Maxis-match here! Especially for the Sims themselves. 🙂 A huge part of the attraction to TS2 for me is the gameplay itself, and I feel like the Sims’ expressions and animations translate better with Maxis-match cc as opposed to realistic. However, I love seeing people use realistic cc in photoshoots – sometimes I have trouble telling if it’s a Sim or a real person!
As for buy/build stuff, I’ve been trying to keep to mostly Maxis-match content, but I make some exceptions. :3 Some of my lots have a lot of cc to make them look more realistic or lived-in, but I’m trying to keep to cleaner/simpler textures to make my game more cohesive and Maxis-matchy overall. 🙂
I feel like there’s a lot of work that goes into making a realistic neighborhood. The vanilla game is pretty cartoony, and it can be a bit jarring to have realistic Sims walking around in a bright or cartoony neighborhood. (That’s how I used to play. :P) If you have the dedication to download the right build/buy content or install terrain/road replacements and mods, etc., to make a realistic hood, I’m sure the payoff is tremendous. For me, it’s all about creating a completely immersive experience, and I definitely don’t have the dedication or discipline to create a realistic/themed hood. (One of the many reasons why my medieval hood remains a pipe dream… *heavy sigh*)
Those are just some of the (more technical) reasons. There’s also the fact that the Maxis-match style just really appeals to me. 😛 I love bright colors and clean lines. And since I went Maxis-match, my downloads folder has been more under control (if you can believe that 14+GB is under control…you should’ve seen it when I had every hairstyle in all of Pooklet’s colors D:).
I hope that sheds some light on it! :3
simper fi 