Opinions and suggestions on Core mods please!

[tomomi1922]

I had been away from TS3 for more than a year and I am quite lost about all the happenings. Anyway, about core mods, I am currently using EGC, it provides a couple essential features and tunnings. But I would like to get some opinions on what core mods out there worth looking into. I know about AwesomeMod, is it still good?

I don't heavily emphasize on story progression, I have it off most of the time to save myself some lag. What I look for in core mods are mainly more control over my game as well as the ability to keep the game from corrupting.

Any input welcome!

Edit: I forgot to mention I already have NRaas Master Control. It is a non-core mod that does some amazing damage control as well as extended features.

[CinderEmma]

Twallan's mods aren't core, but the mastercontrol mod has a bunch of things that help control the town and the overwatch mod helps keep some of the glitches away.

[tomomi1922]

Twallan's mods aren't core, but the mastercontrol mod has a bunch of things that help control the town and the overwatch mod helps keep some of the glitches away.

Sorry, forgot to mention I got that one too. It is one amazing mod that I mainly heard about it through my search for editing existing sims in CAS. And I am so glad to know it is not core mod and it does so much more. Although, I think it conflicts with traffic mod on MTS as I still see traffic when I tune for "no traffic at all" to deal with my performance issue.

[CinderEmma]

Ah, well, I can't help anymore then that, as sliders and twallan are the extent of my mods that aren't clothing, make-up, and hair XD Good luck finding the perfect core mod :)

[tomomi1922]

Ah, well, I can't help anymore then that, as sliders and twallan are the extent of my mods that aren't clothing, make-up, and hair XD Good luck finding the perfect core mod :)

Which core mod are you using? And why did you pick it? What features do you need it for that you can't live without? Well, there are always things I didn't know exist that I can possibly want to have.

[seraphime]

I use Twallan's Story Progression mod, Master Controller and Register Mod..I really like my combo, I can tweak quite a bit. I used Awesomemod before Twallan's and I really did like Awesomemod but I don't care for the support at MATY so I switched to Twallans just for ease of use.

[tomomi1922]

After I went to NRaas Industry site, I fell head over heel for this guy. The had so many mods and they seem to list so clearly and professionally. The term "play with confidence" suddenly strikes me. So I think I just switched from EGC to Error Collection, along with a number of mods on his site.

Although extensive in description, it does sound too technical for me (and I am a programmer, shame), and I have little idea of what exactly the mods do, such as ... Woohooer. I know it controls some woohoo and mood, but it didn't ring a bell to what "exactly" it does. Doesn't hurt to try though.

One of the other feature I really need is the "no shoo" on shower and stuff. Which I "think" Mastercontroller does give me, need testing though. Beside the "pervy" usage, "no shoo" is essential for creating a public shower with several shower heads in 1 room. It can be used on beach, swimming pool or military boot camp. Vanilla TS3 will cause sims to shoo everyone out of the huge shower room and take the shower all on his/her own.

[CeJaye]

AwesomeMod for life. Yeah, the support on the site is ...well, you need a thick skin (not that I can even join, I just get told I'm a spammer,) but it does amazing things and I haven't really found a core mod that can compare. I also use a lot of Twallen's mods as well. I do love his story mode mod too, but it makes my game lag like crazy, so I stick with AwesomeMod's story mode, even though I really hate the crib requirement.

[tomomi1922]

AwesomeMod for life. Yeah, the support on the site is ...well, you need a thick skin (not that I can even join, I just get told I'm a spammer,) but it does amazing things and I haven't really found a core mod that can compare. I also use a lot of Twallen's mods as well. I do love his story mode mod too, but it makes my game lag like crazy, so I stick with AwesomeMod's story mode, even though I really hate the crib requirement.

Can you elaborate on why you think AwesomeMod is important and does amazing things?

Good thing I didn't download NRaas store mod, I even turn off story progression and let my imagination does the work. Sad but true, you know?

[lenglel]

When I first got overwatch it removed over 2500 derelict vehicles, making the game playable once more.
I also use master controller to edit the uglies out of my oh-so-perfect suburbia. I also use it to lighten
skintones, that way I can always spot who's new in town. Doesn't work the other way, though.

[el_flel]

Awesomemod is really customisable, it fixes bugs that EA hasn't yet fixed, it adds loads of neat features (like having values on wants, so if your sim has the LTW of being the girlfriend of ten sims it will show how many boyfriends she's had), and it enables certain things that aren't possible without a core mod (like extending slider values so you can extend them to more extreme measures than the game otherwise allows).

Twallan's StoryProgression is an absolute must because it's just darn efficient at keeping the town running. I initially got it because I wanted a mod that would make the townie sims get jobs that fell in line with their LTWs but now I couldn't play without it. All of Twallan's mods are customisable which is brilliant.

Twallan's Overwatch is necessary for removing all of the crap that the game builds up, like abandoned cars and turning off steroes and TVs.

Twallan's MasterController is basically like the InSIMenator for TS3 and you can use it to tweak things about other sims to customise your town. I mainly use it for giving the townies makeovers when they grow up (because they all seem to end wearing those desert robes that come with WA), and reinstating family ties.

Twallan's Woohooer for both casual, and teen romance (including pregnancy).

Twallan's Saver to prompt you to save the game frequently!

[tomomi1922]

I think this is the kind of answer I am hoping for.

Btw, what do you think of Twallan's Error Trapper comparing to AwesomeMod? Both are core mods so I can only use one.

What is LTWs again? Sorry, Im bad with abbreviations. Is there a reason you don't use AwesomeMod Story Progression but Twallan's?

[el_flel]

Sorry, LTW = lifetime want :)

You can use the ErrorTrap with Awesomemod (AM) (see post 51 on this thread (http://www.the-isz.com/nraas/index.php?topic=230.45)). They are very different mods that do very different things so aren't comparable.

I just find Twallan's StoryProgression more efficient and more comprehensive (if you're going to use it with AM then you need to turn off AM's story progression in the configuration file, all on the download thread). As I said, it's also customisable so you can choose what features you want in your towns. You can always try out both

[LifesLover]

I've used Awesomemod, the EGC (both original and SS2 version), and Twallan's bevy of mods. To be honest, I've used the EGC the most. I think I like it the most, because it doesn't give me complete control over every Sim in the game, like Twallan does. And I barely played with Awesomemod for a day before I took it out. It just didn't fit my needs as a player. The EGC, however, is not reliably updated, not as often as Awesomemod and Twallan's mods. That's fine since real life does take precedence, but it makes it hard to play your game when the EGC is out of date and any number of the tunable packages could be causing the incessant crashing.

I like Twallan's mods, which I use right now, but I think it gives me a few too many options: I barely know what to do with it all. But, I do like Twallan's Story Progression: it's more comprehensive and it also lets me see what the other NPC Sims are doing in the town without relying on me to play the entire town to find out. Just be prepared to be inundated with message after message as the mod prepares itself and selects NPCs to fill roles and tells you what's going on to begin with. It updates you very often and, depending on what you install, you'll also have a very cluttered map view since all of the Sims will have their own marker. Makes it easy to find one Sim, though. And it's also a lot easier to switch between two households with Twallan's mods, which makes it easier on me when it comes time to move some Sims out of their homes because I can still keep tabs on them.

[tizerist]

Reasons for Awesomemod? Ones that come to mind are
> build anywhere (just hit F2)
> select any sim with a quick ctrl+click
> items are not community/residential exclusive anymore.

Is there really any alternatives? I couldn't name one. ErrorTraps seamless compatibilty with AM doesn't make it a rival, so awesome is the way to go.

[bellatrixclovis]

Twallan has posted a FAQ about his Story PRogression Mod. You should find some info about how it works. And by the end of the first post, he explains how it's different from other mods, AwesomeMod among them. I found his FAQ very interesting.

Here is the link: http://www.the-isz.com/nraas/index.php?topic=104.0

[tomomi1922]

Reasons for Awesomemod? Ones that come to mind are
> build anywhere (just hit F2)
> select any sim with a quick ctrl+click
> items are not community/residential exclusive anymore.

Is there really any alternatives? I couldn't name one. ErrorTraps seamless compatibilty with AM doesn't make it a rival, so awesome is the way to go.

Actually I accidentally forgot to disable Error Trap when installing AwesomeMod. And somehow nothing popped up as error, not even Dashboard. (The reason I didn't get AwesomeMod first because the download website has no indication that the mod had been updated. So I thought it was no longer supported). But hearing people posted within these few days speaking so highly about AwesomeMod, I now feel confident that it is still around and not another legacy mod.

One of the immediate good thing is seeing this "120 cars removed" message once in a while. Without the mod, I wouldn't know the game keeps adding 100+ cars driving around non stop causing me so much lag.

[game90]

I always recommend Awesomemod as core and twallan's mods to be used together. They provide the best gameplay experience.

[SuicidiaParasidia]

twallan's mods make me happy in the pants.

...and in the game. *cough*

[treeag]

Core mods? Awesomemod is absolutely essential. The support is actually pretty good if you have valid questions, just make sure you search and read before you ask because people there don't like answering the same questions over and over again. Well, who does?

[el_flel]

<snip> I think it gives me a few too many options: I barely know what to do with it all <snip> Just be prepared to be inundated with message after message as the mod prepares itself and selects NPCs to fill roles and tells you what's going on to begin with. It updates you very oftenI know what you mean about the options but I've found that you can just install it and leave it to run without having to touch any of them. When I install it (or start a new save file) I turn off the notifications for everyone except blood relatives and friends (because I like to know what they're up to), change the marriage surname option, and turn on teen romance. That's it. Then if you decide that you want it to work a different way you at least have the option to do that.

[Greenlea]

I've been debating on downloading some mods, and I'm torn about it quite frankly. I just wouldn't like having to go through waiting on such and such mods to be updated upon the release of every new expansion pack lol Really right now ALL I download is just clothing, hairs, or objects I have not one thing that's a mod in my game. But its tempting seeing all the raves about certain mods. I may give in....lol

[el_flel]

Twallan updates super, super fast, so waiting for things to be updated is never an issue with his stuff. AM takes a little longer but still isn't that long.

[Greenlea]

Cool thanks, I may go browse around Twallan's mods and see what I can find. lol

*ETA Well I downloaded the Overwatch and Story Progression mod. Only played a few minutes and shut down the game so I could open the readme and try to figure how to disable all those bloody notifications lol Only way I'll keep is to disable those.

[tomomi1922]

Cool thanks, I may go browse around Twallan's mods and see what I can find. lol

You have to be smart about organizing your mods. Back in TS1, I just followed the instructions and dumped all files into this "Package" folder which ended up with about 500 files that looks more confusing than System32 folder.

Now I break all mods down by categories clearly listed and each mod gets its own folder with a .txt file writing any note I want including the direct URL to the mod (so I don't have to search for it later, in case I need to check for update or support), screenshots, and even the .zip file itself. TS3 will skip all the non .package file anyway so having extra files in package folder does not hurt.

In event of update, error diagnosis, or simply you want to temporarily remove a mod or a group of mods, you either put the entire folder into a .zip file (thus not be seen by TS3). Or in case of going vanilla, you can rename "Packages" folder into something else, and TS3, using resource.cfg, will not see your Packages folder and move on with the game without mod.

It may be tedious at first, but this will save you a lot of frustrations later on.

Sims 3 Dashboard tool (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=387006) is a great little tool to scan your entire mod collection for possible problems. This tool does not guarantee it will catch everything, but it is fast, convenient, and help you catch a lot of stuff you normally wouldn't know. So far I found a couple packages (some of Fresh-Prince's cars) had "corrupted" content but they still show up in game and nobody ever reported it on his download page's comments. I bet this may be a cause of cancer and I am glad I remove them before any real damage was done.