EA Play vs S3 store content

Thanks to @ZeeGee for posting this.
This is reference to this post https://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/985379/problem-keeping-store-items-installed#latest

Basically, the problem I have is that I have problems with the launcher showing store content being installed even though it is installed. When the launcher fails with store items, I will see all the items in the download tab showing a box instead of the picture of the item itself. In the installed tab, only the venue buildings appear (not their exclusive content). If I launch a game, no store items are there and the venue buildings all have their contents replaced by other objects.

I discovered that when this occurs, if I close the launcher, close Origin and relaunch, the store items will eventually show up again. It might take a few tries but usually eventually works. When I install a new expansion, my little trick does not work anymore and no matter what I do, store items will not show in game. Even using a saved Sims 3 folder that is known to work will not work anymore.

Through DMs with @igazor and @ZeeGee, we think we might have an explanation to why this is happening and wanted feedback from others who might be having a similar issue and also leave a trace for those searching the web for a solution. The problem most likely relates to EA play. I dont actually own the Sims 3 base game. I have it because it is part of my EA play subscription. This most likely causes the problem as the different components of EA fail to connect together. The Sims 3 store most likely does not recognize that I have access to the base game and for this reason thinks I am not allowed to use store content.

I will be purchasing the base game next week to see if this fixes the issue.......and see if I have to re download and re install all my store items again.

Thanks @Coriandre for the further info. I hope buying the base game will solve the issue.

@ZeeGee I did buy the base game and the same thing happened again. Boxes in the download tab and only venues buildings showing in the installed tab. I had to start a new Sims 3 folder, download everything again from the store and install it on the launcher. I got the missing item message when launching the game after this. I looked around but could not figure it out. I must have missed something in my store items re installation. I did get 1000 free sim points lol.......consolation prize. I’m hoping this will solve the issue. Time will tell........

I saw someone on Answers HQ last week who had the same issue of store content uninstalling, but they owned the game through Steam, although they'd of course also have needed to register some content in Origin or on the store site in order to download store stuff. They fixed the issue, at least last I heard, by deleting igs.bin and platform.bin in SigsCache, inside the Sims 3 user folder.

I have no idea why this would work, and it's definitely not necessary for my Steam install, but it's an easy fix.

@ZeeGee The problem appeared again last night. All store items shows boxes in the download tab of the launcher and only venue buildings show up in the installed tab. I had to do my trick to make them appear (or get the launcher to recognize them). I exit the launcher, close Origin (not only X the window but also close the program running in the background) and re launch. It took 3 tries for it to work. This means that purchasing the base game did not fix the problem unfortunately.

@puzzlezaddict , I just noticed your reply now. That is very interesting. I searched and found the thread you mentioned on Answer HQ. The problem is the same although I use Origin and not Steam. Dont know how this person came up out of the blue with this solution as the person did not strike me as really computer savvy. I searched for igs.bin and platform.bin to know what they are. From what I found, one is the store sign in info and the other info on your O/S. I am guessing these would be re generated on launch if you delete them ? I dont really understand how this would fix the issue but will try if it’s harmless. The info in these file should be stagnant no ? They either work or dont work. Not only work some of the time ?

@Coriandre Oh I'm so sorry. I thought we had found the fix. You bought the base game and (if disc) registered the code I'm assuming? For some reason the launcher is not recognizing your store content as legit. That's what happens when those little boxes show up. But I don't have any further guesses. Maybe puzzlezaddict will be able to help you further.

I had the boxes too, with that problem. But, I was watching tv the other day when I started my fresh game, waiting for Riverview to download. It showed the box and under status it just showed a blue down arrow . I looked at the TV and when I looked back it went to a green arrow and the pic showed.

I installed some other stuff about an hour ago (I was in the store so when I went to download it, the Origin box pops up and I just ignore that). No need to sign in to Origin when you are downloading from the store, I only need to sign in when I install. I timed my download and it took 2-3 irl minutes for it to complete. The store item I downloaded after that took less than a minute. I think my problem was I didn't give it time to download.

Not sure if this will help, but it worked for me :D

*hugs to @ZeeGee * I miss the good ole days, but I have become a loner, and keep to myself now :/ , hope all is well your way!

@Coriandre According to the explanation on Crinrict's site, igs.bin stores login data for the store, and platform.bin some info about your system. I guess if either one becomes corrupted, it's easy to see how the store content would stop working, especially since store content is encrypted.

Why the files are getting corrupted, or their info doesn't match what's on file, over and over, I don't know. A random guess would be that someone's antivirus is flagging some activity that involves those files, for example when the launcher opens and connects to EA servers, some data passes back and forth. But since I don't have the issue myself, it's hard to test.

@FairyGodMother I miss you so much!! And Scillakees, who is also not on much anymore. We had some fun times and you will always be CharlottePrice to me. :lol: All is well with me and mine, hope the same for you. :heart:

@FairyGodMother Thank you for your input; good to hear from you ! The problem I have with the boxes; store items not showing up does not occur when downloading store items. It is when wanting to play the game. Store items that are correctly installed (all store items) are not showing up in game and appear as boxes on the launcher.

I was not here in the good old days but if you decide not to be a loner anymore, there are some fun and interesting people to interact with. Having just gotten Showtime myself and my daughter will be looking for some friends to use Simport !

@ZeeGee No discs involved. I purchased the base game from Origin. All expansions are also from Origin and store items from the sims 3 store. I had good hopes that purchasing the base game would fix the problem. It does narrow the possible source of it. The problem I have is uncommon as very little information exists on it. With the age of Sims 3, common bugs are well documented. I have only read about 2 cases of this and both were from Steam users. Like you have mentioned before, this is most likely related from a migration between Steam and Origin (or vice versa). Being exclusively on Origin with a normal setup this should not be happening. Now, the only difference I have is that I have an EA play subscription. This must create an extra level of verification that most likely periodically fails. This is why my trick of shutting down Origin and re launching the game eventually works. By doing this, I am forcing the revalidation of all EA verifications. When the boxes do not appear, as long as I do not shut down my PC and keep Origin opened, I can launch the game without having a store item issue. When I reboot my Pc or if Origin crashes, I have about a 50% chance of having the boxes appear on the launcher. No explaination though as to why all this fails if I install an expansion......

@puzzlezaddict Thanks for the info. The next time I get the boxes, I will try deleting the 2 files (after saving them) to see the result. I can also try disabling my antivirus to see if it makes a difference.