simply simming

Back in 2023, @hugelunatic-deactivated20260510 gave @simnostalgia shit for archiving/scraping GoS “just in case,” citing concerns over scraping, bandwidth, and preservation itself.

Now GoS and Sims2Artists are suddenly gone, and people are left scrambling through remnants, mirrors, and whatever archives survived.

That is exactly why preservation matters.

You cannot discourage archival efforts and then act surprised when people are upset that massive parts of Sims 2 history vanished with little warning. You also cannot get angry over backlash when there was never any clear, direct communication to the wider community.

People were explicitly told that if GoS was truly at risk of going down, there would be an announcement.

No real community-wide warning was ever given.

And honestly, this is where the messaging becomes incredibly frustrating.

We were told:

hosting costs were manageable,

the site was not going anywhere as long as ads/donations covered most costs,

out-of-pocket expenses were still within budget,

scraping was mainly an issue because it increased bandwidth/server load,

“if I were not willing/able to continue, then there would be an announcement,”

and later posts even made it sound like things were functioning again after the PHP fixes.

Most people interpreted that as stability returning.

So yes, people are understandably confused and frustrated now, because the messaging for years was essentially: “Things are annoying, but manageable.”

Not: “Hey. This is serious. Archive what you can now. I may be done.”

And no, buried technical posts about PHP upgrades and drive failures are not the same thing as directly communicating that to the wider community.

I literally had to use archived Tumblr pages just to reconstruct the timeline before speaking on this.

And honestly, we are lucky @simnostalgia even had the foresight to preserve as much as they did back in 2023, because otherwise even more would likely be gone forever or nearly impossible to piece back together. But that archive is still missing huge amounts of resources, attachments, images, updates, and years of content added afterward.

What makes this even more frustrating is that @simnostalgia received backlash for trying to preserve the site in the first place. At this point, I honestly hope they feel vindicated, because this situation is exactly why archival efforts matter.

Look at this donut display. You know you wanna it.

Conversion of a few itens by 9sims, with most of its recolors.

If I'm not mistaken, the bread industrial shelf is a 3t4 conversion, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has already converted it.

I made these conversions and decided to share :). Its a small set with tree itens: an chair by pixel vibes (high poly) and the (very cute) suculent pot and rug by neriney

One installer. Every essential fix, mod, and tool for The Sims 2, set up for you in a few clicks.

I got tired of hunting down the same "must-have" fixes every time I reinstalled The Sims 2 (to the point where it has kept me from playing), so I made a tool that does it for you! 🥳 You choose the fixes, mods, and tools you want, click through, and it installs them all — with automatic backups and a built-in undo, so nothing is permanent and nothing gets lost.

It works with both the 2025 Legacy Collection (Steam and EA App) and the older Ultimate Collection.

⚠️ One heads-up: I only own Legacy (on Steam) and the Ultimate Collection, so I haven't been able to test the EA App or Epic versions of the Legacy Collection myself. They should work, but if you run into any issues on those, please let me know and I'll push out a fix!

Most importantly, none of this content is mine. Every fix, mod, and tool belongs to the creators who made them — I only automate installing them. Full credits and links are in the guide that comes with it. Please go support these people 💜

⬇️ Download: SFS | GitHub

📋 Want to see exactly what's included first? Here's the full list of every mod, fix, and tool, with credits: https://github.com/familyfunds/sims2-essentials-setup-tool/blob/main/GUIDE.md

More details under the cut 👇

City SkyScape Default + Recolors

Adorn your Sims' walls with the cute, ethereal, and/or juicy cats of @apofiss' amazing artwork. Then go adorn your own phone or computer's wallpaper with them!

Available as recolors for City SkyScape, plus a default replacement that uses the first recolor (so delete that if you don't want a duplicate swatch).

Download Default

Download Recolors

I was having some trouble with glare, so if you want the TS2 equivalent of museum glass installed, grab this TXMT replacement.

All Castaway Converted Rocks Repo'd to @fracturedmoonlight's Stone Super Set

I used @freezerbunny-sims2's Obsidian rocks and HugeLunatic's Edits of the Black and Outdoor rocks. I also took all 12 of the various Castaway rock textures and turned them into recolors for the Stone Super Set. One of the Outdoor rocks wasn't showing in the catalog, it's been fixed. I added the Obsidian rocks to the Build Mode Plants -> Garden section so everything's together, they also still show in Deco -> Misc. All of the guids and filenames are the same so you have to pick between these or the originals. Frac's main mesh, the Speedy Sofa, is included

Since MTS doesn’t allow game rips and that I couldn’t find anything of the sort online, I thought I would make it myself. introducing the True Clone System! A way for you to enjoy some of your favorite sims from the Sims 2 elsewhere! I went through all of the neighborhoods, and copied all of the playable sims (bin families and some key characters / some deceased parents too) and made them available to be imported through the custom existing sims. I’ve individualized them through each neighborhood and household to make it easier, or I have a all in one package that has every sim included without having to go through the folders. Sadly these aren’t perfect replicas, their skills and memories will be missing but vanity wise these are 100% accurate (sub outfits included!) I’m sure through means of gameplay, SimPE or mods you could get them back to their former glory if you’re dedicated enough :P

A big thanks to SimPE, as it’s what I used to create this.

 How to install: simply unzip the file of the sim you wish to use into Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\SavedSims (you can’t have folders in the saved sims folder make sure it’s only files of the sims you wish to use)

I’ve also included a small text cheat sheet of what a sim’s zodiac sign and aspiration for easier creation, separated by household and name as well so you didn’t have to have to go on a wild goose chase to find it like I did.

DOWNLOAD (Google Drive) Belladonna Cove Pleasantview Riverblossom Hills Strangetown Veronaville Desiderata Valley Bin Families

I am completely OBSESSED with Cluedo woods and colors, so of course my first recolor project had to be with that palette!

First is 4t2 Greatest Gift Chair, made by heyharrie, converted by me. My wonderful friend @tvickiesims made the chair so that the wood and the fabric are separate subsets! Isn't she awesome?! Must have cep.

Second is 4t2 Around the Sun Table (pictured) and also the Once More Around the Sun (not pictured, it's the same table but 3 tiles), converted by @confidentkiwisims, thank you! If you want to download the original colors from S4, check out her page!

Credits also to Shasta (@shastakiss) for the Cluedo palette!

Download 4t2 Greatest Gift Chair Recolors-SFS

Download 4t2 Around the Sun Table Recolors-SFS

Set:

Arch Window - 1942 polys (master mesh for the windows)

Big Arch Window - 2852 polys

Small Balcony - 3884 polys

Stone Balcony - 7677 polys

Big Balcony - 8394 polys

Both windows have 1tile and 2tile versions. Collection file included.

A day later..

Yup, it all looks good. I think it’s ready for release. So at the request of Prah, here’s some random things pulled from some rabbit holes.

The coffee shop sign is from EP09 and the warehouse sign is from EP07. Although I miss and labeled them BG by accident. The rest of the meshes I pulled from the base game science facility. The main radio tower is four stories high! (you can see in the second picture) I used Honeywells signs as a base for the Cog Wheel and warehouse signs. The Coffee shop sign I cloned from the base game clothing shop sign.

Oh and Happy New Year’s!

Stanislav’s Retro TV’s 3t2

Download BG version / Download AL version

Keep Me Clean Outdoor Shower

Download (requires University) / LJ post

Bohemian Garden 3t2

Download / LJ post

The lovely SerenityFall/Rented-Space was my valentines date over at Garden of Shadows.

ZeusSims converted more items from the EA Store Farm Fresh Folk set here:

Comics Book Store set from the Sims 3 University.

The bookcase is working as a bookcase. The rest is deco: cutouts; collectible toy; display case; store sign.

Sims 2 Castaway gave us lots of nice objects - like these lights, extracted by DevilsRope (?). My edits use reddish flame and soft amber light. I’ve also enabled two subsets where it was possible.

🌴 CS Lights Revised

✦ Download (SFS)

*Lamps are located in Lighting/Outdoor and Lighting/Misc (!)

*Reddish candle light from IKEA SP was used, so this EP is required by all but two fence lamps and wall sconce. Details included. If you’d like to edit light settings, here’s a mini-tutorial.

You can get CS stuff from various places, here is all of it, rounded up by @meetmetotheriver​  - please note they’ve recategorized some of the objects.

*Also check out: these add-ons and recolors