Saved Game loads very slowly and lags

[jxmnet]

Yesterday, I spent almost the whole day trying to load my Sims 3 saved game.
Sims 3 itself loaded just fine however when I tried to load my saved game the loading bar just reached until about 1/4 and stayed there for an hour before I got tired with it and just closed the game. My last try was a bit successful but the the game was unplayable. The sims do not move so I just closed the game.

I tried several ways of solving the problem (delete the contents of DCBackup, compositor, etc... used the dashboard tool... used some system optimizing software to enhance gameplay) but none solved the problem.

I just have a few custom content installed which have not interfered with gameplay before.
I have all expansion packs and stuff packs except for katy perry and supernaturals (recently uninstalled them following EA instructions).
I am using a laptop for the game. I hope that there's nothing wrong with my laptop or its support for the game (I've been playing Sims 3 on it several times before and it was ok).

I hope to be able to play the game today. Please help. Thanks!

[saltpastillen]

Hi.

Have you played the game for a very long time? Sometimes a file just gets so big your computer has problems playing it. Maybe that is your problem. If it is there isn't very much you can do about it other than saving your households to the library and starting a new file with your old household. Many simmers can't play more than a couple generations in the same game without this happening.

Another thing you can try is typing in resetsim* in the cheat console, this will clear up any stuck sims that will cause lag to your game.

If you are willing to use mods ErrorTap and Overwatch are two that will help clean up your game and make it more stable. They are made by twallan at nraas industries. Many on this forum use them and recommend them if you are playing muliti-generational games. Check out the mods board for more information.

[jxmnet]

I've just been playing for about a week now.
I tried the ErrorTap and Overwatch mods but I still can't get to my saved game. (Actually, I did get into it after leaving it loading then falling asleep, after about an hour and a half I woke up and the game has loaded.)

No luck for day 2 of this ordeal. I really want to resume playing the game. Please, anymore suggestions? Thanks!

[saltpastillen]

Sounds like you would have to either take out some content/expansions or do a re-install to see if that fixes the problem. But first I would recommend you trying a factory reset, you can find information about it here.

[jxmnet]

may it have been caused by incompatibility with my graphics card? mine is ATI Mobility Radeon HD 545v.

now re-installing the game. More suggestions? Thanks!

[jxmnet]

ok.. so I've removed some of the packs.. now I can create a new game but with content removed, can I still load the game I saved with the other packs still installed?

[saltpastillen]

Sometime it works, sometime not. It is not adviced to do so. But if you have saved your household to the library you should still be able to use it.

[Pam]

Welcome to our Forum, jxmnet.

If you have removed some expansions and stuff packs, those items in your game will be replaced with something similar.

Regarding your graphics card, we have a thread that might help you.  I looked at the Sims Wiki link on that thread and found this:

Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants may default to settings that are higher than what would be optimal for them. Graphics settings can be lowered to improve performance.

[/size]

So, you may want to look at lowering your settings under Options.

You say you've only been playing Sims 3 for a week?  Meaning the game is practically brand new?  And you did a complete re-install?  Are you able to start a fresh new game and have it load properly?  Another thing I would look at is the game file itself.  You'll find it at this path:  C:/Documents/Electronic Arts/Sims 3/Saves.  Look to see if any of the files have the word "bad" anywhere in the title.  If so, that means the file is corrupted and cannot be recovered.  You need to delete any of those files because it will spread to other files.

Laptops are notorious for not being able to run Sims 3 properly.  It has to be a fabulous laptop with a high end graphics card and all the other game specifications.  I use a desktop and just recently upgraded it so the game will run better.  It took a new power supply, a second hard drive, and a crazy graphics card.  It cost me about $500 when all was said and done.

One last suggestion I have is to make duplicate saves of your game in the future using Save As.  I keep three or four versions of my game files and give them different names, like File Name 1, File Name 2, File Name 3, etc.  It might help down the line if this happens again.

[jxmnet]

Ok.. So it was quite a successful day.. Upon re-installing the game, I still had the same problem so, as suggested, I uninstalled some of the packs. I just have it until The Showtime expansion. I think it was the Seasons expansion which was causing the trouble (it was one of the last things I uninstalled).

So I restored my saved game, installed and moved my sims to Union Cove (great neighborhood!). Everything is running pretty well with a few lags but I guess it's fine. I still have to lower the settings though.

However, I get the message about some unrouted sim. What is this?
And, I also like the University Life expansion. Do you think it will cause problems similar o what I encountered? Thanks!