Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 27th Jan 2023 at 6:27 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Seasons
Default Game crashes when I try to package a certain unoccupied lot
Howdy. Lately I've been having a bunch of crashing, and so I'm contemplating starting from scratch, but I thought, "why not try packaging up some of my more complex lots, so in case I have to go back to ground zero, I can re-import the lots and not have to rebuild them?" OK, WHETHER OR NOT THIS MAKES GOOD SENSE, bear with me...

The lots I'm attempting to package (to a file, naturally, as the other option is no longer viable) are currently unoccupied, but only because the families who used to live there have disappeared. Yes, I know... I have some game issues. On some of these abandoned lots, the package action seems to have worked... I looked in the Packaged Lots folder afterwards, and there they were, shiny new sims2pack files. On others, the game crashes when I hit the "Package Lot" button in the dialog, and so no files are created in the folder.

SO, 2 questions:
1. What would cause the game to crash upon packaging certain lots, as opposed to others? It doesn't crash when I enter the lots to edit them. This is my main area of curiosity.
2. OK, OK, is this a really bad idea in the first place as, up until a couple days ago, the lots had families living on them? I'd assume there was some sort of "spectral remains" floating around on them , which would contaminate things if I unpacked those sims2pack files. But I could be wrong.

Now you know why I was promoted from Lab Assistant to Field Researcher. As in, "You want to try WHAT?! Well, okay, but... go do it in the empty lot across the road."
Advertisement
Mad Poster
#2 Old 27th Jan 2023 at 7:40 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 27th Jan 2023 at 7:55 PM.
The lots likely have some issues that cause them to crash when packaging, probably due to whatever problem caused the sims to disappear. Packaging a lot can take up some extra resources from the game, and might "poke" whatever resources are causing the issues more than entering and editing the same lot does. I've had a few lots that crashed when trying to package (but that was more of a size/CC issue, where editing worked fine, but packaging resulted in a crash, or lots I knew had some potential issues).

There are a few ways to get the lots without packaging them. You'll also need to clean the sim references out, and (hopefully) they'll work for a new family. No guarantees, though. Crashing lots can have a variety of issues (CC being one of them).

(Same method, slightly different description)
https://2fingerswhiskey.livejournal.com/160934.html
https://thesims2.livejournal.com/6049797.html

Then clean the lots with this method:
https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=609188

Doing it this way, you'll have to keep your CC in throughout the process, or it won't be kept in the copy of the lot. If you suspect any bad files, you can take those out.
Instructor
Original Poster
#3 Old 27th Jan 2023 at 7:52 PM Last edited by chitownriverscum : 29th Jan 2023 at 9:59 PM.
Thanks, simmer22. I'll give it a shot.
Haha, I should've prefaced that by letting you know that I'm on a Mac, and since anything related to inspecting, cleaning, or repairing package files invariably involves SimPE, I guess I'm up the creek.

Long ago, in the days of Mac OS 9, Apple had this very basic tool called ResEdit, with which you could take the lid off pretty much any type of file and peek at (and change) the resource data therein. It could potentially make files completely unusable if you didn't know what you were doing, but at least it was a tool. We used to mess with all kinds of numbers in Escape Velocity, the classic space trading/combat game. Anyhow, the way people talk about SimPE reminds me a lot of ResEdit, and I expect that if there was still such a thing, we Mac users could probably use it in place of SimPE, since it's really all about changing numbers.

C'est la vie.

Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
The lots likely have some issues that cause them to crash when packaging, probably due to whatever problem caused the sims to disappear.

There are a few ways to get the lots without packaging them. You'll also need to clean the sim references out, and (hopefully) they'll work for a new family. No guarantees, though. Crashing lots can have a variety of issues (CC being one of them).

(Same method, slightly different description)
https://2fingerswhiskey.livejournal.com/160934.html
https://thesims2.livejournal.com/6049797.html

Then clean the lots with this method:
https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=609188

Doing it this way, you'll have to keep your CC in throughout the process, or it won't be kept in the copy of the lot. If you suspect any bad files, you can take those out.
Theorist
#4 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 4:48 AM
@chitownriverscum - Have been trying to send a message but keep getting the following message.

"chitownriverscum has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space."

Whenever you see a "Say Thanks" button show the creator you appreciate their work...click on it.
You can also find more of my work at Leefish and Plumb Bob Keep
Mad Poster
#5 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 4:29 PM
The first method only involve moving some files around and renaming, so you wouldn't need SimPE for that.
Not sure if CH's cleaner items need anything above BV to work?
Instructor
Original Poster
#6 Old 3rd Feb 2023 at 11:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Michelle
@chitownriverscum - Have been trying to send a message but keep getting the following message.

"chitownriverscum has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space."


Whoops! I was wondering what was going on... Thanks for the heads-up! I didn't know there was a limit... I'll make some room right now!
Back to top