@brinn1996 You can load a backup save instead. Even if you never made one, the game will have saved the data from the second to last time you saved. Go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Saves, and look for a folder labeled with your save name plus a .backup extension. So if your save is called SunsetValley, the main save folder will be called SunsetValley.sims3, and the backup will be SunsetValley.sims3.backup. Rename it and delete the .backup extension (e.g. SunsetValley1.sims3), and it will be avaliable to load from the Main Menu.
Before you reload the game though, it's a good idea to make a copy of this backup save. That way, you can experiment on the one in your Sims 3 folder, and you'll still have a backup if you need it later.
If the travel transition fails again, don't try to recover it, just quit without saving again. Without mods, the only other thing you can do is try to lower the stress on the game engine as much as possible while your sims are traveling. Here's how:
- Empty your sims' inventories as much as possible. A few items is fine; a hundred is not.
- Use "save as" to rename the save, then quit (without saving) immediately before you want to travel.
- Load the game just to the Main Menu. Turn off memories, the in-game shopping experience, and the hidden object interactive loading screens.
- Lower all the graphics settings to the minimum. (You can revert to your normal settings after the travel transition.) Now quit the game again, without loading a save.
- Delete the five cache files in your game folder in Documents: CASPartCache, compositorCache, scriptCache, simCompositorCache, and socialCache.
- Empty out everything in FeaturedItems as well.
- If you play through Origin, sign in and then put Origin in offline mode. Now disconnect your computer from the internet—turn off wifi and/or pull the ethernet cord.
- Now launch your game, load the save, and send your sims to the future right away, as soon as the game clock starts moving forward.
If none of this works, let me know whether you'd like to add a few mods to try to help.
