Discussion in progress: Editing the EAxis Hobby Lots

[J. M. Pescado]

A useful quirk of Macrotastics is that it is able to still access the inventory, and thus you can pull plates from your inventory there. I kept it because it was cool, like sack-lunch. Who GRILLS on random community lots, anyway?

[Inge]

My sims all use the comm lot grills

[louisacoletta]

Is it possible, then,in my new hood, to install my own lot, then change it to secret hobby lot using changelotzoning? without having to deal at all with maxis fugs?

[daisylee]

Is it possible, then,in my new hood, to install my own lot, then change it to secret hobby lot using changelotzoning? without having to deal at all with maxis fugs?

I tried to build one from scratch and was not able to do it. When I used the change zoning cheat the lot could not be saved. When I changed it back to a community lot I was able to save it. I am just guessing that it is like the s societies and that a new one cannot be built with one already in the hood. (There may be a max for FT?)

But seeing as how the game dumps the lots in the hood automatically at loading even if the lots have been removed once (which I did), I can't figure  out how to make a new one.

Aaargh! 

I have not played with swapping in and out  program files, but imagine that if the hobby subhood creation mechanism is removed that would also remove the capability of making a hobby lot. I may experiment later.  We need a No Hobby Lot Respawn Hack! 

[jolrei]

My sims all use the comm lot grills

So do mine, but mainly because I keep forgetting about the sack lunch options.

[Zazazu]

Is it possible, then,in my new hood, to install my own lot, then change it to secret hobby lot using changelotzoning? without having to deal at all with maxis fugs?

I tried to build one from scratch and was not able to do it. When I used the change zoning cheat the lot could not be saved. When I changed it back to a community lot I was able to save it. I am just guessing that it is like the s societies and that a new one cannot be built with one already in the hood. (There may be a max for FT?)

Theoretically, yes, you can, using JM's method. The secrethobbylot cheat doesn't specify what type, which is why the cheat itself is near useless. Takes a bit more work in the beginning, and I'm not sure how nicely it will play if you have existing hobby lots. Probably would be fine. I have bits of ideas. Just need to pound them into place. You'd have to save it as a residential and then change it back to secrethobbylot via SimPE. That portion should be the same as my method.

I'll try it tonight on a fresh custom 'hood and, if I have time, on Prospect Beach (since it already has the secret lots. I had to do Phase 3 of the build for my Nature lot, since building it bit-by-bit is part of my 'hood's story, and then build a Dreamy Fields (or whatever the name is. Not a fan of how huge they made that lot, considering that there really are only two sports activities that require objects. Built a small soccer field and tennis court (with bleachers) but still had half the lot left over. I miss those hot dog and ice cream stands from the original game.

[louisacoletta]

Is it possible, then,in my new hood, to install my own lot, then change it to secret hobby lot using changelotzoning? without having to deal at all with maxis fugs?

I tried to build one from scratch and was not able to do it. When I used the change zoning cheat the lot could not be saved. When I changed it back to a community lot I was able to save it. I am just guessing that it is like the s societies and that a new one cannot be built with one already in the hood. (There may be a max for FT?)

But seeing as how the game dumps the lots in the hood automatically at loading even if the lots have been removed once (which I did), I can't figure  out how to make a new one.

Aaargh! 

I have not played with swapping in and out  program files, but imagine that if the hobby subhood creation mechanism is removed that would also remove the capability of making a hobby lot. I may experiment later.  We need a No Hobby Lot Respawn Hack! 

Yup. WE do need some sort of hack to prevent the game from creating those hobby lots. Arrgh! I feel like deleting those lot files in F002. But I might just wreck my game. Problem is, I don't want to load my favorite hood for fear of the game spawning those hideous lots.

[edalbformat]

All tutorials and methods pre FT SimPe just confirm that probably this was the worst EP ever made. It will as always take only some weeks before all players are definitively fed-up of all the secrets.
Particularly I'll wait for the final SimPe release and will take all the new objects included and reprogram them to work as additional to the Base Game, that is actually the only thing that is relatively good.
I got a clean F002 and F001, played them and got no problem because I deleted all the characters, being in the root or in the supplied hood before even installing the EP. The folder Lots should never be deleted cause one day or another you will need them.
I don't know anything about secret lot members but I do know that except the Social Worker and Repos, all the other Sims can be contacted. It is only that Sims do not get any memory about them, not even if they do woohoo them. It is like they are the wind, it is there but no really touches it.
Unless EAxis changed this, Social Worker and Repos screw up the game.

[J. M. Pescado]

I tried to build one from scratch and was not able to do it. When I used the change zoning cheat the lot could not be saved. When I changed it back to a community lot I was able to save it. I am just guessing that it is like the s societies and that a new one cannot be built with one already in the hood. (There may be a max for FT?)

Theoretically, yes, you can, using JM's method. The secrethobbylot cheat doesn't specify what type, which is why the cheat itself is near useless. Takes a bit more work in the beginning, and I'm not sure how nicely it will play if you have existing hobby lots. Probably would be fine. I have bits of ideas. Just need to pound them into place. You'd have to save it as a residential and then change it back to secrethobbylot via SimPE. That portion should be the same as my method.[/quote]
SimPE will not be required to perform any touch-ups afterwards, since the changes to the lotdescriptor will only occur inside the Stubhood and don't appear to impact the Real Hobby Hood.

[Zazazu]

So without a sim on-lot, you can save the lot while set as secrethobbylot? Nice. Logical, but not expected.

[louisacoletta]

I tried to build one from scratch and was not able to do it. When I used the change zoning cheat the lot could not be saved. When I changed it back to a community lot I was able to save it. I am just guessing that it is like the s societies and that a new one cannot be built with one already in the hood. (There may be a max for FT?)

Theoretically, yes, you can, using JM's method. The secrethobbylot cheat doesn't specify what type, which is why the cheat itself is near useless. Takes a bit more work in the beginning, and I'm not sure how nicely it will play if you have existing hobby lots. Probably would be fine. I have bits of ideas. Just need to pound them into place. You'd have to save it as a residential and then change it back to secrethobbylot via SimPE. That portion should be the same as my method.

SimPE will not be required to perform any touch-ups afterwards, since the changes to the lotdescriptor will only occur inside the Stubhood and don't appear to impact the Real Hobby Hood.
[/quote]

So without a sim on-lot, you can save the lot while set as secrethobbylot? Nice. Logical, but not expected.

In  English for non-awesomes like me, please? Is Zazazu's technique the way to go? Can Pescado please clarify?

[Zazazu]

Pescado's is better, but I'm researching a bit more regarding what all needs to be cleaned up before posting changes. I got sidetracked a bit trying to do something shinier (and potentially easier), which is about 90% to working.

[daisylee]

I am really looking forward to getting more information regarding this as the current lots are awful.

As noted, it seemed strange when I was trying to build one that there was only the one cheat code.  I was not sure if the type of objects on the lot triggered the designation for the hobby type and to generate the correct expert ... or what.

It makes sense that the designation has to be programmed into the lot via SimPe.

 

[SnootCB]

Would this be an acceptable method for changing the BV secret vacation lots?

[Zazazu]

Couple things:

1. You can't set the lot type to the one it needs to be (Unknown .....X07) in the lot description, at least in plug-in view, in SimPE. If we could, I suspect things would be much easier.

2. I've been trying to turn a random community lot into a hobby lot using a mish-mash of my current method, but sans using a sim visitor in the process (therefore eliminating the messy bit of having a bit of sim data saved on the lot). It's not working. Changing all of what I call the "U values", or the dimensional references, isn't working. At best, I can get the lot to show for a member sim under Hobbies and not at all for a non-member sim. I can have them walk to the lot, but the lot never loads.

I spent a good bit of my day off yesterday fanangling with this, but burnt out.

Snoot, can you not use the loadlot cheat to get to the secret vacation lots?

[SnootCB]

Snoot, can you not use the loadlot cheat to get to the secret vacation lots?

Nope.  I have tried that several times, but nothing happens.  I think I must be doing something wrong, which I posted here, but I never got an answer.  Meh.  I eventually gave up out of frustration.

[Menaceman]

I truely hope this gets worked out in the end. I don't hate the hobby lots really but I do hate the fact that EA screwed up the My Muse II Arts Studio lot so that the showers cannot be used and my Sim gets attacked by other Sims wanting to "Talk Through" the teddies.

[sloppyhousewife]

I truely hope this gets worked out in the end. I don't hate the hoddy lots really but I do hate the fact that EA screwed up the My Muse II Arts Studio lot so that the showers cannot be used and my Sim gets attacked by other Sims wanting to "Talk Through" the teddies.

Twojeffs' "Teddy Bear No Talk Through" works wonders. You could also use the dorm tools to sell the teddies on arrival.

[Menaceman]

Cheers for that sloppyhousewife.

While I'm here I will say that I have now used this method to successfully correct the My Muse II - Art Studio shower. I didn't have to alter the instance number with SimPE though. It was the same after the alteration as it was before. I don't know if it makes any difference but I had a buy,build mode enabler package in my downloads folder.

[No Cheats]

I wonder why they (EAxis) did not do it like the Secret Lots in University. U can build @ them, u have a own moneybag for the Lot, u can left things from your inventory . Everything could be Perfect.

Is it possible to merge the way of University Secret Lots in the Hobby secret lots? 

[Zazazu]

If it is, it's about 40 miles beyond me. That's not saying much, of course.

[nocomment]

Any progress on this?  New methods?  A tutorial on how to do Pescado's method?  Anything?

[Kyna]

I'm wondering if there's a way to unhide & then rehide (if necessary) the secret neighbourhood that the hobby lots are in.

[Zazazu]

Any progress on this?  New methods?  A tutorial on how to do Pescado's method?  Anything?

You'd have to ask Pescado. I tried several other methodologies, but failed miserably in my attempts to create perfectly clean lots without going through Pescado's surgery methods. I am now thoroughly pissed off at hobby lots and doubt I will ever forgive them.

[edalbformat]

Is there a cheat like ChangeLotZoning for secret hobby lots?
If so, what's the problem? The fact that you cannot save secret lots is that you have to save all your modification while the lot is classified as community. I do this all the time with secret vacation lots though it is a big nonsense. Who need secret lots?
After you modified a secret lot you change the lot zoning and simply leave. It is reclassified automatically even if you cannot save it.
I use to create these dull lots as community lot and transfer them to the lots bin before I change lot zoning. So, I can reuse them if I want. If you change lot zoning and transfer them to the lot bin, they disappear as soon as you place them in a hood.
I don't know what's the point with those lots. And the worst is that I heard on an Eaxis interview that "Some players LOVE them"

Who the hell? They just occupy space where I could place more homes. I would like to make them visible to delete all of them.
The information to do so, is sure in the lot data. The hell is that SimPe cannot read any of them.