Simply Rejecting Hacks

[Den the Hectic Sim]

hi! I'm new - I'm loving this place - I'm learning a lot about 'very bad things' to do and realized I've done some  like the ones that cause BBVSFS or something like that...

anyways... I have a question and I didn't find a thread dealing with that, so... sorry if there is and please direct me to it

You know the screen that lets you know of custom content and ask you if you want to enable or disable?^ well... my game simply rejects a lot of hacks - the exclamation sign pops up whenever I try to install some I read that sometimes they can conflict with other existing hacks and I try to make sure I don't have similar hacks but still... I also got a software that detects hacks that can cause problems but when I scan my download folder it never points any of them out!

what am I doing wrong?

[Venusy]

That screen does not tell you of hack conflicts. It only detects whether the code in the hacks overrides Maxis default game behaviour (which is normally the point of hacks). Hit enable, turn the nag screen off in the options menu, and restart the game.

[Den the Hectic Sim]

but what about the exclamation mark flag? not all have that, and I've noticed that some things in the game didn't work properly, like phones were jammed and stuff like that, games would reset instead of saving, etc... 

[IgnorantBliss]

You need to make sure the hacks you have are compatible with your EPs. Many global hacks need to be updated for new EPs, and in some cases the wrong version of a hack might cause serious problems. The exclamation point does not mean hack conflict, like said before. I don't know why some global hacks would have it and others not, but you don't need to worry about that. Rather worry about having the right versions of the hacks, and read the information where you download the hacks from about possible conflicts.

[croiduire]

Stick with Awesome or MATY-land certified reliable hacks for a while. That will avoid most of the conflict issues (which sounds like what you're describing) and see how your game plays. And ask here about specific ones if you're in doubt.

[seelindarun]

but what about the exclamation mark flag? not all have that, and I've noticed that some things in the game didn't work properly, like phones were jammed and stuff like that, games would reset instead of saving, etc... 

If you still have jammed phones or game resets after checking for EP-compatibility, post more details about each problem separately.  People here are helpful in direct proportion to how much information you're able to provide about your problem, I've found.  It's a pretty good system, actually.  

[Kyna]

I also got a software that detects hacks that can cause problems but when I scan my download folder it never points any of them out!

Are you talking about Clean Installer, or Paladin's HCDU (hack conflict detection utility)?

I use Clean Installer when I install lots.  It tells me if there are any custom content, hacks or sims that want to install with the house and gives me the option to only load the house without the extra content.  It's not a good idea to install hacks or sims that come with downloaded houses.  The other use for Clean Installer is to check if you have duplicates of your custom content and hacks in your downloads folder.  As far as I know, Clean Installer doesn't check for hack conflicts.

Paladin's HCDU is the one that detects conflicting hacks.

[Den the Hectic Sim]

hey all thank you so much for taking the time to help!

I was talking about Paladin's HCDU

croiduire, I'll do that, I put most of the hacks, 'rejected' or not in a file, I'll go back to them and see exactly what kind of problem they cause and get back here

seelindarun, if by EP you mean Expansion I have Uni, Nitelife and Open for Business - I don't have the objects packages though, Family Fun Stuff, Glamour Life or the Christmas pack. If EP is something else, I am ashamed and please explain! 

I know some files have two versions, pre OFB and stuff, I try to check that out before I download and install, but who knows, I may have got it wrong one time or another. I love the Sims but these stuff usually can get my head burning, thanks for the help 

[eamethyst]

EP = Expansion Pack (Uni, NL, OFB)
SP = Stuff Pack (Family Fun, Glamour Life

Your safe to use these abbreviations on any Sims related board, so far as I've seen.

[KittKitt]

From what I saw when I looked over the fancy new "OMG you have custom stuff man!  You're doomed!" screen...  Something with a ! symbol is simply saying, "Hey... this thing here is changing our (semi-)global data!  We're scared!"

Any CC that doesn't didn't look to be flagged.  It's possible that ones which were *supposed* to be hacks were either called hacks but actually weren't, or knowing maxian code as I do, it's also entirely possible they simply forgot a few ranges of (semi-)globals in the check, so certain hacks aren't being seen as 'hacks' on the CC disable/enable screen.

Eh, my guess anyways. 

-Kitt

[syberspunk]

In the Custom Content enable/disable screen, just as Venusy says, it typically reports which hacks you have that override global behaviour. I believe that is what the /!\ sign indicates. This is normal for global hacks, because global hacks are supposed to override global behvariour.

That's essentially how hacks work. They usually take existing "code" from the game, and change them in a way that either corrects them (critical hacks), improves them (important hacks or fixes for annoyances), or alters the code, either slightly or completely, usually to make it more realistic or add something completely new (features).

The warning is basically just to alert the user that you might havea  'potential' problem. There are plenty of people out there who probably don't know anything about hacks/mods, and most likely are just downloading custom content willy nilly, in an indiscriminate and uninformed or uneducated fashion. This leaves you quite susceptible to 'acquiring' hacks without your knowledge. Some hacks might 'hitch a ride' with lots. This can cause problems, ranging from harmless but causing sudden unexpected behaviour, to egregious such as an old version of the phonehack which most likely willy cause errors in newer EPs.

If you are completely new to hacks, you should probably peruse the list now and then, to make sure there isn't anything that you, yourself did not install. The warning list gives you an idea of what potentially might lead to issues, but it is up to you to take the time and be informed about the hacks you install. You should also use the pheverstool, the paladintool, and the dizzytool to check for conflicts between hacks. And take time to actually read the RTFMs, if they are provided, for the hacks that you use, in case they already mention known compatibility issues. If you find a conflict that hasn't been mentioned, it would be nice to go back to where ever you obtained the hack, and report back to the creator. In most cases, creators will appreciate the feedback and either have fix for it or workaround, unless the conflict is intentional, in which case you will have to choose between the conflicting hacks. Or... if the conflict is intentional but the hacks are compatible and load order dependent, then you must make sure the hacks load in the proper order as explained in the RTFM.

Many other hacks (or hacked objects) usually won't show up as conflicting because they are self contained objects. All the code is "private" essentially, and should never conflict with the game or other hacks. These type of hacks generally tend to be 'safer' as far as conflict potential goes... but that doesn't mean they won't be problematic if something might be buggy with the code itself.

All other non-hack type custom content, such as new meshes/objects, and clothing shouldn't appear on the list. However... that also doesn't mean that these types of custom content won't cause problems. Poorly made meshes, genetics, and what not still have the potential of causing problems. I've read about meshes, clothing, and genetics that cause crashes in the game. This is usually due to how the mesh or clothing was made, probably missing data or it probably can't be rendered properly by some people's machines, causing the game to crash to desktop or your computer to reboot altogether whenever a sim wearing it tries to load. Genetics can cause issues if they are not complete for all ages and/or sexes. For example, if you have a custom genetic skin, but the creator did not include one for babies, if your sim tries to have a baby and the game tries to select that custom skin, it will barf and most likely crash. Also, some hairstyles have missing ages, and when sims transition, they might end up bald.

Anyways, I know this info can be a bit overwhelming, but I think it helps to read up on things, check back now and then, in case there have been updates on the hacks you are using, and manage your hacks smartly using the various tools and info provided to you. It's better to spread knowledge than keep it to yourself, because knowing is half the battle.

Ste

[Den the Hectic Sim]

wow, again, thank you guys - I'm loving this place more and more 
I'll certainly start reading more bout these things

but OK... here's the first 'hack' that has been apparently rejected (It's Paladin's, I think) SW-ThrowMassiveParties - the 'throw party' disappeared from the menu entirely. I have another hack, which is called 'easy phone' I need to check where I got it from but it was probably MTS2 (will get back to ya later) and it includes an 'easy party' thingy - can this be related though? it has nothing to do with the number of guests but still...

I have to get this whole hack-not-a-hack thing right - I'll read more bout that, promise


cheerio!


EDIT:

*scratching head* OK... I don't know WHAT I did... but now the party thing actually works... Maybe in my frenzy to remove things that didn't work (when I thought they didn't) I removed something that could be conflicting with it?  guess we will never know... I did try it this time in a different lot though - I'll try the earlier lot again and see if it works