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Thread for new members to post their Sims 3 game issues (2020-22 version!)

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    igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited August 2020
    @LadyZombie2010 - It sounds to me like something has gone wrong with either your TS3 user game folder or the contents of DCCache, which is where store and custom sims3pack items land in bundles once they have actually been installed. A good test would be to pull out or rename your entire user game folder, thus forcing the game to spawn a new no-content one on its next launch. If you start a new test game on the fresh game folder and can get your store content installed, a small number of items at a time, and stay stable through multiple game reloads, then we can proceed from there.

    However, from another post on this forum it sounds like you have abandoned TS3 or at least are setting it aside for now. :/
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    CassieeeCassieee Posts: 4 New Member
    Hi I recently bought Ambitions and now all my store content won't work. :( I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling but it still won't show up in game. I am so sad about this because this is my favorite game and I've spent so much money on it.. I have no idea what to do. Not only that when I scroll too far down in my "Installed Content" my launcher crashes. I play through Origin btw.
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    igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @Cassieee - See the comment just above yours. Although the trigger, meaning what got you to the problem, may have been different the underlying problem is either your DC Cache folder contents or your entire TS3 user game folder and the proposed solutions are the same.
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    CassieeeCassieee Posts: 4 New Member
    @igazor I did that but now I’m trying to carry my mods folder over and now none of my mods or custom content is working 😕
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    igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    Cassieee wrote: »
    @igazor I did that but now I’m trying to carry my mods folder over and now none of my mods or custom content is working 😕
    The point would have been to test that new game folder by installing a small amount of store content on it first. Did you do that and without anything else being added yet does the store content stay in play through multiple quits and reloads?

    There is something else to check on as well, though. Do you have OneDrive activated and is there a Documents folder within OneDrive that has another user game folder in it? That's not where the game folder belongs of course, but if you have two of them and the game keeps trying to read from the "wrong" one or OneDrive keeps interfering with either of them by trying to sync them to the cloud, all kinds of unwanted things can happen.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
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    CassieeeCassieee Posts: 4 New Member
    @igazor Oh yeah I did that a few times and it’s working! I misunderstood and thought I should move all my stuff over afterwards. Where do I go from here?
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    CassieeeCassieee Posts: 4 New Member
    Also yes I did have one drive activated but I just deactivated it.
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    islecatislecat Posts: 4 New Member
    Not sure if this is the right place to post this question, but here it goes anyway. I have a Sim with the Jack of all Trades Lifetime want, the one where they want to climb the career ladder of 4 different careers paths. I'm wondering if putting the Sim in a profession rather than a career would still work towards this lifetime want? Like, if I wanted to make him an Investigator or an Architect, would this still count as a career?
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    igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @Cassieee - If you now have a stable TS3 user game folder (only one) in the sense that your installed store content is actually staying in place as it should, OneDrive is now deactivated, and you are certain there is no extra unwanted TS3 user game folder within OneDrive's own Documents folder/area (or you have actually deleted all of that if you have no other use for it), then it should be safe to put your Mods folder back into place and slowly a little bit at a time, testing along the way, begin re-adding your other content.

    Still not working?

    One way to make sure that the game is reading from the TS3 user game folder that it should be is to look for the file within called DeviceConfig.log (it may show up as just DeviceConfig if you have Windows set to hide file extensions but it would still be the same file), do a right-click on it > Properties, and examine its Modificaton Date/Time. It should match exactly with the last time you started up the game. If you aren't sure when that was, close out all of your folder windows and launch the game. The Modification Date/Time on that file should update instantly.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
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    igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @islecat - Can't say I've ever tried that one myself, but players have reported (going way back to when Ambitions was released) that as long as the professions or self-employed jobs in question have at least 5 levels to them, they should count.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
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    juju-esmeraldajuju-esmeralda Posts: 3 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @juju-esmeralda - It sounds like it's not the case that your mailbox is broken since you can send/receive stuff anyway, but rather something the game can't identify yet is stuck in there. If you are using NRaas mods, there are things you can do with MasterController and DebugEnabler to examine and clear stuck items like that.
    >
    > Otherwise, a different kind of lot reset might be required. Retreat to Edit Town, evict the entire household to the side of the map, copy the unoccupied lot down to the household bin, bulldoze, replace with a copy, and move everyone back in without having left the screen. Be prepared to quit without saving if for some reason this doesn't help or it makes things worse.

    hi! thank you for the assistance. the thing is this doesn't happen with just one household, but with all that I've played with until now. they get the package out of the mail and the interaction disappears, it's as if they got the mail, except nothing really appears. no notifications or anything.
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    LibrarianBabeLibrarianBabe Posts: 18 Member
    I just installed Sims 3 (and 4) on a new laptop. It seems to be ok except none of my Sims 3 installed content shows in the game launcher for me to download to the new computer. How can I get it to show up? Thanks.
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    puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    @LibrarianBabe What content are you looking for? Store items have to be downloaded from the store site in order for the launcher to read and install them. If you sign into the store and open your purchase history (Store> My Store Account > Purchase History), you'll see a list of everything you own and can download what you want from there.

    https://store.thesims3.com/

    It's best to download and install content in small batches of around six items at a time, as the launcher doesn't handle large amounts of data very well. Worlds should be handled separately, not in a batch with anything else.

    There are also ways to transfer your existing content (store stuff, custom content, mods) from your old computer to your new one, if you'd prefer to take a shortcut. But how to do that depends on what you're trying to transfer, and store content in particular does often need to be reinstalled.
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    puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    @juju-esmeralda Have you checked the household inventory? What you've described sounds exactly like what happens when other sims send yours gifts in the mail. There's no notification of what you got and no reaction; the stuff just lands in the inventory, from where you can place it while in Buy mode.
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    LibrarianBabeLibrarianBabe Posts: 18 Member
    @puzzlezaddict Thank you so much. I suspect I had to ask this question a few years ago when I last got a new laptop! I am downloading the items from the store (little by little) now.
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    juju-esmeraldajuju-esmeralda Posts: 3 New Member
    > @puzzlezaddict said:
    > @juju-esmeralda Have you checked the household inventory? What you've described sounds exactly like what happens when other sims send yours gifts in the mail. There's no notification of what you got and no reaction; the stuff just lands in the inventory, from where you can place it while in Buy mode.

    yes, I checked my inventory the other day and I did find some stuff! I just find it weird that I'm not getting any notifications when I receive gifts? are we not supposed to?
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    puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    @juju-esmeralda I've never received notifications for the gifts that land in the household inventory. This is on two different computers, Windows and macOS. I haven't tested with all packs enabled, so I don't know if one of the EPs (maybe Seasons) adds a note with the gifts. But it doesn't sound like anything is broken in your game.
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    RiseShine7RiseShine7 Posts: 3 New Member
    I'm interested in getting a laptop that can easily run Sims 2 (all expansions) & Sims 3 (most likely 5-6 EP's) with lots of CC for both games.

    This is the laptop i'm looking at right now - https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-gaming-laptops/IdeaPad-Gaming-3i-15%E2%80%9D/p/81Y4001FUS


    Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (15”):

    Processor
    10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-10300H Processor (2.50 GHz, up to 4.50 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache)

    Memory
    8 GB DDR4 2933MHz

    Hard Drive
    256 GB PCIe SSD

    Graphics
    NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 4GB

    Storage
    Up to 512 GB PCIe SSD
    1 TB 5400 RPM HDD + 256 GB PCIe SSD

    Ports/Slots
    2 x USB 3.2** (Gen 1)
    USB-C 3.2
    HDMI 2.0


    There's a more expensive laptop with better specs that i'm also interested in but wanted to check first if this one would be adequate. I have very basic knowledge about computer specs so i really appreciate any help!! thanks in advance :smile:
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    puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    @RiseShine7 That laptop would run Sims 3 very well, even with all packs enabled. It would likely run Sims 2 as well, although that game often takes a few extra steps to get working, especially on newer graphics cards. From what I understand, it's not an insurmountable barrier for most people, at least if they have the patience to experiment a bit.

    The one detail I'd worry about is storage. While 256 GB total is certainly enough for Sims 3, and Sims 2 is pretty small, once you start adding "lots of cc" and whatever other programs you'd like to run, it's easy to run out of space quickly. That doesn't mean you couldn't play on such a small drive, just that it might take some work to manage, or the use of an external hard drive or USB stick.

    If you like the Lenovo, this one is actually a bit cheaper and comes with a secondary 1 TB HDD. The SSD is still only 256 GB, but you could easily move the content back and forth between drives whenever you wanted, and install additional apps (and Sims 2) on the HDD when necessary.

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1561720-REG/lenovo_81y4001wus_l350_15_i5_10300_8gb_256gb.html

    If you'd like to see other options as well, please let me know, and I'll do a more thorough search.
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    PurpleMysticSeaPurpleMysticSea Posts: 2 New Member
    Back on August 19 2019 I bought The Sims 3 Starter Pack from Game On so I was installing the game today and noticed that there was an extra expansion pack called Supernatural so when I went to install it it starts to install it then it comes to a screen saying "The Sims TM 3 Supernatural, Please enter the entire Registration Code found either in your confirmation email, your game manual/product packaging, or game card." well you see the problem with that is A) I do not have any confirmation email as it was not bought online obviously, B) I do not have the game manual for The Sims 3 Supernatural Expansion pack because it was already in The Sims 3 Starter Pack which there is no manual/product packaging for it, and C) I do not have a game card. So my question is what do I do with it if I don't have anything for it?
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    igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited August 2020
    @PurpleMysticSea - Since the TS3 Starter Pack is not meant to include Supernatural, there probably isn't much you can do with the surprise disc. You could try contacting EA customer service to confirm that, but as Game On is not an authorized reseller of EA games I suspect what you have there is the equivalent of a used copy that cannot be registered.
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    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
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    PurpleMysticSeaPurpleMysticSea Posts: 2 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @PurpleMysticSea - Since the TS3 Starter Pack is not meant to include Supernatural, there probably isn't much you can do with the surprise disc. You could try contacting EA customer service to confirm that, but as Game On is not an authorized reseller of EA games I suspect what you have there is the equivalent of a used copy that cannot be registered.

    I was able to register all 3 discs of TSE Starter Pack however so I am not sure but yea probably a useless paperweight
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    elleskyheartelleskyheart Posts: 69 Member
    I was wondering, can someone tell me how to put cc into the sims 3. I've downloaded some skins and eyes to make some more unique like sims. However, this is my. first time doing it and am not sure how to make it show up. If anyone can help, thank you
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    puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    @elleskyheart What format do the items have: .Sims3Pack or .package? If they're .zip, .rar, or .7z, you'll need to extract them first. Both Windows and macOS can extract .zip files, but for the others, you'll need an outside tool, e.g. 7-Zip for Windows or Unarchiver for macOS.
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    elleskyheartelleskyheart Posts: 69 Member
    @elleskyheart What format do the items have: .Sims3Pack or .package? If they're .zip, .rar, or .7z, you'll need to extract them first. Both Windows and macOS can extract .zip files, but for the others, you'll need an outside tool, e.g. 7-Zip for Windows or Unarchiver for macOS.

    Hi puzzleaddcit, I was able to extract the files. Got a program for those. They are all package I believe. That part is okay. I just don't know how to get them into the actual game sadly.

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