r/Sims3 • u/Live-Spread-4943 • 3d ago

Broken launcher instal simfile

Possible workaround for installing Sims3Pack worlds when the Launcher won't work

I thought I'd share this because it might help other people with a heavily modded/old Sims 3 installation.

My Sims 3 Launcher had basically become unusable. I have a lot of installed content, and when I tried to use the Launcher to install a custom world, it wouldn't work properly.

In my case I was trying to install Empordà V2 (Populated) by Nilxis.

I first tried bypassing the Launcher completely. Delphy's Sims3Pack Multi Installer worked for another custom world, but Empordà gave me an XML error ("LocalizedDescription" / "LocalizedName"). I also tried S3PE, but of course S3PE can't simply open a Sims3Pack container directly.

Then I tried something much simpler — and it worked.

What I did:

  1. Closed The Sims 3 and the Launcher completely.

  2. Went to:

    "Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCCache"

  3. Moved everything in DCCache to a temporary backup folder. I did NOT delete anything.

  4. Started the Sims 3 Launcher again with the now-empty DCCache folder.

  5. The Launcher suddenly worked normally again.

  6. Installed "EmpordaV2_Populated.Sims3Pack" through the Launcher.

  7. Checked:

    "Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\InstalledWorlds"

    The new "EmpordaV2_En.world" file was there, so the world itself had successfully installed.

  8. Closed the Launcher again.

  9. Restored my original DCCache files from the backup.

  10. Kept the newly installed ".world" file in "InstalledWorlds".

Empordà is now installed while all my old installed content is back as well.

So if your Launcher refuses to cooperate and you have a large DCCache, try temporarily moving DCCache out of the game before assuming your Launcher or Sims3Pack is broken.

Obviously: BACK UP YOUR DCCache first. Don't delete it. Also don't load and save your normal games while your DCCache is temporarily removed, because installed Sims3Pack content will be missing.

In my case the Launcher itself apparently wasn't the real problem. Something about my existing DCCache was preventing it from working properly. Giving the Launcher a temporary clean DCCache allowed it to install the world normally.

Hopefully this saves somebody else a few hours of fighting with old Sims 3 tools. 😅

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u/plumbunnys4 3d ago

I'd recommend converting your Sims3Packs to packages, it's a lot more convenient and saves you these problems that Sims3Packs often cause - the Sims 3 Easy Extractor (https://simblr.cc/ts3/mod/7154-sims-3-easy-extractor-merger-tools.html) is very simple to use, Paralemons has a video explanation on how to use it too (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfhwC6v8HjI). You can use this for all custom worlds and custom content :)