Best wishes from here in CA for you all to remain safe and well.

Thanks for the reply & the link to the tutorial. I've been too chicken to open up the PC for fear that I'll do something dumb, break it and freak. I should bite the bullet and at least see what's inside. The process seems pretty straightforward except I'm wondering if the "integrated" term in my Geforce MX 4 card means that it's one of those troublesome graphics cards that is integrated as part of the motherboard and not it's own card. Am I correct on that? I could be mistaken, this is uncharted territory for me. But I have heard that even the integrated cards can be disabled so I could probably learn how to do that too.

But thanks again for the input, tomorrow I'm going to take a look at the inside of the PC, read the tutorial you kindly linked and look for more info I might need. But I'll have to be patient first and help out in my daughter's class tomorrow morning. So I better get to bed for now, 20 "busy" 7 year olds can be quite taxing on the nerves even with a full nights sleep. I sure appreciate you helping this technologically challenged individual.

I forgot about that hack, I should get it. It irritates me to no end that when they get to a community lot they attempt to waste valuable time to ask that idiotic question about a sink or a tree. Stupid sims is right!

I received some unexpected birthday money was thinking of upgrading my graphics card & increase my ram but I'm not very computer savvy. I have a Nvidia Geforce MX 4 "integrated" card with 64 mb ram (I think it's the 460) and 512 mb ram in my computer. I was considering the same card as Knitro (the Geforce 5500) and increase the ram to 1 gig. Currently I've been dealing with lack of the special event movies, "chunky" hands and 2 invites to parties. Would be nice to upgrade.

The question I have is should I buy the card & ram from Newegg and attempt to install it myself or purchase it from the Comp USA in my area? It would be somewhat cheaper from Newegg (about a $50 difference) but Comp USA will install hardware I purchase from them in my computer for free. I'm inclined to go the Comp USA route because I don't want to screw up my computer. What would you advise?

That's probably because the painting isn't worth as much as other objects in the house. Sims of all aspirations are rather spoiled (like they were in TS1) and like expensive things. If, for example, after building and/or furnishing your sims' house you realize they need another phone in a specific spot (like a second floor hallway) they will go see "what's this?" and give the "yuck" response.

It bugs me that the paintings considered "masterpieces" if sold aren't worth about the same amount as the higher end Maxis paintings. If they were, then we could hang them up on the walls without the sim going "yuck."

I disabled all of the Maxis music, it got repetitive and annoyed me (especially when I was trying to sleep and I'd hear the "salsa" tracks playing over and over in my head  ). I've copied numerous mp3's of my favorite musicians & bands into the music stations; Aerosmith, Smashmouth, Collective Soul, Green Day & Good Charlotte to name just a few. I'm looking forward to having slow dancing back though so that I can more "ballads" in the music stations. My build, buy and neighborhood modes are filled with Enya, Loreena McKennitt and classical music. To get to the point, more Maxis music is not going to motivate me to preorder.

I will have to admit that I'm a weirdo and I actually like the car. I have a step-dad and two brothers who are hot rod freaks and they've been a bad influence on me (perhaps all those car shows as a kid fried my brain). The car is pretty cool to me, although I'd prefer it in other colors (like black with the typical orange flames). But as much as I like the car, I'm still not interested in preordering.

What would truly motivate me is if Maxis did as ViveElBarto suggested; to support the game as they should. Beta test the game as much as they reasonably can and release quality patches in a timely manner. But if that were to happen it would be time to bend over and kiss our rears goodbye because it would be a sure sign that the world was about to end. I fully believe that it won't be Maxis to resolve game issues, it will continue to be Twojeffs and Pescado. So I'm not touching Nightlife until they have a chance to tinker with it first.

I might be incorrect (happens frequently  ) but I thought these responses from JMP in Veilchens "Too many files/Sims explanation for Dummies" post answered our questions about "critical mass" in neighborhoods-

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3. As soon as a neighborhood file hits critical mass, its doomed, with no way to fix it, even if you never, ever, lot-binned, deleted binned sims that have been played, or imported occupied houses.
Not entirely true. The Critical Fixes existing can keep a neighborhood chugging for quite a good while longer, but obviously, this doesn't account for any undiscovered bugs, or any new bugs of this nature (too many iterations is generally most visible sign) introduced in future expansions. If Maxis never wises up, this is going to require future critical fixes.


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4. What IS the critical mass? Some say 300+ some say 500+, some (like me) say ??
Early errors begin to set in around 800-ish. All known problems of this nature are resolved by Critical Fixes. Advanced errors can set in around 1000+. These are also resolved by Critical Fix hacks. Obviously, once you have to resort to hacks just to keep going, you've crossed the Rubicon already. How long you can keep going after that depends on how long it takes you to be assassinated. This point is unknown.

And-

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7. Unless you are very SimPe literal and can delete memories/characters/etc. manually, you might as well put the flag on half-mast, play the funeral march and bid your neighborhood goodbye.
Pretty much. Once you've passed the Critical Fix point, you're doomed. However, this point is very far away, as Critical Fixes have been able to repair neighborhoods in the 2000s. This is all assuming you're salvaging NATURAL populations, and not garbage bloat. Let us figure, as a reasonable number, you have approximately 40 families. That's about how many are in my neighborhood right now, although some are "crunchy" and will eventually be compacted together (college students, soon-to-die relatives living in small houses with no burial grounds, immortals, etc.). If your neighborhood is bloated because of *GARBAGE*, you're best off starting over.


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8. JM's and TJ's critical fixes stave this off for a time, but it is inevitable, since, as mentioned before, there is no subtraction, only addition.
In theory, a meticulously maintained neighborhood can avoid a potential explosion on these grounds for the duration of TS2, assuming critical fixes are made for any such problem.

The way I understand this is that if we've installed all the Critical Fixes we're good to go for some time (like up to 2000 sims per neighborhood). Am I way off base?

I've seen quite a few posts on the BBS about the strange "choking" death for pregnant sims. The common denominator was that either the pregnant sim or someone else residing on the lot went to a community lot during the first trimester of pregnancy (before the pregnant sim starts "showing"). So unfortunately it's apparently not safe for anyone on the lot to visit the community lot during the first trimester. But usually the pregnant sim dies during the pregnancy, maybe something with Castor moving in had something to do with it (if I'm reading your post correctly he moved in mid-pregnancy, right?). It's one of the strangest death glitches I've ever heard of, akin to the "mystery pet illness" from TS1 Unleashed that Maxis refused to acknowledge (even though many a TS1 player lost a pet to it).

I used to play Cyberpunk in college, my favorite character was a medtech. I also played my fair share of D & D in HS, I still have all my books and such. But alas, I have little time to do much anymore. There is so much pressure applied by my daughters' school district to meet and exceed standards that I feel like I have barely any time to breathe. 

However our participation as Civil War reenactors is fulfilling our roleplaying needs quite nicely. We totally immerse ourselves in the characters we create; we dress, eat and talk like we are in 1863. It helps to reinforce to the spectators that history (good, bad and ugly) brought us to where we are today and that we should strive to learn from it. Not to metion it's a complete blast and we totally enjoy ourselves. Where else do you get to play "let's pretend" as a grown up? I wish my husband had more time to take off work and that the school wasn't so moronic about excusing absences, we'd get involved in Revolutionary War reenacting too. But at least we have the Civil War stuff. I really enjoy stepping away from my 2005 worries and becoming "Mrs. Eleanor Bickford" (my 1st person character) for a couple of days. Strange as it may sound, I find it to be really therapeutic.

Yep, thought I smelled the unmistakable odor of avoidance. It's a shame, like I'd mentioned in my response above this would be resolved if both parties were committed to peaceful coexistance. But note, it takes both to behave as adults and agree. JM could continue to be agreeable to work things out with Rentech until the end of time but as long as she continues with the 6th grade antics nothing will be resolved and things will remain at an impasse. It's a shame because she'd learn a valuable life lesson. You don't get along with eveyone you meet in life.

Very true, you do have a point there.  It just rubs me the wrong way over at the BBS how they fanatically peddle reinstallation like the 19th century "doctors" pushing their quack medicines. It's not the magic pill for all problems, and like you said for some the problem eventually comes back. Reinstallation should be one possibility in a whole arsenal of options (including a comprehensive patch) to help us resolve all the buggy issues. But I should remember that EA wouldn't know good customer support if it crawled up their legs, attached itself to their nether regions and bit hard. 

I wish I could use that on the BBS.  I know sometimes it's useful but that only accounts for no more than 5% of the time. As for the other 95%, "reinstall" is a code word for "I don't know how to help you, go away."

*rubs hands together and cackles* Many townies, npcs and other annoying sims WILL be hurt in the research stage of the Burninator 5500! How many flaming nannies does it take to toast a marshmallow? 

The trash compactor is the one thing I don't like to ever replace. I've had many a laugh at the repairman's/repairwoman's expense when they charcoal themselves trying to fix it.   Seeing them stomp out to their truck with their crispy hair standing up on end and the burnt remains of their clothes barely hanging on to their bodies is the highlight of my day.

I do miss the auto flush toilet from TS1. I put it in all the bathrooms of every house. Especially when "She Who Should Not Be Named!" came to visit.    

Same here, I'd be a Cancer too. I've always thought I didn't fit well into the description of a "typical" Leo.

Exactly Nectere! I won't even presume to know the whole situation but one thing I do know about personal conflicts, this will only be resolved if and when BOTH individuals agree to resolve it. They have to both be willing to at least say, "We don't get on very well at all but I'm committed to peacefully coexist since we're involved in the same hobby." People don't get along in many areas of life for numerous reasons. Part of being a grown up is behaving in an adult, cordial way to that person even if you don't like them personally very much. "Freezing them out" by refusing any sort of contact unless the person is downright continuously verbally abusive is pretty immature and will never resolve anything. And the people who willingly or not get stuck in the middle will likely feel frustrated and stressed attempting to push for a resolution. Inge, I really hope you won't be offended when I say you might be a lot happier just stepping away from the situation. If you're feeling like neither person will listen to you then your attempts at resolution will probably feel like an exercise in futility. Why take on a problem that isn't your's? You've told them how you feel about the situation, listened to their position, now it's time to "step away from the train wreck" (my mom's favorite saying) and let them work it out on their own. I hope you understand I mean this in the best possible way, I've had relatives & friends who get into similar conflicts and would talk to me instead of the other person. I would tear my hair out until I learned to say, "I can understand how you feel but we've talked about this before. There is nothing I can do about this problem except to tell you that you need to talk to X for it to be resolved." Bottom line, Pescado and Rentech have got to work this out themselves. That's just my .02 for what it's worth.