Vacation Island

Vacation Island is an area in SimNation that was added in The Sims: Vacation. Sims can go there on a family vacation, or a Sim can take a date to the Island. Either way, the round trip costs 500 simoleons. Travel between Vacation Island lots is free.

The island is divided into three areas: a snowy winter area, a forest area, and a beach area. By default, each area has a resort lot, a campground, and a "bare-bones" lot. Resort lots will have rooms or cabins with beds and bathrooms, and a hotel desk where Sims can check in and get hotel keys - which will allow them to sleep in the beds. At least some of the rooms will have dressers. In addition to the bathrooms, they'll also have either toilet stalls or porta-potties. Campground lots will have tents or igloos that Sims can rent. They'll have showers, and will have either toilet stalls or porta-potties. A "bare-bones" lot will have porta-potties, may have showers, and may have one or two tents or igloos. Campground and "bare-bones" lots will have either changing booths or changing tents.

The default lots are:

• Winter - Al Pine's Winter Wonderland, Penguin Acres Campground, Alpine Preserve
• Forest - Bear Essentials Lodge, Ranger's Ranch Campground, Wren's Fens National Park
• Beach - Palazzo Palms Hotel, Sunset Beach, Reclaimed Public Beach

Differences from other Sims 1 community areas

• Sims can sleep if they rent an igloo or tent, or check in at a hotel desk and get a key.
• Players can save, at least if the Sims are on a family vacation.
• The townies, often called vacationers or tourists, are organized into families with real last names. Instead of coming and going at random, they arrive in the morning and leave at night.
• Some lots have a maid as well as a janitor.

Dressing for the climate

How the Sims dress depends on which area they're in. In the winter area, they wear winterwear; in the beach area, they wear swimsuits; and in the forest area, they wear their normal outfits. When Sims arrive from home, they'll be dressed appropriately, but if they arrive from another area of the island, they'll need to change - and they won't do it on their own.

Keys

When an adult Sim checks in at a hotel desk, the family is charged 40 simoleons for each human member, and each one receives a key. The key is good anywhere on the island, and allows the holder to sleep in any bed in any room. However, a key does not entitle a Sim to sleep in an igloo or tent - they have to be rented separately. If there are television sets on the lot, only Sims with keys will be able to turn them on and off, or to change channels - though any Sim will be able to watch a set that's on. Other island facilities don't appear to require keys.

Checkout time is 11 AM, and the family will be charged for another day if they miss it. While the normal policy on Vacation Island is that pets stay free, the routine will occasionally slip and charge for a dog or cat.

Motives

Hunger

• Buffet tables: All of the resort lots, as well as Sunset Beach, have buffet tables. The buffet tables are always stocked, and serve salads and desserts as well as regular meals. You can control which type of meal a Sim gets by clicking on different areas of the table; click on the left for a salad, on the right for a dessert, and in the center for a regular meal. If you let Sims visit the buffet table on their own, which type of meal they'll get is determined at random. Since each visit to the buffet table costs 25 simoleons regardless of what the Sim gets from it, that can get expensive.

• Grilling: All the default lots except Al Pine's, the Palazzo Palms, and Sunset Beach have grills. A Sim can grill six burgers for 20 simoleons, and the griller's Cooking skill comes into play, so this is a good deal if any adult family member has at least four or five Cooking points. A plate of burgers may be good for a couple of meals, but your Sims won't go back to a plate unless you tell them to. The Vacationers may decide to grill on their own. Your Sims will get charged, unless you're using a downloaded grill that's been fixed to prevent this. However, your Sims can eat those burgers if you direct them to, so it's not a total loss.

• Have a picnic: If there's a rental booth on the lot, Sims can rent a picnic basket and blanket for 99 simoleons.

• Food carts: Penguin Acres, Sunset Beach, and the Reclaimed Public Beach all have hot-dog carts. A hot dog is better than nothing, but in the long run, hot dogs aren't a very good way to keep Sims fed.

• Abandoned plates: A Vacationer may abandon a plate of food in order to be Talked To by Vacation Director Kana. They won't go back to it, and if it's on a table, the cleaning staff will leave it there until it goes bad. While your Sims won't decide to eat abandoned food on their own, they will eat it if you tell them to.

Comfort

All lots will have at lest a few places where Sims can sit. All resort lots will have at least one sofa or loveseat, though Sims will not be able to nap on them. All the default lots except for Al Pine's and Wren's Fens have at least a few recliners. The main obstacle to keeping comfort up isn't a lack of places to sit, but getting the Sims to sit for very long. Adults can raise their comfort level quite a bit by soaking in a hot tub, and kids can get something of a boost by taking a bath. Adding fun items such as bookcases or televisions can help, as Sims will sit to use them.

Hygeine

All the default lots except for Wren's Fens and the Reclaimed Public Beach have either showers or shower/tubs. All resort lots, as well as Sunset Beach, have at least one hot tub. All lots will have sinks. Some lots have medicine cabinets, but Sims will not be able to brush their teeth.

Bladder

All the default lots have either porta-potties or toilet stalls. In addition, each room on a resort lot has a bathroom.

Energy

Since no default lot has so much as a coffeepot, and Sims can't nap even if there are sofas or loveseats available, keeping energy up isn't easy.

Pets

If pets are in your game, check Vacation Island lots for the presence and location of food bowls, pet beds, and other pet amenities. While Unleashed should add some to the default Vacation Island lots, they may not appear unless Unleashed or a later expansion pack was installed before Vacation. If they do appear, some of them may be in poor locations. Also, most default lots will not have cat items such as litter pans and scratching posts, and many will not have pet beds other than doghouses - which cats won't use.

You can add a chew toy to a Vacation Island lot by giving it to a pet. The toy should remain even after the family leaves.

Pets can gain skills while on vacation. While vacationing Sims may have better things to do than train their pets to sit and stay, calling a pet over gives a slight increase in Obedience. Dogs can gain Housebroken skill. Cats can gain Hunting skill by going after mice and roaches.