Can't Upload My Fixed World To Sims 3 Exchange [ Edited ]

[nycbigl]

It's not important but...

I was hoping that maybe someone might be able to help me figure something out

I made a Burning Man World that I created with the Sims 3 Create A World Beta program and I very stupidly deleted that world  from the official Sims 3 website Exchange page because the original Burning Man World I created had bugs in it. There were a few spots where you couldn't place a lot on, either because the road was not straight or I accidentally put routing paint in areas I never wanted to have. There is no way to test it and also build on lots without exporting it then uploading the world and playing with it. The "Edit in Game" doesn't work for those of us who never bought the original first edition of The Sims 3. I went back into CAW and I fixed my Burning Man World. I then wanted to upload the fixed world to the exchange but for whatever reason because I deleted the first world I couldn't upload the fixed one.

Would anyone happen to know how I can fix that and be able to upload my fixed and improved Burning Man World to the Sims 3 Exchange page? If you don't know that's OK. I can still play my world that I created. I was just hoping to share it.

Thank you for reading this and for any suggestions you might have for me. It's all already appreciated.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@nycbigl  I asked around again, and @EA_Mai came through.  She found a post that says the Exchange reads the world's ID number, rather than its name, and that's why your fixed version is reading as a duplicate.  This has nothing to do with the name you give the world, and removing the old version doesn't help.

As it happens, you can in fact change a world's ID, although not through any EA-created methods.  (So no links to downloads, sorry.)  You'd need to use S3PE (Sims 3 Package Editor), but this is a very reliable tool, created by the people who made Sims 3 modding possible.  Here's a description of how you'd go about it, if you were interested:

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=430249#postbitpopover_3412923

Of course, copy your world file before messing with it, although to be clear, you're messing with the world file as it came out of CAW, not the installed file in your game.

[puzzlezaddict]

@nycbigl  Having no knowledge of how this works myself, I asked around, and a few different people suggested some possibie reasons why the upload isn't working.  One is that the Exchange is rejecting some custom content item.  Most cc is fine, but there are a few items that will reliably cause an upload to be blocked.  You can ignore this if you're sure you don't have any cc.

If the new world has the same name as the old one, that may also prevent an upload.  I'm not sure whether this is the case (the people I asked aren't totally sure), but you could try changing the name to something else and see if it works.

Another possibility is that something was broken on EA's end when you tried to upload.  It's happened plenty of times in the past, but it usually sorts itself out within a couple of days.

While you're troubleshooting, it's a good idea to use a clean game folder for uploading.  Drag your existing TS3 game folder out of Documents and onto your desktop, then open the launcher to create a new one.  You can manually move the world into the new folder, then try to upload.  When you're done, trash the new folder and put the old one back.

[nycbigl]

Hello! Thank you so very much for the reply!

My world did not have any custom contents because there is absolutely no way to use the "Edit in World" option while creating the it. After much questioning and researching I found out that it has something to do with the CAW Beta program being created back during the first issues of the Sims 3 when it was released and there were no updates made yet. So the only objects in my world is the same world objects that I used when I uploaded it the first time like street lamps, traffic lights and trees. I am only able to build on lots after I have exported the world and have uploaded the game via the launcher. So when I shared it to the exchange it's and empty world without buildings and sims in it.

I also changed the name ever so slightly when I fixed my world the second time around in order to make sure there were no problems. My original world was called "Black Rock City Burning Man" but then I changed it to "Burning Man Black Rock City".

I am always scared to drag my TS3 folder out of my game. Please don't take offense when I say this but whenever I have issues with anything Sims related and it gets fixed I have never needed to do it. I'm sure that method works well for many but I have a lot of bad luck sometimes with computer and I don't like taking chances. I'm an old fart that had to be self taught how to use a PC because when I went to school home computer were a brand new invention and the internet didn't even exists yet. LOL! My brother was the smart one because he signed up for computer coursed in high school while I went for typing instead because I didn't think I would need a PC class being that I was going to a Fashion college. Boy is the real world different now. LOL!

Like I said before, if I don't find the answer to this thread it's not a big deal. My world is working fine within the game. I just wanted to share it in the exchanged being that I worked so hard and long on it. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.

[puzzlezaddict]

@nycbigl  A game folder, the one in Documents (not the program files), can be moved around however you want.  TS3 will only read it if it's specifically in Documents\Electronic Arts, so if you move it, or even rename it from "The Sims 3" to something else, the game will create a new, blank one to take its place.  But you can always delete the new folder and put the old one back (or give it back its proper name).  This is a normal thing to do.  I do it all the time when I'm testing, and some players periodically recreate the game folder and move their saves over just to be safe.

If you don't want to do that, though, you can take an intermediate step and remove some of the files inside instead.  If you don't do it already, be sure to delete the five cache files directly in the TS3 folder.  They should be deleted regularly anyway, as they tend to clog up with stale data.  For reference, they are:

• CASPartCache.package
• compositorCache.package
• scriptCache.package
• simCompositorCache.package
• socialCache.package

You can also delete everything inside DCBackup except for ccmerged.package.  The other files are all related to installed content, both store stuff and cc.  But their only purpose is to make cc stick to uploads, so there's no harm in deleting everything.  (Your store stuff is actually installed elsewhere, so it wouldn't be affected.)  The only exception is ccmerged, which is required to make premium store content work.

It's a good idea to remove all the files in Exports except for the one you're trying to upload as well, just in case the launcher isn't handling all that data very well.

There's also a file in Downloads labeled [your email].bin.  Deleting this file rarely helps, usually only with launcher login issues, but it won't hurt.

Finally, it's a good idea to remove your Screenshots and RecordedVideos folders, if there's anything in them.  You can keep your screenshots elsewhere; they'll open the same wherever they are on your computer.  RecordedVideos are apparently a pain to work with, but the same goes for them.

Hopefully something works, but if not, I'll ask for more ideas.  Even if this file won't upload, you can always upload it elsewhere.  SimsFileShare is popular, and some creators use Tumblr or other social media sites.  (Don't ask me; I have no idea.)  So there are ways to share your work even when the Exchange doesn't cooperate.

[nycbigl]

Looks like my problem lies elsewhere. I did everything you said with the exception of moving the game folder. But when I tried to upload my "(Improved) Burning Man Black Rock City" world the launcher tells me that "Upload fail because Exchange server already has: (Improved) Burning Man Black Rock City". But when I try to do a search for that world in the exchange it's not there. Oh Well. No problem. Like I said, I have no issues playing my game. So it's not a big deal.

Thank you so much for trying to help. It IS greatly appreciated. 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@nycbigl  I asked around again, and @EA_Mai came through.  She found a post that says the Exchange reads the world's ID number, rather than its name, and that's why your fixed version is reading as a duplicate.  This has nothing to do with the name you give the world, and removing the old version doesn't help.

As it happens, you can in fact change a world's ID, although not through any EA-created methods.  (So no links to downloads, sorry.)  You'd need to use S3PE (Sims 3 Package Editor), but this is a very reliable tool, created by the people who made Sims 3 modding possible.  Here's a description of how you'd go about it, if you were interested:

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=430249#postbitpopover_3412923

Of course, copy your world file before messing with it, although to be clear, you're messing with the world file as it came out of CAW, not the installed file in your game.

[nycbigl]

@puzzlezaddict

Thank you for the information. That sounds very helpful.

Yeah, I had no intention of sharing my in-game world. I have too many custom content in it now plus I am still learning how to make larger buildings with shells. I just now figured out how to properly put in elevators in a building shell. I was having a devil of a time with it. Turns out that the main level of the building is ever so slightly bigger than the above levels. So when I had my elevators up against the walls my sims couldn't use it because it wasn't lining up right. LOL! Lesson learned!  So yeah, it's been a great learning experience that I am still experiencing it even as we speak. LOL!

I will have to think about whether I want to download the S3PE. From what I was reading in the link you added it sounds very complicated. But I am glad you gave me the information either way. Not only is it such a relief to see that it was nothing I did wrong and that in fact the problem has to do with the world codes but if I ever wise up and feel more confident and go for it I now have the information and the method to do it.

Again, THANK YOU! You guys rock so much and are always so amazingly helpful. No matter what I finally decide to do, just knowing the truth makes all of the difference. I don't feel as dumb as I thought I was now thanks to you. LOL!