Insimenator.org

The Sims 3 => Sims 3 Help => Topic started by: SenkoTwiik on January 01, 2014, 02:57:50 pm



Title: Need Help With Customs
Post by: SenkoTwiik on January 01, 2014, 02:57:50 pm
Hi everyone,
I just got Sims 3 for Xmas and I'm making a mess of it. I'm trying to install custom stuff for my game and it just isn't going my way. Everytime I put something custom into my game (installing it through the Sims 3 Launcher), it keeps telling me that the game needs to update. I have downloaded this update 6 freakin times, and my game is still messed up (create household won't work) when I start to play. It's the same for both custom houses and custom Sims. This happened with Sims 2 and the Clean Installer fixed my problems.

Is there a Sims 3 Clean Installer? If so, can somebody point it out to me?

Also, the MasterController really messes up my game badly. I want some mods but I don't know how on Earth to get the Master controller to work. When I install it, none of my sims are selectable and they stay frozen in whatever they were doing on my last save. Are there other mods out there that enable the Family Tree, Motive Adjustor, Reproductive Adjustor, and Relationship adjustor?

Please help. I have the base game, Late Night, Seasons, Pets, and the Loft Stuff Pack.


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: Theraven on January 01, 2014, 03:46:57 pm
Are you sure the items you're trying to download works for the EPs you have? If they don't you'll usually get that message. Make absolutely sure the mods you install are compatible with the EPs, and compatible with your current game version. 

Not sure about a TS3 clean installer, but there's a framework available for (ts3) package files.

Have you tried the help topics at MTS?
http://classic.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_CC_Basics


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: mookie on January 02, 2014, 01:58:13 pm
I started playing Sims 3 just over 2 months ago , so a novice myself , but I'll try to be of help if I can. The framework setup that Theraven referred to is available here http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files . Just plop that , sfter you extract it , in your Sims 3 folder in the MyDoc>Electronic Arts>Sims 3 path.  Going to blather for a sec, I still play Sims 2 on the same comp as I play Sims 3 on and have an EA Games folder for 2 and an Electronics Arts folder for 3 in my docs. I'm playing on Windows 7 , I have no idea what your OS is so hopefully this still pertains to you.

Sims 3 mods are about what patch level your at. If it's a mod that pertains to a certain interaction that came with an EP , then you also need that EP. Otherwise it's about the patch level , not the EP's. CC ( clothing, hair, furniture etc), unless it's based on an EA mesh from a specific EP, should all be fine. Unfortunately , we don't have much overlap on what we have ( I have base , LN , GEN, AMB, WA and Island Paradise), but that shouldn't really matter.  So just to give a quick example , you could download a mod that altered weather , since you have Seasons, I couldn't since I don't.

I was literally in the middle of installing patch 1.57 when I read on MTS that the next patch ( and still newest came out). It's patch 1.63 , so that's what you'll need. I have no faith in EA ( or Origin) to do anything correctly so the less they touch my game , the better. I downloaded the suoerpatcher here https://help.ea.com/article/the-sims-3-super-patcher and installed it manually , rather than going thru the launcher update. Piece of cake ( other than it's a gig plus dl , so pack a lunch if you just have generic high speed as I do).

I haven't had any of the problems you've had so far , but I'll try to make some guesses as to helping. In Sims 2 I always deleted the groups.cache and accessory.cache prior to playing every time. In Sims 3 your game will generate 5 caches that can safely be deleted ( they will regenerate) just like the Sims 2 ones I mentioned. Unfortunately , I just deleted mine for Sims 3 ( getting ready to play in a few)  and can't give you their exact names . They will be in your Sims 3 folder ( in my docs) and they are loose ( not subfoldered) packages just as the Sims 2 ones are. I know one is Simcompositorcache and one is Socialcache . Anyway , you should see 5 loose cache files in your The Sims 3 folder , just delete them. You will also see folders called DCCache , IGACache and , possibly, WorldCaches... don't mess with those at this point.

I use Twallan's Master controller and love it , as a matter of fact if it wasn't for Twallan's mods I probably would have bagged Sims 3 entirely within a week. His mods are what make that game ( somewhat) playable to me. Make sure you have the 1.63 version of MC to match your patch status.

You can put cc/mods into Sims 3 in several ways. Worlds, lots and Sims have to be put in in Sims3pack format , as they contain more than one item. Anything else can be put into the game in package format , which I much prefer ( again, the less EA , the better). Items you download will be in either package or Sims3pack form. Packages will go in your Packages folder , inside the Mods folder ( which you'll get from that framework download at MTS I linked to). On my OS I can folder and subfolder that crap to my hearts content , just like I did in Sims 2. For example , I have a folder in packages called CAS stuff , in that I have a subfolder for Female hair , In that I have a subfolder for Newsea etc.

Converting Sims3packs to package files ( as long as they aren't World's , lots or sims) is easy. Just use this http://modthesims.info/d/364038 , you can use it for multiple items at once. At some point, you'll want to merge your package files to speed up game/CAS loading etc, I'll be glad to help with that also, when and if you need it. Here is a pretty valuable tool that enables you to look at what is in your game CC/mod wise and see if their are any problems http://modthesims.info/d/387006 , it's a little bit CleanInstallerish. It will highlight cc that confllicts with other cc, show if cc is corrupt ( a fairly common problem in 3 mostly regarding clothes/shoes etc that aren't properly age categorized and can cause some minor havoc) and other problems.

So, hopefully you can get patched to 1.63 , delete your caches and make sure you have the right version of MC to match your patch. If that works please let me know. If it doesn't , then give me some links to dl's that aren't working for you and I'll see if I can help. I haven't installed any Sims at all yet. I've installed 3 non EA worlds, 5 lots and about 5 gigs of cc/mods with no trouble though. I quit my day job in October and have no intention of doing anything remotely useful until late Spring/early Summer , so got lots of time to help and glad to if I can. Good luck!


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: SenkoTwiik on January 02, 2014, 09:00:16 pm
Thanks. I'm really trying to figure all this out. I agree Mookie, I want the MasterController to make the game playable. There's so much I want to do. But for now, I'm going to try to at least get my game to accept custom content that isn't a mod (Sims, Clothes, Furniture). I have downloaded a couple of sims but I know I'm doing something wrong because nothing works. I have had one hair from Raon work and that has literally been the only custom thing that has worked for me. I have tried to download a house which didn't work because I didn't have the proper EPs. (In Sims 2, I could download anything I wanted regardless when it came to using the Clean Pack Installer). I have tried to download two or three different sims that apparently only needed basegame, but they showed up as a .sim file instead of a .pack file. Those didn't work either. Another hair I tried didn't work as well. Literally one custom item has worked for me. The others won't, or they won't even show up in my DL tab in the Sims 3 Launcher.

Needless to say, this is incredibly frustrating and I'm close to scrapping the whole thing. I'm going to try to download the patch, though. Hopefully it won't keep asking me every time I try to play to download the exact same patch, because it truly does take all day.


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: mookie on January 02, 2014, 09:30:35 pm
"Crosses fingers hoping patching works for you" I'm playing on Windows 7 and all my games are downloads from Origin , I'm not crazy about that but the price was right. Combo packs of base and IP, Gen and WA and singles of LN and AMB all at 60% off , so I have 6 games ( counting base) for $47.96 total. I patched to 1.57 and haven't updated ( or been bugged to) to 1.63. I log in to Origin to start playing for now , although I imagine there is a way around that if I choose to look for one. There is an option to update the patch , but I just ignore it. I also don't log in for the social features or whatever they call that junk. Ya, I really want to post to facebook that my sim went to a party.

Did you get that framework from MTS yet? Once you have that you can use package files and just put them in there.The things I have had to install as Sims3packs , I just click on them in my folder and then Origin starts up and I add them to the game that way. If you still aren't having any luck we'll try to figure out what's up.  Hang in there!


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: SenkoTwiik on January 06, 2014, 11:35:10 am
Yep, I got the framework, and read in MTS where all my downloads are supposed to go (the Packs, package files, and the other ones all apparently should be unzipped to a different place)

It took me DAYS to download the patch. ;)
The first time I downloaded the patch, it took all night and had an error so it wouldn't download all the way.
So I gave it another shot and it seems to have downloaded all the way. I'm going to try to install it now and see how that goes for me.
I will update later today.

UPDATE: I did the patch, installed it.
Now Sims Launcher doesn't show up. Instead Origin does, so I don't have the launcher way to install things. If I just put my downloads into the folders, should it still work?


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: DaSpecial1 on January 07, 2014, 02:51:57 pm
          Sims 3 can be quite a pain to install but once you get the process down it gets a little better.  You can't keep your Mods folder (containing the CC /hacks) in the game during patching.  Every time you patch you must remember to take that out, patch, then replace it.  If I remember correctly custom sims are normally .sim files  and go in your "saved sims" folder.  They will appear in game but (somewhat similar to TS2) may not appear the same unless you download the additional skin textures, sliders, and touches like eyelid enhancers etc., that the creator used to make them. It's not as bad as them being invisible if you don't include the textures they will just look different--but not always in a bad way.

The "Framework sounds more complicated than it is. Just set the files up in the correct path as seen below.  I used these to help a friend a while ago so if it helps:


(http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp31/DaSpecial1_2008/5beaf420-7a34-4c0c-8508-b95adfb66198.jpg)



Delete these before running game after adding in new mods/patching:



(http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp31/DaSpecial1_2008/Cachefilestodelete.jpg)



ignore that my package files may look different than yours due to Sim3pe they're still just package files.



Inside the mods folder:

(http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp31/DaSpecial1_2008/Insidemodsfolder.jpg)



The other part of the framework that is needed is the "d3dx9_31.dll" file and it goes here:


(http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp31/DaSpecial1_2008/4e0cb379-22a8-4eea-b5a3-0854aaf6e432.png)


          You can place the master controller where I have awesomemod.  I use some of Twallans mods too inside folders in here but only recently started using master controller along with AM.  It's a bit more complicated for me to use so I use the one I find easier (AM) until I master the other so to speak.

The main thing is similar to what Mookie said, set up the framework correctly & make sure the mods are up-to-date with the current patch level.

         I can't say much more since I recently revamped my computer (uninstalling all the of Sims 3), got a new one with the ever annoying windows 8.1 and like you am in installation mode (x3). I have all the Sims 3 EP's and most of the SP's but in over-tired frazzled mode it's hard to remember all the steps.  It's complicated but I have to say very worth it (from a pets and mermaid lover POV :) ). I wasn't a Sims 3 fan since the beginning but the pets, supernatural and Isla Paradiso EP's made me love it--especially the horses.  I could do without the zombies though (lol, sorry Mooncat:P ) but thankfully there's a mod to prevent them from spawning so I get to have an undead-free game.

I'm still a diehard TS2 fan and (am reinstalling that as well) but Sims 3 has made it's way into my heart.

I'm sure this will help someone else down the line as well.  If I can think of more I'll add it for you.


*ETA: Read your update after I posted, multitasking here as usual. I bypass the launcher to play and just use mostly package files which I put in the mods folders. The exception is custom houses which I install with the launcher.  Origin is not something I use so I'm afraid I can't help with that.


Last edit: added missing program files framework info.



Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: SenkoTwiik on January 08, 2014, 08:52:45 pm
Okay, the patch seemed like it is working well. My custom content is showing up (I don't have any houses or the MasterController in yet, though so we'll see about those). I will try again with the controller later.

One more question: I love this house http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=445066
I have the framework and all that from MTS, is there any way whatsoever that I can put this house into my game without all the needed EPs?


Title: Re: Need Help With Customs
Post by: jamesabrown1 on January 19, 2014, 01:27:18 pm
Sorry, been gone awhile and didn't see the question until today. The house should install without EP as long as it was built without any EP specific parts in it. You have to find that out from the modder, who should have it specified in the write-up. If you don't have the necessary EP, it still may install but replace parts with base code parts. You would need to separately download any custom content that is not included in the download. If it is a sims3pack you will have to go through the loader, you can convert it, but it is a pain in the neck to do so. I think mookie included links to the instructions for doing that.
 
Sad to say twallan is departing sims3 and no longer supporting the mods, however, he has made the source code available to anyone who wants to tinker with it using s3pe but for those who don't, some of the other nraas modders have taken on the task of keeping the mods current (when they can).


SimplePortal 2.1.1