Mod The Sims - MAC SUPPORT -Mac Information

MAC SUPPORT -Mac Information

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10th Jul 2005, 06:11 AM	MAC SUPPORT -Mac Information #1
daysies Original Poster The Quiet One Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 3,516 Thanks: 18294 in 58 Posts 7 Achievements	NOTE: All players should backup the game before patching. Players on a Mac who have the Mac versions of the games should use the Aspyr patches. Please read the notes carefully- the patches you need depend upon your machine and your game version. Basegame University Nightlife Open For Business Pets Seasons For players running the PC versions of the game on Windows via Bootcamp, you need the PC patches. http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?...ching_Your_Game
	Last edited by simsample : 19th Dec 2008 at 02:26 PM.

10th Jul 2005, 06:43 PM	#2
daysies Original Poster The Quiet One Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 3,516 Thanks: 18294 in 58 Posts 7 Achievements	*** Known issues: * 1) intprop censorGridSize 0 - This is the getting rid of blur cheat that you normally place in userstartup.cheat file. This does not work on the Mac version. Currently there is no workaround. UPDATE** Workaround found! An anti blur hack that was originally designed for Nightlife also works for the Mac. It can be found here.
	Last edited by simsample : 29th Dec 2006 at 05:02 PM.

24th Jul 2005, 12:06 AM

bairy

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4th Aug 2005, 06:41 PM

daysies

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8th Aug 2005, 06:57 PM

daysies

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Info courtesy of Numenor:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Numenor

Get the Mac download of the CEP here:
http://cep.modthesims2.com

Last edited by simsample : 18th Dec 2008 at 10:25 PM.

7th Sep 2005, 03:34 AM

daysies

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Where Do I Put My Custom Content I've Downloaded?

Info courtesy of recens_aetas:

Quote:

Macintosh HD > Users > Your User Name > Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Downloads

6th Apr 2006, 05:22 PM	Mac and Support FAQs #5
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	Support FAQs and the Mac. Throughout MTS2 there are support forums and help for technical issues, as well as modding issues. It can be a little confusing as to what will work on the Mac, but there are some basic guidelines. THE GAME PLAY will be identical for a Mac user as for a Windows user. The same cheats will apply, and the game functions will work in the same way. Hacks and custom content that work on PC should also work on Mac, provided they are for the right Expansion Pack. The only exceptions are any config mods (such as lighting or camera mods). If these have an installer or instructions for a file path, it may not work quite the same for a Mac. As you know .exe files do NOT work on Macintosh, so you will not be able to use any mods which use an exe. KEYS: Generally, where a Windows user says right click it will mean Command click on a Mac. The Command Key is Control, the Option key is Alt. There is a list of other comparisons, called 'what's it called on my Mac', available in the help files of OSX. Use finder to fetch it for you from your Mac.
	Last edited by simsample : 6th Jun 2006 at 08:55 PM.

6th Apr 2006, 05:36 PM

Zip and RAR files. #6

simsample

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Get the Stuffit Expander which deals with zip or rar files:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/182

Info courtesy of kyotchi:

Quote:

I, like so many other Mac users, could not open .rar files (even after trying all the applications suggested on various threads), and then spent about five seconds on Google and found this:
http://unrarx.sourceforge.net/
It should work for anyone with Mac OSX (I have 10.2.8 and it works fine for me), so hopefully everyone has a .rar fix now, and people can upload whatever compression they wish.
I put this here because I didn't see a forum for offering help, just those made for asking for it.

zip Support- info courtesy of jaxad0127:
http://www.maczipit.com/

Safari and .rar files: If you'd like to use Safari to download .rar files, you need to control click and choose 'download linked file'. If you have stuffit or another rar extraction program, the file will be downloaded as a .package.txt file- you just need to rename it and remove the .txt extension so that it reads .package only. To do this, control click and choose get info> filename and extension. Not practical for batches of downloads, but okay for one or two. It would be possible to write an automator script to rename batches of files.
You can get a program called File List to rename batches of Rar.txt files.
Firefox and Camino do not have these difficulties with rar files.
Thanks to appleofuri and thisisfudd for the information on rar files and browsers.

*3/25/08 Update*

"As of Mac OS X.5 with Safari 3.0.4 (at least, given that's what I've tested it on) the MIME formats are read correctly and you no longer get gibberish pages on this site when downloading .rar files." ~ Thank you flameflash for this information.

Last edited by julianarosalia : 25th Mar 2008 at 10:53 PM.

6th Apr 2006, 05:41 PM

Windowed Mode! #7

simsample

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To play in Windowed Mode on a Mac:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nailati

Press Command when you launch the game. Select "In a Window" and the resolution. Some of the resolutions are greyed out, but you can change the resolution to anything you want in-game (larger ones will cause the title bar to disappear). If you increase the resolution in-game, I think it will switch back to 800x600 the next time you launch, so you should check "Always display this dialog.

If you play in full screen mode, just hit COMMAND (control) +H to hide the game and use other programs, then hit the icon in the dock and bring it back up when you're ready to play again. Just be sure to turn off "sim while minimized" in your options so the game doesn't carry on without you knowing about it.

Thanks to Nailati for the information!

6th Apr 2006, 05:44 PM	Intel Install problems #8
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	For Intel Mac users: Installation issues. Go to the University disk, and control click on the installer. Now go into contents/resources and control click on University.pkg and show contents. Now go to contents and drag Archive.pax.gz to your desktop. Unpack it, and drag the files The Sims 2, Package Installer, Body Shop, and Expansion Packs into your game folder. This should work for Nightlife too.
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	Last edited by simsample : 10th Aug 2006 at 03:48 PM.

6th Apr 2006, 05:56 PM

Sims 2 tools for Mac users. #9

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Unfortunately, there aren't many tools for Mac users.

BODYSHOP
You can download the pre-release version of Bodyshop from Macgamefiles:
http://www.macgamefiles.com/detail.php?item=18683
Thanks to luws for that link!

HOMECRAFTER PLUS
Unfortunately there is no Homecrafter Plus for the Mac.

SIM PE
Currently it does not work on Mac OS.

DBPF Reader
From the website:

Quote:

DBPF Reader is another Sims utility for the Macintosh that opens file archives from games like The Sims and its expansions, The Sims 2, and The Sims Online (TSO).

It does what it says- it reads the package files, so it may be of use in identifying files.
Read more here:
http://homepage.mac.com/petergould/DBPF/index.html

There is a handy Tutorial for this software by *Laure*, find it here.

DBPF Inspector
By Cavallo. From the thread:

Quote:

It allows you to open and see the contents of DBPF (.package) files. Suddenly, they show up in the Finder with real icons, and the 'kind' shows as "Maxis DBPF." Double clicking on one will open it, show you the contents in order by offset, and optionally decompress any compressed files inside (which just makes them quicker to open - all contents are decompressed upon opening.) Double-clicking a file in the list will let you view the contents. Any file type I haven't written a viewer for (which is most of them) will open in a hex window allowing you to see the raw guts of the file. I have made some quickie viewers for STR# files (which is fairly bad), BMP files (which works remarkably well, actually) and nerdy things like the file header and the index, and such. Also, you can drag files out of the list and into the Finder to do with as you will.

Get it here:
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=104266

Last edited by simsample : 29th Apr 2008 at 09:17 AM.

18th Apr 2006, 06:55 PM	Patch It! #10
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	Get the latest patch for The Sims 2 base game here: http://www.aspyr.com/noframes.php/g...4&p_game_id=156 EDIT: Aspyr don't seem to have Sims 2 support on their site any more, but you can get the Aspyr patches from this site: http://www.macgamefiles.com/detail.php?item=18775 Be sure to save that somewhere safe in case it's not available in future!
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	Last edited by simsample : 11th Feb 2012 at 10:06 PM.

27th Apr 2006, 08:44 AM	Beta Testers needed: #11
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	November 2006: This project appears to be currently unsupported; I'm leaving this information here in case it continues at a later date. 2008: Huge Lunatic has posted the most up to date copy of WooHoo over on the Insim forums. Get it here. Also hosted here: Click to Download file. If you are playing the Sims2 on Mac, you may be interested in beta testing this tool created by lgiese. It is a backup utility, and there are other features planned for this, including a package editor. The website is here: http://woohooformac.wordpress.com/
	Last edited by simsample : 29th Dec 2008 at 05:07 PM.

19th Jul 2006, 07:02 PM	File Limits #12
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	Kayanna and Luws alerted me to a problem that Mac users sometimes have with The Sims2. There is a limit to the number of files that Mac OSX can handle with a single application- if this limit is exceeded users can experience problems such as wireframes in the neighbourhood view, disappearing neighbourhoods and loading problems. The base game patch apparently raises this limit a little. There is a procedure to raise this level- however it does require making system changes to your Operating System, and should only be done if you take the proper precautions (back up ALL important files, including game files, first!). The procedure is by sakgonz over on The Sims Resource: http://forums.thesimsresource.com/s...ad.php?t=309256 Sakgonz also links to a repackager utility that may also be used to overcome this glitch. Most people should find that the base game patch raises the level enough so that they do not need to attempt this procedure.

27th Apr 2008, 05:03 AM

Sims 2 Tools for Mac (Part 2) #13

simsample

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WoofMeowOink was kind enough to offer some explanations of the function of DBPF Reader, DBPF Inspector and WooHoo for Mac.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WoofMeowOink

I'll relate what I did with all three apps; that way you can see the usefulness of each, and their limitations as well.

I started using DBPF Reader in conjunction with Woohoo to help me identify and classify the thousands of files that were in my download folder. That was in preparation for subfoldering and doing some "spring cleaning" in my downloads folder.

With WooHoo for Mac, I could open the downloads folder and see what files were there, and whether they already had identifiable names or images. Often, though, WooHoo was unable to read files, and either classified them as corrupt, or just didn't give me an image at all to help me with identification and categorization.

With DBPF Reader, I could look at STR# to see if there was an item or creator name, or other info for it to help me rename some files. With it I could also open TXTR files to try to identify items without STR# info, or to confirm that the names I wanted to give the items were a good fit. BUT Reader couldn't read the downloads that Wohoo had found to be corrupt or without images. So, I was left with about 1,500+ download items that were still without names or categories.

That's were DBPF Inspector helped. After not knowing at all what on Earth to do with Inspector, I decided to research it before getting rid of it. So, I read the comments left for and by the creator of this program, and figured out that if I could look deeper into the guts of the files, I might be able to at least categorize many of the unidentifiable items. Sure enough, Inspector was able to open the items that were supposedly corrupt according to WooHoo, and without information at all according to Reader.

With Inspector I was able to look at the many of the files within individual items; copy some of the files to my desktop; and double click on them to open them up (my computer opened some files with TextEdit, and others with WooHoo). The type of files that helped me the most was GMND; but GMDC, TXMT, and TXTR were also useful. When looking at GMND, GMDC and TXMT files, I had to so a little bit of searching among the words/letters/symbols that seem to be programming language, to find the item's and/or the creator's name.

Even the supposedly corrupt items are identifiable this way. Even if no STR# info is available, often I can at least categorize them. So now I'm down to just a handful of items (about 50 or so) that I still cannot identify. But that's much better than 1,500+ that were unidentified before! :D

I hope this may help Mac users who wish to investigate their custom content, but are not sure which tools they could use. Thanks WoofMeowOink !

Last edited by simsample : 27th Apr 2008 at 05:08 AM.

2nd May 2008, 11:44 AM

Mac Unpac #14

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Biscuit-the-great was kind enough to send me a link to a program I'd overlooked. It is Mac Unpac by DJS Sims. It looks like it could do for Mac users what Clean Installer did for PC users.

Quote:

Description:
Introducing Mac UnPac, my first Sims 2 Program written in Java! This is designed specifically for Mac users but can also be used by Windows users. Instructions for that are below. Mac UnPac is simple, but has the following features:

-See What You're Installing: View the name, size, and custom content type of each package contained within the Sims2Pack before you install it!

-Remove Unwanted Packages: Remove any items from the Sims2Pack file before you install it, thus saving time and preventing every random object in the world from entering your downloads folder.

Check it out!
Thanks to Biscuit-the-great!

Last edited by simsample : 11th Feb 2012 at 10:07 PM.

18th May 2008, 10:48 AM	Sims 2 on Bootcamp #15
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	Please see Flameflash's Wiki Article for information on running The Sims 2 under Bootcamp.

6th Jul 2008, 04:30 AM

App Delete #16

simsample

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I keep forgetting to put this here:
App Delete

It is now donationware but well worth supporting.

Quote:

AppDelete is an application for Macs that will delete the application you choose and any associated items (files and folders) that belong to that application. Now you will no longer have to hunt through your system to find these items and delete them manually. Or worse, just let them sit on your Mac forever even though the application is long gone!

Bear in mind that your Downloads and neighbourhoods will be regarded as files associated with The Sims 2, so they will be deleted by App Delete too. Your best bet is to copy your needed files to a different hard drive, flash drive, CD or DVD- however you can rescue any deleted files out of the named folder in the trash.

1st Dec 2008, 02:18 AM	Cep Extra Files #17
simsample 'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,822 Thanks: 7864 in 83 Posts 18 Achievements View My Journal	Mac users need to install the CEP manually. However, you should be aware that the Garden Rocks CEP extra files should only be installed if you have Bon Voyage. http://www.modthesims2.com/showpost...1&postcount=177

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