That's a memory about self. The owner instance, the subject GUID, and the subject instance should all refer to the same sim.

No need to apologize. I want to know what problems people are having and this is the best place to post these questions.

"Invalid data structure" means that the format of the memory itself is corrupt; usually because it has too few Raw Data items. These are probably the worst type of error that the HoodChecker finds, because any time that the memory is accessed, the game risks an Access Violation (ie, it tries to access memory which doesn't belong to it).

"$NPCType $Subject is Familiar with Lot" requires three Raw Data items:
0: We don't know what this is yet. If you don't already have a data[0], then I'd recommend 0x0000.
1: This is the instance of the Sim Description of the sim being discussed. When this data refers to a valid sim, the word $Subject will be replaced with that sim's name.
2: This is the NPC type of the sim referenced by data[1]. When this data contains a valid NPC type, the word $NPCType will be replace with that sim's NPC type (such as bartender, gardener, maid, repairman). For NPC types, please see NPC Codes.zip in reply #9 of this thread: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=456381

However, this memory sounds like it might even have a worse problem, which is that Balthazar Barkwith isn't a Lot, he's a witch. This memory should only occur for Lots and describes an NPC who has visited the lot in question.

Therefore, the correct thing to do is to completely remove this memory.

And the HoodChecker should be modified to reject this memory for anyone other than a Lot.

This tool seems to be for the more advanced users of Simpe. I am a newbie and that's an understatement. I have run the tool and it did what it was supposed to do (I'm assuming as I am totally out of my element). What I am left with is this:

User File Warnings:

Family Ties:

Sim Relations:

Memories:


This is an old hood that I've been playing for almost a year. I realize that I made alot of errors like creating and then deleting Maxi subhoods like the downtown associated with Tricou family and also killing off townies before I knew this could corrupt your game. Once I saw I the error of my ways I implemented some critical fixes from MATY and I have a lot debugger on every lot and I am diligent about clearing trash memories and gossip. What do I do now or are this items left critical. The memories associated with jobs, and achievements are vaid memories. I apologize for the length of thread, it's 11:08 am EST and I've been trying to figure this out since 5:00 am (fell asleep from mental strain and exhaust). Help!

For a long post like this, please enclose the HoodChecker report in [ spoiler ] tags (as I've done above), or make the HC report an attachment, so that the post takes less room:
http://www.modthesims.info/misc.php?do=bbcode

First, I'm glad that you understand why these errors have occurred and are now practicing safe-simming. Your neighborhood is clearly corrupt. I'd like to help you in whatever way that I can. However, I'm not quite sure what you want from me.

If you are looking for an indication of the seriousness of the remaining errors, I'm afraid that I can't provide one. The HoodChecker just looks for corruption, it can't tell how the game will respond to each form of corruption. We don't have enough information about the internals of the game source code to be able to tell exactly which errors are fatal and which are merely annoying. I'm sorry.

Therefore, your options are to continue to play a corrupt neighborhood, or to try to fix these problems. Whatever you do, this would be a really good time to make sure that you have a proper backup, which you will want to keep.

The "Sim has no Character file" errors were discussed in a previous post by Tarlia. If these are not multi-Pollination Tech or multi-Plant Sim mods, or other mods that create characters without data, then they are sims who were incorrectly deleted. I don't know the best way to deal with these sims; my tendency would be to try to properly delete them now using the tutorial from MATY, but I can't guarantee that the tutorial will work with deleted sims, or that using the tutorial won't make things worse: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s...pic,6205.0.html

The easiest thing would be to delete the rest of the memories. However, you might want to make decisions based on the memories themselves.

If a memory is minor, like "Met Sim", then just delete it. It's not worth the aggravation to try to fix it.

For the other memories, look at the memories in the Memory Category list in post #4. This will give you an indication of the type of subject which is required by the memory in question.

To reset the subject, you need to follow the instructions in the memory tutorial:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=228915

For each memory with an invalid subject, just choose the correct Sim or Object Subject from the dropdown list in the memory editor. It's pretty straightforward. If you need help, ask in that thread.

I hope that answers your questions. If not, could you please try to state clearly exactly what you want from me? If I understand what you're looking for, it will be easier for me to provide it.

I come to you with my head bowed in shame, because I kinda know what you're going to say...but here goes:

I'm obsessed with memories, and with my simmies having a past...so I created memories for all my CAS-created adults, and teens, and my townies and NPCs. Mostly inter-personal relationship-y stuff. With that said, I'm pretty sure all of the 'unexpected sim' memories are ones that I created in SimPE as opposed to during normal game play.

And expect for a couple of 'fire' memories, a 'found a magical lamp' and a 'vermin' one, they're all job related. 'Got a job/promotion/quit job/got a big bonus' etc.

I NOW get that the game does not 'expect' NPC's and townies to have those memories, but this has also happened on some playable (CAS-created sims) that I gave memories to.

Also there're other sims (NPCs, townies and playables) that I created the exact same memories for and they didn't come up in the report. So what do yo think? Is it likely the sim or the way I created the memory?

Here's an example of the report on a CAS-created, playable sim:

" Unexpected Sim Subject: 0x02D8 Carlo D'Angelo: Got a Promotion (Subject: 0x02D8 Carlo D'Angelo)"



Thanks! Will give it a whirl manually, and if I get overwhelmed, will let the Checker do its thing.


I've long refused to put remote control cars anywhere near by lots!

A couple more questions. I think this is related to the witch-issue mentioned above, but not sure if it's exactly the same prob.

What does this error mean?!!

"Sim does not exist: Lot 0x0031 195 Main Street: [Invisible] School Bus Driver 0x006D is Familiar with Lot"

Is it bad? Should i just let the Checker remove/fix it?

Also...some Maxis pre-made sim's memories come up as 'incorrect subject instance' For example (by the way, this is Dina Caliente, now married to Mortimer Goth):

"Incorrect Subject Instance: 0x0019 Dina Goth: Did WooHoo with 0x00CC Michael Bachelor (Subject Instance=0x00CB)"

That memory has nothing to do with me. That's a Maxis created one!

I'm also finding this with pre-made YAs. Their memories of joining a greek house and so on come up as Incorrect.

Things I should let you know:

In addition to my little memory creation operation (it took months)...I also moved all the Pleasantview pre-made families into the lot bin, and moved them to a new Shopping District.

I also, after evicting a couple of them, moved their houses to the lot bin and later put them elsewhere. I did not move any families with the houses, but evicted them first.

For the most part, the Maxis-mades that I re-located have not featuring largely in the Checker's report.

I have used SimPE to change some pre-made's names...particularly the YAs, but some main neighbourhood families.

I have been playing my SimPE manipulated hood several hours a day, nearly every day for over a year and a half!

I used to obsessively use Pescado's Lot Debugger but more recently, have come to rely on an awesome little mod by Boiling Oil which among other things, on entering a lot trashes, rumors scenario Controllers, broken or expired Pregnancy Controllers, Lost Fishing Spots and stuck Move-outs, Fridge-tiles, kickybags and poo-bags etc etc. You'll find it HERE .

Okay...that's it! Well...for now.

Eagerly await your advice.

Wow, that's a long post! It will take me a while to answer everything, so please be patient.

Before I answer your post, I want to post the memory category lists.

Then, I'll try to answer any remaining questions. I hope that's OK.

Memories like this do not affect a sim's wants or behaviors. Wants are affected by corresponding entries in the SWAF, not by the memories themselves, which are entirely inert and do not influence a sim's behavior or subsequent want trees in any way. They are basically just rubbish once their purpose has expired as far as the user is concerned. Out of the box, very, very few memories influence ANYTHING about the game, aside from indicating whether "First X" is a valid want. Memories can only prevent something from appearing (Usually "First X"), whether or not something chooses to appear at all is controlled from the SWAFs and want trees. They cannot induce a thing that would not otherwise want to appear to appear.

lol! Totally cool Mootilda. I'm grateful for the time and advice whenever it comes.

In the meantime, I've used SimPE to deal with all the stuff I'm sure about.

Thanks again. You rock!

Thanks, Pescado. Sounds like removing the memories is a viable solution. SWAFs are next on my list.

I've added the memory categories to reply # 4.

Thank you Mootilda and I apologize for long thread I'm still learning how to properly post, I am not very computer savvy but I am learning. If I sound confused it's because I am...lol. I am going to study the other threads. The "sim has no character file" I'm not concerned about because I believe they are related to cc like maintenance free dishwasher NPC's, and other items like child/teen/adult rideable bike that require NPC controllers.

I'm going to read again the tutorial about fixing the "subject does not exist" and in regard to the Tricou folks should I delete the memories or leave them?. I haven't noticed any funky things going on in game. My Character file count concerns me a little, 775. Although the number has been holding steady with only increases when sim humans and pets are born or adopted since I put in MATY critical fixes.

LilSister, no need to apologize. I've updated my advice to you a bit, now that the Memory Category list is available in post #4. Please re-read my previous answer to you.

I'm hoping that people will read the other posts in this thread before asking questions, since their questions may have already been answered.

There are two reasons why the HoodChecker doesn't delete memories belonging to sims:

1) The majority of memories belong to sims and the HoodChecker doesn't always know what to do with these memories. If a subject is invalid, is that because the sim has been deleted and the memory should probably be deleted too? Or, is it because the memory has the wrong subject and another subject should be specified? If so, which subject? You are the only one who knows your neighborhood and knows whether that first kiss occurred, and with whom. So, you should probably be the one to decide what to do with that invalid first kiss memory.

2) It's not an absolute requirement, since people can edit the sim's memories themselves. SimPE doesn't display memories belonging to the hood, or to a lot or family, so the HoodChecker is the only one with access to these memories and must fix or remove them itself. Memories which belong to sims are displayed in SimPE, so the user can fix these memories themselves.

You probably have a Data 12 for a memory about an object. Instructions for removing a data item are in one of my later posts in the memory tutorial.
Check out my new Memory Category list in post #4 for the correct Subject type.
It's likely the way that you created the memory. With the Memory Category list and the Memories tutorial, you should now have enough information to fix these memories.
This is a token, associated with the lot, which says that a particular (invalid) school bus driver has visited this lot in the past. We have no way to know whether a memory will cause major problems. Yes, let the HoodChecker remove it.
As I've explained before, the Maxis neighborhoods aren't necessary clean. As well, there's an EA bug which specifically causes this error. Let the HoodChecker fix it.
If you moved occupied lots to the Lot Bin, then your neighborhood is corrupt. If you added occupied lots to a subhood, then your neighborhood is corrupt. The one exception is if you followed this tutorial: http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...elp:Moving_Sims. If you followed the wiki tutorial, then there is a possibility that your neighborhood is still OK. However, the tutorial doesn't guarantee that an occupied lot is safe.
This should be a safe operation.
Please provide a link to Boiling Oil's mod for other people who are interested.

I hope that I managed to answer all of your questions. If I missed something, or wasn't clear enough, feel free to ask again.

I knew my town of Shiloh was corrupted based on things that I'd done and until I can learn my way around SimPE I'll continue to play with fingers and toes crossed. I recently created a new hood with mainhood and 2 subhoods, all 3 vacation spots and LeTour University. I created all townies and downtownies in CAS. The only sims generated by the game were Twikki Island, Three Lakes,Far East and Le Tour University. I have 114 Characters, only 38 were generated by the game and the rest I created. I ran the HoodChecker and there is no corruption other than those same 12 "sim has no character file" for which I am now certain are related to custom content. I will keep an eagle eye on this hood and I will be careful not to make the same mistakes I made before.

I also ran the hoodchecker on strangetown because I thought I'd get a picture of what an uncorrupted hood looks look. Well its corrupted. Is it possible that there is a certain amount of corrpution within the game itself before we actually put our 2 cents in?

LilSister, I forgot that some of the shipped neighborhoods have invalid sims with no character data. I may have a list somewhere... let me see whether I can find it.

Some of the EA neighborhoods ship corrupted. Strangetown is the most corrupted shipped neighborhood; a very poor choice for looking at a "clean" neighborhood.

If you're using Tarlia's new cleaned hood templates, I believe that she's removed all of these invalid sims:
http://meetme2theriver.livejournal....030.html#cutid1

[Update:]
Found it. These are invalid sims who shipped with the maxis hoods and subhoods.

The following SimID appears with no User files in the Pets, Bon Voyage, FreeTime, and Apartment Life stealth subhoods:
0x71B85E0D

The following SimIDs appear with no User files in the Seasons stealth subhood:
0x7040237A
0xF036D5C3
0xF03AE97B

The following SimIDs appear with no User files in the Bon Voyage stealth subhood:
0x73B38D46
0xF3B3896A

The following SimIDs appear with no User files in the Apartment Life stealth subhood:
0x01200000
0x01210000
0x01220000
0x01230000
0x158A6B8A
0x158A6BDD
0x158A6C30
0x558A6A92
0xF58A6C87

The following SimID appears with no User files in Apartment Life: Belladonna Cove
0x759390DF

The moral of the story is: Use clean or empty hood templates, especially for the stealth subhoods Don't trust EA.

This is just fantastic! I had created quite the BFBVFS described here: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s...ic,12605.0.html and this tool effectively corrected the problem. Just brilliant!

Excellent. I'm glad to see a success story. Thanks for letting us know.

You really made my day.

Thank you for taking time time to answer so thoroughly. I will get started on my clean up operation this evening.



I've added a link to the post.

Mootilda, I've been in this community a loooooong time, and I've got to give credit were credit it due. With the greatest respect to every single modder and CC creator without whom I would not still be so enthralled by TS2 after SEVEN years... I must say, that you are a treasure. It's a delight to find such an amazing modder who is also so patient and gracious!

Thank you again. Will report back on how things go at my end.

EDIT: Back with a couple more questions (by the way...thanks for the tutorials...I actually understood them! lol! Guess, I'm smarter than I thought).

So here's the big question. I did notice that Maxis job memories did not have a subject (no data 12), and thinking it was a glitch, whenever I was in SimPE and noticed this 'glitch' I'd add the subject sim! Oooooops! Now, for the record, these are not being flagged by the Checker...I just discovered the issue because I read our tutorials.

However, your memory tute, does not specifically say how to delete the subject sim. Do I just delete the sims's name in the subject instance field and the data 12 field? I'm tempted to do that, but want to be sure I'm doing the right thing.

Also, as it's not being flagged as a problem by the Checker, I'm wondering if I even have to correct these at all. Will it spell doom it the data 12 contains the owner's ID?

For the record...all of those job-related unexpected instances flagged by the Checker, are ones I created in SimPe, without any knowledge of job guids, so the memories have the owners guid in data 5 and 6 instead of job data! I'm amazed by game hasn't blown up yet!

There're dozens of them, and I'm thinking it's just not worth my time to fix them manually. Most are in the simmies distant past, and I really don't care at this point if they're deleted.

Will the Checker delete them for me?

FInally (for now) I have one of those 'Tombstone being moved deals.' A playable simmie died on another residential lot. I think I either sent it to the cemetery (and haven't gone to see if it's arrived safely, or I deleted it). I never bother to visit the graves at the cemetery anyway, and I have no intention of resurrecting the guy. What'll happen if I run the Checker, will it delete his existence? He has family ties all over the place. Should I go try to find his tombstone/urn? Your advice on this matter would be deeply appreciated.

Okay...I promise I'll stop writing these long posts. Actually, it's two posts merged together. I didn't want to double post.

Thanks again.

You are amazing! I'm not playing Sims 2 right now, but will try this out as soon as I get back into it. A million thanks!

I have to say this is just about the most essential Sims 2 tool. I have put lots of time into my neighborhood and having at least removed the bad family ties and relationships is very encouraging. Especially since it found many more problems than I would have imagined.

It's not my tutorial; it was written by $RaMRoM$ and I've just been answering questions and adding information that seems relevant to the topic.

Just to be clear: the Subject of a memory cannot be deleted. It must exist and be a valid Sim or Object, depending upon the type of memory*. This is the value that is shown as "Subject..." in the memory Properties view and is displayed as either a "Sim:" or "Object:" (but not both). Take a look at the attached picture. If you change the Subject... Object: field, the Subject... Sim: value will disappear, and vice versa. Because the Subject is stored internally as a GUID, this field is also sometimes referred to as the Subject GUID. This is the real subject of the memory.

*Note: Only memories have a Subject. Tokens and Inventory items have their own data requirements.

Along with the Subject of a memory, there is also an optional field (the Subject Instance) in Data 12. If the Subject of the memory is a Sim, then Data 12 should hold the instance of the Sim Description for that sim. If the Subject of the memory is an Object, then Data 12 should not exist. This field is not displayed in the memory Properties view. However, if you change your Subject to a Sim in the Properties view, then SimPE should set Data 12 to the instance of that sim, and if you change your Subject to an Object in the Properties view, then SimPE should remove Data 12. At least, this is how things work with my version of SimPE. It may not have worked that way in the past.

If the Subject (GUID) and the Subject Instance are out of sync, then post #21 in the memory tutorial contains instructions on adding or removing elements from the Raw Data array. If you want to remove the Subject Instance, then you set the Length: field to 12 and click Set. Again, this should not be necessary if you select the Subject... Object: in the memory Properties view using the current version of SimPE.

At this time, the HoodChecker is ignoring object memories which have the owner instance as the Subject Instance. I've seen enough object memories like this that I want to investigate further before declaring them incorrect. I'll probably add this check later.

Not all of the things flagged by the HoodChecker will blow up your game. There's no way to know the effect of any specific problem. The HC just looks for things which are wrong and flags them; it makes no other judgment on the severity of the error.

This is your call. I wrote the HoodChecker primarily to give people the ability to see the state of their neighborhood, and added the Remove function only after it became apparent that it was necessary. I'm not insisting that anyone change anything; it's really up to the individual to decide.

Not at this time. The HoodChecker will attempt to fix some memories which belong to sims, but will not delete them. However, I've had a request to allow people to ask the HC to delete these memories, so it's on my to-do list.

Valid tombstones on their way to a valid lot will not be flagged. Tombstones which belong to invalid sims will be deleted. HC will attempt to fix tombstones which have been sent to invalid lots, by asking you where to send them.

There's a bug in the EA code for tombstones. When a lot is sent to a graveyard, the game sends the tombstone to the lowest numbered lot; it also sends the tombstone to the current neighborhood or subhood. The bug occurs when the lowest numbered lot is not in the current neighborhood or subhood. The game can't deliver the tombstone because it can't find the specified lot in the specified neighborhood. Then, the tombstone is "lost". Here are some threads where this bug is discussed:
http://www.modthesims.info/t/showthread.php?t=441214
http://www.modthesims.info/t/showthread.php?t=431238

I've seen various "fixes" for this bug, but the HC solution is a good one: deliver the tombstone to a valid lot.

Again, I hope that I've answered all of your questions.

Thank you Mootilda. You've been amazing. I've spent the evening sorting stuff out, and did discover what you so diligently explained about changing stuff in the subject object field.

In regards to the Maxis pre-made sims getting the 'incorrect instance' memory, I've been able (I think) to correct these by re-creating the memories from scratch and deleting the original ones.

The only one, I'm having difficulty with is Dirk Dreamer's memory of his mother dying. It's still coming up as 'incorrect instance.' I'm going to try copying his father's memory of her death (which appears to be alright) and change the subject sim and see if that works.

Otherwise, the clean-up is moving along at a nice clip. Will soon be ready to let the Checker wipe all of those pesky relationships with non-existent sims, and invalid relationships with self.

Again, a thousand thank yous for this tool, and for your supreme patience.

If Darren has a memory of Darleen dying, then you shouldn't need to change the subject sim. The subject for both Darren's memory and Dirk's memory will be the same: Darleen.

Perhaps you're choosing the wrong Darleen? It think that there may be two of them, one the "real" Darleen and one a fake. If you've got the GUID of one Darleen and the Instance of the other, that will cause problems.

I can't check that right now because I don't have access to my game machine at the moment.

Thanks....all sorted out now. I checked family ties for the right Darlene. We all sorted out now.

Just the labourous process of fixing all the unexpected memories manually (I've decided its worth the time).

I accept that my manipulation created some of them...but Maxis really did a number on its pre-mades! Oiy! lol!

Thank you so much Mootilda. I really appreciate all your time effort, you have provided a wealth of information.

Just remember that HC is checking the memories based on the categories that I determined from examining various neighborhoods. If a Subject looks reasonable, it may be correct, especially if the memory was generated in-game. If you suspect that one of the memories that was generated in-game has been categorized incorrectly, let me know which memory it is and which category you believe that it belongs in. If possible, attach the log file from the HC installation folder, so that I can examine the data items for the memory.

I'd love to believe that I'm perfect, but I'm willing to admit that I may have made mistakes. I have to rely on you (all) to tell me if something seems amiss.

Now, I just need to gather everything together into one (or more) tutorials.