coolspear

Thanks Evangelina, but I need to check them all thoroughly. A list of what "seems" to work holds the potential for major problems. Broken mods can often seem to work fine, right until they break something big in a game save. So it's best to wait for an official report on their status.

I'm not so upset that a patch breaks many mods, that's par for the course when it comes to modding, just that Maxis are pumping out such patches now in such short spaces of time. This is the third in less than six months.

TS4 toddled along for four years with a major patch roughly once a year for the long-awaited EP that only came once a year. Now they are flying out. With GP patches in-between that do just as much damage as EP patches. It's too damn much too often! It riles me for two main reasons. One, yes it's a lot of work for modders. But also Maxis are just not that good normally, and putting out patches of this magnitude this often guarantees TS4 gets a whole lot worse much sooner. We lost faith in Maxis and their buggy patches when they were only doing big ones once a year. How much more buggy, glitch-riddled damage do you think this quickened pace is going to incur? A lot more, that's what. It's Maxis. A heck of a lot more. On top of what is already a mountain of unresolved bugs when they were going at a snail's pace.

This quickened pace puts me at ill ease, never mind all the mod fixing I have to do. I don't trust the state the game is going to be in with Maxis going so damn fast now.   

We'll, I've patched. Installed the latest 3.1.3.0 S4S Wishes. Extracted files and did first comparisons with WinMerge. Yep, there's a lot. Of course there's a lot. Yet another big mod-buster patch. The third in less than six months. I'm fucking sick of it. Just got over a rotten cold, yet I'm now sick again, sick to my fucking stomach of looking at the same broken bastard XMLs yet again. When does it fucking end?!

Name me one other software programme, that goes through this much change, this often, in this short amount of time, and isn't a glitch-riddled piece of shit, not worth a damn, by the end. And we think Maxis are going to be the miracle-makers that can defy the logic of this. They're just not that good for normal programming. TS4 was doomed from the start. But hey, as long as they're making their money out of it.

Well, I'm in a pickle now. Because if I want to play the game, I'm going to have to start fixing mods. And I cannot look at all the shit WinMerge highlights without going into a rage. So, that's that. No idea when I'll get started on it. When the urge to play TS4 becomes too much, I suppose. Or when Maxis announce the official deadline to when they finally stop patching TS4. I can imagine being reinvigorated with hope when that news finally breaks. 

I keep forgetting to look at this. I'll try today at some stage, as I'm doing a few mini tweaks and little fixes here and there before I commit to the big patch. Kind'a don't want to patch just yet, keep putting it off - though it is inevitable. But this fix is on my list, another good distraction to get sorted and tidied before the dreaded nightmare patching process.

New addition.

Added the fireplace from Realm of Magic with Romance Flame.

The Grand Gallimaufry Academy

A home for geniuses in mind.

Until I get University the only thing in my world close to dorms and student life is this affair. So I thought I'd share.

See more screenshots in spoiler tab below.

Lot size is 64x64, the biggie. No stairs or doors. The only way to get from room to room is via teleport pads. And those basement labs are sorely missing the new robot building object from Uni. That's about the only thing I'd want from that pack. 

Grand Gallimaufry Academy.rar

Place contents of rar in Tray folder and activate "Include Custom Content" on Gallery page to see the lot in your Library.

Find links to CC here - http://simsasylum.com/tfm/index.php?/topic/14691-a-list-of-the-usual-suspects-links-to-cc-used-in-lots/

Patch News - November 2019 - Game version 1.58.63.1010 & 1.58.69.1010 hotfix

We'll, I've patched. Installed the latest 3.1.3.0 S4S Wishes. Extracted files and did first comparisons with WinMerge. Yep, there's a lot. Of course there's a lot. Yet another big mod-buster patch. The third in less than six months. I'm fucking sick of it. Just got over a rotten cold, yet I'm now sick again, sick to my fucking stomach of looking at the same broken bastard XMLs yet again. When does it fucking end?!

Name me one other software programme, that goes through this much change, this often, in this short amount of time, and isn't a glitch-riddled piece of shit, not worth a damn, by the end. And we think Maxis are going to be the miracle-makers that can defy the logic of this. They're just not that good for normal programming. TS4 was doomed from the start. But hey, as long as they're making their money out of it.

Well, I'm in a pickle now. Because if I want to play the game, I'm going to have to start fixing mods. And I cannot look at all the shit WinMerge highlights without going into a rage. So, that's that. No idea when I'll get started on it. When the urge to play TS4 becomes too much, I suppose. Or when Maxis announce the official deadline to when they finally stop patching TS4. I can imagine being reinvigorated with hope when that news finally breaks. 

Older News

Personal update November 2019

A minor, but helpful tweak.

Removed the silly block to place the water sprinkler model indoors. Now your greenhouses can have them inside. Did this change for my modded version here, and also the default Maxis version. I don't use the Maxis one anymore, but what the heck. I may as well do it too while I'm at it.  

Personal update November 2019

Tweaked to coincide with the new changes to the Aquarium mod. This fish box can now hold unlimited fish, no longer capped at 99 max. I'll change the name of the mod some other time, as it still says 99 in the title.

Personal update November 2019

A couple of minor, but nice changes.

First the fish storage is now unlimited, no longer capped at 99. Don't know why I originally capped it. No other storage type is capped. I'll change the name of the mod some other time, as it still says 99 in the title.

Also made the two default Maxis Chests no longer have shared storage. All my storage mods do not share their storage inventory with any other objects, so I thought I'd make the Maxis ones follow same rule. Again, I don't know why I didn't do that sooner. I suppose I just wanted my ones to be different from the Maxis ones. But, what the heck, they're all the same now.

Personal update November 2019

Just a minor tweak. I added a helpful little push to get Spa visitors to use the workout TVs, should you wish to place the TVs at a spa venue. Otherwise they usually ignore them. 

Personal update November 2019 -  Some décor objects from Parenthood to better sit on shelves, like the Collectible Plates clutter, looks nice on wall shelves so now can fit on them. A wall-mounted flag object from Get Together with footprint edited so it does not block sims from passing underneath it.

Update 10th November 2019 - Important - The reason this lot had such terrible lag and how it's been fixed. See new spoiler tab at bottom of main post for pictures and description of the glitch and please re-download latest fixed lot.

Also the WSC mod for Magic HQ and Glimmerbrook Bar has been tweaked with a few improvements.

Personal update November 2019

Changed two mods here.

First the "Magic Bookshelf with All Spell Books" mod. I moved a file from that mod over to the "Magic HQ/Glimmerbrrok Bar" mod. A file to stop spellcasters pointlessly browsing the bookshelves so often, it's better in the main venue mod as it covers both venues.

A bit of a rework to the visitors of Magic HQ and Glimmerbrook Bar. I wanted to first get the Novice & Intermediate Spellcasters to be on timed rotation visits, - shifts - rather than the Maxis setting of one bunch comes and stays all day. More chance of sim visitor variation that way, instead of the same faces all day long.

Reduced the number of visitors on both venues, Glimmerbrook Bar only slightly, as the original numbers were not too problematic, but no harm in making it a wee bit less.

HQ a good few less. That venues (Region) does not handle too many sims very well. Much like the GTW Career Venues/Regions, it's best not to overdo it with too many sims.

Also, if you are using the Magic Realm HQ lot I uploaded, please go there and grab latest version I'll be uploading after I write this, and read about the reason why there was so much horrendous lag on that lot due to broom-riding stuck sims. Now cleared up, thank god.   

Yes, Lars is correct. The three cauldron recipes do have varying skill levels added in the coding, (By Maxis) so they won't all be available to sims with low cooking skills.

I said the décor wall shelves that come with various packs, such as Laundry Day, Jungle Adventures, Island Living (A set of three that match the kitchen counters.) not the matching kitchen counter wall cabinets. Shelves are not cabinets.

These décor wall shelves, some with actual slots for placing clutter, are designed to be kitchen décor more than for any other room in the house, especially as some do have kitchen-type knick-knacks attached, like plates and jugs, so the temptation to slap them up on a wall above kitchen counters and appliances is higher than for use in most other rooms of a house. The Maxis pictures even have them in kitchens. Obviously just for the sake of a picture, not because anyone ever played the house to find they cannot use a damn appliance beneath the wall shelving object.

(These terrors, and anything similar from other packs, turning kitchens into a dead zone. Innocuously sitting on wall, pretending they're not as guilty as sin. Having players ripping their kitchens apart in frustration, and always the last thing they think of. Maxis - 1, Players - 0. Very good, Maxis. How about an innocent-looking floor rug that does same? That'll have players pulling their hair out for a long while. Maxis - 10, Players - Sectioned Off I should think by then.)

The matching counter cabinets were, indeed, problematic too originally.  One of the first TS4 modding conversations modders had on MTS was about them blocking kitchen appliances. I know, I joined in with it. Maxis must have listened in and fixed. Though it did not help to inspire Maxis with the oversized footprints on other kitchen wall décor. Typically.

And, as evidenced by @enderstorm  just yesterday, removing the cabinet above the dishwasher allowed access to the otherwise out of commission dishwasher. So I would not be as bold as to declare it never happens, it's not true, just because I may not have experienced it. Especially since I have experience it when TS4 was new and a bunch of modders, who likewise experienced it, plasticbox, MenanceMan, myself, and I think maybe shimrod may have joined, had a chat about it. Because Maxis fixes are so... reliable. They fix a thing and we never experience it again, ever. I'll be bold enough to say that's not true. And that is from experience of supposedly fixed things still happening in game to this day - though not as frequently once Maxis declare it fixed. But never quite gone, though. Is it?  Looking at you Load Music continuing during Live Mode!

I've been on a personal crusade for many years of modding to prevent vamps and plantsims eating and drinking that which they should not. The XML files used in mods throughout this food & drink section are riddled with my added coding to ensure this. I'm hardly likely to reverse all that effort or have a change of heart or mind.

Sorry, it just does not sit right with me. I don't think I could stand watching it even for short term testing, for a mod I will never use.

Sent you a PM on that subject.

And it has been reported hundreds of times on EA Help since game first shipped, yet those stubborn, lazy so-and-sos keep releasing new stuff with same, old blocking footprint and have not touched the base game stuff.

A fix can be done in five minutes. I know, I have done it. (For some objects,)

Why haven't they???!!!

Of course, stubborn, lazy so-and-sos.

Someone should make a "SimGuru Trait" for the game. The main qualities being Stubborn, Lazy and Clumsy. And send it over to them for a giggle, and a reveal of the truth.

With TS4, sometimes existing objects pick up new changes introduced in mods, sometimes not. I'd say mostly they do, but sometimes not.

With TS3, they never did. If you recall, you always had to replace an older object with new one if a mod made new changes to it.

I'd say it's always best to replace, TS3-fahion, for that definite guarantee. But I hardly ever do myself for TS4. (Unless I find it needs to be replaced, which is uncommon for TS4.)

TS4 made me lazy and I've forgotten those stricter TS3 habits.

Though I'd say for the Cauldron object it does not need replacing. After all, all the tweaking and testing I was doing while working on it, I never once had to replace the current cauldron that was there on the lot from the get go, before I even started these mods.

Well I can say there is absolutely zero stuff to do with dishwashers in the mod. But knowing how Maxis connect the dots behind the XML scenes (In the Python coding) can be a mystery tour.

If you want to do further tests to confirm, you could try a house with no sinks present at all and only a dishwasher. Ultimately, no sinks at all, remove this mod, and only a dishwasher. 

Get a better idea of the hidden Maxis dots without this mod.

For my end, I'm happy with what the mod does. My habit on house building and kitchens is to always have a sink in a kitchen first and foremost, (Activated by this mod.) then a dishwasher if there's enough room and family funds. Whenever it's the latter, sims use the dishwasher the vast majority of time. So I've yet to see them failing to use a dishwasher.

Just out of curiosity, are there any appliances or clutter objects atop the dishwasher's counter surface? And is there any décor wall shelving units above the dishwasher. They are infamous for blocking access to dishwashers. So if going to test further, make sure there is nothing like this that could be preventing sims access/usage as sims do not always throw a route fail to help indicate the type of problem. The action simply drops from queue leaving player with a bigger mystery to solve. And the typical, knee-jerk reaction is not to first think those lovely, décor wall shelves and lovely clutter bowl of fruit are the problem, but That mod is broken... Yep, 9 out of 10 cats prefer it. Though not saying this is true of the report you've made, as those mystery dot connections will also have their way. (Until properly tested and confirmed.)

Due to the décor blocking problem, I have reduced the blocking footprints for those décor wall shelves from base game and various packs in my Size Matters mod sets. 

Update 6 November 2019

Just discovered in game a few minutes ago the recipe for Prompt Resurrection Potion was missing from both the Main Cauldron mod and the No Ingredients mod. So I did a little bit of prompt resurrecting of my own and quickly put the potion in there with the rest. Please re-download the mods you were using so you can have the missing potion.

I've still yet to upload the re-tweaked WSC mod for the HQ venue. I know the original version is too much for this lot, as explained in main post, it has far too many sims and external street duellist turning up. I saw six duellists over there up on the duelling area! Far too many! And at peak I counted 34 sims visiting venue. Something's not right with that, the earlier visitors weren't leaving as more fresh ones came. Maxis have the novice and intermediate spellcasters stay the whole day, no shift times for coming and going. And I'm pouring more of my own visitors on top. Not good.

Latest version calms it down and will be uploaded soon. And after a few hours, when your visiting time is up, GET OUT! Go Home! I appreciate they like the lot so much they don't want to leave, but I have to make it clear to them, they must.   You can always come back tomorrow, just leave now and let the new visitors have their turn at some fun. Geez...

Cheers, Lars. Yeah, it works just as it should for me. I've been messing about with all the magic stuff lately, but I did give the spellcaster the 21 Breakthroughs and made her make a Freeze Ray gun, making it and upgrading it super fast. No issues at all. Though, as I say, this is me still on 1.55. (And did I release that latest version with super fast constructing and upgrading? Because, boy oh boy, is it super fast in my game. I think I forgot to upload that re-tweaked version??? I'd even forgot that I re-tweaked it, till I saw how fast the spellcaster was doing everything.)

As Lars mentioned, as did GodzillaForce a few posts up, the No Ingredients Needed mods are also required. I do also state this in the main post, in the section that explains the No Ingredients function, that I had to likewise set it up the same way on the recipe ingredients files, so sims can make the constructions, as by default they would not normally be allowed to if not scientists. As such it's not optional. Perhaps I need to draw more attention to that bit, make its necessity and importance stand out more.

@simsimmawhen you say a mod for having multiple careers, are you referring to the one on MTS? - http://modthesims.info/d/615383/multiple-jobs-for-your-sims.html

Because, if so, I'd steer clear of that mod, mate. It's a little bit on the severely broken side of things. Has been since the big 1.52 Island Living patch I believe.

Let the troubleshooting commence.

Are you on 1.56? (I'm currently not as yet. No idea if 1.56 effects this, but still need to ask.)

Can sim Upgrade the Constructor? Are Upgrade options available?

Do  you also use my "Size Maters" mod set?

Does this happen on a newly placed Constructor? Have you tried using an older Constructor on another lot that was last known to work fine and dandy? 

If so, Have you tried placing new Constructor from the Constructor Room available to download with this mod in main post?

Have you tried using Science debug cheat to issue 21 Breakthroughs again, just because what the heck, you never know?

There are many changes on the XMLs, those two are only the beginning. Going down the XML you will see that same News Channel XML is referenced a couple more times, so they too would require a channel change reference, and just as importantly, where it mentions what VFX the TV will display when it is an Unbroken State (Default is always no VFX) I have also entered the VFX code lines for the News Channel, not the same as the 9102 News Channel Object State XML references seen everywhere else.

With my other mods to secure these décor TVs never breakdown, they will forever be in a state of Unbroken and hence the VFX will play. 

For a complete list of TV channels search for the "TVChannel.ObjectStateTuning" XML (16388). They will all be conveniently listed on there. (Not Movies from other packs. They'll be on some similar Object State Tuning XML, but I don't know what its name or number is as I've never had cause to fetch it out. If you copy and paste the XML number of a specific movie into the search function, you'll find the main list XML soon enough from the relevant files the search offers.) Alternatively, if you extract any of the TV Object XMLs for any model of TV, the individual movies will be found on them. Though not in a handy list form, but on different chunks of coding with other stuff in between each movie reference.

Once you extract a specific TV Channel/Movie XML, open the XML to see the required VFX code for that channel/movie - to replace the reference in the Unbroken State chunk of code.