Your favorite Sims 3 Streamers on YouTube

@Katofhyrule12 & @thuggishsplicer - You are both very welcome. I hope you find something enjoyable to watch. I have taken inspiration or learned something in one form or another from everyone on my list.

@BlueSpaarkle - There are still a good number of TS3 content makers still active on YouTube. Some play and post about both games (TS4 & TS3) while others never left the TS3 creative sphere. In recent times, there has been a rise in the number of TS4 players who are either bored with or dissatisfied with the direction TS4 has taken and publicly 'washed their hands' of the game and now post solely TS2 &/or TS3 content.

I wonder whether Sims 3 or Sims 4 will be less buggy to play when Sims 5 and future updates of Windows are rolled out. Can sims 3 work totally offline? Can Sims 4 work totally offline?

-I cannot speak for TS4 because I haven't had a single second of personal interaction with it. However, TS3 is totally playable offline, especially if you have an all-disc version of it (pre-2012). When it comes to the digital version, I expect it to remain at the disinterest of EA. But at some point in time, TS3 is going to cease to be playable on newer machines with advanced hardware/software. Anyone who is a long-term TS3 player will eventually have to accept this fact and begin 'future proofing' their machines now for when that time arrives.

I am not sure which game to invest more time learning.

-Outside of becoming use to the controls of the game, there isn't anything to really learn.
TS3 relies on your imagination. When played to its strength, TS3 has the potential to become a proverbial 'Alice in Wonderland' rabbit-hole of sorts. What do you want? What do you wish to explore or experience? How much of your imagination and time are you willing to invest into it? This is the starting point to the game. How deep do you wish to travel into the capabilities of the internal AI? What do you want from your Sims? Whatever it is, they will return it.

I can honestly say from personal experience whatever you can imagine (and your PC can handle), TS3 has the in-game tools to make it so. True, for some things mods are needed, that's to be expected. More adult-type gameplay? Mods. More option for Sims or objects in the game? Mods. Tailored town progression. Mods. Un-promoted social (and private) behaviors. Mods.

When it comes to the Sims and emulation. What personalities do you want to foster? The sims don't have a scripted way of learning, they are data driven. They have four (x4) major ways of learning (what they see, what they hear, what they experience and, what you choose (or don't choose) for them. They take this data and decide upon a course of action to take. These actions build personality and 'lines of thinking'. They do have some 'scripted' reactions to events but once they fulfill that obligation, the true sim AI takes over and they show their 'natural reactions' to whatever event/interaction.

....And they have the opportunity to be more creative because they are not constantly repairing their games.

-TS3 is not without its problems. It does have its own set of unsolved game issues; some are due to the way the game was built while others originate from EA's neglect of the game and their consumer's concerns. Since the game is 14 years in age, most of these issues are known and have work-around, mod solutions or can be avoided altogether. Others are just what they are. Knowing this fact takes a lot of stress off of the player.

I guess I would need to rebuy the disk version.

The key to absolute freedom for TS3 lies in the pre-2012 base game disc. (updated to patch v1.67). Unfortunately, these discs are very hard to find. Many players who have them aren't willing to part with them. And, of those who do, the asking price is usually very high.

Back in the day, these disks were available for purchase from most gaming stores, big chain stores who also sold games, as well as purchased directly from EA's online store. Once EA decided they wanted to have more control over 'how' players used their game, they introduced Origin (a digital service which is now the EA app). When they decided to focus on this digital path, retail copies of the original 2012 disc were recalled by EA and the new 2012 discs which included the mandatory Origin program rolled out to market.

It is my guess the original unsold discs were eventually destroyed by EA. Back then I tried to buy a replacement disk in case something happened to my original and the salesperson at GameStop informed me they couldn't sell me a copy even though they had plenty in stock in their back room.

So, unless you are fortunate enough to find a working copy of the pre-2012 base game, I would suggest not wasting any of your money on any of the other discs for this game as it will lead you to the same result as digital.

"Katofhyrule12;c-18273738" wrote:
I wonder whether Sims 3 or Sims 4 will be less buggy to play when Sims 5 and future updates of Windows are rolled out. Can sims 3 work totally offline? Can Sims 4 work totally offline?

Sometimes older technology is more stable long-term than newer technology. I am not sure which game to invest more time learning.

Sims 4 videos seem to be more about buying new things that get dribbled out, and overcoming the patch bugs that plague us every time we get a dribble. Sims 4's problems provides content providers with easy ideas to throw up a video about each new crisis.

Sims 3 content providers must be a lot more creative. And they have the opportunity to be more creative because they are not constantly repairing their games.

It will be interesting if Sims 3 content is more plentiful than Sims 4 content in a few years. I wonder if Sims 3 will remain a niche game for the long-term. Kind of like installing Linux on old Thinkpads. There is no shortage of videos about old Thinkpads. They are more numerous than the videos about new Thinkpads.

If you have the Base Game that was released before September 2012 and all of the disks for the rest of the expansions and stuff packs, then you can install it from disk and not install the manager when asked if you want to install it. Then you can play without having Origin on your computer. Or not have your Sims 3 linked to Origin. I think initially, with later versions of the base game, you could set up your game to play off line through Origin. Now the App has replaced Origin I have no idea if you can play off line or not. My game is pre September 2012 and I play off line without Origin or the App. My patch level is 1.67.

"mw1525;c-18273255" wrote:
Here are a few of the Simmers I currently watch or have really enjoyed in the past. I've included the links to their video libraries so you can surf their content if interested.

OLDER CONTENT:

Llandros09
(Older TS3 'Let's Play' videos)
https://www.youtube.com/user/Llandros09/videos

Thank you so much for the shout out - I really enjoyed making that content - I definitely put out quite a bit when I could!

"thuggishsplicer;c-18273350" wrote:
@mw1525 thanks for the suggestions! I'm following 'em all!

I didn't know Llandros had a channel

I do but cancer and the horrible after effects of chemo have taken me out (hopefully not permanently). Currently I am having tremendous difficulty in speaking and eating and am undergoing surgeries to help correct it but it's not been anything I would wish on anyone else to experience.

@Katofhyrule12
@mw1525 Like you, I thought it would be very difficult to find the base game pre-2012. However, I was fortunate enough to find all of the disks for The Sims 3 available for sale on eBay, including a copy of the original pre-2012 game (base game, expansions, and stuff packs - I was even lucky enough to find the Katy Perry Sweet Treats included with Showtime!). Currently, several of the pre-2012 base game disks are for sale on eBay in both the United States and Great Britain.

It doesn't matter if the expansions or stuff packs are pre-2012. They install just fine for a 1.67 install as long as you do not select to install Origin or the EA Download Manager. You actually have to Uncheck the Origin install for every disk. You may also have to uncheck the EA Download Manager, but I can't remember for sure. It's tedious, but once I got through them all, the game ran fine, and I was able to use Create A World including the Edit in Game feature.

I'm glad I decided to switch to a 1.67 disk install. I already owned Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and University Life, as well as High-End Loft Stuff. I spent $180.67 on the rest of the disks through eBay (including shipping charges). I made sure that all of my disks came with the insert that had the installation code on them. I wasn't worried about registering any of them with the Sims 3 Store as I had already registered the game and expansion packs when I was playing through Origin.

I used the codes that came with the disks from eBay and did not try the codes I had from the digital copies of the expansion packs, so I don't know if they would work for installing from disks. Maybe someone else has tried this and can confirm whether it will work.

And just so my post is on topic with the subject of this discussion:

CravenLestat did fabulous fashion shows with a lot of his female Sims 3 Sims:
https://www.youtube.com/@cravenlestat7006

@Katofhyrule12 - To add to what Karritz wrote. As long as you have the original base game disc, it doesn't matter if any of the other discs are pre-owned. You won't be able to register them but if they are in good shape and you have their installation codes they will install and work.

@Llandros2012 - No, Thank you for all of the good times and good memories. Watching your videos is/was like hanging out at a friend's house just having good fun. Here hoping and wishing you success with your surgeries and continued healing.

@BlueSpaarkle - You are welcome. There are many more currently active TS3 simmers whom I didn't list (my bookmarks of YouTube TS3 Simmers is truly sad to look at) ;).

@texansky - It was 2012 the last time I tried to buy a replacement for my original base game disk. I have heard many players speak on how difficult it has been for them to find good used copies of this game for sale on Amazon, eBay or even at second-hand stores. I have also seen players on this forum who have an all disc collection who say they will never part with them. I feel the same way. As for myself, I own everything except KPST ( I own the limited edition of Showtime) & Outdoor Living and all of my games are on disc -- even Dragon Valley & Monte Vista are disc versions.

"Llandros2012;c-18273920" wrote:


I do but cancer and the horrible after effects of chemo have taken me out (hopefully not permanently). Currently I am having tremendous difficulty in speaking and eating and am undergoing surgeries to help correct it but it's not been anything I would wish on anyone else to experience.

LLandros, I am so sorry that you are sick!

Thank you all so much for the information!. I miss the ways things were with computers, but things have reached a stage where I have just given up on trying to hold onto what we had. You all helped me make my decision and it is a relief to have made it. I think the digital versions of Sims 3 and Sims 4 will die out together: both the access to the games and the content providers who stream about them. I need to choose the game that I WANT to play, not the game that I think will survive the longest.

This thread has been so helpful to me. I appreciate you all so much!

Nothing Sims 3 related is offtopic to me as the OP of this thread, but I do not know the exact forum rules. I have probably broken the offtopic rules the most in this thread. I hope that I have not upset any moderators. Every forum has different rules about the inevitable natural drift, and I do try to learn the written and unwritten rules and follow them, but conversations are fluid and I always drift after awhile.

Thank you all so much again!

"CharlieBleu;c-18292076" wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/@RachelleCloud
She is my favorite one that keeps current Sims 3 content.

Great! You added this link to this thread already! Thanks so much!