Sims 4: Eco Living Stuff Pack won’t release until 2018, but the upside is players get to choose the features. The vote for the art style of the DLC is underway. The next decision will be clothing and objects. After that, it’s the features, and Simmers are already typing away in the forums about what they’d like to see. It’s going to be a tough, and very important, vote. So to help you make your decision, here’s the most talked about stuff. When the time comes, choose wisely.
LAUNDRY
This is the reason most players voted for Eco Living , as opposed to the other four options. At the top of the list is a washer and dryer, but the catch is, these objects aren't really eco-friendly (unless it’s this) and don’t provide much interactive gameplay. There are, of course, water-saving laundry systems. But the appeal of doing laundry is more nostalgia than anything else.
There are other features that could fit in the realm of laundry that could make more sense, such as a clothesline to hang-dry. One of the art styles included an ironing board, which is a nice decoration and household object, but still, the gameplay there is limited even for a stuff pack. The animation of white clothing fluttering in the breeze by the garden is quite appealing, but some of us don’t play video games to clean and pick up piles of clothes off the floor. I do that enough in real life.
CANNING STATION
Make your own baby food, can pickles, jam, chutney, or pretty much whatever the hell you want using fresh stuff from your garden. Many of you guys probably remember Grandma’s Canning Station from TS3? It was cool, but is it worth being the main feature in a stuff pack? That's up to you to decide.
SOLAR PANELS
When you think of sustainable living these days, the easiest way to get involved is by installing solar panels. It’s becoming a huge thing all across the country, not just on the West Coast. This is also may be the only real eco-friendly feature the Sims team can add without seasons. For example, water tanks would need rain and while you could do a wind turbine, the dev team would have to come up with more weather animations.
WINDMILL
As mentioned, wind turbines are the subject of a lot of conversation in the forums right now. They would not only look pretty in the backyard of medium-sized home in Oasis Springs or Willow Creek, they would also give The Sims team a little creative control. Both windmills and solar panels were introduced in The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff and it’d be cool to see if the Sims team could use it as an excuse to add more wind animations to the game.
COMPOSTING
Another favorite from Seasons, this feature absolutely makes sense and is at the top of my list. The output of this object goes straight into your garden, which would be a nice way to tie the stuff pack together, especially if combined with canning since they both rely on harvesting gameplay. Some players are very interested in a compost toilet? Let’s just say I’m glad I’ve never heard of that in real life.
FLOWER ARRANGING STATION
For those of you who don’t remember The Sims 2: Open for Business, the name sounds absolutely ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as Grandma's Canning Station. Both are pretty damn absurd, but hey, flowers are pretty and smell nice. See for yourself.
MORE GARDENING
Whether it be features to make indoor gardening easier, tools to build a greenhouse, or simply a garden soil ground tool, most Simmers want something to add to the gardening experience. An object more substantial than just another planter would certainly satisfy all those green-thumb Sims.
SEWING MACHINE
Sewing was introduced as an art and craft in TS2, and is definitely a unique, cool idea. Making your own clothes and objects like teddy bears, quilts and customized clothing is eco-friendly. That being said, the induction of a Sewing Machine in TS4 may be better suited for another pack where the idea can be fully fleshed out to its potential.
BEEKEEPING
Beekeeping in The Sims has been associated with magic and supernatural DLCs. Beeswax has been used for charms and spells and used to summon Claire The Bear. In The Sims 3: Supernatural, Sims could take care of the bees and it was awesome to see them put on the bee mask and get chased around by a swarm. With all the talk about the death and extinction of bees, beekeeping would certainly be a timely feature to add to the game. They could even bring awareness to the cause by promoting hive-building and “setting them free.”
ECO HOUSE
It is already possible to build your own Eco House (like this), but official build mode items for sustainable living would be awesome -- whether it’s an “off the grid” style farmhouse, or a modern smart house with integrated tech to control everything. Things like sliding glass doors, floor-to-ceiling windows (like this one), tinted windows to lower the air conditioning bill, vertical wall planters, flat roof options and skylights would all be welcome additions to build mode.
SHOWER WOOHOO
Please don’t ask me why some players think this falls under the category of eco-living. Apparently two people sharing a shower ‘saves water,’ even though lord knows that water isn’t being used to wash away suds. Anyhow, if woohooing is an easy animation for the Sims team to add, I say why not. But let’s be honest, there’s no water saving going on here.
REPURPOSED FURNITURE
Something like a home-built loft bed, pallet tables or benches (like this), and repurposed furniture such as barrel side tables (like these). Anything with a rustic, farmhouse feel or a shitty piece of furniture you find on the street. (Channel your inner New Yorker with no shame.) Some outdoor pieces would be good too, such as makeshift hammock.
If there’s any big features I missed, give a shout in the comments. The features vote isn’t for a few months so make sure to share your ideas!
