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TYPES OF CC-USERS: Are you an alpha or a maxis match?

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I always wondered at whether one or the other is more prominent among players - I would guess probably maxis match would win in a poll, but I'm not sure? What do you guys prefer?

I'm a total Alpha girl, I love my sims to look hyper-realistic and I don't care at all about whether or not it fits into the game's general aesthetic since I spend most of my time in CAS anyways haha.

For clarity's sake:
Alpha CC is very realistic CC, like realistic skins and hairs, while Maxis Match basically matches EA's style and texture. See spoiler for examples
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This is my sim and she's full of Alpha CC: her skin texture is more realistic, I changed her eyes, her jewellery, hair and clothing is detailed and realistic, has a lot of depth

tumblr_odye1gghqH1uwb4blo1_1280.png this is maxis match, it's from a post for Chocolate Muffin Top's hair custom content - I personally have almost no maxis match CC so I don't have any sims to show myself but they would look very similar to NPCs

Btw, is it possible to do polls in a post? I didn't see the option on the "new discussion" part and bbcode doesn't seem to include polls either so I was just wondering.
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Comments

  • Bananas_45Bananas_45 Posts: 6,772 Member
    Your Sim is beautiful! I think using Alpha CC like that is a skill. I hate the wispier hairs but the thicker hairs like hers look great. I may have snuck a few into my 99% Maxis Match game. I also have a couple of dresses from Aviera and Colores Urbanos.

    I have seen other posts with polls but, I have no idea how to do them.
  • MaddyMcMoodyMaddyMcMoody Posts: 105 Member
    edited February 2019
    Bananas_45 wrote: »
    Your Sim is beautiful! I think using Alpha CC like that is a skill. I hate the wispier hairs but the thicker hairs like hers look great. I may have snuck a few into my 99% Maxis Match game. I also have a couple of dresses from Aviera and Colores Urbanos.

    I have seen other posts with polls but, I have no idea how to do them.

    @Bananas_45 thank you <3 I like the wispy hairs too I guess haha. But for hairs like hers I can really recommend Ebonix' CC - they did that hair and I just love their african hair textures, they're all stunning both ingame and in CAS. I like to use them in combination with Daerilia's baby hairs.

    I think alphas mostly make my CAS extremely elaborate and can probably damage ingame function (I think it lags more than if I didn't use it) but I just can't help myself I love it so much, combining different details to make a sim look realistic, like hairs, accessories, baby hairs, body hair, skins, eyes, acne, scars, moles, face and body freckles, piercings, clothes, sliders, real genitalia and b.oobs (SERIOUSLY forums?? what the fluff?? why do you censor b.oobs????? what else am I supposed to call them, lady lumps? love cushions?), tattoos, makeup, I love the possibilities of putting them together in different ways to create sims that somehow look like real people.
    It's probably also fueled by my anti-minimalist lifestyle (maximalist, I guess?), "more is more and less is a bore" or whatever Iris Apfel said
    Post edited by MaddyMcMoody on
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  • munroelemunroele Posts: 286 Member
    I really find some Alpha sims/cc to be too uncanny valley to me, it often ends up looking like the Polar Express! To be fair, I really didn't like how the Sims in 3 looked either, they were too realistic, while also being not realistic at all? I did use Alpha cc in Sims 2 back when I was 12-15, but thats because it was all I could ever find, and it didn't stand out as much in 2.

    I really love MM, lots of nice stuff, and a lot of the hairs just improve the EA hairs, like making loads of curly styles from the 5 or so curly hairs we have in game, adding more swatches to nice clothes and even doing some nice makeup.

  • MaddyMcMoodyMaddyMcMoody Posts: 105 Member
    edited February 2019
    munroele wrote: »
    I really find some Alpha sims/cc to be too uncanny valley to me, it often ends up looking like the Polar Express! To be fair, I really didn't like how the Sims in 3 looked either, they were too realistic, while also being not realistic at all? I did use Alpha cc in Sims 2 back when I was 12-15, but thats because it was all I could ever find, and it didn't stand out as much in 2.

    I really love MM, lots of nice stuff, and a lot of the hairs just improve the EA hairs, like making loads of curly styles from the 5 or so curly hairs we have in game, adding more swatches to nice clothes and even doing some nice makeup.

    @munroele I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by "uncanny valley" or the Polar Express? You mean white ppl stuff?
    the game itself has too much white ppl stuff imo, we're still missing a hijab and african hair that doesn't look like a blob so it's nice that CC exists to make it more diverse, both maxis match and alpha can do that so nicely :)
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  • Bananas_45Bananas_45 Posts: 6,772 Member
    munroele wrote: »
    I really find some Alpha sims/cc to be too uncanny valley to me, it often ends up looking like the Polar Express! To be fair, I really didn't like how the Sims in 3 looked either, they were too realistic, while also being not realistic at all? I did use Alpha cc in Sims 2 back when I was 12-15, but thats because it was all I could ever find, and it didn't stand out as much in 2.

    I really love MM, lots of nice stuff, and a lot of the hairs just improve the EA hairs, like making loads of curly styles from the 5 or so curly hairs we have in game, adding more swatches to nice clothes and even doing some nice makeup.

    @munroele I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by "uncanny valley" or the Polar Express? You mean white ppl stuff?
    the game itself has too much white ppl stuff imo, we're still missing a hijab and african hair that doesn't look like a blob so it's nice that CC exists to make it more diverse, both maxis match and alpha can do that so nicely :)

    I looked up uncanny valley and it appears to be a term referring to human-appearing robots that aren't quite realistic.
    Picture examples:https://www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/11/25/10-creepy-examples-uncanny-valley/

    and I think Polar Express refers to the movie which was kinda creepily animated.
  • munroelemunroele Posts: 286 Member
    @MaddyMcMoody No, not white people stuff, it refers to robots or things that are designed to look human, but just look wrong! Think like Sophia the Robot, or even movies like the Polar Express, Pixar's Tin Toy (god, that baby is SCARY AF) and 2009's a Christmas carol. The characters are MEANT to look realistic, and they do, but in a horrible, weird way. Alpha gives me the same uneasy feeling that Sophia robot, or those two movies do, so I stick to MM, seeing it's cartoony. It's too realistic, while also looking incredibly fake.

    And yeah, I use cc to find better kinky hairstyles especially, and more curls like my own hair. Too much of the EA hair is straight or obviously heat done curls/waves, and I also find most of the EA clothing isn't the kind I like at all.

    Thanks for explaining that for me @Bananas_45 :smile:
  • MaddyMcMoodyMaddyMcMoody Posts: 105 Member
    @munroele @Bananas_45 ahhhhh thank you for explaining that, I wasn't aware of the term. I thought it was refering to white people stuff because of valley girls and the polar express as in northpole, scandinavians and such :D
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  • SimpkinSimpkin Posts: 7,425 Member
    I prefer Maxis Match. I think Alpha doesn't just not fit in the game but it also looks tacky. Esepcially the hairs. And a lot of the skins too. And a lot of the clothes too. And I won't even talk about the furniture etc.

    The only alpha I can do is something that looks very Maxis Matchy. But I do like the makeup. Especially lipsticks. It gives the lips a little texture. I like some Alpha eyeshadow too but not a lot can be used cause they require Alpha skins. Same for blushes and highlights.

    And I use some Alpha necklaces and earrings. Also I have quite a few alpha clothes in my CAS that I will never actually use. They're all really sparkly. I just like to look at them lol. I like the sparkly, mutlicoloured, ombre clothes.
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  • WildIrishBansheeWildIrishBanshee Posts: 2,104 Member
    Wow, white people stuff?! Anyway, I prefer Maxis Match in S4 and alpha in S2...I find alpha too jarring in S4, it just doesn't fit.
  • FurAndYarnFurAndYarn Posts: 459 Member
    I go through phases. I'm currently in an alpha phase. I typically go vanilla with my game after a new release. Then I slowly re-introduce CC but it's typically Maxis Match. Then I'll spot a cute alpha hair or outfit and it sets off a shopping spree. 😜
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  • MaddyMcMoodyMaddyMcMoody Posts: 105 Member
    @Simpkin It doesn't sound that good when you say it looks tacky, maybe go with "some of it" looks tacky or something like that haha. If all of it looked tacky, all my sims looked tacky too since I use skins and hairs on them, and I like to think that my sims aren't tacky ^^
    I actually find it quite difficult to draw the line between Maxis Match and alpha when it comes to some of the makeup and jewellery, what about you? eyeliner for example doesn't seem to really be one or the other

    @WildIrishBanshee maybe not my best wording but basically yeah :D
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  • munroelemunroele Posts: 286 Member
    edited February 2019
    @Simpkin It doesn't sound that good when you say it looks tacky, maybe go with "some of it" looks tacky or something like that haha. If all of it looked tacky, all my sims looked tacky too since I use skins and hairs on them, and I like to think that my sims aren't tacky ^^


    People are allowed to say it looks tacky. Because a lot of it is tacky and looks weird and unwearable IRL, or it just looks poorly made.

    Besides, people are allowed to have opinions. I personally dont like the look of the sim in your DP, or the one you placed as the example, but thats okay, so long as you like it, why does it matter?

    People criticise maxis match all the time, and i doubt people would like my sims, but you just need to be happy with them yourself. Dont get your knickers in a knot over someone calling cc tacky.
  • SimpkinSimpkin Posts: 7,425 Member
    I guess I find it tacky cause as said it doesn't fit. I can't find a better word. I guess my reasoning is that it looks so over the top and unfitting as if you saw a person in real life who was over the top and unnatrual. I mean it would be tacky :D

    As for eyeliner, I never get them cause they all look the same to me. It's just always a little line on the upper lashes. I sometimes download the ones that do a little eyelash but I use the 3d ones so, they'd only be for some depth. And I guess it's just a matter of how well the makeup blends with vanilla skin, whether it's more alpha or mm.

    With jewelry I like the daintier Alpha ones. But some are too dainty. I like chokers a lot. Or the neckalces that have a few different chains or pendants on them. It always has to match MM though.
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  • MaddyMcMoodyMaddyMcMoody Posts: 105 Member
    I'd just rather the conversation stays with what you like about whatever you prefer, rather than all the negatives about what you don't prefer. I just wanted to know how many people use one or the other, not turn this into rants about what's wrong with certain CCs, but I guess I haven't handled the conversation well enough for it to go in that direction and away from negativity. I wanted to celebrate CC, not put it down, either/or... :'(
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  • mikamika Posts: 1,733 Member
    I dont use CC, but if I did I would use Maxis Match as it fits the game's art style better and looks nicer imo.
  • g1raff3sg1raff3s Posts: 38 Member
    I personally use Maxis Match in my game play for Sims 4. I was strictly Alpha when playing Sims 2 though!
    Since the release of Sims 4, I've never personally liked how Alpha looks for my own personal game play - I do however love to see other people's sims that they create utilizing Alpha! So many talented players in the community.
  • TropicanaCatTropicanaCat Posts: 93 Member
    I use Maxis Match for Sims 3 and Sims 4, I personally feel that Maxis Match works better in 4 and 3 than Alpha. I did use a lot of Alpha in Sims 2. It just comes down to personal preference. I have seen some very nicely made Alpha CC for 3 and 4, but it just doesn't fit my personal taste.
  • epigirl08epigirl08 Posts: 219 Member
    I'm strictly Alpha. I was incredibly disappointed when Sims 4 came out. I felt the sims looked like they were cartoon-like. I felt like we took a step back after Sims 3, especially in hair and eye lashes, as well as clothes. It doesn't bother me that my sims at time seem out of place because I have replaced most my game with alpha CC. I'm hoping if they create a Sims 5 our sims don't look like cartoons and have more options.
  • SimAlexandriaSimAlexandria Posts: 4,845 Member
    I prefer the cartoony look of Sims 4 to all other sims games before so def gonna say mm. Besides the alpha does not actually look real to me. It looks fake real haha. Like the kids on toddlers and tiaras made up too look like dolls. I dunno, not all of it, but a lot of the alpha stuff creeps me out for some reason haha.
  • Jj216Jj216 Posts: 17 New Member
    I can do both but I prefer alpha. The majority of my townies I have to redo because they look too silly imo.
  • RouensimsRouensims Posts: 4,858 Member
    I prefer alpha.
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  • BradyGalaxyBradyGalaxy Posts: 306 Member
    I like maxis match 100%. I'm not a very big CC user in the first place, but if I did use CC I would definitely not use Alpha CC. It makes Sims seem out of place in the Maxis Match world. Plus, I like the cartoony appearance of all the Sims. Alpha CC just looks ridiculous to me. Also no offense to anyone who uses Alpha.
    Proud simmer
  • Madachan88Madachan88 Posts: 360 Member
    edited March 2019
    I'm a maxis mix user aka using both alpha and maxis match. Besides Sims can really look good if you use both typ of cc.

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  • MagdaleenaMagdaleena Posts: 973 Member
    Maxis match here, mostly. I may make exceptions for certain clothing; I'm not as strict about that (as long as there are no english lettering on them, they don't need that).
    But the hair; any hair I download has to be MM. Or at least clay. Preferably with the EA palette too, so I won't have to change their hair color every time I switch the hairstyle.

    My sims also kind of have slightly cartoony faces in the first place? That's just my style, so it would feel really weird to tack realistic textures and items onto that. To me, TS4 is just kind of meant to look cartoony.

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    they/he
    simblr
  • EnglishSimmer90EnglishSimmer90 Posts: 53 Member
    I'm definitely more of a Alpha simmer, especially with hair! But there are some MM clothing I find cute so I will download it!
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