Sims 3 64bit keeps crashing when saving

@Peachyeve  One common cause of a failed save is leaving buydebug on.  Sometimes the save process works anyway, but not always.

Otherwise, out of curiosity, how large are the folders for the affected saves?  You can right-click on one and select Get Into to see.

Please also let me know whether you use iCloud Drive, and if so, whether it's set to automatically sync the contents of Documents.

I'm also dealing with this issue, and it doesn't look like it has been resolved yet. Can you help?

I am also playing the Sims 3 64-bit on a Mac via Origin. I'm able to play the game normally, but whenever I try to save the game, it crashes. Whenever I get to the menu after restarting the Sims 3 in Origin, it shows that the game I tried to save was not saved. As additional background:

- There are no cheats, buydebugs, etc. on

- I am not using any custom content

- I do not use iCloud Drive to back up/sync Sims files or my Documents.

- I have tried copying the game I was playing and saving using the newly copied game. The Sims 3 still crashed when trying to save.

- The size of the game I have repeatedly tried to save is 327.2 MB. The size is the same for the original and new copy.

@artsychic421  Please start a new save and see whether you can save your progress.  If  you can't, please move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just start a new save in Sunset Valley and see whether you can save your progress there.

@puzzlezaddict I started a new completely new save using Sunset Valley and was successfully able to save my progress in that new test game.

I tried to see if the other saves I was struggling with would work now, but they still do not work properly (they still cause the game/Origin to crash).

I also tried to see if I could save another older save that has a size of 857 MB. Although parts of that save are glitchy (some of the windows in public lots/retailers glitch between black and their proper imagery), it was still able to save. So, size or age of the save does not appear to be the problem.

I also reset Origin and made sure it was completely updated, but that had no effect either.

(To see if it helped, per your suggestion, I also tried testing moving the entire Sims 3 folder to Desktop and letting a new folder spawn. When I got to the main menu, there were no saved games, so I started a new one in Sunset Valley. However, I was unable to select a family to play with or even create a sim to move into the neighborhood (create a sim was completely gone), so I was unable to even test if a save was possible. I have moved my old Sims 3 folder back to the EA folder in my Documents and deleted the newly spawned folder.)

Any other suggestions/advice?

@artsychic421  Try the new user folder again.  I'm guessing you simply landed in the tutorial, which has more limited options than normal, but you can exit it by clicking the three dots in the lower left corner and choosing Edit Town.  When you then click Return to Game Setup at the top of the screen, you'll be able to enter CAS or whatever else you want to do.

If you don't have those options, please put the game in windowed mode (cmd-return) and take a screenshot of what you see (cmd-shift-4).  You can attach it to a post.

Confirm that you can create and save your progress in a new save in this folder, then copy your affected save to this folder and see whether you can save while playing it as well.  If the save takes place in a store or custom world, you'll need to install it first, but don't add any other content to the new folder.

@puzzlezaddict Thanks, that helped.

I was able to create a save in this new folder using Sunset Valley as a test.

However, when I add the save from the old folder (Appaloosa Plains - no custom content) to the new folder and try to save progress, it still causes the game to crash.

(Not sure how helpful this is but, when the save from the old folder was added to the new folder, it caused the Sunset Valley test's thumbnail to appear glitchy (i.e., a navy blue background instead of the normal light blue one - I attached an image for reference). However, the Sunset Valley test game itself was normal upon loading and was still able to save. The thumbnail is still glitchy though.)

Any other suggestions?

@artsychic421  The oddly-colored thumbnail is pretty typical for 64-bit Sims 3.  I'm not sure of the exact reasons it happens, but I believe it has to do with what time of day the game is saved.  Regardless, I haven't found any evidence that it makes a save less likely to load or more likely to crash.

For the Appaloosa Plains save, it sounds like it might be somewhat glitched.  You can probably still fix it if you're willing to use mods.  Specifically, I'd recommend NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, and MasterController to start, and possibly others if those aren't enough.  ET and OW clean up bad data and stuck situations with no player input; MC doesn't do anything unless you issue a command.  They can all be removed whenever you want, although many of us would never play without them.  You can find a bit more information on these mods here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-Common-Game-Fixing-Mods-Hero-Approved/m-p/9838855#M244208

And of course a lot more information is available on the host site.

Anyway, if you're interested in trying, add the mods, load the save, let the game clock run for a few sim-minutes, click on City Hall, and select this:

NRaas > MasterController > Town Options > Reset Everything

The reset will take a bit of time to run and will let you know when it's finished.  Afterwards, let the game clock run for a few more sim-minutes, then use "save as" to rename the save and see whether you can save your progress.  If you can, great, you can keep playing forward.  If not, let me know.