The Flea Circus ~ A thread for tips, tricks and ideas

[Lapaige46]

There are a couple of ways to Unzip files:

Download the file to your desktop.

Extract the file with 7-Zip - https://www.7-zip.org/

  1.  Right-click on the File > select 7-zip > Extract to: (name of file) In this case it's Nraas MasterController. It will unzip the files into a new folder with that name. Take the .package file (s) and copy/paste them into: C:\Users\Username\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages\Sub-folder of your choice.



Or....

2. Drag and Drop files from the zipped folder. (Don't even need to unzip a zipped file.)

Right-click to open the folder and the files are right there.


Copy paste to the TS3  download folder. (Showing drag/drop of Sims3Pack file to desktop.)


I was able to open a .rar file by right clicking on the folder which brings up the open options. Click on whichever tool you use and the files pop up on the desktop.

Right-click to open the folder and the files are right there.


Downloaded Custard for the example of a .rar file. Kind of a bad example, because it needs to have a new folder created and the files copy/pasted to that new folder to be usable. As seen in the screenshot below:



Wanted to show that .rar files can be easily opened and moved like .zip files can.

Addendum: This is important for those who might have a lot of folders on their desktop. If you inadvertently unzip a large file, the folders will flood your desktop so you need to be careful you don't end up deleting any of your other files while you sort through all the files.

[Lapaige46]

A while back MrsFlynn and I were trying to figure out what to do when a hole appears in a floor (an opening without a grid). We each ended up tearing apart of one of our houses in order to fix the floor.
I just found the fix.

I was adding a second storey to a house I'm working on and I'd previously tried placing stairs but deleted them for the time being. What happened is that I ended up with holes in the floor upstairs that had no grid so I couldn't place floor tiles in them. The solution I found is to place ladders in the holes. When you delete them, the grid comes back. I had 3 holes in the floor and they're all fixed now.

-- This works for holes left in the ground level from previously placed ladders.

[MrsFlynn]

I wanted to post this information in our Tips thread for quicker reference.

Sims 3 Starting money



  ----

Age   Starting Money
First young adult and older   = §16,500
Each additional young adult and older   = + §2,000
Teen / child   = + §1,000
Toddler / baby   = + §500
Cat / dog       = + §250
Horse       = + §1,000

Simoleon | The Sims Wiki
https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/Simoleon

[Nindigo]

I found this page helpful, as I didn't know much about the arboretum from Moonlight Falls:

https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/Arboretum

[Nindigo]

Not directly Sims related, but it is very useful:



passwordsgenerator.net

[MrsFlynn]

From what it seems, it has more to do with the lot glitching than the actual parents leaving on vacation.

With Nraas MasterController:
Click on lot, select MasterController > Reset Lot

Without Mods:
Evict Family via Edit Town. Select Move Out with Home, bulldoze the lot and place the family w/home back on the lot.

** This tip seems to work for some but not for others.

[beardeux]

Here are some tips on solving much of IP's lag problems.  I do not take credit for these notes.  I don't remember who posted them, but they make a huge difference.  Before Starting Islo Paradiso - do the following editing:

Home Problems
1)  Evict Akoni Kahale and put him in a house on land.  Bulldoze the port
2)  Evict Rubisel Ichtaca and put him in a house on land - Bulloze the port.  There is another port with a pile of rocks preventing accaess to port.  Bulldoze that one also.
3)  The Ichtaca castle needs the front door area fixed, and remove some of the trees around the outside of the lot
4)  The Medina household needs an extra piece of wall next to the front door to stop Palmira being put down where she can't be reached.  Also, at the start of the game their garage door needs opening - Delete the door. (Personally I convert the room to something else - gym)
5)  Finally, Devin Han, gets stuck, but the writer doesn't know why.  Personally I either move him into another home or delete the char.

I make a save of the edited Starter town.  Then I don't have to go through all this editing every time I start IP.  However, the caves need resetting every time.  See Below:

Resetting Dive Caves to correct resetting of sims:
to to Edit town / Ctl Shift C = T / type:  enablelotlocking true (no space)
- using Select button - click on dive cave location icon and click on the unlock/lock button in bottom right corner to enable editong on the lot
- Grab the cave and let it go again / Turn Off Cheats
- go back to Live Mode and try exploring again

Hope this helps everyone.  I've enjoyed a relatively lag free IP from these helpful notes.

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Adding these links for additional information:

Removing IP Lag ~ Tips from Ciane ✽ Still works as of April. 2022 and suggests the mod below.

In first post in the thread linked below is a link to Ciane's edited version of IP. 
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/811253

To Use: Make a new folder in your Sims 3 Saves folder called IPonlyRdy.sims3. Copy the four files shared from MediaFire into it.   Using the edited save file and the mod helps reduce the lag in IP.

Reduce/Remove Lag caused by Houseboats Mod
https://modthesims.info/d/665907

[Lapaige46]

Searching The Sims Resourse. - In case you weren't aware, if you type in the object you are looking for, you will get different results if you use singular or plural. For example, "sofas" will show differently than "sofa".

[MrsFlynn]

Thanks to Lapaige, for this idea of searching on a how to for Sims 3 sloped attics.  I found this article from Fake Houses Real Awesome.

Sloped Ceilings Tutorial - Uses constrainfloorelevation (true/false)
https://www.fakehousesrealawesome.com/post/105413944130

[MrsFlynn]

Hmm.. Today is not going to be the day to try this tutorial. lol As it uses the constrainfloorelevation (true/false) as well.

Building a Functional Greenhouse in the Sims 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXx-MdGtNRQ

I wanted to note it anyway, just in case we get brave and want to try it.