#my copy of ts2 is perfect

[awingedllama]

Functional Wall Phone

info

• free. always

• can be used by children-elder

• includes most cellphone interactions

• incoming calls can be toggled on and off by shift-clicking. if calls are enabled, phone will ring about once a day. calls include telemarketer, NPC you know would like to come over, Landgraab Power Company shutting off your power, prank call, 'unknown' caller. will add more calls in future. suggestions welcome

• some interactions will be greyed out until requirements are met (i.e. your sim needs a romantic relationship to be able to ask someone on a date)

• animation isn't perfect but i hope it's good enough

• ts2 and ts3 phone require main package (awingedllama_FunctionalWallPhone) to work

download

as always, if you notice something wrong send me a message (preferably dm, not ask)

will add more kinds of phones! currently on my list i have a 1920s phone and a rotary phone

i want to do table phones as well, but i'm figuring out the best way to go about it

note for creators: you can copy/edit my tuning as much as you like and make it your own, but if you want to create a functional phone using mine as a base, please link back to this post. i have no tou, but in case something breaks in a patch, people should have the updated version

[sweetdevil-sims]

Hello! I heard that, to make a CC CAS outfit base game compatible (because I hadn't realized I had cloned an outfit from Pets, although it was a perfect reference), you not only have to change the CASP group to 0x00000000, but also change the XML. I have been staring at my package's XML and IDK if it's because I'm tired, but I can't tell what exactly I'm supposed to change, even though I cross-referenced with another CC outfit package I have. Do you know what part I should change? Thanks!

Yes, to make something BGC, you have to:

change the group of the CASP resource to 0x00000000;

change the group of the _XML resource to 0x00000000;

change the type of the _XML resource to _XML 0x0333406C;

copy the instance number of the CASP over the _XML's (they have to match);

replace the _XML with the XML of the item's first preset (which you'll find within CASP);

change the group IDs of the thumbnails to 0x00000000, 0x00000001, 0x00000002 etc. (both for the THUM resources and in the presets of the CASP (those Unknown1 fields next to every preset have to match the corresponding thumbnail's group), and also change their instance numbers to match the CASP.

In short: your _XML, CASP and THUMs should have the same instance number, the _XML and CASP should have the same group, and the THUMs need to match the Unkown1 fields in the CASP.

Depending on what you're working with, some steps won't be necessary. If you're working with TSRW, it'll change all of those things.

Hi , help . you don’t know where can be download this conversion http://infusorian.blogspot.com/2010/01/ts2-curly-hair-conversion-requested.html?m=0 ? because link not working

Sorry, I had it a long time ago but deleted it. Maybe someone else has it or a working link to it? Found by @ameriko-steelie here: Mega link

[paluding]

could the tattooer theoretically be used to convert sims 2 tattoos/skins/etc. to sims 4? if so, how do i reverse the process?

Hi! Of course, it would be a matter of swapping the materials and doing the baking process the other way around, selecting the ts2 mesh first and then the ts4 mesh. Pretty easy stuff! It shouldn't take you more than a couple minutes to set up. I'll put the process on how to do it under the cut.

First, with the "ts4 body" mesh selected, click on the black and white ball icon and on the drop down menu select "Material".

Then, do the same for the "ts2 body" mesh. Select it and on the drop down menu select the other material, "Material.002" in this case.

You're almost done. All that's left to do is making a new texture for baking that will work well in the Sims 4. Select once again "ts4 body" and unlink the texture by clicking the X icon.

Click on that "New" button to make a new texture.

And on the menu that shows up, give it a new name (I named it "Bakedts4" this time) and change the height from 1024 to 2048 pixels. Leave the width at 1024. Then click OK.

And that's it! Save a copy of this template if you want to use it in the future. This "materials swapping process" should work with any of my 4t2 templates I think. So once again, to bake textures with these new templates, you will need to load the Sims 2 texture on the Sims 2 mesh, then select first "ts2 body", hold down the Ctrl key and select "ts4 body". Then click the Bake button and you will find your new Sims 4 texture in the UV Editing tab on top, just like the regular Tattooer process.

I have to say though, as I already said when I shared the original templates, these are not 100% perfect, so you might find some stuff looking warped, or some weird pixels getting baked where they shouldn't, like here.

It'd be a matter of manually editing them out using a 2D editing app. Sorry for the inconveniences you might find! If you run into any issues or struggle swapping the materials, feel free to DM me and I'll see what I can do to help :)

[thesimofmanu]

My godness! It's been a while since my last post, finally set up my Sims 2 and set up AGS, I know I should continue with Capitello, but honestly, I wanted to take it easy. I got hooked on Cities Skylines 2, and when reinstalling TS2, I played with an old played copy I had of "Plumbtale's Belladona Cove." That's when I got hooked on improving the lives of the Newsons (aka the Orphans), and now that they were about to go to university, the idea of creating a personalized university came to me.

This doesn't mean I'm abandoning Capitello; I just want to diversify the creation of neighborhoods. I have a few ideas for custom neighborhoods, and I think it's time to expand horizons. I'll be posting the first images soon. I've been inspired by CalTec and CalArts institutes as the perfect university for Belladona, with beatiful cliffs, long cliffside roads and crashing waves on the beaches, I hope you like it!

[neosimi]

🛍️ 4t2 patron gifts by leaf-motif 🛍️

i recently hit 1.5k and apparently this is my 50th ts2 download! consider this a milestone gift. :] there's 33 objects in total, mainly deco besides the shelf and radio. i learned a few new things this time around: mirrors, the repository technique, and object placement! very useful stuff :] this set took forever, so i couldn't be bothered to take swatch photos of every item, sorry.

files are compressed. polycount and prices below the cut.

download: [sfs] | [box] ♡

credits: leaf-motif, kayleigh-83's mirror tutorial, numenor's info on object placement.

POLYCOUNT + PRICE:

apple container: 570 polys / $10 / sculpture bear planter: 866 polys / $10 / plants cat planter: 996 polys / $10 / plants cloud pillows: 298 polys / $10 / sculpture [repo] cookbook stand: 552 polys / $25 / sculpture cup w straw: 454 polys / $1 / sculpture dog planter: 1062 polys / $5 / plants dropper bottle: 446 polys / $1 / sculpture flower frame tabletop + square: 256 polys / $25 / sculpture wall flower frame + square: 404 polys / $25 / wall hanging folded blanket: 310 polys / $25 / sculpture fox planter: 504 polys / $10 / plants heart mirrors: 408 polys / $10 / mirrors [repo] little basil: 2742 polys / $5 / plants little chives: 1834 polys / $5 / plants little round plant: 494 polys / $5 / plants lotion tub: 182 polys / $1 / sculpture notebook organizer: 1824 polys / $25 / sculpture notebook w pen: 936 polys / $5 / sculpture pear timer: 612 polys / $5 / sculpture short shelf: 972 polys / $50 / surfaces -> misc. spray bottle: 374 polys / $1 / sculpture square tray: 94 polys / $1 / sculpture oval tray: 254 polys / $1 / sculpture [repo] squeeze bottle: 168 polys / $1 / sculpture star lantern: 198 polys / $25 / sculpture star note holder: 818 polys / $5 / sculpture umbrella rack: 2620 polys / $50 / sculpture vintage radio: 972 polys / $50 / electronics -> audio

NOTE: the mirrors can't be placed on the ground without cheats, but work just fine on any surface/slot. in the preview i had move objects on. the shelf has 7 slots, one is copied (the same as another). i forgot to mention i learned a bit about custom thumbnails, especially for the mirrors. they're not perfect, but MUCH better than where i started lol.

☕ ko-fi?

[pforestsims]

New mesh for TS2!

Here’s my pencil midi dress with low wedge sandals. Comes with 30 recolours (but really it’s just 19, because multiple top options for AF are repos). There are a few bright shades, flower pattern, dark colours and denim.

Cutout Dress

for AF & TF

/ TF files are repositoried.  AF dresses are enabled for EF /

✦  Download (SFS)

All morphs. Polycount: 4231. Archive contains large preview pics.

Make sure you read README.txt file!

Credits: tops are based on top textures by Io / @serabiet​

Read more:

These meshes are not perfect, I may try and improve it at some point, but not anytime soon 😉.

As usual, I did what I could to minimize clipping. Well, I guess I could’ve minimized it even more if I had properly attached the legs to the bottom part [cough].  But, as you can see this dress can handle at least two dance moves so.. not bad? lol

Preg morph looks very decent. I didn’t think this mesh was gonna work well as pregwear, but it does.

I forgot to take a proper pic of the “fat” morph - sorry. It’s very similar, just more curves here and there.  

I took the sandals from TS2 H&M dress but then I decided I need something a bit more high-poly so I redid the straps and heels. Shoe / feet UVs are overlapping (mirrored left foot).

Toe nails are a part of the mesh.

Four strapless dresses are categorized as Formal only. The rest shown above is available as both Everyday & Formal.

Dresses below are set as Everyday, aside from that blue denim and black buttoned without a t-shirt.

Readme file includes instructions on how to set the category to Formal or Everyday in SimPe.

I used my recolours of Io’s top textures for most of these. Striped texture is my own. I’ve seen a tee like that somewhere, paired with denim pinafore dress - and just had to copy that idea.

Enjoy!

[simsinlowspace]

Freetime Posters - 12 Nature Hobby Posters

Happy Saturday everyone! It's the weekend, so it's time for the second set of Freetime hobby posters. This week's hobby is one of my favorites, Nature! Swatch, info and download under ye olde cut!

Like the last set, these are on @linacheries’ wonderful 4t2 conversion of Simsza’s National Park Prints (mesh is included) and feature a dozen designs made with Flaticon elements + a bunch of Simlish fonts. They're all inspired by locations, features, items and Sims from the game.

Translations:

Grow

Veronaville Birdwatching Society

Autumn Colors

Riverblossom Hills Garden Club

Yuku haru ya / Tori naki uwo no / Me wa namida (Spring is passing / the birds cry, and the fishes' eyes are / with tears) I read and write a lot of haiku; this is one of my favorites by Matsuo Bashō.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep... Taken from another favorite poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

McGreggor Farm 115 Old Farm Road, Riverblossom Hills Inspired by my favorite kilted Sim, Leod McGreggor from Riverblossom Hills

Lost Willow Park Since TS2 lacks any dedicated fishing lots, I borrowed the name of one from TS3's Riverview

Adventure Awaits

Lovely Ladybug Loft Advertisement for the in-game item

Contrary to what you believe, Gardens are easy with our seeds! Inspired by Opal Contrary, nature enthusiast from Desiderata Valley (whose surname was just perfect for this bit of advertising copy lol)

Top: Greaves Greener Gardens | Bottom: where the grass is always greener For the Desiderata Valley nature community lot

A numbered swatch is also included for your convenience.

Icons are by Freepik, photo3idea_studio, justicon, max.icons, AmethystDesign, luvdat, Jesus Chavarria, Good Ware, ultimatearm and Smashicons, and used with much appreciation as always! <3

DOWNLOAD (SFS) ~375KB...hooray! 🎉

Lots of love, Spacey

UPDATE: Now that this series is complete, here is a master list of all the posts, plus a single download link for all the posters. All swatches are included, and files are sorted into folders so you can easily keep just what you like:

Tinkering Nature Arts & Crafts Fitness Science Cuisine Sports Games Music & Dance Film & Literature

DOWNLOAD ALL THE POSTERS (SFS) Recolors are ~8.5MB

You can now also get all the designs on BV's Travel Keeper!

[rurpleplayssims]

STORY RECOMENDATION TIME! (again)

'Dossanina' by @holleyberry

This was the first Sims 2 story I stumbled across on tumblr.

This was the story that opened my eyes to TS2 stories on here.

This made me keep looking out for amazing stories I've found since.

I love this story so darn much!

You can read it here! Please do so!

It starts off in the present day with Don Lothario happily married to Cassandra Goth with children of their own. Life appears perfect for them but then Cass goes to the park and discovers another familiar looking child in with a woman she knows was linked to her husband.

Then it goes back to how Don was in college and the story follows Don from there. I would say Don is easily the main character in this series.

It made me look at Don's character differently. The actual TS2 makes Don look like a woohoo-machine and like he acted like he didn't care who he was hurting. This Don is different and I think he is the Don I admire the most. It shows the realistic side that Don was meeting girls, dating them and being atypical decent guy.

It shows how he's known Nina and Dina for years, and shows a time when Dina got married to Michael. It shows the almost toxic relationship between Cassandra and her mother, the beautifully famous Bella Goth. Cassandra is shown as painfully shy and unsure of herself. Nina is a typical romance sim who loves woohoo but isn't into marriage and long-term relationships. Dina is shown as a family sim, caring about Alexander and NOT the gold-digger she is set out in the game to be.

This is mostly set before the actual TS2 starts and I LOVE the backstory and buildup because it shows Don working hard in his career, his frustration at being moved to Pleasantview for his job and his wingman Goopy GilsCarbo.

It hilarious at times, it's emotional and it's STUNNING.

Please give it a read!

It inspired me to write my own version because I related to this one so much.

EDIT: I should admit here that I kinda copied how Don's condo looks in my story to how his Pleasantview condo in this story looks! I'm sorry I preferred it that way!

[catherinetcjd]

How to Make Maxis Rebuilds/Remodels Permanent

Have you ever remodeled a Downtown Lot - made everything perfect for you simmies to enjoy - and then lost your hood somehow? Now you have to start over... and try to remember every detail you added to that Eaxis Downtown Lot to make it enjoyable for your sims. *sigh* ...and then your HD dies, and you have to do it ALL over again! OMG!

Well - this is how to keep that perfect made-over lot, so the next time you have to restart your hood, it is already there, ready and waiting, for your sims to come play.

WARNING - Doing this modifies the original installation files of your game. So, make back-ups of your installation files first! Also - if you ever re-install the game (Or have Origin "fix" your installation,) these files will be wiped out. So, make another a back up of your changes when you are done. Note: I use Origin's UC (Ultimate Collection,) if you use a disk install or some other game installation, your folder paths will be a bit different ;)

As an example lot - I'm going to fix up Downtown's Sunshine Park: 1 - Use the Clean Installer to find the original EAxis lot in the ProgFiles. Browse to C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Double Deluxe\EP2\TSData\Res\NeighborhoodTemplate\D001\Lots - Get the FileName/Lot# - like for our example, Downtown's Sunshine Park is lot number D001_Lot19

2 - Go into the game and fix up the Sunshine Park exactly to your simmies specifications. (Hint - I wouldn't use CC because if you do, and remove that CC down the road, then this lot will crash when you restart your hood.)

3 - Use the Clean Installer again to find your made-over lot in your Docs folder. Browse to Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\Neighborhoods\N001\Lots (I have Downtown assosciated with PleasantView - YMMV) It will have the same name, but a different Lot number. - Make a note of the new lot number (In my example it is: N001_Lot237)

4 - Go to the Documents Folder that has your new lot... Mine is Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\Neighborhoods\N001\Lots - Make a copy of the lot, stick it on your desktop. - Rename it to the original name: D001_Lot19

5 - Go to the ProgFile original lot's location C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Double Deluxe\EP2\TSData\Res\NeighborhoodTemplate\D001\Lots - rename the original file's extension (I change .package to .packageORIG) so the game won't try to read the file. - Move your new lot file into the folder. Done!

6 - Next time you generate a new game - your "new" rebuilt lot will be used in place of the original EAxis lot.

This works for all the Eaxis lots that came with the game. If a lot has an original ProgramFiles/installation.package, then it can be rebuilt and saved. Vacation Lots, I'm lookin' at you! Oh, yeah! ...this also works for the pre-made sim's houses (occupied lots.) When you start a "fresh" game/new save - their house will already be made-over. I've even done Olive Specter's place this way, and upon re-starting the game her lot and all of it's ghosts were good to go!

If you are new to messing around with the ProgramFiles and aren't sure where to find certain EA lots - there are many different tutorials that explain where to find each of them. Look for tutorials about installing Stealth Hoods and/or Fixed Hoods. Good Luck! :luff:

Please click through to MTS to for the original tutorial. :D

Please visit my MTS Profile for more TS2 downloads.

[someone-elsa]

Not another Simblr Tag

I was tagged by @madeofcc​ :)

Rate in order favorite to least favorite, Sims 1, Sims 2, Sims 3, Sims 4: TS2/TS4, TS1, TS3 (I haven’t really played TS3 😅)

Favorite expansion: Superstar/Makin’ Magic for TS1, Seasons for TS2, Island Living for TS4

Small pets or horses: I haven’t really played TS3 so I have no experience of Sims horses. My sims rarely have pets ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite active career: I haven’t tried all of them. Acting, probably.

Favorite LTW/Aspiration: something romance-related because my gameplay sims are immoral thots...

Whims, wishes or wants and fears: The wants and fears system wasn’t perfect but it’s better than whims.

Favorite occult: Vampires or aliens. I don’t play with occult sims too much.

Cowplants, Bonehilda or Social Bunny: Cowplants

Favorite non-PC Sims game: The Sims 2 for PS2. Fun as co-op!

Favorite spin off game: The Urbz (PS2), co-op especially!

How do you pick the names for your Sims: If it’s a random sim, I usually just hit the randomise name button (sometimes several times). If it’s a more important sim (for my story, for example) I take longer to pick a name. Or not, sometimes the name just pops into my head. I still do some research about the name origin (not always 😅). If I create a sim based on an ethnic group (Indonesian sim, for example), I look into naming conventions of that group.

Create a spouse or find them in game (townies): I’ll probably go with what the game has to offer (and then edit them in CAS full edit mode :)))))

Do you prefer following storytelling simblrs or gameplay simblrs: I like both. I’m terrible at following stories (I try my best but it’s not much 😭) but I stil like seeing story posts on my dash.

What year did you join simblr: 2014 (May). I posted mostly about TS2 until summer 2019.

I’ll tag @simsselff​ @gillysims​ @granite-faljs​ @pixiesadventures​ @peonyfalls​ @omnifruit​ @moondrin​ @pluto-sims​ @holydollydu​

(you can find the questions under the cut so you can easily copy/paste them and start answering :))

Rate in order favorite to least favorite, Sims 1, Sims 2, Sims 3, Sims 4:

Favorite expansion:

Small pets or horses:

Favorite active career:

Favorite LTW/Aspiration:

Whims, wishes or wants and fears:

Favorite occult:

Cowplants, Bonehilda or Social Bunny:

Favorite non-PC Sims game:

Favorite spin off game:

How do you pick the names for your Sims:

Create a spouse or find them in game (townies):

Do you prefer following storytelling simblrs or gameplay simblrs:

What year did you join simblr:

[peppermint-ginger]

DOWNLOAD Wings TZ0912 retexture & mesh edit - simfileshare | MEGA

DOWNLOAD E-Neillan Cropped Turtleneck mesh edit - simfileshare | MEGA

DOWNLOAD Ello-sims’ aftopoloshirt default replacement with updated mesh - simfileshare | MEGA

Credits: @wingssims​, @evannamari​, @pooklet​, pastry-box, @ikari-sims​, @e-neillan​, @knowledgeaspiration​, @ello-sims​

Wings TZ0912 retexture & lower poly mesh edit: My v4 naturals in 2 families, binned/familied/compressed, my Poppet + Zeusar texture blend. All cu-eu, both genders. Polycount reduced from 20k to 10k. I copy-pasta’d bone assignments from Evanna’s original conversion. Volatile bases included.

E-Neillan Cropped Turtleneck mesh edit : I added fat & preg morphs to this mesh and fixed black spots issues. It’s not perfect, because it’s my 2nd attempt in editing clothing for this game, but I was very dissapointed when I found out that this mesh is missing morphs, and slightly borked morphs are better than no morphs IMO. Note that because some creators do their clothes on different body shapes, this top can mismatch with those bottom meshes.

!!! This is only mesh, you still need to grab recolors, on the preview showcased: original conversion RCs & knowledgeaspiration‘s RCs.

I also changed slightly the name of this mesh (edited out braces), so make sure to remove the old mesh ([e-neillan]AF_Cropped_Turtleneck1234_Sims2_MESH) if you have it already.

Also note: this top is about 4k poly, what is not a small number for clothing...

Ello-sims’ aftoppoloshirt DFR replaced with E-Neillan Cropped Turtleneck - updated: I swapped the old mesh with my edit. That’s it.

(TS2 only.)

[vimpse]

do you have any building/decoration tips? i love all of your lots and wish i could make lots like yours !!!

Firstly, thank you! <3

Secondly, this is really super hard to answer, because I'm so same-samey with the way I build/decorate and honestly, as in literally straight up truth time: I just wing it. 100% of the time.

I've played the TS2 more than any other game on the planet (seriously) and I guess... practice makes perfect. Your "skills" at building/decorating just improve over time, and it's so hard to think of any specific tips. :( Maybe like... study other people's lots and try to get ideas that way? Or straight up copy someone's build to see if your method improves?

I do have this ancient post here where I built a lot one screenshot at a time, just to show people my decision-making-method (and then people thought it was a literal tutorial and that felt super awkward, haha)... I'm sorry I can't be more helpful but that's all I got!

[grilledcheese-aspiration]

“Haunted” Sim City Societies track splash music 

I may or may not have loaded TS2 onto my mom’s computer while I’m staying here for the next few days - I wanted to continue working on this project to keep my mind off the sad and negative. I keep a backup copy of my Nhood and base CC for hood only so I can just work on the hood basically on a flashdrive - easy peasy!

Anyway, I’d been looking high and low for a ~spooky~ splash song for my game for ages and finally came across THIS GLORIOUSLY SPOOKY TRACK from Sim City Societies and it is just PERFECT.

The .zip comes with a lil how-to in case you don’t know how to install because i sure didn’t for a long time :3 The track will continue to play as usual until your nhood loads and then it will play the regular nhood music or whatever you have in your game. The video I shared is just a lil tiny snippet for ya :D

👻🎶 Download @ SimFileShare (31.6mb) 🎶👻

[findingbxlance]

I love The Sims. 

Which is why I will never stop being disappointed in TS4. 

Lets do some math, and I’m going to keep this mainly between TS3 & TS4. While I did play TS2, there isn’t a lot of information readily available on what the games themselves cost at the time of release. I have some information on that, but I’m not sure if it’s 100% accurate as I was baby when they came out and my mom had to buy them for me. I’ll release it later if anyone is curious. 

TS3 launched with a base game priced at $49.99, and throughout it’s lifetime accrued nine stuff packs at $19.99 each, and eleven expansion packs priced at $39.99 a pop. This comes to a total of $669.79. 

TS4 launched with a base game price of $59.99 (that price soon dropped to $49.99 because the backlash was immediate), and introduced the new game pack. In total (as of 4/15/2020), TS4 has sixteen stuff packs at $9.99 each, eight expansion packs at $39.99, and eight game packs at $19.99. That comes to a total of $699.67. 

That’s not a huge price difference. All in all, it’s about $30 if you want to get the whole, complete collection, so why do I dislike TS4 so vehemently? 

Quality. 

Let’s compare a few expansion packs just to get a feel for what the difference is.

 TS3 launched the “Late Night” expansion at $39.99, and it included: 

A new world (Bridgeport) with 82 lots

Fame & reputation systems

Bars & night clubs

Apartments with penthouse suites

Subways

Elevators

Breast & muscle sliders in CAS*

Zodiac signs

A fountain tool*

Height adjustment for wall objects

Groups & bands

Butlers

Vampires!

The mixology skill

2 new traits (shy & star quality)

TS4 launched the “Get Famous” expansion at $39.99, and it included: 

A new world (Del Sol Valley) with 11 lots

Fame & reputation systems

Active acting career

Multiple ways to become famous 

Music, video station, etc.

And that’s about it. 

Now I’ll be the first person to admit that TS3 wasn’t perfect. Although it was a very full game, it struggled in areas of performance. With such large, open worlds, and detailed customization systems, it was pretty buggy for a lot of people, but we’ll talk on that more later. 

But what I want to focus on is the disparity between these two packs, as they’re supposed to be mirrors of one another. “Get Famous” is the TS4 version of “Late Night”, so where did all the stuff go?

Well, EA broke it into 3 packs. 

To get the full experience of “Late Night” in TS4, or at least something similar, you would need to purchase, “Get Famous”, “City Living”, and “Vampires”. That’s 2 expansion packs, and 1 game pack. So, to replicate the experience of “Late Night” you would need to spend $99.97. 

That’s almost $100. 

So, for an experience we paid $39.99 previously in the last installment, we’re now being asked to pay $100 for. 

Is that fair? 

Lets do another expansion pack comparison: 

TS3 launched “Ambitions” at $39.99, and it included: 

A new world (Twinbrook) with 82 lots

5 new active jobs that take you all around the world your sims inhabit

Firefighter, investigator, ghost hunter, stylist, and architectural designer

Self-employment

Sculptors, inventors, painters, writers, gardeners, and so on can all profit from at home work

Laundry

Tattooing career

New traits (eco-friendly, good observer, weirdo, etc.)

Consignment stores

Inventing

Sculpting

TS4 launched “Get to Work” at $39.99, and it included: 

A new world (Magnolia Promenade) with 4 lots

3 new active jobs that take place in one location

Detective, doctor, scientist

Baking & photography skills

Retail lots

Illnesses for sims

Aliens

There’s definitely more crossover here, but “Get to Work” still falls short. $39.99 for a full game and all we get is a world with 4 lots? Even in TS2 “Open for Business” we had more to do.

And, that isn’t to mention the fact that “Get to Work” launched separately from the TS4 “Laundry Day Stuff” pack. So, to get a similar experience to TS3′s “Ambitions” you would need to purchase both “Get to Work” and “Laundry Day Stuff” at a total of $49.98. 

One more comparison for good measure. 

TS3 launched “Island Paradise” at $39.99, and it included: 

A new world (Isla Paradiso) with 118 lots, the most of ANY TS3 expansion

Houseboats that can move anywhere around the island

Resorts that you can either visit, or own, manage & edit

New transportation modes

Boating, skiing, and windsurfing

3 new careers

Lifeguard, resort manager, scuba diver

Diving into fully realized underwater scenes

Sims could also catch fish, explore underwater caves & find sunken treasure

Shark & kraken attacks

Mermaids!

Missions to discover and unlock new islands

Blueprint templates*

TS4 launched “Island Living” at $39.99, and it included: 

A new world (Sulani) with 11 lots

Docks & new foundation types

4 new careers

Conservationist, diving, fishing, and lifeguard

Mermaids! 

Boats

Missions to clean up the island

2 new traits

In the case of “Island Paradise” vs. “Island Living” there are a quite a few similarities, but the disparity remains. Thankfully, this time around EA didn’t break “Island Living” into multiple packs, but imagine if in a few months we get a resort style pack? Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past EA. 

In these pack comparisons, I hope I’ve highlighted some of the issues between what should have been pretty similar packs. 

And, to clarify, I’m not saying that EA should have just copy pasted TS3 packs into the TS4 style, but for the amount of money they’re asking, the quality should remain the same. There should be a similar amount of features between each pack, but there isn’t.   

With each expansion, it feels like EA is spending less and less time working on the unique gameplay features, and pouring more time into the general aesthetics of the packs. So, while TS4 is the prettiest of all The Sims titles, it’s also the emptiest. 

Despite the shiny veneer of a good game with solid graphics, TS4 ultimately lacks depth. It doesn’t feel like a game, but rather a character creator. I spend more time building sims and their homes than I do actually playing out their lives.

All in all, I find that the “life simulation” part of TS4 is severely lacking. It mostly comes down to the little things, which is exemplified whenever I go back and replay TS2. Sims would cuddle their partner in their sleep, burglars were a real and present danger, raccoons would topple your trash can at any given chance, and friends would call all the time to ask if you wanted to go downtown. 

It’s been 6 years since TS4 came out, and, from what the dev’s have said, they aren’t planning on pushing out TS5 anytime soon, but let’s dream a little bit about what could be. 

In my perfect game, TS5 would include aspects of TS3 and TS2. The open worlds were great, but not many people’s computers were beefy enough to run them. The one thing I will applaud about TS4, is that its made with everyone in mind. We can’t all afford big, gaming computers, a lot of simmers play on their laptops, and we should all be able to play regardless of what type of machine we’re working with. 

So, instead of fully open works with 90+ lots, I would like to see open neighborhoods. If we take the open concept of TS3, and combine it with the neighborhood style of TS4, we’d get an open world of about 15-20 lots. That’s nowhere near as big as TS3, but would allow for more fun neighbor interactions, and remove the constant load screens. 

I’d also like to see a return of the color wheel. This is also a point of contention, where I understand that excessive customization really dragged down TS3 and made it unplayable for a lot of people. So instead of full customization, relegate it to just colors (instead of different materials like fabric, metal, wood, etc.,) and just CAS. 

I think a lot of what gummed up TS4 was the fact that you could customize everything. Hair color, eye color, makeup, clothes, accessories, wallpaper, paint, tiles, flooring, chairs, sofas, decorations, and on and on. Restricting it just to CAS, and in a simple color wheel would give us so much more freedom. 

A color wheel in CAS would also solve EA’s issue of diversity. While they’ve given us the ability to create trans and nonbinary sims (which is fantastic!), they’ve been really slow on any progress when it comes to skin tones. A color wheel would allow us to create sims of all colors, and give power to the players to create more realistic and diverse representations of their lives as sims. 

The last thing I would really love to see is a return to the little details. Give us more randomness. Genies, walking skeletons, ruins we can explore that aren’t just rabbit holes, more active careers, more opportunities. Don’t be afraid to give us the weird things, we love the weird things! But don’t forget about the little things. Sims sitting in the grass together and chatting, sims leaving flowers at your door after a really great date, sims scooting together to cuddle while watching a movie together on the couch. 

Overall, TS5 should just include more more, if that makes sense. 

Leave your comments & thoughts below! I’d love to talk to ya’ll about this, its really been brewing for awhile. 

*Features included in TS4 base game. 

[zx-ta]

My best friend got his free copy of TS4 and he’s so enthusiastic about his sims and what happens to them that he managed to make me want to play too. 

I recreated my fav artsy sim from TS2, Natasha Una. She bought the perfect “Abandoned Legacy” house from @simdaisies. I know the house was supposed to be placed in Willow Creek but it looks like it was made for this spot in Brindleton Bay: the view is stunning!

I don’t know how much I will share about her but know that I’m playing a little and enjoying my game ♥

[berrynooboos]

Click the pictures to make them larger, also you can click [UNEDITED] to see unedited screenshots.

I’ve been working on this for basically the whole month of august. I wanted to do something huge. Not only as a followers gift, but as a couple other things. One as a thank you for being there for me while I was at my lowest point this summer. So many of you donated, or even reblogged to GoFundMe, and that means to world to me. Without all your help, I would not have made it to this point here in all honestly, the funds helped me survive and I just can’t thank you enough. No amount of stuff I upload will ever be enough, but I want to try anyway. The last reason being the fact that I wanted to do something big to welcome myself back. Which isn’t as cool as a reason as the first but you know xD.

First I have a whole bunch of clothes for you! Most of which are TM-AM, Three of which are AM only, and then a single outfit for PU, CU, and AF.

From left to right, top to bottom;

@rented-space‘s 3T2 Celeb Casual Vest in two floral patterns and colors -  I originally was going to have these be a default replacement, which is why there is only two, but for some reason they aren’t defaulting, so here they are instead! TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@rented-space‘s 3T2 Not So Chilly Scarf in 40 patterns - I wasn’t going to do 40, it was originally going to be like only 20, but then I went searching, and found a whole bunch of unicorn patterns, and well... I have a bit of a Unicorn problem xD. TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

MissTiikeri’s Male Crop top in 20 patterns w or w/o lace undershirt - This was one of the first things I made, which is why the previous top was only going to be in 20 patterns. I liked @furbyq‘s idea of having an undershirt, but didn’t want to copy completely, and wanted something more Berry’s style. So I made lace undershirts to go with them! Though I realized that might be too femme for some, so they also come without the undershirt. AM Only

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@deedee-sims Sweater Drape in 40 Patterns - I’m a sucker for shirts like this. With the tied sweater. Makes me think of *coughdreamdaddycough* So it comes in the same patterns as the not so chilly scarf. TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

MDP’s 4T2 Sweater Knit in 23 colors - This is the first one that comes in my TS4 Crystallum colors. I figured those would be a nice set of rainbow colors to use. Each has a white undershirt. TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@rented-space‘s 3T2 Romantic Robe in my crystallum colors - The robe is the main color, while the shorts are in another of my crystallum colors. Any of the clothing that comes in dual colors will share the same color combo. As in, if the clothing is in Rose Quartz, the other part of the clothing is always going to be in Light Azore. I don’t know if any of this makes sense. xD AM Only

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@deedee-sims‘s Townlife Hoodie in my crystallum colors - I love this hoodie. It looks so comfy. I was happy when I found that @linasims2 converted it to toddlers. TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@rented-space‘s 3T2 Trend Sweats in my crystallum colors. - This one comes in solids and dual colors. The shoes of which are always white. AM Only

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@deedee-sims‘s Positive Thinking Shirt in my Crystallum colors - I was using this one for a default as well, but the default I was trying to recolor, the same thing happened as the Celeb Casual Vest. They were the same file, so I don’t know what’s wrong with it. So instead I made this a full set. TM-AM

[UNEDITED]

@rented-space‘s Lukaz Layered Tee in my Crystallum colors, and a random saying for each - I had originally only made them in my colors, but decided I needed to spice them up. So I threw a couple of random words or sayings on them to add a little flare. TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@rented-space‘s 3T2 Start-Up Chic in argyle patterns in my Crystallum colors - I thought this top would look really cute in argyle patterns, and I was right. It’s that perfect dose of being a little nerdy, but being kind of stylish as well. xD TM-AM

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@rented-space‘s 3T2 Luke Nightshirt in my Crystallum colors - I love this nightshirt, and had wanted to recolor it for a while but never got around to it. But finally I have! CU only - Pajama Section

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

@linasims2‘s Townlife Hoodie w/ Shorts - This is the PU conversion of the townlife hoodie I mentioned above. It comes in the same colors as the TM-AM version. PU Only

[UNEDITED]

@deedee-sims Peasant Wedding Dress in my Crystallum Colors and Floral patterns - Normally I don’t do many female clothes, as the TS2 community has far too many colorful female things already, but this dress is beautiful. So I just had to slap a floral pattern on it, and recolor it. Mama Pumpkin looks beautiful in it. AF ONLY - Formal Section

[SWATCH] [UNEDITED]

[DOWNLOAD CLOTHES]

Next I have accessories, makeup, and skins!

Daislia’s Fox ears in my Otherworld colors to match my hair recolors - I love these giant ears, so naturally I had to recolor them. I’m not sure what ages they work for, but I have a feeling it’s AU only.

[DOWNLOAD] [UNEDITED]

Fairy wings in 70 galaxy prints - Because I don’t have enough things in galaxy prints apparently? But I think these came out really pretty. Who doesn’t need Space Fairies right???

[DOWNLOAD] [UNEDITED]

@lilith-sims‘s Delicate Lips in my Otherworld Colors  @furbyq‘s Midnight Creeper Lips in my Otherworld Colors 

Kiwi’s Colorpoint Nose/Ear Blush in my Otherworld Colors 

[SWATCH] 

Eltaninz Galaxy Blush in 90 Galaxy Prints

[SWATCH] 

Eltaninz Smooth Sailing Blush in my Otherworld Colors

[SWATCH] 

Mass Effect Andromeda Species Face Masks converted to TS2 - All credit for these goes to Bioware, all I did was extract them and make them fit on the TS2 faces. I didn’t make a swatch for these, but you can see what each one looks like on my TS4 conversion of them HERE.

[DOWNLOAD MAKEUP]

Finally, I recolored @lilith-sims Honey Skinblend with Freckles in my Otherworld colors. Some of them didn’t translate well into skins, but I made them anyway, I still think they look cool. They are geneticized, and townified. They are sorted with the default skins, as that is how my game is geneticized. The numbers range from 0.02 to 0.99

[DOWNLOAD]

Meshes should be included for everything that needs them, if I forgot anything please let me know, and thanks again for all the follows!