Jesslla, done that now, and lo, everything works. Doh.

I overestimated the backwards compatibility of the awesomeness.

Ah, I see this thread after posting on the other. So it looks like my problem may indeed have to do with the non-patched game. I'll go and check Twallan's mods status so.

I had simply assumed AwesomeMod, being like, Awesome, would also be backwards-compatible... ;-p

Same here. I downloaded the latest version of Awesome today because the previous one had expired. Nothing else changed.

Before getting to the load screen, I get this message:

WARNING! Non-critical core mismatch! A core file not part of AwesomeMod does not match expected values. This could be the result of a version mismatch or other third-party hack.
Quit|Ignore

If I hit Ignore, it goes to the load screen with no games, no username, no nothing and the buttons (Login, Register, New Game, options menu etc.) appear to click but do nothing.

This happens even if AwesomeMod is the only mod enabled (and the config file), so it's not a mod conflict, it may be a genuine conflict with the older game version (see below).

On the other hand, if I remove Awesome (and fish out the CD from archive, sigh), the game gets to a normal load screen, with my username and all my saved games, without any trouble.

I have not updated the game after Twallan left, I figured since I don't have Into the Future I'd rather keep the Twallan mods -- I'm waiting till they fixt them all (they may have by now, I haven't checked in a while b/c I didn't have time to play anyway). So, my game version is 1.63.5.024002

I wonder if the other people who had trouble also had an older version? And if so, could Awesome be fixed so it will work with non-patched games?

I have enabled TS2-style aging a couple of (RL) days ago because I wanted to try a different playing style, and I have noticed that at least 2 children have aged to teens. These are in families that I have never played - they were school friends of my playable child, which is why I noticed. It seems to have happened at the same time as my child aged, but this may be a coincidence -- she's been adopted as a child pretty much as soon as I moved into this new town, so she may simply be sync'd with the other schoolkids.

(I've also had an elder die, but I see that this has already been answered & isn't controlled by aging, so ok.)

AOL! AOL!

(Oh dear. Showing my age, I guess. That means "me too", from the mists of Ye Olde Internets 1.0)

Thanks! The mod from Smonaff works, I've seen both the maid and the nanny compost stuff; haven't seen the butler yet, but I'm sure he uses the same routines so he should be fine. Another annoyance solved :-)

Aaaannd... we have liftoff! The shiny solved the problem. Need to get close first, but hey, that's doable. Now my sims are happy again.

Ohh I see! I don't have Interact w/o greeting installed, because I was ok with greeting visitors. I see now the error of my ways. I'm going to install the shiny next time I get a chance to play, and then report back. Thanks! Sorry...

Oh lookie, another problem I found with AL. Neither the maid/butler, nor people who have been influenced to clean, will throw stuff in the compost bin (newspaper, trash from bins/compactor). I know some people had this problem before, but I didn't have it before AL (was it fixed by the Awsome?) Anyway, not working now, and rather annoying as it means that I can't have a butler and compost at the same time.

(Macro>Clean correctly composts the trash).

(Oh also, there's a "maid uses compost" hack on MTS2, but it hasn't been updated since Seasons, so I don't know...)

Anybody else has this problem, and/or a solution?

I've installed AL, then I've been away from the Sims for a while; now I'm back and I find that I can't greet strays who come into my lots. The only options are "Shoo" and "Chase off".

I've done a bit of a search and pretty much everything here related to strays is people hating on them. Well I don't hate them, and I'd like to be able to greet and eventually adopt them like I used to, but this is now impossible. I wonder if anybody else has the same problem, or does everybody hate them so much nobody tries to pet them? :-)

(I've got the 2nd patch installed, and all my Pescaderies are updated to yesterday. Because of being away, I don't remember when the problem started, i.e. if it was immediately after installing AL or later. My pants aren't overly tight, though I've got Jeff's ACR.)

Note that something similar happens with invited friends when they arrive: you can't greet them until they've rung the bell, you can only tell them to go away -- I seem to remember this wasn't the case before AL, but see above, I may be misremembering.

Solved!

I already had the new version installed, but I hadn't thought of replacing the controller. I did (and set the option back to how they were previously -- at least as far as I can tell), and suddenly other kinds of customers started showing up.

Notovny: I wanted to check the setting of the "Maven" option before doing this, but then I forgot. So I don't know if what fixed it was simply changing the controller, or setting the Maven option correctly. I'm a bit annoyed at having failed at basic experimental science like this, but the important thing is that it's now fixed 

Thanks all!

This is a weird one. I have one Sim-owned business (it's the Deja Vu art museum) where the only customers who show up are hobby leaders. I have the Customer Selector, but I have a lot of categories allowed, I should have other customers too. I have other Sim-owned business where this doesn't happen -- and as far as I can tell, they have the same Customer Selector settings. (The "Hobby" settings are all on their default value -- both on the problematic lot and on the other ones).

Anybody had the same problem, or has any idea what the problem could be?

Curiouser and curiouser... I do have 2 Securom keys in the registry.

But I definitely do not have the Securom folder or the Securom files. I even searched the whole disk for them (with option to find hidden files/folder checked). Also no services running (which makes sense, since there are no files for them to run from...)

Also, why does this forum not let me edit my posts? I click the icon, edit the post, press the button, all seems well except my post isn't edited. Happened many times before, too, not just a fluke.

My folders are all visible -- unless there is some arcane way of making folders visible beyond checking the "show hidden files" setting in Windows...

Is this Securom thing a US concern only? I have all the EPs to Free Time installed (and none of the SPs), and I don't appear to have a Securom directory under Application data or the Securom files in the Windows\System32 directory. My games were bought in shops in Ireland. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Securom only applied in some countries.

Is this true? If so, would it be a good idea to explain it in the top post in this thread?

Fair enough. I guess my sims aren't packrats like me :-) I had the vase installed at one point, but I ended up never using it, so I didn't reinstall it at the next EP. Haven't missed it since.

In fact, you can just "Give gift" and transfer the whole contents of the inventory to another Sim. No hack needed -- though I don't remember if this interaction was introduced with Seasons or with Free Time.

Ah-ha! Thanks for the explanation, much clearer now.

I've also installed the newest version now (dated 9 Apr). It's still got the two option "Have" and "Have not" for each hobby. Since it's under destruction, maybe you could consider changing the label "Have not" to something less confusing, like "Irrelevant". Or maybe you just enjoy confusing the peasants, which is of course your prerogative 

Eh, yes, selling drinks... As for it being slow for teaching, that's ok, I'm only teaching townies anyway. I just like the idea of the fitness freak working as a trainer.

As for the original problem... I've done some testing by making the non-trainable customers selectable (which I don't like to do because they then immediately leave) and checking their skill points. One of them had 5 body points, another had 2 -- my "trainer" has 10. So I scratched my head for a while.

Then I tried adding another treadmill, and lo, here she could "be personal trainer" to another customer with 5 body points. So, it was probably a problem with the specific treadmill.

I tried forcing error and resetting, but this didn't fix it. So it seems that the only solution is replacing the equipment. Bit of a bummer because it my fitness sim isn't rich -- in fact, after buying the gym she's almost skint -- and treadmills are expensive; but at least it seems I have found my answer.

Hmm, I guess necromancy is ok if it's for a legit question in a mod thread?

...anyway. Curious about the new "Hobby" options. I assume Have = only sims with some enthusiasm in the hobby will turn up, and Don't Have = only sims without? Or does it refer to the One True Hobby?

...and why only 2 options? What if I don't care if they have or don't have a certain interest?

...or am I completely off the mark?

I've never used the "Be personal trainer" command much before, but now one of my fitness-obsessed Sims has opened a gym business (using a modified 1-2-3 Gym), and the idea was to hire someone to sell entrance tickets, and for herself to work as personal trainer to clients.

The clients use the machines (well, almost only the treadmill, but I can live with that), but the option to be personal trainer only appears very rarely on the machines while a client is using them.

Does anybody know if this is a bug, or otherwise what are the conditions for getting the option? (I thought "higher body skill" as the obvious one: my would-be trainer Sim has max body skill, so she should get it for most townies...). I tried searching the forums but didn't find any hints.

(I have all EPs but no SPs, most of the Director's Cut installed and up to date, and a few select other mods with no mod conflicts at last check.)

Oh yes :-)

More or less what I do. Remove all hacks (not only Pescado's), then refill when updates are available. And the FTP here is one of my most frequently visited places on the net...

I just don't write much because I don't often feel I have anything pointful to say. So I end up posting either to (a) ask about stuff or (b) say pointless things. Sigh. C'est la vie 

I am particularly bemused by her indignant statement that this forum is full of "matter-of-fact adults". I wonder what she actually meant to say.

Oh, and the "signigiciant lack of language skills" of the Indonesians isn't bad either.

And as for "do onto others"... my visual imagination is getting in trouble here. I didn't know the Bible had this kind of advice...

My hobby NPCs are in the phonebook too, and I haven't messed with them in any way, so that's not the issue. This happens even without the "head for numbers" perk. And yes, calling them produces the message that they don't have a phone. (I may try giving them a cellphone, if no explosions are reported...)

Coolness. So soon after the EP, I didn't want to make assumptions... but someone around here is obviously Awsomely Fast as well