Can I de-townify Sims quickly in SimPE by just adding them to a different FAMI? Or is there something to be changed in the SDSCs as well?

You can do it in-game with a teleporter.

Please let me know if I should start a new thread in the 'help' section for this question ?

Well this is weird.
I'm playing the MM2TR Strangetown and everything is going well.

Added the Downtown (Jawusa's empty one ) and moved in one of my created playables.
Decided to bump off a few premades as I'm not playing them for a while, per my storyline.

So I used the tombstone Rodney's Death Creator and had my sim help her to the afterlife; and sent her tombstone to Gothier Green Lawns.
When I went there to remodel the cemetery to be more fitting for a post apocalyptic scenario ... the tombstones were not there !
I checked all of the community lots in the downtown and they are gone.

This is the first time playing that this has happened... and I've been playing Strangetown for years.

My game is backed up, and so I went and made a new community lot and used it instead for the cemetery.

When I had my sim kill off two more sims I'm not playing --they showed up correctly at the new community graveyard.

I'm glad to see the tombstones go where directed (to the new lot); but I'm worried about what kind of corruption might be happening ?

Just to explain everything I've done in this game -- I'd added to a previous Strangetown (not the one I'm currently playing, this one is all'new' from the MM2TR download) ; the downtown from MM2TR that had tombstones and a few playables .

Which I've since removed from the D001 folder in the Cx86 drive, where my sims game is installed --and replaced with the empty D001.

I've played this current Strangetown from a new download from the MM2TR rar file, so the hood was started with the completely empty Downtown.

I have the SimBlender, Visitor Controller, Pescado's mod that deletes tokens, etc. on residential lots , and of course all of the necessary hacks.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Can nonplayable Sims use showers on community lots? On my gym lot, Sims leave when they get stinky even though there's showers available.

No, they cannot without a mod. They need to be invited for a sleepover to access showers. I remember how I invited a houseguest from the Three Lakes, and she got angry for being dirty and couldn't shower. And even if they can access showers, they need to be locked out of most fun objects using Fun Object Interaction Test to consider showering.

I can't help you figure out what's wrong but regarding corruption, it should be fine. It turns out that deleting tombstones/urns is safe, and even before that was confirmed there were fixes like nounlinkondelete.

Ok !
What seemed to work was to make a new community lot set as a graveyard, and send the deceased sims there ?
So far the tombstones 'appeared' normally at the new lot.

I was just puzzled ... as the downtown even the empty one has never done that before.
Thanks for the help !

Edited to add: I WAS using Jawusas' completely empty downtown-default option.

I'm going to try and swap it out in the installation folder -- C:/86x and use MM2TR's 'cleaned' downtown. It comes with 9 CH files and one extra lot.
No harm in experimentation, right ?

I'm just curious why my dead simmies' graves disappeared after my playable selected 'move all graves' ; and never showed up at the Gothier GL cemetery.

It looked from after the sims' actions... that it all worked normally -- she had the "your game must be saved to move them to the lot', or whatever it says.

One of my early mods fixes this problem.

How does dirty joke work? I've seen it have a big negative reaction even at 100 daily relationship. Double minus.

Maybe the recipient was in a bad mood, (shy/other personality?) or it was simply a bad joke (there are mods that change how socials work, in case you have some in).

It could also be that a certain amount of LTR is needed for the interaction to be successful.

You need to be over a medium threshold of outgoing personality and charisma skill, the receiver needs some outgoing personality, plus a random component. It may fail if both have low outgoing.

Is it this one? https://modthesims.info/d/611052/ch...al-showers.html

I went looking, but couldn't find one that said that it allowed sims to use showers on community lots.

No, it looks like I didn't reupload it, for some reason, I'll do it in a minute. It's got nothing to do with community lots, all regular visitors on any lot won't use showers without it.

I just saw on a YouTube video a Sim repairing a cheap stereo. My Sims never have had the option to repair the stereo, even before I put mods in, although they get the want to repair them. I always assumed it was just one of the game glitches and never cared much to do anything about it, but now I wonder... Is it just me? Is there a fix if it's a known glitch?

They can repair any other electronic equipment, just not the stereos. When I click on a broken stereo, there are no options at all. I have to call the repairman to fix it.

ETA I don't have Freetime/Apartment Life, in case that makes a difference.

If I have a sim (A) who is half siblings with two sims (B&C) that are a product of an abduction. What are the odds she gets impregnated by one of her sibling's Pollinator parent? Does the game purposely avoid it? B & C have different Pollinators by the way, as I currently have four in the game.

I was thinking of getting the next generation of alien abduction babies started with Luna Williams but I still haven't gotten around to doing the 16 Pollinator mod lol.

No, it's only blocked if the alien pollinator is her own parent.

So, I'm trying to unlock a few hidden clothes and I'm following a tutorial. Figured this really dumb question: The tutorial says to move the unlocker you make into downloads, but isnt the unlocked thing going to display a CC star? I prefer not to accidentally delete my game files, but will it work in the Bins directory?

I recall that you can set the value of Product (dtUInteger) and then it won't show a star but will sort with other items of that expansion pack. The Delete button still shows, but how do you click on that accidetally? I've never even noticed it before.

I just think of the items as kind of on the edge, and because a simple moving to the Bins folder would alleviate the problem I'd rather have it there. If it wouldnt work in the Bins folder, I want to know why as it seems to me that most people make unlockers that work as expected in the Bins directory.

That would be great, thanks!

It is now allowed in my Toilet Improvements (whose main function is to make people shoo out of the showers room afterwards).

I agree having things in bins is a nice way to not have to worry about it. I don't know the answer to your question, but just wanted to mention in general that if one ever wants to remove the *, the outfit organiser by picknmix has the option to give clothing EP flags. No need to fiddle in SimPE if one wants to do it I use it in reverse, removing ep flags on clothing that was given it by creator cause I don't like that

How does chatting with another Sim on the computer work? Unlike phone, they don't appear to be off-world loiterers.

The person using a computer just animates after doing a few checks that the remote member is valid. After that the relationship is adjusted, and the person checks his social to decide whether to go for another round. The chat list is continuously maintained on a controller who periodically adds or removes members from it. It is checked for whether the person is on the lot as a visitor, if the child is valid in the current hour and if the member count is what is expected.

You can theoretically perform a chat without spawning the person. They do that to reuse the talking action that already exists, and is fairly complex.

You know, I don't think my sims have actually ever broken the cheap stereo before, but I know they can repair it. It's usually one of the broken items in the Mysterious Hut, the secret lot in Twikkii Island. You have to fix it to get the voodoo doll. If the option is missing, I'd say try moving the stereo to a more accessible location. It could be that your sims can't reach it--like is the stereo on a shelf or something? Next, I'd say backup your game and check in a vanilla hood without mods.

I never ask my Sims to repair electrical items; I always get them to call the repairman. There's a danger of electrocution if you do it yourself. If you order the repairman late in the day, he doesn't come till the next morning. In those circumstances I sometimes move the broken item outside till they come. I know if I had a TV or computer with smoke coming out of it, I wouldn't feel safe sleeping in the room above it! I wish there was an option to unplug them from the mains. Exercise machines count as electric (although they may not look it).

Most of my Sims repair their own broken plumbing, though a few rich ones prefer not to get wet. On one recent occasion (I think it was Antonio Monty) my Sims just let the repairman fix the bathroom sink, when he was really there for the TV. They thought he might as well do both when he was in the house.

That's pretty helpful to know. I guess I'll have to try and see if the unlocker works in Bins.

Weird, I don't think that's supposed yo happen. Can the repair NPCs fix it or they also unable to do that?

I'll test this out myself later to confirm if it happens in my game or not

Now I'm curious what would happen if I used the Object Editor to teleport a Sim into the world while they were on the opposite side of a phone conversation. I think I'll try that next time I load the game.

I get a glitch after a Downtown call (where they invite you) where the person sometimes spawns in my house instead of being deleted. They are out of the visitor controller and behave like a normal person. Once I forgot how they came to be in my house, invited them to a date in person, went to a commlot, and both dates became stood up.

Regarding repairing stereos:

Yes, repair NPCs can fix them just fine.

I can't remember the last time I went to that witch doctor's hut, so I can't remember if they could fix it there or not.

Usually, stereos are located on the floor and should be accessible. I'm not talking about boom boxes but the turntables/CD players that are meant to be placed on the floor.

I don't remember my Sims ever being able to fix them, but my game has been modded for so long that my memory may be faulty. However, it seems expected that they should be able to fix them, as they regularly get the want to fix them. They can repair TVs, computers, trash compactors, and dishwashers, just not stereos. However, it is totally conceivable that I have a mod in that weirdly breaks this (dance next to stereo, for instance).

You mentioned that this issue has been on before you even added mods, so I doubt that would be the problem. I've never seen this happen before, I'm baffled.

I seem to have a couple of problems:

1) When a dining chair gets left pulled out from the table like this, there doesn't seem to be any way to fix it short of deleting it and buying a new one, which, with my generally impoverished Sims, means cheating them the money to pay for it. Forcing Error on the seat with Testing Cheats Enabled doesn't work. Does anyone have a better solution? So Jack Gill can sit down to eat his cereal!

2) When Delia Woodward went with her friends to dine at the back of the Crypt o' Night Club, the waiter came with the serving dish, but the food never appeared on the table. They had to go and grill hot dogs at the Go Here Sunshine Park instead. I presume the problem was the AnyTime Candles used as centrepieces on the outdoor tables there.
I thought I had a fix by Lord Darcy for this, but it doesn't seem to work with these candles. Again, has anyone got a working fix for this?

About the first problem, how does the animation of the Sim standing up and pulling it to the table play? Sims are supposed to fix the dining chair's position when they stand up, so are they resetting? I remember having this problem but it mysteriously fixed itself without my intervention. The game can be incredibly weird sometimes.

Well, that's where my memory may be faulty.

This is exactly how I lost Malcolm Landgraab IV. Which is hilarious considering they pay for the maid, gardener, grocery delivery etc. so why wouldn't I just have him hire the friggin repairman!?! Luckily his son/heir was already born.

Nothing happened, as far as I could tell. The off-world Sim didn't appear (or was invisible) and the on-world Sim just kept talking to them on the phone.

My Sim rolled a fear of being enemies with his infant son. Is that even possible?

There were eight Sims in the room to get breakfast, all of them teens, seven of them boys. When Tommie Clyde served the cereal, there was a lot of milling about while they all decided where they wanted to sit. I'm pretty sure that chair was in its proper place when he started to serve, and I know he set a bowl of cereal there. I'm not sure, but I think a Sim was sitting at that place when Tommie started to serve, but that Sim got up, and sat at a different place. I think whoever that was, left the chair pulled out when he moved to another seat. (If I knew who it was, I think I'd have words with him!) When most of them had taken their seats another boy, Julius Osprey, went to that place, but instead of sitting there, he picked up his bowl of cereal and carried it across to the sofa on the other side of the room, where he sat down next to Tommie who had served the meal. As I recall, Jack Gill was the last to come into the room for breakfast. He had to get his cereal from the kitchen, and, as you've seen, he didn't sit down, but ate his standing up. Eating standing (as I too often do myself), Jack ate quickly, and when he finished, like the well taught boy he is, he dutifully carried his empty bowl to the kitchen. I then asked him to go back and sit in the seat. He walked back to it but didn't/couldn't sit in it. I've paused the game at this point, and this is the current situation, as they're finishing their breakfast, viewed from above:
Julius Osprey is sitting on the sofa finishing his breakfast, standing next to him, holding his now empty bowl is Tommie Clyde, who prepared and served the meal. You can see clearly how the chair has been pulled back from the table by the last Sim to sit in it.

By the way I rather like those Chair de la Mer dining chairs which are quite new to my game. I think they came with Family Fun Stuff which I bought only a few months ago. They make an interesting change from the Tea Party in Teak chairs which are found all over my game.

I often see this happen when a sim is interrupted from sitting by something urgent- such as running to the bathroom or running after a guest who is leaving the lot. Usually, other sims can autonomously use the chair and it will reposition itself. otherwise, try instructing a sim to sit on it or eat a meal placed on the table there.


I like those chairs too, and the little glowy lamps! Really cool stuff pack. Be sure to apply the patch for it though, as there are some quite critical problems with that pack. Namely, that the clothes vanish from CAS once used. You need to apply the patch even if you have your later EPs patched.

Game Help:TS2 Patches^wiki

Thanks simsample! I thought only EPs had patches. I'll apply the Family Fun one now. Another surprise: I thought Mansions & Gardens might have a patch as everyone says it's really a mini-EP. But there doesn't appear to be one. It's an SP that I may never get anyway, as I don't think there's anything in it that I really, really want.

When I asked him before, Jack Gill walked to the chair but he didn't sit in it. But when, after reading your post, I asked him again, this time he sat down in it properly!

Thanks simsample and thanks Jack!

Now what will I do about those candles at the Crypt o' Night Club?

Well, it's more likely with Nopke's No Initial Baby Relationships. But honestly, I think it's unlikely, even with the mod. Becoming enemies takes time to develop. I could maybe see it if you had Nopke's mod and if lecturing causes a relationship hit--sims in a vanilla game lecture babies for getting a dirty diaper, right? Hmm, maybe the relationship also takes hit if the baby pukes on the person playing with them? But still. You'd probably also have to make sure that the Dad has very little interaction with the baby because most interactions with infants are positive. Realistically, I think that the son would most likely be a toddler before he truly became enemies with his dad. That's the beauty of sim fears; sometimes they're just irrational, much like real life fears. Though I do think it might be fun to try and see if you can get it to happen.

It's maybe just a fear that they will eventually become enemies. A fear perhaps that the boy may eventually grow into a really difficult teenager, and that they will grow to hate each other. I'm sure that real people do sometimes have fears like that. Maybe the dad had a bad relationship with his own father. Or he's seen it happen with friends.

I'm still looking for a solution for those candles at the Crypt o' Night Club. Maybe I should just replace them with centrepieces that I know do work. I rather like those Anytime Candles though. They use them as the Altar Candles on the High Altar at St. Simeon's Church. Has anyone else had problems with them at Crypt o' Night? My Sims feel hard done by, when they pay for a meal out, but don't get any food! Wouldn't you?

I had problems with them until I installed Lord Darcy's hack. The candles at Crypt o' Night were specifically mentioned in the hack description and it should work with your EPs. Have you run HCDU to see if there's a clash?

Thanks @Charity !

Believe it or not, it looks like I downloaded Lord Darcy's mod back in May 2015, but never bothered to install it! Or it's just possible that at some time I lost it by reverting to an earlier configuration. I have a vague memory of the tables at Tyler's Diner in New Desconia (a restaurant I built myself) working with large table lamps on them, and then them not working any more, but I could be wrong. My head suffers from frequent "Memory Faults", and always has done! Anyway, I've installed the mod now, and hopefully that will fix my problems.

It reminds me of something I used to do as a student at university: If I went to the bookshop, and spent my money buying a book for my course, surely that would be enough to get me through my exams. I mean I didn't have to actually read the book too, did I?

Thanks everyone, and sorry for wasting all your time by being so stupid. I never think my Sims are stupid -- I'm far ahead of them in that department! (Andrew is shaking his head. He says, "You see what I have to put up with?")

If the mod doesn't work, or you want to have any other object as a centerpiece, you could always use some invisible one-more-slot tables, and put the centerpiece on them. Then use moveobjects and snapobjectstogrid to place the table in the middle of the dinner table, so that the slot for the centerpiece doesn't block the dinner plate slots.

I don't think it's actually possible for Sims to become enemies with babies in a vanilla game, especially if they're the baby's parents. To become enemies you need a low (negative) relationship and negative interactions. By default, Sim parents have a positive relationship with the baby. There are no outright negative socials and I don't think the existing ones have a chance of negative outcomes. Do they? My Sims always get positive interactions from cuddling the baby and stuff.

You could use cheats or mods to give the parent a negative relationship with the baby, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to get a negative social to trigger enemy status.

I have moved, unpacked and - got my fibre internet today

What do I download first?

I am serious! Having lost a lot of stuff when my pc broke a loooong time ago (I was building Paternoster and then Clarens) - I don't know where to start!

Looking at my current game, hair may perhaps be a good idea

@Justpetro Better download it all, just in case!

Oh, well - all right then

Maybe it's like an Oedipus situation, where he fears his son will overthrow him one day.

Must be a Landgraab

Do "Stop Visual Effects" to make the person visible. This sets the render flags and alpha (intended for cleaning up screenshots and dormitories). Then the person can be seen carrying an invisible phone handset and doing a regular chat. They will also start walking around like during a phone conversation. When the alternate visitor controller is done, the person is deleted even if moved into world.

Lord Darcy's mod does work for me! Doreen Capri from Monopolis went to the Crypt o' Night Club with a couple of friends (Gwyneth Edwards and Joe Stout). The host gave them an indoor table, but plenty of other diners were eating outdoors without problems.

I think that someone forgot 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' lol. And I wasn't the disagreer.

What would cause outdoor lights to keep turning on and off during the night? There's no Sims outside that I can see.

What about pets? They count for the purpose of lights turning on/off.

Can stray pets come by at night? I know the two dogs were sleeping inside but it's possible I didn't see if there was a cat or small dog.

LotP comes at night. I'm pretty sure other strays can, too. Or maybe it's just mimicking RL lol. My outside lights have creeped me out by turning on and staying on where there is nothing out there!

Is the job search glitchy? I swear sometimes it stops at 4 or even 3 choices. I thought it was supposed to be 5 on the computer.

Yeah, it is supposed to be 5.

Maybe this is a university thing. This guy is a college dropout. I tested the newspaper. His graduate wife got 3 job offers, one of which was paranormal. Still I thought the game would offer alternate jobs like law enforcement in its place.

How safe is it to remove custom foods? I've seen claims that it doesn't cause any bad/game-breaking borkage butI've also seen claims that it causes corruption. Since a lot of claims about corruption have turned out to be wrong, which is it?

And of it's not safe to just remove, what so I need to changw in SimPE to make it safe, other than memories? Thanks!

I think that it's not safe to remove because sims get wants to learn how to make it and memories of having made it.

In my experience from playing Apocalypse Challenges, when you have a university graduate on the lot the game will include the university careers in what it generates, but not offer them or a substitute to the non-graduate sims. It's kind of annoying. But let's face it: no one plays the Apocalypse Challenge without a high tolerance for annoyance!

If you aren't playing a challenge, I'd say just use a hack to give you more career options. Simblender will let you pick any, MogHughson's Job Notice Board will let you pick any, and I'm sure there are others.

The newspaper and computer offer the same jobs to all the sims. If the sim doesn't have the right qualifications, they just don't see the job, they don't get a custom set of jobs that's tailored to their qualifications.

This thread here has a post suggesting that the "damage" to memories and wants is just cosmetic, like names not showing up: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=625795

Since lots of corruption myths have been disproven recently, I wonder if this applies to custom food or not.

More broadly: does removing a memory's subject cause corruption or just make the memory seem wonky?

That thread has posts advising people to use SimPE to remove custom food memories and to use the batbox to clear food preferences. that's why I had that question: IF removing custom foods is unsafe, what are all the things we need to do to make it safe? I'd hate to miss something when fixing memories and the like.

Thank you

Is there a way to rename a bird in a bird cage? I know I can kill the current bird and get an identical one, but I wonder if there's a way to rename the already existing bird.

The problem with deleting food is that you'll get a ton of errors whenever the game tries to roll wants or run check trees related to that food. So it really just depends on you tolerance for the game constantly throwing errors. You can probably go through every single sim's SWAF and remove all of the want history related to that food, or just delete the SWAFs and factory reset all of the sims' want panels back to just-out-of-CAS state, but it's much less of a pain in the ass to just remove the custom food from the fridge menu.

Any way to save a "condemned" lot? I really love the way I've furnished it but it's super buggy. I can't click on the active sim without jump bugs and sometimes not even hover over the sim. When a vampire turns into a bat and back again it freezes for a tiny bit but still noticable. Saving takes 11 minutes. It's just that particular lot, not a game wide problem but I've had similar problems on other lots. In this case I'd rather just switch lot but if there's any way to save the lot that'd be fantastic. I've tried moving out (but using stay things shrub) and force error on all with bat box, didn't help.

How on earth do you package lots with lots of CC? I'm trying to share a lot I've built a long time ago, it made very liberal use of CC and after hours of carefully reviewing what recolours were actually used, what CC wasn't packaged in the lot which I would have to search for myself and warn downloaders that they would need to get those separately (like custom modular stairs), I package the lot and send it over to my other computer where I have a CC-free installation to test it out. Everything seemed fine, I can see the package files appearing in the downloads folder after I hit install on Clean Installer, but when I loaded up the lot ingame it had no CC and instead everything was replaced by random Maxis items. It's been a while since I've actually shared a lot, and I've never shared a lot with this much custom content, but what am I missing here?

EDIT: To add to this, some months ago I had tried the same thing (installing a lot on the CC-free game) and it worked, I only had one single item of CC in that lot, specifically Edge Smoother White, but it installed and the lot shows up normally.

That sounds like mod issues. Use What Caused This on your error logs.

Did you remember to enable CC and then restart the game before placing the lot?

Yes, CC was enabled, I still have that single bit of CC in Edge Smoother White and a few gameplay mods

Could be your game isn't properly recognizing the Downloads folder (things install, but the game for whatever reason refuses to read the contents, maybe except for a few items - sometimes it can recognize defaults or other random items, which makes you think there's something else wrong - fun fact: Defaults can sometimes be detected by the game outside the Downloads folder). This Happens sometimes in a new game.

Try removing the Downloads folder, run Bodyshop, and let the folder regenerate. Then put the files back in, and place the lot again (it's possible you have to reinstall the lot file, you can untick the CC).

What is the reason why they spin around a community trashcan before dropping trash into it? It is almost symmetrical, except one rotation puts it at a more appealing distance from a nearby wall.

What Caused This? What's that?
And yeah the clicking problem goes away if I remove macrotastics from downloads but I don't need to do that for other households so... And I love that mod

It's a program that shows what mod caused the error. Since you know it's macrotastics, why don't you post the error log and we can figure out why.

https://www.picknmixmods.com/Sims2/...CausedThis.html

Why is it when Sims congratulate their spouses there is always an attraction thought bubble and not the memory they did? "Congratulations on being beautiful"?

Is the attraction bubble the only one? I noticed it tends to come up and overlap with other thought bubbles.

Is there a way to have more than 4 controllable families on an apartment lot?

==
speaking of the pet birds: in real life they can live as long as a person, but in the game they seem to live shorter time than dogs. Is there a way (hack?) for them to live longer?

Recommend reading this tumblr post where picknmix details how to interpret the results from what caused this. What it does is basically look at what code bit the error happened in, and then tries to identify things in your downloads that contain that bit of code, assuming that in most cases an error is due to CC not set up right. It's very useful, but it's not a definite problem solver for all errors

I've dusted off TS2 and am ready to restart my Fire Emblem world. Posting my game mechanics questions here, separate from my status post.

Would it be easier to put an entire class of kids in one dorm and play all at once, or should they be separate households to be rotated between?
If all adults in a household die, leaving a teen as the head of the household with younger ones, what happens, do the little ones go to the adoption pool? I have BoilingOil's Kids & Pets Unattended, which I found when I asked WCIF a mod that allows latchkey kids, here about ten years ago.
Do adopted children count towards Graduate 3 Children From College?

1) depends primarily on your playstyle and preferences, secondarily on how many kids you have to play.
2) A teen is sufficient to keep the social worker at bay so long as needs are met and grades are maintained; see: The Newsons.
3) An adopted child is the adopter's child for every purpose under heaven except genetics.

Yeah, I thought about it too but it has happened many times only with the attraction bubble.

@grammapat , that would be very interesting. I too think the birds live really shortly, no idea why EAxis made them live even less than a fly.

1. I will have probably six kids in this "graduating class", I've never played university before.
2. OK, I won't kill Eldigan off.
3. Perfect, I'll change a bit of FE4 lore here. In canon, Silvia leaves her children Coirpre and Lene at a convent and disappears, after Claud dies in the Battle of Belhalla. In my TS2 world, she will put them up for adoption for Edain to take in, allowing Edain to fulfill her Graduate 3 Kids From College LTW, and making it easier for Silvia to fulfill her 50 1st Dates LTW. Edain did adopt Deirdre's son Seliph in canon, but Deirdre also rolled Graduate 3 Kids From College, so Seliph needs to remain with her even after Sigurd dies.

This also means Travant cannot formally adopt Altena, because it would prevent her from marrying Travant's son Arion.

@Dr Chillgood, Never played University. Okay. You'll probably have to experiment to find your comfort zones, but to start with, if you can handle a six-person household in the main hood, you'll be able to handle a six-person household in University.

The primary differences between main hood play and university neighborhood play are:
Semester hours never freeze while in the subhood. If you want a long date or outing without worrying about the passage of time, take them off-campus.
Skilling works on community lots.
The pace of play is different and the sim walk slows down accordingly.
Young adults are infertile without mods. They can get engaged, but not married.

Strategic considerations:
Unlike adult townies, who have randomized jobs, dormies are all freshmen with undeclared majors and maxed grade bars if you move them in. If you decide you want to marry a dormie, you'll have to make them playable and move them to the main hood to grow up first. If invited to move in by a college graduate, they are supposed to become graduates in the major of the sim who asked them to move in, but this often fails and needs correcting by batbox. If you invite them to move in before graduation, they'll either have to drop out or be played through graduation before they can be married.

Dorms can be frustrating to play because visitors tend to wander into dorm rooms occupied by dormies and get stuck. The interiors of dorm rooms inhabited by dormies are invisible in live mode, but you can find visitors by going into buy mode and then send a playable to drag them out. The vanilla party limit for a dorm will also be very low.

The job panel shows grade progress and skill requirements to increase the grade. There's a line in the grade bar below which the sim is not passing, and the bar will be red; once the sim has the right skills to pass, the bar turns white and its level shows the grade level the sim will pass with. The grade bar is "opened up" (cleared to the top) by gaining the skills highlighted in the skill panel just like with jobs, but class activity (research, assignments, class attendance, term paper) is necessary to fill it in with passing grades. Undertaking class activity when the grade bar is full is a waste of time. Sims will go to class, do research, and start working on assignments autonomously when uncontrolled, regardless of whether it does them any good or not. (It can be a bit of a chore to keep parties going if sims start doing assignments, but research can be a group activity!)

A common glitch will have the grade bar stuck in the red at a failing level regardless of skills and actual grade levels. This is usually attached to a lot but only affects one sim on the lot. If the grade bar is red and you don't think it should be, take the sim to a community lot and check there. Sims on academic probation, however, show a red bar regardless, but will accurately show the grade level. The glitch is purely cosmetic and as long as the proper skills to pass are acquired and the sim performs a minimal level of class activity you'll pass all right.

Unique university NPCs can be annoying or distracting but are mostly harmless. The coach will randomly try to force sims to exercise, which is the only way some of my sims ever gain a body point. The cheerleader and llama mascot do a lot of inappropriate cheering, which is sometimes hilarious but sometimes blocks walkways. Cooks have a limited range and start fires fairly often. Streakers are hard to interact with and oddly less distracting to the sim than the cheerleaders. Cow mascots are evil and like to make messes, start fights, and sexually harass students. Sometimes they target committed sims for flirts in front of the SO, which can get unpleasant, but if you really like the couple it's not that hard to bounce back from. Mascots and cheerleaders are YA; cooks are elders; professors are adults or elders; and streakers, for no readily apparent reason, are full adults. All are safe for interaction

Skilling is faster in University hoods despite the overall slower pace. If you want even faster skilling, the seasons function normally, so you can set all seasons to fall and open all the grade bars lickety split.

Due to autonomous skilling and class activity, it is actually harder to arrange for a sim to go on academic probation than on the dean's list.

The shipped universities have the usual architectural problems and actually have remarkably few skilling objects on the community lots. You'll probably want to modify them. Custom universities, such as Brainiana, Quaddington, and my own Land Grant University, may give you less of a learning curve as they are generally more thoughtfully built.

Do you have Caged Pet Fixes?

will look for that, thanks. cant find

Does anyone know what triggers the 'leave' action for noncontrollables on community lots when they aren't in motive failure?

Maybe the Populator when there are too many people for the current hour in Community Lot - Process.

Hm, that makes sense. I noticed that if I teleport Sims onto a lot with multiple Sims already there, they tend to leave after a minute or two.

I have not found what makes owned business customers leave. In Business Lot - Process, they are not forcibly left. They may leave while doing an ineraction like having coffee or food.

On owned lots, I've had customers 'shoplift' and leave with unpaid merchandise if they suffer motive failure. They usually return after a while and immediately go to the cash register to pay.

https://simfileshare.net/download/1786428/



Increasing the amount of sims allowed on the community lot can be done by increasing "intprop maxnumofvisitingsims x" (where x is the required number) in the userstartup.cheat. Not sure if that affects when they leave but would be something to try. Warning- don't set it to something stupid like 100 as I did, otherwise you will have the entire neighbourhood turn up on your teeny tiny coffeeshop lot.

I seem to recall someone else had every single dormie inducted into the secret society due to that cheat...

The Populator has limits for each hour, except on Downtown lots which are always full with up to 12 people, even the smaller shops. Teens leave in evening hours, which annoyed me greatly, and was one of the first things I learned how to mod. These limits seem to also apply to Business lots, further impacted by the business rating. My nightclub doesn't have many visitors at night. I haven't yet changed that because I like how parks are quiet at night.

Business lot visitors might be driven away by their experience on the lot. I see there is tracking for motives for them. Something actively pushes them to leave and interrupts their activity.