Mods for better gameplay

Well, it always just depends on what mods you're talking about. I'm not sure what, if any, mods you have so I'm just going to proceed like you don't have any lol. With a sandbox game like the sims where most of the story is happening in your head, having better options to choose from can be a must-have; even if the outcomes are effectively the same. For example, Melunn's mods mainly add new social interactions that don't give any moodlets, however, the choices given can enhance the conversation your sims are having in your head (especially her family life mod). Even if the mod doesn't feel like its doing anything it can defiantly help storytelling wise. But, there are plenty of mods that add gameplay. Lumpinou's mods are absolutely amazing and add tons of new gameplay like in-depth poly relationships, family planning, and romance overhauls. Plenty of creators have mods that add new gameplay.

Slice of Life, Meaningful stories and MCCC all improve gameplay. MCCC gives you greater control over your game, Meaningful Stories revamps the emotions so sims are less manic and they make more sense, and SoL adds more gameplay, it's pretty well thought out and configurable and includes a basic personality and attraction system.

I guess i was hoping for something that wasn’t so much in my head and a little more in-game
Thanks, I will check it out!

Some of the mods I use improve game play by a lot. They just alter or add to the way some things work. They don't really add any new game play but they still add to the playing experience. I use Meaningful Stories because it makes emotions more realistic. I use a few personality mods because the sims lack personality and I use MCCC and NPC Control because I hate situation outfits and random townies.

Have Some Personality Please is a mod that improves gameplay a great deal by enabling dynamic idle conversations between sims. It makes social gatherings feel a lot more lively and all kinds of interesting outcomes can occur from these interactions. It also allows meaningful and often unpredictable relationships to form between sims without so much manual intervention.

Meaningful Stories and Personality Please are essential for improving the core gameplay. These mods don’t add anything new, just tweak/enhance the existing set of features already available.

A good way to start is to list gameplay that you wished were different in your game and look for mods for those specific things. Some mods are big and make sweeping changes, but most mods are very specific for very specific gripes that the mod creator is targeting. At this point there is a mod for pretty much anything. I'd suggest you check out LittleMsSam's mods, she has a very handy list of mods and will give you an idea of what is possible. Fair warning though; once you learn what IS possible to mod, it's easy to get addicted and chances are you won't be able to go back to playing vanilla. :p

I use MCCC and Meaningful Stories, they are both great. I love the control I have over townies, outfits etc. with MCCC and emotions are just so much better with MS. Have Some Personality Please and Slice Of Life sound interesting too, I will try them both.

For me, I've found that SNB (Sims National Bank) mods have improved my gameplay. They allow you to open bank accounts for your sims and if coupled with SimCityLoans and LittleMsSam's ATM mod, you get quite a few new financial options for the sims. I do get quite nerdy with my save, so this might not necessarily be your cup of tea.

A lot does depend on what you want improved. I use Road To Fame, Road To Romance and Passionate Romance a lot and they've all improved gameplay in various ways. I use Slice of Life and Meaningful Stories to enhance what's already there but the rest of my major mods add completely new features.

The only mods I know that change actual gameplay quite dramatically are sacrificial mods, which some I don't think could be discussed here. But he has a great zombie mod if you're into that stuff and his road to fame mod is the best friend of get famous. Really enhances the pack. You should check them all out to see if he has some you're interested in. And on his website he goes into great detail of what each one does and what it will add. I like that.

Other than that I agree. Most just help you use imagination like pose player (one of my favorites)
Personally what I'm always hunting for is anything that adds more interactions and animations.
Like raaven (I think her name is in patreon) that collab with someone and made a kitchen set for kids and toddlers to actually use.

Oh that reminds me of a mod that adds a lot to my gameplay. zulfina kids can mod. With this kids can garden, cook, use sim ray, use magic, do yoga, ride bikes and a few other things.
Also she has one that adds doctor interactions so kids can play doctor. Or as adults you can check temperature and a few other things I can't think of because I have too much lol

I also believe zero has mods that you might be interested in. Many are just mods that fix tiny annoyances but she has some like become a hybrid vamp and spellcaster, become a traditional witch where you can summon sprites and stuff I can't remember now because it's too much. She does a lot of occult enhancing. One of her mods give vampires more powers like become immune to sunlight for 3 days or wherever, or see your reflection in the mirror etc.

Thepancake1 has a mod that adds slow dancing, (sacrificial too) dance on counter, see saws for kids, kiss a sim from behind while they are cooking, read book on bed and stuff like that.

Another modder I can't think of the name for added a rocking horse for kids and toddlers as well as functional bunk beds.
Meaningful stories is a must to keep those emotions balanced. But personality wise I tried them all and haven't found any that I thought enhanced personality if that's what your seeking.

And there is another mod that unlocks all interactions from all careers because I don't play careers I would never get to use them without it.

Triplis has a mod to give kids 6 new traits. Love the energized trait. You can make the kid eat candy, run around, fight self and a few others lol