Perhaps 'anger' is an incorrect word really. The word is probably more akin to DISAPPOINTMENT.

I've had word from Maxis about the lot packaging problem us builders have been experiencing ever since the release of Pets: namely that recolours of Maxis objects are dropped from the packages so that they're not included in our uploaded lots.

My acute disappointment comes with the fact that this is not a bug. It is a DELIBERATE change on the part of Maxis to stem the tide of recolours spreading with lots. I suspect what Maxis is referring to is The Exchange, because, to my knowledge, other sites generally have strict policies on the lots they accept for hosting - TSR very much included. If you DID find a lot here stuffed with recolours not used in the lot, you could report it, but chances are you won't. The TSR approval process sees to that.

Don't get me wrong: I can entirely see Maxis' point of view on this - The Exchange is a den of all sins, one being lots bloated with a downloader's entire folder of custom content. But I just wish instead that Maxis had placed a file-size limit for lots on The Exchange, or just changed the code for 'upload to Exchange' lots only, and not those we package for upload elsewhere. Instead, it feels like ALL builders have been penalised - including the many who religiously use 'Sims2Pack Clean Installer' to clean their lots, who conscientiously never let a stray recolour be left inside the package... That's most builders here, for starters.

So yes, I'm grumpy! In my grumpiness, I know I will never play Pets. I don't even know whether I'll even buy 'Seasons; because I never play, just build for sharing. In the meantime, I am attempting a straight clone of the driveway to give Pets-and-beyond players an invisible driveway we can use (the current 'invisible driveways are, of course, Maxis recolours and are just one of the casualties of this coding change).

I've copied the Maxis response in a thread in our forums here. I've included mentions of workarounds, including Numenor's "Base Game Starter" in the same thread.