Game crashes to desktop when trying to add a downtown

[Gwill]

This seems familiar, but I can't remember where I've read about it before, and my quick and lazy search failed.

I'm creating a new neighbourhood with the intention of starting an apocalypse challenge, so adding a downtown is not actually necessary, but I'd rather like to anyway.
When I try to add a downtown, the game crashes to desktop during the "generating" phase.  This happens whether I use the default downtown template, or try to make a custom one.  I've tried with or without CC, same thing.
I'm running all EPs and SPs and using the FT post-patch no-CD crack from gamecopyworld.  I suspect that herein lies the root of my troubles, but I have no proof.

Are there any alternatives to gamecopyworld's cracked EXE?  I don't know what else to try.

[J. M. Pescado]

Is there any evidence to support the idea of blaming the crack? Because I use the crack and I have no issues of crashing like this.

[Gwill]

No evidence whatsoever, but if it isn't the crack, then it has to be the game files, which means I have to re-install if I want the problem fixed.  Therefore I'd rather make absolutely sure, and would like to explore other ways of hot-wiring the game.

[nekonoai]

I blame the patch.

don't patch.

[seelindarun]

Did you ever use the Pleasantview-Strange-Verona merged 'hood?  I think I remember reading that adding downtown 'hoods was a problem there... or I might be imagining I did. 

[Madame Mim]

There is definately an attached 'do not add new X-type hoods' caveat with the merged hoods (where x-type is the type of hood you used to trick the game into adding the merging hoods). It should not affect other neighbourhoods and/or stop them from having hoods added.

[notveryawesome]

There was a warning, at first, but I think SarahMK later discovered that adding new downtowns didn't actually cause a problem. I could be wrong about this, though.

[Gwill]

No merged hoods in my game.  I've never played any of the maxis hoods, and have no intention to.

[wyrdwing]

I had this problem but with bluewater (also no merged hoods and not using cd crack) and it crashed to desktop but it still actually created that hood but the terrain had giant holes missing in it. (Maxis Bluewater btw)
This only started happening after I installed Freetime though (patched) I reinstalled everything and added the hoods before I installed FT but I haven't tried it again.
I thought it may have something to do with either the empty hood templates which I probably borked and didn't backup properly or maybe when I patched the game.