Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Scholar
Original Poster
#1 Old 7th Feb 2017 at 10:37 PM
Default Is OFB worth trying?
I've had OFB expansion for years but i never once tried to veer into maintaining a business, is it worth the hassle of trying to figure it out...is it fun to run a business?
Advertisement
Mad Poster
#2 Old 7th Feb 2017 at 10:47 PM
Didn't we already have this thread?

The short answer is yes, but start small.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#3 Old 7th Feb 2017 at 10:58 PM
Oh Lord yes - one of the EPs that added a huge amount of flexibility to the game.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Mad Poster
#4 Old 7th Feb 2017 at 11:03 PM
I played with businesses a lot back when I first got OFB. It's fun, but I've since veered away from regular gameplay, and haven't tried running businesses for quite a while. I still love all the stuffeths that came with OFB, though.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#6 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 12:10 AM
They are all worth having, every single one. OFB is the most important EP of all. I could not play an integrated hood without it.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Scholar
#8 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 12:33 AM
Businesses can be fun or hell depending on one's playstyle. My most sucesful business was one I ran during my Junkyard Challenge and consisted of my sims digging up garbage that they sold via a home business. Eight micromanaged sims per lot, no time wasted by restocking and no whiny employees to see to. To test the waters, you should definitely have a family of about four.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 1:01 AM
It is not very hard, and in my opinion, it is worth it. A good business for a first business is a small grocery store. It will be a bit hectic in the beginning, but it soon will almost run itself.
My most successful Sim business owner sold lights. Small shop, 2 shelves, stocked with table lamps - he quickly made enough money to start selling ceiling lamps too
Alchemist
#10 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 1:24 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Didn't we already have this thread?
Yes. It's by the OP, too
Top Secret Researcher
#11 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 1:11 PM
I used to not care about OFB... until I decided to start my own business. Since then, player-owned businesses have been popping up all over my hood. It's a lot of fun, really; EA was headed in the right direction with this expansion pack (Unlike blunders like The Sims 3: Showtime).
Forum Resident
#12 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 3:38 PM
I hate to say it, but as the game has been out for 10 years now (possibly more - please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) I'm always baffled by people asking whether or not to play with certain EPs. At this point, as they're all available for free in Origin or very cheap if you choose to get the disk version, so why not just back up your existing games and give it go? We're not getting any more, and frankly - for me at least, I want the complete Sims 2 experience. I can't get into TS4 no matter what they add to it, and I won't even load TS3, so playing the complete, unabridged version of TS2 is necessary in order to have at least one sims game that I can enjoy.

Sorry. I know I should just ignore threads that I don't understand.

OP, short answer: Yes. Yes you should. While you probably don't play integrated since you haven't tried OFB - you will now have the option to do so. It's worth it.
Mad Poster
#13 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 6:06 PM
Obvious answer; If you like alternative never-before;something_new way of getting money for the sims, while challenging way.

Creating a venue (aka. ticket-machine running business), especally in the home lot, is alot EASIER than running other services/stores. So try that one out first and see If you enjoy it. That would recommendation for someone like you who is still or at a noob of that EP introduced system.
Instructor
#14 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 7:04 PM
Personally, I'd say no. This applies doubly if you rotate between households in even portions of time, since you'll likely end up playing the household(s) with businesses far longer than the household(s) without businesses.

They're tricky to master and, depending on what you sell, end up making or losing excessive money, to the point where it is no longer fun.
Instructor
#15 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 7:10 PM
Yes. Even if you don't want to play stores, you can still play the craft stations and... I'm certain there are more things in OFB, but I installed most EPs and SPs in just a few months/weeks, so I don't know which things came with which EP/SP.
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#16 Old 9th Feb 2017 at 12:03 AM
All this talk of businesses - you don't have to run those owned community lots as businesses. You can use them for all sorts of things. The ability for a sim to own more than their home lot is one of the ways in which this EP really opened up gameplay.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Mad Poster
#17 Old 9th Feb 2017 at 12:15 AM
Quote: Originally posted by maxon
You can use them for all sorts of things.

Any suggestions/ideas, Maxon?

I like having owned graveyards, myself, but I never run them as businesses. I have a "placeholder sim" (often the servo who lives at the school - I prefer to play schools on a residential lot but I don't like having playable sims living there) who owns the graveyard, and if I want to move graves there I teleport them to the residential lot where the grave is, make them selectable, stick the grave in their inventory and then make them unselectable and zap them from the lot. Then I load their lot, send them to the graveyard and have them place the gravestones.

Any other things that owned lots are useful for?
Top Secret Researcher
#18 Old 9th Feb 2017 at 12:18 AM
You asked this same question in November . Didn't you get the answers you required? What do you want to know?
Scholar
#19 Old 9th Feb 2017 at 12:47 AM
Quote: Originally posted by maxon
All this talk of businesses - you don't have to run those owned community lots as businesses. You can use them for all sorts of things. The ability for a sim to own more than their home lot is one of the ways in which this EP really opened up gameplay.


Yeah definitely. I made Don Lothario buy a lot so he can invite townies and date them without worrying about other townies he dated before

“Secret is only a secret when it is unspoken to another.”
Simblr
My profile on the official forums
Mad Poster
#20 Old 9th Feb 2017 at 1:13 AM
Dating on your owned community lot while it's closed can send your stars through the roof, too!

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#21 Old 9th Feb 2017 at 9:33 PM Last edited by maxon : 9th Feb 2017 at 9:53 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by lauratje86
Any suggestions/ideas, Maxon?

I like having owned graveyards, myself, but I never run them as businesses. I have a "placeholder sim" (often the servo who lives at the school - I prefer to play schools on a residential lot but I don't like having playable sims living there) who owns the graveyard, and if I want to move graves there I teleport them to the residential lot where the grave is, make them selectable, stick the grave in their inventory and then make them unselectable and zap them from the lot. Then I load their lot, send them to the graveyard and have them place the gravestones.

well, schools and graveyards are the commonest uses I think. My preference is for schools on community lots as I don't like businesses on home lots at all. I find it more convincing story-wise for a school building to exist in the neighbourhood and be nominally 'owned' by the local council (I give the sim the money to buy the lot - and would take it back again if they sold it). There are three schools in my Little Carping neighbourhood: a private school, a primary school and a secondary school.

But there are all sorts of community spaces you can run as owned lots: churches (there are four in Little Carping, Sirencester, Carping Magna and surrounds - all owned by a vicar); police and fire stations; clinics; offices (I have been fiddling with a office-worker mod), I have a solicitors office in Sirencester which a lawyer sim has (there's a law court in the offing too - if I can work out how to handle a judge sim and trials). Other sims visit the lawyer to transact legal business - there's a lot you can do with the various payment mods. I'm thinking about using the various town halls (two) for political purposes (to be owned by the mayor - whoever wins the election - it's pretty close between Deacon Hedges and Peter Taylor atm).

I do run the churches as a sort of business as a matter of fact, in that I have the meter thing on the lot but it is set to the lowest possible value. Sims buy a ticket - usually almost as soon as they come onto the lot - and the slowly acculmulating proceeds are the stipend for the vicar. They can spend it to keep themselves solvent or spend it on the church. Most of my graveyards are in the church lots so the vicars take care of that but I do have a cemetary - an old (spooky) one in the old part of Sirencester. It's owned by Ebeneezer Lambert, the undertaker, who goes there and digs (that dig animation is handy) then he gets paid a fee when there is a funeral and fills the hole back in before I place the new headstone. I really must have a poke around with that abandoned funeral mod.

I am considering a stables too. I think that will be a business actually - like the churches, probably a small ongoing charge though perhaps a bit more than the minimum. The only thing that is putting me off atm is the animation. Becks did a really good job with that but I'd prefer a better animation and I dislike the constant neighing (I can fix that myself). Animation is hard with TS2. I like owned neighbourhood lots for a lot of things because you have more control over what's going on. You could do things like sports clubs - a boxing club might work, for example, or football club. Some nice possible modding project in something like that utilising the encourge function - hmm maybe. You could make it increase body skill or fitness enthusiasm.

Edit to add: picture of Ebeneezer - it's an in-game shot so not so good quality but I love that lot
Screenshots

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Top Secret Researcher
#22 Old 10th Feb 2017 at 2:43 PM
I know there is another thread like this one. I made a comment on it.

OFB is my favorite. I put an megahood together with every hood that has sims living in it (my customers). Then I added an upscale hood for my business owners and a hood that is the business district (only businesses in this hood). My favorite business belongs to my favorite male Romance Sim. He is an artist and sells his portraits. He has made and sold every sign in every business. (Google has some awesome vintage signs I used for this). He also sells family portraits, baby portraits, landscapes, and so forth. My favorite female Romance Sims uses Sun and Moon's wine maker. She sells wine. My oldest business is a roller/ice skating rink. It started out as a roller rink with just a ticket machine, roller rink, and small bathroom. As the owner made profits, he has added a building (2 Stories now) an ice skating rink, 2 bathrooms, a game room, a buffet, and just recently added a dance floor and bar. He finally had to hire someone to run the bar. His business is very profitable I have it set to allow 20 people at one time. I would suggest starting with a business like the roller rink.

My sims live in the other hoods until they earn enough to move into the upscale hood. They interact with everyone from, selling, dating, marrying, and so forth.


Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Dating on your owned community lot while it's closed can send your stars through the roof, too!


Thank you for the info. I will try this with my 2 favorite Romance Sims.
Scholar
#23 Old 10th Feb 2017 at 3:12 PM
To be honest I did not care at all about OFB until I got the Community Time mod - which makes time run for those Sims who are out of home, in their business or wherever they go.
It made a huge difference for me.
Back to top