I looked into the issue and it seems that most recent patch 1.7 is the cause of this problem, and as of writing this there is no fix created yet. The only way to get rid of these “patch” problems is by re-installing your Sims 3 and simply not updating with that bad patch. Sometimes it’s a graphic card issue though, so don’t forget to update that before you do anything. EA will release yet another quick patch to fix it hopefully, but until then I advise avoiding the patch if you haven’t updated yet. This is the reason I never grab the latest patches. I always wait and see what problems there are (there always are) and then decide if it patching is worth it. Sometimes the fixes are nice, and sometimes they are worse compared to the version I am using. Good luck my Sim-friends!

Here are some of the other problems that you may find along with this issue:

• The food spoiling bug where food spoils even when in the fridge (had to buy a whole different refrigerator but it seems to be working ok now)

• The error code 16 when saving game (choose save as and renamed the game, so far working out ok)

• When in build mode I can’t see the objects until they are actually placed. So like if I’m trying to put a window on a wall I click the window, move my arrow over to the wall and instead of seeing the window on the wall I just see a blank hole where the window is going to go, once I click it the window shows up.

• Since updating with the patches (im now on 1.7) i cannot take anything out of the inventories and i have the same problem with build mode, i cannot see where i am placing an object!

Also to those of you seeking answers there are tons and tons of comments here that answer most of your questions. Thanks for stopping by and have fun simming.

A few days ago a new patch was released. You’re game should alert you to update, but since I haven’t played for a while I didn’t get the memo. Anyway there are a TON of new changes and fixes. I will definitely be updating because a lot of things got worked out. Remember any mods you have installed will also need to be updated, so if you are having a problem right away, you should check those first before blaming the patch update.

Here is the full list, it’s really long. Have fun everybody!

new changes

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Overview:

First I want to say collecting is basically just for fun, at least at first. Before I knew it I was wheelin’ and dealin’ thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and had a stash of ingots filling various rooms of my sims house. It may not seem like it at first, but honestly you could make a decent living off of gem collecting. I’ve set up a really thorough guide in my opinion, and it will lead you to the highest level collectibles. It will still take a lot of time, but at least you’ll know what you are doing.

There are three categories to collect:

1. Gems

2. Metals

3. Space Rocks

You can sell any of these as soon as you find them, but for each there is a way to increase their value before you do that. Each category has it’s own “rare” item that is quite expensive and hard to find.

These items can be displayed throughout your house, they have different worths, and some are “special”. Gems will pop up in the same place every time, but they will not be the same gem. There is a chance you could get a special gem, but most likely you will get a normal gem from the same exact spot. Whenever you find a spot, it will always produce the same category. So if you find a space rock, you can go back to that spot later, and it will always be a space rock, just different size, quality, etc. So it’s important to visit every spot as often as possible to keep new gems and rocks “forming” and you’ll have a better chance at getting a special one.

That’s great, but how do I FIND them?

Find gems by looking for rocks on the ground – these are not nearly as hard to find as seeds, which are quite small and can easily blend in, but rather rocks can easily be spotted even if you are zoomed out above tree level. Read on for more info on how to collect.

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Before you Go Collecting, The Basics:

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The Collector:

Basic requirement is the collector, a lifetime purchase that costs 40,000. You can definitely find rocks easily without the collector though, it just makes it a LOT easier, unlike special seeds where it’s a necessity. I recommend starting to collect after you have reached a high level job that gives you days off and have acquired the collector. For instance the highest of the military profession is the best job for gem hunting because you have a ton of days off to go looking for gems, or of course you could just go unemployed which would make things a lot easier, but possibly harder to get the collector. Finding gems and exotic rocks is timestaking like most endeavors in the sims, so definitely plan for a whole sims day to be taken up if you want to collect all gems on the entire map (they respawn after a few days). I have made a map for you, showing you where gems types are on the map, so don’t worry if you are short on simolean, I will give you a head start. I also have created a cutting guide as well, hope you enjoy.

Spawning:

All seeds/rocks/etc. Will respawn in the same places, meaning once you’ve found a special seed, go back there and hope a new seed has arrived, or easily check with the overhead view and the collector turned on. I am NOT sure if it changes from game to game, but I’m pretty positive it doesn’t and works like fish, seeds, etc. So I have created an overhead map with the areas listed. This will save you some time and possibly get you by without the collector for the most part. You’ll learn the “good spots” very quickly.

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1. Collecting GEMS:

• Yellow sapphire
• Blue Topaz
• Ruby
• Smoky Quartz
• Emerald
• Tanzanite
• Diamond
• Luminorious Gem
• Rainbow Gem
• Pink Diamond (special)

There are too many values to list and it would only confuse you, all you need to know is that Luminorious, Rainbows, and Pink Diamonds are the most expensive. See my cutting guide for further details.

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MAPS

List for Sunset Valley, the map was removed because of copyright.

1 Aqua
2 Aqua, Emerald, Yellow, Diamond
3 Smoky, Ruby, Yellow, Tanzanite
4 Aqua, Smoky, Diamond, Rainbow
5 Emerald, Ruby, Yellow, Tanzanite, Rainbow
6 Yellow, Tanzanite, Diamond, Special
7 Ruby, Tanzanite, Diamond, Pink

Ron’s RIVERVIEW MAPS

Here I created my own maps from screenshots for you to look at. All the maps use the graveyard as the north side, so keep that in mind. I let the game respawn for three sim days, but noticed there were still a few missing, they are marked with an orange dot, and you may find some that I missed

NOTE: Remember there are different types of gems for each spot. Just because I listed “diamond” somewhere doesn’t mean that’s all you will find there. Gems will always be in gems spots, metals in metal spots, and space rocks in space spots.

north of stadium (click images to enlarge)

north of water tower

south of water tower

south of stadium

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Increase Gem Value: Cutting

Send gems to be cut in the mailbox. The next day if you check mail at the mailbox* they should have arrived. After you have them to their highest state, you can display them on a pillow or a display stand by left clicking on it (once you drag it where you want it to be)

There are 8 different cuts for gems, more are unlocked as you send them.

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Ron’s GEM CUT AND SELL GUIDE

Here I’ve created a sell guide for you in an Excel Spreadsheet. I have no idea how to program, so sorry I can’t make an online version for you. Basically this shows you the exact price you will get for each cut to keep you from “losing” money cutting a gem, all you have to do is type in the value.

For example you have a ruby and you want to give it a marquis cut and then sell it for money. This is impossible, you will spend more money cutting it than you get for selling it. Basically this is a way to sell all your EXTRA lower to middle value gems.

The file shows how much it costs to cut a gem, what the final value will be, and what the final price will be compared to all the 7 other cuts.

here are links to the excel file on rapidshare and megaupload.

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2. Collecting METALS:

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Increase Metal Value: Smelting

Smelting is almost always profitable with up to a 75% value gain. Honestly I sell anything less than 30, which means all iron, silver, or other low valued metals. The cutoff for profit is 22.858, which only gets your money back against the initial value. Until you collect every type of the metals that is. At that point you gain incredibly because you will normally get TWO ingots back for a single metal, so you double your profit automatically! So get out there and fill your vaults up!

See my Riverview maps for locations

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3. Collecting SPACE ROCKS:

Increase Space Rock Value: Analyze

There are three types of space rocks, small, large, and gigantic. In order to increase their value all you have to do is “analyze” them – apparently it is a skill built into the DNA of all sims. Again just reminding you that just because you found a “small” space rock somewhere, doesn’t mean that’s all you will find the next time around.

Sunset Valley has 6 basic areas, I had to take the map down due to the fact it was from a guide.
1 Small Space Rock
2 Large Space Rock
3 Small Space Rock, Large Space Rock
4 Small Space Rock, Large Space Rock, Gigantic Space Rock

See my Riverview Maps in the gem section for space rock locations.

Gigantic Space Rocks are probably one of the coolest things you can find in the game. They are extremely huge and if you ever find one, you are extremely lucky.

Telescope:

Extremely rarely you will see a meteor drop, and even more rarely is a chance it will be gigantic. You will get a message saying your sim has seen a meteorite crash, and after about a half hour the space rock will show up on the overhead map (you don’t need collector to find these) I’m still compiling the exact data for the % chance you find stars and such with the telescope, but I’d just stick to collecting if you’re trying to snag a meteor. Either way you go, gigantics are extremely rare, I have only found one, and I think you can take a guess as to how much I’ve searched for them.

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Tips:

Mail

*Mailman delivers the mail at 8am. If you make there before them, you can “instantly” send something to gem cutter, and get it back right when the mailman leaves! Also works for ordering omni seeds once the omni plant gardening challenge is accomplished. It’s kind of funny to watch the mailmain wait for you. Once I had an entire queue full of things to send and he had to sit and watch me put every single one of them in the mailbox before he could deliver my mail, haha.

Dumpster Diving:
One sims trash is another sims treasure, sometimes literally. Yup, occasionaly a sim will throw away a perfectly good quality gem. You can find them by going around and digging through people’s trashcans. Unfortunately you can’t look through the industrial size dumpsters. If the “rummage” option is NOT available, that means that can has no trash. It can be tricky finding the trash cans from time to time because they are in different spots for each home, but they are there if you look hard enough. Although the chances of getting a gem are relatively high, the chances of getting some trash are about 100%.

Beware the Gnomes:
There is a pretty good chance of getting a gnome instead of a gem. From time to time when you send a gem/rock/metal to be cut, you will recieve the following message: “Your (gem/metal) was actually a magic gnome!” and you’ll have it in your inventory. These little guys are worth 1 grand each, so pretty profitable. But, you can also interact with them by kicking them and they will change their pose, but think twice, because they will likely cause all kinds of mischief in the night!

Helpful Mod:

There is an amazing mod that increases the amount of items in your queue. It’s great for everything, but especially for collecting! You can click up to 25 different gems/rocks/whatever instead of the usual 8!! So you can find a ton of gems all at once, and leave your sim to go around collecting them all without having to wait. Sweet as honey dipped butter. Here is the link directly from the source – I have been using a 25 box queue without any issues!

“Get your money for nothing and your chicks for free”

I’ll just tell you straight out, the easiest way to make money in the sims is by buying the businesses. There are a hundred different ways to earn enough money and I’ll let you choose which one you want, but I will also give you big shove toward some of my favorites.

1. Write Bestsellers, this takes a while but you get big simoleans
2. Get Famous, perform and sign autographs
3. Act Criminal – it’s dirty, but you’ll have respect AND the simoleans
4. pull in thousands a day just for a few hours deathfishing!
5. Literally Grow multiple high priced items with omni plants

consider yourself shoved. check out my other guides for more detailed ways to earn!

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Business Buyouts:

Here are the list of businesses and how much Cash you need to Buy them out. The earlier you can buy a business in the game, the better, although I prefer having enough to fully buy them out instead of partial ownership.

business/partner cost/full owner cost/§ generated/weeks to earn back investment(s)

Diner: §6,000/§18,000 = 2,000 weekly = 8 weeks
Bookstore: §7,000/§20,000 = 2,000 weekly = 14 weeks
Grocery: §7,000/§20,000 = 2,000 weekly = 14 weeks
Bistro: §12,500/§25,000 = 4,000 weekly = 10 weeks
Day Spa: §15,000/§35,000 = 6,000 weekly = 9 weeks
Warehouse: §15,000/§35,000 = 6,000 weekly = 9 weeks
Business: §18,000/§40,000 = 6,000 weekly = 10 weeks
Theatre: §18,000/§40,000 = 6,000 weekly = 10 weeks
Hospital: §30,000/§75,000 = 12,000 weekly = 9 weeks
Stadium: §35,000/§80,000 = 13,000 weekly = 10 weeks
Science: §40,000/§100,000 = 15,000 weekly = 10 weeks

*weekly pay sometimes randomly varies by §1,000

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Tips:

So that’s pretty much it. Every Monday during business hours a new payment will be awaiting you at the destination you own. Simply go there and click “pick up money” and your sim will spend about 15 minutes getting your paycheck from you receptionist. How easy was that!

The drawbacks are it takes a while to earn enough, but if you buyout businesses early on, in 9-14 weeks you will begin to see FULL profit and each week you’ll keep getting rich. Don’t sit around with 100,000 or more simoleans, go ahead and buyout a business or two so you can earn your investment back for pure profit. This is NOT advised for those who choose short sim lifespans and only play a single generation. Think of it as a trust fund or retirement option for your sims children. Take over the town, rename all the businesses to your liking, and enjoy the easy life!

Installation Directions

Step one: download the file here as free user.

Step two: extract files to desktop. use winrar it is also free.

Step three: Click “TS3InstallHelper” and follow the setup instructions, restart your computer.

Step four: Simply right-click the “mood_manager_perfect.package” file and save it to the hacks folder.

Play the game and report results or thanks back to me!

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Note: i have created and tested many mods already with no ill effects. This is a very simple hack that changes none of the core files. If you have any other mods installed they may, in some very highly unlikely case, affect the game.

Uninstall Directions:

delete mods inside mod folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods)

greets and thanks to modthesims ladies and gents for the helper monkey

• For all careers MOOD is always factored into performance!
• Items in bold have changed from previous week (pay increases by default so it is not bolded as to highlight major changes only)
• days in orange are game days, you will be reminded the morning of the game.
• *where asterisk are listed, please see bottom of page.

Work Options

• Prepare for Game
• Meet Teammates
• Hang with Teammates
• Slack Off in Locker Room
• Work Out in Gym

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Level 1 – Rabid Fan

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MTWT-S-

Level 2 – Snack Hawker

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MTWT-S-

Level 3 – Toddler Sports Coach

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MTWT-S-
• Athletic

Level 4 – Minor Leaguer

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MTW-FSS
• Athletic + Teammates

Level 5 – Rookie

• 83/HR
• Hours 3-8:00 pm
• MTW-FSS
• Athletic + Teammates + Game Record*
  

Level 6 – Starter

• 140/HR
• Hours 3-8:00 pm
• MTW-FSS

• Athletic + Teammates + Game Record

Level 7 – Team Captain

• 207/HR
• Hours 3-7:00 pm
• MTW-FSS
• Athletic + Teammates + Game Record

Level 8 - MVP

• 247/HR (2,484)
• Hours 3-7:00 pm
• MTW-FSS
• Athletic + Teammates + Game Record

Level 9 – Superstar

• 391/HR (2,964)
• Hours 3-6:00 pm
• MTW-FSS
• Athletic + Teammates + Game Record

Level 10 – Sports Legend

• ◊ sign autographs **
• ◊ do advertising deal***
• 468/HR (4,692)
• Hours 3-6:00 pm
• MTW-FSS
• Athletic + Teammates + Game Record

RAISES

• 35/HR

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*Prepare for Game – you must have this option ticked at work to fill your prepare for game bar. When it is full (usually after one day) you will pretty much always win the game as long as your teammate level is high as. Do not forget to tick this option. I once forgot and barely won the game by a single point, where normally I’d win by 10+ points.

**Autograph sessions can be held at any time. They last exactly one hour. The goal is to bring business into a store, so sign as many autographs as you can so that people will not stand in line anymore waiting for you. Try to choose open areas so that sims don’t get caught in each others paths or have to work their way around objects. You make a little money for each autograph signed, and you get a lot of money for each sim that visits the venue you have chosen to sign autographs at. It’s a very lucrative action, but you have to wait a matter of days between signings so take advantage of them when you choose to attempt it.

***Advertising Deals aren’t as good as Autograph Sessions, at least in my experience. I tried to do a deal and just got “okay”. I’m not sure what that means, but whatever the case, the option is there for you.

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• For all careers MOOD is always factored into performance!
• Items in bold have changed from previous week (pay increases by default so it is not bolded as to highlight major changes only)

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1. There is a chance you will get to take home a leftover item on any given workday
2. There is a chance your sim will be singed, giving a negative moodlet
3. If an opportunity arises to help co-worker results may give positive or negative moodlets

Work Options

• Work Hard
• Relax in Specimen Closet
• Meet Fellow Scientists
• Geek Out With Fellow Scientists
• Assist Boss with Research
• Do Independent Experiment

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Level 1 – Test Subject

• Hours 9-2:30 pm
• MTWTF–
• Gardening

Level 2 – Lab Technician

• Hours 7-2:30 pm
• MTWTF–
• Gardening

Level 3 – Useless Contraption Inventor

• Hours 9-2:30 pm
• MTWTF–
• Gardening + Handiness

Level 4 – Fertilizer Analyst

• 97/HR
• Hours 9-2:00 pm
• MT-TF–
• Gardening + Handiness

Level 5 – Carnivorous Plant Tender

• 117/HR
• Hours 9-2:00 pm
• MT-TF–

• Gardening + Handiness

Level 6 – Automatic Ecosystem Tweaker

• 140/HR
• Hours 9-2:00 pm
• MT-TF–

• Gardening + Handiness + Fishing

Level 7 – Genetic Resequencer

• 187/HR
• Hours 9-1:30 pm
• MT-TF–
• Gardening + Handiness + Fishing

Level 8 - Top Secret Researcher

• 224/HR (2,244)
• Hours 9-1:30 pm
• MT-TF–
• Gardening + Handiness + Fishing

Level 9 – Creature-Robot Cross Breeder

• 269/HR (2,688)
• Hours 9-1:30 pm
• MT–F–
• Gardening + Handiness + Fishing

Level 10 – Mad Scientist

• ◊ can perform experiments (see below)
• ◊ sim wears lab coat and goggles
  
• 404/HR (3,228)
• Hours 9-1:30 pm
• MT–F–
• Gardening + Handiness + Fishing

RAISES

• 40/HR

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◊ You may perform experiments on a variety of objects. You will either get a positive or negative result as listed below:

Positive:

• Object gives better environment rating
• Object gets random upgrade benefit
• Object plays music to sims in the same room
• Object gives positive moodlets to sims in the same room:
  Attractive, Beautiful Vista, Cheered Up, Comforted, Feeling Lucky, New Car Smell, New Stuff, Oddly Powerful, Tranquil, Warmed

Negative:

• Object disappears permanently!
• Object ignites and burns
• Object breaks
• Object electrocutes Sims who attempt to use it
• Object gives negative moodlets to sims in same room:
  Buzz Crash, Disgusted, Horrified, Offended, Stir Crazy, Tastes Like Fridge, Upset

• For all careers MOOD is always factored into performance!
• Items in bold have changed from previous week (pay increases by default so it is not bolded as to highlight major changes only)

Level 1 – Latrine Cleaner

• Hours 7-2:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic

Level 2 – Mess Hall Server

• Hours 7-2:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic + Handiness

Level 3 – Grunt

• Hours 7-2:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic + Handiness

Level 4 – Squad Leader

• Hours 7-2:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

Level 5 – Flight Officer

• 122/HR
• Hours 7-2:00 pm
• M-W-F–

• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

Level 6 – Wingman

• 159/HR
• Hours 7-1:00 pm
• M-W-F–

• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

Level 7 – Fighter Pilot

• 181/HR
• Hours 7-1:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

Level 8 - Squadron Leader

• 206/HR
• Hours 7-1:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

Level 9 – Top Gun

• 279/HR (2,472)
• Hours 7-12:00 pm
• M-W-F–
• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

Level 10 – Astronaut

• ◊ Astronaut Suit
  
• 348/HR (3,348)
• 7am – 1 am
• M——
  
• Athletic + Handiness + Boss

RAISES

• 33/HR

Note: At one day per week you’ll be much further behind in terms of hourly pay. The trick I used was to have a sim with the  workaholic trait raise their bar up most of the way by working at home. Then when you do get to work you can hopefully get a raise while at work, and possibly get two raises in a single day!

Also your single shift is 18-hours long, so rest up!

• For all careers MOOD is always factored into performance!
• Items in bold have changed from previous week (pay increases by default so is not bolded as to highlight the major changes only)

Level 1 – Kitchen Scallion

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MT–FSS
• Cooking

Level 2 – Spice Runner

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MT–FSS
• Cooking + Boss

Level 3 – Veggie Slicer

• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MT–FSS
• Cooking + Boss

Level 4 – Ingredient Tester

• 50/HR
• Hours 3-9:00 pm
• MT–FSS
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

Level 5 – Line Cook

• 87/HR
• 3-8:30 pm
• MT–FSS
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

Level 6 – Pastry Chef

• ◊ Eviscerator
• 111/HR
• 3-8:30 pm
• MT–FSS
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

Level 7 – Sous Chef

• 127/HR
• 3-8:30 pm
• -T–FSS
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

Level 8 – Executive Chef

• 153/HR
• 3-8:00 pm
• -T–FSS
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

Level 9 – Chef de Cuisine

• 226/HR
• 3-8:00 pm
• —-FSS
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

Level 10 – Five Star Chef

• ◊ Minus One Kelvin Refrigerator
• 375/HR
• 3-7:00 pm
• —-FSS
  
• Cooking + Boss + Coworker

RAISES

• 35/HR