More Awesome Than You!

Okay, so I've been scouring various forums and google for the past 24 hours and I can't find a working answer to my problem. basically the launcher refuses to install about 70% of all my sims3packs, it goes through the motions, saying either "package already installed" or success. But yeah, that's pointless. Because either way, the installed icon doesn't pop up next to the file and therefore it's not in the game. I've tried the .dbc trick copied it to the packages folder and modded resource.cfg, doesn't work. I deleted every single cache related garbage in the documents folder. Emptied out the "library folder in the documents folder, emptied out dcbackup folder, even deleted everything in dccache. Then started up the launcher and tryed to install everything from scratch. No dice. So Tried the TSR launcher just for shits and giggles. It refuses to even start up on my system. I would just extract all the sims3packs to my mods\packages folder, but that doesn't help me with EA content like riverview and ect because I've heard that they're encrypted and probably can't be extracted.

Any suggestions? Because yeah. I'm about to spaz.

BTW: I've seen the riverview fix by coyote, I'll give it a try, sounds like it'll work, but that still doesn't explain how to get the rest of my CC and ea content back into the game.

That's because no one knows what the cause is yet.  Just be patient, like the rest of us.

Feh. Patience is damn near impossible when you're tweaking on pseudoephedrine and an entire pot of coffee. lol. But thanks anyway.

"Feh. Patience is damn near impossible when you're tweaking on pseudoephedrine and an entire pot of coffee (lol), but thanks anyway."

Happy Grammar Day!

If you have saved your simpack files

I re installed my base game then WA I patched base game from wa not launcher
I then downloaded all my cc after disconnecting from the internet I did not patch from launcher now my game runs perfectly with all my cc It seems that if you patch from your WA disc then refuse to patch WA your game will be back to pre update mode .This was the only thing that worked for me . I will wait for the world tool no point in having it if you cannnot play the game!! this MAY work for you if nothing else does  my CC now shows
One problem is that a  very few CC shows as a small round object do not use crashes game but 99% cc plus riverview ok
I previously tried all the recommended solutions to no avail I cannot promise anything but if your game is borked anyway it may be useful

Grammar Day 2009: You fail.

Do you have a problem with punctuation? Have you been involved in any period-related mishaps lately?

Fuck EA, you'd think that when they patch small bugs that they'd make sure that they haven't created big ones in the process.

The grammar is one thing, the double posting is another :P

Anyhow, you basically have 3 choices. Use the fix that those of us who have our CC again and Riverview are using, have a fit and fall in it and refuse to play Sims, or wait for EA. Based on EA's super fast response to this issue already, I am not really wishing to depend on them to fix my game. Especially since this is all they are telling us:



Patience, Grasshopper. Enhance the calm.

Well considering I reinstalled the whole damn thing and applied the previous patch ... I wait for EA.

As for this sentence:
(http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x121/britpoptarts/MATY/commamanycatSMALL.png)

Regarding the Launcher not installing the sim packs, have you tried removing your packages folder (just to your desktop) and then trying to install through the Launcher? 

That worked for me but I was getting a initialization failed error message and I'm using a Mac. 

EA is a piece of shit. Seriously, their patches do more harm than good. All my wonderful custom content is gone.  >:(

Actually, EAxis happens to be a prism that turns all kinds of brilliant colored lights into a fecal brown.

I'm more annoyed that when I installed and patched earlier, it was working - except my game had decided to take -every- property and place it beneath the rest of the map.

I reinstalled and now it refuses to load saying I don't have matching versions of the game.

EA and their shoddy coding gets more annoying than whether the CC will work.  When the game itself won't?  That's something that makes me want to go across the continent and go on a killing spree.

I thought I was finally saved when I found all the incremental patches... 1.0.6->1.2.7->1.4.6->1.6.6->1.7.9 - before all my problems started...

WRONG REGION!

Region? Seriously? Who gives a flying f... about region? Who even makes a game with regions anymore? And there are only two versions apparently... US and Worldwide... Is it so that Americans won't accidentally install it a foreign language? Uuuurgh.. I hate EA... and they don't make the patches available so you can choose which motherfucking version you want to run.

This last patch is a god damned nightmare from top to bottom. Lost my entire neighborhood to a bug and most of my CC doesn't work.

EDIT: Looks like Gamershell (appropriately named for EA I think) has the worldwide patches. Will take another crack at it tomorrow. Hopefully I can get my damn 1.7.9/2.2.8 back... curse me for updating before letting other people "beta test" such a large patch.

I feel for you man. I learned from TS2 that you always wait to see the results of any ea patch before introducing it to your game.

I've reeeally learned my lesson... just hope I can get the old version up and running again. Probably won't patch again until the next expansion, unless I have another critical problem. And I'm making a patch & awesomemod archive.

EDIT: 1.7.9/2.2.8 up and running, all CC working, and I am yet again bug free :D

I can not believe what they are getting away with. I mean, I'm just sitting here, cleaning my gun and thinking to myself: This is supposed to be fun!?

Erm, GP, would you mind enlightening us cretins on how you managed to effect this 'bug free' status?  Step-by-step would be nice.

Read carefully. He/she only patched up to 1.7 and 2.2, which was what I suggested you do as well. This is WHY I suggested that.

1.7.9/2.2.8 is an absolute blessing and I curse myself for ever patching... with EA you just never know what you get :s


Gamershell.com (appropriately named for EA) has both US and Worldwide patches.

Move your savegame somewhere safe. Uninstall Sims 3 & World Adventures. Delete their folders manually (Awesomemod and framework will remain).

Install Sims 3 basegame only.

Apply:
Sims3_1.6.6.002002_from_1.0.631.00002.exe
Sims3_1.7.9.002002_from_1.6.6.002002.exe

Install World Adventures, and apply:
Sims3_2.2.8.002002_from_2.0.86.002002.exe

Install framework, awesomemod 1.7.9/2.2.8, savegame, custom content



EDIT: Oh, and it's important that you don't install both games at once. World Adventures will patch Sims 3 to 1.5.something for which I dunno if there is a patch available.
EDIT #2: Also, the patches ending in 02 are worldwide. Patches ending in 01 are US region.

Any one on a mac know where I can find a 2.2.3 patch for mac. There are very few patches online for mac. :(

Sorry Anthony, it took me a good while to find the patches, especially worldwide...

I just had a quick look, though... and it does say "PC Only & Mac Only" specific fixes... could it be that these patches are for both PC&MAC?

If so, then you could try these patches at gamershell.com

EDIT: Come to think of it, it makes perfect sense, since MACs now use Intel x86 processors, it wouldn't make sense to code the game in a different format. There would only be a very few differences in the executable.

Where do you get the framework? And thank you for the walk-through I am installing WA now, so this will be interesting to see if it works.

I have some difficulties installing some houses - not the ones from the exchange...*pouts*

If you're even TRYING to install houses from a Sims3pack, you are doing it wrong. Also, is it just my imagination, or is your head fatter than it is on Simscave? Did you catch Fatheadism from BlueSoup?

The framework is on the Awesomemod page. if I weren't in a mellow mood from the holidaze I would have just said SEARCH MOAR! Don't ask dumb questions either.

I talked to my b-i-l,  he informs me that the reason they use regions is related to copyright laws. International copyright law apparently requires the use of regions, if EA doesn't use the region system, then they forfeit any protections under international law as it relates to copyright infringement.

He also commented that the Sims games do not provide sufficient revenue, in comparison to other games, for EA to actually spend any money on it. He works for Activision, so he naturally shares my disdain for EA, but also comments that no other company will make a game like this because the revenue stream is to small.

How I hates them, my precious, I hates them, ... (but I needs my Sims fix, dammit. :P)

Okay, I have tried downloading the patches from two different places and when I try to run them, I get "invalid file" right near the end of the installation process.I have gone back to the places where I found these files and read through all of their instructions, but I am not finding a solution for this. I have a valid copy of Sims 3, I just do not want Download Manager installing its DRM evils on my computer.

The Sims franchise is supposed to be the top selling game(s) of all time. It certainly was a couple of years ago. Sims 3 may have put the kibosh on that.

So, what you're saying, in effect, is that the Sims 3 (and expansions, present & future) is what's  known as a "loss leader" for EA?  Ask your brother-in-law if this is what he means.  I doubt their profits are this low. If they were, we would undoubtedly be hearing about how since they are not generating sufficient revenue off the Sims 3 franchise to sustain it, that there may not be a future.  The "caek is a lie".

That sounds like bollocks to me. If that were true, why is this EA's leading cash cow?

No, he says that they make enough money on it to justify a small staff and minimal effort, but not enough money to make it worthwhile to them to spend the dough necessary to make it a really good game. It turns a profit, but they aren't willing to cut their margin on it by putting on more staff and really working out the bugs.

EA's leading cash cow is NOT the Sims. They make far more money on their sports franchises, like Madden. The Sims has a good profit entirely because they don't spend a lot on making it.

" Electronic Arts announced today record profits in the quarter ending September 30. The company posted net revenues of $453 million, which was up from $240 million from last year. EA's success can be attributed to numerous blockbuster releases including Madden NFL, NCAA Football, The Sims, and Medal of Honor." Quoted from PSXtreme.

Let me tell you something.  They are not doing this (pick one) a) for "us", b) for shits & giggles; or C) for any number of other reasons.  They ARE making a profit, and one that they are trying to expand upon by 1) the EA store and the new strategy of selling the game and expansions at a higher price by bundling in so called "free" store points.  This is (pure & simple) a marketing strategy.

They might not be making a big enough profit (in their eyes) but, they are, certainly, profiting.  Otherwise, there would not be a Sims 3 game at all.  Period.  End of story.  It's a company, and that's all there is at the end of the day.

Keep in mind that your brother in law works for Activision/Blizzard. When he thinks profits he's probably thinking WOW, which gets server fees every month and most games aren't like that.

He's wrong.. if the Sims wasn't a cash cow it wouldn't still be open. Sims 3 was one of the few things they made money on in the first half of this year apart from Dragon Age Origins. Sims 3 sold something like 3.7 million units of Sims 3 at the beginning of the year.  EA has just finished cutting a massive chunk of it's worforce and cut them in places like Pandemic and the old Maxis studio which produces Spore.. the layoffs didn't happen in the Visceral Studios which makes Sims 3 these days. They would have if they weren't making money from the game. The reason for the lack of quality control is nothing to do with profit or lack of profit. It's to do with the fact that EA has always had crappy quality control and decisions made by marketing guys, and they're getting worse.

Even if their sports titles do sell keep in mind that they do not sell that well across the world ... Europeans take FIFA and not Madden for the obvious reason.

Also keep in mind EA releases their sports titles to about EVERY SINGLE CONSOLE EVER MADE (slight exaggeration but they still do PS2 versions) and they combine sales as you cannot compare then with The Sims that always been a PC game (despite EA attempts at console spin-off titles).

The Sims is EA cash cow in the sense its about just one platform and the investment-return is of a higher return that of their other titles.

Also you want to know Sims 3 total sales as of 5th August 2009? 3.7 million ... (Saraswati, the game was not even out in the start of the year)

Apologies Drakron, I was counting it in the first half of the year because it was released in June..

You could just do the math: If Drakron says they've sold 3.7M copies, for a price we know is ~$50, that's $185M, considerably more than a third of that listed 450M net revenue. That automatically makes it the leading cash cow because it occupies more than a third of the revenue pie while being only 1 out of the 4 items listed.

Fine. They are making money and the world is full of pretty flowers. I am not going to argue about EA's profits. especially when all my info is second hand. You all probably know more about it than I do anyway.

Has anyone else had problems with the whole Invalid file found, even after doing a clean install and removing all custom content? I cannot patch this monster and it is driving me buggy.

I have never produced an "invalid file found" error from a completely clean install from the CD ISOs ONLY. If you alter ANY files by hand, you may corrupt your install and render it unpatchable. If you use the WRONG patch at any point, you can do this also. Do NOT install any of the following:
Old Anticensors
No-CD Cracks
Anything Else That Involves Altering, Deleting, Or Overwriting Any File. If at any point in the install process of something, you overwrote a file, this is BAD.

I think the problem must be that I was patching with international patches and had changed the SKU code to 2 from 1. I am going to try dl-ing US versions and see if that fixes it. Otherwise nothing was modified. This is why I try not to mess around with my computer, I am so not flight checked for this. :P

Those ending with "2" are the international versions.  The U.S. versions are the ones ending in a "1".  Don your flight helmet, and proceed with caution!  May the force be with you!

See? You committed a bad: You altered a file. This is a bad thing.

Yes, that part I had figured out by carefully reading the instructions. (LOL) I had intentionally tried to switch over to the International version (2) because I wanted to install an argh'd version of WA that happens to be international. I was hoping that by doing so I could launch the WA installer without the dreaded "region" problem. This worked just fine, by the way. However, I was informed that the game needed to be patched. And herein lies the rub. I cannot seem to get the game to patch either through WA or just straight without using the hated Download manager.

I have now tried patching it every way I could figure to do, still with the Invalid File error. Clean install, no custom content and now neither the US or Worldwide patches will work.

This must be because I am special... like one of Jerry's kids. Sigh.

JM - You are, as always, correct. I go to do over.

Yeah, their stupid region crap creates many issues if you try to install expansions, so remember:
(http://cats.moreawesomethanyou.com/piratecat.jpg)

Just a note about the invalid file bizzo. I got that error message and it was because I was a patch short. (Heh, a patch short of a game.) If you have WA, then to patch to the absolute latest version takes 8 patches.

Technically, you can get a direct patch to the latest version by plugging in the correct URL, thus downloading and installing only two patches, one for base, one for WA. There is usually going to be a patch to jump from retail to latest. Jumping from an intermediate patch to the latest, that may or may not be available.

Note for the future: Stop double-posting. Use the "Modify" button and "Insert Quote" links as needed.  I had issue with the game not fully uninstalling when I did my updating and my hacked video camera file somehow stuck around, giving the "Invalid File Found" message. Surprise, surprise, EA wrote a shitty uninstall code.

Patch order is as follows:
1.2.7 from 1.0.631
1.3.24 from 1.2.7
1.4.6 from 1.3.24
1.7.9 from 1.4.6
2.2.8 from 2.0.86
1.8.25 from 1.7.9
2.3.33 from 2.2.8

Italicized lines apply to WA only. I keep my patches in my backup drive, numbered properly so that I don't have to figure all that out again. Patches can be gotten from searching around here or from simprograms.com. Do yourself a favor and save the files somewhere just in case.

You don't have to install the patches in order. You can just get a "from base version to current version" patch. Plug the relevant numbers into the URL and there will probably be one, at least for retail-to-current.

Here's a link to the patches on the Wiki, from Retail to Current is on the list. Patches (http://www.simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_Patching:Patch_Download#The_Sims_3_.28Retail_version_1.0.631.29)

I apologize for the double posting, I was typing with a baby in my lap and it's difficult to hit all the right tiny buttons when you only have one hand and the grub is wriggling like a fiend. :P Thank you for your patience.

I hate having to patch all the way up just to use AM, I'm not loving the CC work around, but I can't play this game without AM to make it enjoyable, rather than just bearable.