FT: game keeps crashing when sim is about to become elder - SOLVED

[Crash]

I get the "application crashed..." message when my sim is about to grow from adult to elder. With or without cake, or letting him grow up on his own - it's the same result. Game crashes. Simply using the 'grow up' option, at one time set the sims age meter back 6 days left of being an adult.

I have all the EP's including FT, and I only have the DC. I have been playing FT fine for days before any of this happened - with the same config. I only got one weird crash when another sim of mine was on his community lot.

Anyway, I tried getting a log, and turned on testingcheat - but I didn't get any error message(I get nothing, it just crashes).

I attached a file, and I'm hoping it's the right one. It's the latest text file in the log folder, as the FAQ says it should be. You guys think I should force an error?

[mildlydisguised]

What are your system specifications?

Does your game crash in other households when ageing adults to elders?

Also have you tried uninstalling FT and reinstalling?

[Aggie]

Crash, does this only happen with that one specific Sim or on that lot? I wonder if that Sim's character data got corrupted somehow.

Do you use SimPE? Do you use any other external programs to edit the game with?

[Crash]

I attached the config file if you want to know more about my specifications - anyways it's Visa, dual core 2.13ghz, 2gb ram (of which the games uses 50%).

I haven't aged another elder in FT.

And I'd rather not reinstall, but if I have to I will.


I will force an error as someone suggested. Maybe  previous forced error can help though.  I'll attach those too later.

EDIT: It happens only with this one sim, at the exact moment when the aging is supposed to happen. I've been wanting to check if it's the same thing with other sims too.  I'll get back to you. I don't use simpe.

[mildlydisguised]

Your specifications look ok.  I would definitely check out whether the game crashes when ageing other adults to elder before taking the more drastic step of reinstalling the EP.

[J. M. Pescado]

Do not force unsolicited error logs, they don't help. If the game CRASHES on age-up, it is probably due to either incompatible CC, or file damage.

[Crash]

Ok, thanks Pescado - since I have played with the same CC for some time now without encountering any errors, it is probable that file damage is the issue here then. But I'm still working on getting confirmation if or if not the same thing happens for other sims  - when aging to elder.

Since I have played another lot for quite some time without encountering any crashes, I think it's possible that some data damage were done to either that particular lot or sim.

I do have noted a certain lag at certain points in the game (vehicles entering or leaving the lot for example) that seems a bit more prolonged since I installed FT.

Questions:
1. would lag, crashes occur because I install a new EP over 'old' files, so to speak? Or is that just due to incompatibility of CC? Would file damage occur due to simply installing a new ep?
2. What can one do to prevent file damage? If there is anything?

[Simsample]

Do you have your sim on a custom career, or have any custom outfits in game? I remember someone having a similar issue on MTS2, and it turned out it was caused by the game trying to assign an elder version of a career outfit which didn't exist. Try changing the sim's outfit, or perhaps removing custom clothes/ careers.

[Zazazu]

Could the custom-skin-with-no-X-lifestage-file/mannequin skin issue be in play? I've only heard of that striking with babies.

[Crash]

Thanks guys,
but I don't have any custom careers or custom career outfits.

The sim has a custom skin though - not sure about the no-x-lifestage thingy for that skin - but how could that crash my game?

[mitchellcjs]

If your custom-skinned sim has no elder on the custom skin, then the game will still LOOK for it.  Skinless sims are *invisible*.  Game doesn't like that, obviously, and will break.

[Aggie]

Easy enough to check (in a manner of speaking). Get the Beta SimPE for Free time and alter the skintone of the Sim in question and then try it again. Some questions, though:

1). Do you have access to the QA version of SimPE?
2). Do you know how to alter the skintone of the Sim?

#2 is easy to help you with, but you require SimPE to do it. If you need SimPE and are willing to try this, I can offer you a link to download it.

[Sleepycat]

SimPE for Free Time has been released already
http://sims.ambertation.de/

[Aggie]

...oh. Wow. That's impressive. 

[Crash]

Yeah, I usually download and install the latest simpe, even though I never use it (almost never), and when I do use it, I always strictly follow instructions (I've used it like once), and I always back up my game.

I have no idea how to change the skintone though - I don't dare try it out on my own.

[jsalemi]

I'm pretty sure there's a tutorial over on MTS2 about changing a sim's skintone, but for the life of me I can't find it right now.  If I do, I'll pass it along.

[Aggie]

Crash: to change a skin tone, here's what you do:

1). Open the Neighborhood.
2). Select Sim Browser and then select a Sim that has any other skin tone (preferably one with a Maxis skin tone).
3). When their info comes up, click on the More button and select SimDNA.
4). Copy one of the lines of code from the Skin tone line (doesn't matter if it's recessive or dominant) and paste it into a notepad document.
5). Go back to Sim Browser and select the problem Sim.
6). Click on the More button and then Sim Dna.
7). Paste the skin tone line of code you copied earlier over both the Dominand AND recessive codes. Save.

Enter the game again and (just for good measure) have that Sim go to a mirror to officially change their appearance. The new skin tone should show up. Then try aging them up again.

[Crash]

Update:

I followed Angie's instructions and changed the skintone, then tried to age the sim - game still crashed.
I reloaded and forced an error on the sim that won't age. Error log attached.


I tried aging another sim on another lot that I haven't had any problems with whatsoever.
- At first I thought that I worked, because the sim did age (before the crashes always occur right before the aging animation), but then,
when I got to choose 'who to age with me' - the game crashed as soon as I clicked continue on that dialogue. Could that age dialogue feature be the issue with the elders? I am just reaching for straws here, but I am getting desperate.

I am thinking it can't be the skintone though, because the last sim I tried to age did age, and with the correct skintone, the game just crashed anyway...




[attachment deleted by admin]

[Kyna]

Since it happens when it's trying to bring up the dialog box to ask if you want to age up townies, I'm wondering whether it might be a hair, skin or outfit worn by a townie he knows.  Perhaps one of your townies has a corrupt hair, skin or outfit.

You're not using a "dress as top" outfit are you?  The original mesh for that caused crashes when a dialog box was opened, and it was fixed.  However, by the time it was fixed other CC creators were already using the bad mesh, and some of this CC is still out there in the Sims community.

[Crash]

Hmm, you might be right that it's some kind of cc.

However I don't think I am using 'dress as top', because I don't even recognize the phrase. I don't use random stuff either - most of my hairs are nouks, and skins and outfits are all from mts2.

But I guess I should start removing stuff and see what happens.

[Kyna]

Being from MTS2 is not a guarantee that CC won't bork your game, especially given the way new EPs can bork CC.  The mesh I'm thinking of was originally posted at MTS2 by a well-known creator over there.  If there was one clothing mesh that could bork a game, then there are probably others by other creators.

[Simsample]

The easiest test here would probably be to backup the hood, then test with your downloads folder removed. That would tell you once and for all if the issue is with custom content. Remove the Saved Sims folder too if you have items in there.

[Crash]

Update:

I removed the downloads folder and saved sims folder. Game does not crash when I try to age the sim. So far so good.

But then I added the entire downloads folder again and removed one folder at a time and tried aging the sim - hairs, skintones, defaults - game still crashes.

I then removed the Clothes Elder folder, and the game suddenly works! Yay, I thought I might have found something.

In the next step I added back folders in case some of them might work after all. Added back hairs - the game crashes. removed hair, then added back skintones - game works! Added back defaults - game still crashes. Remove defaults.

Now the game folders that had worked so far was with skintones, so logically it should have worked to age the sim now - but again the game crashes!

I doesn't make any sense. It seems random what effects the game and what doesn't. How could the skintone folder not crash the game, then suddenly crash it?

There's something more going on here, but I have no clue what it is.

[Simsample]

Either conflicting content, more than one faulty item or perhaps not clearing the caches between game loading?

[Crash]

I cleared cache, and even removed the skintone folder aswell, but the game keeps crashing.

I'm not sure what you mean by conflicting content.

It's possible that I have more than one faulty item, but how can I know what causes it?

I load the game twice with the same folders, and I get different results? I don't get it.

The only question left for me is - what CC is safe. Because right now it seems every single item in my downloads folder is making the game crash when I age to elder. Have anyone else with FT and CC tried aging a sim to elder?

Also, if you have managed to age a sim, I'd like to know what kind of CC you have - what creators - so I know where to get stuff.

There's something seriously wrong.

Finally - is it possible that a reinstall of the game would help?

Thanks for answering.