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Inventor
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 5:18 AM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 3, World Adventures, Generations, Pets, Showtime, Seasons, University Life, Island Paradise, Into the Future
Default "Enable Aging" disabled against my will
I found that my sims were suddenly aging and that was strange because I have it set so they don't. I went to options and can't turn it off! It won't let me! Even restoring defaults doesn't change anything. Why would it be unavailable and why would it change on its own?
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 2:06 PM
Are you using any mods that are supposed to take control of the game's aging manager? Usual suspects would be AwesomeMod, Buzzler's Aging Manager, NRaas StoryProgression and/or Overwatch. NRaas SP and OW don't interfere with the Game Options checkbox, not sure about the other two, but some combinations of these mods will cause unexpected results.

And are you playing in a homeworld or on a vacation in a world foreign to your currently active sims?
Inventor
Original Poster
#3 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 10:30 PM
A home world and I haven't added or subtracted any mods since the last time I played. I don't think I have any mods of the sort anyway.
Inventor
#4 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 10:35 PM
Did you try without any mods at all? Just to be sure if its any mod or maybe something else
Inventor
Original Poster
#5 Old 19th Sep 2018 at 4:35 AM Last edited by BlackjackGabbiani : 19th Sep 2018 at 6:45 AM.
I moved both mods and downloads out and now the game won't open at all. Not even to the launcher.
Ok apparently that was Origin being buggy.

I tried it without those folders and it STILL showed up the same as the example before, with the option greyed out. But I also noticed something bizarre that wasn't there before--a second Downloads folder. As you can see, the real folder is still comfortably on the desktop (yes my wallpaper is plain purple shh), and I have no idea what those files are. I didn't install anything at all today. I've downloaded a few things but I haven't moved anything either from or to the downloads and/or mods since the last time I played, which would be when aging was off. So this function changed on its own regardless of anything I loaded, and I never installed anything new.
Screenshots
Mad Poster
#6 Old 19th Sep 2018 at 1:52 PM
The game will generate a new Downloads folder when it finds the original one missing. The Dynamic Challenge files and the subfolder with the funny numeric name pertain to the Badges you may be earning on the old TS3 website's community My Page section, they have nothing to do with content. These will reappear if you delete them every time you log in at the Launcher or in-game levels. The other small files are there to direct traffic, again they are not content.

Not sure what the point of this was anyway. Things that are in the Downloads folder have no impact on the game. They are only there for the Launcher to read them for potential installation, they aren't used at all beyond that and the folder should be cleared of all already installed content so as to reduce clutter and things that the overworked Launcher has to slog through. Content that is is already installed would be in the DCCache (or Library and InstalledWorlds in the cases of households, lots, and worlds), not in Downloads.

Am assuming you cleared the usual five top level cache files on the TS3 user game folder after removing the mods, but just checking.

What happens if you pull your entire TS3 game folder out of Documents? The game will launch a fresh, no-content folder for you. If you start up a new game in Sunset Valley, for example, do you once again have control over aging?
Inventor
Original Poster
#7 Old 19th Sep 2018 at 11:39 PM Last edited by BlackjackGabbiani : 20th Sep 2018 at 12:07 AM.
Downloads don't have an impact on the game? I thought that was just where the .sims3 files went as opposed to the .package files! I thought that was literally the only difference! I did this to take out all the custom content regardless of what type it was.

But yeah I've removed the cache files each time.

Ok I moved the game to the desktop and it gave me a brand new thing...only it STILL tells me that I can't change that setting, and it also tells me that my graphics card isn't recognized.
Mad Poster
#8 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 3:58 AM
Quote: Originally posted by BlackjackGabbiani
Downloads don't have an impact on the game? I thought that was just where the .sims3 files went as opposed to the .package files! I thought that was literally the only difference! I did this to take out all the custom content regardless of what type it was.

This is where sims3packs go to be installed by the Launcher. Once installed, the content lands in bundles in the DCCache Folder (or Library or InstalledWorlds, depending on the kind of content it was). The sims3packs themselves do not get used by the game, only by the Launcher, and do not need to be there once installed. We aren't removing any content from the game by removing those from Downloads, we are only removing them from the Launcher's line of sight for not yet installed content.

Package files are different because they get "installed" just by being placed in Mods\Packages or a subfolder within and removed by removing them from that location. There is no next step for install or removal (other than clearing the caches).

You can always put your prior game folder back in place and things will be just as they were before running this test. The unrecognized graphics card is a one time warning that happened because your original game options file (Options.ini) stayed with the pulled out folder, it's nothing to worry about.

Maybe I didn't ask this in so many words, but should have. Are you certain that you are looking at the aging checkbox on a world that is fully loaded up and in play with the game clock running, not on the Main Menu with no world fully loaded? Other than that, sorry but I have no idea why you have no control over that setting on a newly started game on a clean game folder.
Inventor
Original Poster
#9 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 4:36 AM
I don't know either but I did make sure it was in both of those situations, both a full world that I'd played before as well as a brand new one that was flat base vanilla.

And once installed, the sims3.package files stay where they are. Are they really supposed to move on their own?
Mad Poster
#10 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 4:44 AM
Quote: Originally posted by BlackjackGabbiani
And once installed, the sims3.package files stay where they are. Are they really supposed to move on their own?

They stay where they are until the player removes them. I never said that they removed themselves automatically. When I said the folder should be cleared of them, I meant that the player should do so.
Site Helper
#11 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 10:18 PM
Restating what igazor said, in case it's still not clear:
A Sims3pack is an archive. The Launcher opens it, extracts the file(s), puts them where they belong, and then leaves a copy of the sims3pack where it was. This is useful in case you need to reinstall it. But it doesn't need to be in Downloads anymore, because the Launcher goes through everything in that folder to find anything which needs to be installed. If something has already been installed, the Launcher doesn't need to find it to install it again. Removing it from Downloads reduces the risk of having the Launcher decide it doesn't want to deal with all of this, and isn't your desktop more interesting, anyway?
But it's not a very efficient archive type, which is why it gets a lot smaller if you run it through a zip or rar process.

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
Inventor
Original Poster
#12 Old 25th Sep 2018 at 7:41 PM
I see...That would explain why the game takes so frickin long to open...

But either way that doesn't seem to be the issue since no matter where they are the game still won't let me disable aging, so it's not the downloads or the package files.
Site Helper
#13 Old 26th Sep 2018 at 6:41 PM
Have you temporarily moved the entire TS3 folder from Documents to the desktop and let the game generate a new one? it will be with the default settings, and all your saved games, mods, and CC will be on the desktop instead of in the game, but it will be enough to check to see if the problem stops when you play a vanilla game.
If that solves it, then your problem is with something in the User Files. If it's still not solved, it's time to consider that your actual game files might have been damaged.

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
Inventor
Original Poster
#14 Old 26th Sep 2018 at 11:48 PM
Yeah, I did that. Everything was brand new.

What could it be in the user files?
Inventor
Original Poster
#15 Old 1st Oct 2018 at 10:31 PM
Anybody?
Site Helper
#16 Old 2nd Oct 2018 at 1:23 AM
Does "everything was brand new" mean that the problem stopped with the new User files, or not?

If it stopped, then you can move folders from your original User Files to the new copy one at a time and test to see if the problem has started again. When you find the folder where the problem starts, that will tell us more about what it could be.
If it doesn't stop with new User Files, then you probably need to repair your game.

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
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retired moderator
#17 Old 2nd Oct 2018 at 1:32 PM
Also add Documents/ Electronic Arts to your scanning exclusions list for your antivirus. If the options.ini file is locked then the game cannot write any changes you make.
Theorist
#18 Old 7th Oct 2018 at 9:08 PM Last edited by lisfyre : 7th Oct 2018 at 9:24 PM.
Default Help !
Sorry to butt in on this thread but I can't seem to post a new one. My problem is the exact opposite. I've turned off Enable Aging while my sims are in Uni and I just noticed that they've been aging!!!!

I don't have any mods yet, just a couple CC items - makeup items - 5 to be exact cause I can't get my .package files to work yet.

So... how do I turn off aging and make it stick? And how do I turn back the clock?

Life is short, insecurity is a waste of time. ~Diane Von Furstenburg
You don't get out of life alive. ~Jimmy the Hand

♥ Receptacle Refugee ♥
Site Helper
#19 Old 7th Oct 2018 at 11:10 PM
Once you get package files working, NRAAS Master Controller can be used to reset the age of your sims to whatever it should be. (And Epic lifespan in the meantime should help prevent age transitions, especially if you then modify the time for each stage to be the longest that is available.)

But I'm not sure why your sims would be aging, so I have no idea how to stop it. I thought Uni was like a vacation world, so aging would be off anyway. But I don't have Uni, so I was probably mistaken.

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
Inventor
Original Poster
#20 Old 8th Oct 2018 at 6:37 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Ghost sdoj
Does "everything was brand new" mean that the problem stopped with the new User files, or not?

If it stopped, then you can move folders from your original User Files to the new copy one at a time and test to see if the problem has started again. When you find the folder where the problem starts, that will tell us more about what it could be.
If it doesn't stop with new User Files, then you probably need to repair your game.

No it means that I was playing it like a brand new game and the problem was still there!

Also the other user is having the same issue I am, that it turned on aging without me approving it. But the function is called "enable aging" and I can't manipulate it in any way, hence the name.
Mad Poster
#21 Old 8th Oct 2018 at 7:02 AM
This really shouldn't be necessary, but I see that we haven't yet suggested this.

In your user game folder (the new one preferably) there will be a file called Options.ini. Or it may appear as just Options if you have Windows set to hide extensions. When the game is not running, open this file in a text editor like Notepad and look for the line that says
enableaging = 0

Change the 0 to a 1. Or, if it's already a 1, change it to a 0. And save your change, but if you use Save As be sure to select All Files and not Text so that the extension does not change from .ini to .txt. Does that change the apparently locked setting (checkboxed vs. not checkboxed) on the Game Options screen when you launch the game and have a world entirely running with the game clock moving?
Inventor
Original Poster
#22 Old 18th Oct 2018 at 2:04 AM
The option is still greyed out. This time, however, it's NOT selected. Which means that it's off and I can't turn it ON.
So that's one problem fixed, another one started. Is there an "enableaging = 2" or something I can turn it to? It was at 1 and I changed it to zero.


Edit: ...then I hit "restore defaults" and it selected the option again. While keeping it greyed out. I still can't directly interact with it or uncheck/check it myself. This is with a 100% base game, no CC, no mods check. There should be nothing interfering at all.
Mad Poster
#23 Old 18th Oct 2018 at 3:19 AM
I don't understand the "2" question. As far as the game unmodded in concerned, Enable Aging is a binary descision. 0 means aging is not enabled. 1 means aging is enabled. I have no idea what 2 or any other number would mean and that would be undefined to the game as well.

If you aren't going to get any further than this with respect to getting the checkbox actually unfrozen so you can interact with it in-game as intended, then you will require a mod that manages the Aging Manager for you -- such as Buzzler's Aging Manager or NRaas StoryProgression as mentioned prior. They will both require that the checkbox be on (so set to 1) or else there won't be any aging for them to manage.
Inventor
Original Poster
#24 Old 29th Oct 2018 at 5:55 AM
Ah, I didn't know that was binary then. I thought it was maybe just regular.

Before having to rely on a mod, I want to know why this is happening to begin with, across all save files and in completely vanilla games.
Mad Poster
#25 Old 29th Oct 2018 at 6:13 AM
If any of us here had the answer to that, it's pretty safe to say that we would have provided it already.
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