I sorted a downloads folder with over 7000 files in about 30 minutes using DDO, and it also scans for duplicates.

That dialog never did control the appearance of custom clothing for me, just things like game mods and custom objects.  There is a separate option in the game settings panel that reads something like, "Catalogs display custom content."  Not sure of the exact location or wording because I have never used it, but I have seen it there, somewhere.

As far as I could ever tell, who walks by has nothing to do with whatever sub-'hood they happen to live in.  I wouldn't count on university students walking by though, as they don't seem to get around much off-campus.

I would say that issues of neighborhoods or lots not loading is probably not a graphics driver issue at all, but more likely a problem with some of the game files.  Have you tried the game with no custom content, or perhaps on a clean user account that has not been used?

Yeah, I did not try the Beta for exactly the same reason, since I had not suffered the problem nearly as often after replacing the broken heat sink bracket for my CPU.  I had also altered my gameplay settings and habits around some perceived superstitions about why the game was failing, and combined I had gone for several months without an issue.

I too, notice a bit of lag that was not there previously, but it may be the fact that I have been running now with all graphics settings and features at the highest levels, including the 'smooth edges', which may be the biggest contributor to the problem.  I can't really recall ever trying to run the game that way before. 

Once I am satisfied that the new drivers have banished the issue, I may try to tweak the settings down to see if the lag can be reduced significantly, but not just yet.


Well, if it ain't broke...I don't personally see much reason to upgrade to the final release 'just because'.  My posting this here mostly for others, who like myself, were perhaps not having desperate problems and were waiting to see if the fix might be for real before tampering with the drivers, yet again.  The official release carries the same version number as the Beta, so I don't think there were significant changes made, if any.  I noticed some people having issues with other programs, though, and I suppose it is possible that some programs might barf on drivers not WHQL certified, I don't know.  If you have issues with not-TS2 programs you might want to upgrade.

For those poor souls suffering from BSOD crashes supposed to be related to nVidia graphics drivers, ForceWare version 162.18 for Windows XP has been officially released at the nVidia website.  Just to be clear, this is the WHQL signed full public release of the beta driver that was announced by MaxoidSam on the BBS and has been tested by many to good results. 

For myself, I have not had problems for several months, but the specter of the dread blue screen crash was always lingering in the background.  I have tried these new drivers and play-tested them with full, high graphics options, including viewable neighbors and full anti-aliasing (i.e. smooth edges), as well as wanton build and buy mode changes, on a large lot with no problems, so far.

Anyone still suffering from the ominous BSOD issues related to nVidia drivers ought to give these new drivers a try.  For those who are not so tech savvy, remember to fully disable your antivirus software before installing video drivers.  This includes making certain the AV software does not load during startup.

Good luck!     

 

I have opinions...I can share them?

Get yourself a decent but cheap older-style card for the old computer and give up on the one card plan.  Then save for a nice shiny card for the new computer. 

Just a 'comment from the peanut gallery notwithstanding' here...

It is hard to believe this is not related to the recent dramedy overflowing here recently, but even so,...

...now it is...

-are you more into building lots, decorating lots, creating sims, or playing families?

Building lots, sub-'hoods, creating families to populate them, not so much decorating or playing, but some.  One of the best things about building is finding out just how well the lot works when played, so all lots get at least a small amount of play time.  Mostly only playing enough to get certain family members to particular career levels or certain states of existence.  (i.e. Vampire, zombie, ghost, werewolf, no plantsims yet)  I have a few families/sims that I have played quite a bit, but most are just neighborhood filler, like custom townies who own houses.  Names are key for me, for some peculiar reason.  If a sim or family has an interesting or clever name then they may get more playing time.

What I really wish for is a sort of halfway point between SC4 and TS2, where I could play from the neighborhood screen, perhaps, and all of the families could go about their business without as much micromanagement.  Maybe turn-based...oh, well...

- lots: do you play highly decorated, with walls up/cutaway, with a focus on 'whoever has the most toys wins"? Or do you play barely decorated, walls down, with a focus on interractions/spawning?

Decoration depends mostly on the lot and sometimes available funds, and I normally play with partial or complete cutaway.  I have shacks and trailers, and I have mansions and veritable castles, and everything in between.

- is genetics your thing? Do you like watching spawns, and spawns of spawns for how they turn out? Or do you barely get through one generation before you're off to the next family?

I can spend hours in CAS creating a family, cross-breeding and then deleting whole generations, experimenting.  If I have a really good surname I want well represented, the family will come out with the maximum number of members and often several generations down the line.  This can make somewhat large character files as the new sims carry a lot of genetic information sometimes, but eh.

- do you build lots of hoods, or have you been playing one or two hoods forever?

I play one custom hood, Idylleville, that I started shortly after University was released.  It received an infusion of sims and lots from all three mEAxis 'hoods, but mostly from Strangetown, to get things rolling.  (Yes, in what is supposed to be a VBT sort of way, if it matters, that was 4 XP's and 2 SP's ago.)  Idylleville has five downtown, four shopping, and two university districts attached to the main 'hood, so far.  Sub-'hood terrains were reconciled with each other in SC4 so that the borders mesh and general compass-point relationships could be established, mostly for street naming and addressing lots.

- in terms of what your sims do: are you into relationships and interractions, or are you more into how they skill and climb the corporate ladders?

Aspiration is key to what individual sims do, although Idylleville has a preponderance of 'knowledge' sims, since it fits the general theme of the neighborhood.  Sometimes individuals break the mold, though, like one romance-sim I had created in Uni-CAS back about the time of Nightlife who had the unusual lifetime aspiration to be a 'Mad Scientist'.

- do you play lots of community lots, or are your sims homebodies?

Some of both but less on community lots, depending upon circumstances, although downtown and shopping sub-'hoods are mostly places for more lots and more sims to live.  Community lots are scattered throughout the realm.

-city/country/suburban? do you do themes? (aliens, medieval, Victorian)

City+suburban describes it best, although there are some remote locations.  Theme is modern, Lovecraftian-mystery realm...-ish, or what TS2 is.

- do you play with pets?

Occasionally, but I find they are generally too needy and too stupid and not enough fun.  Mostly for lonely sims or lots with just a few other residents.  Normally never more than eight characters on a lot, sims+pets.

- do you do the vamp/werewolf/alien/zombie thing, or are you more a 'real person' player?

Definitely do vamp/werewolf/alien/zombie thing.  Without them I might not even be playing still, and I always want/need more.  I also have daemons, devils, faeries, and Olde Ones.

- hacks: do you like to make life simpler or harder? insim? Inteen?

I use just a few hacks/mods, and almost none that make the game easier, with the exception of Smonaff's 'jealousy check' for the non-committed.  I have a few JMP mods, a few TJ mods, a couple of Smonaff mods, and the 'non-awesome (TM)' Hack Which Must Not Be Named.  Generally, I view game annoyances as part of the playing of the game and I would not generally want anything to make the game any easier than it already is.   

-custom content: lots or a little? what do you have the most of?

I own a sizable collection of skins, hairs, and genetics, since this is not an area that I play around with much at all.

- and finally, if you share your creations...what do you create?

I don't typically share, since I don't normally make anything except lots and sims.  My 'hoods are largely unique terrain and lots are mostly uneven, plus I don't usually make sims in Bodyshop, so not much opportunity there, either.  I do look forward to more building contests here, and will likely contribute in this manner in the future.

...does not compute...

If the files are not in the game then the game should not be able to load them.  Also, I am wondering if it is just the portraits that show the old eyes or the sims 'in person'?  The portraits are images generated at a particular instant in game time and would need to be regenerated with a makeover, like at the mirror, to show the new eyes.  If the sims are showing the old eyes 'in person', then the files must still be in there, somewhere. 

Maybe try removing all default sets to see if you can get the mEAxis originals to show first.  You might also want to try Delphy's Download Organizer from MTS2, since it should easily identify default replacement files regardless of the filename.

Teen vampires only can and do age when sent to college, although they might also if instructed to 'Grow Up', I have not tried this,  otherwise they remain teen perpetually.  YA vampires age to adult when they leave college.  It is something of a vampire aging/non-aging conundrum.

You could always just be vindictive and set your scheme in motion since your entry has been rejected.  Actually, you should.  That is what blackmail is about, after all.

I did the same thing with it and I concur.  In fact, I converted all three House of Lose's into dorms.  One took quite a bit more adjustment than I planned on, but they all turned out great and one or two may end up as Greek houses. 

Well, as all of you were, then.  The maybe two times I ever used the 'ask permission' command I probably inadvertently stomped the automatic behavior by directing the teen to use the phone, and as such did not even know this feature was there.  Now I will have to try this out.  Previously I had considered this interaction a useless formality and did not bother.  This just proves it is never too late to learn something new.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."


I can hardly wait...

Thanks, this is great!

And here I thought I was responding to this post:

I had always thought that this behavior was some sort of unusual feature, since it only happens rarely for me.  I'm not sure why, but it seems to happen much more often on lots with basements than on any other.  It might be related to 'brought home friends' who appear teleported into the basement instead of getting off the bus?


I am using 'phonehack' now, and I have had this issue both before and after.  Now that you mention it, though, I had not seen it for quite a while, then the behavior returned recently.  It still is not common, but there definitely seemed to be a break in it for a while.  Perhaps there is something to this, or maybe it is just sadorandomness.


You should definitely be getting a dialog box asking whether the date should be at home or on a community lot, and this should be the first thing after the phone call.  If you are not getting that, then something is broken.

That...or only use the templates you created for the specific sim you created the template on.  For other employees make new uniform templates for each sim, even if they will wear the same outfit.  It doesn't seem like it ought to work this way, but...

Yeah, the going outside part I understood well enough as that description is clear, it was the going inside bit that I did not grasp.  Still, if the burn decay proceeds as you describe then there is no advantage in the design when returning from work in daylight.  Not that there is a significant disadvantage either, as the going out benefit far outweighs the damage received from a few extra steps to the door upon return, especially when the damage upon leaving for work has been minimized.

I am guessing this will work the same for vampires at Uni, since they get only one command to 'go to class', similar to 'go to work'.  Will they just be able to walk to class like normal sims without depleting their motives to dangerous levels?  This is definitely something to play with, since damnable lazy vampires have previously had to be streaked to the portal and then streaked back to the coffin as they can't run on their own.  I would not miss the hilarity of that activity much.

This is indeed very interesting, but I was hoping you might clarify this:


I read it over several times and I am just not getting it.  It looks like a sentence fragment to me, or should the 'but' possibly have been 'except' or 'even', even?  Whatever the case is I still am unclear as to the effect of the burn damage passing from outside to inside when using the 'sunlock' design.  Maybe I should just try it out, eh?

It is definitely there on all lots that are unoccupied.  The tallying is a little quirky when certain items are deleted, but it works nonetheless.

One of the biggest advantages for building the lot first, aside from what has been mentioned, is that terrain adjustments and terrain paints are free of charge on unoccupied lots.  Plus, reworking sections that did not turn out quite right does not result in loss of funds when stuff is 'sold back' during redesign.

"You may choose a ready guide in some celestial voice;
If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill.
I will choose a path that's clear.
I will choose Freewill."

-Neil Peart


TwoJeffs restrains several annoying autonomous behaviors with various hacks as I recall, which would be unnecessary if most people were not using freewill.  I would not be surprised to find this addressed somewhere in his section, Not A Good Commando Name.

I used the 77.77 drivers for a very long time and never had any problems, they are quite stable if a bit outdated now.  If the problem is consistent with respect to time and not seemingly related to any particular activity, I suspect a heat issue, possibly with the CPU.

nonflammable