Bugs Found in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage

I adore my Sims. Since the Sims first hit my PC, I was hooked. I used to look forward to add on packs and expansion packs. Until The Sims 2: Bon Voyage!

Bon Voyage is the latest expansion for the Sims 2. I must say, I was impressed on day 1. I liked the new vacation aspect of the game, I liked the newly added pieces of game play, the new decorations, and the ability to take my Sims to places they normally never could go. I liked the idea of my Sims being able to meet locals and learn their customs.

However day 2 into playing Bon Voyage I noticed something I hadn't noticed on the first day. After creating a new family, and building them a home, I of course wanted to get admission into the Garden Club in hopes of receiving the wishing well gift (you get the wishing well if you have a healthy garden).

So I call up the Garden Club, and the usual NPC representative tells me that they are on their way over to see my garden, yadda yadda.... I wait a good Sim hour, and she arrives. Only when I went to talk to her, to use the 'join garden club' button. It vanished. My garden club representative was acting like a normal visitor to my lot. The option to join the garden club is now GONE. Up in smoke, poof, adios... nowhere.

For me, adding on Bon Voyage basically took away a HUGE piece of what Sims Seasons was about.
I didn't just loose the option to join the Garden Club, I also lost the option to hire the matchmaking service. (The gypsy woman who shows up with the magical crystal ball). She, like my Garden Rep, also acted like a normal visiting Sim when she came to my lot. I no longer had the option for a matchmaking date.

I didn't only loose that, I also lost the ability to buy elixirs to cure vampire bites, nor were any elixirs available in the game. They too vanished.

It turns out nearly all of my NPCS were acting like normal visitors. Thankfully I still have my maid and gardener NPCS. Yay, the original NPCS that came with the game. Anything after that doesn't work anymore.

So... I naturally got pissed. Huge game play options were now gone, all thanks to Bon Voyage.
Like a normal pissed off Sims fan, I hit the forums to figure out what the hell had happened. Turns out I wasn't the only player with bugs in my game. My bugs though seemed to be huge compared to others.

From what I learned EA has added some stupid thing called SecuROM, a program which enables you to make a backup copy of the game. They did this to make sure people weren't distributing the game online for download for free. Seems petty to do such a stupid thing, knowing that fans are NOT going to download the game for free. When you are a fan, you are a true fan, and you don't go downloading things for free.

They are denying that this program has anything to do with bugs in the game. I find that to be a pure load of BS.

Ever since buying Bon Voyage my game play has took a drastic turn. Features I once had are now gone, and it feels like I'm playing the Sims 2 without any expansion packs! A lot has vanished.

Heres my BUG LIST:
Besides loosing NPC actions, I have also lost-
1. The ability to play Marco Polo in the pool
2. Sometimes for no reason at all, random Sims will vanish. Into nowhereville, as if they were never even created. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't.

3. I can no longer have my Sims participate in water balloon fights.

4. My Sims will use the 'hang out' feature way too often now.

If I do not direct them to do something, they will plop on the floor and hang out to the point where they go to the bathroom on the floor! Basically all of my Sims have turned into lazy SOB'S that won't even go take a leak in the toilet where they are supposed to. My Sims used to go to the bathroom on their own, just fine.

5. The new Mahjong's table seems to be the only other activity they participate in besides hanging out. They will sit at the card table and continue to sit at it unless I tell them to do something else. However once they finish the task I give them, they go right back to the table.

6. Getting the mail has gotten tricky. When I click on the mailbox for them to get the mail, no actions pop up.

7. My trees will set on fire, and after the fireman is there, they do not put it out, and tell me not to prank call. The tree though, will keep on burning.

Even after downloading the Bon Voyage patch from the official Sims 2 site, nothing fixed the issues.

Other user issues I have come across are as followed (this did not effect me directly, just other users):

-Sims standing still, and not moving
-Sims no longer dying from old age
-Sims cannot be killed
-Sims won't age
-Disappearing neighborhoods
-Cannot play using certain families anymore
-Teen option to sneak out has vanished
-Objects disappearing
-No use of elevators
-Sims getting stuck on lots
-Sims stuck on community lots and cannot go home
-Blank skins
-No ability to go on community lots

The list goes on, these though seem to be some major bugs that EA seriously needs to fix.
I doubt I will buy another expansion pack, or stuff pack. I'll wait for this hurricane to fly over the Sims world, and then reconsider it. Till they fix the slop of issues they threw onto our laps, I'm no longer a fan.