Unknown
Fix by DairyMilk worked
I cant believe it but as the user DairyMilk said, installing 3D Mark (demo version) has fixed the issue. I tried everything else listed on here, but this did it. Thanks a million.
Starts good
Played with Proton 9.0-4.
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%
Renamed TS3W.exe to Sims3LauncherW.exe in /Game/Bin/
on fullscreen mode colors are dark, windowed mode works perfectly
At first after installing this game on a new device I only had "please reinstall the game" message whatever I did. Installing the Steamworks Common Redistributables tool on steam helped. Launcher doesn't work so I needed to change the file names and it works. Colors are off in the fullscreen mode so I play windowed
Only reason I can think that it would be "unsupported" is the 3rd party loader. Everything runs as pefectly as it can!
Considering this game came out in 2009 and was not designed to run on a handheld PC, it runs basically flawlessly, and the community controls are fantastic. I didn't think I'd be able to cope with having to use the trackpads but, honestly most of the functionality is mapped to buttons and you only really need to use the mouse to tell your Sim where to go and what to do. It runs basically flawlessly. I'm really impressed!
The game does not recognize graphics cards newer than GeForce 600 series, requires tools/tinkering (https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=26753.0)
Crashes on launch with Alder lake and newer CPUs. This is an issue with the game in general which requires a patch for Alder Lake and newer CPUs. EA released one for their version/patch 1.69, but if you're using the Steam version/patch 1.67, you can get it here: https://modthesims.info/d/667734/intel-alder-lake-patch.html
If you're on Alder Lake or above, run the Alder Lake patch via wine as it's an .exe. Make sure you point it to the right Sims 3 executable per instructions (TS3W.exe). The Optimization Guide by Anime_Boom on Steam is a good resource as well. I have no reason to think the game won't run from here on out, but I'll update if so.
An unoptimized mess that is still close to my heart. Most issues are caused by the game itself rather than Linux or Proton.
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%
When entering CAS, the Sim would turn invisible after 5-10 seconds paired with other graphical glitches and stuttering, making it impossible to continue with editing the sim. Setting the launch flag above is crucial to avoid this issue.
You might encounter a memory error while trying to save a world that has bloated up over time playing it, making it impossible to save your current household at all. NraasSaver is a good mod for reminding you to save often and create backups to atleast somewhat circumvent the issue if you wanna continue with the same save file. The problem seems to stem from the 32-bit architecture of the game itself, as it can't access more than 3.5GB of RAM and if it needs any more than that during the saving process, it aborts and throws a memory error. So technically this might happen under Windows as well, but I can't say for certain.
Sometimes crashes do happen with big households and cities with lots of sims and objects. They tend to be random, but happen very rarely.
The game runs as well as it can on Linux as it would on Windows. I didn't have any issues with the launcher as it would pop up and funciton like normal upon starting the game. After quitting the game, the launcher hides in my system tray (KDE Plasma 6), but is restorable per rightclick and can be closed without any issues.
The game itself worked perfectly fine and ran as well as I remember it on Windows. Using the launch flag was crucial as sims would just turn invisible after some time without it. With it, I didn't experience any other graphical issues or anything of the like. Mods work without any issues as well.
The game is a lovable but unoptimized mess, so if you experience performance problems like occasional lags or stuttering even with very good hardware, don't blame your OS or Steam, that's just how the game's meant to be.
There are some performance issues and bugs but after googling them it just seems like a TS3 issue and not a linux issue.
the default install script doesn't work well, so I had to manually change the registry to add the game location and keys (.../steamapps/compatdata/47890/pfx/system.reg) but then it worked great.
performance issues on fullscreen
please fix the registry install script!!!
(Other account) First: "Please reinstall the base game". After replacing Sims3Launcher.exe with TS3W.exe: "Service initialization failed"
Couldn't get it to work even after applying workarounds.
Saving Error Code said that I'm out of RAM, which is kina redicioulous since I have a good 64GB. Sofarr no solution, so no way to fix yet
Occasionally starting into black screen. Solved by reloading.
Otherwise, no issues.
When quiting the game the Sims 3 Launcher will still be open. This is a problem on both desktop and the Deck. You just need to close the game from the Steam Menu
I have nothing to complain about when it comes to The Sims 3 on the Deck. It some how runs smoother on the Deck than on my gaming tower, create a sim loads things way quicker, less loading in general it seems.
One change if you're playing handheld without a keyboard is cheats. You'll need to set 3 different buttons to CNTRL+Shift+C to load up the cheat menu.
Script available -> https://lutris.net/games/install/37417/view
The content of the in game store is not downloadable or installable but it is not linked to Linux
Running the game on an older version of Proton; otherwise, the game won't start. The launcher was a hit or miss — sometimes it'd break, sometimes it wouldn't. Renaming Sims3LauncherW.exe to Sims3LauncherW.exe.bak and then TS3W.exe to Sims3LauncherW.exe bypasses that issue.
Once you make sure the game is running normally, I highly suggest following this guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1131162350
It tackles most bugs and performance issues with the game.
Happy gaming!
The launcher will launch but only for a few seconds. Bypassing the launher gives the "reinstall base game" message.
Changed TS3.exe to Sims3Launcher.exe and TS3W.exe to Sims3LauncherW.exe
I've already tried the ever popular fix posted by Akayoo as well as a few others and nothing worked.
DXVK_CONFIG_FILE=<path-to-dxvk-conf-file>/dxvk.conf %command%
The game vsync or frame limiter does not work (or does not exist in the first place) so the game will run at most frames your GPU can render and get your GPU to overheat and hyperventilate.
To enable vsync, I created a custom dxvk.conf file in the and launched the game with custom parameter to point to that file: DXVK_CONFIG_FILE=<path-to-dxvk-conf-file>/dxvk.conf %command%.
Contents of dxvk.conf that will enable vsync:
dxgi.syncInterval = 1
d3d9.presentInterval = 1
You can also try using a frame limiter option using dxvk.conf. Learn more at: https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/blob/master/dxvk.conf
Nudity rectangle that shows up when a sim character is taking a shower etc. renders black by default. Have not tried that yet but probably can be alleviated by tweaking graphics fidelity options.
The game can drop frames every now and then when loading different locations. It does not really affect gameplay and you can get to it.
Overall it was very playable on my hardware and the only necessary tinkering steps were enabling vsync or frame limiter by external means.
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw.dll=n,b;TS3Patch.asi=n" unshare -n -r %command%
Worked properly only when renaming TS3W.exe to Sims3LauncherW.exe and renaming Sims3LauncherW.exe to anything else - otherwise the launcher wouldn't show up at all and the game would show up as stopped in Steam. Requires the above command-line arguments to use Smooth Patch (protontricks/winecfg is inaccessible in Borealis)
Mods:
The Mods folder (when created and configured properly) is located at
/home/chronos/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/47890/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Mods - to get here and add a mods folder and mods, press Ctrl+Alt+T to access Crosh, share your Downloads folder by typing, vmc share borealis Downloads, then type vsh borealis to access the Terminal, then cd to the above The Sims 3 directory. Then, use the cp or mv commands to copy and move mods/folders.
Smooth Patch:
Use the above command-line argument, and copy/move the ddraw.dll and TS3Patch.asi to the same directory your TS3.exe and TS3W.exe files are located in. (steamapps/common/The Sims 3/Game/Bin)
adjusted community layout for the greater range of inputs supported on the deck
I cannot for the life of me understand why this is marked as "unsupported". Everything works fine from what I can tell, I changed absolutely nothing, was able to launch the game, go through the launcher, and play normally. Even mods work. The resolution was set wrong, but that's an easy fix.
I still recommend to skip the launcher though:
-browse local files with steam
-enter the Game folder, then the Bin folder
-Find the file: Sims3LauncherW.exe and rename it to something else
-Rename Ts3W.exe to Sims3LauncherW.exe
This way Steam will think that it's launching the launcher when you hit play. When in actual fact, you're launching the game.
I SOLVED IT! Without doing anything in this thread, I tried everything and nothing worked, I even reinstalled Arch linux with gnome, kde and hyprland. I tried formatting my partion to ext4 even though I prefer btrfs. I tried winetricks, lutris, changing my vulkan drivers, having multiple drivers installed. I installed loads of other games that may require dependencies. I tried open source and closed drivers. I tried NVidia cards and AMD cards.
In the end, I figured out how to run it through steam, without any mods, on kde, gnome and hyprland(arch). All you do is install something on steam that requires the package 'steamworks'. For me, 3D Mark automatically installed steam works. Then run sims and boom, works perfectly.
Btfs, arch, hyprland, vulkan-radeon drivers, mesa, just how I like my system running and it works perfectly.
none
I SOLVED IT! Without doing anything in this thread, I tried everything and nothing worked, I even reinstalled Arch linux with gnome, kde and hyprland. I tried formatting my partion to ext4 even though I prefer btrfs. I tried winetricks, lutris, changing my vulkan drivers, having multiple drivers installed. I installed loads of other games that may require dependencies. I tried open source and closed drivers. I tried NVidia cards and AMD cards.
In the end, I figured out how to run it through steam, without any mods, on kde, gnome and hyprland(arch). All you do is install something on steam that requires the package 'steamworks'. For me, 3D Mark automatically installed steam works. Then run sims and boom, works perfectly.
Btfs, arch, hyprland, vulkan-radeon drivers, mesa, just how I like my system running and it works perfectly.
To run it in lutris with the ea app / origin version, I had to do some tweaks: First, to run it on newer Intel processors, I had to use https://github.com/LazyDuchess/AlderLakePatcher (not a Linux problem, also doesn't run on Windows without this patch) To make the Launcher fully working, I had to install dotnet 3.5: Select the game -> Winetricks -> Select the default wineprefix -> Install a Windows DLL or component -> dotnet35 Then the launcher working even wih downloads, installed content etc.
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%
Seeing as I can't even get the game to run properly in a Windows VM (and believe me I tried), but it works with Proton perfectly with 0 issues, I think Linux gaming is really on to something.
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%
Renamed TS3W.exe to Sims3Launcher.exe in /Game/Bin/
very minor stuttering or lag when rotating camera in object dense areas. There is also some very minor texture discoloration or rendering issues such as eyebrow shaders that make it blend to the face. (they look more rigid.)
First time I tried I didn't change the file names. I was able to see the launcher and hit play, it would launch and then freeze after the animated EA logo.
After that I renamed the files incorrectly, if you do that you willl get an error that says, .." please re-install the base game."
The only file you need to rename is TS3W.exe.
So rename Sims3Launcher.exe to Sims3Launcher.exe.bak or something to save it. Then rename TS3W.exe to Sims3Launcher.exe.
finally add the Launch Options: PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%
Tested in Proton 8, 7 and expiramental.
Sims 3 (and DLCs) has trouble with Intel 12th gen. Must apply Intel Alder Lake patch to make it work.
Install Intel Alder Lake Patch: https://modthesims.info/d/667734/intel-alder-lake-patch.html, then relaunch the game, everything will works as intended.
Works out of the box
It works just as it would on Windows, no bugs, no slowdowns, no FPS drops.
If you're running it though the EA App on Bottles and want to download purchased store content, install dotnet20 AND dotnet40, then queue the download through the ingame downloads dashboard. Not sure how or if this works on Proton.
launcher sucks but game runs perfectly
The base game with all expansions and stuff packs runs wonderful as long as you add a few tweaks.
Install vcrun2013, add DLL overrides to ddraw.dll and TS3Patch.asi
The game itself is playable by just installing and not modifying anything but you will experience some slowdown. To make the game run better, it's recommended you install Lazy Duchess's Smooth Patch 1.2.1 and 2.0. You should also follow the Performance and Bug Fix Guide on the steam community page, but be wary of NRAAS mods, as they can occasionally do more harm than good.
Spent hours trying to get the game to launch with no success
Tried renaming TS3W.exe and TS3.exe as Sims3Launcher.exe
Tried all versions of proton
Occasionally the screen would go black and I think "oooo it might work" nope says "Reinstall base game"
Tried verifying game files, uninstall and reinstall, deselect DLC to just the base game.
tried wintricks for dotnet, vcred's, etc.....
Nada, nothing works I have absolutely no luck getting this to work and I wasted a good 6 hours of my day.
Since I own the CD copies, I have to use the god awful Origin launcher, it installs and runs under wine perfectly fine, albeit both Origin and TS3 launcher both have very buggy UIs. Once you are into the game though, it's buttery smooth.
The launcher is unable to install CC in .sims3pack format as it crashes at the 'Downloads' tab if such a file is present in the downloads folder, also the 'Welcome' tab is broken.
The game is also unable to download/install content from Shop Mode, getting stuck at the 'Downloading' or 'Queued for Download' state.
Base game (including DLCs and SPs) works fine, Shop Mode and CC are not fully functional yet.
Crashes seem to be RAm related. It won't crash if you save the game every 30 minutes or so.
After days of troubleshooting, I finally got it to run using Wine and Lutris and Lutris' version of Origin (not using the steam launcher except to harvest the product code). How I managed this: (1)Download WINE (I used 64 bit), (2)Download Lutris, (3)Download both Lutris' Origin and Sims 3 files on the Lutris website. Then, rename Sims3Launcher.exe to "Sims3Launcher.exe.old" and rename TS3.exe to "Sims3Launcher." Open the game on Lutris, and it should launch Origin. Enter the product code, then download Sims 3 on Origin. Then, you should have a great time!
Both origin and the sims 3 launcher UI are buggy
Running Origin version, works really fine. To download Origin from Linux you need to set your browser user agent to Windows or use the direct link. Just install Origin and the game trough Proton.
I've used a script i've wrote to install the game on another drive: https://github.com/h0m3/protonlaunch
Community input layout recommended, but otherwise works out of the box on the Steam Deck!
Reduced mouse sensitivity, and changed DPad to be Scroll Wheel
The UI feels quite small for the Deck display but its sill useable
Sim voices crackled in Create-A-Sim sometimes
Lighting seems broken in mirrors
Community input layout recommended, but otherwise works out of the box on the Steam Deck!
Reduced mouse sensitivity, and changed DPad to be Scroll Wheel
The UI feels quite small for the Deck display but its sill useable
Lighting seems broken in mirrors
Small stuttering but not anything that hinders gameplay
Origin and the Launcher UI is buggy, you have to go slow
I'm running the Origin version of the game, you need to install vcredist (https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vc_redist.x86.exe and https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vc_redist.x64.exe) to able to run Origin, otherwise it just works.
I've installed The Sims 3 on a different disk than the default SteamLibrary but Steam doesn't allow you to access data outside your Proton C drive, if you try it will have some weird storage behavious, the correct way to fix that is to set STEAM_COMPAT_MOUNTS (https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-runtime/issues/470) but since %command% is not available on Non-Steam games (https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/6046) I made a script that allows you to run Steam's installation of Proton directly over the CLI similar to Wine so I can install Origin and the game on a custom prefix in anther drive: https://github.com/h0m3/protonlaunch
