Blank want slots making dating impossible

[Mrs_MQuve]

Hi, I have TS2 Deluxe (just the base game and Nightlife), and my sims are rolling blank wants on dates.  I don't have the InSimenator or SimPE installed, but I do have several hacks.  The only one that has anything to do with wants is one that decreases the numbers on crazy LTWs like "Have 10 Kids" (I believe this hack comes from MTS2).  So, I am using my own CAS sims, sometimes when they get to the community lot they roll impossible wants (3 out of 4 of my female knowledge sim's were skill points - can't do that on a community lot!  Plus, they both got wants to marry one another - again, I only have Nightlife, can't do that on a comm lot yet!)  Then, when I manage to fulfill something, the wants reroll and most of the slots are blank, thus making it impossible to raise the dream date meter.

Any help would be appreciated, I'm so frustrated 

[Engram]

Since you have Double Deluxe, what I would do is pull out all hacks and try again. If the blank want slots go away, you're experiencing what just about everyone else with Double Deluxe is experiencing - the fact that EA changed the game engine on DD and it's not actually truly NL compatible.

If the blank want slots are still there even after you pull out all hacks, your hood is probably corrupted. Blank want slots are one of the signs of hood corruption. So if it's not the fault of the hacks then it's a hood falling over, preparing to blow up on you.

[Mrs_MQuve]

Oh man... I hope it's not the hood, cause this is a custom hood I spent lots of time putting together.  How can Deluxe not be NL compatible if NL is part of the package? EA never ceases to boggle the mind...
Just to point out, this blank wants crap is only happening specifically on dates.  Otherwise it's fine, even on community lots.

Thanks for your help... I'll see what happens, although if it turns out I can't use hacks I'll cry 

[rwills]

It's not a matter of "can't use hacks." It's a matter of only using compatible and also non-conflicting hacks, mods and other custom content.

For example, I too have Deluxe (as opposed to Double Deluxe) and utilize many hacks, mods and hacked objects without problems.

At first blush, it sounds as if you have a dating or social mod installed which might be designed for an EP beyond Nightlife.

If it is not a corrupted 'hood (and it still might be), then it could be hacks, mods or any other type of custom content  at the root of the problem.

First thing to try is to go to My Documents--EA Games--The Sims 2 and delete the file there named groups.cache and then see if the problem goes away.

Perfectly safe, and the game will auto-create a new file if it is needed.

Would also suggest (if you don't already have it) downloading and running Paladin's Hack Conflict Detection Utility.  Click Sims 2--Programs, here:

http://www.simwardrobe.com

Note that the HCDU only displays potential conflicts, and does not and can not differentiate between harmless or benign conflicts and conflicts which are more serious or malignant, but the HCDU is nevertheless a good starting point for finding possible culprits.

BTW, does this happen on all community lots when dating is taking place or only on a specific lot?

Couple more standard questions (and hoping the answers to all of them are 'No' -- any or all of these things can or will corrupt a 'hood):

1) Have you ever moved any Sims from one 'hood to another (not sub-hoods, just from one top-level neighborhood to a different one).

2) Have you ever moved an occupied lot into the Lots bin?

3) Did you by any chance use the 'delete all characters' cheat on this 'hood?

[caffeinated.joy]

One more thing that can corrupt a hood:

Have you ever moved a sim to the family bin and deleted them?

[Mrs_MQuve]

Okay... let me think:

Usually, if I accidentally download anything that isn't NL-compatible, it will make my game crash at loading, so I know that I have to go seek it out and remove it.  I do have the HCDU installed and use it frequently - I ran a scan within the past couple of days, and no issues came up.

I never moved characters from one hood to another.  I had intended to move two to my custom hood, but it was going to be too complicated for me, so I deleted them (caffeinated.joy: I did move them to the family bin first, I don't know how else to delete sims without hacks) and then just recreated the characters in CAS in the custom hood.

Never put an occupied lot in the Lots bin... never used "Delete all characters"... hmm, what else... oh, and it seems to happen on all community lots, but just on dates.

I had some cleaning up to do in my hacks folder anyway, so I decided to run the game after that and see if anything changed. I had the same couple go on a date, and they were still rolling blank wants, but I was able to hover over hers and read what they were.  I could do this with his for a bit, then they went totally blank.  Somehow, I still managed to take him home, Woohoo and score a dream date, though! 

[Engram]

Try removing any hacks that have to do with wants and lifetime wants. I used the LTW hack for a short time but it wasn't playing nicely with something in my Downloads folder even though I wasn't getting any conflicts reported, so it could well be what is causing problems for you. If that doesn't help, just remove all your hacks and keep adding them back, a couple at a time or using the 50/50 method, to identify the problem one.

As rwills said, it's not a matter of playing without hacks but of finding what is compatible. The advice people are usually given when wanting to use hacks that don't want to work with Deluxe or Double Deluxe is to buy an EP newer than NL or to get an SP that uses a different game engine than NL (list here) so that you can just upgrade your hacks to a different game engine and get around compatibility issues that way.

[ancienthighway]

Arwentroi, even deleting sims from the sim bin is bad.  The other sims in the neighborhood still have memories of the deleted sims, and because those sims had been deleted, all sorts of havoc may appear.  In other words, it would only be a matter of time before the neighborhood is no longer playable.

Rather than deleting unwanted sims, use a mod to kill them off, use a mod to make them townies, or just don't play them anymore.

Meshes not compatible with your game can cause it to crash on loading the game.  Mods not compatible sit quietly until you try to use them, then will cause "jump bugs" or if you play with testingcheatsenabled, object errors.

[caffeinated.joy]

Yep, as Ancient said, deleting sims from the bin is bad, as it removes the sim, but not the associated memories. It can cause problems with your game. If I have a sim in my game I want to remove, I simply kill them off. It removes the sim without corrupting your neighborhood.