If I purchase The Sims 3 bundle from Steam, and, say, I don't want to use the Pets EP, can I turn that expansion pack off?
Also: can I use the same cheat codes I would use if I had installed The Sims 3 with the disc?
This is my first time using Steam, and the only reason I'm interested in it is because of the great deal they have for The Sims.
Best Answer
There is a way to disable The Sims 3 Expansion Packs, but it's weirdly and unnecessarily complicated. Moreover, in all probability your saved games will not work afterwards.
This was originally written for Windows 7, but the same steps more or less apply in 8 and 10.
[As extra precaution, backup your registry and The Sims 3 saved games here! Disabling EP's is essentially the same as disabling mods (in other games), and your saved games could become useless.]
Alternatively - and this is pure guesswork - if you don't want to edit your Windows registry, and bandwidth and data limits are not keeping you back, you can uninstall the game after step 3, and Steam should redownload only the files of the EP's you have selected.
I guess you can even make a backup of the game folder, uninstall the game through Steam, move the backup to its original position, and let Steam reinstall. I don't think it will even be necessary to remove the folder of the EP you don't want, since it's not selected and should not load (but you can to save space, of course).
(NB I'm not sure these non-registry-altering solutions will work, and I can't test it. If they do, please leave a comment with your experience. It seems to have been done successfully here, however)
As for the cheats, they still work.
Open the console by clicking Control+Shift+C
And type in any of the cheats. Like these:
For some you'll have to enter
testingcheatsenabled true
for them to work:More can be found on the linked page.