so I finally sat down and actually read what every single MCCC module does instead of just copying settings from a random forum post from 2019. here's what I found out, roughly in the order I got annoyed enough to look them up.
mc_cmd_center — yeah this is the one everything depends on, don't need to explain much here, if this breaks nothing else runs, versions all have to match too or stuff just silently fails and you sit there for an hour wondering why
career stuff is in mc_career. boring but does what it says.
mc_cas though — this one I actually didn't know existed for like two years. controls body part ranges in CAS. so all those townies walking around with arms that look wrong? yeah that's the one you go fix.
cheats module, mc_cheats, probably the most downloaded reason people even get MCCC in the first place honestly, big pile of commands for the world and for individual sims
mc_cleaner does the annoying background stuff. ghosts that are homeless for no reason (why does this even happen), married couples with different last names still, outfit categories you never wanted showing up in CAS. small things but they pile up over time in a long save
clubs get a bit of story progression from mc_clubs, base game clubs otherwise just... sit there doing nothing on their own
mc_control — this one's weird to explain. you basically get to boss around NPCs a little, give them commands like they're your active sim. not full control but more than nothing
wardrobe control is mc_dresser. include/exclude lists for clothing items. sounds like a nothing feature until your sim autonomously puts on something horrible and you go "okay no, fixing this now"
mc_gedcom — niche one, exports family trees to GEDCOM format if you're the type who wants your Sims genealogy in an actual family tree program outside the game. most people probably never touch this
occult stuff, abductions, occult pregnancies, vampire/witch population settings, all under mc_occult
population and pregnancy (mc_population, mc_pregnancy) kind of go together in my head even though they're separate files. population moves homeless sims into empty houses and handles move-in/move-out logic generally. pregnancy lets background sims just... live their lives, get married, have kids, without you touching anything. this is honestly the one that makes a world feel alive instead of frozen
mc_tuner — controls autonomous behavior, the Mean and Mischief stuff specifically, and turns off repetitive actions that get old fast (a sim topping off a drink every three minutes is somehow the most rage inducing thing in this entire game)
automation_scan pairs with tuner basically, lets you actually find what's causing weird autonomous behavior tied to an object or a sim instead of guessing blind
and mc_woohoo, romantic stuff between your controlled sims and everyone else, most other relationship-focused mods build on top of whatever this one's doing under the hood
none of it's required except the core file obviously. I run maybe half of these depending on the save honestly, legacy saves I lean on population/pregnancy/cas, sandbox saves I barely touch those and just live in cheats and control instead
