I am trying to outgeek myself again. The question is whether I can take package files I've already merged together and again combine them all into ONE package file. Would the be more difficult to for the game to read a package file that consists of several merged files that have 30 items each in them? Am I better to just take the individual items from my pre-merge (of course I kept the individual files) and then merge them all together to get the package consisting of things I want?

Example: I've got my Future Shock set turned into packages then Merged so all Future Shock is together. I've got all of my Lullaby items merged together too and they are now one package. I've also got many other of my store sets merged as one package. I would like to just take all those merged packages and merge them again.
I am still arguing with myself about how exactly to name such a file so that I know what is in it at a glance, but thats neither here nor there unless somebody has an idea for that which doesnt require me to type up an excel sheet. Currently I have everything that is CC labeled by type, i.e. all hair I've downloaded is simply called HAIR A-M or Hair A-Z. All cc decor is DECOR. But, now that I am merging store packages, there will be little of everything in each store pack, and separating it all would take so much time... so I am kind of setting up for an identity crisis among my packages.

Anyway, I hope that I can just combine all my currently merged smaller packs into a larger package.
Bonus question: Some of my package files would NOT merge... the s3pe told me there was some issue and I skipped, one example are the belly button rings from Lorandia. They would not go into a package... any idea why this could occur?
There was also a couple store hairs from EA that I extracted from 3packs into packages which crashed my game when I tried to load the game with them. Is that a crap vs decrap issue? Or something else?

Some of Lorandia's stuff does merge properly with other items yes.

As for the Store items it really doesn't make a difference converting them into packages the game won't load any faster your better off just installing them with the Launcher and the process that is use to make it possible breaks alot of the store items and some should never be converted into packages.

That's pretty much all I can say as the process used to make it possible to convert store items to packages is a forbidden topic here.

I mean doesn't merge properly.

I would seek advice on decrypting items at the source of where you got the program in order to do it.

I haven't seen much difference on items installed with package files VS sims3packs that are store items except that they don't magically "uninstall themselves," which happens often enough to annoy me for the sims3packs for store items, but it's easier for me to just stick to the sims3packs on my mac.

I used to have one "master" CC file on my PC that bit the dust a few years back now. I had all the CC split in case I wanted to add to hair, maternity outfits, etc., then, after adding, I'd just recombine and replace the master CC file in my mods folder. It was a pain to keep everything organized and named, but the master CC file would sometimes get some bad CC and it was easier to sort out if I knew what I had just added.

I meant "decrapping," not decrypting.

I actually havent decrapped anything yet. Perhaps therein lies my problem :p Ok, so I shall leave the store items alone, I actually dont mind those being 3 packs. Its CC that I loathe in 3pack form.

You can merge already merged once packages just fine, they work, but after a while keeping tabs on what's inside those big ones gets really confusing and taking items out becomes a pain. So unless you keep very good organization at all times I wouldn't recommend.

If you want to change a CC file from just a sims3pack file to a package that is from, say mod the sims, you can change it with the multi-sims3pack extractor by delphi. Here's instructions from Crinrict: https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/03/t ... kages.html

And a link to the extractor: <a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=364038" rel="nofollow">http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=364038</a>