I went on MTS today to check the latest downloads for TS3, and found CmarNYC's new "hairinator."  I'm fucking thrilled.  As soon as I saw body hair in-game, I was fucking thrilled!  Not only is EA reducing our need to have a shitton of custom skins and sliders in order to successfully create diverse characters, but some of these new features since base game are incredibly useful for things other than what they were originally created.  Tattoos, breast sliders, and now body hair?  They're all things that the community wanted and were then implemented into the game.  EA's probably thinking "well shit, why didn't we think of that?"  They did.  They thought of all of these things long ago, but in order to keep the interest of every simmer, they are releasing them over time.  Ambitions, Late Night, Generations--they all included a new element that was a huge deal to simmers and creators.  EA's not stupid.  They know how to sell a game to every audience.  They include new building features (basements, elevators, spiral staircases, curved pools, laundry, hot tubs...) for the "architects", new CAS features for the "modelers", and new gameplay for those who just want to have fun.  Win-win situation--we get new features, they get more money.

But EA also knows that we don't just use what they give us and that it literally.  They know that we will always go above and beyond.  Body hair is a great new tool that, similarly to tattoos, can be exploited to add more personalization.  Body freckles no longer need to be accessories applied to every outfit.  Fantasy players can add spots, stripes, and all sorts of other things that aren't size-based like tattoos.  And, for robokitty's old accessory tattoos, they can be added without disappearing when your sims go skinny dipping.

EA has gotten to the point where they don't give us a whole bunch of new items.  They know we can make clothes, tats, makeup, etc., by ourselves.  What they concentrate on are relatively simple things to add to the game that would be difficult for just modders--but things that we still get very excited over.

Those tricksy EAxians.

I am a college student, and have some homework for an art course I'm taking (despite being a biochemistry major), but instead I am messing with my Sims game.  I often find that for every hour I play, I spend two more out-of-game messing with my files.  Sigh.

Working on my hacks right now.  Generations has been out less than a week, but I already have it and am attempting to work out the bugs.  I have an ungodly amount of hacks, usually surrounding simple things that annoy me.  And, per the usual, I am about to back up my HAXXX folder and go through MTS for the latest versions of all the mods I "need."  I do not use AM as of now, but I will probably go over to MATY and look at what Pescado's got going on for Generations.  (I hear it's already updated in beta.  Damn that guy is a beast.)

Below is a list of Hacks and Mods I find incredibly useful (no links--JFGI)

• Queue Fits 20 Interactions
• No Autonomous (insert every goddamn annoying thing ever)
• Mummy/Ghost/Simbot Reaction Remover
• Wire House w/Speakers - Sims Sleep
• Tiny Texture Replacers (MTS creator HystericalParoxysm)
• Reduced Curfew (MTS creator whiterider)
• Power Study/Athletic Environment x3
• No Pregnancy Chime (MTS creator jonha)
• No Gender Bias/Multiples Bias
• More Money for CAS Famblies
• Vampire Overhaul (MTS creator sHoNi)
• Free Your Klepto

+ many more.  Not all my mods make the game easier.  Some raise the price of the repairman, put closing hours on the bookstore, make book club more expensive, etc.