Regarding Downloads and MTS2

[Delphy]

Hi All,

As a lot of you have noticed, the downloading situation on MTS2 has gotten... well, pretty annoying, of late. This post will explain the reasoning behind why and also what we are doing about it.

First off - a bit of history and explanation about websites. You may skip this part if you are not so technically inclined.

In all large sites, there is a balance between database usage, cpu usage and bandwidth. One of them will always be used up quicker, and depending on the site and the software that it runs, will be the failure point. This also applies to hardware - one machine that is less powerful can be the "weakest link".

In the past, this has primarily been either the database server, or the actual front end webservers (the www.modthesims2.com ones). Optimisations to the backend code and upgrades have improved the database side. This year, some of you may remember that I implemented download caching, which essentially takes a huge load off the front end webservers and speeds up the site as a whole. Those of you who have been here a long time will probably remember times of slow refreshes and getting stuff. Given that the average amount of members online has increased, optimisations are always needed but here is the catch:

Since I optimised the webservers and implemented the caching, that means that the vast majority of people using the site are actively using it. This is in contrast to, say, 6 months ago when those using the site experienced a lot of waiting for pages and generally just browsing about. What this translates into is simulatenous file downloads. Essentially, if the general getting to pages is slow, this limits the number of clicks on the actual download links, which in turn limits the number of concurrent users on the fileserver. By speeding up the rest of the site, however, this means that the failure point then becomes the fileserver - and thus we see the connection timeouts, 503 errors and so on, and more and more as the people online increase.

Essentially, due to optimisations and other changes on the rest of the site, we have reached the limits of the hardware that we are running to serve files.

(End Technical Section)

To combat this, I have today placed an order for a secondary fileserver with unmetered bandwidth that I will be installing alongside the existing main fileserver, bringing the total up to 4 (files1, files2, thumbs and special). This will basically mean we can handle double the amount of people downloading at any one time, and thus less complaints and less grey hairs for me. :) That is not to say that, at some point in the future, we wont encounter capacity issues again, or that all the 503 errors will go away - just that they will drop in number.

I will be updating this when the new fileserver is installed and configured - so please bear with us until that happens.

Short version:


New fileserver ordered
Will update when it's ready to go
Mucho fastness yay


In other news, we've also changed the following:


Added the capability to some forums to sort by age prior to sorting by gender (for example in BodyShop clothing)
Added categories to the MakeUp section and sorted them
Filtering by category now shows the category at the end of the breadcrumbs in the download details


Update! New fileserver is online!

Thanks
Delphy

[zookini]

Thank you for these updates :) Is there any specific date the fileserver will arrive or is it unknown at this point? Anywho, thanks again for your hardwork in nurturing this place

[Santa]

Hi Delphy, just wanted to thank you for all you do for this site and its users. I noticed that if I refreshed that sometimes it helped though I didn't know why that was happening. Great explanation and I actually understood a whole paragraph of it :0). But I just want to thank you in advance for what you're doing to fix the problem. There are so many awesome things to download from here that make the game just that much better....thank you, thank you!! :up: :up: :up:

[crocobaura]

Thank you Delphy for all the nice things you do for us and this site. :)

[poundingheart]

Thank you Delphy for all your hard work and all the MTS2 people. Do we have a Welcome Party for the new server? I will bring the bubbly. lol

[wargarurumon]

well thats good to hear

[Delphy]

zookini, I only placed the order tonight, so I have no ETA yet. Probably be in a week or so though, hopefully.

[zookini]

Okey doke :) I think we can wait, well some of us at least...

[Mehrlicht]

Thank you so much for your hard work.Hope you didn't get too much grey hairs....

[DocFX]

Short version:


New fileserver ordered
Will update when it's ready to go
Mucho fastness yay




Whoa!, thanks for the short version - :alarm: tried reading the 'Techie bit' :blink: and nearly went cross-eyed :help: - have you tried re-aligning the Quantum Phase Inverter module yet? - just a thought... ;)

But seriously!, thank you Delphy (and staff at 'MTS-2') for all your hard work - it's greatly appreciated!. :up: :Pint:

[rmschoon]

Hey Delphy! Thanks for keeping all us end users up to date on the status of problems most of us don't even think about. You're doing a great job, and it's really appreciated!

[joebart622]

Can cleaning out old files from two years ago that are outdated in such help aswell? I know plenty of stuff still is on that is far surpassed in the download section.and Good work strenthing the requirement and rules for uploading, It screwed my at first, but Its all for the greater good :)

[Navetsea]

wow Delphy, you're working really hard on every problem. thank you

[thistle8]

Thanks for keeping us up to date, MTS-2 provides a great free service for all us sim lovers. Thank you to all who put in many many hours of hard work in trying to keep us all happy, it cant be easy.

[Jamie2205]

Great news Delphy, thanks for keeping us up to date and doing
so much for the site.

[chinaberry]

Thanks for keeping the site an absolute joy!

[Pyromaniac44]

Great Job :up:

[tiggerypum]

Joebart,
The problem is not disk space, we have that covered. The reason people are having problems is bandwidth and server overload (the connection to deliver the files from mts2's hard drive to their computer). There's only so many files the server can send out at the same time. Once the 2nd server is in place, then the pipeline for downloads will be about twice the size, which should help a great deal.

[shotgun_mary]

all I can say is YAY

[MizzesSimmer]

Its always something eh? Thank god we have such a dedicated person like you Delphy. If it were me I would have thrown the whole lot out the window by now lol. Thanks for the updates!

[rhinsmsi]

Thanks to and all who created and constantly maintain this site. I was wondering how y'all find the time for yourselves and your families with all that everyone does.

[pixelated_mom]

I don't mind waiting to download at a later time. I just bookmark the item and return to try another day, and also at an hour that I think the site will be less populated. It's also fun just browsing around. I've found some great downloads that I might have overlooked if not for my aimless wanderings. However, I know not everyone is as laid-back about having to wait to download as I am. A great move on your part, Delphy, if anything, for your own sanity in this must-have-it-and-must-have-it-now world.

[Zoltan]

good news for sure! :)

[burger1113]

:!!: I had a similar problem when I was hosting a site last year which I stopped doing... unfortunately. Well I was just going to say it worked for us if you download stuff by right clicking and doing so and so... on the file hlink I meant. So go do that, and... Long live MTS2.

[-Maylin-]

Thanks Delphy! Have you got some hours for sleeping? :)

[lovethesims]

Thank you for all the hard work! :) It never ceases to amaze me the dedication I see around this place.

[patul]

A very useful job for the members comfort,
A ton of thanks :)

[Marhis]

Ok, at cost of sounding like a sheep :sheep: :rofl:, thanks everybody for the hard work!

[RandomPinkness]

:) Lots of folk have allready said it but I don't think it can be said enough times thankyou for the dedication, time and money etc that you and others spend on this site. I wasn't too worried about the downloads, i knew it would get sorted out in the end because of the commitment of folk in these parts Thankyou again.

Alex
xxx

[Emma_Barrett]

thanks for the update. we know your doing your best so dont go prematurly grey on our behalf :) . thanks for all, we'll continue to be patient!

[perdita_x_dream]

You're the best =)

[dilitru]

thanks delphy. That's usefull, really.

[SephirothLaguna]

Delphy! Thankyou so much! Kupo~

[zebracow867]

:) I agree with Pixelated_Mom. It is fun just browsing and finding what you've missed. Thanks for all you do for us.

[jade26]

glad to hear that things will be running more smoothly soon. however, i love this site enough that i can deal with the slow running and the error messages. you can't thwart me!! muahahahahah. lol

[lciel]

respect, i have no clue about websites *not understands much* but i really appreciate your dedication to the site. *thumps up*

[tjabernathey]

*creeps cautiously out of lurk mode*

Very cool. I know that whenever I get an error message, it means that a billion other people are as excited about downloading something as I am. Thanks for the info!

*runs quickly back into her hiding spot*

[niol]

If there's a thanks post or button, I'd clik on them instead.

Thanks so much for the will and effort to keep the site running alright. :)

[Delphy]

I really should put a thanks button in Site News... Done

[Zoeslovely]

Well, I can't complain, considering the many hours of exceptional quality downloads I've put in here.

Many thanks to the admin team for their diligent support! Very much appreciated!

[whiterider]

Awesomeness Delph, oh Awesomely Awesome One of Awesomeness :D

[preemptive_doodle]

Huzzah!

[wiccanbeware]

YAY! Thanks alot! While downloading i was trying to get a time where not as many people are on, but soon it won't matter! Big Smiles around!

[HooterHoops]

Thanks for making it so the technically challenged can understand! :rofl:

[porkypine]

Ahahaha That's what you get for making MTS2 such a great site! MORE WORK!

[Vampire Hunter Amanda]

Thank you very much, Delphy.

Yours in Simhood,
Vampire Hunter Amanda

[tibby13]

Thank you Delphy for being so awsome and working so hard for this absolutly fabulous site. :)

[dragon01]

Thank you Delphy

[karita]

Many thanks for all that you do! And thanks for keeping us updated. You and everyone associated with this site are incredible!

[Mihura]

Yes I can only say "thank you" Delphy ! Thanks for all your work for a better and better (and son on :D ) site. ;)

[carameldrops]

Ooh, I loves the update talk. XD Sounds like you're working hard!

[eedgan]

Dear Mr Delphy,
Please do not worry about getting any grey hairs...I have an extra bottle of hairdye, and I will gladly give it to you!

On a serious note: Your dedication to this site does not go unnoticed, thank you for the time and effort that you spend maintaining this site. I hope you allow some time for a social life too! Thanks!!!

[homerettethefirst]

You don't know how much I appreciate simply your acknowledgment that there are issues, much less an update and explanation of them. It's very rare these days. Thanks for keeping us up to date, and feeding our sim fix.

[jecctexx]

Your doing a great job. Keep up the good work. Don't let the complaints get you down. Those of us who really appreciate what you do don't complain, we deal with it, and love you all the more for working so hard to keep things working as well as they do.
THANK YOU ! ! !

[SymplyTrish]

I liken what you are doing to something that is happing just a mile from where I live. People are building the Crazy Horse statue out of the mountain. The government has offered to buy it from the family doing this 3 times. They refuse. They are blowing the mountain up bit by bit with money donated. It truly is amazing to see such a thing evolve. It is a few miles from Mount Rushmore.

You Delphi and the people running MTS2 are simply amazing and I don't think some of the younger folk have an idea as to the true "service" you provide.
Thank you for you time, your talent and your obvious love of the Sims community. I know it can be a thankless task.

*runs to find credit card to help*

[stolenglimpse]

With a huge site like MTS2 is, you can't go without problems at some point. And the site will continue to grow, both with content and with users/members. Those problems can get annoying to us because we want the stuff but they are most annoying and real hard work for people like you that have to maintain it and "fix" whatever occurs to the place so I give extreme kudos for everyone, the entire staff, for the wonderful, hard work they do to make this webpage what it is, wonderful and free and easy to surf and everything.

And thanks for keeping us updated, as well. It shows you really care. Not only for us but for the webpage and everything else that includes *bows down*

[MarianeSimms]

Poor Delphy! Do you have any free time to do anything else? Like cleaning your new apartment? (Hey, I´m kidding, okay?) No, serious babe, you are amazing! Thank you for giving us all this time of yours! By the way, I never complain...I think! :D

[whiterider]

Cleaning? Psht! He has a slave!! She also trains the typing monkies, ad provides Grandpa Delphy's slippers and pipe... don't hurt me Delph!!! It wasn't me!!

*hides*

[Delphy]

Okay - an update.

The new server has arrived and is installed next to the existing ones, however it'll take me a few days to make sure it's up to speed with the rest of the MTS2 boxes - kernel upgrades, apache configuration, firewalls, nfs, etc etc

Expect another update around the middle of the week.

[Lokomotiv]

Yay~~ thank you very much Delphy! I'm hitting the donate buttom as soon as I get my pay :)!

[Yargo179]

These are much needed changes. Thanks for the update, Delphy.

[Sherbrooke]

A very big thank you to everyone at MTS2 for all the work in ensuring a quality site. You are the best Sims site online.

Sherbrooke

[obsessisim]

I can't believe anyone would ever complain when things are slow. This is such a marvelous place and should never be taken for granted. Thanks so much Delphy.

[Brad2006]

Thank god u'r going to do something about that,I had to use Opera to DL things here because of that 503 problems,n it DL anything into FILE type(even if its rar or zip),luckily I hav trusty ALZip :)

[Chiarina]

Thank you so much, Delphy, for keeping this site on line for us!

[flameflash]

Huzzah!

(And thank you.)

[Ashen]

Much thanks Delphy ... I cannot even imagine the hard work. Heck, it isn't so annoying, few refresh's and voila so don't get stressed! Thank you again! :D

[G.O.C.]

Go Delphy, Go! You Rock! (God, did I just say "you Rock?" Must be getting young in my old age. He He!)

[laurrren]

this site is wonderful. thank you for all of the time and effort you put into this. you've made me & my sims very happy (and extremely fashionable).

♥

[Treowe]

Mucho fastness good.
Thanks Delphy.

[Casey_210]

A little poem for delphy

now i lay me down 2 rest,
delphy has tried his hardest and done his best
he will always succeed through thick and thin
because he fights and never gives in
in the morning his body will ache
but thats the price he is willing 2 take
with every muscle and every bone
he trys his hardest to reach his goal
with every stunt, jump and cheer
he will make this a better place every year
so for modthesims2 standing up tall
and say to yourself modthesims2 were made not born

THANKS DELPHY -good job

[backwardsangel]

Hey, Thanks for the info, I was really confused why they kept coming up!
I'm sure we all appreciate the hard work by everyone that goesinto this site! It really is amazing :D
"It's like a small dog giving birth to a giraffe, it just won't fit!"
^ That helped me understand it, with a metaphor :P

[dragonarts]

I really should put a thanks button in Site News... Done

Yahoo! We've been needing one of these things here forever. *click*

[ali-poon]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop as always Delphy! Kudos

[khakidoo]

I really should put a thanks button in Site News... Done

Perfect idea Delphy! We should be seeing your "thanks's" skyrocket I hope... Someday I'll do it with money, if I ever get me one of them new-fangled credit card things :(

[tweety64801]

Thanks for the update at least MTS2 does something to fix the problems other sites simply let it go. I love this site and come here everyday. I think that because people know the issue and that you are doing something about it. It makes it easier to deal with the problem on the downloader side of it. I think patience is good to have. Thanks for all you do.

[xx_cole.in.cork_xx]

Woo! Go Delphy =) I'm already noticing it being much quicker, particularly in uploading items =) Yay new fileserver :D

[Delphy]

In case you didn't notice the edit and the site message - the new fileserver is installed.

I guess since nobody has complained and everybody is very very quiet, it's working well. :P

[Margot Tenenbaum]

Thanks! Everything is working fantastically!

[malinee]

I downloaded Sienna Guillory skin again to test. The file is corrupted.

[Delphy]

malinee, Please report that in the usual way then. Thank you.

[Mihura]

Yes the new server is here and it's GREAT !!! :up: We are only wednesday with less traffic than weekends but it seems to be more fast than ever. :!: Delphy, thank you very much ! :rofl:

[Akisej]

Okay so the basic idea I'm getting here is that... you're awesome. :-D

Thanks for all the hard work, Delphy.

[Jenchipper]

Awesome, awesome, awesome! I love MTS2 and visit here on a daily basis. You all do such a wonderful job. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into making this a wonderful place for the Sims2 community.

[Nekochanpurr]

THANK YOU!! =D You work so hard <3

[asakomi]

Thanks for your dedication and hard work. Glad to hear that the new server is installed. Unfortunately, I am still receiving 503 errors with anything I try to download.

[Delphy]

As I said in my original post:


That is not to say that, at some point in the future, we wont encounter capacity issues again, or that all the 503 errors will go away - just that they will drop in number.

Since we've doubled the capacity of the fileservers that means double the traffic, but obviously people still want to download. So the 503 errors will still be there at busy times. Just refresh a few times and you'll get there.

[WiLL44]

I just have to say thx for the update on the site! Itz so wonderful because i have a poor internet connection to start with and now with the update on the site...Well lets say you made it so much easier on me thx again :)

[Makai]

I have a DSL connection which made it faster and I didn't thought I would see very much difference, if any... But I can proudly report that this is FLYING! The page rate is awesome and the downloads something like 3 seconds per MB.. and that my friend... its ROCKING MY WORLD!!!

Thank you very much,
Makai

[pestercide]

Thank you so much for all your hard work for us Delphy!

[yobbo]

Thanks for all your work on the site!

[Honeybee30]

New server has been install but we still have problems downloading game mods and other downloads.

[xanathon]

New server has been install but we still have problems downloading game mods and other downloads.

See post #88.

Reload.

Use a downloadmanager.

[tiggerypum]

Honeybee30,

Have you tried using Q-Xpress, that has helped some people. Beyond that, you didn't actually post any info about exactly what is happening, what your setup is or anything else that would get you real advice. We still have a shortage of crystal balls here.

Download accelerators _might_ help - but if you use them set it to 2 connections at a time, otherwise it will do more harm overall than any good.

[dulcetpurr]

The downloads have been working great for me. I've gotten maybe a few 503's, but not nearly as many as I used to. Things seem to be much faster, too. I just wanted to say thanks to the MTS2 people for all your hard work so we can enjoy this stuff. It's really wonderful. :)

[Eggs]

Yay! The occasional thing I downloaded gave me a lot of 503s before.

[abbeyb21]

:!: :!: The new fileserver is in, but for the download situation is WORSE!! HELP!! :alarm: :mod: :help: :cry:

[TwilightRegalia]

I have to agree with Abbeyb21, I can't download anything!

[Delphy]

...Yeah and thats about as useful as a chocolate fireplace. :)

Remember, the new server will not stop 503 pages coming up - especially in peak times.

Just keep trying like always.

[ferrylatte214]

Yaaaaaa! :up:

[kkaze]

Thank you, Delphy, for your info and work. I'm wondering how the site can sustain increasing load due to popularity... .

[IsolinaBlack]

You rock, Delphy!
Hopefully you can get the site working properly. I've noticed quite a few less 503 errors now, though, so the server seems to be working fairly well. ^^;''

:bunny:

Thank you for all your hard work. I'm sure everyone appreciates it.

[Makai]

What is a 503 error? I never seeing one.

[Sims&Slayer666]

What is a 503 error? I never seeing one.

A 503 Error is basically caused by the traffic of people downloading the same thing as you. I guess it'd be like going food shopping and there's 1 checkout lady and 200 people.

But it's the weekend now and I haven't had any problems, running smoothly :)

[Makai]

A 503 Error is basically caused by the traffic of people downloading the same thing as you. I guess it'd be like going food shopping and there's 1 checkout lady and 200 people.

But it's the weekend now and I haven't had any problems, running smoothly :)

Thank you very much for explaining what it was all about .. I was feeling left out of that 503 everyone is talking about. I must have good timing for downloading as I'd never got one of them .. yet.. Now you can betcha I will be getting them left and right... You know I am like the fish.. will die by the mouth.. LOL

Thank you,
Makai

[Sims&Slayer666]

Thank you very much for explaining what it was all about .. I was feeling left out of that 503 everyone is talking about. I must have good timing for downloading as I'd never got one of them .. yet.. Now you can betcha I will be getting them left and right... You know I am like the fish.. will die by the mouth.. LOL

Thank you,
Makai

That's alright but I remembered because you have donated to MTS2, I'm not exactly sure how it works but you have priority to downloads so I bet you'll never see one :rofl: I'm about to donate aswell

[tambaileym]

Thanks! You're wonderful.

[flameflash]

In case you didn't notice the edit and the site message - the new fileserver is installed.

I guess since nobody has complained and everybody is very very quiet, it's working well. :P

Actually I'm no longer able to download .rar files at all. I used to be able to right-click them, now I can't. Zip files work fine, but since most folks post .rar I'm having issues. Is there any way to fix the MIME-type so that we mac users can just click on them in Safari like we can at insim and saphire?

[stardust-MX]

I think MTS2 is much better than EA's site =)

[twin11]

Thanks a lot. I'm on technology team and i don't even know that stuff. :beer: Thanks infinity!

[tiggerypum]

flameflash,

I have a Mac. I've been able to get the rar files (and I also think the server must be missing something regarding mime type) by letting them download fully into the window and then saving them. I say 'no' to append 'txt'. Stuffit Expander doesn't like the files, but unrarx decodes them fine. It's free, asks for a donation.

http://www.unrarx.com/

[Rob Swift]

Sorry, don't know if this was mentioned but have you looked into cachefly.com? They should be able to handle as much traffic as you can throw at them. Anyway I dig this site hate to see it go down over bandwidth concerns.

[Sims&Slayer666]

Sorry, don't know if this was mentioned but have you looked into cachefly.com? They should be able to handle as much traffic as you can throw at them. Anyway I dig this site hate to see it go down over bandwidth concerns.

No one said it's going down, there's just been a bit of trouble with site traffic lately. Hasn't changed for me at all :|

[columbiany93]

http://www.modthesims2.com/newreply.php#
HelpThis may be the wrong place to post this but I'm wondering where I can find files that are more than 2 weeks old. I have dialup so I load up my download program and let it run a few hours at night while I sleep. In a perfect world, that would work but it generally leaves many files untouched until the next time...or the next time....you get the picture. Anyway, I've lately had a few files come up bad (damaged rars, probably due to the server changes) and, since they have many times sat in the queue longer than the 2 week period, I'm not being able to locate them to redownload. I've yet to see a way to access an item by entering the code/number given (i.e....showthread.php?t-XXXXX), but that could be my not being terribly computer literate. I can figure out about when they were uploaded to MTS2 from the date I added it to my d/l program but I don't see where that helps me either, especially since I can't access older files.

If anyone can help me solve this dilemma, or at least shed light!, I would be eternally grateful. Huge fan and love what the members and the community in general shares with all of us, especially the freebies! If I had any talent or knowhow, I'd be happy to throw in my hat as well. http://www.modthesims2.com/newreply.php#
Wink

[tiggerypum]

columbiany93,

The main 'everything' download index shows the last two weeks of submissions, and is cached to reduce the load on the server. If you click any of the topic areas, you'll see _everything_ in that area, like 'Sims' or 'Bodyshop' or 'Buy' or 'Lots'

The damaged rars happened due to either a server glitch or due to the fact that the download servers have been overloaded and the connection on that file during that particular download timed out.

[columbiany93]

Thx for getting back to me. With dialup, it's easier to just go to the download index! I've been on the site map a few times but I didn't realize it was more than 2 weeks...didn't really need to pay attention before. :-)

Is there any way to search using those thread numbers? I've learned my lesson for the future and am going to be more diligent with writing comments (creator, item name), but that doesn't help with my files now.

And thanks again. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when people get back to me - Maxis never seems to!

[Rob Swift]

No one said it's going down, there's just been a bit of trouble with site traffic lately. Hasn't changed for me at all :|

No, I didn't mean to say that. What I meant was cachefly would take care of any problems that low bandwidth would cause.

[Delphy]

Rob,

Considering that it costs $299 a month for just 1200GB of traffic and 2gb space via Cachefly, and MTS2 shifts roughly 18,000GB a month and has 80gb of files... it's not really a viable option. :)

[tiggerypum]

columbiany93, if you have the entire URL (you can ask your browser to show the web page address or not) it should start with http://www.modthesims2.com/ and then continue with stuff...

You can copy and paste that into a text file, you can paste another address and hit return into that address area, and you'll be taken to the webpage.

You could also jot down (in a text file or a notebook) part of the name of the download. You can 'search downloads' in the search bar, and if the name matches it should be easy to spot.

I'm not sure _which_ thread numbers you are getting... because if it is the thread number.... then something like a url like this might work:

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=216236

(this is the url for the beginning of this thread) I've copied and pasted urls for downloads all the time when I want to share something I've made with a friend and send them to them directly.

[flameflash]

flameflash,

I have a Mac. I've been able to get the rar files (and I also think the server must be missing something regarding mime type) by letting them download fully into the window and then saving them. I say 'no' to append 'txt'. Stuffit Expander doesn't like the files, but unrarx decodes them fine. It's free, asks for a donation.

http://www.unrarx.com/

Yep. I use a similar program to unrar them after I run an automator script to strip the .txt from the file names. The thing is, zip files download just fine (albeit after a few tries) while rar files aren't coming through for me without a lot of tries. More than I used to have to do.

That and the MIME type issue, if that could be fixed I'm sure we'd be able to download them as well as the zip ones.

[Rob Swift]

Rob,

Considering that it costs $299 a month for just 1200GB of traffic and 2gb space via Cachefly, and MTS2 shifts roughly 18,000GB a month and has 80gb of files... it's not really a viable option. :)

Wow, thats a lot of traffic. Revision3 is a netcast(podcast) website that has about 10 or so shows. Each one releases an episode every week and the episodes are roughly 200mb. Never seen a 5-0-? error since their launch. But I don't know your financial situation so I'll shut up. :llama:

[angel4decale]

this is great news hope it all works out for us all thanks for the heads up

[DClick]

I'm still having issues- the 503 errors, downloads cutting out in the middle, that kind of thing. But hey, it's understandable that such a huge and popular site would eventually run into these problems. :) Keep up the good work!

[bay_thyme]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR DOING THIS FOR US!! I don't know what I would do without Mod the Sims 2. T_T

[Doronjosama]

Thank you so much for all the hard work. I check this site as part of my daily online routine, and I really enjoy the community, even if I am somewhat of a lurker. The hard work of the mods and the many modders is very much appreciated! :bunny:

[Lucydg]

Thank you for all that you do to make my simming experience the most it can be. You are the best. :rofl:

[leighthesim]

yay that has sped things up a bit for my end but that still doesn't solve the fact my brother nicks most the bandwith in our house with his games

[wolfgeek]

This is great news. It's also quite impressive that the community is growing at such a tremendous rate and there are more and more creators adding to the richness and diversity of game play componants!

I salute you Delphy and all at MTS2 for providing such terrific service!
Cheers

[poorestuk]

thanks for your hard work is appreciated

:p

[primus30eight]

Thank you for pointing that out. I was wondering why I was having problems with downloading. It makes sense now :)

[jhndvdprkr]

Err have you removed some downloads because i really would like a Tesco or Asda sign and I am certain I've seen one on here but what does it come under?
anyway i really like how youve switched to bodyshop thing it was really annoying me :thumbs:

[SandyRose240]

Thanks so much for doing this, Delphy! I'll look forward to downloading here more. :-)

[JDawg]

You pay the price for having the best Sims site in the universe. I hope some day that I can afford to donate to you for your great work.

In the meantime, does this mean that I won't get dumped after 180-198 K of my downloads just because I have dial up? The only thing that's available where I live that's digital is my clock radio.

In the woods, on the creek in Pennsylvania....

[Karen858]

I'm having the same problems as DClick and JDawg. I'm on dial up and, though I don't mind the 503 errors so much, having downloads kick out halfway through (or less) is really frustrating, especially when it's a bigger file that takes ages for me to download on a good day. Any suggestions?

[porkypine]

Hi guys. I live out on the backside of the REZ. Dialup was always failing me. I finally bit the bullet and got satellite internet.

Country lines = noisy lines = interrupted connectivity = failed downloads.

[crazyjster]

you rock!

[mrs_sld]

Thank you SOOOO much for these updates and helping to fix the downloading problems, you have no idea how much easier that makes things for me, as well as everyone else on MS2. You've officially made me decide to make a donation to this site because it's obvious you care about the users... Which I was beginning to wonder! Be expecting a donation this month from me. :-)
:up: :up:

[Brutuz]

Well, Thanks for the File system, etc, but I'm getting a lot of problems, usually saying something about Bandwidth exceeded, I am usually not Downloading anything at the time, although a Refresh useually gets it, I thought I would let you know :)

[LadyDragon202]

I love what you all do here but have one problem everytime i downlode sims or one of the houses it has i have crupt file.

[Cocomama]

Sorry to bother you Delphy, but just like LadyDragon202, almost every download I made lately gave me a corrupt file. I really love this site with its great content and lovely people.

[willowsmum]

Well done Delphy and all the hard working guys and gals here at MTS2, i sometimes forget about all the hard work that goes into the site as im enjoying the downloads so much. This deserves another donation i think.

Thanks for all your efforts.

[Pharoha]

I know there are a lot of these "Thank You"s here, but I think too many is better :D
Add mine to the list. I am not here often, but it's still my favorite place. Just because it is well cared for. Thank you Delphy!!

[Raene]

Hate to chime in with another 'not working for me' type posts, but alas, such is my situation. :P

Browsing the site has been wonderful, load times have gone away and I haven't seen a 503 since the server split. :)

My issue comes in at downloads. Since I tend to download in sprees and go back later to unzip/rar everything and sort them into my Downloads folders, I didn't notice right away that every file I was getting was turning up at 361 bytes. I didn't catch it right off because the filenames are right, which makes it look like a corrupt download. But a bunch with the same file size? Renamed one of them to txt to get this:

No cookies found!


No valid MTS2 login could be found. Please note that you must be logged into MTS2 to use this special server. If you are logged in, then make sure you aren't using any kind of cookie blocker, like Norton Internet Security. Try allowing "special.modthesims2.com" in your security software for cookies.Problem is, I already did that before this. I've done the log out, clear cookies, close browser, reopen browser, log back in thing before. I had to do that just to get browsing/downloading to work before just after the server split. I went through the steps again before posting this, as well as double-checked to make sure special.modthesims2.com was in my cookies allowed settings. I use a download manger (always have, pretty much, and it's never been a problem before), and I even went so far as to set in that program's configuration that it could login same as if I was in a browser in case the cookie was somehow getting lost between programs. Nothing I have tried has worked, unfortunately, or I wouldn't be making this post. :(

Edit: Yes, Q-Xpress works, but I don't like how it dumps everything into my Downloads folder. If I could choose to simply have it download things to a specified directory so I could unzip/rar and install manually I would use it. As Q-Xpress is currently, it is a useful utility, but it isn't one that suits my needs/methods. :) I'm afraid I find it somewhat messy, since I have to go through and sort after without any real pointers on what came from where if I happen to download from multiple creators.

[Delphy]

Raene, download something manually and see if it works - I don't like download managers for the main reason that most of them are setup to totally suck up slots on the server. :) If it works manually then you know it's your manager program.

[Raene]

I don't like download managers for the main reason that most of them are setup to totally suck up slots on the server.Heh, no worries there. I limit mine: two files at a time, one per server. I just like to use a manager so I can get everything I want to download queued and then be able to go away to do something else. :D
If it works manually then you know it's your manager program.Aaand... no dice. Take the manager out of the equation and I'm smacked with a 'Not Authorised!' page.

[Delphy]

Well then thats the problem :) Are you running some kind of cookie blocking software or something? If so, disable it.

[Raene]

No, I'm not, and as I mentioned in my first post, I did everything I could think of to fix this. All the log out/log in stuff, making sure special.modthesims2.com is in my allowed sites list, even though I'm not even actively blocking cookies, just in case, configuring my manager so it could login if need be. >.< Completely confuzzled, I can't think of anything else to try.

[leahrogillio2006]

i love you for making this site what it has become!!
i really do!!
i've recommended it to soooooooo many ppl

[Raene]

Downloads have decided to work for me again, it seems. :D Haven't the faintest why, but I'm not going to complain. :)

[crystal_light7]

thankyou delphy! this will be very helpful to the members! (including me since i've gotton really irritated with the file server errors!)

[starsid68]

I really appreciate you taking the time to explain your changes to us and for sharing the mission statement.
Thanks for all this site offers.