Sometimes, when store content is posted as is (as it was when it was bought) you need to use a program to make the game forget it IS store content. There are sections in the forum telling you how to do this.
If the game is patched and up to date, but the game STILL tells you this, you need to find those threads, read them and do what they tell you.

Becasue I am Un-Awesome and fail every time I ether try to turn a Sim3pack into a .package, merge batch of .package files or even try to do more than just use the compressorizer.
This is why I am using the 8 .package file set from the Store Thread, and have to wait for the Awesome folks to do anything so I can use them too.
Hence, why I was asking if anyone who is not totaly Un-Awesome like myself, has made a merged package of all the S3M items, or plans to do so in the future.
I did not say it was not possable, but just that I can not manage it due to being Un-Awesome.

Will anyone be considering making a merged package file of all the S3M items? As someone totaly UnAwesome who finds herself unable to get package files to merge, I would very much apreciate anyone who has been able to do so, posting a link.
(Asking now as there is a lul in posting of items)

Has anyone done a sims3 version of the University Comunity Shower?
Or a hacked version of any of the showers that come with the game? I need something that allows a sim to use it without shoo'ing everyone out of the room (its a bath house and I do not want to build on extra shower rooms as it is a city version so it has to stay small)

hm..looks like the uk didnt get the ford as there are no ford set and the link took me to the OOPS page.

Can you tell us what make your graphics card is and how much memory it has?
Sometimes it isnt your card alone, but like was said, drivers and other things can also influence.
Amount of custom content sometimes messes up games too.

(I had issues with Morrowind befor I realised that the game was loading *everything* I had into the thing, not just what I was actualy using at the moment. This game me a time of around 28mins before it crashed me to desktop. Once I restricted myself there to a smaller amount of mods that used *new* textures and reused more in game ones, I was fine. This might be a similar thing?)

Hmm

I have this world via a world file. I do not know if it is slightly Borkified compared to the normal install method though.
Most of the places, lots ect show up with **name** style.

I guess if that is not too anoying, that a .World file would work then?

(I got mine via a seperate hdd, install of clean sims3 and patched then installed worlds via launcher and copied the .world file onto memorystick and moved to my other version of the game that is for playing...Yes, it is a long way around, but I was going to reinstall that hdd anyway so if the things did not work, I did not loose anything)

I finaly managed to get a hold of this working version (for me) of this place and I am quite happily starting to build.
Thank you for making this *grins*

So far, I have decided to make a modern-ish, slightly futuristic place for a change. (I usualy make olde worlde or ancient, but there is just not enough custom content yet for that. i can manage without the watebutt sinks but there just isnt any compatable cookers yet)

As to the Pavilion with the deep basement...I have yet to test any sims, but I build a mausoleum undergroud without basements and placed stairs down (I wanted to make an indoor kind of place with urns rather than graves) I just dug down deep and then placed a foundation over the top (adding the floortiles when the game did not want to place foundation flooring over the crypt)

Once I get going, I will try to post some pictures.

(Also, to the working for me part...I had to install the unpopulated file on my spare hdd that has only bare S3 and the CAW tool, patched to 1.8 or 1.9 and then took the .World file out to take to my normal game. Hard work, I know but I am still too un-awesome to get my game working in the latest patched version)

There are..But they usualy replace the woowhoo word with something more unplesant (or plesant, depending on your point of view)

I had somethin g similar tonight, after reinstalling Sims3.
I loaded up the coconut island world (its small and loads fast, so I use it as a test lot for checking if i have borkified my game with some CC) and the plants in the comunity garden had all vanished.

Now, i had installed normal EAfail sims3 and patched, but kept my .package files to a minimum (I do not have WA or Stuffpack, am patched to 1.7)

the file that casued my problems was an outdated version of the tweeked food package Cooking and Ingrediants Overhaul at this thread  http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,15894.0.html

Of course, this is my own fault for using outdated package, not the owner/maker/re-tweeker of the mod.
However, maybe with WA installed, the plants just stay in stasis?
(repying here, in case you have said mod and it is the one you need to find and take out)

Looks good so far.
I downloded the .world file of Coconut island, and although it's a wee bit close togetherat the start, after I emptied the central huts (after i saved one of each wonderfull make to the housebin, for safekeeping) it was less of a freak-out for me.
Sometimes, i wish we had seperate districs again, or a way of connecting a couple of small worlds together, but that is probably just me, hehe.

I dont have CAW, so I cant comment on what is actualy possable, compared to what I *think* is doable.
However, one of the things I remember loving and hating at the same time on Sims2, was that I liked to seperate certain areas out by adding walls or fences in the neighborhood.

Often, I used to use the walls to fence area's off, so i knew which area belonged to which Sim-Type.
Maybe that might help seperate your poorer districts, and allow you to make fake gated comunities for the ultra-rich ones?

Just grabbed myself the medifire version for un-updated noobies myself.

Ya do realise that some of us (me included) just arent Awesome enough to be  confident to use the workaround for installing / keeping all the fantastic Arr'd items, right?
and I for one, cannot live without my Arr'd EAcrap, which just about makes the game playable, once i had to remove all my .package files (to be safe from Blue-Lot-Of-Doom)

So, i just have to throw hug's or cookies (whichever is prefered) at SimSample (I think it was) for making an obsolete version of this place.
(I always kept a vanilla version of morrowind and oblivion on my offline PC, so I could make my mods work with any version of the game hehe..so I understand how often those of us UnAwesome folks ask for help from the Awesome crowd)

Hm...Well, what I allways say to customers is, "If you are happy with <type>, stick with <type>"

Personaly, I found that the listed glitches occuring with ATI (radeon) cards were usualy more than with the Nvidia (in the sims2 read me's)
I have mostly stuck to Nvidia myself, and find that most of those gamer types (the hardcore FPS crowd) tend to get the most their overworked creditcards can pay for *chuckles*

My Sims3 PC is my old World of Warcraft PC, moved downstairs so it is offline. It has a 512 meg Nvidia 7300 in it, and up until I did a DumbThing it ran on high graphics and had little lag.Now, it wont play on my clean installed simsHDD (has sims1 through 3, wil play sims1 happily but just will NOT let me play sims2 at all and now crashes sims3 after installing sims3pack stuff.) And my patched Sims3 that worked fine, has the blue lots of death..i fear i am going to have to uninstall both versions....

However, this is not the Vidcard's fault. it is mine. Human Error strikes again...Well..Sort of...
These days, my boss sells whatever card the customer is willing to pay for, which is usually, as cheap as can possably be bought. Becasue the average customer is too busy on Facebook (use your 360  ) or making copies of movies to need a good card.
Gamers, on the other hand, are very willing to spend, provided they are getting a decent card. We just dont get enough *serious* gamers now...*sigh*

So..My advice is general....Get a 512meg or above card...If possable, get a 1gig memory card, to give you some breathing space for expansions. If you are comfortable with ATI, buy one of their cards.
http://computer-warehouse.biz/product_info.php?cPath=17_79_83&products_id=189
The above is a link to the one my boss sells (i will remove link if this is unacceptable to site)
You can probably get it cheaper from an online store, but it will at least, let you see what the card looks like.
(You did say you are in the UK, Sivany. This one is in pounds not dollars, so should give you a rough estimate as to the price in your area)

Well yes, alot of cards will work fine with lower PSUs.
I do not know what the situation is in the US with availability of cards, but here in the UK, it tends to be bottom end and top end only.
You ether buy a basic card and run it into the ground, or you spend on a decent top-of-the-range version and make your friends green with envy.

(In the store I work in, we sell many many more of what you would call..crap items..Than the decent quality ones. People here would rather spend £30 on a cheap VGA card than upgrade to a newer board or buy a decent PCI-E card. But I guess that is waht you get when you have customers that are, for want of a better phrase....TightArses)

Also, a good heavy duty PSU will usualy see you through many years, if you do not have a surge and loose it. My now offline machine has a 6 or 7 year old 410 watt Thermaltake in it and has survived multiple death of Mainboard by SecuROM shenanigans.
Still. it depends upon which card you are buying. GTX cards need more than GT, and so on.

Thanks, Lorelei

I dont seem to be on there..I cant say if I am dissapointed or happy. I guess I feel ignored, but then, I am not likely to get anyone's attention, being as I cant do much in the Sims but make use of other peoples wonderfull work.
(most I have made myself were some very basic roman style walls for sims2)

And yes. I am a noobie when it comes to the Net in many ways. I have only started using Firefox instead of IE6 crap this year *hangs head in shame*
However, I am not realy suprised about things like this when they come into contact with PaySite stuff and Sims. So many opinions, some at oposing ends of the arguemnt...

Most of what needs to be told has been said so far.
Being that I live in the UK, most of the places I can buy from are likely to be too local to me to be of any use.
But I will say a few things.

If you are going to spend some decent money on a PC, PLEASE remember to buy a decent, heavy duty PowerSuply Unit (PSU)
Some of the good VidCards need a 1000watt psu or higher (I am told its the GTX ones that need that much. a GT can survive on lower)

We had a gent come buy parts. I knew him, as he was a regular buying gaming parts. He played Everquest2...Spent just over 3grand on parts. Dual SLI cards, that were close to £200 each...a £400 pound, 2 mainboard capable, water cooling intergrated, heavyduty gamers case....Dual Core Pentium CPU (back befor QuadCore became the new Dual Core, hehe)

And you know what? He spent 4 hours on the water cooling, 1 to set it in place, 3 to make sure there were no bubbles...And his PSU fried the mainboard, the chip and gave memory probelms to his expensive VidCards...
Becasue he didnt get one that was realy up to the needs.

So, that is my one piece of advice....Make sure your PSU can handle anyhitng your PC throws at it. 

Hm...I didn't get even half way down the List and I gave up.
Yes..I commited a sin and signed up to TSR.
But, for my sin, I was given no items, becasue everything of value (or not realy of value, becasue most of their items are a waste of NetSpace) was classed as a subscription item. So, I went away a sad panda, becaue the one item I wanted (a set of many color'd Lucky Cat Statues, made befor OFB was created, I think.) was a pay to download item.

I have never been back since.
And, i prety much refuse to download anything that has their items in the download these days. Becasue I wouldnt trust them as far as I could throw them on a heavy gravity world...With their feet in concreet shoes.

I did not sign a pettition, I think I would have rememberd....So, if I am on that list, I dont know why.
I would share anything I had of theirs, although, if I could find a place to share it on..had I downloaded any of the stuff they had up on the site.

I have managed to make some passable roman and eygyptian looking clothing so far, but it is mostly just cotton and sack cloth patern versions of the current game clothing.

I have a roman mansion, with seperate quaters for guests and slaves that I have played with just the starting eygyptian slaves (to get the veg plot and food prep slaves up to speed befor the Romans move in)
Again, pretty much just recolors of items. Now, if I could just work out how I can make the mansion export to desk top ot package folder without using the sucky manager....
(I realy need to format my hdd to remove SukROM and the manager, and replace all my custom content that works.)

Do you mean, that if the upload is small enough, I can just upload it here?
Everything I have so far downloaded has been a link to ether Boxnet, Mediafire or Rapidshare (some of which links, have reached their download limits by the time I try them, hehe)

What is the Size Limit here, then?
Do I have to list any and all custom content used (since, my custom content produce is basically recolors of other works and EA items), or can I simply say that only the lot's design is my work?

(and so far, these days, I find myself only considering only MatY and Garden of Shadows for uploading. I prefer to make places that are slightly less decorated than i usually see up at Mts2 as it was. I would rather spend the cash on the building, than spend loats on alot of extra landscaping myself. theose can be added later, if the downloader wishes.)

Well, I do have a multi Com lot for Riverview. I made one on the old City Hall lot that had, from left to right..

The Bistro, the Grocery Store, the Theater, the non Riverview Spa and finaly, the Bookstore.
I also made a smaller lot, that contained (on a Riverview corner) The Grocery Store, the Bistro and lastly the Bookstore.
At least, this would reduce the need to have so many seperate lots.

My problem is, that I do not have anywhere to upload them, becasue i do not have accounts with the usual downloading sites, and prefer not to make an account with one that will only allow 10 people to download from them (be that per day or at all).

Does anyone have any sites they can point me at?
I am quite willing to make some Multi Hood lots this way, now that I am finding them fun to remake *grins*

Hm...I got the Beautiful Vista Moodlet on the beach lot that I changed from comunity to Residential in the non Riverview Hood. But the house was a basic tiny place and had no pretty interiors. I wondered why it had that moodlet. I mean, the beach *is* a pretty place to live, but if you are living in a tiny, messy run down looking lot, made from cheap items, how do you get the impression of a Beautifull Vista   

Also, I seem to Remember someone had a Lockable Door for Sims3? I know that would not Help Pescado with his ResiBlock...But it might be modafiable?
What about the freeRealEstate cheat, and those lockable doors with say, 2-3 sets of stairs to seperate the floors up?

Hm...I tried to make lots with the BunnyHoles burried, but I just could not satisfy myself that I liked the way they looked.

I have two Hoods, the Original one that came with the game (which I have emptied out of all sims but the one family I am playing, with story progression turned off) and a modified Riverview which I am trying to convert to a Roman style theme.

But the RabbitHoles are where I fell down. So, I tried deleting all the lots, bulldozing them down so I could use the smaller sized comunity lot plots for my poor Plebian Sims.

This crashed my Sims...*sigh*
After I reloaded, I bulldozed all the sims homes, and moved the comunity Rabbitholes to the edges of the map for the time being. This solved the lockup, atleast.

Personaly, I would LOVE a replacement Rabbithole that is just a doorway or an archway. This way, I could recolor it Marble or wood, and use them on a built by me lot.
At least this way, I could make my Roman or Medievil Hoods by selecting the right rabbithole door, and just make my own decorated workplaces.
(untill the next expansion comes along that adds those places as playable lots *cough* nightlife-OFB-UNI ect *cough*)

*Edit*
After seeing it on MtS site, I dont think it actualy looks squashed together or messy. To me, it looks like a normal, american Cityblock area (allbeit, on a much smaller scale.)
I might try something similar myself, as I tried making 2 and 3 unit lots, but became dishartend as they just dont fit with my Roman Lots.
Maybe use the old TownHall area of Riverview as a Street hehe.
(Though, they will look too modern for now, at least the most important places will be nearby then.)

well, the one i DLd wasnt for my version, gave me the region error. i have 1.0.631.00002
i went to the simprograms place again but all those links just give me the redirect, whether using firefox or IE.

why the fel do they have to make it so damn hard for us without net on our sims machines? >.>
would it kill them to let us just dl a patch later than the connected folks who want to be spammed with offers?

hm..same here for onbut it was not linking for the other goes, just came up with a redrect to one of those blasted url seek programs

again, it links to the same place that the awesome mod page did. it whines that the page is not found or the url is not available.

not the thread itself, but the link there.