I stopped playing Sims 3 about two years ago because I got sick of the bugs, terrible quality control, and basically fixing the game more than I played it. This was a huge step for me because The Sims franchise were the only games I had played seriously since Sims 2 came out when I was about 12. Since then I've been branching out as a gamer, playing a lot of RPGs and stuff. I'm glad I did because I've really enjoyed myself and discovered that there are a lot of great games out there, and not all of them are linear shoot-em-up fests. But sometimes I find myself missing Sims, so I think I might go back and start playing again.
Just a few questions before I do.
1) I'm starting on a new computer; the one I used to play Sims on is long gone. I've found the base game and most of my old expansions (except for Late Night, but that kind of sucked anyway), but I lost the original box and product key for Ambitions. Is there any way I can retrieve it, or am I basically screwed? I'd hate to re-buy a game that I saved up to buy years ago just because I lost the product key.
2) I used to use Twallan's Nraas mods for everything. I couldn't play the game without them. Is he still around? The old forum I had in my bookmarks appears to be gone. If not, are there any suitable alternatives other than AwesomeMod?
3) Can I mix physical disks with expansion packs bought from the Steam store? I might buy some of the new expansions, but I don't like using physical disks anymore. I love Steam because they have great sales and it's nice having all my games in one place.
4) Anything else I need to know that may have changed during my absence?
Edited to delete out the question about which expansion packs are worth buying, didn't realize it was against the rules.
