The Sims 3 BUG

@simAzeroth  Your current save is corrupted enough that the best thing to do now is revert to a previous save.  Even if you haven't made one, the game keeps the files from the second to last time you saved.  Go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Saves, and you'll see a folder for each save you've made, plus backups.  So if your current save is called SunsetValley, you'll have a folder labeled SunsetValley.sims3, and another labeled SunsetValley.sims3.backup.   Delete the .backup extension and rename the folder (i.e. SunsetValley1.sims3), and your backup will now be available to load from the Main Menu.

Before trying to play again, be sure to delete the five cache files in your Sims 3 game folder, in the same place you found your Saves folder.  These files should be deleted regularly anyway, and while you're troubleshooting, delete them every time you quit.  For reference, they are:

• CASPartCache.package
• compositorCache.package
• scriptCache.package
• simCompositorCache.package
• socialCache.package

Load the backup save and play for a few minutes, making sure the issue isn't still present.  If everything looks fine, use "save as" to rename the save (i.e. SunsetValley2) so that the backup you just used is preserved, in case you need it again.

If the backup save is also glitched, let me know, and I'll write out how to do a more thorough reset of your household.

Backups are corrupted too, tried that way before and it doesn't work because of corruption☹️

@puzzlezaddict 

Hi there, 

I was just reading everything @simAzeroth wrote, when I realised I had finally found someone who was having the same problem I am having today. So, ecstatic that someone also replied with a set of solutions that actually seem really reasonable, I began trying all of them out with a smile on my face. 

Well, I guess you can say now that after trying over and over for the last three hours, that smile has become pretty much non-existent...

So, that's when and why I decided to reply, as I noticed you were still active on the platform, and ask you whether you could maybe think of anything else I could try out if all the options above didn't work out as they should've.

I'll also add in a bit of backstory just in case: the last time I played, was yesterday evening and there wasn't anything wrong then or when I last saved and then quit the game, so it came to me as a complete surprise when I started up my game again today and noticed everything was just as wrong as it could be. I do use the "testingcheatsenabled true" cheat while playing to teleport my sims, 'cause travelling from one spot to another takes up so much time of the day otherwise, and also to buy or build something on a site that I don't own from time to time. Apart from that, I never use cheats.

I also tried creating a new game and those still work, so the problem just accurs with this one family/game.

After trying out the last solution, involving the switching of active households, the family in question just didn't live there anymore, while they still did before "saving as" and then quitting the game. After loading the new game again, the house just came up empty, as if no one ever lived there...

Hoping you'll have a miracle solution for me, but I'm quite sure it won't be that simple...

Thanks already and hope you'll get to enjoy the rest of your evening/day.

@evelienbaumans  This error occurs when some of the data for the household gets corrupted to the point that the game can't load it anymore.  Sometimes the steps I suggested work, but only if there's enough residual data on the sims that they can be salvaged.  This is how I lost a handful of my first saves by the way: the game loaded an empty house, I couldn't get them back, and I didn't have any viable backups.  So I started using mods, and it hasn't happened again.

At this point in the process, you could try adding mods, but their presence alone might not be enough—you might have to use the mods to find your sims, if they still exist to some extent, and put them back.  If you're not interested in using mods, then I don't really have another suggestion, since you've already tried everything I can think of.  It's unfortunately the case that these things happen with Sims 3.

If you'd like to try mods, add NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, and MasterController, found on the NRaas site.  Instructions on how to install mods are here:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files

Switch to another household, use "save as" to rename the save, quit, delete the cache files, and reload.  Let the game clock run for a few sim-minutes, click on City Hall, and select NRaas > MasterController > Town Options > Reset Everything.  This may take a few minutes depending on the speed of your hardware.  Let the game clock run a bit more, then click on your former sims' household and select NRaas > MC > Add Sim.  X out the filter and see whether your old sims are on the list.  If they are, you can select them to add them to that household.  They'll have lost some data, e.g. promised wishes and opportunities, and the household will only have 20k simoleons, but hopefully that will be the extent of it.

Hi again @puzzlezaddict 

I installed the mods you suggested, apart from "NRaas ErrorTrap", as my version of the laucher is too old to be compatible with this mod.

After following all the different steps you described, I did indeed get the option to select my former family members, only for it to "crash" again when I switched my active household to them... The game itself acted as if I did switch, but it kept showing the "old" household, meaning the one that I switched to in the first few steps. The sims I created weren't visible in the house as well, after I readded them, as were there pictures when I got the option to add any sim I wanted...

So, well, I guess that's the end for that household... 

I did want to ask you whether not installing the ErrorTrap mod might still mean that the same could happen again in the future, and if so, if there would maybe be some kind of replacement mod that is compatible with a version 1.67 laucher.

Either way, I think I'll be adding a newly created household to my old house, at least that way I still get to keep my garden and self-built house 🙂

Thanks already for the advice and effort! If you would have some other suggestions for useful mods (in your opinion) or mods that might prevent my game from crashing again, I would love to hear those as well.

@evelienbaumans  There's a version of ErrorTrap available for patch 1.67, two actually, since the disc and Steam installs have different internal build numbers.  If you look at the download page, you'll see two download buttons for patch 1.67, one each with the Steam and Origin icons.

If that doesn't help, what you could try is using MasterController to add your sims to another house in the world, that is if there's enough data left of them.  I'm not sure if you did exactly this before, but here, the key is to add them to a house you're not playing (it can be empty, use "save as" to rename your save, quit without switching households, delete the cache files, reload, and see whether you can now switch to your main sims.  A MasterController town reset (NRaas > MC > Town Options > Reset Everything) before you switched wouldn't hurt either.

Even if you can't switch to them, you can try saving their household to the library.  At the very least, you'd have an intact copy of the sims to place in a new save.  If you also want to preserve the house, save it separately.  Quit to desktop and delete the cache files before loading the new save where you'll be placing your sims and/or their house.

As far as useful mods go, ErrorTrap and Overwatch are the best way to keep your save healthy in the long run.  MC town resets are helpful too; most of us who use the mod run one every ~8 sim-weeks, plus or minus.  Depending on which expansions you have in play, Traveler, Register, and Traffic can also be extremely useful, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to add any or all of them.  That's it for the mods that address corruption, although others have useful functions too.  I wrote up some descriptions here, if you're interested:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-Common-Game-Fixing-Mods-Hero-Approved/m-p/9836847#M244207