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puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago

Re: can’t click sim, can’t click phone on sims 3

@Aprilxoboo  Do you use mods, or would you be interested in trying some?  Because now would be a good time to add a few, specifically NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, and MasterController.  The first two clean up errors and stray data on their own, with no need for user input; MC doesn't do anything unless you use it to issue a command.  In this case, I'd use MC to reset the entire town—click on City Hall and select:

NRaas > MasterController > Town Options > Reset Everything

If you don't want to use mods, try evicting the household in Edit Town and placing the sims back in their house.  They'll keep their jobs and opportunities but lose their promised wishes and opportunities.

With either approach, delete the five cache files in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 before you start.  For reference, they are:

  • CASPartCache.package
  • compositorCache.package
  • scriptCache.package
  • simCompositorCache.package
  • socialCache.package

After you try one of the approaches, use "save as" to rename the save, so the original remains intact as a backup under its previous name.  Then quit, delete the cache files again, reload, and see whether the problem is resolved.

6 Replies

  • Aprilxoboo's avatar
    Aprilxoboo
    4 years ago

    Hello, sorry this is a bit late. I’ve been working all day but yes I do use mods and I do have NRaas. I have all those mods you listed. I did reset everything and it still crashes.

     

    I will try the eviction option and deleting the five caches. Will let you know how that goes!

  • Aprilxoboo's avatar
    Aprilxoboo
    4 years ago

    Hello!

    For some reason, my game did not crash when I loaded it up today and I played for a couple of hours. I was surprised and anxious because I thought it was going to crash on me the whole time I was playing.

    I did not try the eviction method because everything was going smoothly. If the crashing happens again, I will try that method. 

    I did add NRaas debug enabler and selector mod. I think I debugged the whole town and my sims twice before quitting the game yesterday.

    Before I started to play today, I deleted all five cache files. I'm not sure if those two mods and deleting the cache files is what fixed my game but I'm glad that it seems to be working again. 

    Thank you for the help! I really appreciate it!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @Aprilxoboo  DebugEnabler can fix the issue of not being able to access a sim's phone, but that issue doesn't cause a game crash, at least as far as I've seen.  But perhaps that wasn't the source of the crashing and DE fixed whatever that was as well.

    Just a note of caution: DE exposes the game's debugging functions, but even the person who created the mod didn't know what all of the commands were for.  So it's best not to use a DE command unless you know what it does or you're willing to quit without saving.  The DE reset of a sim is harmless, and "Fix Homeworld" is fine as long as it's run in an actual homeworld, i.e. not a vacation/University/future world.  The NRaas site does have good documentation on DE's known functions.

  • Aprilxoboo's avatar
    Aprilxoboo
    4 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict Ohh okay, I see! It may have been the pets that caused it to crash then? It was two puppies and I adopted them at the same time. Now, I only have one pet and it's working fine. I honestly wish I knew what the issue was because I'm scared it may happen again.

    I honestly did not read the functions of the DE command because I was in a rush so thank you for the note of caution! I won't use it unless I'm desperate for help.

    Later on today, I will be loading it up to play. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly again!
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @Aprilxoboo  It's possible something about the pets was an issue, but it's pretty difficult to be sure without some extensive testing.  If you happen to use custom content, a pet collar could easily be the issue, but that's just speculation on my part.  Regardless, it's always a good idea to make backup copies of your saves periodically and especially right before you make a major change in-game.  That way, if something goes wrong, you can revert to the backup without losing much progress.

    I personally use "save as" to rename my save, which leaves the older one intact under its old name, a few times a sim-week; I get rid of the oldest backups when I'm sure I won't need thm.  That might be overkill for some people, but for me, losing a few hours or a sim-day of gameplay isn't a big deal, and replaying that amount of time is usually quicker than trying to fix whatever's wrong with my current save.

    For pet adoptions in general, using MasterController's Adopt Pet command (under Sim > Basic) is much more reliable and less prone to error than calling the adoption service.  The pet pool should be the same either way.

  • Aprilxoboo's avatar
    Aprilxoboo
    4 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict

    I have one backup copy of my game. I will start doing more copies though.

    This issue has really scared me so I'm going to be more cautious. Because of the recent issue, I started using "save as" instead of just saving!

    Also, I'm too anxious to adopt another pet right now but depending on what happens I might adopt again and use MasterController. I'm so used to using the phone I didn't think about MC at all. Thank you for the tips!

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