Yeah, so, I eventually bought Sims 4 Get To Work... :@/ Well, to be fair, if I want to criticize this EP, I should have a first-hand experience on it myself, instead of just making some rants based on other people's rants... Right? Right... So, here I present you... my Bears Bakery...
(Poor quality video because my laptop is piece of junk!)
So, where should I start with my rants.... Well, overall, it's better compared to Sims 3 stupid seller and Sims 3 bakery... But I still think that Sims 2 OFB is still far superior. I like doing shop the old-fashioned way; ringing up customers using cash register instead of tablets... And I really wish that the customers wouldn't invade my kitchen area... But Sims always have unique route, so I guess it can't be helped... Even if I put a door/gate, they will still invade without fail... Yeah, there's a mod for door locking, but using mods and CCs for Sims 4 is just asking for more troubles - at least in my opinion. This game already has plenty of problems - plus Origin problems - by itself, let alone with mods and CCs. :@/
And so, since customers can freely walk in behind counter/displays, I find that after Shirokuma finishes baking something and I'm not fast enough to put it in display and set it for sale, most likely a customer nearby will take advantage by helping themselves to the food, ne! Talking about eating for free! Hmph! (>.<) So far, it's that snotty Alexander Goth and the annoying Nina Caliente who stole treats under my nose! But I also have ever noticed that a customer somehow could take a serving from the display and innocently ate it... I thought maybe I forgot to set something for sale... But when I checked; all was set for sale, ne... And yet, he could just help himself from the display?!! Without paying first!!? O.O Dunno if it's a bug or glitch... or maybe it's meant to be like that...
Speaking about another potential bug or glitch; I noticed that some goods after being sold somehow it stated that there's still 8 left of it... How could it be?! I mean, the whole plate is gone - sold, then how come it says there's still 8 left of it?? *frowns* And because of that, the cost for restocking it is higher than if it honestly admits that the whole plate is already sold; therefore, none left. :@/ Once again, it maybe not a bug or glitch... Maybe it's meant to be like that...
And about restocking... In Sims 2 OFB, if you sell craft-able goods; like food/cake and flowers, you'll need to have the same items in your Sim's inventory in order to be able to restock... For instance, you make Baked Alaska and then sell it in your shop, and someone buys it,,, You'll need to have another Baked Alaska in your Sim's inventory in order to restock... But here in Sims 4 Get To Work, restocking doesn't work that way. Basically, you can just make a bread/cake/cupcake one time and put it on display and if someone buys it, you can just instantly - magically - restock it without having to make another batch of it first. Sounds convenient? Yeah, well... There's a catch for it, though... Even though you can just restock without having to make the same good all over again, the price you pay for restocking fee is more/higher than the price to make it again. For instance, you make peanut butter cookies and sell it and someone buys it... The cost to magically restock it will be 20 Simoleons for whatever reason, while the cost to make it again yourself will be just 2 or 3 Simoleons... So, instant restocking maybe convenient, but if you do that all the time, then you won't get much profit... Or worse, you won't get any profit at all! For me, the solution for this is, of course I have to make the goods again and again if they're sold - that's why in the video, if you can see it despite the poor quality, you can see me choosing to remove the sold sign instead of doing the restocking.
Also, the displays get dirty very fast... And if dirty, then everybody will be complaining immediately... :@/ Though I don't think it will affect the shop's reputation... I don't think there's shop reputation in Sims 4 Get To Work, unlike in Sims 2 OFB, but to hear them complaining and making the vomitting sound is quite annoying. So, what's the big deal? Just clean the damned thing! Right? Well... Because of Sims being Sims; they always have weird path finding issue... Even with the fact that Sims in Sims 4 can just conveniently clipping/walking through others and objects, I noticed that many times when I ordered my bears to clean the dirty displays, they will complain about no route because some customers were standing in front of the displays. *sighs* Not quite what I'd call Smarter Sims...
And ringing up customers also has some kind of bug or glitch... I noticed that a couple of customers needed to be rung up many times before they finally bought something... Dunno what's the deal... I didn't get any message about the ringing up process was failed - maybe the Sim's credit/debit card was rejected or something - no notice whatsoever... Just that after the ringing-up animation ended, the customer(s) still had the blue shopping cart icon - meaning they need to be rung up - above their head.
Bears Bakery opened 24 hours.... I disabled the decay of my bears' needs, so they can just focus on working in the shop. I made 930 Simoleons net profit after opening for 41 hours... That thanks to me willing to remake most of the goods after they're sold instead of using the instant restocking... However, the next issue that I encountered after opening the shop nonstop like that is when I wanted to save the game, while on the retail lot, somehow I got an error... Dunno what kind of error... Error with so many numbers... Whatever caused that error, I couldn't be bothered to look it up... Before I opened the bakery, I could save while on the retail lot, so... yeah, go figure it out yourself... :@/ I sent my bears home and then I could save the game, while on the home lot. Will that error cause something else later in this saved game? Well, only time can tell...
I haven't tried the other active careers - the doctor and the detective... But experiencing a bit on the retail business, I now can officially say: Sims 4 Get To Work is... MEH! :@/ Of course, like I've mentioned, the retail business here is better compared to Sims 3 stupid seller and the bakery... But compared to Sims 2 OFB, it's certainly not better... At least in my opinion. Oh well, look at the good side(s); at least the stupid aliens don't invade my home world and shop... YET... And the stupid game doesn't make my stupid laptop explode from overheating... YET... *still doubtful EA might actually have fixed the patch that causes the overheating issue*
Here's some screenshots - with clearer quality - of Shirokuma decorating the cupcakes he makes...
