MORE advice for a smoother-running game?

[berninicaco3]

I built a good gaming desktop, but even though I'm accustomed now to near-instant load times on other games and a consistent 60fps on ultra detail in skyrim... sims3 still lags.

Mainly, the speeds are not even.  If I turn it to 1x, 2x, or 3x, the actually clock will be haphazard at best, with skipped animations even.  Worse at 3x than at 1x gamespeed of course... but can still lag at 1x.

It's not graphics.  It runs as badly on low settings as on maxed.

I have almost all the expansions.  That's likely part of it.

I also have a legacy family with too much inventory.  Maybe that's... all of it?  No, because even new games are faster but still not smooth.

I've now got overwatch.
I cleared the backup and cache logs as advised.
I've got the nrass error trap, as well.
Not too much custom content bloat, either.

So... I want to know what I can do to improve things?
Would a second ssd in a raid array help, for ungodly data transfer speeds?
Would more than 3.8ghz be taken advantage of by this game?  I can try to learn to overclock a little-- 4.5ghz should be obtainable, if there's a point to it (if sims3 is a cpu bottlenecked game).
Should just making sure my memory is clocked as high as it's rated for, also help?  I should check; it might be that the bios is defaulting to a lower memory speed than is possible.

[berninicaco3]

Would a raid 0 array help the game run smoother?

[Seabody]

The only real way to get a decent speed on Sims is, as far as I've seen, install only the base game. At the very least, the core engine was finished in 2005, it's at least 8 years out of date. TS4 should probably perform better, the code will most likely be way more up to date.

What's your FPS for Sims?

How long have you let Overwatch run? The cleanup process run at 3 AM daily, I believe.

[Chuckles_82]

You could also merge your .package files into one file (except for premium content). Most of your sims3pack files can be converted to .package and lumped into one for faster loading.

[berninicaco3]

3am real time, or 3am in-game?  If in game... yes.  If real time-- not sure if I had the game running at that hour.

FPS is fine.  I guess I wasn't more specific.  Some animations will remain operational.  Let's say two fairies are in conversation.  Suddenly they'll freeze, but their wings will keep flapping.  Fountains will keep pouring water, etc.  Just the characters froze.  Some animations are skipped, others (like water or fairy wings) are not skipped.  Time decelerates then resumes again very unevenly.  I shouldn't think, with a 7950, that it's graphics lag.  I turned down draw distance and # of high detail lots, enabled object hiding, etc.  Kept high detail sims and water though.

I suspect you're right about fewer expansions and then just waiting for sims4.  The original sims3 ran fine on my old m6400 laptop-- and now the expanded version runs falteringly on my significantly upgraded gaming desktop. 

[Chuckles_82]

I get that lag too - it's worst when I send my sims to China. It could be that you have sims getting stuck somewhere? If you plop an empty lot down somewhere in the town, it forces the game to rebuild routing data. That may help, but having the mods will pick up where sims are getting stuck, and you can hopefully fix it by going to the lot in question and seeing what they're all stamping their feet at.

[Seabody]

3am real time, or 3am in-game?  If in game... yes.  If real time-- not sure if I had the game running at that hour.

In game.

The routing Chuckles mentions may be a part of it - try using the resetsim * cheat. To do this, press Ctrl + Shift + C, enter "resetsim *" and press Enter. This will reset every sim in town.

FPS is fine.  I guess I wasn't more specific.  Some animations will remain operational.  Let's say two fairies are in conversation.  Suddenly they'll freeze, but their wings will keep flapping.  Fountains will keep pouring water, etc.  Just the characters froze.  Some animations are skipped, others (like water or fairy wings) are not skipped.  Time decelerates then resumes again very unevenly.  I shouldn't think, with a 7950, that it's graphics lag.  I turned down draw distance and # of high detail lots, enabled object hiding, etc.  Kept high detail sims and water though.

That's a really common graphical glitch. The developers always seem to miss a piece of code in places, such as the puddles in Seasons not clearing properly.

Is it possible to try a game with fewer expansions? Instead of reinstalling games, use something like Any Game Starter or Sim Game Selector. It probably isn't your system, a good gaming rig should be able to run the game well. I also suggest a Factory Reset - perhaps it's a corrupted file.

[Jazz Iguana]

Hey guys! been lurking around these forums for years. really like the forums much better then the official TS 3 forums. lots of helpful people here.


I just want to start off by saying, i'm desperate. i have tried EVERYTHING to get this game working 100% and im STILL getting lag spike issues. one second itll be at 60. then down to 20. then to 4. then back up to 60. the only time i can get it to run smooth is if i sit the camera in one spot for a couple minutes lolol.

here's my pc specs, as you will see. there should be NO problem with running this game completely maxed out.

OS: Windows 7 64-bit operating system
CPU: AMD phenom II x6 1090t processor ~ 3.2 GHz
RAM: 16,384
GFX Card: AMD Radeon HD 6950  approx memory: 4095 MB
Hardrive: two 1 TB hard disk drives

as you can see, my computer doesn't need much upgrading. the only thing i can really do at this point is get another GFX card and a SSD but this one was been working flawlessly with all recent games including Bioshock, Crysis 3, and Metro Last Light all on high settings.


now, i know a lot of you are going to be spamming me with links to so-and-so's post. but i assure you. i've already done everything under the sun to help improve my game. below is a list of EVERYTHING i've tried. and i still get terrible lag spikes going from 60 fps all the way down to 5 in just a couple seconds along with the crappy, laggy, animations. the longest i've been able to get the game running 100% is maybe a five minutes. tops.


1. Re-installed the game from scratch, including all expansions and stuff packs

2. Deleted custom content except for overwatch, error trap, awesomemod, and a few other "game enhancing" CC

3. Deleted ALL custom and downloaded content. still laggy.

4. I have an FPS limiter and a force Vsync both on

5. I have run the game in compatibility mode and as an admin in each compatibility setting. does zero difference.

6. My computer is clean of viruses, malware, runs like a charm 99% of the time. i can have multiple things running at once with zero lag

7. I have tried changing the priority settings in the task manager menu to "Real time". very little to no difference.

8. i have changed all the possible settings to "use application settings" in the catalyst control center

9. i have cleared cache in both the cache file and the other 3 cache files upon each start up

10. I have disabled/turned down "animation smoothing" "advanced rendering" "high detailed lots" "edge smoothing"

11. i have turned all settings to very low and even changed the resolution. despite all of this, it STILL runs poorly. moving to a sim thats not even 20 feet away turns into a slideshow

12. i have started a new town/sim and it runs well for a good 5 mins then its back to running like utter crap. choppy animations, sims having delayed reactions/interactions, sims not appearing for a couple seconds then randomly appearing.

13. i have used a "Game booster" does little to no difference in any game i play



i have literally tried EVERYTHING that google has turned up for the search "sims 3 lag issues" and i am STILL having lag issues. I refuse to believe its my computer because i can run other games much more demanding then the sims just fine.


the weird things is, once upon a time. back when i only had 3 expansions. the game used to run pretty well compared to now. because of this i feel like my money has been wasted on a game that is poorly optimized for certain systems. its incredibly frustrating because i've been playing the sims games since the first one. they are my FAVORITE sim games ever and they are a huge part of my life. but this 3rd game does NOT want to work on my computer. its very depressing spending all that money and not even have a decent running game on a GAMING pc. absolutely pathetic if you ask me.

so here i am making this thread, because i have exhausted every possible idea i can think of. and im here in hopes that there's some miracle one of you can bestow upon my fragile body.


thanks in advanced!

[Jazz Iguana]

i can't believe you guys are suggesting just to disable expansions and play the base game or just wait for sims 4. you should all be ashamed.

no one should have to throw away their money because the game decides it doesn't want to work on certain pcs. especially the higher end ones.


im having the exact same problems as OP and these responses are terrible.

[bubbles]

i can't believe you guys are suggesting just to disable expansions and play the base game or just wait for sims 4. you should all be ashamed.

no one should have to throw away their money because the game decides it doesn't want to work on certain pcs. especially the higher end ones.


im having the exact same problems as OP and these responses are terrible.

Fap, I know you are new around here, but I don't feel that your response is appropriate. Sometimes uninstalling expansions is the only solution and your fellow members were kind enough to help Berninicaco out. They don't deserve for you to say their responses are terrible.

But anyway, welcome to the forum.

[bubbles]

How many expansions do you have now? Even the best computers struggle with The Sims 3, especially when all expansions and stuff packs are installed. You may have to uninstall one or two of your expansions for now and maybe reinstall them at a later date.

I hope this helps!

[Pam]

Welcome to our Forum, Fap.

I saw that you found the other topic that deals with this same issue.  I'm going to merge the two threads because we don't need the same information for the same issue being posted in two places.

I also have to say that I agree with Bubbles.  Your response on the other thread is not appropriate.  Please mind your manners when posting on our Forum.

[Louise56]

Fap, as I don't use CC I don't really know much about it, but I know bad CC can break your game. You say you remove all but 'game enhancing cc'. Maybe remove those as well will help. Welcome to the forum.

[Seabody]

i can't believe you guys are suggesting just to disable expansions and play the base game or just wait for sims 4. you should all be ashamed.

no one should have to throw away their money because the game decides it doesn't want to work on certain pcs. especially the higher end ones.


im having the exact same problems as OP and these responses are terrible.

An EP could be the cause of the problem. Pets caused deformed Pets (you could ask quite a few people here). Without trying a reinstall, trying the game regularly, we can't give a good answer. If one tries everything else but a reinstall, the reinstall could be the very thing needed.

[Jazz Iguana]

Fap, I know you are new around here, but I don't feel that your response is appropriate. Sometimes uninstalling expansions is the only solution and your fellow members were kind enough to help Berninicaco out. They don't deserve for you to say their responses are terrible.

But anyway, welcome to the forum.

I meant no offense in my response. As i have mentioned in my post, i am very frustrated that i spent quite a lot of money on this game and the expansions and people are saying to trash the expansions and just play the base game or wait till the better game comes out. Cutting out 85% of the gameplay is not a solution or help. That's like me saying "well, have you tried not playing the game how you want to play it?"

Welcome to our Forum, Fap.

I saw that you found the other topic that deals with this same issue.  I'm going to merge the two threads because we don't need the same information for the same issue being posted in two places.

I also have to say that I agree with Bubbles.  Your response on the other thread is not appropriate.  Please mind your manners when posting on our Forum.

I apologize. Again, I meant no offense. I have to say though, I expected a more 'informed' response then just deleting everything and hope it all works out that way. I believe the OP wants a solution that will allow him to play the expansions and the base game. I can't speak for him, but I did not pay money for a game I can't play the way it's meant to be played. I'm hoping you guys can understand the frustration.

Fap, as I don't use CC I don't really know much about it, but I know bad CC can break your game. You say you remove all but 'game enhancing cc'. Maybe remove those as well will help. Welcome to the forum.

If you read my whole post. I mentioned that I have deleted all the CC. I'm starting to think that my Graphics card just isn't compatible with this game. As crazy as that sounds considering its published by EA and I have played many, many EA games with no problems.

Thanks for all the welcomes guys. If any of you can provide any real insight that would be awesome!