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    Expansions on a mid game PC

    silverwood02silverwood02 Posts: 73 Member
    in The Sims 3 General Discussion
    Hi
    After lots of discussions about my new laptop and Sims 3, I have another question for players with older PCs. Of all the expansions- which require the most processing power? My PC (2011) runs sims fine with worlds adventures, ambitions, late night & town life. Frame rates are around 40 which is fine. But I was looking at getting showtime and possibly Island Paradise, so was keen to know anyone's experiences with an older PC.
    Keith

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      jillbgjillbg Posts: 4,600 Member
      I can only say that Pets tend to complicate things, and Seasons. I'm on a high end computer running all EP's and stuffpacks smoothly, but this is what I've heard on the forums.
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      duhboy2u2duhboy2u2 Posts: 3,290 Member
      Back on my old pc the one that gave me the most headache was Island Paradise. I couldn't play in that world at all back then. I could run Seasons provided I turned the weather effects off so that I couldn't see the rain or snow falling and pets were ok as long as NRAAS was installed to curb the game's enthusiasm for them, but IP was just not doable at all.
      Loving yourself is the most simple and complicated thing you can do for you.
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      HeyItsKoffeeHeyItsKoffee Posts: 99 Member
      I used to run all eps on a 6 core, it wasn't too laggy but pets and LP were the ones that caused my new comp to lag so much.
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      silverwood02silverwood02 Posts: 73 Member
      Okay - thought pets and seasons would need a high processor or card. Shame about the Island Paradise, but there is an alternative - Sunlite tides. I quite like the idea of a nice warm beach! Am I right in thinking that showtime doesn't take much power either?
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      cwaddellcwaddell Posts: 4,960 Member
      edited March 2019
      silverwood02 wrote: »
      Okay - thought pets and seasons would need a high processor or card. Shame about the Island Paradise, but there is an alternative - Sunlite tides. I quite like the idea of a nice warm beach! Am I right in thinking that showtime doesn't take much power either?

      The problem with Island Paradise is not the expansion itself but the world that comes with it - Ilsa Paradiso. It has routing problems. Ellacharmed has fixed the problems with EA's worlds including Ilsa Paradiso found here - https://www.modthesims.info/browse.php?gs=0&u=1515002

      P. S.
      If you do not use mods there are instructions somewhere that step you through fixing most of the problems.
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      igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
      edited March 2019
      As others have indicated, Pets and Seasons are by far the heaviest hitters. Those would be followed by IP and ITF, probably tied for third place.

      But yes, the IP world is design-flawed and as it comes will glitch on most any system. Fixed up versions of it are available, here is another approach:
      https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/811253/removing-ip-lag/p1
      o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
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      silverwood02silverwood02 Posts: 73 Member
      Ok - I dont use any mods, as I not very good at installing things correctly. But from what you say I would need to add these mods, if I want the Island Paradise. I see on the web site that others EPs are also shown, what does routing problems mean?
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      igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
      The fixed up version of Isla Paradiso I just linked you to does not require mod usage in any way, although NRaas Overwatch, ErrorTrap, Traffic, and GoHere are always recommended (not required) to improve game performance, as is MasterController for its Town Hall Reset Everything command. That solution does not require replacing the underlying installed .world file either, it concentrates on fixing up the broken lots in that world that cause the game engine to misbehave and provides as an option a ready to play saved game in that world with all of the fixes already applied for you.

      Or one could use the IP expansion pack features elsewhere, in other worlds. Boating requires actual bodies of water of course, deep sea diving requires dive lots that are deep enough to work properly (not all worlds have water that runs deep enough), resorts can work anywhere.

      A routing issue exists when sims are pushed by the player or the game itself, and this means our actively played sims as well as the inactive residents and other sims in town, to go someplace but they cannot calculate a route their destination without failing. The game engine will try furiously in some cases to keep routing sims in and out of their own homes, for example, and grind the game to a halt in the process if the lot they live on is seriously flawed or if the roads/sidewalks are broken. The effects can drag game performance down to a halt, even when the sims we are looking at and controlling are themselves nowhere near these lot issues.
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      Satanu_ReevesSatanu_Reeves Posts: 402 Member
      Sorry this is off topic, but may I know what ITF does to bog down performance?
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      igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
      Satanu_Reeves wrote: »
      Sorry this is off topic, but may I know what ITF does to bog down performance?
      That would be the almost constant, or far too often anyway, recalculations of descendants while gameplay is in the homeworlds. Slower/weaker processors do not need the extra strain as many of them are under too much already while running the game.

      And the food synthesizers. Not being serious on this point, I just don't like them. ;)
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      GraceyManorGraceyManor Posts: 20,080 Member
      edited March 2019
      I would say:

      Seasons
      Island Paradise
      Into the Future
      Pets
      World Adventures
      As the top 5 resource hogs.
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      ClarionOfJoyClarionOfJoy Posts: 1,945 Member
      GraceyManor wrote: »
      I would say:

      Seasons
      Island Paradise
      Into the Future
      Pets
      World Adventures
      As the top 5 resource hogs.

      How is World Adventures a resource hog? Just curious, because I don't see any problems with it in my games.
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      Satanu_ReevesSatanu_Reeves Posts: 402 Member
      @igazor Thank you.
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