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simAzeroth's avatar
simAzeroth
7 years ago
Solved

The Sims 3 BUG

I've just experienced a bug causing my save being corrupted(after saving and reloading the game it makes my money: 0; and it causes that i cannot choose any of sims i have). Before saving situation...
pc
technical issues
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    7 years ago

    @simAzeroth  Okay, delete the cache files again, load your game, and let it run for a few sim-minutes.  Then go to Edit Town, evict your sims, and place them back into their house.  This will erase their promised wishes and opportunities, although they'll keep their jobs and relationships.  Once they're back in their house, "save as" and rename the save, quit (without saving, as a separate step), delete the cache files, and reload.

    If that doesn't help, repeat the process, except first switch to playing a different household.  You'll still be able to evict the main household and put them back, but this sometimes helps where a plain eviction does not.  Ptay with the second household for a couple of sim-hours, and stay with them until you've quit, cleared your cache files, reloaded, and run the game for a few more minutes.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago

@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.

evelienbaumans's avatar
evelienbaumans
5 years ago

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.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @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

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