We all know that TS3 can be an absolute
monster to run when you have all of the expansions in your game, as well as any stuff packs or store content that you chucked in while in a frenzy.
I want this thread to be an easy place for people to go to learn tricks on getting their games to run well without having to resort to taking out precious,
precious content. (For those that are okay with having their game forget certain expansions or Stuff packs, I recommend this baby here:
http://modthesims.info/d/499140)
To start off, some basics:
1. Deleting caches can really help when it comes to cleaning up your game! CASPartCache.package, compositorCache.package, scriptCache.package, simCompositorCache.package, and socialCache.package are all 100% okay to delete. Your game will remake them when you start the game up again.
2. If you run any of the Nraas mods, your Documents folder may have a bunch of .xml files that start with ScriptError in it. Those are also okay to delete; they're just documentation of the times when your game has had some script hiccups.
3. You can delete EEEEEVERYTHING in DCBackup
except ccmerged.package. DO NOT TOUCH CCMERGED.PACKAGE. NO. DON'T.
4. Mushing together your mods can be a huge relief to your Sims game if you happen to have a lot of them. You can do so using a program like s3pe, but be sure that you read instructions on how to use it and
write down what you put into each bundled package. I also
highly recommend keeping the originals of the mods that you merge into giant packages because you can use those to take the mods
out of the giant mod if you don't want it anymore. Just stuff them in a safe folder somewhere. C:
EDIT: This should probably be done with cosmetic mods like hair and objects, not with script or core mods!
5. NRAAS MODS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE. Okay, maybe not your
life, but certainly your
game. I recommend Overwatch, as it takes care of a lot of issues your game may have behind the scenes, especially things that cause lag. Like the game infinitely spawning cars.
6. Are you having hanging in your game? Moments when your Sim will stop moving and everything will come to a halt, but the little plumbob above their head keeps spinning and the audio keeps going for the radio/tv? Type "resetsim *" into the cheat console. Your game may freeze up for a second, but after that, it should run nice and smooth again. Why? Chances are it's because that hanging was being caused by a rogue Sim somewhere trying to do something that they weren't supposed to. "ResetSim *" resets every single Sim in your town! It's great! HECK YEAH!
7. Did your game run nice and smooth at the start, but start to run into trouble the further into the series you installed? It may be your graphics card! Sad to say, as the expansions and stuff packs piled up, some of the graphics cards that were deemed a-okay in the beginning became insufficient to run TS3. Which is horrible, but that's the way it goes. I recommend checking this list to see where your graphics card lies and see if that may be part of your problems.
Read the stuff at the top of the chart first!:
http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_System_Requirements#Desktop_Graphics_Card_Compatibility_and_Recommendations
You can find your graphics card information (on Windows, at least) by searching "dxdiag" in the search utility for your computer, opening up the program, and going over to the "display" tab. Ta-dah!
8. If you have any unnecessary programs running in the background (do you
really need Firefox running while you're playing The Sims? ',:T), close them! This can help with lag! But please be sure that whatever programs you close are actually unnecessary. Don't fiddle around with Task Manager unless you know exactly what you are doing.
That seems like enough to start... So, folks! Got any sweet tips that weren't mentioned here? Wanna make it so more people can enjoy TS3 without GROANING IN IRRITATION because of lag? wanna help me not have to pick and choose expansions because i want them all? THEN POST YOUR SWEET TIPS 'N TRICKS!
EDIT: Tossing in some feedback on this post regarding clean-up! C:
Do you mind a small amount of feedback?
2 - While okay to delete those script logs, it's not really necessary. They will begin rotating out by themselves after around 10-12 of them accumulate.
4 - Script and core mods should never be merged together or with other content. It's not really great to do that with tuning mods either as it makes updating and removing them more complicated. And all three types could
potentially not work correctly when merged.
6 - For those using NRaas MasterController, an MC reset of a sim, lot, or the entire town is much more thorough than the built-in testingcheatsenabled resetsim version.
And of course we have our ever popular Tips for Better Game Performance page. Not all of it is mod related.
http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Tips+For+Better+Game+Performance
Comments
Yes, NRAAS mods are very, VERY helpful for managing lag and making sure everything stays where it should be.
I use SP and Overwatch, SP mostly for keeping my game alive and not a deserted old western ghost town
And Overwatch for resetting for me, getting sims unstuck from those pesky fly traps I dropped on the hills one day. (It's a long story..)
2 - While okay to delete those script logs, it's not really necessary. They will begin rotating out by themselves after around 10-12 of them accumulate.
4 - Script and core mods should never be merged together or with other content. It's not really great to do that with tuning mods either as it makes updating and removing them more complicated. And all three types could potentially not work correctly when merged.
6 - For those using NRaas MasterController, an MC reset of a sim, lot, or the entire town is much more thorough than the built-in testingcheatsenabled resetsim version.
And of course we have our ever popular Tips for Better Game Performance page. Not all of it is mod related.
http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Tips+For+Better+Game+Performance
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Thaaaaaaaank you for your post! Very important things that I didn't mention there, so I'm gonna see if I can grab it and put it in the first post, if that's okay with you.
Good to keep your info up-to-date!
Wouldn't want to cause any problems.
It's the kind of information that's said over and over again, but it's frequently all over the place. I feel like having it in one place (on the official forum, no less!) would make things a lot easier.
StoryProgession mod can actually make your game laggy, you might want to set the manage cycles longer.
[ResourceSystem]
MemoryUsageLimit = half of your RAM (1gb=1000)
If the game were 64bit then this step will never be necessary as the game will automatically adjust itself. Also since the game was so old, the highest it can default for is 2000(2gb) of memory. So for everyone with 6gb of RAM and higher, I strongly suggest you do this.
I'm pretty sure I did some more for this game prior to investing on a gaming laptop but I can't remember them anymore. It has been a long time for me.
Only players on the Mac OS are still stuck with the 2 GB limit which, for them, cannot be overcome.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Despite giving it exactly half of my computer's RAM, it lagged HARD and it lagged A LOT. The above explains why.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Also added how to find that information.
I'll tuck that into the main post! C:
Should I ask the new guru? @SimGuruDrake ?