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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 8:36 AM Last edited by mrbisonm : 4th Nov 2013 at 2:10 AM.

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2
Default Confused, where do these files go??...and some other questions. EDIT: ALL SOLVED!
First I had the "clicking on the Lot crashing", so I looked up the FAQ here and found the solution for it, then I saw that in the LotCatalog were some Sim character files that I was always looking for ingame. I removed them to an empty temp folder for now, surely knowing that they are not supposed to be in the LotCatalog folder, right? And then I searched all the folders where similar files were, but didn't find any that started with "cx Character cx", so I am lost, where do I put them to have them in my game?




...And while I am here and not needing to open other threads, I have these how to questions that I didn't find an answer to in the FAQ neither.


1. How do I get the Sims to paint something from my Computer's Imagefolder? I know I did this before also, but can't remember how.

2. Can I changed the faces on those ugly NBC's ? How do I go about it? I don't just want to change the hair eyes and make up in a mirror, but do a complete overhawl.

I have the basegame only, played a lot before, but stopped for 3+ years, now I am back. Thanks for helping, explaining and finding a solution.

mrb
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Née whiterider
retired moderator
#2 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 11:16 AM
You say you were always looking for those sims in-game - why? Are they downloaded sims that you'd downloaded with lots, or downloaded separately? Or are they sims you made which went missing?

Put images you want your sims to paint in the folder Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Paintings.

I use default replacement face templates (these ones, in fact) to ensure that my newly-spawned NPCs look a bit less fugly. To fix existing NPCs, you'll probably want to use the plastic surgery career reward objects - I think it's the reward for the Entertainment career? - or a mod which unlocks that feature without needing the career reward.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Mad Poster
#3 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 1:07 PM
Welcome back to Sims 2!

Those are probably the Kat and Kim families that come with Pets. They start in the Lot bin and are the only characters who are safe to add to your game from there.

The images in the Painting file are available with the "Custom Painting" interaction.

In the Sims2 Popular Threads forum here, there's a thread called "Stupid Random Questions" where answers to quick gameplay questions can often be generated without starting a new thread.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#4 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 2:01 PM
My lot catalog comes with five characters, that would be the sims that come with EP's. If you only have base game you should have no sims in there. Have you downloaded houses that had sims in them? That's a very bad thing to do as it will corrupt your hood once placed.

If you just want a cosmetic change Chritianlov's closest gussy up can do that, including changing the facial features. But it's only cosmetic, the genetics don't change. That needs to be done in simpe.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#5 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 11:32 PM
I suppose no one actually has an answer to my first question
Ok, these 27 Sims were downloaded separately and I don't know (remember) why they ended up in the LotCatalog folder, (I didn't place them there myself) and I always use the installer (which should know where they go, right?), but that's not my question. I just want to know where I put these files, because I have not found similar named files in any other folder.
Besides, unfortunetly there is a very bad organization between some of the artist sometimes, which actually do not always explain or say that objects, Sims, Clothing needs an Add-on or not, which leaves us Players that download 15 Gb's of stuff in their download folders perplex. Which goes where and does it go with or without with a specific Add-on?

I put the images I want my Sims to paint in the Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Paintings and nothing happens ingame, where is that "Custom Painting" interaction supposed to be anyways? I don't have it on my easels......

Quote:
To fix existing NPCs, you'll probably want to use the plastic surgery career reward objects - I think it's the reward for the Entertainment career? - or a mod which unlocks that feature without needing the career reward.


Would you have a linkie for this? I don't even know what this is.......

Quote:
If you just want a cosmetic change Chritianlov's closest gussy up can do that, including changing the facial features. But it's only cosmetic, the genetics don't change. That needs to be done in simpe.


search for christianluv didn't come up with anything........

http://modthesims.info/browse.php?t...anlov&gs=0&f=38

...a link would be appreciated, and also the SimPE genetics changer for existing NPC's, is there a tutorial somewhere?

Hey, thanks folks, all your help is really much appreciated, you couldn't imagine the amount of time that I spend to find solutions for this game. Thank you all!

mrb
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#6 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 11:47 PM
Did you check that Clean Installer had the saved sims folder selected? I don't download sims so I don't know if CI automatically changes it's settings, but normally when I open CI it's set to install lots by default.

It's Christianlov with an o not a u. https://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=64030 I can't remember if that hack of his is here or elsewhere though. There is also Pescado's ClothingTool.

Edit: Found his old archive. This is a large download full of Christianlov's files. Closet gussy up should be in there. It's a plug in, which means it gets added to your sims pie menu. You click on any sim and select gussy up. http://www.mediafire.com/download/b...CIAL_100628.zip

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#7 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 12:56 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Did you check that Clean Installer had the saved sims folder selected? I don't download sims so I don't know if CI automatically changes it's settings, but normally when I open CI it's set to install lots by default.

It's Christianlov with an o not a u. https://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=64030 I can't remember if that hack of his is here or elsewhere though. There is also Pescado's ClothingTool.

Edit: Found his old archive. This is a large download full of Christianlov's files. Closet gussy up should be in there. It's a plug in, which means it gets added to your sims pie menu. You click on any sim and select gussy up. http://www.mediafire.com/download/b...CIAL_100628.zip


Sorry, both of your links didn't come up with anything such as a gussy up closet ......Thanks for trying.
I still don't have an answer where these SIM files go? (and not how they got in the LotCatalog) please? I think I will try to find them and then download them again, that is if these sites still exists and if I can figure out what these files are anyways.......

........the SimPE genetics changer for existing NPC's, is there a tutorial somewhere?


Quote:
Quote:
To fix existing NPCs, you'll probably want to use the plastic surgery career reward objects - I think it's the reward for the Entertainment career? - or a mod which unlocks that feature without needing the career reward.



Would you have a linkie for this? I don't even know what this is.......


Thanks again

mrb
Site Helper
#8 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:35 AM Last edited by Mootilda : 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:18 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by mrbisonm
I suppose no one actually has an answer to my first question
Ok, these 27 Sims were downloaded separately and I don't know (remember) why they ended up in the LotCatalog folder, (I didn't place them there myself) and I always use the installer (which should know where they go, right?), but that's not my question. I just want to know where I put these files, because I have not found similar named files in any other folder.
I didn't bother to answer because I thought that your question had been answered fully. Let me try to explain again.

Character packages in the LotCatalog are the sims included with occupied lots in the Lot Bin. To access those sims, you install the occupied lot from the Lot Bin into your neighborhood. At that point, the sims become playable.

Those character packages were in the correct place. Moving them was the wrong thing to do, since they are useless anywhere but in the LotCatalog folder, and they are useless unless they are kept in the same folder with the associated lot. You may be able to move them back, but if you've run the game since moving them, you may have broken the links between the sims and the lot and made the files unusable.

Since you have only the base game, you can be guaranteed that these are occupied lots that you installed into your game.

The important thing is: installing occupied lots is almost always guaranteed to corrupt your neighborhood. We really don't recommend it, unless you don't mind losing your neighborhood with little warning.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#9 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:36 AM
The direct link to his whole medafile folder didn't work? When you look inside the rar file it should have a folder called 'official' and inside that lots of folders. Go down until you see another folder called 'plugin Closet Gussy Up' It's in there, I checked.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Site Helper
#10 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:50 AM Last edited by Mootilda : 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:17 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by mrbisonm
I put the images I want my Sims to paint in the Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Paintings and nothing happens ingame, where is that "Custom Painting" interaction supposed to be anyways? I don't have it on my easels......
I do not believe that this feature was included with the base game. Perhaps Pets?
Quote: Originally posted by mrbisonm
Quote: Originally posted by Nysha
To fix existing NPCs, you'll probably want to use the plastic surgery career reward objects - I think it's the reward for the Entertainment career?
Would you have a linkie for this? I don't even know what this is.......
I do not believe that this feature was included with the base game. It would be included with whichever EP has the Entertainment career.

The mod which does this is the Gussy Up mod by ChristianLove, and the link has already been given in this thread. That mod may or may not work with the base game.
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#11 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:25 AM
You're right, Mootilda - it was actually the Showbiz career which came with the plastic surgeon, but that was introduced in University, now that I've checked.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#12 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:30 AM
Yes, I don't know if it's compatible with base game as there is no documentation with it, just an archive of Christianlov's files. I have all EP's and I know it works that way- but if it's using the feature from plastic surgery thingame it probably needs uni to work.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#13 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:39 AM
The sim should get the "custom painting" interaction when he achieves a certain level of creativity. Sorry, not sure what the cut-off is. However, once you get the "Paint Picture" option instead of the "Practice Painting" option, when you click that you should get a choice between "still life," "portrait," and "custom painting." The first two allow you to select a subject on the lot; the last opens a pop-up with the contents of your Paintings folder.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#14 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:56 AM
Your sim needs 5 creativity points to do other kinds of paintings.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#15 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:02 AM Last edited by mrbisonm : 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:16 AM.
Ok, I followed all your suggestions and came up with nothing positive again. First I found the PlugInClosetGussyUp file deposited into Downloads and started the game. I couldn't find anything anywhere and let me tell you, it wasn't easy to go through almost 15 Gb's of stuff. But then I realized that the game didn't react properly, Sims stopped their studies all by themselves after only 10 seconds of telling them to either paint, play piano, read, etc.
I took out the PlugInClosetGussyUp file and everything is back to normal again. So......I suppose that this file is NOT compatible with the basegame. Problem solved, I guess I can't do anything concerning the changing of NBC's. Well done EA (Maxis)!

Then for the paintings, that must need an expansion pack also, because with full points of creativity, my Sims only can "Paint Picture" , "Paint Still Life" and "Paint Portraits" only......no custom paint. Do I need an extra cheat/Plugin/Mod or something to get this?

Strange though, I clearly remember that I was able to make my Sims paint actual pictures that I had on the computer, such as photos of myself etc......Hm....there must be something else.

Quote:
Since you have only the base game, you can be guaranteed that these are occupied lots that you installed into your game. The important thing is: installing occupied lots is almost always guaranteed to corrupt your neighborhood. We really don't recommend it, unless you don't mind losing your neighborhood with little warning.


I have 27 Sims in the LotCatalog and do not remember to have downloaded any occupied lots. I have them in my neighborhood since.....well....the beginning I suppose, and my neighborhood is not corrupted. I have played all of the lots for years and never nothing happened, also I never saw those specific Sims in that neighborhood. Well, I put them back into the LotCatalog folder for now and maybe one day I'll find out what actually these are or why they are in there. Thanks for explaining.


Thanks ya all, much appreciated the time you spend with me on this.

mrb
Field Researcher
#16 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:15 AM
You do need an expansion pack for the costum paintings, as Mootilda pointed out. I also believe they came with Pets. However I do remember people did use costum paintings before that feature was available by using default replacements for the pictures you can choose under the "Paint Picture" option. That's probably how you managed to have them paint actual pictures. I don't know how to make those default replacements, though.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#17 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:17 AM
No option under "Paint Pictures". I click on it and they paint simple random pics, no custom. The pics become nicer with experience though. but that's it.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#18 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:20 AM
As I said above, closest gussy up is a plugin that gets added to a sims pie menu, it's not an object. We also thought it might need uni; if you only have base game your options are going to be limited which for once isn't EA's fault.

After Googling around, you might need Pets or above to paint a custom painting.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#19 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:35 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
As I said above, closest gussy up is a plugin that gets added to a sims pie menu, it's not an object. We also thought it might need uni; if you only have base game your options are going to be limited which for once isn't EA's fault.

After Googling around, you might need Pets or above to paint a custom painting.


So how do you chnage the NPC's faces then? Btw, what/where is the
Quote:
sims pie menu
?

I didn't say it's EA's fault, what I meant is that EA makes games so, that you need expansions to have them work fully after you get the first one (basegames). Otherwise the basegame is....well, as it says, the basegame only and really not meant for playing alone and have a lot of choices, but good enough to get the consumer interested to get more.....expansions, and of course pay the money for them. It is called stragetic Marketing, and believe me I know what I am talking about (40+ years experience Same with Simcity and other EA Games. It is an excellent way to pull out the maximum profits out of a game. It's just the way it is done.(buissnesswise)
Nevertheless, I remember that my Sims were able to custompaint before,and I never had an expansion installed, but I just don't remember how. Thanks.

mrb
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#20 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 4:47 AM
Oh yeah, it's strategic marketing alright. Most games when you buy the original you know you are getting a whole game and any expansions are more added adventures, but sims base game is more like a very basic picture missing a whole lot of intricate pieces and if you want to fully experience it you need the EP's.
Most of us here are plenty old enough to know it and still buy them. I have all EP's and Sp's, Many Sims 1 EP;s and most Sims 3 Ep's. I don't even want to think how much of my money EA has. Easy present from the husband even if I don't exactly want them all.

Well I found a post saying Pets was needed to paint a custom painting, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I tend to forget what came with each EP. Are you sure you didn't have defaults in, you can still do that. Or do a still life of a cc painting maybe?

The pie menu is what shows up after you have your sim click on another sim, you know, 'talk', 'flirt' 'entertain' etc. You might need to do simsurgery in SimPE to change NPC looks.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#21 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 5:18 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Oh yeah, it's strategic marketing alright. Most games when you buy the original you know you are getting a whole game and any expansions are more added adventures, but sims base game is more like a very basic picture missing a whole lot of intricate pieces and if you want to fully experience it you need the EP's.
Most of us here are plenty old enough to know it and still buy them. I have all EP's and Sp's, Many Sims 1 EP;s and most Sims 3 Ep's. I don't even want to think how much of my money EA has. Easy present from the husband even if I don't exactly want them all.

Well I found a post saying Pets was needed to paint a custom painting, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I tend to forget what came with each EP. Are you sure you didn't have defaults in, you can still do that. Or do a still life of a cc painting maybe?

The pie menu is what shows up after you have your sim click on another sim, you know, 'talk', 'flirt' 'entertain' etc. You might need to do simsurgery in SimPE to change NPC looks.


You're not the only one that spends a lot of money of expansions, we all do, including me. I didn't really bother with TS2 to go on with another expansion. I'm not that fond of this game, but like the basics of it once in awhile. I am more a Simcity fan, ever since it came out and have all the expansions, addons...etc, you name it, so with other games also.

I tried the pie menu with the Closet Gussy up file and nothing, no options when having clicked on other sims with my Sim. Anyways, I guess I will have to change my NPC's with SimPE as you said. Is there a tutorial on how to do this?
I still insist that we don't need an EP to custom paint, I've done it before and I will find out how.
Thanks,
mrb
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#22 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 11:33 AM
Editing sims' appearances with SimPE is very simple, although it's time-consuming.
  • Make a new sim in CAS which looks how you want the NPC to look, and save him/her.
  • Quit the game, open SimPE, and go to Tools -> Neighbourhood -> Neighbourhood browser
  • Find your neighbourhood, and click backup Neighbourhood
  • Once the backup is finished, open the neighbourhood
  • Go to Tools -> Neighbourhood -> Sim Surgery
  • Find the NPC you want to change, and add him/her as the patient
  • Find the sim you made in CAS, and add him/her as archetype
  • Tick the boxes for everything you want to copy from the archetype sim to the NPC patient sim (skintone, eyes, face etc.)
  • Click whatever the "Do surgery" button is called
  • Close Sim Surgery and hit save

Bear in mind that this changes how the NPC looks, but doesn't change his DNA, so if you have one of your playable sims have babies with the NPC then the babies will inherit the old looks of the NPC.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#23 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 3:39 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Nysha
Editing sims' appearances with SimPE is very simple, although it's time-consuming.
  • Make a new sim in CAS which looks how you want the NPC to look, and save him/her.
  • Quit the game, open SimPE, and go to Tools -> Neighbourhood -> Neighbourhood browser
  • Find your neighbourhood, and click backup Neighbourhood
  • Once the backup is finished, open the neighbourhood
  • Go to Tools -> Neighbourhood -> Sim Surgery
  • Find the NPC you want to change, and add him/her as the patient
  • Find the sim you made in CAS, and add him/her as archetype
  • Tick the boxes for everything you want to copy from the archetype sim to the NPC patient sim (skintone, eyes, face etc.)
  • Click whatever the "Do surgery" button is called
  • Close Sim Surgery and hit save

Bear in mind that this changes how the NPC looks, but doesn't change his DNA, so if you have one of your playable sims have babies with the NPC then the babies will inherit the old looks of the NPC.


Excellent tutorial. I tried it and it works! Thank you very much, that was actually great help. I owe you one.

Ha!!! I knew it!!

I didn't have a quiet night last night, thinking of the way to have paint your Sims custom paintings in the basegame only. I was sure that I am not nuts (nor have Alsheimer, although I am in that age of dangerzone) and that it worked for me before, so I did some serious research and found in the back left corner of my computer a notebook file left over from 2007 or so, that explained exactly how to go about it. Now I know that I didn't dream this. I always keep a copy stored of everything I either download or see interesting enough to keep from the Net somewhere on one of the computer's hard drives or on one of my CD's or DVD's.

Here's what was in that notebook file:

Quote:
The Sims 2 Exploits without cheating Import your own Painting:
To decorate your house with custom artwork from outside the game, first your Sim must have a creativity level of 5 and be able to paint a still life. Have your Sim paint and a frame will appear that you can center on whatever you want to paint. If you want to paint a picture of something outside the Sims 2 game, just press "C" anywhere at this time. This will snap a picture of what the Sim intends to paint. Use Alt + Tab to minimize the game. The picture you just took will usually be in the folder: "C:\My Documents\EA\Sims2\Storytelling\Snapshot.bmp" (click this link to see the last snapshot you took) replace that image with a .bmp file of the same size. (153x263) Use Alt + Tab (un-minimize) to get back to your game and your sim will start painting your own custom picture. Using this trick you can put pictures of your friends or family, web pictures, or anything else in your Sims 2 game.


I hope that this will help others who are interested in having the Sims paint custom painting without any EP. It was written before any EP's, I can't remember by who though.

Now that most of my questions have been answered by the MTS group, I thank you all very much for the help you have given me. Much appreciated. Now I can have my Sims paint my custom paintings and change the looks of my NPC's once and for all. Too bad for the Sims in my LotCatalog folder, but then again, now I know who those 27 Sims are (with the installer) I can do some search to find them and download them again (this time install them manually, so they do not end up in there again.)
If I have more questions, I will surely be back and enjoy your company, ya all. Thank you.

Greetings from Canada - Québec

mrbisonm (Fred)
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#24 Old 4th Nov 2013 at 12:33 AM
Sounds like you got that all sorted. Great idea on the painting too; I do believe I have heard it before,but had forgotten all about it.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Site Helper
#25 Old 4th Nov 2013 at 6:34 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mrbisonm
Too bad for the Sims in my LotCatalog folder, but then again, now I know who those 27 Sims are (with the installer) I can do some search to find them and download them again (this time install them manually, so they do not end up in there again.)
You still don't seem to understand. The LotCatalog is the correct folder for those sims. There is no other folder where they belong. Manually installing them into another folder will just ensure that they are unusable.

If you cannot see the occupied lots in your occupied lot bin, then that's because there's a problem with those lots. They may require an EP or SP. You may have destroyed them when you moved some of the files out of the LotCatalog folder. There may be some other problem. However, the LotCatalog folder is the correct location.
Locked thread | Locked by: julianarosalia Reason: solved
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