University installation advice?

[windy_moon]

 

Okay, I am the world's slowest Sim player because I never installed Uni. The content didn't particularly appeal to me, and all of the talk of bugs and issues was off-putting.

I do want Nightlife, though, so I'm not going to make the mistake I made in Sims 1 -- only getting certain expansion packs and then being relegated to the underclass in available user created hacks and downloads.  Looking for Sims 1 only downloads, no expansion packs, was like needing a micro mini skirt in size 22W. Why, yes Madam, we have exactly what you want in the back here, under the counter, leftover from 2 seasons ago, in black with green polkadots.

So, Uni is on its way.  I'm going to install this weekend unless a series of particular juicy (at the moment) story lines take me away.

I've done a ton of research on my own before asking...honestly, probably too much research and my head is spinning.  I am asking, not because I'm too lazy to look on my own, but because I've figured out that most of the board members here are Way More Awesome Than I Am, and I can get some sound advice.

If you could dial back to the pre-Uni days, knowing what you know now, what would you do? (I've recently rid myself of townies and am running Pescado's notownieregen hack.  I assume I want to the same with the dormies, since townies made me crazy.)

Thanks for anything!

[RainbowTigress]

Definitely make sure all of your hacks are Uni-compatible.  Some are for both, but some you know have two versions, so make sure you have the right ones.

Other than that, make sure you backup your game, especially your entire Neighborhoods folder, and any custom content.  Some recolors may not work in Uni, so check and see if you can get updated, uni-compatible recolors.  If you can't find updated ones and you run across objects that are flashing blue in your game, there is a way you can convert them using SimPE if you find you can't live without them.

Other than that, I read on the BBS to make sure all visitors were sent home in all your lots, so I did this.  One thing I neglected to do was to make sure the tables were clear, and in the Goth house, there was a plate that I could not get rid of on the dining table, even with moveobjects on.  However, deleting the whole table took care of it, so I just replaced it with a new one.  They could afford it, LOL.

Another thing that usually happens when you install a new EP or even some hacks is that your sims will be reset.  This may mean any sims gone to work or school will suddenly appear on the lawn and will miss out on promotions and pay, and depending on the time of day, sims will be penalized for missing work or school.  The good thing is that all their motives will be nearly full green.

I had trouble installing Uni and ended up having to uninstall TS2 and reinstall the whole game because of the stupid patching message.  It failed every time, although I already had the patch, it kept trying to install it.  So I had to install the Sims 2, then install Uni and let it patch it.  That was the most frustrating part, but I finally got it to work.  I played it a bit with the default neighborhoods, and then I deleted the neighborhood folder and restored mine, and went on from there. 

Keep in mind that once you play your neighborhoods in Uni, they will be saved in a new format and therefore be incompatible with plain TS2.

Hope this helps!

[miramis]

You know what?  It was a good idea to wait until now because you'll have the benefit of all the fixes available (and needed).  I'm not the best person to give advice here since most of the others know way more than I do, but I'll try.

Get updated versions of any downloads you use that will need to be Uni Compatible, some older things didn't work well with the EP and caused problems for some, so have them ready.

It would be a good idea to get the Uni Fixes Pescado has here, there are quite a few.  Gali has posted some descriptions of many in the Hack Directory/All Hacks area of this site.  Read through those and pick out the ones you think are needed, some like the anti-prank are more of an annoyance eliminator rather then bugfix.

In my personal opinion the preventative by Crammyboy over at modthesims2 would be a good 'fix' to have in right from the word go, (I'm assuming you already have Pescado's Critical Fixes?) I found that the NPC/Slowdown bug which had never bothered me pre-Uni, suddenly began to show it's head.  A lot.  If you've read about the problems caused by too many sims then you will see why this particular bug needs to be squashed before it begins.  I don't know how effective it is since I haven't long come across the fix which is here.. http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=727909#post727909  but I'd rather have a chance of stopping it than lose any more lots or neighbourhoods.

That's the best I can do, hope it's of some help!

Edit:  You may be the worlds slowest sim player, but I am the worlds slowest Poster! 

[windy_moon]

You guys are awesome  , thank you. 

With all of the important NL disucussions going on, I appreciate you took the time to answer my "it's all about me" thread.

Thank you! 

[aussieone]

This is what I do......

Step 1: I make sure I remove my downloads folder to the desktop........then I load the new EP without hacks or downloads (hacks and downloads are usually in the same folder)

Step 2: I play the new Ep for a while, just to make sure it's playing as it should. Then when I'm satisfied it is playing ok, I introduce one hack at a time and play.

Repeat Step 2 until you're satisfied that all hacks/downloads a4re not affecting the EP....it is tedious, but I did this with University and so far..no probs   

[veilchen]

Also, watch out for lots. Older lots have the habit of crashing the game to desktop, and other assorted weirdness. If you have older lots placed in the neighborhoods, don't move any sims into them. Go into them first in the buy/build mode. If you can't get in, your only option is to get rid of the lot.

[ElviraGoth]

You may also want to make sure there are no service people on your lots, like maids, nannies, or gardeners.  They will think they live there and you'll have to delete them with moveobjects.  Also, I had a problem with any lot that I had last saved after paying the Thurs. bills.  Evidently, the game didn't recognize that the bills had been paid, and since no bills show up again until the next Tues., the repo man showed up at those lots.  So you may want to have each household saved on the day before bills come (Mon. or Wed.).

[miramis]

The FFS Lot Debugger has an option to 'kill stuck bills', not sure if it applies to that particular problem or not.  If you're going for a clean install though the problem with the bills & Repoman shouldn't crop up.  That's been my experience in custom 'hoods anyway.  Can't speak for the Maxis neighbourhoods in this case.

[Brynne]

You actually have an advantage over those of us who installed Uni when it first came out, since JM and TwoJeffs have solved many of the problems. We just had to put up with a seriously bugged game back then.

[Baddmark]

Yep, make sure everyone is home before saving. I tend to save each household at night, when everyone is asleep and no actions are queued (and after about 2am just incase the burglar is making his/her rounds).

After installing Uni, the sims should be stood at the side of their beds with plenty of green bars ready for fun and games.

The stuck bills bug might hit regardless of which day you save, you'll probably get a clue if the postie walks past the box without even stopping. Like said above, the ffslotdebugger will sort that out.

I'm another that waits a while before buying games - most of the bugs are identified and patched, players have had time to see if a game has lived up to the hype, and the price is usually a fraction of what it was when released. 

Although I did buy Simcity4 and Sims2 full price and before I even had a computer to run them... Yeah, don't listen to me I'm an addict. 

   

[windy_moon]

I am being so anal about this, you'd think that I was trying to launch a space shuttle with real human beings or something.  T -2 days to University Install, what's the check list now so we don't lose anybody during the mission? 

My children's games, under their own XP user names, complicate everything as they have their own downloads to be dealt with and neighborhoods to be backed up. At 11 and 13, they don't believe their mother that half the things they are doing right now can turn their games into a big firey ball visible from space but I assure you, when their game is FUBARd, Mom is the one who is going to have to pick up the pieces.   

Just chattering, please ignore if people on message boards who chatter, chatter, chatter drive you crazy:

So, my 11 year old, Adam, has been nagging me to buy Uni for several months now.  I am sure it is annoying to have your mother bogart your computer and game and start putting out all kinds of mother rules and regulations for Your Own Good when you are 11 and just want to cram your computer with crap and push every button you see 10 times.  What does this button do? 

When I finally decided to go with a Uni install, he was thrilled and then completely apalled that I intended to install it this weekend, the same weekend that Dad is taking both boys camping, leaving Mom with the house to herself.  Read, no children talking to her incessently while she is performing critical install tasks. 

Uni arrived on Tuesday and the nagging/begging/pleading/cajoling macrotastics began with a call to me at work to just let me know, helpfully of course, that my Uni package had arrived and perhaps I would care for him to read the entire manual to me aloud over the phone.  Lord God, that child has a future in used car sales!

This is what happens when geeks reproduce. 

Anyway, you guys have been so helpful...and the most awesome of all has been awesome as expected.  I wasn't sure which hacks and fixes I have that were Uni compatible so I've redownloaded everything, rather than sorting through versions.  I've a huge honking folder of Pescado ready to go, my precious Inge shrubs (hugs! hugs! I love those shrubs!),  and the Merola mirror & painting.   I've backed up all of the kids' neighborhoods and cleaned their downloads.

Thanks muchly for the "put everybody to sleep or at least make sure they are home" advice, will do.  Annoying that I will have to do it for the kid's neighborhoods too, but better safe than sorry as I will be left cleaning up messes should any occur.  (My husband is a Non Geek and is no help whatsoever...I think he knows how to get his email on his own now but if somebody sends him a jpeg or PDF he yells to IT Mom for help.)

Thanks!

[SciBirg]

Here's my advice: First make sure that you have all the CD's ready and that your second Uni CD has not been packed somewhere far, far away during your recent move. 

I guess I should have followed that advice before uninstalling my game. Well, at least I found the CD's for the base game. 
I can honestly say that one gets spoilt after using Macrotastic in the game. Everything is soooo hard now!

[windy_moon]

Install sucessful,  , so far......tedious going into everybody's house to get them home and get them to bed, but well worth it for peace of mind.

I'm really unimpressed with the expansion pack, so far.  I need to take a nap and read a Uni tutorial or something.  I played a University unattached to my beloved neighborhood for a few hours and it was yawn boring.   Perhaps when I know more what I am doing and have Sims I care about going through the process, I'll be more engaged.

Looking forward to using Pescado's clock.  I want to learn how do it the long way, though, as I like to know what the rules are before I smash them to smithereens.

Thanks, everybody.

[Baddmark]

That was the bit of installation advice we didn't give you - don't bother because it's boring. 

Your sims have LTW now, which is the main reason I got Uni. So you can have some fun with that. Getting a 4.0 GPA and 1200 simoleons a month is so easy (even with a CAS YA with no skills) that you'll soon have a dorm with all the skilling equipment, expensive beds and whatnot that your sims won't even have to leave the building except for the final exam.

Get the comm skilling hack BTW, so your dormies can gain skills sitting in front of the TV or playing chess. If you decide to make them playable later they won't appear to be quite so "retardo". 

[dmchess]

I'm really unimpressed with the expansion pack, so far.  I need to take a nap and read a Uni tutorial or something.  I played a University unattached to my beloved neighborhood for a few hours and it was yawn boring.

I've heard that from other people, too, so you're definitely not alone!  I really enjoy Uni, though, and playing YAs in college is one of my favorite things.  Dunno why; maybe it depends what your main interest in the game is.  My advice is to look on the YA years as a chance to have fun and get your characters into interesting stories before they get tied down with spouses and kids , rather than just a sort of side-trip from the "real" neighborhood.   

'course maybe this just means that I'm nostalgic about my own college years, and Uni lets me live out various scurrilous fantasies through my Sims... 

DC

[Motoki]

I'm really unimpressed with the expansion pack, so far.

It's annoying and repeititive sending them to college, imho, and it takes forever. Don't try to do a lot with 8 students either you will go insane. Seems like they require so much more management than a family. :p Oh well, at least we get a nice canopy bed that gives better energy than anything in the original game lol.

[yetyak]

I bought Uni the day after it was released and my then high school senior daughter said, "MOM!! you can't play that until after I've left for college or you won't let me go!"  So I've just now made my first YA and started the college experience.  The first day wasn't too impressive, but I never went so I guess I don't quite know what to expect.  I guess I can only hope that my daughter doesn't go streaking or get eaten by a cowplant.  Hopefully, they don't have cowplants in Missouri.

[dmchess]

Don't try to do a lot with 8 students either you will go insane.

Agreement there; I've never played a Uni lot with more than two controllable students on it at once, and usually just one.  When I move a Sim from the neighborhood to a dorm, I move them into a dorm that doesn't yet have any controllables.  (Even with families I tend to go crazy if there are much more than four controllables; I know some people enjoy more than that, though, so quite likely there are people who like having 6 YAs at once in Uni.  Shudder...)

But concentrating on just one or occasionally two students at once, I've found the University EP to be lots of fun.

DC

[JavaChild]

Now see? I always play with eight controllable Sims in the dorms: Getting as many in and out as fast as possible being my theory. And I no longer send anyone to college that doesn't have at least an interest of seven or eight in school. I have to keep wondering why I even send anyone to college 'cuz I really don't so much fancy that aspect of the game at all... Then again, there's a lot of things about this game that make me wonder why I play sometimes.

[Motoki]

I find when I play with more sims in university it still takes longer because I have to pause every 2 seconds and micromanage the hell out of all of them because otherwise they're always doing something stupid. In University there's so many more distractions and they also are home on the lot a lot more than sims in the regular town generally are. I'm all for getting them through faster, but if I play with anymore than one or two sims on an off campus residential house with TwoJeffs hack to ban the damned cheerleaders, mascots, coaches and streakers, then I go completely nuts. 

[Howabominable]

The only problem I had with installation (though it was a big one) was that it didn't recognize the patch, so every time I inserted disk 4 on ts2 I got an error. Make sure the patch is installed, and that it hasn't been messed with.

[dmchess]

Now see? I always play with eight controllable Sims in the dorms: Getting as many in and out as fast as possible being my theory.

Yeah, I can see how that wouldn't be much fun!  You might enjoy University more playing a smaller number at a time, and doing fun / silly / memorable things.  I'm not surprised it isn't maybe so much fun if it's played as just a really slow version of the SimPE "set university bit on" function. 

I find when I play with more sims in university it still takes longer because I have to pause every 2 seconds and micromanage the hell out of all of them because otherwise they're always doing something stupid.

There's some other way to play???   

(That's pretty much how I play TS2 outside of college also.  I'm prolly just a control freak!)

DC
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[JavaChild]

I've tried fewer but the chaos of eight actually does makes it better for me... This of course in no way relates to the fact that I seem to live my real life in a constant state of chaos too.

[miramis]

I'm finding the college thing less boring with Nightlife, my sims are now using the campus community lots and the downtown lots because the car is so much quicker than the taxi. I'd never bothered taking them to community lots before really, not to mention that downtown lots don't seem to have the college clock ticking away like the campus does, it's nice to take a break there without watching the time.  The turn-on thing is quite nice, my knowledge ya had three different lovers who she dated throughout college (at the same time) and then dumped for a dormie who she later married. There was one spectactular showdown when she took her lovers on an outing shortly before her last final exam, it was fun to watch all the slapping and fights that resulted.  I can safely say she has had the best Uni experience than any of my sims

[dmchess]

not to mention that downtown lots don't seem to have the college clock ticking away like the campus does, it's nice to take a break there without watching the time.

Whoa, now that's an interesting data point!!