DCBackup, ccmerged.package and Your Premium Content Items
AKA Fix Your Premium Content
Having troubles with your Premium Content? Do your sims reset when they try to use the Spell Book? Are you unable to place your Sauna? Is your Multi-Tab 6000 not working properly? Do your sims not receive moodlets when using premium content objects? Does your wood fire oven have no interactions? If so, you’re not alone. But I have good news for you. The vast majority of issues with Premium Content can be easily fixed without the need of any mods.
This tutorial is available in Dutch, thanks to Libby. SimsExpressie - Fix bij niet werkend Premium Materiaal
The DCBackup Folder
Back before there was Premium Content, it was perfectly safe to delete everything in the DCBackup folder without care. This folder merely stores a package format back up of all content you install via the launcher. Keeping this folder empty means you will clear up some extra hard drive space (which is probably only important for people with SSDs). As far as I know, it also means your custom content will not be packaged with your lots and sims, though I have never personally confirmed this.
After EA released the spell book premium content object, which had a custom skill and moodlet, gone were the days of simply hitting Ctrl+A in the DCBackup folder, and then delete. There is now a very important package file stored in your DCBackup folder: the ccmerged.package file. This is where EA stores all custom moodlets, skills, ingredient data, plant data and recipes relating to Premium Content you’ve installed. If you delete this package file, the game will not be able to load your store moodlets, and objects that grant custom moodlets, such as the Deep Fryer and Fountain of Youth, will not work properly. Moreover, if you delete this file, you will encounter all kinds of issues including: the spell book reset issue, being unable to place the sauna, no interactions on the wood fire oven, deep fryer, ice cream maker, teppanyaki grill etc.
So, what does this mean? This means you should not delete the ccmerged.package in your DCBackup folder. It also means that you can fix nearly all Premium Content item “bugs” without any mods at all. You can still safely delete everything else in the DCBackup Folder.
So, maybe now you’re thinking, Help! I already deleted my ccmerged.package and it’s all YOUR fault! Don’t worry, we can get your ccmerged.package back, though it will require a little bit of effort.
Restoring Your ccmerged.package
Who should use this method?
Anyone who installs premium content from the Sims 3 Store can use this method to repair their ccmerged.package. I have not found a single issue with premium content that was not fixed by correcting the ccmerged.package. Even if you have never deleted anything in your DCBackup folder, your ccmerged.package may have somehow become corrupt or incomplete if the Launcher had trouble merging the information. Errors with the Deep Fryer and Ice Cream Maker, the sauna, moodlets, sims resetting, sims not gaining gambling skill, being unable to use the wood fire oven/teppanyaki grill/etc., are all linked to the ccmerged.package. This is probably also why the store development team is not able to reproduce the errors: their ccmerged.package is complete. It’s also why the SimGurus may simply tell you to re-install the object.
How to Restore Your ccmerged.package
If you’ve already deleted your ccmerged.package, you’re going to have to get it back somehow. This is easy to do, especially if you back up your Store downloads (you DO back up your Store downloads, don’t you?). To do this, we will use the “factory reset” method (re-name “The Sims 3″ folder) to create a fresh game environment. Then we will install all Premium Content, and move the resulting ccmerged.package to our old The Sims 3 folder. See detailed steps below.
1. Go to Documents\Electronic Arts\ and re-name the folder called “The Sims 3″ to something else. For Example: The Sims 3.old
2. Start the Launcher. The Launcher will now re-build all necessary files to run the game.
3. Move your backed up premium content sims3packs into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads . If you did not back up your downloads (tsk tsk), you will need to re-download your premium content items. You only need your premium content items. Note: You can use the World sims3packs (Hidden Springs/Lunar Lakes/Lucky Palms/Monte Vista) to install Premium Content items that came with the worlds.
4. You may need to restart your launcher to see the now full Downloads tab. Otherwise, click on the Downloads tab and install the premium content items via the Sims 3 Launcher.
- Optional Step: You may now wish to test your premium content before moving your ccmerged.package. Simply launch the game and try to use your premium content objects. If they work, your ccmerged.package is good and you can continue to Step 5.
5. Close the Launcher. Find the ccmerged.package in Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCBackup and copy this file to the DCBackup folder in your old The Sims 3 folder (The Sims 3.old). If you still have a ccmerged.package in your old DCBackup folder, choose replace.
- Important: Do not rename the ccmerged.package.
6. Re-name or delete the current “The Sims 3″ folder in Documents\Electronic Arts\
7. Re-name your old The Sims 3 folder (In this example: The Sims 3.old) to The Sims 3
8. Go to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 and delete the scriptcache.package.
9. Start your game and test your premium content items. If they all work perfectly, YAY!
10. If your premium content items are still not working properly, you can try this:
- Download the ccmerged.zip below and unzip it to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCBackup
- Alternatively: Place a copy of ccmerged.package in your Mods\Packages folder. NOTE: This requires Mods framework.
- I do not recommend keeping your ccmerged.package anywhere except in the DCBackup, as otherwise you must remember to update the package every time you install new Premium Content.
- Also, try reading the “It Sill Doesn’t Work!” section.
You can achieve the same results by uninstalling the your premium content through the launcher and then re-installing. However, I personally think using a clean Sims 3 Folder is easiest. The launcher is very clunky to use, and if you have many objects installed via the launcher, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to properly uninstall all premium content objects through the launcher. Simply to re-creating the ccmerged.package by using a factory reset and re-installing the objects is a very quick, safe and easy way to get a working ccmerged.package, especially if you back up your downloads.
It Still Doesn’t Work!
If your Premium Content still isn’t working properly, consider the following:
- Do you have any old premium content fixes or an old ccmerged.package somewhere in your Mods folder or The Sims 3 folder? Try removing the old fixes and see if it that helps.
- Did you skip a step? Don’t skip steps! The best method to fix your premium content is to use an empty Sims 3 folder, so you can be sure that you didn’t miss uninstalling any of your Premium Content before you re-install.
- Try launching the game and testing the content before you go back to your old Sims 3 folder. If the content works, then you have something in your old Sims 3 folder that is breaking your object. If the content doesn’t work, then your launcher is not properly creating the ccmerged.package for some reason.
- You can use my ccmerged.package, provided below, if your launcher is not building the ccmerged.package properly, or if you’re too lazy to fix your own ccmerged.
- Make sure you delete the scriptcache.package, or the game might not pick up the changes in the ccmerged.package.
I have all Premium Content from the Store. Do I really need to install everything?
No, you do not need to install all Premium Content (but if you have backed up all of your store content, it shouldn’t be much of a hassle). You only need to install content that provides custom moodlets, skills, recipes or plants. This includes (but may not be limited to):
- The Spell Book (Gothique Library)
- The Fountain of Youth (Hidden Springs)
- The Magic Cauldron (More Magic Set)
- The Voodoo doll (More Magic Set)
- The Crystal Ball (More Magic Set)
- The Deep Fryer (Fiesta Set)
- The Ice Cream Maker (Fiesta Set)
- The Hypnotizer (Seeing Stars)
- The MultiTab 6000 (Tablet PC)
- Blackjack Table (Lucky Simoleon Casino)
- Triple Riches Slots O’Jackpots Slot Machine (Lucky Simoleon Casino)
- Wishing Well (Lucky Palms)
- Chocolate Fountain (Le Cirque Set)
- Massage Table (Sunlit Tides)
- Sauna (Sunlit Tides) — Having a broken ccmerged.package will cause the Sauna to throw errors and be unusable.
- Basketball Hoop (Level Up Collection)
- Teppanyaki Grill (Itadakimasu! Japanese Inspired Dining)
- Pizza Oven (Monte Vista)
- Lemon Tree & Purple Eggplant (Al Fresco Venue)
- Baby Changing Station (Lullabies Set)
- Play pen & Local Motion Walker (Tiny Prodigies Early Learning Center)
- Hot Air Balloon (Aurora Skies)
- Party Statue (From University Life Limited edition)
- Large as Life Movie Screen (Le Cinema Plumbob lot)
- Fowl and Feathers Chicken Coop (Country Livin’)
What if I install new Premium Content that comes with a custom moodlet, skill or recipe?
As long as you do not delete the ccmerged.package, you will be fine. You can install as many new Premium Content Items as you wish, and you should not encounter any problems with your content. The Launcher will merge any new information into your ccmerged.package on its own and you will not have to re-install all your premium content whenever you get something new
That said, do keep a backup copy of your ccmerged.package.
If something goes wrong for some unexpected reason, you may need to repeat this process again. If you had to put your ccmerged.package in your mods folder, you will need to replace that file with the new one when you install new content.
However, if you put your ccmerged.package in the Mods folder, you must update it every time you install new Premium Content,
But I install my store content as package files Or I really don’t want to create a ccmerged.package.
Ok, fine. You can have my ccmerged.package. I update it every time there is a new Premium Content item. Unzip to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCBackup
Download ccmerged.zip
Related Posts
Tutorial: How to Create and Use an Overrides Folder
Last update: 9 January 2013 – A little bit of clarification here and there.
Thanks for taking the time to write up such a clear explanation of this “ccmerged.package” issue. I’m more than happy to have found your blog, it’s a real gold mine of info!
I find that all your posts are clear, thorough yet straight to the point, and easy to understand.
Keep on with your great contribution to the Sims 3 players.
Thank you for your kind words
In fact, if I wasn’t some lazy queen of procrastination, I would have posted on your blog weeks ago when I found it! But, ya know….:-)
haha, I totally understand!
Thank you for this explanations! Is it possible to get premium content working in package form? If yes, do I need the ccmerged.package?
Yes, you can use premium content in package form, but you will need the ccmerged package, unless you use a mod that provides the resources found in the ccmerged.package. KT’s mod at MATY used to do this, but now he has removed that stuff from his fix. It seems like he might be planning to add it back in for package users, so you might have to wait and see if he does that. In the meantime, you can use the fix provided at thesims3contents.com but it is actually just KT’s fix just uploaded by somebody else. This version of his fix still has the merged BUFFs files etc that you will need, which is why I recommend it (until KT updates his fix again).
[...] Update – Please see this post for information about fixing your Premium Content without a mod (if you don’t de-crapify): DCBackup, ccmerged.package and Your Premium Content Items [...]
Thank you for the answer and the updated link to the fix! This ist very useful since I hate using the launcher.
[...] Follow the instructions at my blog to restore the ccmerged.package in your DCBackup folder: DCBackup, ccmerged.package and Your Premium Content Items OR [...]
This info was so helpful and even easy for a nubie like me to follow. It worked like a charm! I appreciate you so much for taking the time to do this. Thanks again!
so I followed all of your steps and my multitab still doesn’t work and no matter what the ccmerged.package file is still only 1kb are there any more solutions? (I never altered anything to begin with even before the fix nothing worked it wasn’t because I deleted anything)
The size of your ccmerged.pacakge will vary, based on how many Premium Content items you have installed that actually have some custom effect (such as moodlets/skills/recipes). So, I wouldn’t rely on the size of the package file to determine if yours is properly installed. However, it does sound like your content is not being installed properly. I have all premium content objects installed, and my ccmerged.package is 10kb.
I recommend the following steps:
1. Cut & Paste the ccmerged.package to the desktop.
2. Delete all other package files in your DCBackup folder.
3. Download this zip file: https://www.box.com/s/1c89465a24e0e11126ca
4. Unzip the file to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCBackup
Now start your game and test.
Also: do you have any fixes for store content installed, or any mods for store content? If you have a mod that affects store MOODLETS, such as my spell book mod (for example), you must make sure that you keep them updated. Additionally, if you have any old premium content fixes in your mods folder, you might have trouble with this. Make sure you update any premium content Mod/Fix you are using whenever new premium content is released — if you use any, that is.
Edit: Edited to provide new link for ccmerged.package
thanks so much for this explanations, but when i deleted it, i just restored it from recycle bin and it was in DCBackup folder again, but will it work as same as if i did what u said? thanks anyway.
Hi Mya. It depends on whether your ccmerged.package was complete when you deleted it. If you have never before deleted anything in your DCBackup, it was most likely complete, so restoring from your recycle bin is safe. However, if you have problems with your premium content objects, you might want to follow the steps I outlined in the post.
[...] [...]
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Thank you so much for sharing this. I couldn’t find anything anywhere explaining this and you did such a good job at explaining what to do. I’m so glad to have stumbled upon your blog!
Thanks, Allie! I’m very glad it helped you
Thank you so much for sharing this ccmerged package file! Mine is outdated, and is only 3.1KB! Anyway, thank you so much for the help and effort! My Wooden Fire Oven is now working! Thank you so much! Keep posting and more power!
)
Glad you could get your wood fire oven working
If I have both store and Decrapified Premium Objects will this fix work?
Yes. They both need the same exact files. Just use the ccmerged I have provided, so you don’t have to worry about the group number yourself.
[...] 4. Go to the DCBackup and delete the ccmerged.package. 5. Download the ccmerged.package from here: DCBackup, ccmerged.package and Your Premium Content Item 6. Unzip this ccmerged.package to your DCBackup. 7. Start your game and see if [...]
Hello,
I got a little problem…
Ive installed the ccmerge from you download link, and the wood oven now definetely works, but the animation set just gets messed up and i dont see anything, because anything of the ingredients is invisible…hope you can help me
You need KT_StoreFix_DecrapFixes available here: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,21330.0.html
It goes in your Mods\Packages folder.
Hello, I don’t have the Mods/Packages Folder? I’m looking in the Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 folder.
Mods\Packages does not exists by default. To create your Mods folder, follow the instructions here: http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files
A summary of the instructions:
1. Go to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3
2. Click the blue Download button on the link I provided above.
3. Extract the FrameworkSetup.zip which you just downloaded to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3
4. test the folder by starting your game. If you did everything right you will not the EA intro video. You will jump straight to the loading screen,
Hey:)
My pizza oven from Monte Vista wasn’t working at all so I did what you said but instead of deleting everything except the ccmerged package file, I merely cut everything and pasted them off my computer into a USB stick. Will it still work the same way? I am currently loading my game up as we speak and I am crossing my fingers!!
Well, there’s nothing wrong with you cutting & pasting your DCBackup files (though it is unnecessary) but I don’t have any step which actually says you need to delete what’s in your DCBackup folder*, so it does confuse me a bit.
If what you’ve done doesn’t work, re-name your ccmerged.package to ccmerged.package.old and download this: https://www.box.com/s/1c89465a24e0e11126ca
Unzip this file to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCBackup
Then delete the scriptcache.package in Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 and start your game.
*edited to correct a bad sentence.
I think I love you.
Thank you for this tutorial. I want to let you know I translated the tutorial in Dutch for the official The Sims 3 site and I will place it also on my website. I hope that’s oke with you. Afcourse I credit you (I credit Nona, hopefully that’s you), I always do. At first I did not translated, I only opened a topic with a link to you’re solution for people who have problems with their premium content because recently there are a lot of topics where players say they have problems. So I googled and found you’re great tutorial and opened a topic. Somebody asked me to translate because she didn’t understand English that well. So I did. The only differents is that a made some additional comments (mostly about how to copy, paste, change name with the right mouse menu), gave some extra links to Dutch (my) tutorials about how to install .sims3packs, make back-ups and how to unpack .zip files. Also I did not put the comments about decrapifying in the translating. I don’t know much about this so I don’t know If this also can used for legal things. I do know it can be used for illegal things so I didn’t want to take the changes on the official forum. Anyway, I hope you don’t mind that I translated the tutorial and will put in on my website (is not published yet). Thank you in advance.
I’m very glad you translated this into Dutch
I have been hoping this information would get spread to other communities, because it is very important for premium content. If you come across something that you’d like to ask me about, please feel free to ask. I’ll help in any way I can.
If your forum is open to the public, I’d love to have a link so I can share it with others
Hi Mona,
Glad to hear you where hoping this tutorial would go around. I feel like a genie, I grant wishes and I didn’t even know it! Haha.
This is the translation on the offical De Sims 3 (Dutch) forum: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/639238.page. So when people have a account and speak my language, the can ask me questions in this topic. If people want to register on my forum (for free) they can ask me here: http://simsexpressie.messageboard.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=122
I’am now busy to put the tutorial on my website but it’s not published yet. I’am making pictures with the methode. I was only planning to use a few screens but somebody asked me to make (more) screens because she doesn’t understand the translating (I think she just feels insecure because it’s all new to her). When it’s published I will give you a link in another reply. Feel free to use the screens but the pictures are Dutch. This is de link to my (Dutch) website: http://simsexpressie.weebly.com/. The site is called SimsExpressie which means SimsExpression (you proberly where getting that). Somebody (English) has told me my site translated well with google translate so feel free to take a look. This is de link to my forum http://simsexpressie.messageboard.nl/forum/.
For now I don’t have guestions. Maybe I’am no tech whizz but I’am certainly no newbie. I understand you’re tutorial(s) very well. But if I do have questions, I know where to find you. Thank you very much.
Greetings,
Libby
I’am so sorry. I didn’t pay enough attention. I thought I hit the reply button but apparently I did not. Next time I will make sure to hit the reply button.
Your post ended up in the moderation queue because WordPress thought it might be spam because of all the links
Sorry about that!
I spoke to soon. I do have a questions and a comment. In order to remove or rename the new De Sims 3 folder (step 6) people have to close the launcher otherwise you won’t get permission. My question: I don’t have a scriptcache.package. I know I followed you’re tutorial in the right way. I had to download my premium content from the store (I do have a backup but of all my store content so it was easier to install the premium content directly from the store (not my account because I don’t want to navigatie in more dan 30 pages). I did have this package in my new The Sims 3 folder but after I deleted this en renamed The Sims 3_old in The Sims 3, there was no scriptcache.package in the old and in somewhat new The Sims 3 folder. I restarted my launcher to see If that gave me this file but no. I do have to say, I did not have any problems (that I know of) with my content, I just followed these step to make screens. I figured, It would’t hurt to renew the ccmerged.package. I don’t use mods/fixes and downloads. Only store downloads.
The scriptcache.package is one of the 4 main cache files that people delete regularly. If you don’t have a scriptcache.package then it is because you deleted all of your caches files. You may have done this manually, or you may have used a program, such as Delphy’s Dashboard or CC Magic, to do this.
The next time you start your game, after it loads, go back to your Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 folder, and you will see the scriptcache.package. It is not necessary to delete this package all the time, but you should delete it when you add or remove new mods.
Thank you for the feedback on Step 6.
Edit: Don’t worry bout the comments and “reply” button. It’s not a big deal at all.
Edit2: One more thing, I personally think it’s better to for people to make their own ccmerged.package instead of using somebody else’s. But some people report that even when they do this with a clean folder, their premium content doesn’t work. Yet, when they use my ccmerged.package, their prmeium content does work. I am not sure why this is. It may be that their Launcher is simply not merging the data properly. It may be that they did not follow my directions properly. Or maybe they are even using illegal downloads. I really do not know. But that is why I ended up adding a link to my own ccmerged.package.
Afcourse, silly me. I know this! I have a tip about removing the temporary files on my site and I do remove those files manually, I recently did that (totally forgat) and I have not started my game yet. I finished the tutorial on my site http://simsexpressie.weebly.com/tip-16-fix-premium-materiaal.html. I will also include your second edit with this. Thank you very much for you’re attention and help. Have a great weekend!
Lovely tutorial, thank you for sharing it!
You’re welcome and thank you.
At the request of a mod I also opened a topic with the tutorial in the Dutch Tech forum (I had opened the topic in The Store subforum) so she could make it a sticky. I thought to let you know. One community down, some more community’s to go! Because I already gave you so much links, I do not include a link (only If you asked me to).
I want to take the opportunity, hope you don’t mind, to ask you if you want to include a link to SimsExpressie in the category “More Sims 3 Stuff”. My site is very good, if a may say so myself: with a lot of Dutch CAW tutorials, a library with many helpful links, even for you or anybody else who doesn’t speak my language, The Sims 3 tutorials and simology, technical assistance and much much more! I can’t find a contact sheet to ask you (hope I didn’t look with my nose), that’s why I ask here.
Greetings,
Libby
Sure, I would love to ink to your site. I can’t do it right now but I’get to it as soon as possible
Please feel free to share links, I really do not mind. I intend to add a link tot your tutorial on this post as well, I just haven’t had time to do it.
Cool! Thank you very much. The link to the tutorial on my site (tip 16) and the corresponding topic on my forum I already gave you. But If people don’t want to register on my forum and have a sims 3 account, they can find a similar tutorial here: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/640159.page where they, of course, can ask questions. The other topic, see link in no. 21, is closed (on my request). Have a great night.
Hi, Do you plan on updating your ccmerged with the new Aurora Skies premium content?
Yes, I just haven’t had time to install yet. I should be able to do it today.
It’s been updated now.
Thank You!
Hi! Will you update the ccmerged for University Life? Thanks!
The ccmerged.package only needs to be updated when new premium content is released at the store, and ONLY if that premium content adds a special skill, mooodlet, plant, recipe, etc. For example, the Wind Chimes and the Massage Chair are both examples of premium content that do not require the ccmerged.package at all. They do not add anything “special” to the game.
So, no, I will not update the ccmerged.package for University Life, because it is not necessary. However, if there is a new premium content item in the store today I will update when I can, if it is necessary.
Ok, nevermind. The ccmerged.zip HAS been updated. I had not yet installed the party statue thing form the Limited Edition, which is when I checked the ccmerged.
New moodlet from the statue.
People — please stop asking me if I will update. It will not make the update process faster. I update when I am able to. I live in Europe, so I do not have all day/night when new objects are released in the store. They are released in the evening here, and I am usually busy then, so you generally have to wait until it’s the next day my time.
Also, I always get EPs and SPs two days later than the US because that’s when they’re released here
ccmerged download has been updated for the Large as Life Movie Screen (Le Cinema Plumbob lot). Also includes moodlet for the Party Statue from UL Limited Edition.
Update for the Chicken Coop.
Hey, i tried all 3 options and my chickens in the coop are still invisible and my sims reset when trying to use the lemonade stand! Now i have no idea what to do. I run my game from the new Sims 3 folder before reverting back to the old one and the problem still remained. I only installed the Country Livin set in the new folder to be certain that no other files were causing a problem.
downloading the ccmerged file from here and from maty never worked either…..
Invisible accessory objects are not related to the ccmerged. This is something I have been meaning to post about for a while but I have been sick (for a few weeks now) and also busy. So I just can’t find the time or energy to do it. Basically, your chickens are invisible because the game can’t find the chicken resources. This can happen for two different reasons: 1. The accessories are not properly installed (VERY common issue!) 2. You have decrappified the object (or installed the object illegally)
Case 1: This is your case if you did not decrapify the object. The easiest way to fix this is to simply re-install the sims3pack without uninstalling it first. Sometimes it takes several tries for this to work. I mean it. It could takes 3-4 back-to-back reinstalls before the Launcher finally properly installs the chicken accessories.
Case 2: If you decrapified the object then you must use the fix available at MATY (not the ccmerged, but KT_StoreFix_DecrapFixes).
Just as an added FYI, Case 1 is extremely common. It happens ALL the time. I don’t know why the Launcher just skips over installing these accessories but it does. The biggest mess with accessories first happened with the Magic Cauldron. Many people couldn’t see the ladle when stirring the cauldron. In the end, it just boils down to reinstalling the stupid thing until the launcher picks it up. I’ve had this happen to me a couple times as well, most recently with the gardening station’s megaphone.
thanks very much for your response. i am off now to see if i can fix it
One more thing, sometimes decrapified sims3packs will also fail to install the accessory objects properly. What this means is that even when you are using KT’s Decrap Fixes, you might not not see the accessories. To fix this, just make sure you have the most recent version of KT’s fix and then keep re-installing the sims3pack until the accessories show up.
Hope you get your stuff working soon
Updated for the Double Down Poker and Roulette Bundle.
However, this was an extremely minor update, because the moodlets are the same as the moodlets from the Black Jack table and slot machine. Your content items would have most likely worked without the update. As I’m not actually playing right now, this is something I was not able to verify.