ATTENTION! New Body Shop Bug!!!!111!1eleven

[BeosBoxBoy]

dreamcatcher - there isn't a layman's terms version on this one, I had to visually inspect every file that Sims2Pack Clean Installer didn't give a category/type in SimPE to properly identify all the redundant files.  This was not a fast process with more than 6 gigabytes of downloads.

I don't know how to make the process any less complex or less technical when the tools we would normally use to diagnose duplicates appear to be unable to differentiate between the multiple copies of the files.

In the case of the Sims06.package it is a file roughly 6.8 MB in size, and if you open the file with SimPE it will contain several 100 CRES (Resource Node) files.

I contacted EA and was told to "install the patch" for Bon Voyage, even though I do not have Bon Voyage installed and made that fact abundantly clear in my communication.  I have to say, this is typical of every interacton I have ever had wih EA.  If my complaint is ever passed along to an engineer, it will be too late.

[Sam the T-man]

Sheesh... I'm glad I used S2CI to re-package my latest sims. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled, thanks for the info.

[Hidden~Secret]

I am really hating EA games right now and the sims 2 creators.Now probably thousands of people are having the same problem but we could just complain by calling the EA game sims 2 help number.They probably will do the same with the following EP's to come and probably Sims 3.I always make sure I wait at least a month before I buy a new EP.I bought Celebrations and H&M Fashions and I couldn't install H&M it just didn't work.I hope they start checking for problems and have them tell us the truth about it all.

[trl]

Thanks for the warning. I have yet to create or install any sims since BV came out, lol I have been too busy troubleshooting other problems, but I appreciate your info. I hope they address this issue timely but I am not holding my breath! This company needs to start taking responsibility for their ignorance.

[xoJessi]

I'm slow today, too much cramming.

Whats wrong with bodyshop? When you package a sim you package some random file? Am I right or is this wrong. lol

[Ambular]

Thanks for the heads-up.  This makes the second (and by far the more serious) BodyShop issue I've seen crop up with BV, which I would say is now pretty much uncontested for the title of Buggiest Piece-Of-Crap EP to date... :p

[J. M. Pescado]

People still actually *USE* the default package installer? Isn't that a piece of known epic fail that produces mangled, unintelligible filenames and anyone who uses it deserves whatever crap is bestowed upon them for it?

[Ambular]

Hmm, Beos, are you sure the extraneous file you're getting is actually Sims05.package?  Because in my game that file is only 367 KB and contains only an NMAP and a bunch of SHPE's, no CRES's.  Could something else have gotten squished in with it or misnamed?

[jfade]

Hrm... Well, the compression tool should compress the file exactly the same every time, it's not like an algorithm that varies or anything. As long as the duplicate meshes are all compressed, they should still have the same checksum IF the meshes are each in standalone files. I can understand that the checksums would be different if one mesh was bundled in the same package as a recolor and then the original, standalone mesh package would have a different checksum, but otherwise I don't know why they'd have a different checksum. Unless, of course, the Bodyshop changes the meshes when it bundles them in some way or otherwise screws things up.

Sounds like the problem though is especially bad for Mac users as they don't HAVE another way to install Sims2Packs, they can ONLY use the installer that comes with the game. And, assuming that Aspyr uses the same Bodyshop code, their Bodyshop probably has this same stupid bug and they have no way to clean anything they create...

Stupid EAxis.

[Paleoanth]

Can I post some of this information over at the official BBS?  I would like to see them answer this.  I will state that I found this at insim and direct people how to find the full thread and just copy and paste relevant parts that I will make clear I did not write.

[BeosBoxBoy]

Pescado - I discovered the file using Sims2Pack Clean Installer to install Sims2Packs, all one sees in S2PCI is an alpha-numeric garbage name and no more clear an indication of the nature of the file than any other thing S2PCI doesn't readily identify (i.e., hair meshes, fence files, etc). I cannot attest for the soundness of bowel or brain of those persons who created the Sims that also contained these bad files), I can only report my findings faithfully to the data.  And as jfade mentions, you can hardly fault Mac-users for not being able to use software they cannot run.

AmberDiceless - my search was pretty limited even if I checked an mind-numbing number of Sims2Packs.  I can not guess what file your search yielded.  I have seen several damaged meshes and fragmentary files, but I simply deleted those as corrupted files I associated with the known bugs in lot packages and didn't think they were associated with this bug -- I could be wrong.

Edit - Marvine points out that 1) i need more sleep and 2) the file I keep calling Sims05.package is actually Sims06.package -- I cannot fault her data on either.

jfade - allow me to clarify, the role I suggest your Compressoriser plays in this is: person A installs a Sims2Pack containing this problematic file, then subsequently runs Compressoriser, person B installs a 2nd Sims2Pack with the same file but a different resultant name for the same file, the both upload a new Sim each with the same file, one compressed with a different MD5 Checksum number than the uncompressed one.  The result is a non-match in a S2PCI scan for duplicates.

Paleoanth - feel free, post away.  If any good comes of this, then so much the better.

Let me repeat: I tested files for a the presence of a single file I knew was a problem.  As others have already expressed in this thread, my findings are not without corroboration.  I didn't expand my scope beyond this search.  If the BV Body Shop is adding random junk to the Sims2Pack, it wouldn't surprise me.  My chief concern is that these bad files once in the downloads folder may propogate into any subsequent Sims2Pack made with Body Shop and, as we all know, Simmers download passionately and excessively as a rule, so the potential rate of growth of this problem is exponential.

My brain is ready to catch fire and collapse from staring at file after file in Sims2Pack Clean Installer and SimPE, so please forgive me if I seen incoherent. my English is not working as I would hope. Пошел в жопу распиздяй EA! жертвы аборта!

[BeosBoxBoy]

Dr Pixel mentioned that the Pets EP Body Shop demonstrated a similar bug, he couldn't remember where he had seen the reports, but it makes sense to me.  He also asked if a copy of the sims mesh component files (i.e., Sims##.package) had been added to the Downloads folder at some point, would they subsequently be copied into Sims2Packs.

I manually copied the all of the Sims##.package files to the Downloads folder, then went about making sims.

It was unpredicatable, but the Season EP version of Body Shop (Pets and Bon Voyage NOT installed) did add any or all of the copied Sims##.packages.  In fact, I soon discovered that there was even a chance that any default replacement package might be included from the Downloads or SavedSims folders.  It was not every time, but often enough to see that a risk was high for this even without Pets or Bon Voyage.

Because I used Sims2Pack Clean Installer, I was able to see the files with their original names.  I think that this was the case because these are "first generation" files.

I went on to install the Sims2Packs with the game's native Package Installer, this resulted in the files getting a junk-code name.  I then made a second set of sims and packaged them in Sims2Packs.

this 2nd generation set of files variously included none, one, or all associated files -- id est, the files with sims##.package or the junk-code named version of the same file.

installing them with the game's native Package Installer, now third generation names appeared.  I repeated the cycle of making sims and installing them to the fifth generation; I now had a variety of files with junk-code names, all of them duplicates of the Sims##.packages - but easily identified as duplicates with Sims2Pack Clean Installer.

I compressed half of these files with JFade's The Compressoriser!

Now the files broke into two sets of identified duplicates.   The first set identified as duplicates of the un-compressed versions; the second set identified as duplicates of the compressed versions.

I inspected all of the files with Sims2Pack Clean Installer, only in first generation files was I able to locate the Sims##.package based on the data displayed in S2PCI.  2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation files had the junk-code names and no pattern in naming had evolved.

So it is apparent that the game's native Package Installer has played a role in renaming the files junk-code names at some point, but now that these files have entered the system, there was no way to easily identify them.

I did a random sampling of 200 files, 50 each from the Exchange, MTS2, InSIM, TSR; in about 60% of these downloaded Sims and Lots, files with junk-code names (i.e., 2nd generation or higher) were present regardless from which of these sites I had downloaded them.

Even if I used Sims2Pack Clean Installer, the junk-code named files would enter the downloads folder unless you were to do a user over-ride and for instance install ONLY the sim or lot segement. I don't expect many people would enjoy downloading whole sims and lots if this were the only solution.

What I have determined is this, any Sims2Pack you download (regardless from where or who) may contain junk-code named files.  Not all of these junk-code named files are duplicates of Sims##.packages, but it is clear that using Sims2Pack Clean Installer is NOT a grant-safe to identifying and avoiding duplicates of duplicates of Sims##.packages.

My advice is that you scrub your Downloads folder like a high neatness sim with 10 pips of cleaning skill, and either not install any downloaded Sims2Pack at all, or extract the files to a secure location and visually inspect EVERY file with SimPE to determine if it is a duplicate of one of the Sims##.pakages (or some other un-needed file).

[Tabatha]

Ok if I pull up Clean Installer, where should I search and what am I looking for?

[BeosBoxBoy]

Tabatha - you are looking for files named anything with no category

you should:



as you find files with this sort of name (all random numbers and letters), right-click and "move to..." some folder where you can take your time inspecting them with SimPE.

There is no easier way - please keep in mind, some of these files may be legitmate and needed objects or clothing/hair meshes or fences, half-walls, etc - what you are looking for are files that are part of the game's installation files.

I don't recommend you just delete them all - if you aren't sure what they are - move them out of the downloads folder and see if the game explodes or something goes missing

I can't tell you a "rule" to follow - there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this

[richard seabolt]

WELL! I wondered why my game was all of a sudden slow and choppy after I installed BV.
    Now is there a simple way to find these problems, like maybe a program that will root them out?
    Because I am not a progammer and wouldn't know a bogus file from good one.
          HHHHEEEEELLLLLPPPP!