Tried this but it's still broken. I may have borked my game by uninstalling Late Night a couple weeks ago and then letting the Launcher update with patches when I reinstalled it this past weekend, as I'm getting odd glitches. Is there still a bug associated with owning bicycles?  

Photography is still broken for me with Late Night patch 6.5.1.011031 (no Generations or stuff packs.)

jail food < hot breakfast?

If I ever learn XML I will probably get as far as copying the "Hello World" tutorial before my eyes glaze over. Thankfully there are still brownies around that figure out all this stuff, since they stopped fixing my shoes for me.

Oh BTW are we all dead yet?

Okay, I tried the carpet method posted by SendmeLies and it works for me too. This method is handier and it's easy to fix lots that have been rebuilt on, since you can undo the new carpet and the emitters are left visible at surface level. I tested this in a fresh Riverview by replacing the pre-made junkyard with the fire station; two of the original five emitters had been left behind, both in outdoors areas.

Another way to detect the emitters is to build a pool or use the basement tool near a suspected area and then drop the camera down a level; the emitters are visible suspended in the outer darkness (I forgot to test whether you can grab them from this view.)  I haven't tried building a basement or pool on top of a known emitter yet to see what happens; my test lot with an occupied hut on it in Sunset Valley keeps crashing the game.

One could also manually delete the emitters from the pre-made junkyard before bulldozing the lot, since the "all objects on the lot will be deleted" warning dialog is obviously a lie.

If you've ever bulldozed and rebuilt on the lots where EAxis dropped its pre-made junkyards in Sunset Valley and/or Riverview (maybe Bridgeport, too, but I haven't been there), or if you've experimented with trying the junkyard somewhere else and later rezoned it to something more marvelous, you may have been plagued by random junk furniture appearing daily, as if the lot still has some junk-generating code in it. Accessing Buydebug mode doesn't generally reveal any junk emitters left behind, though, and sweeping the area with the cursor with MoveObjects On doesn't seem to indicate anything "invisible." The problem is the emitters have been buried by bulldozing.

The pre-made junkyard has a shallow pit in the rear 2/3 of its standard 20x30 tile area. The emitters sit on the this lowered terrain. Apparently when one bulldozes the lot, the terrain is leveled without deleting the emitters, so they still occupy their positions previous to the bulldozing. Yes, I know there really isn't any dirt to cover them so this seems kind of stupid, but if you go back to the former junkyard and lower the terrain about 4 clicks you can reveal a half dozen or so junk emitters and finally get rid of them. It should be easy enough on an empty lot, but more interesting if you've already built Simfallingwater there.

I had similar experience yesterday after playing for a short period; all sounds replaced with constant scratchy noise which made me first suspicious of my speakers or audio drivers. I saved and exited, as as the game was shutting down some sounds returned, as if there had been some lag in their output. I didn't have any audio problems with other applications. Rebooted and started playing again but no problem since with a couple of sessions.  I updated WinAmp recently and have uninstalled some extra plugin listed in the add/remove programs list since this problem, but I haven't played enough sessions lately to check whether the problem might still come back; I'd already disabled the WinAmp Agent that's supposed to prevent other applications from hijacking file associations. I'm running Vista 32-bit with "Realtek High Definition Audio" (some sort of built-in sound chip) and have it configured for vanilla stereo PC speakers; Sims 3 with World Adventures, latest EA patch and Awesomemod plus about 65 MB of other stuff in the new default Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Mods/Packages location, updated CFG file, no nested folders.

I got the tag/mandatory running bug with WA + latest patch (no mods and only some store CC.) Someone on the EA BBS suggested a work-around that did work for me with a family in Sunset Valley: go to Edit Town mode, evict the family to the clipboard (I opted for selling the furniture, which left the house furnished), select them as the active family and move them right back in to their house. This preserved the time of day and the motives they had before eviction, but they lost all their wishes and they would have lost any open opportunities if they'd had any.

I also have the problem with routing problems to WA excavations; I read a thread that suggested using buydebug mode or something like that to place dig site spawners on flat areas (problem seems to happen on irregular terrain off community lots) but I didn't feel like studying up on how to do all that fancy stuff.

I called a babysitter before 8 AM on a weekday and soon got the message that he had to be somewhere else, but both parents escaped before he could ditch and he stayed until one of them returned.

All the window reflections in my game are of the same generic, mostly green suburban landscape, at least in Sunset Valley, which looks paricularly dumb when viewing the Wolfe's oceanside aerie.

Its "Online Feature Set"

Official L&P: http://www.thesims3.ea.com/view/pages/newsItem.jsp?item=999736531

Screen grab of launcher from Kotaku:  http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/04/simslauncher.jpg

I got a new PC today and I'm almost ready to install the Sims 2 base game and apply the EA patch for it.  I have all the EP's and I will probably add most of them later after re-reading the SecuROM thread for particulars about dealing with it on Windows Vista 32-bit.  I'm confused by the current description of issues that the base game patch supposedly fixes because it says it includes fixes for problems in expansion packs, for instance :  "Witches no longer have the option to use ‘Materialize' spell in other vacant or occupied hotel rooms."  Could a fix like that be installed "on hold" until Bon Voyage and Apartment Life are installed on later dates?  Or am I supposed to install all my Sims EP's at once and hold off on any patches until then?

In my version of the story, Sim A is the time-travelling ghost of Michael Bachelor, and he's the father and the brother of the Strangetown Bella but only the brother to Pleasantview Bella.  The Bella's would be dizygotic twins from two ova and sperm from two different fathers, perhaps by Jocasta Bachelor having simultaneous woohoo with Michael's ghost and Simis Bachelor.  Ew?

I have no advice, just a "me, too" on noticing this problem last night with the purchased version of M&G and naked of mods awesome or otherwise.  Noticed it first trying to build a new lot, thought it might be tight pants and went to bed.  Today tried removing/rebuilding stairs I used in both and occupied and unoccupied lots, one with 2 straight runs and one with an L/stage landing and still no go.  Game displays a "cannot place step" with arrow pointing to a floor tile a few spaces away from the floor tile that I'm trying to drop the staircase from.  Work-around of dropping into the middle of a room away from partitions works, as for Lerf.

EDIT: "moveobjects on" lets me build modular stairs next to walls again.  BAAA to SaraMK.

Maybe you need to change your system setup to use the graphics card you added instead of the onboard Intel chip.  I had to do this when I added a Voodoo card to a Pentium desktop with integrated graphics some years ago.  Different manufacturers may have a different key needed to be pressed before the computer loads Windows to access the BIOS settings, but it should be displayed when the computer starts with the manufacturer's logo.  It's sometimes one of the Function keys, like F8 or F10.

John Riccitiello feels your pain?

http://www.edge-online.com/news/riccitiello-says-drm-a-minority-controversy

I'm seeing this, too, but differently, with no lighting mods.  Some (but not all) wall items seem to be better lit if I lower them from the default position.  Could it have anything to do with windows nearby?   The rooms I see it happen in have windows where the top is farther from the ceiling than average (new narrow dual-casement AL windows and the space-age windows from Pets.)  But in the same room with the Pets windows, an item further from a window got darker when I lowered it (not the same item, so difficult to draw a conclusion.)  Next time I'm playing I'll try swapping the items and see if the location makes a difference.

Edit: Looking more closely, my lowered wall items are losing contrast.  So instead of being better lit, they're displayed as a more uniform, shadowless version of the object, as if in a windowless room or a basement.  It's easier to notice with wall hangings that have more 3-dimensional surfaces, such as the bas-relief of the cowplant (I think from GLS) or the Pets boomerang decoration ("Boronica by d'Lang").  Flat items like paintings seem to benefit from being lowered, since the picture may be lighter and the distracting shine from some of the frames will be diminished.  Changing window to something with more height to the fenestration didn't have an effect. 

Like:

• I can design a lot with lots of high fun/comfort/skill facilities in the commons, and it doesn't raise rent values.
• Roommate candidates list seem to refresh with a range of career progress similar to my playable Sims.
• Moving a family out of an apartment due to a bug (or perhaps a misunderstood feature?) and then back in recalls the previous group of unplayable neighbors, with friendship levels preserved.
• Did AL fix the NL neon bars so they're actually illuminated or is my new monitor doing this?

Dislike:

• I can give low-rent Sims fancy-schmancy common facilities that they don't deserve.  Why, when I was your age...etc.
• Social groups don't seem exclusive enough.  None of my Sims ever seems to get rejected for using the "wrong" gesture or story.
• Such obvious phail in some of the pre-made lots; hallways to nowhere, rooms without windows, grills on tenant balconies BAD!
• Fitted closets seem way too expensive compared to racks placed in walk-ins. Sliding door hardware does not cost more than a refrigerator! Come to think of it, how come Sims can't keep there underpants in the refrigerator?

Inconsistent borkness is borky!  My problem stairs-with-stages lots were all self-made.  Maybe there is a downloaded angle, though.  I usually do a few saves during the design & build phase of my projects, while the lot would still be residential.  My testing lots all had an extra step (no pun intended) where I moved the lot to the bin while it was still residential, as a backup, then placing a copy from the bin and going to the lot to rezone it as apartment.  Sort of a download within a sandbox?  I didn't package the lots, though.  I'll try building some more test stage apartments without the extra saves, and without the shift in & out of the bin, and see if that makes a difference.  I hope to get this done this weekend, but sometimes my free time gets diverted to playing rather than testing this game, and then there's these people and cats that keep insisting I do things like feed them and take a shower every day.

EDIT: Avoiding an in-progress save while the lot is residential doesn't prevent me from having stage/stairway issues.  I've found a pattern that I seem to be able to duplicate with successful L-shaped staircases.  I feel like I've been playing with one of those sliding tile puzzles most of the afternoon.  These patterns were observed in 2 and 3-storey apartments built on ground level (no foundation) with the apartment door leading directly outside and parallel to the street.  I assign the direction North to the back of the lot for this puzzle, and ascend one section of stairs to a stage before turning 90 degrees and finishing the ascent to the next storey.  So for instance, N,W, means the shorter run up to the stage is ascended with the Sim facing the back of the lot, and then turning left to finish the climb to the next floor.

Works:  N, W.  E, N.  S, W.  W, N.
Breaks:  W,S.  S, E.  N,E.  E, S.

I got the same results in the "works" pattern on single and double width runs of stairs, using 1 tile of stage for the single run and 4 tiles for the double run.  My butt got sore before I could try whether there might be a difference if the apartment door is perpendicular to the street, so I'm taking a break but posting what I believe is true.  As Anne B. Elk might say after explaining her theory of the brontosaurus, "AHHHHH-HEMMM!!"  I'll get around to testing U-shaped landing runs when I feel like it!

My test buildings all had a range, a refrigerator, and an end table on each floor.  When my test Sim arrived at the lot, units that had broken stair runs from the first floor would still show the end tables (in addition to the appliances) on the upper 2 floors, and it would disappear from the "rented" floor.  One test unit that had good stairs to the second level broke going to the third, and it showed a table only on that floor.   If the test Sim rented a broken unit, he could still reach the upper levels and fix himself toaster pastries without being charged for the food, but I couldn't add any furnishings or place anything on the end table.  When neighbors moved in to the remaining vacant units, if their unit had broken stairways then only the lower floor or floors would darken.  Rent in one test lot was $377 if just the first floor was recognized as an apartment, $754 for the lonely unit with 2 floors recognized, and $1,131 for the all-working units.

You don't need to rezone it, but I think you have to move any playable Sims out first.  In build or buy mode in a vacant building, CTRL+ALT+SHIFT to open the console/cheat window, enter "boolprop AptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false" (without the quotes, but can be all in lower case). You may have to switch from build mode to buy mode and back to build mode to see the changes in the build mode icons.  Then you can delete staircases, stages, and other items that may be in the way of the replacement stairs, put your replacement stairs in, and save.  Make a test Sim to try the lot out in live mode.  The rent will likely be higher than before, since the levels that were previously blocked will be included now.

Do any of these lots use the stage foundations as a stairway landing between floors?  I had issues similar to yours when I used these on the ground floor/entrance level of some townhouses with garages.  Replacing the landings with a straight run of stairs or a spiral stair fixed it.  AL must be treating the edge of a stage as a boundary when the zoning change is invoked, similar to the way it treats carpet strips and flowerbed edging in the "fence" category.

An oddity happened in my unhacked game when one of my playable Sims was abducted by aliens (without a cheat code) while using the expensive telescope on a neighbor's balcony.  The neighbor's apartment remained lit and the neighbor Sim visible in it while the abductee was away for processing.  When the abductee was returned by the UFO, the neighbor's unit continued being visible until I directed the abductee to return to the neighbor's apartment and leave through the door.  So perhaps there is something in the apartment doors that toggles the lights/visible state?  I forget whether the the abductee had the option to "knock on door" of his neighbor on his second visit or if I just directed him to interact with the neighbor and he entered without knocking.  The playable Sim in this scenario proceeded to have a "normal" pregnancy and spawned a mostly alien-featured daughter, with brown hair like her he-mom.

I also noticed that furnishings that I'd placed on balconies of apartments that became occupied by townie neighbors were initially invisible, but after I had a playable Sim visit the neighbor, the balcony items remained visible after the visit ended.  These were a card table & 2 cheap Ikea chairs at one unit, and the expensive telescope at another unit.

Townies are autonomously using the grills on Downtown community lots.  I sent a Sim to the Similar Sights Sculpture Park for half a day(after rotating the rude shiny decorative building next door so it didn't clip into the lot) and two different townies served platters of hot dogs.  Of course none of them cleaned up empty plates.  Maybe this is a new "feature"?  The coffee cart there was being ignored, too.   I haven't tested whether this happens in other neighborhoods.  I supposed it could make the Three Lakes campground a stinkfest.

Also, a mild annoyance, at least one recolor of the new adult male caps doesn't default to a capless alternate hair when the Sim is in pajamas, underwear, or naked.  It's sort of cute to see my test Sim wearing it during a bubble bath.

And I don't know whether this is from AL since I didn't try this after FT: if I attempt to make a custom BV secret vacation lot, after I rezone it and move it to the lots & houses bins, it never appears in the bin.  The lots that are in the bin do a little dance where they reverse order within each EP group.  The custom secret vacation lot DOES show up in the University bin, where it's listed as residential, but if I place it in the Uni 'hood it turns invisible.  The rezoning code for custom Secret Society lots in Uni still seems to work like it did before, although I haven't attempted to have a student in the test neighborhood get abducted.

I'm running the game with all EP's and SP's except Kitchen & Bath Stuff, via No-CD, without CC or hacks (not like that's a bad thing, though.)

The Nightlife high-rise decorative that looked like an apartment building or hotel seems to be replaced by the shiny mid-rise Apartment Life building with the "H" feature on the roof (the second unselected icon in this menu.)  I tried adding the default Downtown to a neighborhood and the newer AL building is there a few times, clipping through Club Lulu and a park.

University's locker functions on community lots was removed by one of the subsequent EP's; who can guess whether that was intentional or not.  Bon Voyage & Free Time lets playable Sims use retail changing booths to change outfits (except not the H&M stuff pack booths.)

I wish the game would figure out what direction the sunlight comes from in a neighborhood and maintain it consistently on all lots in the neighborhood, even if the lot is imported or rotated.  Second wish is that the neighborhood view didn't reverse the apparent sunlight angle 180 degrees from the way it looks when playing the lot in live mode.  Third wish is that I could have any combination of expansion packs installed and still have the sky display like it did in the base game, with a sun and moving clouds.

My memory of the exact details is fuzzy, but I had a Uni young adult invite an non-playable adult as a guest on vacation, and was able to propose marriage to them during the vacation (not a wedding party with the arch, just the 1-on-1 marriage.) I'm not sure whether they were engaged previously to going on vacation. The adult guest became playable immediately after the marriage. When the vacation was over, the YA arrived back home at his Uni home (a Greek house) in the shuttle van while the adult was standing by the mailbox. I don't remember whether the adult was considered a Greek house member or not, and I moved the couple to their own Uni house. The adult didn't age. I stopped playing the lot after that because the adult had been a streaker NPC and seemed to lose his interest in being a nudist after a while.  I've since deleted that neighborhood, so I don't know whether the adult would have ever been able to escape to the main neighborhood without futzing around with changing him temporarily to a YA some way.