I'm testing it in other hotel lots of my from a non-Maxis vacation destination. So far it's doing okay. I haven't tried it yet in Maxis vacation destinations. If it's successful for many of the lots, I'll probably update the thread I made on hotel & lodging "industry standard practices" with this new revelation!

I'm going to sound cynical as anything here, but have we ascertained independently that the Chris Hatch mod does zap the SDHB now? It's been a few months.

I would actually not mind uploading a lot here one day. But it seems that no method so far ... new folder, AGS, etc ... is 100% foolproof.

I know my lots are hug-bugged. Normally, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me when I upload lots from someone else who was hug-bugged. I don't notice anything because I have NSL. But it would bother me if I uploaded a lot somewhere, and even if i posted in 72-point bright blue bold Helvetica type, "PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: ALWAYS use NSL or the related Chris Hatch mod before downloading ANY lot! Do NOT download my lot without doing this!" (shouting added for dramatic effect), someone will probably ignore it and blame me for a hug-bugged lot.

I guess I don't dare hope that I can finally upload a lot anywhere, be it here or Tumblr, until I know for sure. So far, this mod sounds utterly fantastic! I would think, however, that one should still post something about the hug-bugging and downloading the proper mod,

Chris, if you finally managed to give the SDHB a firm kick in the butt, I will soundly sing your praises.

@gazania can you point me to the download? I asked once someplace before but didn't see a reply- or lost the thread. I think I downloaded it and put it somewhere so even the exact name of the file might do.

http://www.backalleysims.com/adults...845-Lot-Cleaner

Thanks, luckily I have my new log in saved this time. That site never seems to remember me.

If you want to find out if sims previously lived in a downloaded house, look at the images posted very carefully, most often it's older posts, newer ones are usually more careful. Your image #3 &, #4 have been lived in, community and apartments might be different, not really sure. I check for chairs pushed in, newspapers, unmade beds and anything that looks odd for a newly built house. I do use BoilingOil's mod and added Chris Hatch's new mod (thank you, Chris!, I might not be so picky now). Posted downloads without outside, floor plans and not enough info about lot size are skipped over, no matter how much I like it. I'm not knowledgeable in how things work, just a bit of what I read about is the extent.

I did learn in Sims 1 that downloaded houses off the EA site could be bad after one house with a little girl alone, baracaded in a bedroom that instantly went up in flames at live mode and another house with an adult at one end of the house that went up in flames from a stove fire at the opposite end. Yep, learned early on that even some players have a weird sense of crude humor. (:

Checking for chairs pushed in can be a sign of sims in a lot but it's no guarantee, you can also achieve that look with the quarter tile cheat or by play testing a copy and taking photos in there, both things I and I know others have done. Which is why it's best to say if you have done such things. If you suspect its best to look in simpe, but again realizing all lots have some sim references but the amount and type will be less.

To confirm if it does get rid of it, if you have a lot you know is bugged then turn on testing cheats before selecting the lot cleaner from the catalogue. The file OETreeDelete.xls in your logs folder will then list everything that gets deleted (it'd pay to delete that file before starting your game so it's not too big). the super duper bug is named 'SocialDownloadTest' so that's what you'd be looking for in OETreeDelete.xls. If you save, exit then do the same again the 'SocialDownloadTest' should not appear a second time showing that it is gone from that lot.

It is available at box https://app.box.com/s/zqpm2wwdcmryzdv096rkl4asx0naby7s

Oh excellent - does that mean I can use the object as a test object for downloaded lots? Delete OETreeDelete before I install a lot and load the game. Go to the lot, wave the object about, save, exit. Yes, very useful. Thanks.

Great I will do that to both downloaded lots and lots I plan to upload to be sure. The SDH is still no where near as bad as sims in lots, but people seem more worried by maxis code than things that can actually corrupt their hood.

If I can at least see if my lots are hug-bugged or not after I use your globe and before I ever think of uploading them, that would be really useful! Very useful indeed. And this looks easy enough for ME to figure this out (mention coding, and unless it's easy, such as changing the video.sgr file, I can get confused and glassy-eyed!). I'd try on a test hood or two first, though the first couple of times until I can do this easily. Thank you so much!

For years, a main problem for many of us was not only the lots themselves but our not knowing whether any efforts to de-hug-bug the lots worked. There have been many suggestions, such as the ones I mentioned, but no one could say for utter sure that all or most of them did the job. This is quite an important breakthrough ... to the point where I'm actually getting excited about this!

The Super Duper Hug Bug is not even vaguely as bad as other VBTs you can do with lots ... annoying more than harmful ... but it does make one feel like one has something contagious.

It has the feeling that you are passing around a social disease, I know. :/

What have you been doing in that lot, you dirty little ... XD

When you say to delete the OETreeDetail file, do you mean the entire xls folder? Does it automatically regenerate?

I'm gettling slightly glassy-eyed and confused.

EDIT .... Got the globe to show up in my contest game. And joandsarah77 was responding to my comment about the OETreeDetail file not showing up in that game. I got a little too delete-happy. Sorry.

Well it wouldn't be if you made a new folder. That's one way of having a clean game.

Yes, just delete the file - you can delete anything in My Documents without problem. I have deleted that entire folder sometimes in the past. The game just makes a new copy.

I am so glad I decided to check up on the latest SDHB news. I've had several lots I've wanted to upload, but was afraid of passing on the bug, since one of my lots was infected. I had resigned myself that I was going to have to rebuild them from scratch with a new install on the laptop.
Praises for Chris Hatch.

Alas, it doesn't look like even Chris Hatch's mod can always get rid of SDHB super-easily ... at least not in my hood.

For some reason, after repeatedly packaging a bunch of lots without a problem, the Social Download Test suddenly popped up on one lot. This lot was fine when I packaged it in the past, but I messed up prepping the lots, and had to re-package them. Then I messed up that particular lot again and had to re-package still again. It came up on the third attempt. My game is hug-bugged, by the way. I already know that. And no, it's not the end of the world. More like a PITA. A controllable PITA, but a PITA.

I followed these instructions:

"To confirm if it does get rid of it, if you have a lot you know is bugged then turn on testing cheats before selecting the lot cleaner from the catalogue. The file OETreeDelete.xls in your logs folder will then list everything that gets deleted (it'd pay to delete that file before starting your game so it's not too big). the super duper bug is named 'SocialDownloadTest' so that's what you'd be looking for in OETreeDelete.xls. If you save, exit then do the same again the 'SocialDownloadTest' should not appear a second time showing that it is gone from that lot."

However, when I checked my folder a second time, the Social Download Test was still there. I used the orb twice, as directed, turning on the cheats before using it both times. Social Download was still there. I think it's taunting me. I wish I knew what caused it to randomly pop up again after I managed to package the lot before without any issue. This really is an annoyance.

We only have to select it, if I'm reading this correctly. Not actually put it on the lot and then delete it? I'll try doing actually putting it on the lot and deleting it this time.

EDIT ... It seems that sometimes, that SDHB can be really stubborn. I went back to the lot and this time, put it on the lot, rather than just select it, then deleted it before saving. Checked the logs ... yup, there. No surprise there.

Went back in, put the orb ON the lot again, deleted it. Checked the logs again, per Chris Hatch's instructions. It seems to be gone now.

I put a copy of the lot in the hood, calling the lot Purple Pony. (Why not? Lack of sleep does that to ya.) Put the orb on Purple Pony's lot, deleted the orb before saving. In all cases, by the way, per Chris' instructions, I went back into the lot a second time. Purple Pony's log seems clean. No SDHB. So the good news is that you can get rid of it. The bad news is that sometimes, you need to be a little more aggressive about it.

But a "duh" here ... do NOT put the lot back in the lot bin right away after you've cleaned it. Package it before you do. If you put it in the lot bin before packaging, then take the lot out, SDHB comes right back.

And I would check the logs each time before packaging a house. This thing really is random. I found that actually putting the orb on the lot, then deleting it right away seemed to work, but this scenario needs more study before I can assert that is the case.

I have never uploaded a house to MTS (or elsewhere) and I don't have any plans in the immediate future to do so. And while I've downloaded one or two lots, I've never uploaded to my Downloads folder (assuming that's where they are supposed to go). So, I'm assuming that means I've never been infected. Now, I'm running a clean install (of Windows, Sims, empty neighborhoods, etc.) Still, I'm curious about the SDHB (which I've never seen) and the No Sim Loaded Mod (which I've kept in my downloads folder since reading about the SDHB).

If I were to upload and play someone else's lot, one that was infected, would the No Sims Loaded mod PREVENT the SDHB from occurring and attaching itself to homes I build? Or does it just mask the bug so that I will never see the infection? If the latter, does that mean I can become a carrier--someone who never experiences the bug but someone who might pass it on? If it's the latter, then I will delete those never-used downloaded lots, and hope that I learn how to build more interesting homes myself.