Mod installation issues [ Edited ]

[nightlillly]

I have been trying to get mods for the Sims 3 for about 3 days now. I've made some progress but it's one problem after the other and I'm not a coder so I can't fix a lot of the issues I come across.

For starters, I cannot use mods that come from .package files that you're supposed to just be able to put in packages under mods. I have tried every suggestion from every tutorial and thread on the subject but nothing works, they simply don't show up in my game. The only .package mods that do work are NRaas, so mastercontroller and everything that twallan has do work. However, I'm only looking for custom content specifically skins that make the sims look more realistic. I don't know why any other .package mods just won't work and it makes me wonder if it's a difference in the files themselves.

Anyway, I resorted to finding custom content that were .sims3packs instead and those do work. I open the launcher and install them and they're in my game. The issue now is that the custom skins that I'm looking for only come in .package files. So I thought I could find a loophole and turn them into .sims3pack files by downloading the sims3pack File Generator Tool from modthesims. It downloaded fine and I got to work turning the files that I wanted into sims3packs. Then when I try to install them in the launcher, instead of success! I get a pop-up telling me "Please make sure your game has the latest Software Updates and try again.". So then I read that the sims3pack File Generator Tool is not updated to the latest patch. So  I followed the instructions ("Open the Generate Tool and go to "Set Sims3Pack File Version". Click "Import from Sims3Pack", and browse to where you downloaded a working sims3pack. Make sure to click "Apply".) and it still didn't fix the problem and I got the same pop-up. And that's where I am, I'm at my wit's end and am about to just give up on having a realistic sims world.

I know this a lot but I'm STRUGGLING! I know this seems like a pretty stupid thing to be hung up on but I'm persistent when there's something that I want and it doesn't help that I'm currently unemployed so I have enough time on my hands to care this much. If anybody knows something that I don't, wants to ask me any questions, wants to see any pictures of what I'm seeing, or has anything to suggest I try please, please, please let me know this is one of my favorite games ever and I would love to get to enjoy some custom content. Also I don't care if you answer to this thread super late, I noticed some people will get upset when someone posted to a thread years after it started. If you have something to suggest 5 years after I submit this let me know. Odds are I'm still playing my favorite games and It's not gonna hurt anything. I honestly got this far because of necoposters who came up with something years after a thread started, keep doing what you're doin

(CM: Edited to space out texts with paragraphs and updated thread title to match opening post)

[nightlillly]

I’m having the same issue as 15mea15 except that only .package mods from NRaas are found in my game. Any other mod from any other website is not found. I haven’t tried any sims3pack mods that you download through the launcher so I don’t know if they’d work but .package files are killing me, nothing works and I’m doing the same thing as everyone in every tutorial video there is. All I want is a pretty skin 😞

[puzzlezaddict]

@nightlillly  Please remove all non-NRaas files from Mods\Packages and add back just one file, something you know you'll be able to find in-game.  Delete the five cache files in the Sims 3 folder:

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

Load the game and see whether the item is present.  Keep in mind that skins, like all other CAS items, are only for one gender, so if you're testing an adult male skin, you won't see it when looking at an adult female, and vice versa.

If the items works, you can start adding more of your content a little at a time.  One of the reasons a skin may not show up is that you have more than one "default" skin for that category.  Default skins are just that, the default for all sims not given a different skin, so only one per category will load.  You can have as many non-default skins as you want, and most cc skin creators will provide both default and non-default options.

[15Mea15]

@nightlillly Please let us know if your problem resolves. I think with me it was just corrupted cc I downloaded, although the problem was unidentified. Also try taking the cc you downloaded out of the mods folder and then download a “pretty skin” and place that in the mods/packages folder and see if it appears in your game; if your problem persists this could mean you don’t have the resource.cfg in your mod folder which you need in order for mods/cc to appear. 😊💛

Warm wishes
-Mea

[puzzlezaddict]

@nightlillly  I've merged your posts and their replies into one thread so that everything stays in one place.  I made a couple of suggestions in my earlier reply; please let me know whether they help.

[Kailin116]

Hello my Nraas mods arent working, I've tried everything from creating a new mods folder, putting the mods in one by one and nothing is working. Last time i did this I had to delete my entire sims 3 folder and start all over with the custom content. I deleted the Nraas mods and then reinstalled them and nothing worked. I'm at my wits end. Please help.

[puzzlezaddict]

@Kailin116  Have you deleted scriptCache.package after adding the mods?  It needs to be deleted any time you add or remove any mod from the user folder.  And is resource.cfg present inside Mods (but NOT inside Packages), and is it in fact unzipped?

If neither of those is the issue, please post a screenshot of the contents of the folder where you've added your NRaas mods, as in, I'd like to see the list of mods themselves.  Include the address bar, above the list of files and folders, in the screenshot.

[Kailin116]

Yes I deleted the script cache mod, and the 5 other ones every time I do start up the Sims 3 launcher. the resource file is inside the mods folder, I redid everything and followed the mods the sims installation. Looking into my folder I see a bunch of bins and now I'm even more confused.

[Kailin116]

Here's more photos of what a mess my sims 3 folder looks like 

[Kailin116]

here are my Nraas mods too