"Old Car Syndrome" crash FIX!!!!

[Lendrich]

Hi guys.

As the title says I'm working in a fix for this crash:


But, I need your help.

I need to know the installation path of the game, but in the different languages in which the game is.

I have:

-English Path: C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3
-Spanish Path: C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Los Sims 3

I need to know exactly this: Xxx Sims 3

The fix works perfectly to me in those two languages. Please post here the installation path of the other languages.

I will release a beta soon

Sorry for my bad english and thank you.

P.D: I will need "Betatesters"

[J. M. Pescado]

The installation path of the game cannot be assumed, because not everyone even installs to the default locations. What exactly did you do that allegedly fixes it, keeping in mind that the problem is essentially voodoo and the appearance of fixing it is not equivalent to fixing it, unless you actually hacked something in the executable?

[Kiirkas]

I went with C:\The Sims 3, as an example of Pescado's comment.

My voodoo: delete all cache files in Documents\Electronics Arts\The Sims 3 folder, empty recycle bin, defrag, start game.  The defrag seems to be the key on my system for some reason, and now the game starts every time.  Other players' mileage may vary.

A pox on EA for not fixing their own shit!

[Lendrich]

yes, but I'm requesting that for other reason, I'm going to use a method that asks the user which is his installation path or if its the default.

This fix doesn't modify any original file

[J. M. Pescado]

Then how or why does it work? This is a technical forum. Details are required, otherwise you are simply posting nonsense.

[Simius]

Since I'm running windows 7... my default installation folder is C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3

So...  that just goes to show that your hope of getting defaults down correctly is a pipe dream.  You are better off just asking people to specify where their game is.

I'm also curious about what you thought you did to get your fix to work.  If it is anything like my "fix" I just have a bat file delete a certain cache file before booting the game with 3 booter.  It SEEMS to work... but I understand fully that it really doesn't do shit besides make me feel better about myself.

[Kiirkas]

It SEEMS to work... but I understand fully that it really doesn't do shit besides make me feel better about myself.

That's pretty much the deal with my voodoo.  I might as well light some incense, wave a stick a my monitor, spill chicken blood on my case and turn around three times before sitting down at my desk.  I'm sure it would work as well as my defrag.

I'm all for a fix for the loading screen crash, but I'll actually trust one after it gets a PSA (Pescado Seal of Approval).  Until then, everything is just L&P.

[Lendrich]

ok, this is very easy.

in my computer, as in many other, installing the enablescripterror.package, and deleting only the scriptcache.package in "My Documents/Electronic Arts/Xxx Sims 3" it works. But the next time that i start the game it doesn't works.

All my friends who play the sims ( 8 ) were having the same problem and the same fix.

To avoid having to manually delete the file each time qe going to play I thought make it automatically.

This "FIX" its a "Launcher", and it do:

-Check the language of the game to find paths
-Search the "enablescripterror.package" in the installation path, if not found, it install the archive.
-Search the "scriptchache.package" and if found, delete it.
-Launch the game

Sorry again for my bad english

[J. M. Pescado]

This isn't actually a solution, this is just another form of voodoo, the actual problem is still there.

[Lendrich]

yes, but its a way to do double click an icon and start the game and not opening a directory and delete some files and then run the game.

Anyway, if you do not like or do not seem right, you can delete this post or do whatever you want.

[Kitran]

Sounds like it'd work just like any other voodoo method.  I use 3booter.  It fixes da voodoo for me every time.

[J. M. Pescado]

yes, but its a way to do double click an icon and start the game and not opening a directory and delete some files and then run the game.

Strictly speaking, a bat file could do this, and 3booter already performs a cache purge. The thing is, none of these things really WORK.

[Leticron]

yes, but its a way to do double click an icon and start the game and not opening a directory and delete some files and then run the game.

Strictly speaking, a bat file could do this, and 3booter already performs a cache purge. The thing is, none of these things really WORK.

Absolutely! And that's no rocket science either.

------------------snip-------------------------

@echo off
CD "%userprofile%\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3"
del "*CACHE.package"
if exist "xcpt*.*" del "xcpt*.*"
cd "C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\"
TS3.exe
exit

-------------------snap ------------------------------

But it's just another form of voodoo, like Pescado already said. Kind of like your bathtub overflows and as a solution you knock down an outside wall.

-le

[Lendrich]

yes, you're right, all of you, but I do this because 3booter doesn't work for me and i thought there might be people wich had the same problem.

If you don't want to use, don't do it.

Ah, Leticron, I'm working in something more complex than that piece of code

I think, the first beta will be release in a few days

[witch]

Leticron - cheers, that collection of commands works great for me. I was using 3Booter, but mainly so I could encompass the fpslimiter; but my video card just doesn't like the limiter, so I've been using the TS3 executable and deleting caches manually. I stopped using 3booter because I found it difficult to make it stop booting the game repeatedly when I thought of something else to try. My game is finally stable enough to usually start first go now, so this batch file is just the ticket.

[Nevearo]

I've been having some rather stunning success with my voodoo of uncompressing the files found in the package. It balloons the final file size to over 8 megabytes, but it seems to eliminate the old car syndrome problem. It makes me wonder if this problem is somewhere in how the game handles compressions in the .package file.

[Leticron]

...Ah, Leticron, I'm working in something more complex than that piece of code
I think, the first beta will be release in 2 days

You go ahead  Seeing how this was only a quick and dirty "proof of concept" batch, thrown together in less than 3 minutes it certainly doesn't claim to be the final solution. But if you refer to the enablescripterror.package, you just throw in another"if exist" or"if not exist" line. And if you appalled by don't like bat or cmd files for some reason, just run that stuff through Autoit.
But why using a napalm tank to start a camp fire, if a match is sufficient. 

@witch: I'm glad it works for you.

-le

[Process Denied]

After I installed the patch, I never had another crash.  I know this is random, just thought I would add it.

[awrevell]

I always loved the "I tried a billion different things to solve that problem and none of them worked, I finally <insert supposed fix here> and that solved the problem" solutions people claimed to have found.  The only problem with them is that it was probably a combination of all billion steps to fix the problem, if it was really fixed at all and not just biding its time waiting to strike when the user was resting on their laurels.

[Nevearo]

I always loved the "I tried a billion different things to solve that problem and none of them worked, I finally <insert supposed fix here> and that solved the problem" solutions people claimed to have found.  The only problem with them is that it was probably a combination of all billion steps to fix the problem, if it was really fixed at all and not just biding its time waiting to strike when the user was resting on their laurels.

Sometimes people who try a billion solutions are capable of resetting their setup back to something fresh, and duplicating the solution independent of any other processes.

My solution seems to work, although to date only I have attempted it. I would like to know if anyone has tried it and had it not work.
Here is the solution that works for me anytime I get the old car syndrome.
Step 1) Open the awesome.package file with s3pe
step 2) Sort by Compressed
Step 3) Select a file with 0xFFFF in the compressed field
Step 4) Go to the resource pull down menu and unselect compressed
Step 5) Repeat for the remaining files.

The most recent package doesn't have the XMLs compressed, so if I am right on the cause there probably will be fewer incidences of the Old Car Syndrome crash in the version for 2009 July 12, 20:44:34
Furthermore, uncompressing all the files should resolve it for anyone else. This has been my solution for any "Old Car Syndrome" crash I have had recently. I haven't deleted a *Cache.package file since I started doing this, and also haven't played with adding/removing enablescripterror.package either (I don't have it and won't be getting it again)
While I HAVE been modding the awesome.package socialization XML (I don't get the problem unless I do that) I have only ever changed simple values, like expanding the range of social interactions or making certain actions autonomous. Such actions shouldn't be the "cure" for the problem since the problem exists after I mod them. Like I said, it needs further testing, but right now it has had a 100% success rate for me.

[Motoki]

I can also confirm uncompressing makes the game load every time for me. Maybe it's voodoo but nontheless I have not gotten a single crash on load no matter how much I change the config since doing it.

[J. M. Pescado]

I can also confirm uncompressing makes the game load every time for me. Maybe it's voodoo but nontheless I have not gotten a single crash on load no matter how much I change the config since doing it.

Yeah, I believed that for about the 5 minutes it took to get it to crash again. Then I discarded it as one more form of voodoo, as it's just one more form of chanting and rattles. You can decompress the entire thing using s3rc -d, though. Less fiddling with horrid GUIs. Not that it will REALLY help. The only consistent solution that really works is 3booter, and even then, not so much that it prevents the crash as that it automatically kicks it for you until it works.

[Motoki]

Yeah, I believed that for about the 5 minutes it took to get it to crash again. Then I discarded it as one more form of voodoo, as it's just one more form of chanting and rattles. You can decompress the entire thing using s3rc -d, though. Less fiddling with horrid GUIs. Not that it will REALLY help. The only consistent solution that really works is 3booter, and even then, not so much that it prevents the crash as that it automatically kicks it for you until it works.

Yeah but there must be some reason it is doing it and therefore a way to fix it, though it might require an exe hack.

Realistically, I suppose that would not be worth the trouble since it would have to be maintained through every patch and expansion for something that is just a nuisance but not game stopping.  

[tallinn]

I am pretty convinced that the crash is caused by unproperly synchronized threads in TS3.exe. Wether they run in the intended order (no crash) or not (crash) may depend on everything including but not limited to the actual current output of your power supply and the position of the pegasus galaxy relative to the milky way at midnight. Only EA may be able to fix that, if at all.

[cuthbert]

I thought JMP already fixed this... because I haven't had any startup crash since I updated Awesomemod in July 12th. I've been loading and shutting up the session frequently to check out the houses and small hacks I downloaded from MTS, and not a single crash occurred. I never used 3booters, just enablescripterror.package and used to manually delete script cache file whenever the game crashed during loading.