Over the past couple of days, I've been wanting to verify whether college townies will have their skills randomised when they first spawn in-game with just the University expansion pack installed. I know this happens with every expansion pack installed. But I need to know whether this happens with just University installed.

I'm unwilling to temporarily uninstall anything in order to figure this out. I don't know where the data that will answer my question for me without needing to uninstall anything that is located in the package files is. And if no one else knows the answer to my question or is unable to assist in any way, I'm unsure when I'll next get the chance to test this on a laptop so I can answer my own question without having to uninstall anything.

Are you using disk version? If so then you could use Anygame Starter.

I'm using The Sims 2 Starter Pack which automatically installs every Sims 2 game on my PC.

I can install the discs on another PC. And I know you said 'disk', not 'disc'.

Oh, I think that's UC version, in which case you can't run without M&G. So AGS won't be much use in this case as you'll always have M&G engine running.

What am I supposed to do? I haven't had any luck finding someone on Discord who can check for me. And I have no idea which file the data I'm looking for in SimPE is. So I can't check the data that will tell me whether or not a college townie will have their skills randomised when they first spawn in-game with just University installed.

This I suppose?

Yeah, but I don't currently have access to another PC. And I can't guarantee when I'll have access to one.

You can view every version of a BHAV in SimPE and see what it does. So you just need to find the one that is responsible for initializing college students and then look at the version of the BHAV that came with University. If you know of some mod that changes that process, it'll probably have a copy of that BHAV in it.

Which file am I meant to be looking at?

objects.package, or whatever mod you found that has the BHAV in it.

Hello @C.Syde65
I have played the Sims 2 base game with just the University Expansion Pack installed, as well as playing with almost all other packs too.
In my legacy games, often as not, my created student Sim ends up marrying one of the college townies.. A new college townie is generated every time one of them becomes a playable Sim or perhaps it is upon their death.
These college townies are constant - having the same amount of skills, star sign and life term aspiration with only their name changing.
There is an outside chance that the life term aspiration does change if all the expansion packs are installed as Seasons and FreeTime have new careers. My own observation is that the lifetime wants has tended to be a base game career or non career (20 best friends etc) but not any of the University new careers.

Hope this helps?

How can I verify if they can have their skills randomised with just University installed? I'm not sure where in the objects package I'm meant to be looking. I've also just been given the idea to check whether townies can have downtownie-esque skills with just Open for Business or a later expansion pack installed. Since there are a bunch of post-Nightlife townies with downtownie-esque skills, as opposed to just having skills relating to their careers.

I tried to search for the randomization code a few years ago but couldn't find it.

Hello @C.Syde65
What are downtownie-esque skills?

I think you can try TS2E Installer to run the game with only the University EP.
You can install the EP2 engine and run it with EP1.

When I tried it for myself, though, I think I ruined my actual setup; it must be my fault.
I still don't guarantee if it's safe; use with caution.

Downtownies are known for having more skills than regular townies. In later expansion packs, I think starting with Open for Business, townies may also have more skills, regardless if they aren't downtownies.

I'd rather not try it on this PC. Hence why I was hoping I could verify what I'm looking for by checking the game files. Or that someone else could check.