Good point. I'd forgotten that the little experimenting I'd done with tinkering seemed to mean "break horribly and hurt myself if at all possible," so I decided not to update for that particular functionality. Not like appliances and plumbing don't break on a regular enough basis anyway...

Since I haven't actually tested it, I'll refrain from putting up instructions on fixing TV's but from Lord Darcy's statement, it sounds like they need TTAB and TTAs replaced as well?

I'm all for bribing JFade for an automatic updater. I'm in for some semi-precious metals and a computer power supply that doesn't fit my computer.

At least in my experience, TV's don't need to be updated. Once you select "watch," you'll have the option to get a movie and appropriate enthusiasm is gained from watching. The menus just aren't identical to non-CC TV's, but all the functions seem to be there eventually.

As for updating computers, I've attached a file with the needed updates. Just open the computer mesh you want to update in SimPe. Then, select TTAB from the resource list on the left. Right click on "untitled tree table" in the resource list and select replace from the menu. Replace it with the ComputerTTAB.simpe from my files. Say yes when SimPe wants to reload it. Repeat for the TTAs (replace the [Pie Menu Strings] with the provided ComputerTTAs.simpe). Save and test in game, you should have all the new options available.

I've found that I can update pianos and easels to give proper enthusiasm by replacing the BCONs and BHAVs (there are probably specific ones that need to be added to older packages but I'm lazy so I just deleted and replaced all of them), but the same method does not work for pool tables. Anybody have any thoughts on what else on pool tables need to be updated? I only have a couple of them so I think I may just pull the meshes and remake them but bleh.

Well, that was shockingly simple and seems to work like a charm in my limited testing. Yay! Thank you for the tip... I'd have never looked there!!

Does anyone have any ideas on the no-enthusiasm items? I'm guessing it's at least partially a BHAV issue since all those objects have new BHAV's for FT, but not sure what else is involved or how to fix the BHAVs.

I was able to get all the new options on custom computers by replacing the TTAB and TTAs (a la updating fridges for Seasons).

I then tried the same thing for bookcases and have run into a glitch. It sort of works: sims can read the new book types but the options to discuss and study parenting aren't available. There are also two "read book" options on the bookcase; one opens the options for the new book types, the other directs the sim to take the same old book off the shelf. Finally, the option to read a custom novel is always available (the sim just pulls out the old green book though) but if a custom novel is placed on the shelf, it's swallowed up, never to be retrieved again. Obviously, something else needs to be replaced in addition to the TTAB and TTAs but what?

On another note, custom easels, pianos, game consoles, and pool tables don't give a sim enthusiasm points in their respective hobbies (although other custom object types, like chess tables and arcade games, do give proper enthusiasm). Any thoughts how to fix this?

Simple objects like paintings and such are probably easy enough to do. The fact that they don't show a thumbnail in OW doesn't matter (not sure why that's the case... probably OW is pulling the thumbnails from some TS2 file but doesn't look in the file for the Stories series).

What specific objects are you trying to clone and how are you cloning them? If you're just looking to do recolors of Maxis objects, clone the PS/CS object and uncheck the option to "pull only default color." Then, open the clone, extract the texture(s) you want to somewhere you can find them (giving them descriptive, non-random number names helps, too, "e.g. ToyRabbitHeadTexture"). Go back to OW, make a recolor of the TS2 object you've extracted a texture for and replace the texture in the recolor package with your exported one and save. Delete the clone and the exported textures. Check in game to make sure your recolor shows up. If you actually want to clone the new object so it appears separately, that's a little different (and nigh impossible for some objects - some things don't transfer well), but you'll probably get more specific help on what you're doing wrong if you post what you did in the first place.
(note: my techniques are NONAWESOME and will not produce sleek, efficient, so-small-they-barely-exist files... sorry)

Unfortunately, I think the jaguar is more of a "monkey situation." The hyenas are really just dogs, as far as I can tell, that happen to have a scripted story part - otherwise, they're pretty typical. The jaguar is a new species. At the very least, the jaguar isn't in the pet breed bin so if it is portable, it's probably a job for Pes.

Here are the hyenas... there are five of them. As I said, they worked fine in my game just sticking them in the Pet Breeds file.

This is actually really easy for a nice change of pace. Copy the Hyena files from C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims™ Castaway Stories\PetBreeds into the My Docs Pet Breeds file in TS2. Voila, hyenas available in Create-A-Pet. Easy peasy and no problems I've seen so far (I did this a few days ago).

Not to get all impatient or anything, but I was wondering if any of the following objects are on your to-be-ripped list: hot tub, portapotty, easel, food basket, behind the technology curve stove, cowry cash register, ash grabber trash pit, poker table, luau buffet, deluxe moth wicker dresser, jungle swing, or the modular stairs. Thus far, my inferior skills have been unsuccessful in getting these particular objects working in real TS2. I have some ideas on how to work around some of the issues but it'll be long, tedious, painful, and produce an inferior product. I'll do it if these objects don't appeal to you (a real TS2 island village- DO WANT), but my head may explode if I go through all the torture only to find that you've uploaded better, cleaner, superior-in-every-aspect versions.

On another note, has anyone had any success extracting the new hats? I think I maybe figured out how to do clothes but hair eludes me. My stupid, let me show you it.

I was having the same problem with CS cloned lamps, but when you mentioned this, I replaced the Init BHAV from a cloned base game lamp. I only tried it on one CS lamp (the shell table lamp) but it seemed to work. No errors were thrown and the game didn't freeze up like it did with the regular clones. More testing is probably required but initial testing seems to show that replacing that BHAV solves the issue.

Mashes the thanks button. I'm still testing but everything looks good so far.

Okay, enough useless flattery... I probably shouldn't even ask since Castaway pillaging is still in progress and there are quite a few more objects I'm hoping you'll do (lamps, the hot tub, the portapotty, easel, the lean-to bed, the big bonfire, concoction junction career reward, and stoves jump to mind) but does this pillaging of new animationed objects mean that the Pet Stories agility course stuff could also be pillaged? My pets are boring and watching them do stupid tricks would amuse me. Not necessarily in a pet show format, but just the tricks.

Alright, I'm done begging for more stuff now. Mashes thanks button again. 

Personally, the EA Logo and the intro movie annoy the hell out of me. I get rid of them completely by adding "disabled" to the end of the file names (located in Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\Movies and in each of the EP's Res\Movies files) so, for example, the intro file becomes "intro_eng_audiodisabled". No more annoying intro, just straight to the loading screen. I don't know if it'll help your problem at all but it won't hurt anything. 

Does it still happen with CC removed? I've had a similar occurance when a custom table was overwriting some part of the Maxis table, removing the custom table resolved the issue.

Oh joyfuls. What would happen if one were to clone (using object workshop) a reward object, thus making a new object that can be tweaked with a categorizer to show up appropriately? And, if one were to do this, should the new object get new GUID(s) or just leave them alone so it effectively overwrites the original object? Or would even attempting this be asking for badness to rain down upon the land?

Well, I didn't break it but Eaxis broke it. As mentioned in one of the too-many-to-follow-all-of-them-BV-threads, collections of aspiration and career rewards no worky since BV. Is there a solution? I'd especially like the collection with the Celebration stuff wedding arch to work because big shocker, it didn't get updated with community lot availability for the new community weddings option and I hate having to changelotzoning just to place one freaking object.

Are you sure? When I click on "Make into vacation sim" there are four options - "Asia", "Mountains", "Tropics" and "Tourist", if I remember correctly. I'm sure I clicked on "Asia" (that's were my test-family was staying), and that ex-townie still didn't know the Asian bow ...
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Hmm... I'm totally non-awesome, but what tool are you using to do this? You mentioned the "NPC and townie gun" earlier... I'm not familiar with that particular tool? Is it a debug option or a downloadable thing?

Well, that's good at least. Thanks for the heads up, I'd have never found them there... I almost never use that hack for playables.

I don't suppose anybody's updating Christianlov's Boutique clothes rack to show the new tourists/locals? It already finds at least some of the new NPC's in the NPC menu (I saw three ninjas at least) but there's no menu for tourists (obviously). I love that hack... so convenient for finding a particular sim since their pic is right there... no trying to remember the eight gazillion names of the characters that need makeovers.

So, if the locals get deleted they don't regen with correct outfits? How about the behaviors... the gestures of the region and such? I guess I'd been blithely assuming that they were some type of special NPC (a la the grand vampires) that, if deleted or pulled from the local pool (i.e. moved into a playable family or, far more likely, tragically consumed by a cow plant they were locked in a room with) new ones would spawn as needed.

I haven't played a ton yet, I've been too busy building my own vacation locales, but it seems like I'd see 1-2 locals/lot with the rest being regular tourists without special outfits... is it possible your game just hasn't seen fit to generate locals yet so you're only seeing tourists, hence the randomness of dress, or have you confirmed that they're actually locals?

Finally, count yourself lucky that SimPe even lets you get as far as seeing that they don't have pics - on both my comps SimPe barfs out about a gazillion errors (Warning: Sim Found Twice type of stuff). If I get through all the errors there's a bunch of gobblygook - the BV sims don't seem to register (empty family infos, etc.) and my playable families show unknown members and stuff. I'm hoping it's not truly that screwed up and that SimPe is just not reading it right. Sigh, I tried to sign up for the QA about six weeks ago but never got a response... wish I had it now, I think there's a version out there for testing.

And just for the hell of it, fuck EA for screwing up my neighborhood. I just know I'm going to BFBVFS trying to get rid of the crappy characters I don't want.

Uhg, here's some dissatisfaction... the stupid tourists. Why does Eaxis insist on mucking up my game with two "Goopys." I bet I'll go through my whole life without ever meeting a single person named Goopy, let alone running into two of the suckers on vacation. And, of course, they're both fugly. I'm all for meeting new and exciting people on vacation but I want to make them myself so they don't pollute my neighborhood with their ugliness and clashing clothes - at least the locals (while sometimes needing renaming) have a "uniform" so they aren't susceptible to poor fashion choices. Please say a notouristregen is in the works and if Inge happens to be floating around a "make me a tourist" update to her teleporter wouldn't be half bad either. I don't ask for much... baaaaaaaa.

Is it just me or is weather in hyperdrive on vacation (I haven't actually played any "normal" lots so it may be there, too)? Normally, I see rain and thunderstorms very sporadically and they don't last too long when they do happen. However, all the sims I've sent on vacation have suffered through monsoon rainstorms and the longest thunderstorms I've seen in both Takemizu and Twikkii (spring and summer, respectively) almost every day of their vacations. I've also heard a few reports of hail which is normally quite rare. Now, I don't really mind since the sims don't really care for the most part but I'm just wondering if some game designer is reenacting a vacation-called-on-account-of-weather incident. Or perhaps it's just sadorandomness rearing its ugly head.

Baaaaah. I hadn't even thought of that but it cleared the problem right up. Of course, that's why you're far more awesome than I.

I recently built a pet shop for one of my sims to own. The environment score is almost always very low or bottomed out, however. I've tracked the problem to the fish tanks, the score will temporarily raise when my sim feeds the fish or stocks the tanks but it quickly drops again. My "tidy up" employee cleans the tanks obsessively (a la the maid) but that doesn't seem to help. Setting the tanks for sale doesn't help. I love the look of the fish in the shop and want at least some of the tanks to be buyable. Am I doomed to a craptastic environment score though? I searched for an object that will max the environment score but couldn't find one. Any thoughts or suggestions? (if it's relevant, I have all EP's and stuff packs but haven't installed any version of the latest Seasons patch)

On both my laptop and desktop I had to uninstall/reinstall Pets after getting a similar error message to the posted Seasons one. I would have sworn I'd patched Pets but maybe not. Anyway, it was quick, painless, and didn't give me back any of the crap Maxis characters (Critturs, anyone?) that come with Pets. Other than that, smooth sailing.