Caution using MCCC mod [ Edited ]

[JonaO703]

-Edited to clarify intent-

Bottom line: Be careful when adding the Master Controller Command Center (MCCC) mod (or any other mod).  The MCCC mod in particular is really complex and may change your game in ways that you don't expect.  Just by adding the mod to your game, the default settings will begin altering the population settings; NPCs moving into lots, getting married, etc.  Before adding any mods, be sure you save your game and test out the features in a separate save.  This way, you can learn how the mod actually works without potentially harming the saves you care about.

Based on the comments to my original post, I decided I should clarify that my intent is to caution players about using MCCC in particular.  I realized my OP came across as whining that MCCC broke my game.  It didn't break anything.  However, it did make a lot of changes by simply adding it.  I've seen a lot of articles praising the advantages of using the mod and I've even seen people on AHQ recommend MCCC to fix issues without explaining what the mod will do to their games.  I'm not denying the mod's usefulness.  I simply wanted to post my own experience as a cautionary tale because when I researched MCCC, I didn't see any of that.  Even the Pro and Expert users who replied to this post mentioned having some trouble in the beginning and said it took them a long time to understand how it works.  If you're going to use it (or any mod), do your own research, learn how the mod works, preserve your game.  

I'm including the text of my original post in the "spoiler tag" below for context.

Spoiler

First, let me say I'm well aware EA does not support mods and I know we use them at our own risk.  I'm not asking for help fixing anything.  This post is to caution players who may be thinking about using the Master Controller Command Center (MCCC) mod. I've seen a lot of posts that lead me to believe there are many who live and die by it.  It's quite popular and I hope my dissenting opinion doesn't garner any death threats.  It's just that when I added it to my game, I noticed some things that I didn't like at all.

I initially got MCCC because I was curious about controlling offspring gender.  That turned out to be more complicated than I expected and I quickly realized it was ultimately more effort than it was worth.  There are so many things this mod can control, most of which are cheats that are basically presented through quick access in-game menus.  Although finding the one you want can be as difficult as figuring out how to fulfill in-game career tasks.  One of the things I was also excited about didn't even work.  The MC Tuner promises to find autonomous actions and, in turn, allows players to disable.  While it's true this function listed many actions, it did not list the one I most wanted to disable which was "Make a Mess" for my toddlers.  Those little snots throw their plates even though they're still hungry and all the parents do is "Give a talking to"!

The thing that bothered me most is, after adding MCCC, I noticed two of my created characters had vanished; not the entire household, just two sims within it.  Poof ... gone!  Then I noticed almost all my empty lots are filled now in direct opposition to my settings to not fill empty lots.  One of these included a family with Simeon Silversweater.  First of all, I like my Practical Magic Mage "homeless" and wandering here and there.  Secondly, I purposely have my game set to not fill empty lots for when I decide to create new families or move existing ones.  I don't want to delete or evict families and steal their homes.  I did not change any of the population settings when I added MCCC.  I can only assume all of these things happened through the mod's default settings.

If you like the story progression aspect and want your NPCs to get married, have babies, etc. on their own, you may like MCCC.  If you like more convenient ways to cheat a great deal of things such as sims' physique, household bills, seasons, autonomous actions etc. you may like MCCC.  I would just caution there are a great many levels to MCCC of which you should be aware.  Perhaps some day I will change my mind and devote several hours to exploring the multitude of possibilities.  For now, though, I'm removing MCCC.  I also wonder if there are others who feel the same way.  Has anyone else been put off by the changes that MCCC made to their games?  Someone please tell me I'm not the only one! ;-)

[Psychotps]

@JonaO703

Lol. Well, I certainly won't be one.

Granted, MCCC is quite complex. Maybe I was used to that type of mod having spent YEARS using Sims 3's "NRaas" mod (which is MUCH more complicated than MCCC)

There are a LOT of settings that control the game, and the "Micromanagement" that MCCC allows for is right up my alley. You just have to know how the settings work. Some override others and may cause unforseen problems.

The worst thing you can do is randomly change settings that you don't know EXACTLY what they do. When I first started using these types of mods, there were many times I had to go back and reset everything back to the defaults because strange things started happening, mainly because I didn't know what I was doing.

Most of the options in there are SO useful, I can't possibly play without it. The AutoSave feature alone has saved my butt on many occasions.

MCTuner is likely the most complicated feature but severely useful!  Sims getting too many drinks of water? Turn it off. Getting coffee or tea too much? Turn it off. Tired of ghosts breaking everything but still want them in the house? Turn ghost autonomously breaking off.

Everything can be controlled. Moving sims out, having babies, divorces, aging, everything. Even creating new NPCs. You just have to know how to configure it.  I'd recommend trying it a little at a time, changing one or two settings and see how that effects things.  I know it extremely well, but that was through years of playing and trying things. Jumping right in and changing a ton of settings is definitely a recipe for disaster.

Also, if you had sims just up and get deleted, I can guarantee it wasn't MCCC. It doesn't do that. I've been using it since it was released and that's never happened.

It's quite complex and I'm sure it's not for everyone. If it's not for you, don't use it. It's one of the most popular mods of all time, and there's a reason for that.

[JonaO703]

@Psychotps I certainly respect your opinion.  The complex workings of MCCC is exactly what I want to caution players about.  As I said in my OP, I didn't actually change any of the population settings when I added it.  I've been playing with other mods for a while and this is the first time I've had sims vanish. I can't say for sure that MCCC did that but it's the only thing I've changed recently.  The only thing I used MCCC for was to freeze physique and cheat pregnancy terms. At any rate, I agree that it can be very useful for a lot of different things.  I also agree that it is quite complex and users should be cautious in using it, especially when they don't know exactly what the effects are.  Aside from venting some personal frustrations with the mod's changes ;-) that was the main intent of my post. 

[Psychotps]

@JonaO703

Hey, I understand. Noone should just jump right into ANY mod without knowing what it does and how it works. I just cautioned in another post about the dish washing mod, THAT caused more than a few frowns on my forehead before I figured that out.

MCCC just has the ability to cause quite a few weird things happening if its not set up right. When I was playing with the settings in the beginning, I set the parameters wrong and my entire world was aging, marrying, and dying so fast, I couldn't keep up. I was just like ... "Hookayyyy.... Moderation is the key here..."

I certainly wouldn't recommend testing a new mod, ANY new mod; on one of your older, long-term worlds. I have garbage saves for that. I'm testing a new mod right now... (one that I can't mention here...) and I'm staying the heck away from my long-term saves until I can decide whether to keep it or not.

[Trismagistos]

 @Psychotps I certainly and totally agree with you on this issue. Never try mods on long played saves! I also use MCCC but only to correct the issues I want to be corrected or altered. And yes it took a long time before I understood the workings of this mod in depth.

@Jona0703 EA always stated that using mods is at your own risk. That really means what is says: AT YOUR OWN RISK! Mods and cc can be nice and fun to use! But, every time there is a patchupdate, most of these mods need to be replaced by newer versions. May be this should be stated on the makers pages too.

Helpers here see a lot of players downloading tons of mods and cc because some youtubers use them too. As a matter of fact we see all the problems these mods and cc can cause. So it is good that you want to caution players. But you, yourself was also cautioned by EA. All in all lessons learned. We learn every day.

Have fun playing. 😉

[JonaO703]

@Trismagistos There's no need to yell.  The first thing I said was I know I use mods at my own risk.  Thanks for the reply, though.

I'm here for help with issues and I appreciate everyone here working to help everyone's experience better.  I also want to help other players if I can.  When I was researching the mod, I found tons of articles singing the praises but nothing about the complex nature and potential risks.  The point of my post is a cautionary tale that perhaps other players will see and understand they shouldn't just add it to their game without understanding what it can do.  I'm not saying folks shouldn't use MCCC.  I'm saying players should go in with eyes wide open and pay attention to the settings they're changing through the mod because of the damage it can do to their game.

[Trismagistos]

@JonaO703  I am sorry if you understood the emphasis on: 'at you own risk' as yelling. I did not mean it that way. Anyhow, with or without MCCC

have fun playing. 😉

[JonaO703]

@Trismagistos All caps and an exclamation point ... how could I possibly mistake that for yelling?