Life Beyond MTS .... more useful/fun sites
 

I see these posted here and there, but perhaps we should try to list these in a few threads? The info would be easier to find, IMO

As great as MTS is, as I think you'll see, there is life beyond it. There is a thriving, vibrant Sims 2 collection of sites. No, Sims 2 is not a dead game. It has never been a dead game. It has a smaller group of fans, but is NOT dead.

MATY .... A good place to start is the Director's Cut for AL. It has many essential mods and hacks listed. (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s.../topic,8.0.html) It's the home of the Batbox (Called the FFS debugger.)

I would NOT venture boldly into the forums, however. Some of the people there can be very direct. Very, very direct. If you ask what they consider a stupid question, they will eat you for lunch. With pickles and ketchup..You do not have to register to download

Simbology ... home of the Blender and some of the best mods out there. Many of us find that the Blender is our friend. Home of other mods that have saved our sanity as well, such as the one that stops the toddlers from playing in the !@#$ing toilet. http://www.simbology.com/smf/index.php

Boiling Oil ...Actually, let me introduce you to the Leefish site. Boiling Oil posts in a section of it http://www.leefish.nl/mybb/forumdisplay.php?fid=84. Home of No Trash Memories, No SIm Loaded, and a collection of useful mods and really attractive downloads. Not everything has to be practical!

Sims 2 Default Database. http://sims2defaults.dreamwidth.org/ Let's be honest. Not everyone likes certain Maxis outfits and hair. Yes, You can actually get rid of those hideous default pants.

Sims 2 Artists ... Gorgeous stuff. http://sims2artists.com/ . Resourceful, creative ... can't write enough superlatives. And Huge Lunatic is not paying me to write that.

Garden of Shadows ... http://gardenofshadows.org.uk/ Home of other fantastic creators. On the alternative side. Not everyone likes Mary Sues or Gary Stus. Thankfully.

Sims 2 Workshop ... I believe you need to register for this one. I've used a few of these hacks for years. I suppose I should warn you, though, I've had slight problems with one or two, so please back up your games and use in a test hood. http://www.sims2workshop.com/index....Board&boardID=3. Still, there is some useful or fun stuff here. Make sure you have the right EP or SP before downloading, please.

SImlogical. Oh, dear me. We MUST include this one. Want schools? Jails? Here ya go. So much more, too. http://www.simlogical.com/sl/Sims2Pages/Sims2.htm

Trapping Crushes. http://trappingcrushes.tumblr.com/. This is a treasure for two reasons. First, for the downloads on the site themselves. But for another reason as well. I took out a Tumblr, noted my favorite creators, and added them so I could follow them myself. Lena cannot constantly update, but when she does ... wow. This is why we scratch our heads when people proclaim that Sims 2 is past its prime. Not even close.

Wella Creations http://wella-creations.livejournal.com/. Not updated as much. but some very interesting downloads. Swing on by from time to time.

Sims 2 Graveyard ... http://sims2graveyard.com/ Yes, there can be life after a Sims 2 site dies. Do realize you download at your own risk. That's important to note. The Graveyard simply keeps the files, not polices them. However, it's a go-to place here when one needs a mesh from a now-dead site, and I've downloaded many a piece of CC there.

MYB Sims .... another forum that is worth registering for. http://mybsims.blogspot.com/

Insiminator.org ... home of the Insiminator and other downloads. http://www.insimenator.org/index.ph...77a014371a2;www.

Please note. The Insiminator is not supported. For most, it works just fine, but do not pester people with questions about glitches, etc., please.

Sims Cave ... I find this site is another one worth registering for. http://simscave.mustbedestroyed.org/ Very nice people here. Unless you are a real nasty jerk, you will not be fricasseed.



Now about paysites. (Draws breath.) I think you'll find that in your perusals, you'll find so much that you won't usually want to use a paysite. There is a place, however, where you can get many paysite downloads. You may come across it while browsing. It begins with a "B". Again, download at your own risk. Paysite items are not necessarily safe items.

On that note, please realize that MTS and other sites run on the generosity of its members. If you can put a few dollars toward your favorite sites, please do so.

And always take the usual precautions when downloading stuff, especially with lots and hacks.

Just some of the sites I go to often that's not listed above.
http://www.simthing.net/index.htm
http://simsasylum.com/tfm/ Very active.
http://simmanipulator.forumotion.com/ Questions will be answered but may take a week.
http://www.simwardrobe.com/
http://www.backalleysims.com/adultsite/forum.php they have both family and adult portion. Very active.
http://cyjon.net/node/42
http://www.insimadult.org/index.php?action=forum adult site. Active.
http://www.meilow.de/selzisims/downloads/skintones/ lots and lots of skintones.
http://meetme2theriver.livejournal.com/63030.html
http://sims.ambertation.de/en//
http://mikeinside.modthesims2.com/hacks/cheats.html
http://simsky.wz.cz/
http://www.snootysims.com/thesims2index.php?id=thesims2 I link to the Sims 2 Info Center. Very little activity for Sims 2 but there are still alot of players that go there.
http://www.digitalperversion.net/ga...hp?topic=9469.0 to me by far the best Maxis Match default skintone set. Very active site.
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s.../topic,7.0.html this is the link that has all the EP listed.
http://www.simfansuk.com/sims/cmps_index.php Very active.
http://nene.sexysims2.com/index2.php adult site and sister site to MTS. Active and sister site to MTS.
http://sims2.aroundthesims3.com/

Dang, all the sites I know of are already listed! Well, except The Sims Resource, but...
http://www.thesimsresource.com/

On top of that, you can also try to find Sims 2 websites that have been shut down or went offline, but have been archived by the Internet Wayback machine. If you're lucky, the download links might still work as well, such as Theo's Shack.

Simblrs full of downloads (besides trapping crushes which pulls from these, but may miss a few.)

*Vimpse
*Dee Dee Sims
*Always Sims 2
*Puccamichi
*Selenaq13
*Lipe2k
*Sanekke94
*Eir-Sims
*Yuxi
*Keoni
*Poppet Sims
*Rented Space
*Veranka


Lots more but those are the ones I follow

A few of these sites are oldies but goodies:

Aussie Topenders ... http://www.aussietopenders-sims2.com/
Parsimonious ... http://www.parsimonious.org/sims2.html. Yes, several of the clothes are ... colorful ... but there are some nice ones in the group, and many are low-poly and based on Maxis clothes. Some of the modded objects are cool, too.
All About Style ... A site that actually made a genuine effort to get period clothes right. The meshes are often included in downloads. http://all-about-style.com/ Still a favorite site of mine after all these years. There is also a Yahoo group for older downloads.
Hat_Plays_Sims ... Full of period clothing (Medieval and Middle Ages) and hair. You don't even have to be a fan of that period to appreciate these downloads. http://hat-plays-sims.dreamwidth.org/
Plumbbob Keep .. http://www.medievalsims.com/ Again, you don't have to be into Middle Age/Medieval clothing to appreciate this site. I found quite a few made good fantasy clothes.

An important note about any animated animals. They're lovely, I admit. And I have a couple in my game and enjoy them. But many are NPCs. This means that if you decide you don't like them and pull them out, you can corrupt your hoods. Just be aware of that, please. Download with caution.
http://lidiqnataforthesims2.webs.com/victorian.htm. Lidqnata's site. Time to step into the 19th and 20th century!
http://aquilegia.dreamwidth.org/. Home of my favorite androgynous body shape. But there is much more than that!

These are some sites that I download from, that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet:

Simsomnia

Simphany.com

Simply Styling

I especially like Simphany.com for clothing, which I think is an underrated Sims 2 site. In fact it's my second most important site for clothing after MTS. I think it may have been a paysite some time in prehistory but it's been free for aeons.

I have to second All About Style for clothing. Amazing detail both for period and modern clothing, children, teen and men too, not just adult female.

If anyone wants to know where Rebecah, creator of the famous 'toddler stairs' mod is, try her site at

Affinity Sims

She has all kinds of downloads with animated animals, and toddler stuff. She's not the only creator on the site, but you do not have to register to download any of their work.

There is one site that has downloads that are definitely different: Kativip's Cradle of Darkness . She posted a lot of her stuff at GOS for a long time, then opened her own place. You don't have to register to download any of them. True, a lot of the blurbs for the content is in Russian, but the pictures are pretty descriptive.

Animated animals corrupting 'Hoods ??
 

Italics mine.

Wow. Any animals in particular ?? I have chickens and pigs from Affinity Sims -- are they corrupting ? Thanks for any advice !

Yes, all the Affinity Sims animals have the potential to corrupt your 'hood. They don't cause any problems at all if you put them in and leave them in. What causes problems is if you put them in and then take them out again, because they create NPCs, which have character files. Pulling the download shreds the character file. There is a way to remove the download safely, you just have to be sure that you leave the character files in any 'hood that's been open while you have the chickens in. My search-fu is failing me at the moment, but it's the same method you'd use to remove a multi-PT mod safely.

But again, if you like the animated animals and other goodies (such as certain parts of Echo's Carnival Set), there is no problem whatsoever leaving them in there and enjoying them! Just don't yank them out if you're bored.

Thank you, gazania and esmeiolanthe ; I think
I'm always a bit nervous about downloading anything for my sims that have actions not related/included in the game --- like the ladders from Affinity Sims. Don't get me wrong--- I like that site a lot.
I'll probably leave the chickies and piggies in for now--- they form an integral part of my sims that are more financially-challenged and need to raise food for themselves.
So I assume it would be safe to remove them if I started a completely new (Tarlia's Cleaned Hood) neighborhood ?

A ladder should simply be a stair case cloned, nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with animals either so long as you realize it's the same as adding in a new sim, you don't delete sims and you don't 'delete' animals by pulling the file.

If you remove them before you ever boot up your new 'hood, yes, it will be fine. Your old 'hood will be corrupted, though. As gazania and I said, though, it's 100% OK to leave them in if you like them. They won't hurt a thing just being there, clucking and laying eggs. You just need to take a couple extra steps if you change your mind later.

If you're really into time-period-specific clothing, a great site that I like is http://all-about-style.com/. They have clothes for Medieval, Tudor, Regency, Victorian, Prairie, and all decades from the 1920s - 1960s. They have regular clothing too. The site has Sims 2 and Sims 3 downloads, but the time period clothes are Sims 2 only.

Here are the other sites I use:

www.thesimszone.co.uk/
www.lianasims2.net
www.annamariasims2.com
www.newseasims.com
www.lorandiasims3.com
http://archive.sims.shanegowland.co....net/index.html
www.parsimonious.org
www.holysimoly.com
www.coolsims.net

Enjoy!

http://moonlightdragon.freeforums.org/portal.php Home to a ton of baby outfits, accessories and hairstyles, as well as a few other things. Also simmer22's site.

Guys, wouldn't it be better to help maintain and update Fansites^wiki ? That page is sorely out of date.
Write up an intro or pertinent details, include things that are good about that site, etc.

Example: Fansite:ModTheSims^wiki need to have the category like this ...so that this Category link works properly Category:Fansites&from=M^wiki, otherwise every site is categorized under "F".

And for content themed specific, not just Site-specific, we have Content_List:Main_Page^wiki

Updating the wiki would be great. There are a lot of dead sites there too.

My favourite download sites I haven't seen mentioned here are Around The Sims and Cyjon's site.

http://www.justsims2.ru/

Amazing clothes here.

There is no life beyond MTS... only screaming and madness...

Nah I kid, but the only other sites I use are XMSims, Raonsims, Coolsims (which I think is gone now) and moonlightdragon. But I haven't used the first 3 in years because my game is almost completely vanilla, but back when I was a downloadaholic, I would download literally every single hairstyle from those sites - they are by far some of the best hairstyles I have ever used (as for clothes, I usually just use MTS)

I'm not really sure what any of them are like for community, because this is the only Sims 2 community I actually take part in.

Thanks for the updated lists. And seconding all-about-style, indispensable when you've recently watched The Tudors or Downton Abbey and want to make a themed hood.

See post # 2.

Oh, I know the Sims Cave has already been mentioned, but I love their TS2 Updates threads:

http://simscave.mustbedestroyed.org...php?board=172.0

Some other sites (such as BPS and maybe even MTS?) have similar threads, but I haven't seen one as active. This is useful because you can see new TS2 content from all over the place (MTS, GoS, tumblr, livejournal, non-US sites, etc).

Can we sticky this?

Is The Booty allowed to be mentioned here?

http://sims2defaults.dreamwidth.org/ - I'm there every day looking for defaults!
http://le-plat-du-jour.livejournal.com/ - How can we forget!
http://xjoelbabix.dreamwidth.org/ - Quite a q3tbo style, but with defaults!