Re: Sims 3 store content disappeared

Thank you so much, I got it to work by erasing all the files in the DCCache, however, I've done this before, and when I start playing again another day it doesn't work. I copied the Sims 3 file to my desktop, to understand it correctly. I'm backing the files to my desktop because they're the files that did work and if it doesn't work another day I restore them with the backup file that's on my desktop? Now I'm having another issue where I change households and it does not let me continue 😞 I had never experienced this issue before. I'm starting to think maybe my files are corrupted or my computer can't handle all the files anymore? 

@BobLazarELE115  The reason to create a new Sims 3 folder is to remove not only the DCCache files, but also other files related to store content that may be getting in the way.  And when you have your store stuff installed correctly, you can save a copy of that Sims 3 folder, so you can use it to rebuild your content rather than starting from scratch again.

When your content stops loading, are the files still in DCCache, and have you just deleted any files in the Sims 3 folder?  There are a few reasons this kind of thing can happen.

For the issue with changing households, it could be your computer, or an overloaded save, or a corrupt household (more likely the one you're switching to, but not necessarily), or some combination.  While playing and just before trying to switch households, put the game in windowed mode, open the Task Manager, and see how much RAM Sims 3 is using.  Please list it in absolute values rather than percentages; you can right-click on the Memory header to change it.

Awesome got it, I just restart the game and the content is up and running 🙂 Hope it stays this way. Yes, I just deleted these: CASPartCache.package, compositorCache.package, scriptCache.package, simCompositorCache.package. Got the instruction from this link https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Choose-Household-Start-Playing-now-won-t-work/td-p/859160. And yes when the content stops loading, the files are still in the DCCache. I just saw the RAM and it's using 825.2 MB up to 1386.2 MB. I'm about to switch households in a phew to see if it worked by deleting the cache files. 

Hi, me again. I had not opened the game/launcher in a week, and the installations dissapeared. They appear in boxes again instead of installed. 

@BobLazarELE115  Do you have OneDrive enabled and syncing the contents of Documents with cloud storage?  Do you have a cleaner app that might be removing duplicate files?  It's also theoretically possible for an antivirus to mess with files in the Documents directory, although this would be an odd presentation.

Please also check whether you have Windows set to compress files in Documents, or any subfolder, to save disk space.

I'm so sorry I never answered, I stopped playing for a while because it was making me very desperate. Also, I bought a new computer, but I had figured out a way for the store content to show up on the old computer, I had to open the game directly from origin. Now in this new one, everything is working fine I recently added mods and cc, something I had never used before. The only weird thing it's doing right now these 2 past days is crashing. I never had this issue, and I have Overwatch and Errortrap which reduced the loading game so much; back then it was taking 30-40 minutes. Now it takes less than 8 minutes. But I don't know if the crashing is normal ☹️

@BobLazarELE115  Crashing can be expected under certain circumstances, for example if you're playing a large world that routinely runs up against the game's memory limit.  But the crashing could also be a sign of a real problem.  So please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

Please also let me know whether you're using an fps limiter when playing Sims 3.  If you have a fast enough graphics card, you'll need to use one to protect it from overworking when running the game.

I'm guessing it might be my world, I've been playing it for 3 years (real time). The dxdiag is attached to this post. I saw somewhere I had to keep my fps at 60? 

@BobLazarELE115  Are you in fact keeping fps at 60?  As in, have you confirmed by using the "fps on" cheat or some other framerate monitor?  The graphics chip in your computer isn't overly powerful even by Sims 3 standards, and I don't think it's strictly necessary to manually cap fps, but doing so could still help with performance.

If you haven't already taken steps to do this, or your current settings aren't working, you can try using RivaTuner Statistics Server.  Unlike some other tools, it does need to be running while you play, but it's easy to minimize it to the tray and it doesn't take much in the way of resources.  Choose TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (for a disc or Steam install), highlighted in blue; set the framerate limit to 60 in the red box; and set RTSS to start with Windows if you like, so you don't forget to use it.

For the crashing, it's entirely possible that the issue is your save, but it's worth testing a new save for comparision.  While there are plenty of potential approaches to fixing a long-running save, and plenty for general crashing issues, there's hardly any overlap.  And your dxdiag doesn't list any Sims 3 errors at all, so I don't even know what kind of crashes you're seeing.  Please try a new save in Sunset Valley, let it run for an hour or so (you can walk away or do other things as long as the game clock is running), and let me know how it goes.

Yes, it's set to 60 fps. I didn't know about the cheat though, right now I was playing on a new game and it crashed while creating some pets. It's coming to a point where it's not even enjoyable anymore. I'm going to try the last steps you told me and update you. I'm sorry for being negative, I really appreciate all of your help.

It crashed again 😕, (edit) I reset the town in MasterController and let it run for an hour by itself. It did not crash but I did not play. I just let it run, also when I reset the town it took a while because I had never done that before and it reset like 18,000 objects. 

@BobLazarELE115  Rendering pets is hard on a graphics card, perhaps more so than any other in-game feature, but I would be surprised if that caused a crash in CAS.  I'd suspect your custom content first, especially if you hadn't tested all of it out specifically while creating a pet.  You can try removing it temporarily, or test CAS in a clean Sims 3 user folder.

The MasterController reset does take a while, but given the age of your save, it's long overdue.  I think the general sense is that it should be run every six to eight sim-weeks, and more often if you're seeing in-game issues.

You don't need to apologize for being negative.  I know it's frustrating when all you want to do is play and you're stuck troubleshooting instead.

Yes, I honestly don't know what it is... I keep getting different issues every time. I'm guessing I'm going to start a new game, I stopped using Overwatch and Errortrap, I also deleted the pet sliders. And it's still crashing, it all started when I started using mods.

@BobLazarELE115  The pet sliders are much more likely to be an issue than ErrorTrap and Overwatch.  Those mods clean up issues, they don't introduce new ones.  It's always possible though that a save is already corrupt or glitchy and that the mods can't fix all the issues.  They can then appear to make things worse as they try and sometimes fail to clean things up.

I will say that a save that's been running with ET and OW in place since the beginning is much more likely to stay stable and playable over the long term.  Those and a few other NRaas mods help prevent errors from accumulating in the first place so you're not stuck trying to repair the damage after the fact.