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Forum Resident
Original Poster
#1 Old 9th Feb 2019 at 8:58 AM
Default Really badly need help with CAW to recover the data in my saved game
Before I explain what I am requesting help for, I wanted to point out that I wanted to direct the attention to this forum thread, as I was told that a lot of users that knew how to use CAW frequented this forum. And I really needed them to help me with this. http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=623529

Yesterday I discovered that my saved game was no longer loadable, as it always gives me the load game error. I've tried everything that I can think of that I understand. But nothing has helped. I need to be able to recover my data at all costs. But the only sure fine way to do that would be with CAW. But I don't know how to use CAW, so I wouldn't know how to fix it. I know that using S3PE would also help. Even if it can't be used so that my saved game makes a full recovery. But I'm not good enough with S3PE to be able to understand exactly how to identify the data that I want to be able to extract. So I can't do this on my own.
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dodgy builder
#2 Old 9th Feb 2019 at 9:29 AM Last edited by Volvenom : 9th Feb 2019 at 10:19 AM.
CAW has it's own forum here: http://modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=616

People who use caw subscribe to it. I'll see if I get the time to read your post later.

Ok, I've read it only I don't know what you want to do with CAW. I'm a bit apprehensive about installing a corrupt file. It might just be silly, but still. I have a world I would like to finish. For the future, if something is that important, you need to keep updated backups.

I don't believe I know where a nhd even is.

CAW isn't that difficult really. You can just find the right file first, download CAW and see what happens first. Perhaps it works, perhaps it doesn't.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#3 Old 9th Feb 2019 at 10:25 AM Last edited by C.Syde65 : 9th Feb 2019 at 11:28 AM.
All I need is to extract the data from it, such as all the Sims that I care about, their skills, and their traits. And possibly cloning the world they were in, preferably with the houses as well. I will make sure that I keep updated backups in the future. I just didn't tend to keep backups because I wanted to save disk space. I do happen to know where a NHD is though, since I do know about that stuff.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#5 Old 9th Feb 2019 at 11:31 PM
Correct. But I've barely used CAW, so I don't understand how to work it.
Top Secret Researcher
#6 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 1:09 AM
I can try to import your nhd file into a new world file if you want. I'm not sure if it will work with your savegame though. So while buildings might be the same other gameplay information may be lost. But I can try. Just upload it here or send me a link.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#7 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 2:30 AM
Okay, but how do I upload nhd files? Since I can't seem to be able to upload them.
Top Secret Researcher
#8 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 3:33 AM
You upload them same as any other file. Either you can upload them to a 3rd party hoster like simfileshare, mediafire, dropbox, whatever your preference is. And then give the link. Or you can zip it and attach it directly to your post here (use the advanced post option).
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#9 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 4:15 AM
Alright here is the first of the zipped files with contents of the worlds containing data related to my saved game that I cannot afford to lose. Unfortunately I can't upload the zipped contents of my saved Moonlight Falls game, since it narrowly exceeds 50 mb, 51.1 mb to be exact.

What I really want to preserve is the customisations to the world Moonlight Falls, including the town decorations that I've added, and all the houses and community lots. I also want to be able to preserve the residents living in the households, all the Sims buried in the backyard of my current Sims family. And all the Sims buried in the Moonlight Falls Cemetery. I also want to keep the following residents from Bridgeport - Morrigan Hemlock, and Reuben, Renee, Bronson, and Deidre Littler.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#10 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 4:16 AM
Oh crap. Doesn't look like the zipped file was uploaded. How do I upload zipped files to posts that I've already submitted?
Mad Poster
#12 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 7:31 AM
Glanced at that tute and I would be stuck on step one. LOL (!) How do we find out what the size and height is for a world? If I wanted to know what the size and height of say, Twinbrook, where would I find that? Buried somewhere in S3PE I am sure (?) but I would have no idea where. I needed/wanted this information back when for some reason, that I have now totally forgotten. But am still curious.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#13 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 7:35 AM
Yeah. They are the only remaining pre-made residents from Bridgeport that were associated with my saved game that are still alive. There was Cressida Wells, Violet Atkins, and possibly Katrina Pala. But somehow when my saved family went back to Moonlight Falls, those three Sims disappeared from the relationships panel. And I wasn't able to summon them to Moonlight Falls, so they are probably stuck in Bridgeport and won't appear again until Bridgeport is visited again. All the other Sims that are native to Bridgeport that became associated with Moonlight Falls are now buried either in the Moonlight Falls cemetery or the Bridgeport cemetery.
Mad Poster
#14 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 7:38 AM
Your backup is busted too, I assume? And you do not have a prior save as, or something?
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#16 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 8:31 AM
Well here are the files. I know you probably won't need the Bridgeport one, but I thought I'd upload it anyway.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/nbtdi...b61110.zip/file
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2hf4k...ffe3d7.zip/file

No, I did not keep a backup. As I am used to all successful saves being good ones. Otherwise I'd expect them to trigger Error 12. But I won't make that mistake again.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#18 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 10:02 AM
I always use the save command. I used to do save and quit. But I stopped doing that because I heard that it's safer to just save normally. I also heard that it's better to go back to the main menu after each save, because otherwise it will result in saving what you saved previously and then save what hasn't been saved, resulting in more clutter.
Top Secret Researcher
#19 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 12:29 PM
So, I tried to import your files into CAW - sadly, CAW won't open those files. I left it open each try for about 30 minutes but there wasn't any response.

I tried to import from package, from file, and into a CAW version of Moonlight Falls. Nothing helped. I tried with another .nhd-file from one of my saves and that worked, so the process itself seem to be working.

If you use "save" the game should generate a backup folder as described by nitromon. Did you delete those?
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#21 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 9:38 PM Last edited by C.Syde65 : 10th Feb 2019 at 11:16 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by Norn
So, I tried to import your files into CAW - sadly, CAW won't open those files. I left it open each try for about 30 minutes but there wasn't any response.

I tried to import from package, from file, and into a CAW version of Moonlight Falls. Nothing helped. I tried with another .nhd-file from one of my saves and that worked, so the process itself seem to be working.

If you use "save" the game should generate a backup folder as described by nitromon. Did you delete those?


Yes I did, sadly. I'm still not giving up. I just need to wait and see whether anyone has sufficient knowledge with S3PE that can help me.

I was thinking maybe if I started a new game, associated it with Moonlight Falls, then replace Moonlight Falls with my saved version. And then use NRaas' mod to see whether I can summon the Sims from the homeworld of my saved game over to the new game.

I was suggesting maybe seeing if I could at least have my saved household and the Sims that are living in it. With that, I could probably live without the rest. And if possible I was hoping to have just one Sim from one of the other households. Edward Dregg - he is from Isla Paradiso, but I copied him to the household bin and placed him in Moonlight Falls.

I only just realised how large the Moonlight Falls save file is. That's approximately triple the size of what it should be. It was only between 60,000 and 70,000 kb before. I wonder what happened. But it sounds like if someone does manage to fix it, it will need a lot of pruning to get it back down to how it was previously.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#22 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 11:26 PM
Quote: Originally posted by C.Syde65
I was thinking maybe if I started a new game, associated it with Moonlight Falls, then replace Moonlight Falls with my saved version. And then use NRaas' mod to see whether I can summon the Sims from the homeworld of my saved game over to the new game.


Nope. That failed. It took ages to load and when it finally loaded, it showed only the pre-made Sims from Moonlight Falls. And when I tried sending a Sim over to Moonlight Falls, it triggered the serious error message. No surprises there.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#24 Old 10th Feb 2019 at 11:46 PM
Well what I just tried failed.

Not sure about the first suggestion. Especially given that I don't know exactly who will be prepared to help me recover the data if possible. I certainly can't do it myself, as I'm not experienced enough with S3PE to be able to extract the data correctly and allow it to be used in a clean previously unplayed game.

Not sure about the second suggestion. But it might be a few hours at least before I can be bothered trying it. Since it sounds rather complicated, and I'm rather upset right now, knowing that there's a possibility that no one will be able to successfully recover the data that I need.
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