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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.

The difference between game corruption and hood corruptionEdit

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 corruptionEdit

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" (Big Fiery Ball Visible From Space).^[2]

Avoiding game corruptionEdit

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 corruptionEdit

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.

• Delete a Sim in the family bin.
  • The in-game delete button doesn't delete the Sim entirely. It shreds off a portion of the Sim's character file and their Sim Description (which is located in the Neighborhoods.package file), unlinks the character file, and leaves a 1KB character file in the "Characters" folder. The game does not properly clean out all references to the Sim, which means that memories, gossip, relationships, Sim Wants and Fears, etc. that involve the deleted Sim are now corrupted, as they point to non-existent data. Even if a Sim was created fresh out of Create-A-Sim, it doesn't mean that they are safe to delete via this method.
    • This page shows you how to delete a Sim correctly. It's not perfect, and it still leaves some rubble behind, but it is nonetheless safer than the in-game delete button.
• Delete Character Files from the C:\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\<Hood>\Characters folder.
  • The neighborhood saves Sim data in two different locations - the Neighborhood.package file, and the character file itself. If you delete the character file without properly cleaning the Neighborhood.package file, your hood will be left with half-a-Sim, and will not function properly.
    • The character file(s) can be deleted safely once this method is followed.
• Delete Lot Files from the C:\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\<Hood>\Lots folder.
  • The neighborhood saves lot data in two different locations - the Neighborhood.package file, and the lot file itself. If you delete the lot file without properly cleaning the Neighborhood.package file, your hood will be left with half-a-lot, and will not function properly.
    • To delete a lot, move all Sims, tombstones, and urns out of it, sell the lot if it is an owned business, use Cyjon's Lot Inspector to verify that it is safe to delete, and then bulldoze it from the neighborhood.
• Move an occupied lot or an owned community lot to the lot bin.
  • The game transfers character data from the neighborhood to the lot bin, but does not completely erase all traces of the Sims from the neighborhood. Sims in the neighborhood may gossip about the missing Sims, spreading the corruption around the hood. Also, moving the lot back into the neighborhood will create new character files, instead of overwriting the existing ones. Moving the lot into another neighborhood will introduce the corruption to the hood it is moved into.
    • You can move Sims from one hood to another by extracting their appearances and then recreating them in Create a Sim in the new neighborhood. This is the only known method that is 100% safe.
    • Occupied lots that are already in the bin are safe to delete, as the damage has already been done.
• Move a previously occupied/owned lot to the lot bin.
  • Lots that can be lived in or owned by Sims will carry references and tokens that are connected to the Sims that live on/own the lot. If you move the lot into the lot bin, those references go along with it, and will corrupt any neighborhood that it is moved into.
• Install an occupied lot, including downloaded lots that ship with families.
  • If the sims had any relationships with any sims not living on the same lot in their original neighborhood, placing the lot in your neighborhood will create partial character files of all the sims that the lot's residents used to know. This will cause errors in the long run. You may find some occupied lots available for download which the creator has 'cleaned' to make them safe; the cleaning process is not 100% reliable, so you should exercise extreme caution and back up your neighborhoods before installing. The two occupied lots, Kat and Kim, that ship with Pets, are 100% safe.
    • If you want the Sims that come with the lot and not the lot itself, create a new neighborhood, move the occupied lot into the neighborhood, and then extract the appearances of the Sims using this method. Then re-create the Sims in CAS in the neighborhood you want to move them in. You can delete the corrupted neighborhood if you wish, as you no longer need it.
• Use the DeleteAllCharacters cheat.
  • This cheat, like the family bin delete button, will destroy part of all the character files in the neighborhood and leaves lots of junk, orphaned information. New Sims created may acquire this corrupted data.
• Delete Tombstones/Urns
  • Tombstones and urns are treated as Sims by the game. Deleting a tombstone/urn is the same as deleting a Sim using the in-game delete button - the character file is damaged, the Sim unlinked, and the memories, gossip, and references left behind to corrupt the neighborhood.^[4]
    • Install Pescado's No Unlink on Delete mod now to avoid corruption caused by the deletion of urns/tombstones. The mod prevents the game from shredding character file data when urns/stones are deleted. As long as the character data is intact, and nothing is unlinked, the references to the Sim are valid and uncorrupted, because they are pointing to a Sim that exists.^[5]
    • Again, to delete Sims, follow this method.
    • If you wish to remove the urns/stones because of the annoying ghosts, create a community lot designated as a cemetery lot, and move the graves over there. Graves there will appear by the pay phone.
    • Graves in apartment lots are extremely unstable. If the last Sim in an apartment slot dies, the grave will be moved to a random community lot, but it may also be deleted or moved to a non-existent lot. Use the Select Your Cemetery mod to force the game to give you the option to move the urns to a community lot. If you do not want mods in your game, move all Sims nearing death to houses.
• Move lots that have graves to the lot bin.
  • Exactly like moving occupied lots in the lot bin. Graves are treated as Sims by the game, and moving them to the lot bin will leave corrupted references behind. Moving them back into the neighborhood or into another neighborhood will simply cause more corruption.
• Allow a Sim to die with graves in their inventory.
  • When a Sim dies, all items in their inventory are deleted. Deleting graves, as mentioned previously, will damage the dead Sim's character data, and corruption will spread around the neighborhood.
• Resurrect pre-made dead Sims that ship with the game.
  • Most of these Sims have incomplete character data, and will cause corruption if resurrected.
• Put tombstones or urns on any of the Open for Business display cabinets or shelves.
  • When a tombstone or urn is placed on an OFB shelf, it will be duplicated. The duplicate tombstone will still be connected to the sim. This will corrupt the Sim.
• Have too many Sims in your neighborhood.
  • The game actually has a character file limit. If you have the base game or the University expansion, each neighborhood has a maximum population limit of 1000 character files. If you have Nightlife or a later EP/SP, the limit has been increased to around 32767 files.^[6][7][8] Once a neighborhood has reached the limit, any new Sims created will immediately be lost, and other symptoms of corruption may present themselves.
    • Deleting a Sim using this method will remove the character file from your neighborhood, which can help in preventing you from reaching the limit.
    • The best way to avoid hitting the limit is to not generate so many Sims in the first place. Several mods can help prevent excessive Sims from being generated.
      • NoTownieRegen, prevents the game from generating new townies.
      • Anti-Redundancy, prevents the game from generating more than 1 of each NPC type, instead of the standard 3 NPCs per NPC type per neighborhood.
      • NoSSrespawn, prevents the game from generating new secret society members.
      • NoDormieRespawns, prevents the game from generating new dormies.
      • NoStrayRespawn, prevents the game from generating new strays.
      • CJ-TownieApartmentResidents, allows the game to pick regular townies as apartment neighbors and roommates instead of social class townies, eliminating the need of generating them.
      • CJ-ThereCanOnlyBeOneProfessor, forces the game to only generate one professor instead of two per major.
    • You can also create a new neighborhood with no Sims at all in it.
• Save with ghosts active on the lot.