Why You Should Not Pay for Custom Sims Content

Pay Content Not Only Ruins the Spirit of the Community, but Also Divides It

There is no denying that user-created custom content is especially popular among the Sims gaming community. With the arrival of The Sims 2 and its expansion packs, the demand and market for custom content have been extremely high. While paysites - sites that primarily host content that can only be obtained through subscription - have been around in the Sims community since The Sims 1, they have never been as abundant as they are now. It has become the norm to browse for custom content and run into a paysite, or a site that asks for donations in return for content that is decidedly better-looking than what they offer for free. Since paysites and donation sites are so abundant, most Simmers think it is just part of the community, thus shelling out the big bucks to obtain that great new custom hair from that popular site. Many people think that the best custom content out there can only be obtained through paysites.

But, as said with anything purchased in real life, buyers beware. That lovely item you see on a pay or donation site may look great in pictures, but by no means does that guarantee it will look good once you load the game up and see it first-hand. It is not uncommon for some creators of items on paysites to "fix up" their item in preview pictures by editing out the flaws in a paint program like Adobe Photoshop. Two of the most popular sites for custom hair do not accurately represent their items: PeggySims - a paysite, and RoseSims - a pay-per-item site. Many Simmers who have purchased content from such sites have been unsatisfied with the product; there are an abundance of complaints regarding neck gaps - when the base of the hair mesh does not meet the neck, creating a painfully visible gap - and poor construction and animation of the mesh. Complaints are rarely met with a response or fix from the creators; thus, future buyers are usually unaware of these problems until they pay for the content and see the problems for themselves, leaving them no choice but to live with the faulty product in their game, or delete it.