Lately, I've noticed that a few Sims players seem a little confused or even a little bristly when board members here offer certain beginner-level advice, whether it's meant to improve gameplay or correct problems.

The thing is, sometimes, even those of us who have played Sims 2 for a while have "duh" moments, and it isn't a bad thing when others remind us of these beginner steps, provided it's done gently. It's happened to the best of us.

OK. At least it's happened to me. I'm sure no one else here does this stuff. Right?

So what are some "duh" moments on your part (not the Sims ... you!) that you have experienced playing this game?

Here are a couple for me.

1. I just built a cafe. The Sim seems to do well in every room, routing is great, and I don't see any obstacles. So why can't he go in one bathroom?

Answer: I was considering unisex bathrooms, but went with men's/women's rooms at the last minute, using a CC door that is really subtle with the signs. I forgot this. Oops. No wonder why my Sim was standing there like a rock.

2. While fixing the settings with my new card, I noticed the edges were still rough. I thought the graphics card utility messed something up. I then fixed the settings manually. Still getting rough edges. I was even about to post about the problem here.

Answer: I forgot that the game will default edge smoother to less smooth if you change a video card (among other defaulting actions). After a three-second fix in the settings, all went well.

So the next time someone suggests something obviously only a noob would mess up, errr ....

I make so many noobie-boobie errors I think I still qualify as one....maybe even the biggest.

I was convinced that pets would just magically spawn on the second floor on this one house I was playing. At first, I would see that the pet's motives were all low, and I'd cry out "why?? You have a bowl! A bed! A sim! A litter box!" It took me quite a while before I realized the CC stairs I was using weren't allowing them to go down, only up. I'm still not sure why.

That would explain the pee all over the second floor hallway, and the excessive autonomous attempts to give them treats.

"Oh, duh. There's no wastebasket/phone/lights/whatever I forgot."

"What?! Why hasn't this game even started loading? What's wrong!?!" Oh, duh, I opened Bodyshop. Cache files, cigen package, go away.

Wait, where'd that neighborhood go? Nowhere; it's still in AGS where it was built and this is the full game.

I was playing today and was wondering why no one ever called since the phone usually rings all day in the game. Turns out I had forgotten to buy a phone.

Believe it or not these have actually happened to me.

"I thought I just got a mod to fix/add/etc. that! Oh, wait, I downloaded it but forgot to unzip it and add it to my game downloads folder."

"Why's the Sim I created as a match for another Sim not appearing in the cat teleporter menu? Oh, whoops, I created them in Pleasantview/Belladonna Cove/etc. when I meant to create them in my own neighborhood."

"Hi, you want to get together sometime later today? It's Tuesday?! Oh, wait, sorry, I can't believe I called you in real life while it's Saturday morning in my computer game."

Have been playing the game for years and most recently went to move a family to the sim bin, so that I could demolish their home and build a new one in it's place. What did I do instead? You probably guessed - moved the lot with the sims to the lot bin instead. "Well, hello there neighborhood corruption." Luckily, I tend to back up my neighborhood(s) prior to doing any major building or changes.

Also, I recently created a family in CAS and forgot to link their family ties - couldn't figure out why the wife and husband were not affectionate or why the two teens were behaving a little friendlier than siblings should. Thank goodness for SimPe.

"Why my sims so intensively want learn Fire Safety?" I forgot them buy fire alarm. It happened today.

Created a couple in CAS. When I hit done for wife, it came: "OH no, I forgot to set matching zodiac for her." Turns out Maxis is smart in that case...

I forgot to add doors to my latest house...

"WHY AREN'T THE FIREMEN COMING?!?!?!?!"

five seconds later...

Oh.

"Okay, stop screaming and get to a phone, will ya?!"

Discovering that the 'key/swatch' tool actually changed the colours of items without having to replace the whole thing! Took me 10 years to figure that out and also the dropper tool.

OMG me too, jo...me tooo

I never had a manual and I think when I first got the game I tried the swatch on the wall and the dropper on the furniture... and was like what does this do? Nothing? Didn't bother with them again for yeeeeaars lol.

- I frequently forget to put roofs on my houses, and often don't notice until my Sims start bitching about the snow in their bedrooms.

- Many times when the burglar has shown up I have sat there, confidently expecting the burglar alarms to go off AT ANY MINUTE, only to realise I forgot to put them in. And now the burglar has buggered off with the couch and the microwave, while I madly try to make my Sim wake up so he can call the cops.

- All the times I've forgotten which mods I have installed. Like the time I thought my game was broken because I was no longer receiving newspapers. I spent forever looking up possible causes for this, and never did it occur to me that the 'No Newspaper Delivery' mod I had installed previously might have had something to do with it.

[QUOTE=klapaucius]- Many times when the burglar has shown up I have sat there, confidently expecting the burglar alarms to go off AT ANY MINUTE, only to realise I forgot to put them in. And now the burglar has buggered off with the couch and the microwave, while I madly try to make my Sim wake up so he can call the cops.

I use the Anyone Fight Burglars mod. SO satisfying. Those burglars are wimps really!

Doors. Every time I move in a family into one of my own new houses, a door will be missing somewhere.
Took me about 5 years to discover that I can paint ceilings in AL and that was completely by accident

It took me forever to figure out why the teen who wanted to buy a cell phone couldn't get one. I removed a default replacement I'd had for the kiosk - it still didn't work. I replaced the kiosk - no change. I tested the kiosk on another lot in the same 'hood, and it worked there. I tested in another 'hood, and it was fine - but still didn't work on the lot I wanted it to work on. Two play sessions later I clued in that it was an owned lot, and I'd forgotten to set it for sale.

I'm debating using that mod, but the description is a bit unclear. Those of you that have it, does it allow Sims to autonomously fight burglars or does it just enable the interaction for you to use? Just so I know if I need to modify it before I add it

Also where can you get that mod?

Anyone fight burglars, by reaper with no name, here on MTS. That's the one I found any way, but there may be other versions I am unaware of.

The other day I clicked on a window aiming for the object next to it (I'm a klutz even in the game) and an option to wash came up. It took me forever to figure out it was an option on the actual window. I was so completely bowled over because I had never seen it before in all these years. I quickly brought up MTS to write about this new discovery on the "what did you discover today" thread. No sooner had I started typing than I vaguely remembered downloading a mod to allow directed washing of windows.

When I'm building a house, I often forget to put in lights until it's night time in game and its dark in the house.

I often forget to put a sink in the kitchen and become frustrated when Sims always wash dishes in the bathroom, until I realize I forgot to put the sink in.

You have to direct your sim to fight and they always win. I think autonomous and with a chance of loosing would be better but it's still a great mod and fun to watch.

A few months ago, I started playing my game after not playing for a while and realised the special events camera was not working. I didn't know why, thought my game was somehow broken or a mod was conflicting. I started looking this site for someone having the same problem and found a post where someone was asking "Do you play with your special events camera turned on or off?" And I realised, of course you can turn it on and off! I always play with it on so I forgot. But the last time I played I made some tests with babies and pregnancies, so I must have turned it off. Or it was still turned off from the time I wanted a quad of boys. (It took me 36 tries, at least, of birth, quit without saving and try again. And during that time I had at least 2 times 4 girls! Lots of work to have these 4 boys!)

I started playing since the Base Game was released, but I also spent years not playing (or not much, once or twice a year), so in lots of ways I'm pretty much a beginner, I forget some things when I don't play for months. Also, in the begining, I 'stole' my CC from my mother computer when I visited during the week ends or holidays, and I didn't read any sims related forums, so I only learnt about corruption and VBT recently, 3 years ago I think.

Jo, I'm pretty sure I've had someone lose to the burglar...but I haven't had a chance to use the mod very often, and of course I do make things up...

In one of my previous neighborhoods, a male sim (odd story behind him: he was born in-game, and as a joke I named him after a friend of mine. Lo and behold, he grew up to actually resemble that friend ) open an arcade. It had both male and female bathrooms. Despite him owning the lot, he couldn't enter the female bathroom to clean the toilet. I think I ended up just swapping the doors to allow him entrance.