Author Topic: Dine Out - First Impression  (Read 6811 times)

Offline MrsFlynn

  • Admin Assistant
  • Administrator
  • Watcher
  • ******
  • Posts: 6087
Dine Out - First Impression
« on: June 08, 2016, 10:05:54 PM »
I haven't really dug into the game-play of it. But I am loving the objects and decor. I noticed the new animation on the main menu seems to be more animated? I don't know if that's new or if it's always been that way. Meaning there has always been something there that has been animated.

DineOutMM.jpg

So what's your first impression of the game?

  ----

Compiled List of Reported Issues with Dine Out.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/READ-FIRST-Compiled-list-of-reported-Issues/td-p/3445209#DO8
Welcome!! We hope you enjoy the forum!!  Thank you for visiting!!
–Need Help? Check our Member FAQs Here. * –Read and follow the Forum Rules, please! *

Offline FrancescaFiori

  • Watcher
  • ******
  • Posts: 1480
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2016, 10:21:39 PM »
I'm really loving taking my sims out to dinner. That's all I've done so far, but it's so much fun I find myself just sitting and watching them talk, draw on their placemats and react to their food. I love the new experimental foods. The names are too funny. I'm also impressed that they integrated restaurants into the dating system, so you get restaurant-specific goals (request a table, talk about food, etc.) while on your date.
I love the new build/buy items and I'm excited to try running a restaurant, but I'm a food person in real life, so the dining experience is the real fun for me. I love it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Registered members do not see ads on this Forum. Register here.

Offline oshizu

  • Watcher
  • ******
  • Posts: 8411
    • oshizu's asylum
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2016, 10:33:31 PM »
@FrancescoFiori

I've finally caved in and placed a restaurant in my Apocalypse Challenge file.  I know the family is supposed to be struggling and all, but I feel they (and their Watcher) deserve a night out.
Are you taking photos of your sims' food to post on your facebook? (just kidding,  of course)

Offline Ricalynn

  • Herder of Raptors, Pineapples, Grims, Gnomes, Alphas & Sassypants Squad.
  • Watcher
  • ******
  • Posts: 8367
  • Addicted to Dynasties? *shifty eyes* Not me.
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2016, 01:50:56 AM »
I'm really enjoying the pack so far and have posted a few screenshots over on the weird photos thread.  I've had two sims try all of the restaurants that came with the game and I'm working on the other Maxis created ones now.   I will say Chez Sul Sul has a weird plant that makes it hard to get a table but other than that the premade ones have helped me experience the restaurants as a whole.  Not only as a visitor but also a restaurant owner.

My first trial at owning a restaurant has not been successful though because no matter what I do my chef never seems to actually cook anything!  Five days being open for about 8 hours every day and not a single table has received food before leaving or closing. 

Every time my couple goes out to eat they automatically get a flirty moodlet, too!

I can't wait to start taking my dynasty family out to a few of the places. I might even try my hand at making my own just to have one location with everything I could possibly need!

Has anyone tried a party at one yet?  Can you have a party at one?  I know you can purchase cake on the tables with no centerpiece.
Origin ID: Ricalynn | Discord: Rica#5389
Current Active Stories: Stayin' Alive: Take 5 - Story about A Grim

Please read and follow the Forum Rules.

Stories: Artie | The Race | Grim Chronicles | Revenge | Licious | Artie's TS4 Dynasty | Grim Rivalries | Speed Dreamin'

Offline MarianT

  • Global Moderator
  • Watcher
  • ******
  • Posts: 6998
  • Everything in life is here to drive you crazy. R.T
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2016, 09:20:00 AM »
@Ricalynn, you can fire the cook and hire a new one. And they say you can throw parties there, but I haven't tried that yet. Birthday parties are a definite yes, but people have been saying that you can't do dinner parties there.

I've been enjoying this. And I must say that this is the first time I've shown my husband something in the Sims, and he's spent more than 10 seconds looking at it. I showed him the interior of my restaurant, and he actually asked questions about it and was much impressed when the waitress started repairing the broken sink in the bathroom (as was I -- I didn't know the wait staff would do that.)

I've only sent my sims out to eat once, but I plan to do that more. Mostly I've been testing what it's like to own a restaurant. You need about $15,000 to set one up; around $30,000 (I think) to buy the cheapest Maxis-made one. It took me about half an hour to decide on the menu, decide on uniforms, and hire the staff. Staff do make a difference. The first waitress I had kept trying to go and relax in my Sim's tent (I ended up putting her tent, shower, and ice chest in inventory) and complained when I arranged for training. She dropped about 4 plates and quit before my Sim could fire her. The second waitress has been a jewel (she's the one repairing the sink).

If you're not doing a challenge, you can "seed" your unemployed sims with ones who have more skills. Move a sim with high level cooking, gourmet, and baking skills into a house and then evict him. With luck he'll show up in your pool for a chef. Wait staff benefit from fitness and charisma; hosts from comedy and charisma.

One unexpected pleasure has been Sim-watching -- who shows up with who. Some rotational players don't like this because you might see someone from a happily-married couple on a date with another sim, but I find it makes good story fodder. I've had some sims get up and walk around with a drink, but mostly they sit and eat. I enjoy peeking at what they've chosen. I'm running a vegetarian restaurant with a low-skilled cook, so the favorite meals tend to be tofu dogs and baked potatoes.

On the whole, I'm very pleased with the pack -- I like the clothing and I love the new brick walls and carpeting. No bugs for me so far.


When the Zombies Come(Completed)--100 Nooboos Nabbed




Enjoy writing stories? Please check the Rules for Stories before posting.

Offline RunAmokSims

  • Immortal
  • *****
  • Posts: 861
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2016, 10:16:33 AM »
I'm one of the players who is disappointed in what I've seen.  I've watched several videos, read as much as I can find and the more I delve into it the more I realize it wouldn't satisfy me.  Just managing the restaurant or just going out to dinner would not give me a lot of replay value.  I wish the team might have included the ability to play different roles in the restaurant and not just a manager/owner. 

My first impression? I do like a lot of the build buy components but I'll wait and buy it on sale if I decide I need them.

Offline Nettlejuice

  • Baba Gothel
  • Watcher
  • ******
  • Posts: 2665
  • Mother knows best, Rapunzel
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2016, 10:56:27 AM »
I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy running a restaurant. I noticed that while managing my own restaurant Sims would get up to have their drink and then sit back down again (I'm using Chez Sul Sul) but when my own Sims when to another restaurant in town they didn't do that? The other restaurant was downloaded from the gallery and was much more cramped than mine so no idea why that happens.

I would have prefered to hire my own Sims who lived in houses and not out of world Sims and also be able to wait/cook if necessary. However, i was able to clean when my two waitresses were busy and most of the time was spent in greeting customers and chatting with them. I'm only on day four, using cheats because I wanted to get the experience without worrying about money.

If anyone is interested here is what I did for the first four days: From watching live streams I decided to have the most basic items for each menu (meaning 1/5 difficulty). Hired chef, waitress and host with at least two bars in one of their skills. Paid for training for all three. Opened at 9am each day, disallowed new customers around 3/4pm and closed at 5/6pm. I didn't know what Comp Food meant, it didn't have a description like the other options - I don't eat out myself - so I was a little miffed at giving away free food. Oh, complimentary food, sheesh. End of day one: 1.5 stars. I made sure to praise the staff around noon. Only advertisings I paid for was the silver.

Day two: Started off with training again, focused on customers, cleaning and praising. Used points to get another chef and waitress. Redecorated. I noticed Sims only came alone, in pairs, threes and very rarely fours. Again it could be because of the size of the restaurant. Bar stools and counters are useless, so I got rid of those and added more tables. End of day two: 3 stars. Redecorated the eating area.





I replaced the long table with two smaller ones to seat four Sims each, just didn't take a screenshot yet.

Day three: Exactly the same but paid for the highest training available. Changed menu to 2/3 difficulty and earned 4 stars by the end of the day.

Things that annoyed me: if there are too many customers the host walks out of the front door with them, chats then takes them to a table. Waitresses spent a lot of time on their phones, I purposefully didn't add in speakers or TVs. Either customers switched seats or my cooks took too long, but sometimes the customers sit there and the food doesn't arrive until much later on a different table. Cleaning up those dishes resets the customer and they leave. I bought the bin that gives back cash as the outdoor one kept getting kicked and trash was left outside or besides eating customers.

Although I do prefer being a customer, managing a restaurant was a lot of fun. The best part was redecorating of course. I'll be moving on to a larger restaurant once my Sim rests for the weekend.

I do love that Sims are flirty but what if you're just friends?

As someone who loves to build this pack came with a lot of things that can be used around the home, retail lots and of course restaurants so if you don't enjoy the managing aspect you'll love decorating and going on dates/family dinners.
Chant: Life States (TS3) / Immortal Dynasty (TS4)




Mother Gothel & Baba Yaga Enthusiast



Registered members do not see ads on this Forum. Register here.

Offline MissTrips

  • Townie
  • ***
  • Posts: 228
  • Fnord.
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2016, 10:54:40 PM »
One thing I have learned, you cannot use the Simray Gun from the scientist career to transform chairs or barstools on a restaurant lot.  The game grays out the option and the text says that's an inappropriate action!

*coughs* 

I had reasons for trying that!  Really!
We hobbits are plain, quiet creatures. Adventures make one late for dinner.

Offline Kamxam

  • Llama Wrangler
  • **
  • Posts: 73
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2016, 01:10:56 AM »
I've noticed that the customers will sometimes leave dirty dishes lying around a bit before a waiter eventually picks it up. (The stuff on the tables are fine, sometimes they put it on the floor) Not really anything major really.
Up to level 3 on my Bistro but not using advertising atm till I get more perks in. Am upgrading my menu's as my Staff gets better though which seems to be going fairly quick.  Praise, training, and the occasional promotion once their skill levels go up.
Going to level 2-3 item s on the menu once I hit halfway on the gourmet skill.
 Did get a food critic today also which was interesting although I only got a 3 star review. (Sucking up to the critic didn't work as well as i'd hoped... ;D)
It is a fun game pack imho. Too bad we can't make a cafeteria....

Offline catherineewu

  • Nooboo
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2016, 01:35:29 AM »
is anybody having any trouble with requesting a table at your own restaurant? My customers just stand there, and when i try to get one of my own sims to request a table it does that speech bubble with the "i can't go there" kind of picture. I have my hosts table near the entrance, and i even moved it to different places, but nothing is working.

Offline desertrose0601

  • Nooboo
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #10 on: June 12, 2016, 02:16:59 AM »
is anybody having any trouble with requesting a table at your own restaurant? My customers just stand there, and when i try to get one of my own sims to request a table it does that speech bubble with the "i can't go there" kind of picture. I have my hosts table near the entrance, and i even moved it to different places, but nothing is working.

Yes I have noticed this. What I ended up doing was building an owner apartment in the back that I can eat at, take naps, watch tv, etc. I also added an extra stove in the kitchen (my Sim has a really high cooking skill already) so she can just go in and make her own dinner without getting in the way of the chefs, then she takes it back to her apartment to eat or just eats standing up in the kitchen talking to the chefs.

Offline desertrose0601

  • Nooboo
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2016, 02:42:40 AM »
Things that annoyed me: if there are too many customers the host walks out of the front door with them, chats then takes them to a table. Waitresses spent a lot of time on their phones, I purposefully didn't add in speakers or TVs.

A couple things I've found that seem to help:

I moved my host station outside and now the people waiting don't get in the way as much. I also moved a radio speaker outside as well (and none inside) because Sims seem to like something to do (dance) while waiting but when it was inside they were getting in the way of the other diners. With this setup, my host and waiters seem to work much more efficiently.

For all the employees, I found it helps to praise them a lot. They seem to get better faster when I do that. Also you can pay to train them - that seems to help as well. Check on their satisfaction level at least once a day too - if it's below "Neutral" give them a raise. An "Unsatisfied" employee usually slacks off more and usually actually means they're overqualified for what you're paying them. When you pay them more, they take more pride in their work and seem to do a better job overall.

Offline desertrose0601

  • Nooboo
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2016, 02:50:51 AM »
In general I think this pack's pretty fun. I like making the restaurant layout - trying to get an efficient flow - and customizing the menus and employee wardrobes. I like the new foods too. :)

The area that I am frustrated with though is about employee schedules and breaks. Either I'm missing how to manage employee and restaurant hours or they didn't include this in the game (which seems odd if they didn't include it - as that it part of managing a restaurant). I don't like that I have to close the whole restaurant in order to give employees a break. It seems like there should be an option to give them a break or have them work in shifts. Also I can't seem to find how to give my restaurant a set open/ closed schedule. Again, I think they may have just left that out, which seems odd, unless I'm just blind as to how to do this. I don't want to have to remember to open it every day. If I make an early-morning diner, for example, I'd like it to open every day at 5am, rain or shine, whether or not I remembered to click on it that day to tell it to do that. Every other career path starts on it's own on the set days and times it's supposed to, so it's very shocking to me that this is either missing or just really not obvious how to do.

Offline Highlander

  • Llama Wrangler
  • **
  • Posts: 70
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions?
« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2016, 04:56:37 AM »
I was moving when the Xpac was released. I jumped on it as soon as my internet was hooked up.

I can see where managing restaurants could be a lot of fun. But the dining experience is a bit of a disaster. It takes far too long and any moodlet you get is too short lived to be useful.

The first time I went out, I went for the "experimental" food and both sims did not like it. Another time, the waiter dropped the order and took an hour to get another meal. The last time I went, it took 5 hours to eat a meal with dessert. It's just way too long.

From the beginning, I felt the cooking/eating process was far too long. I had hoped this might alleviate that. It doesn't really work that way.

Offline Puppetmaster1

  • Townie
  • ***
  • Posts: 114
Re: Dine Out - First Impressions
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2017, 06:53:15 PM »
I've really enjoyed this pack, and might be my favorite pack with the exception of Vampires which I am really starting to like.

You basically have an almost endless variation of restaurant designs, menus, and wait staff uniforms.

Placement of tables and host stations definitely takes a little bit of tweaking and I like the suggestions above.

The one thing I wish is that you could hire Household members as the chefs and waitstaff so you could have a real a family operated restaurant.  Teens could bus tables.

 

anything