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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 24th Jun 2018 at 8:12 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life
Default Packaging a brand new sim family?
Is it possible - and safe- to package a newly created family that has not been played? If so, how is it done? They can't be packaged from the Sim Bin. Can they be placed on a small empty lot and packaged that way? Then moved off the lot into the sim bin in a different neighborhood?
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Forum Resident
#2 Old 24th Jun 2018 at 9:15 PM
Maxon's custom neighborhood Polgannon http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=562803 includes three families like that. They were created in an entirely empty neighborhood, no downloads, no townies either, the only character files that exist are those from the family. As far as I know, those are safe to install.
Mad Poster
#3 Old 24th Jun 2018 at 9:55 PM
You can extract them with SimPE, put them in your Downloads folder, open up Bodyshop, make a clone of each sim, package the clones, close down Bodyshop, then remove/delete the SimPE-extracted files from your Downloads folder BEFORE you start up the game.
This is the only 100% safe way to package sims.

Don't package sims with lots. Installing such lots can cause neighborhood borkage.
Don't run the game with SimPE-extracted sim files, because this can potentially cause borkage.

You may have to place the sims on a lot before you can extract them with SimPE, but I'm not sure. I've only extracted sims living on lots.
Mad Poster
#4 Old 25th Jun 2018 at 2:57 AM
As long as they're in the neighborhood they'll appear in SimPE, available for extraction, and if they're in the family bin they're in the neighborhood.

IIRC, Mootilda thought it probable that the reason the Maxis lot bin households - Kat and Kim - are safe to install is that they were made in empty environments. It was on that principle that Maxon created and shared her extra families for Polgannon. We can't actually prove this method to be safe at this time, so it's best to give the downloader a head's up when doing this so they can do their own risk assessment.

The key thing is that the neighborhood must be absolutely empty except for the members of the household - no strays, no taxi driver, nothing. If you're going to do this, either use AGS or disable/replace with empty templates all your stealth neighborhoods and turn off the "special events" camera so that no taxi driver generates to drop them off in the video. Keep the Characters file open in your browser - as long as it's empty before you build the family, and after you build it the folder has exactly as many character files as there are sims in the family, you're as safe as this method gets.

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.)
Space Pony
#5 Old 25th Jun 2018 at 3:29 AM
I am with Peni here, but if you cannot use AGS I strongly advise to disable all stealthoods and get all the noregen mods there are.

~~~~Call me Ellu ~~~

My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#6 Old 25th Jun 2018 at 3:48 AM
it's far easier to extract in SimPE then clone them in BodyShop.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#7 Old 25th Jun 2018 at 3:01 PM
As has been said, when I did it with the three extra Polgannon families, I made each family in a completely empty neighbourhood of their own in AGS and CHECKED that there were no extra sims in the neighbourhood folders before and after I packed the files. The lots they are on are completely empty too. I posted a caveat on the Polgannon page explaining this. They are not uploaded here on this site but are on SFS and downloaders can DL them at their discretion.

People do download them and, as I can guarantee they have no external links in game to any other sim, the sources of corruption do not exist to pass on but AFAIAA that's the only way to do it. In any other circumstances, I'd recommend the clone method. Perhaps I should put up a background and cloned versions of those families for people to download if they prefer but the reason I did it the way I did is because I wanted to include memories and family links, relationships and friendships (between existing family members).

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Alchemist
#8 Old 29th Jun 2018 at 10:35 PM
occupied lots are safe only when there are no connections (memories, memory-markers, relationships, family tree, pregnancies) with other households.
though if the household members are the only characters in the neighborhood, you would not need to check for those connections.
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