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Here are the answers to all of your most frequently asked questions!
Q: Where are you?
I came back to my channel in July 2022, but I couldn’t stay long. Sadly, I was pregnant with a baby boy and I went into preterm labor the week after I returned. I delivered him at 20 weeks, but he was too early to survive. I am taking some time away to heal from this. As soon as I feel strong enough, I will come back and make more videos and streams. Thank you for your support and understanding during this very difficult time.
In the meantime, you can check out my vlogging channel for updates or visit my personal blog, Life Plus Cindy.
Q. What happened to the Discord?
A. I don’t have the time, energy, or interest in moderating a large online community any longer. Although I love the friends I made there and I will always cherish the community we built, it was not worth the cost to my mental health. I’m sorry to say the Discord is permanently closed.
Q: What are your Computer Specs?
A: I have an Omen 25L gaming computer purchased in 2021. The specs are as follows:
- Intel Core i5-10400F Desktop Processor
- Hyper X 32 GB DDR4 Ram
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Q: What software do you use to record, stream, and edit?
A: I use OBS studio for recording and streaming. I use Wondershare Filmora for editing.
Q: What mic and camera do you use?
A: I use a Blue Yeti Mic that I support on a InnoGear Desktop Mic Stand. I currently use the Canon M50 Mark II for recording/streaming.
My other streaming equipment includes:
- HP 24-inch Monitors
- Redragon Gaming Mouse
- Elgato Collapsible Green Screen
- Neewer Ring Light Kit
- Mountdog Softbox Lights
- VicTsing Extended Gaming Mouse Pad
- Elgato CamLink (for using my Canon camera to stream)
- Gator Cases Pop Filter (fits on my desktop mic stand)
Q: Where are you from? Is that a southern accent?
A: Yep. I was born in the Southern United States and lived there for the first 30 years of my life. I moved to the Midwest about eight years ago. My accent isn’t as strong as it once was, but you can still hear my southern twang. You can read more about me here.
Q: Where do you get your custom content (Sims 2)?
A: I play with a Maxis Match style and my CC comes from a variety of sources. See this post for a list of my favorite sites and creators. Additionally, you can follow me on Pinterest, where I try to catalog most of my CC finds. You are welcome to ask me where I got something, and if I remember I’ll tell you.
Q: What camera mod do you use in your Sims 2 videos?
A: I currently use this one by lowedeus.
Q: What default replacements do you use for skin and eyes (Sims 2)?
A: In my early Maxis Match games, I used Phaenoh’s Correlated Skins which include body hair for males and baby hair. Go to the comments section to get the baby hairs. I used Bruno’s Behind These Eyes Maxified for eyes.
In my non-MM game, I use these skins by WhySim and CuriousB’s Magic Theater Recolors as my eyes.
In my updated Maxis Match games (as of July 2020), I use Poppet’s Plain & Simple Eyes, Lilith’s Honey Honey Skinblend, and New Hair System hairs. You can read more about these hairs and default replacements in general in this post.
Q: Why does your Sims 2 game look so different from the original game?
A: I use a variety of different mods to update the look of my game including Clean UI and Loading Screens. For the Sims and the environment, I use many different default replacements. You can find out more about defaults in this post and see my video tutorial on how to beautify your ‘hood.
Q: What default replacements do you use for skin and eyes (Sims 3)?
A: I use Sugar Pill Skin and Bruno’s Behind These Eyes Converted by Burntwaffles.
Q: Where do you get the Maxis Match hair you use in your Sims 2 Let’s Plays?
A: Again, these come from a variety of sources. But primarily I use hair from Fanseelamb and various creators on Mod the Sims. You can see a list of specific creators I like on my Custom Content list.
Q: Will you give me your entire Sims 2 CC folder? I want everything you have!
A: No. Sorry, but my CC folder has taken years of work – collecting and organizing. It is specific to my game and I will not make it available for download.
There are a couple other reasons why I won’t do this. First, many creators do not allow the distribution of their content except through their own websites. Second, there may be mod conflicts and I don’t want to be responsible for anything happening to your game.
As I stated above, I will gladly point you towards any CC you’re looking for. But you’ll have to do the work of downloading and organizing it yourself.
Q: What happened to Edgewood?
A: Edgewood is a custom integrated neighborhood I built and used to stream on Youtube. It’s currently on indefinite hiatus. I became overwhelmed with playing an integrated ‘hood and I honestly don’t think it’s a playstyle I want to continue in the future. I would like to bring the neighborhood back with some changes, but I need to figure out some logistics. It’s not canceled, just in limbo for the moment.
Q: My mods aren’t working, something is wrong with my game, I’m having graphical issues, can you help?
A: No. There was a time when I could help individuals with troubleshooting, but those days have passed. I am too busy and get too many requests to help you with a specific problem you’re having with your game. Here are the suggestions I can provide:
- Google it. That’s right – just type your specific problem into Google and chances are someone else has had the same problem. Many times when someone asks me for help, all I do is Google it and direct them to the solution.
Q: How can I support your work?
A: Reading my blog posts and watching my videos on YouTube helps me tremendously. Watching, liking, and commenting tells YouTube that my work is worth showing, which means they’ll recommend it to more people. Sharing and commenting on my blog posts also helps me in the Google results. This is the best way you can support me!
You can also use my Amazon Link for your next Amazon purchase or give a one-time donation if you prefer. Thank you for your support!
UPDATE: I no longer wear wigs. You can see my head reveal video and explanation here.
Q: Why Do you Wear a Wig?
A: I have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal condition that causes androgenic alopecia (female-pattern baldness) in some women. Not all women with PCOS have or develop alopecia, but unfortunately I drew the short straw.
Q: Where do you get your Wigs?
A: I get my wigs from cysterwigs.com – a small business owned by a woman with PCOS that caters to women with my condition. But anyone can buy from them! They have a great selection and lots of sales.
Hi Cindy. I hope you are doing well. You are missed. I hope to see you soon.
Hey Cindy!
I hope youβre doing okay, just wanted to say we miss you tons! Sending lots of love.
Yo PleasantSims!
Just wanted to say you rekindled my love of The Sims. I find your playstyle entertaining, creatively inspiring, and your mod list is legit. Love your work and sending good vibes your way. π
Wishing you a rad Christmas and a cool end to 2022!!
Hi Cindy, we missed you so much! I hope you are okay. When you planning to come back to Youtube and Twitch Streams?
Lots of love
Hi, nice, I’ve been following you since I started playing the sims 2 again. The best game of the saga if I may say so.
I have a problem, I was looking for a mod that I saw in your old video, I think it was in the Burb family video, possible ?! I don’t remember at the moment. The mod I am looking for is the mirror that allows you to teleport the various sims, for parties. I would like to find it, but I don’t know where I can find it, I searched on google “sims 2 mirror teleporter” but nothing like this appears to me … π I wanted to use it because my last child, from the third generation is about to have her birthday, and I needed a mod to teleport the sims to the lot … For the party of course! Inviting only two sims, the relatives would not be all! π
I apologize if it’s not the right section, and for my English, it’s not my first language, hello from ShadowSoulSims! XD
Hi, I know this is from forever ago but I’m pretty sure Cindy uses the sim blender to teleport other sims over for parties. That’s how I’ve started doing it in my game. Hope that helps.
Hello cindy, first of all congratulations on your pregnancy I hope you’re doing well you and your baby, I kinda felt like you were pregnant since you disappeared from YouTube I always check on your chanel and today I discided to check your blog and I’m so happy that I got some news from you, I hope that you’ll come back to do more videos I watched like all your videos π and I hope you’ll return to your community sims 4 has made lots of changes that I feel the neeed to heat your criticism on it I love it. Keep it up and take care π
Thank you! I just made a new video on Youtube about The Sims 4 wants and fears!
Hi Cindy.
As I just found your content this year, and it inspired me to play whims based rotational games of my own (amazing how they all turn out) I am curious what your thoughts are about the “Wants and Fears” gameplay system coming back and replacing the whims system in Sims 4 this month.
Hope you are doing well.
Hi Cindy,
I have a gameplay question. Sorry, if it is offtopic.
In my game, i can notice some of my npcs like mrs. Cumblebottom and penguin have gossip memories of others making out or woo hoo. I know we shouldn’t touch these npcs. So, i am worried could this cteate a problem? Should i be worried of some corruption?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Cindy.
I couldn’t find any information in your blog or anywhere else, so you’re my last hope. Can you direct me to download custom hair colors and new hair styles? Eventually some new dress for sims.
Thanks for advance, and wish you luck.
Hi Cindy is your full name Cynthia Iβm just wondering
No. It’s just Cindy.
Hi Cindy!
First of all I just want to say that I LOVE your sims content and you made me want to redownload sims 3 after many years of not playing it. I downloaded your Pleasant View world and when I play in it, my game runs fairly decently. When I play in other worlds, my game lags a lot (I have all 9 expansion packs and 1 stuff pack). I wanted to ask if you knew why this could be happening? I have a DELL Inspiron 13 7353, I canβt afford a better laptop but like I said, your Pleasant View world runs close to perfect on my laptop even with all the expansion packs and stuff packs installed. I also use NRAAS mods and cc. Iβve looked at multiple youtube videos on how to fix lag but to no avail. I donβt mine lag once in a while but the lag in other worlds that arenβt Pleasant View make the game impossible to play, my screen freezes every few seconds. Please let me know if thereβs something I can do differently to make my gameplay in other worlds run as good as my game play in your Pleasant View town. Thanks a bunch!!!!!
Hi Cindy! I’m having an issue with my game (I play irrationally) where when I return to a household all the sims are reset. (they are usually sleeping and when I return to the lot they are all reset, including their needs). Do you know anyway to fix this? Thanks! π
rotationally*
Hi! Thanks so much for your informative and entertaining videos. π
You’ve inspired me to get back into the Sims 1, but after downloading the Complete Collection rar file from archive.org, I had 2 errors: after unzipping the file, I got a message saying there were some files missing and it looks like there is corruption. Secondly, when I click on the file that says “autorun”, it just brings me to a notepad file instead of actually running the game. Do you know how to fix this?
Hi. I’m recently download Midnight Hollow in sims and it works all right but all the lots have code names. Like data10 world venue. Is this an error or something? Somebody help me please π
Hii! I hope you’re doing fine and I once deleted the sims 2 accidentally when I meant to delete the sims 4 because I needed more space for my other games, I was able to get the files back but I have absolute no idea what to do starting from there!
Hi Cindy π I also play wants based in Sims 2 and I had an issue with the fact that my sims are most of the time in platinum… I think this is not realistic. So I have a mod that increases the speed the aspiration meter is going down by 50 %. What do you think?
https://modthesims.info/d/412015/no-less-more-aspiration-decay.html
Hi Cindy,
I’m having a problem with The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Yesterday I was installing some neighborhood and camods for the game (SkyFix, GunMod’s camera mod, pretty much most of the mods that are in your recommended mods list) and now for some reason my game will not start. I start it up on Origin, and…nothing happens. No icon in the taskbar or anything, it goes right back to the Origin Launcher after a few seconds. My game was running normally before this happened. Can you please tell me how to fix this?
All the best,
Jakob
Please excuse the “camods”. I meant to say “camera mods”.
hi! i hope i can help u with this: i often have the same issue, have u tried deleting groups.cache and accessory.cache files from ur ts2 ultimate collection folder? this usually is enough to get my game started again π
Hi Cindy,
Firstly, I want to say that I love your videos! I recently found your channel after downloading TS4 on a whim after hearing a friend raving about it and figuring it would be a fun way to spend the chunk of free time I had due to being quarantined w/ Covid. The only problem is, I’m not a gamer and am feeling kind of lost/overwhelmed. I’ve seen your vids on fixing the base game lore and plan to do that, but was wondering if you have any other recommendations for people that are complete newbies to The Sims (and also don’t have a gaming background)? Or if you plan to make any videos on this topic? I’m sure you get a ton of requests, so I completely understand if it’s not in your plans but figured I’d ask jic. Thank you <3
Hi Amber! If you’re brand new to The Sims, you may want to start off by creating a single Sim of your own and moving them in alone. Play them for a while to get used to how the world works, what your Sim can do, where they can go, etc. without getting overwhelmed. As you play, you’ll start to get a feel for things and you can branch out. Have your Sim get married, have a baby, etc. It’s always a good idea to play a single Sim and work out from there when you’re new. Before long you’ll be playing worlds full of families! That’s a really great idea for a post or video, though. Thank you! I’m adding to my list!
Hi Cindy, I love all of your content on YT and this blog. When you will come back to YT? Since you are my favourite vlogger, I feel very empty without your vids! π
Lots of love.. π
Hi, thank you so much! I am recovering from Covid right now so not sure when I’ll be back. π
Oh no! Hope you aren’t feelin too bad and get well soon <3
Thank you! I’m doing better now.
Hi Cindy! I was wondering if there is a mod that makes all worlds that i have installed in the sims 3 progress through story progession, for e.g: i am playing Sunset Valley, but i want Twinbrook, Riverview and Monlight Falls to progress (have babies, sims getting older, being promoted, dying…) at same time that im playing Sunset Valley. Is that possible?
Have a good day! xx
Hi Andre! No, unfortunately that’s not possible since you can only play a single world at a time. There’s no way that I know of to connect them and play them at the same time (like you can in Sims 2 with subhoods). Because only one world can be “active” at once, the other worlds will not progress when you aren’t playing them. Sorry!
If I remember correctly, NRASS Traveller gives you the ability to travel and play in all installed worlds.
Yes, I believe it does – but I don’t think you can play them all at once where everyone ages at once, can you? It could be I misunderstood the mod!
It’s been a long time since I used it, or played Sims 3 for that matter. I do remember jumping around from world to world (including the 3 worlds from World Adventures), but I don’t remember if Sims from the worlds you are not currently in age or not. If I am not mistaken Sims in the vacation worlds aged even when you were not playing in that world. Maybe it was the same with NRASS Traveller. I could be wrong though.
Hi Cindy,
Watched your Sims 2 videos as I decided to play Sims 2 again. Got tired of 3 & especially 4…lol.
I saw that you sorted your Downloads folder into which downloads and mods to load first, second etc. Please recommend which of mine I should categorize into which loading sequence. I have basically ALL the mods you have suggested plus some cc on clothing, etc I downloaded.
Thanks for sharing, it’s Simmers like you that helps to keep the game interesting.
Regards from South Africa
Hi ! I love your channel and videos. Iβm having trouble installing the 4gb patch and I followed they way you did it but I canβt it to executable. Doesnβt matter how you install the games? When I install each game and sims2 and the expantion pack they save on my desktop I love playing and need helpβ¦
Hi Cindy! I had a question about the Pleasantview download. You see, I downloaded it to test out the game since I enjoyed your let’s play very much, but when I played it, it wasn’t populated. Can that be fixed?
Hi! Please see this video on how to install the populated world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ880y9sQJ8
Hi Cindy!
Iβve recently started watching your Sims videos, streams and vlogs. I love them all! I came across your series for The Sims Castaway Stories and binge watched up until Chapter 13 &14 and canβt find any more?! Did you stop making the videos? I know these videos are from 2019 so you may have lost interest but I want to know what happens so badly, lol! I was obsessed with sims 2 growing up and would still play it if I could! I have sims 4 but I agree, it just isnβt the same.
Thank you for all your work and putting out great, positive videos I really enjoy them and you! π
Hey Cindy
my name is Lars and I come from Denmark I have a strange question for you, I would like to change my Sims names from the Danish names to the English names because the Danish name is strange ex. Nina & Dina Varmblohd who are strange like what they are called in the English version which is Caliente, there is a mod or a place where I can find the original names for the Sims in The sims 2, I have the mod where I can change there first names and last names
hope you can help with MVH.Lars from DK
Hi Lars! You can go to the Sims Wiki on this page and find all the names of the Pleasantview Sims: https://www.thesimswiki.com/wiki/Pleasantview#Families
If you want to change the other neighborhoods, just search for the neighborhood on that website. Hope that helps!
Hi Cindy!
I just have a quick question. Can you please list the pcos supplement you use? I’ve tried to find the video where you mentioned it and I’ve searched comments to no avail. I believe it’s ovasitol? Anywhos, I wish you the best and I love your work.
Hi! Yes, I take Ovasitol. This is the one I use: https://amzn.to/2X8xgwQ
(Affiliate link, so if you don’t want to use it, just Google the name and you’ll find it.)
Hope that helps!
Hey Cindy. I hope you are fine during these days. I have a question about Sims 3. What are the Expansion Packs and Stuff Packs you don’t use(and the reasons if you can)?
I don’t use Into the Future, Island Paradise, Movie Stuff, Fast Lane Stuff, and 70s 80s 90s Stuff. I only enable Into the Future or Island Paradise if I specifically want to play those packs. Otherwise, I don’t like the future and island stuff cluttering up my catalog when I won’t be using it. As for the stuff packs, the stuff in them is hideous (in my opinion) and I never use it – and I don’t want my townies showing up in giant 80s eyeshadow. Lol. Hope that answers your question!
Hello !
It’s been a while that I watch your videos and i’m really interested in your sims 2 lets play. I wanted to see your family trees, but i can’t find them on the website. Are they elsewhere ?
PS: you’re awesome =)
Hi, Sorry! I don’t keep up with the family trees anymore, but I try to show them in the new videos as I play through the families. Thank you for watching!
Hello, I recently bought the sims 2 disc on Amazon like you recommended, thank you so much!
I have windows 10 and I expected some issues with installation but the game installed and opened fine ( I guess… it just looks like crap).
I did get an error before the game opened saying “This app may not work correctly” and “this app can’t run because it causes security or performance issues on Windows.” BUT the game opened and ran. Does this mean I’m fine and in the clear or is this why the game looks so crappy? I know you have answers on how to make the game look better, but right now the game screen is tiny and everything looks compressed as well as very bright. I am going to google this problem too but any help would be appreciated.
Thank you so much for your help in advance!!
Hi! You need to use the graphics rules maker to fix the resolution and make the game recognize your modern graphics card. I’m not sure about the error message, but if the game plays you should be fine. You can find the graphics rules maker here: https://www.simsnetwork.com/tools/graphics-rules-maker
Here are some more suggestions for fixes if you run into other problems: https://pleasantsims.com/sims-2-windows-10/
Wishing you all the best for your hiatus. <3 Burnout is awful. Even if you don't return to the spotlight, so to speak, I hope you're able to get back your love of the Sims. Do what's best for you!
Thank you!
Hey I have been trying to figure out how to get rid of my sims 1-3. Where is the best website to sell them. I own Sims theme park i loved it but can’t find a way to play it. I would like to have a responds from someone. Thanks
im so stupid .. i wrote my second name wrong ..
Hellooo Cindy! You’re such a lovely & entertaining woman! β₯
I have a question:
How do you manage your sims if they realize that they are trans / non binary ?
Is it possible in your gameplay style? And what mod or what else would you use?
lovely greetings from germany π β₯
Thank you!!! You’re the best!!!
Hi Cindy. I’m just curious about your website. How did you create it and is it free?
I use WordPress to create and manage this website. The WordPress CMS is free, but you have to pay for hosting and a domain name. I use WPX hosting since I need a lot of bandwidth (I get a lot of visitors to this site). My hosting costs $25/month. But for starting out, you can use something like Bluehost or Host Gator that can be much cheaper. I use Namecheap to purchase domain names. It costs around $9/year. There are a lot of tutorials out there for setting up a self-hosted WordPress blog, so I would start there. Hope that helps!
I have… just found your spreadsheet, haha! Well, thanks for posting it ^_^”
No worries! I also have a video on the same topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h45DMVPi-ys
Hi Cindy!
First off, I want to say that I love your Sims 2 rotational let’s plays and your factual videos. Once I found your channel you quickly became one of my favourite Sims YouTubers!
I have a question/request: would you post a video or a guide on what to consider when setting up a spreadsheet for rotational gameplay? I’ve spent the last few months making my own Sims 4 savefile and I want to play rotationally like I usually do but in a more controlled manner, but I’m overwhelmed with how to record and keep track of ages, aspirations, hobbies, and everything else. Any advice would be appreciated and I’m sure others would benefit too.
Thanks,
Gem
Hello Cindy
In one of your tutorials, I saw that you have Sims 2 Anygamestarter and I would love to know how to use it so I can create a new CAS for my create a sim without them frozen, lol. I would love it If you could do a tutorial on creating your own CAS on sims 2 and how to use Sims 2 Anygamestarter. Thanks for the videos, and I love your videos and your honest opinions about The Sims continue like that. Have a great week, Love u!
I will add it to my list of videos to make!
Hi Cindy!
Would you ever be interested in sharing your Pleasantview neighborhood folder from your Let’s Play videos? I absolutely love this little world you’ve built and every sim in it, and it would be a lot of fun to play!
Hope you’re having a good day, and thank you for the awesome content!
I’m not sure if I will ever share it, to be honest. I would have to clean it up a lot and there are about 800+ Sims in the world since I didn’t limit the townies being added when I started the ‘hood. And because it changes so much from week to week as I play it, I don’t know where a good “starting” point would be for sharing. But it’s possible I might make a version of it to share in the future. No concrete plans at this time!
Hello Cindy!
I just want to say that I really enjoyed all of your lets play videos especially your sims 3 Pleasantview. I recently downloaded the sims 3 because I think its fun. I am currently using your Nrass story progression Mod settings, it was great! I love how my sims interact with each other and form their complicated relationships . I really appreciate your works and you are awesome! π
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the Sims 3. It’s a really fun game – especially with story progression!
Hello, Cindy!
I like your content so much and I love that you are so passionate and dedicated in what you’re doing! It’s nice to meet a fellow simmer! I love all of them (in their own way) and I’d like to try the console versions, too. Have you played them already? The Sim Bustin’ Out? The Sims Stories?
Also, what are your expectation for Sims 5? Do you think it’ll be like 4, it’ll be better or worse? (It’s not that 4 is a bad game itself, but the problem is that 2 and 3 exist.)
Thank you so much for your content and have a nice year!
Love from EU!
Mary
Hi! I have never played the console games, but I want to try them sometime. I’ve played the Stories games and they’re fun for a while, but I’m not a huge fan of the linear stories. I have no expectations for The Sims 5 right now. I think it will be several more years before it comes, and when it does I just don’t know. If it’s the same team working on it, I don’t expect it to be much better. But I do hope they learned their lesson about omitting life stages and things that were in the previous games. Only time will tell!
Hello Cindy! There is an issue with my sims 2 game which is leading to corruption I believe and I was wondering if Iβm able to copy my neighborhoods folder and place it in my new one in the new folder after I reinstall the game? I have the disc version of the sims 2 as well as some packs. Thank you for your help!
I just came across this page, since EA doesn’t want to provide Sims 2 anymore it shouldn’t harm.
I have sims 2 so I didn’t try but it might be helpful for someone else…
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-2-ultimate-collection/
Hi Cindy,
I just want to start to say that I really enjoy watching your YouTube videos they are awesome! I have never used mods before but I was thinking about trying to on my Sims 3 game but I wasn’t sure how my laptop would handle them. If I am looking at the right information my laptop has an Intel Pentium Gold 6405U processor, 4 GB DDR4 system memory, 500 GB Hard Drive storage, and my laptop is an HP. Do you know if mods would work alright on it?
Hi! Mods take very little space and don’t impact performance unless you have thousands of them. In the Sims 3, NRaas mods IMPROVE performance on lower end computers – especially error trap and overwatch.
Hi Cindy!
I’m absolutely obsessed with all your content! Your passion and dedication to playing the Sims the way you want is inspiring. Your streams are the perfect thing to have on in the background while playing my own Sims games.
Just a quick question: where can I find the Edgewood wiki? I’ve tried Googling it a few times and nothing comes up in my searches.
All my love β€οΈ
Thanks Alexa! You can find it here: https://edgewood.fandom.com/wiki/Edgewood_Wiki
We’ve only been working on it a short time, so it may not be indexed with Google yet. π
Hi Cindy, here’s a genetics question for you: I play your Fairplay neighbourhood, and Donna and Caspien have now had 3 children (poor Donna). They were all born with brown hair, not black. I have no genetics mods. Any idea why this happened? Love your content and love playing Fairplay.
Hey Cindy! Hope you are well!!
Disaster has struck and my old laptop I use to run the Sims 2 has up and died on me! (Fortunately I have a backup from last week I can retrieve my ‘hoods, so I’m not too upset!) I’ve had this laptop for over 15 years and used it for the Sims for maybe 5 years, ever since my old desktop gave up! I do want to be able to run the Sims 3 also, so I know the desktop is going to be better in the long run.
Anyway, I’m digging into what specs I am going to need to be able to run them both and I’m unsure what OS I can use? My laptop ran Microsoft XP with Sims 2 and years ago I used Vista for Sims 3. Do you happen to know whether I can use a more modern OS like Windows 10 for both? I have all the physical disks for TS2 and origin downloads for TS3, if that makes a difference! Hopefully I can get a new PC by Christmas, otherwise your streams will have to do to get my Sims fix!!
Any advice will be MASSIVELY appreciated! Catch you on stream!
I have Windows 10 and play all the Sims games (1-4). You may have to do some fiddling with the graphics rules. I have a tutorial on playing Sims 2 on Windows 10 here: https://pleasantsims.com/sims-2-windows-10/
For Sims 3, you may have to force the game to recognize a modern graphics card. There’s a guide on this here: https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=26753.0
Hi, where did you get the custom maternity clothes in your original Let’s Play Pleasantview?
Hello Cindy! I am planning to ask EA/Origin for a copy of The Sims 2 UC since I have have the game on the disc as well as a few packs. I was wondering if I am able to move my saves to the Ultimate Collection? Thank you!
Hi Ellie! You could, but unfortunately they are no longer giving copies of the UC even if you own the discs. https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/949386/ending-code-support-for-the-sims-2-ultimate-collection#latest
Hi, this is a strange one, but I think my game corrupted. I had to force quit the game (I play on MAC) because of this but when I’ve opened it back u Cassandra Goth and one of her children are now gone, including their icons and their house, and are known as Subjects in the family memories, however the other family members remain. Is there anyway to bring them back that you know of? I don’t want to have to start my whole Pleasantview again. I play the super collection.
Disappearing Sims can be a sign of corruption. You may not be able to save it at this point. I’d try running Hood Checker and see if it finds anything.
Hi, thanks for your reply, I have gotten around it by using the gunmod camera to install the sky and skyline etc and then taking it out again, I can still see the sky from my lots but not from the neighbourhood but thats ok.
Thanks again for you’re content I am catching up on all your lets plays at the moment and love them! And you have revolutionised university for me! I always just used to graduate them immediately but now I love it!
Hi Cindy sorry to bother you, thank you for the feedback,
Iβm debating whether I want to get a laptop with i5 or i7, the i7 I first showed you is Β£999GBP and thereβs a cheaper version which is i5 and is Β£649GBP, Iβm wondering if youβd look into this for me to see if itβs compatible for the sims 3? https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-nitro-5-an515-54-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205925-pdt.html
Hey Cindy, I love watching your videos! Iβm watching your The Sims 3 Pleasant View season 2 at the moment and I love it!!! Iβm wanting to get a laptop to play the sims 3 on and do a similar play through but with my own families and possibly some of the original families with the story progression mod, would you do me a huge favour and tell me if this laptop would run the game? https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-nitro-5-an517-17-3-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-rtx-2060-256-gb-ssd-10206002-pdt.html
Thank you
Ryan
Hi Ryan. It exceeds all the recommended stats so you should be good. Any modern computer should run it, but you will probably need some tweaks since the game is old and only 32-bit. Here is a good guide on how to improve performance once you get your new computer. Have fun! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1131162350
Hi Cindy, thanks so much for your content and tutorials. I have been playing the sims 2 devotedly for over 15 years and there is still so much to learn! I have recently upgraded my sky and skylines thanks to your tutorial.
I wanted to ask you, on some of my neighbourhoods the view is now stuck in top down mode and no amount of tab scrolling will get me out of it, have you or anyone else had this issue before? I am completely stuck and have searched everywhere for a solution.
Thank you in advance!!
No, sorry. I haven’t ever had this issue. But you are welcome to come ask in our Discord server. We have a Sims 2 help channel and someone might be able to help there: https://discord.gg/FG7bvMh
Hey Cindy, I became a subscriber on your channel a couple of weeks again! Congrats on the growing channel! I, like you, have been playing the Sims since the first game. I believe I was 13 when it came out(Sims 1). I play the Sims 3 now… i can’t put up with the lackluster game play and stupid emotion system sims 4 has now! I have 3 kids and my two older kids play the sims 4 because its more PG to me. I do have one question… how do you switch from family to family in the game? I want to do it but I have no clue. Its hard coming back to the game and not remember how things work lol. Thanks again and congrats on your success!
I use Master Controller to switch families. You just click on a wall of the house you want to switch to, then choose Nraas > Master Controller > Make Active. You can also do it in the “Edit Town” screen by choosing the family you want to switch to. There’s a button somewhere on their info screen that says “Switch to this family.” Hope that helps!
Hi Cindy! I’ve been following your channel for the past couple of months, and have downloaded some of the mods you also use! I am looking at adding more, particularly SimBlender and/or SimPE. I have InTeen as one of my main mods, as well as the mod which lets you choose how many babies the pregnant sim has (forgot its name).
In regards to SimBlender or SimPE, which one I get will be determined by your answer to this question: which mod would be most ideal for changing a sim’s zodiac sign? I am telling a story in a custom neighborhood, and other than the sims I personally have made, only one sim was born in-game with the zodiac sign they were supposed to have. I have looked up ways to change it, and seen suggestions such as using the testingcheatsenabled true cheat (which will change their personality; not what I want exactly), SimPE, or SimBlender. So, as an experienced simmer, which mod would you recommend in order for me to tell my story?
I am new to mods, so I will probably need your help in installing either mod. Thanks in advance for the help! I know this is a loaded question.
Hey Cindy! I was wondering about how you calculate the ages of your sims when you start playing with pre-made sims in Maxis neighborhoods. For example, I am now watching your Strangetown gameplay and you gave the ages of Loki, Circe and Nervous on your intro episode, but how do you calculate them exactly when you haven’t grown the sims from the baby life stage? Love your channel and this site!
For adults, I used to look at how many days until they become an elder and subtract that from 60. For example, if a Sim has 29 days until elder, they are 31 years old (60 – 29 = 31). Now, I mostly just put in my aging mod and then run the Neighborhood Age Correction mod and that corrects everyone’s age based on my custom age spans. You can find the mod here with instructions: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=5248917#post5248917
Hi!!!! I LOVE your Pleasantview series. Just a quick question: Where can I see the Sim bios and family trees? You said on one of the videos that you have bios for every sim on the website, but I can’t find them.
Hi Miah! Those are OLD videos and I no longer keep up with the Sim bios on the website. It was just too overwhelming! π
Hi Cindy
I just thought I would pop in and say thank you. I adore your youtube channel, which I stumbled upon just a few days ago. The Sims 3 Pleasantview series consistently has me in stitches and makes me consider reinstalling the game after all those years. I have read a few informative posts on this very website when I was reinstalling Sims 2 not so long ago. You come across as such a sweet person it is a pleasure to watch you play. Love your commentary and admiration for the series and I hope for more. π
Much love
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you like my content! π
Hi Cindy,
I was playing Sims 2 and while a household was loading, the whole game quit unexpectedly. When I reloaded it, Pleasantview was gone and all my progress had disappeared. I’ve been so upset and have tried searching for tips on what to do and how to get it back but I can’t find anything. Do you have any tips? I have a mac and use the super collection. I found a way to get Pleasantview back as if I were starting over, but I haven’t been successful in retrieving it with all my sims and households. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thank you!!
I’m so sorry, Joseph! I have never heard of this happening and I don’t have any experience playing on a Mac. In my opinion, this sounds like your neighborhood was corrupt. You may not be able to recover it. But I can’t say for sure. I would try asking on the Mod the Sims help forum. Someone there might be able to help you. Good luck!
Random question but I was curious as to your hard drive size if you know!
Hi Kelly! I have two hard drives. One is 237 GB and the other is 920 GB.
Hi Cindy,
I recently stumbled upon your youtube page and was so surprised to find out how much more we can add to our Sims games! I’m not very tech savvy and I’ve been having difficulty downloading the mods. I use a MacBook Pro and am not sure if they’re compatible with apple. I tried to reach out on Instagram but I don’t think you use that platform anymore. Can you please help me? I really just want to download the Sim Blender mod but after I try to unzip it, it won’t open and says there is no application set to open the document βSim Blender.package.” I’m not really sure what I’m doing wrong.
Hi there! The Sim Blender package file is the file you put in your downloads folder. Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with a Mac. But I believe it should work for you. You don’t need to open it. Just put the file in your Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Downloads folder. Good luck and happy simming!
Hi Cindy!
Hope you’re doing fine.
I know you are playing Sims 3 rn (I enjoy your Playthrough a lot!), but I have a question about my Sims 2 UC game and hope you can help me…
Maybe I’m just stupid, but I couldn’t find anything on the web for my situation x’D
I want to uninstall my whole game and reinstall it again just bc I want to start completely fresh and without any of the problems my game has rn (actually everything is fine except I want to play Pleasantville but everytime I load Don’s lot, the game crashes. I tried to delete and repaste the neighborhood folder several times with a guide but that didn’t fix it) Also I didn’t have the essential things like the anti-corruption mods installed in my recent game, but many others from your recommended mods-page (and some other furniture cc).
So I wanted to ask you which steps in what order must be taken to uninstall the game properly, and install it again with all my backup cc’s and mods that i want to keep.
Maybe it’s super simple but I’m just anxious that I won’t do it right .__.”
I need professional advice! I would be so happy if you find the time to answer me.
Friendly Greetings from a passionate austrian Simmer ~ β₯
Since you have the UC, it’s easy to uninstall and reinstall through Origin. Just go to your Game Library, right-click on The Sims 2 and choose “Uninstall.” Once it’s done, then you can reinstall it the same way. Move your Downloads folder to your desktop to keep it safe. You can move it back afterwards. Hope that helps!
Hi! do you have plans to do a game play series on some of the other sims 2 neighborhoods like Veronaville or Belladonna Cove?
I may in the future, but I don’t have any plans right now. π
Aww ok!! I really enjoy your style of play and thought it would be cool to see. I loved the drama in Veronaville lol. Thanks for responding!!
Hi π Happy Simming
I was wondering if you use any hyper realistic skins and eyes and if you do could you maybe link them…..it’s ok if you can’t I know you are probably a very busy simmer and I don’t want to bug you but I’ve been looking for some realistic skins and eyes for The Sims 2 and nobody seems to be able to point me in the right direction
Hi! My favorite realistic skins for TS2 are these by WhySim: https://whysim.tumblr.com/post/132350144826/the-first-of-my-halloween-lucky-dip-gifts-have
And my favorite eyes are these: https://dreadpirate.tumblr.com/post/182237172607/curiousb-magic-theatre-recolors-defaults-this-is?is_related_post=1
They look really beautiful in the game! I hope that helps!
Hi Cindy Iβm from the UK and have been in two minds about buying a gaming laptop (I have zero space for a computer set up) to play Sims 2. Do you think the game will run on this?
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7631427
I feel like itβs a lot of money to spend just to be able to play my favourite childhood game, but if I know for sure it would run good Iβd buy it in a heartbeat!
Thank you π
Yep, this laptop will run Sims 2 like a dream as long as you apply the 4GB patch and use graphics rules maker. It’s almost identical to the laptop I use when I travel. If you can use a desktop instead of a laptop, this one is cheaper and will work great too: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8101963.
I’ve followed your channel on and off since you started doing more live streaming back in early 2019.
I enjoy your content a lot and didn’t know that your website existed.
At least you’re honest as to why you don’t like The Sims 4, but just from the simple text list you made on it, it seems fairly obvious you’ve not put much time into it. The Sims 4 is more about building up a sim to develop who they are, developing their personalities your way through gameplay, skills, learning the ins and outs, etc… I just thought I’d share that info as not to be rude, I felt like your explanation was very lazily thought out.
Either way, I love your content and it’s nice to see you’re still around in some capacity, maybe soon you’ll dig up something new and view TS4 a little different eventually.
Hi Leslie. I’ve played The Sims 4 for 755 hours – and still, it is a lifeless thing to me. I don’t enjoy playing it. I like to create and manage worlds filled with unique Sims with intricate personalities. I’m not able to do that with TS4. I’m glad you’re enjoying it, but it’s not for me. It’s true I could have written more about my reasons for not liking the game. I’m sure I could write thousands of words on what I feel it’s lacking. But for my FAQ, I kept it short for the sake of brevity. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Cindy, your site and YouTube videos have rejuvenated my love for Sims 2 and has introduced me to a load of new CC sites I had no idea existed – it’s fabulous that so many people are still creating Sims 2 content after 15 years!Β So thank you for doing what you’re doing π
I wanted to ask your advice re organising your custom content. I’ve watched your fab video on how you organise content you download now, and I have started to keep my new downloads in the original folders as you suggest and thanks to SimsPE I now have sorted everything into subfolders, BUT I don’t know where to begin in sorting out the 1000s of downloads I already had within my nice new subfolders!
When you decided to re-organise your CC how did you manage to match up random meshes and files to put into mini folders, or have you still got a folder or 2 somewhere full of random files that you have idea where they came from or what matches with it?!
I also have a couple of other questions as you obviously know the game very well π:
1) Can you keep the CC files zipped up for them to work in the game or do they need to be unzipped?
2) Do you place Collection files in the Collections folder or keep them in the Downloads folder?
3) Have you ever re-catalogued CC objects and if so can you recommend a tutorial on how to do it – I can’t seem to find one π€
I apologise for the long ‘comment’ but I’m a control-freak and these things are bugging me!
Best wishes,
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer! Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here, so bear with me.
1.) They need to be UNZIPPED.
2.) You can place collection files in EITHER place and they will work. I prefer to place them in my downloads folder so it’s easier to remove them if I ever need to. But it really doesn’t matter.
3.) No, I don’t recatalog my items. Sorry. But I’m pretty sure you have to open the objects in Sim PE and choose their location in your catalog to change them around. You might ask on the MTS Creators Forum. I’m sure someone can help you there!
For your other questions about organization, I deleted my entire CC folder and started over. As I’ve gone back through again, if I can’t figure out what something is/where it came from, I just delete it. If you have a huge folder of just random files, it honestly might be best to delete everything and start completely fresh.
That being said, the video I made on organization is sorely outdated and I use a much better method for organizing my CC these days (although this method still works LOADS better than just random files in a big folder). I plan to make a video about the new method as soon as I have the time. It’s basically the same principal – just with fewer subfolders so your game loads faster. Here is some more info that might help you:
The method in this old MTS post is the one I use to organize now: http://modthesims.info/t/475390
Here is a downloadable folder all ready for you to use: https://allisas.tumblr.com/post/32419863041/background-story-this-is-something-we-were
I hope that helps!
Hi Cindy, sorry to have bombarded you with so many questions! But your reply is super helpful, thank you.
I’ve downloaded the folder from allisas and plan to start a major reorganisation soon!
Hi Cindy,
I came across ‘old town’ for the sims 2 (sims 1 & expansion packs recreated) you may lready know about this but if youve plaved the sims 1 this is a very accurate gameplay setup.
http://modthesims.info/d/522506/old-town.html
Hi Jessica! I’ve seen Old Town and it looks very well done! This one is on my to-do list to play in the future. π
Hello, again!
Thank you for your help with the skin. It was much appreciated!
Unfortunately, now I can’t tell which default eyes you use and I wanted to verify. Are they Bruno’s Behind These Eyes Maxified? Or one of the other ones?
Thank you again and I look forward to your response. (And future videos!)
Yep, those are the ones!
Hello, Cindy! I was wondering which CC skin you use. I checked your Pinterest board for your skins but couldn’t figure it out. Maybe I’m just blind.
Good day!
Hi Jamie! The link can be found on my Mods list, but I will also post it here for you. I use Phaenoh’s Correlated skins. If you want the baby hair that comes with it, make sure to check the comments and download the additional files.
Here’s the link: http://modthesims.info/d/481205/correlated-skins-5-year-creator-anniversary.html
Enjoy!!
I can not join your Discord because I use an iMac and Safari tells me it can’t open the discord URL because OS X doesn’t recognize Internet Addresses starting with “discord”, otherwise I do like your youtube videos {I am a subcriber btw} and I like your website…I recommended your Web site on the Sims 2 Facebook Group, known as =The Sims 2=, that I belong too. If you could give me a way to join your discord with a normal URL that would be great. Also I am sorry about the passing away of your Mom, I hope that you are better in the future. Glad that you are doing as well as you are doing and do try to not crash and burn again…at least for a while. Take Care ok?
Hi Dennis! I did a little searching and it looks like this is a common problem with Discord and Safari. You may have to download the Discord App first before it will recognize the URL. Unfortunately, those Discord links are the only way I can invite you. I hope you can get it worked out!