#ts3 help

[sweetbeagaming]

How to install TS3 for the ✨chronically TS4✨

Getting back into TS3 posed a challenge for me as compared to TS4. It's a 10+ year old game and of course requires some extra TLC as compared to TS4. So I hope this guide will help y'all to get everything set up cleanly and smoothly! It took me three separate tries and if I can help the next person struggle less, then that's great. Happy simming!

You'll need a copy of TS3 and these resources:

The Sims 3 Performance & Bug Fix Guide 2023 by anime_boom

This lovely post from TS3 community extraordinaire @nectar-cellar

How Use CCMagic YouTube video by @florydaax

No Intro mod edited for 2023 (original by retired creator EllaCharmed) The original mod from Ella does not work for current patch 1.69. I fixed it in s3pe with the help of some commenters on MTS so that it does actually remove the intro. If the creator happens to see this and would like this modified version removed, let me know.

How to clear cache by Carl's Guide

Got everything pulled up? Great! You're ready to start.

1. Download a FRESHLY INSTALLED copy of TS3 to your computer. If you're able, I'd highly recommend having all the packs you're wanting to own already so you don't have to do all of this again. If you are redownloading the game for any reason (like me bc I was struggling lol), remove the existing TS3 folder in your documents and save it somewhere so you can keep all of your mods or worlds there. Back up any reshade stuff from the bin folder. Completely uninstall the game through the EA app/Steam. You may lose your saves and sims due to a change in script mods through this tutorial. This cannot be avoided, trust me I tried. But it's worth it for a smooth game.

2. Do a test launch so that the game generates a new TS3 Folder in your documents. DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT INSTALL ANY SIMS 3 PACKS THROUGH THE LAUNCHER! NO WORLDS, NO CLOTHES, NO HAIR COLORS, NOTHING. This will be very important later on when you merge your CC using CCMagic. If you need worlds or other CC there are alternative ways to obtain them.

3. CLEAR THE GENERATED CACHE

4. If you use EA and open to test anywhere between steps (which you shouldn't really need to after step 1 of the Bug Fix Guide) or after playing at any point, open up task manager and ensure that you end the tasks "EA" and "EA Background Services" before continuing. It doesn't really use much memory but I noticed that it caused stutters if it's open when launching using your shiny brand new Smooth Patch. It will look like this:

5. Begin following the steps in the Performance & Bug Fix guide. The first thing you'll do is set up your mods folder. Follow those steps exactly as they are in the guide, except use the No Intro mod I linked above instead of the one you get in that folder if you actually want the intro removed.

6. Continue to FOLLOW ALL REQUIRED STEPS IN THE GUIDE UNTIL YOU'RE DONE. I mean it, all of them one by one. Heck, if you're open/able to do the bonus and optional ones, I'd suggest doing those too.

7. Once you've completed that, go check out nectar-cellar's excellent post for tips and a fix to make the smooth patch to compatible with Master Controller. I will not be providing an edited version of this as LazyDutchess who created the Smooth Patch is still active and I want to respect their work.

8. If you've made it this far, you're doing great sweetie. Do another test launch through the patcher and if everything runs correctly it means you've done everything RIGHT. You're ready to start playing or downloading mods if you want! If you do start downloading mods merging them will 100% be a must do if you want to maintain any sanity. You can use CCMagic to do so. I linked that handy lil video above!

Keep in mind script mods, overrides, patterns, and CC counters should NEVER be merged. Always check the creator's notes, yada yada. And always clean up your cache on a regular basis. Have fun y'all!

[nightospheresims]

The Sims 3: How to Make your Sims not Ugly! Tips and Tricks for Pudding Face

Someone suggested a long time ago that I show how I make my sims, so here it is! In this video I basically just go over my personal process of making sims that look more realistic compared to the base game sims. Sliders, facial ratios, cc, and everything else can affect your sims' appearance.

♡ RESOURCES ♡

Download the face sliders I used in this video

Master controller integration (requires Master Controller)

Nosemasks Pack

Blush

Enjoy!

[syninplays]

Hi there! Uhm just passing by to ask if someone by any chance has an older version (any previous to 2.0) of Smooth Patch by LazyDuchess? I downloaded the newest version from their blog but the CAS loading update isn't for me (doesn't work the way it should and it's just not my thing, I liked it better before </3) I lost the files from the version I had before and the Smooth Patch works wonders aside from that very especific feature, so if someone has the files from a previous version and feels like sharing that would be great 🥺🥴

UPDATE: thank you everyone for offering help! I replaced the files with an older version of the mod (same as the one that can be found in simscave's link below, in the comments) plus deleted ld_Smooth Patch_Master Controller.package AND edited the (2nd?) XML file inside ld_Smooth Patch.package with s3pe to say "set MC Integration "False" " instead of "True" and CAS is back to normal now! - I'll leave the post up in case everyone else has the same or any other issue related to Smooth Patch 2.0

[aisquaredchoco]

Hi! Question: I'm looking for a mod that may or may not exist. When a Sim ages up to teen or when a teen/(young) adult Sim is spawned, the game randomly rolls a hairstyle for them. Sometimes I change their hairstyle to something else. But when they age up to young adult/adult/elder, they will revert back to the randomly rolled hairstyle. This is true for both active and inactive Sims, despite the changed hair being available for their new age. Do you or does anyone know if a fix for this exists?

Hmmm...to be honest I haven't come across a mod like that, so sorry if I can't provide a direct answer. 🥺

What I can do, at least, is to pass it on anyone who knows better. I hope someone knows where to find it..🙏

Please help spread the word by reblogging, until it gets to the right direction. Thank you in advance!

[chimiibo]

can someone help me pls and ty! whenever i go to edit in cas for any sim they have this glitch?? what can be causing this

[suteflower]

sooo….does anyone have the top part of a teenager's body that isn't bugged?

[thefairykey]

I don't know why but whenever I'm playing in Otto's game, at some point the game crashes, mostly when I'm out in the world and not in the home unit's house. Does anyone know what it could be?

[eljeebee]

Does anyone know WCIF scars like this in TS3?

And a beard like this?

And gold teeth like this if possible?

Please help!

[vmsims23]

Does anyone by any chance have a copy of this world? I looked for it everywhere but couldn't find it. It would be the perfect world for me aaaaaa 😭

[raessimsstuff]

General friendly psa:

If you come across any cc for Black and African American sims for The Sims 3, please reblog it or tag me? I would love to have more options for my simmies whenever I play! Idk why but I have a really hard time finding good pieces, but I know they're out there, thanks friends ✌🏻🩷

[pigeonpine]

does anyone else have issues loading Rockwood Island by @/gruesim for the sims 3? if i put the needed cc for it in my game it runs 100x slower than normal and i don’t know why.

[littlemicrocosims]

anyone else get this constantly preparing error when downloading ts3 packs? I get it for university, showtime and ITF but everything else downloaded fine. Any tips to fix it? If i don't get showtime working i think the lepacy is gone :(

[nightospheresims]

hey im not a cc creator and i saw your most recent post, is that why its so hard to find good textured sims 3 hair? im always on the look out but i can only seem to find dead links and the same like 5 hairs being retextured, i didnt know there was a actual reason why its hard to get ones from 4 into 3!!

Ik i was wondering that too! It wasn't until i tried converting some myself till I realized.

Let's take the penisha ponytails by sheabuttyr as an an example. Here's how the hair is supposed to look:

(beautiful, gorgeous, legendary,, iconic, my heart was ripped to shreds when i found out i couldn't convert it)

and here's how it looks when you take it into blender:

...yeah.

What the creator did here was they drew the baby hairs and hairline directly on the scalp itself (this doesn't show up in blender). That's a problem for us converters, because here is what the sims 4 scalp texture looks like compared to the sims 3:

As you can see, the sims 4 scalp is more of a front view of the hair, while the sims 3 scalp is a back view of the hair. So unless you re-draw the texture yourself, it's nigh impossible to get it to the sims 3.

What sims 3 converters are really looking for are hairs that draw on a transparent layer on top of the scalp, like this (transparency in sims 4 studio's blender template shows up as this beige color):

This makes converting it super easy (you just have to turn off "draws on scalp" in TSRW to get it to show up).

However with maxis match hairs you can also run in to another problem. Let's take this one for example:

As you can see, this hair is split into a bunch of tiny irregular pieces, which as you can imagine is a pain in the ass to color map.

So yeah, that's part of the reason why a lot of people can't convert natural hair to the sims 3. A lot of these creators don't create with converters in mind, which is totally fine since they don't owe it to anyone and they can create things however they like. just a pain for those of us who play ts3 lol.

[syninplays]

Hi there! Someone shared this with me and I have no idea what might be causing it as there's absolutely nothing inside the save that *requires* any expansion pack (aside from trees or maybe objects, but the game could easily replace those?) So uhm help is welcome 🥺

[aisquaredchoco]

(I'm so sorry if you already saw this somewhere else, I just needed help very badly 😭)

(left: TSRW, right: ingame)

My converted object from TS4 looks fine in TSRW but in game it looks weird. The glass seems to have this weird gap on one side. Any ideas what settings to tweak? A big thanks to anyone who can answer..🙏🙏🙏

[mainlyjustthesims]

this is why i avoid making build objects because i suck at it if you do by chance know how to dm me and please help me out