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The Sims Resource vs. The Store
Symb10sis
Posts: 93 Member
Hello all,
I have a somewhat very convoluted question that I hope I can pose here in a way that people will understand. Not because of their inability to understand, of course, but my own inability to properly phrase all of this in a way that even I can understand.
It basically boils down to the thread title:
"Hey, what does everyone think of paying to join The Sims Resource?" So if you don't want to read any further and just feel like chiming in on that particular question, I'd be exceedingly grateful.
Having been to The Sims Resource on a few occasions (with my Ad Blocker off once or twice, stupidly), I've seen an amazing and ginormous array of custom content on display. Thus far, I've only downloaded some hairstyles because that's what I was after at the time.
I've also seen living/dining/kitchen/etc... sets on that site which, quite frankly, look as though they put much of what is available on The Store to shame, both in quality and variety. The Sims Resource seems to have an overall different array of items from The Store (EA has a bad tendency to make small changes to existing items, then charge a(nother) dollar to get this slightly-altered version), but I don't know if the content there:
1. Actually looks as good as it does on the site.
2. Functions as well in-game (especially long-term) as Store content does. For example, I'd hate to install a bedroom set and then find out that the beds don't work. Or lamps that don't light up. Or counters that don't count. Then there's also poly-count to consider. Of course, I'd likely end up converting most of it to .package files to test first, but that's time-consuming, tedious and still doesn't give me an idea of long-term viability for my game(s), which is part of why I haven't really tried it yet.
Does anyone out there have much experience with TSR? Does the content there live up to the glorious photos?
So, that's the basis of my post, I suppose. However, I'm not just asking this question in a general sense, but also in regards to my own investment, enjoyment, sanity, etc... That's why the rest of this is so long:
During my travails these last months through the various sites devoted to The Sims 3 and CC, I've come across about half a million of them. Sadly, many of the links on many sites are dead. Worse, I've clicked on a few only to find myself redirected to other sites which I wouldn't normally visit in my lifetime. Looking back on these forays (which I mostly stopped some months ago), I consider myself lucky that I didn't contract any viruses or other malicious software.
I'm fairly tech savvy and feel like a dunderhead for some of the unsafe browsing habits I found myself using just to look at content.
These experiences have taught me a couple things:
1. Which sites (overall) are safe. The Sims Resource (minus the ads, of course), seems like one of the safer places to get content. I don't know how moderated the content itself is though (i.e. is anyone really checking it out like over at MTS?).
2. Don't go randomly clicking on items, even on some of the safe sites, no matter how pretty it looks.
Which brings me to my actual, long and roundabout sets of questions:
Is owning The Store really worth it?
I currently have enough SimPoints to own a decent chunk of The Store (I already own way more than I ever thought I would) if I can follow all of the Cascades and get the best Daily Deals possible going forward (which is exceedingly difficult/frustrating at times, given the timing of sales and all of that...having to set alarms to wake up just to buy game content is just horrible and wrong).
However, in order to get these deals, a person has to buy the sets (the cost of the individual items adds up much faster, as we all know) and not just items they want. This means that many of my points have gone (and will go) to items I don't want at all. I also won't have all the items from the sets that I do want because I can't afford everything.
Whoever designed this system over at EA should('ve) gotten a huge raise due to an ingenious plan to increase revenue...but also a huge kick in the rear from us gamers for creating a system which punishes us so badly. It also means that I have to dig through the Store site and download individual items to get the pieces that I want, which is a pretty time-consuming process. I own far too many sets that I plan on installing in pieces just because I don't want that much clutter. Thankfully, I've found these Collection files over on MTS which help: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=469761
Looking ahead, my choices come down to following:
1. Save up, buy more SimPoints and own more (possibly all, one day) of The Store. I already spent $240 on SimPoints last year, which got (and will continue to get) me a ton of content over the coming months. Given my rudimentary calculations, I think I could own most of The Store for $80 more, but I'm 99% certain that it would cost me $160 for (another) largest bundle to own all of it. Even more if I wanted all of the items which aren't parts of sets (which I thankfully don't - just some of them that I'm aware of). I could probably afford the larger bundle in about 4 months, maybe a little longer. When I purchased the large SimPoint bundle last month for Christmas, I thought it would get me everything I wanted with SimPoints left to Gift away, but buying all the worlds I needed, delving into the Cascades and buying some of the other sets on DD have proven that hypothesis dead wrong. The Store seems to be a never-ending money-pit and I can't believe that EA is still charging this much over 8 years later.
2. Pay (I believe) only $40 for a year-long membership to an ad-free version of The Sims Resource. I'd then be able to pick and choose exactly what I wanted. And have access to what seems to be far more content. I could afford that next month if I plan accordingly, which is why I'm posting now.
Looking ahead, I don't think that I'd ever really want to go both routes, especially considering all the truly free content out there, some of which I already have and much of which I know I'll end up with eventually. My list of Sims CC Bookmarks is overwhelming. And much of the Custom Content I have does look as good or better than The Store content. I can't believe that I spent money on some of the dresses/outfits/shelves/chairs I own.
This places me at a crossroads, both financially (I've already poured well over $500 into this game since I first bought it in 2009) and in regards to having a functioning game. $40 seems too good to be true (which is always a bad sign) compared to another $160. Also, there's my own sanity to consider when it comes to the DD's and having to download/install pieces of sets because EA created some downright ugly stuff.
I've seen videos on YouTube where people claim to have something like 30GB of custom content in their game, but I have trouble believing that The Sims 3 can really handle all of that (plus the Store content) without collapsing in on itself and creating a black hole. Even with only the EP's/SP's and Worlds installed, CAS nears its breaking point on my high-end PC, especially in "Everyday Tops" (but thankfully MasterController can help with that). Perhaps I'm wrong though and in a year or so, I could have it all if I decided that I really wanted to spend that much more money on a single video game. Plus the time investment. As Jim Morrison sang: "We want the world and we want it now."
The thought of stalking Daily Deals again come next Christmas makes me shudder, but one other thing about The Store content is that it also allows full use of a ton of amazing (CC-Free; I never download anything with CC already bundled) creations that people have uploaded over the years...
So, as I said at the beginning, that tome up there basically covers my long, convoluted question that basically boils down to the thread title:
The Sims Resource or The Sims 3 Store? If you already owned all the Worlds and Premium Content (i.e. stuff that adds real gameplay), which would you choose?
I know that no one out there can tell me exactly which is the absolute correct path for me to follow, but:
Any/all help in deciding (or even just sharing experiences) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
I have a somewhat very convoluted question that I hope I can pose here in a way that people will understand. Not because of their inability to understand, of course, but my own inability to properly phrase all of this in a way that even I can understand.
It basically boils down to the thread title:
"Hey, what does everyone think of paying to join The Sims Resource?" So if you don't want to read any further and just feel like chiming in on that particular question, I'd be exceedingly grateful.
Having been to The Sims Resource on a few occasions (with my Ad Blocker off once or twice, stupidly), I've seen an amazing and ginormous array of custom content on display. Thus far, I've only downloaded some hairstyles because that's what I was after at the time.
I've also seen living/dining/kitchen/etc... sets on that site which, quite frankly, look as though they put much of what is available on The Store to shame, both in quality and variety. The Sims Resource seems to have an overall different array of items from The Store (EA has a bad tendency to make small changes to existing items, then charge a(nother) dollar to get this slightly-altered version), but I don't know if the content there:
1. Actually looks as good as it does on the site.
2. Functions as well in-game (especially long-term) as Store content does. For example, I'd hate to install a bedroom set and then find out that the beds don't work. Or lamps that don't light up. Or counters that don't count. Then there's also poly-count to consider. Of course, I'd likely end up converting most of it to .package files to test first, but that's time-consuming, tedious and still doesn't give me an idea of long-term viability for my game(s), which is part of why I haven't really tried it yet.
Does anyone out there have much experience with TSR? Does the content there live up to the glorious photos?
So, that's the basis of my post, I suppose. However, I'm not just asking this question in a general sense, but also in regards to my own investment, enjoyment, sanity, etc... That's why the rest of this is so long:
During my travails these last months through the various sites devoted to The Sims 3 and CC, I've come across about half a million of them. Sadly, many of the links on many sites are dead. Worse, I've clicked on a few only to find myself redirected to other sites which I wouldn't normally visit in my lifetime. Looking back on these forays (which I mostly stopped some months ago), I consider myself lucky that I didn't contract any viruses or other malicious software.
I'm fairly tech savvy and feel like a dunderhead for some of the unsafe browsing habits I found myself using just to look at content.
These experiences have taught me a couple things:
1. Which sites (overall) are safe. The Sims Resource (minus the ads, of course), seems like one of the safer places to get content. I don't know how moderated the content itself is though (i.e. is anyone really checking it out like over at MTS?).
2. Don't go randomly clicking on items, even on some of the safe sites, no matter how pretty it looks.
Which brings me to my actual, long and roundabout sets of questions:
Is owning The Store really worth it?
I currently have enough SimPoints to own a decent chunk of The Store (I already own way more than I ever thought I would) if I can follow all of the Cascades and get the best Daily Deals possible going forward (which is exceedingly difficult/frustrating at times, given the timing of sales and all of that...having to set alarms to wake up just to buy game content is just horrible and wrong).
However, in order to get these deals, a person has to buy the sets (the cost of the individual items adds up much faster, as we all know) and not just items they want. This means that many of my points have gone (and will go) to items I don't want at all. I also won't have all the items from the sets that I do want because I can't afford everything.
Whoever designed this system over at EA should('ve) gotten a huge raise due to an ingenious plan to increase revenue...but also a huge kick in the rear from us gamers for creating a system which punishes us so badly. It also means that I have to dig through the Store site and download individual items to get the pieces that I want, which is a pretty time-consuming process. I own far too many sets that I plan on installing in pieces just because I don't want that much clutter. Thankfully, I've found these Collection files over on MTS which help: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=469761
Looking ahead, my choices come down to following:
1. Save up, buy more SimPoints and own more (possibly all, one day) of The Store. I already spent $240 on SimPoints last year, which got (and will continue to get) me a ton of content over the coming months. Given my rudimentary calculations, I think I could own most of The Store for $80 more, but I'm 99% certain that it would cost me $160 for (another) largest bundle to own all of it. Even more if I wanted all of the items which aren't parts of sets (which I thankfully don't - just some of them that I'm aware of). I could probably afford the larger bundle in about 4 months, maybe a little longer. When I purchased the large SimPoint bundle last month for Christmas, I thought it would get me everything I wanted with SimPoints left to Gift away, but buying all the worlds I needed, delving into the Cascades and buying some of the other sets on DD have proven that hypothesis dead wrong. The Store seems to be a never-ending money-pit and I can't believe that EA is still charging this much over 8 years later.
2. Pay (I believe) only $40 for a year-long membership to an ad-free version of The Sims Resource. I'd then be able to pick and choose exactly what I wanted. And have access to what seems to be far more content. I could afford that next month if I plan accordingly, which is why I'm posting now.
Looking ahead, I don't think that I'd ever really want to go both routes, especially considering all the truly free content out there, some of which I already have and much of which I know I'll end up with eventually. My list of Sims CC Bookmarks is overwhelming. And much of the Custom Content I have does look as good or better than The Store content. I can't believe that I spent money on some of the dresses/outfits/shelves/chairs I own.
This places me at a crossroads, both financially (I've already poured well over $500 into this game since I first bought it in 2009) and in regards to having a functioning game. $40 seems too good to be true (which is always a bad sign) compared to another $160. Also, there's my own sanity to consider when it comes to the DD's and having to download/install pieces of sets because EA created some downright ugly stuff.
I've seen videos on YouTube where people claim to have something like 30GB of custom content in their game, but I have trouble believing that The Sims 3 can really handle all of that (plus the Store content) without collapsing in on itself and creating a black hole. Even with only the EP's/SP's and Worlds installed, CAS nears its breaking point on my high-end PC, especially in "Everyday Tops" (but thankfully MasterController can help with that
). Perhaps I'm wrong though and in a year or so, I could have it all if I decided that I really wanted to spend that much more money on a single video game. Plus the time investment. As Jim Morrison sang: "We want the world and we want it now."The thought of stalking Daily Deals again come next Christmas makes me shudder, but one other thing about The Store content is that it also allows full use of a ton of amazing (CC-Free; I never download anything with CC already bundled) creations that people have uploaded over the years...
So, as I said at the beginning, that tome up there basically covers my long, convoluted question that basically boils down to the thread title:
The Sims Resource or The Sims 3 Store? If you already owned all the Worlds and Premium Content (i.e. stuff that adds real gameplay), which would you choose?
I know that no one out there can tell me exactly which is the absolute correct path for me to follow, but:
Any/all help in deciding (or even just sharing experiences) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
1
Comments
And even then, it's not necessarily a replacement for The Store. Yeah it's greedy DLC paywalling for a game that's almost a decade old, but I use little third-party furniture and a load of it from The Store because it is nice. Same goes for clothes, hairs, etc. It is for sure better than TSR I terms of content quality.
The most economic answer: none of that nonsense. Trawl the tags on Tumblr. Go to Lana's Finds. Ask people who have games that look attractive to you where they get their CC. At least for TS3, people retexture hairs originally hosted on The Sims Resource all the time and include everything, so you're not wasting time and ad placement (or god forbid, money) on bottom-tier textures. I really have not seen an original hair creator use textures that aren't butt-ugly. (If people retexturing their hair makes them mad, it might be worth it figure out why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Or pick up Adblock plus the TSR Ad Skipper if you must: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tsr-ad-skipper/fekenfibegpnbagmldepdeajhbgodbae?hl=en-US
outrun / blog / tunglr
1 - The last of the new EA store sets rolled off the assembly line (so to speak) and became available for sale just over three years ago, in Sept. 2014. This stuff about "still charging that much over eight years later" perhaps relates to the release of the base game and maybe some but not all of the store items, and is exaggerated, sorry.
2 - This is just me, but I reached a saturation point myself after owning somewhere around half of the non-premium store content beyond which I just didn't feel like I needed any more. Occasionally I will splurge a few simpoints here and there on an item or a DD set that I just never bothered with or noticed before, but only by casually passing through at the right time. Other players will be more completionist about it and feel differently, but I've never felt the need to own the entire store or even as much as 3/4 of it. I don't even have all of the store worlds yet, although that will probably happen in time.
3 - TSR is essentially a marketplace for many different kinds of content developers. I don't think it's fair to paint everything one can find there with the same brush. Some of it is absolutely badly made as in amateurish, broken, just looks bad in game or plain doesn't work. "Counters that don't count," LOL, I've also found lots whose buildings have upper floors with no way provided for sims to ever get up there, stair placements became very tricky and ultimately not worth fussing with. It might be important to be wary of certain kinds of content designed before the Pets patch (1.26 or so) where the developer never returned to rigfix their stuff as required so that the slots on them might still worked as intended, etc. Or learn how to do your own rigfixing. The chairs and sofas where sims end up sitting on the backs of them or float up in the air might be amusing the first couple of times one sees that, but the novelty wears off after a while.
Other content may be well made but would clearly look out of place in my game, and others still are made by designers whose skills are easy for me to admire and things just kind of fit right in where I choose to use them. When I find a content provider who clearly knew what they were doing and seemed to have a taste for things that meshes with mine, I might go look to see what else they were offering. But I wouldn't say TSR ever was a significant source of my CC collection and it probably never will be.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
TSR: I've never bothered with a subscription and I don't use an ad blocker on that site. I'm careful what I click on and haven't had any problems. I don't go there often though. I have some hair styles and clothing, maybe 1 buy mode object from TSR. The hairstyles I've gotten range from somewhat broken, too shiny and oddly textured to really, really nice work that I use frequently. The clothing has been a bit better, but some of the older stuff was never updated to work with the muscle slider. I don't use TSR for furniture because I'm not a builder/decorator and the EP/Store content I already have easily overwhelms me to so many choices.
If I was going to download a lot of stuff from TSR I'd probably consider a subscription. I have enough in my game currently though so I don't ever see that happening.
<<< CC skin, eyes & makeup from MTS.
There is so much content, still out there, it seems and I could on a huge downloading spree. Right now I want everything that Cyclonesue, at TSR has ever made. I love the grunge, abandoned theme! ( have his/her Broken Wall Window set
That being said, I am very picky about what I download. I started with Mod the Sims and am very comfortable with that site. I do tend to stick to CC that is from "Featured" or "picked upload" content creators, but not always.
The Sims Resource I stayed away from for a long time because of the ads and having to pay for some content. It bogged my computer down horribly, but adblock fixed that. I don't have a lot from this site. They also have "featured" and "select" artists that tend to be better quality.
Recently, I downloaded a couple of hairs from Kijiko's site that I really like. Really out of my comfort zone on that one, but they seem well made and I didn't get anything nasty from the site.
I also have a test folder to add cc to and see how it works before I add it to my main user folder.
I plan on, eventually, owning the store. I'm one of those completionists, lol.
edit for spelling
@Symb10sis I always enjoy your posts.
I'm sorry I can't help you with any opinions on paying to join TSR because I haven't been there in about five years, with no plans on returning. That's mostly because I don't enjoy busy blinking shopping experiences.
All I can do is tell you how I feel about owning TS3 content.
We probably have different views on the store because I try to avoid buying points whenever possible, for the most part, that is.
There is just so much stuff available to us, that if I stopped buying things right now (er ... I mean after I get that world and venue that I've been hankering for, because I really really want a couple more things very badly, lol) there is plenty to keep me busy and plenty to play with and keep me from getting bored, for quite some time. Not only that, but like you, some of the store stuff doesn't appeal to me and I don't want to bog down my game with that stuff, if at all possible. Luckily, the good stuff far outweighs the stuff I find incredibly unappealing (to put it mildly) lol.
At this point there are three expansion packs that I don't own and might not ever buy. Part of that is because there isn't anything in them that I'm absolutely dying to have (though sometimes I'm tempted and will never say never) but the other reason is because I worry about bloating/breaking my game. I'm not so tech savvy, so don't want to take too many chances. You will do better with that than I ever will.
I only own one stuff pack and I've been totally ok with that too. I use discs only and do not want to patch up to 1.69 so that kind of limits some of the stuff packs for me right there and again, there's so much in the store, I don't need any more stuff packs. I kind of like the outdoor living stuff but not willing to pay 49.99 for the disc on amazon lol.
I own 4 worlds out of 11, including Riverview, (just got a new one for Christmas, yey!) soon to be 5 worlds owned come next month. There are two or three more worlds I'm interested in, but there's a big chance I won't ever get them. That's OK. I love the worlds I do have and there's enough to keep me busy. I own 6 venues out of 21, which I'm very lucky to have, and after I buy one more next month, I will be completely happy. Any venues after that will be icing on the cake.
I guess I have learned how to whittle down my list of wants. Things that I thought were 'must haves,' months ago, have become 'would be nice to haves.' My plan is to Daily Deal my way through the sets I really want and already have plans for, for my neighborhoods, businesses, and my ongoing dramas/stories (which are a top priority
I'm not sure if anything I said helped you in any way, but good luck with your TS3 shopping experiences! There really are some wonderful goodies out there!
My Top Five
My Thank You Thread
My Studio
I've had to break this post up into two separate posts because it's "15,276 characters too long."
Here's Part I:
I’m not technically supposed to be sharing these results yet (we’re still awaiting publication), but thanks to my exhaustive work with NISA (the National Insane Sim Association, known mostly for their collaboration with NASA in perpetrating the now-infamous Earth-landing hoax), I’ve managed to successfully time travel three months into the future! This project has spanned billions of years and cost literally dozens of dollars. I’m still trying to adjust to this strange, new time period and hope that people from the past still remember me. And still play The Sims 3.
Or (less likely), I re-installed Windows 10 because Windows Update done messed up my new PC, got sick of said PC after going through that whole process, realized I desperately needed a break and basically glued my eyeballs to my television to try to catch up on a zillion shows on my DVR. And learned some nifty new stuff on my guitar. I may have had some personal issues going on as well.
If it was the first, I’m terribly sorry, but there were confidentiality agreements involved.
If was the second, mea culpa for simply disappearing and leaving this thread (and all of you) abandoned. It just occurred to me that it’s been so long that this could be considered necro-ing my own thread with my first reply.
Either way, I’m sad to report that I haven’t played The Sims 3 this entire time.
Thanks for the feedback!
As an apology for my excursion (whichever one it may have been), I’ve cobbled together what I sincerely hope will go down in history as one of the most epic, disheveled, novella-length posts ever shared on this forum. One which I hope is interesting and/or pertinent and/or lol-able whenever and wherever possible. If I’ve failed – oops – I tried.
I also come bearing Gifts! Which should almost assuredly prove to be at least as well received as my onerous ramblings, if not more so. I would hope, anyway. Those are later though – there’s a whole lotta post here. I hope people in this future world like to read.
I’d apologize for the length, but this is just how my brain works.
I didn’t so much come to a decision as one just arrived organically. I (or, in the case of the time-travel version of this narrative, someone else on my behalf) managed to diligently follow the new spreadsheet during my missing time period and I’m now (semi-)officially done with The Store (well, basically) and the Daily Deals!
I (should – I haven’t even downloaded 99% of it yet) have counters that count, blinds that blind, loveseats that love seating, shoes that’ll shoo, curtains that’re curt (really, they can be quite rude at times) and sofa’s that…sofe? Close enough.
At some point, I decided that I was going to aim for every build/buy mode item in The Store, no matter how unusable. The journey to get there was arduous (I go into that a bit more somewhere below), but thanks to the Cascades and such, my Simpoints went much further than I ever thought they would. I didn’t buy anywhere near all of the clothing sets, but so many came along with the ride that I should be able to fill every dresser in the game. The remaining sets only have a few items that I’d want anyway (which is true of many sets, sadly), so I’ll likely pick those up. The only other things left are the plumload of individual items which aren’t part of sets that I plan on buying (and still have to sift through more ‘cause that plum’s huge).
To commemorate this auspicious and momentous occasion, I…bought a ton of SimPoints. Quite a few of which were/will be required to accomplish the above, but, according to my math, nowhere near all of them.
You see, I pictured a future version of myself, swimming around in my giant vault of Sims 3 Store content like Scrooge McSim, repetitively fighting off the Llama Boys who’re always trying to breach my stalwart defenses (one little burglar alarm placed next to my door) and it just didn’t seem like fun. Well, it did, obviously, but this seemed like way more fun (and more fun sounded like more fun).
So at the last moment, I thought of the people here and of possible purchases down the road (I’ve learned to never say never when it comes to this game), pulled out my well-worn NISA card (I’ve been a card-carrying member since the first Sims game came out) and *bam*, SimPoints galore. This thread helped me decide what to do in both a large and largely roundabout way, with the exception of its main purpose regarding TSR (that’s something that I think will work out in time).
I’m appalled by my original post here (for numerous reasons) and can’t for the life of me figure out why I started the thread as a “vs.” to begin with, as each site obviously has their own benefits and downsides. Maybe it was because I’d just blown a heap of money (got meself some neato sound systems and gaming geekery) around the holidays. Or maybe I had a bug up my plum that day, because that’s how it reads to me now.
It should have just been a “Hey, what do people think of The Sims Resource? Does some of the stuff there match the quality of The Store? Is it worth paying to make the site work like a website actually should – it’s pretty cheap to do once in a lifetime?”
That probably would have been a much better thread for its purpose, but sometimes things work out better when one errs grievously. Had I done that, I may not have learned what I did, which in turn prompted me to do what I did, with the plans to do what I’m doing here now. [And I got to write that ridiculously awesome sentence.]
See? Making perfect sense already. And we’re only at the bottom of page two in Word. Out of fourteen.
In the words of the immortal, much-beloved and forever-missed Mythbusters: “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing!”
Anyway, on to the replies:
@InfraGreen Yeah, TSR is “Free” – it just sucks to use. uBlock Origin gets rid of the ads, but everything’s abominably slow and it drives me crazy. The thought of of trying to peruse, let alone download and test, that much content by that many creators is just horrifying. Seeing that link you shared has me tempted to install Chrome, even though I’ve never liked it and use Firefox myself – thanks for that one!
I’m sorry to hear that your opinion on the content there is so poor. All I’ve ever downloaded from the site are a few hairstyles (I like the shine on a few of Cazy’s originals; the rest were basically terrible as you mentioned) and the S-Club eyelashes (which are indispensable, IMHO). I think I have a kitchen and/or living room set or two lying around somewhere, but never got around to it/them.
I’m mainly looking for build/buy stuff. I think I should have made that clearer in my original post. Clothes perhaps, but that’s a long way off considering how much I managed to get from the Store. Heck, even with just the EP’s/SP’s installed, my system wigs out for 10-15 seconds after I CaST something in Everyday Tops. I’m terrified of what’s going to happen once I get everything installed. Any CC I added after that would have to be truly spectacular and/or original.
I discovered the magic of hair retextures awhile back. There are some truly fantastic hairstyles out there (and just as many terrible ones, both mesh and texture-wise). Plumblobs does (well, did, her site’s just a darn massive hair dump now, like so many others) the best job I’ve seen so far overall, but I have a reasonable-sized collection from quite a few others as well.
I’m forever left with two burning questions when it comes to hairstyles:
1. Why are there are so many out there where ~80% of the hair isn’t even close to touching the Sim’s body (or there are bald spots or other blatant mesh issues)?
2. Why on earth would someone take the time to retexture those monstrosities?!? Let them die already!
If you (or anyone else reading this) happens to know who does great retextures, I’m always looking.
Your post – and others, of course – helped to solidify my decision to focus on the Store because you’re right – the stuff does look nice, despite its hefty price tag (“Greedy DLC paywalling for a game that's almost a decade old,” lol). It was made by EA professionals using 3d modeling software specifically designed for the game. I just sincerely wish that they’d made more of it (what I wouldn’t give for more Alice in Wonderland style content) with greater variety and at a far lower price point.
I’ve spent so much time Tumblr-hopping that I kinda lost my mind. There’s just too much out there spread across (approximately, by my count) 30 billion websites. Lana’s alone has around 2300 pages of links to Sims 3 content, which one can of course whittle down and sift through using the tags and then end up on sites with links to other sites ad infinitum. I’ve noticed that her site and lots of those others lead to items on TSR all the time, so I would hope that at least some of it would be decent. I also wonder about the quality on most of those sites as well, since most are just independent creators and may or may not know what they’re doing either.
My problem has been trying to separate the wheat from the chaff (yay for old-timey phrases!) while trying to balance a pseudo-life and actually find time to play the game. The complete lack of organization among the majority of Sims 3 sites makes that exceedingly difficult. I found some CC shopping videos on YouTube (they led me to a lot of the hairstyles I have, as that’s what I was looking for at the time) late last year that I plan to check out more.
Thanks again, though again I’m saddened to hear that TSR isn’t the Great Mall of Excellent Content I’d hoped.
@igazor Thanks for the comments!
1 – Can we agree to perhaps…generalization rather than exaggeration? This is in large part due to the fact that I still have nightmares of the first time I ever logged into the Store back in 2009 and saw that a single hairstyle cost the equivalent of $1. At the time, I truly thought that was an introductory “New game” pricing structure. However, that same hairstyle is still $1 nearly 9 years later.
I’m also surprised that they didn’t.
Instead of ranting (I started one (not at you, of course, but at EA) and it got away from me, so I deleted it for everyone’s sake
With enough time, persistence and a willingness to set alarm clocks, get out of bed, turn on a giant TV (my “monitor”), buy an item off a website, lay back down, pray for sleep, repeat, then it’s totally possible to own the vast majority of The Store for a few hundred dollars.
Thanks to all of that, the average cost of each item in a set was around 15 SimPoints for months for me (or someone else on my behalf, whichever the reality was), which is about what they always should have been. A few hundred SimPoints per set is a much more reasonable price point, IMO. I managed to score the entire Make a Wish Compilation for around 1,000 SimPoints, which was shocking (I’ve wanted that Storybook set since it was first released once upon a time).
I just wish it were easier to pick and choose exactly what I wanted, when I wanted and get the same prices. One second a set costs 1,000 SimPoints, the next second (literally), it’s dirt cheap (or free)! Even buying items/sets in a particular order can vastly change the resultant prices of numerous other items/sets/compilations/conflagrations (the last being the product of a novice Sim trying to use a stove).
That’s just patently absurd and, I suppose, the core of my frustration. Collecting it made me feel like a Sim.
As above though, it’s certainly better than the alternative of paying full asking price. I’d have walked away long ago if that were still the case.
It can be one heck of an expensive game, but I’ve obviously found it to be worth it for the thousands of hours of completely original fun it provides. Any and all complaining aside.
2 – I’ve been shocked, nay, horrified ever since I read this sentence:
I simply can’t fathom living in a world where such is the case.
Would that I had the Points to Gift a World.
Oh wait! That’s what all that perfectly sensible crazy nonsense was about a few pages back. I believe I mentioned Gifts.
Please choose one and it is yours. If you’d much rather have something else, then I suppose that’s okay, but going that route wouldn’t bring us any closer to a world where Igazor owns all the Worlds, which is the world I’m striving to help create here.
The only caveat is that you better not be leading us all astray with your promises that NRass isn’t going away. Ever. Or at least until a new Sims game manages to render it obsolete. I will find you.
Also, I’ve never Gifted before, so I have to ask a n00b question: Is everyone’s username here on the forum the same as on The Store? I’d hate for any gifts to go to the wrong person. If you feel like choosing something, adding it to your Wishlist and then replying with the link to that (or messaging it to me if you prefer), that might make my life easier.
The worlds are actually what got me more interested in owning the Store. Sets that I wouldn’t have looked at twice before suddenly had quite a bit more allure to them.
Owning Dragon Valley (thanks in part to your recommendation), for example, made me more interested in sets (Palace of Versailles, Tutor of Tudors, etc…) that I wouldn’t have cared about before at all. I could now see myself creating a set of bourgeoisie Sims who live in a castle surrounded by a moat and who own a pack of hungry Dobermans.
Release. The. Hounds.
Same thing with Lunar Lakes and some of the more futuristic-oriented sets. My play and creation styles have always been based on modern-day realism (and the content I had basically forced that on me), but creating hordes of little green men and women could prove entertaining someday. Add in the right NRass mod(s) and there goes a few hundred hours of travelling to different worlds (literally).
And on and on with the other worlds and content…
While it’s obviously too early for me to tell what my actual game will be like (I may not lack for anything), it does seem like the Store is somewhat unbalanced. Sure, there are around 1,400 Buy mode items, but of those, around 500 are décor and close to 200 are lighting. That’s a whole lotta lighting. Like they wanted us all to create a mini-Sim-sun or something.
On the other hand, seeing that there are only around 50-70 plumbing items (and not a single truly cool new shower for my Sims to wash all that nasty sim grime off of them), appliances, electronics and far, far less for Build mode (only 200 items total) has made me realize that even with all the Store stuff, I’ll likely be looking for Custom Content to augment my game for a long time to come. Especially since there are only 28 counters that count (actually around half that because most are counter/island sets)!
That’s actually a created a real fear now – having all this Store stuff, getting cluttered up/bogged down and then finding Custom Content that I like better. If it exists, of course.
How much stuff can a Sims 3 stuff if a Sims 3 can stuff stuff?
3 – That’s been my understanding of TSR as well. It’s looks to be a more organized version of the Tumblr pages which does its best to expose you to malvertising and frustrate you into paying them money to stop that madness. Ironically, their dodgy sales tactics actually make me want to give them money far less. No site needs to go to those lengths to pay for “Bandwidth.”
I’m a big fan of organization though. Not OCD-level or anything, but at least some semblance of “Hey, I’d like to look at just living room sets today.”
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but as far as I can tell it’s the only site which really has Sets a la The Store. That’s the biggest draw for me. There’s a huge difference between getting a cool sofa and getting a cool sofa with matching loveseat, coffee table, entertainment center and Bobblehead.
Based on the photos alone (and I know that some creators use Photoshop), I’ve seen a whole lot of sets on TSR (by creators like ArtVitalex [
Like I wrote way above, that’s part of what this thread was for, in essence. I know that a lot of the stuff there is likely made badly (some of the photos are just atrocious, but everyone’s an amateur at some point), but so much of it looks so awesome. A lot of it also looks substantially different than much of EA’s fare. Which leads to a couple of questions:
1. Does the good outweigh the bad?
2. Is the good even that good?
It doesn’t help that while TSR claims millions upon millions of downloads, I’ve noticed that most of said content has very few comments and there’s no rating system whatsoever (just different tiers of artists). A set will claim 70,000 downloads but only have four comments, two of which are people asking the creator to please make it for The Sims 4. That seems…wonky. Especially when you compare that to the comment-per-download ratio of a site like MTS.
As much as I love content, I love working content even more. Sort of how I enjoy correct answers.
Thank you as always sir!
And here comes Part II:
Here's Part II:
It worked! I thumb my nose at your arbitrary character limits!
@TreyNutz That’s how I started out with The Store: I wanted some of the Premium Content and a few sets. Probably a world or three over time. That was all. The moment I saw that there was a violin for the game, I absolutely had to have it. I was then lucky enough to stumble on The Renaissance Faire on Daily Deal just a couple of days later. That’s how they hooked me.
I don’t mind getting most of the extra items (except the lighting – why, oh why are there so many plumming lights in the Store, yet so little actual plumbing?!?) in sets I really like, but like I said to Igazor, it would be nice to be able to shop a la carte and get the same prices. If I could have just gone around buying only the items I wanted for 10-20 cents SimPoints apiece, I’d be happy(er). Thanks to you and the people who created all those lovely threads, however, I ended up with more Store content than I ever could have imagined and hope to make use of as much of it as possible. [Though seriously, why on earth do I own Pushin’ Pedals?!? The (only three? Really?) bikes are ugly and I, like all members of NISA, take an otherworldly carpool/limo to work, thank you very much.]
Like I mentioned above, too many clothes is also a problem and that’s why I just didn’t go for all of those sets specifically (but still, my Sims should be able to dress like it’s 1599 or 2199 now, or both at once, without issue). CAS isn’t nearly as fun when it freaks out for a little bit every time I change categories or CaST something. I can’t imagine what adding in all the Store clothing I did buy is going to do, let alone what everything would do. I try to avoid using MasterController’s handy condensed view because I like seeing all the design previews at once (there are quite a few items I never would’ve looked at twice at if I’d only seen the base stenciling), but will almost assuredly have to now. That much content would just about eat any computer alive.
I’ve always loved CaSTing clothing (AbracadbrAwesome Shirt!) rather than choosing it when possible, so that’s a bonus, but I’ve never had this much stuff before either and so got very good at making do with what I had.
Playing with colors is half the fun of The Sims 3.
I am a builder/decorator, which is perhaps why TSR interests me more. I’ve never lived in a pre-built EA home for long (just the cheap starter homes for each new game, which I build on until I decide where and what type of home I actually want for that/those Sim(s)) or played as an EA Sim Household (though I’ve gone around, admired much of their handiwork and stolen ideas (and Sims) for my own re-purposing).
Pretty much every non-EA thing I have is CAS-related – hair, a few clothing items, eyes, skins, sliders. I lived in CAS for a couple hundred hours last year. I hope my time was well spent, seeing as how I haven’t even seen my poor, neglected Sims in months. For all I know, they’ve cut off their noses to spite my face by now.
I’m fairly new to CC for build/buy though and those items are far harder (read: Time Consuming) to test. Hence this thread. It seems that most roads for those types of items eventually lead to TSR. Unless I’m just looking in the wrong direction(s) (there’s enough content out there to make anyone’s head spin
Most importantly, my offer to Sir Igazor also applies to you. Please choose any world/venue/set/whatever from the Store and it is yours. If you’d prefer individual items, just pick out a gaggle of them and I’ll make it happen. Even though you said you already have enough in your game, I sincerely hope that you can find room for more. Please let me know what you’d like. And as with Igazor, if you feel like making my life easier by placing it/them in a Wishlist and sharing/messaging that, it’d be appreciated by this gifting n00b. Unless it really is as simple as using the same username, then whichever which way is fine.
Honestly, I would have thought that – given everything the two of do around here for everyone (including answering questions within seconds of them being posted) – you both would have been gifted everything by now. Learning otherwise prompted a need in me to say:
Thank You!
(on behalf of everyone) in more than just words.
Thanks for your input and for everything you do for the folks around here!
@Odonata68 The first pieces of CC I ever came across were on a Sim I downloaded from the Exchange. I freaked out because I didn’t know it was going to install a bunch of ugly hairstyles, make-up and other garbage into my game. I didn’t even know that stuff existed at the time, so I panicked, uninstalled and re-installed my entire game. It also taught me that the Exchange isn’t a safe place. EA really dropped the ball on that one, much to the dismay of Simmers everywhere.
It wasn’t long before I started learning though. And it wasn’t long after that before I realized that I couldn’t play the game without at least some Custom Content anymore, especially skins. I’ve been using CC skins for almost as long as I’ve been playing the game (I personally use Navetsea’s). Learning how to mod the Sims 3 changed everything for me way back in the day, though I never would have dreamt how far people were going to take the game. There’s so much content it’s amazingly unbelievable (and unbelievably amazing).
Now I’m so picky that I need half a million things to even look at my Sims. The default replacement eyebrows/beards by Simple Life (I can’t believe I ever used EA’s at all now and share those as often as I can with people because they’re so awesome). The S-Club eyelashes over at TSR. I have 81 sliders in my mods folder thanks to OneEuroMutt (and I haven’t even gotten to Pet sliders, lol). Her site has an amazing array of content, including retextures for the non-Store EA hair (Base Game and all EP’s). The list goes on…
MTS is where I started out as well. I wish all (or at least most) of The Sims 3 content was hosted on that site because it’s so well done in basically every respect. MTS should’ve put TSR out of business long ago (if I were a creator, I know where’d I’d want my stuff hosted). Most of what I’ve gotten from there have been mods though. Buckley created some really cool hair sets on that site where she removed the accessories from EA’s hairstyles. All of my contact lenses – thus far – are from there as well (though I find myself almost always using “Watercolor” by Elexis), along with too much other stuff to really list or even remember at this point.
I too test everything I download, but started this thread because I didn’t/don’t want to go and start testing that much stuff from TSR without knowing if it was worth my time (at. all.) or not. If it’s a Sims3Pack, I convert it to .package format first using Delphy’s Multi Installer. There are very few Custom Content items I’d probably ever install anyway (e.g. counters/cabinets/sectionals have to be installed in order to work properly).
Another one of the reasons I started this thread was because I started scaring myself late last year by going much further/deeper into the realm of CC websites than I should have. I was clicking links willy-nilly without a second thought (Tumblr seemed safe enough), but found myself occasionally getting redirected to bad places on the web which I’d never, ever travail on my own.
That then brought me back to The Store. And then looking more at TSR because a paid account is guaranteed not to send me down virus/malware lane.
I took a quick look at the work by Cyclonesue at TSR and have to say that those types of creations are exactly why I started this thread and why the site interests me!
As for The Store going away, I think we’re a long way from that. The only way it would happen would be if the cost of hosting/maintaining the site met or exceeded the revenue it generated. The way I see it playing out, EA will cut the cost of SimPoints (finally) a little over two years prior to them calculating this eventuality (something they’ve probably already done by looking at sales figures over time) in an attempt to garner as much income as possible in the time before it closes. I say two years because that’s how long SimPoints last before they expire. Seeing as how prices are remaining steady, I think we’re safe for a long time to come. EA may not always be smart, but they are pretty business-savvy.
Still though, the thought of it going away has played into my desire to own everything I could possibly want. If my predictions are wrong and The Store suddenly disappears one day (though I think/hope they state that they they’ll give 30 days’ notice), that would be horrible beyond imagining. The fact that they aren’t fixing the problems with the site (stuck Sales, etc…) like they said they were going to isn’t a good sign.
No matter what, it will certainly be gone one day, so best to enjoy it while we can.
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your experiences!
@Chatsa
I’m sorry to hear that your experiences with CC have been so poor. Are you talking build/buy or CAS?
With the exception of a lot of hairstyles, I’ve been exceedingly happy with most of the content I’ve downloaded. Like I stated (probably repeatedly) above, it’s basically all been CAS stuff and mods though.
Build/Buy scares me more, but if people can make hairstyles that meet – and sometimes exceed (with the caveat that I do adore a lot of EA hairstyles) – the quality of what EA has created, then my hope is that some of that content out there does the same.
I hope that you don’t give up on your search and end up finding some things that make your game even more enjoyable!
@funkeeferret
Awwww…you’re too sweet.
As with Sirs Igazor and Treynutz, please feel free to choose, well, basically anything (or things if you’d rather have a plumload of smaller items) from the Store and it’s yours. Just let me know what piece of Simmy goodness you’d like. Thankfully, you already have a posted Wishlist, so that makes it easier.
Knowing that you’re limited in EP’s/SP’s and Store content due to the way you play tugged at my heartstrings, especially when I look at the ginormous mountain of content I’ve managed to amass since I started playing again. I was already planning on Gifting you something small, at least, but at the time of SimPoint purchase, this vault-owner was nearly as giddy about Gifting as he was about finishing his own collection.
Your post was also too splendid in that, unlike yours truly, you’re perfectly happy with what you have (along with just being nice in general and stuff
If you don’t mind my asking, why are you choosing to go the disc route and avoid 1.69? I own five on disc, but had no choice when I wanted to start playing again because Windows 10 simply won’t read them. It was Origin or nothing for me. However, the $5 Expansions and Stuff Packs I magically stumbled across on Amazon (some of which were actually DRM-free, so that could possibly help you someday maybe if it happens again) right after I installed the game last July (the timing was uncanny) seemed more than a worthy consolation prize. I even somehow managed to score the Limited Edition of Pets as a Download code from there and got the Pet Shop, which was incredible because I would’ve been willing to pay more for that had I known it existed when I got the EP (I was actually shopping around for it on disc when I happened to check my Purchase History and then got all super-duper happy
I don’t have a clue as to what happened with me and Simpoints, lol. I went from a few “Must haves” (the violin) to “Would likes” to “Nope, never – I’m done” to “Well, maybe a bit more” and finally to “Meh, I have the money [and was crazy enough to follow the Daily Deals], so why not?” pretty rapidly. Heck, I’ve come to realize that I could’ve bought a whole lot of real-life stuff instead (including a whole new purdy guitar to play on), but if life has taught me anything, it’s that while money comes and money goes, Sims 3 content is Forever. I’m coming back to the game this many years later and put over 300 hours into it between last July and this January.
My list of “Must haves” also grew as time went on as I learned more about some of the Premium Content/Venues. For example, this mod brought the Brunch at the Old Mill venue up from something I ‘knew’ I’d never want to something I absolutely had to have.
The same thing happened with me and the Worlds late last year. I think I may just be a junkie for shiny Sims 3 accoutrements. You are reading a post written by a man who owns Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats, after all.
Like yourself, I probably could’ve stopped ages ago and been perfectly satisfied with my game. In fact, I may end up less happy if I find that game now cluttered with a bunch of plum-ugly stuff that I’ll have to constantly weed through and never use. There’s a decent likelihood that I’ll look back on all this a year from now and wonder what the heck I was thinking. [Waning Moon…at least Futureshock was cheap] Content aside, there’s still a game there too, one which now has a zillion new things for me and my Sims to do and try (and try to do).
I’m not so much tech-savvy as I am a quick study, so like you as well, I am truly worried about bogging down and/or breaking my game. When I first started up again (I owned through Generations), CAS was lightning fast and incredibly fun. Then after installing all the shiny new EP’s/SP’s, well, yeah, there was more stuff, but it came at a huge cost. I also worry about the higher potential for glitches/bugs/whatever with those zillion new features and additions. Especially long-term. I probably put 700-800 hours into the game way back in the day without issue (well, one crop of invisible Sims), but have a sinking feeling that things may not go so smoothly this time around. The Sims 3 is more a cobbled-together puzzled-up mish-mash of EA-craziness than it is a standard game. For better and worse.
I just hope that I can find more time to play again – and actually play this time, not just look around online at content, stare endlessly at Sims in CAS and occasionally mess around with some of those Sims in-game to check out some of the Worlds/Venues and have a bit of fun. It’s been far too long since I’ve even had “neighborhoods, businesses, and my ongoing dramas/stories.” I’m starting completely fresh because it turned out (to my horror) that my Sims – which I thought looked pretty darn good back in the day in 720p on medium settings – were actually hideously deformed, bug-eyed monsters with giant heads.
As to whether or not your post helped me to make a decision, I believe I answered a large part of that already, but I didn’t expect anything definitive from anyone when I started this. Despite its egregious flaws, it was more about hoping for the exchange of ideas, getting as many peoples’ thoughts on the matter as I could and starting a discussion. In that, I believe I (somehow, against stupendous odds) succeeded, despite the small group of posters here and with the glaring exception that I utterly failed at being a part of that discussion.
And I did come to a decision: Invest some money on fake stuff for fake people in my own world(s), then share the rest with real stuff for real people which will then become fake stuff for their fake people. And then write a truly outlandish sentence about it.
As to whether I’ll ever join TSR? “Busy blinking shopping experiences,” lol. I’m no closer to answering that question than I was when I started. I do know that it’s probably the only way that I’d ever consider using the site much (save for possibly InfraGreen’s Chrome add-on suggestion), but first I have the monumental task of going through what I already have waiting for me.
At least I know that I’ll have those sofeing sofas to kick back on while I do it. And I brought cookies:
Thanks again!
I now eagerly await everyone’s decisions on what they want. Participation is mandatory (I already bought the SimPoints, so yeah…). The only way out is if you (The Recipient) happen to know someone whom you feel is more deserving or in need of content, then I suppose the Gifts could be transferable. Or if you just don’t really play the game anymore, which would just be sad.
I hope this post has been an enjoyable experience (in as much as is possible), despite its voluminous volume. While I wrote the bulk of it in a just a few hours, it’s taken me (or someone else on my behalf) weeks to edit (and pare down - this is the abridged version) and parts still feel rushed due to time constraints. I honestly have no idea if half of what I wrote is really on-topic anymore, lol. I just know that if I don’t post what I have at this point, I’ll never post anything.
Now I just hope that I can manage to stay in this time period and participate here more (without writing a book every time). The side-effects of the type of time-travel I underwent are still entirely unknown – I could find myself warping years into the future without notice, but that’s what I signed up for back when I joined NISA.
And I still have a game to play. Some day. Hopefully.
outrun / blog / tunglr
Thanks anyway.
outrun / blog / tunglr
@Symb10sis it's so good to see you back! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your ups and downs in this whole Sim shopping saga!
You asked why I choose to go the disc route and avoid 1.69? Well, most of the time I play offline and also, I do not want to have to go through origin whenever I launch. So to avoid origin (at all costs because I find it invasive and annoying) and to be able to play TS3 offline (which I don't think you can do when launching through origin, though I'm not sure), I use discs only, and I'm only patched up to 1.67. If I patch up to 1.69, I will lose the ability to do all of that. Remember, I'm not the technical type, so I found an old post that might explain it better than I can:
http://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/861283/what-do-you-think-of-the-1-69-changes
Yes, the price on that Outdoor Living Stuff pack just keeps climbing higher and higher on amazon. It's ridiculous! That's Ok, though. I decided my Sims can live without that pitcher of refreshing ice cold lemonade, lol. Why oh why couldn't they have at least given us a pitcher of iced tea in the store!!!
And you're right, I think the used stuff packs they sell are worthless. The only use I can think of, is if you play on discs and already have that stuff pack (or whatever) installed and registered and you buy a new computer and wish to install the stuff pack via a disc(???). Whew! Again, I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about when it comes to all that. I'm just thankful every time I pop my game in and it works!
I bought a new computer last Oct so I'm pretty sure it can handle a few more stuff packs, more store content, more worlds, and even a few more expansion packs. But like I said before, I only own one stuff pack and I haven't found any stuff packs that I really really want (the Outdoor Living was the only one that tempted me) so I'm not getting any more of them. I also decided that I am definitely not going to buy any of the three remaining expansion packs that I don't own already.
Hardly anyone posts that much here anymore. It's so refreshing to see someone who still has so much enthusiasm for the game!
I do hope you're able to get some of your goodies installed and start playing TS3 again!
My Top Five
My Thank You Thread
My Studio
I think I have only downloaded a world from the Exchange, from a trusted creator. I have read horror stories about CC that attaches itself and is nearly impossible to find. I tend to stay away from there.
And we have the same taste in CC! I have Buckley's hairs, Elexis' watercolor contacts and Navestea's skins (my faves)!
About TSR, I get so little from that site, the delay for the download isn't a big deal to me. I refuse to turn off my ad blocker, though! I turned it off once thinking the download would be faster. The site is even slower because I'm being bombarded with ads!
But I'm sure it would be worth the subscription if one were to download a ton of cc from there.
There's so much CC out there and I haven't even scratched the surface yet, but I think I'm ok with that.
Wow, how sweet of you to share your hard earned simpoints!
There are many reasons why people choose to take up a position to be helpful to other players. Whether that be producing or assisting those who produce complicated and popular mods, content to share and the methods by which they are produced, stories to inspire, dispensing tech, EA Store strategy, or gameplay advice, sharing in-game experiences, making people laugh (frown, cry, ponder something new, any kind of emotion really), any combination of those, we all work with what we might have to offer. It's all good.
Cannot speak for everyone and would never try to. But being the recipient of gifts does not factor highly into our motivations in many cases. And in some, maybe only a few, the prospect of being required to be such a recipient (yes, I realize that was an exaggeration) is actually not pleasant.
If one would like to express one's gratitude to NRaas or to any of our management team, a better way to go about it might be to participate in the community over there, over here, wherever one hangs out, and help others in their journeys through their games. Just chatting about and sharing experiences, with or without the mods, is enough to get started. Doesn't have to be anything formal or require long-term commitments or everyday attendance records.
As for more tangible expressions of gratitude, I would prefer that if gifts must be a part of the equation then they should be directed towards those who cannot otherwise afford them and whose days they would truly brighten.
As an aside about NRaas. If I were to disappear tomorrow, nothing different would happen. My colleagues would take up the administrative slack over there and, given that we're kind of tight on warm bodies temporarily right now, my "position" would probably have to be restaffed as would the one of a colleague who left us a year ago. If NRaas in its entirety were to disappear overnight without warning (let's say for the sake of argument we lost our mod developer/soon to be webmaster in the process as well), we would undoubtedly pop up again somewhere else pretty soon. It's not 2014 anymore, the vast numbers of players and available talented script mod developers have thinned out in number a bit, but there is still enough energy and enthusiasm for the mods around for anything like total obliteration off the face of the Internet to not really be a possibility.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I have large amounts of CC from the store AND from TSR, I recently did a vip in TSR. CC is my addiction, what can I say... l love downloading stuff and try them out in game. I always prefer the store items first - becuase for me it is probabaly something I trust more, I had many falls with TSR items, quality wise. But some stuff cannot be found in the store, the more modern stuff, the realistic stuff, the niche stuff -- these I will go look in TSR. Right now I don't have all the store items but I have most what I want and I know the items available more ot less. With TSR it's different, you can always explore more and more and that is part of my fun. (even if will not use most items in game, evetually)