Sims 3 keeps crashing when traveling home from university

[amberzero0]

my game runs smoothly when playing and it rarely crashes but when my sims travels home from university after the term is over it always crashes. i downloaded nraas mods to fix it, i tried cleaning the sims 3 cache but nothing worked. i always play on offline mode and i have store content but no cc and mods other than the one that are supposed to fix the issue. I also tried to purge ram during the loading screen but it still crashes with the " unexpected error" window. if theres any other way i can fix this issue or if theres anything im doing wrong please let me know, thanks!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@amberzero0  I'm not sure why your game was having such issues with the travel transition, but I got through it on the first attempt.  I have a save of your sim safely at home, with the University mascot strutting up the walkway for some reason, which I'll send you.

The issue you're seeing might have something to do with custom content; I didn't install any, only the packs and worlds you listed.  I did get the missing items warning when loading University, but that could come from store content or a missing stuff pack as well.

Anyway, check your PMs for a download link.

[puzzlezaddict]

@amberzero0  Did you specifically download NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, and Traveler?  Those are the ones that usually help with the travel transition.

If those aren't enough, try reducing the load on the game engine before sending your sims home:

• Empty your sims' inventories as much as possible.  A few items is fine; a hundred is not.
• Use "save as" to rename the save, then quit (without saving) immediately before you want to travel.
• Load the game just to the Main Menu.  Turn off memories, the in-game shopping experience, and the hidden object interactive loading screens.
• Lower all the graphics settings to the minimum.  (You can revert to your normal settings after the travel transition.)  Now quit the game again, without loading a save.
• Delete the five cache files in your game folder in Documents: CASPartCache, compositorCache, scriptCache, simCompositorCache, and socialCache, again.
• Empty out everything in FeaturedItems as well.
• In addition to putting Origin in offline mode, disconnect your computer from the internet—turn off wifi and/or pull the ethernet cord.
• Now launch your game, load the save, and travel your sims right away, as soon as the game clock starts moving forward.

[amberzero0]

@puzzlezaddict It still doesnt work i tried everything you listed above multiple times and it still crashed. But thank you for your help!

[puzzlezaddict]

@amberzero0  You can try the same process, except this time in a clean user folder.  Move your entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, then open the launcher to create a new folder.  Copy the Saves and Mods folders from the old Sims 3 folder to the new one, then load your save and try the suggestions again.

If this doesn't work either, feel free to upload your save somewhere (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and send me a link, either here or via private message.  Please also list the packs you have installed, as well as any store worlds if relevant.

[amberzero0]

@puzzlezaddict Okay i did try move the file to my desktop like you said, it sort of worked and i was able to travel back to moonlight falls, but as soon as i got there a warning popped up, it said “some objects could not be loaded an were replaced” and then i wasnt able to play with my sim anymore, like i cant do anything i cant interact with the world i cant click sims and my sim wasnt in the “control panel” thing, all that i could do was move the mouse and look at the map. It was like there was no sim i can play/interact with.
The packs i have are:
Ambitions
Late night
Generations
Pets
Showtime
Supernatural
Seasons
University
Island paradise
The worlds that i have in addition to the ones that come with the expansion packs are:
Riverview
Monte vista
Hidden springs
Barnacle bay
I will upload the save on dropbox if you dont mind taking a look at it. Again thank you so much!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@amberzero0  I'm not sure why your game was having such issues with the travel transition, but I got through it on the first attempt.  I have a save of your sim safely at home, with the University mascot strutting up the walkway for some reason, which I'll send you.

The issue you're seeing might have something to do with custom content; I didn't install any, only the packs and worlds you listed.  I did get the missing items warning when loading University, but that could come from store content or a missing stuff pack as well.

Anyway, check your PMs for a download link.

[christinah1121]

I know this Is from a while ago, but do you think you can help me?

[puzzlezaddict]

@christinah1121  Sure, I can try to help.  Are you having the same issue as above, and if so, have you tried the suggestions earlier in the thread?  If so, and nothing helped, feel free to send me your save, as in, the game saved just a few sim-minutes (up to an hour or so) before the sims are supposed to travel home.

Open Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Saves, right-click on the folder for your save, and select Compress.  Upload this .zip file to a free filehosting site (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and either post the link here or send it to me in a private message.  I'll take a look.

If you're having a different crashing issue, please describe it in more detail.

[christinah1121]

I honestly started just pressing random buttons, and ended up getting my sim back to her house. Although, she lost her degree history. Any idea how to get that back or its just lost?

[puzzlezaddict]

@christinah1121  It sounds like the version of your sim that contained all the data from University—the degree, possibly the skills she earned and the relationships she made—wasn't properly imported back into the homeworld.  As in, you may have basically loaded the version of the sim as she existed before she left for University.

There isn't a way to recover the data from this point, but if you go backwards and try the travel transition again, it might work this time around.  Or I could try.  Even if you saved once after you landed in your sim's homeworld, the backup version of the save should be from while she was still in the University world.  In the same Saves folder, you'll see a folder with your save name and a .backup extension.  Rename the save and delete the .backup (e.g. UniversityTest.sims3), and you'll be able to load that save from the Main Menu.

Out of curiosity, what are the specs of your Mac?  I'm trying to find a pattern among the players who report this issue, especially since I can't ever reproduce it on saves known to be affected.  I'd like all the information under About This Mac including the operating system and except for the serial number.