Considering....

[MissBubbles]

I'm considering installing Sims3 on my laptop.
EDIT: I decided to install it.

What hacks/mods are most useful out there?
Should I patch my game first, before I go into it?

Where do downloads go? I don't want to play without them...

[fatedicewolf]

Hands down it's newer version of the UI Mod that allows for more custom skintones to be added in the game: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,17647.0.html

All the mods made by Anach work awesome in-game. I personally couldn't play without them.

[MissBubbles]

I patched my game, and bought about 400 sim points worth of my free 1,000.
Going to turn my 'net off and go ingame. Yay.

[Theraven]

I haven't felt like going into all this stuff about installing CC yet. It seems like it's at least ten times more complicated than 2, and my head can't cope with it at the moment... I can do with cheats, so far (which are nice to know - but use them on your own risk).

Motherlode (money, of course - 50 000)
testingcheatsenabled true/false (combined with the mailbox - a lot of the functions similar to Sims 2, including teleport and adjusting needs)

I've not played it for ages, it seems like, but when I do play I manage pretty good with those

[MissBubbles]

Oh, do I need to enter boolprop, or was that thrown out?

Hmm, I'll try without CC for right now. just my store shinies.

[Theraven]

No boolprop.

Only thing I'm missing is more hair meshes for the toddlers. They've got too little to start with. At least they've got slightly better options than S2, but I tire quickly from using the same 3-6 styles over and over again...

The toddler age isn't as fun as in S2, however (babies and toddlers look horrible, and no amount of face sculpting makes them look better). Besides, toddlers can't fill any of their skills to more than 3, which bugs me crazy, while children have similar restrictions on several skills, like cooking (at least they make other things than muffins on the oven). Babies are - if possible - even more boring than in S2, and looks like larvas...

Funniest ages have changed from baby--> child in S2 to teen --> adult in S3, as those are the only ages where they're allowed to do fun stuff. Also bugs me that toddlers and children can't draw on the drawing table, only build with bricks...

[jamesabrown1]

Hiya Bubbles, you might try this http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=387543 it will set testingcheatsenabled true automatically when you start the game. I have been using it for some time now and have all the EPs and am patched to the current 7.3.2.14 and it works beautifully. I kept forgetting to type it in and this saves me the trouble.

[gamonthehand]

miss bubbles if i might make a suggestion there is a mod known as the master controller. found here

http://www.the-isz.com/nraas/index.php

It serves as a sort of insimenator for sims 3.

And If you are looking for a no jealousy mod i recomend using this mod rather then awesomemod

  http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=381046      Normal  (there is an adult version at Sexy sims 2 if your over 18)

I also recommend the sliders. Slipslop has a good list of them in their post here, and I also recommend Slipslops sims. They make beautifying your world that much easier. 
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=434133

want a kimono and some great hair?
http://www.xmsims.com/sims3/ehtm/SVclothing/SVclothing001.html ( Kimono is at the bottom of the page)
http://www.xmsims.com/sims3/ehtm/main/index.html

and don't forget to try Rose sims for some of everything

 http://www.rosesims2.net/

 

[Pierre]

And if you are looking for children 's clothing lots patterns sims i would recommend, going to this site. As it has lots of great creations for the sims 3 but registration is requiered in order, to view the forum.

http://www.happysimmers.com/forum/index.php?action=forum

*Edit there is also this site full of great sims3 creations as well as this site also

http://exhibitsims.com/forum/index.php

http://gnautylilgnomes.com/forum/index.php?sid=2bec68f78f9f3a8271c1b062bc28bfc7

and for newer update for sims3 cc look at this website as well

http://sims3updates.net/daily.php

and there is also this website for sims3 cc

http://www.flyingacres.com/NeighborlySims3/

and there is also some sims3 creations on this website as well

http://inspiringsims.forumotions.com/

and if you need any sims or recolors for the sims3 just send me a pm anytime

[jamesabrown1]

Some very good suggestions there, MissBubbles. I've been using the Master Controller, as well, and it is very good.

[LVishere]

I'm playing this game with Late Night, and it's definitely not as bad as I thought it was in the beginning. There are some things that annoy me about the game and there are some things that I miss about The Sims 2 that aren't in the game like the simple interactions. I still can't get over how ugly the sims are, but cute clothes make them bearable. I give it a C.