Well, after banging my head against the wall repeatedly trying to figure out why two of my neighborhoods had ceased to appear in my neighborhood chooser menu (as I ranted about in this comment), I finally figured out the problem. I had thought it was an Open For Business problem, but I was wrong. This was completely and utterly my own fault (although I can point the finger at OFB for making me muck with things in the first place, grumble grumble).
So what happened? It all started when I went to play the Shanleys in Mt. Geneva. As the lot was loading, I received an error message about the Re-Nu-Yu Senso-Orb (apparently OFB has a problem recognizing that object?), so I clicked on “Delete” in the dialog box to delete the object. The lot loaded, and I played it for 10-15 minutes before it completely froze on me. I quit the game and tried to enter the lot again, but now I couldn’t even get in. I tried rebooting my computer, restarting the game, and trying to load the lot, but it continued to freeze on the family screen. I figured I must have mucked something up but good and decided to restore my Mt. Geneva files from my back-up, and then leave the Shanleys alone until I figured out what the problem might be. You know, maybe wait for a patch or something. I don’t know what I was thinking, actually.
Anyway, everything might have worked out fine, except that when I restored the files from my back-up…they were the wrong files. Somehow, when I created my back-up files, I had pasted the N002 (Strangetown) files into my N004 (Mt. Geneva) folder. I did the same for N003 and N005, so I must have been having a massive brain fart that night. I guess I was anxious to get OFB loaded, so I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. Big mistake. So that’s why when I started the game up again, both Strangetown and Mt. Geneva were missing from the menu. Apparently the game couldn’t reconcile having an N002 and an N004 folder BOTH containing N002 files, so it didn’t display either of those neighborhoods. Makes sense, I guess.
Well, after much searching and posting on MTS2 and pulling out my hair and futzing around with trying to restore neighborhoods, I figured out the problem. Strangetown would restore just fine on its own, but not Mt. Geneva, and when I tried to restore them at the same time, neither of them would show up. That’s when I did some looking and realized Mt. Geneva was full of N002 files. So what’s the bottom line here? Well, the good news is that OFB isn’t eating my neighborhoods, so I can feel free to go back and play the Ravelos and Annabel Island and not worry that the neighborhoods will go *poof*. Although I will be backing them up regularly since people are having problems with lots disappearing as well (as I did on my “clean” account).
The bad news? Mt. Geneva as we know it is gone forever. Yes, when I deleted it, it got deleted for good. And the most recent Mt. G back-up I had on CD is from January 2005. Back then, the Shanleys were just about to give birth to 6th generation. Patrick is still alive. Robi and Fiona are whitehairs. Vesta hasn’t been born yet. I know this because I restored that back-up and glanced at the neighborhood. I’m glad to have Maude back, and the Kilmans, but the Shanleys post Generation 5 are just plain gone. It makes me a little sad. So yeah, I’m kicking myself repeatedly right now. But…I’m ready to move on.
So what I want to know from you guys, my awesomely loyal readers, is this: do we lay the Shanleys to rest and say, “Well, it was a fun Legacy, R.I.P.” and that’s it? Or should I continue with them from old Generation 5 and see what happens? A sort of “What if” scenario? I’m really torn. Part of me hates to give up the Shanleys, but it would be weird going back to Gen 5 and pretending that Vesta, Tristan, Tebbany, et. al. never existed. But who knows, maybe it would be kind of fun. What do you guys think?
Tristan!! Tristan! Can ya tell who my fave is? Hee hee
Oh btw, that was my crazy way of saying continue on and see what happens.
Oh oh, no! That is truly tragic.
I think, if it were me, that I’d just have to lay them to rest. I don’t think I could bear to just rewrite their history, alternate universe style. I’d have to bury them, mourn them, move on.
I’m sorry that happened. That really is awful.
oh no!!! *hugs* i’m sorry your neighborhood went kaplooey! i feel so bad!!! we’ll always have the pictures and the stories.
I really don’t know what to say. Part of me would love to see the Shanleys go on, even in AU style. Sometimes I have wondered what it would be like to take an older back up of my legacy neighborhood and see how things would have been if I had gone with a different heir, or chosen a different method of play. But, if I had been faced with the loss of my original family like you are, I’m not sure what I would do. You must be feeling so terrible right now. *lot of hugs* I say, give them a mourning period and then decide. I think it would be fun and interesting to take the Shanleys and re-write history, but that’s just me. ;)
Poor Jen! That’s sad. :(
If you’d care for my two cents, I think the Shanleys were a great legacy, and I think that should be it for them. From Nia to Mia and beyond, it was fun reading about them, but I wouldn’t like to go back. For one thing, it would be like trying to relive something that already happened in an engaging and magical way…you remember it, but you don’t try to repeat it. I mean you can, for some things, but not for everything. Sometimes you move on out of the past, and that’s what instinct would tell me to do for this situation. If I could decide. Also, I think it would be odd to read again about sims who ought to be long and peacefully dead. And, I don’t think I would enjoy comparing the old version of the Shanleys and the new version of them. It might be hard not to think about what things I liked better and worse in the “alternate universes.” But that might just be me. Also, again for me, rewriting Shanley history is worse than just having the Shanleys gone to begin with, because, at least for the new universe, we would have to pretend that many of the Shanleys never existed. And never existed is much worse than gone. Anyway, that’s what I think. But, please, do what you want. That’s what’s most important. Oh, and I’m really glad you still have Maude. :)
But I’m sure that if you do re-write the Shanleys, your stories about them would be great. And some of the problems that I have with it might not turn out to be problems. Even for me. My opinion is still that you should leave the Shanleys be, but, really, anything you do will be fine. As long as you want to do it.
Ok, I’m really done with the rambling now. Really. I swear.
Please Please Please continue the Legacy. I have grown very attached to the Shanley family and would be sad if they went away. Plus it will be an interesting experiment to see what happens a second time around. Maybe it will be the same or completely different. You won’t know if you don’t try.
If that happened to me, I would probably end up putting my foot through something. Pity you couldn’t blame it on an alien invasion force that hauled off the whole population.
Oh sweety, that IS bad news. Personally, the “what if scenario” sounds fun, kind of like groundhog-day or the movie sliding doors?
But then again, you need to feel up to it.
So: do what your heart tells you!
(Thank god the others are allright!)
Well, this is my first time commenting..
I was really shocked to read this post. I loved the Shanleys! I will miss Juan and especially Ruby and Ginger. I was having such a great time reading about them.
If i were you, I would probably quit the Shanleys…It will cause huge heart aches to play it all over again and forget about the 7 (or eight) generations that got deleted.
But then again, you should rewrite everything. Who knows? It might be a good story.
Don’t desert the Shanleys! They are my absolute favorite Sim family, like, ever. I think that you should write about them, in a ‘what might have happened if I did this…’ scenario. Sorry if that didn’t make sense, but I would adore you forever if you continued writing about the Shanleys.
Oh, dear, this is awful. I almost cried. At least we have Maude more or less intact, and at least Mt Geneva was the only neighborhood affected.
Don’t you DARE desert the Shanleys, however. I would love to see what might happen if you re-finished the legacy; maybe things would end well. Keep playing them for us, at least, or if you don’t, email them to me and I’ll do it.
Oh, dear; that didn’t come across very well, did it? I mean, I meant what I said, but -a bajillion hugs- because not only did you lose a neighborhood but I said my opinion meanly to you.
Wow … that is just terrible so sorry this has happened… brain farts are sucky esp. when it comes to such important stuff, well as far as what to do .
You are the only one who would play them; give yourself some time and then decide if you want to replay them.
Did you ever extract most of them with SimPE? Maybe you could rebirth them that way? Ultimately it’s really what you feel like doing. It would be a shame to lay them to rest but do YOU want to start playing them from your last backup? and know that the story will probably be different?
Thanks for all the hugs and consolation; I think I’m still in shock. :-S Also feeling pretty stupid for mucking up my favorite neighborhood. But you guys have made me feel a lot better. So thanks. Hugs back atcha.
I really don’t know what I should do next. I can see both sides of it, which is why I asked you guys for your thoughts. I mean, the Shanleys aren’t just mine, really; they’re yours, too, and I wouldn’t want to trample all over them and rewrite their history if it was going to rub people the wrong way. And I’m not sure I want to rewrite history either. But I don’t want to give them up. It’s tough.
What would you guys think if I took one of the spare heirs who are alive in Gen 5, like Stefaan or Kay or Zuzu, and had them start their own spin-off Legacy? Then it would still be the Shanleys, kinda, and it wouldn’t rewrite anything that already occurred. It would be sort of like, “Here’s what happened in THIS branch of the Shanleys”. Would that be fun to read about? Or would it not feel like the Shanleys and therefore be just another Legacy? I think it’d be fun to do, but I can also see how it might not excite many of you.
You know, bizzaro world hasn’t worked out too well for Superman, but I’m a fan of Marvel comics and I like the alternate universes Spiderman finds himself in. I too will miss Juan, he was the funniest zombie ever. If zombies can be funny. In what capacity are the Kilmans back? Just the brother and sister, or their parents? All in all, sorry for what happened, but maybe something really great will come of it. Maybe you could do the opposite of your instincts with the Shanleys. I’m for the what-if scenario.
I think you should go along a different branch of the family. It would be cool to use Zuzu, she was my favorite out of all those kids Fiona had.
Maybe it would be too painful to continue playing them, because things would turn out different and then you’d never get the original family back exactly how they were.
But like everyone said its up to you cause if its not what you want to do you might not have the energy to make it work.
Awwww noooo!! That is so sad :( Ive lost families and neighbourhoods in the game TONS of times. But you must have been so attached to the Mt Geneva families, having had them so long. If it was me, I would probably desert the Shanleys, as playing the generations again would feel weird to me.
But its up to you. Personally, Id like to see more of the Ravelos. But really, anything you decide to do will probably still be fab!
Wow, that’s a tough one. Maybe it would be a good idea to use one of the Gen5 spares in a different challenge? (For example, Stefaan could try the “I’m Surrounded by Idiots” challenge.) That way you’re not trying to redo the Shanley Legacy, but the Shanley name will live on in a memorable way.
Go with what would be fun for you, Jen! We’ll still be here reading whatever you decide to do.
Yeah! What Kay said, It doesn’t matter to me what you chose to do.
I, too, have had my share of Sim problems…and I’ll be flat out straight, they suck! But I’m happy that you’re ready to move on, but I think what if
I understand your love of the Shanley’s, they were your legacy family after all, and you got them through a lot..but I would just lay them to rest. But thats only because we already got used to the rest of the people and I would be so confused if you went back to gen 5..I cant even remeber who Tristan is! Haha, and plus, more Annabel Island updates..maybe? Haha, jk. But seriously, whatever you wanna do is fine with the rest of us..it is your blog afterall.
Aaah, the Shanleys are gone! :( I’ll miss them. A lot. And well, shoot me if you already mentioned this or tried this, but maybe you could look in the recycle bin for their files? I don’t know.
I’m not sure about what I want you to do with the Shanleys…On one hand, I’d like to see them come back. While on another hand, it’d be great to “move on” when we’ve got the chance. But…I’ll miss them, and I’ll always look back at their old memories through the generations. :)
An idea that struck me: what about trying a Victorian Legacy Challenge? Have a Shanley from gen 5 become a Shanley ancestor in the 19th century. Now that would be really cool What If! material! :D I admit that this is a selfish suggestion on my part, because I’ve been playing around with such a thing in my own game and I’d love to see how you would do it. XD
-ponders- I’m actually with Kay…that’d be a cool way to run with the Legacy. But I do love the Shanleys and maybe, since you rushed with them last time, you could take your time with them and enjoy the family. But, again, like what Eva says, it is your blog so whatever you decide is fine by me.
I’m sorry about your sims, it must have been quite a blow to discover that all that hard work was gone. I do think, though, that it would be fun to see Zuzu or someone carry on the Shanley name elsewhere.
I know the pain Jen, but I know that whatever I lost is about ten times as small as the pain of losing the oldest sims neighborhood I know of…but I say, let the Shanleys rest in peace. I agree with Lena’s reasoning – that is what I personally would do, but if you want to play them again I would still read. If you really want to continue the chain, then instead of playing the original family I would go for the spin-off, because that sounds new and interesting, not a retelling, and would still carry on the Shanleys. OR, option three, we could just make a nice memorial post to the Shanleys for closure and never touch them again (as long as they’re still on the blog!, phew). This way, you could focus even more on your other families, like the Ravelos, and though it will be hard to get them to be like the Shanleys, I know I personally could get just as attached. Thanks for reading my randomness and I will support your decision in whatever you decide to do!
Dude!
/Dude!/
DUDE!
That stinks so much! >
Oops, got cut-off. My brother caught it (I’m on his signon of windows), thank goodness. Anyway… Back to business.
Oh, man *hugs* That is so… Bad. Yarr
I know you say they’re gone, but have you really fully deleted the old corrupted N002/N004 Mt. Geneva files from most recently? I’ve saved a neighborhood of mine from the brink of death, once– only showing two Sims and their houses, everything else just up and vanished once it was in-game– I could try and give it a try with Mt. Geneva! You know, if it’s still there in any remnant.
But, if not… still. :T Man, that stinks.
Restarting the legacy… noo. It’s just too different. I like Kay’s idea of “Shanley ancestors”– and the “using another legacy member to perhaps even do another challenge” idea, too.
But, you know, what you want to do when it comes to playing with them is most important. If you don’t have fun with it, who will?
Not the pink Weirded Out Bunny, that’s for sure!
Voooooooooo Mt. Geneva!…bits!
…gerbilgerbil…
*hugs!*
Oh, Jen! I’m so sorry to hear that! ;_; I know I’ve made no secret that – no matter how many stories you write and how much I love them – there has always been a special place in my heart for the Shanleys. They were the very first Legacy family I read about.. the first Legacy blog I ever read. It was because of them (and you!) that I decided to try out the Legacy Challenge myself and start blogging my own families. And I know I would be devestated if I ever lost my Legacy’s.. or even the Everson’s.
What to do. Gosh, what a decision. I know if I were in your place, it would be hard for me to try to go through the family knowing which members would now never exist in that “reality”, so I’m not going to say you should or should not go back to the Shanleys. It would be heartbreaking to never to get read about the Shanleys ever again.. but at the same time, you are so wonderful with everything else that you’ve done that I’m sure, in time, everyone would be content to live with the memory of the Shanleys. I’m sure whatever you choose to do will be lovely.. as always.
*quietly mourns the Shanleys*
Well, whatever you choose, I’ll still read your awesome stories! ^^
Jen, I know I’m a Shanley addict, but please do the What If thing! Imgaine if Vesta was born a boy…and then somewhere along the line new blood came in and stuff…*has a crazy attack of Shanley Shivers*. By the way, sorry bout all that stuff with files…awful awful awful!
We’ll always check for your stories though, Jen.
Ack!!! That’s terrible. The Shanleys were the first Legacy Family I ever read from beginning to the end of the first 10 generations. And I’m still reading. I kind of like the idea of the alternate branch storyline. The “what if” one bugs me and I’m not sure I can put my finger on why it bothers me. Out of paranoia, are there up to date backups of the blog files? It would be really awful if those were lost too.
Oh Jen, this is really sad, i´m feel sad for you and for Shanleys…i don´t know what to say… :(
Shanleys are my favorite legacy Ever.. :(
You have to do what your heart tell you to do….
Sorry…i´m in shock.. :o)
Oh dear dear Jen!!! But the life continues and with your imagination, you will go to find a solution.
I feel really bad for you, still. If we never get the True Shanleys back (though Blu claims she can help–heh, we’ll see about that, O Crazy One!), it will be very disappointing… However, it’s time to move on in one way or another.
But how? Should we continue with another heir? (That is my personal pick.) Should we do the ancestry thing? Should we move on entirely and retire the family?
It’s up to you, Jen, it really is. If you decide, in the end, to retire the Shanleys, we will get by. If you decide, in the end, to explore their ancestry, we will live (perhaps you could attempt to carry it through to present-day, in a vague sort of way–maybe through Nia’s sister?). If you decide, in the end, to choose another heir, we will survive. It’s up to you, and I hope you get around to feeling better about it (if you haven’t already).
I’m really sorry about your loss. The Shanleys were my favorite Legacy family and I’ll miss the most recent generation. But I do like the idea of tracing the family through another member. I always loved Uncle Liam’s character. In fact I have a Liam in my game. It would be cool to see what happens with all the teens he adopted. Like some of the others, Zuzu was my favorite from that generation. **BIG HUG**
Jen, I don’t think you’ve had this many comments before. It’s all for the Shanleys! As for me, the Shanleys inspired me! I even started up my own Shanley family and due to computer problems, I lost them as well. I suppose that everybody else felt the same about the Shanleys…they were apart of the sims kind of like the Goths!
Keep going with the Shanleys!
AHH! That would kill me if that happened!! I have had to re-install my Sims many times and it is not fun! I would love to see more of the Shanleys! I love them! Good luck with your computer problems!
– Tash