Seeking a learned opinion...

[Talismana]

I realize that there have probably been any number of posts relating to this topic, but I have been presented with so many differing answers, and it's all a little multi-faceted, so I'm left thoroughly stumped and confused...ergo why I'm here, dropping it in the lap of those I consider most likely to make the proper call. I apologize if you've heard this all before, but I wanted to get it right and avoid as many headaches as possible.

I've been playing the base game for several years now and am, finally, upgrading my PC and will be moving my game to my new HD. Afterward, I'll add all EPs up to Seasons, no stuff packs.

I've heard differing opinions, and a great many warnings, especially about the Pets patch, and others...what I need to know is whether or not I Should patch my game, and/or if there are certain patches I can, and should, skip alltogether (just so you know, but for a handful, I'll be using all of the Director's Cut, if that makes any difference).

If this was your new PC, what would you do?

Thank you for any insight you can offer.

[KatEnigma]

It was my new PC just a few weeks ago.

The game will force you to update the base game, Pets, and Seasons, IIRC. I know it definitely made me update Pets. I just let it go, and then updated BV before installing FT. I'm not having any problems with my game that everyone else isn't having, and fewer than quite a few.

[LFox]

The patch issue is very iffy.  Personally i reinstalled the sims a month or so ago on my new computer when i did i installed every patch up to pets.  After that patches get worse they start breaking more than they fix and to ME it seemed like it was too much risk because i never had those patches before and i never had bugs.  I figured i'd get more bugs by updating the game with their buggy patches than leaving the base.  It's all a matter of opinion but i think as it stands now anything after pets i'd rather not update for the time being.

[cwykes]

I'd say patch.   Important stuff is fixed in the patches and I think Pescado's fixes assume you patched. 

[Emma]

I completely reinstalled when I got Freetime and installed all patches after installing each EP. I haven't had any major problems so far.

[Talismana]

Thanks to all who've responded so far. It's truly helping make the decision process easier.

wykes - your observation re Pescado's mods may very well prove to be what tips the scales. It's something that hadn't occured to me and an excellent point.

Again, thanks everyone for taking a moment to weigh in, it's appreciated.

[Nec]

I have patched all of them (except Uni), which has worked well for me. I think NL fixed everything the Uni patch offers.

[cwykes]

wykes - your observation re Pescado's mods may very well prove to be what tips the scales. It's something that hadn't occured to me and an excellent point.

Well that's the assumption I'm working on.  Doesn't mean I'm right!

[Lum]

Speaking of updates, is it finally save to install the second BV patch? That is, the latest one that doesn't come with Free Time? I have no intention of arring FT until it has been awesomized, but I'm curious about the patch. My game has always run pretty well, but I'm getting paranoid in my neighborhood's old age (4th gen and counting.)

[Nec]

Speaking of updates, is it finally save to install the second BV patch? That is, the latest one that doesn't come with Free Time? I have no intention of arring FT until it has been awesomized, but I'm curious about the patch. My game has always run pretty well, but I'm getting paranoid in my neighborhood's old age (4th gen and counting.)

Yes, BVp2 is safe, just install it right before you install FT. FT is Awesomized...you didn't know?

[Lum]

Yes, BVp2 is safe, just install it right before you install FT. FT is Awesomized...you didn't know?

I know there are bugs still getting worked out. I think I'll wait a few weeks. I suspect that EAMaxis is cooking up a patch already, because if I'm interpreting the FT bug thread correctly, there's some serious shit going on.

[ZiggyDoodle]

I haven't patched since the infamy of the Petz patch (which I ditched).  Pescado's fixes work better than patches.  Do have Seasons and BV, which both run fine.  No problems with the awesome mods I'm running.  I do not have FT.  I'm not even sure I want EP7.  Of late I don't have much time to play and after reading the threads here about FT, I figure I can do without the new EAxis cooties.  At least until my curiosity gets the best of my better judgment.

[Lum]

Never had Petz, for which I am forever thankful. Unleashed was the worst thing that ever happened to me back at Sims 1. Still, I did the BV patch, updated my hacks and everything's working out ok. I may never get FT; too broken and my comp has enough garbage as it is.

[Lord Darcy]

I'd second patching, as El Presidente himself approved of it.

The official patches are expected, except where specifically proscribed. No patch presently has the status of FUBAR at the moment. If you deliberately choose not to patch for some reason, you may have to consult the Scrapyard for fixes rendered obsolete by the patch.

There were two Pets patches. The first one was FUBAR, the one that came afterwards worked better, IIRC.

The fucked-up first Pets patch is now gone, so that issue is moot.

[jolrei]

I did not patch BV while playing BV.  Awesome hacks generally dealt with the broken stuff, probably better than the patch did.

I play with Base, uni, NL, OFB, BV and now FT.

When I installed FT, I installed BVp2, as I didn't want to risk a stalled install.  I installed the FT director's cut and have had no noticeable problems when running with hacks installed.

As to not installing FT because of glitches, I would note that all recent TS2 EPs have had their share of bugs.  The director's cut is currently handling most if not all bugs in my game.

[Sivany]

I don't think I've patched since sometime before Pets, although when I installed FT it did say "you're installation is already up to date." I thought that was a check to see if you had the latest patches, but either it isn't or the game got it wrong because it's so long since I downloaded a patch I can't even remember which one it was.

I've never had a major bug or problem with my game, and hardly any minor ones. The only real problem I remember having was due to an un-updated hack, which obviously has nothing to do with the patches.

[Lyra]

I'm confused as to whether the updater after you install checks if you have the patches or not. For me, it installs something after the base game but then nothing with every subsequent EP. Do I have to patch separately, and will installing them after FT fubar my game?

[mildlydisguised]

I thought that the updater checked that the base game was patched and that was all.  I reinstalled all EPs about a month ago and the updater indicated I was up to date on all occasions despite the fact that I haven't patched anything.

[cwykes]

That could mean your game is up to date because the updater has just patched it. 

[mildlydisguised]

I guess so, although I thought EAxis didn't include the patches for previous EPs in case not all EPs were installed.  I certainly haven't noticed the updater attempted to patch after assessing which expansions I have.

[Emma]

When I reinstalled just last week, after each EP the 'updater' checked to see if the game was patched. It said it was, but I then installed the Official Site patches after each relevant EP (and SP) the all installed without saying 'The Sims 2 Is Already Up To Date' or words to that effect. AFAIK, I installed them all in the correct order (of release), so I think you do need to patch with the official patches. I would recommend you do anyway. It is very rare I have problems with my game, and if I do it is either because I have hack conflicts or CC problems. The only real trouble I have ever had was the randomly spawning Maple Trees.

[Tchan]

I thought that the games included the prior patches? Maybe I was wrong, but that's what I thought. I missed one patch at some time, one of the first versions of Uni or NL or something that fixed something I couldn't fix otherwise, and the following game patched it for me.

[Emma]

I think only University includes the first patch.

[jolrei]

Emma:  Why did you have to do a full reinstall?

[Emma]

I didn't have to, I wanted to. Since using the Numenorean basegame/anygamestarters, the simolean sign was following the cash amount instead of being in front of it ( 100§ instead of §100 ) It annoyed the crap out of me. Even uninstalling the 'starters' or installing FT didn't fix it, so I uninstalled-reinstalled.