New High-end-loft-stuff and version 3.0.38

[seekhunt]

Hey all.

So finaly the high end loft stuff is release. what i did not know was that there was a patch in it as well...
or what ? at the launcher the version has gone up to 3.0.38 and a cant (yet) find any info on what this does.

i can see however that the time "lag" problem has been solved, i can now run in speed 3 without the game lagging every few second :-)

so just to hear if someone can or have any info on this :-)

[Metropolis Man]

That's good to hear that there's a patch included with High-End Loft. It's very common for EA to roll patches right into the release of an expansion. I should be getting my copy soon.

[igzigpuff]

Update is supposed to fix:

This game update includes:  Game Update for: 1.9/2.4


-          High-End Loft Stuff - This update is required to play the digital download version of The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff.

-          World Adventures - Users can now capture the Town Theatre subject in photography

-          A change was made so that desks do not burn anymore.

-          Mac only: Fixed an error with uploading screenshots from the Mac when the “.jpg” file extension is deleted.

-          PC only: Fixed a bug where the launcher would display an error message that it could not connect to EADM on Vista and Windows 7 machines.

This info is on the news page on EA website here:  http://www.thesims3.com/community/news.html?selMonth=1&selYear=2010#-1491092002

[jestina]

I noticed a big rant about CC attached to the patch notification. It seems like EA is intent on trying to stamp out the CC community and force everyone to buy from the store. Surprised they didn't add anymore store spamming to the game with the stuff pack.

[Pam]

Hi jestina and welcome!

We don't endorse third party download custom content here on Carl's site because it has the potential to cause so many problems with the game.  There's a thread about it if you'd care to read it.  http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=419.0

[MegTrog]

Jestina, in my experience, after every patch, there's a huge explosion of people complaining that their game is broken, when in fact it's just the custom content not being compatible with the patch.  EA, quite obviously, cannot possibly provide support for all the custom content that's out there, so it's up to the CC providers to keep their content compatible with the latest version of the game.  They just tried to make that clear in the notification.  For what it's worth, EA seem very supportive of the customising in the community--I'm pretty sure there are legal steps they could take if they really wanted to stamp it out!

Anyway, I'm glad that they've fixed the Town Theatre bug.  I'll be off to get that picture as soon as my Sims get back from France!  What do people think of High End Loft stuff?  Worth getting?

[wildredchild]

I LOVE the new items with this stuff pack and yes it is worth the money you will spend on it.

[jestina]

Well I was hoping they'd actually fix something instead of ranting about CC. Their latest anti-piracy crusade broke the launcher and I can't install 3packs. I've had to resort to installing store content like CC by unpacking 3packs manually and putting them in as package files.

I do love the new guitar that comes with high end loft. Great to actually have an electric instead of an acoustic.

[Metropolis Man]

Well I was hoping they'd actually fix something instead of ranting about CC.

Your perception of EA's firm stance on custom content as a rant probably needs an adjustment, jestina. Ranting is something players do in game forums. Ranting is just opinion. I haven't seen the wording on the box as I haven't received my copy yet, but I'm quite certain EA is not simply giving you opinions in their statement.

[Pam]

Their latest anti-piracy crusade broke the launcher and I can't install 3packs.

They wouldn't need an anti-piracy crusade if people didn't pirate to begin with, don't you think?  The blame is not with Electronic Arts.  They are the creators, designers, and manufacturers of this wonderful game.  The blame sits on the people who mess things up with items that don't work right.

[jestina]

I think a lot of people do it to be vindictive against a company they see as treating them unfairly. EA could do better with sugar than with the sledgehammer. Better communication with customers and maybe for once putting out a product that works. Every patch so far has been bugged and there are still bugs in the game that people have been complaining about for months now. EA doesn't even communicate on their own forums...they just lurk in the shadows. They don't acknowledge problems like the huge disaster of the last patch that broke 3pack files and spammed us with store adverts. They invade our privacy under the guise of putting a stop to piracy(putting tracking programs in the game).

I was hoping they would actually address the 3pack issue with the release of high end loft...but no, we get nothing again. The current patch is busted too and i'll be hoping again that they'll fix it.

[Pam]

I agree that EA could communicate more with their customers.  And how they don't really participate in their own forum.  I see supposed "Gurus" on the forum, but I don't know that they are official EA personnel.  Maybe it seems that Sims 3 has a lot of problems and bugs, but is this uncommon in computer games?  I honestly don't know because Sims 3 is the only one I play.  I'd like to hear from our members who play other large scale computer games that are on the same level as Sims 3.  Do those games have bugs and problems in the first six months? 

[TGBlank]

I do play a lot of computer games, and regarding customer service, bug fixing and not treating paying customers like dirt, so far my experience with EA has been the worst, which is rather inexcusable given that they are one of the largest companies around.

Their games are particularly buggy, i've had less problems with badly made console ports than with pc-born ea games (unless that badly made console port was made by EA, then it's issues galore). Their drm and dlc distribution systems feels like they where implemented late as badly thought kludges, often being more buggy and prone to issues than the game itself.

Their tech support is garbage, particularly regarding registration issues. They're more likely to play the wait game and then, if you bug them a lot, send you a mail asking for nonsensical information or forwarding you to direct call services and refusing further online help, irregardless that you may not live in the same country and such a call would be rather expensive.

They've got a very bad track record regarding DRM: draconian restrictions, rootkits, online checks that time out and crash or irreparably bug savegames, limited installations that tick away if you upgrade the pc, etc. Which is ridiculous since their games get pirated just as easily as any other, with the end result that players who pirate the game get a better game experience than those who pay for it.
Because let's face it: insulting your customers and calling them thieves, compromising their security and the integrity of their computers, and having a sizeable percentage of them having issues with the drm, while those that are not your customers and pirate the game are having a smooth experience does not look good at all.

[Simbacat]

I play lots of computer games and so far,EA is the worst company to deal with when you have a problem.I have had to get tech support from Atari(Roller Coaster Tycoon 3) and they were very helpful.Sony was also helpful when I had issues with my PSP(not a computer issue but they do make laptops) and beleive it or not,Microsoft was actually helpful when I had problems with ZT3.I have even had good experiences with Hewlett Packard,of all people.
EA seems to take a head-in-the sand approach to the Sims.All the help I have ever needed I got from forums like this one.The community of players is fantastic and incredibly knowledgeable,and I love that whenever I have some technical issue,I can just go to one of the forums I am signed up for and ask for help.I usually get it within 24 hours.I don't ask for help from any of the companies that make my games.Instead,I find a forum of nice people(like this one)and ask for help.It's much easier and takes less time.
That being said,I do not know what it will take for EA to wake up and smell the coffee.There are many people who are pretty ticked off about bugs in TS3.I have made some adjustments to my game(thanks to the good people here)and my game runs great.I never even considered asking EA for help directly.I think that tells you all you need to know about EA.
I would really like to buy High End Loft,but I have CC furniture and patterns........what should I do?

[purenergy]

I have to agree with the others. My customer service experience recently was appalling. I was never so dissatisfied with tech support. They had no idea what was going on and the simply read of a script. I might as well been dealing with a computer. Every time I asked a different question she got lost and didn't understand what I was asking. I have been playing Sims since the original came out and it has ALWAYS been buggy. I figure it is the game. Sims takes a lot of information and graphics to work, no? But, honestly, I have played many games in the last 20 years and this is definalty the buggiest most crashing game I've ever played. You would think that a huge billion dollars company like EA would be able to provide more to there customers. But isn't customer service just becoming a "thing of the past?" I guess they are like all the other faceless corporations like Walmart and McDonalds, serving millions, but poorly.