How do you download sims store content?

[kavalos93]

I bought the sims 3 base game, as well as a few expansions, but via CD ROM. I have origin downloaded on my computer, but I don´t have internet (I used my friend´s internet to download origin). I hope the next part isn´t too confusing : Since I have no internet access at home whatsover, is there any way I can download the Sims Store content off of my work computer (which does have internet), and when I get home, will it show up in my launcher? Or in order to see it in my launcher, would I need to have internet access to add the downloaded content to my game? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I am just confused.

[puzzlezaddict]

@kavalos93  Store content is separate data from the base game, so you do have to manually add it to your user data folder in order to install it.  There are two ways to do this.  One is to download it directly onto your computer, which it sounds like you might not have any way of doing.  If you had temporary internet, you could download everything you wanted; it would be a good idea to back up the original downloads so you could reinstall later if needed without redownloading everything.

The other  way is to download the content onto a separate computer and copy the files to your own.  With your work computer, you'd need to at least install the base game (packs not necessary), otherwise the store files won't download.  If you can't install the game directly on your work computer, you could instead install it on an external hard drive or USB stick.  It wouldn't run well, but it would work for the purposes of downloading store content.

Just to be clear, you'd need to install your own disc copy on your work computer or on an external drive because the store content is encrypted to be tied to a specific account.  (No sharing store stuff among friends, that kind of thing.)  If you need help figuring out how to install the game on an external drive, let me know.  But it should work the same as a normal install, except you point the installer to a folder on the external.

When you download a store item, the file lands in Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads.  From there, the launcher can read the file and install the item.  The files in Downloads can be transferred from one user data folder to another (again, as long as they were downloaded by the same account that installed the game) and installed without an internet connection.  So you could transfer the Sims3Packs, or the entire Sims 3 folder in Electronic Arts, to your external drive, and then take it home with you to transfer it to your own computer.  This Sims 3 folder will land in Documents on your work computer no matter where the game is installed, so be sure to delete it (or rather the entire Electronic Arts folder) when you're done.