@SimPoppy If you're still here, a few of us have posted workarounds. As of March 2023, I can say that they work. They are:
1. Download older version of Origin, turn off automatic updates, go offline, then add one line of code to local.xml file.
This is the quickest and cheapest way to keep using CAW and EIG. The only issue is that it's anyone's guess how long players can keep doing this, since there may come a day when they switch the servers off so it's unusable.
2. Uninstall your game and switch to all discs and patch to 1.67.
Cheap if you or someone else you know already has the discs, not so cheap if you don't. (It will mean bumming copies off of eBay).
3. Switch to Steam and use registry hack to get CAW to work there.
Again, cheap and easy if you already own a Steam copy of TS3, but expensive if you don't, as you'll have to rebuy everything.
I happen to have bought all my The Sime 3 stuff via Steam. (So, I am not sure why the Origin app is even being used... maybe because I registered over there or something.)
Anyway, I am tempted to installing from Steam again (32 GB to download!) and using your "registry hack" idea. However, I do not know what that is. Could you please elaborate on that process?
I appreciate your and everyone else's time on this. Clearly, the The Sims 3 fanbase is a live and well.
Thank you!
Snootch
@SnootchDog I believe this is what the other player meant:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=277022926
This is the standard way to make CAW work in a Steam install.
