Mac Base Game Setup Tutorial

[simsample]

With the help of Numenor, rhiamom (http://www.modthesims2.com/member/rhiamom) has written a tutorial for creating a base game/ EP environment for Mac Users.

The article is located in the Support forum, here:
http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=215508

Any comments or questions for rhiamom you can post here, in this thread.

[plasticbox]

Some quick tips on how to streamline this process:

* Of course backups on external media are never a bad thing, but I've found it a lot more straightforward to just rename the game folders (or throw them away; the game regenerates them anyway) and zip the apps instead (right click > Create archive, and then name the zip something useful like "The Sims 2 SSN.app" so that you know which is which). The EPs cannot mess with a zipped game.

* Be aware that the EPs don't only update the main app, but the Package Installer and Body Shop too! The Base Game package installer can be recovered from the installation CD/DVD if you accidentially updated it, but for all other versions you'd have to reinstall the EP(s).

* If the Finder refuses to delete an app that's in the trash, use Secure Delete instead (this isn't only secure, but also gets rid of the whining). Do check what else is in your trash first -- anything deleted this way will be gone forever.

* Instead of renaming EP folders or the info.plist files inside them, you can also modify the main plist: Home/Library/com.aspyr.TheSims2.plist -- this can safely be thrown away if you've done something wrong, the game will just regenerate it. You do lose your current Advanced Prefs settings in that case though, and it will put up the registration nag screen again. What I currently do is move the unneeded EP folders elsewhere (for me this is faster than opening it and renaming a file inside; your mileage may vary).

(Advanced Preferences are what you get when you press Command during startup -- windowed mode, resolutions and suchlike)

* To reduce the amount of crap that Maxis put in every single game folder you will have to keep around (for the different game versions), I strongly recommend you get the Clean+Empty Templates from MATY: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,4306.0.html

* There is no need to keep *unused* neighbourhoods around (those take up quite a lot of space), like ten different copies of Pleasantview in all versions .. the game will regenerate those when it doesn't find a "The Sims 2" folder, so if you ever want to have a Pleasantview again in whichever game version, you can just make a new one that way.

[rhiamom]

Some quick tips on how to streamline this process:


Good tips. I don't actually bother renaming anything by hand; I set up automator work flows to do the whole thing for me. All I do is click on the correct automator workflow and it renames, launches the game, and then renames back after the game is closed. Workflows available on request, but be aware that if the game crashes or the workflow terminates before it's all done (and usually for NO apparent reason) you need to go in and check the status of the filenames manually.

[plasticbox]

For me there's only one folder that needs renaming, so Automator wouldn't speed it up that much .. I handle the EP folders by moving them in and out of "Expansion Packs" as needed, without renaming anything inside.

Another thing I've found out meanwhile: One can just ignore the .plist files entirely -- the various games regenerate a .plist if they can't make sense of what they find. They do honor the state of the Advanced Preferences, as well.

[rhiamom]

Yes, you can completely ignore the plist files in Library/preferences. If you leave your folders in place, though, renaming the plist file in the folder of each EP you do NOT want to play has to be done. I chose renaming the plist files over moving the folders because you can do it with automator so easily, and there are never any folders left in an odd place that somebody might delete in a fit of absent-mindedness.

The only hard part about the whole setup is getting, and keeping, the correct executable/app files for each EP. I burned them to cd, and recommend others do so, so that they are always available for repair of corrupt game files, and so the base game setup never needs to be done again, even if you reinstall your game. As you eventually will; this is The Sims 2.