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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#51 Old 6th Jun 2016 at 9:21 PM
Quote: Originally posted by maxon
Yes, though check for sub-hoods added after point 3 and before you go on. What you want is the absence of files like Peni described.

If you play your playables for any length of time beyond 1-2 minutes or call up for an NPC like a maid, the game will make one. You also need the noregen hacks in your Downloads folder before you start anything.


Will do. Gonna try all this out fairly soon.
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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#52 Old 6th Jun 2016 at 10:43 PM
Okay, After reading NUMEROUS amounts of tutorials, I am proud to say, I now have a neighborhood without sims at all!! I am in the middle of editing the terrain with the cheat, and am working hard and taking my time to bring a much better version than before. Thanks to @Peni Griffin and @Maxon for their help. I could not have done this without them. I am actually looking at this big fu*k up as a blessing in disguise because now I can have a much more carefully thought out hood all with my own sims! I will be posting pictures of my progress periodically. Now back to work!
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#53 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 12:28 AM
Thanks maxon.

Mike, should I still load up this hood to test the houses? Also good going on the empty hood!

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#54 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 12:30 AM
Quote: Originally posted by MikeJMW55
Hi! So I am running into a small issue. Whenever I go into a community lot in my completely empty and clean hood, I save, quit, and open the characters folder to see if anything changes before I proceed, and there are about 14 user files...What can I do to fix this? Or is this an unavoidable thing?

Hi Mike, you sent me this as a PM but it's probably best to keep questions on the thread.

I am not sure what's going on there. If you are only in build mode, the game should not be generating sims. It only does that in Live Mode - you know when you have a sim living on a lot and let the game run. Can you give us a bit more detail - maybe a screenie? When you say user files, what do you mean? Character files have a name format like this:

N004_User00004.package

Is that what you mean? The only thing I can think of is that you didn't quite get all the stealth hoods.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#55 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 12:58 AM
Quote: Originally posted by maxon
Hi Mike, you sent me this as a PM but it's probably best to keep questions on the thread.

I am not sure what's going on there. If you are only in build mode, the game should not be generating sims. It only does that in Live Mode - you know when you have a sim living on a lot and let the game run. Can you give us a bit more detail - maybe a screenie? When you say user files, what do you mean? Character files have a name format like this:

N004_User00004.package

Is that what you mean? The only thing I can think of is that you didn't quite get all the stealth hoods.


Yes. That's exactly what's happening. There are exactly 14 "N030_User00004.package" files. (N030 is my hood name) they are 1-14. It seems that even when I load other lots - community or residential the number of user files stays at 14. If you want, I can post the download of what I have so far so you can look at it?
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#56 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:08 AM
I'll also add that I haven't played live mode yet in this hood.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#57 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:26 AM
Unplayed with community lots can generate npc's.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#58 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:47 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Unplayed with community lots can generate npc's.


Thanks! And I would reccomend discarding that version. I should have a new one up fairly soon. As for the NPC issues, I mean its only 14 users and I dont see it gettting larger...Is it that big a deal? Should I upload my hood so you can investigate it? @Peni Griffin @maxon
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#59 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 3:53 AM
Do you have enough things on that lot, that it could have produced 14 npc's? A restaurant can produce a few but other things only produce one each.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#60 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 11:31 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Do you have enough things on that lot, that it could have produced 14 npc's? A restaurant can produce a few but other things only produce one each.


No, I was testing so I only put down a room with a clothes hanger and a cash register
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#61 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 12:59 PM
Sounds like a bit of a concern, but peni and maxon know a lot more about creating hoods in empty environments so I hope there is a simple explanation.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#62 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:24 PM
Unfortunately we know most about doing it in AGS. This project is going to break new ground in figuring out how the UC does and doesn't work.

He PMed me about it, so I told him to download SimPE so he can look in the package files and see what characters he's got. That should give us a starting place.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Lab Assistant
#63 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:48 PM
[QUOTE=Peni Griffin]Unfortunately we know most about doing it in AGS. This project is going to break new ground in figuring out how the UC does and doesn't work.

I have been following along with this thread and I too have the UC and I am very interested in learning how this all works with the UC. and compiling some notes to try this myself.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#64 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:49 PM
Can't empty templates be used?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
#65 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:50 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Can't empty templates be used?


I thought Jawusa's and disabling would have worked No?
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#66 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 1:59 PM
I'm hoping once I'm finished with this world to compile a thread on how to make neighborhoods with UC for dummies. I think that would be really helpful. I will check to see who these 14 characters are Ina few hours, but for now I'm not near my computer. @peni griffin I messaged both you and @maxon to see if you had any ideas on how to fix it. But worst comes to worst, what's the big deal with having a mere 14 sims...
Mad Poster
#67 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 3:09 PM
If empty templates turn out to be the only way, we'll have to examine the creator guidelines. Isn't "no subhoods, including stealth hoods" part of the requirements for upload here? As I understand it, having empty templates means that the stealth hoods are attached, but have nothing in them. Which is not the same thing.

And that's part of the question about whether it's a big deal to have 14 characters. If they're just 14 characters and no subhood is attached (that should be checkable in the Neighborhood folder, Mike, don't know why I didn't think of that last night) then it'll be a judgement call on Mike's part whether to keep them, but we'll still want to know for future reference what's generating them. If the subhood's attached, and we can't figure out how to keep it from attaching with the UC, then he'll have to talk to the mods about reviewing the policy to allow for attached subhoods if those subhoods are guaranteed empty, if he wants MTS to host it in the distant golden days when the project is complete.

We'll know more once we find out who's in there. I'm suspecting the Freetime stealth hood, which I understand is particularly tenacious. The social group townies are also tough nuts to get rid of, but I don't think they generate till someone moves into an apartment? Or am I completely confused about that?

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#68 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 3:19 PM
I am not an expert here, but what about empty templates then, with empty stealth hoods, and then simply disable the stealth hoods?
I have actually played that way (before downloading Jawusa's templates) and there was not a Sim to be seen anywhere in my game.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#69 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 3:22 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
If empty templates turn out to be the only way, we'll have to examine the creator guidelines. Isn't "no subhoods, including stealth hoods" part of the requirements for upload here? As I understand it, having empty templates means that the stealth hoods are attached, but have nothing in them. Which is not the same thing.

And that's part of the question about whether it's a big deal to have 14 characters. If they're just 14 characters and no subhood is attached (that should be checkable in the Neighborhood folder, Mike, don't know why I didn't think of that last night) then it'll be a judgement call on Mike's part whether to keep them, but we'll still want to know for future reference what's generating them. If the subhood's attached, and we can't figure out how to keep it from attaching with the UC, then he'll have to talk to the mods about reviewing the policy to allow for attached subhoods if those subhoods are guaranteed empty, if he wants MTS to host it in the distant golden days when the project is complete.

We'll know more once we find out who's in there. I'm suspecting the Freetime stealth hood, which I understand is particularly tenacious. The social group townies are also tough nuts to get rid of, but I don't think they generate till someone moves into an apartment? Or am I completely confused about that?


And from my understanding about sub hoods, they would show up in the main N030 folder, correct? So if there aren't any of those, then it's not a sub hood, they're just random sims generating. Which is weird because what else would be generating them, right? But of course like you said we will know much more once we look at who these mysterious 14 are...
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#70 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 3:28 PM
I will look into the package files of the 14 and see who they are. And I will also upload the file of the N030 in case anyone else would like to help me out and investigate. Should be about 2-3 hours before I can get to my computer. Hang tight!
Lab Assistant
#71 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 3:55 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Justpetro
I am not an expert here, but what about empty templates then, with empty stealth hoods, and then simply disable the stealth hoods?
I have actually played that way (before downloading Jawusa's templates) and there was not a Sim to be seen anywhere in my game.


Not sure if I am misunderstand this, but I did mean Jawusa's and then disabling the stealth hoods, which is what I did when I attempted a clean shareable hood, and if I recall correctly I had no sims or subhoods.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#72 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 4:45 PM
Quote: Originally posted by CoffeenSimming
Not sure if I am misunderstand this, but I did mean Jawusa's and then disabling the stealth hoods, which is what I did when I attempted a clean shareable hood, and if I recall correctly I had no sims or subhoods.


What is Jawsua? Is it a mod that cleans out NPC's and townies?
Trainee Moderator
staff: trainee moderator
#73 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 4:56 PM Last edited by Jawusa : 7th Jun 2016 at 5:09 PM.
It's me. Haha
I'm not a mod or something. I'm just a student who is doing her finals at the moment.

By the way, if your game does not disable the stealth hoods for some reason, then I would just rename the NeighborhooodTemplate folder.

C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Pets\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Seasons\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Bon Voyage\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 FreeTime\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Apartment Life\TSData\Res

If you go to this path, you should see a folder named NeighborhooodTemplate. Right click on it and rename it to NeighborhooodTemplate_Disabled and you're good to go.

As for the neighborhood itself, you could use this tutorial in order to remove all characters safely.
http://modthesims.info/t/468987

As for the affected lots (lots that have NPCs), load each lot and remove the NPC sims using moveobjects on cheat.
Then open each Lot.package in SimPE and remove these following things
- Sim Information
- Sim Relationships (SRELs)
- Sim Wants & Fears (SWAF)
- Sim Scores
- Sim DNA (SDNA)
- Family Tree
Save the file, load the lot again, make at least 1 structural change and the lot should be cleaned from the NPC sims!

Catalogue of Custom Neighborhoods for TS2
All Hood Building Group neighborhoods are available here
Want to get rid of EA's sims in neighborhoods? Check out my Clean and Empty Steatlh Hoods and Clean and Empty Neighborhood Templates
My Simblr
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#74 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 5:06 PM
I can't understand why NPCs would be produced on community lots without going into Live Mode - I've never seen that. We'd need to know what those sim files are. Post a copy of the neighbourhood Mike, I'll take a look.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#75 Old 7th Jun 2016 at 5:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Jawusa
It's me. Haha
I'm not a mod or something. I'm just a student who is doing her finals at the moment.

By the way, if your game does not disable the stealth hoods for some reason, then I would just rename the NeighborhooodTemplate folder.

C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Pets\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Seasons\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Bon Voyage\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 FreeTime\TSData\Res
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Apartment Life\TSData\Res

If you go to this path, you should see a folder named NeighborhooodTemplate. Right click on it and rename it to NeighborhooodTemplate_Disabled and you're good to go.

As for the neighborhood itself, you could use this tutorial in order to remove all characters safely.
http://modthesims.info/t/468987

As for the affected lots (lots that have NPCs), load each lot and remove the NPC sims using moveobjects on cheat.
Then open each Lot.package in SimPE and remove these following things
- Sim Information
- Sim Relationships (SRELs)
- Sim Wants & Fears (SWAF)
- Sim Scores
- Sim DNA (SDNA)
- Family Tree
Save the file, load the lot again, make at least 1 structural change and the lot should be cleaned from the NPC sims!


See, the problem is that I cannot even find these NPC's...And I have put _stealth after every single neighborhood template I could find! This is bizarre. I might just have to leave them alone. They're not attached to a sub hood, and I've never seen them so I don't know where they came from. I haven't even gone I to live mode in the hood yet. @maxon will do. Give me about an hour or so.
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