Know What Is Inside Your Game: The Sims 3
Introduction and Part 1: Inside the Programs/Applications folders I will be putting together a few informative posts to help people understand their TS3 game better. It may take me a while, and I'm...
Forum Discussion
Part 2: The insides of your Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 folder
I will take a moment, before we examine the inside of your The Sims 3 folder, to tell you how a factory reset folder is made.
When you first installed your base game, you had nothing inside your Electronic Arts folder, inside Documents. It was blank. But the very first time you opened your Launcher, the game generated a new "factory fresh" game for you to play.
Anytime your game sees a blank Electronic Arts folder (one missing a folder named The Sims 3) it will generate a new "factory fresh" game for you. So if your The Sims 3 folder is renamed "The Sims 3 m-d-y," the game will make you a new The Sims 3 folder. We refer to that new folder as a factory reset folder.
We will now examine your The Sims 3 folder found inside Documents/Electronic Arts.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/yourgamefolderinsideDocuments_zpsc3018a4e.jpg
When you open your The Sims 3 folder, you see this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/yourgameinDocuments_zps2bc53096.jpg
The first folder, Collections, holds the EA collections you see inside your game when you click on the collcetion folder icon in buy/build mode. It also holds any user made collections. Inside, it looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/collectionfolder_zpsb77be99f.jpg
If you click on the User folder, you will see the actual collections EA made, and any you have added. These files CANNOT be renamed. You must leave them as h.a.s.h numbers.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insideusercollections_zps41d33190.jpg
Collections is a folder you will need to back up, if you have added any collections or changed any of EA's collections.
The next folder inside your game is ContentPatch. This folder holds all those store patches that the game Launcher has installed in your game. Inside, it looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidecontentpatch_zps5bedc021.jpg
If you open the Download folder inside ContentPatch, it looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/contentpatchfiles_zps6357b61e.jpg
You can see that we have had seven patches to the store. The store has not been patched in quite some time, and will likely never be patched again. And yet, the Launcher tells you a new patch is available, rather constantly. That is because it is programmed to check for store patches, and each time it does, it looks at the ContentPatch folder to make sure you have all seven of the available store patches. It may even be applying a patch to a newly installed item, or it may just be a check for all seven patches. Regardless, if it sees the patches, it tells you that you are up to date.
The Launcher may continue to do this, even after the servers are taken down. I don't know. But either way, as long as all seven of the store patches are found inside the ContentPatch folder, you may be assured that your store items will be patched. You will always need the ContentPatch folder in every game you play.
Those seven patches will no longer be available to download into a factory reset game, once the servers go down, but if you have them inside a backup ContentPatch folder that you can copy and slide into a factory reset game, all your store items will be patched, regardless. So a ContentPatch folder that has those seven patches inside is something you MUST back up.
Please note: I have been informed in another thread that Crinrict says those seven files are temp files that should disappear, but they have (on a Mac and two PCs, and more than one fresh install of an OS and fresh install of TS3) never ever disappeared from my folder. Because I don't know why they didn't ever disappear, I would not advise deleting them, if you also have them in your game. They won't hurt anything if left in the folder. But, according to Crinrict, you need not be concerned if the seven part files are not in your folder.
Also, some people who have refused the Launcher's request for an update have gotten a "don't bother me until a new patch" instead of what I show. I have never refused a store patch, so I cannot comment on this, other than to advise accepting a store patch request sometime between the middle of August and the time the server goes down, just to make sure you caught the last one. Regardless, the important thing to know is that you must back up the ContentPatch folder, in order for your game to be store patched, once the servers go down.
The next folder, CurrentGame is nothing you need to be concerned about, and does not need to be backed up.
Custom Music is where any music you add will reside. If you have added music, you need to back up this file. Otherwise, you can ignore it.
The next two folders are very important, and MUST be backed up.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/yourstorecontentfoundhere_zps8390bbe5.jpg
These folders, The DCCache and DCBackup hold all your installed store content, along with any CC (custom content) that you have installed from Sims3Packs.
You will hear people tell you to add or delete things from these folders, and at one time, you could get by with that. But things in this game have become progressively fussier, as time has gone by, and I NO LONGER recommend doing anything at all to these folders, other than backing them up.
If things start going wrong with the store content or CC in your game, the best, safest, and most guaranteed way to fix them is to reinstall all your store content into a factory reset game. DO NOT install any CC, at this time. Then make a backup of the DCCache and DCBackup folders that you just installed your store things into. Save them in a safe place.
Once you have backed them up, you can slip a copy of them back into your real game (after throwing away the messed up ones), and install whatever safe CC you wish to install.
And next time your content goes bonkers, remove the messed up DCCache/DCBackup folders and then slide a copy of the your installed store (but unplayed and CC-free) DCCache and DCBackup into your game. Then you can install any safe CC you have at that time, and your game will run smoothly again.
I have recommended keeping a screenie of your Purchase Page to show what the last store item was, that you installed into your DCCache and DCBackup, so you would know where you left off when you made your latest factory reset game and fresh installed all your store content. If you will still be making store purchases for some time to come, then you might want to do that, also.
But if you will be completing your store purchases with the August venue, then I recommend you do one final factory reset and fresh download/fresh install, after the purchase of that venue. That way, your backup copy of the DCCache and DCBackup will hold the latest greatest, and always be there for an easy fix for messed up content.
CAUTION: Not ALL of your installed store Sims3Packs end up in DCCache/DCBackup. Worlds land in two other folders, as well as in the DCCache/DCBackup. Sims also have their own folders, in addition. Even the Library folder has some store content. So while it is MANDATORY that you back up the DCCache/DCBackup, we will be discussing other folders that you MUST backup in order for your game to have full use of all installed store content.
The next folder is Downloads. It should look like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidedownloads_zps7dc363a2.jpg
On the day you make a store purchases, it should look like this, showing the latest purchases, that have not yet been sorted:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/downloadsbeforesorting_zps8bc5b159.jpg
Many people think that their actual installed content is in Downloads. It isn't. The installed content is in the DCCache/DCBackup. The Sims3Packs that land in Downloads are what you downloaded from the store. Sometimes they still need to be installed, and sometimes they have already been installed. It depends on how they were downloaded and/or if they were simply placed into the Downloads folder from a backup you made earlier or possibly even the result of double clicking on a Sims3Pack somewhere else on your computer.
In short, any Sims3Pack in the Downloads folder can be moved elsewhere, put into folders within the Downloads folder, and etc. No matter what you do with them, the game won't care.
Any Sims3Pack inside the Downloads folder will show up in your Launcher. And if you delete them while in the Launcher, they will disappear from the Downloads folder. BUT only the things inside the bottom category of the Launcher, that show you what has actually been installed, will be removed from the game when deleted.
So, think of the Downloads folder as a temporary landing ground for store downloads, and keep it clean by organizing what you download, shortly after it is installed.
This is the way I have organized:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/storestufforganized_zps3fdf9503.jpg
In the INSTALL FIRST folder, I have these files that need to be installed right in the beginning or they will not show up, because they are missing in the set where they were supposed to be found, and must be installed BEFORE that set is installed to show in the game (otherwise you end up with a blank icon in patterns):
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/installfirst_zps0afcec52.jpg
Here are pictures of the objects with the missing textures in sets, that must be downloaded separately and then installed first, in order for the textures to show up:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40338PM_zpsef9c1330.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40416PM_zps48e12d44.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40823PM_zpsddc15b54.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40844PM_zpsd7065e43.png
Or this chair would work, too, because it has the same textures included:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40916PM_zpsc6077475.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40936PM_zps2f707c6b.png
Also check this link for more objects with textures that would need to be installed first, if you have them in your game:
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/517663/list-of-items-that-come-with-textures
The next folder, Worlds, has a subfolder for each world. In the subfolder I have the world itself, a separate copy of the venue's Sims3Pack that came with that world (along with the lot's h.a.s.h number, which we will talk about shortly) even if the venue is included in the world (just in case it doesn't install properly when the world installs and fails to show in the Library bin), and any additional files that pertain specifically to that world, like bonus content that was purchased with simpoints for that world. I like to install those things together with the world, so I have them organized that way.
Venues is an important folder. It looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidevenuesinsidestore_zpsdb03405f.jpg
And inside Files to put in the Library Folder:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidevenuesinsidefilestoputinLibrary_zpsf2da6fbd.jpg
We'll open one of these:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-26at110841PM_zps8514caf2.png
The above picture shows the h.a.s.h number that lands in the Library folder, when the venue is installed into the game. When you open the world, and look in your Library bin inside the game, that h.a.s.h number becomes a commercial lot you can place in your world.
The h.a.s.h number changes from installation to installation, even for the same exact venue. But, if the lot doesn't show up from a particular installation, a copy of that h.a.s.h number can be slid into your Library folder, and the lot will still show up inside your game's Library bin. It is a very valuable thing to have.
To get the h.a.s.h number, make a factory reset folder, and install ONLY your venue. Now look in the Library folder of the factory reset game. You will see a single h.a.s.h number. That is your venue lot, and what you need to put into that venue's subfolder inside Files to put in the Library Folder. Once you have the h.a.s.h number, you can throw away the factory reset game you used.
The rest of the category folders inside EA Store SETS are self-explanatory, and can be altered to suit your particular method of organization. The point is, you need to organize that Downloads folder. :)
Note: I am not currently using CC in my game. But if I was, I would also have a CC subfolder inside Downloads. Oh, and that still deciding folder is just where I put lots or worlds I downloaded some time ago, but have not checked for safety, or maybe some of my own older lots/sims that I have not yet installed. You may or may not find something like that useful.
Obviously, you will need a backup of your Downloads folder (or your store content and other things from Downloads, where ever you have been keeping it). Also keep a second (redundant) copy on a different disk or thumb drive. You might also want to burn a DVD, because drives can fail and thumb drives can be lost or corrupted. You cannot be too safe, when it comes to backing up your store content.
In the next post, I will continue with the Exports folder.
I will take a moment, before we examine the inside of your The Sims 3 folder, to tell you how a factory reset folder is made.
When you first installed your base game, you had nothing inside your Electronic Arts folder, inside Documents. It was blank. But the very first time you opened your Launcher, the game generated a new "factory fresh" game for you to play.
Anytime your game sees a blank Electronic Arts folder (one missing a folder named The Sims 3) it will generate a new "factory fresh" game for you. So if your The Sims 3 folder is renamed "The Sims 3 m-d-y," the game will make you a new The Sims 3 folder. We refer to that new folder as a factory reset folder.
We will now examine your The Sims 3 folder found inside Documents/Electronic Arts.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/yourgamefolderinsideDocuments_zpsc3018a4e.jpg
When you open your The Sims 3 folder, you see this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/yourgameinDocuments_zps2bc53096.jpg
The first folder, Collections, holds the EA collections you see inside your game when you click on the collcetion folder icon in buy/build mode. It also holds any user made collections. Inside, it looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/collectionfolder_zpsb77be99f.jpg
If you click on the User folder, you will see the actual collections EA made, and any you have added. These files CANNOT be renamed. You must leave them as h.a.s.h numbers.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insideusercollections_zps41d33190.jpg
Collections is a folder you will need to back up, if you have added any collections or changed any of EA's collections.
The next folder inside your game is ContentPatch. This folder holds all those store patches that the game Launcher has installed in your game. Inside, it looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidecontentpatch_zps5bedc021.jpg
If you open the Download folder inside ContentPatch, it looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/contentpatchfiles_zps6357b61e.jpg
You can see that we have had seven patches to the store. The store has not been patched in quite some time, and will likely never be patched again. And yet, the Launcher tells you a new patch is available, rather constantly. That is because it is programmed to check for store patches, and each time it does, it looks at the ContentPatch folder to make sure you have all seven of the available store patches. It may even be applying a patch to a newly installed item, or it may just be a check for all seven patches. Regardless, if it sees the patches, it tells you that you are up to date.
The Launcher may continue to do this, even after the servers are taken down. I don't know. But either way, as long as all seven of the store patches are found inside the ContentPatch folder, you may be assured that your store items will be patched. You will always need the ContentPatch folder in every game you play.
Those seven patches will no longer be available to download into a factory reset game, once the servers go down, but if you have them inside a backup ContentPatch folder that you can copy and slide into a factory reset game, all your store items will be patched, regardless. So a ContentPatch folder that has those seven patches inside is something you MUST back up.
Please note: I have been informed in another thread that Crinrict says those seven files are temp files that should disappear, but they have (on a Mac and two PCs, and more than one fresh install of an OS and fresh install of TS3) never ever disappeared from my folder. Because I don't know why they didn't ever disappear, I would not advise deleting them, if you also have them in your game. They won't hurt anything if left in the folder. But, according to Crinrict, you need not be concerned if the seven part files are not in your folder.
Also, some people who have refused the Launcher's request for an update have gotten a "don't bother me until a new patch" instead of what I show. I have never refused a store patch, so I cannot comment on this, other than to advise accepting a store patch request sometime between the middle of August and the time the server goes down, just to make sure you caught the last one. Regardless, the important thing to know is that you must back up the ContentPatch folder, in order for your game to be store patched, once the servers go down.
The next folder, CurrentGame is nothing you need to be concerned about, and does not need to be backed up.
Custom Music is where any music you add will reside. If you have added music, you need to back up this file. Otherwise, you can ignore it.
The next two folders are very important, and MUST be backed up.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/yourstorecontentfoundhere_zps8390bbe5.jpg
These folders, The DCCache and DCBackup hold all your installed store content, along with any CC (custom content) that you have installed from Sims3Packs.
You will hear people tell you to add or delete things from these folders, and at one time, you could get by with that. But things in this game have become progressively fussier, as time has gone by, and I NO LONGER recommend doing anything at all to these folders, other than backing them up.
If things start going wrong with the store content or CC in your game, the best, safest, and most guaranteed way to fix them is to reinstall all your store content into a factory reset game. DO NOT install any CC, at this time. Then make a backup of the DCCache and DCBackup folders that you just installed your store things into. Save them in a safe place.
Once you have backed them up, you can slip a copy of them back into your real game (after throwing away the messed up ones), and install whatever safe CC you wish to install.
And next time your content goes bonkers, remove the messed up DCCache/DCBackup folders and then slide a copy of the your installed store (but unplayed and CC-free) DCCache and DCBackup into your game. Then you can install any safe CC you have at that time, and your game will run smoothly again.
I have recommended keeping a screenie of your Purchase Page to show what the last store item was, that you installed into your DCCache and DCBackup, so you would know where you left off when you made your latest factory reset game and fresh installed all your store content. If you will still be making store purchases for some time to come, then you might want to do that, also.
But if you will be completing your store purchases with the August venue, then I recommend you do one final factory reset and fresh download/fresh install, after the purchase of that venue. That way, your backup copy of the DCCache and DCBackup will hold the latest greatest, and always be there for an easy fix for messed up content.
CAUTION: Not ALL of your installed store Sims3Packs end up in DCCache/DCBackup. Worlds land in two other folders, as well as in the DCCache/DCBackup. Sims also have their own folders, in addition. Even the Library folder has some store content. So while it is MANDATORY that you back up the DCCache/DCBackup, we will be discussing other folders that you MUST backup in order for your game to have full use of all installed store content.
The next folder is Downloads. It should look like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidedownloads_zps7dc363a2.jpg
On the day you make a store purchases, it should look like this, showing the latest purchases, that have not yet been sorted:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/downloadsbeforesorting_zps8bc5b159.jpg
Many people think that their actual installed content is in Downloads. It isn't. The installed content is in the DCCache/DCBackup. The Sims3Packs that land in Downloads are what you downloaded from the store. Sometimes they still need to be installed, and sometimes they have already been installed. It depends on how they were downloaded and/or if they were simply placed into the Downloads folder from a backup you made earlier or possibly even the result of double clicking on a Sims3Pack somewhere else on your computer.
In short, any Sims3Pack in the Downloads folder can be moved elsewhere, put into folders within the Downloads folder, and etc. No matter what you do with them, the game won't care.
Any Sims3Pack inside the Downloads folder will show up in your Launcher. And if you delete them while in the Launcher, they will disappear from the Downloads folder. BUT only the things inside the bottom category of the Launcher, that show you what has actually been installed, will be removed from the game when deleted.
So, think of the Downloads folder as a temporary landing ground for store downloads, and keep it clean by organizing what you download, shortly after it is installed.
This is the way I have organized:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/storestufforganized_zps3fdf9503.jpg
In the INSTALL FIRST folder, I have these files that need to be installed right in the beginning or they will not show up, because they are missing in the set where they were supposed to be found, and must be installed BEFORE that set is installed to show in the game (otherwise you end up with a blank icon in patterns):
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/installfirst_zps0afcec52.jpg
Here are pictures of the objects with the missing textures in sets, that must be downloaded separately and then installed first, in order for the textures to show up:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40338PM_zpsef9c1330.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40416PM_zps48e12d44.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40823PM_zpsddc15b54.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40844PM_zpsd7065e43.png
Or this chair would work, too, because it has the same textures included:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40916PM_zpsc6077475.png
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-30at40936PM_zps2f707c6b.png
Also check this link for more objects with textures that would need to be installed first, if you have them in your game:
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/517663/list-of-items-that-come-with-textures
The next folder, Worlds, has a subfolder for each world. In the subfolder I have the world itself, a separate copy of the venue's Sims3Pack that came with that world (along with the lot's h.a.s.h number, which we will talk about shortly) even if the venue is included in the world (just in case it doesn't install properly when the world installs and fails to show in the Library bin), and any additional files that pertain specifically to that world, like bonus content that was purchased with simpoints for that world. I like to install those things together with the world, so I have them organized that way.
Venues is an important folder. It looks like this:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidevenuesinsidestore_zpsdb03405f.jpg
And inside Files to put in the Library Folder:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/insidevenuesinsidefilestoputinLibrary_zpsf2da6fbd.jpg
We'll open one of these:
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss84/amjoie/ScreenShot2014-07-26at110841PM_zps8514caf2.png
The above picture shows the h.a.s.h number that lands in the Library folder, when the venue is installed into the game. When you open the world, and look in your Library bin inside the game, that h.a.s.h number becomes a commercial lot you can place in your world.
The h.a.s.h number changes from installation to installation, even for the same exact venue. But, if the lot doesn't show up from a particular installation, a copy of that h.a.s.h number can be slid into your Library folder, and the lot will still show up inside your game's Library bin. It is a very valuable thing to have.
To get the h.a.s.h number, make a factory reset folder, and install ONLY your venue. Now look in the Library folder of the factory reset game. You will see a single h.a.s.h number. That is your venue lot, and what you need to put into that venue's subfolder inside Files to put in the Library Folder. Once you have the h.a.s.h number, you can throw away the factory reset game you used.
The rest of the category folders inside EA Store SETS are self-explanatory, and can be altered to suit your particular method of organization. The point is, you need to organize that Downloads folder. :)
Note: I am not currently using CC in my game. But if I was, I would also have a CC subfolder inside Downloads. Oh, and that still deciding folder is just where I put lots or worlds I downloaded some time ago, but have not checked for safety, or maybe some of my own older lots/sims that I have not yet installed. You may or may not find something like that useful.
Obviously, you will need a backup of your Downloads folder (or your store content and other things from Downloads, where ever you have been keeping it). Also keep a second (redundant) copy on a different disk or thumb drive. You might also want to burn a DVD, because drives can fail and thumb drives can be lost or corrupted. You cannot be too safe, when it comes to backing up your store content.
In the next post, I will continue with the Exports folder.
