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bizarre cause of lag/freeze issue - 1st post updated 8/26/13

amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
edited February 27 in Nominated Threads
EDITED to add summary and note about greenhouse trellis spawners -- original post is below summary list and re-edited to add two more items to the list, plus CAW caution.

PLEASE read the entire thread for very important details, including how to fix or avoid problems.

Summary list of issues discussed in this thread, so far:

Causes of Lag or Freezes

1. objects blocking driveways, like trees or shrubs
2. critters or sims spawned inside small fenced/bordered/enclosed areas (avoid "one space" enclosed gardens next to buildings and avoid "one space" gates or openings)
3. critters caught between the "V" at the base of two palm trees
4. horses that do not have two spaces of width to maneuver in or out of any area (including between palm trees, trees and buildings, anything enclosed, junk piles, etc)
5. critters who cannot maneuver off raised platforms, because they cannot back away far enough to turn around and get down
6. baby pets who cannot maneuver stairs
7. critters from spawners, who spawn under buildings, large rocks, etc
8. using "reset sim" without manually deleting abandoned cars (the reset sim gets a big lemon or jalopy car in their inventory, and their real car is left abandoned in the game) -- using "reset sim" at 3:00 am may reduce the problem of abandoned cars
9. too many spawners on a lot, no matter who made the lot (even EA lots have this problem) -- be sure to make a one tile basement, to check below ground for hidden spawners (for detailed information, see this thread: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/523406.page)
10. spiral staircases placed before the Pets expansion, that have not been turned or replaced since then
11. fancy method of making an entrance with archways (this makes the actual front door and "inside door" which means sims cannot ring the doorbell, and it will cause other routing issues, as well)
12. too many memories accumulated in older games
13. an old hood, that has accumulated too many errors, even just as a result of normal game play
14. added by Sincerbox: Avoid using the "Take Photo with Friend" interaction. I am sure everyone knows it was broken with a patch and that sims will just stand and stare at one another. But the problem is that it leaves an invisible rug behind that blocks those tiles the sims were standing on in the game.
15. Using the World Editor to add empty lots where no lot ever existed before or using the World Editor to remove trees/rocks/signs and etc, from non-lot areas of a world will punch a hole in the world layer, causing routing issues, which can cause lag.
16. anything that causes game corruption (see list below)


Causes of Game Corruption

1. deleting ANY sim that EA put in the game, whether dead or alive, ghost or urn or tomb, pet or simmie (these sims are coded directly into world layers, and deleting them "shatters/fragments" their coding, leading to game corruption, at its most basic levels) EA sims are NOT regular sims/ghosts/critters/ghost critters -- they are coded into the game layers and have back-stories that keep calling on deep game coding--removing them is NOT an option
2. deleting a lot that has an occupied urn or tomb on it (some are even hidden in attics)
3. deleting EA graveyards (graveyard ghosts are NOT regular ghosts -- they are coded into the game layers and have back-stories that keep calling on deep game coding--removing them is NOT an option)
4. placing too many lots with the in-game world editor tool (it breaks a key component used in world creation, that can only be fixed in CAW, which means a saved game is broken beyond repair) -- an increasingly worsening problem with every expansion since LN)
5. using "moveobjects on" for any object that has a sim interaction, like chairs, beds, bookshelves, tables, etc (plants, rugs, or things that can be placed on end tables are still safe, as of ST, but who knows if later expansions will further break the cheat)
6. trying to mix an old and "not patched up to date" game, with newer CC designed for up to date games
7. games without the latest update to Origin, Adobe flash player, Adobe air and/or games with old video card drivers
8. using awesome mod to "destroyallhumans" IF the mod is subsequently removed from the game (it apparently works fine if you continue to use awesome mod with that saved game, to the best of our knowledge, as of today)
9. moving sims with "moveobjects on" (resetting the Sim usually solves the issue -- corruption does not spread)
10. editing an in-game sim in CAS by using the testingcheatsenabled menu, if you try to change traits, favorites, skin tone or body sliders and possibly even star sign (modifying/editing anything on the sim's head is safe, as is changing clothes/makeup/hair/accessories)
11. adding corrupted lots or sims to new games
12. adding lots with corrupted CC to new games
13. reported by Writin_Reg: leaving testingcheats enabled true and buydebug on running all the time will corrupt the game, ever since the IP patch or IP game was installed -- once the world is corrupt, not even lots in that world can be reused in other worlds without causing further corruption to spread

Other Issues

1. clock stopping issue (the clock does not update) that is usually caused by an 'alarm' not being able to fire properly (not really a lag, since everything else still continues)

2. stuck baby/missing sim issue (to fix, go to edit town and move the entire household to the clipboard by evicting just the family, then move them back into their house which will reset the whole house and will not cause anyone to disappear -- make sure when you can get out of game after fixing them, you delete the 4 caches that like to hold corruption in your game, so that instance is gone permanently from your game and can't corrupt your saves)

Note to CAW users:

1. added by Writin_Reg: If you change a lot from residential to community and there does happen to be a grave on the lot - it will not hurt anything if you don't move the grave out as EA has the ghost okay on both residential and community lots. It is also safe to load these lots to your library and use them else where as long as you never use these lots when building a world in CAW because of the ghost which will corrupt a world in CAW. You can instead offer the lot as a separate download for people to add to a world.

EDIT:

I just want to add a quick note about a certain type of spawner that you will definitely run across if you download lots using the garden trellis that came with the greenhouse venue (the one that auto-waters your garden, with the composter on the one side).

The garden trellis has a seed spawner attached to it, under the composter, on the one side. That spawner has a "Do Not Use" (or something very similar to that -- I don't have my game open to check the exact wording) notation. It is a spawner, and so it multiplies like any other spawner. But it also has one other attribute: the special spawner regenerates where ever the garden trellis is located.

So, for instance, if you try to delete the garden trellis "Do Not Use" spawner that is under the composter in the garden trellis it seems to delete like normal -- but, the trellis will automatically regenerate the spawner in that same location, the next time you open your lot.

What this means is that it is impossible to remove that particular spawner before uploading a lot to the exchange. It will always regenerate when the lot using the garden trellis is installed in the game. And it will always multiply if the lot is rotated.

Even the greenhouse venue downloaded from the store has the problem. In fact, that lot is loaded with extra spawners, because someone on the store team forgot to remove the extras before uploading it. It should only have ONE of those spwaners right under the composter. All the extras should have been deleted before the lot was uploaded by the store team.

So, from the standpoint of the user, you should definitely delete any of these "Do Not Use" type spawners from any lot EXCEPT for the one spawner under the composter. There should be ONE of those. But lift it up to see if several of them are nested one on top of the other. Delete any extras. You only need one.

All of which means that anytime you see a garden trellis from the greenhouse venue on any lot you download, do a testingcheatsenabled true and buydebug on so you can locate and delete any extra garden trellis spawners from that lot. The creator of the lot is not responsible for those extra spawners, because the creator cannot delete them prior to uploading. It will be up to the user to make sure only one exists on the lot, after placement.


Original post below:

I just discovered a bizarre cause for lag/freeze issues. It is hard to believe ....

I was merrily testing one set in my test home (in my no mod, no other CC, vanilla game), while making a collection folder. All was normal. I filled a room with the Club Casual set.

Then I took out all the objects for the new Prius free set and the Prius archive set, which I had just downloaded and installed along with the Club Casual set, placing the eco objects on the grass. I plopped down a couple driveways and compared the regular Prius to the electric Prius (they look almost identical). I deleted the two cars. I deleted the windmill and a couple other largish objects that were in the way.

I went back inside the house to finish testing the first set, and noticed my sim was freezing every couple minutes. Some lags/freezes were fairly prolonged. My heart sank. What in the set was causing this?

I thought back to what I had done, just prior to noticing the problem. Taking out Prius objects and then deleting them should not have caused a problem. It must be an object from Club Casual, but I had never noticed a problem prior to this, and I've used many objects from the set, before.

I quit the game, and restarted it. Still lagging/freezing. I deleted the rest of the Prius sets. No change.

I saved, and quit the game. I removed the DCCache and the DCBackup. Everything I had installed was now out of the game, both the original set I was testing and the two Prius sets that I had just downloaded and installed. My game was vanilla, with all the expansions and stuff packs. No mods, no cheats, no CC at all.

I opened the game and got the "missing objects" notice. I deleted all the objects that had replaced the previous set objects. The upper floor of the test home was empty.

The game still lagged/froze. I was stymied. Was the lot corrupt?

I zoomed out -- and then I saw it. One of the driveways I had so quickly plopped down, to compare the two car versions, had a tree in the middle of it. I had not seen the tree when I placed the driveways, because I had been zoomed in far enough that the tree "disappeared."

I removed the driveways. No more lag. No more freezes. The game played perfectly.

I find this unbelievable. How could a tree in the middle of a driveway cause such a horrendous problem? What about that situation would cause a game to freeze like that, repeatedly?

Oh, and before you assume that it was a routing issue for my sim, she was just trying to play her guitar, fix a meal, read a book, sit on a couch. Nothing to do with cars or driveways. No sims visited during the time I experienced the issue. No cars tried to park in the driveways. I didn't even notice a sim running on the sidewalk in front of the lot.

I do not claim to have any idea what was happening, or why. But as long as the tree remained in the middle of the driveway, I had the problems, and when I deleted the driveways, the problem was gone. A very probable case of cause and effect, because if it wasn't that, then just the placement of a driveway caused the issue, and I very much doubt merely having a driveway on the lot would be the cause.

I thought maybe some of you people with lags/freezes might want to know that the cause may be something as off the wall as what just happened to me. Maybe a tree or bush is too close to your driveway.

This game is so touchy ....
Post edited by EA_Solaire on

Comments

  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Plants and trees have been a pain with Pets also - especially horses and palm trees set together to form a V at the base - well the horses somehow seem to get stuck between them - so I had to go around to all my beach lots in ever hood I have and make sure there was enough space between the trees - which needs at least 2 full spaces not to get that problem.

    Also look out for fences less than two spaces from buildings or if you block off a flower garden on a community lots, tourist and horses like to spawn in them for some weird reason and will bring your game to a stand still kind of freeze.

    It is a real pain. The sims team need to add a line in their programming that nothing spawn in an area that is closed off - or something.

    But with driveways and houses and drive ways and plants - they have been weird like that since Ambitions came out.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    Plants and trees have been a pain with Pets also - especially horses and palm trees set together to form a V at the base - well the horses somehow seem to get stuck between them - so I had to go around to all my beach lots in ever hood I have and make sure there was enough space between the trees - which needs at least 2 full spaces not to get that problem.

    Also look out for fences less than two spaces from buildings or if you block off a flower garden on a community lots, tourist and horses like to spawn in them for some weird reason and will bring your game to a stand still kind of freeze.

    It is a real pain. The sims team need to add a line in their programming that nothing spawn in an area that is closed off - or something.

    But with driveways and houses and drive ways and plants - they have been weird like that since Ambitions came out.

    Stuff like this should be prominently listed as "do's and don'ts" for the game, in a sticky. Especially since we no longer get manuals for the expansions. How are people supposed to know these things? It really is too much to expect that everyone is going to troubleshoot their game, this way. Most people don't have time or inclination to test and retest every little detail in their game. When they have an hour or two available, they just want to PLAY, not spend the whole time fixing some new glitch.

    I'm bummed about the V at the base of palm trees being a problem, though. They look so pretty that way. Sigh.

    Do you think putting a rock at the intersection of the V, or a small fern at the intersection would take care of the problem? Something that would say "this space is taken"? Just wondering ....

    I didn't know the driveways, etc were problems after Ambitions. I have never run into it, before. Of course, I've been careful, when actually building.

    What do you mean by "block off a garden" in a community lot? What blocks them? Will that really short white border fence, or brick/log borders block them? What about the short hedge border fence? I use all those around gardens.

    If you mean actual fences being used to block them off, then I'm assuming if you also have a gate, all should be well?
  • RAE2786RAE2786 Posts: 683 New Member
    edited May 2012
    That really is bizarre, but it could explain why I used to have so much lag in one of my towns after adding a ton of cc-free custom lots. Maybe one of them had a driveway issue? And I can definitely say stuck sims was not the problem since I did a total annihilation of ALL the sims yet still had terrible lag specific to that save/town.
  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    RAE2786 wrote:
    That really is bizarre, but it could explain why I used to have so much lag in one of my towns after adding a ton of cc-free custom lots. Maybe one of them had a driveway issue? And I can definitely say stuck sims was not the problem since I did a total annihilation of ALL the sims yet still had terrible lag specific to that save/town.

    Yes, it seems to be yet another thing we need to check on, each time we download a lot made by someone else. We have to assume they don't know about it, and didn't double-check the possibility.

    It takes something out of the enjoyment of downloading, when the checklist keeps getting longer and longer:

    1. is the lot CC free, other than store CC
    2. does the lot have extra spawners after placement
    3. does the lot have a driveway in the wrong location/blocked by trees bushes
    4. does the lot have anything attached to it that doesn't belong, like extra textures or corrupt CC that may not show, but it still installed
    5. what store CC would I need to buy to enjoy this lot
    6. what expansions/stuff packs do I need to buy to enjoy this lot
    7. is there any store CC in this lot that is on the "needs to be fixed by EA" list
    8. does the lot have palms in a V that need to be moved
    9. does the lot have fences too close to buildings
    10. if the lot is a community lot, does it have fenced-in locations that need a gate
    11. does this lot include sims, and if so:
    a. is the sim CC free, other than store CC
    b. does the sim include store CC on the "needs to be fixed by EA" list
    c. what store CC do I need to buy in order to enjoy this sim
    d. what expansion/stuff pack to I need to buy in order to enjoy this sim
    e. does the sim include a potentially bad custom skin
    f. does the sim have anything attached that doesn't belong, like extra textures or corrupt CC that may not show, but it still installed

    After you finish this list, and add to it anything you know that should also be checked, which I failed to mention in the list above, you can't help but add one more item:

    12. Do I REALLY even WANT this lot? Sim? Object?

    It is a testimony to the genius of the person who actually invented the concept of The Sims, that we still want to play this game, despite the many obstacles in the way of fully enjoying it. I have to admit, I have been willing to jump through all the hoops, just so I can finally arrive at the the place I have a working, reasonably glitch-free game. Sims mean that much to me.

    But the hoops are getting bigger, and more difficult to jump. I wish it were not so. Once I get The Sims 3 stable, with seasons and faeries added into the mix, I don't know that I'd have the heart/trust to move on to The Sims 4. I don't know if I'll have the stamina to do this all over, again.
  • candy8candy8 Posts: 3,815 Member
    edited April 2013
    I have been doing what you suggested, but I find that it really doesn't matter once you play a particular neighborhood for a time it starts to lag and feeze. I don't understand why I have no CC other then what I bought from the store. Not sure, but I think it might have someting to do with all the store things I bought I guess I have to many.

    I don't use mods never have I bought items from the store how can I use them if I can't place them in different houses. I don't want ghosts running around in my house. I have all the patches since they came out. Sorry I find this whole discussion a bit rediculious.

    People bought the game to have fun not to get frustrated over it. This is not acceptable to me. I need to find something better to do with my time.

    This is a bit late to post update:I don't use story progression because it messes up my game. I don't even put the age button on only when I want someone to age. Mess up my game.
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • elanorbretonelanorbreton Posts: 14,518 Member
    edited May 2012
    amjoie wrote:
    What do you mean by "block off a garden" in a community lot? What blocks them? Will that really short white border fence, or brick/log borders block them? What about the short hedge border fence? I use all those around gardens.

    If you mean actual fences being used to block them off, then I'm assuming if you also have a gate, all should be well?
    Once when I happened to be visiting the salon with my sim and the makeover option kept cancelling - I finally spotted the stylist had spawned inside the garden of flowers outside, which was surrounded by the low hedge border. He couldn't get out, poor simmie trapped amongst the flowers! But I'm sure there must be tons of potential traps in my hoods that I haven't spotted.

  • RoseRidgeRoseRidge Posts: 1,321 Member
    edited May 2012
    amjoie wrote:


    It is a testimony to the genius of the person who actually invented the concept of The Sims, that we still want to play this game, despite the many obstacles in the way of fully enjoying it. I have to admit, I have been willing to jump through all the hoops, just so I can finally arrive at the the place I have a working, reasonably glitch-free game. Sims mean that much to me.

    But the hoops are getting bigger, and more difficult to jump. I wish it were not so. Once I get The Sims 3 stable, with seasons and faeries added into the mix, I don't know that I'd have the heart/trust to move on to The Sims 4. I don't know if I'll have the stamina to do this all over, again.

    amjoie,

    I think you put it very well. Your last two paragraphs that I quoted describe where I am right now.

    When it comes to computer support for The Sims, my family has disowned me. Still determined to play my game, I hired a college student on an "as needed" basis for computer support. I lost her somewhere with patch 1.31, 1.32 or 1.33. :?

    I can only name one person on the forums that has not had issues since the latest patch. So here I sit at patch 1.29 afraid to go any further. Without a new improved patch, I have jumped through my last hoop.

    Also thank you for the tree in the driveway story. That could save some hair pulling.


  • HaidenHaiden Posts: 3,841 Member
    edited May 2012
    Stuck items in general have always been a major cause of lag, especially if you are runing your game on a decent pc. Sometimes corrupt CC or outdated mods can also cause issues, but that only applies if you have them installed in your game, for the rest of us (that dont use mods) most lag occurs when something is stuck. My biggest gripe is I play in quite a big town with lots of sims, and searching in every nook and cranny can be tedious.

    Most of the time its spawned sims and pets...mixologists...stylists etc.....and sometimes a stuck car.

    Pets has added extra lag, because after extened play time...pets seem to spawn into every household (if you dont use mods) and horses that like Reggie said...like to get stuck between trees and buildings. I had a horse with its front half stuck outside the back wall of a box stall and its rear inside on one of the equestrian lots. I also had a dog that had spawned into a family household and was stuck on the raised platform the bed was placed on in a EA made lot in App plains....it was trying to reverse off it, but it had a small turning circle and could not navigate to get down.

    Point is it took me afew hours of going swopping households until I found it. I wish we had a tab to turn off pet spawning....and vamps for that matter to :mrgreen:

    Long story short....it can be irritating trying to find stuck items :?
  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Yep the low hedge and high hedge that just everybody likes to use is one of the biggest offenders. Amjoie - nope rocks and plants at the base does not seem to stop the horses from thinking they they shouldn't go between the trees. I even had a rider on a horse trapped at my beach cafe with two sets of the V- palms on each end of a nice tropical looking flower garden. I actually go hunting for the source of lag when I get it, so I have seen first hand things that create the worse kinds of freezes is generally horses, puppies, kittens, and tourists. Anywhere there are stairs seems to be a real problem for all game babies - particularly the animals types. Sims bring their pets to the park that may have stairs up or down somewhere in the park and bless patty it never fails that some dumb sim brought their pup or kitten and placed them on the ground in a staired area, and then the sims walks off and leaves the baby behind. The problem is EA fixed it so the human type babies get ported home, and need to do this for the animal sims babies too, because I have found many a pup or kitten tired, lonely and hungry and stuck in a park because they can't get past the stairs. Also those low fences you speak of - even though sims can seem to get over them to enter a flower area, again baby sims and baby animals seem to forget how to get out and instead see themselves trapped into a high fence area. A gate - which looks stupid with the low fences helps the human sim, but not always the baby pets. Some of them will use gates and for unknown reasons not all will. None of the bigger animals like horses or deer will use the one section gate though - and some will not use anything but that horse looking gate to leave an area, but will use any double gate to enter. Even more weird - right.

    Yes Amjoie any fencing can and does trap spawning Sims and horses on community lots as for some darn reason - I don't care if the lot is 64 x 64, have one little walled off flower bed and tourist sims and animals will spawn in side the stupid fenced off area. Leaving an opening in the fence will free tourists, a horse needs two or more spaces free - as they won't always use gates, deer also. The collectible creatures never go anywhere so they are not too much a problem. They are only a problem if they spawn in an area a sim can not reach them, as sims blow a gasket when they can't reach anything - even if it is just to see it - and will toss out a route fail error in your game.

    You can help that issue when searching for problems if you see a spawning area and the spawned creature is out of reach, go into edit mode - you will have to use testing cheats with buydebug on - but move the creature/spawner a bit to a clearing or remove the obstacle creating the problem.

    Oh and another problem since Generations is junk piles and decor we use to mainly decorate a junky lot or run down lot. You again now need to use two spaces around any of this stuff or it causes route fail. One space will trap creatures if the space is between a fence or decor and the piles of junk or other decor. Even though we see plenty of space because we generally use moveobjects on to place this kind of stuff - sims do not. They see the space as if we had not used moveobjects on. On top of it - since Generations in particular using the moveobjects on cheat now is just asking for lag, freeze, and breaking a lot - as the cheat is starting to break badly, so for builders, I implore you, do not use moveobjects on if you want to not create game problems with your lots. I know it stinks - I used to love the advantage of using that cheat while building, but it has become a real problem in worlds and builds i have been testing for others since Generations, Pets, etc. It is downright lethal in ST if you use it in community lot builds, and almost as bad on ST home lots. About it's only use I can see that does not yet cause problems is with landscaping - so far anyway.

    As to the poster who's worlds all breakdown - well i do have the Original Sunset Valley and Riverview saves that still work as good as they always did (they are nearly 3 years old), but just like all my worlds it does take diligence and knowing what to look for that may be creating game breaking situations in a world. I just do regular maintenance in each world as I play - I have over 35 world I constantly rotate, not counting the EA ones - the minute I start seeing a bit of hesitations or hiccups as i call them to find a source. So far it is rare for me not to be able to rectify and eliminate the problem before it really becomes a problem - but it is second nature to me and most people just tend to prefer to start over. No me though - I hate starting over. hehehe

    Also I keep all my worlds saves backed up on both my main harddrive and my backup harddrive - and always save them again when I am sure they are running perfectly. Not every world is saveable though, as the game changes - some do need to be revamped by their creators or abandoned.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Haiden - next time you incounter a stuck animal or tourist or whatever - you do not need to coax the pet or anything else or use moveobjects on - simply go in edit town, click on the household and evict them to the clipboard - then replace them back in their house. It has two big advantages - it unsticks the sims and resets the lot so if anything has been corrupted by the route fail error, it gets reset and your lot will be like new. Plus you don't have to play all those households.

    Now if you have what looks like serious problems going on in a neighborhood and you can't find all the sources or don't want to look - here's a real simple fix - bring up the cheat bar and type

    resetsim *

    makesure you do not forget the asterisk, and this will reset the entire hood and get tourists and stuck sims out of their predicament and all back home. Unfortunately if your sims -the ones you are playing are at work or school they will be sent home of course - so I generally try to only do that in the middle of the night - 3 am is a good time for almost all sims - but if it needs to be done during the daytime, just go back into your own household and click each sim to send them back to work or school if missing it will create problems. For some sims they get a bad mood - the achievers and ambitious types if they miss work or school. But they will get over it.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    @candy8: In an old hood, as a result of story progression (any kind of story progression) things can get bogged down. Little bits of this and that accumulate, causing excess workload for your computer. Even something like memories can be too taxing, especially on older computers.

    That is one reason I play with story progression off. It prolongs the lifespan of a world. I don't let sims age, either, until I purposely age them up. That also seems to help. I regularly cull memories, keeping only the things that have the greatest importance for a story. I delete all ghosts, and don't let sims die, so no additional ghost remnants are lying around attached to tombstones. I keep populations at a level that I can still enjoy town diversity, but only that large and no larger. For every sim of my own that I choose to keep, I delete a townie I don't care about, once I get to my optimum world size. I put vampires under house arrest, with all they need to live (and nothing that could accidentally kill them), but no doors. (I also cheat them to maximum simoleans, and make sure they have quit their jobs.) I do the same with celebrities that the game generates, at the start of a world. Because I play with aging off, the game sees them as still viable, so it makes no more. I cut down on vacation world populations, and make sure I like the looks of each vacation citizen, so it doesn't matter that I see the same ones over and over. (I also keep multiple backups of everything, whether world, lot, or sim.) All of those things prolong the lifespan of my world and keep the computational load at a minimum. My computer thanks me. ;)

    On the other hand, maybe you want to play fast and furious until a world implodes. Then you can start all over in a totally different world, creating a totally new game experience. Either way is fun.

    But you really can't expect a world to stay around for the long haul, if you play the game the way EA designed it. It may be open-ended play, but EA designed it to keep your attention for only long enough that you buy the next expansion. It's called built-in obsolescence, and it is by design. That is why almost all expansions contain a new world, and they sell new worlds in between expansions. Everything is designed for fast furious play, with the player assumed to be the type of person who has a short attention span.

    If you play EA's way, your world imploding is no big deal, because the next shiny is just around the corner. New world, new sim, new shiny experience -- all leading to ennui and boredom -- and then the next new shiny appears at your doorstep, for only a few thousand simoleans. And you begin fresh, until it all happens, again.

    The game was never built to last. If you want it to last, you have to get mods to help you delete all the accumulated garbage that story progression generates, babysit the game constantly, learn how to troubleshoot, and keep applying bandaids.

    Or do it my way, and coddle the game into some appearance of longevity.

    However, the lag I experienced was in a brand new world, new sim, no aging, no story progression, no mods, no cheats, etc. It was a lag caused by misplacement of a driveway, and nothing else. And why it happens simply does not make logical sense, to my ignorant brain.

    @elanorbreton: Oh no. I was afraid of that. Well, back to the drawing board. I'll have to review all commercial lots, and make a way out for potentially trapped sims. Sigh. More prep work, before I can play my game. (grumble, grumble, murmur, moan)
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Roseridge, I have almost the entire store - the only mods I have ever used were Overwatch and Error Trap in Sims 3 and only use error trap when testing worlds. Since ST came out I have not used even those two as I have seen problems more inclined to occur with any mods since ST and i don't like problems I can't solve. Mods is one of those problems. As for CC I only have a set of default ladyfrontbum skins and tons of roof recolors - I do have the skin defaults back in my game, but do not have any of the roof recolors back in yet - as I am leary of them seeing they have never been updated and there has been a ton of programming changes to the game since their conception. Wish EA would just add color rechannels to the roofs - or give us a lot more choices of colors with each style. But oh well - anyway I am one of thosewho - knock on wood - play my game pretty much trouble free all the time - but like I said I work at it and know how to keep it running well. Each time I encounter something new - I start clawing my way through the haze to try and solve the problem or find a work around. Amjoie can tell you I do try and help in almost any new situations to at least find answers. hehehe Right Amjoie? But yeah I have tons of hoods that all work pretty much flawless - until a new ep anyway.

    Yes I am upgraded to the newest patch - i always am. But in order for it to run flawless - you need to constantly check for updates to Origin, adobe flash player, adobe air, and to keep your video card updated. I always update the day a update comes out and have never been sidewinded by it so far - again - knock on wood.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • HaidenHaiden Posts: 3,841 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    Haiden - next time you incounter a stuck animal or tourist or whatever - you do not need to coax the pet or anything else or use moveobjects on - simply go in edit town, click on the household and evict them to the clipboard - then replace them back in their house. It has two big advantages - it unsticks the sims and resets the lot so if anything has been corrupted by the route fail error, it gets reset and your lot will be like new. Plus you don't have to play all those households.

    Now if you have what looks like serious problems going on in a neighborhood and you can't find all the sources or don't want to look - here's a real simple fix - bring up the cheat bar and type

    resetsim *

    makesure you do not forget the asterisk, and this will reset the entire hood and get tourists and stuck sims out of their predicament and all back home. Unfortunately if your sims -the ones you are playing are at work or school they will be sent home of course - so I generally try to only do that in the middle of the night - 3 am is a good time for almost all sims - but if it needs to be done during the daytime, just go back into your own household and click each sim to send them back to work or school if missing it will create problems. For some sims they get a bad mood - the achievers and ambitious types if they miss work or school. But they will get over it.

    Heya Reggie :D...Ik about the (resetsim*)...problem is...(dunno if you have encoutered this)...but it tends to leave cars that other sims have/were driving (who have now since been reset) abandoned in the road all over town. :mrgreen: I thought that eventually the cars would pop back to their respective owners....but the game just leaves them there and the reset sims get Big lemons and Jelopy's spawned into their inventory

    Then again I dont have overwatch...which obviously remedies the issue :mrgreen:

    I dont run my game with any mods...but I am toying with the idea :mrgreen:
  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    On top of it - since Generations in particular using the moveobjects on cheat now is just asking for lag, freeze, and breaking a lot - as the cheat is starting to break badly, so for builders, I implore you, do not use moveobjects on if you want to not create game problems with your lots. I know it stinks - I used to love the advantage of using that cheat while building, but it has become a real problem in worlds and builds i have been testing for others since Generations, Pets, etc. It is downright lethal in ST if you use it in community lot builds, and almost as bad on ST home lots. About it's only use I can see that does not yet cause problems is with landscaping - so far anyway.

    What??? NO! Oh, I cannot believe ... (No ... whimper.)

    Please elaborate. Are you saying something breaks if we put two decor objects closer to each other than the snapped in square placement? Because that is what makes a house look like a home. Leaving it all just at the snapped location looks ... weird.

    I'm gonna cry. Tears are going to fall in pitiful streams down my face, until they get my pillow wet. I'll suffer. Oh, please relieve my agony and tell me it isn't so.

    Why am I expecting to hear the worst case scenario, instead of getting relief. Sigh. So bummed.

    EDIT: What if all the world community lots and world homes are snap-to-grid and just the house I play has the look I want, due to moveobjects on. Will that still be lethal in Showtime? Because I have Showtime ....
  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Amjoie, I play the game as intended but I do play epic aging. So my hoods age but slower. I have EA Story Progression on, I have always used EA's sp and for some reason I don't seem to get the problems people seem to complain about it. None of my hoods are run over with Vamps or old aged sims although Vamps do have a good bit of the numbers i do have households i never play with a Vamp in the household and all the rest human. I will say celebs is a bigger problem, but in one hood where just about everyone is a celeb now, they all act the same as if no one was. Even the popparazzi are not annoying as they were when there was just a few. They may show up at my sims house maybe a couple times a week, stay for an hour - get tired and leave. So it does balance itself out eventually. I NEVER delete any sims - dead or alive - that is actually one of the quickest way to implode a hood - especially EA sims as they are hardwired into the game and will fragment in the programming like shattering glass and will eventually make that hood unplayable. You can send dead sims to the Netherworld if you play the household they are attached to - it's a long process though - but they will be vanquished from the game permanently without creating problems down the line or you can just ignor them and some - mainly game generated will eventually be moved onto to the Netherworld. The only ones that won't generally are the ones attached to an ep when it comes out, but eventually they will rarely come out and about as time passes.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Haiden - that's why I said 3 am is the best time to do that.Few sims are out in cars at 3 am.
    Post edited by Unknown User on

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • RoseRidgeRoseRidge Posts: 1,321 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    Roseridge, I have almost the entire store - the only mods I have ever used were Overwatch and Error Trap in Sims 3 and only use error trap when testing worlds. Since ST came out I have not used even those two as I have seen problems more inclined to occur with any mods since ST and i don't like problems I can't solve. Mods is one of those problems. As for CC I only have a set of default ladyfrontbum skins and tons of roof recolors - I do have the skin defaults back in my game, but do not have any of the roof recolors back in yet - as I am leary of them seeing they have never been updated and there has been a ton of programming changes to the game since their conception. Wish EA would just add color rechannels to the roofs - or give us a lot more choices of colors with each style. But oh well - anyway I am one of thosewho - knock on wood - play my game pretty much trouble free all the time - but like I said I work at it and know how to keep it running well. Each time I encounter something new - I start clawing my way through the haze to try and solve the problem or find a work around. Amjoie can tell you I do try and help in almost any new situations to at least find answers. hehehe Right Amjoie? But yeah I have tons of hoods that all work pretty much flawless - until a new ep anyway.

    Yes I am upgraded to the newest patch - i always am. But in order for it to run flawless - you need to constantly check for updates to Origin, adobe flash player, adobe air, and to keep your video card updated. I always update the day a update comes out and have never been sidewinded by it so far - again - knock on wood.

    I did not want to name names, but you are the one person, that I know of, that hasn't had problems since Showtime. If I thought it was as simple as keeping everything updated, I would patch this minute! Now you have me thinking.

    Agree with you about the roof recolors - badly needed.

    @ amjoie - moveobjects is my friend :wink:
  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    I NEVER delete any sims - dead or alive - that is actually one of the quickest way to implode a hood - especially EA sims as they are hardwired into the game and will fragment in the programming like shattering glass and will eventually make that hood unplayable. You can send dead sims to the Netherworld if you play the household they are attached to - it's a long process though - but they will be vanquished from the game permanently without creating problems down the line or you can just ignor them and some - mainly game generated will eventually be moved onto to the Netherworld. The only ones that won't generally are the ones attached to an ep when it comes out, but eventually they will rarely come out and about as time passes.

    I deleted ghosts by deleting the lot that had the tombstone. Does that break the game?

    I was led to believe, by modders who know more than me, that if you evict sims, and then delete them while they are in the sidebar, that the sim is totally gone, leaving nothing in the game at all. Are you telling me that you have proof that is not the case, in Sims 3? I know that in Sims 2, deleting sims broke the hood. But I was led to believe things had changed in Sims 3. I'm all ears, if you have experienced something else. Please elaborate.

    Did you see my query about moveobjects on for decor in just my played household? I'm waiting for that answer with baited breath.

  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Amjoie, yes putting two items together now, especially with the changes in the programming EA did for Pets - have virtually made Moveobjects on a real game breaker.


    Technically only 4 things seem not to create a problem using moveobjects on - placing neighborhood decor, placing EA rabbit holes, landscaping, and placing items that Sims do not reacte with - like on mantels, dresser tops, and things like that. Joining bookcases to the sides of fireplaces the book cases will catch on fire and sometimes sims get route fail trying to get books or put them away. The same with forming corner bookcases. Sims often won't use them and will often get route failure. Sims sometimes won't use tables put together to form bigger tables or if they do use them they have been know to get stuck in their chairs - but even worse is what you don't see happening and that is sims will keep corrupting - sort of like your sims did with the fryer on lots where MOO is used with any items sims reacte with. Counters, any of the new PC, tons of stuff. In every world i have testing when there is still lag going on and all else has been eliminated it is always due to some houses or community lot where MOO has been used for design or decorating. it may look good, but it no longer works well with Sims 3. Keep in mind that was designed as a Sims 2 developers tool that just happened to work in Sims 3 - but it was not designed to work in Sims 3.

    Sims team knows this and if you read the readme in Showtime and i do believe Pets also, it is now listed as a "known" issue with the game. In ST using Moo will actually break the Venues.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Roseridge - that's okay, name drop anytime you want. Sometimes it helps others to know WHO might have some answers - but alas I do not have all answers. Like everyone I am sure I have abandoned as many worlds as i chose to keep because some things just can't be made workable at player level. But honestly I don't mind name dropping when it is me.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    Amjoie, yes putting two items together now, especially with the changes in the programming EA did for Pets - have virtually made Moveobjects on a real game breaker.


    Technically only 4 things seem not to create a problem using moveobjects on - placing neighborhood decor, placing EA rabbit holes, landscaping, and placing items that Sims do not reacte with - like on mantels, dresser tops, and things like that. Joining bookcases to the sides of fireplaces the book cases will catch on fire and sometimes sims get route fail trying to get books or put them away. The same with forming corner bookcases. Sims often won't use them and will often get route failure. Sims sometimes won't use tables put together to form bigger tables or if they do use them they have been know to get stuck in their chairs - but even worse is what you don't see happening and that is sims will keep corrupting - sort of like your sims did with the fryer on lots where MOO is used with any items sims reacte with. Counters, any of the new PC, tons of stuff. In every world i have testing when there is still lag going on and all else has been eliminated it is always due to some houses or community lot where MOO has been used for design or decorating. it may look good, but it no longer works well with Sims 3. Keep in mind that was designed as a Sims 2 developers tool that just happened to work in Sims 3 - but it was not designed to work in Sims 3.

    Sims team knows this and if you read the readme in Showtime and i do believe Pets also, it is now listed as a "known" issue with the game. In ST using Moo will actually break the Venues.

    OK, I'm digesting this information, because it's all new to me. What about rugs? I often want to move rugs to a better location. Is that forbidden, too, now?
  • RoseRidgeRoseRidge Posts: 1,321 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    Amjoie, yes putting two items together now, especially with the changes in the programming EA did for Pets - have virtually made Moveobjects on a real game breaker.


    Technically only 4 things seem not to create a problem using moveobjects on - placing neighborhood decor, placing EA rabbit holes, landscaping, and placing items that Sims do not reacte with - like on mantels, dresser tops, and things like that. Joining bookcases to the sides of fireplaces the book cases will catch on fire and sometimes sims get route fail trying to get books or put them away. The same with forming corner bookcases. Sims often won't use them and will often get route failure. Sims sometimes won't use tables put together to form bigger tables or if they do use them they have been know to get stuck in their chairs - but even worse is what you don't see happening and that is sims will keep corrupting - sort of like your sims did with the fryer on lots where MOO is used with any items sims reacte with. Counters, any of the new PC, tons of stuff. In every world i have testing when there is still lag going on and all else has been eliminated it is always due to some houses or community lot where MOO has been used for design or decorating. it may look good, but it no longer works well with Sims 3. Keep in mind that was designed as a Sims 2 developers tool that just happened to work in Sims 3 - but it was not designed to work in Sims 3.

    Sims team knows this and if you read the readme in Showtime and i do believe Pets also, it is now listed as a "known" issue with the game. In ST using Moo will actually break the Venues.

    I wasn't aware of any of these, but I am making a list. Am I right to assume that the problem would not show up right away? For instance I like to layer rugs, push bookshelves, tables, chairs etc around, but always make sure sims can interact with everything that I move.

    Is it only when the sim is not able to interact due to routing that it will corrupt the game?



  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Well according to the Sims team in their own words and this goes still as recent as when I beta Tested Showtime for them - NEVER DELETE SIMS. Kill them, and let them die, move them on - do not delete them.

    You have to understand there is a difference between deleting Sims we make in game and those made by EA and by the game generator - you will get the least problems using the method you mentioned with Sims downloaded to the game - but the sims EA has in the game are in the main game and will always exist - they are considered hardwired. Any sims that are in the game when you start a brand new game are these hardwired in Sims. They are programmed to continue to exist in the game actively until they die - then they are programmed to be a ghost unto they are moved on to the Netherworld. There is similar programming for the game generated service sims as they are placed in a pool in the programming of the base game and have to be treated as EA sims - they must die and must be moved on by the game or player in the way the game was designed to move them on. The game will keep giving these sims instructions and if they are not there it is going to generate some problems because they were not ticked out of existence in a way the game is programmed to do this. It will be the same situation for sims ported into worlds, so keep that in mind in user created worlds that come with sims without a save file.

    I have heard though that sims cloned by the game as neighbor and sims you have added to the game yourself can be safely deleted as you mentioned.

    Also from checking around I know that Pes awesomemod and Twallans mod can both be used successfully to eradicate the sims as both apparently tell the game they have died and gone to the Netherworld - of course it isn't that simple really but it is more or less what they supposedly do. I have not tried either to confirm there is no after affect or not, but with modders of that rank I am sure they know what they are doing and if they couldn't do it - than no one outside the game devs could. But yeah, deleting them is a problem - especially the longer you play the world the more problem it is going to create.

    If you click on a ghost enough times you should eventually get the option for them to go to the Netherworld - which will move them on - i am just not familiar if this will work on ghost sims not on your lot you are playing. You also might be slowing down the negative affects with deleting sims by playing with SP off and no aging as the game will be less inclined to give the ghost sims constant commands - so you may be okay - but I suggest never to tell people to do that who play with any SP on and aging on, or their game is going to implode when it otherwise would not.


    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited May 2012
    Amjoie, I have not found any problem with rugs. Sims do not really interact with rugs, so it should be fine.


    Roseridge - for the most part yes. If you test a sim and they react with no problem, then I don't see a problem otherwise. Just test your builds for a few days to make sure others in the house hold and visitors have no problem. If they have no problems, then you shouldn't get any corruption as no error is thrown.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • amjoieamjoie Posts: 3,516 Member
    edited May 2012
    Writin_Reg wrote:
    Well according to the Sims team in their own words and this goes still as recent as when I beta Tested Showtime for them - NEVER DELETE SIMS. Kill them, and let them die, move them on - do not delete them.

    You have to understand there is a difference between deleting Sims we make in game and those made by EA and by the game generator - you will get the least problems using the method you mentioned with Sims downloaded to the game - but the sims EA has in the game are in the main game and will always exist - they are considered hardwired. Any sims that are in the game when you start a brand new game are these hardwired in Sims. They are programmed to continue to exist in the game actively until they die - then they are programmed to be a ghost unto they are moved on to the Netherworld. There is similar programming for the game generated service sims as they are placed in a pool in the programming of the base game and have to be treated as EA sims - they must die and must be moved on by the game or player in the way the game was designed to move them on. The game will keep giving these sims instructions and if they are not there it is going to generate some problems because they were not ticked out of existence in a way the game is programmed to do this. It will be the same situation for sims ported into worlds, so keep that in mind in user created worlds that come with sims without a save file.

    I have heard though that sims cloned by the game as neighbor and sims you have added to the game yourself can be safely deleted as you mentioned.

    Also from checking around I know that Pes awesomemod and Twallans mod can both be used successfully to eradicate the sims as both apparently tell the game they have died and gone to the Netherworld - of course it isn't that simple really but it is more or less what they supposedly do. I have not tried either to confirm there is no after affect or not, but with modders of that rank I am sure they know what they are doing and if they couldn't do it - than no one outside the game devs could. But yeah, deleting them is a problem - especially the longer you play the world the more problem it is going to create.

    If you click on a ghost enough times you should eventually get the option for them to go to the Netherworld - which will move them on - i am just not familiar if this will work on ghost sims not on your lot you are playing. You also might be slowing down the negative affects with deleting sims by playing with SP off and no aging as the game will be less inclined to give the ghost sims constant commands - so you may be okay - but I suggest never to tell people to do that who play with any SP on and aging on, or their game is going to implode when it otherwise would not.

    Well, that stinks to high heaven. Then why did they give us the option to delete them? How can they make it easy to do, and then tell their own testers to never delete them? Grrrrrr.

    Well, maybe I can't delete them, but I'm going to plastic surgery them until they bear zero resemblance to what they once were. I can do that. I'll just keep telling myself I can do that, until it's all done.

    There isn't a problem with changing all their traits via the in-game cheats, right? I hate the traits assigned to sims by EA. My sims are nice sims. Good sims. Gentle sims. Sigh.

    So, how do I get a ghost from the graveyard to go to the netherworld? I don't want them in my game.

    ----

    I think I might be guilty of miscommunication. When I said putting two decor items near each other, I meant like plants in plant groupings. Sims don't interact with them. Is that OK? Like this.

    Screenshot.jpg

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