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Simmers' Paradise => General Sims 2 Discussion => Topic started by: scerebe on September 14, 2007, 05:02:15 pm



Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: scerebe on September 14, 2007, 05:02:15 pm
After having to play all the EP'S while waiting to have hacks updated, especially insim, I've decided to wait to buy the new EP until hacks are updated and patches are made.After reading everybodies comments since BV came out, I'm glad i'm waiting. This game seems really messed up. I bought a new computer just for the sim games, and if anything messed it up, I would freak. Lord know this happened several times with my old computer and I thought I would have a nervous breakdown. Maybe by Christmas it will be playable.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Scotty on September 14, 2007, 05:12:14 pm
Quote from: scerebe;934386
After having to play all the EP'S while waiting to have hacks updated, especially insim, I've decided to wait to buy the new EP until hacks are updated and patches are made.After reading everybodies comments since BV came out, I'm glad i'm waiting. This game seems really messed up. I bought a new computer just for the sim games, and if anything messed it up, I would freak. Lord know this happened several times with my old computer and I thought I would have a nervous breakdown. Maybe by Christmas it will be playable.

ALL EPs have bugs in them at first. BV is no different.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Kala on September 14, 2007, 05:34:06 pm
Scotty's right, but it's good to wait awhile before you get a new EP.  I'm waiting to get BV myself.(money+hacks)


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Arialonomus on September 15, 2007, 08:36:55 am
I have to agree with Scotty and Kala, this is probably the biggest EP next to Nightlife, I men so many new objects and features there are bound to be HUGE compatibility issues.

Frankly this is my fave EP so far.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: ancienthighway on September 15, 2007, 09:12:42 am
Quote from: scerebe;934386
After reading everybodies comments since BV came out, I'm glad i'm waiting. This game seems really messed up.

Apparently you haven't read everybodies' comments.  While there aren't as many favorable comments as there are unfavorable, people that don't have problems don't post as much about pros and cons.  Yes, there are bugs.  Is that anything new?  Yes mods don't all work.  Nothing new there either.  This isn't the buggiest EP ever released, in my opinion, as many claim.
Quote
Maybe by Christmas it will be playable.

Damn.  Don't tell me and all the non-posters that they can't play their game now.  I've been playing it since day 1 that it was released as others have.  You've passed judgment on an EP you haven't even bought yet based on comments from a couple of naysayers.  Oh, well.  Your loss.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 15, 2007, 09:18:40 am
If a programming team knows their sh*t, this kind of thing does not happen.  I mean we're not talking tiny bugs here, we're talking hard crashes, horrible audio clipping, and a huge memory leak.  This is amatuerish at best.  I've tested for up and coming developers and those developers have put out beta software that's more stable than this.  

This is a result of rushing a product in order to pull in profit as quickly as possible.  If they cared more about quality rather than profit, these expansions wouldn't be as buggy.  This is the same bullsh*t that caused pets in the US to be poisoned and toys to be coated in led. Every one is thinking about money rather than quality so we get crap from China that's put together as cheaply as possible to make more profit and we get games that are half assed in order to pull in revenue during the right quarter and we get bands releasing total filler because the bigger labels care about producing hit singles than hit albums.

It's a shame to...

So I say.. rant.. rage... let em know how you feel.  Don't be passive and just say "I expect this".. you shouldn't expect inferior products.. ever.  You pay your hard earned money on these things.. expect them to put hard time into creating something that works.. and if they drop the ball.. hit em hard.

Just my two bits.. :)


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: ancienthighway on September 15, 2007, 09:48:02 am
I agree 100% with what you're saying about profits versus quality.  Whether a software development team "knows there sh*t" or not, it's the push for time to market to make that dollar that governs quality.  

In the 14 years I spent in software development, I'd only met one programmer who was more interested in speed of development no matter than how buggy his code was, rather than doing it right.  He didn't last long.  Every other programmer, tester, and designer would fight tooth and nails to get an extra day or two to eliminate another bug or two.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Dizi on September 15, 2007, 09:50:55 am
I have to say some people are being very harsh. I don't think I post very often but there's a thread for people who have no problems, and guess what? I posted there. Which means I had no problems with my game. The fact that there is a thread for having no problems is an indication that for many there are no problems to be had. Just do what you're always warned to do and take out all mods and hacks. AND QUIT WHINING ABOUT IT!!!
~dizi


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 15, 2007, 10:43:00 am
The thread where people are posting without any problems pales in comparison to the threads not only here but on gamespot, ign, the official sims site, gamershell, and countless others.

There are countless different configurations a pc can have as far as hardware and software goes.  Now a developer can't test on every possible configuration, so you'll get a few with problems.  I mean Honda Civics are great cars, great reliability but every so often a bum one will make it out onto the lot.  It's human to error every now and again.

However, Bon Voyage is more like a Chrysler than a Honda.  

When people pay money for a product that doesn't work, they have every right to "whine", "pitch a bitch", "vent", what have you.  It isn't like Maxis is giving this stuff out for free.

Consumers should come first, unless they buy stuff at the dollar store.  Then you kind of deserve what you get heh.

If a company can't realize that.. they don't deserve to be in business..  Now I'm not saying Maxis is corrupt, there are far worse out there.  I'm just saying that by going by the threads on these sims boards over the years, their expansion packs aren't fully tested prior to the street date.  And sure, some issues are more of a problem between the keyboard and desk.. But only in regards to those who haven't taken out insim or inteen.

A consumers rights are important, they're the ones who keep things going.  The record industry is learning this the hard way.. the pc game industry is starting to take a hit to.  This is why most people stick with consoles rather than the pc in regards to games.  People want the shit to work out of the box, and it should.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: scerebe on September 15, 2007, 07:08:26 pm
I'm sorry I made a comment in reguard to how I felt about waiting to get BV. I didn't know it was a crime. And as far as the release of EP's and there problems, BV seems to be the worst. I have bought everey game the first day it came out reguardless of problems. This time I have decided to wait- I like having the hacks and perfer to play with them in there. So, shoot me!


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Buffy on September 15, 2007, 07:21:48 pm
Quote from: Deviancy;935688
The thread where people are posting without any problems pales in comparison to the threads not only here but on gamespot, ign, the official sims site, gamershell, and countless others.


that would be due to the fact that people are always much quicker to bitch and moan about problems and bad quality then they are to give compliments and praise. its just human nature.
so of course the threads for complaints and problems is always going to be bigger than the thread for praise and for those who are not having issues with BV.
I havent had any problems, and Im really enjoying playing without all my beloved hacks and mods. I do have sympathy for those who are having issues though.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Crimson_rose on September 15, 2007, 07:23:54 pm
I really haven't had any trouble out of BV! The only problem I've come across is where it looks like the water is flooding some of the lots. but by some of the other users at the Simsa2.ea boards thats been going on.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: AjaAja on September 15, 2007, 08:03:31 pm
I haven't installed or played Bon Voyage yet, but I sure did buy it (thanks to knightguy82, my hero!); it was just such a deal that I couldn't wait to get it. I mean it wouldn't be that much even like a year later.
Anyway, like I said, I haven't installed it, and I've been reading through threads, and there seems to be some sort of issue, so I guess I'll just wait to install it.
Oh, and about people complaining about it; well, people who have a complaint are usually far more vocal than those who don't have a complaint; and also, do those corporate people even read these forums? I honestly don't think they do, but I do think it would be nice if they did... we've given a lot of feedback at this sight regarding the game.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 15, 2007, 08:09:01 pm
Quote from: Buffy;936472
that would be due to the fact that people are always much quicker to bitch and moan about problems and bad quality then they are to give compliments and praise. .


Ain't that the truth..

But this board generally has a pretty good balance of both.  And even when it doesn't, I usually see all sorts of random bugs.  This is the first time I can remember one of the expansions causing things to bog down this much.  Now sure, some have 20 gigs of custom content, so they're really bogged down.  

I still don't know how one can do 20 gigs.. I mean dayum..

Of course there will be those who run this expansion fine.  I mean first off there's Vista and XP to contend with.  So Maxis can't just worry about testing things properly on XP, they have to also test things on Vista.  Then there's a buttload of new graphic cards out now.  And there's AGP and PCI Express, which shouldn't be that much different but PCI Express does help with the speed.  So I realize there's a lot of shit a developer has to test things on.  But every expansion pack they've released has had a patch released for it judging by the update window I'm looking at right now..

I mean an expansion just works off the base game.. It's not like they're having to build a whole new graphic engine each time they release an expansion pack.  I dunno.. just seems a bit shoddy..

Nothing to get an ulcer about.. but these kids here aren't bitching for the thrills.. they're doing so to get help.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Raf on September 15, 2007, 08:25:29 pm
Maybe I should wait until the patch of BV to be sure...


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: fytj on September 15, 2007, 08:57:29 pm
Quote
If a programming team knows their sh*t, this kind of thing does not happen. I mean we're not talking tiny bugs here, we're talking hard crashes, horrible audio clipping, and a huge memory leak. This is amatuerish at best. I've tested for up and coming developers and those developers have put out beta software that's more stable than this.

Oh come on! The Sims 2 is not some tiny little game where you have to shoot things or pass levels; it is a LIFE simulation. And as we all know, life is a very BIG thing so it is normal for a programming team to miss some bugs. And it's not like they don't fix it and let us down: after all, they make patches(which in my opinion is not a shame, a LOT of great games will need fixing after they've been released). I personally haven't had ANY bugs so far and I feel like it was money well spent. If you really think that the Sims 2 programers' work is so crappy then just keep your money and don't play the bloody game instead of calling people who work hard on this "amateurs". I'm not saying that you're not right with the quality/profit thing, I'm just saying that in the end it is the person with the wallet (you) who decides what to do. Nobody FORCES you to buy the game so if you think that The Sims 2 is not good enough in your opinon, just don't buy it.
I feel sorry for people who have crashes and stuff cause I know how frustrating it is but this is just silly: Claiming that a game is "not worth it" without even playing it might be THE most ridiculous thing I've heard on this board so far.
And don't forget that A LOT of problems can be avoided by upgrading and cleaning your computer. I bet that at least 50% of the people who're having major crashes and stuff didn't correctly prepare their computer for the new expansion...


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 15, 2007, 10:35:06 pm
First off, I never said the base game was coded poorly.  The base game was about as flacid as a republican prior to the cool custom content, but it worked pretty damn well.  When I said the game was coded poorly, I meant Bon Voyage.  And how would I know if Bon Voyage had all these issues unless I installed it first?  And how am I supposed to install it without buying it first?

See here's the problem with your wallet statement..

You see a game.. it looks good.. you have to buy it to play it.  If you don't like it.. tough.  They don't allow you to return it for a cash refund.  Sure, you can sell it on Ebay and lose 60% of what you paid for it, but that's illogical.  So you realize you're stuck with this poorly coded piece of software.. so do you take it up the ass like a choirboy or do you speak your mind and tell others how poorly made the product is?

Secondly, "shoot things or pass levels"?  If you mean first person shooters, you must really love Maxis.  Most of first person shooters have a far more advanced AI than the Sims, not only a more advanced AI but superior in every other way as well, from graphics to audio.  But that's two different genres of games so it really isn't fair to compare the two.  

If Maxis releases a patch for this within the week and it fixes the issues.. I'll take back what I said about them being amateurs.  If it takes longer than a month though.. that'll show just how much they care about the consumers ;).

Third, how many here do you think actually do buy the games and don't just pirate them?  That would make an interesting poll if people were honest.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: ancienthighway on September 15, 2007, 11:18:51 pm
I'm beginning to lean towards the amateur position.  Not because of the bugs or poor consideration for hardware available on the market, but because of the code I've been looking at and working with, along with what I've picked up from twojeffs and jase439.  

Advertising for those obsessive beach activities are ridiculously high.  It's taken me 2 days to come up with a way to defeat their advertising and put in on a reasonable level.  

WoohooTeens for BV was delayed so long because a completely new method of woohoo was coded for the hammocks.  The sauna and tent were straight forward using the same method as beds, cars, hottubs, photobooths, and changing booths.  

Simple mods like Jordi's weird clothing hiders suddenly don't work.  No new clothing categories were added with BV.  Only noticeable change for clothing is you can now plan clothing at clothing booths.  Poof, no more hiders.

Then there's the massage table.  It's not currently teen enabled, so I go in to make a simple change to the menu.  Enable teens.  That's it.  But there is no TTAB or menu functions in the semi-global file.  Rather than a small change, I had to clone the object to get the table.  No problem.  Click, click.  Teen enabled.  But now it's disabled for adults to initiate asking for or receiving a massage.  Teen can do it and the adult become involved, but not the other way.  Somewhere buried in the code is a check that requires the recipient of a massage to be an adult or elder.  Parents, you cannot give your child a massage.  Huh?

From several other coders, this new code for BV looks like it was put together by first year computer science majors as part of their entrance exam to the program.  The majority of the experienced programmers are probably working on TS3 with a handful sprinkled between BV, the Teen Stuff Pack, and the Hobbies EP.

It's still EA that controls the project's release date and the amount of money and other resources available for this project and others they have in the works.  Perhaps with more resources and time the coding could have been cleaner.  In any case, the programmers don't appear to have approached this EP with the same half ass approach they have with the others.  This one shows their full ass.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Dizi on September 15, 2007, 11:38:48 pm
Let me be clear first that I have no idea about the problems modders, creators, and such have. If you were to show me a line of code all I could say is "Gee, that's nice." So, honestly, I do admire that YOU can see and understand all that. Really. However, the average player who can't see the problems you do, like me, who gets this expansion, removes all mods and has it work for them just fine, can be very happy with it. We'll all be very grateful for the changes and mods you make but we really cannot concieve of your frustrations. As far as we know, the game is fine and wonderful. Personally, I prefer to keep that feeling about the game, otherwise I would have quit playing it long ago.
~dizi


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: ancienthighway on September 16, 2007, 12:16:15 am
Oh, don't get me wrong.  My game is working fine.  Before I was happy.  Now I'm amazed!  lol


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Ali on September 16, 2007, 03:08:25 am
Quote from: scerebe;936452
I'm sorry I made a comment in reguard to how I felt about waiting to get BV. I didn't know it was a crime. And as far as the release of EP's and there problems, BV seems to be the worst. I have bought everey game the first day it came out reguardless of problems. This time I have decided to wait- I like having the hacks and perfer to play with them in there. So, shoot me!

it's not a crime, but don't go all wounded soldier just because there are people out there that don't agree with your opinion

I, for one, have never understood how I never get any real problems with EPs when for so many people a new EP causes game crashes, computer meltdown, bodily warts, brain embolisms, halitosis and all kinds of seemingly apocalyptic problems. Sure, there are a few little minor irritations and of course the endless new obsessive behaviours until some wonderful person can make them 'no autonomous'! but nothing that's going to make me walk away in disgust and wish I'd never bought it

A lot of the hacks that need updating were actually done before I even got my copy of the game - living in the UK we get it a few days later than the US, by which time the most critical mods for me were updated

Quote from: ancienthighway
It's taken me 2 days to come up with a way to defeat their advertising and put in on a reasonable level.  

oh please *bats eyelashes* share the wealth!!

personally I do think it's worth it, but Scerebe I do respect the fact that you don't :)


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Gen_Lee on September 16, 2007, 05:56:59 am
Well I got Pets for more then 6 months after release and only instaled it about 3 weeks ago.
 As Seasons I got it as soon as I read that hacks worked with it.
 I already got Bv but will not install it untill all hacks I like work with it.
 As it seems it is as buggy as Pets probably mot only after hacks are compatible but also as the 1st patch is out.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Al_Bundy on September 16, 2007, 06:29:56 am
I have everything you can buy for sims installed and my game is working just fine. One thing you really need to think about is everything you are downloading if you really need it and are going to use it I have 7.58gb with stuff in my download folder, that is 14918 files in 284 folders.Before I cleaned up my download I have more then twice of everything and the game acted a bit funny sometime.
I never have had big problems with sims that have made the game unplayable and I have always bought all stuff for sims the first day it has been available.If the EP that you are buying have a bug you know that EA will release a fix for it as soon as they can.
Sins I love the game so much and it's the only game I am playing I just buyswhat ever that is being released because I know I will love it and I know EA will take care of the problems if there are some.
I have been doing this with sims since the first sims 1 was released.I don't know how much money I have spend on the sims one serie and now the sims two serie,I don't regret one single swedish krona that  have spend on this game through the years.
And that is also the reasong for why I donate to the insimenator site,I love the game and I love all the ppl making stuff for it that I uses in my game everyday


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: KristalRose on September 16, 2007, 08:50:35 am
I was just listening to the song "Under Pressure" and thinking that's probably what the programmers were going though. Pressure from management to meet a deadline and have something ready for it's scheduled release, and as long as it did what it says on the box: "Now, your sims can go on vacations!" it didn't matter if it has a few glitches.
 
We're a gaming family. I'm a Sims-addict, my husband and sons are into shooters, and my oldest boy will play any video game he can get his hands on with the exception of "Barbie's Dream World" and "Dora the Explorer." haha Right now, we have in our kitchen, "Game Fuel by Mountain Dew" that is an advertisement for Halo 3. Not to be outdone, I am drinking Diet Pepsi that has a promotion for Madden 08 going. My long-winded point is that this is video game release season, and I'm sure that all the programers are under more pressure than we realize to churn our a product in time for the holidays.
 
It is not an excuse for them by any means. . . I too am as angry as Deviency right now over the many recalls in the past few months. I had to sneak into my children's room while they were gone and toss out some of their toys because they were on the recall list. I had to throw out Peanut Butter because it had been recalled, and regret using it to make cookies with my kids before I knew it was recalled! This is the materialistic culture we live in, for better or worse. I don't have a solution.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 16, 2007, 10:45:45 am
Quote from: KristalRose;937305
I too am as angry as Deviency right now over the many recalls in the past few months. I had to sneak into my children's room while they were gone and toss out some of their toys because they were on the recall list. I had to throw out Peanut Butter because it had been recalled, and regret using it to make cookies with my kids before I knew it was recalled! This is the materialistic culture we live in, for better or worse. I don't have a solution.


There's a solution but it requires an ulcer ;).  Actually it's just about boycotting companies that create products that are half assed.  THousands of parents should be outside of Mattel's company protesting as well as boycotting their toys.  Mattel released a statement claiming they're going to be good now, but the toys have had lead in them for nearly 20 years.  And you know whats sad?  I mean what got lead in the toys and mercury in the fish and drugs in the cows.  Then we wonder why there's been a hike in children born with autism.  If we had a government that worked, Mattel would have been shut down.  

But boycotting works, love em or hate em.. Peta has got companies to comply on a lot of things because of boycotting as well as protesting.  If Peta cared about kids, they'd have had Mattel shut down by now.  But Mattel isn't the only one to blame on the issue with your kids toys.  Walmart  continues to deal with China and you have to understand that China is a hell hole.  They're hybrid of capitalism and communism, so you got one half of the country in total poverty and another half livin' the 90210 lifestyle.  So I doubt they really care about barbie being laced with lead.  

As for Maxis.. I get the impression EA pushes them to meet specific dates regardless if the software is totally tested.  I just don't understand how they made so many coding mistakes though and why they tried to use alternative coding for woohoos on different things when the same code would have worked.  So yeah, these mistakes won't always show up on the users end right away.  But seriously, those of you without problems.. be cautious of the memory leak.

The lag I'm going through is at times is gone now because of the steps I posted on another thread.  However, I'm still getting random crashes and random black screens of death.  Not fun.. especially if I haven't saved in awhile.  But sometimes there's a warning, when the sim goes to do something the game will go to a blue screen and the hourglass will roll around.. then the game will come back.  That means "save and quit".. because a crash is on the way.  That's due to the memory leak, pretty sure at least.  I hope they release a patch.. sniff..


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: ancienthighway on September 16, 2007, 12:10:35 pm
Quote from: Aliwag;937068

oh please *bats eyelashes* share the wealth!!

personally I do think it's worth it, but Scerebe I do respect the fact that you don't :)


My nerfs are in Burnt Offerings over at the Inteen site.  Just like my siggie says.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: KristalRose on September 16, 2007, 12:30:25 pm
Quote from: Deviancy;937529
There's a solution but it requires an ulcer ;). Actually it's just about boycotting companies that create products that are half assed. THousands of parents should be outside of Mattel's company protesting as well as boycotting their toys. Mattel released a statement claiming they're going to be good now, but the toys have had lead in them for nearly 20 years. And you know whats sad? I mean what got lead in the toys and mercury in the fish and drugs in the cows. Then we wonder why there's been a hike in children born with autism. If we had a government that worked, Mattel would have been shut down.
 

 
Yep, I totally agree with you, Deviancy.  (Sorry I misspelled your name in my 1st post, btw).  When I went on Mattel's website to see how many of my kids toys were covered under the recall, it told me that anything I had bought before, like, May, was safe.  WTF?  Did they suddenly change paint on all these toys?  No!  I believe that they just want to keep the actual numbers of recalled toys down.  I went ahead and threw out about 20 toys. .. most of them were the "Cars" figures, "Dora" and "Diego" figures, "Polly Pocket" , and Barbie's pets. I protect my kids fiercely, and I will never take a chance on their health.  I want to take those toys I through out and shove them up the CEO of Mattel's neither-regions.
 
Okay, sorry for the rant, we're wayyyyy off topic now.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: INVIDQUEEN on September 16, 2007, 12:39:24 pm
I discovered Sims2 in April this year and fell in love. I loaded all of the EP and never had a problem until Bon VOyage. I removed all of my custom content and did everything right. After the first time I played, several and my families and homes disappered! Gone. Luckily I had backed up the game. The same thing happened to a friend's daughter.  I'm relieved to find out it wasn't something I did, but probably bugs that need to be worked out.  Just a comment, this is my first time posting, and I notice a lot of hostility in the posts. Isn't the idea of a forum to express, look for sympathy and inform?  Everyone will have different experiences and frustrations, so mellow out some of you. This is what makes the whole community thing so neat.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: ancienthighway on September 16, 2007, 01:04:49 pm
Quote
Just a comment, this is my first time posting, and I notice a lot of hostility in the posts. Isn't the idea of a forum to express, look for sympathy and inform? Everyone will have different experiences and frustrations, so mellow out some of you. This is what makes the whole community thing so neat.

That's not hostility.  That's people passionate about their games and beliefs :D


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: fytj on September 16, 2007, 03:35:10 pm
Quote
And how would I know if Bon Voyage had all these issues unless I installed it first? And how am I supposed to install it without buying it first?


When I said that claiming the game was "not worth it" without buying it, I was not referring to you but to the person who started this thread.
And I also think that a poll about if you downloaded or bought the game would be interesting cause there certainly ARE people complainig about bugs and crashes although they downloaded the game without paying for it...


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Savahni on September 16, 2007, 03:39:29 pm
I have been playing BV for a while now, and didn't experience any noticeable bugs. Insimenator clearly won't work well, but there are other 'light' hacks that is sufficient enough to play with.

Personally, I found BV to be the best expansion pack so far.. Yes, it feels like a remake of Vacation, but it's exactly what I wanted. The original Sims was good, Sims 2 is even better, so I really don't mind if the take a concept from Sims 1 and implement and improved version of it.

Now.. I wonder if they'll ever make a remake for Superstars.. I still can't rebuild one of my virtual family from the previous game without that kind of expansion pack.. :)


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: bizzygirl71 on September 16, 2007, 04:04:07 pm
I am having sooo many problems with BV that I don't want to play it anymore. I mean with this new problem of not being able to go on vacation now I have had it!  I can't keep wiping the slate clean and starting all over again. I mean I probably have to reenstall again, so I lose the family I created and their progress. Sorry just ranting and feeling sorry for myself.:sad4:


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Savahni on September 16, 2007, 04:09:30 pm
Oh yes.. forgot one more thing. I did do a reinstall before trying BV, mainly because my system was attacked by virus and I was forced to reinstall the OS. Obviously, the Sims 2 was the first app I reinstall after that. Perhaps it's because of the reinstall that I haven't got any problem so far.

BTW, bizzygirl71, I still have my old neighborhood, though (complete with the all cc and light hacks). As long as we have backup of the EA folder in 'my documents', reinstalling the Sims 2 doesn't have to mean starting from scratch again.. ;)


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: bizzygirl71 on September 16, 2007, 04:33:35 pm
how would u do that  what is this back up folder


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Savahni on September 16, 2007, 04:40:33 pm
Look at your 'My Documents' folder.. there should be an 'EA Games' folder. That folder contain all installed EA Games' saved games (Sims 2, in this case). Just copy this folder somewhere save, and simply copy it back to your new 'My Documents' folder after reinstalling operating system.

Note that if you only reinstall The Sims 2 (not reinstalling windows), this won't be necessary, since by default you will still have your old neighborhood after the reinstall. However, it is advisable to make regular backup of this folder to avoid having to start from scratch should anything happen to your system.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: hotbeeyatch on September 16, 2007, 05:54:14 pm
I have never really had a problem with any of the Ep's. I always take out my hacks and make sure anything I put back in has been ok'd or updated. Sometimes there are things about the new EP that bug me (like the constant "oh look it's raining" from Seasons) but usually some wonderful person creates a mod to fix it and I'm happy.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: trl on September 16, 2007, 06:31:28 pm
Alright, I am trying to make heads or tails of all of this. So the blue screen of death, game comes back and shortly there after comes the black screen is a common issue for many?

 This has also been happening to me. I have no hacks/mods anywhere, I have up to date audio and video drivers, I have played without CC and with CC. I have also scaled down much of my CC that I don't use. My g/card is more than compatible and as this computer is only for the sims, I have over 100 gigs of free memory. I have also put in the anti redundancy download from MATY as well as by passed the launcher. So my understanding of this all is that this crashing issue is related to the game with which eventually a patch will be available to address the problem. In other words, save often and just ride this out. Am I correct or is there still something I have missed in my troubleshooting?   LOL :beer::happy1:

Ps - I do love what this EP has to offer as I have with every EP that has come before it but this is the first time I have had problems related to a new EP.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: dorme99 on September 16, 2007, 07:02:02 pm
This is my first time ever posting. I just wanted to say that I love the Sims 2 and all of the EP's that have come along with it. I've never had any problems with any of my games except when I didn't take out mods when I installed a new EP. I like BV and so far I haven't had any problems with it. I always buy my EP's within the first week they are released.  I love the mods that are made for this game. I hope that everyone that is having problems will be able to work through them and enjoy the game.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 16, 2007, 07:51:11 pm
Quote from: fytj;937958
And I also think that a poll about if you downloaded or bought the game would be interesting cause there certainly ARE people complainig about bugs and crashes although they downloaded the game without paying for it...


When the Sims 2 first came out, it was all over the net.  But at the time whoever released the pirated version created the crack prior to actually really investing time in the game.  So the crack would bypass the security but the player wouldn't be able to use the build option.. they were only able to buy objects.  I thought it was kind of amusing.

But most of them are going to have to reinstall Bon Voyage if a patch is released.  Most no cd cracks are version specific.. so the patch won't install over them so the original exe would have to be put back in place.  If they're smart, they backed it up.  But even after they install the patch, they then have to wait for a new no cd crack to come out that works with the patch.  So those who pirate games, they may be saving 30 dollars.. but they get inconvenienced quite a bit.. so it's kinda karma like..

As for your TRL...

Your issue is Maxis related..

Bon Voyage is causing some video cards to break the signal to the monitor which causes it to think the computer is off.  It's basically an out of sync error which has been a problem with the Sims 2 since Seasons.  They patched Seasons and it seemed to be stable after that but so far there's no word on a Bon Voyage patch.

Been a week now to....

But it isn't a bug that's affect every one so Maxis probably realizes this and isn't as stressed about it having to much of a negative impact on sales.  Either that or they're just slooooow.  I mean they should have known about the bugs over a month ago.  Publishers generally send out games to reviewers weeks before the games hit the market.  You'd think a few of the reviewers would have noticed the bugs and let EA know..

Anywho.. maybe next week we'll have a patch.. hopefully..


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: trl on September 16, 2007, 08:21:44 pm
Thank you Deviancy!!! I can ride it out, no problem. I am just glad to know that I can stop messing with everything. My hubby and his friends at work always say "SOS" = save often stupid! LOL I will just do that more  than usual and when the blue screen comes a calling and the game comes back, I will heed the warning and exit the game. Again thank you!!


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: motvet on September 16, 2007, 08:44:21 pm
I made not just one,but two mistakes (1) I bought a computer with Windows Vista and if that wasn't enough (2) I installed Bon Voyage. And yes it did drive me nuts.(fortunately, I've got medication to help)(no lie) One thing I noticed immeditately is that carpool cars used to stop at the sim's house and then just drive by. The same thing happened when I wanted my sims to go on vacation. That was resolved when I uninstalled and then reinstalled it. However, many objects that I try to append into my game since then do not show up, even though I get messages that say the download was successfully installed.(things like skins, statues, pictures, cars,and houses). I find that if the cc was not made with BV, then it's not worth my time to check to see if it's going to show up in my game. Is that right? Heck noooo! However, I like that my sim's can finally swim in ocean. As to Windows Vista, I can't find anything that I like about it, and if I did'nt hear that eventually XP will be phased out, I would be using it (again) on my computer right now. But, that's another looonng story.
Happy simming. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
There are plenty of great programmers out there on sites like this. They make great stuff/cc for the sims2.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Deviancy on September 16, 2007, 09:26:11 pm
I'm not sure if I'm following you.  I just toss CC in the downloads folder.  I never get any message that says "successfully installed".  Are you using some kind of sims program that installs custom content for you?  I think Sims2pack clean installer does that, doesn't it?

Anywho.. if you want to get the stuff to work..

Go here..

C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2

Delete groups.cache and accessory.cache..

Restart the game..

Statues and stuff should show after that.  Sometimes after an expansion install even if you have custom content enabled.. stuff still doesn't show.  It just because it didn't get cached the first time.

As for XP.. it's only being phased out OEM wise.  IE: it won't be an option when buying a computer at the store anymore.  Dell of course will fight this, but I doubt that'll help.  XP still will probably be supported for another few years, maybe 2.  A lot of people are threatning to go to Linux if MS forces Vista too much.  I don't think MS is stupid enough to push that, they're already getting really close to losing the browser war.. don't think they also want to lose the OS war.

Vista is clean.. it looks good.. I just don't like how if a game requires a gig of ram to run on xp.. its a gig and a half on Vista.  That means the OS is to resource hungry and that just isn't cool.  An OS should run light.. kinda like one of the Olsen twins.. it shouldn't have the appetite of Britney Spears.. I don't need a resource heavy fat ass OS bloating things down.

Heh.. I like that analogy.. sorta.. kinda..


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Koviljka on September 16, 2007, 10:20:55 pm
Quote from: Dizi;935630
I have to say some people are being very harsh. I don't think I post very often but there's a thread for people who have no problems, and guess what? I posted there. Which means I had no problems with my game. The fact that there is a thread for having no problems is an indication that for many there are no problems to be had. Just do what you're always warned to do and take out all mods and hacks. AND QUIT WHINING ABOUT IT!!!
~dizi


Respect!!!!!!!


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: sannysims40 on September 17, 2007, 12:26:36 am
I totally agree!  I am waiting to get Seasons, I have the core game and NL but too want to be sure of the kinks.  If we as sim gamers let Maxis know that if they continue to put out inferior products we will stop spending our money on their #1 money-maker (Sims, Sims2, all of the Sims console games).  This is one reason why I did not buy the Sims2 for Xbox because I've heard that it was crap and that Maxis only cares about money.  I do believe in the old saying, "you get what you pay for" and frankly if I'm paying my hard earned money on this game or any other I may think twice about keeping my money in my pocket or my case my purse.  If we sim gamers would give Maxis a message that either they put more quality into their games we will stop buying!  Sorry to rant and rave but I could not help but respond and agree with everything you've posted.  Many, many thanks guys.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: Firestar on September 17, 2007, 07:39:19 am
As someone who has never played computer games until five months ago when a friend got me into SIMs, I don't understand most of the talk about hacks etc.  Bugs I know about. (Those things they stomp on... just kidding).  All I know is that I have all of the other games and the only time I had a problem was with a scratched disk.  However, I am having a few problems with this one. A posting on this site was a big help in showing me what was wrong with my downloads.  (OH!!! the file needs a CAPITAL 'D'), but things are still not running well.  Jagged lines splitting the screen, 'vapor trails' following my sims around and bodies going one way while heads go another.  Very weird.  I'm going to keep trying and learning from the clever folk on this site.  Thanks for the tips and help I've had already by the way.


Title: ITS NOT WORTH IT!
Post by: fftamfan on September 20, 2007, 09:29:10 am
From previous experiences with sims2 and sims1 eps eons ago. Honestly bv is one of the worst ep i have ever seen released. This ep far exceeds the bugs and glitches compared to previous eps. Biggest of them all is the memory leakage and serious lag, which makes the gameplay so unfun. Have tested this game with no downloads and all eps and stufffpacks, my system specs exceed the requirements so i know that is not related. Am very disappointed in EA, it is such a copout, trying to release a product to gain as much profit rather than of quality.


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