If I had any CC then I'd go for the Maxis match stuff. The art style of the game overall is more important than if a hair looks more realistic. It's way too jarring. It's like if you had cartoon hair irl. I don't know how people get around it. I wish I could, because I can't enjoy a lot of the screenshots that I'd like to otherwise.
For me clay, maxis match or clayified alphas, not just with hair, but skins, eyes etc . I was the same in Sims 2 as well. I do agree that some of the early maxis hairs suffer from 'octagonal spoon syndrome' but I just don't use those.
To me it's like having english on things such as posters, menu boards and so on. If simlish hasn't been used, ( huge thanks to all those creators that go to the extra trouble of using simlish btw ) it just doesn't quite fit and won't get a dowload from me no matter how much I might like it. It's not even that much to do with the art style either, ( although personally I like the cartoony style of Sims 4 ) as as I said, I never used them in Sims 2 either which had a much less cartoony aesthetic about it.
Secondly, there's just something about alpha hairs I don't like beyond them 'fitting within the game world', that I can't quite put my finger on. Although in fairness, they can often have quite nice meshes, hence me using clayified versions of some of them.
For me I tend to prefer clay hair or alpha hair that has a more cartoonish lean to it and doesn't look too out of place in the world otherwise it's just too jarring for me. I've never liked CC that made my sims look too realistic since it tends to hit uncanny valley for me.
Another reason is just that I don't like a lot of the styles common to alpha CC hair. With the exception of a few creators it's usually extremely long and looks more at home in either an anime or a L'Oreal commercial which isn't really what I'm looking for. The type of styles I do like have been more common with clay hair so far.
For me I tend to prefer clay hair or alpha hair that has a more cartoonish lean to it and doesn't look too out of place in the world otherwise it's just too jarring for me. I've never liked CC that made my sims look too realistic since it tends to hit uncanny valley for me.
Another reason is just that I don't like a lot of the styles common to alpha CC hair. With the exception of a few creators it's usually extremely long and looks more at home in either an anime or a L'Oreal commercial which isn't really what I'm looking for. The type of styles I do like have been more common with clay hair so far.
That's the one thing I don't get about some of the CC creators, so much emphasis on really long hair styles.
If I was making the stuff, I would want a diverse portfolio of content. I prefer the shorter styles myself and I know most of what they make will be problematic once sims get Outerwear for Seasons. All that hair is going to be cutting into clothing, especially clothes with hoods hanging off the back.
I prefer the Maxis style (is that the same as clay?) but if I want to make hyper-realistic Sims I go for alpha. Alpha hairs can be beautiful and I loved them in Sims 3, but with Sims 4 I'm sticking with the Maxis-match because I like the uniformity across the Sims. And it matches the cartoony style.
If it were to be Sims 2, Alpha hair, because everything fitted in that game. In the Sims 4 though, everything with high textures look out of place, so i'd have to go with Clay.
If it were to be Sims 2, Alpha hair, because everything fitted in that game. In the Sims 4 though, everything with high textures look out of place, so i'd have to go with Clay.
That's probably why I don't mind alpha hair in my game.
I don't have that textureless blurry grass in my game and I have custom wall and floor textures here and there. I have sims 2 carpeting that looks way better than what the game has.
Still, Sims 2 is what I think of when I consider The Sims having a look, and clay hair isn't simmy to me. It looks like it belongs in a different game altogether and makes me feel like I'm not playing a Sims game. Anyway, I really love what I have and I probably wouldn't be playing TS4 if I couldn't change the things I have.
I hope in future we can expect improvement on the base game "clay" hairs, surely the team can recognise that they're certainly not up to par with the likes of the clay hairs we have now - which are a massive improvement. I've noticed this even with some clothing items, for example, compare the Spa Day night gown to the base game one. They could still keep the same style of hair, just spruce it up with more visible waves/strands/seamless look all together. I think the long hair in Romantic Garden (seen on the box art render) is a good reference for this attention to detail.
Might tag @SimGuruDrake to bring attention to this, I hope that isn't coming off as demanding or begging, lol. Just a suggestion.
Definitely clay, Maxis Match all the way. But just last night I cleaned out my mods folder and only kept MC Command Center, a default skin and a couple clothes. It seems like my loading times have increased lately and I'd rather have mods that help me enjoy the game than CC. Just my 2 cents.
Can someone explain to me what is alpha and what is clay?
It usually refers to the texture of CC hair. Alpha means it's more realistic while with Clay the texture is closer to what we see in the default hair for the game.
I prefer the clay hair.
I think the other hairs make sims look like prostitutes.
plum lol I haven't heard that one before anyways I think the clay hair looks like plastic and I hate EA default hairs in the sims games anyways
I agree with you @Mizz_Creative48. When I first saw the sims 4, I was like, What is with all the plastic hair? I thought this is supposed to stimulate real life? Nobody has plastic hair in real life. I was hoping EA would try to go with the realistic route, not the cartoony route.
But this is just my opinion, since the sims is a life simulation, I want and like things realistic.
Honestly, the clay hair always remind me of something like this:
I prefer the clay hair.
I think the other hairs make sims look like prostitutes.
plum lol I haven't heard that one before anyways I think the clay hair looks like plastic and I hate EA default hairs in the sims games anyways
I agree with you @Mizz_Creative48. When I first saw the sims 4, I was like, What is with all the plastic hair? I thought this is supposed to stimulate real life? Nobody has plastic hair in real life. I was hoping EA would try to go with the realistic route, not the cartoony route.
But this is just my opinion, since the sims is a life simulation, I want and like things realistic.
Honestly, the clay hair always remind me of something like this:
Is that the doll from the Wizard of Oz movie?
It looks similar, but not exact.
But yeah, that's the way hair is sculpted for statues, which seems odd to me that EA would use a style reminiscent of immobile objects for sims that are supposed to have more life than any sims before.
I love clay hair! But that's mostly because I'm a diehard fan of maxis-match cc. It fits the style of the game better imo so my sims look like they belong in the world. Plus it's easier for the game to process, and there's considerably fewer graphic errors.
@Simanite Hi! Do you remember the sims 3 hair textures!? That could be related as Alpha. While the sims 4 hair textures are related as Clay. Hope I helped
I hate clay but in all honesty, I always use cc-skin on the sims I make and play( sometimes) and most cc-skin look best with alpha hair. The clay hairs are taking over to much, not pretty
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🐸🐸🐸🐸 lol I haven't heard that one before anyways I think the clay hair looks like plastic and I hate EA default hairs in the sims games anyways
To me it's like having english on things such as posters, menu boards and so on. If simlish hasn't been used, ( huge thanks to all those creators that go to the extra trouble of using simlish btw ) it just doesn't quite fit and won't get a dowload from me no matter how much I might like it. It's not even that much to do with the art style either, ( although personally I like the cartoony style of Sims 4 ) as as I said, I never used them in Sims 2 either which had a much less cartoony aesthetic about it.
Secondly, there's just something about alpha hairs I don't like beyond them 'fitting within the game world', that I can't quite put my finger on. Although in fairness, they can often have quite nice meshes, hence me using clayified versions of some of them.
Alpha looks tacky and off-puting in the sims 4.
Another reason is just that I don't like a lot of the styles common to alpha CC hair. With the exception of a few creators it's usually extremely long and looks more at home in either an anime or a L'Oreal commercial which isn't really what I'm looking for. The type of styles I do like have been more common with clay hair so far.
That's the one thing I don't get about some of the CC creators, so much emphasis on really long hair styles.
If I was making the stuff, I would want a diverse portfolio of content. I prefer the shorter styles myself and I know most of what they make will be problematic once sims get Outerwear for Seasons. All that hair is going to be cutting into clothing, especially clothes with hoods hanging off the back.
That's probably why I don't mind alpha hair in my game.
I don't have that textureless blurry grass in my game and I have custom wall and floor textures here and there. I have sims 2 carpeting that looks way better than what the game has.
Still, Sims 2 is what I think of when I consider The Sims having a look, and clay hair isn't simmy to me. It looks like it belongs in a different game altogether and makes me feel like I'm not playing a Sims game. Anyway, I really love what I have and I probably wouldn't be playing TS4 if I couldn't change the things I have.
Might tag @SimGuruDrake to bring attention to this, I hope that isn't coming off as demanding or begging, lol. Just a suggestion.
It usually refers to the texture of CC hair. Alpha means it's more realistic while with Clay the texture is closer to what we see in the default hair for the game.
I agree with you @Mizz_Creative48. When I first saw the sims 4, I was like, What is with all the plastic hair? I thought this is supposed to stimulate real life? Nobody has plastic hair in real life. I was hoping EA would try to go with the realistic route, not the cartoony route.
But this is just my opinion, since the sims is a life simulation, I want and like things realistic.
Honestly, the clay hair always remind me of something like this:
Is that the doll from the Wizard of Oz movie?
It looks similar, but not exact.
But yeah, that's the way hair is sculpted for statues, which seems odd to me that EA would use a style reminiscent of immobile objects for sims that are supposed to have more life than any sims before.