Shreix - I will attach an image of my game save folders that may help
Each of the folders contains information that is or may be used by the game, names of folders in
RED should never be deleted, names of folders in
BLUE may be safely deleted, even the ones in RED are safe to delete but you will lose personalised content and settings if you do:
Cameras - contains files that control how the in-game cameras operate, defining how close you can zoom, etc. Custom camera mods go here. The files in this folder are all raw text file with a PC-Windows line-feed-carriage-return format.
Collections - contains collection "folder" files - these are not really folders. There is some not-very-well understood relation between these files and the in-game visual catalogue.
Config - contains files that include user cheat files and run-settings.
- Broadcast.ini is a setting file in PC-Windows line-feed-carriage-return raw text format that contains information about how things display on the TVs in-game
- userProps.xml is a record of your in-game settings and the neighbourhoods you have visited and whether or not that neighbourhood has been altered to accommodate the EP content.
- userStartup.cheat is a raw text file with a PC-Windows line-feed-carriage-return format that contains custom cheat "shortcuts" that you create.
- VideoCapture.ini is a setting file in PC-Windows line-feed-carriage-return raw text format that contains information for ssettings to do in-game movie captures
Downloads - the end-all-be-all repository of most all custom content and mods.
Logs - contains files that detail problems and may assist a technician in determining a problem - these files can be deleted without damage to the game
LotCatalog - contains pre-made, downloaded, and user made lots that have not been placed in the neighbourhood
Movies - storage for custom movies shown in games and on tvs
Music - storage for custom music files, each EP seems to add one or more music categories as subfolders
Neighbourhoods - all save data for the played neighbourhoods is saved here, the basic folder names are:
- G001 - Riverblossom (Seasons EP only)
- N001 - Pleasantview
- N002 - Strangetown
- N003 - Veronaville
Additional user added neighbourhoods will be numbered sequentially N004, N005, N006, etc. Each neighbourhood will contain a folder for:
- Characters - sim faces and some basic DNA/Wardrobe info
- Lots - lots that have been placed in the neighbourhood
- Storytelling - contains image files made with the in-game camera on residential lots. Each image has a full sized image and a corresponding thumbnail image, always make sure to delete both. There are reports that a large number of storytelling images will crash the game.
- Thumbnails - self-explanatory
In cases of a catastrophic issue, you can delete the Neighborhoods folder completely and the game will copy the "known good" copies of the "never been played" neighbourhoods into the user folder on the next run.
PackageLots - contains Sims2Pack files of lots you export while in-game
Paintings (added by Pets and later EPs - not shown since I have not installed Pets or Seasons EP) - contains image files for custom paintings.
Projects - contains "in-progress" files used only by Body Shop - this folder can and should be deleted regularly
SavedSims (not shown since I have not made any Sims with Body Shop) - all completed Body Shop projects (e.g., skin tones, eye colours, clothing recolours, whole sims, etc) are saved here
SC4Terrains - contains "raw" neighbourhood templates for you to create your own custom neighbourhoods
Storytelling - contains image files made with the in-game camera for paintings and taken while on community lots or using the in-game CAS. Each image has a full sized image and a corresponding thumbnail image, always make sure to delete both. There are reports that a large number of storytelling images will crash the game.
Teleport - contains the files and installer script for the contents of Sims2Pack files you install. There is a limit on how many Sims2Pack files you can install between runs of the game without things getting "lost". Most people report 3 as their max. Because of this, the folder is not properly emptied by the game and may periodically require you to manually delete any "stubs" that have not been properly installed.
Thumbnails - contains package files with preview images of the various in-game components (e.g., clothing, hair, eye colours, walls, floors, furniture, etc). These files combine with the Groups.cache file to create the in-game visual catalogues. These files can be safely deleted and the game will generate new ones "on demand". The thumbnails and Groups.cache should be periodically deleted since they are prone to data corruption and may cause a variety of issues when corrupted.
I have reports that files compressed with Jfade's Compressoriser can cause crashes on Macs. I have not experienced this, but I do not think I know everything, so I will wait and hope that HugeLunatic might give more information on that.
Also some custom walls have a texture that is 768x256 and this has been demonstrated to cause crashes with Macs. I myself have made walls with this size of texture before discovering this caused crashes.
I hope this helps explain what the folders contain and helps guide you to determine what it is that is causing the problem.
