CC Doesn't Work Whatsoever

[RabidCoffee]

Okay, so it looks like I posted this in the wrong place. It was closed rather than moved, and I don't really appreciate that. It's a little lazy, but there you have it. I should've been more careful, but the forums aren't all that easy to get around. /moan

Ahwell.

I could've sworn I had this problem before, only it was a long, long time ago. Sorry if I've stuck this in the wrong place or something! XD

I've been trying for a good few hours to get my CC files working, but to no avail - none of them work at all. I recently reinstalled my base game and all of my EPs and downloaded new content. Building walls doesn't create glitter, and the intro doesn't show when I run the game. I've checked, double checked, treble checked - everything is in the right place and I've read through the FAQ section bunches of times, but nothing. Also tried deleting cache files, trying the game without CC and then with. My iMac has supported CC in the past without problems (well, without that many problems).

Here's the info I think you guys need:

VERSIONS:
The Sims 3: GameVersion = <key>ClientBuild</key> <string>1.33.2.015002</string>
World Adventures: GameVersion = <key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key <string>10.4.11</string>
High End Loft Stuff: GameVersion =<key>ClientBuild</key <string>3.0.38.004001</string>
Ambitions: GameVersion = <key>ClientBuild</key> <string>4.0.87.006001</string>
Late Night: GameVersion = <key>ClientBuild</key> <string>6.4.5.010031</string>

RESOURCE.CFG:
Priority 501
DirectoryFiles Files/... autoupdate
Priority 1000
PackedFile Overrides/*.package
PackedFile Overrides/*/*.package
PackedFile Overrides/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Overrides/*/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Overrides/*/*/*/*/*.package
Priority 500
PackedFile Packages/*.package
PackedFile Packages/*/*.package
PackedFile Packages/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Packages/*/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Packages/*/*/*/*/*.package
Priority 499
PackedFile Test/*.package
PackedFile Test/*/*.package
PackedFile Test/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Test/*/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Test/*/*/*/*/*.package
Priority -50
PackedFile Probation/*.package
PackedFile Probation/*/*.package
PackedFile Probation/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Probation/*/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Probation/*/*/*/*/*.package
Priority 500
PackedFile DCCache/*.dbc

SCREENSHOTS - Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\
http://tinypic.com/r/sd0bxf/5
http://i41.tinypic.com/sd0bxf.jpg
SCREENSHOTS - Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\
http://tinypic.com/r/2hgakat/5
http://i44.tinypic.com/2hgakat.jpg
SCREENSHOTS - Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages\ PT. 1
http://tinypic.com/r/s471nd/5
http://i40.tinypic.com/s471nd.jpg
SCREENSHOTS - Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages\ PT. 2
http://tinypic.com/r/29e3t01/5
http://i42.tinypic.com/29e3t01.jpg

[Whiterider]

Wait up - the no intro and no sparkles mods are working, but other .package content isn't?

Unfortunately tinypic doesn't want to load properly for me today, so I can't give a good answer to your CC problem. Just checking, since you're on a Mac, that you're aware that CC hair very often doesn't work at all on Mac - do you have other CC, such as clothing or objects, that you're also having problems with?

Please don't take this to be sarcastic, it's really not intended to be, and is a serious question since you're far from the only person to have made this mistake - but I just can't think how else to phrase it. Where would be an intuitive place, as far as you're concerned, for the Help forum to be, apart from under the Help menu? And how could the announcement that displays on the new thread page in Discussion (this one (http://www.modthesims.info/announcement.php?f=561&announcementid=141)) be made clearer, so you would have realised when reading it that your question belongs in this forum?

[RabidCoffee]

I know you're not trying to be sarcastic, and sorry for moaning about it. I just struggled to find this forum/subforum both this time I had a problem and the last. When you click on the Community link there is no Help & Support forum in the list, and when I clicked a link in the CC install FAQ/Wiki to send me to a help section, it sent me to a forum for more general computer and Sims 3 support rather than for CC. I haven't seen anything that says 'if you want CC help, go HERE' announcements or links or anything, it's all been quite general and that might be why some people have problems. Is it just me? I have no idea, haha.

You might be happy to know that a fair few files of my CC is yours, by the way. :P I'll add attachments for you guys instead of links as well. Last night I tried removing organisation folders but it didn't work at all. Fwah.

OH, and by the way - all of my store-purchased and installed Sims 3 pack files work just fine, but stuff I've downloaded from websites such as MTS and TSR aren't working either, as far as I can tell. I might reinstall the game and give it a try again.

[RabidCoffee]

Hey guys, just an update-
I reinstalled my entire TS3 collection, base game, EPs, SPs and all, and now CC from both the store and Sims3Packs downloaded from other sites work. The only stuff that doesn't work is what's in my Mods folder. I deleted and redownloaded a fair bit of it and stuck it into bunches of folders to organise it. Sorry for the double post but I'm gonna use this one to upload more photos of my new folders and double-check if anything in the Resource.cfg or Versions has changed (no idea if it would or should, so~) once I get on my desktop in about half an hour.

UPDATED STUFF...

RESOURCE.CFG and VERSIONS of each game are all the same as the first time I installed the game, listed in the first post.

Here's some new images of the Mods folder -
http://i42.tinypic.com/2vis8qq.png
http://i39.tinypic.com/255uxzt.png

[Mordant17]

So, after reinstalling, nobuildsparkles and nointro stopped working?

[RabidCoffee]

Nope, sorry that wasn't clear.
Nointro and nobuildsparkles still work as in there's no intro and when I build a wall, no sparkles come from it. All of the stuff I downloaded as Sims3Packs show up after installation, but nothing else shows up in game.

[simsample]

If you move some of your CC files out of the folders (CAS Female for example) and into the Packages folder so that they are alongside the Nointro and Nobuildsparklies files, do they work?

[RabidCoffee]

Nope, that doesn't work either. Not really sure what's wrong with it. :(

[simsample]

If they don't work when installed to the same place as the working files then there must be something wrong with the CC itself.

It would be worth redownloading some of the items to see if they are broken. bear in mind also that some Mac users have found that certain CC doesn't show up; I think hair was the main item affected by this.

In this image:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=s471nd&s=5
What are the file extensions of the black icon items? If they are archives then you should remove them from the mods folder; they will be read by the game even if they are not useable. So increasing the load on your game.

[RabidCoffee]

I never keep archives. They're all package files as far as I'm aware. I don't understand why some of them show up black and others are white. I've never had a problem with CC in the past until I corrupted my game somehow and had to uninstall it. I deleted all of the file folders etc. that I kept related to the game to make sure everything was gotten rid of, so I'm not sure what's happening.

I've been checking in Build/Buy and nothing's been coming up there as well as in CAS.

Also, the installed Sims3Packs work, but I never keep those either, I just delete them when I'm done. The issue I'm having now is that none of the other content is working. Sims3Packs work just fine - everything installed in the launcher is coming up in the game - but nothing in my Mods folder is.

[simsample]

They're all package files as far as I'm aware. I don't understand why some of them show up black and others are white.
You need to find out exactly what files they are as there are two file types showing there, and that is significant. Set your operating system to show all extensions:
http://www.web7tips.com/2012/01/how-to-show-filename-extensions-in-mac-os-x/
Then show a screenshot of those files again, with the extension visible.

[Mordant17]

The difference depends on the permissions of the file. They'll show up as Unix Executable Files (black box) if execute (x) is set on the permissions, and as the default blank icon if not. That is, of course, if they are all .package files.

I don't know if this makes a difference or not for them showing up in the game, though.

[RabidCoffee]

Yeah, they're all the same file - .package files. It doesn't make a difference (or at least it didn't make a difference when I had them working) whether the permissions thing is checked or not.

[ellacharmed]

So the 2 test files work, but none in the subfolders work? How deep is the subfoldering levels? You've tested each individual subfolder groups to test that they work on their own? Flattened all in one folder? And also intact in the subfoldering as you have?

I've had the 2 icon types on my OSX partition and they both work, so the appearance of the icons does not matter.

Tested on a new set of user folder, with just the Mods folder (plus one of the subfoler perhaps) and nothing else?

So just confirming all these used to work before? What patch version (base game) was that? And by "not working", you mean they don't show up on the Catalogs (no thumbnails) or that they don't respond to clicks or the Interaction menu doesn't come up, or something else?

And goes without saying, confirmed there's no Sims 2 content in the mix? Because I can see 2 Sims3Pack icons by morphead in your last image in post#1. These shouldn't be there.
And you've some very old content in there, have you run these through rigfix on a PC machine? I see werismyki's stuff on back of toilet, I think? That for sure has slots that need fixing.

By the way, the WA version is the wrong string, not that in mattered in this particular case.

[simsample]

The difference depends on the permissions of the file. They'll show up as Unix Executable Files (black box) if execute (x) is set on the permissions, and as the default blank icon if not. That is, of course, if they are all .package files.

Ah, that explains it then. It's been a while since I've had a Mac! I was concerned since the one type showed the file extension and the other didn't, thanks for the information. :)

[RabidCoffee]

I don't think there are any Sims 2 files, but I'll have a check when I get home from uni this evening or tomorrow. And when I say 'don't work', you're right - they don't show up in the catalogue. I don't remember what version my game was before I uninstalled it, but I know I was using the old method of installing CC.
I bought Showtime the other day. It should be delivered tomorrow or Thursday. I'll try again then and see if it - somehow - makes any difference.

[babele44]

Sorry, if this sounds dumb, but are you sure that your files are the correct ones? Because I just downloaded some of the files you've got in your folders and the filenames are completely different.
Example: Arisuka_TattooPack_Oriental.package is in your folder as "Oriental Tattoo Pack by Arisuka"
I also noticed that there are dot (.) signs within your file names. This could produce problems, too, as Mac Os would perhaps see these wrongly as file type indicator.

[RabidCoffee]

Hmm, I don't know whether I have TS2 files - I'm normally very careful when it comes to things like that.
Another strange thing happened. I tried to turn on all file extensions, and none of them came up in the Mods folder apart from a few. Perhaps these files don't have any extensions and are just being read as files because I renamed them (this never normally happens on Mac, the file type tends to stay the same, or if you're changing it, it gives you a warning)?

I'll see if Showtime arrives today, install that and see if it works, add file extensions to files that are missing them and get back to you guys. That all good?

[babele44]

MacOs seems to only give you a warning when you change the file extension into something it recognises. But as it doesn't know the extension .package you can rename and remove the extensions as often as you like without the OS noticing it. I just tested it with OS 10.5.8: deleted the .package extension and the file is now a simple document without extension, even in the Info window, renamed it to .package again, no warning; renamed it to .cmx (as I still have TS1 installed and thought that it would recognise that) and still no warning, renamed it to .doc and got the warning promptly.
I do think your renaming your files is the actual culprit and nothing else. Unfortunately this isn't OS 7.x-9.x anymore where these things were possible and when renaming files you should also refrain from using any signs like . or / that could be interpreted as commands (sorry, I don't know a better word, but . signifies file extension and / folder hierarchy).

[RabidCoffee]

Awww darnit. I guess I'll have to keep the file names the same and organise them into creator folders instead. Gonna have folders coming out of my ears. I'll test and get back to you.

Installed Showtime and Generations yesterday - not sure if that will make any kind of a difference, but there's only one way to find out! Thanks for your help so far! :D

UPDATE!
I was happy to find a notice when I first ran my game after re-downloading a bunch of stuff about a mod being found.
Then, after entering CAS, ALL OF THE MODS I'D DOWNLOADED WERE THERE! :D So happy~

So, the fix: for people struggling to keep their CC on a Mac with the game fully patched/updated, make sure you don't rename your files - just organise them into recognisable folders, and you should be sorted!

Thank you to everyone that helped out. I can finally get back to playing! :D <3

[ellacharmed]

All that trouble was because you renamed your files, but didn't make sure the extension was intact? The things you learned, huh? :)

Well, if that little titbit was shared right up front, we could have had a clue from the start. I knew I should insist on seeing the Details view! Well, hindsight, right?

Luckily, @babele44 has sharp eyes to notice the difference in the filenames.