Hair and Clothing?

I mean....store stuff helps a lot.

The BG hair isn't bad you just have to find the right sim to use it. I find that after recolouring certain hairs, clothes and makeup, they can go a long ways. It's a benefit that TS4 doesn't have and I use it a lot. Certain clothes can look better with the right textures and clothing, the key is experimentation and then if you like the end result you can always save that piece.

"SimFan298;c-16992073" wrote:
I think my problem with Create a Style is that whenever I try it out, all the colors always tend to stand out from everything else. And yeah, the hair isn't that bad, just not that varied/can't find a hairstyle that fits well with a Sim I have in mind.

Getting some SimPoints on Friday, at least.

You have to experiment, it's the best advice I can give. Even vanilla sims can look good if you put the extra effort:

https://i.imgur.com/QhXASKL.jpg?1

And I'm not even great at making sims :p

And try to darken a bit the colors with the wheel otherwise they can look pretty bright and out of place.

I used to hate most BG clothing but it's not all that bad. It's just that the BG stuff tends to have a really high specular map on them - AKA shine. That's my main reasoning for disliking it the most... Then I discovered this mod (Remove stencils/overlays from build/buy/CAS objects in game) by velocitygrass @ MTS a few years ago. I use it a ton in CAS and in-game for objects and it makes a difference.
This is an example/image from the mods page:


As time went on and packs were released along with store content, clothing started to look better, fit sims better, and with more detailing. This is true for most games as the game artist gain experience becoming more comfortable with the design tools. I personally really like some of the later store CAS content but a lot of the packs offer great CAS content as well. I agree with @Sigzy05 that experimenting with the Create-a-Style really makes a difference. :) I get inspiration from other players.

It depends...

If it is for a particular story like my military sims, I'll go to the length of adjusting the base military uniform in TSRW.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1LnegxIpsMQ/W0zyhAwd86I/AAAAAAAAVus/qzTEPYmIBvgMBDpZ4e7hUJ3U2l1PExZjACLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot-138.jpg

Otherwise, sometimes, I just work with what's available in base game and EPs.

Didn't particularly care for the color of the blouse and I really didn't like the maid outfits so I matched the recolored blouse with a business skirt (color-wheeled the pinstripes out) and used that as a maid-outfit.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-amg3o-kxhmU/W7UCT6aBNHI/AAAAAAAAYtg/H2Nhrd_U1EUt1uITQ7HCAT195hLuXBoyACLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot-109.jpg

And yes, I've been known to go crazy on TSR. Sometimes I'll camp out there for hours. I don't know how I explain this to my wife... :smirk: She spends less time on TSR than I do.

As for hairstyles, depending on the story, I'll resort to cc or stick with EA game hair depending on the character.

It is worth remembering that this game is nearly ten years old. When you consider some of the clothes you were wearing ten or even twenty years ago I doubt very much they would hold as much appeal as they did when you purchased them. The same goes for base game clothes. However ten years ago it was all new and reasonably fashionable. The biggest selling point of all was CASt so you were not restricted to a limited palette and you could give your sim a very individual look. Personally I went several years with only one expansion and a couple of stuff packs. Apart from the base game I had a couple of store clothes and hairs but I didn't feel my sims were missing out or were unattractive to look at.

Some of the base game hairs are pretty lame but there are a number of classics, like the French Pleat and the Bob. These never really go out of fashion and, as others have said, with CASt it is possible to create attractive vanilla sims.

https://i.imgur.com/AB0JqpT.png

This is Baby Doll. Her French Pleat is base game and I have customised it using CASt. Her dress is one of the first items I bought from the store.

I think my problem with Create a Style is that whenever I try it out, all the colors always tend to stand out from everything else. And yeah, the hair isn't that bad, just not that varied/can't find a hairstyle that fits well with a Sim I have in mind.

Getting some SimPoints on Friday, at least.

I haven't been a fan of most of the CAS items for base game. My preference is expansions and stuff packs clothing and custom content hair and makeup.