Lot Sync Timer: All BlueSoups Suck Edition

[RainbowTigress]

I know the lot-jumping feature wasn't the original purpose of it, but it was the feature that made me want to install it.  If I ever install OFB, I know that will be one feature I'm going to really miss.    Helping to track time is nice, but it was so nice to see the other lots and be able to jump to them without having to scroll around and try to click on the neighbor's house I want.

[BlueSoup]

Oh I totally agree.  I miss it too. 

[J. M. Pescado]

I know the lot-jumping feature wasn't the original purpose of it, but it was the feature that made me want to install it.  If I ever install OFB, I know that will be one feature I'm going to really miss.    Helping to track time is nice, but it was so nice to see the other lots and be able to jump to them without having to scroll around and try to click on the neighbor's house I want.

The Lot Jumping feature is "back", with a few attendant caveats: Don't have any babies or move anyone in or out if you got there by lot jump.

[J. M. Pescado]

What does the shiny new Time Warp button on the synctimer do?  I figure the days of the week will set it to that day, but what does Initialize do?  And does setting days of the week really work?  I've tried doing this with other hacks, but it was a known issue that it doesn't stick.  At midnight, it will revert back to whatever day of the week it would have been had you not changed it.

Initialize activates the option (the set week option was actually not supposed to appear before initialize, this is harmless, but has been fixed now).

The order in which you perform the time warp function is that you must first initialize (using this function is potentially risky so this is basically the glass shield over the missile firing controls), then dial in the warpage you want (Choose whether you wish to change the day of week, hour, or minute: We recommend only attempting to change the day, not the actual time of day on residential lots), and then hit Engage to perform the warp.

[RainbowTigress]

I know the lot-jumping feature wasn't the original purpose of it, but it was the feature that made me want to install it.  If I ever install OFB, I know that will be one feature I'm going to really miss.    Helping to track time is nice, but it was so nice to see the other lots and be able to jump to them without having to scroll around and try to click on the neighbor's house I want.

The Lot Jumping feature is "back", with a few attendant caveats: Don't have any babies or move anyone in or out if you got there by lot jump.

Is it ok to use the Lot Debugger to re-randomize before the baby's birth, then reload the lot if you got there by lot jumping?

[J. M. Pescado]

Is it ok to use the Lot Debugger to re-randomize before the baby's birth, then reload the lot if you got there by lot jumping?

Yes, the Lot Debugger Re-Randomize ejects to neighborhood screen, allowing you to reenter normally.

[Karen]

The new version of the synctimer seems to be interfering with the phone options relating to businesses.  The scenario goes like this:  Family A and Family B both have community lot businesses.  I have the timer installed on both of their home lots.  I start with Family A, use the Check in with a Business, everything is fine.  I use the "lot jump" to switch to Family B, without saving first.  Once I arrive at Family B's home lot, the game still thinks the current family's businesses are the ones owned by Family A, but I'm not even playing Family A anymore.  If I Call...Taxi from Family B's lot, the only lots shown as "owned" community lots are the ones owned by Family A.  If I try to check in with a business, it only lists the businesses that Family A owns.  I have no way to get to Family B's owned businesses.

I tried saving the lot while on the second lot, but it made no difference, I still couldn't access the current family's owned businesses.  I did not try exiting to the neighborhood and coming back in to Family B's lot, though I suspect that would have reset things back to normal.

I am running the latest version of the synctimer, dated 5/11/06 7:42 am.  I also have the latest versions of businessrunsyou, macrotastics, phonehack, etc.

For the time being I think I'm going to avoid the lot jumping.  It seems more trouble than it's worth.  I do like the day-of-the-week syncing, though, and I am slowly cycling through all my lots to get everyone on the same day of the week.

Karen

[J. M. Pescado]

This would be one of the aforementioned "harmless artifacts" that seem to occur. Apparently OFB now retains some internal hardcoded record that runs in parallel with what formerly worked pre-OFB, and this record is inaccessible and not able to be updated at this time.

[Karen]

Any chance you could make the lot-jumping an option that the user could turn on and off, like the options on the baby controller?  That way people who don't want to use it wouldn't have to worry about side-effects from accidentally clicking on the family name in the synctimer menu.  Just a thought...

Karen

[Ancient Sim]

What the dickens is "frobnication" (apart from being something you do on Uni lots).

[pamysue]

The Lot Jumping feature is "back", with a few attendant caveats: Don't have any babies or move anyone in or out if you got there by lot jump.

UGH   

I saw the lot jump feature was working and used it to jump over to the fiance's lot and inventory her stuff, back to the other lot, married her and moved her in.  Had RTFM but not this thread to see this was a no no.  Now my Sim is jumping out constantly.  Anyway for me to fix her?

[J. M. Pescado]

Attach the error logs from jumping. Probably an unrelated problem.

[pamysue]

Attach the error logs from jumping. Probably an unrelated problem.

Going to have to sound like an idiot... what error logs do I attach?  I have 43 files in my /Logs folder.
Thanks

[J. M. Pescado]

Going to have to sound like an idiot... what error logs do I attach?  I have 43 files in my /Logs folder.
Thanks

The ObjectError_* file from the error. You'll have to run the game in debug mode to get an error dialog and corresponding log.

[pamysue]

Going to have to sound like an idiot... what error logs do I attach?  I have 43 files in my /Logs folder.
Thanks

The ObjectError_* file from the error. You'll have to run the game in debug mode to get an error dialog and corresponding log.

Sorry for the slow response.  Have not had time to fire up the game for a while.

And yes, it must have been an unrelated problem.  I was unable to reproduce it.  She was fine after I reentered the lot.
Thanks!

[fionghuala]

Anyone know what the new option does in the lot sync timer?

[jsalemi]

Anyone know what the new option does in the lot sync timer?

Which new option -- the time warp?  That lets you set all your lots to the same day of the week.

[jrd]

It is good for new lots. Set the hour back to before 08:00h and those !@#$ kids will go to school, and if your Sims have jobs that start early they can go tot hem.

Unless you're rich enough to get them a car of course.

[RainbowTigress]

Anyone know what the new option does in the lot sync timer?

JM explains just a few posts back (when I asked him) here: 

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=2386.msg118433#msg118433

[Kyna]

I had some wierdness last night that I think might be due to using the sync timer to jump lots.

I"ve played this version of PV for about 9 days or so.  Dustin is not far off from adulthood - leaving it to one day to adulthood before I send him to uni because I want to get him as many scholarships as possible.

I used the sync timer to jump from the Broke household to the Dreamer lot.  Dirk brought Dustin home from school.  At the time that Dustin was due to go to work the carpool arrived, Dustin got in the car and went off to work.  Came back when he finished work, with a message about earning cash and the cash was added to the Dreamer household.  Got a message about 2 days left to adulthood for Dustin at 6pm.  I sent Dustin home by teleporter shrub.

After playing the Dreamer lot I used the sync timer to jump to the Pleasant lot.  At 6pm I got a message about Dustin having 1 day left til adulthood.  He hadn't come home from school with the girls.  I presume he was a walkby.

After this I stopped using the sync timer to jump to the next lot.

I haven't gone back into the Broke household yet to see how many days he really has left to transition.  This is a combined PV/ST/VV neighbourhood, so have a few households to play before the Brokes come back up in my rotation.

Two questions

1. Is this another artifact of using the sync timer to jump lots? 
2. Will I get the same weirdness if I save (I was saving anyway before jumping lots) then use the load lot cheat?

[BlueSoup]

Since OFB, there is known weirdness with using the Lot Jumper feature, and I thought JM had disabled it but I guess not?

[Kyna]

He put it back in according to this post:

The Lot Jumping feature is "back", with a few attendant caveats: Don't have any babies or move anyone in or out if you got there by lot jump.

[BlueSoup]

Huh, I haven't actually noticed that feature at all and haven't tried to use it.  Perhaps p2 broke it again?

[J. M. Pescado]

The feature has been disabled again due to even more problems associated with it.

[Li'l Brudder]

It worked when I tried to use it post p2.  I had it all set and then I Lot Jumped to a neighbor.  No problems at all.