Changing buymode category of sims3packs

[Killc*a]

Has anyone changed the category of objects in sims3pack-format successfully? For example there are much deco items in the plants category and this is very senseless.

I tried importing it to TSRWorkshop, change category and then export as sims3pack again.
I tried extracting them to package-files and then changing the category flag with s3pe.
I even tried it with s3oc (after extracting to package-files).

Nothing worked. With s3oc the files are broken, so my neighborhoods won't load anymore (I wasn't surprised, because sims3packs and s3oc don't fit each other).

With s3pe or workshop the files were loaded thousand times by the game (proven with Process monitor).

Why changing categories with workshop make the files somehow broken? I have the newest version.

Has anybody an idea what else I could try?


I hope this is the right place to post. I know that sims3packs are TSR business, but you can't expect help from there.

[orangemittens]

I'm not sure if this would be helpful or not but did you try the new plugin that allows you to work on TSRW things using s3pe without breaking them? Peter posted about it here:

http://dino.drealm.info/den/denforum/index.php?topic=193.0

[Killc*a]

Thanks, that sounds helpful!
I will try this.

EDIT: It didn't work with the plugin. I got that error message again when I loaded a neighborhood.

But for some reason it now worked the first way I tried (importing, editing and exporting with workshop). I don't know what I did different this time (I tried the same files). I have no idea why it worked this time, but I'm happy now.

EDIT 2: I have a new problem. Objects changed with workshop, are recognized by the game as new objects. So if they are already used in a house, they won't be replaced.
I think that's because I'm creating a new project with workshop and internal numbers/names are not preserved while importing sims3packs.
Is there something I can do about?

[Killc*a]

I finally found a solution!
Extracting sims3packs with Delphy's multi installer. Create a new file in s3pe. Import a extracted file "(experimental) as dbc". Editing the buymode categories in the OBDJ. Save the file.

I don't know what's the technical difference between opening and importing, but importing works and opening doesn't...

[Killc*a]

I have a new problem. When I place the edited objects in a house, save and quit the game, start the game again and load the neighborhood, I get an error message. This happens also for package-Files that I edited with s3oc.
When I put no downloads or the unedited objects in my packages folder, neighborhoods load without problems, even if I placed the edited objects there before.