Safely moving a dynasty to be?

[Nalia]

Hi everyone.

I am thinking of moving my favourite Sims (Hiroyuki, Kumi and as of late Yokito lol) and all their children --some of them already married-- out of Pleasantview and to a brand new neighbourhood. I have read the tutorial found at Wiki --excellent job, whoever did it!-- and I'll take the long, and harder, path. However, I was wondering about their relations. Is there any *safe* way to maintain their family trees, memories and relationships while they live in different houses/lots?

Has anyone ever tried to move a whole dynasty of sort to a new neighbourhood in an efficient way?

TIA

[simsample]

To maintain the relationships, family links and memories you need to move all sims into a single lot. Otherwise you'll have to rebuild them all afterwards, as well as removing all links prior to the move.

[Nalia]

Thanks so much for confirming my worst fear! I was *so* much hoping you wouldn't. We are talking about removing and re-creating family memories of 50 Sims, which means keeping notes of what has happened so far so as to reproduce them exactly as they were.
Oh well. I predict a boring week once I set off to realise my project.

Again, thank you very much!

[Nalia]

I have a new inquire:
I have thought of replacing the whole Pleasantview template with an empty one and all the rest neighbourhoods as well (I think it has become corrupted, plus I don't enjoy so many Sim files --around 1100-- in my game).

In this case can I proceed with the above steps or I would have to delete their memories completely? I feel there won't be any harm if I keep only memories related to each other at the *same lot*, editing their friendships accordingly, but I want to make sure.

Thanks in advance.

[simsample]

Just download some blank templates if you want to make your own blank hoods. No point in repeating what's already been done! If toy just want Pleasantview and the rest empty then download Empty Pleasantview, Empty strangetown etc. The other links are for cleaned up templates- which means that if you create a custom hood you won't get the same townies as usual.
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,4306.0.html

[Nalia]

Thank you, simsample!

I have already downloaded these blank templates from MATY along with the instructions for each one of them.

My main concern is their memories. Will I be on the safe side if I preserve a household's memories? (related to members in the same lot, and ONLY those) It's my first time doing this, I am backing up at the moment, and I'd like to minimise frustration if possible.

Greatly appreciated your help!

[simsample]

Yes, but you need to make sure you remove all memories and relationships to anyone not in the family, or you'll end up with unwanted dross in your clean hood.

[Nalia]

Thank you, simsample!
Grateful for all your help! :)

[simsample]

Let us know how you get on! :)

[Nalia]

I am getting lot members together at the moment, graduating a few young adults who will be part of the said lots, printing every single related faq, guide and how-to from Pescado's site and Sims2Wiki. Next step is to edit their memories and relations *tears... this is going to be painful and take looong* and export them from SimPe. Keep fingers cross everything will work at the first try.

Darn. This is going to be a lot of work, but I keep myself focused on what a splendid day will be when Hiroyuki and Kumi start their lives anew. (btw, after all the fuss, they are back together, have gotten married for a ...second time! lol)

[Nalia]

Being still in the process of editing Sims' relations I have noticed that some Sims files contain a relation with themselves. For example, in SimPe there appears Hidetoshi's daily relationship with Hidetoshi to be 66, while all the boxes are unchecked.

Question:

1) Does it indicate that game files are screwed and this is a result of duplicate files, or

2) Sims maintain a schizophrenic relationship with themselves?

Many thanks in advance!

[simsample]

Hmmm, I've not come across that before. How many sims are affected? Can you backup and then erase that relationship perhaps?

[Nalia]

Thanks for the reply, simsample! :)

Now...

-- If you haven't come across such an issue before then --as I suspected it-- my game is messed up.
-- 1 in 5 Sims are affected by that.
-- I have created a back up and erased these relationships already -- because it didn't make sense to me.

Off I go to test my edited family *crossed fingers*

[simsample]

Good luck. :)

[Nalia]

I think I have finished editing for now. I might have messed something with their memories, which results in less aspiration benefits, both primary and secondary aspirations, but if everything else looks all right in their memories, I don't worry about them -- am I right?

Another big problem was that of corrupted attraction count, which made Sims reset non-stop, but Pescado over at MTS2 offered the solution on a plate for me and saved the day. Three generations of Kobayashi family are in depth to him, to say the least! :D
Now I'll test in a new neighbourhood and if everything works fine, packaging the family and installation of empty templates comes next.

/end of progress report

Again, simsample, thank you for being there giving hints and making suggestions whenever I need one. :)

[simsample]

Ahh, good old Pes! I'm glad you've got it working. :)

[Inge Jones]

Why don't people just put the house into the bin instead of packaging it? That is supposed to automatically wipe out all their memories and relationships of sims outside the house, without any of that hazardous SimPE editing.

[simsample]

Ahh, now you're getting into that age old dispute- is it safe to lotbin families? It seems the advice on the forums is not to- however my niece had a hood she played for many generations with no problems, which was created by binning all of the strangetown inhabited lots and putting them into Pleasantview.

[HystericalParoxysm]

I'm pretty sure I'd tested it at one point and binning them, while it does remove the memories and relationships, for some reason still leaves the character stubs.

[J. M. Pescado]

Oh, hell. Tell me you didn't do what I think you did...

[Inge Jones]

The really big issue though is - how safe is it to edit game data in SimPE? I have lost more sims through accidents of editing than I ever have binning them with a few character stumps.

[Nalia]

Grrrr... problem. While they have been cut off of any other relations except the household --I edited both their relationships in Sims' personal character sheet and also had it double-checked under Resource Tree (SREL)-- if you ask them to call a Sim there are still Sims in the phone book.

How on earth is this possible?

[Nalia]

Pes,
I used the orb from the reward panel to change their aspiration once --or twice-- and they stopped "jump" and reset every single second. Isn't it what you meant at MTS2?

Inge,
I'd say it's not very safe for someone who doesn't know the program in depth --someone like me, for example-- but if you strictly stick to what you know to do and don't go into further "expirements" I think you have good chances to have the task done properly.

[Inge Jones]

Anyway Pescado, weren't you meant to be making an in-game memory muncher? Yes I know you've been busy de-walting the community, but you really should sprout another pair of eyes and hands and keep churning it out :P

[Nalia]

...and I failed. Miserably.

It has been already a whole week since I started the notorious editing business... I have reloaded my back up files 3 or 4 times, starting from scratch, and something keeps going wrong: 1 of my Sims appears to know a neighbour, despite all my efforts to cut off/delete/burn all their ties outside their own house.

Additionally, whenever I packaged the family to check with Clean Installer, the file shows irrelevant Sims to be in the lot -- an empty, fresh lot, mind you. :banghead: Apparently, whatever has happened to my game, is beyond repair, since I am certain I run the risk of facing problems in the future should I continue playing in a new, custom neighbourhood.

So, now I am left with two options really. Either,

a) to sacrifice their memories, clone them through Body Shop, package them and then install them in my new game, or
b) to start their lives all over again (and Kumi's mother is sooo annoying!)

Although I am not very excited about either option, I surely prefer them over to a "broken" game.

/end of weekly report.

Thanks everyone who did their best to help, especially simsample for checking so often. :)

[simsample]

Nalia, it would probably be easier to clone them and start again, and re-create the important memories in SimPE. You're only really going to want the big memories- got married, reached the top of career, had baby etc,; all that is easy to do and you can fix relationships and family ties also. Probably take you less time than all this has already. :) You can even salvage paintings and photobooth portraits from old lot files.

[Nalia]

That's true, although I don't have previous experience with "salvaging paintings and photobooth portraits". Not that it scares me or anything. I remember though it was much fun going through the process of growing them up, graduating them from College and then have them start their lives.

Really, I don't mind starting all over again. The only sad fact would be what it will become of their two sons, Hidetoshi and Yasu; they will be probably left out or, in the worst case scenario, they will be tagged along with Kumi as his brothers... Nah, bad idea. I don't trust Hiroyuki. lol

Oh, well. I have a couple of days to decide. Time I replaced those templates.

Again, thank you, simsample! :)