Custom Content Download Guide!
Before I start, I'll just point out that CC does take up space on your computer and can slow your game down if you have loads of it so don't get downloading everything because it looks pretty, only download what you think you will use. Even though it is easy to remove from within the game, it really does lag the game.
Also, remember where you download your stuff from because some of the stuff you download can sometimes cause havoc in your game and you'll need to remove it. And, to make sure you back up your downloads folder everytime you add something/remove something in case something happens. And when you add a new ep/sp to your game, you MUST remove your downloads folder beforehand because it might cause all your CC to flash blue or something else which you don't want.
Custom Content Download Guide.
Custom Content or CC is basically anything you can think of that others have made for you to download and use in your game. It can be anything like items, clothing, make-up, skintones, cars, eye colours etc.
There is already guides available out there for you to read, one for idiots (non computer wizzes) and one for genuises (advanced computer users). So, if you want to read one of those instead of this one feel free because I do not mind at all.
Step 1!
Before you even consider downloading any CC, you need to make sure it'll show up in your game right? You don't want to download everything you want in your game only to find out it isn't in the right place or you don't even have the right program to make it show up. So, firstly make a Downloads folder (with a capital D!) and place this in the The Sims 2 folder which you will find in the EA Games folder. This is where you'll store your downloads obviously.
If you have Nightlife then you can make seperate folders within that folder so you downloads are organized but if you don't then I don't think it's possible.
So now you have a place to shove all your CC, you have to make it show up in game because it won't just do that itself, you need the Colour Enable Package (CEP). You can get this here, but you need to sign up to the site first.
Step 2!
So, now you have your Downloads folder which is the home to all your downloads and CEP which will in sure the CC shows up. Now you actually need some CC. It isn't as simple as just going onto a site and finding what you want and then downloading it, well it is but there are some things you need to check out first.
1. Is it a mesh or a recolour?
A mesh is basically the 3d model of the item, clothing or whatever. And a recolour is the colour added to that 3d model. Whenever you download anything, you need the mesh otherwise you've just got nothing in your game or the recolour of nothing in your game so always make sure you download the mesh first.
Recolours can be downloaded also, most of the time these are when people take the mesh and change it into different colours etc so you have more then one version of the mesh, so you can download these also but like I've said, make sure you have the mesh as well!
2. Do you need any expansion/stuff packs?
Some CC needs none, whereas others needs all of them. Everytime you download something, no matter what sites it from the person will state what expansion pack or stuff pack you need for it to show up, if you don't got it then it won't show up, simple as.
3. What catergory will it appear in?
This isn't much of a thing you'd need to check because it should be common sense that if you download a table it'll appear under tables but it's good to check sometimes if it's something that is seen as "clutter" or miscellanenous because there is a few catergories that it could appear in, so you either search for it yourself within game or look where the person has said it is.
Got that? Great!
Step 3!
So, now you've found out if it's a mesh or recolour, what EP/SP you need and you know that it's all okay and you can download it. So, you need to know where to download it, how to download it and what to do after. There is pretty much a bucket load of CC sites out there for you to get your CC from, some of them are free, some ask you to join beforehand and some ask you to donate to the site/pay for the item before you can download it.
Mod The Sims 2 is a free site that requires you to join beforehand to download the stuff. It's pretty simple to use, everything is in a catergory and you can search.
The Sims Resource is a mixture of free and pay stuff and you need to join up before you can download the stuff. Once again, it's in catergories, it's easy to use and there is a search feature. This site also has downloads for The Sims 1.
The Booty is where you can get items that you have to pay/donate for, for free. It's just a plain index so you have to search for the site name and click on the item you want to download but you need to have the name of the download so you can search for it. Sometimes you may also need to find the artists name before you find the item as well.
There is also the Wicked Nouk Family. This has links to other sites in which you can download stuff as well as stuff available to download as well (mainly stuff made to match the theme for that month). But a quick search in google will bring up loads of sites as well.
I'm going to use Modthesims2 as an example for how to download items. So, you go to the site, click downloads and whatever catergory the item you want is in. I'm picking something simple like a chair, so I'll click on Buy Mode > By Function (you can click by room if you wish) > Comfort > Living Chairs and Recliners. And I'll pick the first item there.
So, you click on what you want and they'll be some information about the item. It's best to read this to make sure you know whats in the download and what you may need to download from other site if they have used someone elses mesh. They will also sometimes mention something called Poly Count, I'm not 100% sure what it is but it's something relating to the mesh and the higher the number, the more space it'll take up so be warned.
If you scroll down to the bottom, it'll tell you what EP/SP you need, make sure you check this before you downloaded as I've stated before. It'll then give you the download links.
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2011/fjjgfdz8.png
As you can see, this is the mesh for a dentist surgery. To download this, you need to click the little floppy disc with the smiley face and this will download it onto your computer but it'll be a .zip file so you need
WinRar or something similar to extract it. You need then to extract it to your Downloads folder which you will find in My Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Downloads.
Now, you've sucessfully added an item to your game! Now, you need to make it so you can see it in the game which is simple.
Step 4!
Load up The Sims 2 and there should be a box that says what downloads you have added and below that two tick boxes. One that enables CC and one that disables it, if you haven't changed it before this click on enable and it'll say that you need to restart your game. This is simple and all you need to do is exit the game do so and load it up again. Then, your downloads will appear!
Note: If you want to stop the box appearing telling you about your CC at the start of the game, when you can go into options and one of them will have a box regarding CC, click the one that says about not showing the box at the start but make sure it isn't the one that makes it so you can see CC because you may need to restart the game again (I can't go into much detail about that as my game isn't open).
Anyway, I hope that helped anyone who actually bothered to read it and try it out. I had some spare time so I thought why not? :P Have fun, I guess.
