Things We've Learned From The BBS

[Motoki]

Ugh them and their "boolprop" paranoia.  First of all, it's debug mode, or testingcheatsenabled. It's NOT friggin boolprop! boolprop is just a boolean property, which is just a code property that can only be either true or false. There's lots of 'boolprop's. boolprop constrainfloorelevation true/false, boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true/false, boolprop dormspecifictoolsdisabled true/false etc/etc.

Second, it's not a virus, it will not make your computer explode, if it gives you an error message there may in fact not be anything major going on other than a hiccup or sim getting stuck or other normal situation that the game would normally fix on its own automatically and you would never be the wiser.

It's just a debug mode so the designers could set up certain situations quickly like make a sim a vampire without having to be friends with one etc etc so they don't have to spend hours playing to test certain features out.

Yes it can potentially mess up your game, but you know what? The game can (and has for me at times!) get pretty darned messed up on its own even if you never turn on the debug mode and never downloaded any custom content whatsoever. Always backup your neighborhood regularly regardless, but I have used "boolprop"  many, many times and guess what? My game still runs and my computer did not go down in a big ball of flames.

/rant

BTW this wasn't directed at you specifically Kelly but rather at the "boolprop" paranoia I've read over at the BBS.

[KellyQ]

Ugh them and their "boolprop" paranoia.  First of all, it's debug mode, or testingcheatsenabled. It's NOT friggin boolprop! boolprop is just a boolean property, which is just a code property that can only be either true or false. There's lots of 'boolprop's. boolprop constrainfloorelevation true/false, boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true/false, boolprop dormspecifictoolsdisabled true/false etc/etc.

Truthfully when I first got the game back in February and then found the BBS, I was terrified of using "boolprop" after reading all the "boolprop ruined my game" threads. It wasn't until I found VS and then followed JM here that I began to have an understanding of what it actually was and what's it uses were. It annoys me that that kind of paranoia and misinformation is allowed to run rampant on the BBS...even more then the twincheats and Bella rumours.

[Andygal]

I used to be terrified of hacks. and "boolprop". But eventually my curiousity got me to MTS2 where I found Pescado's novelprogresbar hack and well that had been one of my biggest annoyances that you couldn't see how far they were along on their novel. So downloaded it and it worked great and didn't make my game explode./ So that more or less cured my terror of hacks.

As for the debug cheat I eventually found a tutorial and learned what NOT to do and then I used it a few times (got Lazlo Curious abdcuted, and a few other things) and now I am still cautious about it but I'm not paranoid about it.

[Regina]

I'll admit, the testingcheats isn't something with which I'm real comfortable and just the past week even started using, and that was because I found out the new NPC maker's in there! LOL  I tend to trust the hacked objects which are made by people who'll do the same thing as the testing cheats because I trust their programming more than I trust myself with that command.  Even so, for the most part it's been very trouble free.  I've done a few things cautiously and haven't gone trying to figure out what every option is for.  If I get that curious I'll do it in my testing neighborhood.

And all this discussion about the testing cheats reminded me of something else I learned on the BBS, the flip-side of the paranoia about testing cheats:  if something goes wrong with your game, no matter what it is, you can fix it with 'boolprop'!

[kewian]

Today I have learned that when you want to advertise something you should put it in every section and spell it terribly and spam up the whole board. I didnt know that. Also curse words make great user names.

[Regina]

Today I have learned that when you want to advertise something you should put it in every section and spell it terribly and spam up the whole board. I didnt know that. Also curse words make great user names.

Actually, if you go back you'll find those are good examples of what not to do.  Those accounts will be banned and the spam will be cleaned up.  If the BBS has one upside it's the moderators, even if some of them do get a little trigger happy occasionally.

[Bangelnuts]

Today I have learned that when you want to advertise something you should put it in every section and spell it terribly and spam up the whole board. I didnt know that. Also curse words make great user names.

Actually, if you go back you'll find those are good examples of what not to do.  Those accounts will be banned and the spam will be cleaned up.  If the BBS has one upside it's the moderators, even if some of them do get a little trigger happy occasionally.

ditto on the moderators getting a bit trigger happy at times. I learned by being banned for 3 days never ever direct a bbs'er to another website for  a hack or a mod that answers their specif ic want or need instead tell them to do an internet search  even though enter nightlife censor disabler will get you zero results when you google it that are useful.Your search for "Sims2 nightlife censor disabler" returned no results. case in point this is the result I got when I googled for a censor blur disabler. but thats what your supposed to tell BBS's readers to do an internet search

[Trubble]

That ferretlance1 + ferretlance2 = ferretfun

Creating a legend is easy.

The world is in very grave danger.

[Zythe]

I learnt that "yuor not suposd 2 us geek talk on teh intrent". By that, they mean things like grammar, correct spellings and punctuation.

[vector]

I learnt that "yuor not suposd 2 us geek talk on teh intrent". By that, they mean things like grammar, correct spellings and punctuation.

LOL! Seriously?

[Kestran]

What is bene or benes?

[ZephyrZodiac]

I presume it doesn't have it's original meaning "blessing"!

[simmiecal]

What is bene or benes?

It's supposed to be a rating system. If someone posts something that you find helpful or "bene"ficial then you can press a little button to vote the post as being "bene"ficial. In theory, someone who is helpful and posts a lot of good information will have a high bene rating. Unfortunately, it becomes a popularity contest over on the official BBS and the ratings are meaningless: people that post often (but give bad info) or offer to type out the Prima guide may have high bene ratings even though they haven't really added anything constructive to the community.

Did I help you? Give me a bene.   

[laeshanin]

I learnt that "yuor not suposd 2 us geek talk on teh intrent". By that, they mean things like grammar, correct spellings and punctuation.

AAARRRGGGGGHHH! Head will explode if I see more of that crap...!  Why, why, why, why, why?

And yup, Z.Z., that's the one. Bull diving analogous to sky diving. 

[lauraglenn]

I've learned that things are always my fault.  I did it.  It's not the game because 5 people will answer and say, "I don't have that problem."  Also, Maxis and EA are never at fault.  "Don't you know how hard it is to make a game?"  "Don't you know difficult it is to make a patch?" and the new one, "They can't give away the new mini expansion pack for free, they need the money!!"

[vector]

Ever since the outcry over the "we don't think we need to release a University patch. It's a very open game, and is difficult to test" thing a few months back, I've noticed large numbers of BBSers repeat it incessantly. Bug reports? "Don't you know teh game is reeeelly hard to test? YOU try testing it and see how hard it is, meanie". Enquiries about patches? "Teh game is very open and its too hard to test everything, stfu already about it and reinstall your game".

 

[diamonde]

and the new one, "They can't give away the new mini expansion pack for free, they need the money!!"

... Yeah, EA are really hurting for cash.  I expect to be dodging a guy collecting for empoverished game designers in the CBD any day now.

Please, everyone knows that if they needed the money that badly they'd have released the Halloween pack.

[Syera]

Ugh them and their "boolprop" paranoia.  First of all, it's debug mode, or testingcheatsenabled. It's NOT friggin boolprop! boolprop is just a boolean property, which is just a code property that can only be either true or false. There's lots of 'boolprop's. boolprop constrainfloorelevation true/false, boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true/false, boolprop dormspecifictoolsdisabled true/false etc/etc.

My sentiments exactly, Motoki.  People referring to this code simply as "boolprop" drives me nuts!  If you're going to call it anything, "testingcheats" is much more descriptive and actually reflects the command you're talking about, unlike "boolprop," which could refer to any number of commands.

[kewian]

Oh..I just boolproped  a new sim for my family!   (ducks and runs out of the room)   Oh I do have a stupid question though-who is Nectere and why is it stupid? (he\she)

[ZephyrZodiac]

I quite often boolprop a diagonal sofa!

[Kala]

Y'all, laugh while you can.  Someday, kids like those on the BBS will be changing our Depends.   

Not if I throw my own poop at them first

I don't visit the BBS oftin.  A few months after I got the game, I found a couple of foarms I liked better. 

[laeshanin]

I quite often boolprop a diagonal sofa!

Hehheheh...

[RainbowTigress]

Oh..I just boolproped  a new sim for my family!   (ducks and runs out of the room)   Oh I do have a stupid question though-who is Nectere and why is it stupid? (he\she)

Nectere is a user here.  JM often puts the name of people who leave the chat room before he can "kick" them first in the News box.  Inge's name was up there for a long time as well as someone else I can't remember right now.  Sometimes it will not change for days.

[Brynne]

Katze was stupid for weeks! I was stupid for two days, I think, a while back. And Inge is often a round mound of grey...something. 

[kewian]

Thanks for the explanation. i thought it was some sort of humiliating punishment.