Can Maxis Townies Disappear?

[MattShizzle]

Back before I blew everything by trying to install an EP without backup I had noticed certain Townies I always killed (like Goopy, Komei, and the guy in the kilt) never showed up anymore as townies in new neighborhoods. I had been playing since soon after the game came out (SEP 2004) and ALWAYS killed those sims! Instead I'd get the ones I usually/sometimes let live and random ones. After the big crash (<2 months ago) I get them again. Anyone else have this happen? I made A LOT of neighborhoods - I deleted ones I no longer played but EASILY had made 45 or more neighborhoods over the years until that time.

[iCad]

As far as I know, they can't disappear. The only way to make them do so is to use clean templates. But then you wouldn't have any of them, not just a couple of them. I used to have clean templates, specifically because I got tired of the Pleasantview townies...but then I started to miss some of them. :lol: I wish I could choose which ones to have and which to not have, outside of killing them.

It's possible that you DO have the ones you're "missing" but just don't see them. Maybe you miss seeing them when they do a walkby. I know that some of mine are definitely a rarer sight than others. Some I only ever see if I visit a community lot, but some I see all the time.

[katalina522]

Do you use a name replacement hack? Perhaps they are regenerating in other neighborhoods under new names.

[MattShizzle]

I do use one now, but didn't then. They appear now - and the description of the hack said it only applies to newly generated sims (it's the one that makes sure all the names are ones normally seen in the West - ie no Goopys or Ahbijeets. They definitely no longer appeared then - I used to see them all the time but after killing them in every neighborhood 25+ times I never saw them again until the destruction of everything I did (and now they appear again.) Lets not forget there are only so many townies...
I found easier ways to get rid of them now - to make a character first name NPC last name Killa and bring all the ones I hate and kill them (basically all but Benjamin Long, Brandi LaTorneau, Meadow Thayer and Tosha Go (unless she shows up like every walkby lthen she dies too.) Newest neighborhood I just used the "deleteallcharacters" cheat before making any of my own sims to get rid of ALL Pleasantview townies and then use the mailbox to create new ones. I also usually get rid of ones that just look wrong (either really ugly or like black with red or blond hair.)

eta I also use boolprop and that "magic mirror" hack to fix townies so none of them are grouchy or sloppy. If I get sick of seeing one walkby if they aren't one I made or had moved in first I make them pee their pants and if they keep showing up... RIP!
:rofl:

[Mootilda]

You can stop those townies from being added to a new neighborhood by:

1) Using empty templates.
2) Using clean templates which don't have those townies.
3) Renaming the appropriate NeighborhoodTemplate folders under C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res and the appropriate Neighborhoods folders under C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData.
4) Using the AnyGameStarter.to create an empty environment.

[MattShizzle]

Yeah, but the deleteall cheat is easier and killing them is more fun.

(darn no evil/devil smilie here!)

[Peni Griffin]

Um - did you just say you used deleteallcharacters this time? Please say I misunderstand. Deleteallcharacters is a 'hood killer. I thought you were killing them because you understood that deleting sims is a Very Bad Thing.

[Mootilda]

You might want to look over this article:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Avoiding_Hood_Corruption

[MattShizzle]

That was the first time I ever used it. I don't have any EPs if that makes a difference. I see it lists don't delete tombstones/urns and I've done that every time they've appeared ever since I had the game since I don't want the disruption of ghosts, and with all the sims I kill...
Never really had those problems.
If that cheat is really that bad I can always zap the neighborhood and start over - I haven't added any lots other than "start" (the one I use to give sims some skills and set the personality how I want and give them enough money to have a decent house - it's an empty lot, too) and created 5 sims that I can easilly redo. I wasn't even planning on starting to play it a few months. I'm still playing the first one since the crash and have another one ready to start soon that I just used the "hitman" NPC Killa.

[MattShizzle]

Also, I used the cheat immediately after creating the neighborhood, before doing anything else.

[Mootilda]

Please don't double post; use the Edit button to add information to your existing post.

Don't use deleteallcharacters. It's really bad, regardless of which EPs you have or when you use it.

[MattShizzle]

Well, I won't use that again then. I'll just use NPC Killa or if I'm bored enough make a sim of Tony Soprano or a RL Serial Killer to get rid of the bad ones. That other stuff is beyond me. I'm all but retarded when it comes to computer stuff - took me months to figure out how to use winzip/winrar.

[Mootilda]

I wondered whether you had done one of the things on the list and then forgotten about it, which is why you didn't have any of the standard townies for a while.

[MattShizzle]

I was glad to see them gone while it lasted. As far as the tombstone/urn how do you NOT delete it without EPs and not have ghosts? I normally delete several dozen tombstones per neighborhood and hadn't had real problems (I did have the squiggly line death memory thing until adding the no death memory corrupt hack.) I also always kill the townie children as they are a pain and recently added a hack so they don't regenerate (when they die adults regenerate instead) - from MATY iirc.

[nikel23]

The notownieregen will not generate any more townies even if you kill the townie children, adults, or whatever life stage. If you don't have Nightlife, maybe you can try securing a tombstone in a stairless foundation. I never really do this, but I always see that ghosts go up and down with stairs, so they possibly get contained if there's no stairs.

[MattShizzle]

I still want townies, just not the Pleasantview ones or any townie children.

[Mootilda]

All of the methods that I listed above will prevent the Pleasantview townies from being added to your newly created neighborhood.

The simplest is probably to rename:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData\Neighborhoods
to:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData\Neighborhoods.BKP

[MattShizzle]

OK I did that. Be a while before I make a new neighborhood again, but hey.

[sweetbaby160]

If you don't have Nightlife, maybe you can try securing a tombstone in a stairless foundation. I never really do this, but I always see that ghosts go up and down with stairs, so they possibly get contained if there's no stairs.

What I've heard works as well, is if you have a larger lot, surround the graves with a stream of water from the build mode, Ghosts can't cross water.

:turtle:

[katalina522]

To prevent corruption with the gravestones in the base game (since there is no version of MATY's nounlinkondelete until NL), I would recommend getting the following hacks so you can make a "cemetery" lot:

SimLogical Stay-Things Shrub (http://www.drealm.info/simlogical/sl/Sims2Downloads/Sims2_MiscObjects/StayThingsShrub.zip)
Stay-Things Shrub Patch for Base & Uni (http://www.drealm.info/simlogical/sl/Sims2Downloads/Sims2_MiscObjects/StayThingsShrubGlobfix.zip)

You can place the shrub on a completely empty lot and use that space to kill other sims, and then whenever you move out to a regular house, the graves will stay there. Then you can move back in and out of that lot whenever you find a new victim. ;) Kind of annoying, but it's a better workaround than amassing dozens of ghosts on your lot if you're worried about them slowing down your game.

[MattShizzle]

Well, even with that what do you do when your sims you made die? I don't want to lose the lot ( I always have the sim couples make paintings of each other to stay) and definitely don't want ghosts. I also don't want to install any EPs. I've never had problems deleting gravestones (as I said before, on the average neighborhood I've done, the number of neighborhoods I've done is in the high 40s at least, I've killed several dozen sims per neighborhood plus those who died of old age - and deleted the gravestone in every case as soon as they were placed - without problem. I'm going to keep doing so unless there is a half-decent solution as it never has been a problem and ghosts are a HUGE problem (not worried about them "slowing down my game" - I don't want them interacting with my sims, breaking stuff, etc or want them at all - I don't want any of the supernatural crap in my game.) and unwanted sims are a pretty big problem.
Sucks that Sims 2 is such an unstable game. Even with the way of blocking the pleasantview sims there are still ones I want to get rid of all the time (ugly or black with red/blonde hair.)
Even when I just made an NPC Killa I deleted that character after removing to the family bin - I mean WTF? I always made teen sims to make up for getting rid of the bad ones and since you have to have adults to make them I just made quick ones to later move out and delete. How are those of us without EPs supposed to do that? The game is unplayable if you can't delete sims or tombstones.

[Peni Griffin]

The tombstone thing is a bug they never really solved, and may even be insoluble, but the ability to move tombstones to community lots allows us to bypass it handily. The game itself is not all that unstable, but along with increased functionality, many problems in the basic code were corrected or provided with workarounds in the EPs. The modding community has corrected and bypassed even more (ones presumably the corporation felt would cost more to fix than they were worth in terms of dollars accrued to the company).

If you've made over 40 neighborhoods, you probably haven't had any particular one very long, so the corruption you're causing hasn't had time to manifest; nor would it matter much in a neighborhood that's disposable anyway.

Those of us who get attached to our sims and neighborhoods and prefer long-term play generally also prefer more complex gameplay than you can get with just the base game; we like our University degrees, Lifetime Wants, chemistry, and so on. It's also worth our while to hunt down mods that correct things that annoy us and prolong the usable lives of our neighborhoods, though they also take up more space and involve more effort. So I reckon we all choose our troubles here.

[MattShizzle]

Yeah, I tend to get bored with neighborhoods and only play 2 or maybe 3 generations. Most I EVER played was 4.

[TortureTheNannies]

The only time I've seen sims disappear is when 'hood corruption was imminent or already present. Since sim disappearance happens with my playables, i assume it happens with townies too. I'm not talking about delete characters cheat.. Just a sim disappears with the "net $subject" memories in other sims.

[MattShizzle]

They didn't disappear from a neighborhood, they just stopped appearing in new ones.

[mirjamsim2love]

Then I have a question.
About the tomb stones. I had two of my Sims go to university and move into a house where already two townies lived. I did not want those two there so I killed them off in small swimmingpools, which I removed again after 'the job was done'. The tombstones irritated me also so I got rid of them too. But now I read it was not the wisest thing to do?
If I remember correctly I got money for it so I basically sold them. Could this become a problem too?
Because it is a Maxis neighbourhood and I would not want corruption in the long run. I am already attached to the hood and the Sims.
Or am I worrying for nothing?
Up until now I have not noticed something particurlarly that could point out corruption or issues.

[maxon]

Sorry, Mirjamsim, you have something to worry about. You might be lucky and it doesn't particularly affect the neighbourhood for a long time but the corruption is there and you can't get rid of it.

[mirjamsim2love]

Okay, thanks for answering. What's done is done. What could happen íf it happens? And is corruption a 100% guarantee or could I be lucky and nothing happens, now this does not seem to have effected the neighbourhood? (At least for now..) I did it right after they started the first semester. They finished Uni without any problems there and the other households are played with also and do not seem to have issues either.

[maxon]

No, it's not guaranteed - sometimes the hood will seize up and crash and burn immediately, sometimes it will go on for quite a while. It's generally more of a problem if you are playing hoods long-term. The present Little Carping, for instance, is in its 5th going on 6th year. I have been meticulous with the files to keep them from getting corrupted (even backtracking to an earlier save several times). Generally, hoods don't last that long without taking care. But if you're likely to delete the hood in a few weeks or months, I wouldn't worry about it, especially if you aren't having problems at the moment.

[Mootilda]

Corruption is 100% guaranteed. However, symptoms of corruption are not. It really depends on how the corruption happens to spread in your neighborhood. Once a neighborhood has been corrupted, as yours has, it can take anywhere from 1 minute to 20 years to experience unplayability as a result of the corruption.

However, your neighborhood is corrupt. The corruption occurs immediately.

[mirjamsim2love]

I was not planning to delete this neighbourhood...but I read some articles how to reset a neighbourhood and keep your sims and their relationships. I could try that soon to prevend it from going sour later?

[Mootilda]

If you want us to comment on an article that you read, then it would be helpful to give us a link to the article.

There is no known way to fix a corrupted neighborhood.

[mirjamsim2love]

O, sorry, it was an article from this site in the help guidelines but I will figure it out myself then.

[Mootilda]

I know that there's an article about resetting a neighborhood, thus losing everything that you've done so far.
http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Reset_Neighborhoods

That doesn't really sound like what you want. I gather that you want your sims relationships intact, including any new sims that you've created or who have been born in-game.

I also know about an article about moving sims to a new neighborhood:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Moving_Sims

The article describes two different techniques: "The Easy Way" and "The Hard Way". The easy way is safe, but will not keep sims relationships. You can add back those relationships using various tools, including SimPE and some in-game mods like the SimBlender, but all that is copied from one neighborhood to the next is the appearance of the sim; everything else needs to be set manually.

So, I'm guessing that you're talking about "The Hard Way". The main problem with the Hard Way is that SimPE may not display everything that needs to be removed. If something is not displayed, then you aren't going to be able to remove it. This means that there is a good chance that the resulting occupied lot will be corrupt, and will corrupt any neighborhood that you install it to. The Hard Way recommends that you test the lot thoroughly before installing it into a neighborhood that you care about, and testing is a key step that many people overlook. However, if you actually manage to create a safe occupied lot, then the sims on that lot will be identical to the sims that you knew in the old neighborhood.

The main problem with the Hard Way is that it only takes one piece of overlooked data to corrupt your entire new neighborhood.

If you weren't talking about one of these two articles, just give us a link to the article and we'll try to advise you.

[mirjamsim2love]

I was talking about those two, yes and try some sort of combination of them.
But because nothing is wrong and this happened nearly a week ago and the hard way is what it sounds I decided (in the mean time) to let it be and see what happens.
But thanks for trying to help. Appreciated.

[CocoMouse]

All of the methods that I listed above will prevent the Pleasantview townies from being added to your newly created neighborhood.

The simplest is probably to rename:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData\Neighborhoods
to:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData\Neighborhoods.BKP
I tried that before and the game crashed when I tried to make a new neighborhood

[Mootilda]

It doesn't crash for me, or for any of the people who use empty AnyGames, or for any of the people who use my Subhood Template tutorial.

I wonder what you're doing wrong?