So for quite a while now, since I upgraded my computer, I've considered reinstalling all of my Sims 3 games to see if it plays any better. But my issue is, I always played with SO much custom content and mods because the game was lacking so much in features that required mods and generally nice clothing and objects, in my opinion at least. But I have very little patience for CC-hunting these days.

So it got me thinking, how many members here play TS3 with no mods/CC or at least very little? How fun do you still find the game without a buttload of mods and CC? I'm curious!

I think CC just enhances the game. I also find (for me) that when I do a new install, I try to look for new CC just to make a fresh game. If you take a look, many, many people are still making CC and more for Sims 3 and the stuff just keeps getting better and better--many people have been able to reduce file sizes so the items look great and runs better in 2017 than in 2009.

I think you can play vanilla (I just got a new laptop, did a reinstall very slowly adding items). There are a lot of items in the games I have NEVER even used after years of having Sims 3. So maybe you can try that--use your EPS and stuff packs (if you have them) and slowly decide "must haves." A lot of people swap out CC per neighborhood. See what works for you. Have fun!

I can enjoy the game (if you count all the EPs with it), it's just that I can't stand pudding/vanilla sims and some of EA's weird mistakes. Like not adding the up and down function for all curtains instead of just a few, even decor pieces, or just gameplay related mods.

So I have a ton of CASpart CC, objects and clutter (most of it is clutter :P), and helpful stuff to fix EA's mistakes. ^-^

I really appreciate the response, I'm thinking I might try my best to play the game without any custom content to start with. I have all EPs and SPs, so it can't be that bad. I might simply download some "essential" mods to start with (I remember finding NRaas mods being essential in my games), but playing an (almost) vanilla game could be quite fun and interesting. But I know I'll end up doing as you said, and downloading stuff along the way.

Still curious to see what others say about playing CC/Mod free games though!

I own all the EPs and SPs so I can do without object CC. It's lovely to have it, but I could live without that. But I would absolutely need at a minimum a custom default skin and eyes, and mods from NRAAS.

But from there I am always seeing such cool stuff at Around the Sims 3 or elsewhere, or cool mods from here, so soon my CC folders are brimming over with stuff again.

I can see where it might be fun especially when playing challenges and having to avoid using certain game play mods. Well, for a New York minute maybe

Other than that I can not imagine playing without any CC or Mods especially many of the awesome available here at MTS (and other sites) that offer so many new game play options.

Most players will agree there are essential NRaas Mods. Error Trap and Overwatch provide a lot of game clean up. Error Trap does save game clean up and reports any game errors and Overwatch makes corrections of persistent or recurring errors produced by the Core game or other mods, resets sims and objects as well as performing nightly clean up when playing. Master Controller while perhaps not entirely essential allows for lot resets to fix broken objects and object reset for individual objects. It also allows an entire town reset which fixes stuck sims, broken objects, and many other options for in game play. I have pretty much all the NRaas mods installed and am a CC addict but everyone has their own play styles and preferences. I'd say give it a "go" and see if you enjoy playing without the CC/Mods.

Custom content? Yeah, I guess. Mods? Nope. Not gonna happen. What will happen instead, is what they (used to) refer to as a BFBVFS 'round these parts.

It depends on the CC. I already play with a small amount of CAS CC. The most I have are a bunch of hairstyles.

I have A LOT of build/buy mode CC that I could, theoretically, play without. But I reeeeally don't want to.

As for mods...hell to the FUCK no! I will never play this game without mods lol

Playing without Mods or CC won't happen for me unless I'm testing a new install on a new computer.I consider all of my Mods to be critical to the game being playable.I even consider awesommod essential to the game being playable since I got it to fix the overcrowding in schools that left one of my old saves corrupted when a child got taken by a social worker.I also use a Mod to remove the NPC social workers and replace them with playable ones.

What you might do is begin play with little to no stuff in, and add things back in a little at a time as you find they are necessary. That's what I did when I switched computers. I was fortunate that the old computer was not dead, just ailing, and I could just swap things in and out with flash drives and so on.

I like build objects and buy objects that extend functionality or change the look-and-feel of the background: a small number of sliders to extend the variety of my sims (I do not hate pudding, unlike most who comment, but I dislike sameness in my sims). But what I'm really attached to are the Nraas suite and a raft of mods from here that fix problems, modify game behaviors to my tasted, and add interactions that I like.

But it's useful I think to take your time and put things in that you really want, instead of filling up on everything that might be nice. One thing I do in that line is download things into a separate folder to begin with and every so often go through that folder and see what I still want--sometimes I find that I can't even remember what a file is, and I figure I'm probably fine without it.

When my TS3 game worked, I didn't have a lot of CC. The color wheel took care of a lot of the CC needs, I had a few objects with added functionality, and some mods to fix annoying issues.

It's the same with TS4. A few mods to fix issues, and just a few CC objects and defaults.

I find both games to be extremely laggy with even the smallest amount of CC. Might have to do with playing them on a laptop, but still.

My TS2 game for storytelling is crammed with CC, around 30-ish GB, but the game on my laptop where I test new CC doesn't have more than 4-10 GB, occasionally more, depending on what I'm doing in that session. The TS2 game on my laptop is barely even affected by CC, up to around 15 GB barely gives any lag at all, so it's a lot more playable than TS3/4.

I've got pretty much the full Nraas suite and a number of other tweaks, but I don't use much in terms of hairs, clothes, patterns, etc. The things I do use, I merged into a couple of big packages instead of a hundred small ones.

Without custom sliders&game tweaks I wouldn't enjoy gameplay as much as I do with 'em.
I have more than 130 gameplay modifications-tweaks &all existing sliders. lol

When I played TS3 (from the release date to the end of 2011), I only played with official content from the store (including worlds), just about all of Nraas/Twallan's mods and custom patterns only. Back then, EA was always patching the game and I had no interest in having to troubleshoot should something had gotten borked after an update.

Now, if I were to play TS3 I'd probably go crazy with added content. This is the same issue with TS2 for me - knowing the game is complete and will never be updated again makes it extremely fun to add new things to it...even when you don't need to.

If I said yes, I'd be lying my arse off ( screenshot is proof of that )

I definitely agree with Penelope T, once EA has finished mucking around it's much easier and much more painless to go cc crazy. I've always started playing the Sims games about the time EA is done with them. I started Sims 1 in 04 or 05, I started Sims 2 in the fall of 08 and Sims 3 in the fall of 13. Sims 4 I'm planning on playing on the twelfth of never, but that's another story. I like that the games are somewhat stable ( I'll just ignore the fact that Sims still spin around sometimes when they go through doors , because it is EA after all), that the prices have dropped and that there is a plethora of both quality cc and annoyance/bug fixing mods available by then. I find myself more dependent on the NRaas mods for 3( as others have said) then I ever was for any particular mod/modder in any of the previous iterations. I remember having about 125 downloads for Sims 1 and thinking that was excessive. I have two main cc folders for Sims 2, one for a grimy urban setting ( my preferred environment) and one for an 1870-1890ish Old West hood. Those are about 25 gigs and 6 gigs respectively. I just use one basic cc setup for Sims 3, but sometimes I'll pull about half of my CAS stuff and that chops my Mods folder down to about 11-12 gigs.

Hi, I think when it comes to Sims 3 its essential to have core mosds, like awesome mod or nraas, to fix mistakes and tune things to fit your playstyle. But CC objects and CAS stuff are optional, especially with the color wheel, it makes things easy to redesign.

I've played without CC for a while at first. Then I got NRAAS MC, which is what I recommend if you play in rotations, rather than with only one household. Since then I've installed more mods, but not a lot (mostly other NRAAS mods to enhance its functions), and very little CC.

As far as CC goes, I think you might find yourself pressed for clothes. Unless you really like flashy or oversexualized clothes by the developers. Seriously, clothes are the worst in TS3 across all TS games I've played. Shoes, too. I don't wear heels and I don't want my sims to torture themselves by wearing heels, but almost all female shoes in the game have heels!

Otherwise, everything's ok I think. You can choose patterns and recolor stuff right in the game, so you don't really need that much CC. But maybe you'll want to add some new hair eventually.

Sometimes I wonder how my first save file lasted that long without me getting bored. SP and aging were off, it was base game only, no CC or mods... and I stayed on one family for the most part unless I wanted others to progress a little. EA SP being borked, I remember living in fear of random babies spawning or people leaving. Once, the son married and moved out, only to vanish. A clone of him returned later, with a baby on him as well, and he was not related to anyone. So yeah, never playing without mods ever again. NRaas is essential now; don't want to go back to rotational playstyle either.
Limiting CC, now that is something that could be done. Keeping it clean and organised is a huge time sink for me. Lately, I've been trying to apply some restrictions while building, such as using items that came with one expansion only. It's surprisingly fun figuring out how to make it work and the town does run more smoothly with less clutter in. Then again, I have some fixes for build/buy I definitely could NOT do without.
Clothes and hair, as others have said, are a tad too repetitive or unsuitable even with CaSt, especially for children.

Short answer: NOPE, I don't think I can't go back.

A no CC world is a big help when it comes to reducing stuttering.

I totally respect others' right to have as much CC and as many mods as they like, but I play strictly with no third party custom content at all. I do have all EP, a couple of stuff packs, and a fair amount of store stuff. The few mods I use are for building / CAW - things like the shift able fog emitter, game cars on community lots, hidden island marker, and so forth - none that modify game behavior. When I'm done building, I usually remove most mods because having a bunch of mods seems to slow down the game - particularly loading. I got burned really badly a couple of times from bad CC and got a computer virus from one site I downloaded from. So, I decided to stop using it. I also believe that uploaded lots and worlds/neighborhoods should not have CC - or have it in a separate folder - so that those who want it can get it and those who don't can pass. With CAS I don't really feel limited for objects or building, mostly not for clothing. I'd agree that the selection of usable hairstyles is probably the most limited aspect of the game. Some day I might check out NRAAS but I don't want to use it while I'm working in CAW for fear that it would make changes to my play testing games and give me a false idea of how the structure / world / neighborhood will perform for others. Just my two cents worth ...

No, that's a bit like walking around naked. Sure, it's the natural form, but you'll soon find that it's not very practical

Nah. Can't play without Mutske's Queen Anne and Shingle Windows sets. Also can't play without ATS3's IKEA items. They're used in most every home because of their simple practical designs. Unlike EAxis content that often not appropriate and/or fitting for most settings.

I remember playing base game+WA for ages before starting to look for CC. CASt was enough. The first CC I downloaded were not new meshes or anything, but game behaviour mods. Now I have a stupid amount of CC and I am not sure if I would enjoy TS3 without it. Not without mods anyway.

No way. I am shallow, it's gotta be all beautiful or nothing. SweetFX is up there with NRAAS and awesomemod, along with lighting mods, sky mods, and a high res moon.


There are also too many CC pieces that are just part of my characters and their world. Things I've had for so long that they are part of the game to me and sentimental.

Yes, but also No. I do feel like I need certain Nraas mods to play the game and not be annoyed with various aspects of it. I could do without CC Hair and Clothes, but I would need a Skin and Eye Default Replacement. But it would overall lead to my Sims looking very, very similar because majority of the in-game hairs I don't use.