More Awesome Than You!

I've been slowly but surely working my way through my downloads folder, weeding out objects I don't like/want/need/use.  (I'm already done with bodyshop stuff.)  The thing is, it seems like everytime I start the game and open buyables sections, I always get these multiple instances of recolours popping up.  I'll end up with five or so identical files that do NOT show up as pink on Cleaninstaller.  I delete the extras every time, but they just keep coming back.  This has been happening since my base game, so I know it's not something new... it's just really starting to cheese me off.  Any ideas?

It may be that the files are gone, but the thumbnails are not, which is why they keep showing up.  You could try deleting groups.cache, which is found in the EA Games/The Sims 2 directory under My Documents, and the various thumbnail files in the Thumbnails directory under that one.  They'll rebuild the next time you run the game -- it'll take a little longer (maybe a lot longer, depending on how much custom content you have) for the catalogs to show the first time you open one as the game rebuilds the thumbnail file.  But that should give you thumbnails of only what's currently in your game.

You also need to be sure that the files you are trying to delete in game are not marked read only.  I wasted about 3 hours that way one time...  Had to delete them all again, another 3 hours. Gah.

*twojeffs points and laughs.  :P

Silly yetyak.

Yeah, but at least I only did it once!!   ;D

im getting a similar problem, or maybe its the reverse?   i get recolors, marked by the nice asterisk, but i dont spawn the trashcan when i point on them and cant delete them.   they probably are different files, but ive ended up with three colors of white sofa from downloading collections.   its only really been happening in NL and OFB.  im wondering if this is something weird im getting from overloading with downloads (who me?)  or if other people are experiencing it too.  i thought of it here because i did end up with some stuff makred readonly, and i dont know how.   since then though i took the whole EA Games tree and made it rw all the way down.  still have my problem.

There's a workaround for that. If you buy the recolour and use the design tool on it, you can then delete it.  Or something like that.

Err...I know it has something to do with that.  Anyone help me out?  Amber?  Helloo.....?

design tool? you mean simpe?  i guess its long past due that i start working with recolors.   

No, the design tool is in game.  Looks like a key to me, but I tihnk it's supposed to represent swatches.

uh oh, another blonde moment.   this is like where i didnt realize that i had to configure the red army toilet paper.   okay i'll go check for a key looking thingie...

Well, I have some windows that show blue in the menu, and shift-clicking them didn't help.  Now, I have these in other sets of game files pre-OFB and they are fine.  I also get blue icons for Echo's rugmeshes.  I can only assume that for some reason the actual meshes are showing as icons, and wondered if there is a way around this?

That one I know, having found out by accident.  You have to delete the thumbnails and regenerate completely--I know you said you hate doing it, but it's the only way.  You must've deletted a texture that the thumb was reading as default, so now all the thumbs freak out.  When it regenerates the thumbs, it'll pick a different texture for the default.

I'll follow the advice - but I haven't deleted anything since I installed OFB so it must be left over from when I moved out my previous game and its associated downloads!  Oh well, lets hope this time it works and I don't end up with more blue objects than ever!   :)

That's possible.  I'm a habitual deleter (whose dl folder is still FAR too big), so I run into that a lot.  It just has to be spanked so it finds the right textures to use instead of sitting and pouting about not using the old ones.

the keylookingthingie is right underneath the eyedropperlookingthingie  ;D

You'd think, though, that since I moved the whole downloads folder out before installing oFB, then the newly created PV and put a new set of downloads in, (many I'd used before, but a not the original file, a new copy) that the old set of thumbnails would have gone and a new set would have started to generate.  

You'd think.  Then again, the day that EA lets Maxis be logical is the day the Rhine flows backwards and with amber lager.

LOL! ;D