Disappearing Sims

[wiintersoldierr]

I have the Sims 2: Super Collection installed on my Mac computer. I’ve noticed over the last few days that Sims seem to be randomly disappearing from all of my neighborhoods. NPCs, people living in houses, all of it. 

I once heard a theory that my game might be too full of files so it just begins overwriting things. But I haven’t installed anything new in months, and I’m not sure what to delete in order to stop this problem from happening. I am afraid to keep playing my game in fear of losing things I’ve made. 

I know Sims were once there, because the image of the family when you click on a house seems normal — but inside the house, the icon of the Sim is gone and most of the memories have been replaced with $Subject. 

any idea how to help?

[Tremayne4260]

@wiintersoldierr , there is an easy way to reset the game to a vanilla state to check and see if there are too many files/perhaps too much CC or a broken mod in your game.

Locate your Sims 2 folder which on a Mac is found under Library > cim.aspyr.sims2.appstore > Data > Library > Aspyr. Move the Sims 2 folder to your Desktop. Do not copy and paste or create a short cut. Actually move the folder. Your saved games and CC/mods will be safe on your Desktop at this time. Next start up Sims 2 like normal. Please note that none of your CC or saved games will be present at this time due to the fact that they are currently on your Desktop. Start up the game and play for about an hour or so just to make sure the game works. You can save or quit as you choose. 

Please let me know if this works and resets the game.

[wiintersoldierr]

@Tremayne4260 Hi there! Thank you so much for your help. 

I did exactly as you advised and moved my 'Sims 2' folder to my desktop, then reopened the game. Everything seemed to be working perfectly fine, as though I had just reset an entirely fresh installation of the game. There weren't any major issues. 

So what happens now at this point? If I were to put my original 'Sims 2' folder back where it came from in the 'Aspyr' folder, would my problems still be there? Or would they have been fixed by this little 'reset?' 

If not, how do I figure out what was in my original folder that was doing the corrupting? Because as I said, these are only recent developments. Thank you so much for your help!!

[Tremayne4260]

@wiintersoldierr , yes you can add back your original sims games into the new Aspyr folder. First, start by adding back any CC/mods from your Downloads folder (that is one folder you can transfer back in with very few problems. Move that one back first and check to see if all your CC is back in the game. Play for a little bit just to check and make sure it all works. 

Let me know if this part works and then we'll work on adding back your saved games. That is a bit more tricky and I want to make sure that CC/mods aren't the problem.

[wiintersoldierr]

@Tremayne4260 Okay. So I added back the 'Downloads' folder and then reopened the game. Upon reopening, I received this error message.

The list of problematic CC is, as you can see, quite long. I will say that normally what I hit is 'enable custom content' however this time I hit 'disable' instead. 

When I got into the game, I opened up the Create A Sim and saw that a good deal of my CC such as downloaded outfits and hairstyles still existed, meaning that even with 'disabled' custom content, there still must be some CC that is okay that the game is allowing through. 

Should I continue hitting 'disable' from this point on? (I will say, I don't recall any serious problems happening even with this problematic CC being enabled, but who knows what was going on.)

[Tremayne4260]

@wiintersoldierr , actually that is just the list of CC you have in game and the game alerting you to the fact you have CC/Mods in the game. I usually just hit "Enable". Depending on how much CC you have, it can slow the game down. I have organized my CC into various categories (like clothes, makeup, hair, buy, build, furniture) to either cull or keep what I wish to. I've tried to keep my Downloads folder to a minimum (yeah, I'm a CC packrat) and I just checked and mine is currently at 99MB. Kind of light, so I'd say keep it about no more than 2GB at most. You can right click on your Downloads folder and choose "Get Info" to find out how large it is. 

Before we add back your original saves, I'd like to know how much CC you have. Just so we can eliminate it as a source of the problem.

[wiintersoldierr]

@Tremayne4260Hi there — you're right, my CC is at 2.3 GB!!! I had no idea that was my level of CC haha. So I should probably downsize, correct? I ended up going through my CC to delete some stuff and now I'm down to like 1.7GB. I'd like to downsize further just to be safe, but that's what I've done so far.

[wiintersoldierr]

@Tremayne4260 Hey there! Any chance you've got some last advice for me?  I've been holding off playing my game just in case.

[Tremayne4260]

@wiintersoldierr , so have you gone through your CC and removed what you can live without? Just asking. 

Also make sure if you play with any mods that you have the latest versions. Many folks haven't updated recently, but do check to make sure you have the latest ones. 

Let's see if this works and keeps your game stable. If this works, then we can try to add back your saved games.

[wiintersoldierr]

@Tremayne4260 Yes! I’m sorry, in my previous comment I mentioned I’ve gotten my CC down to 1.7GB and am still downsizing. Is that enough, do you think?

I’ve played a few times in the last week or so and the game seems to be stable!