Business sucks...

[tiffyt]

Literally. I am having a few problems...

1. For some reason in my game no one ever makes it past the damn ticket machine. They hem and haw and finally buy a ticket but then just stand there and don't do shit.
I have a gym and the only thing they do is use the damn treadmill though I have a dance studio section and the other machines as well as a masseuse. I use Paladins employee massage controller to make the employee sims sell/give massages so that is working alright and I nixed the buying towels and body stuff because... well cause it was annoying as hell having them all wanna buy junk and nothing else.
Is there a way to make them do other things? Like use the ballet bar in the studio or the other machines and exercise bikes, then maybe take a shower and have a drink from the juice bar?

2. Also at my nightclub they don't come in to dance and have drinks. They stand around the ticket booth after buying a ticket and do nothing. It's so annoying. I hope it's not the whole greeting thing. That shit sucks.

3. I have a restaurant and they act retarded when they see a booth. Everyone wants to sit at the same damn seat in the four seater booth. And barely anyone sits at the bar. Idiots! >.<

4. How can you make sims listen to a band playing while on a stage without them actually trying to go up on the stage? I put a door that only allows employees but when I have a sim try to listen to someone play they wanna get mad cause they can't go through the door? What gives?

I apologize for the length of this post, but I've been trying for like, 3 months to get this shit  to work and I am just so frustrated. Maybe you all can give me some advice or tips about what to do. I've tried several hacks but they didn't work out right. The BRY one you have here is slightly confusing and the links for the hacks you need to go with it are broken. I tried to use it but it just made things worse and it messed up my landlords on the apartment lots, made them act like visitors. I am at the point where I'll try anything, even burning down the stores for the insurance
Any help would be appreciated.

~TiffyT

[Zazazu]

You don't need to sign your posts. Your username is right there for all to see.

1. For some reason in my game no one ever makes it past the damn ticket machine. They hem and haw and finally buy a ticket but then just stand there and don't do shit.
I have a gym and the only thing they do is use the damn treadmill though I have a dance studio section and the other machines as well as a masseuse. I use Paladins employee massage controller to make the employee sims sell/give massages so that is working alright and I nixed the buying towels and body stuff because... well cause it was annoying as hell having them all wanna buy junk and nothing else.
Is there a way to make them do other things? Like use the ballet bar in the studio or the other machines and exercise bikes, then maybe take a shower and have a drink from the juice bar?

Get Business Runs You and Customer Selector. Protip: they are available at this site. Use them. Love them.

2. Also at my nightclub they don't come in to dance and have drinks. They stand around the ticket booth after buying a ticket and do nothing. It's so annoying. I hope it's not the whole greeting thing. That shit sucks.

Again, get BRY and Customer Selector. Your sims are stupid and don't know what's expected of them. For the greeting issue, make sure you've downloaded and applied alfixes, also available from here.

3. I have a restaurant and they act retarded when they see a booth. Everyone wants to sit at the same damn seat in the four seater booth. And barely anyone sits at the bar. Idiots! >.<

Booths are buggy. I tend to avoid using them. And yes, sims ignore the bar until it seems all other tables are full.

4. How can you make sims listen to a band playing while on a stage without them actually trying to go up on the stage? I put a door that only allows employees but when I have a sim try to listen to someone play they wanna get mad cause they can't go through the door? What gives?

The townies are trying to tip the performers and are frustrated because they can't get to them. Remove the wall. Deal with them getting on stage, it's the nature of the coding that makes it inevitable.
[/quote]Honestly, all your issues will be fixed by application of the Director's Cut. Individual hacks can be found here (as it seems you do have AL).  Director's Cut is here.

[tiffyt]

Thanks for the advice. I'm restarting my game and installing them now. Really hope it helps.
Sorry about the signature thing. It's a habit I got from commenting on blogs heh. ^_^

[GayJohnScarritt]

... I've tried several hacks but they didn't work out right. The BRY one you have here is slightly confusing and the links for the hacks you need to go with it are broken. I tried to use it but it just made things worse and it messed up my landlords on the apartment lots, made them act like visitors.

I have a feeling you have hacks from several different modders still in your game.  Check out Paladin's Hack Conflict Detection Utility (google is your friend) and check to see if the hacks you are using, play nice together.  But i have a feeling they're conflicting, which WILL cause problems.  Your new BFF is Pescado (give him a cuddly hug, he loves it), and then add in other hacks that fit your style, that won't conflict with his.

[J. M. Pescado]

1. For some reason in my game no one ever makes it past the damn ticket machine. They hem and haw and finally buy a ticket but then just stand there and don't do shit.
I have a gym and the only thing they do is use the damn treadmill though I have a dance studio section and the other machines as well as a masseuse.

This has to do with how the Sims AI determines what to do: They pick a motive, then go with the most highly advertised object, which will pretty much always be the same few objects. To create more individuality in sims, you need to get the Autonomy Controller and proscribe some objects individually so some sims will simply dislike certain things and not use them, causing them to seek other things.

2. Also at my nightclub they don't come in to dance and have drinks. They stand around the ticket booth after buying a ticket and do nothing. It's so annoying. I hope it's not the whole greeting thing. That shit sucks.

This all sounds like you have something non-Awesome disrupting autonomy.

3. I have a restaurant and they act retarded when they see a booth. Everyone wants to sit at the same damn seat in the four seater booth. And barSely anyone sits at the bar. Idiots! >.<

Sounds like normal behavior. Reposition the booth so it's not the closest thing.

4. How can you make sims listen to a band playing while on a stage without them actually trying to go up on the stage? I put a door that only allows employees but when I have a sim try to listen to someone play they wanna get mad cause they can't go through the door? What gives?

Computers are terrible at holistic placement. This is pretty much a fact of life.

[Gwill]

Literally.

I do not believe you.

[tiffyt]

Thanks for all your advice. I have gotten things sorted, out sort of. I was wondering though, what type of business do I make a gym into? Generic, entertainment, relaxation..? And what would you make a salon into? Kinda wish there were more detail in the rtfm.

[J. M. Pescado]

Gym is "Entertainment", because Gym equipment advertises Fun, and Entertainment is Fun. Honestly, I could tailor the tunings to greater detail, so you can specify specific motives you want to aim for, but it would be even less coherent to the Peasant.

Basic Typology:
Generic: No Tuning - Lets EAxis pick at random, which means they show up with randomly depleted motives and will do random shit.
RetailService: No motives are depleted, it is purely for shopping-based goods and services. Like a Salon, or Store. Non-Motives things.
Entertainment: Fun and Social.
Relaxation: Comfort, mainly: Hot tubs and other such things.
Restaurant: Hunger down lots.
Caffeination: Energy down.
Terlets: Do you have a weird business where you just want to make sims pay to use the terlets? I have no idea why you'd ever use this one, but apparently there's a whole class of custom items for it.

[jolrei]

That's quite helpful, actually.  I shall set my cemetery as an Entertainment lot then.

Is there any particular reason why my ghosts don't rise from their graves on this lot?  Are they too well entertained and happy being there?  Does having a ticket machine installed somehow stop ghosts (because y'know, they  haven't paid)?  I have now had any number of playables and townies spend whole days and nights at the place, playing myshuno, dancing, hot tubbing, axe throwing, barbecuing, fighting, etc. and the ghosts just don't show up.

[J. M. Pescado]

Is there any particular reason why my ghosts don't rise from their graves on this lot?  Are they too well entertained and happy being there?  Does having a ticket machine installed somehow stop ghosts (because y'know, they  haven't paid)?  I have now had any number of playables and townies spend whole days and nights at the place, playing myshuno, dancing, hot tubbing, axe throwing, barbecuing, fighting, etc. and the ghosts just don't show up.

Why yes, actually, I do believe that is, in fact, the case: The attempt to push the action to perform "Haunt" will fail because the ghosts have not paid. I suppose I can include that in the next ofbfixes update.

[jolrei]

Why yes, actually, I do believe that is, in fact, the case: The attempt to push the action to perform "Haunt" will fail because the ghosts have not paid. I suppose I can include that in the next ofbfixes update.

It just seemed lulzy to me to have townies pay for the privilege of having themselves scared to death by the neighbourhood's founder.  A great honour that.  On the other hand, it's not that big a deal for me to simply remove the ticket machine.  The lot owner is a servo - he's not gonna starve.

[phyllis_p]

Why yes, actually, I do believe that is, in fact, the case: The attempt to push the action to perform "Haunt" will fail because the ghosts have not paid. I suppose I can include that in the next ofbfixes update.

It just seemed lulzy to me to have townies pay for the privilege of having themselves scared to death by the neighbourhood's founder.  A great honour that.  On the other hand, it's not that big a deal for me to simply remove the ticket machine.  The lot owner is a servo - he's not gonna starve.

Well I think it would be a dandy thing to do, Pescado, next time you update ofbfixes.  I've been thinking of setting up a community pay cemetery after reading about jolrei's lot, but I didn't realize his ghosts weren't actually rising. 

[jolrei]

Why yes, actually, I do believe that is, in fact, the case: The attempt to push the action to perform "Haunt" will fail because the ghosts have not paid. I suppose I can include that in the next ofbfixes update.

It just seemed lulzy to me to have townies pay for the privilege of having themselves scared to death by the neighbourhood's founder.  A great honour that.  On the other hand, it's not that big a deal for me to simply remove the ticket machine.  The lot owner is a servo - he's not gonna starve.

Well I think it would be a dandy thing to do, Pescado, next time you update ofbfixes.  I've been thinking of setting up a community pay cemetery after reading about jolrei's lot, but I didn't realize his ghosts weren't actually rising. 

I use the mortality adjuster on the insimentor to raise my ghosts. I have the ticket thing on the lot and once the ghosts are risen they don't get queue stomped by the machine, it seems.

Hmmm.  I wonder if simblender would do that.  I'll have to check.

[J. M. Pescado]

Whether or not your ghosts get "stomped" depends on a peculiar combination of lot arrangements and hacks. With ofbfixes, objects in "room 0" don't get stomped because they are on the sidewalk, or are your car. (In the default game with no Awesomefixes, you could be forbidden from leaving the lot because the game would not let you get back in your car, either!)

Also, new OFBfixes, including fix for ghost haunting, now fixed.

[phyllis_p]

Woot!  Thou art more awesome than ANYONE!

[jolrei]

Okay, I removed the ticket machine and my servo owner installed a gift/toy/snackshop (selling water wigglers, groceries, and useless trinkets to the townies) to fund the cemetery.  Without the ticket machine, ghosts appear to rise normally (although there were so many townies shopping, bubble blowing, gambling, and hot tubbing last night that only one ghost made an appearance, out of 5 dead sims on the lot).  Nevertheless, the test seems conclusive.

Edit:  New ofbfixes today - does this address the "ghosts don't show up 'cos they can't pay" issue?  If so, the ticket machine goes back in (damned alive freeloaders).

Edit:  Gah!  Second time in two days that my reading comprehension fails.  Clearly I'm not getting enough "waiting" time.

[jolrei]

...out of 5 dead sims on the lot...

Five?? Jeez I feel like a serial killer, my cemetery has about 90 graves. 

My 'hood is not that old yet.  Only at generation 4, with generation 2 just getting to the end of the elder stage.  My deaths so far have been the founding couple, and 3 victims of nodormieprotect.  I keep sending sims to repair things with low mech skill, or cook with low cooking skill, but they seem very resourceful and resilient so far.  I shall redouble my efforts to be lax and slipshod about their safety.

[Zazazu]

One out of five doesn't seem bad. In my biggest cemetary (about 30 graves, sims and pets) I'd have maybe six out at a time.

[Darby]

Literally.

"Literally."  Seriously?  Gah, my headache just got worse.  

Also, new OFBfixes, including fix for ghost haunting, now fixed.

"Baaa!" to you, I say.  "Baaa!"  I don't have an owned cemetary yet, but it's nice to know this problem is fixed before I even encounter it.  

[tiffyt]

I have a cemetary but it isn't sim owned. I plan to make a sim specifically to own the businesses that I don't want to be bothered with because I don't like the generic npc run ones.
Thanks for your help I finally got things going. Quick question though, why do the cars not show up on community lots? I am trying to make a car dealership.

[J. M. Pescado]

I have an undiscovered shiny for prodding ghosts into appearing at will, but Fat Gwilly People haven't asked.

[ingeli]

To place cars to sell you need to use the wholesale toggle mode.

[jolrei]

To place cars to sell you need to use the wholesale toggle mode.

Also, don't you need the car for sale display podium thingy to set the car on?

[tiffyt]

Did both and no cars in the vehicles section except three custom ones I downloaded from somewhere, a plane, a creepy looking blue van and a convertible purple jeep thing.
I hada car dealership before and it was super successful. Level 4 business in like two sims days actually. But I can't recall what I did. >_<

[jolrei]

Try deleting your groups.cache and your thumbnails files.  It's got to be worth a try.