Preparing for post-NL expansion packs

[lowbart]

I am planning on getting Pets and OFB at some point in the next week - is there any preparation I should do to prevent bugs, so that my neighborhoods won't be burninated?

I plan to immediately delete all new houses, families, and prefab neighborhoods these expansions introduce because I hate that crap. This is probably not a bad idea, right?

[Note: I am not going to get Seasons. Probably ever.]

[ZephyrZodiac]

Jordi has an empty Pets template over at MTS2 which I use, so you don't get all the strays.  If you then use nostrayrespawn from Pescado, then you won't get an immediate replacement of them all.  Other than that, just check your system specs are up to the job, and patch both games as soon as you install them.

I'm sure other people can come up with some more useful advice.

[BastDawn]

Back up your downloads and neighborhoods before installation.  After you install but before you load your game, install the files found here to keep Maxis pre-mades out of your game (and make sure you follow the instructions): 
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,4306.0.html
Then reinstall your neighborhoods and update your hacks.

[ZephyrZodiac]

But don't install both SaraMK's and Jordi's empty pets template.

[jrd]

They should do the same thing. Either should be fine.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I think I've actually used both, I just mentioned yours because it just happens to be the one I've got in my game at the moment - and it works beautifully.  As does SaraMK's too.

However, if you want more than one of each NPC and you're using JM's noredundancy mod, you'll need to use other methods to generate the others.

[Yimmit]

I'm kind of with lowbart here. I've been thinking lately of adding OFB because I recently trashed my long-played neighborhood and have just started again from scratch with SaraMK's templates. I've found play to be a little stale and maybe it's time. (I'm on Mac so I was behind to begin with)

Really stupid questions that nonetheless seem apropos to the thread: This Bluewater Village I hear tell of is another add-on like the Uni and downtown, right? So it comes with people? Townies, playables or both? There was a B001 in those templates. Does that override townies, playables or both (assuming BV adds new townies)? I've had issues in the Uni lots that were occupied in the non-template versions, meaning they refuse to load and I have to force-quit. Are these new playables on lots or in the bin?

I guess your recommendation would be to run a test in a default neighborhood to see what it does before adding my custom neighborhoods and beginning to add hacks back in.

So I guess I'm really interested in hearing more tips as well.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Some of the OFB playables are in lots in Bluewater Village, others are in the bin, and you can move them into anywhere except Uni.  I'd personally suggest you back up all your current elsewhere on your computer, then when you've installed OFB, make a new neighbourhood and play Bluewater Village in that (no empty template) and once you've played for a while you can decide whether you want to keep those sims or not.  If not, then you can just trash that neighbourhood, install the empty template and try out your normal game.  Whatever you then decide, you still have those back-ups and you can go back to those if you want.  Since you can't use SimPE with a Mac (yet) you are limited in what you can do to customise your character files as you would like them, so I think you have to choose between to have and not to have, whereas we PC users can choose the third option of to have some and not others.

[Yimmit]

Oh, I already suffer from such a bad case of SimPEnvy! Fine, rub it in!

[J. M. Pescado]

Actually, I believe SimPE can be wrestled into running on Intel macs.

[ZephyrZodiac]

That'll please a lot of Mac-users!

[Yimmit]

Intel Mac User wants more information, but knows from lurking that from Pescado it will come in haikus or other undecipherable language. Should I just give it a try? Or do I need to download Fightclub to enable the wrestling?

[dizzy]

I imagine it involves using Boot Camp (or whatever it's called) and dual booting into a Windows install.

[Yimmit]

My impression was that did not function properly for Mac native apps like Aspyr's Sims 2 + eps, unless that is L&P.

[notveryawesome]

This is true. I decided to make myself a nice shiny WinMac™ via the Boot Camp software, because I already had numerous Windows-format games that I had spent lots of money on. If you only have Mac-format games, then Boot Camp will do you no good. I think there may be a way to acquire the SimPE files without the extractor, and simply place them in the appropriate directory (I've no idea what that might be). Ask Marhis. I think she runs SimPE on her Mac.

[J. M. Pescado]

I don't own a Mac, so I don't have any details. However, if you do whatever it is that you do to make your Mac run Windoze things, then you can run SimPE. As the package files are compatible, you would then be able to edit, albeit awkwardly, your files.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Join the QA testers and you can get the pre-release trials and they come without an extractor, you just place them in your Program files.  

[Yimmit]

Ok, so I have installed OFB. Updated all hacks I considered essential. Two BIG problems:

1) I have a dorm of sims that I've been playtesting and it is now time for their end of sophomore year final. When they come back from their final, the game crashes to desktop. It happens in a vanilla game (I have tested this so many times I'm tearing my hair out!). My temporary fix will be to send them to finals individually because the first one comes back fine, the game crashes to desktop on the third student to return from the final. Sound familiar?

[Edited to add: tried sending one each hour, crashed to desktop (vanilla except for college clock). Now I'll try waiting until one is done before sending the next one. This is just completely broken in OFB. Great going Aspyr]

2) PHONE HACK! OFBp2 phone hack does not work. OFBp-1 does not work. Both crash to desktop when the sims call for transportation to a community lot. I will probably have to stop playing entirely if I don't have this hack. This hack is the most awesome of the awesome. I almost hesitated to write anything because I'm not at home (and don't know when I'll be back), can't hook my computer to the internet and can't test other versions (like NL or Pets)*. There is no patch for mac OFB. It is making me think all those shiny-looking OFB business hacks with p2 and p-1 versions are all going to not work. Are there any mac users who can advise me?

*I've often had problems getting hacks to work on my system, but I'm already seriously considering ditching OFB completely at this point.

[Yimmit]

Sorry about double posting.

Vanilla game (except college clock, but remember, it crashed too when college clock was gone). One student at a time. Crash to desktop every time. I will return my copy to the store, send a sternly worded message to aspyr (like that'll help, I've dealt with them before), and I am going back to NL only. No more expansion packs. I liked my game how it was.

How stupid is that, that it breaks Uni to add OFB?

[ZephyrZodiac]

[Edited to add: tried sending one each hour, crashed to desktop (vanilla except for college clock). Now I'll try waiting until one is done before sending the next one. This is just completely broken in OFB. Great going Aspyr]

Not a mac-user, I'm afraid, but the problem has still a ring of the familiar.  Have you tried this with any other Uni lots?  Have you tried Two Jeffs "Students Move Away From the Portal"?  Have you tried using Crammyboy's Portal Monitor?

Vanilla game (except college clock, but remember, it crashed too when college clock was gone). One student at a time. Crash to desktop every time. I will return my copy to the store, send a sternly worded message to aspyr (like that'll help, I've dealt with them before), and I am going back to NL only. No more expansion packs. I liked my game how it was.

How stupid is that, that it breaks Uni to add OFB?

I woouldn't give up just yet - we nearly all had problems with OFB!

[Yimmit]

I haven't tried other lots. I had TJs Kicky Bag fix which features a move away from the portal (uninstalled for latest test), but if he has an independant move-away-from-portal fix, I'm pretty sure he doesn't have it up at his new digs. I did a pretty thorough search for my newly semi-awesome hacks (he's just got things totally reorganized!). Cboy's portal moniter is downlowded, but not installed. I'll try it.

But there's nobody at the portal when it crashes. When I had vanilla game and everyone go to the final at the same time, it would CTD on the third student returning with the "would you like to change [sim's] aspiration] dialog. Now that I'm trying to send one at a time, the first one goes and crashes to desktop with no dialog at all. Unless the problem is *gasp* the college clock!

But I'll give Crammyboy's hack a try. I haven't uninstalled yet. I'm taking care of my mom who is recovering from surgery. I have to go back home to reinstall my old NL hacks (I used her last blank CD to try the OFBP-1 phonehack file). I erased the old NL hacks to avoid confusion *groan*.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, I think I would first find out whether this problem occurs on other lots.  If not, it could just be that the dorm is corrupted - I think a lot of EAxis-created dorms do have problems - and if so, you could try moving those students to a new lot and see if that solves the problem.  If it's a general problem, you could try uninstalling and then reinstalling OFB, after moving out your Neighbourhoods folder.

I hope your mom is better soon.

[Yimmit]

Yes, problem occurs on other lots. I had vanilla game + Cboys portal fix+ college clock+2Js kicky bag fix. I moved Alison to a different dorm. Crash to desktop at end of final exam. I moved Alison to a rental property. Crash to desktop at end of final exam.

[Edit: mom is so fine the problem is keeping her in bed! (she had knee surgery)]

After reading your last message, I'll try an empty lot.

[Edit: tried empty lot. Crash to desktop at end of final exam. This is end of sophomore year where you get the dialog, "would you like to change Alison's Aspiration?" Hacks installed: Pescados College clock, Cboy portal fix, Tj Kickybag fix]

BTW Lowbart, whose thread I have hijacked, is absent and I am curious if s/he is on a mac (being behind and all). If not on mac, I issue a sincere apology that I have hijacked your thread. If on mac, let me please know if these problems get fixed with pets.

[Yimmit]

And Alison went over to the college clock and said "What's this?" and I do believe I shed actual tears because it had been so very very long since any sim had done such a horrid thing in my game.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, I don't know what else to suggest, except, as I said, uninstall and reinstall OFB as you may just have a bad install.  I don't think there's been an EP yet where I haven't had to do this the first time I installed (except the two I d/l'd from the Link) and I put it down to the cd or dvd being so shiny and new!

Maybe you should get hold of a laptop for your mum......