The Sims 2 Staying Alive with a mod review by Rachums

Picture Credit: FireFlower PotterySet 76

MO DS Reviewed

The Sims 2 turned 17 years old this year. Sims 2 is Almost old enough to vote in some countries! In-game years Stayingthat's positively ancient. People are still surprised when someone mentions they still play Sims 2. A l i v e Do people still play Sims 2? Can you even get Sims 2 anymore for the PC? Aren't they bored? Haven't they played all there is to play in 17 years? In short - yes, yes, no, and no - not by a long shot. The modding community of Sims 2, while not as big as it used to be, is still active. Fiercely active. It is a big part of why the game endures. In the past five years alone, the sims 2 community has seen leaps and bounds of mods, including graphical overhauls, whole systems for farming and producing artisan goods, a traits system, fixes to longannoying bugs, amazing advances in features like custom face sliders, updated user interfaces, and recently, actual story progression! Not to mention the tons of custom content being put out every week, and with Sims 3 and 4 conversions, a simmer of the second persuasion is spending more time 'cc shopping' than playing some days. There is a special group, for the past two years, that is dedicated to preserving and teaching modding knowledge called Sims Crafters.

Mainly consisting of sims 2 veterans, they welcome old and new modders alike – to work on mod project c o l l a b o r a t i o n s , share ideas, and learn everything from basic B o d y s h o p recolours to more advanced modding that creates new game behaviours. The group was conceived and is currently administrated by a simmer known as Gina or 'gayars/gdayars' who has been modding the Sims 2 for the past 5 years. The Sims Crafters' home is in a discord server, which is an instant messaging and digital distribution platform that users can communicate with voice, calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files in private messages or general channels. It's noon pm on a Thursday and I can see ideas being thrown around about how to mod accessories like umbrellas or sunglasses to show up during appropriate weather. It doesn't seem like a big thing at first sight, but any mod that adds immersion like that is very appreciated. That was just a channel for brainstorming ideas, but this discord has a multitude of other channels for discussing Sims, sharing game pictures, group-project channels, and organised learning channels for questions about meshing,

recolouring, building, converting, and other topics concerning modding the game. Anyone can join to start their own modding or creator's journey.

“You don't have to be super smart to mod, you have to be super determined. Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. People think it is so hard, but it is just like everything else in life, you have to work at it. It may come more naturally to some but that doesn't mean it can't be done. You just have to get in there and not be afraid to rip and tear things apart. Keep back up copies when you have a good working base, before adding on the next piece and go from there,” is what Gina says.

“I got into it to make one object,” is Gina's simple catalyst for jumping into the modding world. “I prefer object mods. Modded objects. I can do global (mods) but object mods are more fun for me. My favourite things are for toddlers, but I like things that expand shopping too. I like to make things that sims can actually interact with, basically. More game play with a lot lower risk of it clashing with something.”

The excitement of learning to mod can sweep one away into tons of other ideas and projects, proven by the fact that one object Gina set out to make, she hasn't made yet.

Modding is no picnic though, as Sims Crafter member, Fire_Flower, notes, “Getting started and troubleshooting,” are the hardest parts for her. “Usually once I get into the groove, I have very little trouble, but sometimes you just hit a roadblock that you have to spend 2 whole days troubleshooting. That can be a pain. But the feeling once the bug is resolved: pure satisfaction.”

h Bas Picture Credit: SunandMoon - Barnyard

For Gina, the hardest part is the sheer tediousness of it. “Sometimes you will s p e n d h o u r s making m in mere s e c o n d s , and then have to bring up the game over and over and over again, to test the effects of those mere micro-adjustments.” Rosawyn, a member of the discord says it's “Finding the time and energy...or just figuring out which version of SimPE to use, because there are so many now!” While, Ocelotekatl, another Sims Crafter member, agrees, “For me, the largest struggle is finding enough 'create time' to get projects done. You have to strike the balance between real life and things that

inspire you, and Sims 2 creations are a subset of that. I never seem to have enough time to get my projects done.” Not everyone uses mods or custom content and that's their prerogative but even in 2021, there are still some misconceptions about mods for Sims 2. People are afraid that adding mods will break their game and while Picture Credit: Gina or 'gayars/gdayars mod conflicts can be a problem, with a little troubleshooting, the game can work fine once the offending mod is pulled. As Rosawyn, states, “In fact, some mods are needed to keep the game running smoothly. Of course, don't just shove anything and everything in your game: ask around, read some comments, see what other people are using, and check for conflicts. But generally speaking, it is safer to have mods than to have none.” See the 'Essential Mods' list pinned to MTS2 (Mod the Sims) Forums for more information to keep your Sims 2 game healthy and less of a chance

of developing corruption.

The Modding community relies heavily on testing and feedback in order to release complex mods that add game play. Even after release, there could still be bugs, which is why it's imperative to contact the creator and report it. Even if the creator is retired, posting about it can help others know what issues there are and even ambitious modders that might take up the mod and update it themselves.

As Fire_Flower, reminds us, “Creators won't get mad if a bug issue is reported. Most creators will love it when you report an issue. It means that you're actually using it enough to notice it's not working.” However, details in feedback are key! A generic message saying it doesn't work tells a creator nothing about what the issue is. “What are you experiencing? Did you read the manual? Do you have the newest version? Do you have error logs we can look at? A good descriptive bug report is worth a lot.” When asked why she put this group together, Gina replied, "I felt like there was a need because as time was going on, more creators were leaving, knowledge seemed to be being lost, and I felt like the community as a whole would do better if we had a place creators could meet up and discuss things before skills and knowledge were lost."

“I wanted a group to interact with, so more and greater things could be made. I wanted to learn, I wanted to teach, I wanted to create a base of people in general, and creators in particular, that love Sims as much as I do. I wanted to preserve knowledge. I think I succeeded to a certain degree. I have learned so much, and I hope that others have learned from me, and more importantly from the others who have come in to join together to create a greater group.”

Some of these creators are people like Ocelotekatl, who has been modding Sims 2 for the last 14 and half years, give or take! He's had his work published in

Picture Credit: Ocelotekatl

just about every sims 2 enclave out there: Mod The Sims, Insimenator, Back Alley Sims, Plumb Bob Keep, MyB Sims, plus many other sites that have since disappeared with the passage of time. His main site, Blue Haven Sims, contains a trove of his clothing meshes and multibody shape outfit sets, accessories, object sets, storytelling props/poses and overlay sets, body overlays, and adult projects.

When asked how the Sims Crafters has helped him, he explained, “It’s an amazing community. After Sim Trek 2 Boldly Go was shuttered in 2011, I’ve spent a lot of time drifting. I was never really a joiner; no communities in particular really appealed to me. Sims Crafters was wholly Gina’s brainchild, and it appealed immediately to me because it offered something that the other communities didn’t really have; it was a space devoted to teaching and learning. I have made several close friendships, learned from and interacted with other creators, and ultimately found a permanent community to be a part of.”

Ocelotekatl's favourite types of mods involve storytelling, such mods as 'no red lines, that removes the red pause line from the game and 'Look at me now!' which makes a sim look directly at where the camera is pointed for detailed shots. His favourite object mod of all time is Pescado's OMGWTFBBQ which is an iconic, yet controversial mod because of what it does to sims 2 infants. But Ocelotekatl is no stranger to niche mods as he is one of the few that currently dabble in 18+ mods such as sexy clothing sets and sex poses. In fact, one of his current projects is an improved version of the CBOY (penis) mod with assistance from whoward of Pix

Picture Credit:Voeille

Picture Credit: IronSeaGull

Picture Credit:WhoWard Roller coaster

'n Mix mods and a “modesty” posebox for posing partially clothed female sims.

Other projects he is involved with are a set of arrows accessories that can be used to look like they are piercing sims' bodies, and then in the future, more weapons accessories, a collaboration with

Gina on a set of dresses, more conversions, etc. As he says, “I'm always busy with several projects at once.”

Fire_Flower is a Sims Crafter power modder who got her to start modding the Sims 2 around 2014. She's a bit of a 'jack of all trades that can do Bodyshop/CAS (recolours), defaults, home crafter (walls, floors, and terrains), object creation, animation, sound, and game modding that actually adds new gameplay. “The first things I uploaded, were some walls, floors, and terrains. They're not terribly good quality either. However, I learned how to make new things, not just by reading tutorials, but with the help of the awesome people who went before me. Sunni (R.I.P.) guided me through learning the repository method on a chatbox. It is that experience, that shaped the way I feel about cc creation.”

She's also a part of the Sun&Moon Star Factory since 2020, which is a long-running collaborative project of the modding community, currently headed by a user named Fractured Moonlight, that focuses on creating mods that add medieval objects and crafting or gathering functions to Sims 2. The Star Factory has produced many of her favourite mods of all time!

In terms of her own upcoming projects, she's looking forward to

Picture Credit: SunandMoon

finishing, “I'm pretty excited for the release of the Laundry Mod, though that will actually involve me putting in a bit more work to get everything up to snuff. But it is has gone such a long way and I can't wait for people to be able to actually use it. There's also some cool Sun&Moon stuff in development, but no spoilers!”

As a creator, she tries to always keep the following in mind: 1. Difficulty is subjective, perhaps even non-existent. Motivation is key. 2. Keep learning new things, so you always know what it is like to be new at something 3. Innovate and experiment 4. Teaching is paramount. Without people who spread knowledge, help others out and create resources, we wouldn't have any of the exciting things we have now. 5. Create the things you want to see in your own game

“I remember what it was like to be a beginner who doesn't have the confidence. And that is key: remember your early days so you can help others in the same situation. I find that things are rarely if ever difficult if you have help and most importantly: motivation.”

And when asked about how the Sims Crafters group helped her, Fire_Flower responded, “Sims Crafters has helped me get in contact with people with more experience with BHAV Modding. They helped me put together some code I couldn't figure out myself. It's also a good place to get to know and collaborate with other creators.”

Rosawyn is a Sims 2 community member and creator that in her own words, “doesn't do anything fancy but edit text strings, re-categorize and reprice objects, re-menu foods.” However, Sims Crafters has helped her with encouragement in making things, “The focus of the server is on helping people learn, and I also enjoy testing mods for other people.”

An upcoming project she is excited about is one where a money bag will allow a transfer of funds while the sim has an 'Earn Money' want Fulfilled, but as Rosawyn laments, “When I moved from my old laptop to my new one my file for the aforementioned money bag somehow got corrupted, so I have to start all over from square one. Which I'll do...as soon as I actually get around to installing SimPE on this thing...”

SimPE is a 3rd party program that reads the package files for the game and with it, one can edit these files. The program was developed and released on the website, Mod the Sims, in November 2004 by a user named Quaxi. The program can be daunting but after seventeen years, there are plenty of tutorials –written, in video form (The Sims 2 predates Youtube by a year!), and of course, the Sims Crafters have a lot of experience with it and can help out with any questions. It might seem like a secret society

but there are plenty of sims 2 enclaves out there on the internet to turn to for Sims 2 g a m i n g advice and help, most people are friendly, have been playing for years, and can point you in the right direction for obtaining the game or help you find mods, or help troubleshoot for it if you have searched to the ends of Google and back for it and still can't find what you are looking for. This isn't their first rodeo!

Some major hot spots for general sims 2 discussions are the Sims 2 Official Facebook Group, Mod the Sims 2 forum, Garden of Shadows Forum, various Sims 2 discords for casual discussion, the Sims 2 Reddit and its sister Reddit, r/ sims2help. Thanks to Gdayars, Fire_Flower, Ocelotakl, Rosawyn, and for interviewing me. See their creations at the following places: Gdayar @ MTS: https:// modthesims.info/downloads/all/ ?u=46059 Sun&Moon Starfactory @ Plumbob Keep: http:// www.medievalsims.com/forums/ viewforum.php?f=240 Ocelotakl's Site: https:// blueheavensims.wordpress.com/ Roasawyn @ MTS: https:// modthesims.info/m/53707 Links: https://discord.gg/HbeJh8Ka6V –Sims Crafters Discord https://discord.gg/YdCBstjdQ5 –Active Sims 2 Discord https://modthesims.info/f/558/ MTS Sims 2 forum https://gardenofshadows.org.uk/ gardenofshadows/index.php –GOS Main Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/ TheSims2OfficialGroup –Facebook Group https://www.reddit.com/r/sims2/ Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/ sims2help/ - Reddit Help

Hi I'm Rachel, and am known by a few names in the sims 2 community - charmful, Ch4rmsing, Rachums - and I have been rooted into the sims 2 community since around 2007. Sims 2 is my one true game, and I played consistently. I love to build, take pictures, tell stories, try out new mods and gameplay ideas, and play my fifteen-year-old neighborhood. When not doing things related to sims I enjoy playing tabletop games, drawing, and trying new foods with my husband. I also am an avid cat lover, I'm surprised I only have two. It's taken great self-restraint not to adopt more.

Social Media Links: Twitter: ch4rms Tumblr: kashmiresims Youtube: charmful Instagram: kashmire_sims