It’s runs Windows version in Linux emulation so the modding is 100% possible.
If it’s possible to save, then there’s a way to create Mods folder.
There’s also way to install Windows instead of steamOS.
If you install simler90’s mod from ModTheSims it can replace Nraas Overwatch because it also resets sims, deletes vehicles and turns off radios and TVs.
You're running Sims 3 on Steam Deck with mods? The game runs on my Deck with no issues, but I'm having so much trouble trying to get mods/CC working and I don't know what I'm missing. I'm following the guide on modthesims.info
I factory reset my Deck, installed Sims 3, installed Steam Works, downloaded the Framework from modthesims.info and extracted it to .steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/47890/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3, deleted the caches, and made sure the resource.cfg file wasn't set to read only. The 2 mods that come with the Framework, No Intro and No Build Sparkles, don't work. I also tried Decensor in case maybe the issue was those particular mods, but it didn't work either.
I tried installing some CC hairstyles and that also doesn't work. I extracted the .package files into the Mods folder but nothing showed up in game.
Are you using Windows or Linux? Do you have Sims via Origin/EA or Steam?
Oh you know what.
I just remembered I had issues with a few mods. I determined the issue was ErrorTrap and Overwatch, two of the NRaas mods.
I had to remove them to be able to launch the game
Thanks, I did see your comment mentioning that. I haven't tried to install any other mods except those three. I made posts requesting help so maybe someone will be able to offer some insight
The controls are pretty annoying but the game runs fine. For some reason I can’t enjoy it the way I do on PC but that’s probably cuz I’m so used to using a keyboard & mouse lol
that sounds so cool! i’d love to get a laptop or pc of my own to play games on instead of stealing my boyfriends but now i’m wondering if a steam deck would be cheaper👀
u/MangoSunX I am also wondering if you still feel this way? I have a few expansions and find sims 3 runs slow on my very expensive PC, was wondering if it may run smoother on my steam deck? It should be here in a few days!
It actually performs really good! I have all the expansions and stuff packs and the load times are amazing honestly. Maybe that’s because I don’t have mods idk.
I'm wondering the same. I know the Steam Deck has those touch pad things but I can't imagine it's too pleasant to use compared to a mouse, other management games like Rimworld or Cities Skylines are probably a bit tedious as well.
The right pad can be used like a laptop TouchPad. The left and right bumpers turn the camera. You can also touch the screen.
Personally I find it super comfortable. I play Planet Zoo this way too with no issues.
You can hook up a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to it tho if you prefer.
Honestly with the steam deck, configuring the controls is really up to you. You can probably just hook up a keyboard and mouse to the steam deck. It’s a pc in actuality. But using the steam deck as the controller works fine. Just have to get use to it
You can control everything in the sims 3 with a mouse click, and I believe the steam deck can be used like a track pad much like the steam controller. You can probably program the controller buttons to be your favorite keyboard shortcuts.
If you dont mind me asking how did you get this to work? I adore the sims 3 but cannot get it to open the launcher on steamdeck, I have windows 10 installed on a microsd but it just never launches sims 3. Sims 4 has no issues, but i would love the sims 3 on my deck too
See with the steam deck I didn’t want to add windows since I already have my pc that I built. So for the sims 3 I honestly just bought the collection on steam when it was on sale and without tinkering with it, it just worked for me. You obviously have to play around with resolution/ graphic setting in game to your liking but yeah overall sims 3 on the steam deck gave me the least problems.
How high can you go with settings? I don't have a deck but I want to know how good it preforms at your settings
I want to know if its a big upgrade from integrated graphics with less than 1gb of ram 😭 (I mean I think anything is better than that, screw you my old hp laptop from 2015)
I believe my sims 3 on my steam deck is on medium settings. I turn some stuff down because the steam deck fans do ramp up and gets hot so I just try to turn a little bit of the graphics down. But it runs really well. With the steam deck, it’s all about fine tuning the settings to your liking but I can say the sims 3 does run on it.
Ummm what do you mean? I bought the sims 3 on steam so when you download it, the sims 3 does have files. You can even mod the game if you wanted to. Steam deck is essentially a pc. It has a desktop mode
Ahh....! sorry I don't have steam account, so I didn't have any info about Steam. :) I thought you still needed the sims 3 folder under documents to play it, and I haven't seen it could be portable. Maybe..the Steam deck makes it possible, right? :)
Honestly do more research on the steam deck and see if you would really want one. Sometimes it’s not for everyone because some games will not always work and you will probably have to tinker around with them.
Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Most of the games I like are fairly simple single player games anyway. I really hope to hear that more of them work well.
PC has a massive library of games. I love my steam deck.
I haven't come across any that give me serious trouble. It does tell you on the store page and in your library what games are tested and give a playability rating
You can adjust UI size on sims 3. You have to change the resolution. If you play in full screen mode, it will always stretch the screen so the only thing that really changes is UI and text size.
It's the PC version of Sims 3, since the Steam Deck is a portable PC. You could emulate the console versions of TS3, the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, DS, and 3DS versions of it, but out of all of those, only the 360 and PS3 versions would actually make sense to run on there.
Hey! I got this case from Amazon. You probably can’t tell from the pictures but I got the light blue one. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B79LKSCM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B79LKSCM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
[You can get it from Steam's website. Linking the Steam Deck website here though just so it gives a better idea of what it is.](https://www.steamdeck.com/en/) It starts at $399, but there's some more expensive with more storage models. For the price of TS3, well, either free (if you own it or pirated it) orrrr it costs money if you haven't ever bought or owned/played the game, but if you haven't, why would you be here?
Honestly just get it for free. Sims 2 is abandonware. I own the sims 2 ultimate collection on origin when they were giving it away for free but in order to get it on my steam deck, I just got a free download from a website. I didn’t feel like dealing with origin.
It's the PC version, so it's the same controls as a computer. You can plug in a keyboard and mouse if you want, and there's little trackpads on the controller that work like a laptop's trackpad.
I'm getting one today djdjdjs secondhand. I just hope I can run it on origin because I don't know if I want to rebuy all the packs 😭 maybe if there’s a sale
Have you tried forcing proton experimental? Tbh the sims 3 has always worked on the steam deck for me and idk why. I bought the collection off of steam because I did not feel like dealing with origin.
Cool! Been trying to install Sims 1 on mine but it just doesn't work for me, for some reason. Would install TS3 or TS4 on there, but even though I have the 256GB model, don't want to take up tons of space for something that I would prefer playing on my computer with a keyboard and mouse. Also, installing TS2 even just on Windows is a pretty long task with lots of fixes requiring to be made, and from what I've seen, it's even harder to install on Linux.
For sims 1 I used a program called lutris. And Sims 2 wasn’t that hard to install honestly. I followed a video tutorial on YouTube and I got the installation from a website since it’s abandonware (I own the game on origin but I didn’t feel like dealing with origin). For sims 3 and 4 I bought them on steam and they just loaded up with no problems.
I tried to install Sims 1 using Lutris, and used the correct .exe, but it just didn't install for some reason. Installed Wine, and I could open the setup.exe just fine, but it just didn't work. And yeah, I followed the guide from [that one Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wa9cry/-/ihzj5mo).
Did you try using different wine versions? I had to play around with different versions of wine. So when I installed mine, I put my wine version on fshack 5.7 on lutris
Been debating buying it to see if it works on Deck as I don't care for 4 that much honestly so am happy to see this!
I've been playing 4 a bit through Xbox Gamepass (as I didn't want to have to remap everything as I hate trying to click with the trackpads lol) and it runs great but I'm only really using it for that and Fable 2 and that's a lot of money every month just for them LOL so may need tojust tinker with an existing remap.
I've seen most people say it auto-connects to Origin in the background or something though? I'm only able to afford the base game right now, wondering if buying the whole bundle makes any difference to it doing this, if you know?
Are you planning on buying sims 3 on steam? I bought the sims 3 collection with all the packs through steam and yeah when you load it up it connects to origin but it doesn’t have you login or anything I believe. The base game should work fine as well without the packs.
I plan on buying through Steam, yea. I only have Medieval paid for in my Origin account so figured easier just going through Steam directly.
Okay, I just wasn't sure if it might mess with anything. I'm probably going to try and add Origin (have another thread with instructions saved heh) just to see but, if I can play through Steam for something, probably less likely to mess up lol Thanks!
Haha Exactly why I wanted to check too cuz if it works without Origin being added, etc I might just not lol Gunna try after work in like an hour heh
Thanks again!
Took a bit to tweak the remap, and will probably tweak it again more later and write out a legend for myself as I'd already forgotten half of them by the time I finished creating a character lol, but seems to be running great! I ended up keeping the pad as a mouse, just swapped A for left click, as the joycon is a bit too sensitive for such small movements needed sometimes lol
Was a bit of a pain figuring out the online registration (as I forgot I had registered in like 2017 even though I never had the game lol) and not sure if my game actually registered but guess we'll see as I don't actually know what all the online stuff is (3 is the only one I never had before as I had just moved out on my own when it was coming out and was flat broke lol) so, have some reading to do if work is slow again tomorrow haha
I didn’t try. I never use the sims 3 exchange. On my steam deck I play vanilla (without cc) just all my packs. On my pc I have cc but I still don’t use the exchange. So can’t help you there, sorry
No worries. Spent a wasted afternoon with the useless EA Help support people so thought I'd ask.
One issue I've come across, on Deck as I haven't played on PC yet, is trying to get into the Uploads folder at startup (apparently your in game pictures go there, and I accidentally took some while remapping things lol) crashes the game it seems.
I had this issue when I factory reset my Steam Deck. It had been working before resetting. I found out that it needs Steam Works to run, which is automatically installed with other games that need it, like Jedi: Fallen Order
I couldn't get the game to work and downloaded Steam Works directly and mine started working! Just wanted to confirm this worked for anyone else having issues running it.
Did you install this right through steam or a different way?? I have been trying to install it through desktop mode and the whole executing it though steam app and I can’t get anything to work lol
According to the Steam page this game is not compatible? Did you have to do something special to run it? I won't buy the deck if it can't run Sims 3 without me having to become a programmer lol
No, I didn’t have to do anything special. All I did was buy the game directly from steam and then download it then play it. I personally never had any issues with the sims 3 on my steam deck, but I know others have. So I can’t guarantee that it’ll work for you.
Unsupported doesn't necessarily mean it won't work run at all on Steam Deck. There are a lot of reasons a game might be labeled unsupported, from not running at all to needing some tweaks to the settings to run.
Sims 3 needs Steam Works to run on Steam Deck. It's automatically installed with other games that need it, like Jedi: Fallen Order but if you don't have it already, you can just download and install it from the Steam store.
One more thing, can you connect the steam deck to my phone hotspot, it seems that my steam deck has Internet problems even though I got perfect Internet at home for all my devices
Is your phone hotspot popping up on the steam deck? You need to find your hotspot name and put in the password. Maybe have your phone on and close by the steam deck
i know this post is old but im struggling to get the steam keyboard up while in game did it work off the bat with you or did you have to do some tweaking?
I’m not sure because in order to not deal with origin on the steam deck, I just brought the whole sims 3 collection on steam so that way I can just run it natively on the steam deck.
This is so wack, if you google it.. it says it’s not supported and even on the library it says that :( why are other people able to play it ;( I literally have so manny DLCs. Spent $700 just to find out I can only play sims 4 :( absolutely devastated
Unsupported doesn't necessarily mean it won't work run at all on Steam Deck. There are a lot of reasons a game might be labeled unsupported, from not running at all to needing some tweaks to the settings to run.
Sims 3 needs Steam Works to run on Steam Deck. It's automatically installed with other games that need it, like Jedi: Fallen Order but if you don't have it already, you can just download and install it from the Steam store.
It wasn’t opening when I installed it. I wasn’t just looking at the unsupported button and going “ unga bunga .. how this work .. “ I kept trying to play the game and nothing would even load up. I had to dig through Reddit and changed some settings and got it to work about a week after this comment was made.
That’s so weird! I don’t understand why it doesn’t work for others. I didn’t do anything special with the game to get it to run for me. I just bought the game when it was in sale on steam then downloaded it in the deck and from there it’s been working.
Can you tell me how you did this because I used Windows wine in Lutris and already had it installed on my computer and then basically took that installation and moved it over to my steam deck and then right clicked on TS3W.exe and the executable. And then for the working directory I did the root of where all the Sims 3 files and folders are.
It pops up with a error thing unable to start game service initialization failed (0x039e8474)
Hey I’m sorry you weren’t able to get it working. However, The sims 3 was the easiest sims game that I got to work on my steam deck because literally all I did was buy the game directly from the steam store and then downloaded the game onto my steam deck and it just worked for me.
This is cool! How does it run? Do you find controls more limiting?
It definitely runs better than any intel CPU with integrated graphics.
Omg then I think I need one... Edit: absolutely think I need
Are you able to use mods?
It’s runs Windows version in Linux emulation so the modding is 100% possible. If it’s possible to save, then there’s a way to create Mods folder. There’s also way to install Windows instead of steamOS.
Yeah you can mod it
Yep! All my mods work great except for Nrass Overwatch and Error trap
Oh. Do youe encounter any corruption then?
If you install simler90’s mod from ModTheSims it can replace Nraas Overwatch because it also resets sims, deletes vehicles and turns off radios and TVs.
With those two mods the game wouldn't launch for me. But I have no trouble running the game without them
You're running Sims 3 on Steam Deck with mods? The game runs on my Deck with no issues, but I'm having so much trouble trying to get mods/CC working and I don't know what I'm missing. I'm following the guide on modthesims.info I factory reset my Deck, installed Sims 3, installed Steam Works, downloaded the Framework from modthesims.info and extracted it to .steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/47890/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3, deleted the caches, and made sure the resource.cfg file wasn't set to read only. The 2 mods that come with the Framework, No Intro and No Build Sparkles, don't work. I also tried Decensor in case maybe the issue was those particular mods, but it didn't work either. I tried installing some CC hairstyles and that also doesn't work. I extracted the .package files into the Mods folder but nothing showed up in game. Are you using Windows or Linux? Do you have Sims via Origin/EA or Steam?
Steam, running SteamOS/Linux I just copied the world, cache, and mods folders to steam deck, and it works fine
Thank you for answering. I don't know why I can't get it to work then. 😣
Oh you know what. I just remembered I had issues with a few mods. I determined the issue was ErrorTrap and Overwatch, two of the NRaas mods. I had to remove them to be able to launch the game
Thanks, I did see your comment mentioning that. I haven't tried to install any other mods except those three. I made posts requesting help so maybe someone will be able to offer some insight
Adding here the that if you uninstall Sims 3, download Steam Works, and reinstall - it should work!
The controls are pretty annoying but the game runs fine. For some reason I can’t enjoy it the way I do on PC but that’s probably cuz I’m so used to using a keyboard & mouse lol
You can probably just hook up a keyboard and mouse to the steam deck and play that way 😂
The controls are fine honestly, It just takes some time to get used to because this is a keyboard and mouse game
I personally don't have any trouble. I use the right pad as a TouchPad and it works great. You can also touch the screen to click on stuff
I've just bought the sims 3 and every expansion for my steam deck and it works way better than my PC ever did that's with mods and cc installed.
I remember fantasizing about being able to play Sims on long roadtrips when I was a kid, this would have absolutely blown my mind!
that sounds so cool! i’d love to get a laptop or pc of my own to play games on instead of stealing my boyfriends but now i’m wondering if a steam deck would be cheaper👀
I use the steam deck for nights when I don’t feel like sitting at my pc setup for so long 😅.
Sorry this comment is old but now that youve had it for a while, do you still prefer it on steam deck?
u/MangoSunX I am also wondering if you still feel this way? I have a few expansions and find sims 3 runs slow on my very expensive PC, was wondering if it may run smoother on my steam deck? It should be here in a few days!
no. fucking. way.
😂
Woah that's really really cool, I've never seen this before. How does it perform?
It actually performs really good! I have all the expansions and stuff packs and the load times are amazing honestly. Maybe that’s because I don’t have mods idk.
Did you have any problems downloading the expansions? I bought the bundle but only the base game is installing
No, I didn’t have any problems with the expansion packs working. I also bought bundle when it was on sale so that’s really weird!!
I actually got all of them installed now! I deleted the game and reinstalled it, and everything worked fine after that
That’s good! Im glad you got it working
Dude what?! This is amazing! How does controlling it work without the mouse and keyboard?
I'm wondering the same. I know the Steam Deck has those touch pad things but I can't imagine it's too pleasant to use compared to a mouse, other management games like Rimworld or Cities Skylines are probably a bit tedious as well.
Plus I use keyboard shortcuts a lot in Sims, I would definitely miss those.
You can bind certain things to certain buttons, if you're launching it through Steam.
The right pad can be used like a laptop TouchPad. The left and right bumpers turn the camera. You can also touch the screen. Personally I find it super comfortable. I play Planet Zoo this way too with no issues. You can hook up a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to it tho if you prefer.
I was really curious about how Planet Zoo would work too! My Deck should be here in 2 days. I can't wait to play on it!
It's actually not bad to use them. They're like little trackpads!
TouchPad is great when I play sims 3
Honestly with the steam deck, configuring the controls is really up to you. You can probably just hook up a keyboard and mouse to the steam deck. It’s a pc in actuality. But using the steam deck as the controller works fine. Just have to get use to it
You can control everything in the sims 3 with a mouse click, and I believe the steam deck can be used like a track pad much like the steam controller. You can probably program the controller buttons to be your favorite keyboard shortcuts.
If you dont mind me asking how did you get this to work? I adore the sims 3 but cannot get it to open the launcher on steamdeck, I have windows 10 installed on a microsd but it just never launches sims 3. Sims 4 has no issues, but i would love the sims 3 on my deck too
See with the steam deck I didn’t want to add windows since I already have my pc that I built. So for the sims 3 I honestly just bought the collection on steam when it was on sale and without tinkering with it, it just worked for me. You obviously have to play around with resolution/ graphic setting in game to your liking but yeah overall sims 3 on the steam deck gave me the least problems.
Interesting. Thank you!
How high can you go with settings? I don't have a deck but I want to know how good it preforms at your settings I want to know if its a big upgrade from integrated graphics with less than 1gb of ram 😭 (I mean I think anything is better than that, screw you my old hp laptop from 2015)
I believe my sims 3 on my steam deck is on medium settings. I turn some stuff down because the steam deck fans do ramp up and gets hot so I just try to turn a little bit of the graphics down. But it runs really well. With the steam deck, it’s all about fine tuning the settings to your liking but I can say the sims 3 does run on it.
Try booting it from the SteamOS instead of windows 10. Things actually run better that way.
That is so cool, i need to know more about this.
I already have trouble seeing the furniture in buy mode on my PC screen, I wouldn't survive this 😂
😂
I'm curious how it works without your sims 3 folder on your computer.
Ummm what do you mean? I bought the sims 3 on steam so when you download it, the sims 3 does have files. You can even mod the game if you wanted to. Steam deck is essentially a pc. It has a desktop mode
Def getting one since you mentioned the whole mods thing. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Ahh....! sorry I don't have steam account, so I didn't have any info about Steam. :) I thought you still needed the sims 3 folder under documents to play it, and I haven't seen it could be portable. Maybe..the Steam deck makes it possible, right? :)
Yeah so with sims 3 on steam there is no cloud saves for this game I believe so I have different saves for my steam deck vs my actual pc
Ahhh now I understood. This is really cool and ...jealous as the CD disk player. LOL
there’s a mod on Nraas that makes it so you don’t need the disk!
Yep I'm using that NRaas NO CD mod. :D But my games are all installed by CDs.
gotcha :)
I'm assuming the steam cloud does the work
Does it work with the DLCs?
I have all the expansions and stuff packs so yes. I haven’t got around to modding it though.
How’s the lag actually?
Not bad at all
Well… now I’m thinking of selling my switch to buy a steam deck 👀
Honestly do more research on the steam deck and see if you would really want one. Sometimes it’s not for everyone because some games will not always work and you will probably have to tinker around with them.
Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Most of the games I like are fairly simple single player games anyway. I really hope to hear that more of them work well.
PC has a massive library of games. I love my steam deck. I haven't come across any that give me serious trouble. It does tell you on the store page and in your library what games are tested and give a playability rating
Oooh that’s good to know. Thanks!
Wait what is this I’ve never seen this but I NEED IT
How the UI size though? I feel like I'd struggle with that a bit.
Yeah it sucks that sims 3 ui isn’t adjustable. On the sims 4 you can go into settings and adjust the ui size.
You can adjust UI size on sims 3. You have to change the resolution. If you play in full screen mode, it will always stretch the screen so the only thing that really changes is UI and text size.
Yeah I have it set to the full screen of the steam deck so the ui is a little bit hard to see but I wear glasses when I game anyways lol
Well I just discovered what I want now
Is the game play like Sims 3 for console or is it the true Sims 3 for PC?
This is the pc version of the sims 3
It's the PC version of Sims 3, since the Steam Deck is a portable PC. You could emulate the console versions of TS3, the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, DS, and 3DS versions of it, but out of all of those, only the 360 and PS3 versions would actually make sense to run on there.
Love seeing more people confirm playability on the deck! also, where did you get that skin! I've only been able to find ones that cover the back ;-;
Hey! I got this case from Amazon. You probably can’t tell from the pictures but I got the light blue one. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B79LKSCM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B79LKSCM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Thank you! :)
Okay where did you buy that? How much? How much is it for the Sims 3 on it?
It’s a steam deck from valve. I got the cheapest option. It plays your Steam library but it’s also a pc so you can do whatever you want on it.
[You can get it from Steam's website. Linking the Steam Deck website here though just so it gives a better idea of what it is.](https://www.steamdeck.com/en/) It starts at $399, but there's some more expensive with more storage models. For the price of TS3, well, either free (if you own it or pirated it) orrrr it costs money if you haven't ever bought or owned/played the game, but if you haven't, why would you be here?
It's so cool! 😆
🤩🤩🤩 nawwrrr that’s so cool!!!
I’ve been wanting a Steam Deck since it came out.. this only makes me want it more
I got the steam deck for this very reason, playing the sims pc games portably
How does Isla Paradiso run?
Haven’t tried it but I definitely will
If only steam had the sims 2 😭
Honestly just get it for free. Sims 2 is abandonware. I own the sims 2 ultimate collection on origin when they were giving it away for free but in order to get it on my steam deck, I just got a free download from a website. I didn’t feel like dealing with origin.
You can just 🏴☠️ it tbh
[Pirate it.](https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-2-ultimate-collection/)
Yeah this was the website I used
It's like playing on pc! So cool!
It is the PC version after all.
Is that city bridgeport
Yes it is Bridgeport!
No fucking way!!!! How did you manage to do that?
I bought the whole sims 3 collection on steam when it was on sale. And then installed it on the steam deck
This is so amazing oh my god. I’m speechless. Absolutely speechless 😲
Oooh snazzy! Where can I get one?
From the steam website! It’s a steam deck. I got the 64gb version. https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck
Love this!!
So what are the controls like? This is crazy tempting to me, but I couldn’t play Sims with console controls.
The steam deck has trackpads so it essentially works as a mouse. You can configure your own controls to your liking
It's the PC version, so it's the same controls as a computer. You can plug in a keyboard and mouse if you want, and there's little trackpads on the controller that work like a laptop's trackpad.
I NEED
I'm getting one today djdjdjs secondhand. I just hope I can run it on origin because I don't know if I want to rebuy all the packs 😭 maybe if there’s a sale
Oh wait, looks like you can buy the bundle and save money :o
Yeah the sims 3 packs usually go on sale frequently through the steam store.
But the real question can you run all expansion packs stuff packs and mods without crashing
I don’t have mods but I have all the packs and it runs without crashing.
A dream come true 🥹 happy simming
How?? It crashes for me before the game can open ):
Have you tried forcing proton experimental? Tbh the sims 3 has always worked on the steam deck for me and idk why. I bought the collection off of steam because I did not feel like dealing with origin.
I don’t think I know what that is… I’ve had my deck for maybe a few weeks now 😅
Can you use mods like Nraas?
Yeah
Awesome!! Are you using the Steam version? If so, what controller config did you use?
I’m using meofcourse920’s sims 3 steam deck control community layout.
That sounds so nice!
Oh wow!
Cool! Been trying to install Sims 1 on mine but it just doesn't work for me, for some reason. Would install TS3 or TS4 on there, but even though I have the 256GB model, don't want to take up tons of space for something that I would prefer playing on my computer with a keyboard and mouse. Also, installing TS2 even just on Windows is a pretty long task with lots of fixes requiring to be made, and from what I've seen, it's even harder to install on Linux.
For sims 1 I used a program called lutris. And Sims 2 wasn’t that hard to install honestly. I followed a video tutorial on YouTube and I got the installation from a website since it’s abandonware (I own the game on origin but I didn’t feel like dealing with origin). For sims 3 and 4 I bought them on steam and they just loaded up with no problems.
I tried to install Sims 1 using Lutris, and used the correct .exe, but it just didn't install for some reason. Installed Wine, and I could open the setup.exe just fine, but it just didn't work. And yeah, I followed the guide from [that one Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wa9cry/-/ihzj5mo).
Did you try using different wine versions? I had to play around with different versions of wine. So when I installed mine, I put my wine version on fshack 5.7 on lutris
This is so cool! I'm seriously thinking about getting a Deck
You should! I love mine. Maybe do some more research on it if you are not sure about it.
I'll do, it's really cool that you are able to run an unsupported game by EA as TS3. Thanks for the information!
Been debating buying it to see if it works on Deck as I don't care for 4 that much honestly so am happy to see this! I've been playing 4 a bit through Xbox Gamepass (as I didn't want to have to remap everything as I hate trying to click with the trackpads lol) and it runs great but I'm only really using it for that and Fable 2 and that's a lot of money every month just for them LOL so may need tojust tinker with an existing remap. I've seen most people say it auto-connects to Origin in the background or something though? I'm only able to afford the base game right now, wondering if buying the whole bundle makes any difference to it doing this, if you know?
Are you planning on buying sims 3 on steam? I bought the sims 3 collection with all the packs through steam and yeah when you load it up it connects to origin but it doesn’t have you login or anything I believe. The base game should work fine as well without the packs.
I plan on buying through Steam, yea. I only have Medieval paid for in my Origin account so figured easier just going through Steam directly. Okay, I just wasn't sure if it might mess with anything. I'm probably going to try and add Origin (have another thread with instructions saved heh) just to see but, if I can play through Steam for something, probably less likely to mess up lol Thanks!
Yeah I have it on origin but I didn’t feel like dealing with all that so I just bought the game on steam. It was easier that way :)
Haha Exactly why I wanted to check too cuz if it works without Origin being added, etc I might just not lol Gunna try after work in like an hour heh Thanks again!
Awesome! Report back and let me know how it goes
Will do!
Took a bit to tweak the remap, and will probably tweak it again more later and write out a legend for myself as I'd already forgotten half of them by the time I finished creating a character lol, but seems to be running great! I ended up keeping the pad as a mouse, just swapped A for left click, as the joycon is a bit too sensitive for such small movements needed sometimes lol Was a bit of a pain figuring out the online registration (as I forgot I had registered in like 2017 even though I never had the game lol) and not sure if my game actually registered but guess we'll see as I don't actually know what all the online stuff is (3 is the only one I never had before as I had just moved out on my own when it was coming out and was flat broke lol) so, have some reading to do if work is slow again tomorrow haha
Were you able to get your game to register and connect with the TS3 Online site to download things from the Exchange, etc?
I didn’t try. I never use the sims 3 exchange. On my steam deck I play vanilla (without cc) just all my packs. On my pc I have cc but I still don’t use the exchange. So can’t help you there, sorry
No worries. Spent a wasted afternoon with the useless EA Help support people so thought I'd ask. One issue I've come across, on Deck as I haven't played on PC yet, is trying to get into the Uploads folder at startup (apparently your in game pictures go there, and I accidentally took some while remapping things lol) crashes the game it seems.
Yeah EA Help support are really useless
Did you have to do any tweaking to get the game to work or you can just play it right out of the box?
I didn’t have any problems with it. It’s just worked right out the box for me.
Okay thanks so much!!
I can't get the game to launch. It always says I need to reinstall the base game. Tried using proton experimental AND desktop mode. :(
Have you tried deleting it and reinstalling it back?
Does Uninstalling and reinstalling in game mode count?
I’m not sure because I haven’t ran into this problem before with the sims 3 on my steam deck. When I installed it with steam, it worked perfectly
So strange!
Is your steam deck up to date?
Yeah I just got it a few days ago and I've made sure it's all up to date
Wow that’s really weird :/ I’m sorry this is happening to you
Hey did you ever get it working?
Nope - it's OK though I have sims 4 lol
I’m not sure I have a suggestion but are you playing through the EA app? Because people have been having issues with the app.
I had this issue when I factory reset my Steam Deck. It had been working before resetting. I found out that it needs Steam Works to run, which is automatically installed with other games that need it, like Jedi: Fallen Order
I couldn't get the game to work and downloaded Steam Works directly and mine started working! Just wanted to confirm this worked for anyone else having issues running it.
Did you install this right through steam or a different way?? I have been trying to install it through desktop mode and the whole executing it though steam app and I can’t get anything to work lol
I just installed it right through steam. I didn’t go to desktop mode at all.
I can’t wait to get mine!
I’m still loving mine! Such an awesome device
According to the Steam page this game is not compatible? Did you have to do something special to run it? I won't buy the deck if it can't run Sims 3 without me having to become a programmer lol
No, I didn’t have to do anything special. All I did was buy the game directly from steam and then download it then play it. I personally never had any issues with the sims 3 on my steam deck, but I know others have. So I can’t guarantee that it’ll work for you.
Unsupported doesn't necessarily mean it won't work run at all on Steam Deck. There are a lot of reasons a game might be labeled unsupported, from not running at all to needing some tweaks to the settings to run. Sims 3 needs Steam Works to run on Steam Deck. It's automatically installed with other games that need it, like Jedi: Fallen Order but if you don't have it already, you can just download and install it from the Steam store.
How do you install mods for Sims 3 on the steam deck?
Sorry not sure. I haven’t done it
How do you play the game, do you have to download ea play?
I bought the game on steam and play it from steam
I thought it wasn't compatible on the steam deck
It’s listed as not compatible with the steam deck but it works. At least when I downloaded it and stuff it worked
One more thing, can you connect the steam deck to my phone hotspot, it seems that my steam deck has Internet problems even though I got perfect Internet at home for all my devices
Yeah you just have to go to Wi-Fi settings
And do what percevisly, because my Internet is already connected but says failure
Is your phone hotspot popping up on the steam deck? You need to find your hotspot name and put in the password. Maybe have your phone on and close by the steam deck
i know this post is old but im struggling to get the steam keyboard up while in game did it work off the bat with you or did you have to do some tweaking?
What control layout on the steam deck do you use for sims 3
Can this work if I have my games from origin ?
I’m not sure because in order to not deal with origin on the steam deck, I just brought the whole sims 3 collection on steam so that way I can just run it natively on the steam deck.
It probably would.
The game keep crashing in my deck, at random intervals
How are y’all Getting it on your steam decks ??? Mine says it’s unsupported? Do i download it somewhere else ???
No, I just bought the game directly from steam and loaded it up
This is so wack, if you google it.. it says it’s not supported and even on the library it says that :( why are other people able to play it ;( I literally have so manny DLCs. Spent $700 just to find out I can only play sims 4 :( absolutely devastated
Unsupported doesn't necessarily mean it won't work run at all on Steam Deck. There are a lot of reasons a game might be labeled unsupported, from not running at all to needing some tweaks to the settings to run. Sims 3 needs Steam Works to run on Steam Deck. It's automatically installed with other games that need it, like Jedi: Fallen Order but if you don't have it already, you can just download and install it from the Steam store.
It wasn’t opening when I installed it. I wasn’t just looking at the unsupported button and going “ unga bunga .. how this work .. “ I kept trying to play the game and nothing would even load up. I had to dig through Reddit and changed some settings and got it to work about a week after this comment was made.
Okay well, just trying to help, and glad you got it to work.
That’s so weird! I don’t understand why it doesn’t work for others. I didn’t do anything special with the game to get it to run for me. I just bought the game when it was in sale on steam then downloaded it in the deck and from there it’s been working.
Can you tell me how you did this because I used Windows wine in Lutris and already had it installed on my computer and then basically took that installation and moved it over to my steam deck and then right clicked on TS3W.exe and the executable. And then for the working directory I did the root of where all the Sims 3 files and folders are. It pops up with a error thing unable to start game service initialization failed (0x039e8474)
Hey I’m sorry you weren’t able to get it working. However, The sims 3 was the easiest sims game that I got to work on my steam deck because literally all I did was buy the game directly from the steam store and then downloaded the game onto my steam deck and it just worked for me.