amjoie
I don't think I had any problem on my new pc at all (ok 1 or 2 crashes)
I do play with SP and aging on.
and only learnt (or relearnt incase I knew but for got) about the adding of lots mid way in editing HS... THough I only removed 1 lot and added 2 others... so I think I be ok... I hope so...
Hi, Amjoie!
I'm very thankfull for this thread. So much work!
Now I'm still using bigger part of store content in packages, but I'm reading those tutorials, because I wanna try to install all store content by traditional way (launcher).
From my last attempts I've still got missing objects message after loading some old save.
Can I have 2 questions for you?
1) it is normal, that in Downloads folder is missing my email addy.bin?
I've fresh regenerated whole game folder + CAWs Folders, but it won't regenerate even if I made logout and login (launcher, Sims3.com and Origin site) + cleaned google and IE caches + getting still http://be.sponsorpay.com/assets/web_client.js script error (Origin updated). After clicking "yes" or "not" it is normally downloading, it makes me login-logout, links on launcher are working, but it won't regenerate my e-mail in Downloads folder.
2) about DCBackup folder:
I've still leaved there only ccmerged.package. Now is required to mantain there all files created during Store items installation? What happens if I'll continue to delete there all files except ccmerged.package?
NB: I've read in previous messages here, that patches have changed something with WorldCaches folder and I have still deleted all things inside without issues.
Thank you so much for yours work on this topic, bookmarked
Edit: (question 1. is now solved, e-mail appeared finally, site acts a little bit wonky in those days)
Post edited by Unknown User on
"My Studio" on thesims3.com "My Blog" on thesims3.com
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
This is not directly related but I figured I'd ask while I was thinking of it. Does anyone know what it means when the family photo for your save game is blank, even though you have a family?
Hi, Mariesalias! I've had this issue before when someone from my active family had in inventory WA tent. I don't know, if is this bug solved.
"My Studio" on thesims3.com "My Blog" on thesims3.com
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
Hi, Amjoie!
I'm very thankfull for this thread. So much work!
Now I'm still using bigger part of store content in packages, but I'm reading those tutorials, because I wanna try to install all store content by traditional way (launcher).
From my last attempts I've still got missing objects message after loading some old save.
Can I have 2 questions for you?
1) it is normal, that in Downloads folder is missing my email addy.bin?
I've fresh regenerated whole game folder + CAWs Folders, but it won't regenerate even if I made logout and login (launcher, Sims3.com and Origin site) + cleaned google and IE caches + getting still http://be.sponsorpay.com/assets/web_client.js script error (Origin updated). After clicking "yes" or "not" it is normally downloading, it makes me login-logout, links on launcher are working, but it won't regenerate my e-mail in Downloads folder.
2) about DCBackup folder:
I've still leaved there only ccmerged.package. Now is required to mantain there all files created during Store items installation? What happens if I'll continue to delete there all except ccmerged.package?
NB: I've read in previous messages here, that patches have changed something with WorldCaches folder and I have still deleted all things inside without issues.
Thank you so much for yours work on this topic, bookmarked
I have never had the problem of a missing email addy in the Downloads folder. Since regenerating an email addy should be an automatic game function, I cannot imagine why it is not happening in your game. It sounds like you have done everything to troubleshoot the problem that I would suggest doing, so I'm stymied. Perhaps you should try asking your question in the technical section of the forum. It sounds like something beyond the normal game function, and something more to do with a technical issue outside the game.
The files in the DCBackup, other than ccmerged, are the .pkg files of your objects, and are used by the game to "fix' any object that malfunctions, from my understanding of how the game works. It is, in that sense, a "backup" of your installed objects. They are there for a reason, and really should be left in your game.
If you install all the store things, just once, and never delete any, that folder should stay the same size. And the normal size of the folder should not be an issue, in your game.
In games that have most of the store and all of the worlds, and if you store the downloaded store content somewhere other than the game folder, the size should be somewhere between 20-25 GB, a little more or less depending on how much store content you own or if you have CC installed. The DCBackup folder will be somewhere around 5-7 GB. It may seem like a rather large amount, but not in terms of the game, as a whole. And the game does use those files. So they are not, as some would have you believe, just wasted space.
If you are that tight for hard drive space, that 5-7 GB is going to make a difference, then perhaps you should consider a larger hard drive for your computer.
The problem with the DCBackup is that nothing ever gets deleted from there, if you delete store content or CC through your Launcher. So the folder can go from sleek to bloated rather quickly, depending on how you manage your files.
But the best way to deal with the prospect of a bloated DCBackup is to replace it, every once in a while, with a copy of the DCBackup folder that was generated immediately after all your store content was first installed. If you kept a backup of that fresh new DCBackup right after you first installed all your store content, then it is very easy to use a copy of it to give yourself a fully functional sleek DCBackup, whenever one is needed.
It is even easier to keep a sleek DCBackup if you pretend that nothing can ever be deleted, once installed. That will help you install only those things you know you wish to keep, in your real game. If you want to "try something out" do it in a separate "trial" game, and keep your real game for only those things you know you will never wish to uninstall.
As to the question of whether or not you can "get by with" deleting all the files other than the ccmerged: Your game is not likely to blow up because you did that. You may never run into a problem. Some people may tell you they do it all the time and their game has never suffered.
But if your game calls for those files, and they are missing, your game will error. If errors pile up, they can cause corruption. This will happen where you do not see it happening, and cannot test for problems. It is just one more thing that might go wrong in your game. And frankly, with how touchy this game has gotten, I am not willing to take the risk. I think it is best to let the game have those files, regardless of the fact they take up 5-7 GB. The files are technically required by the game, and really are best left alone.
edit: I'm so glad to hear your email addy is now appearing in Downloads.
This is not directly related but I figured I'd ask while I was thinking of it. Does anyone know what it means when the family photo for your save game is blank, even though you have a family?
Hi, Mariesalias! I've had this issue before when someone from my active family had in inventory WA tent. I don't know, if is this bug solved.
Can you tell me which tent was an issue in your game? I have had every tent other than the sultan's tent in my sim's inventory (at one time or another) and never run into a missing thumbnail issue. Was it, perhaps, the sultan's tent that caused the problem? I don't believe my sims ever carried that tent around, for any length of time.
Generally, due to various issues that differ from item to item, it is best to keep those individual inventories with very few items in them. I use the WA chests to store most inventory, like harvested food, nanites, extra trait chips, etc. I use the family inventory to store sketchpad drawings, sim art, photos, etc. I hang certificates in hallways. I put all collectibles in their own storage cases, shortly after collecting them.
When not traveling to WA, I also store dried food, canned showers, tents, sleeping bags, etc in a WA chest.
So, usually, my sim's personal inventory has a couple flowers for Grimy (should they ever be needed), a camera, an ITF skateboard, a guitar/violin or a sketchpad or hackysack ball (depending on their interests), a sim version of the iPad, and one or two items to eat (for emergencies). Just enough to keep them occupied and not starving, when I'm not actively playing them on a community lot.
amjoie
I don't think I had any problem on my new pc at all (ok 1 or 2 crashes)
I do play with SP and aging on.
and only learnt (or relearnt incase I knew but for got) about the adding of lots mid way in editing HS... THough I only removed 1 lot and added 2 others... so I think I be ok... I hope so...
The only time adding lots is a problem is if you put a brand new empty lot, where a lot never existed before, using the World Editor to place the brand new empty lot, while in edit mode. The World Editor is broken, so if you try to make an empty lot where no lot ever existed, it will tear a hole in the world layer, potentially causing routing issues/corruption.
But if a lot already exists in the world in that location (because it was put there by the world creator when the world was made), then you can replace it with a different residential or community lot of the same size or smaller, without a problem.
So, you can safely add or replace residential or community lots to places that already have an existing empty lot, which came with the world.
You can use the bulldozer to safely delete a lot, clicking on it only once, so it is ready to accept placement of a new residential or community lot. EDIT: But remember to move gravestones or urns to the graveyard, before deleting!
You can safely move lots from one place to another, within the world.
You can safely rezone a lot from community to residential and residential to community.
If you did use the World Editor to add two lots, you may have a problem. If you experience a lag in that world, that gets continually worse as time goes by, then your world is broken. If not, then your world is good. That is the only way to judge whether or not you have a problem, and it takes some time for the lag to get back enough that you can't deny it is there. In the beginning, it is only noticeable when a sim is jogging or something like that. When jogging, they run, hesitate or skip animations, run a ways, then hesitate or skip animations, and so on. It happens repeatedly (not just once or twice), and if you have ever seen it happening, you will know what to look for. Eventually, that halting hesitation halts for a longer time before it goes back to normal, and then starts freezing for a time before going back to normal. And then freezes often enough that it is a very noticeable lag. And then, if you continue to play that world, it will eventually just lock up. So, if your jogging sims are already doing the noticeable repeated hesitating, you may as well start a new world.
Hi, Amjoie! Thank you for the clarification (so I have to redo my *.bat file for launching the game with automaticall cleaning). About mail: for me is those days site slow and sometimes makes me log-out, for this maybe e-mail appeared slowly.
Can you tell me which tent was an issue in your game? I have had every tent other than the sultan's tent in my sim's inventory (at one time or another) and never run into a missing thumbnail issue. Was it, perhaps, the sultan's tent that caused the problem? I don't believe my sims ever carried that tent around, for any length of time.
It was this cheapest tent and it wasn't only mine issue http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=19314.0 (googled only one link, but I'm sure: who wants, can find another pages).
I'm glad that you're too fan of treasure chests. Yes, I'm preserving too many things in treasure chests and it helps too keep inventories organized.
I like you can open it even with fire or thief on lot, where game don't allows to use buy/build mode. If I remember well it let's you take too death flowers when needed and I've used it after my sim was killed on community lot with meteorite. It's too fridgesaver.;)
Sorry for late answer, but I was on EA's Live chat (USA) and I've got from Alex simpoints for purchase Lucky Palms Gold (owning venue and standard world).
Edit: wrong english :oops:
Edit 2: re-reading messages about missing thumbnails: this happens when the WA tent is already in WA chest. Another links: http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/09/bug-missing-picture-in-savegame-overview.html http://modthesims.info/t/417573
"My Studio" on thesims3.com "My Blog" on thesims3.com
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
Amjoie,
Thank you for this great guide! It is so useful, and we should keep it bumped regularly.
I have a question. I already keep a nice download file using HollownessDevours guide to Own the Store. I don't understand your part about the folder "Install First" items. I have been looking around, and can't find more info on this. Can you point me in the right direction on these items? Are they just the items with added textures? I install all my full sets, and then single non-set items, then the itmes from sets I haven't completed, so as to have no overlap.
I have so much stuff in game now, I sometimes wonder if its all there! I don't want to miss anything! So please let me know about these items that should be installed separately first.
Anyway, thanks again!
I know, that Amjoie has already answered on this question on the same page where it was posted. I think, that only those items aren't installing correctly if installed as a part of sets.
But in forum is already present whole list of single items (Sims3Packs) with textures included (author Metallicjunior: List of items that come with Textures. ).
I've escavated this message (sorry) because I think that this link may be for someone usefull: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/517663.page
I hope it will be helpfull at someone, if not, sorry for a disturb :oops:
All edits: unable to make 2nd link hidden
"My Studio" on thesims3.com "My Blog" on thesims3.com
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
amjoie: Thank you for your advise! I am saving this thread using save as, like you explained so I'll have it for reference. I need to do the same with the lag thread now that I know how.
The family that gives me the blank thumbnail is my legacy family and this has happened to them before. It is only ever this family it happens to. Thanks to Twallan's mods, I have been able to keep playing them for over two years but I do seem to have to move them to a new town/save every generation. They started off in LL which corrupted before all the children were fully grown and it has become a theme with them it seems. I will make a testing copy of the save and see if I can get the thumbnaiol to spawn (they do have a plumbot so thanks for that extra info).
Bily_jednorozec may be onto something with the WA item. When this blank thumbnail happened during the second generation, I tested that save and tracked it down to something in one of their WA chests. I forget which one it turned out to be (my families usually have 3-4 of them to store different items, i.e. items for science station, cut gems and potions, family portraits and photographs, etc). I am trying to remember what that chest contained but it was a long time ago and I am not sure I remember correctly, but I think it was cut gems and potions. Maybe. I ended up just selling the chest and everything in it to get the thumbnail to show up again.
Anyway, after the blank thumbnail happened in that save, I had several issues happen with that save and almost lost my family a few times, including when I moved them out in edit town mode (to try to fix another issue) the game kept a doppelganger family in the house so I could not move them back in! They were not there but they were. I had to use MC to fix it all. In the end, I just moved the whole family to a new town (without thier house or anything that could be replaced, though kept things like portraits). And the new save in the new town showed as it was supposed to.
The save I am having the issue with currently is a rather new save in a new world (they do not seem destined to live in LP). I did take the WA chests out of their family inventory and keep two out (the science station one and the bot station one) and now that I think on it, the blank thumbnail did happen just after I did that (I was still working on filling the house). I don't believe they have a tent, but I could be mistaken. I'll check next time I am in game.
Maybe of importance to note that this family has portaits and photographs (in digital frames) that go back to the begining as well as the urns for all the ancestors (just the heir and mate each generation), and for some of the pets I was especially fond of. After nine generations (it is a 20 generation challenge), that is a lot of ghosts but luckily no more then 3-4 come out at a time. usually. I am not sure if old items like this can effect the saves though.
In reference to the caches: I do play with Twallan's Story Progression mod in. If i play without it EA's SP kills off all the infants, toddlers, and even many of the elders. So the game is unplayable without it for me. I like to play with an alive and bustling town that grows and develops along with the family I am playing. So aging is always on and my towns are pretty full.
I have had issues with past towns where deleting the world caches for it seemed to fix it (mostly types of lag if I remember correctly). I started deleting them regularly after that. Kind of ironic that what I started doing to protect my saves may now be messing them up. Gotta love this game! :roll:
I have to stop here as my son and nephew are demanding my attention (20 days until school starts ;P).
Hi, Amjoie! Thank you for the clarification (so I have to redo my *.bat file for launching the game with automaticall cleaning). About mail: for me is those days site slow and sometimes makes me log-out, for this maybe e-mail appeared slowly.
Can you tell me which tent was an issue in your game? I have had every tent other than the sultan's tent in my sim's inventory (at one time or another) and never run into a missing thumbnail issue. Was it, perhaps, the sultan's tent that caused the problem? I don't believe my sims ever carried that tent around, for any length of time.
It was this cheapest tent and it wasn't only mine issue http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=19314.0 (googled only one link, but I'm sure: who wants, can find another pages).
I'm glad that you're too fan of treasure chests. Yes, I'm preserving too many things in treasure chests and it helps too keep inventories organized.
I like you can open it even with fire or thief on lot, where game don't allows to use buy/build mode. If I remember well it let's you take too death flowers when needed and I've used it after my sim was killed on community lot with meteorite. It's too fridgesaver.;)
Sorry for late answer, but I was on EA's Live chat (USA) and I've got from Alex simpoints for purchase Lucky Palms Gold (owning venue and standard world).
Edit: wrong english :oops:
Edit 2: re-reading messages about missing thumbnails: this happens when the WA tent is already in WA chest. Another links: http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/09/bug-missing-picture-in-savegame-overview.html http://modthesims.info/t/417573
Thank you so much for the links. I have never experienced this, that I remember, but it is obviously a problem for some people, so it's good to know! Maybe just using sleeping bags is the best thing, then, avoiding tents altogether.
EDIT: It seems that keeping a tent in the inventory is fine, but keeping tents in a WA chest will cause the problem? Apparently all tents are at issue. Tents do just sit on the floor, and look great in attics or basements, when not in use. So there really isn't a reason to put them in a chest, for safekeeping. I guess the best thing is finding a place in the house for them, until needed for travel.
amjoie: Thank you for your advise! I am saving this thread using save as, like you explained so I'll have it for reference. I need to do the same with the lag thread now that I know how.
The family that gives me the blank thumbnail is my legacy family and this has happened to them before. It is only ever this family it happens to. Thanks to Twallan's mods, I have been able to keep playing them for over two years but I do seem to have to move them to a new town/save every generation. They started off in LL which corrupted before all the children were fully grown and it has become a theme with them it seems. I will make a testing copy of the save and see if I can get the thumbnaiol to spawn (they do have a plumbot so thanks for that extra info).
Bily_jednorozec may be onto something with the WA item. When this blank thumbnail happened during the second generation, I tested that save and tracked it down to something in one of their WA chests. I forget which one it turned out to be (my families usually have 3-4 of them to store different items, i.e. items for science station, cut gems and potions, family portraits and photographs, etc). I am trying to remember what that chest contained but it was a long time ago and I am not sure I remember correctly, but I think it was cut gems and potions. Maybe. I ended up just selling the chest and everything in it to get the thumbnail to show up again.
Anyway, after the blank thumbnail happened in that save, I had several issues happen with that save and almost lost my family a few times, including when I moved them out in edit town mode (to try to fix another issue) the game kept a doppelganger family in the house so I could not move them back in! They were not there but they were. I had to use MC to fix it all. In the end, I just moved the whole family to a new town (without thier house or anything that could be replaced, though kept things like portraits). And the new save in the new town showed as it was supposed to.
The save I am having the issue with currently is a rather new save in a new world (they do not seem destined to live in LP). I did take the WA chests out of their family inventory and keep two out (the science station one and the bot station one) and now that I think on it, the blank thumbnail did happen just after I did that (I was still working on filling the house). I don't believe they have a tent, but I could be mistaken. I'll check next time I am in game.
Maybe of importance to note that this family has portaits and photographs (in digital frames) that go back to the begining as well as the urns for all the ancestors (just the heir and mate each generation), and for some of the pets I was especially fond of. After nine generations (it is a 20 generation challenge), that is a lot of ghosts but luckily no more then 3-4 come out at a time. usually. I am not sure if old items like this can effect the saves though.
In reference to the caches: I do play with Twallan's Story Progression mod in. If i play without it EA's SP kills off all the infants, toddlers, and even many of the elders. So the game is unplayable without it for me. I like to play with an alive and bustling town that grows and develops along with the family I am playing. So aging is always on and my towns are pretty full.
I have had issues with past towns where deleting the world caches for it seemed to fix it (mostly types of lag if I remember correctly). I started deleting them regularly after that. Kind of ironic that what I started doing to protect my saves may now be messing them up. Gotta love this game! :roll:
I have to stop here as my son and nephew are demanding my attention (20 days until school starts ;P).
Given the new information, I would suggest three things:
1. Put gems/metals in the Supernatural gem cabinet. Put collectible insects in the Supernatural insect cabinet. Put nanites in their own nanite cages, stacked in the basement, by type, and grab what you need as you need them to build trait chips. Use the WA chests only for food harvests, herb harvests, supernatural harvests, and trait chips.
2. Hang photos, art, etc in a gallery designed to hold them all. You can grab them and put them back in your family inventory, if you move the family. (If you want the pictures for remembrance/ambiance, but don't care about having them individually displayed on an end table, etc, then it might be best to turn them into wallpaper. ZooProfessor has a tutorial on it, which might be a real solution for you. You can always save the real photos/art along with a copy of the family, exported to a Sims3Pack, so that you can get the real thing back if you ever need them for some reason. But, in the meantime, they could be displayed as wallpaper in your home, without the extra "baggage."
3. Take your family ghosts to a family ghost area of the graveyard, and keep them inside a building, so they stay urns. If you need to move the family, you can always grab them before you go. But this will get them off your primary lot.
I wish you the best of luck with your legacy family. I know you want to keep them for as long as possible. But may I suggest you save each family member to CAS, as a template? Then, if the worse comes to worse, you can at least remake a new CAS family that looks identical to yours, and continue the legacy from there.
I realize this isn't a perfect solution, because you would have to pretend a family history for them. But, other than skills, you can make them relate to each other in the same way as before. And if the ghosts are put in a graveyard of a brand new world, they can still be "family ghosts." The art and photos, saved as wallpaper, can still follow along with the new "old" family. And if you give them a house that has been saved with all the WA chests and supernatural cabinets, they will have all the same goodies.
The only thing missing is the extended family tree. BUT, then, it just might be the extended family tree that is glitching in the game, and causing the corruption that keeps popping up.
At least be prepared for the eventual demise of this played family, by keeping CAS templates. Your family definitely qualifies as "long in the tooth." And the day will come, at some point, that you will need to recreate the family in CAS, if you wish to continue the "legacy."
We have to remember that TS3 was designed to be played for three to six months, and then dropped to play the next new world for three to six months, and so forth. At the end of the game's run, you were meant to drop it, in preference for the next new shiny.
EA never intended for you to keep one legacy family for the entire life of the game. TS3 was never optimized for that kind of play. So, the very fact anyone is able to have legacies for any length of time is somewhat miraculous. You have done well, keeping them this long, when playing in a fully populated world with story progression and aging on. I don't think anyone could have done better. (hugs)
Amjoie,
Thank you for this great guide! It is so useful, and we should keep it bumped regularly.
I have a question. I already keep a nice download file using HollownessDevours guide to Own the Store. I don't understand your part about the folder "Install First" items. I have been looking around, and can't find more info on this. Can you point me in the right direction on these items? Are they just the items with added textures? I install all my full sets, and then single non-set items, then the itmes from sets I haven't completed, so as to have no overlap.
I have so much stuff in game now, I sometimes wonder if its all there! I don't want to miss anything! So please let me know about these items that should be installed separately first.
Anyway, thanks again!
I know, that Amjoie has already answered on this question on the same page where it was posted. I think, that only those items aren't installing correctly if installed as a part of sets.
But in forum is already present whole list of single items (Sims3Packs) with textures included (author Metallicjunior: List of items that come with Textures. ).
I've escavated this message (sorry) because I think that this link may be for someone usefull: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/517663.page
I hope it will be helpfull at someone, if not, sorry for a disturb :oops:
All edits: unable to make 2nd link hidden
I have that link in my helpful links section. But it never hurts to link it here, as well, since textures were being discussed.
I think I forgot to mention that, depending on how your browser handles it, you may have to change the title when doing a "save as" and "website complete" because it may be the same generic title that is auto generated for each thread, while saving. Also, you have to save each page, of each thread, separately. So add a page number to each title.
This thread, to date, has five pages in my browser, with my settings. So I have five separate folders titled Know What Is Inside Your Game-TS3 page xx_files and five separate html pages titled Know What Is Inside Your Game-TS3 page xx, kept inside a folder named Know What Is Inside Your Game-TS3.
Five isn't too bad, really. Wait until you try to save some of my other threads. :P
EDIT: It seems that keeping a tent in the inventory is fine, but keeping tents in a WA chest will cause the problem? Apparently all tents are at issue. Tents do just sit on the floor, and look great in attics or basements, when not in use. So there really isn't a reason to put them in a chest, for safekeeping. I guess the best thing is finding a place in the house for them, until needed for travel.
Yes, so I've understood this messages. I have time a go solved selling tents (using static needs, my sim don't needed this)
Sorry for not making long quotes - it will be more easy for another simmers to go trough this topic (I think, is very helpfull and it will be readed many time).
Thank you again for another precious informations in this thread what you've added.
Sorry if I'm not writting each time when I'm liking yours topics in forum. I have got ADSL only few weeks ago and I have still on mind others users with slow internet: remembering, how that was painfull to use slow internet-key for reading sometimes ginormous topics. :oops:
(Still missing here "agree"-"disagree"-"helpfull"-"love" buttons and "hide only thanks containing post" button from MTS).
But I'm linking what I find usefull.
Thank you again, Amjoie
"My Studio" on thesims3.com "My Blog" on thesims3.com
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
EDIT: It seems that keeping a tent in the inventory is fine, but keeping tents in a WA chest will cause the problem? Apparently all tents are at issue. Tents do just sit on the floor, and look great in attics or basements, when not in use. So there really isn't a reason to put them in a chest, for safekeeping. I guess the best thing is finding a place in the house for them, until needed for travel.
Yes, so I've understood this messages. I have time a go solved selling tents (using static needs, my sim don't needed this)
Sorry for not making long quotes - it will be more easy for another simmers to go trough this topic (I think, is very helpfull and it will be readed many time).
Thank you again for another precious informations in this thread what you've added.
Sorry if I'm not writting each time when I'm liking yours topics in forum. I have got ADSL only few weeks ago and I have still on mind others users with slow internet: remembering, how that was painfull to use slow internet-key for reading sometimes ginormous topics. :oops:
(Still missing here "agree"-"disagree"-"helpfull"-"love" buttons and "hide only thanks containing post" button from MTS).
But I'm linking what I find usefull.
Thank you again, Amjoie
Shrinking a quote to only what you need to answer is a good thing. I try to do it, unless my wrist is hurting or I am really tired. Then, sometimes I just can't.
And you are more than welcome. I enjoy helping. (hugs)
Amjoie,
Thank you for this great guide! It is so useful, and we should keep it bumped regularly.
I have a question. I already keep a nice download file using HollownessDevours guide to Own the Store. I don't understand your part about the folder "Install First" items. I have been looking around, and can't find more info on this. Can you point me in the right direction on these items? Are they just the items with added textures? I install all my full sets, and then single non-set items, then the itmes from sets I haven't completed, so as to have no overlap.
I have so much stuff in game now, I sometimes wonder if its all there! I don't want to miss anything! So please let me know about these items that should be installed separately first.
Anyway, thanks again!
The "install first" items are two objects with two textures that will not show up in your game if they are only installed with the set they are supposed to come with, because the textures are missing in the set (but present in the objects downloaded individually). So, you have to download and and install those two items separately, in order for the textures to show up. Otherwise you get blank icons, where the textures are supposed to be.
And the separately downloaded objects with the textures have to be installed BEFORE the set they came with, or the textures will not be recognized, because the Launcher will just say they have already been installed the set (when they weren't). So I install those two objects first, to make sure the textures will be recognized in my game.
I know, that Amjoie has already answered on this question on the same page where it was posted. I think, that only those items aren't installing correctly if installed as a part of sets.
But in forum is already present whole list of single items (Sims3Packs) with textures included (author Metallicjunior: List of items that come with Textures. ).
I've escavated this message (sorry) because I think that this link may be for someone usefull: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/517663.page
I hope it will be helpfull at someone, if not, sorry for a disturb :oops:
All edits: unable to make 2nd link hidden
Thank you Amjoie & Bily_jednorozec! That is very helpful, as I have wondered at the blank spaces in my textures! Next time I redo everything, I will download and install these first!
Wow! Amjoie, your section on modding was so well done! I wish I had read this before I started using mods! I probably would have gone a different direction than I did. I have been having some problems with a NRaas mod in the last two weeks, but was able to narrow it down to a small group of mods that I decided I didn't need anyway, so I didn't bother to narrow it down to a specific one. If I had read this first, I would have gone about adding mods only after testing each one!
Thank you for all the time and energy you are putting into this thread, it is very beneficial!
Given the new information, I would suggest three things:
1. Put gems/metals in the Supernatural gem cabinet. Put collectible insects in the Supernatural insect cabinet. Put nanites in their own nanite cages, stacked in the basement, by type, and grab what you need as you need them to build trait chips. Use the WA chests only for food harvests, herb harvests, supernatural harvests, and trait chips.
3. Hang photos, art, etc in a gallery designed to hold them all. You can grab them and put them back in your family inventory, if you move the family. (If you want the pictures for remembrance/ambiance, but don't care about having them individually displayed on an end table, etc, then it might be best to turn them into wallpaper. ZooProfessor has a tutorial on it, which might be a real solution for you. You can always save the real photos/art along with a copy of the family, exported to a Sims3Pack, so that you can get the real thing back if you ever need them for some reason. But, in the meantime, they could be displayed as wallpaper in your home, without the extra "baggage."
2. Take your family ghosts to a family ghost area of the graveyard, and keep them inside a building, so they stay urns. If you need to move the family, you can always grab them before you go. But this will get them off your primary lot.
I wish you the best of luck with your legacy family. I know you want to keep them for as long as possible. But may I suggest you save each family member to CAS, as a template? Then, if the worse comes to worse, you can at least remake a new CAS family that looks identical to yours, and continue the legacy from there.
I realize this isn't a perfect solution, because you would have to pretend a family history for them. But, other than skills, you can make them relate to each other in the same way as before. And if the ghosts are put in a graveyard of a brand new world, they can still be "family ghosts." The art and photos, saved as wallpaper, can still follow along with the new "old" family. And if you give them a house that has been saved with all the WA chests and supernatural cabinets, they will have all the same goodies.
The only thing missing is the extended family tree. BUT, then, it just might be the extended family tree that is glitching in the game, and causing the corruption that keeps popping up.
At least be prepared for the eventual demise of this played family, by keeping CAS templates. Your family definitely qualifies as "long in the tooth." And the day will come, at some point, that you will need to recreate the family in CAS, if you wish to continue the "legacy."
We have to remember that TS3 was designed to be played for three to six months, and then dropped to play the next new world for three to six months, and so forth. At the end of the game's run, you were meant to drop it, in preference for the next new shiny.
EA never intended for you to keep one legacy family for the entire life of the game. TS3 was never optimized for that kind of play. So, the very fact anyone is able to have legacies for any length of time is somewhat miraculous. You have done well, keeping them this long, when playing in a fully populated world with story progression and aging on. I don't think anyone could have done better. (hugs)
Thank you for your advice!
I tried to be more methodical about figuring out which items were causing the issue. Turns out it was 2 Genie lamps in one of the chests. Makes sense as I had not had then in a chest before I moved them.
I am going to keep items separated more though from now on as you suggest. At the very least it will make it easier to trouble-shoot any future issues! Over the years I have had issues with items bought from the consignment shop, the Imaginary Dolls (as dolls), and a number of other items. It is too bad the game is not programmed better.
I have a question about part of #1. Wouldn't taking out all the nanite cages contribute to more lag in the game because it is more the game has to process and render? I thought the more stuff/clutter you have around your lot, the more it contributes to lag? Do they count for the same amount of processing whether in a chest or all out and sitting under a roof?
2. I generally keep the ghosts on the lot in a basement Ancestor room I build for them. I like the continuity they provide and to have each generation's children get to know their ancestors. But sometimes if the generation is particularly bust or intensive to play, I buy a second lot and relocate the ghosts and the horse(s) there. As long as ghosts have rocking chairs, they are happy.
3. Thank your for this information, I will have to look it up and figure out how to turn some of the photos into wallpaper! It would solve the issue of the digital frames always being blamk every time load up the save. I do keep a family member saved with photos and urns and irreplaceable items now. I've had to retcon into old saves to retrieve items and a couple ghosts in the past.
Thanks for the luck! I feel with this family I need every bit I can get. I do save heirs and mates as both .sims3packs and .sims to prevent losing the family line. Thankfully, MC lets me re-connect family ties if I need to (even with ghosts!), which is a nice safety net to have. Without mods, I could not have gotten past the second generation! I am on generation 9 or a 20 generation legacy challenge so I am almost half-way there and do not want to give up, though it may take me a couple more years to complete it!
You are right that the game was not designed to be played this way. I sometimes wonder how anyone ever completes a legacy! It is a lot of work to keep it going and developing while trying to avoid corruption the saves. Thanks for all the advice you have given me over the years! My game has only been improved by it! (hugs)
I tried to be more methodical about figuring out which items were causing the issue. Turns out it was 2 Genie lamps in one of the chests. Makes sense as I had not had then in a chest before I moved them.
I am going to keep items separated more though from now on as you suggest. At the very least it will make it easier to trouble-shoot any future issues! Over the years I have had issues with items bought from the consignment shop, the Imaginary Dolls (as dolls), and a number of other items. It is too bad the game is not programmed better.
Thank you for sharing about the Genie lamps. I would never have thought of that, but yes, it makes sense. I'm sure that bit of info will help someone else with their game, in the future. (hugs)
I love the Supernatural cabinets because they look good and are useful to keep things "where they belong." I still love my WA chests, though. They look great in my castles, especially.
I have a question about part of #1. Wouldn't taking out all the nanite cages contribute to more lag in the game because it is more the game has to process and render? I thought the more stuff/clutter you have around your lot, the more it contributes to lag? Do they count for the same amount of processing whether in a chest or all out and sitting under a roof?
Having them out will require rendering, and putting them in the WA chest will not. I suppose having nanites in their own cages could be a problem in some games, if you have too many of them. So people should try it both the way I suggested and also stored in a WA chest, to see which way works best for them and their computer. I, personally, always enjoy seeing one of each nanite caged in a "collection" against a wall, because they are so colorful and pretty.
I usually have one sim, who is at the highest skill for bots, make all the trait chips. So I go out on a collection spree, and then have that sim make as many trait chips (of the kind I typically use) as they can with the recently caught nanites. Then I have them create whatever nanites they still need for finishing off a batch of trait chips.
After that I store trait chips in the WA chests. Extra nanites are either released, for the cheapies, or kept in cages if they are the more difficult to find types. But I rarely have more than half a dozen "left-overs" other than my one-of-each collection.
A common sense approach is what people will have to follow. It will all depend on their computer, and how many nanites they have on hand, at any given time. I would encourage people to "use them up," however.
2. I generally keep the ghosts on the lot in a basement Ancestor room I build for them. I like the continuity they provide and to have each generation's children get to know their ancestors. But sometimes if the generation is particularly bust or intensive to play, I buy a second lot and relocate the ghosts and the horse(s) there. As long as ghosts have rocking chairs, they are happy.
LOL That is so cute: Have rocking chair, will be happy.
3. Thank your for this information, I will have to look it up and figure out how to turn some of the photos into wallpaper! It would solve the issue of the digital frames always being blamk every time load up the save. I do keep a family member saved with photos and urns and irreplaceable items now. I've had to retcon into old saves to retrieve items and a couple ghosts in the past.
I want to try the wallpaper thing, as well. I don't know what impact it will have on my game, because technically it is CC. First I am going to get my small mods sorted out and once I have that all optimized, I'll try out the wallpaper to see what it does. But regardless, I'm guessing it will have less adverse impact on someone's game than dozens and dozens of sim created photos/portraits for legacy games. So it is probably the smart choice in those situations.
Thanks for the luck! I feel with this family I need every bit I can get. I do save heirs and mates as both .sims3packs and .sims to prevent losing the family line. Thankfully, MC lets me re-connect family ties if I need to (even with ghosts!), which is a nice safety net to have. Without mods, I could not have gotten past the second generation! I am on generation 9 or a 20 generation legacy challenge so I am almost half-way there and do not want to give up, though it may take me a couple more years to complete it!
You are right that the game was not designed to be played this way. I sometimes wonder how anyone ever completes a legacy! It is a lot of work to keep it going and developing while trying to avoid corruption the saves. Thanks for all the advice you have given me over the years! My game has only been improved by it! (hugs)
(Hopefully this isn't too long of a quote)
I am not sure how people can complete legacy challenges, of this length. Not in big worlds, anyway. That would be too much for me.
I play families with a lot of history/generations, but with aging off. And story progression off. Which gives me ultimate control over how and when sims age. And it eliminates all the ghosts, thereby keeping the population small. As a world ages, that is difficult enough, for me. LOL
I'm glad people have been helped by my observations/advice. I do a lot of nail biting before advising anyone about this game. So much depends on how people play, their hardware configuration, their choice of mods, whether or not they use CC.
General advice can always backfire, in situations that are so individually specific. But it grieves me to see people struggle and get frustrated, so I do what I can. Because this game is supposed to be pure FUN. And I really want people to be able to enjoy it.
Amjoie: I won't quote as it is getting rather long.
Yeah, I didn't consider the genie lamps at all, I was just taking things out and either deleting/selling them or placing them out and then saving each time to see which brought back the thumbnail. Usually I have extra genie lamps on display but when I moved the family to the new town, I placed them in the chests.
I will try putting the insects and nanite out (at least the rarer ones) and see how it plays. I do have a huge amount of nanites from playing in the future, and you are right, I don't really need to have so many. I'll have to see if I can find copies of the supernatural cabinets with a more modern look as the house I built for this generation is decidedly modern.
As you say, I would imagine that wallpaper CC will be less impactful on the game then all the portraits and digital photo frames I like to have out.
I have to move my legacy family pretty much every new generation. Even when I have a generation where the game runs extremely well for me, by the time all the non-heirs marry and have children of their own, after a generation or two, my sims end up related to near the whole town. Playing this legacy has made me have a lot of respect for the players that regularly play legacies for many generations!
Comments
I don't think I had any problem on my new pc at all (ok 1 or 2 crashes)
I do play with SP and aging on.
and only learnt (or relearnt incase I knew but for got) about the adding of lots mid way in editing HS... THough I only removed 1 lot and added 2 others... so I think I be ok... I hope so...
I'm very thankfull for this thread. So much work!
Now I'm still using bigger part of store content in packages, but I'm reading those tutorials, because I wanna try to install all store content by traditional way (launcher).
From my last attempts I've still got missing objects message after loading some old save.
Can I have 2 questions for you?
1) it is normal, that in Downloads folder is missing my email addy.bin?
I've fresh regenerated whole game folder + CAWs Folders, but it won't regenerate even if I made logout and login (launcher, Sims3.com and Origin site) + cleaned google and IE caches + getting still http://be.sponsorpay.com/assets/web_client.js script error (Origin updated). After clicking "yes" or "not" it is normally downloading, it makes me login-logout, links on launcher are working, but it won't regenerate my e-mail in Downloads folder.
2) about DCBackup folder:
I've still leaved there only ccmerged.package. Now is required to mantain there all files created during Store items installation? What happens if I'll continue to delete there all files except ccmerged.package?
NB: I've read in previous messages here, that patches have changed something with WorldCaches folder and I have still deleted all things inside without issues.
Thank you so much for yours work on this topic, bookmarked
Edit: (question 1. is now solved, e-mail appeared finally, site acts a little bit wonky in those days)
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
I have never had the problem of a missing email addy in the Downloads folder. Since regenerating an email addy should be an automatic game function, I cannot imagine why it is not happening in your game. It sounds like you have done everything to troubleshoot the problem that I would suggest doing, so I'm stymied. Perhaps you should try asking your question in the technical section of the forum. It sounds like something beyond the normal game function, and something more to do with a technical issue outside the game.
The files in the DCBackup, other than ccmerged, are the .pkg files of your objects, and are used by the game to "fix' any object that malfunctions, from my understanding of how the game works. It is, in that sense, a "backup" of your installed objects. They are there for a reason, and really should be left in your game.
If you install all the store things, just once, and never delete any, that folder should stay the same size. And the normal size of the folder should not be an issue, in your game.
In games that have most of the store and all of the worlds, and if you store the downloaded store content somewhere other than the game folder, the size should be somewhere between 20-25 GB, a little more or less depending on how much store content you own or if you have CC installed. The DCBackup folder will be somewhere around 5-7 GB. It may seem like a rather large amount, but not in terms of the game, as a whole. And the game does use those files. So they are not, as some would have you believe, just wasted space.
If you are that tight for hard drive space, that 5-7 GB is going to make a difference, then perhaps you should consider a larger hard drive for your computer.
The problem with the DCBackup is that nothing ever gets deleted from there, if you delete store content or CC through your Launcher. So the folder can go from sleek to bloated rather quickly, depending on how you manage your files.
But the best way to deal with the prospect of a bloated DCBackup is to replace it, every once in a while, with a copy of the DCBackup folder that was generated immediately after all your store content was first installed. If you kept a backup of that fresh new DCBackup right after you first installed all your store content, then it is very easy to use a copy of it to give yourself a fully functional sleek DCBackup, whenever one is needed.
It is even easier to keep a sleek DCBackup if you pretend that nothing can ever be deleted, once installed. That will help you install only those things you know you wish to keep, in your real game. If you want to "try something out" do it in a separate "trial" game, and keep your real game for only those things you know you will never wish to uninstall.
As to the question of whether or not you can "get by with" deleting all the files other than the ccmerged: Your game is not likely to blow up because you did that. You may never run into a problem. Some people may tell you they do it all the time and their game has never suffered.
But if your game calls for those files, and they are missing, your game will error. If errors pile up, they can cause corruption. This will happen where you do not see it happening, and cannot test for problems. It is just one more thing that might go wrong in your game. And frankly, with how touchy this game has gotten, I am not willing to take the risk. I think it is best to let the game have those files, regardless of the fact they take up 5-7 GB. The files are technically required by the game, and really are best left alone.
edit: I'm so glad to hear your email addy is now appearing in Downloads.
Can you tell me which tent was an issue in your game? I have had every tent other than the sultan's tent in my sim's inventory (at one time or another) and never run into a missing thumbnail issue. Was it, perhaps, the sultan's tent that caused the problem? I don't believe my sims ever carried that tent around, for any length of time.
Generally, due to various issues that differ from item to item, it is best to keep those individual inventories with very few items in them. I use the WA chests to store most inventory, like harvested food, nanites, extra trait chips, etc. I use the family inventory to store sketchpad drawings, sim art, photos, etc. I hang certificates in hallways. I put all collectibles in their own storage cases, shortly after collecting them.
When not traveling to WA, I also store dried food, canned showers, tents, sleeping bags, etc in a WA chest.
So, usually, my sim's personal inventory has a couple flowers for Grimy (should they ever be needed), a camera, an ITF skateboard, a guitar/violin or a sketchpad or hackysack ball (depending on their interests), a sim version of the iPad, and one or two items to eat (for emergencies). Just enough to keep them occupied and not starving, when I'm not actively playing them on a community lot.
The only time adding lots is a problem is if you put a brand new empty lot, where a lot never existed before, using the World Editor to place the brand new empty lot, while in edit mode. The World Editor is broken, so if you try to make an empty lot where no lot ever existed, it will tear a hole in the world layer, potentially causing routing issues/corruption.
But if a lot already exists in the world in that location (because it was put there by the world creator when the world was made), then you can replace it with a different residential or community lot of the same size or smaller, without a problem.
So, you can safely add or replace residential or community lots to places that already have an existing empty lot, which came with the world.
You can use the bulldozer to safely delete a lot, clicking on it only once, so it is ready to accept placement of a new residential or community lot. EDIT: But remember to move gravestones or urns to the graveyard, before deleting!
You can safely move lots from one place to another, within the world.
You can safely rezone a lot from community to residential and residential to community.
If you did use the World Editor to add two lots, you may have a problem. If you experience a lag in that world, that gets continually worse as time goes by, then your world is broken. If not, then your world is good. That is the only way to judge whether or not you have a problem, and it takes some time for the lag to get back enough that you can't deny it is there. In the beginning, it is only noticeable when a sim is jogging or something like that. When jogging, they run, hesitate or skip animations, run a ways, then hesitate or skip animations, and so on. It happens repeatedly (not just once or twice), and if you have ever seen it happening, you will know what to look for. Eventually, that halting hesitation halts for a longer time before it goes back to normal, and then starts freezing for a time before going back to normal. And then freezes often enough that it is a very noticeable lag. And then, if you continue to play that world, it will eventually just lock up. So, if your jogging sims are already doing the noticeable repeated hesitating, you may as well start a new world.
I'm glad that you're too fan of treasure chests. Yes, I'm preserving too many things in treasure chests and it helps too keep inventories organized.
I like you can open it even with fire or thief on lot, where game don't allows to use buy/build mode. If I remember well it let's you take too death flowers when needed and I've used it after my sim was killed on community lot with meteorite. It's too fridgesaver.;)
Sorry for late answer, but I was on EA's Live chat (USA) and I've got from Alex simpoints for purchase Lucky Palms Gold (owning venue and standard world).
Edit: wrong english :oops:
Edit 2: re-reading messages about missing thumbnails: this happens when the WA tent is already in WA chest. Another links:
http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/09/bug-missing-picture-in-savegame-overview.html
http://modthesims.info/t/417573
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
But in forum is already present whole list of single items (Sims3Packs) with textures included (author Metallicjunior: List of items that come with Textures.
I've escavated this message (sorry) because I think that this link may be for someone usefull: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/517663.page
I hope it will be helpfull at someone, if not, sorry for a disturb :oops:
All edits: unable to make 2nd link hidden
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
The family that gives me the blank thumbnail is my legacy family and this has happened to them before. It is only ever this family it happens to.
Bily_jednorozec may be onto something with the WA item. When this blank thumbnail happened during the second generation, I tested that save and tracked it down to something in one of their WA chests. I forget which one it turned out to be (my families usually have 3-4 of them to store different items, i.e. items for science station, cut gems and potions, family portraits and photographs, etc). I am trying to remember what that chest contained but it was a long time ago and I am not sure I remember correctly, but I think it was cut gems and potions. Maybe. I ended up just selling the chest and everything in it to get the thumbnail to show up again.
Anyway, after the blank thumbnail happened in that save, I had several issues happen with that save and almost lost my family a few times, including when I moved them out in edit town mode (to try to fix another issue) the game kept a doppelganger family in the house so I could not move them back in! They were not there but they were. I had to use MC to fix it all. In the end, I just moved the whole family to a new town (without thier house or anything that could be replaced, though kept things like portraits). And the new save in the new town showed as it was supposed to.
The save I am having the issue with currently is a rather new save in a new world (they do not seem destined to live in LP). I did take the WA chests out of their family inventory and keep two out (the science station one and the bot station one) and now that I think on it, the blank thumbnail did happen just after I did that (I was still working on filling the house). I don't believe they have a tent, but I could be mistaken. I'll check next time I am in game.
Maybe of importance to note that this family has portaits and photographs (in digital frames) that go back to the begining as well as the urns for all the ancestors (just the heir and mate each generation), and for some of the pets I was especially fond of. After nine generations (it is a 20 generation challenge), that is a lot of ghosts but luckily no more then 3-4 come out at a time. usually. I am not sure if old items like this can effect the saves though.
In reference to the caches: I do play with Twallan's Story Progression mod in. If i play without it EA's SP kills off all the infants, toddlers, and even many of the elders. So the game is unplayable without it for me. I like to play with an alive and bustling town that grows and develops along with the family I am playing. So aging is always on and my towns are pretty full.
I have had issues with past towns where deleting the world caches for it seemed to fix it (mostly types of lag if I remember correctly). I started deleting them regularly after that. Kind of ironic that what I started doing to protect my saves may now be messing them up. Gotta love this game! :roll:
I have to stop here as my son and nephew are demanding my attention (20 days until school starts ;P).
Thank you so much for the links. I have never experienced this, that I remember, but it is obviously a problem for some people, so it's good to know! Maybe just using sleeping bags is the best thing, then, avoiding tents altogether.
EDIT: It seems that keeping a tent in the inventory is fine, but keeping tents in a WA chest will cause the problem? Apparently all tents are at issue. Tents do just sit on the floor, and look great in attics or basements, when not in use. So there really isn't a reason to put them in a chest, for safekeeping. I guess the best thing is finding a place in the house for them, until needed for travel.
Given the new information, I would suggest three things:
1. Put gems/metals in the Supernatural gem cabinet. Put collectible insects in the Supernatural insect cabinet. Put nanites in their own nanite cages, stacked in the basement, by type, and grab what you need as you need them to build trait chips. Use the WA chests only for food harvests, herb harvests, supernatural harvests, and trait chips.
2. Hang photos, art, etc in a gallery designed to hold them all. You can grab them and put them back in your family inventory, if you move the family. (If you want the pictures for remembrance/ambiance, but don't care about having them individually displayed on an end table, etc, then it might be best to turn them into wallpaper. ZooProfessor has a tutorial on it, which might be a real solution for you. You can always save the real photos/art along with a copy of the family, exported to a Sims3Pack, so that you can get the real thing back if you ever need them for some reason. But, in the meantime, they could be displayed as wallpaper in your home, without the extra "baggage."
3. Take your family ghosts to a family ghost area of the graveyard, and keep them inside a building, so they stay urns. If you need to move the family, you can always grab them before you go. But this will get them off your primary lot.
I wish you the best of luck with your legacy family. I know you want to keep them for as long as possible. But may I suggest you save each family member to CAS, as a template? Then, if the worse comes to worse, you can at least remake a new CAS family that looks identical to yours, and continue the legacy from there.
I realize this isn't a perfect solution, because you would have to pretend a family history for them. But, other than skills, you can make them relate to each other in the same way as before. And if the ghosts are put in a graveyard of a brand new world, they can still be "family ghosts." The art and photos, saved as wallpaper, can still follow along with the new "old" family. And if you give them a house that has been saved with all the WA chests and supernatural cabinets, they will have all the same goodies.
The only thing missing is the extended family tree. BUT, then, it just might be the extended family tree that is glitching in the game, and causing the corruption that keeps popping up.
At least be prepared for the eventual demise of this played family, by keeping CAS templates. Your family definitely qualifies as "long in the tooth." And the day will come, at some point, that you will need to recreate the family in CAS, if you wish to continue the "legacy."
We have to remember that TS3 was designed to be played for three to six months, and then dropped to play the next new world for three to six months, and so forth. At the end of the game's run, you were meant to drop it, in preference for the next new shiny.
EA never intended for you to keep one legacy family for the entire life of the game. TS3 was never optimized for that kind of play. So, the very fact anyone is able to have legacies for any length of time is somewhat miraculous. You have done well, keeping them this long, when playing in a fully populated world with story progression and aging on. I don't think anyone could have done better. (hugs)
I have that link in my helpful links section. But it never hurts to link it here, as well, since textures were being discussed.
This thread, to date, has five pages in my browser, with my settings. So I have five separate folders titled Know What Is Inside Your Game-TS3 page xx_files and five separate html pages titled Know What Is Inside Your Game-TS3 page xx, kept inside a folder named Know What Is Inside Your Game-TS3.
Five isn't too bad, really. Wait until you try to save some of my other threads. :P
Sorry for not making long quotes - it will be more easy for another simmers to go trough this topic (I think, is very helpfull and it will be readed many time).
Thank you again for another precious informations in this thread what you've added.
Sorry if I'm not writting each time when I'm liking yours topics in forum. I have got ADSL only few weeks ago and I have still on mind others users with slow internet: remembering, how that was painfull to use slow internet-key for reading sometimes ginormous topics. :oops:
(Still missing here "agree"-"disagree"-"helpfull"-"love" buttons and "hide only thanks containing post" button from MTS).
But I'm linking what I find usefull.
Thank you again, Amjoie
Sorry for editing my comments frequently, in most cases I'm doing this due language issues (english isn't my native language, but I'm using english, because most used by people, with who I want to communicate).
Shrinking a quote to only what you need to answer is a good thing. I try to do it, unless my wrist is hurting or I am really tired. Then, sometimes I just can't.
And you are more than welcome. I enjoy helping. (hugs)
Thank you Amjoie & Bily_jednorozec! That is very helpful, as I have wondered at the blank spaces in my textures! Next time I redo everything, I will download and install these first!
Awesome thread, Amjoie!
Thank you
Another great read and saved into my Sims 3 archive for future reference!
Thank you for all the time and energy you are putting into this thread, it is very beneficial!
Thank you for your advice!
I tried to be more methodical about figuring out which items were causing the issue. Turns out it was 2 Genie lamps in one of the chests. Makes sense as I had not had then in a chest before I moved them.
I am going to keep items separated more though from now on as you suggest. At the very least it will make it easier to trouble-shoot any future issues! Over the years I have had issues with items bought from the consignment shop, the Imaginary Dolls (as dolls), and a number of other items. It is too bad the game is not programmed better.
I have a question about part of #1. Wouldn't taking out all the nanite cages contribute to more lag in the game because it is more the game has to process and render? I thought the more stuff/clutter you have around your lot, the more it contributes to lag? Do they count for the same amount of processing whether in a chest or all out and sitting under a roof?
2. I generally keep the ghosts on the lot in a basement Ancestor room I build for them. I like the continuity they provide and to have each generation's children get to know their ancestors. But sometimes if the generation is particularly bust or intensive to play, I buy a second lot and relocate the ghosts and the horse(s) there. As long as ghosts have rocking chairs, they are happy.
3. Thank your for this information, I will have to look it up and figure out how to turn some of the photos into wallpaper! It would solve the issue of the digital frames always being blamk every time load up the save. I do keep a family member saved with photos and urns and irreplaceable items now. I've had to retcon into old saves to retrieve items and a couple ghosts in the past.
Thanks for the luck! I feel with this family I need every bit I can get. I do save heirs and mates as both .sims3packs and .sims to prevent losing the family line. Thankfully, MC lets me re-connect family ties if I need to (even with ghosts!), which is a nice safety net to have. Without mods, I could not have gotten past the second generation! I am on generation 9 or a 20 generation legacy challenge so I am almost half-way there and do not want to give up, though it may take me a couple more years to complete it!
You are right that the game was not designed to be played this way. I sometimes wonder how anyone ever completes a legacy! It is a lot of work to keep it going and developing while trying to avoid corruption the saves. Thanks for all the advice you have given me over the years! My game has only been improved by it! (hugs)
(Hopefully this isn't too long of a quote)
Thank you for sharing about the Genie lamps. I would never have thought of that, but yes, it makes sense. I'm sure that bit of info will help someone else with their game, in the future. (hugs)
I love the Supernatural cabinets because they look good and are useful to keep things "where they belong." I still love my WA chests, though. They look great in my castles, especially.
Having them out will require rendering, and putting them in the WA chest will not. I suppose having nanites in their own cages could be a problem in some games, if you have too many of them. So people should try it both the way I suggested and also stored in a WA chest, to see which way works best for them and their computer. I, personally, always enjoy seeing one of each nanite caged in a "collection" against a wall, because they are so colorful and pretty.
I usually have one sim, who is at the highest skill for bots, make all the trait chips. So I go out on a collection spree, and then have that sim make as many trait chips (of the kind I typically use) as they can with the recently caught nanites. Then I have them create whatever nanites they still need for finishing off a batch of trait chips.
After that I store trait chips in the WA chests. Extra nanites are either released, for the cheapies, or kept in cages if they are the more difficult to find types. But I rarely have more than half a dozen "left-overs" other than my one-of-each collection.
A common sense approach is what people will have to follow. It will all depend on their computer, and how many nanites they have on hand, at any given time. I would encourage people to "use them up," however.
LOL That is so cute: Have rocking chair, will be happy.
I want to try the wallpaper thing, as well. I don't know what impact it will have on my game, because technically it is CC. First I am going to get my small mods sorted out and once I have that all optimized, I'll try out the wallpaper to see what it does. But regardless, I'm guessing it will have less adverse impact on someone's game than dozens and dozens of sim created photos/portraits for legacy games. So it is probably the smart choice in those situations.
I am not sure how people can complete legacy challenges, of this length. Not in big worlds, anyway. That would be too much for me.
I play families with a lot of history/generations, but with aging off. And story progression off. Which gives me ultimate control over how and when sims age. And it eliminates all the ghosts, thereby keeping the population small. As a world ages, that is difficult enough, for me. LOL
I'm glad people have been helped by my observations/advice. I do a lot of nail biting before advising anyone about this game. So much depends on how people play, their hardware configuration, their choice of mods, whether or not they use CC.
General advice can always backfire, in situations that are so individually specific. But it grieves me to see people struggle and get frustrated, so I do what I can. Because this game is supposed to be pure FUN. And I really want people to be able to enjoy it.
Yeah, I didn't consider the genie lamps at all, I was just taking things out and either deleting/selling them or placing them out and then saving each time to see which brought back the thumbnail. Usually I have extra genie lamps on display but when I moved the family to the new town, I placed them in the chests.
I will try putting the insects and nanite out (at least the rarer ones) and see how it plays. I do have a huge amount of nanites from playing in the future, and you are right, I don't really need to have so many. I'll have to see if I can find copies of the supernatural cabinets with a more modern look as the house I built for this generation is decidedly modern.
As you say, I would imagine that wallpaper CC will be less impactful on the game then all the portraits and digital photo frames I like to have out.
I have to move my legacy family pretty much every new generation. Even when I have a generation where the game runs extremely well for me, by the time all the non-heirs marry and have children of their own, after a generation or two, my sims end up related to near the whole town. Playing this legacy has made me have a lot of respect for the players that regularly play legacies for many generations!
Your advice is always good.