Damn glitchy fridge!

[bloodstainedkisses]

Okay, so, I'm having quite a few problems with my Sims 2 game. I'm doing an Extreme Legacy, and everything was going really great, with it.

When, last night, I noticed, that all I can make using the fridge is 'Instant meal'. Low cooking skill points? Nope. Hubby's got three, and she's got four.

I've got a stove, counter tops, and all the fridges won't let me cook food ,'cept for the mini one that comes with Uni. All I can do is have them eat snacks, or drink instant meals.

I have quite a few hacks, such as JM's lot debugger, a few more of his (noplaugirism, noplayintoilets, etc, etc). I have several TJ's one (Formal wedding, etc, etc), and a ton of custom content. Oh, and a good chunk of Inge's hacks.

This is driving me nuts, considering my sim is pregnant, and quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do about it! I tried moving them in and out, that didn't work. The fridge is an orignal color, no custom content.

Grrrrrrrr.

Suggestions?

[dewshine]

You have a sink?
I remember having this same problem... And I'm trying to remember why.  It was something really stupid.  Like needing a floor, or a sink.  I just cannot remember at the moment what it was...

[bloodstainedkisses]

-Blink- Seriously?

I don't have a sink, but I could... add one?

That's really strange, and I can always try that. The option to order grocieres over the phone, isn't even showing up. x.x;

[yetyak]

Are there any diagonal walls between the sim and the fridge?  I love diagonal walls and would always have to get them into the kitchen before having them do any meals.

[bloodstainedkisses]

No diagonal walls, instant meal is the only option that pops up when I click on the fridge... x.x;

I've taken out a few hacks I don't need... I've got the debugger running, too.

[yetyak]

Strange, but then again, it seemed really strange when it was figured out that the instant meal only option was caused by the diagonal walls.  Or maybe doorways on diagonal walls... whichever it was weird.  I hope someone can help out with this one for you.

[sabra]

I get that sometimes.  The only hack I have in my game is Merola's multi-purpose painting, and I used it to make all my sims' cooking scores at 10.

Anyway, when I get the "instant meal" only option, if I try again in a few minutes, it reverts back to giving all the choices. Most strange.

[simmiecal]

Have the sim "check the fridge" - or whatever it is called where you see how much food is left. I had that problem in a house for a particular sim, it would always reset if I checked the level and them immediately after made the food. Never figured out what caused it - eventually moved and bulldozed the lot.

Another thing - silly question - but I am assuming that you have a counter top and stove/microwave? Even foods that don't get cooked need to have a counter to prepare them on. (But I'm pretty sure that you still get the option at the fridge for the foods 0 just grasping at staws here.)

What hacks do you have related to fridge/food: no autonomy fridge? smartserve?
Have you tried selling and rebuying  a fridge? If you have NL, you can add the exact amount of depreciation for the fridge to the family's funds as I think you are able to use cheats to correct problems?

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, if you're allowed hacks, what about the buffet table at Simlogical?  Always full, never goes bad!

Actually, I wonder if the problem is due to stuck fridge tiles which was an option on the old version of the debugger.

[sabra]

Wait...just had a thought related to countertops.  What was it now.

Oh yes.  I believe there wasn't enough space on the countertop for a cutting board or mixing bowl or whatever it is that sims use to prepare their food.  I made space and tried again, and got the full menu of possible meals.  Aha, just as simmiecal suspected.

And I do have lots of other hacks in my game, like the critical fixes.  I forgot about them, too. 

No wonder I'm home and online on New Year's Eve.

[Inge]

Well if you have my stay-things shrub and used it on a house after buying the fridge you either need a new fridge or that patch I made to fix fridges.

Alternatively this sort of thing is known to happen when you have diagonal doors on a lot.

[baratron]

Is your sim in the same room as the fridge when you're clicking on the fridge? I've found that if a sim is in the bathroom while you click on the fridge, only Instant Meal is available. Apparently it's "dirty" to be considering food in the bathroom, or something!

Another blinding obvious thing that no one's mentioned - do you actually have food in the fridge?

Assuming that the problem isn't that you're in the bathroom, have a diagonal wall or have run out of food, either of the "Check Food Levels" and "Juggle Bottles" interactions can be used to "reset" the fridge.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I imagine Feed Bottle to.... would do the same thing!  In fact, virtually any action involving the fridge would probably reset it.

[Meek_Monkey]

I have found that it is not the fridge as I have this problem with some lots I move the family out and bulldoze that lot. Or sometimes it move a family and buy everything from scratch.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Could it be something to do with moving the lot into the game with a fridge already in situ?  I know they're supposed to go wrong immediately, but I've been doing it recently with no apparent problems (forgot to remove the fridge!), and maybe the problem is showing up later. 

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=345.0

And check out this link, where the same problem was discussed a while ago, and maybe there'll be something there which will ring a bell!

[virgali]

I too had that problem! I bulldozed the lot!
I would send my sims to cook and they would only get the instant meal option. So I would let them play with the bottles first and then tell them to cook again and I would have all the options for a while. then th instant meal thing happens again.

I tried buying new fridges etc. Nothing helped... so I bulldozed the lot. Never had that problem anymore in my game. I did have the diagonal doors on the lot tho... why would that affect the fridge??? Seems weird. I wouldn't know about the fridge being used, cause it was a housei downloaded anyways I will check the link the Zephy...if i may call you that..

[ZephyrZodiac]

Feel free! Now, have you considered this?  At one time Maxis made houses in the lot bin never had fridges in them, because it could cause problems.  So, if the downloaded house was made in the base game, then it would have the same problem with fridges.  So I would say that with such a house, it would be worth loading it in the game, and removing the original fridge, then moving it back to the lot bin, then back into the game and then moving a family in and replacing the fridge.

[cwykes]

I think the problem with diagonal walls and doors is only when the Sim is not on the same side of the door as the kitchen when you click on the fridge.  So if that diagonal door is on a bathroom and the sim is in the bathroom - instant meal.  If the sim isn't in the bathroom you should get all the options. 

Incidentally there is no point in having a food processor if you have an expensive counter.  The processor ups the food value to the level of a medium counter, so putting a food processor on an expensive counter is rather counter-productive!  I read this on the official BBS and it's probably out of the Prima guide.

[Renatus]

Buh? The counters have an effect on the food value of food prepared on them?! Could you explain this more? I thought the food processor just made food that ahd to be chopped faster to prepare!

[BlueSoup]

A more expensive counter will allow a Sim to be more efficient when preparing food.

I still get a food processor to "complete" the kitchen though.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Also stops teens learning to cook from chopping their fingers!

[Renatus]

Wow.  I had thought the more expensive counters were just there to be expensive and look nice, and any accidental finger-cutting was due to their cooking ability. Now I have an excuse to give in to those fortune sim wants to buy a bunch of counters! Learn something new every day.

[Inge]

I've just bought a load of cheap Wickes units to fit in my new RL kitchen.   I hope we won't begin to suffer malnutrition....   lol

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, I certainly haven't noticed any difference between cooking ability from one kind of counter to another!

Thing that's annoying me at present though, is since NL (and I don't know if this is due to Dizzy's smart-serve or just NL (I suspect the latter) my sims have to go through the whole process of cooking a meal for one before cooking for the family or risk the kitchen being engulfed in flames!  Everything they learned to cook before NL and have the skill-points to prove it, they now have to learn to cook all over again!  Extremely frustrating!  And any autonomous cooking almost certainly ends up as a burnt offering!

[Sleepycat]

ZZ, my sims haven't had any trouble cooking, even the ones with only 4 cooking skill points...


and it bugs me abit cause I took out Carrigons "safe cooking" hack and added sprinkers and fire alarms to most of my Lots!


Haven't seen a fire in ages