Yes, that’s right! Finally they have announced the next Sims pack! (Seriously, who decided to allow the gurus to have Christmas off? They should work all the time and make all the things! #TeamAllTheThings) I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t announce the next game pack because I really loved the last two and it feels like a very long time since we got Spa Day. But stuff packs are good too! I’m glad we get gameplay content with them rather than just piles and piles of pretty stuff that is just new versions of the stuff we already have.
The next pack is titles ‘Movie Hangout Stuff’ and here’s the trailer:
Ummm…
So we have Mexican looking items, with hippy style clothes and hair, a giant telly that plays movies and… popcorn.
COLOUR ME CONFUSED!!!
But… take my hand and come with me on a journey…
At first this pack confused the potatoes out of me! Why do those hippies have a giant telly in their garden? Are hippies rich these days? Then why do they have all that arty farty furniture and uncut hair? Did they spend all their money on the telly? WUT!?
Ok, so the pack seems like a bit of a mish-mash. I’d honestly have preferred a normal looking movie screen and cinema build-buy content. Maybe some vintage art deco build/buy or 50’s themed drive-thru content. I feel like it would have made more sense, been more easily accepted, and been more appealing. I would have made the popcorn machine in a vintage style like the one from the TS3 store or as Mathoo suggested, from TS1.
When we get new content, I try to ignore my knee-jerk reaction (whether positive or negative) and have a good think about what we are actually getting. I ask myself what I can do with it, and how much use I’ll get out of it.
Now, my sims rarely watch T.V, so I’m never ever going to give them a ridiculously large contraption to put in their garden. It’s just unrealistic and silly. Who even does that? THE WORLD IS FLOODING PEOPLE, ELECTRONICS IN THE GARDEN IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!! However, I do really need more community lots for my sims to visit, especially places suitable for teens (all my main sims are currently teenagers). And I love the idea of sending them to the cinema. Now, Graham said that you can watch the new movies on normal tellies as well. So we can upsize a plainer looking telly to act as our movie screen. There are plenty of gorgeous looking cinemas already available on the gallery (see below) so as soon as we get the pack, we can grab one and send our sims to the movies!
Apparently there are lots of nice new interactions based around watching the movie with other sims, and sims are supposed to sit through the entire thing without wandering off halfway through. I’m guessing if we take advantage of the Get Together group system we can make this work even more efficiently.
Also, what cinema would be complete without popcorn! Now it would be a bit odd to have sims wander up and use the appliance themselves, but I’m thinking… If we have Get To Work and set the lot as a retail lot, we could pre-place the bowls from debug for sale in the lobby. Then, when we switch to our own sims and send them there with their club to watch a movie, they can also grab their popcorn on the way in! I was able to set ice-cream for sale on a community lot so I’m guessing this will work too.
So… yeah… I like the gameplay items. I don’t like the style of the telly too much (maybe it’ll look cool on a Showtime style stage) but the actual functionality of watching a whole movie sounds interesting. I’d like to get a list of the interactions. And wheee… popcorn! Why not? I guess I kind of like the idea of sims having a cosy night in watching movies and eating popcorn on the sofa too, just… with a normal sized telly.
Hang on a minute… Spooky Stuff + watching movies with popcorn? I see what you’re doing here Nardone! 😛
As for the CAS options? Yeah… they’re pretty nice actually. I have a lot of hippy/boho sims and it’s a clothing style I use a lot in-game so… yeah. And can we all just take a moment to admire this sim’s hair… yep. Even he’s impressed by his own glorious mane.
These clothes will be perfect for sims in an art club, or in a band!
The furniture is my sort of thing too. I like shabby chic, rustic, and arts and crafts styles, so I can definitely use some of this! I like how the doors are painted and they’ll be nice for traditional Romani style wagons. It also has a Mexican feel. They’ve been quite clever with the colour options actually!
And how nice are those hanging lights on the tree? I hope they are separate individual lamps and not actually attached to the tree. But if they are I’m sure some clever cc artist will separate them.
Hey, who smeared Vaseline on the lens? Do I spy an almost Medieval style dress in the background there? *squints*
Anyhoo… while I think the theme is a bit confused, and think ENOUGH OF THE HIGH-END OVERSIZED ITEMS ALREADY!!! In general I quite like the content. Will I be buying it straight away? I’m still not sure, I guess I’d like more details on the functionality of the items and a list of the CAS and BB items before I make a decision. But it’s cute pack and I’ll definitely be making use of the content at some point. ^__^
Community Content:
So… if you’re buying Movie Hangout Stuff and you want a pre-made cinema, here are some you might like:
* ‘MOVIE CINEMA !! no cc’ by Zita1966
* ‘ArtDeco Roxy Cinema’ by stescouse
* ‘Movie Night Cinema & Bar’ by Dennis16041
(Image by Budgie.)
* ‘The Angry Bear Drive-in’ by SimDoughnut
If you use CC and want to grab some 50’s inspired content, I recommend the diner set by Sandy at Around the Sims 4. I’ve used content from her site since TS1 and can’t recommend the site highly enough! She also has a decorative popcorn machine in a really nice style, so I’m hoping she updates this to be functional when the new pack comes out. It would really suit a cinema venue. Sandy also has a movie theatre set with cinema style seating and decorative popcorn. And if you like the Mexican theme, Sandy has a beautiful restaurant set which will compliment the new content. Thanks Sandy! o/
Oh My Sims 4 has some great Simspiration screenshots to inspire us! Marion has been working on a cinema and always has some interesting ideas and useful cc, so it’s a site to keep your eyes on!
Finally, 
Have fun and happy simming!
Sims in the Woods 