How to prevent ugly townies in new hoods! - Page 13

Zirconia Wolf · 12-21-2008, 05:05 PM

I have just asked over at Simlogical about the possibility/existence of a mod that would nuke the whole relationship score garbage you currently need to be able to adopt a stray pet. I have never needed a prior relationship with an abandoned cat or dog in order for it to find it's way to my front porch & into my household, so why should the stray's in the Sims be so picky?

Miros: The thing I like about the Pet Modification one (which, if I were a betting woman, most likely gave you the same "what the @#$!" reaction it gave me in regards to the idea of increasing the number of strays & allowing owned pets to wander the hood without their owners) is that it not only contains all the codes I need to alter the number of default strays allowed (like, say to...gee...I dunno...maybe ZERO! ) as well as the codes to control who all gets to show up on the various lots in the game, but it also comes with a very detailed Read Me file that tells me exactly how/what setting to change!

So I can make my own version of a no-stray-respawner/Visitor Controller that fits my needs, rather than needing to rely on several other mods by several other people.

Woohoo!

(Liked the advise you got about creating your own "default" collection of pets & how to add them to every hood! This is very exciting! I am already planning them now...)

Miros1 · 12-21-2008, 05:11 PM

I already have a well populated adoption pool in my "puppy mill" hood -- large puppies, small puppies, and kittens!

Zirconia Wolf · 12-21-2008, 09:54 PM

Strange question, but how did you opt to go about creating your personal "pet pool"? Did you use strait in-game breeding or some kind of testingcheat spawn thing? Do you know what breed your puppies/kittens will grow up to be, or...?

Also, how many did you opt for?

(Looking for some pointers on creating my own set of default pups/kits...)

Miros1 · 12-22-2008, 03:30 AM

They're born in-game puppies and kittens. I literally ran puppy and kitten mills for quite a few Simdays.

I tried using the mailbox to make puppies and kittens in my new hood with no luck... Wonder if my no-stray-respawn hack is interfering with the mailbox...

Zirconia Wolf · 12-22-2008, 03:16 PM

Christianlov (MTS2) used to have a Baby Pet Creator on the Sims 2 Graveyard, but since his (?) return to modding, all the graveyard stuff has been pulled & I can find no sign of it on MTS2. I will attach a copy of it to my post...but haven't had a chance to try it out in AL yet, so...?

Off Topic, but are you having any issues with pet collars? Ever since FT (or maybe BV...I installed them the same day) I can buy collars just fine...but when I try & use a mirror to Change Pets Appearance, the collars don't show up in my inventory!

Very frustrating!

Miros1 · 12-22-2008, 03:44 PM

Will try it, thanks!

I'm bad, I don't put collars on my Simpets!

Zirconia Wolf · 12-24-2008, 05:22 PM

(Still working on my collar problem. I'm sure it's a mod thing, but...)

Miros; do you know of any way to "age down" an adult pet to the puppy/kitten stage?

I am looking for a way to have puppies that will grow up into what I want them to (like Collies, etc.) available for Hood placement, but the CAS thing won't let you create baby pets.

Zirconia Wolf · 12-30-2008, 04:29 PM

Miros: I just noticed that you have added instructions to delete the Thumbnails, Characters & Storytelling files in the BV, FT & AL folders. (Non-scorched earth approach.)

I was wondering why the "extra" deleting & why just those 3 Hoods?

Miros1 · 12-30-2008, 10:23 PM

Why? Because the files in Thumbnails and Storytelling are pretty big (pictures and other big files in them), and meaningless without the Characters the stories are about.

Why just those 3? Because I just thought of it!

Zirconia Wolf · 12-31-2008, 03:47 PM

Okay, yeah that does make sense!

It just threw me off as I hadn't seen those files "targeted" by name in your instructions (which I have virtually committed to memory by now) before, & was afraid I had missed something major...

BTW, do you know if the "Social Group" Townies (AL) can be mass-spawned and prevented from re-spawning after nuking the AL 'Hood folder? I like "mass spawning" as it stops the annoying "lag" in-game as Townies/Downtownies as created, but I also want to know if their numbers can be controlled or not. (I've heard mixed things on this...)

Miros1 · 12-31-2008, 10:23 PM

No clue. I think the idea of Socieal Groups is stupid, so I'd rather not have them if possible.

It's also incredibly stupid that Maxis didn't provide them with cell phones, so you can't call them unless they've moved into an apartment with a phone!

Greg · 01-01-2009, 02:37 AM

Aaaarrggghhh! That sounds like a plain ol' blunder.

Miros1 · 01-01-2009, 02:54 AM

I just used SimBlender (includes Inge's Teleporter ability) to bring 'em in and make friends.

Zirconia Wolf · 01-01-2009, 01:34 PM

Holy cow!

They didn't even give them cell phones??

Ack!

In other news, I have been informed that the "Social Group" Sims can not be mass-spawned like regular Townies/Downtownies.

I am now holding out hope that there is at least an "upper limit" to how many of the buggers will spawn...

(Darn EA/Maxis!)

Zirconia Wolf · 01-04-2009, 12:35 PM

UPDATE ABOUT SOCIAL GROUP TOWNIES:

Well, it's not good news.

Turns out that Social Group Townies are in a different family (actually, five different families) than regular Townies. Also, as they are the only Sims that can serve as neighbors on Apartment Lots (normal Townies/Downtownies were not "upgraded", like they have been in previous EPs) the game will auto generate them whenever you play an Apartment that has any empty units even if you annihilated the entire AL related folder!

So, the only way to have a completely "Social Group Free" hood is to nuke the AL folder & never play a "real" Apartment Lot. (Apparently Inge Jones at Simlogical has some nice "non-apartment apartment" mods.)

On the "plus" side, I did happen upon a list of all the different "Family Group IDs" for the different NPC type Sims, if anyone with SimPE is curious about them. (Attached to this post) I was wondering if if might be possible to batch-create some Townies & then use SimPE to make them Social Townies, thereby (maybe) slowing down the games "need" to keep auto generating them. (One tester created an Apartment with 51 units, one of which she moved a playable Sim into. Yes, 50 Social Townies were generated to fill up the vacant units!)

The sad thing is, it's not so much the idea of Social Groups that bugs me, it's the way I can't decide how many of them can populate my hoods.

Hmmmm....

Miros1 · 01-04-2009, 05:51 PM

Yikes! I'll have to try this on my one hood that's been "apartmentized."

Greg · 01-04-2009, 06:36 PM

Have you tried editing their household in SimPE and giving them a phone?

Miros1 · 01-04-2009, 08:27 PM

Oh, that's so evil! Will try that tonight!

Zirconia Wolf · 01-05-2009, 02:21 PM

Just thought I would add that a quick check with Clean Installer shows that the 2 secret lots for witches are lurking in the E002 Lots folder, so I'm guessing you should leave them be if you want those 2 lots in your otherwise clean Hoods. (I'm having flash backs to my expirance with the "missing" Hobby Lots from Free Time...)

Dang Greg! That's so evil, it's awesome!

I was contemplating doing my usual "Batch Creating" of Townies/Downtownies, using SimPE to change them into Social Group Sims, then spawning a new batch of "real" Townies/Downtownies, in the hopes that it might prevent so much character regenerating. (Plus, since they were first "real" Townies, they might just keep their cell phones...)

Miros1 · 01-06-2009, 12:13 AM

Thanks for the info! Will check that out and add it to the first post.

BTW, I think the Townie household has a phone too, not cell phones.

12-21-2008, 05:05 PM	#241
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	I have just asked over at Simlogical about the possibility/existence of a mod that would nuke the whole relationship score garbage you currently need to be able to adopt a stray pet. I have never needed a prior relationship with an abandoned cat or dog in order for it to find it's way to my front porch & into my household, so why should the stray's in the Sims be so picky? Miros: The thing I like about the Pet Modification one (which, if I were a betting woman, most likely gave you the same "what the @#$!" reaction it gave me in regards to the idea of increasing the number of strays & allowing owned pets to wander the hood without their owners) is that it not only contains all the codes I need to alter the number of default strays allowed (like, say to...gee...I dunno...maybe ZERO! ) as well as the codes to control who all gets to show up on the various lots in the game, but it also comes with a very detailed Read Me file that tells me exactly how/what setting to change! So I can make my own version of a no-stray-respawner/Visitor Controller that fits my needs, rather than needing to rely on several other mods by several other people. Woohoo! (Liked the advise you got about creating your own "default" collection of pets & how to add them to every hood! This is very exciting! I am already planning them now...) __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

12-21-2008, 05:11 PM	#242
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	I already have a well populated adoption pool in my "puppy mill" hood -- large puppies, small puppies, and kittens! __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

12-21-2008, 09:54 PM	#243
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	Strange question, but how did you opt to go about creating your personal "pet pool"? Did you use strait in-game breeding or some kind of testingcheat spawn thing? Do you know what breed your puppies/kittens will grow up to be, or...? Also, how many did you opt for? (Looking for some pointers on creating my own set of default pups/kits...) __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

12-22-2008, 03:30 AM	#244
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	They're born in-game puppies and kittens. I literally ran puppy and kitten mills for quite a few Simdays. I tried using the mailbox to make puppies and kittens in my new hood with no luck... Wonder if my no-stray-respawn hack is interfering with the mailbox... __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

12-22-2008, 03:44 PM	#246
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	Will try it, thanks! I'm bad, I don't put collars on my Simpets! __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

12-24-2008, 05:22 PM	#247
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	(Still working on my collar problem. I'm sure it's a mod thing, but...) Miros; do you know of any way to "age down" an adult pet to the puppy/kitten stage? I am looking for a way to have puppies that will grow up into what I want them to (like Collies, etc.) available for Hood placement, but the CAS thing won't let you create baby pets. __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

12-30-2008, 04:29 PM	#248
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	Miros: I just noticed that you have added instructions to delete the Thumbnails, Characters & Storytelling files in the BV, FT & AL folders. (Non-scorched earth approach.) I was wondering why the "extra" deleting & why just those 3 Hoods? __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

12-30-2008, 10:23 PM	#249
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	Why? Because the files in Thumbnails and Storytelling are pretty big (pictures and other big files in them), and meaningless without the Characters the stories are about. Why just those 3? Because I just thought of it! __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

12-31-2008, 03:47 PM	#250
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	Okay, yeah that does make sense! It just threw me off as I hadn't seen those files "targeted" by name in your instructions (which I have virtually committed to memory by now) before, & was afraid I had missed something major... BTW, do you know if the "Social Group" Townies (AL) can be mass-spawned and prevented from re-spawning after nuking the AL 'Hood folder? I like "mass spawning" as it stops the annoying "lag" in-game as Townies/Downtownies as created, but I also want to know if their numbers can be controlled or not. (I've heard mixed things on this...) __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

12-31-2008, 10:23 PM	#251
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	No clue. I think the idea of Socieal Groups is stupid, so I'd rather not have them if possible. It's also incredibly stupid that Maxis didn't provide them with cell phones, so you can't call them unless they've moved into an apartment with a phone! __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

01-01-2009, 02:37 AM	#252
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Aaaarrggghhh! That sounds like a plain ol' blunder. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

01-01-2009, 02:54 AM	#253
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	I just used SimBlender (includes Inge's Teleporter ability) to bring 'em in and make friends. __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

01-01-2009, 01:34 PM	#254
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	Holy cow! They didn't even give them cell phones?? Ack! In other news, I have been informed that the "Social Group" Sims can not be mass-spawned like regular Townies/Downtownies. I am now holding out hope that there is at least an "upper limit" to how many of the buggers will spawn... (Darn EA/Maxis!) __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

01-04-2009, 05:51 PM	#256
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	Yikes! I'll have to try this on my one hood that's been "apartmentized." __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

01-04-2009, 06:36 PM	#257
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Have you tried editing their household in SimPE and giving them a phone? __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

01-04-2009, 08:27 PM	#258
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	Oh, that's so evil! Will try that tonight! __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).

01-05-2009, 02:21 PM	#259
Zirconia Wolf Reticulated MoonBat Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: My trusty computer in Issaquah WA, USA. Posts: 848	Just thought I would add that a quick check with Clean Installer shows that the 2 secret lots for witches are lurking in the E002 Lots folder, so I'm guessing you should leave them be if you want those 2 lots in your otherwise clean Hoods. (I'm having flash backs to my expirance with the "missing" Hobby Lots from Free Time...) Dang Greg! That's so evil, it's awesome! I was contemplating doing my usual "Batch Creating" of Townies/Downtownies, using SimPE to change them into Social Group Sims, then spawning a new batch of "real" Townies/Downtownies, in the hopes that it might prevent so much character regenerating. (Plus, since they were first "real" Townies, they might just keep their cell phones...) __________________ Long Live All Wild Canines! Leader Of The Moon-Bat Revolution!

01-06-2009, 12:13 AM	#260
Miros1 Goddess for Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 3,303	Thanks for the info! Will check that out and add it to the first post. BTW, I think the Townie household has a phone too, not cell phones. __________________ A game that horrible Odessa-person introduced me to: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/?affili...163251&lang=en I'm spreading the addiction by corrupting all my friends (and attempting to make in-game money when they try the game).