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The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

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IL getting started

Presented by EA Game Changers

Welcome to Sulani! Looking to get your feet wet, but don’t know where to start exploring everything this beautiful island has to offer? No problem! Kick back, relax, and let Sims Community walk you through how to make the most of your new life in paradise!

Creating Your Sims

First thing’s first; Sulani needs Sims! Make some yourself in CAS using a wide assortment of new tropical themed clothes, hairstyles, and accessories for all ages! Or if you want to jump into a pre-existing story, Sulani has four premade families ready to jump in and play.

PSST! Don’t forget… You can make mermaids in CAS! Making a mermaid is a great way to kick off your brand new island life! Mermaids can do plenty of things humans can’t, but there are a couple things they can’t do that humans can. Why not make both a human and a mermaid to get the best of both worlds?

Moving to Sulani

Select Sulani from the world screen and start house hunting! Think about what’s most important to you. Is your Sim a total beach bum? You might want to situate them on the water close to a public beach. Are they the reclusive type who’s looking for a bit of danger? The base of the volcano is sure to fit their adventurous lifestyle.

My Sim is a mermaid who loves being around humans, so I moved her into the starter lot in the heavily populated lagoon. She’ll be close to the water and be able to meet lots of other Sims.

The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

I’m Here! … Now What?

With so much to do and explore, you might find yourself floundering for what to do first when you first arrive in Sulani, but don’t worry. The locals here are incredibly friendly and can’t wait to give you a warm island greeting. There is a new type of welcome wagon, called Island Welcome. Instead of bringing over that horrid fruitcake no one likes, your new neighbours will bring you a fresh bowl of kava instead; a popular island drink made from kava roots that has relaxing properties.

The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

Your new neighbours are so nice that they’ll even help clean up before they leave and the kava bowl they brought over is yours to keep! You can make your own kava whenever you like now!

For more information about the locals, check out our article, The Sims 4 Island Living: Meet the Residents of Sulani!

Beach Life

If you truly want to dive right in to everything your new tropical home has to offer, why not select the new Beach Life aspiration? It will help introduce you to some of the new things to do around Sulani. My Sim has this aspiration and her first aspiration goals are to get a suntan, throw a gold level kava party, and eat a coconut.

I throw one of the new lounge chairs onto her back deck for her to soak up some sun. It’s important to keep a close eye on your Sims while they’re sunbathing. Wait for the happy moodlet that tells you your Sim got a nice tan, then cancel the action. If you don’t, your Sim will continue to sunbathe until they get a nasty sunburn.

The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

Next on the list is to throw a gold level kava party. We still have the kava bowl from the welcome wagon and we already know some of our new neighbours, so let’s get the party started. Kava Party is a new party type that can be found in the Social Event menu on your cell phone.

Getting gold on a kava party turned out to be pretty easy thanks to having such amazing neighbours! As long as the kava kept flowing and the guests had something to eat, everyone was happy. What I was most surprised by was that it wasn’t just the people on my invite list that showed up to party. Everyone passing through the neighbourhood decided to stop in for some kava and friendly conversation. Makoa and Lilliana even brought their toddler, Nani, over! Social Events are truly a whole community affair in Sulani and the added presence of extra Sims helped to make my kava party a huge success! It was probably the most fun I’d ever had throwing a Social Event.

After a good night’s rest, the only thing left on the aspiration goal list was to eat a coconut. Coconuts can be found in the wild growing on trees. You can harvest and replant them at home in your own garden as well, but since it was only my second day on Sulani, there were no mature coconut trees to harvest from. That wasn’t an issue, though. The beach supply vending machine located on the main strip in Ohan’ali Town had fresh coconuts and pineapples for sale, as well as many other beach objects for some fun on the sand and in the water.

I’m… not quite sure why she decided to bite into an unopened coconut, but hey, it’s your life, Tahi. You do what feels right to you, even if it makes my teeth hurt watching you.

For more information about the Beach Life aspiration, check out our article, The Sims 4 Island Living: Beach Life Aspiration!

Making a Living

It’s all fun and games frolicking around on the beach and in the ocean until you remember you need simoleons to buy that shiny new aqua zip you’ve had your eye on. Last night’s kava party was fun, but if Tahi wants to continue to enjoy life on a tropical island, she’ll need to find a way to make money.

The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

Thankfully, there are more choices than ever when it comes to jobs. If your Sims want to enjoy a laid back lifestyle, only working when they need some extra cash, odd jobs are the way to go. There are always Sims looking for someone to take care of a chore here and there for them. You’ll get paid immediately and once the job is done, it’s done. Your Sims are free to relax until they decide they could use some more spending money. Make sure to pick a job that matches your Sims’ skills or they may not perform very well.

The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

Tahi takes a job that doesn’t require any skills and decides to help out Alice Martin with frog research.

Fun in the Sun

Now that you’ve introduced yourself to the locals, had a great party on your first night in Sulani, and found a way to make some quick cash whenever you need it, it’s time to really hit the beach and the waves and enjoy yourself! There are lots of things to do both on land and in the water in Sulani.

Build sand castles, sunbathe on a beach towel or lounge chair, relax on a water lounger, take a trip across the water in a canoe, do tricks on an aqua zip, go snorkeling or diving out in deeper waters, use the new fishing traps, comb the beach for seashells, or just enjoy swimming around in open waters. Every day on Sulani is yours to treasure!

Island Events

Have we mentioned that the locals are very friendly, yet? Well, if you’re ever in Ohan’ali Town in the evenings, make sure to stop by the pavilion and see what’s going on. The people of Sulani love to gather at the pavilion to socialize and party almost every night of the week! The activities and decorations change every time, so if you were at last night’s pit BBQ, don’t assume it’ll be the same the next night. There could be bonfires and fire dancing, new vendors setting up shop, or musical instruments and easels set up for a night of artistic inspiration. And yes, there is usually kava at these festivities. Make sure to stop by whenever you see decorations up to chat with friends and enjoy some free food and entertainment!

A More Permanent Impact

So you’ve met the locals, had a kava party, tried some local produce, got a tan, frolicked on the beach and in the water, done a few odd jobs here and there, and attended some of the nightly festivities in Ohan’ali Town. That’s great, but what if your Sim wants to make a more permanent impact on Sulani? The new Conservationist career may be just the thing for them!

The island of Sulani is a closed ecosystem, which makes it a very beautiful place… but also a very fragile place. The smallest foreign contaminant could collapse the island’s entire biosphere. It’s up to the island’s dedicated conservationists to protect Sulani and keep it thriving.

Look for the new Conservationist career in the Jobs section of your cell phone. You’ll start with basic tasks like researching Conservation on a computer and surveying the fauna and flora around Mua Pel’am island, but as you gain promotions, you’ll be able to have a greater positive impact on the islands.

For more information on the Conservationist career, check out our article, The Sims 4 Island Living: Conservationist Career Guide!

Enjoy Your New Tropical Lifestyle!

The Sims 4: Getting Started with Island Living

And there you have it! Your introduction to starting a new life in the tropics. We hope you found all this information helpful in guiding your first steps on Sulani. Before you set sail for Sulani, make sure to give us your feedback either here in the comments or on social media!

About the author

SnarkyWitch

A cranky old lady who prefers the company of cats and Sims over people. Occasionally peeks out from her lair long enough to chuck Sims articles at innocent bystanders.

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Mardi
Mardi
5 years ago

So about careers, I keep hearing about the conversationalist career — but is it true there’s also a lifeguard and fisherman career? I don’t see much about those…

Yaushibee
Yaushibee
5 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

Yes, there is a Lifeguard and Fisherman career that comes with this pack, as well as a Diving Instructor career! The first two are sadly rabbit holes and I don’t know about the Diving career. Fisherman and Diver are also only part time jobs but luckily, part time jobs are now available to adult and elder sims, not just teens anymore.

paradiseplanet
paradiseplanet
5 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

Yes there are those two along with the third Diver career, but they are all part-time jobs and function as such.

Caitie
Caitie
5 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

The conservationist career is a full career; lifeguard and fishing are part-time jobs. There’s significantly less to part-time jobs than full careers, so there’s more to talk about, so you’re going to see more about it.

cupcakesims
cupcakesims
5 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

I’m pretty sure there is a new fishing career. I may be wrong, but I think that it’s a part time job and you can choose what time slot you work. I haven’t really heard anything about the lifeguard thing?…Me

Pam
Pam
5 years ago

This is going to be my favorite for sure!!

Sasquatch
Sasquatch
5 years ago

What you should really do: (don’t take this seriously)

1: Start a new save and verify that all of the new features work.
2: Return to your normal save, then verify that all of your mandatory mods work, or can be upgraded.
3: Output the zone and object lists for all new regions.
4: Export the tuning lists for the new pack.
5: Decompile all scripts, then test all of the new functions and situations.
6: Determine which objects will be of most value to your sims, then export the prototype list with strings.
7: Write new functions as necessary.
8. Play the game. (LOL)

K. Williams
K. Williams
5 years ago

Anyone else having issues with the beach towels? I was so excited to get them and went to start a build but when I place them down on a lot they’re invisible!

augustinem
augustinem
5 years ago
Reply to  K. Williams

Yes! Same thing is happening to me!

Dee
Dee
5 years ago
Reply to  K. Williams

Hi!! I haven’t had the issue but I’ve seen it on a couple forums. People say it can be fixed by lowering your graphics settings, so try playing around with that!
Hopefully it works

T
T
5 years ago

Where can you find the mermadic kelp, I took my sims to alot of places but still can’t find it

Lorinda
Lorinda
5 years ago
Reply to  T

I got mine exploring the cave. I got it within 10 or so tries. Some people say it takes longer though!

sunbay park phan rang
sunbay park phan rang
5 years ago

3300 phòng khách sạn và căn hộ khách sạn (aparthotel).

Pam
Pam
4 years ago

This is going to be my favorite for sure!!

K. Williams
K. Williams
4 years ago

Anyone else having issues with the beach towels? I was so excited to get them and went to start a build but when I place them down on a lot they’re invisible!

augustinem
augustinem
4 years ago
Reply to  K. Williams

Yes! Same thing is happening to me!

Dee
Dee
4 years ago
Reply to  K. Williams

Hi!! I haven’t had the issue but I’ve seen it on a couple forums. People say it can be fixed by lowering your graphics settings, so try playing around with that!
Hopefully it works

Sasquatch
Sasquatch
4 years ago

What you should really do: (don’t take this seriously)

1: Start a new save and verify that all of the new features work.
2: Return to your normal save, then verify that all of your mandatory mods work, or can be upgraded.
3: Output the zone and object lists for all new regions.
4: Export the tuning lists for the new pack.
5: Decompile all scripts, then test all of the new functions and situations.
6: Determine which objects will be of most value to your sims, then export the prototype list with strings.
7: Write new functions as necessary.
8. Play the game. (LOL)

Mardi
Mardi
4 years ago

So about careers, I keep hearing about the conversationalist career — but is it true there’s also a lifeguard and fisherman career? I don’t see much about those…

Yaushibee
Yaushibee
4 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

Yes, there is a Lifeguard and Fisherman career that comes with this pack, as well as a Diving Instructor career! The first two are sadly rabbit holes and I don’t know about the Diving career. Fisherman and Diver are also only part time jobs but luckily, part time jobs are now available to adult and elder sims, not just teens anymore.

Caitie
Caitie
4 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

The conservationist career is a full career; lifeguard and fishing are part-time jobs. There’s significantly less to part-time jobs than full careers, so there’s more to talk about, so you’re going to see more about it.

paradiseplanet
paradiseplanet
4 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

Yes there are those two along with the third Diver career, but they are all part-time jobs and function as such.

cupcakesims
cupcakesims
4 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

I’m pretty sure there is a new fishing career. I may be wrong, but I think that it’s a part time job and you can choose what time slot you work. I haven’t really heard anything about the lifeguard thing?…Me

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Mardi

There is a lifeguard career and a fisherman career. They are both regular part-time jobs that work the same as any other part-time job for teens, except adults can now take up part time jobs as well. Here’s our guide on the fisherman career: https://simscommunity.info/2019/06/20/the-sims-4-island-living-fisherman-career-guide/

T
T
4 years ago

Where can you find the mermadic kelp, I took my sims to alot of places but still can’t find it

Lorinda
Lorinda
4 years ago
Reply to  T

I got mine exploring the cave. I got it within 10 or so tries. Some people say it takes longer though!

sunbay park phan rang
sunbay park phan rang
4 years ago

3300 phòng khách sạn và căn hộ khách sạn (aparthotel).