Actually Pets does this without mods installed.

The solution to the launcher not even showing the update is to update the Download Manager.

For some reason for me the launcher isn't even seeing that there's a patch available let alone downloading and applying it.  *wonders what they broke this time*

I was having trouble with the firetruck disappearing also, didn't realise it was related to the long driveway.  I managed to place the personal firetruck on a long driveway at the sim's house by rotating around to face the front of the driveway then I could place the truck on it, haven't had any problems since but it's only been one work day since the sim got to fire chief.

I can only say what worked for me, on windows.


Get the TS3 Recompressor from http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,15129.0.html and extract to a new folder.

Extract or COPY your sims3packs into that folder.

Drag and drop onto the "decrappify" and "s3rc", if you have a lot do so in groups of around 10.

Move the modified sims3packs into My Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Downloads.

Disconnect from the internet.

Open up the launcher and go into downloads.  Select all the items you want to install and click install.


For me it didn't appear to work but when I checked in DCCache I noticed that there were new *.dbc's that were larger than 1KB in size.  When I went into game the items were there with only minor hiccups, like the gothic bed had only numbers in the name and desciption but works fine and the steampunk telescope still won't show up but it didn't show up with any other method either so I'm beginning to suspect they broke that somehow.

I ended up with something similar a while back with a custom world, it was caused by a package getting caught up with ordinary packages and ending up in the mods directory.  Partially caused by the broken launcher, partially caused by the gymnastics needed to get sims3packs to show up.

Ok, finally managed to track it down.  Turns out that the launcher, broken thing that it is, did get some stuff mixed up with the normal packages and I only managed to get it out when I completely removed all the store stuff that was installed at around the same time.

I didn't put it in there deliberately but I went and checked the store packages I'd put in there just in case it had got mixed up in there by the launcher stupidly sticking it in the DCBackup along with normal package files but it's not there that I could find.  Though I did remove a fairly large file just in case.  It didn't make any difference.

I've also tried, again, deleting the cache files to see if it changed anything but it didn't.

Done that.  And, since my launcher is slightly broken (thank you EA) I manually deleted it from installed worlds, world caches and C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\GameData\Shared\NonPackaged\Worlds.  It is still over-riding the landscape of all the other worlds.

I installed a custom world and it seems to have over-ridden the landscape of all other neighbourhoods, Pleasant View and Riverview included and affected saved games also.  I've tried removing the custom world but it's still occuring.  I've tried to find all the traces of the world but I think I've missed something somewhere.  I half remember seeing a post from someone detailing the various places the worlds put bits and pieces but I've been unable to locate it using the search.

So...if I'm reading that correctly; if the initial random number for gender is high enough it doesn't matter how many apples or watermelons are eaten.  That certainly explains the odd instances of the pregnant sim subsisting solely on apples/watermelons and getting the wrong gender.

Odd, it seemed nearly random to me.  She wasn't on graveyard shift and I thought her co-workers had roughly the same hours.  I'll have to record the work times of the various levels and double check when I get a chance.

If changing the colour of a fire is indeed one of the Handy options then it's available at 0 as my sim has the option and I haven't started him skilling Handy yet.

Doesn't always trigger at work, at least in the Science career.  A 'crowd' is apparently 3 other sims or more.

Ah.  Now I feel dumb, must have missed it in the 50 thousand traits you can pick from

My sim has the super green thumb trait but hasn't got an option to revive the now dead Death Flower, does it have to be planted after the sim aquires the trait?  Or is there something else I should be clicking on?

Here's one that rather amused me when it happened



"Nikki" happens to be one of my sim's employees.  She quit a little while later, I guess she expected the raise I wasn't going to give her...she was at 0% quit chance before the pop up

It's an ATI.  I'll have to go play with the graphics settings and see if that helps.  800x600 a good size?  I'd hate to go smaller...

edit: nope, that doesn't work for me.  And 800x600 is the smallest available (I always seem to default to playing games in that size...not sure why...)  Guess I'll just have to put up with the exit, delete, restart routine until some future patch/expansion pack/stuff pack renders it unplayable.

Patch 2 and it's wreaking havoc with my graphics driver in Space stage.  I updated the driver but it's still happening.  Are there any solutions other than save, quit, delete graphicscache.package and restart, which is what solves it for a while, available?  I do have mods in the game, but this was happening without them in.  I'm guessing it's some form of corruption in the graphicscache that then mucks up the driver.

Oh, and I have Vista, didn't get a choice about that.

That would be the 'Smustle Controller' most likely, it's a yellow box icon. 

I decided to take a look at it in my game to see what happens.  Found a solution that works in my game.  First get the stuck object remover and install it.  Move a sim in and remove stairs.  Open up the cheat console, ctrl-alt-c, and type in MoveObjects on.  Then put the stuck object remover all over the space on the upper floor where the stairs were and go back to play.  Unpause if need be.  You should then be able to place flooring.

Hope this helps.

OOH!!! I really really want that one...with APO I keep forgetting to make them walk out of the kitchen after they've finished...so they keep getting stuck in there...and then raid the dang fridge before I realise I've forgotten to move them out *glares at said sims who don't have the decency to look contrite*

a hord of anklebiters? *giggle* that reminds me...I haven't caught up on your tales...*goes to check*

Uh...that's what I did...and found it was caused by my majorly out of date LotFullofSims...silly me hadn't thought to update it since Pets.  "Curtain pull down" is referring to dropping the loading screen if I recall correctly...

Not sure if this will help or not, but I tracked down what it was causing my problems (which produced error logs that look the same).  It was my LotFullOfSims hack, obviously it needed to be updated and I didn't realise it...

Hope this helps.