Gosh it keeps getting worse.
So i am playing the sims and it permanantly freezes the plumbob and shadows move but the sim doesnt i cant pause play or do ctrl shift c i tried closing and reopening, didnt work. hell I have to restart my computer to even close it ////
Have you found your TS3 user game folder yet? If it happens to be in OneDrive, instead of your regular Documents folder/library where it should be, that can kill game performance because OneDrive is designed to sync with the cloud. That should never happen while a game is being played.
Which world(s) are you playing?
And can we get some specs, meaning processor, RAM, graphics card, hard drive size and space free, on the system you are playing on? If you wish or if it's easier, please run a full dxdiag report, save the results to Pastebin.com (the free version is fine), and provide a link, broken up like by using "h.t.t.p.s." so we can read it. Also please mention how many Expansion Packs, and which ones, are in play. https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information
Do Intel Celeron graphics work for Sims 3? Because my CAS is acting up. I think I enabled multiple accessories on Master Controller, and it has something to do with adding CC teeth. Now every clothing or accessory item I click just blinks, and I can't change any of my outfits! I even tried disabling multiple accessories and removing my all my CC teeth but it ends up not working at all! I even tried moving all my script mods out, and that didn't work either! If someone finds a solution or had my problem before, please let me know! :-(
@forttucker33 Celeron processors are weak compared to the hardware typically recommended to run TS3. Many of them only have two cores, which will have to juggle the game, Windows, and anything else you're doing at the same time. Some of the newer ones have a base clock speed sufficient for TS3, but not all of them; and even the strongest new ones will have trouble keeping up with the demands of the game.
But more importantly, laptops that have Celeron processors generally don't come with dedicated graphics cards, and the graphics chip integrated into the processor is far too weak to handle TS3. The problems you're describing are likely due to insufficient graphics processing power, at least for the most part, not the processor itself.
I very much doubt there's anything you could do about the graphics in this computer; the graphics card in a laptop can't be upgraded, apart from some very high-end models. This system isn't really designed to run even a moderately demanding game like TS3 anyway. If you keep playing, you run the risk of having it overheat and damaging its hardware.
If you do intend to keep playing on this system, you'll need to protect it as much as possible. That means, among other things, that any custom content that's causing issues needs to go. It might be bad cc, or it might just require more resources to render than your computer has. Either way, you're better off going without it. Multiple accessories are also more demanding, not by a whole lot but still perhaps enough to cause problems on a system that's already on the edge.
Hopefully, when you removed your mods and cc, you also deleted the cache files in your game folder in Documents. If not, do it now, and see if it makes a difference. For reference, they are:
CASPartCache.package
compositorCache.package
scriptCache.package
simCompositorCache.package
socialCache.package
If that doesn't fix things, put MasterController back in, along with resource.cfg (delete scriptCache.package again), and then reset your sims. Click on each one and select NRaas > MC > Advanced Reset Sim. Then see if you can modify them in CAS
If that doesn't help, pull your entire TS3 game folder out of Documents and onto your desktop. Open the launcher to create a new game folder and then copy over Saves from your old folder to your new one. Test your save to see if it helps any. You can put MasterController into the new folder and try another reset. If not, your only option may be to save your sims to the bin and place them in a new save. (Be sure to quit to desktop and delete your cache files before starting the new save.) The sims will keep their skills and relationships to each other, but they won't know anyone in the new town. Still, it's not as bad as starting over entirely.
@puzzlezaddict Yeah! I did all that, but still no luck! I also tend to clean out my Windows cache files as well. I'm running on Windows 8.1 and I have 2 cores and 2 logical processors...and I even tried upgrading to AMD graphics cards...which weren't even compatible for my device! I heard those cards were really good! Guess you can't do much with dual cores... :-(
Guess there was no solution for the graphics, but there was a solution for the performance. Getting RiverTuner and QuickCPU is one solution? I heard that that makes processors more useful.
Unless...could there be some solutions for graphic settings that I need to update that worked out somewhere for some users so I don't mess up my GraphicRules.ini file?
@forttucker33 There really isn't anything out there that's going to improve your processor's performance. Quick CPU isn't going to help here because your processor is likely already operating at its max. The tool allows you to prevent cores from idling, but your CPU's two cores are already going to be running while you play. Quick CPU also allows users to tweak the use of Turbo Boost to maximize performance, but Celeron processors don't even have Turbo. Many have something called Burst, which is similar, but even if yours does, it's probably already using it just to run TS3.
RivaTuner Statistics Server is a frame rate limiter. It can help a bit sometimes with weaker cards that are showing graphics glitches, but more like general flickering or screen tearing. You can certainly install it to test; it won't do any harm. But it's not going to fix your game either.
I wouldn't try to tweak graphicsrules. The edits could make TS3 think your hardware is stronger than it is, but that would do more harm than good. The game is likely already throttling performance to match your system, and telling it that this is unnecessary will only increase the stress on your computer. Even getting your graphics chip recognized is unlikely to help, since it's probably already properly rated.
Unfortunately, there's no getting around your hardware's limitations. You can help your system a bit by not running anything while you play; turning down graphics settings; disabling memories, the hidden object interactive loading screens, and the in-game shopping experience; not logging in at either the launcher or Main Menu; and running a MasterController town reset (click on City Hall and select NRaas > MC > Town Options > Reset Everything) every few sim-weeks. But ultimately, your system's performance will be severely limited no matter what you do.
...And I just got my laptop for a birthday present. :-( I thought that all dual cores came with 4 logical processors. Guess that sure defies my knowledge about how the quality of computers work.
@puzzlezaddict Well, thanks for the assistance anyways. :-) Turbo Boost is a component a computer could have? Is that some kind of technology some low-quality computers like Asus, Lenovo or Toshiba computers can't have? If so, what could be a good decent computer for "Sim-ming"---not that I can afford one. I'm still a youth. :-(
Oh, and also I heard that Sims 3 only uses half the ram an average computer has, so...errr...I'm afraid I already edited the Sims3.ini file to boost that--but that's the ONLY thing I did. And that boosted the performance just a bit. So it works a little bit like QuickCPU, I guess...using the maximum ram that I have which is 4 gigs.
@forttucker33 The logical processor count refers to threading, a process where a core can run two tasks ("threads") side by side, as if it's two cores instead of one. Hyperthreading, as it's called, does make a processor more efficient, as it can act in a way like a CPU with twice the number of cores. But it only works if the processes running on each thread don't take up all the core's resources. The core itself is still just as powerful, or just as weak, as if it couldn't hyperthread at all. It's just splitting that same finite number of resources among multiple tasks that each need their own thread, but also don't each need all the resources of the entire core.
Sims 3 is demanding enough that it can use all the resources of both your CPU's cores, and more. Windows will also need resources to run, as will anything else you're running while you play. That's why I said it would help to have nothing else open in the background.
Thread count is kind of a hard thing to search for en masse, but it looks like Celeron processors generally don't have the ability to hyperthread. The newer dual core Intel Core processors do, in general if not always, and so do the new lower end AMD CPUs. Celerons are a level below that, and they don't have some of the features you'd expect in even an entry level gaming computer.
The issue with Sims 3 is that it's a 32-bit app, meaning it can't use more than 4 GB RAM at a time, which really translates to more like 3.7 GB. There isn't any way around this limit. What you may have read about is increasing the limit of the script heap, which by default is 20 GB, not 2; the tip to change this number likely started with someone miscounting the number of zeroes. I doubt there was any actual improvement in performance, although other troubleshooting you were doing at the time may have helped. It's best to undo this change anyway, as it doesn't help and might theoretically mess things up. Besides, your computer's effective limit will be much lower, since Windows will take a sizeable portion of your installed RAM for itself.
When looking at specs, it's important to check the processor model, not necessarily the brand name on the laptop (although of course some companies make better products than others). These days, most gaming laptops have one of about a half a dozen different CPUs, all of which are made by either Intel or AMD; but both companies also make much weaker, and much stronger, processors. So you really do need to either understand what statistics to look for, or have a list of good enough processors memorized. And yes, all these have turbo boost, although so do many weaker models not suitable for TS3.
Anyway, with good luck on sales, I can almost always find a computer that will run TS3 and all packs on the highest settings for under $800 U.S. (Prices are higher in other countries.) However, there are also many models in that category that wouldn't handle the game well at all. If you're ever looking to buy, you're welcome to ask for help picking out something, or you can post the specs of a model you're considering and ask whether it would work. The processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage arrangement will all factor in, as will the specific model's cooling system. TS3 generates a lot of heat, and it can quickly overwhelm a laptop that doesn't cool itself properly.
I'm sorry that this laptop isn't capable of the kind of performance you were hoping for, all the more so because it's a recent gift. I wish there were a way to make TS3 run better, but it just doesn't adjust well to weaker hardware.
[quote="igazor;c-17079959"]@Rumorzz - By all means restart your computer to see if that helps. But TS3 and TS4 are totally independent games, and programmed very differently from each other. Unless you have a hard drive that is full (or does not have enough free space) or is damaged or beginning to fail mechanically, installing a mod into one game should have zero effect on the other.
Just to confirm here though, you did not any time try to install MCCC into the Mods\Packages framework folder of TS3? The game wouldn't know what to do with TS4 mods and all kinds of bad things will happen if a TS4 (or TS2) file finds its way into the TS3 user game folder in Documents.[/quote]
Ah, thanks so much! I checked, and no, I didn’t put it in the Sims 3 Mods folder, but when I restarted my computer it helped... I really should’ve thought of that. I’m a ding-dong sometimes! 😅 My dad’s first technology lesson didn’t hit me, “If something’s not working, restart it or turn it on and off again.” Thanks again!
I have a GTX 960 GPU i5 4460 CPU a 1TB HDD 8gb RAM
Long time ago i had a different slow pc and the game took 35 mins to load. Before i attempt into installing everything again (which took me a good chunk of time), how faster would my loading time be on this machine?. Im looking at ...maybe less than 10 -12 minutes? Also, is Island EP worth installing (heard it has problems with lag).
What solely interests me is the loading time, i dont think i will have gameplay lag, even 30FPS if fine, but the loading times is basically why i preffered sims 2 and 4 over this in the past, when i had a much worse machine.
@iedy - Experiences are going to vary and it will depend on the world being played, but on that hardware set with all EPs in play a newly or recently started game should load in 3-5 minutes or less. An SSD would improve things further, but your drive is the HDD kind. CC will add to the startup time, as will some mods. As ongoing games progress, they pick up bloat that will also add to the startup time. NRaas mods can help reduce that kind of impact and keep ongoing games cleaner and faster to load as can several tricks like disallowing scrapbook memories (or controlling them with a mod) and playing offline. http://www.nraas.net/community/TIPS-FOR-BETTER-GAME-PERFORMANCE
Once the game is installed, you will need to cap the fps rate of your GTX 960 for TS3 to the refresh rate of your monitor. Most are 60 Hz, so that would be 60 fps, some can run higher. Unlike more modern games, TS3 has no functional built-in fps limiter. The usual suggested tools are the Nvidia Control Panel (for vertical sync) and Nvidia Inspector (to explicitly set the frame rate cap and so this will also function in windowed mode). We can help you with that if needed once you get things installed and running.
The Island Paradise EP is fine, it's the Isla Paradiso world that comes with it that is design-flawed and for most not playable. It needs to be fixed up first, ciane's already fixed up version used as a saved game starting point as just linked to, or the content can be used in other worlds.
@puzzlezaddict Thanks for the info! I'll look forward to it in the mere future...(when I get a life. *Tear*)! :-( But the good news is that I have minimum requirement I need for the game anyways. And I found that using RiverTuner to lock frames to 60 frames per second gradually assisted with my game performance. For the least. ;-)
Oh, and @iedy ! I also have a suggestion to reduce lag! Go to your Sims.ini file and change the 20000 to 40000 to increase RAM! That's located in Program Files (x86)--Origin or Steam folder by default! Sims 3/Game/Bin/! And also for your in-game settings, you can also turn ON object hiding and turn OFF high detail lots as well as the draw distance, and lighting and shadows should be on LOW! Those are the culprits of lag as well! ;-)
Oh, and @iedy ! I also have a suggestion to reduce lag! Go to your Sims.ini file and change the 20000 to 40000 to increase RAM! That's located in Program Files (x86)--Origin or Steam folder by default! Sims 3/Game/Bin/! And also for your in-game settings, you can also turn ON object hiding and turn OFF high detail lots as well as the draw distance, and lighting and shadows should be on LOW! Those are the culprits of lag as well! ;-)
Sorry, I know you are trying to be helpful but the 20000 setting you are referring to is not RAM usage even though it looks like it, it is the maximum allowed size of the game's script heat that is by default set to 20 GB (the increase would make that 40 GB and is not recommended). Some players found this .ini setting many years ago, either counted the 0s wrong or confused bytes with kilobytes, and incorrectly proclaimed it to be RAM usage. We still see this "tip" on various websites occasionally, but it just doesn't really do anything useful for the game.
TS3 for Windows has been Large Address Aware ever since Patch 1.17 released back in 2010 and will use/reach for just short of 4 GB of RAM on its own when it needs to, if the RAM is available. That is the maximum possible for a 32-bit application. The Mac version of the game has its own 2 GB limit and that can never be overcome.
We usually recommend that High Detail Lots be set no higher than 2. For most players, unless they have low-end hardware or the worlds in which they are playing are overly intricate, Lighting and Shadows can be on medium to high as can Draw Distance. The other game option to look for is Reflections (water and mirrors), that one should probably go no higher than medium as its resource usage is very high compared to the benefit gained.
@igazor Oh...my...goodness. I've been following this performance guide from the Steam community called "The Sims 3 | Performance & Bug Fix Guide 2019" (can't really post the actual link for it at the moment) for about some months now. Was that supposed to be for Steam users? :O
And I also thought that editing the Sims.ini file to increase the RAM usage was an alternative for the 4GB Patcher by NTCore...it worked for my Sims 2 game! It's just a little executable file you use. Then you click on a program to 4GB-patch...then boom! Your game is 2x faster than it was. It's for low-end programs that only use 2GB at a time. No harm done! :-)
I haven't had any errors while following the guide...but I might of messed something up. Good thing I have my backup files for my GraphcRules.ini and Sims.ini anyways...although my blinking outfit error still remains present, no matter what settings I change. :-(
Maybe I just need to leave settings alone...let the game play itself...and stop using programs...
It's almost like taking medicines...to make yourself work better...but for some reason...nothing huge happens...right?...Right? *LOL*
@forttucker33 - TS3 doesn't need the 4 GB patcher executable for the same reason. It used to benefit from that on some systems before TS3 became Large Address Aware with Patch 1.17. I can't see where that executable would do any harm to the game now, but it would just be redundant. This is one thing the developers did do correctly, as the EPs began rolling out they saw that the game was never going to survive as well as it could on up to date versions of Windows with its original 2 GB limit. The patch that took care of that was released alongside of Late Night.
TS2, being a much older program, I am sure is a different story as at the time it went out of development players didn't have anywhere near the RAM that they tend to have to work with today.
Okey, i installed the game. It works suprsingly well, the load times was less than 3 minutes which was great. Now on to the more advanced matters":
1. I get screen tearing, so i have to enable VSYNC through Nvidia Control Panel or other means (i will post if it works) 2. My GTX 960 is not recognised, guess we have to solve this as well. 3. Other than that, i will do the several tricks you suggested on the NRaas link.
> @iedy said: > Okey, i installed the game. It works suprsingly well, the load times was less than 3 minutes which was great. Now on to the more advanced matters": > > 1. I get screen tearing, so i have to enable VSYNC through Nvidia Control Panel or other means (i will post if it works) > 2. My GTX 960 is not recognised, guess we have to solve this as well. > 3. Other than that, i will do the several tricks you suggested on the NRaas link.
Managed to fix the GPU and VSYNC problem thorugh nice tutorials on internet, the game works alright for now, if any problems pops up i will contact you guys ! Thanks for the support
So I just tried to go onto the sims 3, and it has come up with service initialization failed. I found some threads not on the forum and I followed those steps, deleting cache, renaming folders, deleting mods etc and none of it has worked. Help?
So I just tried to go onto the sims 3, and it has come up with service initialization failed. I found some threads not on the forum and I followed those steps, deleting cache, renaming folders, deleting mods etc and none of it has worked. Help?
Was the game ever uninstalled and then later reinstalled on this computer? If so, the Windows registry would have needed to be cleaned in between, before the reinstall. We usually recommend a third party tool such as the free version of Piriform's CCleaner for that.
If that's not it, the usual solution is to rename or pull out your TS3 user game folder from Documents to see if you can get the game started up on the new, no content game folder that will spawn to replace it. Also make sure the drive on which you are running the game has plenty of free space to work with.
If you are playing the Mac version of the game, not on Windows, then there are other causes for this error.
This seems weird to me but don't know if its a problem. Whenever glitches like clicking on something and not having proper possible interactions show up, I'd exit and clear my game caches. With most ep's, lots of mods and exchange cc, this type of thing happened a LOT. Finally just created a shortcut to the game folder and cleared those caches every time I quit playing. Worked great.
Out of the blue, cache stuff stopped being generated. One little kb in each of those four files no matter how much or how many times I played. Once in awhile a few hundred will show up in the second and fourth cache. (Sorry, not sure what they're called at the moment) I understand that if it ain't broke, don't fix it (or b#@#h about it), but this doesn't make sense. Fairly certain the game can't be trained to automatically clean itself up. I checked through the "documents" path to see if my shortcut showing different files and everything is identical. What I'm wondering is if there is another hidden duplicate file somewhere on my computer, such as I've read some people get when they've deleted a household but it keeps showing up in game as inactive household? Is there a massively bloated cache lurking somewhere on my system waiting to jump out and crash everything? Or am I being, well, me?
@Vgrace573 - Let's go with a combination of some of those factors.
Different kinds of worlds are programmed to cache in different ways. The base game and EP worlds should be caching to places within the Program Files that we cannot really reach, store and CC worlds cache directly to the user game folder in Documents. When those tiny 1 kb cache appear and persist, we believe they are acting as pointers to where the real caching is happening. It is impossible however to follow those pointers and clearing (deleting) them seems to have the same impact as doing so when the much larger cache files appear. We have to take some comfort in the fact that on one has ever reported their games exploding or running out of drive space while managing such caches that way, so the game must be performing some kind of cleanup for us when those tiny cache file pointers are removed.
Note that these worlds do not generate WorldCache files within that folder either.
The two cache files that do sometimes expand on you are probably doing so due to CAS usage, as that would not really be world specific.
Hi, I'm in need of some help with my Sims 3 game. I play it on a PC laptop and it has worked just fine for months now.
This morning when I went to play the game, the loading screen was all flashing static. I went through Origin like normal, the game launcher came up like normal, but when I selected play it didn't show any of the normal loading screen stuff. Instead it was just bright flashes of white static. Eventually it turned into a solid static screen - Sims music still playing in the background, but I was unable to select anything.
It's really annoying that I can't make my own post, because I have a video that I would like to post. I think it's hard to explain my issue without being able to see the video.
@magrgu16 - None of us can post videos directly to the forum. What we can do is host the video someplace else and provide a link to it. As a New Member you wouldn't be able to embed the link within a post, but you could still provide a broken up link to it using something like "h.t.t.p." or spaces, as long as we can figure out where it is supposed to direct us.
What might be more helpful though is if we could get some specs on this laptop like processor, RAM, video card, hard drive free space and the number of EPs (and which ones) are in play. If it's easier or if you would prefer, you could run a dxdiag report on it, send it up to Pastebin.com, and provide a broken up link to it so we can read it. https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information
Comments
Which world(s) are you playing?
And can we get some specs, meaning processor, RAM, graphics card, hard drive size and space free, on the system you are playing on? If you wish or if it's easier, please run a full dxdiag report, save the results to Pastebin.com (the free version is fine), and provide a link, broken up like by using "h.t.t.p.s." so we can read it. Also please mention how many Expansion Packs, and which ones, are in play.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
But more importantly, laptops that have Celeron processors generally don't come with dedicated graphics cards, and the graphics chip integrated into the processor is far too weak to handle TS3. The problems you're describing are likely due to insufficient graphics processing power, at least for the most part, not the processor itself.
I very much doubt there's anything you could do about the graphics in this computer; the graphics card in a laptop can't be upgraded, apart from some very high-end models. This system isn't really designed to run even a moderately demanding game like TS3 anyway. If you keep playing, you run the risk of having it overheat and damaging its hardware.
If you do intend to keep playing on this system, you'll need to protect it as much as possible. That means, among other things, that any custom content that's causing issues needs to go. It might be bad cc, or it might just require more resources to render than your computer has. Either way, you're better off going without it. Multiple accessories are also more demanding, not by a whole lot but still perhaps enough to cause problems on a system that's already on the edge.
Hopefully, when you removed your mods and cc, you also deleted the cache files in your game folder in Documents. If not, do it now, and see if it makes a difference. For reference, they are:
- CASPartCache.package
- compositorCache.package
- scriptCache.package
- simCompositorCache.package
- socialCache.package
If that doesn't fix things, put MasterController back in, along with resource.cfg (delete scriptCache.package again), and then reset your sims. Click on each one and select NRaas > MC > Advanced Reset Sim. Then see if you can modify them in CASIf that doesn't help, pull your entire TS3 game folder out of Documents and onto your desktop. Open the launcher to create a new game folder and then copy over Saves from your old folder to your new one. Test your save to see if it helps any. You can put MasterController into the new folder and try another reset. If not, your only option may be to save your sims to the bin and place them in a new save. (Be sure to quit to desktop and delete your cache files before starting the new save.) The sims will keep their skills and relationships to each other, but they won't know anyone in the new town. Still, it's not as bad as starting over entirely.
Guess there was no solution for the graphics, but there was a solution for the performance. Getting RiverTuner and QuickCPU is one solution? I heard that that makes processors more useful.
Unless...could there be some solutions for graphic settings that I need to update that worked out somewhere for some users so I don't mess up my GraphicRules.ini file?
RivaTuner Statistics Server is a frame rate limiter. It can help a bit sometimes with weaker cards that are showing graphics glitches, but more like general flickering or screen tearing. You can certainly install it to test; it won't do any harm. But it's not going to fix your game either.
I wouldn't try to tweak graphicsrules. The edits could make TS3 think your hardware is stronger than it is, but that would do more harm than good. The game is likely already throttling performance to match your system, and telling it that this is unnecessary will only increase the stress on your computer. Even getting your graphics chip recognized is unlikely to help, since it's probably already properly rated.
Unfortunately, there's no getting around your hardware's limitations. You can help your system a bit by not running anything while you play; turning down graphics settings; disabling memories, the hidden object interactive loading screens, and the in-game shopping experience; not logging in at either the launcher or Main Menu; and running a MasterController town reset (click on City Hall and select NRaas > MC > Town Options > Reset Everything) every few sim-weeks. But ultimately, your system's performance will be severely limited no matter what you do.
@puzzlezaddict Well, thanks for the assistance anyways. :-) Turbo Boost is a component a computer could have? Is that some kind of technology some low-quality computers like Asus, Lenovo or Toshiba computers can't have? If so, what could be a good decent computer for "Sim-ming"---not that I can afford one. I'm still a youth. :-(
Oh, and also I heard that Sims 3 only uses half the ram an average computer has, so...errr...I'm afraid I already edited the Sims3.ini file to boost that--but that's the ONLY thing I did. And that boosted the performance just a bit. So it works a little bit like QuickCPU, I guess...using the maximum ram that I have which is 4 gigs.
Sims 3 is demanding enough that it can use all the resources of both your CPU's cores, and more. Windows will also need resources to run, as will anything else you're running while you play. That's why I said it would help to have nothing else open in the background.
Thread count is kind of a hard thing to search for en masse, but it looks like Celeron processors generally don't have the ability to hyperthread. The newer dual core Intel Core processors do, in general if not always, and so do the new lower end AMD CPUs. Celerons are a level below that, and they don't have some of the features you'd expect in even an entry level gaming computer.
The issue with Sims 3 is that it's a 32-bit app, meaning it can't use more than 4 GB RAM at a time, which really translates to more like 3.7 GB. There isn't any way around this limit. What you may have read about is increasing the limit of the script heap, which by default is 20 GB, not 2; the tip to change this number likely started with someone miscounting the number of zeroes. I doubt there was any actual improvement in performance, although other troubleshooting you were doing at the time may have helped. It's best to undo this change anyway, as it doesn't help and might theoretically mess things up. Besides, your computer's effective limit will be much lower, since Windows will take a sizeable portion of your installed RAM for itself.
When looking at specs, it's important to check the processor model, not necessarily the brand name on the laptop (although of course some companies make better products than others). These days, most gaming laptops have one of about a half a dozen different CPUs, all of which are made by either Intel or AMD; but both companies also make much weaker, and much stronger, processors. So you really do need to either understand what statistics to look for, or have a list of good enough processors memorized. And yes, all these have turbo boost, although so do many weaker models not suitable for TS3.
Anyway, with good luck on sales, I can almost always find a computer that will run TS3 and all packs on the highest settings for under $800 U.S. (Prices are higher in other countries.) However, there are also many models in that category that wouldn't handle the game well at all. If you're ever looking to buy, you're welcome to ask for help picking out something, or you can post the specs of a model you're considering and ask whether it would work. The processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage arrangement will all factor in, as will the specific model's cooling system. TS3 generates a lot of heat, and it can quickly overwhelm a laptop that doesn't cool itself properly.
I'm sorry that this laptop isn't capable of the kind of performance you were hoping for, all the more so because it's a recent gift. I wish there were a way to make TS3 run better, but it just doesn't adjust well to weaker hardware.
Just to confirm here though, you did not any time try to install MCCC into the Mods\Packages framework folder of TS3? The game wouldn't know what to do with TS4 mods and all kinds of bad things will happen if a TS4 (or TS2) file finds its way into the TS3 user game folder in Documents.[/quote]
Ah, thanks so much! I checked, and no, I didn’t put it in the Sims 3 Mods folder, but when I restarted my computer it helped... I really should’ve thought of that. I’m a ding-dong sometimes! 😅 My dad’s first technology lesson didn’t hit me, “If something’s not working, restart it or turn it on and off again.” Thanks again!
I have a GTX 960 GPU
i5 4460 CPU
a 1TB HDD
8gb RAM
Long time ago i had a different slow pc and the game took 35 mins to load. Before i attempt into installing everything again (which took me a good chunk of time), how faster would my loading time be on this machine?. Im looking at ...maybe less than 10 -12 minutes? Also, is Island EP worth installing (heard it has problems with lag).
What solely interests me is the loading time, i dont think i will have gameplay lag, even 30FPS if fine, but the loading times is basically why i preffered sims 2 and 4 over this in the past, when i had a much worse machine.
http://www.nraas.net/community/TIPS-FOR-BETTER-GAME-PERFORMANCE
Once the game is installed, you will need to cap the fps rate of your GTX 960 for TS3 to the refresh rate of your monitor. Most are 60 Hz, so that would be 60 fps, some can run higher. Unlike more modern games, TS3 has no functional built-in fps limiter. The usual suggested tools are the Nvidia Control Panel (for vertical sync) and Nvidia Inspector (to explicitly set the frame rate cap and so this will also function in windowed mode). We can help you with that if needed once you get things installed and running.
The Island Paradise EP is fine, it's the Isla Paradiso world that comes with it that is design-flawed and for most not playable. It needs to be fixed up first, ciane's already fixed up version used as a saved game starting point as just linked to, or the content can be used in other worlds.
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But the good news is that I have minimum requirement I need for the game anyways. And I found that using RiverTuner to lock frames to 60 frames per second gradually assisted with my game performance. For the least. ;-)
Oh, and @iedy ! I also have a suggestion to reduce lag! Go to your Sims.ini file and change the 20000 to 40000 to increase RAM! That's located in Program Files (x86)--Origin or Steam folder by default! Sims 3/Game/Bin/! And also for your in-game settings, you can also turn ON object hiding and turn OFF high detail lots as well as the draw distance, and lighting and shadows should be on LOW! Those are the culprits of lag as well! ;-)
TS3 for Windows has been Large Address Aware ever since Patch 1.17 released back in 2010 and will use/reach for just short of 4 GB of RAM on its own when it needs to, if the RAM is available. That is the maximum possible for a 32-bit application. The Mac version of the game has its own 2 GB limit and that can never be overcome.
We usually recommend that High Detail Lots be set no higher than 2. For most players, unless they have low-end hardware or the worlds in which they are playing are overly intricate, Lighting and Shadows can be on medium to high as can Draw Distance. The other game option to look for is Reflections (water and mirrors), that one should probably go no higher than medium as its resource usage is very high compared to the benefit gained.
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And I also thought that editing the Sims.ini file to increase the RAM usage was an alternative for the 4GB Patcher by NTCore...it worked for my Sims 2 game! It's just a little executable file you use. Then you click on a program to 4GB-patch...then boom! Your game is 2x faster than it was. It's for low-end programs that only use 2GB at a time. No harm done! :-)
I haven't had any errors while following the guide...but I might of messed something up. Good thing I have my backup files for my GraphcRules.ini and Sims.ini anyways...although my blinking outfit error still remains present, no matter what settings I change. :-(
Maybe I just need to leave settings alone...let the game play itself...and stop using programs...
It's almost like taking medicines...to make yourself work better...but for some reason...nothing huge happens...right?...Right? *LOL*
TS2, being a much older program, I am sure is a different story as at the time it went out of development players didn't have anywhere near the RAM that they tend to have to work with today.
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(Me, not included.)
1. I get screen tearing, so i have to enable VSYNC through Nvidia Control Panel or other means (i will post if it works)
2. My GTX 960 is not recognised, guess we have to solve this as well.
3. Other than that, i will do the several tricks you suggested on the NRaas link.
> Okey, i installed the game. It works suprsingly well, the load times was less than 3 minutes which was great. Now on to the more advanced matters":
>
> 1. I get screen tearing, so i have to enable VSYNC through Nvidia Control Panel or other means (i will post if it works)
> 2. My GTX 960 is not recognised, guess we have to solve this as well.
> 3. Other than that, i will do the several tricks you suggested on the NRaas link.
Managed to fix the GPU and VSYNC problem thorugh nice tutorials on internet, the game works alright for now, if any problems pops up i will contact you guys ! Thanks for the support
If that's not it, the usual solution is to rename or pull out your TS3 user game folder from Documents to see if you can get the game started up on the new, no content game folder that will spawn to replace it. Also make sure the drive on which you are running the game has plenty of free space to work with.
If you are playing the Mac version of the game, not on Windows, then there are other causes for this error.
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Out of the blue, cache stuff stopped being generated. One little kb in each of those four files no matter how much or how many times I played. Once in awhile a few hundred will show up in the second and fourth cache. (Sorry, not sure what they're called at the moment) I understand that if it ain't broke, don't fix it (or b#@#h about it), but this doesn't make sense. Fairly certain the game can't be trained to automatically clean itself up. I checked through the "documents" path to see if my shortcut showing different files and everything is identical. What I'm wondering is if there is another hidden duplicate file somewhere on my computer, such as I've read some people get when they've deleted a household but it keeps showing up in game as inactive household? Is there a massively bloated cache lurking somewhere on my system waiting to jump out and crash everything? Or am I being, well, me?
Different kinds of worlds are programmed to cache in different ways. The base game and EP worlds should be caching to places within the Program Files that we cannot really reach, store and CC worlds cache directly to the user game folder in Documents. When those tiny 1 kb cache appear and persist, we believe they are acting as pointers to where the real caching is happening. It is impossible however to follow those pointers and clearing (deleting) them seems to have the same impact as doing so when the much larger cache files appear. We have to take some comfort in the fact that on one has ever reported their games exploding or running out of drive space while managing such caches that way, so the game must be performing some kind of cleanup for us when those tiny cache file pointers are removed.
Note that these worlds do not generate WorldCache files within that folder either.
The two cache files that do sometimes expand on you are probably doing so due to CAS usage, as that would not really be world specific.
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This morning when I went to play the game, the loading screen was all flashing static. I went through Origin like normal, the game launcher came up like normal, but when I selected play it didn't show any of the normal loading screen stuff. Instead it was just bright flashes of white static. Eventually it turned into a solid static screen - Sims music still playing in the background, but I was unable to select anything.
It's really annoying that I can't make my own post, because I have a video that I would like to post. I think it's hard to explain my issue without being able to see the video.
What might be more helpful though is if we could get some specs on this laptop like processor, RAM, video card, hard drive free space and the number of EPs (and which ones) are in play. If it's easier or if you would prefer, you could run a dxdiag report on it, send it up to Pastebin.com, and provide a broken up link to it so we can read it.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information
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