NEWS: NEW Address

Please update your bookmarks.

My english blog can now be found over here:

http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/

I'm not happy with the design yet and there might be links that are not working correctly but I will post anything new only over there.

I will leave this blog up for a few month.

NEWS: Merry Christmas To Everyone

glitter-graphics.com

I wish everyone a very merry Christmas.

Thank you all for the wishes in my comments on the official site and around the forums.

NEWS: Launcher/Origin Troubles

It seems that today the Launcher is acting up for everyone. It's probably an issue with Origin but up- & downloading doesn't work at all. EA is aware of the problem and working on it.

Don't panic if you bought something from the Store that you can't download. It will be waiting in your purchase history to download when everything is back in working order.

• To play the game without the Launcher, bypass the launcher.
• To get rid of the Launcher freezing, uninstall Origin (you still won't be able to download though)

NEWS: In Preperation for Pets

In less then a week, most of you will have the new EPs, either available through download or as a physical copy in your hands.

Before installing the EP you should follow the steps described here: TUTORIAL: What to do before patching. It is important that you backup your user data (including your downloads, installed content and save games.

Backing up your Stuff
Copy the entire User file directory, most importantly the following folders/files:

• Saves --> these are all your savegames
• DCCache --> these is all your custom content (including store content), that you installed through the launcher except houses/sims/households
• Downloads --> These are all the files you downloaded from the Exchange or the Store
• Exports --> These are all the Sim, Houses, ... you have shared from your game
• Library --> These are all the houses and households you installed through the launcher or put directly into this folder
• SavedSims -->   These are all the Sims you installed through the launcher or put directly into this folder  
• userPresets.package --> These are all the patterns and styles you created in game (Create-A-Style)
• InstalledWorlds --> These are all the worlds you installed through the launcher.
• Mods --> Any package file custom content you installed yourself. 

To get more info on the user files, check this: Game Help:TS3 User Folders Explained

The demo taught us that a patch can uninstall all our store content, so, backing up everything makes sure that you do not need to redownload/reinstall everything.

The Demo
The demo gave us some early insight. Read this post: FAQ: Create-A-Pet Demo (SCRAP) for the problems it had. I would advise everyone to uninstall the Demo from your computer before installing Pets. Use CCleaner (or some other tool) to clean your registry as well. Make sure all traces are gone. Also make sure to delete these files manually:  

• user files\worldcaches\buildMode_test_venkat_objects.package
• user files \worldcaches\buildMode_test_venkat_sims.package

If you  created some pets you want to use in your game, those can be found in the  documents\electronicarts\thesims3\savedSims folder. Copy them to an external disk to make sure you don't loose them. You can simply put them back in that folder should they get lost during the installation process. You can also export them and upload to your EA account to redownload later. I'm unsure if EA is purging stuff, so make sure, you save the content of the documents\electronicarts\thesims3\Export folder as well.  

The Patch
There will be a patch with this EP. Things like the collections we are getting will be in the patch and will be available to people that don't buy Pets anyways. Judging from previous experience the patch will be available for download on Monday or Tuesday. It will also be included on the Pets DVD, so if you buy the physical copy, you should patch from there. You have to patch in order to install the EP, there's no way around that.

What we don't know yet is, if there will be another patch as well. If the version number of the patch we're getting is 1.27 or higher, chances are that people that buy the DVD will still have to patch. All you need to run the EP is the patch that is on the DVD though.

Don't expect the patch to fix many bugs. This reason for this patch is to make our games EP ready. If you have tons of problems with your game, don't buy the EP simply to make your game work. Only buy the EP if you really want it.

Origin & the Launcher
Origin is EA's new Download Manager and favorite toy. It's comparable to Steam and EA pushes everyone to start using it. You DON'T need it to play the game, upload stuff or to download Store Content. The only thing you need it for is if you bought the download version and for patching (although that can be done manually as well).

If you decide to use Origin, you will need to make sure it's ALWAYS up-to-date or it can cause many problems, especially with the Launcher. Before installing the EP, open Origin to see if there's an update available. If you have problems, uninstall Origin and get the current Version here: Origin.

Known Problem with certain graphic cards
People with certain graphic cards had troubles with the pets demo. Their animals were all distorted and chances are, that's not going to change for the EP itself. If you have any of these cards, I would advise you to wait with buying the EP until more info is available.
This thread has listed some of the cards that make problems, Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset Family being pretty much confirmed: Pets Demo - Previously Supported Graphics Cards Glitching and here: Possible Incompatibility with the G33/G31 Graphics Card.

Mods
The demo gave modders a head start (at least core & script modders). It's pretty much already known what is to be expected. Twallan already made a post about his mods here: Pets Patch Compatibility.

You should remove all mods before installing the EP. Many will be rendered incompatible and will need to be updated. Check the sites where you have downloaded them for updates.

Core Mods (Awesome Mod, Extended Game Core, BaXim's Mod, ErrorTrap)
These mods WILL be incompatible. If you get an Unofficial Game Modification message, do NOT continue. It can make your savegame corrupt. Remove ANY Core Mods before continuing.

Scripting Mods (Twallan, Buzzler, ani_, treeag & others)
Most of these mods will probably also be incompatible. Especially the bigger ones. Twallan has already stated that his will be. Remove them and check for updates. Most of these mods require a special way of uninstalling, so make sure you read this post: FAQ: How do I uninstall a Mod/Hack ? before ripping them out.

XML/Tuning Mods
These mods aren't as intrusive as the other two kinds. It always depends if EA alters the XML file they altered or not. Any mods that change anything with social interactions WILL be incompatible for there are many new social interactions. The same goes for the NoMosaic mod. It's best to remove ALL mods although chances are that the older ones that have worked up to now, will still be working. Check the creators posts if you are unsure and ask them if you find no info.

Clothing & Object CC
As of now, it is unclear if cc clothing can distort animals or not. If you have any weird graphic issues, remove all clothing items to see if that solves your problem.


What to do if you run into problems
There are many solutions for many common problems in this blog. Use the SEARCH or the Table of Content to see if there's a solution. I will be linking posts here as the problems get known on the forums.

A good way of testing a clean game without having to reinstall everything is this: TUTORIAL: Resetting the game to factory settings without reinstalling

• BUG: Store and Custom Content uninstalls itself  

If you have any problems you can't solve, please post here: Pets Bug Thread - Please post your issues here. Please read the instructions in the first post and the compiled lists for solutions available. You do not need to read the whole thread.

NEWS: Patch 1.25

Patch 1.25 that just came out is probably for MAC only. It fixes a severe issues Mac Users were seeing with MAC OS X LION and certain graphic cards.

UPDATE: This patch seems to be specifically for this one problem. If you are on a mac and don't have it, don't patch for there are reports that people had to reinstall the whole game for the patch to install.

Core Mods for Version 1.24 should be fine with this patch.

NEWS: Patch 1.24

Patch 1.24 is out and has a very long list of bug fixes. The entire list can be found here: The Sims 3 Game Update for 1.24

Helpful links

• TUTORIAL: What to do before patching
• TUTORIAL: Resetting the game to factory settings without reinstalling 
• Manual Patches 

Invalid File Error
Many people get an invalid file error with this patch. You have 3 possibilities:

• Use the manual mega patch found here: Patch 1.24 (valid for all EPs/regions)
• Use the Patch Downloader tool by FordGT90Concept
• If you want to patch through your launcher, you MUST make sure that you have the newest version of Origin/EADM 

Mac OS X Lion
Many users seem to have troubles with the new Mac OS and the game. I'm not a mac user and can't help here, so check any mac/sims forums you know.

A word on mods

• Twallan's mods don't need updating except Woohooer and ErrorTrap. Make sure to get the newest available Version of this mods. 
• Any Core Mods such as Awesome mod or BaXIMs mod need updating 
• Buzzler has updated most of his mods. Check his page at MTS for the newest versions 
• Socializing/Mods that change social interactions need updating.  
• Imaginary friends mods need updating
• Auto-placement of lots mods need updating. 
• For all other mods, check the creators pages. Don't use any mods if you aren't absolutely positive that they work with the update.

A word on Custom Content (CC
I would recommend to restart downloading any other cc content. A lot of it is old and might not be working ok anymore (this goes for patterns as well as objects). Write down your favorites and make lists where you get the stuff from. Take a picture or think of any other method to organizes your CC. Don't just download everything you see. KNOW your CC.

A word on bugs

• Excavation bug is still not fixed 
• Photography freezing is not fixed
• Kids/teens coming home from boarding school when there's a prom in town is fixed

A word from me
The Gen patch had a lot of problems, there's no denying that and it lead to massive Sim corruption. Many big issues people are seeing like missing interactions, blank icons, invisible Sims, missing GUIs and aging that isn't working any more are not bugs per se. They are symptoms of bugs. They are failures to properly load the game because the game hits an unhandled error.

If you see any of those symptoms or had them before the patch, no patch in the world is going to fix them. You're savegame is corrupt and that's how it's gonna stay.

When you reach this point you have two options

1. Use the reset to factory method described above and start over. You can save any Sims you like to the bin (progress is retained) or export them from CAS (progress is lost) as well as your houses. Move the mods back you are know is save as well as your Store content (the ones that are fine). Now start over with a brand new game and hope that some of the corruption sources actually got fixed.
2. Use ErrorTrap and Overwatch to clean up your game and see if it gets any better. If not, do the first option 

NEWS: Memories and the Sims 3 Store

As it has been mentioned before, you can share the memories that you well get with Patch 1.21 and the Generations EP in Facebook and your Sims 3 profile.

If you've uploaded a certain amount of memories, you will get a Badge AND an object from the Sims 3 Store for free. I have uploaded a little over 200 memories so far. Here are pics of what I've gotten so far (you have to check your purchase history, you won't get a message about them)

The badges are shown here: http://de.thesims3.com/community/badges

Because of the order in my purchase history I would think it's as follows

1 Memory = Barbacue
5 Memories = Book Case
10 Memories = Computer
25 Memories = Hot Tub
50 Memories = Aerobic Outfit
100 Memories = Toddler Outfit
200 Memories = Teen Shirt

Credit goes to elijahhines10 for finding the items in their purchase history.