What's up with the water in my game?

GraceyManor

It looks so glossy and fake.I have my settings on high.

Links to DXDiage:

http://sharemods.com/2f32o07eng23/DxDiag.txt.html
https://www.mediafire.com/file/7tomf77tloi4jn2/DxDiag.txt

These are the only sites I can upload to as I'm not willing to pay to upload my file on dropbox.

igazor

Mmn, nice crunchy water.

For future reference, I've used Dropbox for many years. As long as I stay below the 2 GB (I think it is) file hosting limit, they have never tried to charge me anything for sharing files. But for dxdiag and text reports of this nature, we usually suggest pastebin. No user account needed or goofy adware around the file and no need for us to download a text file when we really only need to read it on-screen.

As has been explained by others here on a recent thread of yours, like many laptops in its class yours has dual graphics -- an integrated Intel and a dedicated Nvidia. The game is using the "wrong" one, which it will tend to do by default. You can get the game to use the Nvidia instead by setting up a profile for the correct executable in the Nvidia Control Panel, that would be TS3.exe for Patch 1.69 or TS3w.exe (with the "w") for 1.67 and below. You should also enable vertical sync to lock the frame rate of the Nvidia card to the refresh rate of your monitor/screen. Your screen is 60 Hz, so that would be 60 fps. Unlike TS4 and other modern games, TS3 has no built-in fps limiter. Left unlimited, higher frame rates (once you get the game to use the correct card) will cause your graphics card to work harder than it needs to for no reason and can lead to graphics glitches, lag, screen tears, crashes, and can eventually burn out the card. The Intel graphics chip probably won't overwork like that, but the game won't look as nice nor run as well on it as it's meant for more routine uses than graphics intensive games.

Illustrated instructions for the Nvidia Control Panel: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/14991412#Comment_14991412

To verify that the game is using Nvidia, check the DeviceConfig.log as you did in the past. To check on frame rates in-game once you get the correct card used, ctrl+shift+C to bring up the cheats console, type fps on (enter). As you play and move the game camera around, the displayed frame rate should never wander above 60. To make the display go away, cheats console again and fps off (enter).

Vertical sync only works in full-screen mode. If you require windowed mode or if the Nvidia Control Panel isn't working to lock things in to the correct card and frame rate, we then move on to Nvidia Inspector to get the job done.

Note that these settings can all become undone when your graphics card drivers are updated, which might explain why this is happening now but perhaps not before. Also note that since your Nvidia card is newer than the end of the game's development cycle, you may get one message about it not being recognized but it should work properly anyway. We can help with the more formal card recognition procedure should this become a real issue.


Your prior thread for reference: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/914163/my-laptop-suddenly-has-a-different-graphics-card-please-move-to-sims-3-tech#latest

GraceyManor

I looked in my dxdiage, it says found 1 matched 1, so I figured it was working.Pastebin was the one I was trying to remember but couldn't remember what it was called lol.haven't been on in a while and couldn't find my old, thread, thanks for linking it.

I went into Nvidia, V-Sync was already on and its using the high performance processor.

Could it be that my laptop just isn't strong enough to run the games? I don't know much about computers.

igazor

The dxdiag report doesn't tell us which card the game is using, that would be the DeviceConfig.log. The dxdiag is a Windows report from Microsoft, it tells us what you have. The DeviceConfig tells us what TS3 is doing with it all (well, some of it).

Where the DeviceConfig (I assume this what you really meant) is reporting Found 1, Matched 1, is it doing so for the Intel HD 530 or for the Nvidia GTX 960M?

And what kind of frame rates are you getting in-game? We can't rely on the Nvidia Control Panel's settings as it doesn't always take hold. The frame rates need to be checked in-game as described above.

GraceyManor

igazor wrote: »

The dxdiag report doesn't tell us which card the game is using, that would be the DeviceConfig.log. The dxdiag is a Windows report from Microsoft, it tells us what you have. The DeviceConfig tells us what TS3 is doing with it all (well, some of it).

Where the DeviceConfig (I assume this what you really meant) is reporting Found 1, Matched 1, is it doing so for the Intel HD 530 or for the Nvidia GTX 960M?

And what kind of frame rates are you getting in-game? We can't rely on the Nvidia Control Panel's settings as it doesn't always take hold. The frame rates need to be checked in-game as described above.

Device config, I meant It's doing it for Nvidia GTX 960 M.
https://pastebin.com/8u0G98a9 I haven't tried frame rates yet as I'm about to go to work, but will def get that info for you.

igazor

Okay good, your Nvidia GTX 960M is formally recognized by the game. But you are getting the dreaded 32 MB texture memory override, this is not necessary for such a powerful card. I can help you fix that, but please if you could answer the frame rate (fps) question? This is much more important.


Edit: Your laptop is more than capable of running the full game. TS3 needs some help with the newer hardware because none of these graphics cards existed back when the game was in development, Windows has changed since then, etc.

GraceyManor

igazor wrote: »

Okay good, your Nvidia GTX 960M is formally recognized by the game. But you are getting the dreaded 32 MB texture memory override, this is not necessary for such a powerful card. I can help you fix that, but please if you could answer the frame rate (fps) question? This is much more important.


Edit: Your laptop is more than capable of running the full game. TS3 needs some help with the newer hardware because none of these graphics cards existed back when the game was in development, Windows has changed since then, etc.

This is odd: When I first start the game, the frame rate is jumping between 80 and 123.After all my mods load,
the frame rate is betwen 43- 59.Mods could effect fps correct? Right now my sim is snorkling and the fram rate is 55-58

Edit: then it spikes again, I know I get a lot of stuck sims and routing issues.Its really bizarre.

igazor

How hard the game engine has to work can affect fps rates. Mods can make the game engine work harder (many of them do, many others have a negligible or no impact) or more efficiently (NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, Register, Traffic) so it kind of depends on the mods. I would keep an eye on this, the fps rate should not be spiking significantly above 60 although just briefly in the beginning of a game session would be okay if vertical sync just hasn't taken hold yet.

If it's going over let's say 80 a significant amount of the time as you play and move the game camera around, we really have to move on to Nvidia Inspector as the Control Panel wouldn't be locking things in as it should.

I will send you instructions on how to fix the 32 MB texture memory override by PM, so as not to confuse others reading this who don't really need the fix.

Are you playing in Isla Paradiso? The world as it comes is design-flawed. An unfixed instance of that world will cause stuck sims, routing failures, and lag all over the place for most players on just about any system. These things are functions of poor world design, not system or hardware issues.
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/811253/removing-ip-lag

GraceyManor

I'm actually playing in a custom world which could be the issue as well?

GraceyManor

I don't t

KaikoMikkusu wrote: »

It may just be how the world's water is like. Perhaps its ripped from another game?

h

KaikoMikkusu wrote: »

It may just be how the world's water is like. Perhaps its ripped from another game?

I don't think you can take worlds from other games and add them to the sims 3 unless you completely do a inspired version, but yeah this is a custom world.

GraceyManor

So the FPS is still jumping back and fourth the game makes my laptop extremely hot..which is why I don't play often, it gets to 80s and 90s, only one other game does this and that's planet coaster.I avoid playing them cause of it.Fans are cleaned and I have a cooling pad and a real fan blowing.

igazor

Since vertical sync is not locking things in, the answer is to move on to Nvidia Inspector which you have already done and we are working out the settings by PM currently.