I would leave the skunk absolutely alone. Doing anything apart from 'look', 'pet' or 'chase off' will result in your game being a pile of ashes.

This has made me wonder, those remote control cars are a type of NPC, I'm assuming those are safe to buy and delete? As is that dog pen puppy? Not that I've bought one of those puppies since the day I got that EP and found the stupid thing attached itself to my sims hand like a purse. Only my sims sometimes get the want to buy one and I would, then delete it through inventory-if it's safe.

Yes, they are universal NPCs - just like the skunk and penguin - except they are objects. That is to say, in fact, Maxis got around these objects being mobile by making them surrogate animals. Or is it the other way round? That the birds, penguin, skunk etc. are mobile objects? Anyway, yes, they are designed to be bought and sold ONLY there is a problem with the car. So much so THAT I HAVE NEVER ONCE BOUGHT ONE for my sims. It was supposed to be fixed in a patch but there has been a lingering worry that in certain conditions it will overwrite the objects.package. This, of course, is fixable by making your objects.package read only or simply replacing it with the one off the disc but all the same, I've never bought one and they can whine as much as they like about wanting one. Watch out for Santa, BTW, if you have the Xmas Pack. He has a nasty tendency to leave one under the tree.

Well, crap.

I've had them left for date rewards and brought home from visits to campus. I believe I recently deleted one, and don't remember if it was before or after I locked my objects package. I don't want to start over in the middle of this rotation again! Is there a way to be sure?

I don't think it's necessarily the deleting that's the problem. It might have been saving while they were in use. TBH it's been such a long time since I read about it, I've forgotten. I'll have to look it up.

Edit to say: having read a quick thread in the modding section, what apparently happens with the remote controlled car is that in use it becomes an NPC. That is to say it is really two objects: the one the sim holds and the object once it becomes mobile (when it becomes a surrogate NPC). It's the NPC bit that's the problem, I think. I can't find any particular info about the bug except a thread here with me saying the bug didn't get fixed. I seemed pretty sure about it but I'm not sure that's a good reference.

I second that "well, crap."

I have heard that it's unwise to save while the car is in motion, but I didn't realize the bugginess extended past that. I've used the cars before and had them given as gifts after outings. Not to mention, my Tinker family's toy store has a ton of these on the shelves!

It wouldn't be a good idea to replace a patched objects.package with the unpatched one from the DVD. It may be possible to patch the objects.package by itself, but I wouldn't count on it. Unless you have a copy of the patched objects.package, you should really uninstall and reinstall, then patch. Of course, the simplest solution is to make your installation files read-only, before you do anything that can corrupt them.

You can always check the date of your objects.packages. If it has been modified recently, then you have a problem.

Installation files should not be modified except by patches.

Are the objects.package the only files needing to be locked? I went through my folders and all the objects are ok, but I want to make sure that I didn't miss anything.

Also, thank you to THIS ENTIRE FORUM for all the help, because I never in a million years would have known to go lock installation files.

Fail EAxis.

What exactly is the objects.package? Does this mean the file inside the Object folder under EA Games/The Sims2 Apartment Life/TSData/Res? I've never made any sims folder or file read only. When I click on properties it says the folder is read only anyway, although the file itself has nothing selected under attributes. I had heard something around about making every EP objects. package read only, so is this something we should be doing?

It's reasonable to lock all of your installation files, but the objects.package is the main file that I know of which is corrupted by specific actions within the game.

Reference:
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s...p?topic=10622.0
Yes. It's a safely measure which protects you against bugs in the game which corrupt your installation files.

Okay read that thread, but that still doesn't say if I have found the correct files to write protect, the one inside each Res folder? (forget that, I found the answer in another thread)
I don't even know how to Every folder I click says it is read only already.

Edit:

That method sounds much better, but I don't see 'search' as an option when I right click it. I'm on Windows 7. Does this mean I have to open and do each file individually?

Yes, the ones inside of each EP's TSData\Res\Objects.

Some operating systems may write protect all files in Program Files automatically. If not, then you must have done it yourself.

Ok, I figured out how to lock the entire directory. Thanks for the heads up, I never would've thought that my game could implode in such a glorious fashion.

It must have done it automatically as I haven't done it. When I right click on the object.package file itself, nothing is selected. Should I still go through and tick read only on the files or is the folder protection enough? I've opened and looked at the date on a few of them and those all say 05 or 08. The object.package file in M&G says 4/10/2011 which I think was my last install. I had my computer reformatted last year and had to reinstall then, but I didn't take any notice of the actual date. I have each EP and SP on individually bought disks, on Windows 7 64 bit system.

Oh! That car is unsafe? CURSE YOU SANTA! That could be why my lot corrupted and refused to load. I'll have to check now.

I guess if the base game remote control car can potensialy harm the objects file so can the helicopter and other car that came with another EP, as well as that human statue and any cc objects made off any off them? But if we keep our object.package read only then they should be okay to use.

Ah yes, thanks for clarification. I have M&G and I don't think that was ever patched.


I don't know about the other car but it was only the original RC car that was reporterd as having problems. As for CC - custom content, by definition, is additional to original game files, therefore it doesn't call them up or have any reason to overwrite them.

When I have some time, I'll make a list of which EPs objects.package files were modified by the patches, so that people will know which ones are safe to restore from DVD.

[Update:] Here is the list:
http://www.modthesims.info/showpost...48&postcount=49

I know this is an older thread---but---it helped me a whole bunch here! I am glad I was digging around looking for some information about Pets (thinking of getting) & found all this information on thread. I've now got protected read-only files where they should be thanks to y'all :-).

I have one sim who for some reason wants to pet that little bugger every single time it shows up on that lot. She gets sprayed quite often. Yet her cat always stands back away from the skunk, only watches & has yet to be sprayed. It is rather funny to watch the skunk get all flustered with the little stomping feet, arched back, all growly, goes to tiptoed stance, then up goes that tail & you're sprayed. I have weird sims, lol
Anyone else have a sim who insists on getting regularly sprayed by Stinky?