More Awesome Than You!

One of my newly-graduated Sims went to work for the second day in the Business career.  He'd started at Level 9, but was still about 7 skill points short of making the top.  While at work, he got a chance card and was instantly promoted to Business Tycoon, along with a $35,000 bonus.  When he came home, an error box popped-up relating to the helicopter, which it would appear couldn't land.  The only option that worked was "Delete", at which point my Sim vanished from the list.  I used the Inseminator "Restore Family" function to bring him back (this may have been a mistake, I maybe should have reloaded the lot) and he was back with a memory of getting the bonus, but no memory of the promotion, no Lifetime Want satisfied, no Business Tycoon icon and, most importantly, no job.  I've adjusted it all in SimPE, but I'm curious as to why the helicopter produced an error?  Could it have been unable to land because the maid's van was in the way?  That seems unlikely, as I'm sure I've had Sims come home in helicopters before when the maid's been there. 

Odd, but then the helicopters are odd.  I had a couple who were both Mayor of SimCity and quite often only one of them could get into the mayoral copter before it took off!

It's a competetive job, Mayoralship!  The last one in the office wearing a blue suit is often the rotten egg!

 :D ;D

The helicopter will land on some lots while the maid's van is there, but will not land on others.  It may be the size of the lot.

If you didn't have testingcheatsenabled, you wouldn't have gotten the error message and the helo would have flown a holding pattern offscreen while your Sims slowly died.  This has been reported many times.

The helo is buggy enough and annoying enough that I don't let my Sims stay in professons that use helicopters as carpools longer than absolutely neessary.

Hook

And all you can do if the helo is offscreen is to exit without saving since you can't get them out with Move_objects.

Crikey, I didn't realise he would have died if I wasn't in the habit of playing in debug mode!  Just for curiosity, how would that have panned out?  Would the helicopter have dropped his body on the grass, rather like a food parcel?!  Then again, maybe once the maid had left, it might have landed.  He wouldn't have been dead by then.  I suppose the only way to sort that out if you don't play in debug mode and don't want to exit without saving would be to save, then go to another lot and move him in there temporarily or something. 

Anyway, he's OK now.  I sorted him out in SimPE and now he has his permanent platinum and the right memories.  He looked a bit bemused standing on the pavement, though.  He's one of Brandi Broke's grandsons, incidentally.  Weird things always happen to that family.

You could delete the helicopter with moveobjects on. You should find your sim somewhere in the middle of the house (in my game - usually the kitchen). You just didn't search for him...:).
Pascal Daughter was stucked in the bus; I deleted the bus, and I found her in the kitchen.

You can only delete the helicopter if it's visible - if it's moved out of view, you can't.  That can happen with taxis too.

I've actually been examining this problem, trying to figure out what to do if the helicopter is unable to land. The current solutions so far are to either do the entire "holding pattern" thing, only quietly and neatly, instead of spewing errors and hiccuping badly, smashing everyone's queues, or, alternatively, force your sims to make a HANO insertion ala the Social Bunny. Which do you think I should go with?

I just couldn't stand the noise, so I switched it to a humvee in SimPe.  Solved my problem, anyway.

Tell me how you did that Brynne, and I'll buy you a cup of coffee (or a beer :D)


JM, since I don't know what a HANO is, anything that at least relieves the buggy helicopter would be an improvement.

I kind of like the Social Bunny thing, although that might get annoying, as he/she always startles me when he comes crashing out of the sky.  But it's always funny to see the bunny staggering around drunkenly until he gets his bearings.

I had a problem once with a sim getting his LTW.  I quit without saving, and I dismissed the maid early.  He was then able to get his promotion and LTW.  I have since fired the maid since I use macrotastics, and with both parents having maxed out skills, what else is there for them to do? ;)  I have had no further problems with the helicopter, but he is captain hero now anyway.

HANO insertion!  HANO insertion!  I wanna see the general bounce on his tushie when he jumps out of the helicopter!  Woot!

Heck, I'd even make sure it happened a few times just to watch.

Hook

Either would be fine as long as it worked (I don't know what HANO is either - well, I can guess what it is, but not what it stands for).  I rather like the idea of the 'copter hovering until it can land (sounds more 'real-life'), but anything that works will do.  Incidentally, when I edited my Sim in SimPE, I noticed that although in-game he showed as unemployed, according to SimPE he had gone down to Level 3.  Seems like whatever happened mucked him up totally.  He'll probably die of 'flu now.

I think your game needs one of the no more deaths from disease hacks!

I too admit I have no idea what HANO stands for, probably some esoteric military acronym, I shouldn't wonder!

Nah, don't want any hacks to stop them dying of diseases.  Where would be the fun in that?!

Well, I guess it depends on your idea of fun!  I tend to avoid hacks which change basic game behaviour, but if my sims were dying at the rate yours are, I'd assume the game was sick and do something about i!  Sometimes, I've noticed, putting a fix into the game seems to correct faulty behaviour permanently (or semi-permanently anyway!).

For example, I had all the move out fixes in after Beau had problems moving back to Pleasantview.  Then I had a problem getting a sim to move out of a Pleasantview house after a fall out with the boyfriend.  Suggested here that one of those three hacks was the cause, removed all three.  No longer have a problem with Graduates moving out, even from Greek Houses!  Did one of those fixes overwrite a piece of faulty Maxis programming and then when the game was saved, it was permanently corrected??

The carpool fix resolves some of the problems with boarding helicopters.

The problem is that the there's no guarantee the obstruction will go away. It could stay there for hours.

I used the career editor in simpe. You can switch vehicles to any other career vehicle. 

I'd love it if my sims could go on a fitness kick and jog to work!

Does flying count as exercise?

Well, you have to be pretty fit to be Captain Hero!  Although, of course, once you've got there, you can get really fat if you want!  But I don't think helicopter rides would count as exercise!

Sorry, I should have mentioned I was talking about Captain Hero. :D

I just looked up "HANO" in The Free Online Dictionary Acronyms, and it says "High Altitude No Opening."  So I guess it is a military term.  Well, learned something new.

Don't worry though, we will have cars to drive to work in Nightlife, and I'm sure we'll have new bugs with that.  :P

Bound to!  Though I rathr think the teens driving to pick up their friends for a go out or sneak out is Maxis way of checking out some of the bugs, and it seems reasonably bug-free - at least, I've never lost a teen that way!  Strange, though, they get to Uni and suddenly they walk everywhere, or take a cab!

I had problems with the Sneak out/Go out car on one lot.  He would go to the car, which was the yellow sportscar, and instead of opening the door and getting in, he would suddenly be warped off the lot never to return.  When his stats got low enough for JM's power idle or bathroom controller would try to command him, it caused an error.  I pressed Reset, and he was deposited in on the front lawn.  After much troubleshooting and experimentation (and hair pulling), I discovered that the garbage can was in the way of the door on the yellow sportscar.  The problem didn't happen with the limo.  But his want to sneak out/go out would never be satisfied, and he would have been stuck off lot forever with his stats draining if I hadn't intervened somehow.  Interestingly, this never caused a problem with an adult sim going to work using this same car.  He would disappear into the car the same way when leaving for work, but he would come back home normally and exit from the opposite side of the car into the street.  Why the teen didn't just go around to the other side of the car, I don't know, it would have made more sense!  Once I moved the garbage can a few tiles over, he was able to sneak/go out with no probs and had his want fulfilled...only to be replaced by another...

One can only hope that they will have these types of bugs worked out in Nightlife.  I'm not going to hold my breath though.   :-\

Well, it'd be a first, wouldn't it!  A bug-free Expansion?  About as likely as a snowflake in hell!

Great new idea for the next expansion: "The Sims 2: Bug Free"
I had the "sneak out" problem you described just a few minutes ago. I was about to check this forum to see if anyone had said anything about it. How weird is that? I solved it my own way, though, after much hair-pulling also. I was always reluctant to do the "sneak out" thing because the first time I tried it, the sim disappeared. I simply exited without saving that time. This time, I have one popularity sim who's wants were all "sneak out with...", except for one, which was the "go to college" one. So I had him call Angela Pleasant to sneak out. She arrived, and he just disappeared. I was upstairs in the house playing a different sim at the time, so I didn't see what happened, but he had no "snuck out" symbol in his portrait. I checked JM's lot fixer, and it had a "retrieve missing sim" option for the lost sim. That didn't work. What I finally did was to use Inge's teleporter shrub, click on the missing sim's icon, use the shrub to make him a townie, then click "clear all non-residents" to get rid of his portrait. Then I went to the Livingston family, found him, and moved him back in. Good as new, I hope. I do want to see if I have a trashcan problem, though.

Well, it was a little while back now, as I posted about it on the 'other' site, so it's gone now.  But I think JM said that many lots have this problem with bad placement of the mailbox and trashcan.  I think the reason we don't notice it more is because it only becomes an issue with teens going out and certain cars.  I didn't know about the "retrieve sim" on the lot debugger, but sometimes I will see different options at different times.  Like once I used it to change a LTW at the same time someone was preparing dinner, and I saw "unblock fridge tiles."  Well I knew she was cooking, so I didn't click it, but I thought it was interesting that it would show up then.  I guess it doesn't know whether it's a problem or not.  But I'm glad that this just happened to come up in time to help with your problem. :)

The debugger didn't help me with the darned repoman!  There weren't any stuck bills as the mailman had just been when the repoman arrived, and the debugger  didn't show any stuck bills.  I tried everything I could but without Build Mode, what is there to do?  I banned the repoman from the lot, but he didn't go!  Poor Lilith still has bad memories about it.

Funny though, I've never had the problem of stuck teens, maybe it's because on lots where I've let them sneak out I haven't moved the mailbox from its original position.  I did have the problem once with a pool car, though.  The wife came home from work and got stuck in the car, then the husband came home and got stuck too.  I couldn't get them out with Move_objects on, and they died, so, since I'd only started the couple about two days before was very upsetting so I didn't save! 

One thing you can try when things are bad like that and you have to try and work out an answer is to put the flamingo of happiness or ecstasy onto the lot.  At least then your sims stats won't go down!  When this happened to my sims I had no downloads at all, so I couldn't do that!  I don't know if it works though if they're stuck outside the lot, probably not.

This was a Maxis lot, the Family Farmhouse that was in the bin.  I really like this house, but I've never moved the mailbox or trashcan in any of my lots, not until this happened.

I've had loads of trouble with Maxis lots - I think they were built by cowboys!

It's a shame really.  I like the way the houses look, but some of them were just designed horribly.  They weren't designed with how sims really live.  I am horrible at designing houses myself so that's why I've stuck with them.

I usually build mine to a symmetrical shape, hall in the middle, with stairs, kitchen and dining room/area to the left, living room'study to the right (or vice versa) bathroom between stairs and kitchen at the back of the hall.  Upstairs, bedroom with ensuite one side and another bathroom opening onto the landing, kids' room on the other side of the landing.  Generally works for me.

Because my houses tend to be box-like and plain, I tend to play the Maxis ones, but modified. I hate Maxis bedrooms. Generally too small to put a double bed in. The living rooms also tend to be small, but that doesn't bother me so much. Put in a chair or two and a bookshelf, and what else is necessary? With the flamingo outside most of my Sims live TV free.

Obviously, whoever designed the Maxis-made houses never played them.  I can't believe some of these houses don't have anywhere to put a double bed!  How are we supposed to have 10 babies or woohoo with 10 sims, unless we're supposed to use hot tubs.   ::)  I'm like you, Kitiara.  I've started learning how to modify the premade houses, but sometimes I have to modify the roofs to match, and they've given me fits.  I quit giving my sims TVs as well and only flamingoes.  I did give in the other day and bought Jennifer Burb a big TV because she wanted it, but she had the money.  Plus, the kids would use it with the skillinator to build cooking skills.

I like TVs and Playstations as they build relationships while they watch or play!  I usually start off with one room and a bathroom and go from there.  If it's the small lot I usually manage a bedroom as well - but it's really the living room in disguise until I can afford to build the upstairs!

I play with no20khandouts and povertybuildscharacter, so my Sims never start with much money. I have a lot they all tend to start on. The only enclosed room is the bathroom. The other rooms have no walls. They live simple lives, on the lawn. When they have been good little pixels and saved up enough money, they get to move to a new house with actual walls.
I decorate the houses without moving them in. Then, when I want to move them, I just move them into whichever house fits their budget. Later, after more money comes in, I may reward them by redecorating to fit the personality of the family. Then again, I may not.

With kids, I will sometimes buy a tv because kids are good for nothing but skill building, and the yummy channel is effective, but one they are teens I usually sell it. I hate when my Sims watch tv when they should be doing something more practical.

Spoilsport!  How would you like it if someone sold your PC?

My Sims have way nicer things than I do, so they really can't complain.

Wanna bet?  Try playing without No What's this and see what they think of some of the stuff you give them!

I recently gave into their frequent spins for a tv, though I generally put such things up on the roof where they cannot get to it, but I was feeling exceptionally generous (and I admit, I was missing the Yummy channel a bit) and swapped it out for the wall-mounted flatscreen.

Well, that just had to go within a very short amount of time.  Sure, it was useful for keeping idle sims out of trouble, but it also resulted in some of them ignoring the call to work and using vacation days.  Every time I turned around everyone was huddled in that section of the living room like lemmings at the edge of a cliff.

On a side note, I've not yet had a problem with the helicopter, but they are on the largest lot, so there's plenty of space available even with the maid's van present (not that it usually is, as it tends to arrive after and leaves prior).

Well, I do actually let them have a computer. But, not at first. They have to work a while and earn the money first. Besides, I give them flamingos. Also, I will admit, if they repeatedly spin wants for an expensive tv or stereo, I generally give in and buy them. Okay, so this is more to shut them up than to make them happy, but they do get what they want. I may be a strict mistress when it comes to my Sims, but I'm not cruel. Usually.

By the way, I would sorely miss my pc, but the tv would not be that big of a deal.

Sims are programmed to like or not like things based on their value.  If the object costs a lot more than the things they already have, they will cheer.  If it cost a lot less, they will boo.  If it is about the same, they will hardly notice.  Which is why I got sick of them booing all the time, even when I bought them expensive stuff.  Thank goodness for the No what's this hack!  Stupid fortune sims would even boo the very things they had wants for.

Oh, I know, I was being facetious.....

 :o

Also annoys me, without the hack, how they hate dark rooms, but buy them expensive lights and they boo as much as if you get the cheap bare lightbulbs!  Now sims1 sims were far more discriminating!

Is this the flamingo hack?

The nowhatsthis hack. It stops the "what's this" bubbles when sims move into a new place or you buy them  something new.

I know about the "nowhatsthis" hack, but ZZ was talking about them hating dark rooms.  I thought she was referring to environment scores.  If I don't have lights, their environment scores go way down after dark, so I thought ZZ had a hack to prevent that.  That's one thing I forget to buy my sims because it's always daylight when I move them in, and then at 7 pm it gets dark and I say, Oh darn, I forgot we have to buy lights!

Sorry. Was attempting helpfulness.

Thanks, Kitiara.  No problem. :)  Perhaps I misunderstood what ZZ was saying.

Well, when I move them in I don't always buy them many lights as there are usually more urgent requirements like beds and toilets.  If you don't have "no what's this" then any light you put in afterwards gets booed  (got worse after Uni, in the base game they did like one or two of the expensive ones), but the environment bar in their stats is the same whether you put in cheap lights or dear ones.

The flamingo I was meaning was Gnomon's flamingo of contentment, which stops their stats from falling too low, but also affect any visitors to the lot - they mostly don't go home for two days!

You must have his visitors stay late patch also. :)  I've noticed some of my visitors never go home with this patch also.  In fact, sometimes they fall asleep in the bathroom, and I have to use Merola's mirror to make them leave or use some other device.

Actually, no I don't!  The flamingo is all that's necessary if there's a hot tub to keep them clean!

I tried the flamingo for a while. Gave it up up simply because my lots were like grand central station. Visitors never wanted to go away. I guess they were too happy.

Too true!  But maybe you had the flamingo of happiness?  That, I find, is just a little too good, as all my overeating sims keep getting fat!

Actually it was the flamingo of contentment. The happiness one was too much like cheating for me. My theory (unproven of course, feel free to correct me), is that energy has something to do with leaving time for visitors, and with the flamingo they never reached the scram point. Could be very wrong.

Well, I think it's a combination of energy and being ignored!  That's why the lone chess players never stick around for long!  The flamingo of happiness is occasionally very useful for a quick pick-me-up for pregnant sims, but I sell it again as soon as they're feeling better and go back to the flamingo of contentment.

This has just happened to me again, this time post-NL and post both patches.  Poor Trepie was the victim on this occasion.  He'd gone to bed pretty hungry, unable to tear himself away from his beloved Lilith as usual, and by the time he went to work his hunger bar was almost empty.  I assumed he'd be fed at work, but he got a chance card which gave him a nice bonus and an instant promotion to Business Tycoon.  When he came home, the stupid maid's van was in the way like in the previous example and the helicopter couldn't land.  This time when I deleted it, Trepie appeared on the lawn and immediately dropped down dead.  Luckily, Angela's fiance was able to successfully plead with the Reaper (Lilith was at work) and Trepie was none the worse for wear, but had no recollection of making it to Business Tycoon and no permanent plat, and his LTW was still the same.  Again, I sorted it in SimPE, but I am disappointed to see that this problem is still occurring after another expansion and two patches.

Ancient - FEED YOUR SIMS!

Zephyr, if my Sims choose to ignore the food in favour of yet another pillow fight with their beloveds, I am not gonna stop 'em - they know where the fridge is!  Trepie got into this state because rather than eat, he preferred to clean the shower while Lilith was having a bath, sit next to her reading a book while she was studying for a skillpoint, look through the telescope while she was using the punchbag, relax on the bed while she was sleeping in the other side of it ... you know the drill.  There was no way Lilith was ever going to eat so he could copy that because she'd eaten at work, so he was doomed to just following her around like a little lapdog.  He's totally and utterly besotted by her, he won't leave her alone.  And as he also fancies Angela, if Lilith's at work he spends the entire day following her around instead, which is what he'd done the previous day until Lilith got home.

Sounds like Trepie needs a bit more get up and go!  My sims ALL know where the fridge is!  My problem is STOPPING them from cooking!

Inge's no-autonomy fridge -- works like a charm. :)

I know, I've used it in the past, but I have so many custom fridges now!