I'm one of those who only like to play with occult Sims whenever I feel like it. I don't like to have to rely on mods just to, say, enjoy the full moon without zombies invading my space, but I still want that option if I feel like playing my game that way.

With that said, I was wondering what any of you would think about the concept of a series of occult packs? EA did say that The Sims 4 was going back to its roots, and The Sims 1 didn't seem to have any occult Sims in the exact way that both The Sims 2 and 3 had them, did it? I can't recall any playable ones, anyway, nor do I recall the trend of what would be a new occult in each EP as it has been since The Sims 2.

Anyhow, what would you think about omitting occults from the base game and EPs, and instead, adding them to this new series of occult packs? Each pack could contain one or more different occults but be fully fleshed out and with the ability to create true hybrids with any of the other occults? They could finally get the attention that they deserve, rather than having to divide their attention with the rest of whatever the EPs would offer. I look at it as a win-win situation among those who love and those who hate occults. Occults would never affect anyone's game for those who hate them because they would be part of a separate installation. These packs would focus solely on occults with unique and occult-specific content, interactions, and gameplay. And let's be real, many Simmers, myself included, would totally welcome true hybrids! There could be a ghost OP, a vampire OP, a werewolf OP, etc., or even a combination of sorts. They can wreak havoc... or not! There could be new options for how they spread throughout and influence the world.

Shares your ideas for these occult packs!

Well, for one, what's the difference of calling them occult packs or just Supernatural, like they did in TS3? Unless you mean mini-packs of occult types to mix and match. Like I buy vampires but pass on Mummies. Sounds like turning occults into Store premium sets to me. EA might love it.

The biggest downside I see to this would be how expensive it would get to have all the occults for those who love them. Each OP would probably be around $30 or so and after you add all of the occults (if desired) you are looking at a pretty penny being invested.

Or, a pretty penny saved. Depending on your desire for many of the occults in your game.

Very true.

I hope they do occults the same way TS3 did. Just give us most of them at once instead of having us wait once per pack.

same.
though with respect to the simmers who dont like supernatural sims at all in their games, maybe they should come with a specific way to add/remove the files (since each EP so far has added at least 1 supernatural sim...unicorns in generations, etc), like with mods, for when they want to fire up the game and not play with any supernaturals at all (and then just add the files back when they want supernaturals in...AND, that way, they wouldnt have to trust EA to implement some sort of in-game control that clearly doesnt work for beans).

That what we have Twallan for. With Register, I can control my animal population, and in using Story Progression to populate my towns, I can set my occult ratio to whatever I want, including 0. Which is why I will REALLY miss Twallan for TS4. He's putting a lot of pressure on EA to get things really right, because knowing he won't be there to save the game for me, I'll be looking with a critical eye before making the leap.

He, and other talented modders like him, are what saved TS3 for me. They had best be embraced by EA for TS4 if they expect to meet sales targets relying on standard EA QC for this game's development.

we shouldnt have to have Twallan for it to work, though. that was my point.

Why do this? Just chuck em all in one like supernatural, I say. And don't use the ones you like. Correct me if I'm wrong as I don't have it, but didnt supernatural come with the feature to turn on or off any of the occults?

It has been suggested before for TS3, but what if you had the option to turn off (part of) ep's ingame? So for example, turn off the occult sims and gameplay, but leave the objects from the same ep turned on.

Unfortunately, we'd need probably two Supernatural EPs to cover all the occults that people want.

If we got them in the Store, we'd lose the details behind them. They'd just be a few new animations (that might be broken, considering the Cow Plant), a new skin, some new hair, etc. They'd be crap if they were sent to the Store, in my opinion.

Personally, I love the occults. I hope that we still get one for every EP as well as an Occult EP, like Supernatural. I know that not everyone loves them, though, and the game should give you the ability to turn off and control whatever you do/don't want within the game itself, rather than with mods.

And we won't have him for Sims 4. That is the scary part.

Occult packs, they seem like a good idea depending on what we can do and do'nt they eixst already?

Secret packs? (Sorry, look up the exact definition of occult some time. Being told you have occult blood in one of your bodily excretions has nothing to do with your being possessed. Trust me on this.)

Anyway, I don't care really, but I suppose it will keep some twits from completely boycotting the game if anything vaguely appearing to be "magic" turns up. (And, yeah, it happened. You should have seen the fuss on the Official Boards when Makin' Magic was announced.)

Well, the problem is that you have those who love occults and those who don't. I am not and never have been against having a new occult included in each EP, which has been a cool trend since The Sims 2, but how would that occult really be fully fleshed out when the EP has to cater more to the actual purpose of the theme? I'm sorry, but I felt that, for example, werewolves were very limited and underwhelming, and they were included in a pack devoted to occults. That's both ironic and frustrating. And this is on top of the fact that they were buggy to begin with. I mean, without mods, can you still play with them and have them still turn with the appearance that you had given them in CAS? Or has that bug been fixed now? If you are going to enjoy occults, why settle for less? Why must we rely on mods to get them to work better? And vampires only having their super powers when they are young adult or older? I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. Children and teens should get to enjoy the benefits of being a vampire. And what about hybrids? Surely, I'm not the only player here who would welcome them? I'd love to try one out!

So, what options are there, really, if not occult packs? That's the only reason why I had come up with this idea. And no, these packs don't have to be $30. They could be $10-$20. I mean, we already have plenty of SPs that many players don't even seem to care for, so what's the difference, really? We also have the Store. So, why aren't these occult packs ideal? At least, developers can focus on occults because they are the entire focus of these packs. I mean, we can have one pack to include them all, but as QueenJimmy said, one pack would not be able to include very many. Hence, multiple packs.

Unless... EA gives players options to truly eliminate occults from the game for those who don't want them. I like vampires and faeries and will probably love mermaids, but I can live without aliens (I prefer mystical to sci-fi). However, in some of my more realistic games when I don't feel like playing with any occults, it irks me to see that aliens still appear in my game, even with mods. There are no options to turn that off. So, in essence, occults technically are being forced into the game. And don't even get me started on wild horses! Those options to turn occults and pets off do not work for me because I still see wild animals ruining my city-esque worlds that don't happen to be flagged as Late Night cities! Unless said options are only for Story Progression?

EDIT: By the way... Supernatural EP comes with some really cool non-occult features, such as the dark wave music genre, the rocking chairs, and the brooding trait. So, telling people who don't enjoy playing with occults to just not install that pack is a weak argument.