Against my better judgement: Buying Late Night

[Hosfac]

In the past and the present, I've been frustrated beyond words with the bugs and glitches in the Sims 3, WA and Ambitions.  I love the game, I just hate the problems.  As a result I was understandably leery when Late Night was announced.  After some thought, I decided that I didn't want to take the chance on adding more problems to the ones I've already got with the Sims.  Now, tax time is here and I find myself considering buying it.  Actually, I guess I've already made that decision.

So I come here to ask the people who already have it a couple of simple questions:

What kind of problems/issues can I expect?

What precautions should I take before I install it?

I already know the "Make a Simbot" opportunity is bugged in Bridgeport, but I don't see this as a huge hurdle, as I like Sunset Valley.  Always have, always will.  My game seems to lag in Riverview, and Twinbrook doesn't have an open 60x60 lot anywhere (and there really isn't enough usable room anywhere to make one). 

I'm also considering buying that Barnacle Bay town from the Sims Store, but I haven't heard anything about it.  But I absolutely love the idea of the pirate theme, so I'll probably get it.

Does anyone have it?  And if so, is it worth buying?

[Naga]

To answer your "what kind of problems" question, first I'd like to mention that the best way to know what problems a patch/expansion/stuffpack gives is the official forums, as that is the most "help-me-please" spammed The Sims 3 place ever. Therapists should make money with it. That said, let me present you some of the problems I experienced:

I couldn't play TS3 for 3-4 months, because I did not know that what was crashing my game so much was lack of RAM; the minimum requirements were upgraded. "Order Omni Plant Seeds" stops working. Vampires will appear everywhere, and even though that doesn't bother me so much, it "ruins the life" of other (dramatic) people. If you hate having your sim be a Celebrity (scandals = loss of friends + negative moodlet, and paparazzi-palooza), too bad, it's inevitable.

On the bright side, I tried solving each and every one of the problems I ever had in the game, and came by many solutions, which now allow me to help people in the forum, shortening their search for a solution.

As for precautions, I think you should do as the little "clear installation" guide (there's one in every patch's notes) says, by backing up your stuff, uninstalling custom content, etc. and your game should go fine.

Not much to say about Barnacle Bay. I have it, but honestly I haven't had time to play it, not even open it, yet. If you like Sunset Valley as much as I do, you won't move to any other neighborhood, so it's probably not worth it for you.

[Pam]

As for Barnacle Bay, if you do a search for it, you'll find several threads about it.

As for Late Night, you can also do a search for it and find a good bit of information.  The best one for your purposes is probably here.

[Hosfac]

Oddly enough, I looked for a "Bugs" thread and didn't see it.  My bad.  But looking at that one, I'm extremely glad I don't use mods.

And I used to use the official forums on the EA website, but there always seems to be more people looking for help than providing it lol.

[fogmomjazz]

If you like Sunset Valley as much as I do, you won't move to any other neighborhood, so it's probably not worth it for you.

OMG I'm so relieved to see someone else post this! I love SV and barely ever use another land. And when I do, I'm usually disappointed. (BP, TB)
I still play them, but am always looking for ways to improve the downsides. (ie making travel time faster, install the missing lots that I love)

My advice on the bug issue with the new expansion is to go for it! I had a meltdown of game the other night, and had to do a fresh install of all 6 expansions/stuff packs! It only took me an hour, so it's way worth it to install the new expansion to get those popular procreating vampires and my best friend/paparazzis.

Hope it works for you, and you dont have any problems!

[malteser60]

On the flip side I have so far, cross fingers, had very very little problems with LN, or any expansion pack in all honesty. Any of the small glitches, like the stand-up/lie-down/stand-up routine in bed that the sims do, has always gone away with restarting the game. I have the bugs that everybody has, like the no excavate one. And once, and only once, has my consignment store not worked properly. Also I once had the special seeds in inventory issue with fishing. But apart from that really, I've had no issues. For me all the EPs and SPs have worked brilliantly. Personally I think LN is worth getting as the things it adds far outweigh the cons.

As for Barnacle Bay, I love it. I haven't played it loads, must admit, but I absolutely love it. It's got a really good mix of lots, and empty lots, and easy to go round, has a really nice feel to it.

[Hosfac]

Well, I did get LN and while I was in the process I went a little nuts and got Barnacle Bay, Fast Lane Stuff and Outdoor Living as well lol.  I got a kick out of Barnacle Bay, but I have to say that I'm really digging Bridgeport.  It wasn't so much the vampires (at first, anyways) but the high rise condos really add something cool to the game.  The only two things I don't like about it are the fact that I know you can't make a simbot there, and that there are no 60x60 lots that aren't already taken.  The terrain of the city won't accommodate placing any in the world editor, either.

No major bugs to speak of thus far.  But one thing annoys me:  I have a sim who's at a 4 star celebrity level.  Any time she goes anywhere, a limo picks her up.  And where does it take her? 

The subway.

Who, in the name of any god that has ever been worshiped throughout the history of the universe, would even think of getting out of a limo to ride the subway?

[samoht04]

Yeah the most annoying thing for me is the Subway, my sims actually take longer to get places because they go in the opposite direction to get to a Subway then get out of another one near their destination, all in the time they could have got there in their §120,000 Cars. 

[Slingsby]

Agree completely with Hosfac and samoht04 ... the combination of limo and subway is driving me mad!  I have no idea what EA was thinking of when they did that. 

And even without the limo, the transit times are simply ridiculous.  A couple of days ago we had a Sim finish work at the stadium, and head straight for the Prosper Room to buy a drink [opportunity thing].  Including the time for the rabbit hole to draw, and the inevitable delay for the elevator, it took him 2.5 Sim hours to travel about 4 blocks. 

Sadly, we now have to use 'teastingcheatsenabled true' to teleport Sims around Bridgeport ... otherwise they would never get to locations before they close, or get home before it's time to go to work.

However, on the plus side, I always smile as our 5-star Sim travels those bumpy dirt roads in Egypt in the back of her limo.  I guess they'll need to replace the limo every 4 weeks, or sooner if it gets completely bogged down in the sand