Game guide:Userstartup.cheat


 * This tutorial is for The Sims 2 only.

A userstartup.cheat file is a special file that allows players to automatically enable certain cheats upon starting the game. It also allows cheats to be shortened to an "alias", making them easier to remember and easier to type in.

Making a userstartup.cheat file
Before attempting to make a userstartup.cheat file, check to see if you already have one. Some mods, like the Radiance Lighting mod, automatically create a userstartup.cheat file. If this is the case, skip to Editing a userstartup.cheat file

Assuming you installed the game in the default location, go to the My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Config folder. Look for a file titled userStartup.cheat (or simply userStartup if file extensions are hidden on your computer). If the file exists, skip to the next section, otherwise go ahead and create one.

To simplify the process, you will need to make your computer show file extensions.


 * To show file extensions for Windows, see this page.
 * To show file extensions for Mac OS, see this page.

Now, open a plain text editor program. (such as Notepad, which ships with Windows)


 * For Notepad users: Create a new file ( + ). Now, without doing anything else to the file, Save it ( + ). You should be given the "Save As" window, allowing you to choose where you would like to save your file. Change the file type (via the "Save as type:" option) to "All Files". Change the entire file name to exactly as follows: . Make sure there is no ".txt" at the end of the file. Save this file to the My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Config folder.
 * For EditPad Lite users: Create a new file ( + ). Now, without doing anything else to the file, "Save As" it ( + + ) You should be given the "Save As" window, allowing you to choose where you would like to save your file. Change the file type (via the "Save as type:" option) to "Unspecified file type (*.*)". Change the entire file name to exactly as follows:  . Make sure there is no ".txt" at the end of the file. Save this file to the My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Config folder.

Now right-click on the newly created file, select "Open With...", and then choose Notepad or EditPad Lite. This will allow you to easily edit the file in the future.

Editing a userstartup.cheat file
To edit an existing or newly created userstartup.cheat file, open it with a plain text editor program, such as Notepad or EditPad Lite. You can begin adding your cheats and aliases in your userstartup.cheat file, and they will take effect the next time you start your game.

There are two things you can put in a userstartup.cheat file:
 * 1) Cheats you would like to enable automatically and have on all the time.
 * 2) Aliases, or "shortcuts", to existing cheats so they're easier to use and easier to remember.

Adding cheats that automatically enable themselves upon startup
Simply type the name of the cheat, along with any necessary parameters. For example, to start the game up with the moveobjects cheat automatically enabled, simply write the following:

moveObjects on

Multiple cheats can be added, providing that they're all separated by a line break, as shown below:

moveObjects on boolProp constrainFloorElevation false boolProp ControlPets true boolProp petActionCancel true boolProp testingcheatsenabled true

Only cheats that can be enabled and disabled will work here. One-time cheats, such as  and , will not work.

Adding aliases for existing cheats
Setting up aliases is a bit trickier.

An alias is basically a "customized" way of being able to enter a cheat. The cheat's functions are not changed, and the original cheat code will continue to work.

For example, if  was set to be the alias for moveobjects on, entering   into the cheat console has the same effect as entering.

Aliases are added to the userStartup.cheat file in the following format:


 * alias must always be added. It must start the line the command is on, and it must be spelled in the exact same way as noted here.
 * textstring is the alias you would like to use. This alias must be unique — no other alias or cheat should be using the same string, or it may not work as intended. (See this page for a full list of cheats)
 * "cheat command" is the name of the cheat you wish to assign the alias to.
 * "short description" This is the text that is shown when the player uses the  command in the cheat console. It will provide a short, incomplete list of the cheats in-game, as well as any aliases in the userStartup.cheat file. A brief description follows the listed cheats. The "short description" parameter is that text. Be short and brief, but specific enough so that you will be able to remember what cheat the alias is connected to. This is optional, and the alias will function without it.
 * "long description" is the text the player sees if they use the  command, along with the name of the alias. It can be longer and more specific and detailed than the short description. Like the short description, this is not needed for the alias to function.

For example, using the above example, if  was the alias for , it would be added to the userStartup.cheat file like this:

alias mon "moveobjects on" "Allows the player to move objects that are normally unmovable" "Allows the player to pick up, move, and delete all and any object in build or buy mode"

The player would see something like this if they used the  command:

mon -- Allows the player to move objects that are normally unmovable

The player would see something like this if they used the  command:

mon -- Allows the player to pick up, move, and delete all and any object in build or buy mode

If the  command is used and no descriptions were placed in the UserStartup.cheat file, the message will look like this:

mon -- Aliased to 'moveobjects on '

Like automatically activating cheats, multiple aliases can be added to the file, as long as they all begin with "alias" and that they're all separated by line breaks. For example:

alias mon "moveobjects on" "Allows the player to move objects that are normally unmovable" "Allows the player to pick up, move, and delete all and any object in build or buy mode" alias mof "moveobjects off" "Disables the moveobjects cheat" "Only allows the player to pick up objects that can normally be picked up and are not in use" alias mm "maxmotives" "Fills the motives of all Sims on the lot" "Brings the motives of all Sims on the lot to +100"

Only use letters and numbers in your alias; symbols and other characters will not work. Also keep in mind that some cheats are only available if you have certain expansion packs installed, and you can't use an alias for a cheat that isn't available in your game.

Also, be sure to check the formatting of your aliases carefully! Make sure the cheat command, short description, and long description fields start and end with a quotation mark ("). If there is something that has an unclosed set of quotation marks, or a set that isn't opened, it will break your userStartup.cheat, and anything placed after the line with the syntax error will not load.

Examples
Here is an example of a good userStartup.cheat file:

intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 12 moveObjects on boolProp constrainFloorElevation false boolProp ControlPets true boolProp petActionCancel true boolProp testingcheatsenabled true

alias mon "moveobjects on" "Allows the player to move objects that are normally unmovable" "Allows the player to pick up, move, and delete all and any object in build or buy mode" alias mof "moveobjects off" "Disables the moveobjects cheat" "Only allows the player to pick up objects that can normally be picked up and are not in use" alias mm "maxmotives" "Fills the motives of all Sims on the lot" "Brings the motives of all Sims on the lot to +100" alias tcet "boolProp testingcheatsenabled true" "Enables debug mode" "Enables special debugging tools. Use with caution" alias tcef "boolProp testingcheatsenabled false" "Disables debug mode" "Disables the special debugging tools"

Here is an example of a userStartup.cheat file that has a missing quotation mark on one of its aliases. Anything placed after that faulty line will be ignored.

intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 12

alias mon "moveobjects on" "Allows the player to move objects that are normally unmovable" "Allows the player to pick up, move, and delete all and any object in build or buy mode" alias mof "moveobjects off" "Disables the moveobjects cheat" "Only allows the player to pick up objects that can normally be picked up and are not in use" alias mm "maxmotives" "Fills the motives of all Sims on the lot "Brings the motives of all Sims on the lot to +100" alias cfet "boolProp constrainFloorElevation true" "Allows the player to change the elevation of occupied tiles" "Allows the player to change the elevation of tiles occupied by walls, floors, foundations, etc." alias muny "motherlode" "Gives the currently family 50 000 Simoleons" "Gives the family that is currently being played a whopping 50 000 Simoleons. Money!"