FFS "Batbox" Lot Debugger v2.0: NUCLEAR WAR EDITION

[cwykes]

The portal bug Crammyboy found was fixed in the NL/Uni patch. Unfortunately the patch didn't fix lots that were already bugged.  Crammyboy has a portal detector - that will warn you if a portal is deleted. DON't put his fix in a patched game.
You can detect and get rid of maids, gardeners and other sims stuck on the lot with hacked items.  I know Merola's mind control mirror and Inge's teleporter shrub plus.  If you have one of them put it on a lot that's having problems and see what it tells you.
Inge's shrub is at www.simlogical.com - navigate to Sims 2.... downloads... teleporters.... shrub plus....

If you have a deleted portal, the easiest thing is to move the family out and delete the lot.  You can fix portals, but I'm told it's fiddly.  Now that Crammyboy is here, you mind find this all on MATY, but I know these two MTS2 links.  One is to his detector and original prevention tool, the other is how to fix the problem once it has happened
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=83684  ..prevention and detection by Crammyboy
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=79045  .. fixing missing portals by Erzengel

[ZephyrZodiac]

Sorry, didn't make it as clear as I should, that was the thing I meant.

[hedgekat]

The Nightlife patch was SUPPOSED to fix the portal problem.   But the first lot I entered after installing the patch developed the bug  during that session of play.   So  I have put Crammyboy's fix back in. 

I have fixed more than a dozen lots afflicted with the slowdown bug by using Erzengal's portal fix and have had no further problems with any of those lots.  I  won't  move my families simply because of slowdown.  I would rather do without delivery or service people than have to lose everything I have built with that family and start over. 

[RainbowTigress]

Crammyboy's portal monitor is compatible with the NL patch.  Also, although one bug with portals being deleted was fixed in the NL patch, another one related to juggling was discovered by Crammyboy.  You can get the fix as well as the portal monitor here:

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=2171.0

I have not had any problems with Erzengel's portal replacement fixes.  You just have to know how to use them.  I am so grateful for this because I no longer have to move sims and bulldoze lots because the carpool is messed up.

[cwykes]

hedgekat - I pushed this "supposed to be fixed" point with Crammyboy cos I didn't believe it without proof either! the posts are on MTS.  He said very clearly to take out his fix before you patch as it is fixed.  I did get agreement on that thread that what maxis did, didn't fix problems that were already there.  I stopped before I annoyed everyone with my persistence, but it still seems to me that there might easily be another stupid bit of coding that deletes a portal.  We've all blamed everything on the one Crammyboy id'd for us - cancelling read-me.  But maybe it also happens when you cancel some other action.

I know Crammyboy is going to want to hear from you about your experience.  Please pick up that link I gave and post there - or somewhere here in his bit of the board.

[dmchess]

Yeah, thanks; I looked at Crammyboy's portal stuff, but he never mentions a carpool-EXIT portal, and that seems to be what I'm missing (in some sense).  Siimlarly, my problem with nannies isn't that they get stuck on the lot (I can always delete them, and in fact I think just dismissing them causes them to summon a van and leave), it's that they show up unexpectedly at random times (and don't show up when they're supposed to); it seems to be the schedule that's messed up, rather than a portal...                  DC

[ZephyrZodiac]

Have to say, we've most all of us here had that problem at one time or another.  There are various threads regarding the nannies, and maybe if you go through them all you will find something helpful to your particular problem.  My own personal solution is not to use them at all.

[Meek_Monkey]

Hi all AS for the nannies I dont use them either as they cause to much hassleI find that the nanny painting on modthesims2 works best.

[RainbowTigress]

Hi all AS for the nannies I dont use them either as they cause to much hassleI find that the nanny painting on modthesims2 works best.

Where is this nanny painting, and what does it do?

[IcemanTO]

Hi JM,

I had a problem with this Lot Debugger (version 2.0 for NL, of course).

My system includes Nightlife Patched, a lot of other yours hacks (moveout, phone, payatmailbox and so on, all new NL versions) plus
the InSimenator v. 2.2 fixed, plus the entire Security system by IngeJones, twojeff's casual romance, Cboy's nudist hack v.2.05 NL and NL clothing patch, dizzy2's smart lights and smartserve, Monique's Bank controller system.

1. The lot debugger works fine into my lots, no problems here.
2. The problem comes if I send my sims to downtown with their own car (both cases with default or custom cars).
    They go, the downtown lot loads right, all seems to go ok, but, when the car arrives, all my sims disappear and the car rest here
    alone. No live mode buttom (it becomes grayed out), no chance to click on the car to do something. The only way is to use the
    option button to return to the neighborhood without having chance to save.
3. At this point, I re-enter into my lot and (very funny) I can see my sims returnig home with car. Eheheheheh

Once I removed the LotDebugger, no more problems at all.

Final Note. I play with a custom Neighborhood (about 450 total townies, including my own sims and maxis' townies and npcs)
and I use the default Downtown (not modified at all) and also the default Academie La tour as uni.

Any suggestion?

Regards,
Ice

[J. M. Pescado]

I don't see any reason why this would happen, given that the lot debugger is a self-contained object which, presumably, is not on your community lot, and has no hacks to conflict with. In fact, it doesn't exist at all if you don't install it....

[IcemanTO]

Yes, you're right, the object is NOT on the community lots, only into my residential lots.

But, this isn't my strange dream, I tried two times and two times I had the same problem.
I would try also with the taxi now and then report you what happens.

Maybe a problem related with the carpool bug? (I don't have your fix installed yet).

Ice

[ZephyrZodiac]

Is there by any chance a furious sim at one of the portals when you arrive?

[IcemanTO]

Not sure because I haven't noticed (Anyway I remember to not have seen any "cartoon" with flames, ...maybe...).

BTW, why do you think it's important?

Ice

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, they cause slowdown, and maybe other things too.  So it could be important.

[cwykes]

I read quite a few posts a while back from people having problems with taking cars to community lots mostly on MTS2.  Haven't been looking recently so DK if they went away or are sorted.  One guy said he only had problems the first time, not the second.  So if taking out the debugger coincided with taking the car a second time, you have the same syptoms as him.  doesn't mean it's the same problem of course.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, I had some kind of problem with a community lot and a car, but there was a furious sim at a portal at the time, and although the car driver was able to get in the car and drive off to another lot, the teenage passenger couldn't get in the car at all.  Luckily she was back in the house when the driver got home.  The problem was of course, that I couldn't delete the furious sim since it was a community lot.

[LynnMar]

I am going to try this because I reinstalled and my game is messed up.  I am going to try the force error option but it says do not use while in debug mode,  what is debug mode?

[RainbowTigress]

I am going to try this because I reinstalled and my game is messed up.  I am going to try the force error option but it says do not use while in debug mode,  what is debug mode?

It is when you enter the debug code into the cheat box:  boolprop testingcheatsenabled true

Also referred to simply as "boolprop," but this isn't technically correct since there are many different cheat codes that start with "boolprop,"  Boolprop is short for "boolean properties."

[ZephyrZodiac]

In UK English you have to use upper case for some of the words too, very confusing.  If you open the cheats window and type help, it gives you a list of available cheats.

[cwykes]

zz - I usually call it testingcheats - that's better - can we start a trend?

[ZephyrZodiac]

Except in the UK version it's testingCheats!  But at least we'd know which "boolprop" we were talking about.

[Oddysey]

Silly British games, being all uptight about capitalization. And here I was thinking that it was German that was weird about capitalization. 

This is why I just stick all the cheats I use into a start up file thingy. I actually stole it from someone here. I find it's handy to have debug mode on by default, so I know if the game's acting up. Also, because simDNA only works if I have debug on at start up.

[RainbowTigress]

Same here, Oddysey.  I also have the cheat entered in startup for having 8 visitors on a lot at the same time.  I find this is generally a comfortable number for my computer to handle.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Every single time I've tried using it to debug something, my game gets into a mess, I keep getting the same idiotic and useless pop-up and then have to go back to Windows to close down the game.  Maybe it works for some people, but in my game it's a NoNo!