Play Style: Mods or Clean Game

[RunAmokSims]

My use of mods depends on the game I'm playing.  I have very few bugs in my game and it usually runs very well on it's own so I usually use mods to enhance game play. 

An example would be something like using Master Controller to raise basic skill levels.  When SN came out I was really anxious to play a witch with alchemy skills. I used MC to raise to max out gardening rather than go through all the stuff needed to get through gardening.  I've gotten impatient with having to work at the basics again and again when I make new Sims. I've maxed out things like cooking, painting and gardening so many times I just don't want to do it again.

I also use mods to add things I know EA will never include. I'm a big true crime/mystery fan and I know EA won't enhance the criminal career so I do it myself.

[MaryMarsh]

I don't use mods. My game runs without issues and I don't want to introduce anything that will risk introduction of problems.

[mmoblitz]

I can't live without them.  I played the game for a long time without them and always felt it was lacking something or things could have been done better in some areas.  I also had problems of my games breaking after playing them awhile and losing all progress I had made.  I almost walked away from sims 3 when it was apparent that a lot of the issues which I was running into had been there for a very long time and was never fixed.  Then I found out about Twallan mods and a few others that fixed some of these issues and enhanced the game play for certain areas.

I installed a few and have never looked back.  I haven't had ONE mod that ever broke my game.  There are only a few modders whom I trust to use their mods, but I wouldn't play sims 3 without them.  As far as mods slowing down my game, only Story Progression mod has had any impact, but you can turn off certain features and the lag is hardly noticable.

I know I will never play any challenges since I won't go without certain mods that ensure I have an enjoyable game play experience.

[Sarabi]

Hmmm... I didn't vote in the poll, because there aren't any responses that capture my personal position RE mods.

My preference is to run a clean, bare-bones game.  I only recently purchased the first EPs - WA and Ambitions.  I don't use any CC, and haven't purchased any additional SPs or goodies from the store.

If I could successfully run a long game sans mods, I would - but the lag becomes unbearable for me after I've played a few Sim weeks - so I use Twallan's Overwatch module to keep my game running smoothly.  I've found that without it, the game gets to a point where it will freeze for about 30 seconds every 15-30 Sim minutes, and that isn't something I can tolerate, and it can't be good for my computer.  I don't know this for a fact, but I'm guessing what happens is that, over time the game consumes all available memory (especially with all of the abandoned vehicles that pile up) and then starts page faulting to continue to operate, which creates the lag.

I was hoping I might be able to get along without it on my new gaming rig, but that hasn't been the case.  I might try starting my next immortal dynasty attempt without it, and do everything else I can do to keep it clean - like keeping inventories clean, deleting memories frequently, reloading the game every couple of play hours, that sort of thing - and see how it goes.

I could happily live with the game as EA designed and built it if they'd take care of the memory leaks.  Until that happens, Overwatch is my saving grace.

[Sarah1992]

I didn't vote in the poll, at the moment I'm running a fresh install (uninstalled due to lack of interest a few months back), I have a few CC hairs and some clothing, but no mods. When I first started playing the Sims 3, I installed quite a few mods, a couple of Twallan's and AwesomeMod I believe, more out of habit than anything, coming straight from the Sims 2 where mods made gameplay more interesting, in my opinion at least. But this time, I don't think I'll install any mods, but if I come across some CC hair or clothing that I like, chances are it'll get installed. Though Overwatch and ErrorTrap sound like they might do my game some good, fresh install or not, my game is running awfully, could just be that my computer is on its last legs though!

[jeanamariex3]

I don't use mods. My game runs without issues and I don't want to introduce anything that will risk introduction of problems.

I found this site before finding other, modding sites. Back than, it was a no-no to talk about, and I heard they could seriously mess up the game. I've never used them and don't even want too. Even now, after all the talk about them being good for some things, I don't trust them. I'm aware that some "bugs" could be fixed by using them, but I'd rather wait for EA to fix it.

The only problems I ever had with mods, were Homer Simpson problems. When I first modded, I had lag from too many package files at once. Now, 2 out of 10 times, when I would update, my game would crash at the loading screen, come to find out, I accidently forgot to extract the base mod but all the moducles that required it. No real harm done, just plain old human error, with a "DO'H!" followed by a facepalm. But that's like trying to play an Expansion or SP without the base game. 

[jestina]

You pretty much have to use mods if you want a town that's alive. The AI on this game is just absolutely horrid. There's just too much randomness with non-controlled sims. They never follow their traits or wishes, they never advance in careers, etc.

[Turoskel]

I voted it depends on the situation, in a normal game I use them but obviously for challenges I don't.

Mainly I use Twallans mods, quite a lot of them, a few are must haves though for me, Master Controller, Register, Story Progression, Overwatch, Error Trap and Dresser. The last one has saved my town from turning into a mix of china and egypt in the fashion stakes, before it I could pretty much guarantee every person who aged up would have an outfit from World Adventures on and a silly hat, drove me mad, I used to change their clothes with Master Controller now I don't have to as Dresser does it all for me.

There are three other modders who I also use quite a few mods from, Shimrod, Bluegenjutsu and Twoftmama. While Twallan saves my game with his bug fixes these three save my sanity with their annoyance removers. I find if a sim is overdoing an interaction they usually have a mod that will reduce or stop it altogether.

While some things I prefer sims didn't keep doing there are others I wish they would do on their own, mods solve that for me too, with a combination of Woohooer and one of Bluegenjutsu's romantic autonomy mods I can just sit back and let them fall in love all by themselves without me lifting a finger, to see them go from flirting to one of them confessing attraction, doing that first kiss on their own and even proposing is wonderful. It has on occasion got me in trouble when a sim has got involved with more than one person autonomously but it adds to the drama and fun.

But despite all that when playing my townie dynasty there was just one thing I really missed having, a story progression that kept the original town going, I hadn't used EA's story progression for a long, long time, I forgot how utterly random and nonsensical it could be, moving people, killing them off, or replacing a perfectly good interesting family with a randomly generated batch of clones. But even so it's still a blast to play and proves to me that I can indeed play without mods I just prefer not to.

[Pluto_Proserpina]

I answered "yes but I wish EA would do it" and "no, but I'd like to know more", because I've only just come across them, and I've installed Overwatch and ErrorTrap because people say they improve the game performance, but I don't know what these mods actually do or if they make a difference. 
Some mods like StoryProgression sound interesting, but I don't want to make the game too different as I'm trying a dynasty (for my own purposes, not for the hall of fame), so I don't want unfair advantages, as that would be against the spirit of the challenge.

[MulMizu]

I absolutely have to have mods.  All of them are Nraas mods, but I've found that just a few of those mods are insanely important.  My computer is not a high-end computer.  It runs the game at a decent FPS.  But there have been sooo many mistakes made by EA in regards to how the game runs that I actually do need the mods to play the game at all.

For instance, the memory system.  I know that EA added that little option to "disable memories", but I learned that that option?  It actually just turns off the notifications of memories being made.  If I didn't have Nraas to turn off memories completely, I would have well over 3000 of them from the rest of the town ALONE.  And those memories compile together and make the game even heavier with information and then it starts slowing down and eugh.   Not to mention problems with cars and stereos and stuck Sims and all of that.

Also I kind of just like the Story Progression mod.  I like my Sims making smart decisions in town, not having six babies in a one-bedroom house with 500 simoleons to their name. 

So I ABSOLUTELY need to have mods in my game.  If only because without them, I wouldn't be able to play the game at all.

[Serena Darrin]

I use mods, simply because my game just breaks if I don't, especially on an longer-generation game, (memories, abandoned cars and other things) and because, I admit, there are a few things I particularly like (Buzzler's box of Seeds, for example).   Also, a mod that autosaves has saved my behind more times then I'd like to admit, because I get caught up in the playing and forget to save.

Some mods like StoryProgression sound interesting, but I don't want to make the game too different as I'm trying a dynasty (for my own purposes, not for the hall of fame), so I don't want unfair advantages, as that would be against the spirit of the challenge.

Agreed on that.  I don't like the mods that really alter the gameplay either.  However, it was my unofficial Dynasty that forced me to install StoryProgression because my town was -so- depopulated I couldn't find a spouse. (When I checked my demographics, -everyone- was an elder!) I found it didn't alter the actual gameplay too much, it more altered the actions of the town around me.   Now my town is actually alive and doing stuff.

[LeuceDeuce]

I think it's funny that mods are viewed as "unclean", while EA's code is "clean".

I can't live without them.  Story Progression, Overwatch and Relativity are permanent installs just to keep my game moving forward.  Master controller gets loaded up whenever I have to delete some garbage out of my inventory.

Thanks Twallan!