I just installed The Sims 1 Complete Collection and played for a bit, and i wonder how big the difference between the base game and the complete collection really is. Is there some way to disable or remove expansion packs and (if possible) put all/some of them back without losing save data?

its a LOT, when it comes to furniture and interactions.

knowing the later sims games, it is likely that removing expansion packs will corrupt sims that are made when all the packs are installed (thought sims1 was much more robust that the later games, i think)

basegame sims1 comes with only the area of the top right hand of the map. you get very few objects to use, and many of the usefull items will no longer be there.
you cannot visit any areas other than houses on that section of the map (the two lower areas were added by the pets expansion, if i remember rightly)
interactions between adults and children are more limited. you could not go to various areas ether.
you basicaly go to work, friends may visit you but options are limited. you sleep and eat and skill lol.

if i remember correctly, you also only get 1 map, instead of having the 8 or so copies you get later.
is there a reason you want to go back down? packs you dont like or something?
personaly i never use studio town or any of the superstar interactions, but i do like to keep the extra furniture ect. i use a fair few hacked items to help me set my game up the way i like and have various 'hoods set up for magic/medievil/roman ect that way.

1. I was wondering how big the difference really is between the base game and the complete collection.
2. I like progression alot, and i think it may offer interesting gameplay if you only install a new EP when you get bored of the base game. Starting with the base game and later adding new EPs also allows me to experiënce every bit of the game, instead of just doing the same stuff over and over because i know it works.
3. i read somewhere (don't know if it's true) that in the complete collection it's harder to build up and maintain relationships with neighbours, and this is one aspect i really don't like about the game. But this can probably be solved by modding.
4. I don't know, somehow i really want to play the game without EPs how boring it may be, it's just a nostalgic thing i guess.

There aren't any EPs that i 'don't like', though i do think Maxis could've done some things better. But all my tiny complaints are nothing in comparison to the awesomeness of everything else the EPs add.
An example of these minor things is cockroaches, they're really annoying.

I get you. When you install or reinstall, it's recommended to play a little between installations and I've reinstalled many times. It is interesting to feel again the difference between the base and each addition, but I find myself quickly wanting the next one. The first game was amazing when it came out, but quickly became restrictive. The Sims were a little stiffer and there were no lights on the walls. When you load some of the houses in the original neighborhood, you can still see that effect. The bachelor house, for example, has a floor lamp in the bathroom. There was copious use of the Tragic Clown also in the first (with a portrait and the right interactions, you could get the tragic clown to come). It's still possible to get the Tragic Clown in later expansions, but the portrait wasn't set up in each house after that (I think). There was only one neighborhood screen in the base game. The next expansion brought four more, including Neighborhood 2 and the Mashugas, and roaches and flies and the genie.

ah, i see
i guess i am lucky, i have all the eps as seperate CDs so i could go that route if i wanted to.
maybe you could use self imposed restrictions, like sims2 and 3 players have done for the challenges? i use the alternate apocalipse in that myself, but also have to use multiple hacked/modded/cloned items for my hoods since they were never meant to be played roman style or other timeframes ways.

also, you might want to check out the old 'saving the sims' yahoo groups since many of the downloadable items websites are gone (or in the case of some of the most usefull items i ever saw, the old CnC site...have nasty malware hiding in their site and no one around to clean it up but the stuff is still available in the yahoo groups)

the secret society of woobsha have a LOT of usefull items that can fix issues like social and nasties like roaches n flies ect, as does simlogical. infact simlogical even has institutional items to make prisons and boarding schools ect.
http://www.simlogical.com/sl/downlo...s/downloads.htm the sims1 section
http://www.woobsha.com/ still updated too (woobsha) i cant live without their pirate loo's because my romans use them and even my modern sims use them ^^