CC problems with FreeTime

[Miao]

I've searched here, on Google, and on other sites but couldn't find anything helpful. So far I'd only found one person who had about the same problem as I'm having, but the commenters failed to come up with any solutions.

What's happening:
Most of the objects that require a custom mesh are flashing blue in my game, and the others just reverted to a Maxis mesh. Custom genetics (hair, eyes, skintones), makeup, and clothing are not appearing in CAS, even though my existing Sims were exactly as I left them before the installation and the randomly generated Sims in CAS still generate with my geneticized skintones, hair and eyes. My hacks and mods also do not seem to be working. My downloaded lots, terrains, walls, floors, etc. still show up in the catalog.

Background:
I did all of the following:

1. Backed up all my downloads and saved games and took out my hacks/mods before installing FT for the first time
2. Sifted through all my hacks, deleting or replacing them as needed with updated ones, before putting them back in the Downloads folder. I loaded the game the second time, and the majority of the custom content objects were flashing blue.
3. Uninstalled and reinstalled FreeTime, letting the game delete the My Documents/The Sims 2/ folder and create a new one, but leaving my Downloads folder on the Desktop.
4. Loaded the game two times after reinstalling, putting my Downloads folder back prior to the second time, but the same objects were flashing blue.
5. Took out only my default replacements, custom foods, and hacks. Nothing changes...still flashing.

I have all the EPs except BV, and no SPs. I had not the gotten flashing blue CC objects or the missing CAS thumbs with the installation of any of the other EPs on this computer, and I had not done anything differently this time around. I'm just glad I made backups of everything beforehand.

ETA: I have the newest version of SimPE, but hadn't touched it yet.

Does FT handle downloads differently? I can't see how, as most people's complaints have little to do with CC. Is it a problem with a corrupt file or files, or was there something that I failed to do at some point in this whole tedious process? Please tell me if I'd missed something glaringly obvious.

Help would be much appreciated!

[mommytotwo]

Did you enable CC?

[Miao]

Yeah, every single time.

I have had to click Enable Custom Content every single time I loaded the game (no less than 6 times), which is odd since the game should remember which option I chose the last time.

[purplehaze]

Try enabling the custom content, then clicking the 'display custom content on start up' to the off position.

As far as the flashing blue, it's truly strange. I had that happen to some of my window meshes before. Had the mesh, had the recolors. Yep. Even downloaded the content again and reinstalled it. They strobed on me..even showing blue in the catalog. It was only a few windows (phoenix_phaerie's). I am now on a different computer and have installed the same windows and doors with no problems. Maybe someone could shed some light on this?

[morriganrant]

I've solved this a few times for people by telling them to remove the downloads folder and run bodyshop, or a sims2pack, to make a new one and then moving all of the content from the old downloads folder to the new one. I have no idea why this worked except that maybe the capitalization was wrong.

Have you enabled custom on the start up screen and then gone to the options menu to make sure that that option to "enable custom" is also clicked, then exited the game and restarted it?

[Miao]

I've solved this a few times for people by telling them to remove the downloads folder and run bodyshop, or a sims2pack, to make a new one and then moving all of the content from the old downloads folder to the new one. I have no idea why this worked except that maybe the capitalization was wrong.

Thanks! I'll see if this works...still doesn't really explain how the walls/floors still show up in game, though. So strange.

Have you enabled custom on the start up screen and then gone to the options menu to make sure that that option to "enable custom" is also clicked, then exited the game and restarted it?

I'm pretty sure I did, but I'm going to load the game again and make sure.

[Miao]

I've solved this a few times for people by telling them to remove the downloads folder and run bodyshop, or a sims2pack, to make a new one and then moving all of the content from the old downloads folder to the new one.

It worked! Thanks!

Still pretty bizarre, though.

[purplehaze]

Thank you! I will try that when I get back to the other computer later this week. Sadly, winter vacation is over and I'm headed to colder climes. 

[kuronue]

I'm fairly certain the bodyshop engine won't read downloads folders that are not capitalized, but the other aspects of the game do, so half your stuff works if you forget to capitalize, leading to odd and annoying glitches

[angelyne]

I've also seen some weird issues where the game didn't like that I named some of my folders lot.residential.xxxx

It would ignore the cc inside such folders.

[friendlyquark]

Honestly, none of my bodyshop CC has ever really shown up in my games. I made a separate "savedsims" folder and put all the cc for bodyshop into that one, it stopped all my problems.