Hello everyone.

I'm still sorting my downloads folder, although the end is in sight (kind of), but I've been thinking of culling/replacing some of my custom content.

I'm kind of intrigued by the simplicity and matchiness of playing a Maxis match game, althought my tastes are kind of the opposite, I tend to like shiny hairs (I like Pooklet naturals for hair), custom eyes etc.

I think the only CC I'm not sure about is skins, I find some CC skins are really nice, but some look a bit shiny. I think I might like the Maxis skins better than CC ones.

But then on the other hand, if someone has made a good sim of a TV character, and I strip the CC off, it might not look like that character anymore.

I never used to worry too much about matching, and just downloaded sims and CC that I liked.

But sometimes it did look a bit weird, as I had some sims that I had downloaded, such as favourite characters from games or TV, who came with lots of makeup, custom skins and hair, eyes etc., but some sims who were completely Maxis all over.

I did find after a few of years of playing, that I was starting to ignore the game hairs, makeup etc. and choose ones I'd downloaded instead.

I've been adding a few new default outfits, and am thinking maybe it might be nice to make all my bodyshop content match too.

I can't decide between:
*Using Maxis or Maxis match content only, and removing any packaged CC that comes with downloaded sims
*Using custom skins, hair etc. only, and having defaults to replace the Maxis ones
*Having a mixture

What do you prefer in your games? Do you use matching skins, hair etc, or just have a mixture?

This depends on what you mean by Maxis Match. Good Maxis Match should blend in with the latest EP's. It should be 'Maxis' but better. Like if Maxis had come out with an EP or a stuff pack in 2015 this is what it should look like. MM is not flood fill or dull or crunchy-which some people pass off as being MM (that is just bad CC), but it does tend to be matt and to use none or very little photo skinning. It is not base Game looking stuff or isn't anymore.
Well done MM would be someone like DeeDee https://deedee-sims.tumblr.com/downloads or Keoni https://keonidownloads.tumblr.com/

I use MM and some semi-realistic which is in between. Exactly which category something falls into, MM or semi is up for debate as people have their own ideas on that.
One big tell are the eyes you prefer. MM eyes do not have detailed pink edges to them. A good close up of Poppets MM eyes. https://peppermint-ginger.tumblr.co...b-these-guys-as

Hair for me is the biggest issue as my preference is for semi, I end up tossing anything too flat or too shiny.

If a sim comes with shiny skin, realistic eyes and photo skinned clothes it will all be gone.

I prefer a mixture. I cannot stand maxis match hair color, and prefer pooklet in that department but I also don't like a lot of alpha cc skin and clothes though I have them from a long time ago and may use it on a poor townie just so they aren't wearing the same things as my playable sims. I don't care either way for objects.

I'm fairly certain that I'm quite the minority here...I'm almost anti-Maxis. :-) My playable Sims all have custom skintones, custom bodyshapes, custom hair, custom eyes, custom clothes (once they get to teens) -- pretty much custom everything.

One of my favorite parts of the game is when a Sim ages up.That's when I choose how to update their look and wardrobe based upon their age, wants, interests, career, family, etc.

I figure I'll be playing/watching my Sims day after day, season after season for generations so I may as well have Sims I enjoy viewing rather than be stuck watching them gad about as ugly Maxonian descendants.

My games generally always been a huge mix. While I like a few Maxis match items that I would never NOT use (shoes on some of the default male outfits instead of those weird sandals) I always felt I would've loved to added new items entirely rather than replacing for most part.

Also since most of my Sims dolting around my neighbourhood tend to be downloaded Sims as well from this sites section I found I also need to get a lot of custom non replacement skins/makeup, ect too. So theres a fair few Sims with non-default replacement skins/outfits everywhere instead of anything else. Gives everyone a fair chance of sticking out more too, even if it's an odd way.

My sims are semi-realistic,Skins and eyes are replaced, hair has pooklet texture. I try to give them most natural look. I hate cartoony. Though photoskinned clothes I don't like too. I appreciate great artwork.

My entire downloads folder is a hoarder's nightmare collected through the past 14 years or so, revised badly I don't know how many times, so it's a bit all over the place, which includes the CAS section. Working on sorting through it now, though (it's a nightmare when the same hoarder is trying to clean it - "I can use that, and this could come in handy, and this just needs a little SimPE fixing or recategorizing, and I can remake these Project files in Bodyshop and they'll finally work..." But I have cleaned out some of it, and I have some pending for "should I keep or not?" where "not" means I chuck it in a folder that says "remove from game", because deleting is difficult - and yes, I have several backups a backup of the original folder...)

It mostly leans over to semi-realistic and some photoskinned (I try to go for the kind that looks alright - there's good and bad kinds, turns out i have both, but I'm trying to let a lot of the bad ones go at the moment. Photoskinned skins and hairs are a big no-no, though), with some MM thrown in, too (like 3t2 and MM with patterns and such, but I'm not too fond of mix-and-not-match colors or especially vibrant or saturated colors. It has to stylistically not look too different from the rest). Hairs mostly Pooklet and similar, though I have way too many original colors I really need to get rid of or bin/rebin/fix, and also a few MM textures here and there (I'm not too picky, but the MMs tend to be for more special hairs like hat-types that don't have a lot of hair showing but I still want them to be binned and can't be bothered to have 4x4 ones). Skin and eyes are semi-realistic but still with a streak of cartoonish. Basically I get a little bit of everything - if I like it and think I'll use it in my game, I'll try it out. I'm not too picky when downloading. Turns out that's a stylistic choice, too. I've found I have a tendency to pick and choose more carefully ingame, more so than when I'm downloading.

There are some things I'm extremely particular about, and one of those is eyes. So far I've only come across less than 5 sets I've really liked the look of, so much so I've kept the same set as my default since I found it back in 2006/7-ish (with a couple simple texture edits). I find a whole lot of CC eyes make the sim look in all directions but straight ahead, or have details I don't like, and this bugs me when I take pictures. The original maxis eyes are kinda creepy so haven't used them for ages.

Other than that I honestly don't care what I get as long as it fits my needs for photoshoots and storytelling or just having fun playing the game. If I need an item and all I can find is an MM item or a hyper-realistic item, then I'm probably going to use that if I don't have a choice and don't want to spend an afternoon meshing an item I'm going to use just once.

My advice is to just play and have fun, and try out different styles. Download items you like, and throw them out if you later decide you don't like them. You don't have to make huge decisions about your game right this moment - but perhaps make life easier for yourself and sort your downloads in such a way it becomes easier to throw out items you might not want to keep later. Eventually you'll probably find a style you like.

I'd say MM is anything that could blend pretty much seamlessly into the overall style of the game as addons to what already exists - it can also mean a slight update to many of the textures and colors (because some original colors and options are rather iffy) but keeping to the overall cartoony style. Realistic would be anything that looks realistic in shape and textures, and stands out in relation to the cartoonish style of the game. Semi-realistic would be anything that is somewhere in the rough middle between very realistic and very MM. Exactly where the limits go between each is difficult to say, because that's more opinion-based.



If you do this, make sure you clone the sim and remove all content manually - giving the sim a maxis hair is most important, but remove CC accessories if you don't want ugly floating text thingies, and clothes that don't look like the standard "can't find mesh" clothes if you want to find your sim much easier), and then save them again. If you just delete hairs, you'll end up with sims with missing hairs. They are possible to fix in CAS, but they're less problematic if you properly fix them in Bodyshop first (they're almost impossible to fix in Bodyshop unless you have the original hair - if you don't have it, you won't be able to access hairs for them at all).

Simmer22 gave good tips especially the last two parts. I sometimes download sims and I use the method simmer22 described.
My sims are semi-realistic too. I'd like to change my default skins but I've yet to find a dark enough S4 skin. Pookleted hairs are my go to.
I don't go for photoshopped outfits anymore.

I am about 99% maxis-match. I might get some clothing that's not MM but only if a really like it. I can't stand non-MM buy mode stuff. The only thing that is to fully MM is my skin. It's still MM but has a bit of a shine to it but nothing too realistic. When it comes to hair my go-to is NHS by mikexx22. But since it lacks quantity I choose to throw in a poppetV2 hair if I can't find it in NHS

I'm absolutely anti-MaxisMatch and 99% anti-Maxis, above all when it comes to genetics (Eyes, skins, hairs) and shape, I don't want any of these stuff in my game, hates maxis and maxis-match eyes, on hairs I prefer pookleted ones and dislike those boring and flat "clay hairs" used too often for MM stuff, about skins, for my game they must be semi-realistic, anatomically correct and linked to a custom Xhires female bodyshape and if possible to a custom male one too, having preference for Navetsea's skins, Joyce's (Jwilson5) edits and my own edits, it gives me a wide range of stuff to select and get shape variety and ethnic diversity for my sims that MM flat skins does not.

I have it mixed, but most items look maxis match. However I use custom skins, but these look good together.

All my custom content are Maxis match as I like conversions from the other Sims games except for 4t2 hair, that stuff just looks out of place to me. I don't bother with cc skins as I like how the Maxis ones look.

I'm Maxis Match for the most part. I have default skins and eyes that blend well with the Maxis style, and the same is true for any default hairs and outfits I own. I have a couple of hairs that have a shine to them and the odd item of clothing that look less Maxis Match, but that my CC is largely Maxis Match.

The realistic looking skins look too shiny/oily and the eyes look too uncanny valley, but that's just me. The clothes look odd to me, too, and the hair looks too greasy.

It all comes down to personal preference really. It's what makes looking at pictures from fellow player's games interesting, because there are different styles and takes on the world. That's what a sandbox is about right? Freedom?

I still can't get over how customisable this game is...

I despise Maxis and Maxis-Match stuff, particularly when it comes to skintones and eye colours. As a simmer of colour I'm rabid about having proper representation in my game and that means maxis has to go - period. Instead, I've found realistic stuff that still fits a more whimsical aesthetic.

I LOVE Pooklet's Delicious Cupcakes skins, and I used those as the standard for all the skins I have in game - which unabashedly lean towards rich darker tones. I play with over 200 skins, most of which are Pooklet, Trapping, PeachT, Whysim, CuriousB, and a few others, and I love the genetic diversity that gives me. I do use Enayla skins - but those are a bit... too real. I plan to edit them and smooth out some of the things I'm not a big fan of, but I insist on using them for the epic darker tones that they created. Skin doesn't actually run in super light pink, pink, darker pink, light brown, and brown lol. There's a lot more variation than that, and I find that leaning away from maxis match gives a lot more of those options.

I love Pooklet or Kotangens hair for me as well, and I'm a huge fan of the colour ranges from MrsMQuve and Amidalasims.

For eyes, I'm realllllly fussy again about preferring the slightly smaller iris and less shininess, as well as removing weird / unnatural colours, so I love the Whysims and Digital Angels eyes, and I play with Nouks and I think Pooklet's default eye set - which is the only realistic green and properly dark brown brown I've ever found.

For clothes I actually skew a bit the other way (lol) - I love TS4 and TS3 conversions, and a bunch of old stuff from creators like Liana and Jassims, and I tend to dislike the super modern clothing style that's more popular on Tumblr now because it tends to not look right with the older stuff I use. There's just something charming to me about my sims still wearing ugg boots and pairing heels with jeans and t-shirts for no reason that I like.

As for defaults, I default EVERYTHING. Most of the femme clothes get defaulted out, although I do find I'm able to stomach more of the masc stuff. I default all the skins, and hairs to things that make sense to me. I haven't seen my game without cc since 2012. I'm often shocked at what cc-free sims look like lol.

I don't care whether it's photoreal or Maxis Match, as long as it's silly.

@terula8 totally agree with you, and that always has been one of my points when it comes to my sims or any other recreation of human beings I did, (for example my angels) the proper and respectful representation of anyone, on my end mostly focused in a humble tribute to women's beauty, all women are beautiful, no matters their age group, ethnicity or social condition, I love human diversity and hence that is what I want to showcase/have in my sims and creations, but once again, trying to be respectful and giving them a proper representation, not the sad caricatures full of racial stereotypes, EA sold us with their garbage.

Diversity rocks!

With the exception of some few clothing bits, I play Maxis Match mostly. I hate oily skins and greasy hair. To me they make the Sims look like deep fried bananas.

Agree! What an awesome comment! :D

@HobbesED Maxis Match is still custom skin, custom hair, custom clothes etc.



@terula8] I don't think you know what MM CC is either, it has nothing to do with representation. I have skin tones going from -1 to about 6+ All it means is the skin in matt, it has nothing to do with how light or dark it is. My latest default has given me a much darker sk 4.

I added a picture, the child is my default sk4 and the other two look to be genetic sk5 and sk6. Those are MM skins.
Also MM eyes and MM clothes.

I definitely understand that Jo, but those skintones aren't to my taste. In my post I stated that I liked the diversity of all my not-maxis match skins, and what I was pointing out was that it gave me a lot more to work with defaulting away the unrealistic styles since I was able to find skintones that looked realistic if you look at Pooklet's Delicious Cupcake skins, those are a lot more like the shades dark-skinned people have (source: me. LOL. Me, I have dark skin and I'm pretty sure I know what it looks like ) I probably didn't spell this out very clearly, so apologies on the misunderstanding.

Personally, I'm not a maxis-match fan, and lack of realistic diversity is just one of the reasons (for me). Doesn't mean it can't work and be great for others though.

I will have to look them up since I am not in the know for realistic CC-which has also probably changed a lot over 16 years. So it's more the details of the skin? I like the matt skins for any shade and pale skins are not, in real, life matt either. As a somewhat Irish, pale-skinned person I know that.
I think this is more a realistic art style vs a more cartoony style thing, but I do get where you are coming from.

Can you give me a link? Google is giving me cupcakes
Here are the Honey Honey skins I am using currently. https://lilith-sims.tumblr.com/post...ey-skinblend-hi

You are right Jo. Your sims faces are too much cartoony for me. I prefer matt skins too but they need to be realistic.

Agree with Jo about MM not necessarily meaning a lack of diversity/representation. I take MM to mean 'less shiny and photo-realistic'. Not sure where body shapes would fall, though.

I have to say I don't like most custom shapes and that I think most of them (that I've seen anyway) look terrible. I'm also not keen on hunting down new meshes for my favorite clothes, or creating them myself. So I've just accepted that mesh and body shapes are the way they are--that it's just a limitation of the game. I can live with that.

Otherwise, I prefer a mix of stuff, with a lean towards MM. For hair, I use a mix of MM and Pooklet. I actually really love Zeusar's Pearl textures, and if I stuck to only one texture, that's the one I'd probably use. But so few things come in that! I prefer MM textures, but I appreciate Pooklet's shades, especially the blondes. I started cleaning up my hairs a while ago and have curated my acceptable textures list a bit. Most, if not all of my hairs have a Pooklet and a MM version so that my sims can change hairstyles but keep the same texture. I try to use Poppet V2 or Simgaroop for MM and for Pooklet, I go by creator/convertor and download whomever I usually like best. So a mixed hair folder is definitely doable.

My clothes are slowly becoming more and more MM. I find the shapes are better--and move/animate better--and it fits better aesthetically in my game. I do not like a lot of bright, shiny, or "photo-realistic" things in my game. I really do find that 3t2 and 4t2 clothes conversions from the likes of DeeDee, RentedSpace, and MDP, etc. fit really well with the original Maxis content. I do have a few old favorites from Liana Sims 2, Stylist Sims, Sims Connection, etc. And if I think it looks good, I'll download some stuff from more "realistic" creators like E-neillan, Aklira, StrawberriKHunnie, and even Linda Sims 2. But I have to like it a lot and, usually, it has to have a good texture. If something looks like someone slapped on a bunch of paint in photoshop, then it's not going to work for my game. I also generally don't like things that look permanently crinkled or folded, or don't fit sims' body shapes well (things like super high heels with awkward foot angles or things that are too baggy/have proportions in all the wrong places for Maxis meshes. I hope that makes sense ). Again, to keep it, I'd have to like it a whole lot. So! I'm very picky about realistic looking stuff in my game.

I also dislike using English/realistic lettering. Wherever I can, I use Simlish. Maybe it's because I see the sims as in another world, but I like to keep that immersion going. Realistic-type furniture is easier to work into my game what with IKEA stuff and things like Maxis' gear windows, so I do have a few of those. But generally I prefer the blockier MM style, and so will download a Maxis conversion when I need new furniture. Or a completer set.

When it comes to skins and genetics--I actually prefer the base game stuff. I have exactly one custom eye set that I've been using for years. I don't use any custom skins at all and like the Maxis ones just fine. I tried some eons ago, but I just found them to be too out of place. Maybe now I'll look into some MM ones, though. The ones I remember were definitely way too shiny. It's funny, even as a black person, when I was younger, I never really thought about the lack of representation. I was just not bothered by it. But now that I'm older and I see some simmers talking about it (especially in TS4), and I'm starting to see the diversity in cc, and then the conversions... Well, I'm getting it more and I can see what people mean. I came across some tumblr posts talking about the whitewashing of premades and I was definitely disappointed to see how light some of them are. I haven't really played TS4 at all and so I missed that. I felt the same way about Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. Idk why game developers suddenly felt the need to go lighter, but it's disappointing trend to say the least.

Jo, they're here: https://simfileshare.net/download/288633/

Oh thanks, but I only want to see a picture not download them. I like Maxis Match. :D



I am not sure either which is why I didn't mention them. For the most part, I don't like them. Not because I don't want other shapes -I really wish we had the ability that Sims 3 has to make body shapes but because I really don't think they work well in sims 2. Often the knees are too slim compared to the rest of the leg, or there is strange clipping. The only one I use is for my medieval blacksmith, it just seemed wrong for him to be a skinny Maxis looking guy although he turns into one in the shower. So I use slim bodybuilder clothes on him. I've been toying around with making taller slimmer elven and shorter dwarfs for my medieval game as well but I have a feeling the off animations will drive me crazy.



It's that way for a lot of people. I add some make up some freckles and some wrinkles but overall I prefer a more cartoony look. I would be totally happy playing sims 4 if they had made decent gameplay and interactions. As it is I find that a yawn fest.