Well, I think it's basically common knowledge now that the Sims 4 will likely not surpass the Sims 3 for the first few expansion packs- so why not find ways of fixing the Sims 3 in the meantime?

Now, it's kind of daunting looking around for the right mods to make your game better, so I've compiled a document of mods and objects that will expand and improve your game. Some of these mods are common knowledge, but others are a bit more obscure.

This list is comprised of objects and mods that that expand gameplay and offer things not found in existing objects. I consider CC like new hair and wallpapers to be expanding the depth of a gameplay element (adding more choices with existing interactions), while the objects listed here expand the breadth of the game (adding more choices with new interactions). These also include EA Premium items, like it or not. Other mods included help balance out gameplay and fix issues found in the game.

If you find any more useful mods, don't hesitate to post, and I will periodically update the list!

A Compendium of Useful Mods

Can be found here (download available on site): http://issuu.com/jje1000/docs/sims_3_compendium_of_mods
You can also download the file below as an attachment as well.

Improving the Sims 3
We ought to ask questions of how we can improve the Sims 3.



Post some ideas as of how to improve the game! What mechanics are broken? Why is the game so shallow? What systems need depth? Cool Ideas are plausible ideas that are not outside the scope of existing mods. Pipedreams are considerably more complex mods- which may not even be possible (but it's worth thinking about them anyways).

Ideas will be posted below.

Some Cool Ideas
- Modding the hot air balloon into a working helicopter.
- Default replacement EA Cabinets that work as functioning storage containers.
- ???

Pipedreams
- NPC system- Assign an NPC to a lot and potentially an object. That means that you can now have real Ice Cream Parlours and Massage Shops!
- Creating a richer, harder celebrity/fame/class system.
- Class systems?
- Reworking all existing vehicles for more interactions currently limited to the Classically Cool Fixer-upper car
- Combining band systems from ShowTime and Late Night
- Fixing the duplication of the lot type system
- Proper Apartments
- ???

Dream goal: A omnibus mod that combines all mods together into a comprehensive mod that totally revamps the game like Darthmod for Empire: Total War.

PLEASE NOTE: Several of the mods in the attached list are outdated. However, a list of game-fixing mods is useful, and users need to check compatibility before installing anything.

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=517365

I've gone through that thread already and compiled some of the mods listed there. The main question we need to look at is in what ways the gameplay mechanics in Sims 3 are flawed, and how we can potentially fix them.

Well now, we're jumping the gun are we? How do you know TS4 will be worse than TS3 which was pretty bad comparable to TS2 and the original?

Bear in mind we know very little about TS4 other than 1) New CAS system 2) No CASt 3) Different building mechanics 4) You can preorder it, for whatever reason 5) It's a sims game, but that's a given...

I didn't read any more of the post because this just stopped me. Sure, we have some media about it- a trailer, what looks to be pre-rendered "gameplay" footage and some screenshots, most just renders and a couple from CAS.

To me, that's not enough to judge it. Just sayin'.

thanks i found very great mods

IMO, using Occam's Razor and given what we speculate about the development status (delays, total silence, potential mismanagement, job cuts, rebuilt out of an online model) and features described (around the same as Sims 3), it'll take a couple of expansion packs for it to get into its stride, much like how the Sims 3 really took a few expansion packs starting with Ambitions to surpass the features that the Sims 2 offered.

I'm not saying the Sims 4 will be bad- I'm not writing it off like you wrote off my post.

I got something that probably falls squarely in the "Pipedream" category: overhaul of the gender system.

Right now, sims are divided into male and female. This has several problems:

-Very unvaried bodies.
-No representation for non-binary people.
-For that matter, no representation for pansexuals.
-We can't mod the game into queer porn.
-Limits the stories we can tell.

So, I would ideally create two sliders: one for masculinity and one for femininity. This wouldn't assign a gender or sex to the sim, it would just affect its appearance. The first would increase height and shoulder width, narrow the hips, increase bone definition; the second would soften bone definition, widen the hips, lower the height, increase breast size, etc. Of course, the sliders which allow you to change those things individually should still be in the game, so you could create a tall ultra-femme if you wanted. The interesting part comes in when the sim isn't fully one or the other. You could set both sliders all the way to the right to create a neuter sim. If you put the sliders above neuter and at the same level, it would create an androgynous sim, with different appearances based on where they are on the sliders.

Assigning a sex would be a matter of checkboxes. If you want the sim to have a penis, check the box and one will appear. (If only this worked in real life) Want a vulva? Check the box and one will appear on the sim. Want both or neither? Check both or neither. Fertility would be another matter. If you want the sim to have a womb, but not to actually use it, then there should be an option to make your sim infertile. Ideally, there would be separate options for each set of genitalia, so you could have a sim with a set of both, but only the ovaries making oocytes.

Then you assign the gender, which will affect the pronouns used on your sim. There should be at least three options: male, female, and neutral (something along the lines of hir, xie, zis, etc.).

While we have the sliders necessary to make the changes I described with the male/female sliders, I think it might need a CAS overhaul to come into reality. My coding knowledge sucks, so I don't know how possible this is. Still, I can dream.

OK, not to distract from your dream makeover, but, what's a non-binary person? Because the check boxes should be pretty easy, but I'm not sure where to start on the non-binary person thingy.

@hugbug993- Wouldn't all this make the age rating go straight up?

The way I read it, a non-binary person may or may not have a thingy.

A non-binary or nb person is someone who doesn't fit neatly into the male/female gender binary. A nb person might consider themselves both male and female or neither male nor female. Basically, someone for whom gender is more nuanced or fluid than "man/woman."

I think it would be nice to have the option to create non-binary or ambiguously gendered Sims. (and it seems like the new CAS might be good for that? You'll probably still have to chose a gender, but it seems like it will be easier to create ambiguous facial features/body types without sliders!) I know I get frustrated at the lack of gender neutral clothing. What if I want my lady Sims in a business suit, or my dude Sims in heels and nylons? Personally, I wouldn't go for options to add/remove genitalia (mostly because the thought of Sim junk triggers a strong "DO NOT WANT" reaction for me), but I can see why other players might want that. I'm sure there are mods for that, though!

I wasn't aware that mods had an age rating. Or that they affected the main game's rating.



Basically, what Mammal said. Non-binaries don't fall into the "male/female binary". I'd really like to see more representation in that area - even if it's just something the players pick themselves - to raise awareness.



Good point. It would probably be a good idea to totally separate the genitalia from reproductive ability, so you don't have to have it in order to have a breedable sim. Then it'd be much easier to create an alien race I've had floating around in my head...

The answer is: EA.

so true

I love how this thread went from modding to sim sexuality

I think making a list of this type is a mission impossible. One man's "broken" feature is another man's dream feature. It all depends on your play style. I mod away a lot of features other people like. For example strays, the uni mascot or unicorns. While I love the idea that autumn leaves do not disappear during winter because I want my sims to clean them up themselves.

@jje1000,
I see some outdated mods in there; some from modders who are no longer active. Some from modders who might have stopped updating their MTS uploads.
I don't think it is advisable to tell people these are "useful" without making sure the downloaders read the Description text and what game versions these mods are intended for. Are you going to be providing game support when people start writing in with "my game is broken!! wah wah whine!!111 cry because I use that useful mod someone linked me to". From my perspective as a mod user, saying these are "useful" means that I have an expectation that they have been vetted and confirmed as working for everyone's games on ANY patch level. And we know some of them are specific only to the versions they were last updated to. So, I'll be glad to get to welcome more constant contributors in the Game Help section. See you there!

Also, whose definition of "useful" are we using?
My gameplay style don't need some of those, which is why we have a Sims_3:Content_Lists^wiki
Everyone with an MTS account are welcome to edit and update the sections and put little notes and reminders if any CC is patch-version-specific only or is universally-working-for-any-patch-version types.
As Ani pointed out, one person's feature is another's idea of garbage. An example of EA's version of a "feature" for Showtime that they advertised like hell and then it becomes a liability when their servers are always getting "maintained". Yes, it is still a choice, but again when it is compiled and you're pushing this compendium, I again have that expectation you're now going to support said mod(s) yourself, as well.

As for the pipedreams, there's a reason why modders don't tend to rely much on user's requests. Some of those are not possible given the game coding and architecture. Not to mention, many modders already have a mile-long list of things they want to fix, if I know the nature of developers.
Oh, you did mention "we". So, which of those listed are you going to tackle fixing first?

And as a parting shot, these "useful", "favorite", "essential" and "must-haves" CC threads pop up like mushrooms every quarter or so...and then fizzled out when the OP no longer wants to maintain said thread. Until Nysha stickied one to end them all that we can all link to when another one inevitable pops up. Which is why the Wiki is a better idea if you want to contribute to such a list.
- https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=472435
- https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=436928
- https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=439276
- https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=428045
- https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=470689

Well I don't use many mods.. no big mod managers or such, just some small fixes and stuff but here's what I still feel is missing, and in the order of importance.

-Disabler of (smart)phones.
Maybe it could be disabled by default and an inventory item could activate it or have its features instead? could be something from buy mode.

-Default career outfit replacements.
Sure we can modify it, but we cant change the default one for NPC's. And most of it looks terrible, often its a random mix of items. Some good looking default replacements that are on par with the sims1 and 2 uniforms would be great. those games had fantastic career outfits.

-Fleshed out alternative lifeforms.
For most of the special kind of sims, EA did a terrible job. plumbots seem to be the best done of them all. I would suggest adding more meat to all these forms in a general overhaul or such that could also affect interactions with each other without conflicting with other mods.
Vampires, Wherewolves, ghosts and other supposedly scary stages should be able to cause some terror.
Simbots should have special interactions with plumbots, and maybe be able to get an upgrade to plumbot. Or just some fancier upgraded appearances.
Each should get a proper lifespan associated with it as well. vampires wouldnt age. Sunlight should be much deadlier though. I know theres mods for that but it should be part of this big mod.

-Proper car ownership and usage.
If my sim has a vehicle assigned to them as being theirs, others should not use it. Also the sim who owns it should use it to drive to work instead of the carpool.
You know.. how it was in sims 2 pretty much. Still minus the proper animations and interactions but it would be all that can be done about it.