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Alpha or Maxis Match?

td998td998 Posts: 358 Member
edited December 2017 in General Mods Discussion
Which do you prefer?

Personally, I detest maxis match. I think it looks terrible! It's so chunky and feels... lazy. Alpha is just so much more realistic and that's what I like to see in my game, but it's not for everyone!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about I'll explain a bit (I don't completely know either, though).
Alpha and maxis match are the main textures for cc including hair (including eyebrows), makeup, and skin tone. Maxis match is what the base game is comprised of and some cc out there also uses it. Alpha is exclusively cc.

Here are some screenshots to show what I'm talking about:
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Comments

  • VibseVibse Posts: 100 Member
    I just prefer the look of maxis match. I like that the sims I do use CC on actually looks like they fit into the world. I don't think they do if I use Alpha.
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  • kokoro80kokoro80 Posts: 651 Member
    MM only. I hate alpha cc, it looks too out of place in the game imo and I just don't like it aesthetically.
  • Ladybug889Ladybug889 Posts: 943 Member
    edited December 2017
    I would go with MM cc. I don’t think Alpha really looks right for me but do what makes you happy. I don’t have any MM cc in my game currently but I’ve been wanting to download some. I don’t have a lot of time on my hands so I mostly spend my time playing. I just don’t want to spend a lot of time looking for it lol I’m not even sure of the websites most people use to find MM cc. Maybe when I get a day off and have more time I’ll look for some.
  • ladybreidladybreid Posts: 3,455 Member
    I like consistency in art styles so in TS4 I go with maxis match or nothing. The alpha just clashes too much for me.
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  • td998td998 Posts: 358 Member
    Yeah I know what you all are saying. I thought that was going to be an issue for me too. I didn't know if it was going to fit into my game.. But surprisingly, I think it looks very natural.
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  • So_MoneySo_Money Posts: 2,536 Member
    edited December 2017
    Because alpha hair is more detailed, I think it's really weird when it doesn't move. It looks like it should, whereas Maxis-match hair looks like it shouldn't and therefore fits better IMO.

    Maxis-match all the way for me, for this reason and many others.
  • kirumagukirumagu Posts: 49 Member
    I play with both style,but more to maxis match. I agree with alpha hair looks realistic and great,but it is unfair to compare alpha and mm hair. Alpha hair usually has higher poly (around 10k-20k+ polygon) while mm has lower polygon(around 1-5k polygon).I believed the mm hair can look more polish and detail if they have the same amount of polygon like alpha hair do but bare in mind that high poly object tend to break the game more often especially with a low end pc.
  • NorthDakotaGamerNorthDakotaGamer Posts: 2,559 Member
    @td998

    I HATE alpha, because it DOES NOT match the game esthetic. I prefer maxis match because it looks like it is supposed to be in the game. Those that like using alpha are who I believe to prefer the graphic style of Sims 3.
  • AshcarrAshcarr Posts: 383 Member
    MM, there was a sim style game that tried going hyper realistic years ago and it just didn't have the same charm. I really, really like the artistic style they took with 4. It feels more natural having these cartoony (but still very detailed and beautiful) characters with the kinds of interactions that the sims have.

    I'll admit that I do like very realistic looking graphics, but it has to fit the game. Uncharted 4, the new Tomb Raiders... they have gorgeously realistic models and it works because of the setting and how the characters act. It wouldn't sit well for me in a sims game where we have hundreds of quirky interactions and impossible scenarios.
  • Aesir26Aesir26 Posts: 304 Member
    I actually prefer Maxis Match because I feel like it fits in with the style of the game a lot better than Alpha. The realism of the Alpha textures just makes it look weird when the hair itself doesn't move, plus I don't often like the styles that many Alpha hairstyles come in.
  • Pamtastic72Pamtastic72 Posts: 4,545 Member
    MM here too. Because of the aesthetic reasons already listed and because it causes less lag in the game.
  • MarktnMarktn Posts: 554 Member
    I use a bit of both. If well done, they both work in my game. It also allows me to have more distinctive looking sims.
  • MarktnMarktn Posts: 554 Member
    edited December 2017
    I like both.
  • klestrellaklestrella Posts: 440 Member
    I think alpha CC is gorgeous, but I’m an MM person myself. I appreciate both types and their talented CC creators equally, but in my opinion, MM matches the game’s aesthetic seamlessly. I’ve always felt that alpha stands out a little too much and clashes against the cartoon-y, ultra-cheery look TS4 has. Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about seeing a sim with alpha CC walking around next to a townie with no CC or strictly MM that really perturbs me. :lol:

    I like that MM gives me the ability to add a little extra ‘oomph’ to my sims here and there without completely taking them over the top, and I’m a big fan of simple recolors, added pattern swatches, and “Frankenmeshes”, as they’re called. My CC folder is almost entirely MM frankenmeshes and recolors, with a few stray pieces here and there being MM-ified versions of alpha.

    Obviously, it’s all subjective and I say use whatever you prefer! :smile:
  • HopeyStarrHopeyStarr Posts: 1,276 Member
    Maxis match cc usually has a softer look that I prefer.
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  • LadyKynLadyKyn Posts: 3,594 Member
    edited December 2017
    Alpha doesn't seem like it fits so well with the over all art style of the game. Looked like it somewhat belonged in the Sims 3, but 4? It stands out too much unless you rework just about your playable households and the townies so it just blends in. Too much work for me. There's a lot of pretty alpha hair I've seen that look real nice and some can fit into the game nicely (actually have like two in game I can't seem to part with), but everything else? I just can't do it.

    Most alpha clothing feels pasted on, like the clothes are wearing the sims sometimes. Though I know a lot of people like a more realistic look to their game for personal preferences.

    Use to use alpha long time ago like a LOT, but switched over to MM just for the Sims 4.
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  • CupidCupid Posts: 3,623 Member
    edited December 2017
    I used to dislike alpha, but I think it just gets a bad wrap because there's so many.. questionable pieces of alpha content out there ;)

    When I took the effort to look for alpha cc that was high quality, I was quite impressed with what I was able to make with it. That said I kept it all in its own separate folder and only used it in an alpha-alternative copy of my maxis-match save. I generally don't like how the two look together.

    For gameplay I prefer the maxis-match save, though. I only like to look at alpha in cas
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  • Dreamie209Dreamie209 Posts: 3,165 Member
    edited December 2017
    I'm not really against either, I used to use Alpha a long time ago, though now a days I use mostly Maxis Match. I think what helps me use MM yet keep a realistic/pixar-realistic feel is Re-shade (tbh I dunno how I played without it) <3. It's a nice little trade off since I can have a pixar-like realistic feel that makes the hairs "feel" like alpha, but their all really just MM :lol: It also comes in handy so that if I do like a certain alpha hair, it blends right into my game without much effort on my part :mrgreen: .
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  • CK213CK213 Posts: 20,525 Member
    I prefer alpha. Maxis is ok, but I need more detail in my games.
    My game is actually a bit of a mix as I need more detailed world textures and objects so my sims don't feel so out of place.
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  • AKLSimmerAKLSimmer Posts: 78 Member
    I like both, but only when they are done well.

    When I just started playing the Sims 4 I use only alpha, but now I started to like maxis match more and downloaded tons of MM ccs. I still use both in my gameplay and I don't think the alpha ccs I have look out of place. To me, maxis match hairstyles are adorable, they come in styles that I would like for my sims to have, and they cause less lagging, but alpha hairstyles have more variety in length and style that I can use them to achieve looks that MM can't achieve. I know there are clayfied hairs but I don't really like them. They look rather 2D than 3D to me (although there are some nice ones too).

    For skins, I think some alpha skins that does not work with the game skintones and make sims look extremely white or pale are creepy. Most of my skins are maxis match. Even if I use an alpha skin I would choose an overlay that works well with the game skin colors. I do prefer more realistic makeup, but not way too realistic. A lot of alpha lipsticks look too shiny and pasted so they are out of question.

    For clothing, I prefer MM, but there are some great CC creators who create very high quality alpha clothing that does not look pasted or paper-like and fit into the game as well, so I use their works too.

    I agree with what Cyrus said above that alpha cc has a bad reputation because there are so many questionable pieces of cc. In my experience, alpha cc do cause a lot more problems, and some alpha cc really don't look as good as they are in preview pictures. With alpha cc you probably need to organize your CC folder more often and delete those CC that look terrible or out of place.

    Again I feel like it is unnecessary to fight over this subject, or judge people base on what CC they use. It's nice to hear everyone's opinions though.
  • td998td998 Posts: 358 Member
    I get almost all of my content from TSR, and only from featured artists, so I don't have many issues with the quality of the work. Most of the clothing and hairstyles I get are very good and I think they look quite good on my sims. Maybe that's just me, though. Some people might argue that it looks out of place, but I personally don't think so.

    I'm not a huge fan of many of the alpha skintones, either. I was when I FIRST got the game, but now I usually don't even use a skintone at all. Sometimes my sims look better with it and sometimes they don't. Some alpha makeup gets me a little on edge too.. like lipsticks. I have a few downloaded that look weird and when I find the time I'll probably search for and delete them.

    As for lag, I don't really get any. I recently got a new computer and it doesn't run sims 3 as well as my old one so I really only play ts3 when I have a lot of time on my hands as loading is a pain. Sims 4 is really quick and easy to boot up which works well with a college schedule. The load times have increased from when I first started playing again, but I had no expansion or game packs except for get to work back then, so it's only natural that loading time increased.

    Despite the fact that I said I detest maxis match, I did download some for males since male custom content is hard to come by. I don't really put too much work into my male sims either for that reason. I also sometimes use maxis match on the parents of sims in my storytelling games. There are some cute mm hairs that I wish came in alpha, but I just don't think I could have my main character have mm. I just don't like the way it makes my sims look.
  • YBNS2468YBNS2468 Posts: 240 Member
    I don't like CC in general...but i loved the maxis match content for the sims 4
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