Sims 3 - The Patching Help Thread

[Seabody]

The Patching Help Thread

My Original Questions:

• Do I need the EADM to patch my game?
• Will patches for the game affect CAW?
• How do I check if my game actually IS up-to-date? The Game updates tab in the launcher tells me it is, but I am sure it is lying.

If you came here looking for links to Patches, TheChronicR has kindly provided them in this post

USEFUL LINKS:
Base Game Culmulative Patch (thread, not Direct Download)
Patching to get the benefits on an EP
Useful little explanation by BellaClo

[BellaClo]

Hello Seabody,
 
You don't need the EADM to have a patched game. Yet if you want to patch through the Launcher, the EADM is mandatory. Sometimes it gets updated, so you would want to check once in a while that you have the latest version.
 
Start the Launcher. At the bottom of the left column, you should find a text saying 'version: ....'. Mine says 'Version 6.2.4.010001' for instance. This the patch level of the latest Sims 3 programs you installed (game and EP's, SP's): base game is 1., WA is 2. and so on.
 
Then, just below the this version number, you should see small icons: those are the icons of the different EP's and SP's released so far. The 1st one from the left is the Base game, everybody has this one   If you hover your mouse over it, you'll get a number: this is your patch level for that '.exe'. Mine says 'The Sims 3 1.19.44.01002'. The next icon is WA, then HELS, AMB, Fast Lane, LN and Outdoor Living. The games you don't have will be sort of grayed out.
 
Then, if you still don't trust your launcher (I've just re read your post), there is a last check. On Windows, under C:/Program Files/Electronic Arts/, your should find a list of folders. One for the base game, one for each EP/SP, one for the EADM if you installed it, one for CAW and/or CAP if you have them. For the game or the EP/SP, go to [Sims 3 or EP/SP name]/Game/Bin. You should find a text file named 'skuversion'. The first Line says Game Version = xxxx, this should be what your launcher shows you.
 
Just pay attention not to change anything as long as your under your program files.
 
So now, you should know the exact patch level of all your Sims 3 discs.
 
If you don't want to use the launcher, or if you have problems with it, you can patch manually too. At least if you're on Windows, I think it's a bit different for the Mac users. Patching manually basically means you do the job of the launcher yourself You'll need to retrieve the patch (.exe) from the web and apply them, that is 'installing' those .exe. 
 
On the official EA forums, US version, you should find a thread with all the patches released so far, under the technical discussion board.
Here is the thread for cumulative patches. A cumulative patch will update your game or EP/SP from release level (first base game was 1.0... for instance) to the latest one (1.19.44 for base game).
Here is the list for incremental patches. Those are step by step, or level by level, patches.
 
Patches do not directly affect CAW, they don't "patch CAW". But usually they change enough things in the game so that CAW has to be updated too. EA do not patch CAW anymore, but instead release a new version within the couple of days following the release of a new patch. You have to visit the official website and re download CAW, uninstall the previous version and install the new one.
 
Pay attention to completely back up your work in CAW before doing this! your files should be found under Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 Create a World. 
 
The version of CAW you use must match the patch level of your game. The easiest way is to be on latest patch and CAW. If you have any doubts about your CAW version, re-download and re-install.

 
Edit on July 31 2011: If you want to patch your game, if you're experiencing trouble patching it or if you plan to re-install and wonder how to patch...
 
BEFORE ANY PATCHING, BACK UP YOUR FILES.
Easiest way is to copy/paste your entire user files to some other place on you computer. Find them here: .../Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims3, take the complete folder, you can always sort it out later.
 
METHOD 1: Automatic and Magic - Standard EA method
 
You'll need Origin, this is a piece of software that was originally named EADM, EA download manager. Basically this is it, whenever there is an update, the Launcher (when online) sees it and wakes up Origin/EADM to do the hard work for you. Magic is back!
 
Origin is often updated. You need to be sure you have the newest version before you attempt any patching process. Outdated Origin is a known cause of troubles. How to update? There are 2 ways:

• A. Run Origin while connected and let it update itself. If this fails for any reason, then do the following:
• B. Download the new version yourself (link: http://www.origin.com/about, scroll down and click on the big flashy "Download" button), uninstall the previous one and install this new one.

 
 
When you're sure Origin is up-to-date, start the Launcher while connected to the web, and let it find by itself there is a new patch. Et voilą! 
 
METHOD 2: I do it all by myself - How to update manually
 
If the above didn't work for you, EA shiny tools being sometimes less than cooperative, or if your computer with The Sims 3 is not connected to the web or for whatever other reasons, you want to try this method.
 
First, have a look at the patch table on The Sims Wiki (and bookmark it): http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sims_3/patch/table
 
Second, a bit of boring explanation:
Since patch 1.22.9 (release of Generations EP), EA devs changed the way they patch the game. Before, whenever the game was updated, you would find different patches for the base game and all EP's and SP's. You had to track and download all the ones required for you, depending on what was installed on your computer. From now on, only the base game files (under Program Files) are updated. All the bug fixes to the EP's and SP's are applied to them within the base game program files, if you see what I mean. Big bonus: there is only 1 patch to download. Big drawback: it's huge, more than 600 Mb.
 
You can always find the last released big cumulative patch for the base game in a thread by Nichaedemus, stickied in the technical board of the official forum. Here is the link to this thread: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/175477.page
 
Download the beast and run it (it's an .exe). This is a cumulative patch for any regions and from whatever level your game is at. This means this is THE patch for everybody. Easy and almost as magic as method 1. I would advice keeping it saved somewhere on you computer so you don't need to download again if you re-install your game...
 
Ok, this is for the base game and it's the most important thing. Yet, I still advice to have the EP and SP patched to the last available level. Which, from now on, will be the release of Generations since no additional patches have been produced for them after that date (check the patch table you bookmarked earlier). (I'll update the links for those patches later)
 
For players who want to go back to the last patch before Generations, look at this post by TheChonicR:
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=4313.msg124410#msg124410
It has all the direct links for patching up to level 1.19.44 (release of Outdoor Living SP) with the old method. So be sure you don't only patch your base game, but also all your EP and SP.

[Seabody]

Thank you BellaClo! I'll do this when I'm done creating and readying my Apocalypse Sim.
EDIT: When I'm checking the Patch Levels, should I check them all and download the patch that matches the patch levels? E.G if the patch levels are 1/2/3/4, should I download patch for 1/2/3/4 or a different one?
EDIT 2: Oops. I forgot a question earlier. Is patching the same as updating?

[BellaClo]

I would say that patching and updating is the same. Is it something unclear in my first post? This is very possible, I still need some more caffeine to wake up the brain 

The question about patching is tricky. The official stand of EA games is to say you need only to patch the base game and the latest EP/SP you installed. This is how your launcher/EADM works by the way.

I will take my game config as an example: I have all EP (2/4/6) but no SP. I patch manually myself, but let's say I had trusted the launcher. This means that World Adventure would not have been patched/updated since the release of Ambition, June 2010. This almost a year ago. Yet, several patches have been released in between time, patches for WA too.

Not patching WA ever since AMB means not updating a single file under Program Files/EA/WA. None of the things those patches are said to fix would have been applied to my game. I don't see how this could 'help' the game.

So basically, it's a personal choice you have to make.

[Seabody]

Thanks BellaClo.
I mustn't have read a part of your first post:

A cumulative patch will update your game or EP/SP from realease level (first base game was 1.0... for instance) to the latest one (1.19.44 for base game).

Last question: If I download and install a cumulative patch, do I need to download and install other patches too? (Last time my game was updated was with Late Night. LN came with the whole vehicle enthusiast patch.)

[BellaClo]

Last question: If I download and install a cumulative patch, do I need to download and install other patches too? (Last time my game was updated was with Late Night. LN came with the whole vehicle enthusiast patch.)

No, I don't think so.

• It's either the cumulative patch, which will bring your .exe (base game/EP/SP)  to the latest patch level,
• Or the individual patches, applied in the right order.

So the cumulative patch includes all the standalone patches. Do I make sense?

I'll give you an example with Ambitions:
The 'retail version' is 4.0.87. This is the version of this EP when it was sold, the one you have on your disc when you install it.
The latest patch level, the one in use today with an up-to-date game, is 4.7.4.

Let's say you've just reinstalled your game and EP/SP. The version of Ambition on your computer is thus the Disc level, so 4.0.87

If you choose the incremental patches, you'll need to download the patches:
4.0.87 to 4.2.32
4.2.32 to 4.3.4
4.3.4 to 4.5.6
4.5.6 to 4.6.6
4.6.6 to 4.7.4
And apply them in that order.

OR, download the cumulative patch 'from any version to 4.7.4', and apply just this one.

So the easy path is the cumulative patch, it's bigger to download, but it's just one patch to apply, whatever the version of Ambition is installed on your computer.
If you choose the incremental patches, you'll first need to check the version, then download all the needed patches from your present level to the latest one, and apply them all, one by one, in the right order.

Last thing is your regional setting, that you have to check also.
If I check my game version in the Launcher, I'll see 1.19.44.010002 for the base game. The last digit, '2', is the region of my game.
1 is for Americas, 2 for Worldwide, 3 for Asian, 5 for Japanese and 7 for Digital download.

You also have to select the patch that matches you region. If you're somewhere in America, you'll have to select patches that end with 1.
Now, if it ended here, it would be much too simple...
The patches for the base game and World Adventure exist for all the 'regions'. But, from HELS up to Late Night, there is no 2,3,5 regions anymore. Only 1 for everybody with a disc, and 7 for the digital downloads.

A very very last thing, you need your base game and EP's or SP's to be all on the same patch level.
The latest patches are:
1.19.44   base game
2.14.4     world adventure
3.10.4     hels
4.7.4      ambitions
5.5.4      fast lane
6.2.4      late night
7.0.55     outdoor living

Edited to remove the stupid things.... More coffee please

[Seabody]

Okay, so I'm in New Zealand.
If I were to download the LN patch, then I would not need to worry about finding a patch that ended in 2?
And I'd need to download/install that cumulative patch, but no others?

[BellaClo]

Yes, for New Zealand, it's either 1 at the end, if you have a disc, or 7 if you downloaded Late Night.

And yes, there is a cumulative patch for Late Night too. My mistake  You just need to apply that one.

[Seabody]

Thanks BellaClo! I think I have this all sorted. Actually, do you have a link to patch manually?

[BellaClo]

You're welcome Seabody.

Look at my very first post, I've put 2 links to the Technical Help forum of EA sites. The first is for the cumulative patches. Once you're in that thread, scroll down to the bottom of the post, the official links to LN patches are there.

[Seabody]

My game version is 6.0.81.009001. So I'd need to download this patch:

Cumulative EP3 Update for The Sims 3 Late Night - 6.0.81 to 6.2.4

For those who are unable to patch the EP3 game to version 6.2.4 either via EADM or via the use of manual incremental patches, here are the official EA links for the EP3 standalone cumulative update:

If using Region 1
http://akamai.cdn.ea.com/eadownloads/u/f/sims/sims....010001_from_6.0.81.009001.exe

right? And once it's downloaded, I only need to run the .exe file?

EDIT:
My base game version is 1.17.60.009002. Do I need to download any patches for the Base Game??

EDIT 2:
Do I need to uninstall my games?

[BellaClo]

Yep, this is the right patch for Late Night, and yes, you'll need to patch the base game too, up to 1.19...

No, you don't need to uninstall anything, just run both exe. They'll update all the files that need to be changed.

[Seabody]

And if other EP's are not at "full patch level" (say, they're at 1 when they should be at 2) should I update those too?

[BellaClo]

I would say yes. It is not mandatory, according to EA Games, and the Launcher doesn't update the "in between EP/SP". But it can't do any harm, at least I don't see how. If you apply all patches for all your games, you'll benefit from all the bug fixes and tweaks. Seems interesting no?

[Seabody]

I play Sims 3 on a different computer, one that generally does not have an internet connection.
Can I download patches, move them to USB and install them without a problem?