So which expansion packs/store content improve the 'core' gameplay of TS3 the most?

Basically what expands the day-to-day domestic lifestyle the most?

I would say that these three add to the day-to-day life in major ways:
- University Life- University is an experience for many people in a First World environment + allows for the creation of cafes & bowling alleys + vending machines + comic store & street art gameplay
- Pets- Many people own pets + this pack allows for the creation of a ranch lifestyle
- Seasons- Most people experience weather and seasons on a regular basis + this pack allows for the creation of festivals

These packs augment existing systems:
- Ambitions- Allows for a degree of entrepreneurialism + some new playable careers
- Generations- Improves family gameplay
- Late Night- Improves on gatherings and night life + new fame system

These packs offer alternate methods of living and/or are more flights of fancy :
- Island Paradise- Nautical living + resort/vacation gameplay
- Showtime- Show business
- World Adventures- Adventure gameplay with some degree of cultural tourism + allows for winery & hostel gameplay

These Packs are largely fantasy:
- Into the Future- Future gameplay + allows for automated cafeterias
- Supernatural- Fantasy lifestyles + some pharmaceutical gameplay via elixirs


For packs- these allow for more focused gameplay in certain areas.

More day-to-day living:
- Business as Usual Bistro- Restaurant gameplay
- Savvy Seller's Collection - further improves on entrepreneurial gameplay
- Tiny Prodigies Early Learning Center (Aurora Skies) + Gift of Speech Baby Monitor + Solace Snugabunny Deluxe Baby Swing + Dirty No More Changing and Bathing Station- Improves toddler gameplay
- Le Cinema Plumbob- Cinema venue
- Grandpa's Grove + Fowl and Feathers Chicken Coop + Milkin' It Dairy Corral + Bohemian Fruit and Nuts + Stones Throw Greenhouse + Al Fresco Street Market (Monte Vista)- Improves farming gameplay
Misc.
- Rim Rockin’ Basketball Hoop- Basketball
- MultiTab 6000- Tablets
- Frost-Bite Pro Ice Cream Machine
- Sizzle Baby Pro Deep Fryer

Special outings:
- Serenity Retreat (Sunlit Tides)- Spa venue
- Prism Art Studio- Art venue
- Skylight Studio for the Performing Arts- Performing arts venue
- The Lucky Simoleon Casino (Lucky Palms)- Casino venue
- Deliciously Indulgent Bakery + Brunch at the Old Mill- Bakery gameplay
- Deliciously Indulgent Bakery + Wood Fire Oven- Pizzeria gameplay
- The Boardwalk (Roaring Heights) + World of Wonder Carousel Collection + Classic Gumball Machine + Buzzer Beater Free Throw Machine + Atomic Jack Planet Attack Pinball Machine + The Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire + Late Night + Supernatural- Carnival/Fair gameplay
Misc.
- Surf’s Up Sun & Fun Wave Station- Surfing venue
- Vertical Challenge Rock Wall- Rock climbing
- Aims Co. Choc-O-Falls Fountain

There are some sets that I left out because they don't work ideally (Teppanyaki), or because they're too specialized (Fixer-upper Car, Toy Shop & Gondola of the Sinking City). A huge shame that a lot of these objects can't have NPCs directed to use them- meaning that you can't for instance, visit a pizzeria and expect to be served.

I will have to disagree on the 'University is an experience many people have'. At least, outside of America. I live in Germany, and 'college' is nowhere near as big as it is in America. We have Ausbildungen, where you are under contract at a job in the field you want to learn, and you go to Berufsschule on the side, which is a school that focuses on the field you want to learn. In fact, I think the only people who go on to 'University' here in Germany are those that plan to become doctors or similar things. So, the whole 'college' aspect is quite foreign to someone like me, especially with how it's presented in this game. (Same with this constant wishing to Learn To Drive from Generations. I live in a place with very good public transport, and having a driver's license isn't that big of a deal here, so it's so weird to me that it becomes an instant wish for teen Sims)

But I do like University with its Smartphone addition, as it does 'update' the game a bit more to modern standards.

I think I have to add Showtime to my list of EPs that I enjoy. It's not great, but it does add a lot of new and neat things to do, least of all being the singing. I don't care much for making my own various Venues, but I love the addition of Genie as a lifestate... a bit odd because it makes me wonder why they were added here and not in Supernatural because of all the... well, supernatural states that one adds. And I enjoy a lot of the clothes that come with it, particularly the male clothes. I always felt that those are a little lacking in other EPs, but these added several that I would frequently use.
I haven't seen too much bad stuff with it, but I don't use Simport, so that might help...?

Thinking ahead to the next steam sale: which has more build/buy material, World Adventures or Showtime? (I am dithering.)

My favourite expansions for the sims 3 are Late Night, Generations, and Seasons. If I were you, you should get Late Night or Generations.

Rumor has it one is coming up today or very soon. I hope they include Sims 3 EPS in it!

Sims 3 is in the Summer Sale (started about half an hour ago; everyone is evidently trying to use the site at once, as it is very slow) - everything is 60% off.

STS - already have Late Night, Seasons, and Generations!

Which are the packs with the best bang-for-the-loading-time build/buy items?

I have:

- WA (must have for world-building despite mediocre build/buy)
- AMB (good content)
- LN (bad build/buy)
- GEN (bad kids stuff, good seniors stuff)
- Pets (good content, too many decals)
- Seasons (ok content, too many decals & similar items)
- UNI (best build/buy)
* Will probably also install IP when I get the chance

Currently finding myself short of indoor plants and shelves atm

I find that University and IP (decals removed) have a ton of objects that are reusable in a ton of circumstances, Ambitions has a lot of plain, elegant furniture that I keep going back to, along with a nice variety of industrial props. Supernatural has some nice sidetables that I want to get a hold of, but the rest is mostly redundant. Into the Future has the best modern furniture and build items, but unfortunately has the rest of the expansion attached to those.

I personally find that LN's upscale furniture is poorly designed, or improperly scaled, but it does also have a nice variety of utility props. Most indoor plants for the expansions (exception of Showtime) are badly designed/scaled, or too specifically designed. Basegame is probably the worst when it comes to build/buy- too much is improperly scaled and unusable (most houses end up extremely boxy). The worst is probably the variety of televisions (looking at you, Generations) with crap attached onto them, which almost never have a real-life analogue. Majority of stuff packs are awful, but I will be grabbing Movie Stuff for its themed stuff.

I also really want to take a look at finding ways to re-categorize objects as small deco so more of them can fit onto shelf slot spaces.

I did get the Basegame last christmas and then bought some EP's/SP's 2:nd hand. But either University Life and Supernaturals were in the mix. This friday I did order this two packs throught german Amazone (there I have an account) and this pack plus shipping were cheaper then Supernaturals alone would be in the only store I found selling it here in Sweden. Ok, the discs are 2:nd hand but should be of good quility the store wrote.

Island paradise is my most favorite
pets is my least do to complications running the game with it.
I hope sims 5 rises to the occasion and fixes the glitches seen in sims3

I think my least favorite is Showtime. I never use the associated careers or the lots, and most of the items that come with the pack are too funky for my liking. I can't however imagine a game session without Late Night elements.

I'm currently really enjoying playing World Adventures. This is the second time that I've had a go with the EP, since last time I played it was more than 6 years ago, I think. A lot has changed since my last attempt at playing, and I'm pretty much in love with the game.

The main reason I love it is because it shifts the entire game play system to strategic mode. It's the core function of the EP, making you play through adventures and advance through the tombs to succeed. Perhaps I could compare it with the Crash Bandicoot games series when it comes to WA's linearity; while there are finite amount of tombs and quality quests, there's (at least with WA) an indefinite amount of starting points and stories to tell (levels to start from and permutations to which levels you play as you go, in CB).

I'm not a great story teller/driver, so I was becoming less of a fan for live mode because it seemed so boring to me - in regular game style, at least. What, keep sims alive while either a) making them rich or b) making them have multiple lovers or c) making them know everyone or d) making them magical... it all seemed so overwhelming. But WA is different; I've found a way that works for me - have a single young adult in a one-sim household and have them have the great explorer (or whatever the name is) lifetime wish, and have them explore away! It's not just mindless exploration, though, you still have needs to take care of, and visa levels to abide by. But it's very neat to have that sim earn all their money through cashing in money bags, donating caught bugs to science, and finishing adventures. I've had them only obtain their money that way - they haven't sold a single relic or gem/metal - and I've managed to get them to purchase a vacation home in Egypt! It's a cheap hut on an oasis, but it's money they made!

I'm usually a TS2 player, so I won't necessarily have the sim I'm playing "return to earth" and get a steady job and do everyday stuff normal sims do once they explore all the tombs. For now I think I'll just collect as many collectibles as possible and once they're done exploring, sell everything and buy them the biggest house in one of the locations as a reward... if they'll be able to afford it. But this all is certainly a step in a different direction of what I had originally thought about when I was playing the game (years ago). I remember sending my newlywed couple to France hoping for a romantic vacation, while the only thing the game yelled at me to do was to check for adventures. It's because this game is no Sims 2 Bon Voyage, there are no friendly locals and stay-in lots for your sims to enjoy life on vacation. It's more of a business trip, the business being tomb raiding, networking, quest finishing and beautiful scenery appreciation, especially with hot, sandy Egypt, calming meadows of China and opportunistic and quirky feel of France. It's about learning about the past and present affairs of Al Simhara, Shang Simla and Champs les Sims, rather than laying back and getting to know the contemporary culture of Twikkii Island, Takemizu Village or Three Lakes.

Also, for what ever reason... the tombs of China, especially the non-locked part of the dragon cave, seem so much more daunting and frightening than the Egypt ones to me. I think the only thing to make it more scary would be if it wasn't situated in a cave! Imagine walking into a quiet, abandoned library. Some shelves have been moved to reveal a wall behind them, which turns out is a hidden rotating door. Imagine opening that door, finding a staircase that leads further down to a chilly basement. You feel immense moist in the air you breathe. Something feels heavy on your chest. You walk in the next room to find a statue of some sort of a god. You hear some muffled banging behind a wall. You come closer, but the banging simply doesn't become louder. You feel the wall with your hands and discover another hidden lever, another hidden door. And behind the door, you see a crumbled down room. Very dark, with only one torch on the wall, casting light to - sarcophagi. Was this a hideout of what seems to be a sect? Who is buried here? Why is this room so dark, and so cold?

I have all EP and SP except the Katy Perry oneHere’s my take: (I’m wordy so just doing the expansion packs)

Ambitions —- LOVE it. I love sculpting, the consignment shop, I really like the professions. I don’t play the professions as often these days because it’s hard to play when the sim has a family. But it’s one of my favorites.

Generations is a stealth favorite of mine. I keep thinking I don’t use it much but if I remove it, there are tons of features I miss from it. I’m not a fan of the imaginary friend — if it were very rare, I’d love it. But it seems all my sims get it.

Pets — I love the rural setting and many of the non-pet related things in this EP. I don’t play with the pets much themselves, but I like having animals in the game and oddly enough, I like the minor pets (I use mods to keep them alive forever with no care) I don’t like that if I switch families, I need mods to keep my sims from buying a billion pets the second they are out of my control.

Seasons — The seasons are kinda messed up (way too much rain and they messed up gardening horribly without greenhouses being a cable option) but with mods, I like it. I DO wish that the festivals in my town weren’t dead. For some reason, it always seems like the player family is the only one that gets the day off. Everyone else is at work.

Supernatural— I have only really played the fairies. I like the build/buy objects but I’m not really into the supernatural itself. I like the moon phases just for aesthetics.

World Adventures- I put off getting for the longest time. I only got it because MANY custom world creators use it and I love custom worlds. I didn’t get into the gameplay much and the vacation worlds. BUT this gets a boost because I love the look/feel. I treat it like a stuff pack. I love the fish, food and the nectar is kinda ok.

University Life: don’t know why, but I never got into this one. I went to university once and got frustrated that my dormies burned to death in a fire while my sim was in class. Then the next time I played the dormies all grew into elders. Maybe with mods, this is fun. Yes, there are some cool objects. I just never use them either. I’ve heard good things about making universities in the home world. I might try that.

It’s beautiful — but I never play it. The islands really screw up routing and I find sims swimming home from work after putting it in. No thanks.

Late Night — this is the set time I was so excited about, but ended up hating. It’s the first EP that made everything crash. I think Bridgeport is messed up and has all kinds of routing issues. It doesn’t play well with pets (pets get freaky looking and do stuff like ring the doorbells.) The clubs are all empty. I hate the fame system. I like the musical instruments and that’s about it.

Into the future: I like making bots and the laser harp. Everything else — nope.

Showtime —- I really don’t ever use this. I thought I would, because I used to have a real life “showtime” career and loved the idea of gigs and venues — things I really had to work out in real life. But bleah... it felt tacked on and it didn’t do anything for me. It highlighted how EA wasn’t good about working the expansions into each other. This one doesn’t fit into my game.

I really adore the whole game . I wished they would made new EPs because this game is absolutely awesome despite the problems Ambitions, Pets and Island Paradise got.
Even though you don't play x or y expansions due to your tastes, you can always enjoy them.
Years ago I didn't like much Showtime and Late Night but I appreciate them now very much