Forum Discussion

Leeya2024's avatar
Leeya2024
Not applicable
1 year ago

Sims 3 game stuck on black screen

ever since i got a new computer for some reason the sims 3 has trouble starting up. One of the first problems i had was that the launcher wasn't working properly, i couldn't download anything and when i pressed the button to start the game on the launcher it would bring me back to the EA app. I fixed it with the Alder Lake Patch and It started working fine after that. 2 days ago one of my saves crashed and when i clicked the start button on the launcher, my game was stuck on not responding. I tried following this solution and it worked so i thought it was just because of seasons, but then the next day i tried to load the game and it had the black screen again, this time the problem wasn't seasons but it was my cc. so i shifted through my cc checking all corrupted files and stuff like that and it worked. BUT THEN I TRY AGAIN TODAY, LET ME TELL YOU THE NERVE ON THIS GAME, IT DIDNT WORK. so i start all over again and removed cc to see which ones were upsetting my game (keep in mind this is the same cc that i was using while the game was working), again like the day before it would work with certain cc and not with others. now i don't mean to repeat myself but I'm starting to feel like this game has it out for me, guess what happened when i pressed the PLAY BUTTON ON THE LAUNCHER, i was left all alone, cold, tired and LOOKING AT A BLACK SCREEN AGAIN.

anyways if one of you beautiful people know what the ish with my game is, or a way to find out why its upset at me, I'd deeply appreciated it. I feel like I've tried everything so i just decided to write to see if anyone could help me with this.

thank you

pc
technical issues

1 Reply

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    1 year ago

    @Leeya2024  What kind of custom content are you working with: .package files, Sims3Packs, or both?  In case you're not aware, Sims3Packs, once installed through the launcher, they're bundled into .dbc files in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Downloads.  The thing about these files is that the game reads them in numerical order, starting with dcdb0.dbc, and stops when a number is missing.  So if you removed dcdb1, dcdb2 and higher wouldn't load, meaning any broken cc in those files would have no impact on the game.  It makes troubleshooting somewhat more complicated.

    Another detail to keep in mind is that some mods (not cc) depend on installed content and can crash the game if that content isn't loading.  For example, NRaas Cupcake requires the Bakery store set.

    I'm not sure where you currently are in the process, but it might be worth rebuilding your user folder rather than pulling files out.  If you move or rename the Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts, the game will create a new one the next time you open the launcher.  Then you can slowly add your cc to the new folder, testing along the way to see what works and what doesn't.  Once you're satisfied, you can transfer your saves and anything else you want to keep; here's a description of everything in the folder:

    https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

    If you're having trouble isolating a broken cc item within a .dbc file, I'd also suggest trying Method by Mell here:

    https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html

Recent Discussions