Moderator note: This thread is now stickied and edited to become the only thread on that topic

Have you got money to spare and decided to spend it on more TS4 content but can't make up your mind on what?
Are you torn between whether you'd rather play with aliens or that fancy bookworm club?
Do you wake up at night and wonder whether it was after all such a good idea to allow that bear costume into your game?
Are the glowing floor tiles truly the bee's knees and is the woohoo bush really the biggest letdown in gaming history?

Well, this thread is from now onwards your go-to place for these questions. Here you'll find the opinions of your fellow members on the value and/or usefulness of all Expansion/Game/Stuff Packs that have been released so far for the fourth iteration of The Sims series. Whether it's really helpful when it comes to making a decision I cannot tell - experience suggests that after a while you will find just as many cons as pros with regard to each pack in threads like these. But at least it is worth a try.


This is now the official and only thread for this topic. Please do not post any new threads on this topic - if you have input on the subject or are looking to make a new purchase/removal, read this thread for all kinds of opinions, then make your own decision.
Any other thread with that topic will from now on be dropped in here or locked or deleted, depending on the moderator's mood.


Now on to the original post by SnowCat2000:
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My birthday is coming up and I want to get an expansion pack off origin. I'm leaning towards getting get to work but I'm still kinda undecided. Any suggestions?

It really depends on which mechanics you want. Get to Work has the framework needed for Zerbu's open career, open school, and politics mods and simmythesim's open college mod. Get Together's barista bar has been modded to serve different foods and even though the club system hasn't had any substantial mods created yet, you can do a lot with it.

Is there a price difference? Or does that matter. I really like them both, but I tend to believe that Get Together affects more overall game play for my everyday Sims and not just the ones I put into one of the three careers that came with Get To Work. I haven't checked out the retail system yet.

this is a tough question. I have everything that EA has put out so far for sims 4, so I know all packs pretty well. I do enjoy what GTW has to offer, but in terms of what I use everytime I play, I'd say GTG.
It might just depend on if you like playing families vs. young adult sims, and having a nightlife/club/party experience. Lately ive been playing less with families and more the single, dating sims, or simply drama sims. GTG has been so much fun for me.

Something to keep in mind,

While BOTH large expansions add something new to the game mechanics, the town that comes with get to work pales in comparison to Windenburg.
Taking all the new mechanics out of the question, the number of venue types and real estate locations alone should lean toward get together.

Magnolia promenade borders on an entirely useless neighborhood IMHO

GTW didn't have that much longevity, in terms of game-play, for me. The careers are kind of cool, in the beginning, but once I get the current Sims to the top of their careers, I'm not sure I'd do it again. The careers are very goal oriented, and there isn't enough depth to make up for checklist type nature of it all. Eventually, I just extracted all the objects I wanted and took them over to TS2. I like more of a sanbox experience, and GTG has been great for that. Groups gave me a new way to further customize each Sim, and I really like all the new venues that came with this pack. Windenburg has to be the prettiest neighborhood in the history of this series. I've had a lot of fun just letting my Sims walk around and paint on the street easels, because the scenery is just so beautiful.

Get Together is more for the adults, but also came with things for kids. I love that you'll see groups of kid adventurers meeting in various venues. Kids can also use the Foosball table.

Merged, edited and stickied.

I think GTG is a better option. It adds a whole new town with really amazing looking hood, much better then the towns we got from base/patch. It also adds a lot more activities for your sims and expands on the already existing clubs and bars. The dancing is also nice and much better than the "dad" dancing from base. It also has nicer CAS and build options than GTW and they are much more flexible for different types of sims and builds. The club mechanic is also very handy, I myself use it often but not for clubs for specific hobbies or groups but for my sims friends in general. I can control the group as a whole by setting rules and I don't have to constantly manage them. And yes GTG is more adult oriented with some of the bigger focuses being bars and nightclubs but they did make sure that kids can use almost all the new objects like the foosball table, the arcade, don't wake the llama, the dart board, and the closets. They aren't the focus but they definitely aren't forgotten and with how little focus (almost nonexistant) they had in ts3 this make me happy.

Though if socializing isn't what you're looking for and you want more careers options then GTW is probably your best bet. It adds 3 new careers and the adility to run your own store. The 3 careers are fun and really make you feel like your sims are actually working since you get to join them. I will say that the the goal oriented game play does take away from some of the fun since you feel like you have to finish as many goal as possible and don't really get to just explore your job and play around. The retail system can also be fun but also stressful. You can sell pretty much anything and their just something fun about owning your own business and being your own boss. The problem however are in the fact that you need really need to watch your employees and make sure they are actually working and actually want to work though having them level up in their skills will make thing easier and if you keep them satisfied they'll be hard workers (kinda). I will also add that even though you can have a store of any type of service it really doesn't do that well for food service which it was advertised for and even had a new skill meant for it. GTW does have something on GTG though and that the inclusion of a returning life state Aliens. I have never been much of an alien user so I can't say much on whether they are better, just as good, or worse then past aliens but if aliens are a must have for you then GTW is your best and only option.

Hope this helps you decide.

If they wanted to make more money, then they can come up with more jobs. Like the SIMS 2, with OUT FOR BUSINESS. THEY CAN TAKE THE TATOO TABLE AND SEAT TO USE OT FOR HAIR STYLIST AND FACIAL DESIGNER.

THE FOOT MASSAGING CHAIR CAN GENERATE BUSINESS AS A MASSUSE AND A MANACURIST AND A PEDICURIST.

CLINICS AND CHYROPRACTORS CAN USE THE BACK MASSAGING TABLES TO GENERATE BUSINESS FOR CHYROPRACTIONERS AND ORTHOPEDICS.

THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCING THE GTW EP OF THE SIMS 4.

Hey, Im wondering, which SP you value most? Were any of them good? I don't have any, and most of the time I saw them in reviews or discussions, it appeared like they were a chaotic mess of themes.

In my opinion, Windenburg in GTG is well worth the investment. Also, I am having more fun with the clubs than the careers in GTW. I did enjoy playing the new careers, but once I reached level 10, it became too much of a grind.
Thanks

So I'm planning on getting The Sims 4 Get Together especially since it's $29.99 on amazon, instead of $39.99. Last year, I was planning on getting Get To Work when it was reduced however the price went back up before I had a chance. I'm also planning on getting a stuff pack though. I know that there are two that I want to choose from. Should I go with Luxury Party Stuff? Or Romantic Garden Stuff?

Luxury Party.

Romantic Gardens is probably the smallest stuff pack they've released. It has so little content.

I honestly really like Romantic Garden Stuff. I don't have Luxury Party Stuff however, so I couldn't make a comparison.

The wishing well and fountain are pretty cool and really add to the landscaping of my legacy mansion. I also like how colorful all of the flowers are. The female hair is really nice as well.

I do find the male clothing to be well...eclectic...

Glitter or Paper Flowers.

Merging with existing thread.

I think I'll go with Romantic Garden Stuff. It has more build/buy new stuff, and it seems to have better rating than Luxury Party Stuff.

So, when it comes to every sims game since the first, I've been a buy-everything type of person. But when TS4 came out, I stopped playing after a few days and decided to wait for more content to come out. So I'm posting here to see if anyone can tell me how the game has changed. For reference, I stopped playing before there were polls or anything like that. Here are the things I didn't really like about TS4. Could anyone tell me how they have changed and if they had gotten better, and if the new content to the game makes up for it?

* Limited neighborhoods, not being in control of all sims. I hated sending sims out in public while not being in control of the sims at home. I know with GTW you can follow your sims to work, but is that at the expense of the control of all other sims? How do you manage more than one sim in these careers?

* No building space/not a lot of lots to place buildings/inability to place your own lot/ small lots. How has this improved since release?

* Absolutely no storymode, other sims in the neighborhood are stagnant when you are not playing them. I detest this. Have they fixed it or is there a mod that will do this now? I've been checking periodically but found nothing.

Those are the big three for me. The things I loved about TS3 but aren't in TS4. If those can be fixed, I will buy every damn expension pack and stuff pack and overpriced junk they shove onto origin.

I have no idea what I should buy. I'm torn between everything! Any advice to give?

I try to make my lots as extension-free as possible, but I always find I can't do without Get Together and Romantic Garden Stuff. These two packs have so many fun and atmosphere inducing items.

The three different vague garden backyard stuff packs are all amazing great. Just the tops. Really taking the series to new heights we had once thought were impossible. Everything else in this bullshit reality we endure is trash compared to those. I rate them three Gwyneth-Paltrow-from-Carpenter's-The-Thing-Where-She-Played-The-Thing out of 10.

Like @Velouriah said Romantic Garden Stuff Pack and Get Together are hard to build without once installed. The clubs from Get Together have also become a big feature since it enables a kind of clique(if not class) system. I've found I enjoy playing artistic hippies who just chill out most of the time, so I waited for Origin's -50% promo and got the patio sp (hot tubs) and day spa gp (yoga and overall chill).

My favorite EP is Get To Work at the moment, but City Living may pass it! I think my favorite GP is Spa day, but Dine Out is a very close second. Kids room SP is hands down my favorite SP. As for worth buying, I'd say both EPs are worth it, and I'll be getting City Living. GPs, Spa day and Dine out are worth it, and Outdoor retreat is worth it if you want to do a challenge where you start with nothing,or want to go camping. Most stuff packs aren't worth the 9.99 in my opinion. I feel like you're spending 10 dollars to have an ice cream machine and a new counter. I just seems like some SP could be accomplished by downloading some CC for free instead of paying 10 dollars for a stuff pack.

I participated in a prize draw on gamesdeal and got free new EP The Sims 4))i'm very happy) it's good prize on Christmas for me)))