My Sim's Butler *served* TV dinners for dinner...

[Gastfyr]

(I really hope I'm posting this in the right place, and I'll try not to have an emotional breakdown if this gets moved to Retardo Land  )

Here is a screenshot of the butler serving out the TV dinners (which, he mannaged to burn, by the way):
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/Rosawyn/Sims2/ButtlerServeTVDin.jpg

How the heck did he mannaged to *serve* something that can only be made as a single plate anyway?

I think I have to fire the guy, unless there is some way to "fix" him.  I have had good expirences with buttlers in a couple other households, but I'm pretty sure this is a different butler.  He's so freaking sloppy, he complains and looks at me everytime he actually goes to clean something.   

Maybe I can use boolprop to make him selectable and then drag his neatness and cooking skill to the top.  Never done that before (but it would probably be helpful for nannies as well).

[marjchaos]

My sim's butler did this too.  I thought it was pretty funny actually.

[seven]

I've experienced this as well. It seems that all of the butlers have low cooking skill points. The nanny serves better dishes! I've gotten lobster thermodor out of her.

I don't know how to increase his points, but it would be great if we could.

ETA: I tried tipping the butler and it worked. He had served cereal and then, after tipping $100, he served omelets.

[Gastfyr]

In another household, the butler only serves omlettes for breakfast and lobster for dinner, so they can't all have low cooking skill, but they should all have it maxed by default in my oppinion.  I'd have to have to tip the freaking guy; he's expensive enough as it is.  But when he does his job properly, he can be very useful to active sims with little to no cookins skill so they're not spending all ther time trying to fill up on hot dogs, lucnchmeat sandwiches, and cereal.  lol  Also, he's a pretty handy gardener who comes every day, so he can take care of the seasons fruit and veggies (something the regular gardener can't do without hacks).

don't know how to increase his points, but it would be great if we could.

I've never do this myself, but supposedly you can do it with boolprop testingcheatsenabled true.  Enther that code in the cheat command box in neighbourhood screen, then enter the lot.  Shift+click on the butler and choose, "make selectable".  Then go to his personality and skills tabs and just click and drag to pull the points up (or down) however you like them.  Can also have him go to a mirror and "change appearance" if you like.  Then, when you're done editing him, shift+click him and choose "make unselectable".  Open cheat command box (cntrl+shift+c) and type in "boolprop testingcheatsenabled false" then save your game and exit the lot (for some reason boolprop testingcheatsenabled doesn't get turned off properly most of the time for me unless I actaully exit the lot and come back in; not sure why lol).

It should work, and then I'll have an ubber-butler.     Ima gonna try it.

[jsalemi]

Most of us here play with the testing cheats on all the time, and don't even bother ever turning them off.

[Gastfyr]

Most of us here play with the testing cheats on all the time, and don't even bother ever turning them off.

If I did that, I think I'd always be accedentally "fulfilling" wants by clicking on them.     That, and messing up a lot of other stuff.  I often play with one or two real life toddlers climbing all over my lap and bumping into my elbows, so I probalby wouldn't even know what all I'd borked to be able to fix it.

[Kyna]

Most of us here play with the testing cheats on all the time, and don't even bother ever turning them off.

If I did that, I think I'd always be accedentally "fulfilling" wants by clicking on them.     That, and messing up a lot of other stuff.  I often play with one or two real life toddlers climbing all over my lap and bumping into my elbows, so I probalby wouldn't even know what all I'd borked to be able to fix it.

You wouldn't accidentally fulfil their wants simply by clicking on them, you need to ctrl-click on wants to fulfil them.  Most debug mode options require holding down the shift key or the ctrl key while using your mouse.

About the only things you and your jostling toddlers could accidentally do with debug mode on is raise/lower the sim's needs, skills, friendship levels, hobby levels, interests, or personality (as these can all be adjusted by dragging the sliders) -  nothing that could bork your game.

[Chain_Reaction]

Most of us here play with the testing cheats on all the time, and don't even bother ever turning them off.

Yeah I leave mine enabled too. I've saved so many lots this way because for whatever reason one of them always spits errors at me after installing a new EP (with hacks taken out) for whatever reason and if they weren't enabled the game would continue to load endlessly.

[Lerf]

Is there a microwave in the kitchen where TV dinners and/or Ramen is being served?  I notice that as soon as I put one in that the meals changed.

[maxon]

I've never do this myself, but supposedly you can do it with boolprop testingcheatsenabled true.  Enther that code in the cheat command box in neighbourhood screen, then enter the lot.  Shift+click on the butler and choose, "make selectable".  Then go to his personality and skills tabs and just click and drag to pull the points up (or down) however you like them.  Can also have him go to a mirror and "change appearance" if you like.  Then, when you're done editing him, shift+click him and choose "make unselectable".  Open cheat command box (cntrl+shift+c) and type in "boolprop testingcheatsenabled false" then save your game and exit the lot (for some reason boolprop testingcheatsenabled doesn't get turned off properly most of the time for me unless I actaully exit the lot and come back in; not sure why lol).

Debug Mode only changes it's on or off state (for many things anyway) once you change the state of the game - exiting or entering a lot - that's why the turning off doesn't stick till you exit the lot. 

For those of us who use the empty templates and no respawn hacks, you need to watch it making an NPC selectable.  If you do that for long enough and the game requires the type of NPC on the lot, it will spawn a new one while the old one is selected.  I found this out with one of the BV hotel maids.  I selected her just long enough to give her a command and get her to start to do some, you know, actual work for her living when the game spawned a new one.  I can't have had her selected for more than 10-15 seconds.

[Alex]

The Butler has maxed out Cooking skill points, so why he's burning practically everything is quite a mystery.

But having to be served microwavable meals? How lazy can you get?

[Gastfyr]

Is there a microwave in the kitchen where TV dinners and/or Ramen is being served?

Not in my sim's house; he cooked them up in the oven.

The Butler has maxed out Cooking skill points, so why he's burning practically everything is quite a mystery.

I think it's becuause he was so sloppy.  When I made him selectable, I noticed his maxed cooking (and cleaning and mechanical).  But I have observed that messy sims are far more likely to burn food than neat sims with the same cooking skill (even if they're in a good mood).  I keep reading online that cooking and mechanical are unneffected by personality, but in my expirence, both are better suited to neat sims.  I dont' know if they actually learn the skills faster, but they certainly seem to have far less failed attempts when actaully practicing the skills.

For those of us who use the empty templates and no respawn hacks, you need to watch it making an NPC selectable.  If you do that for long enough and the game requires the type of NPC on the lot, it will spawn a new one while the old one is selected.  I found this out with one of the BV hotel maids.  I selected her just long enough to give her a command and get her to start to do some, you know, actual work for her living when the game spawned a new one.  I can't have had her selected for more than 10-15 seconds.

I have the no towning respawning hack, but I don't have the one for npcs at present.  By the way, I *hate* those freaking hotel maids.  Is there *any* way short of making them selectable and actually telling them to clean to get them to freaking *clean*?  It sucks bad enough that you can't leave the lot and have to watch them clean, but staying in my hotel all day watching the hotel maid *not* clean is beyond maddening.   

[coralleane]

I had the butler do this as well; slightly worryingly one of the served trays was invisible.  I didn't realise it was there until Nina sat down and autonomously started eating it..! I've not had it happen again since, visible or not. 

[Solowren]

The butlers do this to me, too. Lazy jerks!

Add me to the plays-in-debug-mode club.

[Gastfyr]

I had the butler do this as well; slightly worryingly one of the served trays was invisible.  I didn't realise it was there until Nina sat down and autonomously started eating it..!

Wow.  Invisible TV tray.  Wonder if it would have also had invisible flies/green stench had it sat uneaten...  Then you'd have bottomed out enviro score for that room and no idea why.

But really, if I had a real life buttler who tried to serve TV dinners, I'd laugh in his face and tell him to do the job I was paying him for if he expected to keep getting paid.  I can stick a freaking TV dinner in the microwave myself, thank you very much.

[sloppyhousewife]

My butler served normal stuff, but I had the "serve" TV dinner on an uni lot yesterday (under the influence of Food Eats You). I liked that very much - sparkly TV dinner fills up really fast, is prepared fast and gives you trash for compost.

[J. M. Pescado]

I think it's becuause he was so sloppy.  When I made him selectable, I noticed his maxed cooking (and cleaning and mechanical).  But I have observed that messy sims are far more likely to burn food than neat sims with the same cooking skill (even if they're in a good mood).

This is almost certainly a not-trueity, because I was reviewing the burn code when trying to fix the CONSTANT BURNING, even when the sim is FREAKING WATCHING IT by OPENING IT REPEATEDLY, and found nothing to support this idea, it is a pure straight random. Rather unrealistic, since as everyone knows, nothing ever burns while you are watching it. Some complicated quantum mechanics business is involved in this.

[Mirelly]

This is all simply typical of all EAxian cheatage and general laziness. The butler is baulked by locked doors that have no effect on other service personnel ... lazy EAxis not programming the NPC correctly. But no! They also "cheat" by making sure that fires and rotten service are rampant. Another example of this sort of cheatage occurs when Uni dormies abort a social situation to "go to class" at 5:30am in bare-faced contradiction to the stated class times in their skills panels. I like a challenge, but it's fucking annoying when the challenges all relate to defeating the idiotic inconsistencies left (or inserted) by the makers.

[Gastfyr]

I think it's becuause he was so sloppy.  When I made him selectable, I noticed his maxed cooking (and cleaning and mechanical).  But I have observed that messy sims are far more likely to burn food than neat sims with the same cooking skill (even if they're in a good mood).

This is almost certainly a not-trueity, because I was reviewing the burn code when trying to fix the CONSTANT BURNING, even when the sim is FREAKING WATCHING IT by OPENING IT REPEATEDLY, and found nothing to support this idea, it is a pure straight random. Rather unrealistic, since as everyone knows, nothing ever burns while you are watching it. Some complicated quantum mechanics business is involved in this.

Ok then; I stand corrected.

[Sagana]

By the way, I *hate* those freaking hotel maids.  Is there *any* way short of making them selectable and actually telling them to clean to get them to freaking *clean*?  It sucks bad enough that you can't leave the lot and have to watch them clean, but staying in my hotel all day watching the hotel maid *not* clean is beyond maddening.   

Simwardrobe has a fix for the hotel maid that works pretty well:
http://www.simwardrobe.com/
under sims2, fixes, bv fixes, service/npc fixes, improved housekeeping.