Sims 2 body shop (getting saved sims into game.) solved but not solved

If you came here like me looking for answers...

Here is a list of things that i have done that will probably waste your time.

-digs out the original very long sims 2 manual
-flips thru the very long manual til finds the tiny section on Body shop
-tiny section refers to readme file in a location that doesnt exist
- finds the very long read me file
- scrolls thru very long read me file til finds the little bigger than tiny section on Body shop.
- still clueless
- tells me to view complete body shop manual on http://www.thesims2.com
- realizes it was all a waste of time and returns here to type useless blabber about it while hoping for a response.
- finds the bodyshop manual at http://simsworld.free.fr/the_sims2_139.pdf

Here are things that i cant say for sure are necessary or if will help or not
- says double click file to put into game.
- looks at files and files have no open with program identified.
-tried associating files with Package installer and double clicked each.
- sigh

well after frantic looking i found this thread, hopefully it will be helpful. https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/812458/in-ts2-how-do-i-save-a-sim-to-the-bin-in-cas/p2

I can say it was helpful. to save you the link jump, read below.

What was the problem?

I created young adult sims in Body Shop.

Why is that a problem?
Young adult sims were added with the University pack, but werent added to the create a family in game.

what you talkin about willis!
you wont find your hopelessly lost sims in a neighborhood create a family if they are young adult.

So where do i find them?
if you havent already create a university town, then click the university button up top and goto that town.

why?
University towns have a seperate create a family from the regular towns, go into create a family here and you will find those pesky young adults who were hiding from you.

hopefully you find this helpful and reunites you with your sims. :)

that being said...
i'm still (insert past tense 4 letter F word here)

my sims were where i found them, i click them, they show up in CAS like they should. i then click the check mark to commit the change and...

drum roll please...

they revert back to the random sim i started with. happens with both my sims.
-tries to pull out hair but realizes i dont have any.

please tell me someone can help! pweeeeeze!

Hi :)
Can you show a picture of your Sim in CAS in game? :(

I'm not very technical with TS2 (or any of them really). If it shows in the option to choose Existing Sim in Sim Bin in CAF, I don't know why it won't be that Sim. I've had Sims not show the right icon in the Sim Bin and will clean my Thumbnail folder to correct it. :(

I think you answered your own question didn't you? Your Sims you created in bodyshop were YAs, they will not be available in CAS in the main hoods. Added info, you can also not find Sims sometimes if you used a particular skin or custom skin you have to click the skin so you can find the right head, under heads. Go back into bodyshop and make those Sims you created as young adults into Adults, then they should be in CAS in the game.

"Rflong7;c-17726752" wrote:
Hi :)
Can you show a picture of your Sim in CAS in game? :(

hi @Rflong7
Since i literally just woke up and not feeling very motivated atm, im just gonna use some googled photos to explain whats going on lol.

when i go into create a family in university town, there will be a random sim. we will now call this photo "random sim".
https://thumbs.modthesims2.com/img/4/3/1/2/8/9/5/MTS_d_dgjdhh-1233151-a3.jpg

So i'll click the bin button next to the randomize button and then i'll find my sims. this photo will now be called "preview sim."
https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/d3/Download-and-Install-Characters-for-the-Sims-2-Step-7.jpg/aid31155-v4-728px-Download-and-Install-Characters-for-the-Sims-2-Step-7.jpg.webp


as you can see in the above photo once you select a sims icon, it also shows as a preview by the mirror.
also shown in the photo is the checkmark you must click should you decide to commit to choosing that sim for editing or adding to your family.

in my case when i click on that check mark for either of my created sims, they dont change from "random sim" to current chosen "preview sim" like its supposed to. it changes from chosen "preview sim" back to "random sim" instead.

If i try this process with any maxis premade sim the sim will change just how you would expect it too.

after wasting numerous hours yesterday trying to figure this all out i became fed up and just gave up and decided to create new sims using the in game creator instead of bodyshop. while doing this i noticed that my sims heads were also there so i tried adding them and hoping for the best, and they worked. so though i lost my complete sim(s) atleast i had something left.

"Cinebar;c-17727298" wrote:
I think you answered your own question didn't you? Your Sims you created in bodyshop were YAs, they will not be available in CAS in the main hoods. Added info, you can also not find Sims sometimes if you used a particular skin or custom skin you have to click the skin so you can find the right head, under heads. Go back into bodyshop and make those Sims you created as young adults into Adults, then they should be in CAS in the game.

hi cinebar...
indeed yes, i did answer my own question. the new problem was when chosen, they wouldnt load into ingame create a family.

as i mentioned to rflong7 above, i ended up giving up after wasting hours cause i just wanted to play the game. while making new sims in game i found the heads which luckily did load. just sucks i cant use the sims i originally created. no idea why. they werent created using c/c. at the time i didnt have any c/c or anything installed. just used ingame assets

and now.. it appears.. my 2 Sims have become as corrupt as a DC politician

https://image.prntscr.com/image/mNm4cmLMSOWw1yky4uvC_w.png

how the Sims has managed to be my favorite game franchise for the past 20 years I have no clue.
especially being that I've been of adult age for every year of it. I really should work on finding a replacement.

I'm not sure I really understood the problem. :/ I build my Sims in bodyshop then when in game in CAF I pick Existing Sim button and they are there. If I mistakenly created them in bodyshop as a YA they will not appear in the Existing Sim category. I have to go back to body shop, clone that Sim and set their age to the age I want. (game off) Adult Sims created in bodyshop will not appear in the University neighborhood family bins or will not they be available in the University CAF. If that wasn't the answer then sorry I have no idea what the problem is. But correct maybe Maxis should have explained how the game works when creating Sims. But rule of thumb when all reasonable steps fail remove cc.

At this point all I can gather is when you are in bodyshop you don't actually save them or something. Preview is not save.

If you added back in the savedSim file to the game you might need to delete thumbnail packages inside your documents to get the correct thumbnail with the right Sim. Other than the steps you laid out are correct but have no idea what the problem is at the moment other than what I suspect.