Yeah, that'll happen.

So I caved and bought it cuz I'm sick of the worlds I've got. (Plus, I only spent $11 of my own money on it, having returned $28 worth of unwanted gifts to Target yesterday & put that towards a couple of EA cards. haha.) The existing empty lots (there are plenty) are enough to fit in the acting studio and a couple of LN clubs. But that leaves you with a bunch of 30x40 and 40x40 lots remaining to work with. And forget trying to add anything else, unless you're willing to bulldoze a bunch of existing lots. Most of the area surrounding the existing town is unroutable and therefore unbuildable. There's probably 1% worth (if that) of routable terrain that you can plant lots on, but they wouldn't be anywhere near a road. Thanks EA. Was hoping I could have a downtown area for my party animal Sims, but you blew that dream outta the water quick. Seriously, do you even PLAY the game? How can you not think about this stuff? I feel like Biff from Back to the Future: *knocks on EA's head* Think, EA, THINK!

EDIT: On a more positive note, the scenery is very pretty and there are some decent houses. I really like how the town is divided, with the rural part of town having dirt roads. It has a nice, relaxing feel to it, like it's an area all its own. Which it is, I guess. lol. I spent most of my free time yesterday editing the town and getting it just right, so I haven't gotten to visiting any venues or anything yet. I don't really mind that I have to place the Fountain of Youth myself. I kinda like having the freedom to put it wherever I want. Or not to place it at all. lol. Despite the construction restrictions, I kinda like the town. I got so used to the hustle and bustle of Bridgeport (and all the vamps and stuff) tho that this is gonna take some getting used to.

So how long will it be until one of our very talented CAW modder/creators does an improved version of this world? (Of course, you'd still have to buy the original, but I'd willingly do that if someone would fix and post an improved Hidden Springs...) Better downtown area with room for plenty of community lots and clubs, fixed routing issues, plenty of residential building lots, rebuilt EA lots, better terrain paint job, and a PLACED (in a secret area which is still reachable) fountain of youth... And a tomb or two would probably be appreciated...

A girl can dream, right?

BTW, what genius at EA thought it was a good idea to hide the springs so well that it's in the catalog rather than in the world...? Um... yeah, that didn't make sense to me, either...

There are actually two little islands off the coast without derouting paint, as well as some holes on the mountain. The world is pretty well organised in CAW, in terms of its layers, compared with the bombsite that is Sunset Valley, although there are lots of deco objects in the effects layer, little mix ups like that.

Okay, so if I'm reading you right, this world is fixable by someone who's familiar and handy with CAW?

Just occurred to me that the fountain of youth at the end point of a tomb would be epic... Or course, that would probably mean folks would have to already have WA, wouldn't it?

Wow still today people have trouble telling the difference between Utah and Wyoming.

I still have trouble with the whole idea that each item that has any play value has to have a $25 price tag on it and the Sims all instakill if they dont get it.
I like the town and the map is great for its size and content, but compaired to some of the flatter and more organized free maps its sparce. I miss the Sims 2 days of cramming 9 gig of sim data into one town with a 20 minuet load just to do a flyover but then you had 100's of sim families. The Equiptment got better and the maps went microscopic. Plus it hangs the graphics card non stop! I dont get it, on a quad core with twice the graphics card I can have a mere 50 Sims in total and the same load time and gray hang. The maps are pretty eyecandy, but the Sims are more important. I worry about the Digital Download because now that my LateNight licence is my own again, a fight since December when it came out, how can I trust something that doesnt have an inventory control number or any other proof I bought it? I mourn for the Sims, cause it used to be really really fun and now its just a fight to get your content that you have to work. Again on a computer that was new in Dec when Late Night came out, factory direct with ample memory and Windows 7.

I don't know yet if I like this world, but when I saw the military base my first thought was http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=367627

The world will probably play okay *most of the time*. There is a risk, however, of NPCs spawning in the derouting paint holes. This risk will *probably* become much greater with Pets, although it's too soon to say that for certain.

If an NPC spawns in those holes, they will try to go to lots they can't get to, and eat up lots of processing power, causing lag and stuttering. I actually suggested to SimGurus on Twitter that they just make stuck NPCs quietly teleport (they've tried to do this with elevators), but I doubt they'll listen to me - I don't even know that what I suggested is viable or desirable. No fuck ups in the derouting paint would be a better solution, really.

A talented modder such as ellacharm3d may see fit to fix the derouting paint in the world. It all depends. I don't really know *exactly* how to make the fixes, although I could probably work it out.



As a New Zealander: There's a difference? Aren't they both North America: Bison. Soaring Redwoods Big Macs. Harley Davidsons. Stars & Stripes. Rush Limbaugh. Beavers. Maple Leaves. Interventionist Wars. Huddled masses yearning to be free.

I think EA needs to hire dedicated builders for their worlds. For something to cost more than $20.00 bucks, I kinda expect to at least play it without having to tear down and replace ugly houses or spend time redecorating them.



New Zealand? Isn't that Australian slang for deformed clone?

Jokes aside, is that really what foreigners think of North America? Robo Rush Limbaugh and his tea party robot pirates only comes out to hunt at night, so you're free to enjoy America for most of the day.

No no. I was joking. Well... ...kinda. Mostly. :P

EA does hire dedicated level design specialists to build worlds for The Sims 3. I've seen their ads. Even dreamed of applying, but (a) I don't have the qualifications or probably the necessary technical skills (b) There are a lot of indications that EA is shitty as shit on a shit sandwich workplace to slave in (c) Even if I set all that aside it'd mean moving to California, which I can't afford to do.

But they do hire real level designers to work on the worlds. They just don't do the QA, and the store objects are low qual.

Edit: What's an "Australian"?

The world design is very nice, but it's the interior(and sometimes the exterior) of homes that I have problems with. A lot of time, there are colors clashing, furniture in odd places, odd open spaces with no purpose, etc. It's gotten better with each EP, although you can really see it in places like Sunset Valley. I know they have limited resources when decorating, but sometimes I go into a house and think "who the hell approved this? ".
I guess I will have to wait till Pets to see how well things look.

I thought people from Australia were referred to as Australians. Is it different in New Zealand? I know about the kiwi thing, but I thought that was exclusive to New Zealanders since that's their national bird.

Hey watch it there buddy, there are more than one of us Kiwis lurking here!

As someone who is short on cash, I must say that I would love to have more worlds to play in (and more of the store items generally) but EA's pricing seems horrendously high. I really think you should get at least one new world in each expansion and selling them separately is just rude.

It would be interesting to know how much money they make from this - and how many people get Hidden Springs and Riverview. Do they actually make a lot, or are more simmers reluctant to give them money than they would like?

I have never bought Stuff Packs, or anything from the Store, because I don't really want to hand over my money for a blatant cash cow. I do still have 1,900 sim points though, from buying the base game/eps, so might get it if it dips below 2,000 points. It would only cost £7 to get the extra points to get Hidden Springs, but I will wait until it has been reviewed/tested for errors and then decide if its worth it.

I suppose it would be too much to ask for EA to produce something for The Sims 3 that was high quality and not in need of fixing/modding?

@Jenl212 You will seriously get better for your money if you spend those points on a few carefully selected packs than on this world.

Do you mean furniture? I have bought 1 hair set (hence the odd 1,900!) to see what it was like. Not seen anything that's grabbed me so far, but not really looked to be honest.

Same difference to me.

Yes, it would. You are being irrational. Your expectations are entirely unrealistic.

Library doesn't have skill bookshelves. Sigh.

I. Wants. Its.

NOWS.

I have come to not expect skill books in the library anymore. I either go in the library and add the skill bookshelves, or bulldoze it and plop mine down.

It's just a sour reminder, though, that EA don't actually know or care how a significant number of users play their game.

Oh, so it's like that, huh?
Shit! I've spend more than 3 hours just try to find it in HS. But now, HS disappoint me again...

Hum.. really ? like seriously?!!!
I can't believe how they sell that world saying :
"Discover the Magic - The curious magical properties of Hidden Springs has been the intrigue to many for ages. Explore the World and you might even uncover the Fountain of Youth. Will your Sims become forever young?"
and actually not include it hidden in the world. What is wrong with them ? That was their main selling speech they keep bragging about again and again and again but they're dumb enough to not include it IN THE WORLD? Wow, I'm shocked. I hope pets doesn't have the same team working on it. Bad team is bad.
And the colorful-enough-to-make-my-eyes-bleed terrain paint was a bad choice. But the sculpting is pretty.

I bought it. It's pretty, but I hate the wasted space across the river and in the mountains. *Edited out my question, found what I needed to learn ) Thx, I'm an idiot sometimes.

Also - I am too disappointed I had to use debugs to add books to the library, but glad I got the warning to do so from you guys. I know it's no big deal but just another detail that should be addressed considering the price. I also had no idea Barnacle Bay was missing spawners so - that worries me about THIS world. Now, I need to research what spawners need adding here . My excitement is dissipating as I read some more, I think I should have held on to my cash for a while. Kinda sad after reading the green sims don't seem to be anything but just green, I guess I was hoping for some of that "magic" they promised. For some reason, I didn't think it was limited to only the fountain (which now as I see thanks to reading here as well - is NOT pre-placed). If I could get in to fix in CAW and to add my own touches I think I'd be happy again. I don't think I'll be buying anymore worlds like this. It is really very pretty though, and I'll play it anyway. At least we get Pets soon