TUTORIAL: Merging the Maxis neighborhoods.

[MidnightVoyager]

Hey, HP, did you use the versions with fixed DNA?

Just making sure. Crashies are no fun.

[HystericalParoxysm]

I used the version re-uploaded by Sysa - which I assume is the same as the one SaraMK had linked to, but the link has gone dead.

[witch]

If you've been playing a hood Celesta made, then you should probably just be grateful all the sims have disappeared.

[Mootilda]

If you've been playing a hood Celesta made, then you should probably just be grateful all the sims have disappeared.

Is there a problem with Celesta's sims?

[witch]

No, only with Celesta. I was joking.

Actually, she's not very bright, so chances are good there's something awry. Both Murphy's and Sod's laws also apply.

[Forrest_Roberts]

First of all, let me say, God Bless You. I've wanted to do this sort of thing for forever!

Second of all, I need help! I tried merging Strangetown in with my own custom neighborhood that I've had for a while. Everything worked except the people aren't there. There are no sims in Strangetown. The lots and everything appear just fine, there are just no one living in them. I renamed the characters in the characters folder and everything. I'm very confused and was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I appreciate any help.

[SendMeLies]

Hello there. I'm a long time lurker, first time poster.

I was experimenting a way to add new suburbs to a neighborhood I already played and even downloaded the "Sedona" pack from one of the awesomes (there's a link on someone's sig). There is a little hack to get rid of the big "Add Blue Water" button... Having this hack, its really easy to add suburbs. (links? I'm new to this thing)

I found out at SimPe that if you edit the neighborhood ID Number for neighborhoods to behave as downtowns or suburbs, then change the "parent Name" to avoid conflicts (D002, i.e.), you can rename the whole folder accordingly to its position (D002, D003 and so on, or B004, B005, and such) and move it to the NeighborhoodTemplate folder for the desired expansion (Open for Business or Nightlife).

There's a catch, though. Since the game is stupid, then if you have Pets, or Seasons, or FT installed; and the neighborhood version says Pets or later (Seasons, FreeTime, etc), then it'll load the files at start and add the sims at the bin, but won't add the neighborhood. The way to get around it is on this very tutorial: when we (paste) add the Bluewater ID Number to a custom neighborhood and trick the game to think that Desiderata Valley(i.e.) is Bluewater it changes the version to "Open for Business". Well, if we change the Neighborhood "parent Name" to anything other than B001, then it won't conflict with Bluewater and they all show up. Its a good idea to change the UID too, but as I'm not awesome, maybe there's no need to it.

The little hack to get rid of the button is needed, or the selection won't show up. Since I only downloaded the Bluewater one, I didn't test it on downtowns, but I don't see why it shouldn't work.

For the original neighborhoods on the basic game (Pleasantview, VeronaVille, Strangetown), just change the Neighborhood Type thing, parent name and rename the folder. They're ready to go.

I am NOT at all familiar with SimPe. So I guess it should be easy for other newbies to get going.

[Charamei]

Would this technique also work for converting from one suburb to another?

I'd like to add cwykes' Sedona to my conglomeration of neighbourhoods, but they're all set as shopping districts (I'm using HystericalParoxysm's download). Therefore, the obvious solution - aside from merging them all manually, which I'll do if I have to - is to trick the game into thinking it's a downtown.

That, or back up and try adding it anyway :p Which I'm pretty sure will cause borkage.

EDIT: Okay, I backed up my game and added it as a shopping district. Bizarrely, the game has not immediately exploded, and seems to be jogging along quite well. I can only assume that this is in some way related to my earlier deletion of Veronaville. I'm sceptical of this continuing to be the case, but as long as it is, I'm not complaining. Just backing up frequently and preparing to either revert to a pre-Sedona state, or start again from scratch

[Charamei]

Can I start with a custom neighborhood, then merging Pleasantview, Strangetown, Veronaville. Bluewater Village, Riverblossoms Hill and Desiderata Valley together as my shopping districts?

Yes.

[No Cheats]

I downloead http://www.demusedsims.com/uploads/N372.rar from HystericalParoxysm. (Thanks  )

I put it in a clean install. (EP, Patch, EP, Patch...)

I was testing a little bit. Family Summerdream in N00? have no empty wishes but in N372 (nice idea using high numbers) one of the Summerdreams have empty wishes. Now my question. Is merging neighborhoods in this way forcing empty wishes? What can I do?

I never had before Empty wishes. Main install in German, N372 was made in  English.

[Charamei]

Empty wants are an occupational hazard of this game. Here, Pescado says that they should re-roll once you've done something to re-seed the want file.

My Summerdreams had a couple of blanks once they moved to Strangetown, too.

[No Cheats]

It´s not a real problem than, if I understand you right.
My English is so [censored] that I must explain it in my words. 
Can´t test now, because the only wish is a new house.   If the wish is execute, the others come back. Is this right?

Next question, can I upload it on a German faster website without getting trouble from here? I would link here of course too.

[Charamei]

It´s not a real problem than, if I understand you right.

It shouldn't be, no.

Can´t test now, because the only wish is a new house.   If the wish is execute, the others come back. Is this right?

As I understand it, yes.

Next question, can I upload it on a German faster website without getting trouble from here? I would link here of course too.

Er, do you mean the tutorial, your own merged neighbourhood, or HystericalParoxysm's?

I think you mean HP's merged neighbourhood. That's for her to answer.
And posting the tutorial is for SaraMK to answer.

[No Cheats]

Thanks for all support, Charamei. I mean @ last point the HystericalParoxysm's neighborhood. So let her answer. *pray*

[MaryH]

I had been dreaming of having all the neighborhoods merged-I tried HP's download, only to find that it requires all the EP's-it didn't show up in my game at all.
Then I tried SaraMK's download-which works beautifully (I only have NL and Base)-and now am in the process of putting all the members of each town into one huge town, Pleasantview..with a completely changed terrain-thanks to the new program over at MTS, "Terrain Changer", which enables you to completely  change all the terrain of any given neighborhood.
Boy, are there alot of families in Sara's download-but it is workable and great to have a new challenge. Now the Goths can meet the Montys!
Thanks Sara, for the download and all the hard work. I knew I wouldn't be able to do the tutorial without messing my game up big-time, so your merged neighborhood was a god-send!

[IAmTheRad]

HP's download requires: Base, Nightlife, Open for Business, Seasons, and Free Time

[adriennelisa]

OK - since this post has been up for a long time, I just want to make sure all the information is current.  I have all EP's and get lost looking at SimPE, so if I download HP's N372.rar (rather than SaraMK's from Fileplanet), it will have all Maxis neighborhoods to date as sub-hoods to Pleasantview?  Then what happens with my (played) Pleasantview, StrangeTown & Veronaville? Do I lose them?  Or are they still in my folder? Lastly, I created a custom hood using SC4 - how do I attach that to HP's?

[Annette]

I have recently downloaded HP's version and am loving it. All the neighborhoods are there as shopping districts. So now Jill Smith  knows Alexander Goth and Jules O'Mckay.
All your previous hoods will still be there, no problem. The only family that did not make it is the Ottomas family. I brought them over from my unplayed Veronaville, and hope that won't blow up my game!

[Berney]

How did you bring them over?

[Annette]

I just moved them into a house, 5 Poet's Place I think it was called and then moved it to the lots and houses bin. Then just put the occupied house in the new Pleasantville.

This is usually considered a very bad thing, I'm not sure of the technical explanation but the opinion around here is don't do it!. It's something to do with all the extra files that come with the sims relating to their memories and friends. Unattatched files get unhappy and mess up your game  ???I'm hoping that as the Ottomas family had met no one, not even Rod Humble or a mail carrier they will be okay. If not, I'll just restart, I do that so often it really won't matter. But if your game is precious to you you might be safer to find the Ottomas family uploaded somewhere, perhaps the exchange?

[IAmTheRad]

Necromancy go!

Apartment life's new neighbourhood is an actual neighbourhood. It also adds another stealth hood.

After SimPE is updated, maybe, I'll give a crack at merging the hoods. However, HP's merged is much better than the one I made a while ago.

[IAmTheRad]

You need an updated simpe to merge.

I tried without one, and it killed my neighbourhood..

[Hellyes]

You need an updated simpe to merge.

I tried without one, and it killed my neighbourhood..

If you use a file rename utility on the new AL hood folder and files to change them to N00x before you try to open the neighborhood package file you can still open it with the old version of SimPE.  Alternatively, you could get a qa version of SimPE.  The qa version hasn't been updated for AL as of this moment, but I am sure it will be rather quickly and well before the next official release.

[IAmTheRad]

No, it imports, and I can rename the stuff. It just doesn't WORK when imported.

The apartment lots just don't work properly.

I know that 2 of the lots that should have sims living on them have no sims there anymore. And that some other occupied apartment lots look like they're working fine from the neighbourhood view, and when you hover over them, it looks like it's occupied. But when you click to select that lot, there's nobody there.

That's what I mean by it doesn't work.

I've only tried to import it as a shopping district, not as a downtown lot...

I'm thinking that SimPE cannot detect a difference between apartment lots and regular lots, AT this time. This is why I'm waiting for a new SimPE. Free time gave problems with hobbies before simpe was updated for FT (at least the QA). But then the game still worked even with the imported hood in non-updated SimPE.

I'm not 100% certain that's the reason why, and if somebody CAN import the apartment neighbourhood without the game going all crazy I'd like to know how you did it. Unless it involves a QA of simpe that's updated to work with AL.

However, it doesn't just delete the sim completely. That's where the problem lies. I'm sure you know the problems that can occur if you do 'deleteallcharacters' in an inhabited hood. The characters that DID live there are suddenly unlinked. Surely a prerequisite for ABFBVFS

(EDIT 2: Electric Boogaloo!)
SimPE QA right now is not compatable with AL. Probably the apartments problem.

I know you can do some things with it, but nothing that uses neighbourhoods now, I guess.

[Tarlia]

I have a merged neighbourhood that I made myself, with Pleasantview as the main and the other basegame 'hoods, DV and Riverblossom as shopping districts (plus Bluewater Village). It also has the default downtown. Once SimPE is updated, would I be able to add Belladonna Cove as either another shopping district (unlikely?) or as a downtown to this existing neighbourhood?