CC Help

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Jesslb429
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CC Help

Post by Jesslb429 »

Hey guys.

So after a few weeks of deliberation, I decided that I would reinstall The Sims 2 after a LOOOOOONNNNNG time away. I mean years. So I am back down to noob levels of inexperience.

What I need help with is remembering how TS2 CC works. In my research endeavors, I have found that I prefer Maxis Match Items, but I am still at a loss to how certain things work.

Hair for instance. I remember the categories, but do I have to download special elder hair?

Any help or advice on Sims 2 CC is much appreciated. :sorry:
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Re: CC Help

Post by Taube »

Ah, CC. Yes, I had to relearn a lot when I stepped away for a few years.

Nearly every hair, unless maybe you're downloading something ancient from the first year or two the game came out (in which case . . . why? :haha: There's so much good stuff now!) has elder hair connected to it. Most hair creators bin it to only one of the four genetic colors, usually black or blond, so if it's binned to black and you delete the black recolor, you will no longer have access to the elder hair. So if you plan not to keep all the recolors, it may pay to find out where they bin their elder hair. If you're downloading Maxis match, you're probably only getting one recolor of each of the four, so that's easier to manage than one of the hairs that comes with, like, seven blond shades or something. ;) That said, some people do bin elder colors to each of the four, but in my experience that's rarer because it kind of uses more resources.

My biggest advice is to find an organization system that works since you have the luxury of starting over. I recently learned here that too many files deep can increase loading times, and there are lots of other tips and tricks if you want to squash loading times, but that's more CC 201. Anyway, a good - not too deep - folder system will help you pull bad CC or stuff that you just don't want anymore.

I'll try to think of some other stuff later, but I wanted to answer your question right away. :)

EDIT: Oh, and I'm sure you remember this, but nearly everything requires a mesh and a texture file (recolor). If you delete something from Bodyshop or in-game, you are only deleting the texture file and a bunch of unmatched meshes will bloat your Downloads. So if you want to remove something, remove it from your folders unless you have something else using that mesh too.
Last edited by Taube on August 30th, 2016, 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CC Help

Post by Heather »

Adding on to what Taube said, you'll need a program to unzip files you download, like WinRar or 7-Zip. Not sure if you already knew that, but figured I should mentioned it just in case! In the case of sims2pack files, clicking on the package should open up a window to install it. If you have the ultimate collection, and you're having trouble installing s2pack files, try checking this thread for help.

For things like object recolours, you'll sometimes need CEP/Colour enable package for them to show up correctly in your game. You can find more information on it here. :)

Also, while most files will go in your downloads folder, some downloads like camera mods or lighting mods will require you to swap out maxis files with the files you just downloaded. I'd advise staying away from that kind of stuff until you're comfortable with making changes to the game files.
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Re: CC Help

Post by Jesslb429 »

Thanks a massive bunch for the help! Some knowledge is transferable from TS3 but most got lost long ago.

And:
Heather wrote:If you have the ultimate collection, and you're having trouble installing s2pack files, try checking this thread for help.

Thanks for including this! I just got off the phone with EA support(after a long frustrating chat convo before the call)and they gave me the Ultimate Collection because my EPs wouldn't install from my discs. :heavybreathing:

And one thing I remember that both of you touched on, is not going too nuts with CC and staying in my comfort zone. Back in the far age of 2006 I nearly broke my family PC with CC and have learned in the ten years since. I am not a HUGE CC downloader, but like with TS3, I do need some :shhh:

Also, if someone could clarify ARC a bit for me. I get most of it, but not too sure about the token thing....god i feel like total noob.
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Re: CC Help

Post by Heather »

I play with version two of ACR (though I'm also familiar with the first version), so if you have any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them!

As far as I know/understand, the tokens are usually given to the sims automatically (normally when you load up the lot), and running a sims token stats will give you information like who they're currently attracted to, what clothing they wear during autonomous woohoo (undies, full dress, or naked), etc. If a sim doesn't have a token, I don't think you can use the casual options on them, and they won't do autonomous romantic interactions themselves. To fix that you can give them a token yourself. :)
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Re: CC Help

Post by Radiochocolate »

If you haven't already, become familiar with game/neighborhood corruption.
I strongly recommend anything labeled "fix" by J. M. Pescado at MATY. He uses a color coding system for all of his hacks/mods/fixes: grab anything labeled red or orange, at minimum.
Oh and when downloading hacks/mods, if it's updated for Apartment Life and doesn't specifically say "don't use for Ultimate Collection", it should work.
Heather wrote:As far as I know/understand, the tokens are usually given to the sims automatically (normally when you load up the lot), and running a sims token stats will give you information like who they're currently attracted to, what clothing they wear during autonomous woohoo (undies, full dress, or naked), etc. If a sim doesn't have a token, I don't think you can use the casual options on them, and they won't do autonomous romantic interactions themselves. To fix that you can give them a token yourself. :)
Pretty much that. You can also adjust gender preference, level of autonomy individually or for the whole hood, chance of pregnancy from autonomous woohoo and several other things. One thing that confused me at first is "Static" and "Dynamic", but it's actually quite simple: if you for example want your bisexual sim to fluctuate in gender pref and possibly go as far as to completely favor one gender, you put the gender pref option to "Dynamic". If your sim has their current girlfriend as "The One Sim" (the person that they "have the hots for" and are most likely to be autonomous with) and do not want that to change even if they cheat, you pick "Static".

I suggest you use a test hood for trying out ACR and other hacks. Since ACR uses tokens (which are stored in Character Data) you need to uninstall from the hood first, and I know there's a difference between v. 1 and v. 2 but I don't remember what the difference is. By using a test hood, you can see if ACR is something that you'd like to keep in your game before using it on your challenge/story sims.

I currently play version 1 but I am planning on switching to version 2. The first version is updated for Apartment Life/Mansion & Garden, and as an Ultimate Collection user I can verify that it works.

ACR 1 comes with a manual, and ACR 2 comes with a description of the differences between the two.
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