Hmmm, I always had a problem with that hack not allowing me to change a pregnant sim into Everyday clothing using a dresser or armoir. I always had to make her take a shower (or change clothes automagically after making the bed with a 'change automatically after making the bed' hack installed). This is not new problem with AL, AFIAK. That, or I had some sort of hack conflict I wasn't aware of.

Personally, I always thought it was stupid that multi-sim families got the same amount as single sims. This new system makes much more sense to me. To each her own.

I always liked the Nightlife music, except that it's at a lower volume than the other music, so I find myself either listening to it at a too-low volume and then the game itself sounds normal, or I crank it up, so I can hear it, and then get blasted once the game starts.

I have not tried the butler, because I do not own the game yet, but by all accounts he's just a servo that doesn't look like a servo and that can be hired, instead of built. I'm assuming that, like servos, the butlers become part of the 'family' the way servos do. If this didn't happen, then I'd say something's borked. Somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, since I'm basically just talking out my arse.

Would you mind posting a pic of the original genie, for comparison?

The only times I've 'rebooted' a hood:

1)  I used to have several custom themed neighbourhoods that required a lot of CC. I got sick of my game taking 20 minutes to load, so I trashed the hoods, and only kept some of the CC, mostly Victorian build items, because it's not unrealistic for a more traditional hood, such as Pleasantview or Riverblossom, to have a Victorian area or subhood. My game now loads in under five minutes, slightly longer if I delete groups.cache.

2)  I used to have the Megahood that combines the three original Maxis hoods, decided it was too big and unruly, and started over with clean templates of the individual hoods.

I go through phases when it comes to choosing which hood to play. I play Pleasantville for awhile, get bored with it, play Strangetown for awhile, get bored with it, play Riverblossom for awhile . . . you get the picture. I tend to get bored with any particular hood after a few weeks, so I've yet to make it through generation 3 in any hood, but I'm determined to stick it out this time, and stop deleting my hoods. The last hood I played in TS2 was my custom sci-fi/space themed hood (I caved and went on a DL spree but my game still loads in 5 minutes, nyah!), but lately I've been playing Castaway Stories. This has really made me appreciate my beloved TS2 mods, such as 'nowhatsthis' and 'paintcontinually' - I'm going crazy without them, crazy I tells ya'!

Yep, they are. I have them in my game, and they're gorgeous.

I'm a bit of a control freak, so I like to document my sims' information, but I don't really track their every move - just milestones like uni, marriage, moving house, etc. I do keep a notepad in which I record the names, aspirations, zodiac signs, turn ons/offs, etc for each sim on a lot, plus notes on whether, or not, to send a sim-teen to uni (I don't lock the go-to-uni want, so only those who keep the want throughout the teen stage go to uni). On a separate page, I match couples based on what sort of dynamic I want their relationship to have (not always a pleasant one), what jobs they will have, and where various sims/families will live once they graduate from uni, save money, etc. I rotate by season, because it bugs me when one lot is in spring, but another is in winter. Other than that, I don't really keep track, and don't mind too much when 'accidents' happen (affairs, twins, etc).

Edited to remove unnecessary extra word.

I will definitely be waiting until all necessary fixes, hack-updates, and official patches are completed before installing this EP. I was all psyched about it, and had decided to actually install it nao, instead of  waiting, like I normally do,  but after reading this thread, I'll take my usual 'watch and wait' approach. FFS, can't EA get anything right the first time round? Eh, I already know the answer to that. Never mind.

The HCDU can take a while to load if you have a lot of hacks, and I've found that it helps to leave the HCDU screen active during loading, otherwise it tends to stall indefinitely. Perhaps you just didn't give it enough time to load. Also, Kyna made a valid point. If you only have one outfit per category for your sim, then the option to Plan Outfit will not be available until the sim gets more clothing.

Lately I've been mostly building, decorating, and arranging custom neighbourhoods, but when I do play, I'm a bit of a control freak. I alternate between the Maxis 'hoods and my custom ones, as I tend to get bored easily. My custom 'hoods are generally themed (sci-fi, Victorian, medieval/fantasy, etc.). I only have one, ATM, a sci-fi/space theme, because I like playing sims that look like space-aliens or androids and, in a sci-fi 'hood, things like woohooing a servo just make a lot more sense.

When starting a 'hood, I choose a template, terrain type, etc, add the necessary subhoods (using empty templates devoid of sims), add/build/remodel buildings, as necessary, and then plop down some neighbourhood decorations, especially downtown. I make my playables, then my townies, and place them where they belong. I don't like for my sims to be overly perfect, so I often choose some of the uglier face-templates but then prettify them just enough that they don't look like sideshow freaks. I have no rhyme or reason for their personalities, and tend to assign their aspirations based on looks (he looks like he'd be a mad scientist, she's definitely the artist type, etc.). Townies get offbeat turn-ons and turn-offs that are least likely to give them bolts for the playables. Conversely, playables get easy-to-match attractions, such as being turned on by black hair and glasses, turned off by facial hair. I do admit to often teaming up incompatible personalities and zodiac-signs, because it creates a much more interesting dynamic. As for gender preference, I randomise ony the townies' gender preferences, as my playables tend to be straight, for breeding purposes. Matching up mates depends on when various sims are born. If Family A has a baby, then Families B, C, and D should have babies, too. I match them up from there, based mainly on gender and genes, though personality and aspiration often play a part in the final selection process. After that, I just sort of let go. I do play on a rotation, but not a strict one. For example, if Child A grows to a teen, then Children B, C, and D must do the same. Otherwise, I don't care that much about synchronisation.

I used to micromanage my sims, but since the advent of ACR and Macrotastics, this has become largely unnecessary, and I tend to use a more hands-free playing style, as of late. I am consistently amazed at how thoroughly my sims manage to fuck up their own lives. Then again, I'm often amazed at how easily people can do this, as well.

Thanks, all. I think I'll try the new ZoneAlarm, since I liked it until it broke.

BTW, you can change the settings on AVG 8.0 to not scan automatically. In fact, the option is included during the setup process.

Well, I've been unable to go online for nearly two weeks. The culprit? My ZoneAlarm firewall! Does anybody know of a good free firewall other than ZoneAlarm? I don't trust the Windoze firewall, and now I don't trust ZoneAlarm, either.

AFAIK, putting the MoveObjects cheat in the .cheat files doesn't even work - only boolProp, intProp, etc cheats do.

Don't these things happen every time a new EP or SP is released? This really shouldn't surprise anyone.

One word: Norelco. I have extremely sensitive skin (the only reason that someone else's facial hair bothers me), but have found that the Norelco-type electric shavers do not cause the usual problems, and they feel like a massage, to boot. And they're fast! Not that you should shave, if you don't want to. I'm just mentioning this in case you ever change your mind and don't want to deal with the shaving irritation.

Nope. I'm waiting until a no-CD crack is available for the second patch.

I must admit that I enjoy the look of a nice goatee or, even better, a Van Dyke (goatee/mustache combo), but do not enjoy the feel of one touching my skin, lips, etc., unless the man has uncommonly soft facial hair. Since practicality always wins, no SO of mine tends to keep facial hair for very long.

1. Marhis has an arranged-marriage hack. I think she's still at MTS2.

2. Autonomous Casual Romance (ACR) at simbology.com

3. There are gun mods at the InSim site, by VampCat (I think) and some others.

ETA: simwardrobe.com has an assault rifle.

Actually, I did compressorise in chunks, by subfolder (mainly because I hadn't noticed the 'recursive' tick-box yet), and still had problems with a few of my hacks. It's moot now, anyway. I only compress objects, bodyshop items, etc.

I think you've missed the point of this thread, Zaleth. We are complaining about stupid and illogical programming on the part of EA. Using cheat codes doesn't actually change anything - it just makes the stupidity more bearable.

Nope. When I first got the Compressorizor, I compressorised my entire Downloads folder, including my Global Hacks subfolder. After that, three or four of my hacks quit working, when they had previously been working just fine. When I replaced them with the uncompressorised versions, they worked again. It didn't make much sense to me, either, but there you have it.

Eh, I'd rather see a full beard than only a mustache. Mustaches remind me of fascists and chauvinists, but beards remind me of Santa Claus.

Does the height stick that way, or will it revert back to average height the next time you load the lot?

Sorry, I should have specified that compressing them after downloading them could cause problems, as they are usually already compressed. I found this out the hard way.