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Spaceship Carpool Bugfix v1.01 for TS2NL v1.0p1 (Experimental)
Made by: syberspunk

This hack should fix a problem related to buggy alien abductions. Basically, what happens is sometimes an error pops up when a sim should be returning from an alien abduction. Instead of properly being returned, you may get an error, or you may simply see your sim(s) automagically teleport into the house by the front door. Please see post #3 of this thread (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=4184.0) for further details regarding what I think is happening.

Note: This is a preventative hack! This currently cannot Fix a problematic lot. However, this hack should theoretically prevent any further botched abductions. This hack is still considered experimental until I receive enough positive feedback. If you are currently experiencing botched abductions, then the workaround is to move the family out of the house and back in or onto a new lot. Doing this works because the it should clear and reset/reinitialize the house and all hidden objects/controllers. Alternatively, you can probably use Pescado's lotdebugger (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=72.0) to reset all objects on the lot or the stuck object remover (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=1609.0) if you can find the offending tile that may contain the invisible UFO. Burninating the invisible object will not solve the problem because you will simply get a pile of ash that is too far out of reach to clean up. :P

INSTALLATION:
This MUST be in your Downloads folder, typically found under:

C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\My Documents\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\Downloads


Compatibility:
Although it should work for all versions, I have only tested this in my game before OFB. It appears to work fine. I have not fully tested this in OFB. But nothing changed significantly since, so it should still work.

This hack is compatible with most, if not all mods by MATY crew (Pescado, TJ, and CBoy), dizzy, and probably more. Again, up to you to help me determine any possible conflicts. This is definitely compatible with twojeffs' Increased odds of abduction (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=1194.0) mod, which is essentially the purpose since you are more likely to experience this "rare" bug with increased odds.


REMINDER and fine print (to cover my ass ) :
Remember to ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA BEFORE INSTALLING NEW HACKS. By using this hack, you agree to absolve me of any responsibility or liability for any potential loss of or damage to your data. You have been warned.

HOW TO REPORT: Conflicts, problems, or errors
I would appreciate any constructive criticism and feedback that is actually helpful. With that in mind, it would be helpful, when reporting any conflicts or issues, that you include the following:

1) thorough but reasonably brief description of what you were doing
2) clear, comprehendible explanation of your problem
3) list of hacks that may be related the alien abductions or carpools
4) archived (.rar or .zip) of log produced by error

Posts which do not include a clear description of what your problem is will be pretty much ignored. (i.e. posts such as "This does not work! I am taking it out! You suck! Nice try! etc.") I can't and won't help you if you don't explain what's wrong.

Please be nice when trying to explain your problem and I might be nice and help you.

Finally, my Thank Yous go to:

J.M. Pescado, twojeffs, dizzy2, and jase439 for being excellent tutors and providing excellent models in their mods. As always, thanks to those creators who've put out some excellent modding tutorials, Quaxi and co for SimPE, and dizzy2 for disaSim2, and the finally letters T and S, and the number 2, all of whom, without which this mod would not be possible.

If I left anyone out, I apologize in advance. You know who you are and you deserve my thanks.

Version History:
v1.01 - Changed format to 8007 for backwards compatibility. Needs testing.

Is this need for OFB and is it compatible with OFB

So... in other words, you most likely still need it for OFB. I just never tested it in OFB, but I don't think the code was ever changed to address this, since technically it would normally be a fairly 'rare' bug because abductions are supposed to be 'rare' to begin with.

If you have the problem and you have OFB... then I would conclude that it would still be needed. If you don't have the problem, it still shouldn't hurt to have this in your game. I only added two lines of code that just basically double-check to make sure that the vehicle is a valid carpool.

Ste

PS. I edited the original post. I just looked at the file, and it is only in the later file format (8009) which means that the mod is only compatible for NL and later EPs. If other people who do not have NL or OFB, and just have the original or Uni, still experience this problem, I will see if I can make a compatible version when I have time.

I updated the format to 8007. This might make it compatible with the basegame. It should be readable by the basegame and Uni. But it needs to be tested. If you have NL or later, you don't need to redownload. If you have Uni or the basegame, I'd appreciate feedback as to whether or not it works for you.

Ste

How do we know when the hack is doing its job? Will we get some kind of pop-up message (like with crammyboy's 'portal monitor', we get a warning when a portal's been deleted) or does the fix work silently?

Hi I have just come up with this error I thought u may want to look at it as It is to do with the spaceship and I had to reset it and the male didnt get pregant at all it kept popping back every couple of sim hours I ended up deleting it.

Hrm... interesting error. I have never seen this type of error before. I will try and take a look at this later today. Did this error occur while you were using the bugfix? Or did this happen before you installed the bugfix?

What exactly was happening at the time? Was the sim abducted successfully? Did the sim return successfully? Did the error happen before, during, or after abduction? A bit more information would be helpful.

Ste

Hi I had the mod installed when it happened and he was abducted fine  I think when the return of the sim that it happened it gave me this error and then he was dumped near the step no anmation of the return. now on this lot the cars dont even drive off they sit there for the hour and dissappers. I hope this info will help I think I answered your questions I have a hard time trying to explain things sometimes.

Edit: Just a thought I also have JM mod for the carpool fix was it a clash of the two if so OOOOOPPPSSS and sorry.

Hrm. No... they shouldn't clash. I'll try and dig around in the code and see if I can figure out what causes this problem.

Do you happen to have Crammyboy's portal monitor/portal fix?

Do you have all EPs, up to OFB?

The error that your log shows is not prevented by this fix, since it is new to me. But I also can't say for sure that it wasn't caused by the hack either. Typically, the cars getting stuck and not driving is due to something invisible blocking the road... or the portal being deleted.

Car portals can be deleted by seemingly innocuous things like cup juggling and book reading. You should probably get Crammyboy's fix and portal monitor if you don't already have them. If you have OFB, you don't need the fix (if you patched) but the portal monitor should at least tell you when portals get deleted.

Ste

No I dont have the portal moniter/fix I have all EP's As well asthe holday pack and the FFS as well, I have also patched my game with the latest patch for the FFS.

I suspect then that a portal might have been deleted. There is a complicated way to restore them. You can probably look for Crammyboy's portal monitor in his section. Actually... here (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=2171.0).

You don't need the fix itself since the patches should have taken care of it. The portal monitor will notify you if a portal is deleted somehow. And it will tell you to exit without saving. There may be a link somewhere in Carmmyboy's thread or in his forum that goes to MTS2. I recall on MTS2 there was some thread(s) about how to restore portals manually. Alternatively, the somewhat easier way to restore portals is to move out of the house and move back in. :P

In the meantime, I will try and figure out what might have caused this error.

Ste

I will need to move this family any way as it is a small home and they had twins and a single child. The family needs a bigger house or they will be sleeping outside.

Thankyou syberspunk

Btw, I looked at the code and the error log and could not trace the error, pretty much because there really wasn't a stack to trace. I'm not sure what stack underflow means in this case, but I imagine it is possibly due to the deletion of a portal. I think, because the portal isn't there, it is causing a stack underflow. It expects to find the portal, but it isn't there and thus the error. But I can't be certain.

If it is a missing portal, then you'd have to use the methods discussed on MTS2 or do the move out/in thing. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more help.  :-\

Ste

Thats Ok at least you had a look I will move them the next time I play them Thanks anyway.