Bev, I will try to answer your questions as best I am able.
- Moving or copying the Downloads folder to a secure location (like the desktop) is an easy and safe way to preserve your Downloads during a new install of an EP/SP or during a quick-and-dirty un-install/re-install.
The only concern I have is when you have your documents folder on a different hard drive or hard drive partition than your desktop -- this is a custom arrangement, and you would most surely know if you have done this; in those instances you have to right-click drag-and-drop and use the
Move option from the menu that pops up when you release the right-side mouse button at the target location. If you just normal-click and drag to the desktop in these situations, you have nothing but a short-cut to something that may get deleted during an un-install|re-install or an install gone wrong.
Update patches (assuming you mean the ones you get from EA) are software you install like any programme from an installer; these make changes to things in the game core, not the Downloads folder.
Most mods and hacks are installed in the Downloads folder, so they will be preserved if you move the Downloads folder to the desktop.
Some special game modifications make changes to files in other locations (e.g., Camera mods change files in the Cameras folder) - you will have to take different steps to preserve these.
Some objects -- such as custom modular stairs, custom fireplaces, and custom colour lights -- will usually have a second component that is present in the game's core programme folders, and if these are not preserved, when you restore the Downloads folder, these items will no longer work properly and may crash the game when you attempt to use them. So additional steps are required to preserve these additional components.
Custom lighting mods are also in the game's core folders.
Even the best of us will usually forget some bit or piece. So when you are restoring the Downloads folder, restoring it in stages (rather than all in one stroke) is a very wise thing to do. It is important to remember that you should run the game at least one time with nothing restored before restoring any files; during that first run of the game after any service operation, the game writes a lot of files into the user folders that will cheerfully over-write your Camera mods.
So as you can see it is not a one-size-fits-all answer; it hinges largely on
how and
to what extent you have modified your game.
...- All Sims that are present in your game (playable or game-controlled) have at least two parts. One is the character file in the neighbourhood's Characters sub-folder:
e.g., My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\N001\Characters The second part is contained in the ####_neighborhood.package file (there may be additional parts in ####_Suburb### packages) located in the neighbourhood's root folder:
e.g., My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\N004When you delete a Sim or family of Sims, things get unpredictable. The game stores relationships, memories, want & fears, etc as separate things. If your deleted Sims have every interacted with people, removing all traces of them may be difficult and maybe dangerous to the stability of the whole neighbourhood.
Opinions vary on this, but my experience is such that I cannot recommend you try to expunge all traces of a delete Sim or Sim family.
So to concisely answer your question: traces are left, but it is unwise to try to remove them.
...- In order to hide certain objects (like hair/hats) you will need to download a game modification that does this; there are several, perhaps if you make a specific WCIF request in that section of the forum someone will remember where these might be located. I vaguely recall seeing one at MATY, but I can't be certain.
As Wednesday says, it is bad idea genes operating to delete things from the game's core files.
EA's method makes one have to add more things in order to remove things. Sad, ain't it?
[/list]
I hope this addresses all of your questions to your satisfaction.
