edalbformat, to keep the Pleasantview townies from spawning in your custom/empty hoods, you need to rename the C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData\Neighborhoods\N001 folder to something else, like N001-bak. This step is included in Jordi's custom hood tutorial instructions.

It can be named N001 at all other times. I prefer to keep it that way so that I can generate a clean Pleasantview for testing purposes. I just rename it right before I generate a new neighborhood, and then change the name back after the hood has been created.

Nice one, Amber! Love the way you used the fake chimney in the master bedroom.

eevilcat, I've never found a use for that fencing you used around the pool. It looks really nice. However, I'm getting the following message when I try to download yours: This file is a private File. So you don't have rights to download this file.

Make public, please???

If someone installs K&B but their latest EP was OFB, for example, they're probably going to have to run the game from the K&B .exe. It's not an issue when you're keeping up with expansions, because those of us with FT still use the FT .exe even though K&B was released later. But it is an issue for players who pick and choose their EPs/SPs.

That's why H&M's SecuROM went unnoticed for a while... we all kept using the previous EP .exe, and so we weren't infected.

You will need cracked SP .exes, if the game runs from the SP .exe instead of your last EP.

Plus, ARRR. If you don't want to ARRR, just wait a week or two until they go on sale. I haven't bought a full-priced EP/SP since OFB.

I'm feeling generous today: Here is a link for you.

ingeli, do you want them to be secret lots in Uni, or just regular community lots? I am doubtful that secret hobby lots would work in Uni, because Uni lots have a different timer. But then, people are having success with a main 'hood Uni, as seen in Lion's thread.

But you might want to try changing the zoning to community before binning it. Then place lot (if it appears in the catalog, that is), load it, make your changes, and change zoning to hobby lot. 

One fun note from last night's play session - one of my sims got a call from a Downtownie, who invited him on an outing to "Hobbies." I was not brave enough to accept the invitation and see what would happen. Just wanted to share so others will know it's a possibility if you keep the IDNO as Downtown.

My theory on the first-time loading seems to be holding up. I'll do a bit more testing on this initialization thing in a test hood. I would appreciate more findings from other players, especially if they're contradictory. Once its validity is reasonably assured, I'll summarize, edit and re-post leaths's original instructions.

MOAR testing, because this is now stuck in my head. Plus, I've been stupidly testing this in my main hood, and I wanted to try and fix what I did.

I remembered that none of my hobby lots had been visited before I began messing with this stuff, so I thought I'd try replacing one of the erroneous lots with a backup, just to see what would happen. At the backup point, the hobby lots had never been visited by sims and I had not changed them in any way.

1. Replaced Peerless Park lot file with backup.
2. Loaded game, took two different sims to Peerless Park. One sim was the original test subject, the other was just another sim with membership. Lot loaded properly, with hobby maven and 2 other lot members.
3. Quit game, loaded SimPE. Changed hood IDN0 to Downtown.
4. Loaded game, took original test sim to Peerless Park. Lot loaded properly, with hobby maven and 2 other lot members.
5. Quit game, loaded SimPE, Changed lot value U0 to 0x00000023. Lot itself still had not been edited in any way.
6. Loaded game, took original test sim to Peerless Park. Lot loaded properly, with hobby maven and 2 other lot members.
7. Loaded hobby subhood and lot. Changed zoning to community, made a small build change to lot, saved, and then changed zoning back to hobby lot.
8. Returned to main hood. Took original test sim, everything fine, etc.
9. Took a third sim, one who had never been to Peerless Park before, to the lot. Maven & 2 members appeared.

Repeated process with a backup of My Muse II - Art Studio. Received identical results as with Peerless Park.

The cool thing is, it looks like even when the lot was screwy, I got it to work again by restoring a backup of the lot file. And the Nature maven was the one I made in CAS and changed to maven with the townie gun, so that process seems to work as well (still not sure about using the townie gun to create them, tho'). I'm going to keep at this, and if I run into any issues I'll report back.

Zazazu, I re-read your earlier post, and I think our results concur. You modified Games of Glory, then took sims there, and it didn't work. But Dreamy Fields, which you did not change, worked just fine. It would help if you could clearly remember whether or not you took sims to Games of Glory before modifying the lot, though. But try restoring a backup of Games of Glory, take a sim there, and see if the lot works.

That's from CB's Community Time hack. I am curious about the 'Magic' option, though.

Yes, they mean starting over from scratch. Sims and lots are not saved to the neighborhood templates; they are saved to My Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Neighborhoods. You will lose your sims and lots unless you take steps to preserve them in some way. Unoccupied lots can be packaged, but I'm not sure about sims.

But when your neighborhood is very corrupted, your best option is to delete it and start new. I have seen some confusion around clean and empty templates, so allow me a moment to clarify them (my apologies in advance if you already know the following):

• If you have clean templates, you will still have the original Eaxis playable sims and a few townies, but they will be in their original state. Like Emma said, you can get those neighborhoods to regenerate by deleting your 'The Sims 2' folder in My Documents (move your Downloads and Saved Sims folders first, otherwise they'll be lost). So if you're playing Pleasantview: Brandi Broke will be pregnant, Beau a toddler, Dustin a teen, Cassandra and Don will be engaged, the Burbs and Oldies in the sim bin, etc.
• If you have empty templates, you will have NO sims at all upon regenerating 'The Sims 2' folder: no playables, no townies, no NPCs. Empty templates are required for players who want a totally custom-made 'hood, or for players that want to make their own sims and move them into the Goth house, as Emma described.

I actually have a combination of clean and empty templates - my main neighborhood templates are clean, but all suburbs and stealth hoods (Universities, Downtown, Shopping District, Pets, Vacation Destinations, Hobbies) are empty. When I want to test something, I can generate a new 'The Sims 2' folder and use the Pleasantview playables for testing. But when I want to create a new 'hood, I can do so without getting any Eaxis-made sims.

That tutorial worked well for me. Read the whole thread, though, because there should be some information specific to the Bon Voyage and FreeTime expansions.

Yes, that's an old post and only applies if OFB is your latest expansion pack.

I tried tackling questions 1-4, but there was a lot of "I think" and "I believe" in my answers. You'll be better off getting more solid information from people who are sure of that stuff.

I don't see a problem... when your sim carries a cell phone, all telephone options are supposed to appear on the sim menu.

See edited post above. Just make sure you're typing the name of the lot exactly as it appears: capital letters, punctuation, spaces. You do have to be in the proper subhood to load a lot in it. So to load FM, you have to load Downtown first, and then enter the cheat there.


Yep, antiredundancy is in. Probably should have reported it at the time, but I just figured I was doin' it wrong.  Still a possibility that I haven't ruled out.



Edit: Okay, I just did some more testing, and I think I have figured out why some of my hobby lots are not working. The lots that work are ones that were initialized before any changes were made to them. This leads me to believe that my previous statement was false, and rather it seems that before one can make any changes to the lot, you must send a sim to the lot at least once to insure the lot gets assigned appropriately as the secret hobby lot.

Here's what happened:
I (foolishly) went into my game and made modifications to all the other secret hobby lots. I then took a sim to Sue's Secret Kitchen. The maven gave the message, but didn't appear. Food judge and bartender showed up, but they are tied to objects. No other sims were on the lot, even though I know for a fact that other sims are members. Perplexed, I summoned the maven to the lot. The maven was able to give hobby instruction and acted normally. Took sim home and sent him to lot again. Same as before, so I took him home again. Tried it with another lot and another sim (Arts & Crafts Studio). Again, same experience as with Sue's Secret Kitchen. Quit the game.

I went back into SimPE, re-hid all lots and the hobby hood. Loaded game again and took sims to visit two other hobby lots, both of which had already had buy/build changes made, and neither of which had already been visited. Neither lot functioned properly. My Games and Sports hobby lots are still functioning properly, and upon re-reading my earlier test, both of those lots had been loaded at least once with no buy/build changes made.

I'm going to do some further testing in another neighborhood, since I've already edited all these lots. It may take me a little while, though, so anyone who's willing, please go ahead and test. I'd like to know whether you get the same results as I did.

Hmmm... it should work on regular res or comm lots. I believe the proper format is:  loadlot <lot name> loadlot "lot name" If there are spaces in the lot name, they need to be included, I think. (It's been awhile since I tried - I'll fire up the game to check and see if it works.) Yes, the cheat still worked on a regular community lot, and it also worked on a hidden secret hobby lot.

Good question, and it brings up an interesting scenario... I originally used an empty hobby template, and spawned mavens with the townie gun. Saved between each one, figured they were all good. But I had difficulty spawning a Nature maven with the gun. Can't remember what the problem was, but it wasn't working. So I ended up making her in CAS, putting her on an empty lot, and then using the townie gun to make her the Nature maven.

This is the interesting part. Once I finally got a sim with high enough enthusiasm in... let's say Cuisine... to get invited to the hobby lot (or whatever it is that first gets notification from the maven) the game did not recognize the Cuisine maven that I had spawned with the townie gun. Instead, it generated a *new* Cuisine maven, but of course NOT in the proper Cuisine maven outfit or anything. The second maven was the one present at Sue's Secret Kitchen. This happened with all the mavens *except* the Nature maven. The Nature maven is still technically the one I made in CAS and turned into the maven. Yet, that's the only secret hobby lot so far that isn't working.

(If anything I've written above is unclear, let me know and I'll try to better summarize it.  )

The 9 mavens that I spawned with the townie gun... I think I summoned them to a lot and made them regular townies with the teleporter cat once I saw the game making more mavens. But I'm concerned about the maven-making functionality in the townie gun.

Edit: to fix error in loadlot stuff, and then again for clarity.

First, kudos to leaths for figuring this out!!!


I have to second this theory. I just played around with this method for editing hobby lots, and had the following results...

1. Peerless Park: nature maven created in CAS and turned into maven using townie gun.

Changed hobby subhood to downtown in SimPE and unhid hobby lot.
Loaded game; changed lotzoning, Awesome-ized the bathrooms.
Turned lot back to secret hobby lot (hobby hood visible, lot visible as well)
Took sim to park (which displayed properly under 'Hobbies')
Lot loaded. Received message from maven, but maven was not physically present. No other sims in residence, even though quite a few have membership to Peerless Park. However, it was late at night, which may have played a part.
Returned sim to home lot, quit, etc.
Loaded SimPE.
Changed Lot Description to re-hide it. (thus hobby hood visible, but lot hidden)
Reloaded game, took sim back to park: maven did not show. Returned sim to home lot, quit, etc.
Loaded SimPE. Changed back to Suburb and Lot Description back to 0x00000133. (thus hobby hood hidden, but lot visible)
Reloaded game, took sim back to park: maven still did not show.


2. Games of Glory: games maven generated by the game.

Made no changes to lot, took sim to lot. (Hobby hood hidden)
Lot loaded, received message from maven. Maven physically present and a couple other sims as well, everything working as expected.
Quit game, loaded SimPE.
Changed hood IDNO to Downtown. (Hobby hood visible)
Loaded game.
Lot loaded, maven physically present and a couple other sims as well, everything working as expected. Took sim home, quit game.
Loaded SimPE: changed Lot Description to 0x00000023. (Lot visible from hood)
Lot loaded, maven physically present and a couple other sims as well, everything working as expected. Took sim home, then loaded Hobby subhood.
Edited lot, took sim to lot, maven physically present and same two sims, everything working as expected.


3. Dreamy Fields: sports maven generated by the game.

Made no changes to lot, took sim to lot. (Hobby hood visible)
Lot loaded, maven physically present and a couple other sims as well, everything working as expected. Took sim home, quit game.
Loaded SimPE: changed Lot Description to 0x00000023. (Lot visible from hood)
Lot loaded, maven physically present and a couple other sims as well, everything working as expected. Took sim home, then loaded Hobby subhood.
Edited lot, took sim to lot, maven physically present and same two sims, everything working as expected.


I haven't tested all hobby lots, but I only have one maven that was initially generated in CAS, and so far that's the only lot that doesn't work as expected. Of course, I neglected to test it before I started messing with this process, so I can't say whether it was already borken. 

And I agree, from my findings I think it will probably be fine to leave the lots and subhood unhidden. You probably don't really need to change to Lot Description, but use the loadlot cheat instead. Haven't tried it yet, but it worked when I edited the secret vacation lots. However, if you're going into SimPE anyway, it's a trivial change and you might as well do it to save trying to remember the exact lot name later.

Witch, that is really nice. I love the bold roof color... I shy away from the bright roof tiles, but love it when other people use them. I wonder why that is?


Three things I love in a sim house! I second BastDawn's request - share, please! I would like a complete collection for my subhood.

Were their original eyes custom (way back when you made them in CAS)? When changing genetic eye color, you have to change it both in the SimDNA and the character file age data for the change to stick. I've never tried it with SimSurgery, but I've had success using the SimDNA/age data method.

Here is a related thread with more detailed information.

I had a new computer with a faulty CD-ROM drive that died within 6 months. (This was before I started downloading cracked executables, and I think excessive simming with the disc contributed to its early death.) It was fully covered under warranty; the manufacturer shipped a replacement to me for free.

Any chance you got SecuRom? Breaking CD/DVD-ROM drives is one of the things for which it has a reputation...

Gethane, thank you for the compliment... I have downloaded more than a few of your Maxis-only houses and they've really helped me pick up ideas to expand my decorating palette.

Witch, that looks lovely so far. I made the exterior walls a really bright color as I was building so I would not accidentally change or delete them. I agree with your comment about the time it takes to build and furnish a house. Maybe a quick slap-dab job can be done in an hour, but I spent a good portion of 2 days working on my house. Between some bad starts, making build tweaks as I began furnishing it, and then decorating and redecorating the rooms, it just took time.

Well, it just looked so normal in comparison to Hecubus's and Rohina's! Thanks, everyone. I love house makeover challenges, but I work so slowly on building/decorating that I end up past the deadline and then never submit. So, yay me for finally getting off my butt and entering for once.

I'm about to go on a downloading spree here, meself, and will probably also end up with a 190 Sim Lane neighborhood. So many great houses! Too many to comment on all of them, but I can't wait to see these all in my game.

My makeover seems a bit pedestrian after seeing some of the more inventive and elaborate ideas already submitted. It's moderately AwesomeSpec, but not to the letter. I didn't expand the house very much; just added a garage, enclosed part of the back right corner and added space upstairs like many others have done. I changed the exterior to a combo of two stucco tones and used one of the red tile roofs. The landscaping is generally desert/palms, and although the house is shown on lush terrain, I think it would look best on desert terrain. Definitely the most challenging part for me was dealing with those stupid-ass extra chimney walls on the third level.

190 Sim Lane Makeover by Roux
3 BR / 4 BA with garage, pool and greenhouse
Price: 78,481 (depreciated with Magic Wand)
All expansions and stuff packs through K&B installed, with the exception of Teen Style

Click pictures to enlarge, and/or click here to view slideshow with even MOAR pictures.
To download, click here.

Overview: front view; back view; ground floor layout; first floor layout.
Front perimeter fencing provided. Note use of annoying fake chimney for a two-story window above the back door. Kitchen and stairway lockable. Dining room contains caffeination station (front left corner), post-serving counter, and is large enough to add a buffet table for parties (move corner plant). Plenty of room in the yard to expand the greenhouse and add a pond for nature-loving types, place large career rewards, or hold outdoor parties. First floor could be further expanded by using the roof area over the garage.


Ground floor: entryway; living room; dining room; kitchen; bath.
Entryway contains the phone (in the little cubby behind the stairs) and The One Desk. In the living room, I moved the fireplace and used that area for the back door. I've done better living rooms, but it should flow without major traffic jams. The dining room has plenty of seating and room to navigate. Kitchen is neutral with one accenting wall with a backsplash.


First floor bedrooms: master; second; nursery.
I added a stage and plants below the 2-story window in the master bedroom. In both master and second bedrooms, a bedside lamp could be removed and replaced with Sleep Clock. The nursery is not AwesomeSpec, but in a pinch (OMGTWINZ!!11oneeleventyone!) it could hold two cribs and a changing table, and a fridge could go in the hallway. Then upon aging to toddlers, I'd convert the second bedroom into a playroom.


First floor baths: all three of them.



My personal favorite part of the house is the dining room: I really like the contrast of the whitewashed floorboards, purpley walls, and green accents.

With CC, I'd use a modified version of the stairs that are open underneath and store the Lot Debugger, Lot Sync Timer and Macrotastics launcher in the stairwell. This lot was not playtested, but my biggest area of concern is stairwell traffic flow... I prefer landings to be at least 2x2, so there might be some hiccups.

From my casual observations, walking actually gives a boost to energy & fun, at the very least. They do say that exercising increases energy, but I thought that was more like developing a slower-decay energy motive (if humans were sims). My feeling is that when walking to a lot, hygiene should drop, energy should drop except for fit sims, and lazy sims should get a drop in fun. "You want me to walk?"

Or Major Major Major Major. 
(Catch-22)

Several users have reported errors similar to yours, and it seems they were related either to warmthfixes or (surprisingly) the merged Maxis 'hood.

This thread might be useful. A search for "crap" and "GUID" should reveal some other threads, too.

[ETA: it only took me 17 days, 11 hours and 37 minutes of clocked forum time, but I finally got to 50 posts and earned my first set of lips! Woot!]

Ditto. Except, I can't stomach the random death of a child. I am a stupid F. Some other ideas:

Make new friend
Turn on a friend and make him/her an enemy (Yesterday we were BFFs, today we are enemies. AKA, I hate you now!)
Fight with a family member
Satisfy 3 fears in 24 sim hours (even/especially if they are all 'death of family member' fears)

I'll be working on this over the weekend. It may end up being more complicated than I was hoping, but I'll just have to see how it goes.

Thanks - that's really helpful. I think my hood is even larger than yours (100+ playables), and I just had two families give birth to triplets because I didn't realize TwoJeffs changed the method for adjusting Trip/Quad random odds. 

What I am thinking about right now is to have different random event lists for each life stage (each would have a combo of positive and negative events), and then an age-sorted list of playables. Then have the randomizer roll events for each life stage, such as 1 child, 1 teen, 1 YA, 2 adult, and 1 elder. As sims age up, their names get shuffled to the next life stage in the text file and then removed when they die. I don't have your strict method of playing 2-day rounds, so I maybe I'll just roll it once/season.

Time to play! Oh that's right, I'm at work...

darcee, what is your process for rolling random events? I have pondered incorporating this somehow, but could never decide whether to roll per neighborhood, per household, or per sim. Not to mention how often the roll occurs. Every day seemed too much, once a week seemed too little.