I opened an account on Origin and registered the Ultimate Collection when it as being given away free with no questions asked -- May 2014 I think it was. It was free, and there was no reason not to take it. It's an insurance policy in case I ever need it. But in practice I haven't logged on to Origin since.

For a number of reasons, I really have to use my disks. The most important of these is that attempting to run any EP beyond OFB would be likely to burn out my on-board graphics chip, and hence my motherboard. Besides that, I really don't want to add all the EPs at once, I have (and like) some mods which I believe were never updated for all EPs, and anyway I like my current configuration. Plus I like using AGS to build base-game compatible lots.

I do hope, if I ever do need to install the UC, that I can remember how to get into Origin. I can't even remember my Origin ID. I know I couldn't get "AndrewGloria" -- it was taken already -- presumably by a couple of Real Life gamers called Andrew and Gloria. I had to use "AndrewGloriaSims", or was it "AndrewGloriaSims2", or "AndrewGloria-Sims", or even "Sims2-AndrewGloria"? I suppose, even if the worst came to the worst, it didn't cost me anything. One thing I'm quite sure of though: the Real Life Andrew and Gloria can't be nearly as nice as my Sims! :lovestruc

I have a laptop with all of the games installed on it from physical discs, but over the years I've lent so many discs away that I don't have the collection I used to. Eventually when I got a new laptop and didn't want to go through the hassle of re-purchasing all the discs again, I talked with a very helpful person over at EA and was given a code to use the UC online at no cost to me. He didn't even ask for any verification that I had had the games in the first place, so I guess I could have been lying about my experience for all he cared. But! Now I play the UC all the time, and having the option to just 'Repair' away a lot of the major hiccups I may or may not do to my game's file is such a relief. It's awesome.

Honestly I got the UC as soon as they released with the free code. Initially I was a bit upset because I couldn't get why everyone with an Origin ID could get a game with more than 10 add-ons for free while for years I have been buying them one by one and spend a fortune... but then I realized how convenient was for me, first because of the college and later because I moved to the UK. I mean, I'm using the same laptop I bought 3 years ago, but if something happens or I decide to buy a new one I don't need to come back to my hometown and wait hours to install the game.
Plus, for as much as I hate Origin, I kinda of have a bypass for it, so at least it doesn't bother me.

I have both UC and most of the cds. Windows 8.1 also decided that my discs should no longer work which was rally sad. So I figured that I'd give UC a try since it had the content of the several expansions and stuff packs that I didn't own (and couldn't buy for a reasonable price), and that it seemed to have been workong well for most. With Win 10 I just decided to install it because I liked having a complete game. Of course I have the thing that skips the origin log in cos nobody has time for that. The worst part is that it takes so long to install, or maybe it just feels longer cos I don't get to crack open any of the cases that the game comes in

I could use the discs on the other computer that I have, but I don't play the game often enough to need to have it on two different computers.

I missed the UC when it was available on Origin. I wasn't even playing sims at that time. But once my sister got sims 3 and had me playing, I started finding sims 2 at the thrift store for no more then $5 a piece. So now I have almost everything, and even 2 AL disks. I do wish I could have it on Origin, just because I don't see taking all my disks with me to college, but I'll live. :D

GothicGorilla, you should try to get in contact with someone from tech support at EA about the UC. I got mine well after the promotion for the UC was taken down. I just told the guy I owned all of the discs anyways, and just wanted access to it, and he just sent me the download code, no questions asked.

I play on disks, on an installation that I had before I ever got the game on Origin. I got the UC when there was a promotion for it as a backup in case I couldn't ever use my disks for some reason, but I wasn't going to uninstall and reinstall to use it.

I actually might end up using it soon though- I'm considering switching my Sims 2 game to my main computer (which has all my other Sims games- 1, 3, and 4) and I'm not sure that I want to go through the hassle of installing disks on Windows 8 again. And since everyone is saying that the Origin install is much faster...... well, I have a few things to think about I suppose

I lost my disks ages ago while moving, so the UC promotion was a heaven-sent. Before the UC I ddin't actually have all the stuff packs, so there was some new things for me in there. Though i don't quite understand why they ddidn't include the various promotional and store items into it. Probably laziness from the side of EA.

The UC gave me nothing but problems in my case... more lag, crashing, and bugs. I use my old discs (I own all the EPs/SPs anyway), they're a pain to install but they work a lot better for me. I think it's just my shitty old laptop acting weird.

I just started The Sims 2 last year. The game store that I hang out at had The Sims 2 with all EPs and SPs so I bought all of them. I didn't register the game because I don't want to create an Origin account.

I never bought all the EPs on disk, just a few, so UC is fabulous for me. Very easy and there if I need to switch computers. My current laptop doesn't even have a disc drive.

I've got it and have been playing it for a few days while I'm sick and intend to continue using it as a second game option when I'm not playing my hevily Modded TS3 games.I've lready had to Mod TS2 quite heavily as I needed a lot visitor controller to fix the fighting on community lots and I don't get those brawls anymore though the set hour cheat is no longer working so I use a time freezer clock to replace that for making my sims static while letting the day progress to the hour when they left for home.I've been having a lot of fun with it.

I have UC, and I have the disks. I use UC to play on my new desktop. My internet is rock-solid reliable, but so far my (fully-updated) UC has only tried to "phone home" once, which from what I hear has to be a technical glitch since I don't think I did anything specifically to prevent that.

I signed up to the UC offer two-and-a-half years before installing it, because I opted to wait until I had a new computer to use it. When I figure out how to fix my old computer, I will use the disks to play Sims 2 on that.

Has anybody actually experienced problems when their internet goes out while they are playing the UC?

Because there's one specific time of the day, when my internet suddenly shuts off for like a couple minutes and then switches back on. Most of the time I only notice it because my browser suddenly opens to my starting page when the internet comes back on again. I definitely have played Sims 2 UC while this has happened before (it happens during the time when I'm usually playing) and I have never noticed it affecting the game. The only time my game gets cranky is when I leave it minimized for an extended amount of time (really extended, we are talking hours) while doing other things and then think I can just continue playing. Or when I accidentally open another game because I forgot that I had Sims minimized...

Can't say for others, but I've yet to have any problems running UC without internet.


I hate when that happens! TS2 uses barely any system resources to run. I could launch another different game and not notice TS2 was still running. I have before actually. Played a game of CIV6 and TS2 simultaneously. TS2 only used 700MB of VRAM and 2GB of ram. So tiny in comparison to modern games.

Even on my ten-year-old-machine. My friend once asked me to test his Minecraft server connectivity when I was in TS2. I actually had both games running for a few minutes, though I wouldn't actually try to play it.

Nope, mine plays entirely offline

As far as I'm aware, even fully-updated, regularly-behaving copies of UC that demand Origin login every time only "phone home" at the start of a gaming session (e.g. at the point the login is submitted), not at other times. So once that first splash screen appears after logon, the internet could be down all day without issue (assuming The Sims 2 is left on consistently and the computer doesn't go into outright hibernation or anything like that).

If your internet went down immediately after you pressed the "Login" button, that would probably be another matter, but since the game proper wouldn't have started loading, no harm would come to the game - you'd simply need to try again after you got the internet back.

I made Origin account just for getting UC(but eventually downloaded some more freebies since that), only installed it after several years(I got - assembled - a new desktop last year).

For a long time I have all the disks up to Seasons so my Seasons disk is pretty scratched up =)) I didn't want that to happen to the latter expansions so I just went with UC and have them tucked safely in my games box

You don't need to run Origin to launch the UC--unless they've changed something recently. I never use Origin. Our internet's too slow for online games, when it works. My husband and sons complain because they want to play the new Blizzard games and those require a fast internet collection, and that just isn't happening. I guess Flyover Country is not the game companies' market--but that's okay. The men can shoot each other all day in UT 2004, so we'll just keep on enjoying our wildlife and fresh eggs and real tomatoes . . . Did you know wild turkeys' self-image is bigger than my van? At least deer eventually get out of the way when you honk at them, the gobblers display and challenge the van. Crazy birds! Pretty, though.

I use the UC! It was actually my first Sims 2 experience!

I recently brought back Win7 and installed the disks again. I have the UC. I grabbed it when it was available on Origin. I've never installed it though. The main reason is I make stuff (a lot) and want to be able to make and test with AGS.

@maxon - Numenor came back and made a version of AGS that only works with the Ultimate Collection.
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=604873

Yes, that's right but you can't exclude M&G with that - not so useful when you want to test Base Game only or Nightlife only or whatever.