What pack effected how, what, and what items you use when you build the most?

[scoed]

My sister-in-law and I was discussing what packs effected how we build, what we build, and what content we use. More than just what items we use from what pack but how the pack effects how we build, well and of course what items are our go to choices. Things like skill items added,gardening design, and looks matter. It came up as I have been building more than playing lately. I thought the conversation was fun. So let have it here.

Base game wins as well it has the most items lot traits, and well everything. No building minus base game so it don't count. All free patch stuff is base game.

My sister-in-laws list according to our discussion:

1: Seasons
2: Tiny Living
3: Realm of Magic

Looks is key for her and she likes the items from Seasons and Realm of Magic the most. Tiny Living is of course about the tiny house lot trait and the three in one TV, stereo, bookshelves. She doesn't alway care about micro homes but sometimes she does.

My top 5 is:

1: Tiny Living
2: Eco Lifestyle
3: Seasons
4: Realm of Magic
5: Vampire

My bottom pack that I next to never use items of nor make lots of the type that came with the pack:

1: Dine Out

Tiny Living was the biggest game changer for me. I used to build large mansions, secret labs, and huge green houses a lot for my sims to live in. Now I only build micro homes for my sims to live in. Outdoor patios are where my skill items go and some times beds. Roof rooms are now a thing in my builds. Basements and second floors are a thing of the past. It is all tiny homes all the time. Tiny Living wins and it isn't close. Eco Lifestyle is in second because of the eco footprint. I like building green. It also made off the grid a real choice. It also has the most choices effecting bills. A real close third is seasons. It is all about weather. Why do all my tiny homes have patios? Weather. Why are some of my garden plants have patios? Weather. Also sometimes I do decorate for holidays. It gave Holiday Celebration a point. It changed gardening my favorite skill and that skill has a huge impact on how I layout my lot even if I am not building a gardening patio. Realm of Magic and vampires is all about the stuff in that pack and all my sims tend to be spellcasters or Vampires both have special build requirements the way I play them. I love the haunted look that can be achieved with the Vampire pack and the whimsy and mystical fun of Realm of Magic is a common thym in my builds as well. Those packs are tied. Love them in my builds.

I hate Dine Out. Restaurants aren't fun and are buggy as heck, so I don't build them. Don't use the objects very often if ever. Only pack I truly regret buying. My vote for least impactful.

Anyway what packs effect your builds the most and why?

[Metropolis Man]

Tiny Living and the benefits of a smaller house for Tournament challenges are at the top of my list.

[Highlander]

Pretty amazing, but 4 of your top 5 packs are the only four I don't own.

Vampires ruined Sims 3 Late Night for me. I wouldn't install a Vampire pack if you paid me (unless it was a very large sum of money). I didn't like the idea of Realm of Magic (too powerful). And Tiny Living/Eco Lifestyle just didn't appeal to me.

As a habitual gardener, Seasons would have to top the list. My go to stove and fridge come from Jungle Adventure (go figure). Go to bed from Cats and Dogs. But most of it is just boring base game stuff.
 

[Brian_Z]

So many of my games now start out with a tiny home, for the crazy skill blitzing.  Raising a family in a tiny cracker box, heck no, but getting a new sim, or couple, leveled in a hurry is awesome.  Also, the bed upgrades introduced with that pack.  I can use ANY BED I WANT and have it be super comfortable now!
After Tiny Living, the biggest influence is probably Jungle Adventure, of all things.  I like the old fashioned stove and refrigerator, and the plank flooring from that pack, they find their way into most of my builds.
And then, Realm of Magic, because I have so much fun with spellcasters.  So I often build my casters a house with magical themes, and a lot of stuff from that pack usually gets used.

[starlives]

This is an interesting topic for me. I only started playing Sims4 in January this year and I love building. I only had Base Game to use initially so my builds used only this and even now when I own more packs Base is still the main choice.

Getting Seasons created many changes in my builds with the impact of weather and now most of my builds include covered gardening areas and patios. I like the challenge of how to have my sims progress their skills despite it pouring outside or being knee deep in snow.  It is a big game changer and building influence for me.

At present I am building rooms using base game and only one other pack and downloading them on the Gallery.  This is great fun because it makes me look at ALL the items available in each pack.  So far I have built rooms for Seasons, Island Living, Jungle Adventure, Get to Work, Get Together, City Living, Spa Day and Eco Lifestyle.

My listing of the packs (that I own) that give me my preferred building choices are:
1)   Base Game
2)   Seasons
3)   Eco Lifestyle
4)   Island Living and Jungle Adventure (can’t decide between the two)

[Entropic]

After I got Tiny Living it does affect how I build, especially when it comes to starter homes. What I don't like is how I can't do friezes on roofs without a deck though, and you can't build modern anymore pretty much, because modern houses often rely on decks for roofing, so that's something I feel a bit sad about as well. I don't use a lot of the furnishing from Tiny Living though, because it's so style specific and doesn't often fit how I furnish. I do love a lot of stuff that came with Eco Living, especially the grey wallpaper. It's very easy to do urban eco style (or what to do call it) with Eco Living, which is cool. Urban as a whole is still poorly supported though.

Other than that, I can't say I think any particular pack influences me however. I mean, it depends on why you build. Personally, I like building for its own sake, and I often like building with very specific goals or ideas in mind. My latest build was a bunch of floating domes in the sky, only connected by a huge staircase across a jungle-covered mountain. That's such a particular thing to do, and I ended up using a little bit of everything for that lot, though Spa Day was very frequent, but so were some other items from other packs. In other words, it depends on the style I'm going for. If I'm going all Victorian, then obviously Vampires will play a huge role in my building choices, but so will Family, Get Together and Seasons do, as they all have objects that fit a more old-fashioned or traditional build.

Also @OP, but if you hate Dine Out, I can assuredly tell you that you're missing out on the potential that pack has to offer. Dine Out has a lot of fantastic items you can use when designing your home, but you need to use them creatively and not as intended because if you do that, then I agree, they suck for most of the part. The wall covers are great for wooden textures for example, and the stone accent/banquet table is awesome for the same reason and can be used as walls, filler material when you want that stony texture/look. I also love the Chef's Signature wall decoration as you can use it on a dark wallpaper surface and create your own wallpaper look that makes it look very modern and fresh, and those are just some possible ideas of how you can use these items in a creative way in game.