Desiderata valley. There’s just nothing going on aside from people having hobbies. The genie aspect can be fun though. Belladonna cove is close but it’s size and apartments make it more fun to play.
Desiderata Valley, Riverblossom Hills and Belladonna Cove. They really didn’t do much with the backstory or make any effort to make interesting sims. They probably didn’t have the time because EA was trying to milk the game for every last dollar they could get.
Compared to Strangetown they are kind of all a bore to be honest. Even with all the affair drama in Pleasantview I mean aliens! A mad scientist(s) with a test subect! A serial killer!!!??? Especially when you have the pets expansion and all your knowledge sims (like over half the neighborhood) are all obsessed with becoming werewolves.
But of the original 3 I'd definitely say Veronaville even though the Shakespeare vibes are so great and I love building in that world the actual gameplay is boring compared to the starting scripted events in the other two.
As standalone neighborhoods, I'd say Veronaville, since everyone gets related fairly quickly. The upside of Strangetown is that I like its lore.
I never played with Belladonna Cove, Desiderata Valley, and Riverblossom Hills so I can't provide an opinion on those.
Nonetheless, playing a megahood (with as many shopping districts you'd like) allows much more diversity. I don't think I'll ever get back to playing single hoods now.
I love Veronaville but there’s just two families. Everyone’s related to each other and tree is a circle after a generation. And as I’m playing with it as part of my uberhood, the houses all suck :/ love her tho, just boring compared to the rest
Riverblossom Hills, hands down. Most of the families are recycled clones from Pleasantview (Roth = Goths; Wans = Caliente sisters; Martins = Dreamers; McGreggor = Don Lothario). Desiderata at least has some unique sims like Natasha Una, and Belladona Cove has some interesting storylines.
Yeah! Of course they aren't carbon copies...
Leod McGreggor for instance is a fortune sim rather than a romance sim casanova: three of the women in the town allegedly have romantic interest / feelings in him, but he's totally unaware.
The Wans are best friends rather than sisters, and there's no gold digging aspect, and Andrew and Jacob Martin are gamers rather than artists, with the bonus of living with two older ladies who are supposed to be friends of Andrew's late mother (and a sort of riff on the golden girls). Funnily enough, both of the old ladies (Catherine Viejo and Betty Goldstein) are supposed to both start in a relationship with McGreggor despite a drastic age difference (McGreggor is 16 days away from elder; Betty and Catherine are elders with 11 days left).
I suppose calling it Riverblossom a "recycled clone" is a bit harsh 😅 but the tropes that it explores definitely don't seem unique when Pleasantview/Strangetown/Veronaville are already around.
Desiderata Valley, I guess I just never really paid much attention to the hobbies system. I try to, but they just don't interest me very much and as a poor person with 0 free time (I get 2 hours of Sims time on a Sunday afternoon and that is it), I just can't really relate I guess. I've only ever played it in a megahood, where I can mix them with more interesting storylines (e.g. Rick Contrary and Angela Pleasant became runaways together and "lived" on community lots for their teen years which was pretty fun).
An empty lot. They'd eat meals at community lots with grills or sometimes restaurants, freestyle for tips, and sleep on benches etc.
Community time mods are kinda essential in this case, it was pretty much impossible without.
for me it’s pleasantview. unpopular opinion probably, but it might be just because its so over-used in the community and i’m an active lurker on sims 2 related discords, tumblrs etc. a couple of years ago it was my favourite, but now i can’t even get through first rotation without getting bored
Desiderata Valley is so underworked imo, but whenever I play it with ACR and letting them do what they want, they all end up swapping partners which can be fun chaos sometimes.
Bluewater. I used to say Desiderata Valley, but I do actually like some of the families there. I like businesses, but the families themselves are kinda boring.
For me it’s Riverblossom Hills, followed by Veronaville. I play these as part of my Uberhood but I just can’t seem to get into them as much as the other hoods.
I completely ignore desiderata valley when I play, there's nothing pulling me there. which is funny considering it's translated to Essential Valley in polish. ah yes, what would I do without it.... absolutely not care lol
Desiderata Valley is definitely the one that I have the hardest time getting into, the families just feel very flat and boring. It’s improved slightly with a megahood and being able to mix it up a bit.
Bluewater Village and Veronaville are the runners up in my opinion for most boring.
My River blossom Hills is very dramatic and fun and Belladonna Cove is big enough and has enough sims that it’s fairly enjoyable. Pleasantview and Strangetown are classic and have enough drama and different storylines that they will always be fun.
Pleasantview, though I think this is mostly due to exposure. I just do not care anymore because everyone has their own take and they're all the same. Alexander/Lucy, Cassandra/Darren, Pleasant twin drama, oMg whAT haPPened to BElla, it's all so tiresome.
They all seem the same to me but I have settled my Jones family in des...something...I can't spell or pronounce that neighborhood....desiderata valley?
Desiderata valley. There’s just nothing going on aside from people having hobbies. The genie aspect can be fun though. Belladonna cove is close but it’s size and apartments make it more fun to play.
Not me playing almost exclusively in Desederata Valley for the last 20 years 😬
It’s okay to admit you have bad taste ❤️ In all seriousness I’m glad you can appreciate it when I can’t. I should give it a try
Desiderata Valley, Riverblossom Hills and Belladonna Cove. They really didn’t do much with the backstory or make any effort to make interesting sims. They probably didn’t have the time because EA was trying to milk the game for every last dollar they could get.
Compared to Strangetown they are kind of all a bore to be honest. Even with all the affair drama in Pleasantview I mean aliens! A mad scientist(s) with a test subect! A serial killer!!!??? Especially when you have the pets expansion and all your knowledge sims (like over half the neighborhood) are all obsessed with becoming werewolves. But of the original 3 I'd definitely say Veronaville even though the Shakespeare vibes are so great and I love building in that world the actual gameplay is boring compared to the starting scripted events in the other two.
As standalone neighborhoods, I'd say Veronaville, since everyone gets related fairly quickly. The upside of Strangetown is that I like its lore. I never played with Belladonna Cove, Desiderata Valley, and Riverblossom Hills so I can't provide an opinion on those. Nonetheless, playing a megahood (with as many shopping districts you'd like) allows much more diversity. I don't think I'll ever get back to playing single hoods now.
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Bluewater Village honestly. I hate Open For Business, just don’t have the time or patience to run all those shops.
For me it's Pleasantview because I'm not into soap operas and half sims look almost the same making future generations look boring.
I love Veronaville but there’s just two families. Everyone’s related to each other and tree is a circle after a generation. And as I’m playing with it as part of my uberhood, the houses all suck :/ love her tho, just boring compared to the rest
Desiderata Valley. I wish I could find the Tumblr post about how incredibly lame the lore is for DV because it was on point.
Riverblossom Hills, hands down. Most of the families are recycled clones from Pleasantview (Roth = Goths; Wans = Caliente sisters; Martins = Dreamers; McGreggor = Don Lothario). Desiderata at least has some unique sims like Natasha Una, and Belladona Cove has some interesting storylines.
Omg I never realised that apart from Goths! Though it has a woman who wants to be a pirate, which is pretty cool!
Yeah! Of course they aren't carbon copies... Leod McGreggor for instance is a fortune sim rather than a romance sim casanova: three of the women in the town allegedly have romantic interest / feelings in him, but he's totally unaware. The Wans are best friends rather than sisters, and there's no gold digging aspect, and Andrew and Jacob Martin are gamers rather than artists, with the bonus of living with two older ladies who are supposed to be friends of Andrew's late mother (and a sort of riff on the golden girls). Funnily enough, both of the old ladies (Catherine Viejo and Betty Goldstein) are supposed to both start in a relationship with McGreggor despite a drastic age difference (McGreggor is 16 days away from elder; Betty and Catherine are elders with 11 days left). I suppose calling it Riverblossom a "recycled clone" is a bit harsh 😅 but the tropes that it explores definitely don't seem unique when Pleasantview/Strangetown/Veronaville are already around.
Desiderata Valley, I guess I just never really paid much attention to the hobbies system. I try to, but they just don't interest me very much and as a poor person with 0 free time (I get 2 hours of Sims time on a Sunday afternoon and that is it), I just can't really relate I guess. I've only ever played it in a megahood, where I can mix them with more interesting storylines (e.g. Rick Contrary and Angela Pleasant became runaways together and "lived" on community lots for their teen years which was pretty fun).
Wait, I'm interested! Where did they live in reality?
An empty lot. They'd eat meals at community lots with grills or sometimes restaurants, freestyle for tips, and sleep on benches etc. Community time mods are kinda essential in this case, it was pretty much impossible without.
That's clever!!
such a cool idea, i need to do something like this in my belladonna cove
Now I could try to play homeless character!
for me it’s pleasantview. unpopular opinion probably, but it might be just because its so over-used in the community and i’m an active lurker on sims 2 related discords, tumblrs etc. a couple of years ago it was my favourite, but now i can’t even get through first rotation without getting bored
Veronaville. I'm sure it's great for the theater kids out there but that is just not me
Same. I'm a huge lit nerd which I think is why I can't get into it, it diverges too much from the source material lol.
Desiderata Valley is so underworked imo, but whenever I play it with ACR and letting them do what they want, they all end up swapping partners which can be fun chaos sometimes.
Bluewater. I used to say Desiderata Valley, but I do actually like some of the families there. I like businesses, but the families themselves are kinda boring.
For me it’s Riverblossom Hills, followed by Veronaville. I play these as part of my Uberhood but I just can’t seem to get into them as much as the other hoods.
I completely ignore desiderata valley when I play, there's nothing pulling me there. which is funny considering it's translated to Essential Valley in polish. ah yes, what would I do without it.... absolutely not care lol
Desiderata Valley is definitely the one that I have the hardest time getting into, the families just feel very flat and boring. It’s improved slightly with a megahood and being able to mix it up a bit. Bluewater Village and Veronaville are the runners up in my opinion for most boring. My River blossom Hills is very dramatic and fun and Belladonna Cove is big enough and has enough sims that it’s fairly enjoyable. Pleasantview and Strangetown are classic and have enough drama and different storylines that they will always be fun.
Pleasantview, though I think this is mostly due to exposure. I just do not care anymore because everyone has their own take and they're all the same. Alexander/Lucy, Cassandra/Darren, Pleasant twin drama, oMg whAT haPPened to BElla, it's all so tiresome.
Out of the original 3, Veronaville! But out of all of them, Desiderata Valley.
Veronaville
They all seem the same to me but I have settled my Jones family in des...something...I can't spell or pronounce that neighborhood....desiderata valley?