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Thread for new members to post their Sims 3 game issues (2020-22 version!)

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  • rachylalarachylala Posts: 10 New Member
    Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has ever had this kind of issue. Basically when I started playing The Sims 3 again a couple weeks ago it ran fine. I was playing the base game with no EPs, no mods and no editing to any the files. The only "tweak" I did was the vsync thing on the NVIDIA console.

    I wanted to try some mods so I installed overwatch, error trap and story progression. The game still seemed to work OK. I have since turned on Pets, Generations, and added the relativity mod and I found the gameplay a bit stuttery. Only slightly but just enough to be annoying.

    So I removed Generations EP and the relativity mod, and tweaked a load of files:
    -made sure my graphics card was found and matched (Geforce GT 620M)
    -changed the memory usage limit to 40000000 (I have 8GB RAM)
    -changed seti cpuLevelUber to 4,3,3,3
    -changed seti textureMemory to 1792
    -changed my computer's pagefile to 14000

    Yet it is still a bit stuttery. I worry I've changed too many things and some of the things may not actually make things faster?? It doesn't seem to make a difference what graphics settings I set in game.
  • rachylalarachylala Posts: 10 New Member
    > @rachylala said:
    > Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has ever had this kind of issue. Basically when I started playing The Sims 3 again a couple weeks ago it ran fine. I was playing the base game with no EPs, no mods and no editing to any the files. The only "tweak" I did was the vsync thing on the NVIDIA console.
    >
    > I wanted to try some mods so I installed overwatch, error trap and story progression. The game still seemed to work OK. I have since turned on Pets, Generations, and added the relativity mod and I found the gameplay a bit stuttery. Only slightly but just enough to be annoying.
    >
    > So I removed Generations EP and the relativity mod, and tweaked a load of files:
    > -made sure my graphics card was found and matched (Geforce GT 620M)
    > -changed the memory usage limit to 40000000 (I have 8GB RAM)
    > -changed seti cpuLevelUber to 4,3,3,3
    > -changed seti textureMemory to 1792
    > -changed my computer's pagefile to 14000
    >
    > Yet it is still a bit stuttery. I worry I've changed too many things and some of the things may not actually make things faster?? It doesn't seem to make a difference what graphics settings I set in game.

    Okay further to this message I posted earlier, after playing the game for more than a few minutes (that's all I did everytime I tested it!) it seems to be less jerky now. Things seemed to improve after I got a mod message about removing 69 stuck cars(!!!!!) so I don't know if that has anything to do with it, and perhaps I just had to wait for the mods to do their thing.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @rachylala - The NRaas Traffic mod on default settings should stop most of the vehicular overspawnage so you don't have to wait for Overwatch to find and clean them up overnight. If the source is performance career limos, Traffic has a setting that disallows those as well.

    Changing the memory setting does nothing for RAM usage, the game is already Large Address Aware as of Patch 1.17 and will use up to just short of 4 GB when it needs to. That setting is actually for something else, the game's script heap that by default is set to 20 GB (not 2 GB) and you have probably just changed it to 40 GB. I would recommend changing that back.

    I'm afraid that while you do have a dedicated graphics card, a GT 620M is way underpowered for the heaviest of the EPs -- those would be Pets, Seasons, IP, and ITF. Without knowing the rest of the specs you are working with like the processor, Uber level would be expected to overwhelm this card even without those expansions but it's great if you are getting good results with that. I would proceed cautiously, as your game saves grow in age and complexity, you may find that you are throwing a bit too much at this hardware for it to cope with very well.
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  • rachylalarachylala Posts: 10 New Member
    Thanks for the reply! Yeah it was working ok although I never had it on highest graphics setting anyway.

    I have an Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3317U CPU @ 1.70GH so it's kinda old I guess!

    Can each save have its own individual issues with things like lag? I'm wondering if I should start a new save without any EPs, just the mods, and see how it is.

    The lag is so minor but I'm just finding it annoying because it wasn't there when I first started playing and I'm worried I've broken something. Also like you said it might be that my save is getting larger and larger?
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @rachylala - Your processor is U-series, which means it is designed more for low power (battery/electricity) consumption than graphics intensive games. It's not its age that is really the issue, it's that it would have to run in Turbo mode constantly in order to service more than a couple of the earliest released EPs. And again the GPU is just not really strong enough by TS3 standards to carry a full load.

    Yes, each save can and will develop its own particular issues over time but that's true on just about any system. The mods will help, but they can only do so much.

    I wouldn't say that it's impossible to enjoy TS3 at all on that one, and clearly you can as you are seeing, but I wouldn't be pushing Pets or Seasons on it and expectations for very long running ongoing games especially with any form of story progression in control would be a bit low.
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  • rachylalarachylala Posts: 10 New Member
    Yeah I see what you're saying. I think I'll make a few adjustments to how I play and hopefully I won't overwork the system too much. Thanks so much for your advice!
  • whsb8whsb8 Posts: 1 New Member
    Hi ! none of my teenage female sims can age up in any town ive tried to play in and going into CAS just shows a loading screen (I left it overnight and it stayed on that loading screen all night). I have some cc installed and I think it might be that? but i have no idea how to find what bits are wrong and i have loads (!) so i dont really want to delete it all and redownload. Can anyone help?
    Thank you so much :smile:
  • kkmblykkmbly Posts: 1 New Member
    I'm missing a ton of CC and I don't know why. I've uninstalled and reinstalled all of my CC and I know it was in my Downloads folder and also my launcher, however, even though it says it was installed it is not in my game. :( Does anyone have any suggestions? Before launching my game, I clear the 5 package files in my TS3 folder, leaving only UserPresets as the only package file. I clear missingdeps.idx and dcc.ent from DCCache, everything in DCBackup except ccmerged. I clear downloadedsims.index from SavedSims and I check my Saves to make sure I don't have any bad files. I also delete all of the thumbnails from the FeaturedItems folder. I've tried changing the usable ram from 2 to 4 (I have 8gbs of ram in my computer), and that was a suggestion for crashing but I just wanted to mention it. I'm not crashing as much since I found and deleted the bad save I had, but I still crash sometimes. Usually once a night at least. If i'm playing, i'm crashing, it's just not 6 times in one sitting anymore.

    Oh, I also checked the timestamp on my deviceconfig file to make sure my game is reading the right download folder and the timestamp always matches up to when I last launched. I'm baffled!! Thanks in advance to anything anyone can share to help a fellow simmer out. :)
  • skc_simsskc_sims Posts: 14 New Member
    Ah ok, this explains why I can't make a post straight away! Anyway, I just need help verifying something. I've read on several posts that before installing a new patch or expansion pack, you need to remove all custom content. No problem, I can easily use my game launcher to do that and I've got all the content in my downloads folder on my laptop so I can re-install after. I've also read though that it's best to back up your game, so how do you do that? I've also discovered that my latest patch (as a disc user) is supposed to be 1.67, but my launcher says 1.42. I need the super-patcher to update, which I've got the link for but I'm kinda scared to do. Anything else I should know or do before using the super-patcher to update besides what I've already mentioned? If anyone has any corrections too let me know please. Hoping to install another expansion pack and the patch update soon, maybe. Sorry if this is wordy haha
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @skc_sims - You don't have to uninstall and reinstall your sims3pack custom content by way of the Launcher. What those (if they knew what they were talking about) in the past may have meant was it is a good idea to temporarily remove your DCCache file (or its contents) before adding EPs or patching up. Package based CC and mods, if you have any, can be temporarily removed from the Mods\Packages subfolder.

    But it is much more efficient to just pull out the entire TS3 user game folder from Documents, let the game generate a new one on the next startup that will thus have no added content at all nor your saved games, patch up and test with a new test game on the no-content folder to make sure that it's working correctly, and then put your original TS3 user game folder back in place once finished.

    The SuperPatcher is very safe to run, but it's still not a bad idea to pull the user game folder before running it anyway. And this is what they mean by backing up your game -- have a spare copy of your entire user game folder standing by in case something should go wrong.
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    NRaas has moved!
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  • skc_simsskc_sims Posts: 14 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @skc_sims - You don't have to uninstall and reinstall your sims3pack custom content by way of the Launcher. What those (if they knew what they were talking about) in the past may have meant was it is a good idea to temporarily remove your DCCache file (or its contents) before adding EPs or patching up. Package based CC and mods, if you have any, can be temporarily removed from the Mods\Packages subfolder.
    >
    > But it is much more efficient to just pull out the entire TS3 user game folder from Documents, let the game generate a new one on the next startup that will thus have no added content at all nor your saved games, patch up and test with a new test game on the no-content folder to make sure that it's working correctly, and then put your original TS3 user game folder back in place once finished.
    >
    > The SuperPatcher is very safe to run, but it's still not a bad idea to pull the user game folder before running it anyway. And this is what they mean by backing up your game -- have a spare copy of your entire user game folder standing by in case something should go wrong.


    Oh wow, ok! I've made a copy of 'The Sims 3' folder. I have only nobuildsparkles and nointro .package files in my mods folder, and 1 hair as a .package file. The rest of my cc is sims3pack. My apologies if I'm not getting it, but it seems like a big thing to do, to pull out the whole Sims 3 folder when I don't really have a lot of cc (just under 30) and I could just uninstall it all then put it back once I've installed the new patch and the EP. Seems quite risky! Or maybe it's just me aha idk, seems like a big thing to do. (I already have 3 EPs installed: generations, seasons and pets, idk if that matters) sorry if I'm not understanding correctly, never had to encounter this before, please correct me if I'm misunderstanding something haha! I'm only considering patching up so I can get the nraas master controller mod just to edit the family tree, I need the most recent patch but for some reason my launcher hasn't updated to it. My game is currently running fine before all this, so that's why I'm being very cautious, and probably confusing lol
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited March 2021
    @skc_sims - Pulling the user game folder out to generate a new one with the intent of putting the original one back in later is also what is called a "factory reset." It is harmless and an important part of troubleshooting when things with content and mods might go wrong. I realize you aren't doing that kind of troubleshooting here, but the point is that the entire folder is designed to be swappable.

    There are many players who play different sets of saved games with very different sets of content and swap their TS3 user game folders out frequently, some maybe as often as every time they start up their game. And those of us who test mods may have many game folders we put into place whenever we switch between our testing environments and our "real" gameplay ones. It's not as big a deal as it may seem to do this and it's the folder itself you would want to protect from damage during a patch up procedure.
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  • skc_simsskc_sims Posts: 14 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @skc_sims - Pulling the user game folder out to generate a new one with the intent of putting the original one back in later is also what is called a "factory reset." It is harmless and an important part of troubleshooting when things with content and mods might go wrong. I realize you aren't doing that kind of troubleshooting here, but the point is that the entire folder is designed to be swappable.
    >
    > There are many players who play different sets of saved games with very different sets of content and swap their TS3 user game folders out frequently, some maybe as often as every time they start up their game. And those of us who test mods may have many game folders we put into place whenever we switch between our testing environments and our "real" gameplay ones. It's not as big a deal as it may seem to do this and it's the folder itself you would want to protect from damage during a patch up procedure.

    Interesting. So people play with one saved game with some content, then when they want to play with others they swap the folder with another one then start playing with the other one and so on? Surprised it isn't game breaking, constantly swapping about folders. Like you said it's designed to be swappable apparently which is interesting. I'm just worried about losing a family I'm playing with, gotten attached haha.

    Ok, so let me just sum it up and you tell me if I've understood this right! Pull out 'The Sims 3' folder. Start up the game, which will generate a new folder but without my saved households and cc, then run the super-patcher to get the new patch, THEN install the EP? Does it matter which I do first, the EP or new patch? Then a new 'Sims 3' folder will generate blank (will this cause any problems since I already have 3 EPs installed?)

    And once I've done a test game to make sure everything's ok, I take out the newly generated 'Sims 3' file and leave it somewhere on my desktop (for any possible future testing purposes), put the old one back in with my saved households and cc, then I can continue with the new patch and EP?
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @skc_sims Yes, I think you've got it. Again, the swapping of game folder is allowed for by design. Think of the game as a very extensive set of spreadsheets or databases, sims and worlds are after all just complicated bundles of data. It's not at all harmful or weird to be working with totally different data sets at different times or have different users on the same computer or network expect to see different contents in their various own Documents folders.

    EP installs are program installs. The EPs and their elements exist in the Program Files, not in the user game folder in Documents. The Program Files do not change through just usage or store/custom content being added, they only change when patches are applied and new EPs and SPs are added. Removing or swapping the user game folder in Documents does not change or disturb the installed EPs. Families and saved games are all user data and are strictly in the removable user game folder, not in the Program files.

    I would probably Super Patch to 1.67 first, then add the EPs I want, then Super Patch again but that last step is probably redundant and it won't find anything further to patch the second time with no harm done.
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  • GasilGasil Posts: 2 New Member
    Hello, I have this bit of a problem, but it's happening on Sims 3 Pets on PS3 console.

    My painter sim sometimes wishes to paint a portrait of a person it just met, but there's virtually no way of being able to do that. My sim has a creative trait, is level 10 in painting skill and has completed the 3 milestones but still isn't able to paint a portrait of anybody. I recall in pc version you could get extra options on a canvas like painting a still-life, something from memory, or scenery, etc, after hitting certain level, but I'm just getting the three default options of available canvas sizes.

    -I've tried inviting a sim to come over and isolating it with my sim an the art easel in an ample room, but still no luck. Is this a glitch or in this version such interactions aren't implemented?

    Thanks for the help.
  • skc_simsskc_sims Posts: 14 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @skc_sims Yes, I think you've got it. Again, the swapping of game folder is allowed for by design. Think of the game as a very extensive set of spreadsheets or databases, sims and worlds are after all just complicated bundles of data. It's not at all harmful or weird to be working with totally different data sets at different times or have different users on the same computer or network expect to see different contents in their various own Documents folders.
    >
    > EP installs are program installs. The EPs and their elements exist in the Program Files, not in the user game folder in Documents. The Program Files do not change through just usage or store/custom content being added, they only change when patches are applied and new EPs and SPs are added. Removing or swapping the user game folder in Documents does not change or disturb the installed EPs. Families and saved games are all user data and are strictly in the removable user game folder, not in the Program files.
    >
    > I would probably Super Patch to 1.67 first, then add the EPs I want, then Super Patch again but that last step is probably redundant and it won't find anything further to patch the second time with no harm done.

    Okay. Once my expansion pack arrives I'll do it then. You really know your stuff haha! Thank you, since I seem to have it covered and you've answered all my questions I'll give it a go in a few days. I'll probably thank you again once I've done it all :)
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @Gasil - Not sure there are any current or former players of the console version of TS3 active on this section of the forum. If you don't get a response here, you may want to cross-post this to TS3's AHQ board to see if anyone active there can assist. The console version is quite different from the PC one in many ways.
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  • Fruity_pebbles19Fruity_pebbles19 Posts: 10 New Member
    Hi there! I had a Sim go to university with two terms. Immediately upon returning home, I went back for the second term and when she left the family home all was well. She finished the second term and attended the graduation ceremony with parents, brother, sister, and boyfriend. Everyone went home and again all was well. When I got back to SV, I split up the family girlfriend/boyfriend and parents/sister/brother were at the family house. At some point during the construction of girlfriend/boyfriends house, the boyfriend disappeared. I assumed maybe a glitch and I would add him back via over watch or master controller but that didn’t work at all. I decided to go visit the family home when I noticed that only the brother was at the family home. It shows in the relationships and friends bar that all four of them (sister, mom, dad, boyfriend) are now long distance but that shouldn’t be since we are in the same town. The other thing I saw was that no one was aging, similarly to how you don’t age when you’re in university. I reset both lots and nada. Googled everywhere and found nothing similar to this. I even waited until overwatch kicks in at 3 am but nothing changed.
  • frantastic922frantastic922 Posts: 23 Member
    I'm having an issue running the 64bit. I have a new MacBook Air (running on Big Sur 11.0.1) that I purchased this past spring. Every time I go into the game after loading an EP, the screen flickers in the neighborhood menu and doesn't stop. I've tried quitting and "repairing" it in Origin. Nothing is fixing it. Has anyone else had this issue?
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited March 2021
    @frantastic922 - Probably. There are a lot of technical issues with that version of the game and especially so for those with less than a dedicated graphics cards. The proposition of playing TS3, any version or type of install, on a MacBook Air has always been a dicey one, and with past models it was downright impossible because the components just weren't designed for that kind of usage.

    I'm going to suggest a cross-post on EA's TS3 for Mac AHQ board, as that is where they are compiling the issues and they can better tell you over there if there is a solution for that one.
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  • ambermarie922ambermarie922 Posts: 2 New Member
    I am having issues saving my sims outfits. When I am in CAS using "plan outfit" interaction, I change my sims outfit and hit the check mark, but it does nothing. I get a Nraas Selector script error. The only way for me to exit is by hitting Ctrl+alt+delete. I tried finding the problem by deleting all my mods but when I reopened my family's game, my sims were gone and I had a "missing object warning." So I restored the mods and my family was there again. My backup save is having the same problem. This isn't the first time I have had this problem, the only way to fix it was to move on and create a new family. But I really don't want to do that, could I have some tips on how to fix this, please?

    Here is the script error:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <NRaas.ErrorTrap>
    <ModVersion value="100"/>
    <BuildVersion value="0.2.0.32"/>
    <Installed value="BaseGame, EP1, EP2, EP3, EP4, SP4, EP5, EP6, EP7, EP8, SP8, EP9"/>
    <Enumerator value="3"/>
    <Content>
    Proxy: Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic

    Counter: 2
    Sim-Time: Mon. at 6:35 AM
    Start-Time: 03/10/2021 10:35:27
    PreLoadup-Time: 03/10/2021 10:35:52
    Loadup-Time: 03/10/2021 10:37:28
    Log-Time: 03/10/2021 10:42:48

    System.InvalidCastException: Cannot cast from source type to destination type.
    #0: 0x0003e castclass in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescription:DoesOutfitExistInMap (Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.OutfitCategoryMap,Sims3.SimIFace.CAS.SimOutfit) ([3BF49D58] [3A993AA0] )
    #1: 0x00019 call in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescription:SafeUncacheOutfit (Sims3.SimIFace.CAS.SimOutfit) ([3A993AA0] )
    #2: 0x0003a call in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescriptionCore:ClearOutfits (Sims3.SimIFace.CAS.OutfitCategories,bool) (482D9D48 [1] [1] )
    #3: 0x00021 call in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescriptionCore:ClearOutfits (bool) (482D9D48 [1] )
    #4: 0x0001b call in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescriptionCore:Set (Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescriptionCore) (482D9D48 [84D4BAA0] )
    #5: 0x00005 call in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescription:Set (Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.SimDescriptionCore) (482D9D48 [84D4BAA0] )
    #6: 0x0005b callvirt in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic:SaveSimToWorld () ()
    #7: 0x00002 callvirt in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic+SaveSimToWorldStep:Apply () ()
    #8: 0x0003e callvirt in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic+Operation:Apply () ()
    #9: 0x00027 callvirt in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic+CASOperationStack:Apply () ()
    #10: 0x00065 call in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic+CASOperationStack:Sync () ()
    #11: 0x0006e callvirt in Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.Sims3.Gameplay.CAS.CASLogic:Simulate () ()
    #12: 0x00023 callvirt in ScriptCore.ScriptCore.ScriptProxy:Simulate () ()


    </Content>
    </NRaas.ErrorTrap>
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @ambermarie922 - This looks like a corrupt outfit issue to me, but wait a moment. Plan Outfit calls up the EA version of CAS unless you have the MasterController Integration add-on module. It will also call up the EA version if you attempt it too soon after the game starts up, and this error is being thrown right at that point. The game clock needs to be moving forward smoothly for at least a few sim minutes before the mods fully take hold. It is possible that the EA version of CAS just doesn't understand this sim's data.

    So my question becomes, what happens if you wait a bit and then bring the sim into MasterController's Stylist (or full CAS) rather than use the Plan Outfit on the dresser interaction.

    If that doesn't seem to get you anywhere, or you weren't using MasterController in the first place, my next suggestion would be to bring this issue to us at NRaas. That's really the best place to be discussing game issues and script logs related to NRaas mods and our developer can offer more advice there than really anyone else can. :)
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  • ambermarie922ambermarie922 Posts: 2 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @ambermarie922 - This looks like a corrupt outfit issue to me, but wait a moment. Plan Outfit calls up the EA version of CAS unless you have the MasterController Integration add-on module. It will also call up the EA version if you attempt it too soon after the game starts up, and this error is being thrown right at that point. The game clock needs to be moving forward smoothly for at least a few sim minutes before the mods fully take hold. It is possible that the EA version of CAS just doesn't understand this sim's data.
    >
    > So my question becomes, what happens if you wait a bit and then bring the sim into MasterController's Stylist (or full CAS) rather than use the Plan Outfit on the dresser interaction.
    >
    > If that doesn't seem to get you anywhere, or you weren't using MasterController in the first place, my next suggestion would be to bring this issue to us at NRaas. That's really the best place to be discussing game issues and script logs related to NRaas mods and our developer can offer more advice there than really anyone else can. :)

    It worked when I used MasterController Stylist! So then I installed the Integration add-on and now it works in Plan Outfit too. Thank you so much
  • DAdvacateDAdvacate Posts: 1 New Member
    HELP PLEASE! I really want to download and create a world for the sims 3, but its looks like The Sims 3 has shut down the download for it. I searched the web for a bit but every download and link I found wasn't downloading or said the files were corrupt. If you could help me I promise you the world <3
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited March 2021
    @DAdvacate - You are attempting to download and install the Create A World (CAW) program? It should still be available, there is one version for Patch 1.67 and a different one for 1.69.
    https://www.thesims3.com/game/tools/world

    You have to be logged into your TS3 store account for the downloads to work. If your browser is fussing over an incomplete or corrupt download, please try a different browser. I was able to get the 1.67 version successfully downloaded just now on Firefox.
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