I know what you're probably thinking: why? Why on earth would anyone want to play the game without using a mouse?

Well, recently I've noticed some hand/wrist pains that I'm assuming are from using a mouse way too much, to play The Sims 2 way too much. So, I thought perhaps it was time to change things up a bit and switch to a different interface.

I downloaded a program called Xpadder that allows assigning mouse and keyboard commands to a gamepad. Then I assigned most of the hotkeys in TS2 to the gamepad buttons (and one joystick for the mouse).

I expected it to be pretty terrible, but it actually worked okay, and I was surprised at how it changed my playing style. It really gave the game a very different feel. The only real problem was clicking on the smallest icons, since the joystick isn't as precise as a mouse. Also, it doesn't work so great for building stuff, but for just playing, it's mostly good.

So, I'm curious: has anyone else tried this?

The image below shows how I set up the various keys on the gamepad. I found I didn't need the right mouse button much, so I assigned it to the tiny select button. For rotating the camera, I hold down the left trigger while moving the "mouse stick". The left stick pans the camera around, which is extremely useful.

Haha, that's pretty clever. Personally I'd probably find it annoying though. What kind of gamepad is that?

True, it can be a bit annoying. Luckily, the pause button is conveniently located, so if I need to click on some tricky thing I can just pause first.

The gamepad I have is made by Philips, but the one in the photo is a Logitech. Pretty standard "dual analog" style; same as the XBox 360 or Playstation 3.

ive played the sims 2 with a gamepad... my ps2 sims 2 lol.

Dood this is awesome

No, I haven't tried playing the PC version of TS2 with a gamepad/controller, but there is a mod for TS3 that allows you to basically directly control your sim to move around like you would on the console version of TS2 or TS2 Pets. I wonder how that would work with a gamepad/controller. 🤔

TBH, though, the less 'equipment' I need to play a PC Sims game, the better. I had to purchase a controller (which was really affordable) just to start playing all 12 mainline Tomb Raider games on PC, as I'm not used to playing them with mouse and keyboard. (Finished Tomb Raiders 1 and 2 Remastered, as well as their bonus levels/DLCs. Now I'm on Tomb Raider 3. )

@mialikescats I can't believe you resurrected a fifteen year old thread just to post 'dood this is awesome'

OMG! I didn't even notice the date! 😂🙈🤦‍♂️

Tbh I was trying to save it to come back to later on my other laptop hahaha straight up did not realize it would bump it up and everyone would see me 😂😂😂😭😭

No worries, I don't think there are many people like me who read everything that's posted here (most just subscribe to a few threads). It made me laugh!