The Sims 3 Team worked very hard to make your Sims 3 experience as enjoyable and defect-free as possible. Due to the size and complexity of a game like The Sims 3, and due to our flawed, mortal forms, it is possible that you are still experiencing some problems as you play Sims 3. We wish to provide our dedicated fans with a simple method to report any problems you may encounter. Our intention is to identify and fix as many issues as possible in game updates. If you run into something you believe to be a defect, you can help the entire community by spending a couple minutes to provide us some information about what you are experiencing. The better the description of the problem, the more likely we will be able to identify, and address, your issue in a game update.
1) A detailed description of the problem is required.
2) If the problem you encounter can be triggered commonly, or at will, some basic steps outlining the method of reproduction are greatly appreciated.
3) If the problem is a crash, game performance, or graphical in nature, attaching your DXDiag or System Profile to your email will help us diagnose the problem. See the end of the post for a description of how to generate your DXDiag (PC) or System Profile. (Mac)
4) If you are experiencing a visual problem, a screenshot or short, in-game movie can’t hurt.
As much as we love to hear compliments about all of our hard work, please try to keep the email sent to this address on topic. We will make sure to review the forums if our egos need love. Inquiries outside of gameplay (i.e. installation difficulties, copy protection, store purchases, and website) should be directed to customer support rather than this email address.
For the time being, we have set up an email address where you can send your reports.
mailto:TS3TechHelp@ea.com At some point in the future, this email address will be replaced by a web submission form. There will be warning on the official The Sims 3 forums before the email address is deactivated.
Unfortunately, due to the limited number of hours in the day, it is unlikely that you will receive a human response to your email report. Don’t fear. As long as the email address is not being heavily abused, we will review all bug reports and will be working diligently to fix the most prevalent and problematic issues.
While we hope you never need to use this address, please know that it is here if it is needed.
System Information Instructions:
Windows PC:
1) Click the “Start” menu.
2) Click “Run.”
3) Type “dxdiag” at the prompt.
4) Click the “Save All Information...” button.
5) Save the info off to a file and attach it to your composed email.
Mac OS:
1) Click on the Apple Menu.
2) Select “About this Mac.”
3) Select “More Info...”
4) Under View select “Mini Profile.”
5) Under File select “Save As...” and save the information out in RTF. (Rich Text Format) Attach this file to your email.
Soft Crashes:
If your game is crashing to desktop, the game will attempt to place crash dump files in your \My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\ directory. There will be two files, a .mdmp and .txt file that are time stamped at the point the game crashed. If these files have been created, then attaching these files to your description of what was going on in game will help us.
Hard Crashes:
The first thing you should do if you are experiencing ingame crashes or graphical issues is update your drivers. (video card drivers most importantly) Depending on your video card manufacturer, you can find drivers at:
NVidia:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
ATI:
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx
Intel:
http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/detect.htm
If you already have updated your drivers and are still experiencing blue screens or reboots while playing The Sims 3, you will find time-stamped crash dumps in \WINDOWS\Minidump\. Attaching these to your email along with your DXDiag will be helpful.