Objects.package files

[Darby]

So, I just now remembered I hadn't yet locked down (made read only) all the games' object.package files as was advised a couple weeks ago here: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3831586#post3831586 (starting in post 206).

While doing so, I saw that one of the files was modified 1/13/2012, which is after I reinstalled due to having corrupted things by adding Mrs. C and several other universal NPCs to a test 'hood. (Mid-December.)

This particular file is the objects.package for M&G. Any idea what that might be and what I might have done to have caused that file to be modified?

Is my game borked again? I haven't seen any weirdness, but I haven't been playing a whole lot either.

Should I attempt to replace that file with the original from the M&G disc?

[Mootilda]

Yes. That file should not have changed. There is no M&G patch, so you can safely copy the objects.package from your DVD.

[Darby]

Cool. Thank you, Mootilda.

[Bwinney43]

How do you copy a new object.package file? I've been wanting to make mine read only as well but would like to know how to fix them if there's any changes.

[Darby]

You can find the original file on the relevant game disc. Problem is, if your game is patched manually with the patches from the official BBS, replacing the file with the original from the disc means you'll be replacing a patched file with an unpatched original. This is not advisable. If you have modified/corrupted objects.package files and don't have backup copies from before they were modified/corrupted, reinstallation is, unfortunately, your only truly good option.

In my case, I have a modified file from M&G, and since M&G was never patched, there's no issue with my simply replacing it with the original file from the disc. I just got lucky on that one.

[Lerf1950]

I have a dumb problem that's related to this thread. I can't open any CDs or DVDs without getting a message from Sims 2 Clean Installer that it hasn't found any files to restore. (I have Windows 7.) I have no idea what file association I've got that causes this.

Luckily I figured out that I can go through My Computer menu to access files on a CD so it's not a completely impossible situation, still it's annoying.

[Mootilda]

I have a dumb problem that's related to this thread.This has nothing to do with the topic. Sounds like you are having problems with your DVD autorun and need to start a new thread in the Sims 2 Help forum:
http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=31

or in the Computer & Software Technical Support forum:
http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=563

[M.M.A.A.]

When does the objects package gets altered/changed?

[Darby]

Making any of the "universal" NPCs selectable/playable, for sure. Possibly the remote-controlled car, under certain circumstances.

[omglo]

I have a related question. I read about locking down the objects.package files last night and did a search and also found a file called something like objectsscripts.package and some files with numbers like objects01.package. Do all these need to be locked?

[Night Racer]

^^^^
I noticed those last night when I was locking my files, and was unsure weather to lock them all or just Objects.Package. I figured that if they all would need to be locked, or it would be beneficial too, Someone would have mention it at some point, or they would be included in this rule. So I just left them alone.

[Mootilda]

I have a related question. I read about locking down the objects.package files last night and did a search and also found a file called something like objectsscripts.package and some files with numbers like objects01.package. Do all these need to be locked?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/smf/index.php?topic=10622.0

[Bwinney43]

Okay I read a few of the FAQs on here but how exactly do you copy your object.package files from your CD/DVDs? Do you just insert the CD and then open up the files or something?

I was reading this (http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Corrupted_Objects.package) but I'm just a little confused as to how you actually access and then unzip the appropriate files.

Unless I'm just a complete doof and am misreading it.

[Peni Griffin]

Put in the CD. Navigate to the CD Drive in Windows Explorer or your O/S's equivalent, follow the path, copy/paste the objects.package file. None of it is zipped up on the CD.

[Bwinney43]

Put in the CD. Navigate to the CD Drive in Windows Explorer or your O/S's equivalent, follow the path, copy/paste the objects.package file. None of it is zipped up on the CD.

Thank you. :)

Now about the patching..I have all the patches backed up in a folder. Would I be able to just re-patch the objects.package file? Or is this just not possible? I just checked all my object.package files and none of them have been modified since like 4 years ago so I think I may be okay. I like to take extra precautions whenever I can, though.

[Ghost sdoj]

I believe the patches change the game engine as well as the objects.package. If that is the case, then no. You can't run a patch on just the objects package, because it will be adding lines to the objects package that were intended to go somewhere else. Or it will fail to find a file it is supposed to modify and refuse to run.

I suppose you could put the objects package in, and then run the patch on the whole thing again.

It's a whole lot easier and safer to write a patch that specifies line numbers and what the line should look like now than it is to say something like "Change this line. Now advance one line and delete the line you are at" without specifying the line number of the line to be deleted. I don't expect that even with the sloppy programming that EA is sometimes accused of they would have made it that dangerous to patch something that has already been patched when being safer would also be easier.

Of course I could be wrong, and if I am I'm sure I will be corrected.

[Darby]

The thing to do would be make backup copies of your current objects.package files, as they are (presumably?) already patched. That way, if any get corrupted despite being read-only, you've got patched backups all ready to replace them with.

I did this last night, after replacing the one from M&G that had been modified. Bit of pain, having to create individual folders for the objects.package files for the base game and each EP and SP, but it's all done now. Yay me!

[joandsarah77]

I asked this on another post which I think got overlooked, but I will ask here as well. All the folders under Documents on my computer are already read only. I guess that is just the way my computer is set up as I didn't manually do that. What I want to know, is that good enough? Is having the objects folder read only good enough to save the file inside, even if that file itself isn't read only?

[Bwinney43]

Good advice, Darby, thank you. I think I may be okay since the files have not changed since I first installed my game but will definitely make backups for that just in case instance.

And of course I have winced made everything "read only"

[Helmasaur]

Dumb question: How exactly do you lock a file?

[Bwinney43]

Find the file, right click, choose Properties and there should be an option to make the file 'Read Only'