I ordered this expansion, what's new? [Also if there are guides to each one please link them to me.]
Edit: This was labeled as Freetime. :roll:

Um...What expansion are you talking about?

Freetime. It was labeled. Dang it. One sec.

Oh, well it might be. I just never look at the labels.

Anyway, the thing I like most about Freetime is the secondary aspirations. I like the hobbies and their associated stuff and secret lots, too, but not as much as I like secondary aspirations and aspiration benefits. There are some aspects of hobbies (Like, being called to ask if you want a magazine associated with the hobby a pixel has pursued) that people pretty universally don't like, but mods have been made to get rid of them, so if you hate them, look up the mods. I think Desiderata Valley, a new neighborhood, comes with that pack, too. So, lots of stuff. It's one of my favorite EPs just because of the secondary aspirations. I could frankly live without the hobbies and everything associated with them, but I don't think I could go back to no secondary aspirations.

There is also a mod to be rid of the annoying 'in the zone' sound that happens when your sims reach max enthusiasm in a hobby. Extremely annoying in nature loving sims when they are gardening as it stops and starts at every plant.

No idea about guides, Google might help with that. FT isn't hard, there is an area for hobbies and your sim will have a favourite which you discover when they do something related to the hobby. Say they go to cook and you get a pop up saying that was very exciting! Then your sims hobby would be culinary. There are some funny ones, like I've had a sim go plunge a toilet and get the how exciting pop up because his hobby was tinkering. The more your sim does things related to his/her hobby the more their enthusiasm grows and the more options they get like being able to take a hike, or drink a protein shake or blog online.

I don't always give sims secondary aspirations, but they can be helpful for making a sim more balanced.

In my opinion, the best feature of FT are playgrounds, and other items for kids. I'm also very fond of ballet.

Did you just say more items for kids? *Fan girl scream*

If you like stuff for kids then you might want to get the Family Fun Stuff pack too.

I was wondering what that was.

Nah, gummilutt, the playground stuff comes with AL, not Freetime. Sorry. So far as I recall, nothing that came with FT was for kids, but then I've sort of lost track of what came with what. I DO know the playground stuff is AL, though; it's one of the main reasons I got that EP.

Well then that's next on my list. *squee*

Yeah, when she said play ground stuff I was thinking, it did? I can never remember what comes with what. best to get all EP's and Sp's as soon as you can afford them before they disappear for good. I'm going to buy a bundle off ebay as a second set-just in case.

*grabs box* Okay so as well as the hobbies there is the sit down family games and kids can use those.
New careers: Dancer, Entertainer, Architect, Intelligence and Oceanographer.
Study parenting which means you can check infants for what they need.
On your sims birthday you will be given the option to age 3 other sims.
Chance of getting the genie lamp and having 3 wishes
Some new clothes
They made it easier to get from one place to another with advanced hood options.
Terrain cheat option to raise, lower and smooth hood terrain.

That's good my sims need some new careers. More to get fired from! Kidding!

Kids can use some of the hobby things - I think they can do pottery? They can also go jogging, belong to secret hobby clubs, talk about hobbies (which are great to make new friends) etc. etc. etc. And I think the pool table comes with FT?

Nearly forgot the activity table! That's a great item for toddlers and kids. They can learn mechanical, creativity and make friends.

Well there might be a new billiards table, but I think that was base game or Uni? Kids can't do pottery but they can use the outdoor sport equipment.

The first pool table came with Uni. FT added the fancier one with the curved legs. And I only know that because I recolored them. And then AL added another pool table.

And I forgot about the activity table, too. And "Don't Wake the Llama," which my pixel kids do play a lot. I think FT adds a nursery set, too, now that I recall. Or two? The canopied one and the sleigh-style one? Or was it just the canopied one?

But no, kids can't use any of the crafting stations, alas. Wish they could because then they could make themselves useful making some money in my dirt-poor families... The best they can do is selling lemonade, and I'm pretty sure that came with OFB, not Freetime.

Yep the lemonade stand came with OFB
It's a shame that only one kid can run it - so my sibs will have a lot of competition!

You're right iCad, playgrounds are AL. I know FT comes with something for kids. That's why I bought it.

I've seen a business where someone had the kids bake muffins because they can be set for sale.

Yes, the sleigh and canopy nursery come with Freetime. The activity table is almost worth the price of Freetime by itself. But I bought it for aspiration perks, specifically for comfort soup, which allows Family aspiration sims to make soup that cures flu and colds. (But does not prevent them from reinfecting immediately.)

One warning: There's a new way to go permaplat without fulfilling an LTW, based on Lifetime Aspiration, which would be nice except whoever set the scale apparently didn't realize that some people do generational play. It is far too easy for born-in-game sims to go permaplat, especially if they go to college or you play a lot of dates. So once you figure out how the scale works, if it doesn't suit your playstyle you may want Slower LTA gain by Cyjon, or No LTA Permaplat by Faiulwe.

Also, if you're fond of inducing alien abductions, Freetime changed the code for them to allow Knowledge sims to use a Summon Aliens perk - which is great if you want a Knowledge sim to get abducted, but sucks if you want anybody else to, because your cheats and hacks will no longer work.

Child labour! I will make a David copperfield sim.

I like the Hobby system the most. While I don't like the irritating magazine phone calls at 3am and the hobby instructor barging into my home (without knocking first!) to interrupt my Sims so they could receive a membership card, I do like how I can actually have my Sims brag about how awesome they are in sports, instead of just talking about ghosts and fairies.

...your Sims talk about fairies?