[Greg]

I have a simple answer to the complex question of why I have the Testing Cheats running all the time: I'm used to it.


And, of course, a much more complex answer to the simple question:

At the same time, I have no real incentive to turn them off. Alerts about hiccups in my game are extremely rare, perhaps because early on I noted the offending objects and removed them from my game.

Part of being used to the Testing Cheats is that I'm still learning what I can do with the Insimenator. F'rinstance, I edit the personalities of every sim in my game. (I just can't stand the behavior of slovenly, lazy, or sociopathic sims, so those "features" do not exist in my game.) For a very long time, I always used the Testing Cheats exclusively for that.

Now that I've learned to adjust sims' personalities somewhat efficiently with the Insimenator, I usually use Insim; however, if using the Testing Cheats allowed me to keep some variety in Zodiac signs I wouldn't use the Insimenator at all.

The same is true for adjusting sims' interests. The way Maxis programmed sims reacting to a topic they're not interested in is beyond disgusting. (Can you imagine Sheba sticking Her fingers in Her ears and going "nyaaa, nyaaa, nyaaa" because one of Her children wanted to talk about snails when She wasn't interested in talking about them? Or for that matter, can you imagine any rational human being of any age doing that? Neither can I. It really makes me wonder about the people at Maxis.) So I eliminate that one by having every sim interested in everything. I regret the loss of that element of game play but rejoice mightily in never having to encounter the repulsive behavior that goes with it.

Insim wins when it comes to adjusting interests. Just spawn the Interests Adjuster and chose 100% for everything.

When it comes to tuning up a given sim's current mood, the Testing Cheats win over any hack. If I want to do everybody on the lot at once, I usually use the Multipainting. Insim's multiple menus are kind of clumsy in comparison with the Multipainting and neither is even in the same universe when it comes to the convenience of the Testing Cheats for adjusting the mood states.


There's one scenario where the Insimenator beats all other cheat objects, hands down: Going to an unimproved community lot. The ability to spawn a cheat object while downtown would make it worth the effort to install the Insimenator even if there were no other advantages.