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Game launcher shows expansions are checked but only loads base game.

I recently reinstalled the Sims 3 base game and am working on the expansions and stuff packs. I go to the game tab to check mark all the EP's and SP's I want to play with but when I load the game, only the base game loads. When I check the launcher, all EP's and SP's are unchecked. I've never had this issue before when I reinstalled the game a while back. If someone could help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • GraceyManorGraceyManor Posts: 20,079 Member
    I have this issue occasionally as well.
    Exit the game, relaunch the launcer go in, and UNCHECK all the games.Close the launcher.
    Then find IE on your computer clear the cache.
    Relaunch the launcher and CHECK all the game packs again.
    And then try launching.

    This fixed it for me, hopefully it works.
  • BrandontaylorBrandontaylor Posts: 4,764 Member
    I'll give it a shot, let's hope it works.
  • BrandontaylorBrandontaylor Posts: 4,764 Member

    Well, this issue is fixed but now I am having an issue where it takes a very long time for the main screen to load to the save selection or town selection screen. When I finally get to choose a save file, the save file takes almost an hour even if the save is a brand new one. I'm not sure what is causing all these issues when I never had this trouble before.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited June 2019
    A tremendously long delay like that in either phase of the startup procedure often indicates an overload of content having been added to the game or such that is causing some other issue like conflicts, "bad" CC, or package files (Mods\Packages) accidentally added that were really intended for TS2 or TS4. A damaged TS3 user game folder can also cause these things.

    Regardless of whether you have such content trying to load, you might try the following steps if you haven't already.

    1 - Clear (delete) the five cache files on the top level of the TS3 user game folder in Documents and empty out the FeaturedItems folder. They will regenerate on the next attempted startup.

    2 - Pull the entire TS3 user game folder out of Documents to the Desktop for safekeeping (or rename it), thus causing a new no-content added game folder to spawn in its place on the next startup. Does the game startup in either phase work out better on the new game folder?

    3 - Use what we might call best practices, especially when troubleshooting such issues:
    -- Play offline, meaning not logged in at the Launcher or in-game levels, for the time being thus forgoing any online features of the game (such as they are)
    -- Disable the in-game TS Store shopping experience through Game Options
    -- Disable the interactive find an object game that runs during the startup sequence, again through Game Options
    -- Lock down the FeaturedItems folder so it stops filling up with nonsense during startup (can explain how if this becomes necessary)

    4 - We could have a discussion about the hardware you are playing on, system specs and ask to see a dxdiag. But so far this doesn't necessarily sound like a hardware issue.
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  • BrandontaylorBrandontaylor Posts: 4,764 Member
    @igazor I've actually tried all of this and nothing works. It's weird because it was just fine a few weeks ago. Someone said about locking down the FeaturedItems folder but I wasn't sure how. The thing I can't figure out is why the game started acting up. I've been playing it on this computer for two years and it hasn't done that before.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited June 2019
    You could adjust the Read/Write security settings on FeaturedItems to deny access. But many of us find it easier and more effective to do it this way:
    -- Delete the entire FeaturedItems folder and its contents
    -- Create a new text document called FeaturedItems, the extension can be .txt, .rtf. .docx, it really doesn't matter.
    -- With Windows set to display file extension, rename the file to lop off the extension entirely so that the full name of the document is just FeaturedItems and place this document into the TS3 user game folder in Documents.

    The game cannot create a new folder with exactly the same name (although it will try briefly) and cannot store things we don't want in what is now really a document and not a folder.

    I guess the next question is, what has changed in the past few weeks. Windows update? Updated graphics drivers, something else? If we could, please open the file called DeviceConfig.log (or it may show as just "DeviceConfig") in your user game folder and paste the first 40 lines or so into a response here. Or, if you prefer, send it to me by PM. Not the long lists of game options, the parts that come before that. This will give us at least a preview of your hardware and what the game is using (or thinks it is using, not always the same thing) upon startup. Also please mention how many EPs we are talking about, and which ones if not all 11 of them.
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  • BrandontaylorBrandontaylor Posts: 4,764 Member

    @igazor Well, I did have a Windows update a few weeks ago but not sure if that did anything or not. My computer runs Windows 7 so I won't be getting updates much longer. As for the EP's, right now I have them all installed but left the SP's uninstalled for now. I've tried to deselect them all and load just the base game and it still does it. I'll PM you the first 40 lines in a few minutes.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited June 2019
    I'm very sorry, we should have started with the hardware profile but as your game was working better than this before I had no idea this was going to be the main issue. Afraid I see why your game is so impossibly slow to load. This computer is not suited for playing TS3 at all as it is, meaning the base game let alone any of the EPs.

    Its processor is on the weak side running at a max of 2.1 GHz. That's not fatal until we get to the heavier hitting EPs, meaning Pets, Seasons, IP, ITF, possibly some of the in between ones that were released after Late Night.

    It only has 3 GB of RAM total. Upon starting the game, other processes are using much of that, so the game only has less than 1 GB to work with (976 MB for the session on which that log was generated). That's not nearly enough and explains why it takes an hour or more to even get things started as the resources the game needs are just not there to work with. On Win 7 and higher, more RAM than that is needed. We usually recommend 6 GB minimum, but 8 GB would be better, provided you have the 64-bit version of Windows.

    Its graphics are integrated and the Intel GMA chip is far too weak to carry anything other than the base game. Many players on that hardware set cannot get the game to startup at all, others will have different experiences but performance will tend to degrade over time. That you can actually startup the game (eventually) and run it in any stable manner is actually quite remarkable. As saved games progress and move forward, they require yet more resources so the prospects for a properly running base game only where one shouldn't need to keep starting over with new games far too soon or have game sessions that last for more than a real time hour or so are very low.

    You could probably add more RAM to this computer, how much so will depend on its configuration and again whether your operating system is 64-bit. But given its likely age, there probably isn't much else you can do to improve performance on it. Hopefully you might have or can soon have a stronger system on which to play TS3 (or TS4)? This one would likely be much better suited for TS2, if it holds up mechanically.
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  • BrandontaylorBrandontaylor Posts: 4,764 Member
    @igazor It's just strange to think that for two years, I could play all the EP's and SP's just fine until about two weeks ago. The game never took too long to start up or anything. As for getting a new computer, I hope to do that eventually when finances allow it. Before I get one though, I'm going to ask you and others what I should look for. I know how to operate a computer (obviously) but get lost on the technical side of things. Anyway, thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    If your current computer seems to be holding up mechanically in other ways, and really has handled the game that well all of this time until now, you may want to check with its manufacturer or a tech service provider as to how much of a RAM upgrade it can accept and how much that will cost. I can't guarantee that will make everything better again, but having more RAM certainly cannot hurt as long as the correct kind is used for your system.

    You will also want to make sure you have enough hard drive space free. Nothing can help a system running Windows that has no or too little free space on the drive other than making more space available for it (and the game) to work with. At least 35 GB free should be insisted upon.

    But if the processor and other components are not aging gracefully, these may only be temporary solutions until a stronger system can be obtained.


    igazor wrote: »

    Processor: For a desktop, an i5 quad core or higher, or the AMD equivalent, 2.4 GHz, the newer H-series processors that run at just under that are fine as they can turbo slightly to make up the difference and are designed to take the stress but a higher base speed will always be preferable. Avoid the U- and Y-series processors at all costs as they are meant for ultra-low power consumption, not continuous high speed processing.

    RAM: At least 8 GB, if you want to be able to run other applications alongside of or while the game is paused then 12 or 16 GB. The game itself can only use just under 4 GB but Windows and other processes are going to claim a large amount for themselves.

    Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 1050 or higher within that series, or the 1660 (I can't seem to keep up with the numbering system on the new 1600s), or the AMD equivalents. The also pretty new GT 1030s and MX 130s and 150s should be avoided, they are not strong enough within the range.

    Hard Drive:
    At least 512 GB to work with comfortably, of course the game doesn't need all of that space but one assumes other uses for the computer and TS4 has already been mentioned. Solid Stated Drives (SSDs) are great, but ones large enough to carry Windows, the game, and other things (so over 256 GB) will drive the price up considerably. Very small SSDs (128 GB or less) are meant to carry Windows and system processes only, and will typically come with a second standard HDD that provides more space to work with -- in this case the games would need to be installed on the second drive and the Documents library shifted over at the Windows level.
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  • BrandontaylorBrandontaylor Posts: 4,764 Member

    I cleaned up my computer some and shut off some programs running in the background and I am glad to say that I can at least play the base game with no issues now. I'm not going to add EP's or SP's right now because I think they could cause the issue to happen again.
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