The Sims 2 is an impressive game on its own. But, here's how to download content or characters to improve the experience!
Step 1
Find a website that has complete sims available for download and find a sim you'd like to download.
Step 2
Click on the link for the object. A dialog box will come up asking if you want to Open, Save or Cancel. Hit Save and save it to your desktop for now.
Step 3
Right click on the object on the desktop and click "properties." In the box, there should be something telling you what type of file it is. It will either be .rar or .zip. This file type is a compressed version of the actual file, so it's quicker to download.
Step 4
Extract (or uncompress) the file.
- If you don't have a program to do this, you will need to download one. WinRar or 7Zip is good for Windows or Stuffit if you're on a Mac.
- Right click on the file to extract it.
Step 5
Put the file(s) you extracted into your Downloads folder.
- If you have a Windows XP, your Downloads folder is: Documents and Settings\(Current User Account)\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads
- If you have a Mac, the Downloads folder is: Users\(Current User Account)\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads
- If you have Windows Vista, the Downloads folder is: Users\(Current User Account)\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads
- If you don't have a downloads folder where it should be, simply make one. Remember, it has to be a capital D and end with an s.
Step 6
Check the file type of the thing you downloaded should be a Sims2Pack. So, just click on it twice to start the installation to your game.
Step 7
When you go to the Create-A-Sim page, your new sim will appear under the saved sims icon.
Tips
- Make sure you have the right gender and age for your sim selected before you look for your sim in the Saved Sims page.
- Check to make sure you have the expansion packs required for the download. If you don't have all of them, some of the content you like with the sim might not be available.
- If hair or clothing is part of the sim, check to see if it is a new mesh (3D model) or if one is required. There will usually be a link to the mesh if it isn't included. You must have the mesh for the object to show up in your game.
- If you plan on downloading a bunch of things, you may want to organize your downloads into subfolders. Create new folders for each new object and it's recolors and then organize those folders in more general folders such as "Floors" or "Hair."
- If your Sims 2 custom content files are taking up a large amount of space on your computer, try using Sims2Pack Clean Installer to find and delete duplicate files. You'd be surprised at how many you may find.
- When you download clothes, objects and hair, Delphy's Download Organizer might help you figure out why things aren't showing up in your game by finding objects without meshes or meshes without recolors.
- If you find that you don't want to use all the parts of a sim in your game (for example, let's say you just like the sim's hair or makeup), you may want to get Sims2Pack Clean Installer. It allows you to choose what you want to install.
- If it's .PACKAGE file, it's not a complete sim, just a part of them.
- If it's .JPG, .GIF, .PNG or some other file like that, it's probably just a picture to help remind you what object it is. You can delete this if you want.
- If it's a .txt file, it's probably the creator's guidelines for what can and can't happen with their downloads. You can delete this if you want, but it's good to hang on to.
