That's a neat piece of coding, thanks for looking it up, @"NZ Simmer" It sounds as if they built this in to save on load times. I never knew why until now.
I can literally go to the kitchen and make a sandwich, eat it, and take the dog for a walk while TS3 is loading. Sure, it's a pain to come in to the household in the middle of the night and they're standing outside. But I think I'd rather have that than The Endless Load. TS3 runs pretty OK other than that for me, so my machine can handle it with nraas. In TS4 I've just gotten so I mostly go to Manage Worlds or exit either when they're going to bed or getting up, or at work/school.
As far as the thing about the shop, I find it very whimsical and fun to imagine that the owners have been there and changed some things while my active Sims are away. I just love that about a functional bakery to which I send my Sims. It's as if it's functioning while they're not there as a shop IRL would. In my game as well there are different items set out to sample on the premises or take home. It's quite immersive for me. :) But then, I'm easily amused. :D It's rather fun, especially if I can't sleep, and think, "I wonder what my Sims are up to? Let's take a peek..." Perhaps I should give my self Sim a certain trait, the one I would prefer if it were called Childlike. ;)
