Is it necessary to download all this stuff? I love TS2. I play all the time. But I haven't downloaded anything in relation to it. Not the patches, not any skins. I just play the game how it is. Would you guys recommend downloading this stuff? I am having fun playing the game how it is, but will this other stuff enhance it a lot? Sarah
The only "patch" you need is the one released by Maxis, here. Any other downloads would simply add variety to your game - sometimes it's nice to have a family with purple hair and green spotty skin, so that's where the downloads come in. There are hacked objects which could enhance the game if you wished - but again, it would be your decision to download them. You don't need to download anything, but in my experience downloads have always been fun. They create nice little genetic suprises now and then, and can give you much more flexibility over how you run the game. It's up to you.
So if I have a purple skinned woman, and she gets pregnant, her baby may have purple skin? That would be cool. I didn't think the genetics thing would work like that! Sarah
Other than Maxis patch, you don't need anything else as long as you are having fun. Personally, I like "shopping" for downloads. (It fulfills a Sims-like want that I have but can't accomodate due to current financial conditions.) I can shop to my hearts content without spending a dime. But I also like the variety of furnishings, walls/floors and clothes that downloading allows me. I do make some things of my own (BodyShop and Homecrafter, but never good enough IMHO to share), but I love what other people have done. So, for me (and others), downloading makes the game more fun. But if you are having fun already, save the downloading for when it's not quite as fun as a way of rejuvinating your interest in the game.
If you are very choosey about what you download its decent - the problems occur when you download so much stuff that you miss the good stuff. I wish the sims 2 site had a more... specific download section - like winter fashion collection (no sims, just clothes) etc etc - I dont like downloading a 9meg sim just for his/her great t-shirt So - if your picky, its decent - just try not to get ahead of yourself.
I agree with Blower. Try to be a sims download gourmet, not a gourmond. I happen to be a download glutton. I have way too many downloaded stuff, and half of it I didn't like once I got it.
Download There is enough out there that you can choose only to download the best. For something to warrant my download it must have the following: A picture. And the picture must match the desciption. If I see a teen in a dress and the description says an adult in a tank I don't DL it. Texture. I hate nothing more than clothes and furniture patterns that are just solid colors or patterns with no sense of lighting, texture, or the way cloth hangs froma surface. A good pattern is nice but a pattern with proper light and shadow is golden. If its a recolor I will only DL it if it was recolored by the original artist. I dislike people who do nothing but gank other people's hard work, recolor the layers, and redistribute it as their own work without giving credit. The same goes for original Maxis work. So be choosy, set standards and stick to them. Otherwise your computer will be glutted with hackney crap.
That's why I don't even bother with the exchange. Too much drek. Even with the culling that they do, it's too cumbersome for me (on dialup especially) to download a full Sim when all I want is their eyeshadow, outfit or the like. (Hair is worth it. Those files are huge anyway so if it's decent hair I'll get it.)
