Rope's Workshop

Posts tagged livemode

Thank you to the EA Creator Network for providing the pack!

So. As you can see, I played with the Horse Ranch EP a bit.

My opinion is pretty similar to most people’s (and pretty similar to my opinion of most packs over the last few years): yes, it’s pretty, but it’s a bit empty in terms of gameplay. For me, there are too few new features, too many things takes place in rabbit holes, and apart from animals and nectar making, there are hardly any items with new interactions. In just a few hours of play, I already feel like I’ve seen everything the pack has to offer.

And yes, obviously, the new objects look good (with great wood textures), Chestnut Ridge is really detailed (but so lifeless, the town centre with all those fake buildings feels like a ghost town), and the interactions with the animals are cute… but is that enough?

I can’t say I didn’t have fun during the short time I tested the Horse Ranch pack in live mode with Rayane, or when I created the builds I shared with you these last few days. And I know that the people who worked on this pack did their best with the resources they had to deliver a great experience (I’d never question that). But at the end, I clearly can’t recommend buying it at full price.

Voilà, that’s all for me. I also feels like I need to take a little break now, so I may be a bit quiet for a while (I may share some sims before leaving, but I’m not sure yet!). Anyway, have fun everyone!

Presented by the EA Creator Network, thanks for the code!

I didn’t get early access this time, I could only start playing today! I think it’s going to be a complicated pack to test, it adds content to everyday life, hard to know at the moment if it will be a must-have pack or not (if you’re a family player, I guess so!). Anyway, I started to play a bit with the infants, which I found a bit disappointing in the update, but they become much more interesting with the pack (which is a problem for me, some additional features could have been included in the base game, like the changing table). I still have a lot of aspects of the pack to explore, but I’d like to do it in my own time!

Nothing special to say about the content of the CAS or the buy/build mode, it’s… fine. Glad to see they created more assets for the male fashion preference this time (well, except for the hairstyles). I’m not very enthusiastic about the world, I think I’m tired of these american inspired cities mostly filled with fake buildings, where almost nothing is interactive, and with few passers-by. I really miss the smaller neighborhoods, with buildable lots next to each other, it was much more lively!

I don’t know if I’m going to play much more for now, I’m already thinking about the almost 300 sims I shared in the gallery that I’ll have to update! And when it’s done, I will finally be able to enjoy the Live Mode (well, for an hour or two maybe, before starting a new build)!

Oh, and by the way, I made a quick update of my eyes replacement, it should works for infants now!

I realize I haven’t shared my opinion of the Werewolves pack with you!

I’ll try to be brief: not much to say about the content of the CAS or the buy/build modes, it looks great, it fits the theme, it’s very well done for me. Thanks to this, I really enjoyed building lots for Moonwood Mill!

Surprisingly, I loved the gameplay part of the pack (and coming from me, that means a lot, I don’t really enjoy playing in live mode in the Sims 4). They did an awesome job with the werewolves, all their skills, unique interactions and animation, they are at least as great as the vampires (if only that was the case with all the occult…). I wasn’t really convinced by their appearance when I saw the first render, but they match with the game art-style perfectly.

Ultimately, the biggest flaw of the pack is the same as for many packs. Too many features are linked to the new world, which means that if you play a werewolf somewhere else, you won’t really be able to be part of a pack (or you’ll have to keep coming back to Moonwood Mill), and you won’t be able to enjoy many of the other features. And since most of the latest packs work like this, it’s hard to “mix them up”. Because of that… all playthrough might feel the same.

And that’s all for me! I played with the pack once, my Sims reached the maximum rank of his werewolf skill, became the Alpha of the Moonwood Mill Collective, discovered most of the lore, and he fought with Greg at the end and won. It was fin, but I’m not sure it would be interesting to do another playthrough too soon.

I hope this quick review was helpful!

(Oh, and on a more positive note: I had almost no bugs, and after the disaster that was the Wedding pack, this is a miracle!)

I realize I haven’t posted anything about my Cottage Living save!

I had my sims, Arjun, moved into a rundown (and off-the-grid) version of my Charmant Cottage. My goal was to discover the pack, while earning enough money to renovate the house with animals, plants, and villagers’ errands. And that part wasn’t that hard… after I started growing dragon fruits!

On the other hand, I must admit that, even if the animations are cute, taking care of the animals quickly becomes quite repetitive, and time consuming (especially if you also have to tend your garden). In the beginning, since I still had cheap furniture (Arjun had to sleep a lot), I had little time left to do anything else during the day! It became a little easier when Léon, Arjun’s boyfriend, moved in with him.

Obviously, the world is beautiful and it was fun to explore it while running errands for the villagers. I really enjoyed this part of the gameplay, except perhaps for the more generic requests. I preferred the ones from Agnes or the mayor for example, with a real backstory. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s really replayable (once you did these once, it’s less interesting).

I don’t really know what to say. Overall, it’s a pretty good pack, I had a lot of fun. But as too often in the Sims 4, most of the new features are only available in the new world. And I’m really annoyed about that. I might continue to play with these two sims, but in another world, just to get a better idea of what this extension adds when you don’t live in Henford-on-Bagley. But before that, maybe there are some things I haven’t tested yet!

By the way, I’m still playing without CC (except for the body hairs, I don’t get why we still don’t have that in game after seven years), and it’s kind of nice. I still wish we had more clothes for guys, obviously, but that doesn’t stop me from having fun!

Some random screens of my Paranormal save!

It was fun, really. Not really sure about the replayability value of this Stuff Pack (and I’m not the best to judge that, as I don’t play that much in Live Mode and I’m not really interested in occult stuff), but I’m impressed by the amount of gameplay elements included (for a SP).

My only concern is the constantly changing emotions, the emotion system is still a problem, but I’ve kind of given up hope that this will change.

I don’t think I will write a complete review for Discover University.

It’s visually pleasing, as always, but a bit lacking (repetitive?) in terms of new gameplay. But at this point, I’m not sure if it’s only the pack’s fault if I didn’t really enjoy my studies at Britechester.

I think it’s time to accept that the live mode part of the game is not for me, unless there’s a major overhaul of the personalty/emotion system one day (among other things, there is so many other gameplay aspects that need to be improved).

Hopefully, there is still some other things I really enjoy : building, of course, or creating sims. Maybe I should simply stick to that for the time being.

Time for a (really) quick review of Realm of Magic!

Once again it looks good, but as often, it’s a bit disappointing in term of gameplay. There is a great variety of spells and potions, but the learning process is way too repetitive and easy. You can’t really interact with the familiars, but this was only a Game Pack, so I can understand that.

The CAS content is nice for the most part, but will be hard to use outside of the magic realm (especially for the guys). Same for the Build/Buy content, although I liked the Art Deco style they have chosen for this (I would have loved more clutters!).

The Magic Realm is a beautiful place, but I wish we could have interacted with more things. I love Glimmerbrook, but I would have preferred the world to be more rural, like Granite Falls.

Also, I feel I would have enjoyed this GP more one year ago and not after a year without a pack more focused on the everyday life of our sims. The game really need more depth and challenge, ways to make our sims more unique and complex, content that integrate into their daily lives. I hope it will happen with the next pack/patch!

I’m working on a cute bar on the beach, as I needed a nice place where my sims could hang out.

In the end, I don’t think I’m going to post much about Gauvain and Maleko, I want to play for myself this time, without thinking about taking pretty screenshots. But I may share some pictures like this, and my builds of course!

I’m also waiting for an update of the NPC Control mod for Sulani, the game generates way too many townies as usual, I want to create my own.

This test was made possible by EAGameChangers. Thank you for the early access !

When I first saw the trailer for StrangerVille, I knew this pack wasn’t for me. As I may know, I’m mostly a builder and sims creator, I don’t spend a lot of time in-game, so a story focused pack… I wasn’t too excited about it. Let’s talk about it, step by step.

In CAS, there is some interesting stuff I’m sure I could use some of them on sims outside of StrangerVille. The aviator’s jacket Guillaume wears is my favorite item of the pack ! As always, there is less clothing for male sims, even less for children, and nothing for toddlers (but it’s understandable). I just wish we had a version of the military career t-shirt without the dog tag.

The buy/build content is a bit more problematic for me. When I saw almost no new furniture in the trailer, I was worried, and I was right. A large part of the items we get are only useful in the context of the story, or only decorative. And even most of these these won’t work in a more classic construction, only in laboratories, military base, or bunkers (but they are really good for that, special mention for the DIY bathtub !). I can understand why they did that, but it still a bit disappointing. Jungle Adventure also had a really specific thematic, but also gives us lot of furniture we could use outside of the world, and it’s not really the case here. Of course, there are some decorative objects that look really good, and that I am sure to use in my future builds.

There is some nice new build content, some windows, doors, columns and fences with interesting color scheme. But no new plant unfortunately, it would be nice if the ones used in the world where available for us.

About the world now, I am impressed by the level of detail here. Especially the residential area of the third screen, it’s simply gorgeous ! I’m a little more reserved about the city centre: it’s also pretty, but it’s mainly made up of fake buildings, most of the lot you can edit are outside of this area. Also, after you completed the scenario, most of the sims walking in the streets are still scientist/military/conspiracy theorist, and that bother me a bit. It would be better to see more normal sims, I hope a mod can change that !

I don’t think I will include this world on my save project, I already have enough work with the other ones.

Ans it’s now time to talk about the gameplay !

Of course, the story is nice and pretty fun. But short. I enjoyed playing for a bit with Guillaume, discovering the city’s mystery and exploring the mysterious lab. And the final was epic ! I won’t say more about it, as I don’t want to spoil you anything. But it didn’t take me long to complete it.

And that’s my major concern with the pack : the scenario is short and not really replayable (it’s not really interesting to do it again I think), but we don’t really get much to do after that. A large part of the new gameplay and interactions are tied to the story.

There is the military career of course : I didn’t have time to test it completely, but it adds nice some interactions and clothing. I’m sure I will use it with sims outside of StrangerVille. For the new usable items, the laptops are a nice addition, but don’t really gives us new interactions. The training bot is similar to the punching bag (with some small changes). The listening device has very little use after you completed the scenario.

As you can see (or read !), I have a mixed opinion about this pack, I did my best to be completely honest. They made a nice work here, to propose something new and unique, nobody can’t deny that. But I’m obviously not the target audience ! It’s up to you to decide if this pack could be interesting for you or not. Considering the way I play my game, StrangerVille wasn’t for me. I really hope the next pack will focus on something more realistic, or more useful for the everyday life of our sims (but I will be okay with witches too !).

In any case, if you take this Gamepack, I hope you will enjoy it ! Other Game Changers will give their opinion today or tomorrow, some of them will probably be more enthusiastic, don’t hesitate to look at other reviews before you decide !

I plan to share Guillaume’s house just after the game release, to give you a nice place to settle while you explore this new GP !

Some random screens of Liu and Maiana’s wedding, when I was testing my Chapelle des Deux Astres !

Life goes on for Kale, who uses his free time to continue his videos (he bought a drone to film her yoga training). After raising is acting skill, and a few auditions, he even got a role in an advertisement, which helped him to increase his fame level.

To celebrate, he decided to go out to a popular club, where he met Faustin, a raising star. It was a bit hard to approach him, but at the end of the night, Kale got his number ! The next day, the young man signed his first autograph, things are going pretty well for him.

For the moment, I’m not sure I’m going to continue this let’s play, it’s a little frustrating to play without mods (especially when the game generate lots and lots of townies, it’s hard to take nice picture with them in the background.). I think I will try to build a bit, Kale’s house is almost finished (I’m thinking of sharing it tomorrow), and the other buildings of Del Sol Valley really need a makeover !

If you want my impression of the EP, after some hours in game, click on Keep Reading ! My opinion is a bit mixed, but it’s not a surprise considering how I play my game.

Keep reading

Let me introduce you to Kale Edgar-Lee, a young fitness teacher who has just moved to Del Sol Valley (which will be renamed Côte d'Hélior, as I always translate world names in french!). He doesn’t have a dramatic backstory, he’s a rather self-centered guy, not really brilliant, who grew up in Isla Paradiso. Once he finished his studies, he quickly found a job in a gym in his hometown, but after two years, he started to get bored.

At that time, he was already posting fitness and yoga videos on SimTube, and since it was going pretty well, he thought it could become is job if he continued like that. But it might take a while, too long for him, that’s why he decided to move to the mainland, leaving his family and friends behind. He hopes to meet the right people here to progress in his quest for wealth and fame !

The house will be available for download friday I think ! If you have questions about the game, don’t hesitate. I have some messages in my inbox, I will reply tomorrow, it’s time to sleep a bit for me. ;p

And here is a completely random selection of screens !

I take lots of picture when I test my lots or custom content, and never share them. As I’m currently working on my personal world and remaking some of my families, some of these sims may disappear soon (only a few, most of them will only be edited a bit) so it’s their last time to shine. :p

Now, about the save I want to share, I plan to share the 4 families I showed last week next week. I gave them career, skills, additional traits, I still have to write the biographies. It will be in english, but I plan to make a french version of my save as well (as it’s my native language).

See you soon, hopefully with my CC management tutorial, if I find the time to write it this week-end (it will be nice to do it before I forget all the things I want to say !).

Morning with the Le Gall family :

When I loaded the household, everyone was sleeping except for Margot and her boyfriend Mael, flirting in front of the house. Maybe they were on a date ?

They both live at Margot’s aunt house, l’Auberge. Marie-Claude and her husband Alban couldn’t have children of their own, so they decided to adopt Nolwen and Kilian. They are really proud of their loving family ! Kilian share his parents’ passion for nature, so after the breakfast, he went looking for frogs with his friend Isleen Barnes.

Marie-Claude spend most of her morning in tending her garden, with the help of Mael. She is getting old, and with all the work in the house and outside, she is grateful to have him around (when he’s not at his basket training). Alban used to help her, but as he try to get involved in local politics, while still working at his boring office job, he no longer have the time for that.

For the moment, Margot don’t think about moving out with her boyfriend. She loves how peacefull this place is, it’s perfect to work on her paintings. Even if she wanted to, she still doesn’t earn much with her art, and Mael only play in a local team. As the real estate prices are high in Savidal (that’s why many young adults still live at their parents houses), they can’t afford to rent their own place.

One summer day with the Singh family :

I’m finally playing with seasons !

Pallav is an aspiring botanist (he still have a lot to learn) living with his younger sister, Prisha. He try his best to take care of her while she is studing here in Savidal… but she is not very gratefull !

As her brother was working at home today, Prisha decided to spend her afternoon at the parc with some friends. She has a crush on Phil since the first day she met him, an she start to think he may be interested ! Maybe she can invite him to the celebration of the summer solstice ?

As the house was quiet, it was the perfect time for Pallav to make some flower arrangements. He is growing more and more confident on his abilities, maybe he will open his own shop one day.

If you are looking for their apartment, it’s an edited version of my Rêverie Abordable. The park is my Prairie des Lanternes.

I think I will play with different families to test this EP, but I’m not really familiar with rotational gameplay ! As my world is almost finished (I still have some empty areas, but I have all the lots I need), it’s time to play with my sims a bit ! Not sure I will do it for long, we will see I guess. I hope you will enjoy my gameplay screens. ;D

Loading... No More Posts :'( I want more posts !