That's very common with sims3packs. EA has less idea how their code works than some modders. Quite a few modders.

If you tried to install the sims3pack, don't. Use a package. There's one available in this very thread, or, if you're up to it, run the sims3pack through Delphy's Sims 3 Pack Multi-Extracter. It's available at Mod The Sims.

If you're going to be using mods or custom content at all (including EA store content) it will serve you well to learn how the game works and how to use some basic tools. Google, read, google, read, google, read.

Mine is was crashing. I was getting the nag last night that AM was going to expire in the wee hours of this morning. Today i redownloaded AM, and applied the new patch. I get the EA unofficial mod warning, the AM core mismatch warning, everything loads correctly, then on the first action a sim attempts a crash to desktop even before the NRass notifications.

My configuration is unique, just like everyone else's, but the only change between my configuration yesterday and my configuration today is the EA patch. So i suspect they've changed something that is going to cause problems for some people until it's found and adjusted for.

ETA: On the third attempt a sim successfully got out of bed and into the shower, so…who knows? We'll see how long it runs.

I'm learning a lot about the restrictions of small, close lots in play. The camera in The Sims 3 is lacking, but it's what we have so we have to make allowances.

When playing my main family, i can hear the neighbours showering, cooking, flushing the toilet, and woohooing. Also, when the burglar alarm goes off a lot of sims come running to investigate. None of them actually do anything helpful, of course.

I found out Gazebo Park wasn't available for parties when i tried to have my sim's wedding there. Next time i'm in the game i'm going to try putting park objects in a basement under the gazebo. Even if it works it will cause problems as sims will be aware of the objects but will be unable to route to them. Maybe if i put them several basements deep. I don't know if sims consider levels when responding to the lure of objects or if it's just a 2D calculation.

EDIT: I crammed a bunch of park objects into a the fourth basement level below ground and also put more flowers and shrubs in above ground. I should have done one or the other to be sure which worked, but Gazebo Park now shows up as a party venue. I haven't held a party there so i do not know how sims react to desirable items so deep below ground with no access. It could very well cause repeated routing distress.

I've built enough houses that i've been able to put some sims in and play. A couple of notes:

I suspect there is a routing issue near the circle in this screenshot:


Two uncontrolled Sims have gotten stuck there. It might be the lamp post, but it doesn't look like it. It might be the criminal rabbit hole is overlapping the sidewalk. But in either case i cannot see why they couldn't cross the street or turn around.

Mapleton Community Park and Gazebo Park don't show up as venues at which you can throw a party. This seems to be because they do not have enough park objects. (See this article: http://www.modthesims.info/article.php?t=350385.) Adding a single bench to Mapleton Community Park makes it show up on the party venue list. Unfortunately Gazebo Park is too small to cram enough park objects into without ruining its look.

That leads me to a couple of thoughts on small worlds in the Sims after some in game experience. I like the small lots. I like the close lots. But, i'm less happy that the entire world is small, that all community spaces are small, and that there is nowhere that is away from everywhere else. The close lots do result in a lot of camera bounce and clipping pauses. This doesn't bother me. I consider the camera controls primitive enough that i'm not going to place the blame solely on crammed lots. EA could have done a better job with the camera. I will consider cramming lots together in only one dimension if i build my own world.

Screenshots!

Finished the core area. I had the resolutions set low so i could move around quickly and build without the engine trying to render the adjacent lots. I set it back higher to take some overview shots. In the meantime, here are individual portraits. For the purpose of keeping things straight, i will call anything built in my instance of the neighbourhood West Mapleton. There is a lot of custom content in these lots. The screenshots show extensive use of:
HugeLunatic's "Ye Olde Windows": http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=371508
Einfach Simlisch's City and Town door and window sets: http://einfachsimlisch.ei.funpic.de/Sims3/build.html
plasticbox's "Simple Kitchen": http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=393576

There is more which i will list if and when i share the lots with anyone.

Address: 11 Cherry Avenue
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1 bath
Lot Size: 18 x 16
Furnished: 20,680
Unfurnished: 18,000
Basement




Address: 13 Cherry Avenue
Purpose: Hero Starter
1 bdrm, 1 bath
Lot Size: 15 x 16
Furnished: 14,248
Unfurnished: 10,711




Address: 1 Park Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1.5 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 10
Furnished: 17,291
Unfurnished: 14,451
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 3 Park Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1.5 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 10
Furnished: 17,223
Unfurnished: 14,149
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 5 Park Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1.5 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 12
Furnished: 18,575
Unfurnished: 15,413
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 7 Park Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1.5 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 10
Furnished: 18,319
Unfurnished: 15,067
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 2 Miner Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 10
Furnished: 16,953
Unfurnished: 15,253
Basement.




Address: 4 Miner Street
Purpose: Hero Starter
1 bdrm, 1 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 10
Furnished: 15,755
Unfurnished: 13,253




Address: 6 Miner Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 2 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 12
Furnished: 20,399
Unfurnished: 17,839
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 8 Miner Street
Purpose: Holding Tank
4 bdrm, 2 bath
Lot Size: 10 x 10
Furnished: 28,065
Unfurnished: 23,493
Basement.




Address: 10 Miner Street
Purpose: Holding Tank
4 bdrm, 2 bath
Lot Size: 22 x 10
Furnished: 26,138
Unfurnished: 21,178
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 12 Miner Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
1 bdrm, 1 bath
Lot Size: 22 x 10
Furnished: 18,895
Unfurnished: 17,610
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 14 Miner Street
Purpose: Holding Tank
3 bdrm, 2 bath
Lot Size: 22 x 10
Furnished: 24,392
Unfurnished: 18,867
Can be expanded to basement.




Address: 16 Miner Street
Purpose: Breeder Box
2 bdrm, 1 bath
Lot Size: 22 x 10
Furnished: 25,136
Unfurnished: 22,316
Can be expanded to basement.

@ediblebodyparts: I did not know that about CAW. It explains the obsession everyone has for islands. EA (and subcontractors) really seem to have a number of very poor programming practices.

@csquared: I'm finding that, too. Doors which can only be installed the wrong way around, roofs which can't be built because the surface is not level but can be built if i start in the opposite corner. I think it's EA weirdness and nothing ediblebodyparts could influence. For example: basements start at ground level, not the level of the bottom floor, so the first basement in a building with a foundation is 5 modular stairs levels deep, not 4. This meant i could not fit the basement stairs in one house, but the game happily allowed me to connect a 4 section modular stair at right angles to the top 1 section modular stair landing. I tested it and sims use the stairs and end up in the basement even though it would require crawling through a 1/4 height area under the fireplace to get to the second flight of stairs. Since it was an EA quirk that caused the problem, i'm not going to complain about an EA quirk that gives a workaround. I'll have to do some testing in play to see if the other kludges cause any problems.

I have a few building finished. The weekend chores are done, so i'll try and complete a section and post some screenshots.

I downloaded and installed it yesterday. It seems to be working fine. I've started to make some houses for it, but much as i love small lots and always build much smaller than the lots available in Sunset Valley and Riverview, i'm finding i have to relearn some habits when i'm forced to build this small. I've completed two houses to usable levels, one of which ended up much more expensive than i intended. I'll try to complete a street over the weekend and post some screenshots.

I love small lots and close-packed buildings, so thank you very much for this. (I'm on a Mac and so can't use CAW easily.) I like how you've mashed some of the rabbit holes together to make good looking frankenbuildings. Once i get a few sims in, i'll check if any of the entry/exit points conflict. My only quibble so far, and an extremely minor one, is it is an island. Why do so many neighbourhood builders love islands? Every sim neighbourhood has a number of sims wandering around or working in the rabbit holes with no house on the map. Obviously they live beyond the screen borders, but on an island where do they come from?