The Sims Resource vs. The Store
Hello all, I have a somewhat very convoluted question that I hope I can pose here in a way that people will understand. Not because of their inability to understand, of course, but my own inabil...
Forum Discussion
Here's Part II:
It worked! I thumb my nose at your arbitrary character limits! :smiley:
@TreyNutz That’s how I started out with The Store: I wanted some of the Premium Content and a few sets. Probably a world or three over time. That was all. The moment I saw that there was a violin for the game, I absolutely had to have it. I was then lucky enough to stumble on The Renaissance Faire on Daily Deal just a couple of days later. That’s how they hooked me. :s
I don’t mind getting most of the extra items (except the lighting – why, oh why are there so many plumming lights in the Store, yet so little actual plumbing?!?) in sets I really like, but like I said to Igazor, it would be nice to be able to shop a la carte and get the same prices. If I could have just gone around buying only the items I wanted for 10-20
Like I mentioned above, too many clothes is also a problem and that’s why I just didn’t go for all of those sets specifically (but still, my Sims should be able to dress like it’s 1599 or 2199 now, or both at once, without issue). CAS isn’t nearly as fun when it freaks out for a little bit every time I change categories or CaST something. I can’t imagine what adding in all the Store clothing I did buy is going to do, let alone what everything would do. I try to avoid using MasterController’s handy condensed view because I like seeing all the design previews at once (there are quite a few items I never would’ve looked at twice at if I’d only seen the base stenciling), but will almost assuredly have to now. That much content would just about eat any computer alive.
I’ve always loved CaSTing clothing (AbracadbrAwesome Shirt!) rather than choosing it when possible, so that’s a bonus, but I’ve never had this much stuff before either and so got very good at making do with what I had.
Playing with colors is half the fun of The Sims 3. :smiley:
I am a builder/decorator, which is perhaps why TSR interests me more. I’ve never lived in a pre-built EA home for long (just the cheap starter homes for each new game, which I build on until I decide where and what type of home I actually want for that/those Sim(s)) or played as an EA Sim Household (though I’ve gone around, admired much of their handiwork and stolen ideas (and Sims) for my own re-purposing).
Pretty much every non-EA thing I have is CAS-related – hair, a few clothing items, eyes, skins, sliders. I lived in CAS for a couple hundred hours last year. I hope my time was well spent, seeing as how I haven’t even seen my poor, neglected Sims in months. For all I know, they’ve cut off their noses to spite my face by now. :(
I’m fairly new to CC for build/buy though and those items are far harder (read: Time Consuming) to test. Hence this thread. It seems that most roads for those types of items eventually lead to TSR. Unless I’m just looking in the wrong direction(s) (there’s enough content out there to make anyone’s head spin :dizzy: ).
Most importantly, my offer to Sir Igazor also applies to you. Please choose any world/venue/set/whatever from the Store and it is yours. If you’d prefer individual items, just pick out a gaggle of them and I’ll make it happen. Even though you said you already have enough in your game, I sincerely hope that you can find room for more. Please let me know what you’d like. And as with Igazor, if you feel like making my life easier by placing it/them in a Wishlist and sharing/messaging that, it’d be appreciated by this gifting n00b. Unless it really is as simple as using the same username, then whichever which way is fine.
Honestly, I would have thought that – given everything the two of do around here for everyone (including answering questions within seconds of them being posted) – you both would have been gifted everything by now. Learning otherwise prompted a need in me to say:
Thank You!
(on behalf of everyone) in more than just words.
Thanks for your input and for everything you do for the folks around here!
@Odonata68 The first pieces of CC I ever came across were on a Sim I downloaded from the Exchange. I freaked out because I didn’t know it was going to install a bunch of ugly hairstyles, make-up and other garbage into my game. I didn’t even know that stuff existed at the time, so I panicked, uninstalled and re-installed my entire game. It also taught me that the Exchange isn’t a safe place. EA really dropped the ball on that one, much to the dismay of Simmers everywhere.
It wasn’t long before I started learning though. And it wasn’t long after that before I realized that I couldn’t play the game without at least some Custom Content anymore, especially skins. I’ve been using CC skins for almost as long as I’ve been playing the game (I personally use Navetsea’s). Learning how to mod the Sims 3 changed everything for me way back in the day, though I never would have dreamt how far people were going to take the game. There’s so much content it’s amazingly unbelievable (and unbelievably amazing).
Now I’m so picky that I need half a million things to even look at my Sims. The default replacement eyebrows/beards by Simple Life (I can’t believe I ever used EA’s at all now and share those as often as I can with people because they’re so awesome). The S-Club eyelashes over at TSR. I have 81 sliders in my mods folder thanks to OneEuroMutt (and I haven’t even gotten to Pet sliders, lol). Her site has an amazing array of content, including retextures for the non-Store EA hair (Base Game and all EP’s). The list goes on…
MTS is where I started out as well. I wish all (or at least most) of The Sims 3 content was hosted on that site because it’s so well done in basically every respect. MTS should’ve put TSR out of business long ago (if I were a creator, I know where’d I’d want my stuff hosted). Most of what I’ve gotten from there have been mods though. Buckley created some really cool hair sets on that site where she removed the accessories from EA’s hairstyles. All of my contact lenses – thus far – are from there as well (though I find myself almost always using “Watercolor” by Elexis), along with too much other stuff to really list or even remember at this point.
I too test everything I download, but started this thread because I didn’t/don’t want to go and start testing that much stuff from TSR without knowing if it was worth my time (at. all.) or not. If it’s a Sims3Pack, I convert it to .package format first using Delphy’s Multi Installer. There are very few Custom Content items I’d probably ever install anyway (e.g. counters/cabinets/sectionals have to be installed in order to work properly).
Another one of the reasons I started this thread was because I started scaring myself late last year by going much further/deeper into the realm of CC websites than I should have. I was clicking links willy-nilly without a second thought (Tumblr seemed safe enough), but found myself occasionally getting redirected to bad places on the web which I’d never, ever travail on my own. :o Nothing bad ever happened to my PC, but that was mainly through luck (Windows 10 broke itself on its own instead, lol). I went further down that rabbit-hole (one where your Sims never get to go home) than anyone should.
That then brought me back to The Store. And then looking more at TSR because a paid account is guaranteed not to send me down virus/malware lane.
I took a quick look at the work by Cyclonesue at TSR and have to say that those types of creations are exactly why I started this thread and why the site interests me! :) Thanks for the recommendation! In recompense, and since you stated that you wanted to own The Store one day, please feel free to choose any item(s) costing up to ~300 SimPoints and let me know. Hopefully that’ll help you on your journey in at least some small way.
As for The Store going away, I think we’re a long way from that. The only way it would happen would be if the cost of hosting/maintaining the site met or exceeded the revenue it generated. The way I see it playing out, EA will cut the cost of SimPoints (finally) a little over two years prior to them calculating this eventuality (something they’ve probably already done by looking at sales figures over time) in an attempt to garner as much income as possible in the time before it closes. I say two years because that’s how long SimPoints last before they expire. Seeing as how prices are remaining steady, I think we’re safe for a long time to come. EA may not always be smart, but they are pretty business-savvy.
Still though, the thought of it going away has played into my desire to own everything I could possibly want. If my predictions are wrong and The Store suddenly disappears one day (though I think/hope they state that they they’ll give 30 days’ notice), that would be horrible beyond imagining. The fact that they aren’t fixing the problems with the site (stuck Sales, etc…) like they said they were going to isn’t a good sign.
No matter what, it will certainly be gone one day, so best to enjoy it while we can. :smile:
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your experiences!
@Chatsa
I’m sorry to hear that your experiences with CC have been so poor. Are you talking build/buy or CAS?
With the exception of a lot of hairstyles, I’ve been exceedingly happy with most of the content I’ve downloaded. Like I stated (probably repeatedly) above, it’s basically all been CAS stuff and mods though.
Build/Buy scares me more, but if people can make hairstyles that meet – and sometimes exceed (with the caveat that I do adore a lot of EA hairstyles) – the quality of what EA has created, then my hope is that some of that content out there does the same.
I hope that you don’t give up on your search and end up finding some things that make your game even more enjoyable!
@funkeeferret
"funkeeferret;c-16276352" wrote:
@Symb10sis I always enjoy your posts. :)
Awwww…you’re too sweet. :smile: That line made my day and is therefore totally Gift-Worthy. Truly, the way to this hack writer’s heart is by complimenting my wordsmithing. It's like planting a little smiley face in my brain. :smiley: Given that my posts are generally at least 100 pages long and ramble all over the place at times (ummmm…look at this tome), I’ve long wondered if anyone actually takes the time to read them. Thank you for answering that question positively! Especially since I personally find my OP here so darn horrid and take it as lesson never to post (especially a new thread) the same day I write something. :pensive:
As with Sirs Igazor and Treynutz, please feel free to choose, well, basically anything (or things if you’d rather have a plumload of smaller items) from the Store and it’s yours. Just let me know what piece of Simmy goodness you’d like. Thankfully, you already have a posted Wishlist, so that makes it easier.
Knowing that you’re limited in EP’s/SP’s and Store content due to the way you play tugged at my heartstrings, especially when I look at the ginormous mountain of content I’ve managed to amass since I started playing again. I was already planning on Gifting you something small, at least, but at the time of SimPoint purchase, this vault-owner was nearly as giddy about Gifting as he was about finishing his own collection.
Your post was also too splendid in that, unlike yours truly, you’re perfectly happy with what you have (along with just being nice in general and stuff :) ). Those who ceaselessly desire rarely deserve and those who are content often merit more.
If you don’t mind my asking, why are you choosing to go the disc route and avoid 1.69? I own five on disc, but had no choice when I wanted to start playing again because Windows 10 simply won’t read them. It was Origin or nothing for me. However, the $5 Expansions and Stuff Packs I magically stumbled across on Amazon (some of which were actually DRM-free, so that could possibly help you someday maybe if it happens again) right after I installed the game last July (the timing was uncanny) seemed more than a worthy consolation prize. I even somehow managed to score the Limited Edition of Pets as a Download code from there and got the Pet Shop, which was incredible because I would’ve been willing to pay more for that had I known it existed when I got the EP (I was actually shopping around for it on disc when I happened to check my Purchase History and then got all super-duper happy :smiley: ). I looked up that Outdoor Living Stuff Pack on Amazon and the cheapest new one on disc was $79.95(!!!). Do the used ones even serve any purpose? I don’t think so and don’t understand why people are selling them, but don’t really know how it works with the discs anymore; it’s been too long.
I don’t have a clue as to what happened with me and Simpoints, lol. I went from a few “Must haves” (the violin) to “Would likes” to “Nope, never – I’m done” to “Well, maybe a bit more” and finally to “Meh, I have the money , so why not?” pretty rapidly. Heck, I’ve come to realize that I could’ve bought a whole lot of real-life stuff instead (including a whole new purdy guitar to play on), but if life has taught me anything, it’s that while money comes and money goes, Sims 3 content is Forever. I’m coming back to the game this many years later and put over 300 hours into it between last July and this January.
My list of “Must haves” also grew as time went on as I learned more about some of the Premium Content/Venues. For example, this mod brought the Brunch at the Old Mill venue up from something I ‘knew’ I’d never want to something I absolutely had to have. :star:
The same thing happened with me and the Worlds late last year. I think I may just be a junkie for shiny Sims 3 accoutrements. You are reading a post written by a man who owns Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats, after all. :smiley:
Like yourself, I probably could’ve stopped ages ago and been perfectly satisfied with my game. In fact, I may end up less happy if I find that game now cluttered with a bunch of plum-ugly stuff that I’ll have to constantly weed through and never use. There’s a decent likelihood that I’ll look back on all this a year from now and wonder what the heck I was thinking. Content aside, there’s still a game there too, one which now has a zillion new things for me and my Sims to do and try (and try to do).
I’m not so much tech-savvy as I am a quick study, so like you as well, I am truly worried about bogging down and/or breaking my game. When I first started up again (I owned through Generations), CAS was lightning fast and incredibly fun. Then after installing all the shiny new EP’s/SP’s, well, yeah, there was more stuff, but it came at a huge cost. I also worry about the higher potential for glitches/bugs/whatever with those zillion new features and additions. Especially long-term. I probably put 700-800 hours into the game way back in the day without issue (well, one crop of invisible Sims), but have a sinking feeling that things may not go so smoothly this time around. The Sims 3 is more a cobbled-together puzzled-up mish-mash of EA-craziness than it is a standard game. For better and worse.
I just hope that I can find more time to play again – and actually play this time, not just look around online at content, stare endlessly at Sims in CAS and occasionally mess around with some of those Sims in-game to check out some of the Worlds/Venues and have a bit of fun. It’s been far too long since I’ve even had “neighborhoods, businesses, and my ongoing dramas/stories.” I’m starting completely fresh because it turned out (to my horror) that my Sims – which I thought looked pretty darn good back in the day in 720p on medium settings – were actually hideously deformed, bug-eyed monsters with giant heads. :worried: Thus began my Sim-Making, CAS-Content Crusade and now my Everything-Content Crusade, which, much like the Crusades of ‘yore, will likely last a couple of hundred years.
As to whether or not your post helped me to make a decision, I believe I answered a large part of that already, but I didn’t expect anything definitive from anyone when I started this. Despite its egregious flaws, it was more about hoping for the exchange of ideas, getting as many peoples’ thoughts on the matter as I could and starting a discussion. In that, I believe I (somehow, against stupendous odds) succeeded, despite the small group of posters here and with the glaring exception that I utterly failed at being a part of that discussion.
And I did come to a decision: Invest some money on fake stuff for fake people in my own world(s), then share the rest with real stuff for real people which will then become fake stuff for their fake people. And then write a truly outlandish sentence about it.
As to whether I’ll ever join TSR? “Busy blinking shopping experiences,” lol. I’m no closer to answering that question than I was when I started. I do know that it’s probably the only way that I’d ever consider using the site much (save for possibly InfraGreen’s Chrome add-on suggestion), but first I have the monumental task of going through what I already have waiting for me.
At least I know that I’ll have those sofeing sofas to kick back on while I do it. And I brought cookies: :cookie: :cookie: :yum:
Thanks again! :smiley:
I now eagerly await everyone’s decisions on what they want. Participation is mandatory (I already bought the SimPoints, so yeah…). The only way out is if you (The Recipient) happen to know someone whom you feel is more deserving or in need of content, then I suppose the Gifts could be transferable. Or if you just don’t really play the game anymore, which would just be sad. :(
I hope this post has been an enjoyable experience (in as much as is possible), despite its voluminous volume. While I wrote the bulk of it in a just a few hours, it’s taken me (or someone else on my behalf) weeks to edit (and pare down - this is the abridged version) and parts still feel rushed due to time constraints. I honestly have no idea if half of what I wrote is really on-topic anymore, lol. I just know that if I don’t post what I have at this point, I’ll never post anything.
Now I just hope that I can manage to stay in this time period and participate here more (without writing a book every time). The side-effects of the type of time-travel I underwent are still entirely unknown – I could find myself warping years into the future without notice, but that’s what I signed up for back when I joined NISA.
And I still have a game to play. Some day. Hopefully.
