Insimenator.org

All of these questions are with the game newly installed and no hacks inside of my downloads folder.

First of all, the pool's graphics are BAD... I mean, the water is completely still... as still as the ponds. I'm guessing that it's some sort of auto-disable thing from Maxis (similar to the sims limits at parties?), but now my pools don't have any movement, reflection or anything.

Second, I can fish in my ponds; they're both deep and wide enough, but I can't actually SEE the fish in the pond until they catch them. I thought from the trailers/videos that you should be able to see them?

And, last, none of my sims will overheat or freeze to death, either one! They'll get cold (that is, their temperature gauge will turn blue and drop), but that's all that happens... In fact, it will sometimes balance back out into the green and then it won't change at all. I have heard that this could be a problem involving sims using custom content though.

All of my in game graphics settings are to either high and medium, according to what it is... My reflections are turned on and I don't see why my pool water looks so bland.

In regards to the fish/water problem, they probably adjusted the requirements for it again. Prior to Open for Business, I used to be able to see fish in my aquariums. From that EP forward, they disappeared. As I expected with Seasons, I don't see fish in my pond either. From what I understand, it's mostly related to your video card. Here's a somewhat-related thread explaining that (and a possible fix):

Fishless Fish Tanks:
http://www.insimenator.org/showthread.php?t=24972

As for the overheating/freezing to death issue, I've experienced that as well. From what I've experienced, custom objects that cause your Sim to change clothes (LizzLove's Swinger's Bed, for example) seems to cause the game to ignore the consequences from overexposure.

...I'm still investigating this issue.

Whoo!

'boolprop useshaders true' worked fine; all my little fishies blipped in place (including the ones in the pond) and my swimming pool reanimated.

The only problem was that the pool's floor tiles were flashing blue, but since Season allows you to change them now, I just put down a new type and it's all good.

Now, we've just got to worry about the freeze/heat thing. lol

I used boolprop cheat that and nothing happened. I don't get the snow x-ray options, my pools are boring and I haven't seen fish in my tanks for a while now. :(
Do I have to enter it then restart my game or does it reset and I have to do it every time I play?
This bites. I have a really good video card, I do not want to or plan to buy a new one.

Unless you add it to the startup.cheat file, you'll have to type it in every time you play. Type it in on the Neighborhood screen, though, not on a lot, or the pools won't update.

Also, fish in the ponds take just a few "sim minutes" to appear. They'll stick their heads up in the water and then start swimming around.

Ok on Eric's desktop he can't see the fish in the lake. The rest of the graphics are perfect and the useshaders is already working properly yet he can't see the fish.
 
Has anyone see this or have any clue for a fix?

I don't see fish either .. I just click on the pond and tell the sim to fish
 
granted all she's caught so far is an old boot ... whether you have to be up to a cetain badge level before the fish populate the pond I don't know

It populated automatically for me. I checked the bbs and people are referring to incompatiable graphic cards yet his card is well above the min specs and is on the list of compatiable cards.
 
never mind rofl He just had to make it super deep to see them

hi,

I see fish and they are pretty big sized. like 4 swim around all the time.
hope that helps anyone.

harry

I made a bottomless pit almost, saw 2 when I went back to play mode, then nothing again *shrugs* dunno, maybe I'm not destined to have fish!!

I saw twinnum's thread here (http://www.insimenator.org/showthread.php?t=38669) .. the last post about boolprop useshaders true ... I now have tons of whoppers in my pond!!

ugh I think this is more than a graphics issue. Do you see fish in the fish tanks?
 
And Mark if you beta test, hint hint, you will be able to fish.

I seem to be having the same problem. I can see the fish swimming in my pond but I cannot get options to go fishing. I get that Star icon when I scroll over the pond, but when click i get nothin . . . ?

I've been able to fish right from the start, just didn't see the fish till I did the boolprop whatsitthingy. It shouldn't be a graphics issue, I have a nvidia 6800GT - granted, not top of the range, but still fairly beefy
 
Kathy, I'll check the fish tank - I'll set that boolprop thing back to false and see what happens
 
edit -- nope, I set the boolprop useshaders back to false and I see no fish in the aquarium or the pond

Stupid game lol

HAHAHAHA
 
you know you love it really!!
 
what the hell is the usershaders thingybob anyway??

if your graphic card supports pixel shading that can turn it on or off.

My piddly GeForce 4 doesn't support pixel shaders. There for, no fish for me! They can catch them I just can't see em.

It is the cheat to circumvent the option when your game turns it off

ahhhhh
 
bugger, that's annoying that I'll have to turn it on everytime ... unless I don't have them fishing

I'm thinking this can be put in the user start up cheats so it won't need typed every time. I have not tried it yet but I am going to as my grapics do the same thing. Fish look real good with Use Shaders set to true though!! :)

Actually it does work typing it in when on a lot. At least it does for my computer, I figure people not familiar with boolprop cheats may be entering it wrong. It should be: boolprop UseShaders true  - and capitalization in the proper places is needed.

EDIT: I have to retract my statement. I had not done this cheat on a lot with a pool when I posted this. It works, but it corrupts the swimming pool. Sorry if I misled anyone. If you do happen to do this on a lot with a pool, you can rebuy the floor tiles for it. It will work ok,(Or at least has with my system), on a lot with a pond only and no swimming pool.

Hey There,

Been reading about the fish problem and I have the same thing going on. Tried the boolprop thing but it didn't work. I think my card supports this, but I was wondering when I figure it out, how do you get to the user start up file to put cheats in so you don't have to do it everytime. I don't know how to do that , any help would be great ...thanx.:-P

kathy - you will need to modify the video card file Graphics Rules.sgr in :

C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Seasons\TSData\Res\Config

if you post your video card model or a screen cap of you Display Properties (see pic), I can tell you what lines to edit.

(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b133/beosboxboy/video_card_info.jpg)

I wish mine wouldn't freeze...I've already lost one kid to the Social Worker from that lol.  Try having your sim go swimming during the winter, then place a chair outside.  Once s/he's in the pool, direct him/her to nap in the chair for a while.  As they get colder, their skin will turn an odd shade of pale (almost like the vampire, though not quite).  Leave them outside for a while, and see what happens (just an fyi: they don't directly die from the cold, but their hunger motives drop drastically once they're freezing, and they end up starving to death).  Try doing the same to them if you want them to pass out from heat exhaustion.  Let them go outside in winter clothes during the Summer, and have them run the obstical course.  Good luck.

PS/Edit: I'm currently playing with three hacked objects (Sinful Shower, Lizzy Loves Swinger Bed, and Love Bed) and three general hacks (cBoy's body hack, no censor, no rot food hack), and I haven't experienced any problems so far.

UPDATE: I've just tested my game (AGAIN) with every single hack, mod, custom content, etc. removed... I've extensively scanned and rescanned with Sims 2 Clean Installer and I've manually looked through all of the folders myself... and...

My sims will still not overheat or freeze! For the red gauge, it will raise almost to the top, but it will not turn my sim's skin red, nor will they pass out or "burn" or anything...

And, for the blue gauge, it drops almost completely to the bottom, but that's it... They'll take a cold and sneeze a little, but that's all... They never freeze or anything else. I've tried having them swim then stand around in their swimming trunks... pretty much everything. :(

Does anyone think that maybe it's a hidden percentage thing, like the UFO abductions/elevator crashes, or is it time for me to finally submit this to the EA bug report service? Argghh... How aggravating...

I use the useshaders cheat and I see the fish in one pond, the community lot with the large pond.  Since alot of my residential areas are small lots, I won't see them, no matter how deep I make them. I guess I have to go to the building mode and make larger lots, LOL. As long as my simmies can fish, I can live with it.  Wow, I forgot, I haven't been to any of my beach lots since seasons, I should have large enough pond water to see it then. Let me go find out...!

dunner have them stand a long time outside in their underwear - lets say long enough that they are in the red with some of their motives, then they'll freeze, freezing to death is not a pretty thing, I pity your sims, you are an evil master :lol:

i put boolprop useshaders true on a line in the userprops file
and when i start my game in the roverblossom town.. some of my families disapeared. i dont know what to do now because i cant find boolprop useshaders true anymore in the userprops file. can someone help me!?!??!?!

Creepies, you should have placed it in the usercheats file, not the userprops file; are you sure you edited the userprops file?

Pour afficher toutes les extensions de fichiers

• Dans le menu Outils du Poste de travail ou de l'Explorateur Windows, cliquez sur Options des dossiers.  
• Cliquez sur l'onglet Affichage.  
• Désactivez la case à cocher Masquer les extensions des fichiers dont le type est connu.

Oh trust me, I'm trying... I've had them stand there for 5-10 sim hours sometimes, it seems, with free-will turned off. Maybe the motives just haven't dropped far enough down yet; I'll try again later tonight.

I guess I AM evil for wanting to do this... just a little though. ;)

My sim frozed 4 times.

spelling error, replace frozed with froze. Sorry.

Hi!I really need help.I tried the cheat and it doesn't work!I still can't see my fish!!Please,quick reply!

I don't see fish either.I tried the shaders true but it didn't work for me either.I thought i would have a look around and see if anyone else was haveing the same problem and i see they are.Not overly concerned  about it.Don't have to fish but would like to some day

I have the same problem; I have the cheat in userstartup.cheat, yet I still can't see the fish (I can fish, just can't see them), although I can see the ones in the aquarium.

I use an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700.

Upgraded the drivers and changed the 3D settings, that worked on my comp.

I never had a problem seeing the fish, never had a problem catching them (with a gig of video ram I had better not either) however, I can't put them in the fridge and I can't compost them but I can hang them on the wall. Then I discovered that I can sell my catch and my sim has since quit his job to become a full time sport fisherman and he makes about 1500-2000 per day off his catch.

I couldn't see fish in tanks type boolProp useShaders true  it worked for me, now I can see the fish in tanks.But I am having a problem my sims cant fish,I click on a pond and it just says go here. The pond is deep enough and has fish jumping up out of it...

How do you add the fish boolprop useshaders true to start up. I hate typing this each time I play.Thanks..

Use the OBJ version of Insim, that's the most common fix ;)

you can't put them in the fridge... you have to keep them in your inventory until you either hang them or cook them... :) and when you cook them it looks like confetti flies around them.

I can't see cooking them when a golden trout sells for over §500 and any of the large fish bring in over §100; what a waste that would be.

Go into 'My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Config'

You should see a file labeled as userStartup.cheat.

If you're using Windows XP, double-click it and it will try to open.

Choose 'Select a program from a list' and then choose 'Notepad'.

At the bottom of this window, where it has a checkmark and it says "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file." UNCHECK IT. This is a safety precaution to make sure that the file stays labeled as a .cheat file.

Once it opens as a Notepad file, add the line:

boolprop useshaders true

Then, save and close it. When you next start your game, the code will already be activated and you don't have to worry about it. ;-)

THAT'S MY PROBLEM!!!  I couldn't figure out why my cheat file wouldn't work, I bet it was because I had opened it and didn't remove the checkmark. So once it's already been checked and saved, how do we undo that? I would really LOVE for my cheats to work properly. :D
~dizi

Here's how to change your file back to the proper extension:

01 - Double-click 'My Computer' and then click on 'Tools'

02 - Click on 'Folder Options' and then click on 'View'

03 - You'll see an option that says 'Hide extensions for known file types' with a check. REMOVE the check and click 'Apply'

04 - Now in your Sims 2\config folder, the file will show up as 'userStartup.txt'

05 - Right-click, choose 'Rename' and change the ending from .txt to .cheat

06 - A window will pop up asking you to confirm the change. It will give a warning about it possibly becoming unusable, but it will be fine. Just click 'Yes'. You'll see that the file type has changed from a .txt file back to the .cheat format.

07 - Go back to 'My Computer' \ 'Tools' \ 'Folder Options' \ 'View' and checkmark the hide known extensions box again.

08 - Hit 'Apply' and you're finished! :D

Thank you!!!! *sings* My user cheat file is going to work! My user cheat file is going to work! My user cheat file is going to work!...

~dizi

I wanted to update my userStartup.cheat file, but when I went to config file, there was no such thing.  The only things there were Broadcast, quaxi_ofb_censor_v1.package (?), userProps, and Video Capture.  What am I missing and how can I get the cheat file?  I apologize for being a nimnutz, but there I am.

You can probably just create one and it'll work fine. Just right-click in the config folder and choose 'New' and create a Text Document named 'userStartup'.

Go ahead and write what cheats you want in it, such as the use shaders code.

After you save and close it, just use the tutorial that I placed in my last post before this one to change the .txt file to a .cheat file. :) It should work fine then.

Most people had the userStartup.cheat file added to their config folder if they downloaded the earlier remove censor cheat, which was included in the original Sims 2 and Uni. EP, so not everyone has it by default.

NOTE: Out of curiosity, keep me informed so I know whether my tutorials have helped you guys. ;)

Well, yes and no. It seems my file was correctly listed as .cheat instead of .txt and is just set to open with notepad. Some cheats are working off of it and some aren't. The pets cheats aren't because I have to type them in, and the alias's aren't working because my shortened commands don't work. BUT the 45degree angle cheat IS working. Can't tell with bugjar until the bugs die and I keep forgetting which lot I've got bugjars in and which I don't so I'm never going to keep track of how long it's been and won't know if it's working until bugs die. Hope all that makes sense, I'm a little wiped from work today.
~dizi

Not every single cheat will work on a startup basis... Some things, for example, 'aging on/off' HAVE to be entered on a per lot basis, so those wouldn't work, I would assume. The same would go for the cheats that allow you to control the pets... I would suppose those would have to be typed in each time too.

Here's what I use and what works every time:

boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true
boolprop testingcheatsenabled true
userShaders true
intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 8

Those are what I have in my userStartup.cheat and they all work fine every time I play.

I think someone is going to have to test to find out if the bujar cheat works for startup then as that is the only other one I tried to use. So the file might have been working all along and I didn't know it! :smt119 I assumed it wasn't because the pet cheats weren't working! Alright, I admit to a certain amount of lameness.
~dizi

I just wanted to say I already knew about this, I had the 'no fish in tank' problem and by creating the userStartup.cheat file my problem was solved.  In my case I have all the expansion packs and for some reason it was deleted.

I never realised you could put other cheats in this file.  You mention that aside from userShaders true, boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true, boolprop testingcheatsenabled true, and intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 8 work.  That's good to know, I'll try that.  Saying that, I don't think I'll include boolprop testingcheatsenabled true in mine because I have heard that it if you use it in your game you should only make it available when you need it.  But, I could be wrong, it was something I recall reading and thought I should mention it.

I have a method that I use.  I don't recall where I originally learnt about this, so I am not taking credit for it.  It has always worked for me.  It involves adding lines to a different cheat file.  By adding info to this file, I only have to type 'a' in my cheat window and it does the same as typing allow45degreeangleofrotation true.  If I type 'a-', it does the same as typing allow45degreeangleofrotation false.

Now it's important to say that this must be added to your latest expansion pack file.  For example, I have all the expansion packs, so I look for The Seasons file.

C/Program Files/EA GAMES/The Sims 2 Seasons/TSData/Res/Config

In the Config file there is a file called globalStartup.cheat, open that file.  If you are asked, select Notepad to open it.  You should see this when you open it;


#
# Sims2 global startup cheat file - this file is run on startup of the game application.  It's meant to reflect "production defaults".
#
# Do not modify this file locally -- instead create UserData/userStartup.cheat and modify that.
#

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#     alias         real command                                    brief help                         full help
#     ------------- ----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- --------------------------------
alias exit          hide                                            "Hide the cheat console window"    "Hide the cheat console window"
alias x             expand                                          "*Expand the cheat console window" "Hide the cheat console window"
alias h             help                                            "*Show the cheat help"             "Show the cheat help"
alias ?             help                                            "*Show the cheat help"             "Show the cheat help"

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have added the information below to this file;

alias m "moveObjects on" "Enables the ability to move normally unmovable objects" ""
alias m- "moveObjects off" "Disables the ability to move normally unmovable objects" ""

alias s "boolProp snapObjectsToGrid false" "Lets you move objects off the grid" ""
alias s- "boolProp snapObjectsToGrid true" "Makes objects snap to the grid" ""

alias f "boolprop constrainFloorElevation false" "Enables the ability to change terrain even when there is a building on it" ""
alias f- "boolprop constrainFloorElevation true" "Disables the ability to change terrain even when there is a building on it" ""

alias t "boolprop testingCheatsEnabled true" "Enables a lot of hidden features that can be accessed by holding shift when clicking on objects" ""
alias t- "boolprop testingCheatsEnabled false" "Disables a lot of hidden features that can be accessed by holding shift when clicking on objects" ""

alias party "intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 50" "Allows you to throw big parties when activated on the neighbourhood screen" ""

alias a "boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true" ""
alias a- "boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation  false" ""

alias c "motherlode" ""

alias d "boolProp dormSpecificToolsDisabled true" ""
alias d- "boolProp dormSpecificToolsDisabled false" ""

alias sh "showheadlines on" ""
alias sh- "showheadlines off" ""

alias ucr "unlockcareerrewards" ""

alias mm "maxmotives" ""

alias md "motivedecay on" ""
alias md- "motivedecay off" ""

alias la "lockaspiration on" ""
alias la- "lockaspiration off" ""

alias cp "boolprop controlpets on" ""
alias cp- "boolprop controlpets off" ""

alias pac "boolprop petsactioncancel true" ""
alias pac- "boolprop petsactioncancel false" ""

alias pfw "boolprop petsfreewill true" ""
alias pfw- "boolprop petsfreewill false" ""

#------------------------------------------------------------------

By adding this to the file I only have to type the alias letters in my cheat window.  Take the 'motherlode' cheat, all I need to do is type 'c' now.  If I type 'm' the 'moveObjects on' is enabled and 'm-' for 'moveObjects off'.  Just in case there is some confusion I insert the ' to highlight the command, you do not need to enter it in the command window.  So 'c' means you only need to type c, nothing else.

Obviously, if you don't have Pet's you would have no need for the Pet's cheats, the same is true with the 'dormSpecificToolsDisabled' cheat because it is for University.  But I must stress again if you choose to try this make sure you put the information in your MOST RECENT Expansion Pack.  So if your most recent pack is Open for Business, you would look for the globalStartup.cheat file in your Open for Business Config file.  Also, you don't have to use everything I have.  I have given an example using my information as a guideline.  I thought I'd paste my file in total below because my examples above were given in 2 parts.  Here you go, my globalStartup.cheat file as it appears in my C/Program Files/EA GAMES/The Sims 2 Seasons/TSData/Res/Config;

#
# Sims2 global startup cheat file - this file is run on startup of the game application.  It's meant to reflect "production defaults".
#
# Do not modify this file locally -- instead create UserData/userStartup.cheat and modify that.
#

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#     alias         real command                                    brief help                         full help
#     ------------- ----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- --------------------------------
alias exit          hide                                            "Hide the cheat console window"    "Hide the cheat console window"
alias x             expand                                          "*Expand the cheat console window" "Hide the cheat console window"
alias h             help                                            "*Show the cheat help"             "Show the cheat help"
alias ?             help                                            "*Show the cheat help"             "Show the cheat help"

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

alias m "moveObjects on" "Enables the ability to move normally unmovable objects" ""
alias m- "moveObjects off" "Disables the ability to move normally unmovable objects" ""

alias s "boolProp snapObjectsToGrid false" "Lets you move objects off the grid" ""
alias s- "boolProp snapObjectsToGrid true" "Makes objects snap to the grid" ""

alias f "boolprop constrainFloorElevation false" "Enables the ability to change terrain even when there is a building on it" ""
alias f- "boolprop constrainFloorElevation true" "Disables the ability to change terrain even when there is a building on it" ""

alias t "boolprop testingCheatsEnabled true" "Enables a lot of hidden features that can be accessed by holding shift when clicking on objects" ""
alias t- "boolprop testingCheatsEnabled false" "Disables a lot of hidden features that can be accessed by holding shift when clicking on objects" ""

alias party "intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 50" "Allows you to throw big parties when activated on the neighbourhood screen" ""

alias a "boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true" ""
alias a- "boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation  false" ""

alias c "motherlode" ""

alias d "boolProp dormSpecificToolsDisabled true" ""
alias d- "boolProp dormSpecificToolsDisabled false" ""

alias sh "showheadlines on" ""
alias sh- "showheadlines off" ""

alias ucr "unlockcareerrewards" ""

alias mm "maxmotives" ""

alias md "motivedecay on" ""
alias md- "motivedecay off" ""

alias la "lockaspiration on" ""
alias la- "lockaspiration off" ""

alias cp "boolprop controlpets on" ""
alias cp- "boolprop controlpets off" ""

alias pac "boolprop petsactioncancel true" ""
alias pac- "boolprop petsactioncancel false" ""

alias pfw "boolprop petsfreewill true" ""
alias pfw- "boolprop petsfreewill false" ""

#------------------------------------------------------------------

Like I said before, this has always worked for me so I can't see any problems if you do it correctly.  Hope this is helpful!  Please note; you must select each Sim to unlock their career reward.  It won't make rewards available for all the Sims on the lot, only the highlighted Sim.  So 5 Sims means you enter the code 5 times, highlighting each Sim before you enter the cheat.

peace
bulldawg

Okay, so there is one place to put regular cheats so they'll be active on startup and another for the aliases? Well that's pretty important information! I've been trying to put it all in the userstartup.cheat and had no idea about this globalstartup! *sigh* I'll change it tonight when I get home and see if that fixes it. I wouldn't worry about it so much except I do type in some of these things every single frickin time I play the game. *muttering* Here I was thinking I was doing it all wrong...
~dizi

If it helps you any, the only thing in my userStartup.cheat file is;

userShaders true

But that's to give you a guideline.  dunner points out 3 other things you can put in that file that will work.  My method is an alternative.  Also, I want to stress that with my method you still have to enter commands in the cheat window when you play the game, you just don't have to enter the longer original versions of these commands.  So, for example, there is no need to type 'moveobjects on', all you need to do is type 'm'.  That single letter should do the same thing.  You seem to get this, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Another tip for you, do you know if you use the up arrow key in your cheat window, all the commands you have made in the game so far will appear one after another?  Just make sure you click on the command line or it won't work.

peace
bulldawg

I do know most of that and I'd found a guide showing how to write out the aliases but it didn't say to put them in globalstartup and the beginning of it was userstartup so I understandably thought they both went in the same file.
~dizi

Great, so you seem to have all the info you need then.  At the risk of sounding like a repeating grandmother, make sure you find the globalStartup.cheat file in your most recent expansion pack Config file.  

C/Program Files/EA GAMES/*recent expansion pack*/TSData/Res/Config

For anyone else reading this, if you are unsure what your most recent expansion is, check the disk you use when you play the game.  That will tell you.

Also, remember to change it if another expansion pack comes out in the future.  You don't necassarily have to remove it from the existing file, I noticed my Nightlife globalStartup.cheat file still has the changes and it hasn't affected my game.  The important thing is making sure it's in the most recent, like I keep saying.  And make sure you wear a warm scarf when it's cold out deary!  LOL  

bulldawg

ps- Dizi, please let me know if this worked.

for some reason I can't mount mine now hmmmm

Sorry, real life got in the way last night and I didn't have time to pull up the game. I'll try tonight and tell you the results. Unless something else happens.
~dizi

Yes, actually you can put your fish in the fridge. Click on the refrigerator, select stock, you will be able to choose which fish to stock in there and which ones you prefer to leave in inventory. If you do not get this option you most likely have a mod conflict.

I haven't been able to see fish but I didn't know until I read this thread that I should be able to. I just clicked on the pond and my guy started fishing. I'm not able to see the fishing line either just the pole. Wonder if that's part of the same. I just got my video card so I don't want to make any changes on it or its programming as I don't have a clue what I'm doing with it. I think I can live without seeing fish swimming in the pond.
~dizi

There is no fishing line and they hold the pole upside down. You don't need to make changes to your card, you just need to add boolprop useshaders true to the last line of your userStartup.cheat file.

I'll try it and see, but I guess it's not such a big deal for me because I didn't know it should be there. My sims can fish and that's the important thing to me.
~dizi

Just to toss in my .02 here-

You'll have to use maxi's refrigerators to be able stock them with fruits/veggies/fish.  Customs fridges don't have the option to stock.  At least not yet.

Also, I've noticed while building ponds to be able to fish- the pond should be unlevel- i.e. don't just dig straight down all the way so that the "walls" of the pond are straight.  I've done that a few times and wasn't able to get the option to fish, until I added some variety of depth to it.

That's fine! I just thought I'd touch base. Got my fingers crossed 4U

It worked! It worked! Thank you so much! Those shortcuts are going to be a big help during the contest I'm in. And all the houses I need to build. Heck, just in everyday game play. I really appreciate it!
~dizi

Fantastic!!!!  I was happy to help!  I have another good tip for you.  Every once in a while my game won't boot up for some reason.  It doesn't matter if I reboot my system, it will still do it.  I managed to look in Task Manager and the 2 Sims file appears but suddenly they just disappear.  When it first happened to me I uninstalled the game.  It takes ages to install the game and expansion packs, not to mention having to redo my Camera files and the cheat file etc.  Thankfully after doing that, nearly 2 hours later, the game worked.  About a week later I was reading posts at a Sims fan site (I forget which one)  Anyway, I saw that someone had posted that they had a problem starting their game, the problem was exactly the same as mine.  Someone posted a solution.  Open your My Documents Sims folder, in the main Sims folder look for a file called groups.cache, DELETE that file.  The game should boot up now.

A few weeks later I had the same problem.  I deleted the groups.cache file and the game started.  Don't worry, the game rewrites the file anyway.  I'm not 100% why this works.  Something about, since the game rewrites this file everytime you play the game, occassionally there will be an error and that's why the game won't start.  BTW, you can delete this file even if you have no problems.  In fact, I delete it every time I play the game.  

I was happy to find a solution that was so simple and took mere seconds to carry out.  I was a bit ticked that I wasted all that time uninstalling and reinstalling, but it taught me a lesson.  Uninstalling the game should be your ultimate last resort.  Inevitably there is solution to your problem, if you search the fansite forums.  This forum has alot of helpful information, another good site for info. is Mod The Sims 2 or the official Sims 2 site.  Don't wait until you have a problem either.  Be prepared.  I read the problems sections and take note of the different problems and solutions.  You also benefit by doing this because people post to say if the solution worked or not.  Like you did here, if anyone reads our posts they can see that you tried it and it worked.

Finally, if you want the game to run quicker.  A cheap solution is to buy some RAM, fill up every available slot your system has available.  Everyone seems to assume that having a powerful graphics card will make the game run quicker.  This is true for practically every other game you play, but The Sims2 is different.  The Sims2 uses up more clock speed, so by getting extra RAM the game runs smoother.  Increasing your clock speed is even better.  My game runs fairly smooth with pentium4 2.66CPU & 1.5 GIG RAM, my video card is a 128 meg NVIDIA.  I can't fit anymore RAM or I would.  It is the easiest solution.  If I want to increase my CPU, it costs more and is a bit of a hassle. Anyway, I suggest this link to you and anyone who is reading this, it will teach you much about the game, make sure you read everything, there are links to the other pages on the link below;

http://uk.gamespot.com/features/6133243/index.html?type=tech

Hope this helps again!  It gave me a great feeling to know that there is someone out there who has found a better way to play the game because of my advice.  Enjoy your game!  Good luck with your contest and if you have a problem in the future send me a PM and I'll be happy to help if I can.

Take care!
bulldawg

Oh yeah, finding out about the group.cache thing was a lifesaver! Until a month ago I was reinstalling the game like once a week. Now I delete that file every other time I play just to be safe. In the same way, I run the Hack Conflict Utility EVERY time I install any downloads whether I downloaded any hacks or not. That has saved me some headaches.

If you use SimPE to extract sims from the game, load them into bodyshop and save it again then delete the extracted file if you're wanting to keep them in the bin (such as for faces and such). Saved sim SimPE files will eventually become unreadable as some update or other comes out. I found that out the hard way going through my entire download folder (at the time I only had 3gig instead of the 10 I do now) only to find out that the problem was in Saved Sims. Though, I suppose that problem could have been related to the group.cache thing. I started taking preventive measures for both instances at the same time.

Actually, both RAM and video card do make a difference. I have over a gig of RAM and it 30-45min for the game to pull up (because of the downloads since without them it took maybe 15) and 20-30min for a family. Just recently I got a video/graphics card and those times were cut in half or less. Now I didn't go out and get a top of the line card. My computer is almost 5yrs old and the only card in stock was a 32, so I obviously didn't get anything high end. But it does make a difference. If I didn't have as much RAM as I do it probably wouldn't make that big of a difference but it does help.

~dizi

I had the same thing with my Saved Sim file.  Bodyshop would always crash if I tried to open it.  Finally found information about what Sim PE does.  Now I have no problems.  

Glad to hear you know of the benefits of the group.cache file.  Wow, I was complaining and I only uninstalled once! LOL  You were doing that every week.  YIKES!  But it does back up what I said about uninstalling being your last resort.  The majority of the time, there is no need to.

I agree that the graphics card will help.  Think I gave the impression I thought it wouldn't make a difference.  It does, but there are better alternatives you can do first.  If you didn't check out my link, I suggest you do.  What I liked was how they test the game by using a variety of video cards, RAM, CPU's etc.  It gives a balanced view of how the game works.  Their approach is scientific because they test using different methods and compare the results.  

You're a download junkie too huh?  My download file is about 13 gig at the moment and it takes 25-40 minutes for the game to load.  About 5 - 10 minutes top to load the neighbourhood.  The same for my first lot.  But once I use a lot and exit.  All lots load in less than a minute.  The same for CAS, once I have used it and want to create another family, it takes less than a minute.  Makes me laugh really, my first PC couldn't even store all the information in my downloads folder!  LOL

I can't think of any other tips.  I'm sure something will come to me, though.  LOL

Take Care!
bulldawg

Wow, I've been reading through all of your posts and I have to say the information here is phenomenal. Thanks all for posting. I am using all the tips I heard here and hope things go smoothly. I still am not sure how to edit my video card options though so I can get the in game option for the snow x-ray. But as I haven't yet gotten anywhere near Winter I suppose I have time. :)
I have around 750ram and am tabbing to tigerdirect now to order more. My video card is a Radeon 9200 series. 128 gb of video memory I believe, I bought it when I bought my computer because I heard that it was the best for gaming rather then more video memory or something like that. But I guess it's kind of true because my hubbys comp has 256 video memory Radeon 9800se and I can two box most of my games and his computer chokes and vomits if I try. >.>
I don't have the uberest computer but I take really good care of it and am amply rewarded for it. ;)
Again thanks for all the great information. It is going to great use. :D

Hi all

I'm new to this site and to the forum and have to say it provides really good info. Unfortunately I wasn't able to read all the threads, but a few of them and  I have a really annoying problem. I can't fish. I mean my cursor changes when on a pond, but i can't click anything and no menu pops up ... nothing. I really don't know what's the problem. Should be because  I don't see the fish or why? I read that some of you actually can't see them but still can fish. Please help me with this. Thanks a lot.

Yeah i have had problems with the Over-heating thing to I just got Seasons so I wanted to see what happens when they freeze and get sunburnt but it just went down/up and no more???

^
For the fish thing the pond may not be deep enough or it could just be a glitch?

With the fish ponds, yeah, make sure that the pond is deep enough... Usually about 4 clicks down when you're placing water is good, but make sure the pond is wide too.

If you use the InSIMenator itself, make sure that you've downloaded the most up-to-date version. The older versions can cause errors in the game including not being able to fish.

Failing these two things, temporarily remove any hacks that you have in the game and check to see if that's causing the problem. It takes some time if you've got a lot of hacks, especially if you've got to check them one by one.

About the X-ray cursor, it became available to me in the Options panel once I used the UseShaders cheat. Frankly, I keep the X-ray cursor disabled, as I don't like it too much. Besides, I'm a responsible player; I'm not going to leave any puppies/kittens/babies out in the snow. ;)

EDIT: I'm still having the freezing/overheating problem myself; the ONLY way I've been able to see either one is through the new InSIMenator options. lol I was hoping very much that they would have fixed it in the first patch, but they didn't hardly do anything! Now, we'll have to wait about another 2 weeks for the next patch to be released. :(

OK ... I somehow solved the problem :icon9:. I uninstalled the "seasons" and with that all my downloads. So I reinstalled it without custom content, and everything seems to work just fine. Unfortunately I had to say good-bye to all my saved games, this way. So still I'm wondering if this problem will remain like this or could we use custom content and still have all those features. BTW, before this i couldn't make snowmen or snowangels, or play with the leaves and almost all the new features were off for me ... Anyway the pond was wide enough and large enough :-P