Late Night bugs & annoyances

[ShinyBitz]

Anyone else notice that Hot Tub Time Machines do not actually change the water color when you click the wheel?  Its like the darkening knob on the toaster, only less effective.

It does the lights, not the water directly.  If it's not night, or nobody's in it, there won't be any effect.  If you've got someone in there at night and it's still uncolored... well, works fine for me, so I'm guessing its a local problem.  Low graphics settings, perhaps?

[Klinn]

Not sure if this is an LN bug or it just became apparent thanks to the emphasis on bands and playing instruments.
 
One my sims in a band has the normal acoustic guitar in her inventory but was playing an electric guitar she just bought, the one from the HELS pack I believe. When she skills up, the next level's acoustic guitar tune starts playing *and* she keeps playing the electric guitar. The two tunes are overlapping and it sounds hideous. In fact, when I tell her to stop playing, the phantom acoustic tune keeps going. All night. The next day. Forever. Fortunately saving and reloading finally got rid of it.

[Narmy]

Not sure if this is an LN bug or it just became apparent thanks to the emphasis on bands and playing instruments.
 
One my sims in a band has the normal acoustic guitar in her inventory but was playing an electric guitar she just bought, the one from the HELS pack I believe. When she skills up, the next level's acoustic guitar tune starts playing *and* she keeps playing the electric guitar. The two tunes are overlapping and it sounds hideous. In fact, when I tell her to stop playing, the phantom acoustic tune keeps going. All night. The next day. Forever. Fortunately saving and reloading finally got rid of it.

That's happened to me with the stereo before. Never adjust the volume on those things or you will have to restart the game.

[Marq]

Has anyone else noticed the effects from the effects machine going through walls?  I noticed it when the lasers from the basement of a club were showing outside of the building.  I also found it disappointing that the fire from the effects machine isn't deadly. 

Not sure if this is an LN bug or it just became apparent thanks to the emphasis on bands and playing instruments.
 
One my sims in a band has the normal acoustic guitar in her inventory but was playing an electric guitar she just bought, the one from the HELS pack I believe. When she skills up, the next level's acoustic guitar tune starts playing *and* she keeps playing the electric guitar. The two tunes are overlapping and it sounds hideous. In fact, when I tell her to stop playing, the phantom acoustic tune keeps going. All night. The next day. Forever. Fortunately saving and reloading finally got rid of it.

I've been having the on going sound problem with various things.  It first started with the radio.  I could hear it at full volume when I went into map view, when I zoomed in on my sim in town, and when I was in build/buy mode.  The same thing happens with the music boxes, sim voices, and various other sound effects.  Like you, I end up saving and reloading. 

[jwaas]

I've been seeing several problems already noted, including with the effects machine, as well as Sim traits and even rewards being negotiable (I am absolutely certain I got my test Sim the Long-Distance Friend reward, and after some Sim days it suddenly disappeared; his traits kept changing on me too), the opportunities that can't be achieved because they involve locations in Sunset Valley, and the weird message to the effect that "There is now a sale at !" (with the space).  Oddly, the latter two problems seem to be becoming less common as my neighborhood gets older (I'm running base+LN with no AM but some Anachian and NRaasian mods, as well as some modules of AD85's core mod).

My main studies have had to do with bands, since I was really looking forward to this aspect.  I've run two bands so far, one of which had all the bandmates under one roof and another in which my test Sim added three of his non-playable buddies, and in both cases it turned out the same.  They'd get their first gig (invariably at Waylon's Haunt), then maybe a second gig somewhere, and then I'd wait for two Sim weeks and there would be no third gig.  So I read that I should have my band members Play For Tips.  That had no effect -- they'd get largely ignored either at a "hot spot" or at some other venue (while any Sims present at the venue threw up and/or suffered various needs failures, as previously noted).  Mind you, all this time all four Sims would be advancing well in "fame," getting invited to parties like crazy, and getting all kinds of opportunities for having a drink at this joint or dancing for three hours at that joint, but still no calls from the agent about a gig.

Also, at least without AM installed, it seems to me like the subtitle for LN should be You Can Haz Be Vampier Nao.  My neighborhood is being gradually overrun by them.  I don't necessarily mind, since I am just paranoid enough to enjoy the challenge of making my test Sim befriend a whole bunch of vampires, but not get turned himself (I have yet to find out whether Ask To Turn can be autonomous, but I'm curious).  They are no friends at all, you see:  they are out to get him.

Just now I've kicked out my test Sim, married him off, turned the life span from Epic to Normal, and moved in a teenager, so I have a little longer to watch the hood age at a faster pace.  (The teenager came to me with about 20 cheap cars in his inventory, another interesting bug, which I'm guessing means he was a babysitter before I moved him in, and kept losing his car.)  While he grows up, I'm thinking about what to do with him, since forming a band seems to be a waste of time.  Maybe I'll just give up and let him get turned too.  All the cool kids are doing it.

[Marq]

jwaas:  when the traits were changing did your sim have the "crazy" moodlet after drinking at the bar?  There are drinks that cause the moodlet and it changings sims' traits until it runs its course.  If I remember correctly, my sims got party animal, great kisser, flirty, and dare devil in place of some of their other traits.  I haven't played for awhile though, the next time I play I'll write down the trait changes.

[jwaas]

I would say not to bother, as you got it exactly right -- that's indeed what happened to my Sim, now that I think about it.  Daredevil, Insane, and Party Animal were among the new traits for sure.  Those PG-13 rated non-alcoholic drinks sure do pack a punch!

Now if I could only figure out what I was doing wrong for my bands never to get more than three gigs.  My theories so far are that it was due to life span being on Epic, or that it was due to my Sims having the Band career rather than some unrelated career.

Some have said that the new EP discriminates against teenagers, so I'll see if that's true with my current household consisting of two teenage boys.  I'm more than fine with them not being able to skinny-dip, but if they can't even go to the lounge and play shuffleboard, it will be a really boring life for them until they age up.

[amarynth]

A simple search would tell you that not a single person has managed to get more than 2 or 3 gigs.

My current band has had 19 gigs.  All four of them are in the same household and are now elders nearing the end of their life (normal lifespan, started as young adults of varying ages).

[Versus]

A simple search would tell you that not a single person has managed to get more than 2 or 3 gigs.

My sims have had 8 gigs so far. I've got more than one gig at a time (different sims, but they got them at the same time) too. They all lived in the same household if it matters.

[jwaas]

Sounds like we just need to narrow down what it is that causes that all-important fourth gig to come up.  Number of "stars" each band member has?  Skill level on their respective instruments?  Just letting enough time pass?  I have a four-person band all living under the same roof also, so maybe I'll load up that game and see if I can ever get them that fourth gig.

Suddenly this reminds me of getting those all-important story-continuing quests in Foreignia.  I haven't run WA in months, but I remember complaints about that too.  Patience and luck seemed to be the only solutions.

I wish there were a cell phone interaction of Call Agent And Demand He Get Us A Damn Gig Already, but that will probably happen right after they make the fire from the effects machine deadly (which I would also love to see).

ETA (so as not to spam with too many posts):

Did you by any chance editsim him/her? I've found that when using editsim all LTH rewards disappear.

I might have used the equivalent NRaas Master Controller function on him, though I'm not sure.  I don't remember LTH rewards disappearing on sending a Sim back to CAS with the Master Controller before, but maybe things are different now.

[HomeschooledByTards]

A simple search would tell you that not a single person has managed to get more than 2 or 3 gigs.

My current band has had 19 gigs.  All four of them are in the same household and are now elders nearing the end of their life (normal lifespan, started as young adult of varying ages).

WUT? The Shouty [unreli]Vole is giving out incorrect informatons? IS UNPOSSIBLE.

[Cappuccino]

I am absolutely certain I got my test Sim the Long-Distance Friend reward, and after some Sim days it suddenly disappeared;

Did you by any chance editsim him/her? I've found that when using editsim all LTH rewards disappear.

[Klinn]

I wish there were a cell phone interaction of Call Agent And Demand He Get Us A Damn Gig Already.

While waiting for that, you can use your NRaas Master Controller to force gig opportunities. It's under the Basic category, but you have to know the name of the Opportunity. The first one at Waylan's is "The Up-Beat" and the second one is "Caffeinated Cacophonies" I believe. Haven't played enough to find any further ones, but you can just select ones from the list and cancel them if they're not what you're looking for.

[jwaas]

It for some reason never occurred to me to try using the NRaasian device for that purpose.  Although I'm a bit worried that the reason most of us aren't getting our bands gigs very often is that the game is waiting for us to fulfill some condition each time.  So while I will bear this suggestion in mind, I still want to work a little harder at getting gigs without cheating.  Either way, I get the point that this is not a bug, so I'll just keep trying.

That being said, I've noticed another annoyance (though not a true bug either) -- something has to be done about mixologists and how slow they are.  Or at least, how long the lineup of orders can get.  This could even be related to why all the non-playable Sims we find in venues are suffering needs failures -- the mixologist can't get their food to them fast enough (not to mention that wants like Have A Drink and Play Darts are probably so strongly advertised that the Sims literally forget to eat), and the doors to restrooms are clogged by Sim hordes who have given up on waiting for food and now just want to pee.  None of this is conducive to getting audiences for band member Sims (whether jamming, playing for tips, or gigging), so this strikes me as something else that needs tuning.  Which knowing EA, I don't hold out much hope for that.

[Zoni]

I've been having troubles with groups and vampires. I'm wondering if anyone else is having the same problem, so...

Several of my sims are friends with or dating vampires. If they invite the vampire to their home lot, a group is automatically formed. Then, the second that the vampire arrives at the lot, he/she decides that they are incredibly bored and very literally turns right around and leaves. Even if I have my sim out on the sidewalk waiting for them, I don't have time to interact with them.

This never happens with non-vampires when they are invited over, or if I invite a vampire out. However, it's incredibly annoying.

[jwaas]

Now that you mention it, I had that exact thing happen with one of my Sims several days ago.  I also just now had a Sim that would wake up at 4:00 a.m. every morning, regardless of how depleted his Energy bar was.  He slept through until the bar was full without incident when I put him back to bed.  None of his three housemates/bandmates would behave this way.  Beyond eating garlic autonomously once when his Hunger bar was very low, I can't remember anything unusual happening to him.  He does not have the Light Sleeper trait, nor any other that I could imagine would affect his sleep.

I think it started around the time one of his housemates was turned to a vampire, or perhaps when I cured said housemate with the anti-vampirism drink from the Science Lab.  I tried a resetSim on him and it had no effect, nor could I find this mentioned here or in the AwesomeMod area.  My experience is that weird occurrences like this are a sign of not just a broken Sim but a broken game, in danger of becoming a BFBVFS soon, so I will pitch this save and start over.

I've found that doing a Max Motives on every nonplayable at a venue using the NRaasian device helps a lot with the problem of constant needs failures.  That still doesn't help with the aforementioned problem of some of the venues being so poorly designed that the building breaks constantly and needs to be reset, or bulldozed and replaced.  I don't even bother sending my Sims to Plasma 501 any longer as they can't even get in.  It really seems as if EA didn't even playtest some of the buildings.

[JacquiES]

I guess this is mainly an annoyance but an amusing one.  I took my celebrity sim downtown to get a free drink and he was served by this:



I am assuming the game randomly creates the service people, but I think both parts of this outfit should not be in the pool. 

[Roobs]

I've had a number of these whale "workers" in my game. It seems it's the Lounge uniform for the bar staff. It would be nice if there was some kind of blubber detection though.

On a related note, it seems Elder Mixologists lose their uniform and just wear any old crap. I imagine they don't even have a uniform enabled for them.

[witch]

I've had a number of these whale "workers" in my game. It seems it's the Lounge uniform for the bar staff. It would be nice if there was some kind of blubber detection though.

So this costume would be fine with you if the sim happened to be slim? Nice. Not.

[JacquiES]

I don't think I would enjoy it regardless.  The Santa hat just adds to the crazy.  The bouncer at the door was large too, but she had regular clothing on.  I don't care if they are big, but come on with these clothes!

[Freezerburn]

Oh my... Your bartender is worse than mine! Anyway, I always 'editsim' service NPCs that wear F-ly inappropriate outfits.

[ShortyBoo]

Several of my sims are friends with or dating vampires. If they invite the vampire to their home lot, a group is automatically formed. Then, the second that the vampire arrives at the lot, he/she decides that they are incredibly bored and very literally turns right around and leaves. Even if I have my sim out on the sidewalk waiting for them, I don't have time to interact with them.

This never happens with non-vampires when they are invited over, or if I invite a vampire out. However, it's incredibly annoying.

I've had this too. In my case, I was trying to have my sim have a baby with a vampire she was dating. I had my sim originally visit his place, but his roommates kicked her out since they were jealous (I have AM so it wasn't supposed to happen) so that's why I tried to have him come to her house. In the end, I just switched to his household and had him visit her house and it worked.

[Moryrie]

^Pictures? And 'm pretty sure they're all presets depending on what kind of bar you have.

[ciane]

I am rebuilding all the skyscrapers in Bridgeport as high-rises. I placed a copy of an earlier build of the green glass apartment (where Rake lives) on the lot where the Hemlocks live. I wanted to adjust the placement of the building by just one tile (because I am very picky). When I tried to slide the kitchen wall in one tile, I got a message about not being able to do that because of the cabinets. So, I manually moved the cabinets and cupboards around so I could slide the wall in. I didn't notice anything strange at the time because I was focusing on walls, windows, and wallpaper. After finishing the placement adjustment, I saved the building to my library and saved the game. Then I went back to change the active apartment so it would be ready for the Hemlocks to move back in. This is what I found:


When I move or delete the cabinets, it looks like this:


What happened there?

[wizard_merlin]

Have you tried saving, exiting and reloading the game?  It looks like the EAxian bloom bug, which often occurs after placing new objects and/or moving existing objects, which often resets after a restart.  What do you expect from EAxis?