boolprop/cheats/hacks question

[Dizzy-noodles]

Hiya everyone :) sorry if this has already been answered, but I just recently deleted and re-started all my neighbourhoods, and I was wondering a few things:

1. Just how risky is boolprop?

I have used it a few times with no ill effects so far. I try not to use it if I can work around things, and turn it back off straightaway. I only use:
Force Abduction (after waiting for a natural abduction for weeks),
Make NPC.....Leader of the Pack (as I had met him but wanted him to come back, having lots of trees did nothing and my toddler grew up),
Tom's Clothing Tester (to put nice outfits on pregnant sims),

2. Just how risky are shift/control/c cheats?

I don't use many of these, just:
aging on/off (off in Pleasantview, on in Strangetown),
motherlode (when family move in),
moveobjects on/off (to place a staircase about twice, and to use bridle hooks and saddle racks at one of my houses, then once when my cat got stuck in the litterbox)

3. Just how risky are hacks?

I use:
antiredundancy,
nostrayrespawn,
notownieregen (I think it's something like that)

4. Other risky things?

I also have:
CEP,
6 custom careers,
some horse stuff
It warns me at the beginning of the game about these.

I also have:
quite a bit of custom hair,
quite a bit of custom make-up,
quite a bit of custom accessories,
lots and lots of custom clothes
Very reluctant to part with these, it would take the fun out of the game for me!

I would love to hear people's thoughts on these issues, I did Google it, but got mixed results, it was quite confusing. Besides, everyone on here seems to know a lot more, you're all experts!

Please help if you can :help: and thankyou in advance! :beer:

[M.M.A.A.]

notownieregen (I think it's something like that)

I've been looking for that mod, but couldn't remember exactly what it was called. Thanks!

For #1: It dpends on how you use it, so dont go fooling arounbd with what ever options pop up.

For #2: Again same thing as above.

For #3: These hacks are not risky, in fact, they help maintain the neighborhood's population.

For #4: CEP just adds a bunch of rcolors to objects that originally didnt have any,custom careers are safe, but you shouldnt delete if someone is employed in one of those careers. The horse stuff are fine, the warning is just trying to tell that these CCs change the way the game acts/behave, other than its usual behaviour.

As for the clothes and all that. its safe to remove, any sim wearing clothes or CC will revert back to somethng from the game itself. However, some CC is not made propely and will appear in a weird form (for more info, check the Bloopers and Funny pics threads).

Also, too much CC can slow down your game, you might notice that when it comes to loading your game, a lot, etc...

[Peni Griffin]

These things are dangerous only in the way that crossing the street is dangerous - risks cannot be entirely eliminated, but with good habits you won't have a problem.

The testingcheats are only dangerous because, used stupidly, they will enable you to break your game. Merely having them on is like not unplugging the toaster when you're not using it. Nobody's toaster ever randomly caught on fire in the absence of bad wiring, stuck crumbs, etc. Because the testingcheats were created to allow the programmers to create problems at will in order to effectively test the system (hence the term testingcheats), they have to allow the user to do Very Bad Things; but nothing requires that you do them. If you don't understand a function, don't use it. And don't let your cat dance on your keyboard. (This is my primary reason for not leaving it on all the time - my cats are spoiled rotten and assume that if I'm in the computer chair, I must want their company.)

The same is true of all the cheats. I personally am in the habit of turning move objects off when I'm not actively using it, because in Sims1 it was possible to accidentally break a lot by moving the mailbox or trash can; I understand that this isn't a problem anymore, but I still turn it off. But sometimes you can't fix things without move objects or one of the other cheats, and with ordinary care this is not a problem.

The game warns you about custom content and hacks because their effect in the game is unpredictable. Two hacks that are perfectly safe when used separately may cause mayhem when used together. An interrupted download can corrupt an innocent counter that has never caused anyone a problem before and never will again. Reading the documentation - especially on hacks - backing up your game frequently, organizing your downloads folder, and being prepared to follow the Game Help FAQ when you have a problem are your best defense against that.

Loading huge amounts of custom content can slow down your game, but so does having a gigantic Storytelling folder, and nobody panicks about that, do they?

[Clashfan]

Most of this has been covered above but I will add a couple of my own observations/opinions.

1. testingcheats: as others have already stated this is dangerous because of the things you can potentially do with it. I don't use this at all unless it is my only option, for basic adjustments I want to make I prefer to use the Simblender. That covers most of anything I would ever want to use the testingcheats for both when creating new Sims and also in game play situations. One of the reasons I don't use testingcheats are the error reports that occasionally pop up, most of them are completely harmless and go on behind the scenes without you ever knowing it without this cheat turned on. My main reason is I don't want to accidentally screw up and hit the wrong thing while I'm trying to do something else and I'm just simply more comfortable using the Simblender at this point.

2. other cheats: I play with moveobjects on all the time as it fits my play style. I only turn it off when building and I need to place doors or windows. I don't use the aging cheat but I don't see how that could possibly be dangerous other than the fact your Sims won't age. The others you list are a one time cheat like motherlode or maxmotives and can't be left "on". I also play with the 45degreeangle cheat on and both controlpets and cancelpetaction none of these can harm my game just by being on.

3. hacks: hacks are only dangerous if you either have conflicting hacks installed or you download a hacked object without reading it's instructions. I caused some major havoc in my first hood way back when because I downloaded a hacked object and didn't really understand how it worked or it's effect on my hood. So it's important to read the instructions and know what your downloading and how to use it properly. I have close to 800 hacks in my game none of which I would part with and all is perfectly fine.

4. other CC: most of this will not and cannot break your game. However there can be problems if you DL an item that you don't have the correct EP for your game will crash. Pay attention to the poly counts especially on hair, some of them are outrageously high and can really slow down your game. Keep your downloads organized! That is really one of the most important rules to have as if you have a problem and need to find a piece of CC if it's all just dumped in one place it can be an agonizing process to sort out. Don't add huge amounts of CC all at one time, say you go on a downloading rampage (not that I know anything about that) only put about 10 new items in the game at a time. Then if you do have problems, say a missing mesh or color file it's so much easier to identify than if you've just dumped 50 new items in.

The only time I've encountered a problem with removing custom content has been using custom skintones or eyes, that is custom not default there is a difference. If you have custom skins or eyes and have Sims in game using them and then remove them well your going to have some funking looking sims. Default skins or eyes you can take in and out of the game and change around with really no problem but you only get 4 skintone options and I think maybe 6 eyes? Can't remember right now.

I don't have any careers but I know I've read that there are problems if you remove them while a Sim is on the job. Not sure if that is just the Sim holding a job in that career or physically off the lot at work when you remove the career.

[Darby]

I play in Debug Mode (boolprop on) at all times, and it's fine. As Peni says, it's not dangerous to simply have it on, you just need to know what NOT to do with it.
*see article below

As for hacks, it's extremely important to have some idea what each hack does, to make sure it's compatible with your particular game configuration (latest EP), and compatible with other hacks already installed. This takes time, but it can be done. My Hacks folder, which currently has 923 files in it, is proof that even large numbers of hacks can be used in the game quite safely, because my game runs perfectly well.

"Regular" (non-hack) CC can cause issues, if poorly made, or missing meshes, but nothing game-breaking. In fact, I've never heard of any CC or hack conflicts/problems that can't be solved by simply removing the offending file. Finding said file can be tricky, if you don't keep everything organized, but as long as you DO keep them organized, the pleasure you gain from having the content far outweighs the occasional problem, imo.

The main things you need to know to keep your game safe are listed in this article:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Avoiding_Hood_Corruption

[maxon]

They're all fine as long as you follow the instructions that come with the DL (and the cheats are fine too as long as you do stuff you know is ok). Why do people think these things are a problem?

[sierrakusterbeck]

I always launch boolprop from the neighborhood every time I play sims. It's fine to use, as long as you don't do stupid things with it like giving your sim you want to be alive a dead token or making the grim reaper selectable. If you shift+click and you find something that you have no idea does, you should probably google it first to make sure it doesn't end up setting your game on fire from the inside :lol:

[Mootilda]

Wow! Six posts in a row, many with huge unnecessary quotes! Perhaps you should re-read the site rules:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=289713

[Dizzy-noodles]

M.M.A.A.=Thankyou for replying! :up:

I feel much better now! :D

You're welcome! Just checked and it is notownieregen.

For boolprop I am careful, I just read somewhere that Tom's Clothing Tester was risky.

I used to have another career, I removed it because it didn't work, but I gave the 2 sims using it a diferent career first.

I have only deleted clothes, hair, acessories in CAS, most of it without being used (as I always test it first, in case it didn't work properly or was too samey, or I just didn't like it), except for one dress I forgot my sims had in her dresser one time.

My game is fine speed wise at the moment luckily.

Ooh bloopers and funny pics sound fun, might check them out! :lol:

Peni Griffin=Aah thankyou for explaining so thoroughly :gjob:

Sadly I don't have a cat :cry: but I do have a dog and a horse :D but I do turn moveobjects back off after placing my objects

I have read about my downloads, do back up, do follow Game Help FAQ.......

..........but I haven't organized my downloads :faceslap: except for my hacks which are in a hacks folder.

Sorry for all the smilies, I think they're cute! :luff:

Clashfan=Thankyou for such a detailed reply :king:

Ironically I almost downloaded the simblender, but chickened out! I try to keep boolprop to a minimum though.

I only have those 3 hacks and I read about them first, so hopefully they're ok.

Oh I am guilty of not organizing downloads! And download rampages! :blink: But I did make a hacks folder. The only download I don't have the EP for is my Jareth, but he always worked fine, just turned up bald in CAS. (I played him for ages in my old hood before I deleted it). I think my baby dragon is a high poly count but my game speed is ok so far.

I generally only delete cc stuff I haven't used.

I only had 2 sims using the career I deleted, and I did get them new jobs first. I had read about that before.

Thanks! :lovestruc

Darby=Thanks for answering :duck: :bunny:

I've only got those 3 hacks, they are for Pets and I read the instructions.

I'm bad :( my downloads are a big mess! But I do have a hacks folder at least! I love my cc :giggler:

Thanks for the article, I have read it before but will see if I missed anything!

maxon=Aah thankyou :turtle: I am quite careful, and read everything first.

What's the Polgannon project?

sierrakusterbeck=Oh thankyou :Pint:

I don't do any mad stuff like that, luckily I had read not to do it beforehand :deal:

I do use Google (aswell as the game help faq on here), but sometimes you read stuff from people who don't know what they're doing ;) well on the horse forums anyway! :!: (real horses not sim horses)

.Mootilda=Oh sorry :( I was just trying to thank people. I didn't realise I wasn't supposed to do that-more used to facebook than forums! Is this better?