I just bought the Nightlife Expansion (I already have the University one), and I installed everything just like it said and then right when the game was loading, with the loading bar at the top of the screen and etc, it went back to my desktop and a message popped up saying that the game quit unexpectedly. So I started the game all over again, and it got past the past where if first crashed so I thought all was good. So I clicked on the town I wanted and it told me I had to pick a downtown for my town and as the downtown was loading, it did the same thing. It took me right back to where my desktop and the same message popped up. Is something wrong with the game or something or am I just doing something wrong?



Oh, and i found someone on here who had the same problem, and someone told her to remove her downloads folder, etc etc, i did that and my game still crashes.

Yep. I'd message Aspyr, unfortunately. I had this problem a while back, did you install the University or base game patches prior to installing NL? A reinstall would be in order first if you did.

Just be sure to back up your neighborhoods. This happened to me when I had Uni's patch installed and then tried to put in NL. Likewise, if you get OFB you should reinstall everything since the NL patch does some... funky things if you install OFB on top of it.

I assume it quits, generally, when you start trying to load a neighborhood? A reinstall was the only way I could fix that problem when I had it. I'd already lost all my sims at that point (sometimes when it starts doing this it will clean out the neighborhood).

If you can get to the neighborhood to check, do so, otherwise you'll just have to reinstall (but do tell Aspyr about the problem as well) they're lousy at supporting Sims 2 and the more people that write to them telling them there's a problem with various things the more they'll listen (I've been messaging them since June or July.)

Hi this_art_does_drown and flameflash...

I too have had the same problem on my mac. I had installed Sims2, then I bought NL because I thought it was the first expansion (at least it was the first I had heard of ) and everything worked fine. But then I bought Uni and I had read somewhere that you should install the ep's in order so I backed up everything (I automatically pack all of my creations, old habit from the days of designing printed circuit boards) and installed all three in order, stopping to start each before installing the next. Everything went well for about two days then suddenly I tried to access the game and got the same message as "this_art" (may I call you "this_art"? I know we just met.)

Anyway I checked the Aspyr site for the patch but apparently it has something to do with making the game Universal and I have a ppc mini so that didn't do any good. Until I can come across a viable solution I am sticking to the basic game.

By the by, I did move/hide my downloads folder and other various folders but the game didn't come up. I even did another clean install and started over without any downloads (just in case the problem was a bug from a sims2pack or something like that) but it still refused to work.

I can understand that there may be a slight incompatablilty with the ppc mac, but why would it work for a time then suddenly not? Oh, I haven't downloaded any new changes to the opsys lately so that can't be it.

Anyway, we mac users/players have to stick together so how 'bout we put our heads together and try to find a solution?

bigirish2003, make sure you got rid of all preference files related to The Sims 2 when you uninstalled, and when you reinstall only apply the patch for the latest EP. So if you are using only the base game, you'll still need the base game patch.

Please test to see if other game optinos are defaulting as well. If so, this is bigger than just custom content (like my problem is) The thing is, Aspyr Support continues to ignore my statement regarding defaulting. On a test case they just did for me it worked fine, but the problem appears to arrive after an amount of time, not immediately, so that is why they can't replicate what we're doing (I doubt they're actually allowed to play the game very regularly at their office, after all.)

And unlike simsample, I strongly recommend NOT installing any patches. The patch for Sims 2 takes you Universal, and since you have a PPC there's no need. My problems began upon installing the NL Universal patch, before then the game was fine, if not horribly slow at times. (Intel iMac.)

OFB, being Universal out of the box, seems to keep the problem going. Doing another "clean install" (AKA, brand new install as if the computer never saw the game before... therefore deleting preferences files and the EA Games folder.)

So wish me luck, but I'm betting I'll get the same results as every other time: all game options reset to default, hence why we can't enable custom content.

My suggestion: test lot view options and switch from 'small' to something else (I always used medium prior to the NL patch) and if it doesn't return to default on a game restart then you should be fine for installing custom content, if it resets, e-mail Aspyr and tell them that ALL game options are defaulting to factory originals.

As you said bigirish2003, we need to stick together, and proving to Aspyr that there is a problem that needs to be addressed is a way to do so.

Wow, thanks for that information flameflash- I'll remember that! Always glad of some good technical facts.

Not a problem. It's the Universal patch release of NL that began my currently running four-month conversation with Aspyr's technical support site. I've harassed them enough, amusingly, that my name is probably known in their offices by now (as a large annoyance.)

Right now the problem appears to be (at least when it comes to custom content) game mods that override game behaviors. The game can't handle it for some reason and just refuses to forever enable custom content after that.

The lot view constantly defaulting to small still boggles me, but now I've simply let the game have its way and reported it to Aspyr (this is one that they've enjoyed ignoring for some reason but also started once we switched to Universal.)

My game has been working fine for a few days (the nightlife exp) without crashing. I installed the patch for it and it seemed to do the trick. Now it's crashing again.

Did you do anything different between when it started crashing and when it was fine? Was there any modification or file that you put in your downloads folder?

Not that I know off. I deleted all of my downloads before and it would still crash, randomly. Like I said, before I installed NL, the sims never crashes, not even when I had UV. But I installed the NL patch and it seemed to do the trick but today it crashed as I was playing. It hasn't crashed for a few hours now, but I don't get it. I just keep saving every few minutes so I don't loose anything. You'd think MACS would be so much better than a PC, lol.

Hi All... Thanks for joining in. I'll look over the posts and try some of the advised stuff when I get home from work.

Hi this_art... The problem isn't with the Mac. When the mini came out it opened the door for those of us with "average" income to afford a mac and opened a huge market in the gaming industry. This led game companies to "rush out" games for this new market without fully understanding the new structure of the OS and with inadequate quality controls. (I recall that Sims2 for the Mac came out in June or July 2005 which would appear to have been in response to the release of the mini.) We may be facing this as a factor in our problem.

Anytime you have third-party software you are more likely to have conflicts. I use a newsreader called Hogwasher, for example, and it constantly argues with Safari over access to the dial-up modem.

Back to all... It's just annoying that the game and Ep1 and Ep2 worked for a time, then suddenly they didn't work at all. I deleted the EA folder and hid the backups on an external hard drive which I undocked, disconnected and then restarted the computer. I also went to my library and deleted the plist for both the main game and bodyshop. I wonder if Apsyr is hiding some plist or other where we are not looking?

I also found out that I can't load my packaged sims and houses. It says essentially that they were made using an expansion and I need the expansion to install them.

Have there been running problems with the base game and Uni then? I only got in once NL was released and picked up all three at once.



I wouldn't agree there, but some of the recommendations from Aspyr were a little... off. We can't repair permissions, or if we do, it's not even going to help the game, just the OS, so there's no point in doing it (except in regular maintenance of the computer).



I've been wondering that for a quite a time now, it seems to me that it's something user related and perhaps that explains Aspyr's claims that we need to repair premissions before reinstalling Sims 2. I've had all these problems though, so hopefully they'll be putting out some fixes before Pets comes out.



Yep. You saved them them with the EPs installed and to get them back you have to have the EPs installed. WooHoo might be able to help (a Mac Sims 2 utility). There's a link to it around here somewhere...

It's also why we can't install sims that are created with somebody who has FFS and/or GL installed inside OFB. Aspyr won't confirm or deny them working on either of the stuff packs.

I have NL REV A patch. I don't think this one is universal, not sure. But it seems that the universal patches screw up the game if you have ppc? If this is the case, and if it's not illegal, I can send the patch to anyone interested. I also have the SIMS2 1.0 REV patch. Flameflash I believe you've got the intel though?

Since I scaled my downloads to less than 5000, and removed the file increasing the number of downloads for the mac, I haven't had any problem.

Nope, all the problems started when I installed NL.

That would be the Universal patch for NL. All the Sims 2 mac patches (that I'm aware of) make the game Universal.



Yep. That would be the now known bug. And all I'm getting from them is "it'll take a while, thank you for being patient, and we don't know if we'll integrate the patch into Pets or have to patch Pets seperatly."

The issue starts in NL and goes on through OFB.

First off, thanks flameflash, that's good to know. I'll try whohoo as soon as I get some more vacation time.

Okay, I was poking around and found this article by simsample:

http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=139059

In it I found:

"If you have University, right click on ‘The Sims 2 University’ folder and click ‘Delete’ and ‘Yes’.
If you have Nightlife, right click on ‘The Sims 2 Nightlife’ folder and click ‘Delete’ and ‘Yes’.
If you have Open For Business, right click on ‘The Sims 2 Open For Business’ folder and click ‘Delete’ and ‘Yes’."

I wondered if similar files might exist on my ppc mini. So I used spotlight to search for nightlife. Lo and behold I found two items of interest:

University.pkg
Nightlife.pkg

They were found in: (hard drive where you placed the game) > Library > Receipts

I trashed both files and emptied it. Then I re-installed NL and it works. I added back my downloads, saved sims and neighborhoods and everything is working fine again. I even restarted my computer a few times to be certain.

I hope this helps.

I am not sure if this will solve the problem of Uni. There was nothing in Uni that compels me enough to try installing it again.

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, as it were.

Reinstalling now after deleting the files. I'm praying. I miss my modded Sims 2.

ETA: Well, just to confirm, the files are created (as is an open for business one) but by deleting them and reinstalling, but once behavior mods hit the game it screams, falls over, and reverts to defaults on every subsequent load.

Aspyr, you still have work to do...

Just glad it will fix some folks' problems.

FF - so you deleted any Sims pref/plist files, deleted the install receipts, deleted both EA Games folders (the application one and the one created in your Documents folder) then reinstalled Sims2, University and NightLife. Did you apply any patches along the way? Only the sole NL Patch? - not sure from your last post if you also installed Open for Business - and once you install any custom content the game crashes and then opens with defaults?

Nope, the game doesn't crash (no patches installed, just OFB). Everything simply reverts to default on every reinstall. Aspyr has since admitted this is a bug and they are working on it. Something regarding NL changes regarding custom content that perpetuated into OFB (and probably into Pets). Aspyr hasn't given me a straight answer on if it will be fixed by the Pets expansion or not.