Game Crashing Help & Question about tranferring to a new computer

rubyskywalker · May 2019

So, I have a really old computer that seems to crash a lot no matter what game I play. However, I got the Pets EP recently and now whenever a cat or dog appears it crashes. I have pets turned off in the settings but they won't disappear from my game, but I don't want the EP off completely because I use a lot of the clothing and stuff from it. I also have several sims who have the birds and rodents which I really don't want to lose in the game. Any suggestions what I should do, or should I wait until I get my new computer this coming month? I hope doesn't require re-installing the discs entirely and losing my save files, in case they're corrupted/virus, because I enjoy the sims I made. However, I'd be okay since there's only one family I've progressed far with.

Also, what happens when it crashes is the screen freezes up & pixelates and won't do anything. We had a bad graphics card and switched to old, good one. Still happens.

puzzlezaddict · May 2019

Pets is the most demanding pack in TS3. I can't say that your current computer is insufficient to run it without more information, but from what you described, it sounds like that's the case. If you use mods, you can try disabling stray pets with NRaas Register (Click on City Hall, NRaas > Register > Animal Control) and pet adoption with NRaas Overwatch (NRaas > Overwatch > Stop Pet Adoption > True), but that won't get rid of the animals that are already part of an existing family.

https://www.nraas.net/community/Register
https://www.nraas.net/community/Overwatch

There are also a number of StoryProgression settings that address pets, but it's a heavy mod, and if your computer is already struggling to run TS3, adding SP to the mix may not be a good idea.

Normally, I'd ask for a dxdiag, ask what kind of power supply your computer has, suggest that you clean your fans, etc., but since you're getting a new computer soon, it's probably not worth the effort to remedy the situation, if that's even possible. By the way, if you want to talk about the specs on that computer and what you can expect from it performance-wise, feel free to ask.

You can easily transfer your saves, as well as any other user files (the ones in your TS3 game folder in Documents), from one computer to another. You will have to reinstall the game's program files though. The best practice is to launch the game once on the new computer, checking to make sure everything works, and then copy over your content into the new game folder. Here's an explanation of everything you'll find in that folder:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

rubyskywalker · May 2019

@puzzlezaddict Well, I installed them. But they aren't showing up in the game?

puzzlezaddict · May 2019

Just checking, but do you have the Mods framework set up properly? (If your other mods are fine, than this isn't the problem.) In case you're not sure, here's what it's supposed to look like:

http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files

Did you also delete the cache files in your game folder in Documents? The important one when installing mods is scriptCache.package, but the others (CASPartCache, compositorCache, simCompositorCache, socialCache) should be deleted regularly as well.

Please also make sure you've installed the mods into the correct game folder. Sometimes people end up with a second one somewhere on their systems, for various reasons. You can tell which one TS3 is reading by right-clicking on deviceconfig.log inside the folder and checking its last modified date. It should match the time when you most recently launched the game.

Finally, you mentioned having a disc install. If you're not patched to 1.67, that could cause the mods to not show up, or show up and not work properly. If you're not sure what your patch level is, you can check in the lower left corner of the launcher.

rubyskywalker · May 2019

@puzzlezaddict
Thank you. I've never added CC before so the article will help. Will try it and see if it works.
In the meantime, I turned down the graphics settings in game to low to see if that you as well.

rubyskywalker · May 2019

@puzzlezaddict
Got both to work. Removing the stray cats, dogs, as well as raccoons definitely helped a lot. I'm hoping that when I get a new computer it won't be a problem anymore.

SimChi · May 2019

Have to agree with getting Nraas (not 'story progression though, because it is known to cause lag). They really made the game more playable, and fixed several bugs... Nraas may seem confusing (at first) but it is WELL worth getting to know. The only thing I still had issues with was lag (it happens after playing the game for a while, and doing other, enjoyable, things- like editing the worlds). I think, though, that Island Paradise was (by far) the worst pack for unplayable lag (even on a great computer). TS3 had/has some serious programming issues. TS3 is still (by far) my favorite of the series, even with the frustrating lag, loooong load/ save time, and other stuff.

Happy gaming

rubyskywalker · June 2019

SimChi wrote: »

I think, though, that Island Paradise was (by far) the worst pack for unplayable lag (even on a great computer).

Happy gaming

Thanks for mentioning that! Island Paradise is an EP that was on my Wishlist... think it'd work ok on a newer computer, or should I skip it? I have Seasons,Pets, Late Night & High End Loft Stuff; Wishlist: IP, Generations, Ambitions, Showtime, University, Town Life Stuff)
I think I'm getting Generations or Ambitions after I get a new computer.

Thoughts?

igazor · June 2019

The top four EPs in terms of stress impact are Pets, Seasons, ITF, and IP which ranks around 4th. I wouldn't want to stress an older computer out too much but IP is fine on stronger systems. It's the Isla Paradiso world that comes with it that is design flawed and not very playable "out of the box" for most on any system. One either needs to fix up the world first, use ciane's already fixed up saved game just linked to as a starting point, or use the content in other worlds. Deep sea diving lots require deep ocean water though, not all worlds have this, and some won't be able to support boating if their waterways are too narrow (like Riverview). Resorts can be placed anywhere.

NRaas StoryProgression does put a drag on the game's performance. But on systems strong enough to handle it, the point is that there is benefit to all that extra processor activity and our other mods improve things to where they should be at least in part compensating for it.

rubyskywalker · June 2019

Ah, thanks @igazor I planned on creating my own world so I will do that instead of using Isla Paradiso...

Guess I should’ve done research on Seasons and Pets EP... would’ve gotten Generations and saved those for later! (One was one sale cheap on amazon tho...)

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Game Crashing Help & Question about tranferring to a new computer

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