Debug Objects Mode
Is your game crashing? Have you downloaded objects lately, and suspect one of them is causing your game to crash? Use the debug objects mode to find out…
Warning: This tutorial does not apply if your game is not crashing before you reach the neighbourhood, only once you are in one of the houses or community lots...
To create the shortcut:
Go into your Sims folder, usually located at C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims:
Then right click the blue Sims circle icon and click send to/desktop - this will create a shortcut
Go to your desktop, right click on the icon and select Properties. A window will come up and select the Shortcut tab on top if it is not already selected.
There will be a line that says Target with a directory after it. Select the words in the box, press delete or backspace, and copy the shortcut below that you need (for your resolution) and paste it into that box:
"C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\Sims.exe" -r1024x768 -debug_objects
or
"C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\Sims.exe" –r800x600 -debug_objects
Then click OK.
Run the game from that shortcut to use the debug mode…
While you are playing the sims:
During game play, if the game finds a problem with an object it will give you a message, saying what object the error message is for, and may tell you why.
It will give you 3 options, press "reset" and most of the time the game will continue to play. If you had to press "delete" to get the game continue playing, this is likely to be the object that is making your game crash.
If you wish, you can remove the object, by closing the game and moving the downloaded file from your sims folder into one outside the game, and see if the game functions better.
If an error is found, a text file of an error report can be found in your sims folder:
C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims
and the filename will look like ObjectError_h60_t437936 or something similar…
It is perfectly fine to keep the game running in debug objects mode, as it seems to cause no extra problems with speed, and doesnt make the game crash as quickly... and actually prevent you from a lot of crashes...
Got questions? Post on the boards...
