Everytime a new update comes around and I use the Launcher to auto-update to the latest patch, it only updates the base game and the latest Expansion or Stuff Pack I have installed. The others are completely untouched. I have to go to ModTheSims to download the updates for all my other expansions/stuff packs every time. Why is this, and does this happen for everyone?

Not really a help question, just a "Are they freakin' serious?" kinda thing.

EDIT: I feel bad for anyone who doesn't know of ModTheSims's patch Archive, because The Sims 3 official site doesn't let you download patches from there, and Lord knows the Launcher isn't going to do a thing about shit. As far as it knows, you're updated to the latest patch available!

Actually there is a sticky thread in the technical help forum on the Sims 3 website where you can download the latest patches for each game and install them manually. I typically do that now since the launcher, as you said, often does not want to update each game and will sometimes give the annoying "Invalid File" message. But to answer your question as to why this happens...well, it's EA.

I thought the latest patch had updates for everything that needed patched?

Doesn't each new EP fix all the problems from the previous ones so the patch isn't needed anymore?

Yes, I was implying that when mentioning this site's patch Archive.

I always download the patches manually that don't get installed by the launcher. I just think it's ridiculous that I have to do that in order for my game to actually be up to date.



The latest patch, as mentioned on The Sims 3 website, is actually a group of patches that get released at the same time; one for each stuff pack/expansion and one for the base game. They list all the functions of the group of patches in the same place, to make it easier on themselves. But you have to install the whole group of patches to be fully updated to the latest version of each expansion/stuff pack. And my frustration stems from the fact that the official Launcher doesn't do this properly, by default. It only installs the patch for the base game and whatever the last expansion/stuff pack you've installed was.

As for the expansion packs fixing all the problems from the previous version: There may be some sort of built-in patching, but patches are also released after expansion packs have already been installed on most machines. For example, the latest patch. It didn't come with the release of a game, it came as a fix to the latest expansion pack and others.

Errr great question, I asked it once and the answer I got was this. The other games are included in the update, but any update only patches the current executable, IE the one that runs when you click to start the game. So when I start The Sims with HELS or FL the executable changes. It changes with every Stuff pack and every Expansion, and the only executable that you really want pached is the one you intend to use. IE if you are using a patched executable and anyone wants to use your "spare" one by any devious trick, they get an unpatched executable which is therefore vulnerable to attack. Unfortunatly the pirates know that and the first thing they did was script people to the unpatched one.

I had different regions for WA, AMB, HELS, and FLS.
The only same regions I had was for BG and LN.
BG and LN updated with the launcher. The others, I'd have to manually find the proper region patch.

I have to deselect automatic updates, hit refresh and then select automatic updates and hit refresh every time. But on my other machine I did at one time load all the patches from this site and the game ran better for me. This is a newer machine so it seems that on new installs it can be a problem updating.

There is so much different information floating around the internet when it comes to this question. I remember a post from a SimGuru after the first SP was released that the patcher will only update the base game and the most recent SP or EP that is installed and that there was no need to patch anything else.
Judging from the circumstance that there is no possibility for Mac users to roll back to recent patch levels or have manual patch links officially available, I assume that it's completely ok to just do it the way the launcher does it anyway.
When I reinstalled everything according to the order of release I thought, e.g., that each subsequent SP or EP would patch the preceding one, but no, they are all still at version x.0 and only the base game was updated each time.
But as long as there is no official statement on that, I guess we will have to continue being left in the dark about that.

I've just been using the launcher. DX I had assumed that was all you needed to do. *grumbles*

i too had to get the manual patches for WA HELS and AMB last night....i didn't realize it did this....i was 2 patches behind on each...

I just manually patch the last expansion/sp and the base game, and it works fine.

Eh, I always use the manual patches. Always have, always will. I don't trust the Launcher to do it right, and I've had to reinstall twice because of patching in the wrong order or something.

I am lucky enough to never had any problem for updatig my game with the launcher. The only thing I do to avoid any inconvenience is to update EADM before updating the game via launcher.

Plus I guess that you really have to uninstall the games properly before trying a new re-install. I, for exemple, uninstall anything on my computer with Revo-Uninstaller, and reboot the comp when everything has been properly uninstall.

For reinstall, I always proceed the same way : One disc, one update via launcher. It's taking a certain amount of time, but it totally worth the effort.

Maybe I'm just a lucky one though. ^^