Do you prefer Alpha or Maxis Match CC? (Or a combo)?

Alpha is my favourite

I normally prefer a more realistic look, but I prioritize uniformity. I still use a lot of Maxis stuff, so alpha would look really out of place.

Also, some alpha CC go in the other direction and look too shiny or plastic doll-like for my taste

I enjoy Maxis in most cases, though I have a few items that are Maxis with a bit of an alpha thrown in which is okay too, but I'd never go for anything full alpha as I don't like the fact it'd look out of place. If I were to transfer to all alpha, I wouldn't be happy unless I made over every sim, at least.

I honestly don't see alpha as standing out too badly. In this pic, the shower, towel bar and her long johns are cc.

https://i.imgur.com/r9u3GqS.png

I get there is some clothes ( and hairs) that look just awful, but there's a lot that work well together. And I notice as the game goes, that even game objects are getting better and more detailed.

Even though i put a combination of both i am mainly maxis match and only have alpha as the meshes for clayified hairs which are kinda mm so definitely more maxis match than not.

"fullspiral;c-16858971" wrote:
I honestly don't see alpha as standing out too badly. In this pic, the shower, towel bar and her long johns are cc.

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/r9u3GqS.png

These are recolors of maxis meshes with textures staying within the aesthetic range of the game, that's not alpha cc, that's the very definition of maxis match.

An alpha cc bathroom would be something like this
https://66.media.tumblr.com/9c9454dba2e324f33f4d58496bc0e70e/tumblr_piw78xSDsc1wgmmcho1_500.jpg

Maxis match for hair and clothing. For the items, anything goes.

I love Maxis Match CC. Alpha CC can be very impressive if made correctly, but I feel that the realism of it clashes with the aesthetic of the game. At least when I dabbled in Alpha CC, it seemed like I had to download a lot of pieces to make one cohesive look. Whereas with MM CC, just installing a handful of it expands my options without overtly standing out amongst Maxis-created assets.

I have MM hairstyles, clothes (mostly recolors) and a bit of make-up. The only Alpha CC I have in my game are 3 lipsticks for Sims with darker skin tones. Before the August patch of this year there were just too few choices. I think that Alpha CC can look good in Sim modelling shots, but I would not be able to deal with the aesthetic in game.
That's just my opinion though.

I don't use CC at all but if I had to choose I would 100% use Maxis Match only.

Alpha CC looks hideous to me. It clashes with the game's aesthetics and generally looks tacky. I can't stand those fake eyelashes for example. And those "realistic" hairstyles give me TS3 vibes (TS3 sims looked horrible and ugly in my opinion). Alpha CC for furniture makes the game look like one of those housing projects where they show you how the appartments will look when they are finished.

I understand nevertheless why some people would use them since this is all very subjective.