Invisible Objects Are Back Again

[Shupinola]

Some time back, I had a problem with areas of lots becoming unusable - just tile spaces on the lot. Sometimes it was inside a house - sometimes outside in the middle of an untouched grass area. A search around and I discovered that it was kicky bags that was causing the problems and the search eventually led me to the College Adjuster by Two Jeffs (back then it was on Mod The Sims 2). It cured the problem and there was much rejoicing all round (well, I was happy about it).

New College Adjuster also has the thing for getting rid of stuck kicky bags, but as I have a hack that stops all autonomous use of kicky bag, it doesn't get any use ... but nice to know it's there.

Just prior to getting Nightlife, I had a house where I got a tile that was unuseable - right in front of the cooker in the kitchen on the lot. Nothing I did would free up the tile and after a short while, more began to crop up. No games of kicky bag were taking place and I tried both the College Adjuster and JM's Lot Fixer, but neither cured it and I eventually had to tear down the house.

Since installing Nightlife, it's started to happen more often. I built a house for a new family a few days back. Five kids later, I decided that it was time to expand the house a little, but was annoyed to find that there was a strip of unusable tiles right in the path of my intended extension. As this house is on a foundation, I needed to extend that first, but nothing would help. No kicky bags (at least no option to remove them on the College Adjuster). I can't raise or lower the land where the affected tiles are, but Sims can stand there and I can place shrubs and flowers there. Worse still, even though I can't build the foundation out, I would have been content with a overhanging room on the second floor, but I'm cursed there too. As soon as I attempt to place a floor tile that would be floating above the affected area, I find I'm not allowed to place it. I can build up to and along the affected area, but you're talking about building a house that will have a slice missing out of it.

I've noticed that there has always been a problem at the crossroads where the Broke house is. All lots you place on any of these corners end up having problems - either objects won't place correctly and bleed into other objects or walls, or you can't place on/in some areas at all. It did this on my old PC and now on my New PC which was a new, clean install. But this is now spreading all over my neighbourhood and it's occurring more and more often. I only have 12 families in Pleasantview and have none in the other default neighbourhoods. I haven't sent anyone to college since installing Nightlife (and that was a full reinstall with a fresh start of the game, so there's no old students at Uni). I'm on first generation Sims, so it can't be associated with multi-generations. I have the hack that prevents Townies from respawning, so even though a couple of Sims have Townie family members, there shouldn't be hundreds of new Townies taking over the game.

Video Drivers were recently updated and the PC is well and truly way beyond the recommended specs. There's over three quarters of the hard drive free.

Any chance someone with more knowledge than me can take a look at this problem with invisible objects and come up with something to nuke these hot spots (hmmm ... mixed metaphor?)

Finally, sorry if some of you read half a message that just cut out, but I hit the Tab key by mistake and the message was posted, so I had to update it with the rest of the message.
 

[DrBeast]

Hmm...you could try torching that space. Get Sir Ignitus Blowtorch's Buyable Fire from MTS2: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=41989&highlight=Buyable+Fire and place it on the offending tile. Not guaranteed to work though. Oh, and try to fence in the area before lighting up, this devil spreads like...well, fire actually!

[Brynne]

I've run into this problem a lot. I would try everything, TJ's adjuster, fire, nothing worked. I was trying to build a pool house behind my main  house and was frustrated to find 4 or 5 tiles that refused to allow a foundation placed there. I ended up building the house on the other side of the lot. I've also had problems after moving the in-ground hot-tub. Those tiles would be rendered useless as soon as the hot tub was moved. The four ground tiles where it was were sunken in, and I tried to level it, but kept getting "terrain cannot be leveled" messages. If it was on a deck or a foundation, the 4 tiles underneath, on the ground itself, were unable to be leveled, as well. I couldn't put any floor tiles down. The only thing I could put there was another hot tub.

Wish I had some answers for you. This useless post of mine is just for commiserational purposes, though.

[Shupinola]

Thanks to both of you. Actually, commiserations aren't as useless as you might think, because if people share common problems, then it sometimes ends up with someone trying to make a fix for it.

As for the fire thing, I've found it to be useful for some things that get stuck and can't be deleted (especially cookers that set on fire and then you can't get the food). So far, I've never had it work with stuck ground or stuck foundations, but as I haven't tried that on this lot, I'm willing to give it a try. I'll download the fire thing from MTS2 and give it a go.

I'm currently suffering a virus (biological, not computer) that is making life pretty crappy and I haven't slept for over 39 hours, so at some point (probably very soon) I'll pass out Sims-style (most likely on my sofa as it's more comfortable than my bed). That means I may not post an update for some time about whether the fire thing works or not. When the swaying stops for long enough, I play TS2 or read posts here. The rest of the time I just lie down watching DVDs (see how well I care for myself when I'm ill  ). So I will reply, but if it's not for some time, I'm either asleep of the virus is getting worse.

Oh, and the above isn't an attempt at getting sympathy messages. I've been ill before and I will be again. I'll live. ... although any nice young ladies who want to come round and pamper me, make me cups of hot tea, chicken soup and tidy up my place for me would be welcome ... even when I'm not ill. 

[Ancient Sim]

I had a similar problem a while back in one of the Strangetown dorms, except it was a fridge not a cooker.  All the Sims insisted there was something blocking their path and when I used the cheat to show their paths, it went round that space not through it.  There was simply nothing there and when I used moveobjects I could stand the Sims on that space, but as soon as I went live they sort of jumped off it and started screaming about blockages again.  The only explanation I could think of was that a dead llama mascot kept standing there to open the fridge.  JM couldn't get to the bottom of it so he added an experimental "clear blocked fridge tiles" option to the Lot Debugger.  Unfortunately, that didn't work either so in the end I bulldozed the dorm and replaced it with the original and that worked just fine.  Had to lose the ghost unfortunately as it was pre-Nightlife, but it had to be done.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I would think it might be a problem with NL, like there was with Uni, and certain houses just didn't update properly.  I would personally just bulldoze the lot and build a new house there, but then, I like building houses!

I used to get problems pre Sims2 base game patch with the little houses along from the original Broke house.  Delivery vehicles would keep getting stuck and a lot of other annoying glitches, but I never have problems with them now.

Someone did post an answer on this site to the problem of unusable tiles, but I can't offhand remember in what connection, or what the thread was called.  But I think the solution was fairly simple.  Maybe someone who isn't so far gone in senility will remember the thread?

[Pegasys]

This isn't the same as your invisible objects problem, but I had terrible problems with the Goth lot and had to bulldoze it. This was pre-hacks, pre-Nightlife, etc. People would get spooked by things like chairs and shrubbery in the backyard; they'd get teleported several tiles while walking from point A to B, their arms would get stretched back behind them like Gumby, and the funniest thing that I got a picture of was when Alexander was using the Energizer and he was a actually a few tiles outside of the energizer getting energized.

Just another commiserative post, sorry no help...

[Brynne]

I would think it might be a problem with NL, like there was with Uni, and certain houses just didn't update properly.  I would personally just bulldoze the lot and build a new house there, but then, I like building houses!

I used to get problems pre Sims2 base game patch with the little houses along from the original Broke house.  Delivery vehicles would keep getting stuck and a lot of other annoying glitches, but I never have problems with them now.

Someone did post an answer on this site to the problem of unusable tiles, but I can't offhand remember in what connection, or what the thread was called.  But I think the solution was fairly simple.  Maybe someone who isn't so far gone in senility will remember the thread?

A while back there was a thread and I think it was Bane~child who gave the advice to put floor tiles down first, or something. Once I got the floor tiles down, though, they were there permanently. And I still couldn't build a foundation over it!


One thing I want to mention is that one time when I had this problem,  the foundation couldn't be built, fences couldn't be added, and sims were complaining about not being able to tip the bass player on my lot because of a blocked path when there was seemingly nothing in the way. In this instance, however, I finally remembered that I had put an invisible fence in that spot a long time before, and, since I couldn't see it, had forgotten all about it. 

[ZephyrZodiac]

You're right, Brynne, it was BaneChild who came up with the solution, and it did work for me - but I didn't have any invisible fences, LOL.  (I did download a set from Spiffy's I think, but decided the problem of finding them again would defeat me!)

[Myth]

This may sound silly but just started happening with NL in my Legacy house.  I don't know if it was the custom carpet or NL but for some reason items placed on the ground by Sims and puddles disappeared from view.  If I didn't catch them being set down by the Sim then I had an usable tile and would have to remove the carpet in that spot to find and move or delete the offending object. 

Although even in "invisible" mode I could highlight the object and get the Sim to clean it if it were a puddle. 

[BlueSoup]

I find that my Sims can "hide" stuff under custom rugs, which is solved if I temporarily move the rug, then remove the object (usually homework - I guess they don't want to do it either).

I have also found that puddles are a much bigger pain than they used to be, with Sims not wanting to mop up certain portions.  It seems to be near the toilet, and once I move the toilet, they'll mop up the puddle.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I think if you'd read the small print that came with the original meshes, you'd have known that small objects sink through the rugs, which are cloned from a sculpture, I think, and therefore are taking up a lot more floorspace than the original.  ie, they aren't really there!

[BlueSoup]

I did know that, actually, but I use them anyway.     I like them more than the fugly Maxis rugs.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, no doubt there'll be nice recolours of the Maxis ones soon.  (I have hundreds of the custom ones, though, and I do use them, but I usually make sure there are plenty of coffee tables around!

[Shupinola]

Finally awake again.

Can anyone expand on this invisible object finder from Spiffy's? Does anyone have a link to the site so I can take a look?

I've invested a lot of time building this lot (though nowhere near enough time playing it) and I'm getting really fed up of having to bulldoze every lot and rebuild after four hours of play because something always goes wrong. I'd like to try every possible solution before I have to bulldoze yet again.

I've actually bulldozed and rebuilt one particular lot four times, and I've probably only clocked up something like 20 hours total play time over the four versions of that house.

Finally, thanks for the interesting comments people. What a change to the 'official' site where I'd get endless replies about updating my video card drivers, defragging my hard drive, doing a complete reinstall, removing those evil hacks or being asked if my PC specs were up to scratch. Oh, and lets not forget the fact that you always get at least one reply over there that says, 'Well MY game works fine and I've never had a single problem with it!'. 

It's nice to get intelligent replies.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I don't know about an invisible object finder at Spiffy's - but I think I mentioned that I have an invisible fence which I think came from there.  I would think, as long as you don't go near portals, then Move_objects on would find invisible objects.  (I remember it did in Sims1.)

[baratron]

Damnit. I KNOW there was someone who had this exact same problem before, and JMP ended up adding a new option to the FFS Lot Debugger. I simply cannot remember anything else about it, though.

You have tried the Lot Debugger? As well as invisible kicky bags, you can also get invisible stuck cellphones, invisible stuck ghost emitters, er, and some other things. My brain = cheese at the moment, so coherence is non-existent.

I'll try to find the link of the earlier post for you.

Edit: OK, I think this is the thread I was remembering: What's Blocking Their Path?. And the other invisible object I had forgotten about was a "stuck fridge tile". Seems possible, if your mysterious object is in the kitchen?

I also found the Now what? Terrain can't be leveled. And it's already flat. thread, which might help with your other problem. Hope it's useful.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Debugs stuck fridge tiles and loads of other stuck objects, but only appears if there are any to get rid of.  I'd say, if the debugger doesn't find it, it's something that apparently has the right to be where it is, but for some reason you can't see it, but the debugger can!  You could also try scanning the affected area with the eyedropper thingy - it might identify something, though in a dorm you'd have to turn it into a residential lot first.

[Shupinola]

I posted a reply and it didn't turn up. I had mentioned that I don't allow my Sims to use cellphones or play kicky bag. I also came up with some ideas about getting around the problem that hackers could try, but it was very spur of the moment stuff and I can't remember it all now (dratted virus is playing with my brain).

I always thought the Lot Debugger was incompatible with NL, but things are getting so bad that it's worth trying it.

I'll also check out the other thread.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, the debugger is fine in my game, and I know a lot of other people have had no probs, as I remember asking before I put it back in.