Missing Animation in High-End Loft Stuff

The earliest released of the EP/SPs each had their own patches aside from the base game patch before EA changed the patching structure with I think Late Night or just after that. We have always said that these separate patches are not critical to the game's operation, and am not sure but this item might have been fixed by the one for HELS.

I will send you more info by PM since I don't think EA wants us to broadcast info on how to patch the individual packs this way, they really want all players to be on Origin/1.69 now.

@SuzyCue72 - The Store Content patches have not been made available by EA to anyone who is not on Origin for Windows for coming up on two years now. They are not delivered by the Launcher any longer nor are they available for download. Players who need to have them are either re-using them from prior installs or getting the from other players who have graciously made them available from their own file server accounts. Do you have evidence to the contrary? Origin/1.69 players are exempt from this requirement because Origin delivers the Store Content Patches to somewhere in the game's Program Files as part of its game controlling mechanism, but players on the earlier patch levels still need them.

The SP patch that the OP might need (we're not sure yet) is not available to them for their regionally encoded install disc. Or at least we haven't found it yet, can you tell us where these might be?

And then we have the issue where a change made to a server on EA's end last summer, so that's over a year ago, causes anyone on 1.67 installs of any type including those on Steam and the Mac version of the game to have the Launcher not let go when it is time for it to do so when the player is logged in, thus requiring a force quit and/or a change in security rights to a log file local to our TS3 user game folders. When we presented the server issue and some proposed solutions to it on Answers.HQ, the official response we got by way of community managers there after checking with the techies in charge of server maintenance there was that no one should be on Patch 1.67 any longer. They had and still have no answer for those on the Mac version of the game, for whom there is no 1.69 alternative.

You have a point about the SuperPatcher, but that one's continued availability appears to be more of an exception to the rule.

As this is a new 1.67 installation and the Launcher is not going to offer up the Store Content patches, you should most definitely obtain them from the link provided above. But the SP is not store content, so I don't really think it's going to affect this issue (wouldn't hurt to check, though).

But also in the meantime I would suggest setting this issue aside until others can confirm whether the bed is working for them properly or not.

I finally got around to testing this myself, since no one else seemed to know either way. I made two sims, one with the Childish and Party Animal traits, the other with the Flirty and Insane traits, and let them go at each other all day until their needs dropped too low. I saw one Nauseous moodlet, but none of the others mentioned on the wiki. This is with all EPs, four SPs, and no mods, in a (mostly) clean folder, and on a Steam/1.67 install, which comes already fully patched. So, I guess maybe it isn't there? It would be nice to hear from someone else with a disc install, but I at least can't test that.

"SuzyCue72;c-17241535" wrote:
The server change/issue is news to me, haven't seen anything about it before, or encountered it myself. Can you maybe describe it a bit more?

Last summer, people on 1.67 started getting error messages saying "the launcher is running in the tray" when the game was initially loading, and if they merely opened and closed the launcher, they'd get a message saying "the uploading process is running" and do you want to cancel? The best guess, not that EA ever confirmed it, is that a certain file was supposed to be uploaded to EA servers, but those servers weren't responding anymore, so the process never finished.

After some testing, it was obvious that the file in question was Sims3Logs, and that there were a few workarounds that helped. Any one of these is enough to prevent the error:

• Bypass the launcher, as in, launch the game directly from TS3W.exe
  
• Play while the computer is completely offline (no internet connection at all)
  
• Deny Read permission on Sims3Logs. This one is weird—when I first tested it, denying Read to System was enough, but I checked again just now, and that doesn't work. Denying Read to my username is enough though, without any other tweaks. I'm running one Windows build newer than I did a year ago, so maybe that's the difference.
  

Interestingly, Sims3Logs is an .xml file on a patch 1.67 install, Steam or Mac, but a .bin file in a 1.69 install. I have no idea if that matters at all, it's just one of those things.

And yes, the official response was patch to 1.69, and your problems will go away. Again.

I will say though that I've never seen the issue in macOS myself, but, um, I might be a couple of OSs behind. Not that I'm an unrepentant procrastinator or anything like that.

"igazor;c-17241651" wrote:
@SuzyCue72 - The Store Content patches have not been made available by EA to anyone who is not on Origin for Windows for coming up on two years now.

And then we have the issue where a change made to a server on EA's end last summer, so that's over a year ago, causes anyone on 1.67 installs of any type including those on Steam and the Mac version of the game to have the Launcher not let go when it is time for it to do so when the player is logged in

You missed one: the paul.dll issue is back. (Speaking of server problems.) Yes, they've been made aware, no, there's no official word yet, yes, the old workaround still fixes it. Of course, it's going to be a moot point once everyone blindly upgrades to Catalina in a few weeks and then shows up demanding that EA fix their games, but in the meantime, this is kind of ridiculous.

@puzzlezaddict - I think the paul.dll issue is Mac version specific though or is that not correct? My list was including what I thought were issues that all players on 1.67 face, on any platform, the official answer to which consistently seems to be stop playing on Patch 1.67. Which of course many of us are choosing to ignore for as long as we can, and which makes no sense for those on the Mac version of the game since they do not have other options while still staying on the macOS.

@SuzyCue72 - Sorry, but I do not see how any of what you have posted just now would really be helpful to the OP at this time and thanks but no, I do not require a link to a non-EA controlled utility that we aren't meant to be discussing here. My point is that those files/patches are not being provided by EA, from EA controlled sources any longer.

@igazor Yes, the paul.dll issue is specific to macOS, at least as far as I've ever seen. The files don't even exist in a Steam install, which makes sense, since Steam presumably has its own validation process. The problem might theoretically exist for original disc installs, but I've never seen a report of it, and I haven't bothered to test myself. (Maybe one of these days.)

I thought your list was of everything that affects players not on 1.69 and that doesn't get fixed, or gets broken again, because... well, you know how it is. Even the initial response to the store content patch issue was to update, and when it was pointed out that Mac users can't use 1.69, the silence was, and still is, deafening.

"igazor;c-17240432" wrote:
The earliest released of the EP/SPs each had their own patches aside from the base game patch before EA changed the patching structure with I think Late Night or just after that. We have always said that these separate patches are not critical to the game's operation, and am not sure but this item might have been fixed by the one for HELS.

I will send you more info by PM since I don't think EA wants us to broadcast info on how to patch the individual packs this way, they really want all players to be on Origin/1.69 now.

@igazor - This can't be true. Why would EA still offer all the six individual EP and SP patches for download if they didn't want anyone to use them? That wouldn't make sense.

And EA are still keeping both the 1.67 Superpatcher and the Store Content patch available for download too, and they wouldn't do that if they wanted to force everyone to abandon their disc installs of TS3, and download the Origin 1.69 version instead.

"igazor;c-17241651" wrote:
@SuzyCue72 - The Store Content patches have not been made available by EA to anyone who is not on Origin for Windows for coming up on two years now. They are not delivered by the Launcher any longer nor are they available for download. Players who need to have them are either re-using them from prior installs or getting the from other players who have graciously made them available from their own file server accounts. Do you have evidence to the contrary? Origin/1.69 players are exempt from this requirement because Origin delivers the Store Content Patches to somewhere in the game's Program Files as part of its game controlling mechanism, but players on the earlier patch levels still need them.

The SP patch that the OP might need (we're not sure yet) is not available to them for their regionally encoded install disc. Or at least we haven't found it yet, can you tell us where these might be?

And then we have the issue where a change made to a server on EA's end last summer, so that's over a year ago, causes anyone on 1.67 installs of any type including those on Steam and the Mac version of the game to have the Launcher not let go when it is time for it to do so when the player is logged in, thus requiring a force quit and/or a change in security rights to a log file local to our TS3 user game folders. When we presented the server issue and some proposed solutions to it on Answers.HQ, the official response we got by way of community managers there after checking with the techies in charge of server maintenance there was that no one should be on Patch 1.67 any longer. They had and still have no answer for those on the Mac version of the game, for whom there is no 1.69 alternative.

You have a point about the SuperPatcher, but that one's continued availability appears to be more of an exception to the rule.

@igazor Ok so I've tried to patching with the 3.13.1 Region 1-Americas version and it went successfully installed on my sister's laptop... but it don't resolved anything. Sims still do nothing and act like a normal bed when the "activate vibration" interaction is selected. I mean the heart bed only turn on the red light and vibrate(as it was before, without patching the pack), but the surprised animation between two sims is still missing. Now I think that only a mod(problably will never happen) or a repurchase of the physical disc copy(reinstalling everything again) could save me from this frustating situation. I'm not crazy.

I perfectly remember (back in 2012-2014) that when I was playing with this bed the animation was always present.
Also at that time I don't paid so much attention to the patches, indeed because was all regular and functioning in my game!

I feel cheated because I have payed so much money on this game in these years and I really want his complete functionality... but it seems a mirage. Can the last store patch help me in some way?

"igazor;c-17241651" wrote:
@SuzyCue72 - The Store Content patches have not been made available by EA to anyone who is not on Origin for Windows for coming up on two years now. They are not delivered by the Launcher any longer nor are they available for download. Players who need to have them are either re-using them from prior installs or getting the from other players who have graciously made them available from their own file server accounts. Do you have evidence to the contrary? Origin/1.69 players are exempt from this requirement because Origin delivers the Store Content Patches to somewhere in the game's Program Files as part of its game controlling mechanism, but players on the earlier patch levels still need them.

The SP patch that the OP might need (we're not sure yet) is not available to them for their regionally encoded install disc. Or at least we haven't found it yet, can you tell us where these might be?

And then we have the issue where a change made to a server on EA's end last summer, so that's over a year ago, causes anyone on 1.67 installs of any type including those on Steam and the Mac version of the game to have the Launcher not let go when it is time for it to do so when the player is logged in, thus requiring a force quit and/or a change in security rights to a log file local to our TS3 user game folders. When we presented the server issue and some proposed solutions to it on Answers.HQ, the official response we got by way of community managers there after checking with the techies in charge of server maintenance there was that no one should be on Patch 1.67 any longer. They had and still have no answer for those on the Mac version of the game, for whom there is no 1.69 alternative.

You have a point about the SuperPatcher, but that one's continued availability appears to be more of an exception to the rule.

@igazor - Sorry about the late reply, but I've been busy IRL/OE, and I've also had to do a bit of search and research to find the relevant screenshots and other info.

There is a small utility program that does these 3 things:

1. Locates, downloads and installs the Store Content Patch. (Not really "installs", since that's not needed, it just puts it in the right place.)

2. Locates, downloads and installs the 6 individual patches for the first 3 EPs and SPs. (Or you can install them manually later if you prefer that.)

3. Collects all the Sims 3 serial numbers from your registry, and presents them in a neat and tidy list, in exactly the same format as in the leaflet in the DVD box, like this: ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678-IJKL

Unfortunatly there is a warning on the programs download page that says we're not allowed to discuss or link to it, (the same as with your W*******-mod.)

"Discussion of this application or linking to this page is not allowed on Electronic Arts websites. Doing so may result in account suspension or cancelation."

I have no idea why because it seems perfectly legit and harmless, but I guess EA have their reasons that we don't understand. If you want I can send you a PM with more info, screenshots and a link to the download page.


No, I can't because they don't exist. Apparently it's only the base game and the first EP, World Adventures, that are regionally coded. From High-End Loft Stuff and forward there are only 2 versions, DVD disc and Origin download.


The server change/issue is news to me, haven't seen anything about it before, or encountered it myself. Can you maybe describe it a bit more?

"igazor;c-17249416" wrote:
@SuzyCue72 - Sorry, but I do not see how any of what you have posted just now would really be helpful to the OP at this time and thanks but no, I do not require a link to a non-EA controlled utility that we aren't meant to be discussing here. My point is that those files/patches are not being provided by EA, from EA controlled sources any longer.

@igazor - None of the things I wrote was directed to the OP. I was merely trying to answer your questions as best I could, but if I had known beforehand what the reaction would be, I wouldn't have bothered.

This little program can't be that bad or disreputable though, since the well known Crinrict recommends using it, both here on this forum and on her own site. It's also been discussed freely and very positively in the Sims 3 section at Carl's, which is a site that's always seemed to be extremely careful not to say or do anything that could annoy EA in any way.