Not so brilliant plan! ::)

[Joria]

First time in the jungle and probably did as many things wrong as possible but it was fun exploring all kinds of stuff.  Hated the cost of the rentals but isn't that what you'd run into in a RL vacay?  Having experienced the cost of food, shower, etc. my "brilliant plan" for the next time around was to take camping gear with, just like you can do in the woods.  First trial was with a fire ring and chairs and a cooler chest.  Cool!!!  Food is now not an issue!  Sack lunches can spoil but the cooler is endless yogurt and granola.  Placing the chairs however, was a problem. You simply can't just grab and place and turn them so they may wind up in strange spots and NOT around that nifty fire circle.  Next time around I brought a large tent and portable showers.  LOL!  Sims would MUCH rather play with the skeletons and explore than sleep in that tent which also cannot really be moved around, or at least I haven't figured out how.  Chairs still not moveable and lanterns not always right where you want them.  Forget about a portable table to go with those chairs!  So in general the only money saver was the cooler chest, unless someone knows how to shift those other items around into a usable spot.

[Playalot]

Can I suggest a short cut to all the rigmarole that comes with trying desperately to get sims to place those objects 'in the world' correctly? Drinking a moodlet solver will keep your sim happy and perky for another round of temple exploration without needing to worry about needs. Maybe not as much fun but I am rather a pragmatic simmer. 

If you don't want to waste your satisfaction points on a moodlet solver then a camp bed and a cooler chest is really all you need. Your sim can sleep and eat, if you really want to get fancy then the Waterfall in a Can will clean them up a bit so then they can just pee in the bushes that are dotted around the jungle, have a shower from the can, eat and get cracking on their adventure again!

I have a wee trick, which mind you is a kind-of cheat but if you have a sim who likes fruitcake then you are made. Fruitcake never spoils and gives a happy+2 4hr moodlet as well as mostly filling hunger. if you pack it into a packed lunch before they eat it it gives your sim another positive moodlet. Whether or not a sim likes fruitcake is decided at their first bite so you can manipulate this by saving your game, directing your sim to take a piece and then quitting without saving if they hate fruitcake. Then reload and direct them to take a piece again...quitting and restarting until they like fruitcake. In all my 'for fun games' I do this so that my sims never have to go without food when away from their home lot, by choosing the Dance Machine trait they can also Disco Nap which fills the energy bar quicker than the L10 beds and they can nap on park benches, beds and even chairs if very tired. It's my way of avoiding the boredom of having to watch my sim eat for ages and sleep for a whole night, leave more time for actually playing the game.

[Joria]

Since this is a "newbie all over again" learn to play the game mode I've mega cheated and reset their needs to "disable needs".   Thanks for the tips!  When it's a "for reals" game that mail box will have to be left for mail only!  I just brought the tent to see if it would work, (didn't) and while they would snooze for a few secs, (not tired because of cheat), up they'd pop and go play with skellies.

[Playalot]

snip... I just brought the tent to see if it would work, (didn't) and while they would snooze for a few secs, (not tired because of cheat), up they'd pop and go play with skellies.

lol! How typical!

[Joria]

So next try was no cheats.  This time my brilliant plan actually worked like a charm! I brought a shower, a tent, a cooler, AND fruit cake. The trick is get to just about where you want the tent and ONLY the tent, place in world, climb in and sleep.  Skellies leave you alone and vice versa.  Don't try to put multiple items in the world because they will not go where you want them and it's frustrating.  Put down the cooler and dial up two or three quick meals so the bar gets full.  Just remember to put everything back in inventory.  Ring of rocks is only good for light because you can't place a chair in a proper place to sit and roast things.  Between that and the pee bushes you've got all needs covered and don't have to keep going back to the accommodations.  I get the cheapest one which is horrible with bugs but instead visit the cantina where you can place a tent and shower and sleep bug free.

[Playalot]

Success! Also a tip that you may not know that was mentioned in a live stream about this pack; the higher skills your sim has the easier they will find solving the temples traps. So a sim with high levels of charisma, handiness, logic and so on will have a greater success rate at those types of traps. Including the pop-up text adventures that the sims experience when they open a jungle gate into a new area.

[Joria]

Success! Also a tip that you may not know that was mentioned in a live stream about this pack; the higher skills your sim has the easier they will find solving the temples traps. So a sim with high levels of charisma, handiness, logic and so on will have a greater success rate at those types of traps. Including the pop-up text adventures that the sims experience when they open a jungle gate into a new area.

True dat!  I'm almost getting bored restarting and redoing to find the cheapest and most efficient way to do this adventure early on.  Thought I could just get my supplies and head out and do well and get through all the temple stuff.  Not so easy!  So the choice is either stay put on your home lot gaining all those skills plus fishing and a bit of gardening for bait, and THEN go well prepared, or buy the essentials, go, and try to skill up while there.  Seasons can make it obnoxious if you stay on your home lot but not so much if you try to skill up in Selvadorada.  You also have to factor in satisfaction points because it is well worth it to get as high a count as you can, (20,000 or better), to deal with the pesky need to sleep, etc.
     So let's say you "modify" the cantina not only adding showers and a kitchen but also gym equipment, a work bench and a bookshelf for skill books.  You probably could enjoy the scenery, finish up Archaeology and Jungle Explorer and breeze through the temple making yourself very, very wealthy in the endeavor.  Just watch out for eating those tasty local foods.  Your Sim will get very fat very fast!