Maybe the info about this already exists somewhere, but I could not find it.

I would like to know how, and if it is possible to safely pack and transfer my previous played families/lots from my laptop, and merge them with the TS3world I started on a brand new desktop, without creating a corrupt neighborhood/world.

On the (toasted) laptop I cannot start the game without crashing, so this is how I thought to do it

1. Copy the complete C:\Documents and Settings\Cocomama\My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Saves (=saved worlds correct??) to an extern harddrive/USBstick, and from there copy them into the same folder on the new desktop PC.
2. Start TS3, go to the laptop worlds and pack the lots complete with families to ???
3. Delete the old laptop worlds and put the new PC worlds back in and install the lots including the families to be merged with my families in the new world.

I know it would be much easier to simply use the worlds from the laptop, and the reason I want only the families with their lot is, that the worlds created on my new PC are made using the Awesomemod, and therefore not full of unwanted storymod mutalated families.

The big questions are:
-Is it safe to pack families complete with the lot and install them in another world??? No memories=Not a VBT?

- Uhmm, how do you pack families with their homelot, and after you packed them where (in what folder) can you find the packed lot?? I do not want to place them on the Exchange, just be able to re-use them in new worlds. :D

I'm not the best person on this subject, but this is what I know...

If you want to continue playing with your current Sims from the laptop to the desktop, just copy the saved file and put it in the desktops save folder location.

As far as transferring Sims from one world to a new world, like say from Sunset Valley to Riverview, I don't think it is possible. Once you create a Sim, that Sim is created as is and can only be moved into the neighborhood. So like say you have that Sim played in Sunset Valley, you then would have start a new game with Riverview as the neighborhood, then pick the Sim you created to move in.

Other than that, I don’t see any other way.

I believe that she wants to merge her old and new families together into one neighborhood.

In TS2, this wouldn't have been safe. However, it may be OK in TS3; EA has certainly tried to make it safer by removing the memory system and by making copies, rather than binning the actual family. Unfortunately, I can't tell you whether it is safe or not.

If it is safe, here's how:
- Edit Town
- click on household
- choose Share
- choose Household with House

You will find the <family>.Sims3Pack in My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Exports. Then, just install this as you would any house.

Alternatively, you can find the family in a package file under My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Library. Copy this package to your new game and Edit Town / Change Active Household (if necessary) / Move In Household.

Since "Share" will just make a copy of the family and place it in the Exports and Library folders, my guess is that EA has tried to make this a safe operation. Perhaps someone else knows for certain whether it is safe.

Thank you so much Mootilda, yes, that is exactly what I needed!!

Now only if I was sure to be safe, to move them like this. If I remember well, it was very easy to merge neighborhoods in TS2 too. I did that somewhere in basegame, and just before Seasons came out, noticed that I had more than 4700 simfiles. VBT but it was not known back than, just as it is now actually.

I've made a backup of the recieving world, and am going to put the families in and play the merged world, and will report back here how it turns out. If something goes wrong, at least now I will know it before spending years playing a doomed world. :D

Report

To check if anything would change when relocating, I opened some of the laptop families and noted down most of the info about them, like jobs, traits and stuff in backpack/fridge. Saved the game and in Edit Town packed them with the "share" option, which placed them in the library. I found a file with the name of the family in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Cocomama\MyDocuments\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Exports

Just out of curiosity, I also tryed "the add to library" option and that also puts the family complete with home/lot into the library. My guess is that this could be a better option, when you just want to take a familie/lot from one neighborhood, and place that in another, without keeping a copy to share with anyone. The file was added in C:\Documents and Settings\Cocomama\My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Library but don't give an easy indication which familie it is.

When I wanted to go back to 1 of the families, after packing clicking on the lot in Edit town, there was something strange happening, no UI and the sims where standing still, not able to do anything with them. I had to Quit the game, because I did not know how to get back to the main screen without UI. This very well could have been the family I was playing when my laptop crashed, but don't know that anymore. I wanted to delete this neighborhood anyway, but wonder what would happen if you want to keep playing it?

Next I placed the first family+lot from the library into my newest world, and played it to check it out.

As far as I can see, working alright.
-Same ages, LW, joblevel and levels in skills, backpacks/fridge complete, all plants in garden same excellent quality.
-one sim was playing the guitar when I saved, and the gitar was now in her inventory, something I wasn't able to do before.
-Oppertunities were cleared, wishes were empty, but soon filled up again.

Possible borkened signs:
-One sim was a welknown surgeon and her beeper stopped working, I actually prefer it that way!!
-Sims had to be re-assigned to a bed.
-Paintings on the wall and on the easel had changed to a questionmark picture.
-Painting on the easel could be sold repeatedly and the first sell animation was with strangely backwards stretched arms.I replaced the easel and that is working normal.

Thats it, no further reports, because I use the really awesome Awesomemod, which luckely changes a lot of the strange gamebehaviours and -bugs already known in TS3.
I already know I should not get to attached to this or any world, but I will keep playing this merged world, because I really like to see my own families meeting in town and become friends.