Solved (kinda), Indoor fountain glitch

[elmafatts]

This weird shadow/outline/bumper appeared around all the indoor fountains I've built (at home and in clubs etc.). It only appears in live mode (not buy/build). It doesn't happen with outdoor fountains or with indoor or outdoor pools.

I saved my house to the bin and re-installed it in a new game and these fountain outlines disappeared, but eventually it re-appeared. I tried adjusting my options to no avail. (Currently I have it set at the default with advanced rendering turned on.)

Here's a screenshot:

http://imgur.com/9H8dx2q


Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks for reading

-Elma

Edit: Sorry, I forgot to write I'm playing Sims 3 (totally up-to-date) on Parallels (w/Windows 7) on a Macbook

Edit2: Here's what I figured out:

This fountain glitch is probably related to snow. If you unclick box for snow under the Seasons tab in Options, it doesn't seem to occur. This is a bummer because I like snow, but oh well 

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Elma,

This sounds like it maybe more of an in-game bug than a technical problem. Unless you might need to update your video card drivers? It also might be a good idea to clear out your game cache files too.

Hope this helps,

MrsFlynn

----------
Reference Links:

How to Upgrade Drivers for a Video Card on a Mac
http://www.howcast.com/videos/359885-How-to-Upgrade-Drivers-for-a-Video-Card-on-a-Mac

MAC - Clear your Cache Sims 3
http://help.ea.com/en/article/how-to-clear-your-cache-for-the-sims-3-on-a-mac/

[mpart]

Hi, do you have any cc by any chance or got any expansion packs recently? If so, has this randomly started happening out of the blue or did you alter your game,(mods,cc,expansion packs, updates,ect.), then it started happening? I have to agree with Mrs.Flynn though, clearing your game cache is a smart thing to do. If you haven't gotten anything recently try restarting your computer and see if that helps.

[elmafatts]

Thanks for your suggestions!

Yes, my video card drivers are up to date and I have tried cleaning out the cache and restarting the computer.

It was really out of the blue. I haven't recently added anything or any expansion packs. I don't know if this would matter, but this is my first time playing in Isla Paradiso (I've had it installed for a long time, just never tried it).

I will let you know if I figure it out. Thanks again!

In the meantime if anyone else has any suggestions, I'll try anything -- I love my fountains

[MrsFlynn]

Island Paradise is a known buggy town. But it shouldn't cause build glitches like that.

Just curious, what is your graphics card?

MrsFlynn

[mpart]

Island Paradiso caused quite a few issues for my mac, the lag was insane. Island Paradiso is quite a laggy town and it may take a bit of time for your mac to get use to it, if it doesn't I wouldn't recommend using that specific town, macs are amazing though the graphic cards are not made for sims sadly. 

[MrsFlynn]

I did notice you mentioned you had Advanced Rendering on - This will cause lag, stuttering and slow downs on lower end computers. So I thought I'd recommend the following settings:

Lower the in-game resolution. -- Go to Options (...) on the Graphics tab (default tab)

To Change the in-game resolution: Go to Screen Size, and from the drop down menu, choose a screen resolution that suits you best. [Example: 1366x768]

Also what might help is to uncheck Advanced Rendering and Animation Smoothing. And check Enable Object Hiding.

Turn Off Memories -- Go to Options (...) Select the gear tab, which is the General Settings and look for the word Memories and in the drop down menu select Disable Memories.

In the same tab, turn off Interactive Loading Screens (at bottom of screen). It may help to make sure Enable Shop Mode and Lessons are un checked, also.

Turning off memories means less game bloat/overly large game save file.
** As bloated/overly large game saves will cause performance problems.

These may not help with the glitch in build mode, but hopefully will help your overall-game play experience.

MrsFlynn

[MrsFlynn]

Would you mind sharing the house to see if it's just the house that's affected by the glitch? This way we can find if it's the actual house that is affected or if it's maybe something with your game.

If you would maybe edit your first post and add the house file to it?

How to do that is:

1. Click the word Modify up by the subject line of your post.
2. Click on the Words Attachments and other Options, under the message box.
3. Attach the file of the house and then click Save when finished.

If you need to know how to save/export the house. Here's the howto for that.

How To: Save Sims 3 Files From the Library (Exporting Files)
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20751.0.html

Thank you!!

MrsFlynn

[elmafatts]

My graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB.

I tried the combo of options you mentioned (as well as others).

Also the glitch is in all indoor fountains -- in my house, but also all the ones in clubs/ hangouts / live show venues, poolside clubs etc.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! I uploaded my house and a few of the other venues to the bin and I am playing them in Moonlight Falls so we'll see if it happens again.

[MrsFlynn]

Thanks for sharing what your video card is.  From what I've been able to find your system should be able to run Base game, World Adventures and Ambitions okay. As well as some of the stuff packs - HighEnd Loft, Fast Lane, Outdoor Living, and Town Life Stuff.

The Maybe: is Latenight, Generations, Pets, Showtime Supernatural along with these stuff packs - Master Suite, Sweet Treats, Diesel Stuff.

And the No: No - Seasons, University, Island Paradise, Into the Future - Decades and Movie Stuff packs

Now, this doesn't mean they *Can't/Won't* run on your computer, it means they'll have a harder time running on your computer.

From recent experience, putting your computer under more stress can cause various problems.

Please do keep us posted on how the game is working for you?

MrsFlynn

Reference Link:
TS3 System Requirements * Updated: July 2014*
http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_System_Requirements

[elmafatts]

Hi! I imported my house and clubs with the fountain glitch to the bin, installed them into Moonlight Falls and have had no problems (> 36 hours of game play). I can't be sure, but it seems this is an Isla Paradiso issue.

(I have all the expansion packs you mentioned --- yes, all

[MrsFlynn]

Thank you SO much for getting back to us!! I was wondering if you were able to fix the problem. Yeah, Island Paradise is not computer friendly. *Snicker*

MrsFlynn

[elmafatts]

Well, I figured out this fountain glitch is probably related to snow. If you unclick box for snow under the Seasons tab in Options, it doesn't seem to occur. This is a bummer because I like snow, but oh well 

P.S. I have no idea why the problem never occurred for me in Moonlight Falls, but it did happen in Sunset Valley and Island Paradise.