Refrigerator restocking bug

[Gus Smedstad]

Playing my lots again, I find that if I go to the grocery store, the buy meter always shows zero food in stock for my house, no matter how much I actually have on hand.  I'm allowed to buy a full $600 of groceries even if my refrigerator is almost full.  Grocery delivery works correctly.

I think this first showed up with Open For Business.  I don't think I've seen any hacks or patches addressing this issue.

 - Gus

[summerbliz]

You're right, it first appeared with OFB.  I did a thorough search on Maty, a long time ago, regarding this particular little problem, but to no avail.  As far as I know, EA never even addressed it properly.  I could be wrong in both counts, though.  Not much help, but I do empathize.

[V]

This is why I wait until the fridge is completely empty (or very nearly so) before I go to the grocery store.

[tIIsuggas]

This bug is a major pain in the ass.

Sims used to go to community lots to socialise, pick up groceries while there, the fridge was always stocked.

(Community lot visits were frequent).

One workaround, phone for groceries, see how much to top up, cancel, then visit community lot.

[buddha pest]

Don't the groceries show up in the inventory anyway?

Can't you just wait until the fridge is empty to put them away?

[Gwill]

This is when I realise that my sims really don't eat much since OFB.  I don't think I have had an empty fridge since the introduction of snapdragons.

[Gus Smedstad]

Don't the groceries show up in the inventory anyway?

Can't you just wait until the fridge is empty to put them away?

I'm pretty sure what happens is that you come home, put them away, and lose the extra groceries.

My main problem with the bug is that I find checking the refrigerator level tedious, and I rarely remember to do it.  Used to be, when someone hit the "super mall" (my custom do-everything community lot), I'd stop by the grocery store to top it up.  Now I have no clue how much to buy.  Checking the fridge just before I leave is a work around, I guess, but I was hoping it had been addressed properly.

 - Gus

[miros]

Don't the groceries show up in the inventory anyway?

Can't you just wait until the fridge is empty to put them away?

Well, you can cancel the put-away action and they'll leave the basket somewhere decorative.

I use the hack that makes the Sims bring home groceries and/or pizza after work.

[jsalemi]

TwoJeffs has a mod that pops up a warning when the food in the fridge gets down to 50 simoleans worth: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,1199.0.html

[ThyGuy]

I've got a hack that immediately buys groceries if the fridge stock goes down to nothing. I'd actually like to get a business like fridge that doesn't have a storage amount. It just takes the cost of the food from your money, just like in sims 1.

[Gwill]

Well, you can cancel the put-away action and they'll leave the basket somewhere decorative.

I did that by accident some time ages ago, probably in the base game.  They put the basket down some place silly where I couldn't see it, and the refrigerator stayed constantly almost empty and any attempts I made at ordering new groceries were borked by the grocery bar showing that the fridge was almost full already.  I think even re-buying the fridge didn't work.  It took me ages to find out what the problem was.

Maybe that's why they've changed the code.

[buddha pest]

Perhaps this got fixed with Pets?

I checked, and Darren Dreamer does indeed have a basket of groceries from a recent trip to a community lot still sitting in his inventory.

He made no attempts to put them away autonomously. Orrr, maybe this only works with free will off?

[aqualectrix]

Nah, I've got free will on and my Sims are pretty happy to let groceries sit in inventory.  Sometime they'll put a basket in after coming home from work or a community lot, but mostly they just hang on to it until groceries get low and I tell 'em to put groceries away.  And even then they're content to just put one basket in the fridge.

[cwykes]

Perhaps this got fixed with Pets?

well that would be good news!  downright amazing, but good news!

Previous thread on exactly this point is here http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,5607.0.html
In case you hadn't noticed, they buy an entire large fridge worth of food, even if they have a half-full SMALL fridge at home.  Double jeopardy!  This really ticks me off as I use small community lots quite a bit for multi-purpose trips. 
My current workaround? I have my sims go shopping for several baskets of about 100 each and stack the extra's round the side of the house

I wrote it up on the Sims2 board in case any maxoids read posts - feel free to add your mite...
http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?&openItemID=&threadID=f3d0aa69d692443e0e49288725e2c63e&directoryID=103&startRow=1#72eba2dd7d28ad24b9d194b0413784f5

[Jack Rudd]

I think Pescado worked out that using Wornable fridges, and selling and re-buying when they became empty, was cheaper than buying groceries anyway, and therefore fixing this bug was low priority.

[J. M. Pescado]

Usually, reselling ANY fridge is better than trying to order groceries unless you actually notice it in advance, because by the time it tends to inform you that you are out, you need it *NOW*.

[cwykes]

I think Pescado worked out that using Wornable fridges, and selling and re-buying when they became empty, was cheaper than buying groceries anyway, and therefore fixing this bug was low priority.

That's a well known dodge, but it's only true of that Uni fridge.  It's not cost effective for any of the other fridges, so if you don't have Uni - like me - replacing the fridge is an expensive way of grocery shopping.  These days my sims usually have food in the inventory, so they have something to eat even if the fridge is empty and there's always pizza.  I pretty much always take a Sim on an outing when the fridge is empty - one they've got the groceries, they socialise or go shopping for other stuff.  I find this bug really annoying.

[Gus Smedstad]

I know this won't make any sense at all to JM, but I consider sellling and re-buying fridges to be an exploit.  Sure it's legal, but it feels enough like cheating that I won't do it, even if the Headmaster is waiting on dinner.  The closest I'll come is purchasing a 2nd fridge if the family only has one.  From then on, I'll replenish groceries when one of them gets empty.

 - Gus

[J. M. Pescado]

The Sims pretty much encourages this behavior, as fridges are sadorandomly programmed only to be empty when you need them not to be, unlike real fridges.

[cwykes]

Sounds just the same as RL to me - I had visitors this weekend and my fridge was empty!  took them out to eat instead....

[J. M. Pescado]

Sounds just the same as RL to me - I had visitors this weekend and my fridge was empty!  took them out to eat instead....

Visitors should not be given food, since they can just leave the lot and come back refreshed.