What a freakin' joke this has all become.  EA is shoving this damn SecuRom down our throats at every turn and we're spending more time trying to fix our game than playing it.  Every time EA tries to pull one over on us we find a way around it so when are they going to realize this security thing is a fuck up? Playing with glitches that only modders can fix is bad enough but now they're shoving an ' updated ' SecuRom on us? WTF?? I didn't download the first patch for FT and I'm sure as Hell not getting the second one, either.  When I began playing The Sims1 and The Sims2 up to Seasons, all was well. No problems, very few glitches and no SecuRom. Now my game is glitchy as Hell, I've had to go to all the trouble of removing this gem of a fuck up and they're still more concerned about their precious security than fixing a game they broke? EA has taken most of the fun out of The Sims for me and I find that so sad.  But I am still mad as Hell about it and they will be hearing from me. Not that it'll do much good but maybe I'll feel better after venting.

To EllaTrue, yes, I have had problems with the roaming maple tree, too. To tell you the truth, it bugs the shit out of me to see them out in the middle of the street when they were  placed BEHIND a house. Another glitch from a company that specializes in glitches.

To Gwill,  My assumption is based on the fact that I did not have this problem before, until I began using the clean templates. And we all know how this game likes to spawn odd things.... like tourist guides and such? I have no hack conflicts. I was asking if someone else had noticed the same thing, not to be poked with a stick, thank you.

I recently downloaded and have been playing with SarahMK's clean templates for custom hoods. I really enjoy townie-free hoods and sub-hoods. Kudos to Argon and Sarah for making these for us less awesome folks. I have a quick question for anyone using these. Yes, this probably belongs with the thread where the templates are, but that thread is really bloated as it is.  My question is this, whenever I load a new hood and go into it for the first time I have hundreds of tree stumps or hundreds of those pink trees all over the neighborhood. WTF?  And it takes some time to go around and delete all of them. I don't mind it very much as I love having Townie free neighborhoods. My only question is... Does this mean these newly created hoods are corrupted? I really don't want a BFBVFS. 



Edit: I am assuming the game is spawning them as a replacement for the characters .

You're right, the pop-up would be more annoying.  And J.M. has a good point as well.   But when 'The Zone' interferes with my enjoyment of the game, it has to go. I can handle alot of their annoying little habits, but 'The Zone', for me, was a bit more than I could handle. I may be missing out by not playing the mystical creatures or the aliens, but that is because I enjoy a semblance of realism in my game.  Everyone is different. I doubt everyone has the same exact annoyances with their game. Thank Gawd for the wonderful modders who let us pick and choose what we want and don't want. Without my hacks and mods I doubt I'd be going on eight years of Simming. So, thank you, modders, for all your hard work. 

Thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of Carrigon's fix for 'The Zone'. My Sims were going into 'The Zone' in their sleep whenever they dreamt about a hobby interest.  Why didn't the programmers just use a pop-up to let us know whenever our Sim was in 'The Zone'? Frankly, being in 'The Zone' looks like something out of the Twilight Zone. 

I have this mod and BV installed (and functioning). So far this mod is working for me and I must say it is a handy one to have.