The Eye Dropper Tool (and a plumbing problem)

[Rhaevyn]

OK, I've searched my fingers to nubs ... Google, here, MTS2, you name it.  I just have 2 things nagging me.

1.  How in the hell do you use the eye dropper tool?  I can't find a single place that explains using it WHILE IN GAME.  I want to recolor an object that I was told you could recolor with that tool in the game and I have no clue how to do this.  e.g., I placed a bed, clicked the eye dropper, clicked the bed, and voila!  I got another bed!  woohoo!!  umm where did the color options go?

2.  For some reason now when my sims use any plumbing (showers, toilets, tubs, hot tub) my game lags like I'm running a 486 on dial up.  Soon as they're done, fast as lightning.  Very very odd.

Slam away!

[BlueSoup]

1.  Eyedropper tool isn't for recolouring, it's for clicking on something (an object or wall/floor, etc), which just points you to the correct colour and item in the catalogues.  Useful for expanding a room and needing to place more of the same floor, or if you are placing multiple objects of one item (IE. couches).  You use the icon that looks sort of like keys (the design mode tool) to change the colour, but it will only allow you to pick from in-catalogue colour options.  This is helpful for bedding, curtains, etc.

2.  Weird.  I don't know.

[KLGFCG]

No idea on number 2, but for number one, you don't want the eyedropper tool, you want the design tool. It looks like a couple of swatches and is located in the row under the eyedropper next to the day/night toggle. Hope that helps.

[bloodstainedkisses]

Number two, might have an idea about it... is it possibly a hacked object? Like, is it custom content, or? Perhaps if it was that, high mesh count.

Other than that... well, what are your system specs?

[Emma]

Number 2-is someone else trying to get in the bathroom like a maid or visitor? It lags when that happens in my game

[ZephyrZodiac]

Haven't noticed that specifically, but are there a number of walking-by sims while your sim is in the bathroom?  I've noticed that, especially on move-in day, if you send your sims off to work and the house is empty, when all the visitors and the gipsy show up the game lags like anything.  It's something, I think, to do with the game selecting which sims to walkby plus portal congestion with the visitors.

[Rhaevyn]

Wow, thanks for all the responses. 

BlueSoup and KLGFCG, thanks a lot for "edumacatin" me there, really appreciated.

To the rest:

This is happening in a house (which is rather small actually) with 2 sims in it.  At first I contributed it to too many sims as I started noticing it after the "some neighbors have come to welcome you" thing.  But when it was just the two of them again, it continued.

I have two bathrooms.  One is just a toilet.  The other has a toilet, a sink and two showers.  Yes they are custom content but haven't lagged in other houses that I can remember.  I have sold several items, replacing them just to see what happens.  Seems to be plumbing in general.  It's not a game killer, just odd.  Although I have to admit watching them woohoo in the hottub in slow mo is a little strange.

I'm running:

Processor:  AMD Athlon 64, 3200+, 2.2 G
Memory:  1024 MB
Video:  Radeon 9800 PRO, 128 MB

I doubt it's my system.

I have recently gone through a big clean out of files and hacks as I was getting the "jump" bug.  I'm hoping I found the culprit.  We shall see.

Thanks for all your help.  Hopefully I'll sort this out, it's more of a slight annoyance than anything else, game runs excellent otherwise.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Since it's only that house, sounds like you may have something specifically wrong with the house.  You could try moving your family out and into another lot and see if they are still affected.

[myskaal]

2.  For some reason now when my sims use any plumbing (showers, toilets, tubs, hot tub) my game lags like I'm running a 486 on dial up.  Soon as they're done, fast as lightning.

I was going to suggest that it may be particle density, but since it's only that house I suspect ZephyrZodiac has it right. Something buggy on the lot itself perhaps.

[Rhaevyn]

hahahaha wow... what a strange time I'm having lately.  It's not just that one house.

This is a new neighborhood by the way.  I just made another couple, moved them into another cute little starter house (THANKS PLASTICBOX!) and man... the oddities I encountered tonight.  Pretty funny stuff though.

Still having "plumbing lag" which is just bizarre.  But I'm also experiencing jumping.  My sims will interact then suddenly be about 2 feet from where they were.  They complain of blocked pathing when there is nothing blocking them.  My wife sim suddenly got her face stuck in some contorted expression (LOL remember when your mom said if you keep doing that your face would get stuck that way? ROFL)  hehe I'm having fun with my simanomolies...

These two happen to be Fortune sims.  I have been trying for 3 sim days to get them the job they want (I want them both to be doctors) and try as I might (paper and computer) the medical field just doesn't seem to come up.  I COULD use Insiminator but I'm trying to let them find it the regular way.

In the meantime they gave me such a belly laugh.  I have never seen the "panhandle" action before.  I almost fell off my chair LMAO.

Ah well... I'm going to start taking out my hacks.  They have all been good till now.  Apparently one or more of them have decided not to play nice with the others anymore.  I'm sure that's it as I always use Clean Installer on any downloads and am pretty picky about what I put in my game.  But it's been an experience.

Hopefully taking out some of them will fix my plumbing as well, although I have no clue what could be conflicting with those items as the hacks I have have nothing to do with plumbing or any actions related to them *shrug*

[Sagana]

This sounds more like blocked/missing portals and invisible stuck tiles than hack conflicts to me. Have you tried the lot debugger and the juggling and fridge fixes? And... isn't there another one for that kind of thing? Stuck kicky bags, but that's "supposed" to be fixed, yes?

[ZephyrZodiac]

If you do still think it might be a hack conflict, I'd suggest that you put them in folders according to modder (if you haven't already) then remove one folder at a time.  If the first one removed doesn't make any impression on the problem, put it back and remove the next.  If that one fixes all the problem, fine, you know where to look for either a conflict or maybe a hack that hasn't been updated.   If it only fixes part of the problem, leave it on your desktop and remove the next folder etc.    Once you've identified where the problem is, I'd go back and look in your back-ups if you keep them and check all the relevant readmes in case one of them tells you of a known problem with another hack.  If nothing emerges from that, it's a matter of trial and error.

[bluecatvon]

my sims get the contorted expression from time to time too. never found out why. they also get a little 'shaky' after coffee, especially if i cancel out the action of drinking coffee and they had to finish it in a huge gulp. parkinson disease on the altar the groom has...

what's the 'panhandle' action ?

[Venusy]

It's the aspiration failure for fortune sims. They hold up a sign, and put out a tip jar. It can be seen in the intro movie.

[bluecatvon]

oh that!! haha, thanks for telling me! i've always wondered about getting that..has anyone seen every aspiration failure before? haha, a bit *ahem* out of the topic haha..

i know the romance aspiration failure is dancing with a mop with a face drawn on a paper plate. others i can't remember..

[ZephyrZodiac]

Let's see:

Knowledge:  learn from Doctor Box (or something similar)

Family:  Rock flour sack in arms

Friendship: Social Bunny/Psychiatrist/?

[Gwill]

2.  For some reason now when my sims use any plumbing (showers, toilets, tubs, hot tub) my game lags like I'm running a 486 on dial up.  Soon as they're done, fast as lightning.  Very very odd.

I'm betting it has something to do with the cencor blur.
Do you have any hacks removing it?  Try removing them.

[Renatus]

Alternately, if you don't have a hack removing the censor blur you may want to get one. The blur makes my laptop chug like crazy when it appears, especially if I'm unlucky enough to have more than one sim taking a shower and/or a lot bigger than 2x2 and one floor. I think the recommended thing for censor blur removal is Quaxi's on the Mod the Sims 2 forum if you have NL; otherwise, there is an game cheat you can add to userstartup.cheat that will get rid of it.

[bluecatvon]

Let's see:

Knowledge:  learn from Doctor Box (or something similar)

Family:  Rock flour sack in arms

Friendship: Social Bunny/Psychiatrist/?

*hatching plans to make my puny sims reach aspiration failure just to amuse myself*