New Patches for OFB and FFS

[ZephyrZodiac]

I don't think Bluesoup is mad at YOU, just mad at everyone!

And you can fix the restocking signs with boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true - at least I did, so basically, if I can do it, anyone can!

[blubug]

Yes, but that's a temporary fix, you mean to delete them right? I do that but I have to load the shelves again, and I can't remember what I put where I'd like them to stop appearing in weird places completely, and I can't figure out what causes it, it happens randomly with different stuff. Maxis and non-maxis. I don't use move-objects cheat for placing stuff on shelves either.
Anyway, thanks for ALL you said. I feel better now. All the same I think I'll stay away for a bit until my emotions settle down

[ZephyrZodiac]

Blubug, you mustn't take things to heart so! 

And maybe the problem with the restocking signs has been fixed by someone, somewhere.  If I notice anything to that effect, I'll let you know.

[BlueSoup]

I'm not mad at you or anyone, just generally tired of the constant Maxis-bashing that doesn't really solve anything at all.  But when you ask a person when the last time they actually said anything officially, the answer is invariably "never."

Yes, we're really lucky so far that we have awesome modders who fix the things that come up but that's not going to be that way forever.

[ZephyrZodiac]

What makes you say that, Blue?  I mean, even if our present modders decide they've had enough, there'll always be others to take their places - not as awesome, maybe, but they'll learn. 

And even if all the critical errors were fixed by Maxis, there'd still be a demand for mods to change gameplay, hacked objects etc., just as there was with sims1.

[BlueSoup]

I don't trust a lot of other modders.

We've already had Inge quit, Pescado will quit with the next EP if SimPE doesn't improve...

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, yes, I agree that a lot of other modders are just not in the same league as JM, but I honestly can't see that even if everyone informed the maxoids about errors that they have the necessary staff and time to fix them all.  The people who need to understand the problems are the people at the top, and they just don't appear to be interested in individual games and their related problems.  They just want to get the EPs out as quickly and as cheaply as possible.  When you think that in real terms, EPs now are cheaper than they were for Sims1, and the game is twice as complex, how can the Maxis staff be expected to a) get things right first time, and b) on the occasions when they don't, find the time to fix them all?

Let's just hope and pray that SimPE improves!

[MutantBunny]

......Many surgeries are now done faster and cheater than ever--how can we expect thre doctors to get them  right the first time? And on the occasions when they don't, find the time to fix them all?

Meh.

[staroverthebay]

Here's a dumb question I don't know if someone's asked or not (I'll beg off and say "TL;DR!" for this three-page-long thread)

If I were to uninstall The Sims 2 and all its EPs (I have the three full EPs, not FFS) and reinstall them (or if I were to install them on a new machine) would I need BOTH Patches for OFB or just the second one?

[BlueSoup]

There is only one currently available on the site, the second one.  I think they amalgamate them.

[syberspunk]

I just wanted to say, I have reported things a few times. And I have actually submitted error logs as well. I don't remember off the top of my heads the things I have reported, but I do remember getting the nagging feeling that it seemed pointless because they don't fix all the problems. Now I realize that it's most likely because some bugs are far too minor for them to bother with a fix, some bugs they don't consider bugs, and some bugs they just don't have the time or budget to cover because they need to fix other major bugs.

As a result and since I'm just far too impatient to wait for a patch, I just look for fixes from other modders, and if I don't find one, I try and make one myself. It will be a sad, sad day that Pescado stops modding for the Sims because he seems to stamp out a lot of the bugs before I even notice any of them. Let's hope that day is far far away. 

Ste

[RainbowTigress]

Here's a dumb question I don't know if someone's asked or not (I'll beg off and say "TL;DR!" for this three-page-long thread)

If I were to uninstall The Sims 2 and all its EPs (I have the three full EPs, not FFS) and reinstall them (or if I were to install them on a new machine) would I need BOTH Patches for OFB or just the second one?

The first OFB patch is no more.  Like Blue said, they rolled them together so unless you kept the first patch, there isn't any way to download it from the site even if you wanted to.  It was the same way with the two patches for NL.

BTW, what is "TL;DR"?

[redmachine]

BTW, what is "TL;DR"?

TL;DR = Too Long; Didn't Read

[ZephyrZodiac]

I still have a copy of the first patch, don't know why!  In fact, I have all of them, I think!

[aussieone]

I hit the same problem with a core file that was altered in OFB, though I know I never changed it.  The file is:

C:/Program Files/EA GAMES/The Sims 2 Open For Business/TSData/Res/Catalog/Bins/globalcatbin.bundle.package

You can pull the original off the original OFB directory -- all the files are in a 'compressedfiles.zip' (or something to that effect) in the root of the CD.  Just drill down to that directory, and copy the original file to your hard drive.

And BlueSoups modified UIText will also bugger up the install, as noted elsewhere. You have to put the original back for the patch install to work.  Once it's patched, you can put the modified UIText back.

Just tried to install patch 2....I was having this same problem....

jsalemi.....you deserve a medal

Hits thanks button....baaaaaaaaaaaaa  

[MutantBunny]

So other than some simple install problems:

Wow!! Is it real??  Haven't read ANY complaints anywhere that Patch2 has fucked up anyones game, that it's glitched out any functions, is this for real?? Has anyone read of any big problems?

[RainbowTigress]

I noticed that some robots my sim had made on one of my lots were gone after I installed the patch.  I'm not sure what happened.  They had a sentry bot and a clean bot, and they were both gone when I entered their lot again after the patch.  Anyone else notice this?

[Annuta]

Hi, guys. I am having a problem with the new OFB patch (surprise, surprise). I've searched the official BBS as well as this forum and can't seem to find a solution that works. When I install the OFB patch, it stops at the TSData\Res\Objects part. The solution I found was to copy the objects.package from the OFB disk and replace the file on my hard drive. That did not work. I've also replaced the other files that people mentioned were causing problems (globalcatbin.bundle, for example). All to no avail. By the way, the FFS patch installed just fine.

I then proceeded to actually reinstall OFB, which also didn't work. Then, I reinstalled everything (what a pain in the rear that was), and STILL nothing. I did take out all hacks/custom content. In fact, I moved the Sims 2 folder from My Documents folder to another drive while I tried to patch. I am at a loss at this point. If anyone can help me, I'd appreciate it very much.

[BlueSoup]

Umm...taking a wild shot in the dark here, so I don't know if it'll work.  Is your objects.package set to read-only?  Maybe it would work if it wasn't for the purpose of installing the patch?

[Annuta]

Thanks for the suggestion, Blue Soup. I checked the objects.package file, and it was not set to Read Only. I tried to set it to read-only, and that didn't work either. One thing I forgot to mention is that it attempts to patch objects.package twice. Once it goes through just fine, but by the end of the second process it gives me the error.

[ElviraGoth]

I noticed that some robots my sim had made on one of my lots were gone after I installed the patch.  I'm not sure what happened.  They had a sentry bot and a clean bot, and they were both gone when I entered their lot again after the patch.  Anyone else notice this?

Not necessarily gone, but I had one (so far) that had been a sentry bot and when I went in to play post-patch, it was a munchie bot.  I know it was a sentry bot because I had placed it outside.  I put my munchie bots inside the house.

Also had one that I think was a clean bot that suddenly became a hydro bot (or vice-versa, I don't remember which it was), so I had two of the one kind instead of one of each.

[ZiggyDoodle]

This has been a most fascinating thread: missing robots, prompts to reinstall, buggered cars, crashed games, etc., etc.

I had not installed the second OFB patch because I was trying to get everyone where I wanted them and not have to deal with the muckety-muck of a reset game. 

Now it sounds like the cure is worse than the ailment.  Think I'll put off patching until I encounter a screw-up big enough to make me want to dance to the Maxis tune.

My thanks to the canaries in the Sims2 coal mine.

[blubug]

I installed the patch and then put my neighborhood in. Don't know if I mucked anything up, but I don't remember any of my households resetting. But then again, I play one family every few days, so maybe I forgot whether they were at work or home, but I'm absolutely sure none of them ended up near the mailbox like when they first moved in (if that's what you mean by resetting) and none of them ended up unemployed or lost their businesses or anything. Maybe they needed to be patched, but didn't get patched, so something may go wrong later, that I don't know. But you could always test that  if you have the time. (and make backups, I have 2!)
Or you could play your households, and the minute everybody's home, save and do it to another household. Then backup and patch, them getting reset shouldn't mess up as much. 

[Paperbladder]

I finally got around to installing the patch about a week ago, and finally played it yesterday.  Except for the fact that all my robots were missing everything in the game works.

Oddly enough, the first time I installed it I got the same error as many of your are getting, about reinstalling OFB and such.  When I removed the modified loading text it worked fine though, although something else could have happened during that time that is completely unrelated.

[RainbowTigress]

I installed the patch and then put my neighborhood in. Don't know if I mucked anything up, but I don't remember any of my households resetting.

Most of my sims don't end up by the mailbox when they get reset.  Usually they are standing beside the bed if they were sleeping, standing upright in the default position.  Sims who were at work or school usually are standing in the yard in front of the house, like to the left of the front door, but not next to the mailbox.  Toddlers are on all fours, and babies were were in the crib are laying on the floor beside it.  The baby controller usually takes care of those.  All sims have full motives except for bladder, which is halfway, and hunger which isn't quite full.  Usually the bathroom controller will grab them and send everyone to the toilet.  Lizz Love's bed gets reset, so if you have special settings, you have to redo them all.  I have to be careful in about that because the bed gets reset with Maximum attraction, and all older sims make a beeline for it, and some houses I don't want that.  Also, scanner guns and thinking caps that were sitting on a table or other surface will now be sitting on the floor.  Since installing OFB, plates of food that were sitting out now have to be cleaned up because they can't be eaten.  Only options are to resume cooking, call to meal, or clean up.  And any open boxes of pizza mysteriously now have to be "served" before they can be eaten again.  *sigh* 

I've had a lot of experience with this in the last month, with installing OFB, then patch 1, and now patch 2.  Before the second patch, I tried to load all my houses in my current neighborhood and make sure everyone was home and that it was around the time they would get up.  But I'd only played a few houses since installing OFB, and since the others were already reset, I didn't worry about them.  In the houses that I hadn't played that had sims wide-awake at midnight and such, I adjusted their motives accordingly and sent them to bed, mainly bladder and energy.  Since learning about how the "fix work state" on the lot debugger works, I've been using that for sims who were sent home prematurely.  It's a bit of a chore getting everyone back to where they were pre-EP/patch.