News for creators and downloaders

[Delphy]

Hi All,

First off, apologies for the excessive maintenance in the past few days. Hopefully this wont happen again for a long time. The downtime was to recompress all sims2pack files down into rar and perform more maintenance on the fileserver.

Secondly, there are no longer any Sims2Pack files here. This means that all Sims2Pack files have recompressed into .rar automatically. You won't need to re-upload or compress them yourself.

For downloaders, we have instructions in the "Downloading for Dummies (http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=134925)" article that details how you can unpack and install the resulting files into your game. Alternatively, you can use the Q-Xpress Installer (http://www.q-xpressinstaller.com) program to install files.

Regards,
Delphy

[mitchmacca92]

Thanks for the info.

:wave: :baloons:

[Echo]

Ah, so that's what was going on! Well if it makes more space for new downloads, it was worth it, even if I was going through withdrawal!

[MisfitRocker]

Thanks! Often most of the Sims2Pack files are too large and take FOREVER for my computer to download.

[Delphy]

Exactly, misfit. So this way they are smaller and get sent faster which means more downloads for all :cheer:

[Delphy]

They aren't compressed, thus take up more space and bandwidth. This is a free site so we don't have unlimited storage you know.

[niol]

Wow, cool... great for the site and users... :)

So, only sims2pack files are recompressed into rar? or including the uncompressed bodyshop files, too?

I've been using zip to package 7-zip-compressed achives instead of rar because rar-packaging can increase the file size up to 30kb or even much more while zip-packaging will only increaase the size less than 1 kb..

Anyway, it's good not to see the uncompressed chunky files...:moose:

[Delphy]

Only Sims2Packs existing on the site have been recompressed.

[emmarulz91]

thanks for telling us delphy. im glad i dont have to re-upload though! lol

[EnblithTheFair]

Thanks for all your hard work to make this site even better!

[lilsophiemunchkin]

i dnt get it i cant download files such as rar or zip do u kno ythis is? i cud onli download sims2pack files n now i cnt even do tht plz help me !!! thnx

[Loverat]

...ohgodpleasehelpmetonottypewhatireallywanttosayrightnowkthanxbai...

[brooklyn2010]

So...Does this means that I have to go download Winrar? I guess if I don't that the things I download won't show up in my game.

[GeckoGorilla]

Either that or Q-Xpress, brooklyn.

same to lilsophiemunchkin, get WinRAR or Q-Xpress, the only things I know of.

[sylunne]

Thanks, delphy, for making this place a beter one for simming :-)

[carly_lu16]

So, this will make the site faster?? I hope so, lately it has been slow for me...

[Lethe_s]

lilsophymunchin,
dear, reread the first post
and most importantly, the downloading for dummies bit
it's a link :)
read the faq it refers to

[MTS2Staff]

/me proclaims her love for LoveRat for the world to see

Very nice work Delphy- rars are much smaller and faster and it will help the site over all :)

[Stimy]

I'm so greatful you've decided to do this. I love rar files and zips are ok too.
*hugs*

[Delphy]

Loverat, dear, it's supposed to be kthxbye.... :D

[ts1and2fanatic]

Great!

I have a quick question though. Why RAR? They do have better compression formats, like 7zip or tarball(yes, I know its linux, but you can still use it on Windows ;) ).

[caslater]

Thank you for your hard work it makes me love this site even more. I really appreciate all that you do

[erin_da_simfreak]

Thanx for that, makes it easier for me!!!!

Kthxby

[dragonarts]

:beer: We appreciate all your hard work.

[FadedKisses]

If someone uploads a Sims2Pack (say someone doesn't know how to make it .rar) does it stay as Sims2Pack when it gets uploaded to Mts2?

[Neo_Sniper]

Also 7-zip can open rar files, and if you can't get 7-zip, winrar, or any of the other programs you have a real problem, any of the mentioned programs are really worth it, and most are free.

[Waiwai]

This doesnt apply to the files at (Request) self-sims area right?

*edit--- replied----*

ahh...ty...

[Delphy]

Yes it does Waiwai. No Sims2Packs are allowed - this includes Self-Sims.

[Nec]

Thank you so much for this! Also, it is really cool that you compressed all the sims2pack files for everyone.

Not having to deal with so many different file types will make it easier to organize my installed downloads folder, too. Often I will compress the ones I download so they are all the same file type, plus it saves space when I make backups on cds. I like my files really well organized...I'm kind of a neat freak that way. :umm:

Thanks again!

[Zombi Mafiya]

Thank you!

I HATE sims2pack.

[brooklyn2010]

:nod: Thanx GeckoGorilla, I appreciate it.I Hope changing it helps the site.

[Chami98minds]

Thanks bunches and bunches! I love this site and was bummed to see it down but I know it has to happen from time to time.
Ooh and another installer thingy that I came across that might help those who DL many files at once, it's called: UnzipThemAll it can handle rar files as well as zip. It is free! You can choose to unzip many files to one file all at once and it goes rather fast. Here is the site for you to check it out: http://www.herve-thouzard.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=6

[FadedKisses]

How do we make them .rar files?

[Delphy]

See the tutorial in the creator guidelines forum.

[datura00]

Thanks for the work, this is the best sims 2 site

[Christine11778]

So...Does this means that I have to go download Winrar? I guess if I don't that the things I download won't show up in my game.

I use Sims 2 File Maid, it handles all the different types of files for the game and installs them for you. :)

[JoanneDyer]

This "excessive maintenance" actually prevented me from making one huge mistake. I wanted to upload a sim - at 2 am it looked great. But in the morning - dear lord, what did I smoke?! So, Delphy, thank you. You saved my neck ))

[xanthus]

I use ZipGenius for extracting my downloads. It can do .zip and .rar files as well as many others. ( http://www.zipgenius.it )

[Sweetone]

I have Winrar. Do I have to find another file. Do I have to do Winzip?

[Ailias]

Hard good work! Thank you! Hope that make site work much faster and better :)

[sweetviper]

Yes you fix so I can download anythihing and unpack it to my downloads folder a lot quicker and so thanks for fix it.

[summersong86]

Thank you. Thanks for doing this so I don't have to go and repack my existing Sims. That was very kind of you to save us that work.

[riverofjazz]

:bow: ...ohgodpleasehelpmetonottypewhatireallywanttosayrightnowkthanxbai...
LMAO :rofl:
Anyway
Thanks on the improvements Delphy. Anything to make this site better gets my vote.

Ok back to my corner now :sneaky:

[Tholian]

Great!

I have a quick question though. Why RAR? They do have better compression formats, like 7zip or tarball(yes, I know its linux, but you can still use it on Windows ;) ).

Straight Tarballs aren't compressed. They are similar to the Sims2pack files in that they are uncompressed files strung together into a single file with a bit of code telling the utility how to seperate them. The resultant tarballs are usually compressed using Bzip or some other compression software, but that is on top of the tarball. Exactly like putting a Sims2pack file into a zip or rar. :bandit:

[Keegana]

:thumb: Keep up with the awesomeness!

[CormorantEnt]

What about .bh files? I use IZArc for those. Are they considered a good format, or not?

[PollinationTechnician79]

Thanx Delphy! We can suck up a little maintenence for the sake of the awesome. We shall all rock the .rar and the great Q. Still say Q-installer is the best sims DL tool ever :-D

[Ellatrue]

Delphy, I think this may have caused a problem with one of my uploads...

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=1171709#post1171709 :gonemad:

It was originally a sims2pack, and people were using it without problems, but since the switch it seems to be an empty sims2pack instead of a rar...

[simhorsemaster]

Q express isn't a valid win 32 application according to xp and I have trouble uncompressing them with winrar. So...It's great that you're doing this, but is there another way? zip files are the best.

[skaven510]

Just wanted to say thanks to you for this fricken HUGE and free awsome site and to all your time spent on it. Also I went to your website and dude you been doing this for 2 years take a vacation man. I've only been simmin for two weeks now, but I'm totally hooked. So thanks for this site and all the hard work.

Oh and that link on your website to the Star-trek sim movie is freakin hilarious. If anyone out there is a star trek fan and simmer then you got to go to Delphy's page and follow the link to THE BEST music videa I've seen yet. Anyways take it easy and thanks.




THIS IS MY BOOMSTICK YOU APES!!!!!
SHOP SMART SHOP S-MART!

[internet_jumbie]

Oh... Well I can't download .rar because I don't have the right program and my parents won't let me download it because it costs money, so really this isn't that good for me. But I DID get annoyed with .Sims2Pack so I DO appreciate what you've done for everyone:)

[Delphy]

internet_jumbie,

Read the first post and try out Q-Xpress.

[mmcrae200]

Thanks I think

[Jackass boy]

That is great! thanks for the information

[Madness]

Just to fling in a couple of pennies: Tugzip is another rather nice freeware that can unpack zip, rar, 7z & loads of others. http://www.tugzip.com/

[moodswings05]

How come when i tried to make a new thread to upload the sim i made, it wont let me? it says something about an error. Help me! I really wanted to upload my sim.

[Delphy]

moodswing, make sure you are uploading both zips or rars AND pictures. You can't upload sims2pack files.

[poundingheart]

:blow: :wave: Thank you for the hard work that is put in on this site. I do have little withdrawals lol
I have been on holidays so didnt notice this time lol :baloons:

[mrpj]

how do you post uploads?

[aloneinshadow]

Ah, so that's why the site was down. Awesome. Rar files are fast becomming the standard due to the fact that they compress much further than zip. I can't even remember the last time I packed something in Zip format.

[DralionNightmares]

what about for mac users though? the Qx doesnt seem to work and it makes it really hard to download since alot of the programs to decompress .rar files are for windows?

Any advice on how to dowload?

[DralionNightmares]

i posted a question asking how to decompress .rar folders on mac.

Thankfully through quick research, for all you mac users theres hope! you can use a free program called newztoolz that lets you decompress other files from pc.

heres the link:
http://www.techsono.com/newztoolz/index.html

hopefully you will find it as helpfull as i did!

:bandit:

[Meritha]

Thanks for all the hard work Delphy.:) I really appreciate this wonderful site with such talented people that go out of their way for others. This is the number one site for sim fans on the internet, in every way. By the way, love to read the forums even if I'm not downloading, they are always interesting and informative, and I congratulate you on your amazing patience in handling that subject that somehow always comes up.....but enough said, I'll zip my lips...:) Love you, thanks again:)

[IndigoRage]

WinRAR or (my personal preference) WinACE will handle .rar files just fine.

Pax,
Indigo

[simfan1980]

how are we supposed to upload walls and floors from home crafter? :help: i notice one of my uploads have been tagged and i've been trying to correct the problem but i'm stumped on how to do so if hc packages walls in sims2pack :bag: keep up the good work :gjob: :up: :salute:

[DJ Herself]

Are there any updates on Ellatrue's problem? I've been wanting to download her lot but getting an "empty" file won't help me at all.

[nova-storm]

Delphy! You are a ture Goddess Among Men! ;)
kthxbye
/me does the happy dance

[Francien]

Thanks, I know this is a large Free site wich take a lot of time to maintain, it's still remarkable that you are able to make it better for everyone. I also appreciate all your hard work!

[Spuddling94]

Cool, even though I wasn't a member yet. zip/.rar files seem to get downloaded much faster! :D

Thanks Delphy! :up:

[Amysmom]

The sims file maid 2 automatically installs both rars and zips, puts them in their correct file without even having to unzip or unrar. It can handle a whole list of files at once, too, so it's quick, and FREE.
http://mattwork.potsdam.edu/projects/SimFileMaid/index2.html

[Samielle]

I also want to thank you so much. You have a GREAT site, and manage it very well. You make it possible for us(un-creators) to download incredible, beautiful creations from amazing creators. And the quality of your stuff is also awesome.(Some paysite don't have that quality) THANK YOU so much for sharing.:):D Some people don't realize how much work and time, and how many people is involved in running a site. Thank You!!!:)

[ILuvMotleyCrue1]

Thank you very much, I know it's not easy to take care of a site as big as this, I appreciate all your work.

[morgana191919]

thx for the tipp
this make's it so easy :king:

[Evilgirl1774]

Delphy, you are a god amongst men. Thanks for all of the hard work!

[bojani]

Bravo Delphy, this site just gets better and better.. haven't been around for a while and catching up on all the changes is like opening prezzies, new colours, quality control, no more sims2pack files... your just the best.. :bunny: