This tutorial is for The Sims 2 only.

Corruption in The Sims 2 is when some or all of the game data, whether it is in a neighborhood or in the core game files, become corrupted. Corrupted game data is a bad thing, and could make a neighborhood or the entire game unplayable, depending on what type of corruption occurred. This game guide will try to clear up the misconception between game corruption and neighborhood (shortened to 'hood') corruption, highlight known actions that guarantee corruption, and provide solutions to fix existing corruption.

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The difference between game corruption and hood corruption Edit

It's common for players to mix up game corruption and hood corruption, and some think all corruption requires a full reinstall.

To clear this misconception up, it's important to know that the game stores information on your computer in TWO different locations, assuming that you installed the game in the default locations.

The C:\Program Files\EA GAMES location is where the files that make up the core and backbone of the game are housed. These include the objects.package file, the Sims3D files, audio files, movie files, default items in the game, user interface, graphics, and the game's programming. It also contains the character files for Universal NPCs, such as the Grim Reaper, Mrs. CrumpleBottom, and the Therapist. The files here are normally never modified, and shouldn't be modified (Mods/hacks do modify the game's programming, however, it doesn't actually modify the files themselves. The mod loads after the original files, so code from the original files is simply not used, and code that the mod modifies is used instead). There are a few files here that can safely be modified should the player know exactly what they are doing. Corruption that occurs here is known as "Game Corruption".

The player's saved game data, custom content, lot and houses bin, storytelling images, neighborhood stories, etc. are stored at C:\Users\<your user name>\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\ or C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\, depending on the version of Windows installed on your computer. Corruption normally occurs in a neighborhood's folder, located in the Neighborhoods folder. Each neighborhood gets a folder with a unique ID on it (E.g. 'N001') where data relating to the neighborhood, such as Sims, relationships, memories, and lots in the neighborhood are located. Corruption that occurs here is known as "Neighborhood Corruption", and fortunately, it is far less serious than game corruption, but it's also far more common.

Known symptoms of corruption Edit

This is an incomplete list of possible symptoms that may indicate corruption. Not all symptoms listed here may be a sign of corruption, but may be indicators of other problems, such as bad custom content.

Symptoms include:

Children and toddlers with long-term wants other than Grow Up. [1]

Wants that don't fit the age group (e.g. a toddler who suddenly wants to go on a date).

Memories and thought bubbles that contain squiggly lines or stretched or distorted text.

Memories being lost or totally random.

Disappearing Sims.

Disappearing lots.

Sims losing family members in their family tree.

Sims becoming unplayable.

Lots becoming unplayable.

Buy and Build Mode becoming indefinitely disabled.

The game crashes frequently or excessively.

Sims showing stats, such as Personality, of other Sims of the neighborhood. This can be checked in-game or using SimPE.

When a neighborhood or game becomes irreversibly corrupted, it is referred to by some players as a "BFBVFS" ( B ig F iery B all V isible F rom S pace).[2]

Avoiding game corruption Edit

The following actions are known to corrupt your game files. They should never be attempted, unless you are just happy to have a broken game. Actions taken here will not only corrupt your game, but will also corrupt all your neighborhoods, existing and future. In short: Do not try this at all!

Interact with universal NPCs, such as the Grim Reaper, Mrs. CrumpleBottom, Therapist, Pollination Technicians, ideal plantsim, etc. in any way outside of their in-game designated purposes . These Sims do not have playable character data. Their character files are not located in the folder of the neighborhoods, but in the objects.package file in the C:\Program Files location. Modifying them in any way or form that involves hacks, cheats, or SimPE will corrupt that file. [3] Here is an incomplete list of known NPCs that are safe to play as, and those that aren't.

Modify any file in the C:\Program Files location in any way or form. These files were not intended by Maxis/EA for you to tamper with them, and doing so could void your warranty and destroy your game. There are a few files that can be safely modified if you know exactly what you are doing . The allmenus cheat is a perfect example of safely modifying the core game files.



Avoiding neighborhood corruption Edit

The following actions will permanently corrupt your neighborhood. There are methods of getting a corrupted neighborhood to keep running for a good while longer, but these are not permanent solutions. The best option is to never attempt these actions.

Avoiding fixable neighborhood corruption Edit

The corruption here is known to be fixable, but it still should not be attempted. It's always best to avoid corruption than to get corruption and struggle to repair it.

Delete custom or geneticized/townified skins or eyes This will cause all Sims who were using the deleted skin or eyes to have corrupt DNA. You will have to fix the DNA of all affected Sims individually in SimPE. Instructions on how to fix the genetics are listed here (login required) or here (no login required). Deleting default replacements is safe. [11]

Delete custom foods This breaks want trees for Sims whose favorite food was the deleted food, and will corrupt the memories of Sims who have a "Learned to make" memory for that food. Use Pescado's Lot Debugger to reset all Sims whose favorite food was the deleted food. Use SimPE to remove all memories, gossip, and references to the deleted food. This, however, is very time-consuming, and you will no doubt miss something. It may be possible to avoid this problem by editing the food so that it is set to false for all mealtimes. This will hide the food in-game but will not cause memory corruption. Instructions to do that can be found here.

Let Samantha Ottomas and/or Sarah Crittur's pregnancies come to term. A glitch exists in the game that causes pregnant Sims shipped in the family bin to carry babies with incomplete character data . Both Samantha Ottomas and Sarah Crittur suffer from this glitch. The Seasons patch fixed this problem in both Samantha and Sarah. However, it only fixes instances of these families in neighborhoods first opened after the patch is installed, including neighborhoods that shipped with Seasons or later expansion packs but that were not opened until after the patch was applied. Instances of the family in neighborhoods that were opened before the patch was applied will have the corrupted families. If you have the unpatched Ottomas/Crittur family, and Samantha/Sarah has not yet given birth, use the InSIMenator or Sim Manipulator to terminate the pregnancy. If Samantha/Sarah has already given birth to the babies, check their family tree with SimPE. If the babies recognize Peter/Danny as their father, you are safe. If they recognize someone else, such as a townie, another playable Sim, or a pet, change the family ties to the correct father. However, this is not a permanent solution, and your neighborhood is already corrupted.



How to fix corruption Edit

Game corruption Edit

Fixing game corruption is actually quite simple, but it can be time consuming. It's easy to simply check whether a file is corrupted or not - simply mouse-over the files and check the date it was modified at. The files should've been last modified in 2008 and earlier. If they were modified after that, it's possible that they're corrupted.

The easy way Edit

The easiest way to fix game corruption is to reinstall the entire game! Back up your saved games and custom content, then proceed to uninstall all expansion packs, stuff packs, and the base game. Then, install everything again. Copy your back up and move it back into the My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 folder. Install all the patches and make your game files read-only, if you haven't already (instructions are listed further down the article).

The hard way Edit

First, you'll need to locate the corrupted files. Commonly corrupted files include the objects.package file, the files in the Sims3D folder, and lights.package.

Fortunately, a clean, uncorrupted copy of the files are located on the game CDs/DVDs. You can easily replace them without the hassle of reinstalling the game.

First, plop the game CD/DVD (the one you use to start the game with) into the CD/DVD drive of your computer. The following is a list of what CD/DVD you need to use.

Base game - CD #2 (or DVD if you have the DVD version)

University - CD #1

Nightlife - CD #2

Open For Business - CD #1 (the only CD)

Family Fun Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD)

Glamour Life Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD)

Pets - CD #1 (or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Seasons - CD #1 (or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Celebration Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD, or DVD if you have the DVD version)

H&M Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD, or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Bon Voyage - CD #1 (or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Teen Style Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD, or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Freetime - CD #1 (or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Kitchen And Bath Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD, or DVD if you have the DVD version)

IKEA Home Stuff - CD #1 (the only CD, or DVD if you have the DVD version)

Apartment Life - DVD #1 (the only DVD)





The Sims 2 Deluxe - DVD #1 (the only DVD)

The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - DVD #1 (the only DVD)

Then, go to "My Computer/Computer", right-click on the CD/DVD, and select "Explore". If autoplay starts up, close it.

There should be a file called "compressed.zip". Open it, and there should be a folder called "Res" in it. Open it, and you'll see it looks a lot like the C:\Program Files location. Find the file that you wish to replace, for example, the objects.package file. Right-click and Copy the file.

The Sims 2 Deluxe: The installation files are not stored in a compressed file, but instead in uncompressed format within folders called 'Base' and 'EP2'. The game executables are stored in Compressed.zip, however. You can just copy and paste any files that are not in the compressed file.

The Sims 2 Double Deluxe: The installation files are not stored in a compressed file, but instead in uncompressed format within folders called 'Base', 'EP2' and 'SP4'. The game executables are stored in Compressed.zip, however. You can just copy and paste any files that are not in the compressed file.

Now go to C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2 + the EP/SP that you use to start the game with\TSData\Res\The folder where the corrupted file is. Right-click on the corrupted file, and hold Shift while clicking Delete. This will delete the file right on the spot, instead of the hassle of sending it to the Recycle Bin. Now right-click and "Paste" the fresh file into the folder. Apply the patches again, and you're good to go!

Note: If multiple files are corrupted, or if you're not sure what files are broken, you can just Shift+Delete the entire "Res" folder and replace it with the "Res" folder from the game CD/DVD. As always, you must re-apply the patches, as the files on the CD/DVD are not patched.

Hood Corruption Edit

The only way that will completely remove hood corruption is to delete the entire neighborhood. You can either delete the hood in-game at the main menu, or by deleting the folder in My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\.

If it was a pre-made hood, you can reset it to the default state using this method. Be sure to delete the old, corrupted neighborhood before placing the new one in, otherwise you'll just corrupt it further.

The methods listed below can help reduce the risk of corruption, as well as provide options to fix it. Remember that most corruption is permanent - your neighborhood is essentially living on borrowed time. If you've become attached to the Sims in your hood, extract their appearances so you can re-create them in CAS in your new neighborhood once the old dies. If your neighborhood is so badly corrupted that SimPE cannot open it, you may attempt to use the SimRetriever program.

Suggested methods to reduce/prevent/fix corruption Edit

The best thing you can do to prevent corruption is to avoid doing the actions listed above, and follow the advice given. There are a number of mods and programs, created by skilled modders, that can help reduce corruption. Instructions on how to install most mods can be found here.

To make the game files read-only, go to C:\Program Files\EA Games\. Select ALL of the folders in there, right-click and select "Properties". Click on the "Read-only" box twice, so it's checked instead of just shaded. Select "OK". Your computer will then proceed to make all the files read-only. Remember to apply all the patches before doing this - if you need to install a patch after doing this method, you'll need to unset the read-only flag for all the files before you can install the patch. Also, if you hope to enable the allmenus cheat, you'll need to unset the read-only flag from the file you want to edit.

This method does not mean you can attempt to move in Universal NPCs or tamper with them in any way or form - it is only as a safeguard to prevent the game from possibly corrupting its own files.

Do NOT make the files in the C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\ location read-only. The game needs to modify those files in order to save your game. If you make them read-only, your game may not function correctly. Certain files, such as custom content, extracted appearances of Sims, Camera.txt files can be made read-only safely, but there's no point in doing so.

Misconceptions regarding corruption Edit

Over the years, a number of misconceptions emerged when corruption was first revealed to be extremely common in the game. At the start of this article, one of the biggest misconceptions was debunked - game corruption and neighborhood corruption are two different things. This list contains some common misconceptions regarding corruption.

Leaving testingcheatsenabled on for long or extended periods of time will cause corruption/game crashes/other horrible very bad things. The cheat itself doesn't cause corruption - it's the options that the cheat provides that can destroy your entire game. Things like the Tombstone of Life and Death, which are spawnable via testingcheatsenabled, will cause corruption if used to move in/make selectable universal or known problematic NPCs. Also, the "Force Error" option that appears when shift+clicking an object will not cause corruption if clicked, but it's recommended that you do not use the option recklessly, as it's primarily used to resolve issues.

Object Error dialogs Just because you see an error dialog does not always mean something is dangerously broken! Instead, you should be grateful that the software is aware that there is a problem and notified you, as if it did not have this functionality, it would simply crash. Object error dialogs are popped up by the game when an object in the game encounters a problem and is unable to continue. The dialog provides you with the name of the object that encountered the error, what the error was, and where the error log was created and dumped on your computer, as well as providing three options - "Cancel" (attempts to ignore the error), "Reset" (clears any actions queued on the object), and "Delete" (removes the object). Most of the time, the game will automatically select an option without notifying you, though you may still notice oddities such as Sims "jumping", or resetting. If you have testingcheatsenabled on, the game will always prompt you for any errors that the game encounters. The cheat itself didn't cause those errors - the only part it has behind those dialogs is that it's forcing the game to ask you what to do. Objects encountering errors are not always a sign of corruption. Most of the time, it is simply a piece of custom content, or a poorly made mod/hack. Sometimes, it is due to a fault on the developer's end, such as missing animation scripts. However, if you constantly/repeatedly encounter object errors regarding Sims, game controllers, or portals, and you do not have any custom content installed, it's plausible that this is a sign of corruption. Object errors may also provide benefits too. Often, when a mod/hack is not working, the creator may ask you to provide an error log, which are generated automatically when an object error dialog is shown. The error log enables the creator to troubleshoot the issue and update the mod to fix the problem.

Sims that have a character file are safe to move in/make selectable/tamper with. All Sims have a character file - it's not whether the Sim has a file or not, but rather whether that file is complete and has a complete set of data.

Bulldozing a lot will cause corruption. While it is understandable that, seeing how deleting just about anything in the game could cause corruption, deleting lots will remove certain references that the game requires, and doing so will corrupt the neighborhood. While lots that can be lived in (e.g. Dorms, Residential, Apartments, etc.) do contain references to Sims that previously lived there, bulldozing them from the neighborhood won't cause corruption. However, you should always move Sims out of/sell an owned community lot before you bulldoze it. Moving an occupied or previously occupied lot into the lot bin will cause corruption.

If it's an in-game feature that's available without cheats, it's safe. As we all wish this were the truth, it isn't. Examples include the family bin delete button, the ability to move occupied lots into the lot bin, the ability to date the Social Worker, etc. Those are things you can do without the help of cheats, mods, or hacks, and they will cause corruption.

A thought/speech bubble with squiggly lines means the neighborhood is corrupted. As mentioned above, " not all listed symptoms may mean corruption ". Thought/speech bubbles with squiggly lines in them have been sighted in clean, healthy neighborhoods as well. Some symptoms of corruption are also seen with poorly made custom content or hacks. As long as you never attempt the actions listed in this article, and as long as you routinely clean it with the HoodChecker, it should last a very long time.



"I did one of the things that I was told not to do, otherwise it would cause corruption, and nothing bad has happened. It must be safe!" Edit

This deserves a section of its own because it is so dangerously wrong. Just because nothing bad happens as soon as you do something doesn't mean it's safe! Think about the ingredients in hair shampoo, for example. A large amount of those chemicals cause cancer, yet you never emerge from the shower an automatic cancer victim because those chemicals need to build up in your body in order to kill you.[12][13][14] Like a virus in incubation, it will show no harmful symptoms, which prompts you to use it again and again. When the symptoms show up, it's far too late to go back. The same goes with corruption - for some people, the symptoms of corruption appear immediately, while other people don't notice anything for months, even years. However, in both ways, it's still corruption, and it will come back to haunt you!

See also Edit

Notes Edit