SIMply Schmoozin'

The wife downloaded it all last night and installed it. She said it didn't remove her old game, or ask her to remove it and it added it's own folder to the ea games folder...I haven't tried to d/l it yet, I'm still trying to decide if I want it...I went ahead and claimed it...lol can't pass up free I guess...Just wish they were all separate so I wouldn't have to install certain eps.

The info I read was obviously not correct :) Good to know.  

Oh, maybe your info wasn't incorrect, Sandy. I found this page. about installing the Ultimate Collection. Apparently it can mess up your original installation of the game if you don't uninstall it before downloading the new version. Maybe it's a good thing mine still hasn't finished downloading yet.   

I agree, it would be nice if they were separate or if it gave you some way to pick and choose which EPs you want or don't want.

Thanks for the link. I got the UC in my Origins account but did not/will not download it. I'm going to save it for "someday"   

I have all EP's and SP's, and things are working great   

Sounds like a good plan!    If I had all the SPs and EPs already I wouldn't bother downloading it either.

I Just downloaded the entire thing last night. It's about twelve gig and took about 4 hours to download. So far everything is acting as it should and all the mods I have installed seem to be compatible with it. I Will say though that I definitely need to install the mod that prevents sims from covering their eyes, That's going to get old fast.

Wow!! That's a big file and time consuming! Glad to hear that it is working good for you :) Did you already have a version on your pc or no?

I had the cd versions of them already, But uninstalled them when I installed the Ultimate Collection.

Well we ran into a problem with it...the wife didn't uninstall first...then she went back and tried uninstalling...now it doesn't recognize that Seasons and another pack are not installed...so probably going to have to uninstall everything and redo it...we had hoped it would just install what wasn't installed over the original...nope.

I think I'll pass... I have all the EP (and none of the SP) but I think I can live w/o the SP.

BTW, today is moving day, the truck from MA arrives in about 2 hours!   

Good luck with the move Mac!!

I have all of the SPs and EPs. I may register the link as a backup, but I don't see any reason to download and install.

Mac, if you do decide you want the SPs, you might check half.com. I've bought a lot of Sims 1 and Sims 2 SPs and EPs that way; I don't think I've ever paid more than $5 for anything.

Have fun moving!

A word of warning if one uses SimPe with the Ultimate Collection that SimPe can not properly detect the expansion and stuff packs. The base game is detected properly though. I am looking into fixing that if possible.

Edit to add: I found a fix for it. For those interested here is the file http://www.mediafire.com/download/to38hu5oc82rbqg/ExpansionsXREG_UpdatedForUC.zip . To update SimPe's file go to it's install folder then to the Data folder, In the Data folder there should be a file called expansions.xreg. I would first back up the original file then place my edited file in the same directory. After that SimPe should detect that the expansions are installed.

For those that don't know the Sims 4 CAS demo was released this week. Out of curiosity I downloaded it and played with it. I have to say in regards to actually editing the body with CAS does a good job, But on the other hand editing the face was a bit too simplified. Also I really didn't see the point of the point and dragging system to alter the sim, In most cases it's just a prettied up version of sliders.

For those curious about the demo can read about it here http://simsvip.com/2014/08/12/the-sims-4-create-a-sim-demo-now-available/ .

I've been playing with the demo, just for fun. I won't be buying TS4. It's kind of fun, but it's not easy to figure out how to use. Like when trying to make facial adjustments, I know what I want to change, but it's hard to tell where to click and how to drag and it's difficult to find what options are possible. I agree that it seems a bit simplified, but I did find there was more there than I initially thought because I wasn't clicking in the right spot. It seems like it could be better. It does seem pretty easy to make a decent looking sim without too much tweaking though.

One cool feature I did find was expanded aspirations. There are some new ones and subsets of the pre-existing ones. Like for romance you can choose between a having a sim who wants to have lots of lovers or one who wants a soul mater or for family you can chose between having a sim who wants a legacy and one who wants to have a large family.

I made a couple of my Arrendale Heights families, the Arrendale and the Stuarts. The demo only lets you make adults, so I had to make parents and children in my families the same age group.

Thanks for the info Aaron!

Em, they look great! I tried the demo also-fail!! lol, I glitched the aspiration or the demo wouldn't allow it to
stick" not sure what happened. Why did you decide not to get it? I think I will be ok with the game if I look at it as completely different than my fav Sims2. The sims in 4 just look so cartoony to me, dunno! I'm sure I'll give it a try though at some point, not pre-ordering though   

Quote :

Why did you decide not to get it?

Mostly because I don't have a lot of time to devote to playing anymore and even if I did, I still have a lot I'd like to do with TS2 still. Plus, so far, I haven't really heard anything about TS4 that's caught my attention enough to make me want to switch, except for the variation in body shapes, but that alone isn't enough for me. I've mostly been hearing about features that were left out, more than about anything new that's been added. Basically, I'm just content with TS2.   

That's odd that the aspirations didn't stick. I think I had some physical changes to my sims that didn't stick, but then again maybe I just didn't save properly.

I hear you about the time crunch and sticking with a favorite! I love Sims2 and not ready at all to "move on" as I see some people write, makes me cringe   

Your sims look great, Em!

I, too, was curious and downloaded the Sims 4 CAS demo.  I had a lot of fun building me.  I think I have to disagree, though, with everyone so far.  I enjoyed the new features, particularly the body shape adjusters.  Finally, you can have a wide variety of shapes.  I didn't have any problems with aspirations, traits, or features 'sticking'.  And as far as cartoony goes, it is still just a vanilla game.  Let's not forget how ridiculously cartoony sims 2 looks without cc.  I think for vanilla, it's looking nice and has a wide variety of faces to choose from.  I was pleased that when I changed the nose, it didn't ruin the whole face, as in TS2 - I can't remember how many times I'd simply change the nose and lose the balance of the face, then be stuck trying to readjust everything around it.  If I could complain about one thing, it would be that I didn't seem to be able to adjust the thinness of the lips, unless I was just missing it - I could pick a different mouth, but everytime I clicked on the lips to try to thin out the top, it just moved the mouth up and down, instead.  Other than that, I am very pleased with the creation process.  I don't know if I'll be interested in playing the game, though, due to the changes they've made.  I admit I am a control freak and really like to control every aspect of my sims' lives, but also like the random possibilities, as well.  I don't know if I'd have enough to do if I wasn't telling my sims when to eat, sleep, and bathe.  I'll have to see after it comes out how it plays.

Meet Ari Fae

Wow!! she's beautiful Ari!! The demo IS fun!! I do agree with you about the vanilla aspect of it. I do admit to not being able to play the sims themselves "vanilla" at all anymore! haha And to think I did it for so long happily!    I am a control freak too! Well only time will tell now.

Oh, I liked the new features too.  I think it's awesome that you can change the bodyshape so much.  (Of course, that makes me want to be able to do even more.    )  I agree with you that it looks really good for not having any cc and I'm sure a limited amount of content compared to what the game will probably come out with.  I'm not bothered by the cartoonish nature.  Remember how early TS2 and TS3 sims looked?  I think these look great by comparison.  

The problems I was having may be due to my laptop getting hot and laggy as it tends to do, unfortunately.  It needs a guide or a tutorial though, I think because at first I wasn't even finding the pre-set faces and features at first, because I clicked on the wrong place first.  It would be nice to have a reference to look back at to see what changes are possible and where exactly you click to make those changes, because if you move just a little bit off, you're changing something different.  Like, you can change the thickness of the lips.  I think you have to be in detail edit mode though.  I found out how to do that early on, but had trouble finding how you move the lips up.  I still haven't figured out how to make the mouth wider or narrower from side to side though.  

I love your simself. She's so pretty!    

Here's my attempt at one.  I wish I could make the shoulders broader or at least less slouching and I didn't have the right eye color.  The greens aren't dark enough and the dark colors are too brown.  

Looks great Em :)

Sandy - I know, right?  I played the game vanilla for the longest time and was terrified of cc, lol.  Now I run all kinds of stuff, including 295 different mods!  

Your simmie is super cute, Em!  Thanks for noting the detail mode - you're right, I was able to adjust the lip thickness with that, so I'm pretty excited about all the control I can have over creating sims.

I don't know if you can tell the difference or not, but here she is with a slightly thinner upper lip.



I was hoping this picture would turn out bigger, but here is her personality - Aspiration is bestselling author, which comes with a bonus trait of Muser; her other traits are Gloomy, Loner, and Creative



I'm really looking forward to seeing how the game plays - by watching others, of course.  I'm not sure if I want it just yet, but if I do get it, it won't be until March.

She looks great!

I know I am a little late to the conversation, but thank you, to those who have shared their experience with downloading the Ultimate collection.
This is good information!!!  

I have all the EPs and SPs I want installed currently, and like Cher, I have found some great deals on them.
For example, I purchased most all of my SPs for between $4.99 & $7.99 (give or take) at Half Price Books.
HPB stores are in many parts of the nation (16 states).  

Do my eyes deceive me or do the Sims in Sims 4 resemble the icky puddin-faced Sims of Sims 3?  

Em wrote:

I don't have a lot of time to devote to playing anymore and even if I did, I still have a lot I'd like to do with TS2 still. Plus, so far, I haven't really heard anything about TS4 that's caught my attention enough to make me want to switch...Basically, I'm just content with TS2.

Sandy wrote:

I love Sims 2 and not ready at all to "move on" ...

 
Well said, Emily & Sandy.

I did, however, get a kick out of Em and Ari's Simselves. Fun stuff!
Nice to see you here, Ari. Hope all is well in your world.