The Christianlov skintone changer ... the one that looks like a picture.

It sounded like a wonderful idea, but I didn't realize back then, when I used it with a vengeance to change skintones so I could get rid of older ones I didn't like, that the changer wasn't permanent. If you had to remove it, your Sims went default. And sometimes, the features you chose on one skintone looked really awful if you switched skintones, whether those skintones are custom ones or not.

To make things worse, for some reason, when I had it in one of my games (I have 2 games on 2 computers), my Sims refused to paint pictures, which meant I HAD to remove it. So hello, defaults!

Thank goodness for Sim PE.

Woofum! (Apparently, Simlish for "dog")

And I like "gerbitz", too. "Boogersnot" sounds like "bogensnot" to me, but however it's pronounced, I like that one, as well. And now when I hear it, I'll be thinking of boogersnot!

The rock/urn-type problem often occurs for me when I'm missing a mesh. What mesh is missing is a good question! I don't suppose that by some wonderful coincidence, others are having the same problem?

What do you mean by not being able to place the lots? Do they crash? Perhaps the contributor used some sort of cheat? Can't help you that much there.

Yes, sometimes the most innocuous files can be the troublemakers. If I got $10 for every file that crashed my game that caused me to respond, "Oh ... THAT'S the file causing it?", I could buy the Sims 3 AND the new expansion and have money left over!

Hacks and mods ... and modded objects ... are indeed the best place to start. Much of the time, you'll find the problem there. But if those aren't causing problems, you might have to resort to the time-honored and time-consuming method of going through many ... most ... all of your Downloads. Always remember to back up your old folder, though, first, rename it, and put it somewhere else until you're done. And good luck.

Three years, and I don't believe that I've been too greedy with the new Sims. In Pleasantview, I have custom Sims in only two Uni dorms (no large dorms), two Downtown houses, five houses in a second Downtown neighborhood, and five houses in the shopping district. I still have many spaces for lots in Pleasantview ... I don't cram them.  I've asked on different forums in the past about how many Sims a town can take, and the best figure I could get is, for a good system, was 1000 or fewer ... and that includes all townies and NPCs. I have way below that ... in the 600's, INCLUDING all townies and NPCs.

Just as an experiment, my daughter and I noted the base neighborhood total, then added just the Uni dorm, and found out that a good chunk of your total Sims ARE townies and NPCs you barely see. (Little wonder why some people have mods to thin them out.)

This type of problem has been around for a long time, back when Pleasantview was the only neighborhood I played, but it usually involves vanilla or partial vanilla games, not missing Sims. I just have to remember to back up my game WHENEVER I have a major update, and thoroughly check the game afterward. I did the first one, but didn't do the second.


Note ... I did check my SimPE files, and there were 945 character files. Only about 15% of them were mine. EA's population explosions are pretty ridiculous! Ancienthighway was probably right.

I backed up my old neighborhood in case I got nostalgic and wanted it back, or something messed up, packaged seven favorite lots (of which one disappeared, and one refused to load ... oh, well), downloaded Pescado's anti-redundancy mods (NPCs, Townies, Dormies, SS members AND Strays), and reset the neighborhood. I'm now working with four new Sims in a back-to-base-game-Pleasantview. (I decided to leave the game-generated townies, etc. in there.) Resetting is easy, and not as nearly upsetting as I thought. 3 1/2 years with one neighborhood has been a good run. Time for something new. I do have to admit to being more excited about playing Pleasantview again. I made a lot of mistakes with Pleasantview. A LOT of them, like liberally deleting from the Sim Bin. It felt good to erase my errors in just a few clicks. I wish I could erase more of life's errors that way!

So I suppose this is solved, one way or another. Time to mark it so.

You might very well be right. Even though I have only up to Seasons, newer mods might be wreaking havoc with it.

The last time I checked, there was no select/deselect feature, which is why I didn't download it. But now, I see there is one. AND there is also a temperature control mod ... I can get rid of the one I have. I see he has a move-in-all-type mod, too. Actually, he added a LOT more than last time. (I checked it out when I was first looking for my new card, which was about six months ago.)

I suppose there would be no harm in checking it out and testing it ... just don't save for now. This is further convincing me after I had to re-download Insim because it glitched when I re-inserted it,  I went into a lot and my baby became a shadow. Fortunately, the move_objects cheat fixed that, but it did give me a fright.

(And no, no. NO! I'm not asking for Inism support! Don't bring out the Iron Maiden ... and I DON'T mean the group!)

It seems that every time my computer has a major hardware or software update, my game runs the risk of going vanilla, losing an entire neighborhood (which is what happened the last time I had a new video card installed) or doing something similarly freaky. I've learned to back up my game on the desktop at least once every month (frequently more than that), and back up on a DVD at least every two months. Better to lose a few weeks than one or more YEARS of gameplay!

This one is a new level of freaky. Back in June, because my 9600GT was having blackout issues (I'm sure a couple of you helpful people are shuddering ... yes ... I was THAT poster), I got an ATI 4850.

When I first loaded the game, it crashed, but didn't crash again, so I didn't worry about it. I played a bunch of families in different neighborhoods, everything seemed hunky-dory, and I have continued to play when I can since then.

I entered a house I rarely played about a month ago, and was surprised to see that one of the kids was missing. I mean, REALLY missing. She wasn't anywhere .... not even in Sim PE. She was now a "[simoleon sign]Subject" in other Sims' memories. Summoning her didn't help. While she was in the family portrait right before you enter the house, she was NOT in the family portrait when you entered the neighborhood. I thought that perhaps I was a little too silly with the Insimenator's selecting/de-selecting feature. I know that if you aren't careful, you CAN de-select a Sim ... permanently!  Since it wasn't a household I played often, I paid little mind to it. Nothing else strange happened in that household since then.

Last night, I went into another household I rarely played, and discovered that 3/4 of the family members disappeared the same way. One family member in two other families disappeared as well. Once again, REALLY disappeared. One family actually crashed because apparently, the disappearing wife of one of the Sims must have been sleeping in a custom bed, and when she disappeared, the bed did also, but glitched the house in the process. Yes, i did the whole Download thing ... isolated folders, tried groups at a time, etc. I use this bed in most of my houses, and it has not glitched those. I think it was specifically related to the occupant of the bed.

I moved the family out into another house, put a new custom bed in it, and everything worked fine ... just missing that Sim.

I've been playing these missing-Sim families a little more often now, and everything seems normal, other than the missing members. I've checked all my other families in other neighborhoods, and it was just the one member in Pleasantview, and five members in the one Pleasantview neighborhood that were affected. Everyone else is fine.

My plan is to probably use aging-on with these Sims and have them die happily in their twilight years. If their stupidity causes them to meet Grimmie faster, so be it. As I wrote, these Sims were not among my favorites.

As far as anyone knows, will playing Sims with missing family members hurt my game in the long run? I know I've had to delete glitched Sims in the past, including those who created memories, and things turned out fine.

Also, these missing Sims WERE in my backup CD which I made right before I changed video cards. Why they didn't show up in the game is a good question, but then again, this IS my game we're talking about, and this game DOES work strangely whenever I do a major update. (If I know I have to do one, I actually now make a backup automatically on my desktop.) It has worked strangely on and off since 2006, when I first played it.

Is there any way to put these missing Sims in the new game? I'm thinking not because I saved the game since then, have created Sims, etc. Even if I could, is it worth the effort? Perhaps I should just move the remaining female Sim in that one family into the same house as one of the now-single dads and free up a house! (I wouldn't have them get married, since I'm not sure how the game perceives their status.)  Both families got glitched, anyway!

Thanks for any useful advice you folks can offer. As for reinstalling, I have to admit ... it concerns me if I am trying to keep all my Sims. It just seems to me that it takes a very long time (right now, time is not an ally), and too much can go glitchy. And when my husband tried to "help" me once, he downloaded a program that messed up the Seasons installer, so that's another reason why I don't want to re-install unless I REALLY have to. If need be in the future, I'll back up my game just in case, do a clean reinstall and start my neighborhoods from scratch, tidy up my Downloads folder, and hope for the best.

P.S. I've learned now to check EVERY family after completing a major update!

Interesting, but .... you can't create a family, and you can't live in the country? That can limit things ....

And the game crashing so frequently? Ah, well ... it's just a prototype. I do hope that crashing problem disappears by the time the game is released. That would stink if it didn't.

Why does this game remind me just a little bit of Zelda, or like games with dungeons and treasure chests? Must be that I'm overtired.

Now, this is different! I don't think there have been too many stories dealing specifically with the Smoogo!

Great job!

Fair 'nuff, fglrxandyou. Fair 'nuff .

Hey, I still haven't completely ruled out buying Sims 3. But in addition to the gameplay glitches and quirks, I still don't know if I'm going to risk wasting $30 - 33 US (EBay prices) for a game that might not even play on my system. So many computers, both old and new, have had trouble with this game. Too bad there wasn't a real Sims 3 demo that one could try to see if it would be OK on his/her computer.  Thanks to a certain computer component manufacturer's incompetence, I just shelled out a pile of cash to fix my computer. I'm in no mood to shell out more.

Anyway, I still think that if EA is smart, they will actually continue with both Sims 2 and Sims 3. Hey, why not even toss in a PC version of The Urbz or Bustin' Loose just for fun? A PC version of The Urbz may be interesting, though I hope the game loads a bit faster between districts than on the console.

EA could primarily push Sims 3, but toss in an occasional expansion or special for the two older series .... don't discard them entirely. Then everyone can be happy, I hope, and all of us can continue to enjoy newer versions of our favorite Sims series, whichever one that is.

No, I haven't been drinking, or smoking anything illegal. Just daydreaming! And I know again that EA will most likely never do this. I think I have more of a chance of seeing your proverbial porcine mammals airborne. EA is relying too much on Sims 3.

Ah, well. Back to Seasons, I suppose!

In my mind, there seems to be two phases of the Sims franchise: Before Sims 2 Seasons and After Sims 2 Seasons.

I played Sims 1 on Game Cube, and it blew me away. I was so green that I didn't even realize you could toggle the characters, and as a result, my Bob Newbie acted like some of those people on the TV Show "1000 Ways to Die". I had to keep exiting out of the game! My kids still laugh at that Sims phase in my life. But I really liked playing the game, despite Bob.

Then I learned to toggle. (Hmmm .... maybe I should have kept playing Bob untoggled.) The game amazed me even more, and I bought The Urbz because I couldn't get enough. (And by the way, I actually liked The Urbz.)

I kept reading that playing The Sims on the PC was much better than playing it on console, so I watched EBay carefully (when I buy Sims games, I never pay the original price ... I wait for a good sale at a local store or Amazon, or get it off EBay, either new or used) and picked up Sims 2. "They" were right. I'd wait eagerly for expansions, read all I could about them, make sure that either EA or a free-site modder fixed the problems, wait for that sale/used copy, and pick up that expansion ... usually about six months after it came out. I couldn't wait to play it, and my family would have to peel me off the computer because they had to use it for less-enjoyable tasks.

Seasons was the apex for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the weather, the neighborhood, the content, the penguin. It was, for me, the epitome of the Sims games. It still is.

Then came Bon Voyage and Securom, and the party was over for me. I kept reading of more and more bugs in the post-Seasons games ... bugs that did much more than turn my grass blue. And what was worse, the gameplay just didn't make me wait on EBay with bated breath anymore. I almost capitulated with Free Time, but didn't want to mess with no-CD cracks or arring.

I read about Sims 3, and thought that if EA got wise and got rid of the Securom, I might give it a go. Then I saw the previews and was rather unimpressed. I was hoping for a game that would make Seasons pale by comparison. But EA seems to be ... well, I've already expressed my view on Sims 3 here a few times. No need to repeat again.

EA can turn this around. They can re-release the post-Seasons Sims 2 games without Securom. Give the re-releases a fancy title, such as "Sims Redux". Even add a couple of extra goodies to them, like a new song download or two by some hot band, or add some new free content. (Those who already bought the expansions can claim them if they've registered on the official site by entering a special code.) I would probably buy Free Time then. Maybe I'd buy even more expansions. Oh, and do something about the Securom for those who unfortunately wound up with it because they bought BV and beyond. (Heck, maybe EA could even release a new Securom-free expansion occasionally!)

EA can also add loads of free content to Sims 3, perhaps as a "thank you for buying _______ copies" sort of promotion. Fix ALL of the bugs we know of at this time. Provide their own downloadable Body Shop where people can customize their Sims a whole lot better. Maybe, if possible, actually provide a way to get into some of the "rabbit holes".

I want some of the "magic" back again. I miss it. But of course, I know that EA will do no such thing ... not unless they have to.

Well, that would open up a whole bunch of neighborhoods .... unless EA is planning to make a neighborhood with all three destinations in it! (Though a mini-Epcot-like neighborhood would be interesting.) But I do hope there aren't any rabbit holes in them. That might be a let-down. And I do hope that EA is much more generous with the free content.

The new EP is interesting, I admit.

Now, if only Sims 3 could come out on Wii. After reading how this game plays, it's not impossible to imagine a perfectly fine version for all three systems. And you can get rid of the rabbit holes and eliminate the story progression problem. However, the latter might not work as many desire. Several people LIKE the current story progression mode. You would probably also have to walk or ride a bike, rather than use a car.

It can be like a Harvest Moon-type scenario. You have a very wide open area to navigate, unlocking new areas as you complete tasks. Going from one "neighborhood" to another might require loading screens, though. Hopefully, the game won't have the same problems as My Sims. New areas took so long to load that by the end of the game, I thought I broke the thing. (Yes, I did rent and fiddle around with My Sims one week. I was bored.)

Anyway, I can even see how you could very easily change colors on the furnishings, clothing, etc. (I'm thinking Sims 1/Urbz here.) You can download certain special items or music (Animal Crossing/Urbz). If EA plays it correctly, this game will make a lot of sense on the console. Many Sims fans might even be able to play it better on a console than on a PC ... no video card/blue screen/etc. woes. Insert disc ... insert special codes for promo products or modes ... play.

I'd still wait for a good used copy, though. It's the principle of the thing, and I'm still cheap.  

Thanks for the translation, simaholic.

There seems to be much reference to how awful the original base game was ... how limited it was.

While I did come late to the Sims 2 party (2006), and by then, people had cooked up a boatload of great designs and mods, for a couple of months, I didn't even know a site like MTS or Insim existed. A buddy of mine told me about MTS2, and from there, I found out about Insim and other sites. This meant that for many weeks, I played using default everything.

I got frustrated sometimes, particularly with a Romance Sim being so jealous. I made some really stupid mistakes. (For instance, don't move a family out of a house, then realize you made a mistake and move them immediately back into the same house. It corrupted my family so terribly that I had to delete the family.) My original families' faces were based on a handful of basic face shapes, so many of them did look the same. I didn't like the censor blurs at all.

But I never got bored during that time. And except for my stupid mistakes, the game ran fine.

One big thing that concerns me after reading about Sims 3 on the official boards is how suddenly wonky this game can get, even if you've played it with no problems for weeks. And from reading the help board on the Sims 3, many of these players are familiar with Sims games, have a basic knowledge of their computer, made sure their game fit the computer specs, updated any programs they needed to update (such as video drivers), and made sure their custom content played nicely with the game. To this casual observer, this game seems considerably more unstable than its predecessor. (I hope I'm wrong. I don't like to see people being cheated or having their computer go up in a flaming ball visible from space.) I see that EA addressed the problems concerning my video card (ATI 4800-series). That's good. I don't know if their solution works or not, but that isn't the point. Even if I do everything right, will the game work fine when I install it? Will it work OK weeks after I've installed it? This is another reason why I want to wait on the game before considering it.

I think I get the message ... if you do NOT think of Sims 3 as Sims 2 Amped, you'll be fine. Consider the game on its own merits. And I have to confess that sometimes, I get the temptation to get it. But then I read about the problems people have with the game, and the game's limitations (some obnoxious or severe) that, while I'm sure will lessen over the next several months, are still here now, nonetheless. In short, at this moment in time, this game gives me the willies. And that isn't flaming.

Well, if you believe the news blurbs on certain sites, Sims 3 has already done better than Sims 2 did a couple of months after its release. This puzzles me greatly. Never mind the usual points ... the economy stinks. Must be more people with money out there than I thought.