Game Won't Save After Adding BuyDebug Items

How are you saving? I haven't had problems with buydebug items per se, but in the past have had save issues when building. I think it mostly became a problem (and was similar to yours with either saving going on forever or game crashing) when my old computer reached the point of being inadequate for the expansions that were then out, but changing my save method (which I've stuck with ever since) pretty much took care of it. What I do is retreat to edit town view, save my lot to the bin, then return to live mode and use save as, changing the file name. I never try to save a lot in build mode. If something should go wrong with the save as, I will then have the lot in my bin and can replace it in the world. Also, I save often (unless it's the middle of the night and I forget and regret it when my UI decides not to load properly - that's the only remaining problem I have with saving while building :D ).

Edited to add: I just noticed you mentioned building a world, and so if you are working in CAW, maybe it would be better to post this over in the Sims 3 Game Tools or World Builders section of the forum where people who work with the tool are more likely to see it.

May I ask if you are switching off BuyDebug before trying to save? It's become sort of a best practice to do that. I really don't know why, but plenty of players have reported that doing so stops things from locking up on them during the Save procedure.

"MadDoctor61;c-17470620" wrote:
No, I've never tried that. I'll have to remember. I assume it's just "BuyDebug false"

I use buydebug off/ (on) myself, but some players do find that they need to use false/ (true) for some unknown reason.

I hate when the game crashes, so I've been hesitant to try this. But, now after 2 more crashes and reboots, neither BuyDebug off, nor BuyDebug false helps. The question mark and related panel of goodies disappears with both methods, but when I go back to town mode from the lot I'm editing, I never get back to town mode, and get stuck in between. I've saved the lot a few times after non-BuyDebug modifications and that has come in handy.

@MadDoctor61 Assuming the pool bar is a community lot (as opposed to a pool bar on a residential lot), supposing you convert it to a residential lot, move in a sim, add something from buydebug and then try to save, both the lot to bin (your sim would be saved with it as a household at this point) and your saved game. Can you do it that way? If so, I'm thinking you might be able to evict the sim to the clipboard from there and change the lot type back. It *could* solve your immediate problem with this particular lot, although I realize the larger problem still remains.

Still not sure if you're using "save as" as opposed to "save." I have always had a lot more problems if I use just save, seemingly more likely if the game has been ongoing for a while. Of course, I don't know how/if that affects the use of buydebug.

Since turning off buydebug didn't help, have you considered a problem with a mod or cc?

Yeah, I had just come back over to edit my post when I remembered that since your game is freezing before you can save now, it no longer really matters how you're saving. :D I do think it helps overall, though, to use save as and to keep a few copies under different names.

I do understand what a pain it is to sort through cc, and it sounds as though you have enough that it's an ordeal to troubleshoot. What I personally would probably try is to make a copy of my active game (renamed) to play around with and just move all the cc out someplace safe while I tried to edit the lot in that second copy and see if I could get it to save there. If successful, I'd save it to bin and place that saved copy back in my active game, plus add back my cc. If not successful, I would then go to a new Sims 3 documents folder (guessing you know about making one), transferring the copy of my game save over there, along with whatever else is needed except cc and trying to work with it there. If still unable to save, I would then try starting a new game in the same world and placing a copy of the lot there to edit.

What I would be thinking here is that if the first action (working in a copy of the save with no cc) worked, it's a cc problem. If it didn't, putting it in a new Sims 3 folder tells us if something is not still working right with your current folder, and it the save still doesn't work in the new folder, it's a corrupt save.

Beyond that, I don't know what else to suggest. Thinking I'm not the best to help with this since I haven't had the specific problem and am not a troubleshooter in general, but I do build a lot and have had to sort through some problems now and then and the above is the basic approach I usually take. Perhaps @igazor will be back and have some better ideas.

"suzses;c-17470315" wrote:
How are you saving?

Normally, when this has happened, I am in game mode. I click the dots at the bottom left and chose "Save". This time, after editing the lot, I "Return To Game" and chose the "Save" option then over "Just Continue". It's a good idea, saving the lot while still in "Edit Town" mode. I'll try to remember to do that. I still need to know why it's happening though.

I've also had the problem when I tried to add the "Bottomless Pet Bowl" to public lots so pets can eat when they are away from home.

"suzses;c-17470315" wrote:
Edited to add: I just noticed you mentioned building a world, and so if you are working in CAW, maybe it would be better to post this over in the Sims 3 Game Tools or World Builders section of the forum where people who work with the tool are more likely to see it.

This lot wasn't in the new world, but in another I am playing at present. I was going to save the lot to my bin when I finished working on it (it was still rather skeletal with more work needed), then all I would need to do is plop it down in the new world. The new world itself is quite skeletal with just a downtown. I really need help developing it.

No, I've never tried that. I'll have to remember. I assume it's just "BuyDebug false"

Til now I've only seen it mentioned as just "BuyDebug". No on, off, true, false or any other modifier. I only assumed 'false' because true/false are modifiers for many others.

I can't get out of the lot, so I can't "Save" or "Save As" or save the lot even. It freezes when go back to town mode. I do find games get buggy as they get older. I'm going to try 'Save As' now and then. It might help with multiple generations.

I have thought it might be custom content. I hate when that happens. It takes so long to load the game to try to see if removing something corrects the problem. I have to start a new game because it screws up everything else in the active game. When I do find out the offending CC, group, it takes forever to put part of the batch back in, until only the offender is left. My depression really hates this. I was hoping somebody would have had a similar experience and could point me towards the type of thing that causes it.