Little hacks/mods personal story (mea-culpa again)

[MissDoh]

Ok let me say this first, I always was really really afraid to had mods/hacks in my game and what happened to me tonight did not help me at all but I decided to go all the way.

Here is my story so you will understand.

I added some hacks/mods today in my game after a lot of people here suggest them to me since they had no problem with them.  I was all shaky when I did that since I never added some in my game (and I played sims 1 for 5 years and started to play sims 2 a month after it was out).  So I install them and decided to go play with a pre-made Maxis hood that I did not touch since I reinstall the game about 3 weeks ago.

I decided to go play with Stangetown and when I arrived on some lots I was like, "what is going on here" some of the Sims did not display their wants lots!  I try to repair this for an hour and a half went into Pleasantview and it was the same and decided after all it was all the fault of the mods/hacks so I was better off reinstalling the game. I was so hangry at myself and thought "Well you see what hacks/mods did to your game, you should have listen to your inner voice and never install them". I deleted all of them using really bad words ( I could tell you which but since I speak French and live in Quebec, Canada you would not understand the meaniing of those words anyway, so just imagine  )
 
So I reinstall all 3 games and the patch, make sure to make the objects.package file a read-only one, did a back-up of the Sims 2 folder (in case something would go wrong later) started the game, quit since everything was ok and then place my back-up which I made before I install those "evil mods/hacks".  Started the game with great hope but I was demolish when I saw the same problems happened again...

"What the hell is going on here???"... I said to myself (I must have been a mix of blue and red color face at that time).  Then I started to think rationally (finally), and try to remember what was in that back-up and then bang... it hit me... I removed Veronaville neighborhood from the game!!  So I place back a back-up in which I haven't deleted Veronaville yet and all was working fine... *fiew*

So I decided to roll-up my sleeves, and download again all the mods I have deleted and place them back to see if people in here that gave me great advice were wrong or right.  I reinstall all 10 of them, started my game crossing my fingers, went into Stangetown and all was perfect. * sigh of relief*

This post is simply to make a little point, it does not seem to be a good idea to delete a pre-made Maxis hood since it seems to cause weirdness in the game (why, I don't know but I will not remove any anymore unless someone tell me how to make it safe).  And mostly stop blaming everything on mods /hacks if you were told by many (and the maker espacially) that they are compatble with the game.  Look further like I did after many mix emotions.... 

So I would like to apologize to all of you that gave me great advice because I doubted them and blame it automatically on those "evil hacks/mods" in my game.

You give great advice and I feel ashamed of my thoughts....

Will you ever forgive me..... 

EDIT:  If that can make you smile, I lost an hour reinstalling for no reason lol....

[skandelouslala]

You're forgiven

You know I do the same thing...I get worried that it's something I've installed.  When I have a problem the first thing I do is take out the last hack/mod I installed before I encountered the problem *just* to be sure.

Even though I do that I can't say I've ever really had a mod conflict except the ones that weren't updated for NL that was just trial and error when putting them back in.

Even people who claim the insiminator is evil..I've never had an issue.

It's almost ironic..b/c I chuckle when I see people on other sites get all crazy about boolprop and saying it will cause problems.  Like yeah yeah..whatever.  I finally had an issue where it did cause problems in my game, so that was ironic for me after telling several people NO! BOOLPROP DID NOT CAUSE IT!! lol

Yeah it did.  Apparently redressing pregnant sims with the clothing tester that can be spawned..causes career problems and pretty major ones at that.

Sometimes you find yourself eating your own words or whatever..but it's only a game

[dusty]

If you do install a hack or mod you think has caused a problem, it's worth just removing it and running the game again to see if that helps, rather than reinstalling.  Sometimes just removing the item will be all you need to do.

[MissDoh]

If you do install a hack or mod you think has caused a problem, it's worth just removing it and running the game again to see if that helps, rather than reinstalling.  Sometimes just removing the item will be all you need to do.

Oh I did remove them, forgot to mention it in my story and the problem was not solve so for some weird reason I though reinstalling will solve this, I was so sure at that time that it was the hacks/mods that changed the programming of the game, I could not think straight.

I love your avatar Dusty, it always makes me smile.

[Inge]

The advice I always give is to try out everything new in a neighbourhood you set up specially for testing, so if anything goes wrong you only have to delete that one neighbourhood and you don't lose your real game and favourite sims.  If after playing through a couple of Sims days with your test sims everything seems ok it's probably safe to start playing your normal game.

As hacks don't overwrite any of your original game files (apart from a small few where they make it clear that;s what will be happening) reinstalling is usually irrelevant.  It's the neighbourhood folder that would hold any damaged game data, and that's in your My Documents like any other file you create with an application.   Eg, if you made a mess of a letter you were writing, you'd delete that file, you wouldn't need to reinstall MSWord.

[windy_moon]

Missdoh -

First, big *hugs*.

I understand your fears, I have them too.  I'm just an average computer user, nothing special, and it's scary to be surrounded by so many third party options...when the first party options cause bugs and frustrations, too. It's not as if we understand any of this! 

I read for a long time, maybe months, before I put my first hacks into the game. For me, Average Unawesome User, it came down to figuring out whom to trust, not shopping for individual hacks and biting my nails each time I put one in.  I started hanging out here for obvious reasons...average kid sitting at the Smart Kids table at lunch time and learning from them.

I'm running a ton of hacks now and I'm very happy.  No fear when I put in a TwoJeffs, Pescado, Crammyboy, Inge, etc., hack that has been posted for awhile.  (Apologies if I left an obvious smart kid off that short list.)  I just make sure I let everybody else get ahead of me, and then learn from them.

No more panicking!     The tried and true hacks aren't going to blow up your game.  You and I just aren't going to be beta testing the next new thing that comes down the pike.

[Motoki]

Whenever I have a problem I just drag the whole darned downloads directory to my desktop, run a clean game with no custom content and see if I still get the problem. I don't save, I just try to reproduce the problem. That way I know for sure if it's something I downloaded or a problem with the game itself, which as you discovered definitely does happen. 

I also make good use of subdirectories. I have downloads/hacks/J.M. Pescado downloads/hacks/Inge Jones downloads/hacks/TwoJeffs etc etc. heh

In some instances, custom objects or careers have been known to cause issues, so it's not always hacks either.

I couldn't play the game without custom content. Okay well, I can't play it at all now period, lol, but I still download custom content!

At lot of it is really good stuff and it just makes things more interesting I think.

If you have a problem you think might be a hack you can always ask here about it too. A lot of us have been using them for a long time and if there is a problem with one of them somebody else here has probably had it before and knows what to do about it.

[MissDoh]

Thanks for all your great advice

Except for Merola's multi-painting I mostly added mods from two-jeffs and Pescado which when I read the description sounds very useful like

toddlerplayingintoilet fix
buskertippinghack
teleprompternoautoplay
Nlmp3&handheldnoautonomy
gosteadycriticalfix
and a few mores

I also was really tempted by those 2 hacks and added them too
Pescado FFS debugger
Twojeffs collegadjuster

Since I install them, I did not really had a chance to use them but will surely today and have fun with them instead of worrying. 

EDIT:  Did any of you found a way to delete Veronaville without messing up the 2 other pre-made Maxis hoods? Should I simply go and play with all the family in Strangetown and Pleasantview and then only delete Veronaville.  Any other in here experience the same problem then me which is blank wants when you enter with Pleasantview or Strangetown family and you delete Veronaville before even starting to play with the 2 other hoods. 

[Motoki]

I've never deleted a Maxis neighborhood, only custom ones. To be honest, it never occured to me to delete them.

I use Pescado's lot debugger and TwoJeffs college adjuster. Without the latter, I'd never send any sims to college because it just takes too damned long imo.

If you haven't already got it, I'd also suggest Pescado's NoWhatsThis hack. That is, unless you actually enjoy every sim on the lot walking all the way across the lot to go "What's this?" every time you buy a toilet or light bulb.

[MissDoh]

If you haven't already got it, I'd also suggest Pescado's NoWhatsThis hack. That is, unless you actually enjoy every sim on the lot walking all the way across the lot to go "What's this?" every time you buy a toilet or light bulb.

Oh thanks, I did not notice that one, I thought I look at all of them but miss that one, will run and get it right now

Yes those Sims drives me crazy when they do the "oh wow a new light bulb" and stop doing what they were previously just to check if I have good taste or not. Damn you Sims you are going to be stuck with that cheap light bulb for awhile!

EDIT:  I pee in my pants when I finally took the time to read these warnings by Pescado,
"SIDE EFFECTS: May cause computer damage, incontinence, explosion of user's head, coma, death,and/or halitosis."
It is partially how I felt yesterday, 

[virgali]

If you haven't already got it, I'd also suggest Pescado's NoWhatsThis hack. That is, unless you actually enjoy every sim on the lot walking all the way across the lot to go "What's this?" every time you buy a toilet or light bulb.

I actually enjoy this Motoki! Sometimes I'd like to see that diappointed look on thier faces when they don't "like" the new object (na, nana, na na! I decide what to put int he house you puny sims! ) but mostly I like to see them being happy about what I just bought. Ok, honestly sometimes I delete the object to buy anothe rone if they don't like it...

What a wauss, I am...

[MissDoh]

Lol Virgali, I am the boss around my Sims weither they like it or not do not really matter to me (I have no heart, I know).

What bothers me the most is when they do that on freshly redesign community lots...

[cabelle]

I rely quite a bit on TwoJeffs college adjuster too. Some kids I do plug along and get them through all four years, others I'm intent on getting them graduated and back to the neighborhood to add to the genetic pool. I love that hack. I also like how I can reroll the LTW so I can have variety in the LTWs.

I deleted Strangetown and Veronaville yesterday. I just wasn't into them and preferred to have my two custom neighborhoods in the 2nd and 3rd spot. I've deleted Veronaville before, shortly after Uni and it didn't cause a problem.

I had some blank wants in a couple of families after I installed the patch. It freaked me out at first but I played them for a while and was able to get their wants back. For the adults it took the "check sim out interaction." It happened to Lucy Burb too (now a teen), she still had blank wants after coming home from school. I invited her love Alexander Goth and once she did the "check sim out", her wants came back and she was fine. I'm wondering if some of the weirdness might have to do with the patch. My MarySue Pleasant has two strange wants; for Dustin Broke to be an overacheiver and to get a scholarship. Strange considering she never had the chance to officially meet him before Angela went off to college. Angela's deep in love with Logan Sharpe too, no plans for getting back together with Dustin. I'm sure Marysue's strange wants will fade away at some point, like Lilith wanting to become friends with herself (I've never used the handheld either). More proof that Sims2 is possessed just like Sims1 was.

[MokeyHokey]

Did any of you found a way to delete Veronaville without messing up the 2 other pre-made Maxis hoods? Should I simply go and play with all the family in Strangetown and Pleasantview and then only delete Veronaville.  Any other in here experience the same problem then me which is blank wants when you enter with Pleasantview or Strangetown family and you delete Veronaville before even starting to play with the 2 other hood

I've always deleted Strangetown and Veronaville and never had any weirdness.  More lately, I've deleted them all and have only one custom neighborhood in my game.  The only time I've seen blank wants or "regressing" sims--sims losing want slots--is when I've tried to place a family into a pre-Uni house.  Since I discovered that, I've made it a point to enter any home I've downloaded or the Maxis homes after a fresh install, drop a bush on the ground, and save the lot before I try placing a family.  Haven't seen another blank want slot yet.

[Issy]

I was always hesitant about installing any hacks/mods in my game for months Missdoh.  But once you start it's addicting

What I normally do when I install any new hacks is put in one at a time, play a lil bit, if no problems then leave it in.

The thing that annoys me the most with the "Whats this" is when you buy the potty for toddlers or other stuff which you don't really get any other choice, and they NEVER like it.  It's not like you get the option to buy a better or more expensive one 

[yetyak]

I think the no what's this is the first hack I put in.. always hated that. 
I drag the neighborhood folder for any that I don't want into another folder on my backup harddrive that is called, keep not in game.  Right now there are 2 neighborhood in there.  Saves a little bit in load time, and I keep the one I play most and the one I go to when they all bore me.  Not that it happens too often..

[MissDoh]

Now I am out to look at Crammyboy's hacks, I did not notice them yesterday must have been really tired.  So let's see what he can do for me 

As for the neighbohrood problem I had, I will go play will all the family in Pleasantview and Strangetown, delete Veronaville and see if the game will be ok afterward or not and let you know.

Now let's do some shopping!

[MissDoh]

I decided to approach the neighborhood problem in another way and check how much space 1 hood takes on my harddisk and found out it only takes about 250meg each.  Since I still have 13 gig of free space, it does not seem a problem I can add neighborhoods with no problem.

My question is this:  Will it make the game go really slow if I would have 7 or 8 different neighborhoods I play with?

[Bangelnuts]

There's a good question.

I currently have four 'hoods, all custom.  Three are fairly new or little used (so far), but Simhaven is COLOSSAL (closing in on 2 gigs).  Hugely populated, the oldest, it has a college and downtown.  Fuse lit and ready to 'splode anytime now, I'm thinking.

For me, it's a matter of loading times for those 'hoods (or the game on start up).  Start up takes several minutes.  Loading Simhaven takes quite a few minutes.  Loading my finished Legacy lot takes several more minutes.  That lot, the largest I have memory or objects wise, runs jerkily until all the gears mesh, so to speak.  In comparison, other lots load like lightning and run like silk.

And in the less populated 'hoods, loading time is far less, despite having colleges or downtowns.

So seems to me number of 'hoods doesn't necessarily mean lag; it may be down to individual lots.  Cannot claim to know how it all works, just observations.   

I have 4 neighborhoods total  the three maxis neighborhoods and 1 custom neighborhood. my custom neighborhood file is of course the largest as thats the niegbor hood I play all the  time and it is 249MB in size and even my largest house loads quickly and it has 10 sims living in it right now however it will drop in Population by one  when the wedding takes Place and the groom moves his bride downtown with him. he will move out of the family home.

[MissDoh]

Well yesterday I added 2 new neighborhoods to the 4 I already have which are the 3 pre-made ones and 3 custom ones.  It ran perfectly so I guess the game loads them individually.

[BlueSoup]

I've deleted all of the pre-made neighbourhoods with no problems.

[MissDoh]

I've deleted all of the pre-made neighbourhoods with no problems.

The problem seems to occur when you delete them all, since I like to play Pleasantview and Strangetown it is a small price to pay to keep Veronaville.  I am thinking of deleting all the characters in that neighbohrood so it will be kind of dead anyway.

edit:  Sorry I meant to say it does occur when you DON'T delete them all.

[BlueSoup]

I never play with any of the pre-mades anyway, so I just deleted them all.  I didn't experience any problems, but this was pre-Nightlife.  I've since reinstalled, and I didn't bother deleting them again.

[MissDoh]

Sorry Bluesoup I meant to say when you don't delete them all, forgot to add the most imporant word...