College Moveout Just Keeps Getting Weirder

[Magicmoon]

I thought all my college moveout problems had been solved between the patches and the fixes. Everything has been working fine for at least several months. Now I have a new problem.

Whenever I use the phone to move a graduate out, the cab arrives, the moveout proceeds normally, but when the cab drives off the screen all of the visitors dissapear from the lot.

I looked over all my mods that have anything to do with either college or the car pools and nothing is new. No conflicts are showing in the hack conflict program.

Anyone had this happen, or more importantly know how to fix it?

It isn't the worse problem in the world and I can surely play with the problem intact, but I always worry when things don't work like they should.

[RainbowTigress]

It's been a while since I graduated any sims, and all my sims who graduated are currently rasing kids.  A couple of them are old enough to go but I don't have any who are ready to graduate, so I can't test this.  I now have OFB + patch as well, so I have no idea what will happen.   

[vilia]

Have you tried holding a graduation party as a method of moving a sim out to see if that works properly?

[Magicmoon]

Have you tried holding a graduation party as a method of moving a sim out to see if that works properly?

Not this time. That is something I've done in the past when the moveout just wouldn't happen correctly. But now they are actually moving out correctly, it just zaps all the visitors at exactly the same moment the cab dissapears from the screen.

Before all the bug fixes when the moveout controller went weird the grad party sometimes overrode the behavior of the YA not aging, or not being able to enter the cab. In those cases using lot debugger to nuke the stuck moveout usually solved the problem. But there is no stuck moveout now.

I rarely go downtown or to community lots because I hate the load time. But today I'll take a trip somewhere and see if the cab deletes the visitors with that. At least it will help pinpoint where the problem is occuring. I'll also give a grad party to see if that helps, but somehow I doubt it will change anything.

I've been trying different things and now I've run out of grads and will have to build some more up before continued testing. It's not like I can leave the lot without saving as moving in or out seems to save the moved sim even if the lot itself isn't saved.

[RainbowTigress]

That's strange.  I was able to reload a lot without saving before with only Uni and NL and the sim was not moved out.  Are there other students living on the lot after the graduate leaves in the cab and the visitors get zapped off?

[ZephyrZodiac]

I wonder if it's just that the game is using the same procedure for just phoning a cab as for the whole party scenario, when of course, visitors do leave the lot when the cab arrives?  I've not had it happen, as the only sim recently that moved out without a party (since he didn't have the want, it didn't seem worth the effort) moved out when there were no visitors on the lot anyway.

[Magicmoon]

Rainbow-

Yes there are other students still living on the lot. It is a Greek House which I use for all generations of my Sims. The last student never moves out before others are moved in. Only the visitors get zapped when the cab leaves. The live-in's are just fine.

As far as whether the moved person gets saved or not when moving out but not saving the lot, well I have had it happen both ways. Sometimes the person is in the bin and other times still in the house. But I also notice more problems with stuck move-outs if I leave the lot without saving, so I don't anymore. The last time I did that it took several human days for me to get anyone out of the college. Nuke stuck move out didn't fix a thing. I ended up having to go to the neighborhood, use Inge's teleporter bush to summon and move them in to an existing household, then move them to their own place via "find own place". I can't remember if they grew to adult in the first house or after they moved to their own place. It was a last ditch effort, but it was the only thing I could get to work. Oh, then back at the college nuke stuck moveout had to be used again before I could move out another sim.

However, if I move a person INTO a house, then decide to leave without saving I noticed that the person stays in the house even though the actions that took place while there are not saved. The person is never back in the bin.


ZephyrZodiac-

This is a new development. I have never had visitors zapped in the past when moving out YA's. Only weird thing is that I haven't added any new mods-just updated existing ones. So with no conflicts being reported and no new mods being added to the game, it just leaves me going in circles trying to figure out what is causing this.

Occasionally I get a weird game session. Things get kinda wonky, I quit and reload and things are fine, or at least better. But even this hasn't stopped the visitor zapping.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Have you tried deleting your groups.cache file?  It would also be worth running Paladin's Hack Conflict Detector just to be sure you don't have a conflict which could be causing your problems.  If you still have the problem, you could try making a set of vanilla files and playing a uni in one of them.  (You could use simPE to put a student up to the last semester).  If the student then graduates and moves out with no probs., then it must be something in your downloads/hacks that's causing the problem.  However, if the same thing occurs in the vanilla game, then something is wrong somewhere in your program files, and you could try uninstalling/reinstalling your latest EP to see if that solves the problem.

[Magicmoon]

Thanks. Yes I ran the hack conflict finder with nothing relevant at all.

I haven't tried deleting the cache file. In the past I've only done that whenever the game refused to start at all. Didn't think of trying it in this situation. It's worth a try though.

Vanilla game is my next step. I hate when I have to do that though. It is such a major pain. That's why I posted hoping someone else had already experienced the problem and knew what was wrong.

Thanks everyone for trying to help.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, if you use Inge's method of creating a vanilla game, it's not so bad, and you can always use it afterwards.  Just rename your existing Sims 2 folder to something like Sims 2 Play, start your game, and it will create a new set of game files with, of course, no custom content whatsoever.  Close game.  Restart (quick because no CC.)

A lot of people delete the groups.cache every time they play - it seems to store a lot of objects related errors.  I assume they're object related since groups.cache gets bigger the more downloads you have.

[Emma]

Well, if you use Inge's method of creating a vanilla game, it's not so bad, and you can always use it afterwards.  Just rename your existing Sims 2 folder to something like Sims 2 Play, start your game, and it will create a new set of game files with, of course, no custom content whatsoever.  Close game.  Restart (quick because no CC.)

This is also a great idea if you want themed neighbourhoods. You can just put CC that you need in each 'Sims 2' folder. I have one version with no CC at all that I use for building lots for upload.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Me too, and it's a great way of keeping downloads to a reasonable amount!  (Per set of game-files, that is - but you can have an unlimited number of downloads.........).

[Magicmoon]

Well, if you use Inge's method of creating a vanilla game, it's not so bad, and you can always use it afterwards.  Just rename your existing Sims 2 folder to something like Sims 2 Play, start your game, and it will create a new set of game files with, of course, no custom content whatsoever.  Close game.  Restart (quick because no CC.)

A lot of people delete the groups.cache every time they play - it seems to store a lot of objects related errors.  I assume they're object related since groups.cache gets bigger the more downloads you have.

Now this is something I didn't know! I was told to rename the downloads folder. Well, I did that once and it still put a lot of the stuff into the game. Since then I have been moving it to get a vanilla game. But it takes a long time to move that big folder!

One thing I noticed though about a vanilla game, I have to leave Monique's computer in the game. Even though I go into a lot that is NOT using her computer, and of course I never save during vanilla play, I find that when I go back to my regular game everyone has lost their bank accounts. Since some sims have loans (I make them actually pay for a bigger house by giving them a loan) and others have deposits, I find it irritating that all of it gets lost by going into any neighborhood lot at all. I really don't understand why it behaves like that, but it just does.

So just rename the actual Sims2 folder? I also thought that you had to have the whole folder just not the downloads folder and that downloads was the only one that would recreate itself. Hmm...since the whole folder is different, that means that the neighborhoods will be different too and therefore keeping Monique's computer in the game isn't necessary since you are not actually loading in your playable neighborhood. Do I understand that right?

[ZephyrZodiac]

No, if you rename the Sims2 folder, the game thinks there isn't one and just creates another, so you then have a completely new set of game files and no problems about missing downloads!  All I did with mine was to add some custom walls and floors which are all fsf, just so my houses wouldn't all look the same.

And at least if you play the vanilla game as it is with no additions, you will be able to tell if something is working differently than your main game.  You could then add things in a few at a time until you spot which set of items is causing your problem.  (Obviously start with your hacks folder, then if the problem is there, split it in two to isolate which half the offending file is in, and keep doing thatuntil you narrow it down to one or two.

[Emma]

Actually I do rename the Sims 2 folder Because My Documents is on my D drive I have a ton of space, so it doesn't make much difference to me. I have 3 versions at the moment, one for my normal game, one with no CC for building, and a 'test' folder. I put stuff in there to test, and also to sort downloaded objects into collections. I did have 2 others too, a Victorian one and a 'Fat of the Land' one that has all the farming stuff and harvestable crops in. They are currently on disc waiting for me to stop being bored with them and play

[ZephyrZodiac]

I have a basic game which at present has about five different versions of Pleasantview, plus some other stuff, a historical set and a modern set, I'm currently saving stuff for a Round the World set, and eventually I want to do a Sims1 stuff set!  Plus I have my vanilla set!  But so far, none of these has been played since I had OFB, which is yet another set!  My stuff is all on my E-Drive, and added to that is all my old Sims1 stuff, much of which is unobtainable now, so I really should do something about it!  Just in case I get so bored with Sims2 I decide to play Sims 1 again, just for a change!

[Ancient Sim]

I never actually had this problem with Uni, but none of my YA's who graduated left campus automatically unless they had a party, I had to call a taxi to take them home and it got to the stage where even that didn't always work and they wouldn't leave, so had to be invited to move in by someone else.  It was cured instantly when I reinstalled on my new pc (in fact, quite a few things were cured that way).  I know it's a pain, but a complete reinstall might be the answer, although just reinstalling the last expansion can also get rid of a lot of problems, such as missing icons and the rest. 

[ZephyrZodiac]

Apart from anything else, you get a brand new objects.package file, and if you immediately make that read only it can help prevent faults reoccurring.

The only time I had a problem with Uni move-outs was Beau Broke, and eventually I managed to get him back to the Pleasantview bin with the help of TJ's hacks.  But afterwards, when I looked him up in simPE, his character file was enormous, twice the size of either of his brother's files, and he also had the met Beau Broke memory, plus the Made Best Friends with Beau Broke memory etc.!  He survived to move back home, get married and start a family, so the good new is, the damage isn't always irreparable!

[Magicmoon]

Thanks to all who have been helping. I did the vanilla game with the renaming thing. That is so cool and I really appreciate the info. Only thing is that when CC is added you have to load the game, activate CC then reload again for each vanilla folder you make.

Not sure if good or bad news, but the vanilla worked just fine. I put in the college adjuster to rush a sim to grad and Inge's teleporter bush to grab some quick visitors and all went well on move-out. The only difference between vanilla and my reg game was that reg game was having the problems in a Greek house and the testing on vanilla was done at the dorm. I don't know if there is a difference, but I wouldn't think so.

I'll start the long process of weeding my mods and do the test on a Greek house. Maybe I'll even find out why I lost the "5 hours to Final Exam" warning and why the frats are no longer going out after pizza.

On the plus side, I was able to get a house ready for JM's building contest. I built the house a long time ago when I had no idea what I was doing. But it quickly became my favorite to play. I built it on a 5x4 lot...way too large as the empty lot costs $12,000 alone. I don't suppose there is a way to move the house to a smaller lot? I don't know if I can reconstruct it unless I go in and map it all to graph paper then rebuild on a smaller lot.

[RainbowTigress]

Magicmoon:  It does not take nearly as long to move a folder within the same drive as it does to move it to a different partition or physical drive.  I usually move my Downloads folder via drag and drop to the root folder of D (because that's where my My Documents folder is), and this only takes a moment because Windows does not have to physically move the data.  It simply makes a change to the FAT (File Allocation Table) noting the new location.  So I take advantage of this if I'm checking to see if a problem I'm having is due to the hacks I have.  If you want to keep certain hacks, you can make a new folder with the same name and just copy over the files you want to use in the test.  I've done this many times.  The advantage of this over renaming the Sims 2 folder and starting from scratch with a vanilla game is that you don't have to recreate the situation, which is sometimes difficult and time consuming.  Sometimes you can't exactly recreate the situation again.  There are no doubt times when a vanilla game would be valuable, so it is good to keep in mind as another tool you can use when troubleshooting a problem.  I experienced the same thing you did when trying to just rename the Downloads folder, because I realized the game was still reading them.  This is odd also because I've heard of people having trouble with the game not seeing their hacks because their downloads folder did not have a capital D!  I'm sure this must be actually happening because so many people have reported it as a problem and then fixed it by changing the "d" to a capital "D," but it still seems strange that the game would still see them if the folder was renamed to something else.   

[starrling]

I'm having weird college move-out issues as well, but I've been too lazy lately to take the time to figure them out.  Whenever one of my playable sims uses the phone to move out after graduation, all of the other playable sims jump in the cab with him/her.  No problem except when they get to the neighborhood bin they're all together with their measly 20,000 ...and all but the main sim don't have their graduation want slots anymore.  Weird.  I'll try the Inge method soon.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Starrling, that is extremely odd, and I would start by looking for some kind of hack conflict,or maybe a move out hack of some kind that you still have which is no longer required, because the problem it dealt with has been fixed by a patch or a new EP.  I've certainly never come across this - and since they all arrive in the family bin, I can only assume that you are using the college  option to return to the main hood, and not simply phoning for a cab and going to a comm lot in PV, but it seems like you are getting a mixture of the two!

Magicmoon - the idea of a vanilla game is that it does not have custom content.  It means that you can use it for CC free testing or housebuilding.  If you want to make themed games, you would normally be selecting downloads that fit with that theme, and you would, of course, have to enable that CC for that set of game files.  If, on the other hand, you merely want more neighbourhoods to play, you can either make your own within the game, or use downloaded custom scenarios, and you would not need to make a new set of folders to do that.

Only if you want to play Pleasantview, Strangetown or Veronaville and keep the same CC would you need to go to the lengths of making new folders and then moving your Downloads folder, although it is possible in such a case that once you have created those 3 folders you could use a renaming program to give them each a different file number (and to rename every file within to include that number) and then move them in with the originals, which saves having to quit the game and rename your file sets in order to switch from playing one game to another.  It will also save you disk space since you would be using just one downloads folder for two versions of Pleasantview, for instance. 

[starrling]

Thank you ZZ, I'm going to pull out all my hacks and replace them one by one once I have a viable Uni dorm to test.  I just cleaned out my folders but sometimes things just conflict (unawesome or not).  Although it's a weird situation I'm not too worried since there's a fairly decent workaround.  *shrugs

[Magicmoon]

Found the Problem!

Went vanilla. Problem was....shhhhhh....Inteenimator.

I ran the game with nothing else except InTeenimater_Final13k_NL. It happens on both dorm lots and Greek lots. I didn't try it on residential. I even took out the flavor packs to be sure.

I just don't understand why I can't find this reported anywhere else. I can't be the only person this affects if the error happens with it being the only CC item. And it is the correct version for my configuration and my patches are up to date.

Maybe someone else who only has up to NL will come along and find this thread to help them. Now I have to decide whether to keep the error or lose the kitten killer.

Most reasons I want it is so that aging teens don't forget their lovers and can continue their relationships even though one of them ages. But I also like the fertility changes that it includes for adults...increased fertility problems with advanced age and increased multiplet odds with advanced age. Also fertility treatments and birth control is very nice. University families also adds realism. I could care less whether the teens can woohoo.

I reported the problem at the proper forum. Maybe they will fix it. My luck they won't be able to duplicate it even though I was able to duplicate it in a clean game.

Thanks everyone for being so helpful. Good luck starrling tracking down your problem. The tips here were very helpful to me.

[jase]

Magicmoon,
 
I replied to your post.  It reproduced very easily and I can confirm it's a bug.  I won't waste JM's bandwidth here, but details are over at insim.net.  Now, I'm just waiting for someone to post the "God Kills a Kitten" poster

J