Seasons "Want Slot" Troubles

[Zirconia Wolf]

Well, I finally got Sims 2 onto my new PC & have run into a strange little glitch involving continuing "blank" want slots.

Back on my old PC (in my pre-seasons days) I only encountered this once: Mary Sue Pleasant would have 1 blank want slot when I first loaded the Pleasant home, but once she came home from work that day everything was peachy. There were NO other problems with any other Sims/Lots or Hoods.

This time though I'm having a re-occuring problem that- near as I can figure out- seems to be tied into the Goth lot. The 1st time I loaded/played, Cassandra had only 1 "working" want slot. When I "upgraded" her with MATYs Lot De-Bugger (as I usually do) she got her new "6-slot" pannel, but 5 of them were black & had a lock on them! (This was NEVER the problem with Mary Sue! I have never seen "blacked-out" slots before! )

So- after playing a bit more with other lots- I gave up & swapped my current N1 folder with one I had made right after I installed the game. (Totaly fresh copy. )

This time it was Mortimer with the glitch (he was only "missing" 2 slots) and again, I got the weird blacked-out/locked slot look. However after moving Mortimer out & onto another lot, he's doing just fine....but after going back to play with Cassandra (still on the Goth lot) I now find she has suddenly come up with 2 blank slots! Also, she has a morbid fear of having a party (1000 point Aspiration hit) and also WANTS to have a party (2000 point Aspiration bonus) at the same time!

Any thoughts?

I've used both the Lot De-Bugger & InSIM to "refresh" wants (which they both claim will fix the whole blank slot thing) with no results.

I have all the offical Maxis Patches (including the new Pets & Seasons ones) installed aswell.

I'm kinda hoping there's a way to fix this without trying a complete re-install!

-ZW

(Oh yes, whenever I load the Goth house, the game automatically sets it's self to "pause" instead of "normal speed" for some reason. That's also leading me to belive it's somehow lot specific.)

[Miros1]

Do you have any hacks that affect wants, like JMP's nopetspam?

I think I read somewhere that this is caused by a sort of "mini-crash" in the want generator... i.e. something just stops instead of returning "valid want" or "invalid want," so the UI doesn't know what to do with that slot.

[Zirconia Wolf]

Hmmmm. Interesting.

As a matter of fact I do have some "want hacks". I will go ahead and remove most of them (can't live without the NoRandomFlirt & NoEngageWant ones! ) and see what gives.

May also try a clean install (since I'm not very "far" into the game yet) to see if maybe that helps.

Thanks for the advise!

-ZW

(I have some hacks that affect memories too...any chance they could be causing problems? Also, I found a hack titled "noadhd" that I am 99% sure is from MATY, but for the life of me I can't find it listed & have no idea what it does! I know I installed it for a reason, but..... )

[Miros1]

I think noadhd is from MATY too. I think the name's been changed. Will look for it tomorrow.

You could just name your My Document/EA Games/The Sims 2 folder and let the game create a new one (new hoods, no downloads whatsoever). Then when you figure out the problem, you could delete the new folder and rename your old one to be the current game.

[Zirconia Wolf]

**QUICKY UPDATE**

Well, I pulled pretty much all the "want" effecting mods I had & booted up the game. Cassandra (my problem child) was back to all 6 want slots good to go, although she was standing in a flower bed in her work clothes (when I last saved she was at work) and still had her fear/desire for a party.

I checked in on Mortimer 9in his new home), and he was still good although he was inside rather than outside like I had last left him. Also Alexandar was standing next to him when he was suposed to be at school.

Just out of curiosity I checked in quick with the Pleasants- more specifically on Mary Sue (who was my 1 quirky Sim before Seasons)- and everyone there was good.

Very interesting & strange! (Really wondering if it's a Mortimer/Alexandar/Cassandra and/or "Goth Lot" thing! )

Will try and play around a little more tomorrow....

-ZW

[Zirconia Wolf]

***QUICKY UPDATE 2***

Just for kicks I wiped/re-install Sims 2 Seasons (all patches,EPs, etc) and have noticed one strange little thing:

When installing an EP/SP there is a "mini splash page" that pops up for a second or two with the name of the EP/SP on it. These were all crystal clear except the one for Seasons which had a distinct "jagged edge" look to the edges of the Sims 2 writing/logo. I have one of the nVidia cards specifically listed as a Seasons prefered one (in the read me file) so i just found this a bit odd.

Anyone else notice this? Is this normal?

-ZW

[Miros1]

Very weird! I don't have Seasons yet, so I can't report on it.

[Zirconia Wolf]

It's just me again! It seems that noadhd (which is from MATY) has something to do with Sims finishing chess games, or something like that. Since it's not a "want-alterer" I'm leaving it in place. I am also making double sure that all my mods are Seasons Compatible (or at least not incompatible! ) just in case.

Another strange thing: I just got the "Seasons Okay" version of CEP & see that it as 2 files, one that goes in my Downloads & one that replaces something in the base game (or something like that) which is strange because I could swear that before I only had a "Download" file! Never remember replacing anything else.....

-ZW

[Greg]

Can you make a list of the "want-alterer" hacks that you have? That might provide a clue.

I've had a few instances of missing wants, but so far they have always healed themselves just by playing the game.

[Greg]

Hmm... maybe. I'd wait until a more reliable source analyzes the problem.

[Miros1]

That still doesn't explain why removing your hacks "fixed" the problem.

[Zirconia Wolf]

Okay, granted MATY isn't exactly my favorite source of knowlege, but the problems described in that thread were exactly what I was running into. That, plus the fact that I hadn't added any new hacks from my Pets install (which again, was working pretty darn spiffy) seems to point to an EP glitch.

I also found it nice to know that I have not been imagining the fact that- try as I might- I just can NOT get some of the "scripted" events to work like the Prima Guide walkthroughs claimed they are supposed to. Makes sense now that I see that past EPs have skewed some of those elements.

Every little once in a while, MATY does serve a purpose! Other than being (saddly) still one of the #1 sources for decent hacks. I just make sure to rinse off well after visiting....

-ZW

[Miros1]

You only rinse? I scrub with bleach!

[Zirconia Wolf]

Originally Posted by Miros1

You only rinse? I scrub with bleach!

-ZW

[Zirconia Wolf]

Well I am know a totall beliver in the Seasons Pre-Scripted Events/Familys Glitch.

The whole "Pleasant family" thing (which I have gone through a couple times before) is most certainly completely messed with. Too messed with to even be "fun" anymore. I finally (through the use of creative storytelling/picture staging & one heck of an imagination) got things to play out the way I needed them to, but it was a real pain!

On the Goth front, Cassandra goes from only 1 of 6 slots working (always about going on a date) to all 6 involving talking/playing/joking with her current husband Don. While they are starting to amass quite a nice collection of "Date Gifts" (Don runs outside & leaves them on their own porch) it's starting to wear a little thin! I hate to have to knock her up just to trigger a new "want tree" (as babies always seem to do) but she is leaving me little alternative!

(Yes, I had removed all hacks relating to wants and even relationships. They are all back in now 'cause I need them for other things.)

Oh well.

I will just consider this an exersize in creative problem solving!

[Greg]

That's fascinating. I've never been interested in playing the Pleasant family even as they came with the original game, so now I'm hearing they're even worse?

[Zirconia Wolf]

"Worse" is an understatement! Several of the "per-scripted" Sims are actually missing the wants/fears they "have" to have in order to make the "pre-scripted" events make sense or even take place!

Examples: Cassandra's only want is to go on a date & she has NO wants/fears involiving marrying Don or talking to Darren. Daniel Pleasant has no want to WooHoo with Kaylynn OR fear of getting caught cheating by Mary-Sue. Loki Beaker has "swapped" fears/aspiration levels with Nervous Subject, and is in almost continual Aspiration Failure because of seeing cockroaches. (Actually, I have a soft spot for poor Nervous & rather enjoyed seeing him laugh at Loki for a change, but Loki is almost unplayable this way! )

I did find this advise which I might try to see what happens.
http://www.insimenator.net/showthread.php?t=42619

I am also considering doing an un-install, re-installing up to Pets (which was working fine for me) , playing through what "pre-scripted" crap I feel like, then adding Seasons/Celebrations to the mix. The lack of public outcry over this glitch really makes me think it's only rampant with the "pre-scripted" events (which most people have played through before installing Seaons) so if they are already triggered I'm hoping that will fix things!

-ZW

[Greg]

Yeah, it might help to just get past all the pre-scripted events. On the other hand, that might lead your characters into directions that you don't want them to go.

F'rinstance, I wouldn't have Cassandra marry Don Lothario. Better to feed that guy to the dogs.

[Zirconia Wolf]

Originally Posted by Greg

F'rinstance, I wouldn't have Cassandra marry Don Lothario. Better to feed that guy to the dogs.

Actually, I think that would be grossly unfair to the dogs & borders on cruelty to animals!

I've gone ahead & uninstalled/re-installed up to Pets. The more I thought about it, the more I've decided to just get the "Maxis Crap" outta the way (the way I think it should go) then inflict Seasons on my game.

Will post my findings later. (I'm off to my wood carving class right now. )

-ZW

[Miros1]

I had Don Lothario boff the gardner girl until he starved to death. Problem solved!