@SpaceMonkey907-2 Did you have a system update, or more specifically an update to an antivirus/firewall? It's possible that the connection to EA servers is now being blocked. To test this, you can try launching the game while completely offline—sign into Origin if you need to, put it in offline mode, then turn off wifi and/or pull the ethernet cable before pressing play. If this works, then you can set exceptions for both Origin and the game.
If being offline doesn't help, then maybe some file in your game folder is corrupted, one that you didn't delete. (There are plenty of potential suspects.) But a clean game folder will take care of that. Pull your existing TS3 folder out of Documents and onto your desktop and then launch the game. If it works, you can move your saves and other content into the new folder from the old one. Here's a list of the relevant files you'd need to transfer:
https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html
By the way, you don't need to login at the launcher level to play, or even use any of the online features. It's only necessary when you want to upload files to the Exchange. If you'd prefer to play while online, skip the launcher login and use the one at the Main Menu.
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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
