NVIDIA = BSOD.  That's one thing.  I also hear tales about Win XP SP3 having problems?  But I don't think I ever had SP3 so I can't confirm.  I shall search.

ETA - general discussion of SP3 here but no mention of Sims problems.

Something that might be more likely here.

Used to work ok for me when I used multiple accounts on XP.  That way could have a 'kid friendly' game, where the kid could make a bajillion families, dress them up, throw them in to a lot and watch them die because she didn't know what she was doing (and god forbid I try to help - 'I R PLAYING - YOU GO WAY'), and then have a naughty, hack filled game for myself.

I finally got around to downloading the no-cd crack for Apartment Life and removing SecuROM from my computer.  I hadn't had any problems with SecuROM that I knew about, which is why I took so long to get around to it, but just knowing it was there was starting to grate on me.

This was not fun given that the instructions were for PCs with XP, and Vista does stuff differently because it wants to wrap you in cotton wool and tell you that you're not smart enough to do this.  So I spent a lot of time googling how to do stuff under Vista which would have been simple under XP (well, simple following the instructions, anyway).

I think I'll have to run CCleaner at some point because when I next rebooted the computer, there was some sort of error in the startup files (not sure what - I didn't pay enough attention, and it didn't seem to cause any problems in the stuff that I used).  If it comes up again I'll take a screenshot.

ETA: Bloody computer made a liar out of me.  No error on startup this time.  Hmph.

ETA (Again): just checked out my registry files.  Securom found its nasty way back in there despite using the no-cd crack.  The computer was happy to let me delete the folder though so I don't know if I did it WRONG or if this is meant to happen?

This has been happening on and off for a long time.

There's a brief discussion in this thread on alt.games.the-sims: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.games.the-sims/browse_frm/thread/8c90a78e3130df81#

I'd agree with that.  I downloaded a bunch of her hair and was sorely disappointed - that got promptly deleted, too.  If I had any skill/inclination/time I'd do it myself (using someone else's *cough*Nouk*cough* textures).

I haven't got pictures, (boo, hiss), but I recently downloaded some Helga stuff (ok, a lot) after all the fangirling and squeeing over her I saw at PMBD.

I set up a bedroom with her stuff (didn't really go, given it was the Hick house, but it was the first house I played after installing and I wanted to see what it looked like), and well.  Quilts don't move, the bedframe sticks out through the other side of the wall (you can even see it when looking from another lot - there's a bedframe shaped shadow on one of the walls.  Clicking on the bed gave the option to "00a e pc", whatever that was - I'm guessing Relax, because the sims weren't really tired yet.  As soon as I got out of the game I deleted all of Helga's stuff.

Pity.

I didn't think counters had anything to do with it .  Fridges, cookers, food processors are what I concentrate on.  Oh, and freshly grown food from orchards or veggie patches are good at filling your sims up too.

Well 5 minutes Real Time (I assume that's what you mean?) is about 5 HOURS Sim Time.  I get pretty hungry 5 hours after lunch too.

I think it's yours I've got, and I reckon they're pretty damn good.

Just recently noticed that when I place ladybug lofts to avoid nasty bug infestations, the ladybugs swirl around for a bit then disappear.  I then start getting insect infestations on my trees and crops.

I'm surprised I didn't notice the lack of ladybugs earlier, given the increase in bug attacks (since FT - why did I not spot this before!!!??? Why? WHY?).

Anyone else seen this?  I have Pes's Director's cut and a bucket load of TJ's hacks, all recently updated.

In apartments?  Normal lots?  Both?

I've only had the problem in apartments.  What a weird thing to be affecting it.  I'll try taking it out (boo, hiss)

No joy   Managed to get in to play another apartment and they're crawling too.  Maybe there's just too many sims on the lot now *shrug* (especially since all three families are also expecting babbies - and they're all surprise ACR babbies).

To make it even worse, when I was playing the second family, the other sims were all up on the roof, in the rain, drinking, peeing and passing out.  So now even my playables are taking aspiration hits and getting memories of pissing their pants and passing out.  And this annoys me because if they were under MY control, they wouldn't be up there in the first place.

I think I might be moving the sims out of the apartments and into regular houses.  Pity.

Aww the cuteness!  I had a set of twin todders that did that autonomously, but I was too slow to take a picture.

Things moved at exactly the same speed as at speed 1, although the drunks on the roof sounded like they were on speed 3.

The Squinge hack was the updated PregnantSimsWearAnything, or whatever its called.  I downloaded an hour before playing.

Other lots didn't have the problem, but I still want to check another one of the apartments on the lot when I get a chance (who knows when that will be, I have uni assignments coming out of my ears at the moment).  There's currently two other playable families living in the complex.

I remember back in the sims 1 Superstar days I had a similar problem, I seem to recall it had something to do with the butler.  Given this family did use the butler for a day or so before ending his services, he was my first suspect but there are other lots using the butler without the problem so he has been cleared for the time being.

Sorry Zazazu, but what?

OSMP (nope, still stumped)?  BRY (edit: aahh, Business Runs You)?  FEY (edit: Food Eats You - heh, didn't even notice that one)?

In an apartment, that's a little hard to do.

edit - I just read morrigan's post properly more closely.  Much appreciated.

It wasn't just the 'automatic' changing to high speed.  Even if I clicked on speed 3 or pressed '3' on the keyboard it stuck at the same old speed, although it did light up the >>> icon to show that it was meant to be on the highest speed.

Hopefully that makes more sense.

Odd, I thought I already had that. *head scratch*

I'll redownload it just to be sure.

Speaking of the piano, anyone else getting the problem where a sim will play for a bit, jump off, jump back on to play some more, jump off?

Even when skillinating they'll go through this endless cycle of playing for a few minutes, slam on the keys, stand up, sit down, play some more, slam the keys...

Back to the regularly scheduled bork, I haven't seen the problem with new exercise equipment, but then I haven't had anyone use them for a while (at least not for long).

Playing last night, I started in a couple normal house lots.  Everything working fine, aside from the fact that they seemed to have 'reset'.  You know, the way they do after installing a new EP or patch.  Except I hadn't done that since the last time I'd played.  Just one Squinge hack.

Went into an apartment family which has worked perfectly up till now.  Like the others, they had 'reset' and were standing next to the bed instead of sleeping, so I sent them back to bed.  Time didn't speed up though, the way it usually does (and the way it just had on the other normal lots when the sims were sleeping - or if I'd pressed 3 to speed things up when I get bored watching the skilling factory that the Goth house has suddenly become).  I spent their night waiting for time to crawl back around to the morning, watching a couple of AL townies drinking from the bar on the roof, peeing their pants and passing out, just like real drunks. (Tangent - those two were up there for at least 36 hours, can't wait to see if they stay up there during winter)

After I finished with that family (longest sim day EVAH), I moved on to another normal house lot, and everything was fine again.

I haven't yet tried one of the other families in the same apartment block, but I'm wondering if the whole lot could be borked or just this one apartment.

With space being more of an issue in AL, I was wondering if some of the standard hacks which go on all of my lots (batbox, lot timer, clothing tool) can be shrunk down a little?  Perhaps to things that can hang on walls (e.g. a clock for the lot timer, a bat painting)?

What witch said.

Noticed the DRM issue even made it into the local paper's 3 paragraph review of Spore.  It's not just 'serious' game reviews that are bringing it up now.

I still lurrve it.

I use the LotSync timer to keep track of days played.  If any new families are added, they get automatically bumped up to the same 'day' as everybody else.  Colleges are played on the basis of 'one regular neighbourhood day = 1 college year' and are played in between the main Pleasantview and Bluewater Village, with teens moving to college with 4 days before aging to adulthood.

I use Family Echo to do my neighbourhood's family tree.  Almost all of Pleasantview is currently connected, but there are a few that haven't married into the current families.

Amazon.com still has almost 2000 reviews, most 1 star.

If it were EA breathing down Amazon's neck, I would have put my money on them going after the Amazon that's in their home country.

That said, the reviews that are getting through on Amazon.co.uk seem to be more about the gameplay, and the average is still only 2.5 stars.