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This is really disheartening.. I strongly dislike the 'Original By' feature.

jadeiamjadeiam Posts: 146 Member
I am so tired of this happening. I love building in Sims, I don't play Sims, I just build. I love entering various build creation challenges on the website, but I have barely done any the past few months because I keep having this issue.

I will start a build from scratch. Before starting it, I will bulldoze the lot multiple times, save an empty lot, check it doesn't have a previous builder tagged to it, and then bulldoze again, then eventually start my build.

I will spend hours, days, even a week on a build, but when I save it, it will say 'Original By XXX' on the build.
Sometimes, because this has caught me numerous times, I will check once laying foundations, or walls, or layout, by saving and checking there is no tag. However, sometimes I forget to do that, and even though I went through my ritual bulldoze/test save/bulldoze prior to building, it still tags another builder.

This is really disheartening.
For this reason (once I figure out how to delete all my towns information and start with a new game, or something) I just don't think I can look at other peoples builds anymore, which is a real shame to me, because there are so many really cool creators I adore and LOVE checking out their builds and admiring their sometimes really innovative creations. But I just can't do that anymore. I don't trust the game to properly bulldoze and not tag other builders creations I have previously checked out, in my builds. And that really saddens me.

I understand the system was created to protect peoples work, but it's only ever worked against me, on numerous occasions. Yes, I've had builds re-uploaded by other people without credit to me and it sucks, but honestly, I mind that less than I mind my own builds being wrongly tagged by other builders! Especially, when I have spent hours and hours creating them.

Yes, I can break down the inner walls and save the build room by room, and rebuild it (hopefully not encountering the same issue again) BUT, if I have spent a ton of time on the exterior, landscaping and surrounds this can't be transferred and must be redone from scratch.

So, can anyone tell me how to delete my neighborhoods so they will load as if for the first time?

Comments

  • StormkeepStormkeep Posts: 7,632 Member
    edited December 2018
    @Oliana Best advice I can give you is to do all of your building in a "New Game" which you can start at any time in the same place you load game right after starting TS4. Even if you are going to use the build in your current save game, just be safe and use a "new game" to actually build it, then add it to your gallery to bring it into your existing game.

    If you plan to do some building in an existing game, start with a base lot you bring over from your new game save so that you know it isn't going to be contaminated by lots you added from the gallery. You could even save that New game and always go back to it any time you build, just give it a name that makes it stand out and never add anything from the gallery when playing it.

    Personally, I couldn't care less about getting sole credit for a build, so it wouldn't bother me either way, but if it bugs you so much, that's the route I'd go.
    Post edited by Stormkeep on
    This post will be edited by StormKeep at some point.
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  • HermitgirlHermitgirl Posts: 8,825 Member
    I worry about this too I've made very few builds I thought were good ... but I made them on an older themed world that I was looking at other builds on before saying nope I gotta do it myself. Now I don't know what would happen if I tried to upload them. I know I bulldozed everything before starting but still. I hear this happens anyway.
    I do understand what I should have done first but I'm a player more than a builder ... sometimes I build in an existing game while much more inspired to do so (usually out of necessity really).
    I wish I could tell you how to work with it .. but I'm in the dark also.
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  • ladybreidladybreid Posts: 3,455 Member
    I have a save that has only ever been used to build.
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  • stilljustme2stilljustme2 Posts: 25,082 Member
    Stormkeep wrote: »
    @Oliana Best advice I can give you is to do all of your building in a "New Game" which you can start at any time in the same place you load game right after starting TS4. Even if you are going to use the build in your current save game, just be safe and use a "new game" to actually build it, then add it to your gallery to bring it into your existing game.

    If you plan to do some building in an existing game, start with a base lot you bring over from your new game save so that you know it isn't going to be contaminated by lots you added from the gallery. You could even save that New game and always go back to it any time you build, just give it a name that makes it stand out and never add anything from the gallery when playing it.

    Personally, I couldn't care less about getting sole credit for a build, so it wouldn't bother me either way, but if it bugs you so much, that's the route I'd go.

    This -- I have a save that I use for building and for testing mods to make sure they don't break my game. I also have a save that has all the Sims worlds in their original state (if I ever want to remodel any of the houses I can grab them from there) so it has a totally empty Newcrest if I need it.
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  • keekee53keekee53 Posts: 4,328 Member
    @Oliana this has happened to me before as well. If you bulldoze a lot, the "original by" should be bulldozed with it. I really wish EA would get it together. As @Stormkeep has said, I started a new game called building and created my lots there.
  • ZaszZasz Posts: 806 Member
    Interesting. I just checked my gallery for it but it looks like I was spared. So far.
  • SheriSim57SheriSim57 Posts: 6,934 Member
    Yeah,you should use a special save where you haven’t downloaded anyone else’s saves in. Good luck!
  • jadeiamjadeiam Posts: 146 Member
    Many Thanks for all the advice.
    How do I make a new game without having to create a sim?

    Also, is there a way I can just delete all files pertaining to my current game worlds?
  • ClassicalSimClassicalSim Posts: 1,535 Member
    Oliana wrote: »
    How do I make a new game without having to create a sim?

    You're automatically taken into CAS when you start a new game/save, but you can just use the first sim that comes up as a "disposable" sim and then place them anywhere without having to play them.
  • GalacticGalGalacticGal Posts: 28,284 Member
    Stormkeep wrote: »
    @Oliana Best advice I can give you is to do all of your building in a "New Game" which you can start at any time in the same place you load game right after starting TS4. Even if you are going to use the build in your current save game, just be safe and use a "new game" to actually build it, then add it to your gallery to bring it into your existing game.

    If you plan to do some building in an existing game, start with a base lot you bring over from your new game save so that you know it isn't going to be contaminated by lots you added from the gallery. You could even save that New game and always go back to it any time you build, just give it a name that makes it stand out and never add anything from the gallery when playing it.

    Personally, I couldn't care less about getting sole credit for a build, so it wouldn't bother me either way, but if it bugs you so much, that's the route I'd go.

    You stole the words right off of my keyboard, LOL. I was going to suggest using a brand new game save, too.
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  • catitude5catitude5 Posts: 2,537 Member
    That has never happened to me, but on some lots the gallery takes a picture of the back of the house instead of the front.
  • CinebarCinebar Posts: 33,618 Member
    I think this should be brought to their attention and reported as a bug. This should never happen and having left over data in a game can only bog it down. OP, I would suggest you go over to Answers EA.com and report this so they will finally fix it. Especially if you have bulldozed a lot several times, that's ridiculous and you shouldn't have to put up with work arounds.
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  • DevilNDisguiseDevilNDisguise Posts: 2,225 Member
    This is why I started keeping my building to one particular save. Spent months building something, only to save it and it crediting someone whose build had previously been on that lot. :s
  • jadeiamjadeiam Posts: 146 Member
    Cinebar wrote: »
    I think this should be brought to their attention and reported as a bug. This should never happen and having left over data in a game can only bog it down. OP, I would suggest you go over to Answers EA.com and report this so they will finally fix it. Especially if you have bulldozed a lot several times, that's ridiculous and you shouldn't have to put up with work arounds.

    Agreed, and that's a great idea.

    I know I can make a new game, I've known that since the first time it happened.
    Thing is, if I'm in game and I see someone post something interesting I don't want to have to log out of my current lot, to map, to main menu, then to another game, another map, another lot. That's a ton of loading and time just because I want to look at and support my fellow simmers builds! Then, it's back to menu, 'build game save', build lot, to get back to my build.

    I'd love to just save my build quickly, grab the simmers build, plop it down, admire it, support it, and then bulldoze and replace my build I'm working on. THAT is how is should work.

    Thanks for all the info/feedback and support simpeoples x

  • Samsonguy9000Samsonguy9000 Posts: 755 Member
    I can definitely empathize as I encounter a similar issue that has been bugging me of late. I do use a number of mods in my game, but every now and then I will create a sim I would like to share with the community. None of the mods I use is absolutely of necessity to make that sim a reason to share them, so I will swap any mods for stock features. I am quite thorough to make sure the sim is mod-free for sharing, but once I bring them up for uploading, there's that wrench in the corner and the modded content box checked. It's like a stigma has been placed on the sim.

    My workaround to this is a lot along the same direction as @Stormkeep 's suggestion. I will disable custom content, and on a new save I will bring up that sim and make a clone of them. That clone will be mod-free and able to be shared with the community without folks worrying about having something missing.

    But frankly that workaround shouldn't be necessary. When a sim or other creation is selected to be shared online, it is then and only then it should be determined whether to have mods or not. Not during creation or at any other time before it is shared. If the sim is mod-free upon uploading, then it should be considered just that upon it being shared.

    Same goes for lots. If there is no content on that lot not placed by the user, then it should be considered entirely by that user. Once the bulldoze button is hit, that previous content should be considered GONE and irrelevant.

    I am going to follow this thread. If someone makes a post on AnswersEA, please share the link here and I will chip in my two cents.
  • HillyBethHillyBeth Posts: 3,505 Member
    edited January 2019
    Oliana wrote: »
    I am so tired of this happening. I love building in Sims, I don't play Sims, I just build. I love entering various build creation challenges on the website, but I have barely done any the past few months because I keep having this issue.

    I will start a build from scratch. Before starting it, I will bulldoze the lot multiple times, save an empty lot, check it doesn't have a previous builder tagged to it, and then bulldoze again, then eventually start my build.

    I will spend hours, days, even a week on a build, but when I save it, it will say 'Original By XXX' on the build.
    Sometimes, because this has caught me numerous times, I will check once laying foundations, or walls, or layout, by saving and checking there is no tag. However, sometimes I forget to do that, and even though I went through my ritual bulldoze/test save/bulldoze prior to building, it still tags another builder.

    This is really disheartening.
    For this reason (once I figure out how to delete all my towns information and start with a new game, or something) I just don't think I can look at other peoples builds anymore, which is a real shame to me, because there are so many really cool creators I adore and LOVE checking out their builds and admiring their sometimes really innovative creations. But I just can't do that anymore. I don't trust the game to properly bulldoze and not tag other builders creations I have previously checked out, in my builds. And that really saddens me.

    I understand the system was created to protect peoples work, but it's only ever worked against me, on numerous occasions. Yes, I've had builds re-uploaded by other people without credit to me and it plum, but honestly, I mind that less than I mind my own builds being wrongly tagged by other builders! Especially, when I have spent hours and hours creating them.

    Yes, I can break down the inner walls and save the build room by room, and rebuild it (hopefully not encountering the same issue again) BUT, if I have spent a ton of time on the exterior, landscaping and surrounds this can't be transferred and must be redone from scratch.

    So, can anyone tell me how to delete my neighborhoods so they will load as if for the first time?

    That doesn't bother me, mainly because I enter contests where one simmer builds a shell of a house and I- or other simmers- furnish it. Luckily, I know the 'architect' so it's not terrible.
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  • ZaszZasz Posts: 806 Member
    This is why I started keeping my building to one particular save. Spent months building something, only to save it and it crediting someone whose build had previously been on that lot. :s
    This. What happens to people after bulldozing the lot is a bug.
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