Woohoo with X Sims and Love X Sims simultaneously LTWs, but I can't see how I can fit the rigid short semesters into my "aging off" almost real time play style. I enjoyed university so much myself that I spent about six years as a student, and I would want my student Sims to be able to do the same. I just can't see how I can fit university life into 24 days (or whatever the Sims get). I feel mean towards my knowledge teens like Andrew and Julian, because I know they'd love University, but I just can't see how I could fit it into my playstyle. And anyway, I enjoy playing them as teens! If I installed University, I'm sure they'd get wants to go, and how could I refuse them? ... It does seem a bit pointless to buy and install an EP, and then look for ways to mod out its main features.

Before I bought The Sims 2, I thought the EPs that would suit me best might be Bon Voyage and FreeTime, because I really didn't want my Sims to be wage slaves. But, the way I play, I manage to give my Sims lots of fun without them, and, what with glitches in BV, and over-enthusiasm in FreeTime, I think what I've read has rather put me off them. Maybe the beach lots in BV would be worth having.

What would I like? Well, I am trying to get myself a copy of OFB because I really like the idea of owned community lots. As long as my Sims can continue to have fun and not become slaves to the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account. But I'm sure I can manage that with mods and cheats. And I'd really like to have Pets too, because animals have always been part of my life, and I'd like my Sims to enjoy the companionship -- and responsibility -- of keeping pets too. Unfortunately, I've been advised not to go beyond OFB on my netbook as it lacks a proper graphics card, and, as it's my main business tool too, I can't really take a chance. So Pets will have to wait. OFB shouldn't be a problem as I've already got the OFB game engine. In fact it should simplify things, because at present I never know whether I should get the NL or the OFB version of mods.

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s...php?topic=134.0 Freezes the University clock. I have to say I'd be interested to hear about Andrew's adventures at Uni.

As for Seasons quit without saving is your friend. That way you don't have to worry about anything happening to your sims, because you can reload. I've had Seasons for ages btw and my sims have never died from any weather related causes.

Thanks Charity! You've opened up new possibilities in Andrew's life. I'll let him know.

If one is worried about Seasons effects on your Sims lives, there are mods that make them immune to the weather.

Yeah, if you don't like a feature of an EP then there will almost certainly be a mod to squish it.

I played with Uni, NL, and Seasons for YEARS and I was just fine with downloading cc every month or so.

Now that I have all the sims 2 stuffs, I do really enjoy AL and BV the most but could probably still live without them as I simulated 'apartment living' all that while with lockable doors.

In my case the trouble with Seasons is that it's the main features of the EP that I would want to mod out. I know mootilda has a mod to remove weather, and someone has a mod for temperature, but without weather and temperature, what's left? Well gardening and fishing I suppose. Gardening would be good, but I don't want my friends to turn into plantsims, so I'd have to mod that out too. Perhaps living the UK is part of my problem, but the base game "climate" is a perpetual benign summer where you can go outside in your swimming trunks or bikini all day, every day without any danger of sunburn or heatstroke. In short it seems like paradise! It may be escapism, but I just want to keep it that way. In any case the question is at present academic as I don't think I can safely go beyond OFB with my current computer. But since there are more things I'd dislike in Seasons than things I'd like, I think it will always be the EP I can live without.

@Charmful: I too have simulated something like apartments in my Teen Townie hostel where they all have there own rooms with lockable doors, but in practice they usually get on so well with each other that they don't bother locking them.

I'm in the same boat when it comes to weather. I like having occasional rain showers in my game, but I could probably live without snow. On the plus side, you have the option to modify each neighborhood's climate to fit your play style. You could go summer/fall/spring/spring and not have winter at all.

Seasons also included leftovers. I'm not sure if the feature has been carried over, though.

Well, I've given up understanding your reasoning long ago Andrew. I love love love Seasons, so I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't at least try it, but then again it is your game and if you are happy, then who am I (or anyone else) to say you should or should not do something :P

Though, just for the record, I haven't modded out plant sims and I haven't gotten one (without wanting one) in many years, and every single family in my hood gardens. It's really only a risk if you have a lot of outdoor crops, I always use greenhouses. I'm really not a fan of the supernaturals either, but fortunately most of them were made well enough that you won't accidentally end up there. And if you just mod out temperatures (and lightning, since I assume you wouldn't want your Sims hit) then you can decide weather with in-game mechanisms. No need for modding it out entirely

@AndrewGloria

I agree on that - when my sims were all neighbors in their simulated apartments and duplexes they became friends so when they walked into the others' home I wrote it off as acceptable because they were all friendly neighbors.

I can also understand not wanting weather - all those outdoor cafes and parks are unsafe during thunder storms with hail and lightning, even without who wants soggy spaghetti? (your waiter still may sit your sims outside when it's raining). Also parks are kind of out of season (unless it's an ice skating park) all winter. However I find it more challenging, and therefore more fun Oh it's raining! You planned to have a sim family reunion this Saturday at the park? Well now you have to think of what else you can do - stay home and have the reunion and watch movies or go out but go somewhere indoors like a bowling alley.

Sim overheating? GREAT - now I can use that useless 'get drink' action I didn't before from the sink and it actually HELPS. Sim too cold? GREAT - now they can have hot chocolate or put that fireplace to use I always felt weird using when the weather was always pleasant.

I just really like seasons...but I can see why it could be annoying.

Weather is great. Quit worrying about what could hurt your sims and let them live a little! Seasons lets you have snowball fights and make snowmen and play in the autumn leaf piles. Getting cold is just an excuse to turn on the heater or have a warm drink. Getting hot? Then use the juicer and make yourself a cold drink. I've never had a sim collapse from heatstroke and I got a frozen sim only once; a kid who got cold snowball fighting and then was dumb enough not to stay inside by the heater afterwards. And he was fine. Mum went out with a blow dryer (which was hilarious) and unfroze him.

I've had a few sims struck by lightning, but none of them died and they were just fine after a bath or shower. And when it rains you can keep your sims inside doing indoor stuff and then let them go out and splash in the puddles when it's all over. And there are fireflies and butterflies. And outerwear. Lets you use all those coats you downloaded lol (for me at least).

Use ladybird houses and your trees won't get sick and won't need to be sprayed, so you can't get a Plantsim. Or hire a gardener. And if you do get an unwanted Plantsim then all you need to do is ring the garden club and they'll send someone over who you can buy the cure off.

Hi. As a Simmer who try to keep the use of cheats to a minimum (as in nothing but ChangeLotZoning (to make hotels, dorms, community lots with residential items or vice-versa) and SetHighestAllowedLevel (for building the occasional skyscraper), I find that every EP has something to contribute to my game.

University: Two more Wants per Sim (or one more Fear if you flunk out), two locks on said Wants and/or Fears, four college-graduate-only career tracks, extra job searches, streaking (for a quick Fun boost), secret societies (for massive Skill raises, grade hacks and some quick cash), Greek houses (for toga parties and free stuff), those cute cheerleaders, a cow mascot that you can beat up guilt-free (or marry and have a kid with, as one of my Sims has done)...nope. Even if playing college graduates does feel like some kind of God Mode, I gotta have it.

Nightlife: Dates, vampires, Downtown subneighborhoods, vampires, Gothier Green Lawns and other public cemeteries, vampires, that Maple Springs Pool and Spa that I like so much, Mrs. Crumplebottom whacking the Unsavory Charlatan with her Purse of Bludgeoning +5, free stuff from great dates and outings...did I mention vampires? Gotta have it.

Open for Business: Privately owned businesses, Perks from said businesses, beaucoup new items, free stuff from Networking, toys, evil toys, friggin' robots...gotta have it.

Pets: How can y'all keep forgetting werewolves? Werewolves, the ability to fight burglars with said werewolves, pets which don't count against your limit of eight Sims per household (so you can have even more income for your household), a parrot who pumps up Charisma and Nature enthusiasm (if you have Free Time too)...gotta have it.

Seasons: The PlantSims are nice, but they're a pain to make in the first place. But then, there's composting and gardening, the Garden Club, Wishing Wells, roofs, roof objects, heaps of Architecture stuff, even more career tracks and career rewards (including the mighty Adventurer path and its Golden Skull of Jumbok IV, which your busy household simply can't do without), fishing, sparkly food and the sadomasochistic entertainment value which comes with botching the use of a Weathernaught 57X. Gotta have it.

Bon Voyage: I keep hearing a lot of hate against Bon Voyage, but I love it. Post-vacation boosts and perks, three new massage types with differing Needs boosts (acupressure's my pick for perking up tired Sims), jewelry options, friggin' pirate ships, a big honkin' idol with a fountain that makes lava if you dump soap into it, digging for buried treasure, the Sea Chantey (which is great for building Social and relationships with several Sims at the same time), the Dragon Legend (which seems to be even better than the Sea Chantey for racking up friends), Mr. Mickles (for pestering enemies, scoring easy dates for your Romance Sims and mitigating all of that heatstroke and frostbite nastiness from Seasons), friggin' Bigfoot and his entire family (aka. the gods who walk among us), ninja teleportation for all of your Sims, and if you create your own free camp sites in your own Far East and Island vacation spots (or simply squeeze free camp sites into Twikki Island and Takemizu Village somewhere), your Sims have a much easier and more affordable time going on vacation wherever they want, whenever they want. Gotta have it.

FreeTime: Hobbies, hobbies, hobbies! Secret hobby lots, DJ booths and dance contests, food judges and cooking contests, BFF's, genies, a free computer for every household, a bazillion new goodies that your Sims can make, some tidy extra income from writing novels, the In the Zone state and other hobby-related perks...gotta have it.

Apartment Life: Friggin' witches! Also, apartment complexes (which, even if you won't let your own Sims live in them, are handy places for stashing all of the NPC families in your Sims Bin), the Reputation system, roommates, ceilings, the Murphy Bed, cola machines, more Architecture bits, friggin' helicopters for your house, a cool new bookshelf that doubles as a secret door...but really, Apartment Life's all about the witches. The rot with all the Social Group cliques is annoying, though. Like "Ooh, is this guy a Jock or a Gearhead? The wrong greeting could tick him off!" How about "Get off my lawn, you Jock-Gearhead-Bohemian-Socialite-Techie-whateveryouare freak!" Is that a good enough greeting for you?

Other than the crap with Social Townie Groups, gotta have it. Because friggin' witches, man. Friggin' witches in helicopters!

Arrrgh! I can't pick one to vote off the island! Why did you have to make this question so hard, OP?

I spotted this No more Hazardous Weather! mod by MogHughson, which lets you have weather without it being dangerous. With that mod, and mootilda's Constant Temperature for All Sims, as well as the University one that Charity linked to, I reckon I can have University and Seasons after all! I won't be getting them just yet (I don't think Seasons would be good for my integrated graphics chip), but it's good to know I can have them one day. Thanks everyone.

Even better would be a hack that would let me have thunder and lightning but with no danger to my Sims. In Real Life I love watching a thunderstorm (we don't have many where I live), but I know that, as long as I'm sensible, there's an infinitesimal chance of me being killed by lightning. I just want my Sims to be as safe as I am myself!

Off-topic a bit, but I wonder what happened to MogHughson. She's one of my favourite modders, and I wish she was still around making stuff as good as she used to make!

If I don't want my Sims to get struck by lightning, I just stick about a dozen lightning rods on the roof of their house. No mods necessary. ;p

It's nice that someone made a mod for that, though.

i could probably live without pets - not sure though, i might die! it's a wonderful ep but i rarely ever created pets for my sims (although one of my favourite family i ever created had a dog, bern planshar and it's name was puppy - when it died i literally cried, hahahah).

changing your avatar to a cat would result into five in a row.


ofc this doesn't mean you have to change it.

Nightlife is a must-have, it has so many elements I can't live without. I also need University since it comes with so much great stuff.

I'll tell you what. The day you get Seasons, I'll figure out that mod for you It shouldn't be too difficult, considering there are already mods related to lightning to look at.