Game is seriously lagging, I have tried everything!

[Ally3772]

My game has been laggy and freezes up constantly ever since my sim got back from University! I have read the clean up your game thread and deleted everything from the DCbackup folder, all the single files your can delete, videos, screen shots, everything I know that can be deleted safely. I have even lowered the graphics in the game, and even completed a disk clean up. I was going to degrag my computer but it said it didn't need it.

I'm not sure how to look up my specs, but my laptop handled the game perfectly before. I just got the laptop in February of this year and it's a Windows 8.

Could uninstalling and reinstalling help the lag and freezing? And if I do, so I uninstall and reinstall the base game and do I have to uninstall and reinstall ALL expansion packs? Or do I just uninstall and reinstall the last expansion pack I installed which would be Island Paradise?

[Randox]

Not sure how much help I can be with getting the game to speed up, beyond making sure that you tried the reset all command ([ctrl]+[shift]+[c] > resetSim * > [enter]) in case something got messed up when you returned home that resetting all the sims would fix (pathing issues). I will also ask if you are using any mods to try and handle any potential issues, such as error trap or overwatch.

Also, were you using any mods before you installed university? If you were, it's possible the mods are being broken by the new expansion. Also, if you upgraded to a new patch at the same time, that will break any mods which could cause issues as well.


For the specs though, the easiest way to get most of your computer specs is to use the run (windows key + r] program, type in "dxdiag" and hit enter (or you can search for "dxdiag" to find the program). It's the Direct X diagnostic program, and it has most of the information.

Of note in the system tab would be your operating system, system model (not sure what you would get on a custom build. For computers bought at a store, this is the computer model which can be used to search for your specifications online), processor, and memory (RAM). In the display tab you will find your graphics card. Name is the model, memory is how much video ram you have (this is not how much VRAM the GPU has, this is how much is available to it. Most computers, especially laptops use some of the system RAM as VRAM).

[Angélique]

Could uninstalling and reinstalling help the lag and freezing? And if I do, so I uninstall and reinstall the base game and do I have to uninstall and reinstall ALL expansion packs? Or do I just uninstall and reinstall the last expansion pack I installed which would be Island Paradise?

Uninstalling and reinstalling everything should be considered a last resort, if all else fails. Before that you could try the things that Randox suggested, and if that doesn't do any good, you could always do a factory reset, to see if that improves your gameplay. That process is described here.

Good luck with fixing your game!

[Pam]

Are you also cleaning out your caches?  Additionally, try doing a universal reset while in the game.  The code is "resetsim *" without the quote marks.  Also, be sure to close your game after a couple of hours so it can reset itself.  That helps with the lagging, too.

[Ally3772]

Hi guys, sorry I thought I set the thread to notify me but I checked and I guess I didn't oops!

I only have two mods, the Master Controller and Portrait Panel, I could get rid of Master Controller but I need Portrait Panel because I have so many sims!

Anyway, I have tried the factory reset, I'll do the reset all thing as soon as my game boots up. I went a head and did the uninstall/reinstall yesterday but that didn't seem to do anything...

If the reset all doesnt work I am going to try to load them into a new game and see if that works!


Thanks for all the ideas!

[Ally3772]

Are you also cleaning out your caches?  Additionally, try doing a universal reset while in the game.  The code is "resetsim *" without the quote marks.  Also, be sure to close your game after a couple of hours so it can reset itself.  That helps with the lagging, too.

Which caches? There are four of them, the DCcache, IGAcache, Sigscache, and Worldcache. I tried the "resetsim *", it seemed to work but then it froze again I'll make sure that if I ever get this fixed that I will close the game every few hours so it can reset itself.

[Angélique]

Which caches? There are four of them, the DCcache, IGAcache, Sigscache, and Worldcache. I tried the "resetsim *", it seemed to work but then it froze again I'll make sure that if I ever get this fixed that I will close the game every few hours so it can reset itself.

No, don't delete any of them, that will surely break your game beyond repair.

The caches Pam was talking about can be found if you click on The Sims 3 in the Electronic Arts folder, and they are called compositorCache, simcompositorCache, CASPartCache, scriptCache, and maybe socialCache too, if you're not using SimPort and that sort of thing. I always delete all of them, but I'm not quite sure of what the socialCache is doing. Maybe some of the other forum members know more about that file.

[Ally3772]

No, don't delete any of them, that will surely brake your game beyond repair.

The caches Pam was talking about can be found if you click on The Sims 3 in the Electronic Arts folder, and they are called compositorCache, simcompositorCache, CASPartCache, scriptCache, and maybe socialCache too, if you're not using SimPort and that sort of thing. I always delete all of them, but I'm not quite sure of what the socialCache is doing. Maybe some of the other forum members know more about that file.

Oh, yeah I've deleted those already along with the DCbackup. But thank you!

[Angélique]

Have you installed any other programs on your computer just before the problems started? I know that some antivirus/security programs don't get along very well with Sims 3, and could cause lag/freezing and even crashing.

[Ally3772]

Nope, no new programs were installed.

I started a new game and placed the family on the lot, everything seemed fine! It was working and not laggy or freezing.

...Until I put the resorts I saved to the library down. I'm thinking that it has something to do with the resorts? I own all three of them. So I guess I will have to play without owning the resorts

I'm going to restart a new game without the resorts and hopefully everything will go smoothly!

Thanks for all the help!

[Angélique]

Yes, the resorts could very well be the reason behind the lagging. I tried to build/own a resort in Isla Paradiso, but that made the game sooo terribly lagging it almost looked like a slideshow. I've never seen anything like it before.

So I canceled all my plans on playing the resorts, it was just impossible. As soon as I sold the resort that I had built, and bulldozed the lot for good measure, the lagging was immediately reduced by 90-95 % or something like that.

[Ally3772]

Yes, the resorts could very well be the reason behind the lagging. I tried to build/own a resort in Isla Paradiso, but that made the game sooo terribly lagging it almost looked like a slideshow. I've never seen anything like it before.

So I canceled all my plans on playing the resorts, it was just impossible. As soon as I sold the resort that I had built, and bulldozed the lot for good measure, the lagging was immediately reduced by 90-95 % or something like that.

Well I'm glad I am not the only one! Maybe they will find this out and send an update, Island Paradise is still pretty new so there is bound to be some problems.

[Angélique]

Well I'm glad I am not the only one! Maybe they will find this out and send an update, Island Paradise is still pretty new so there is bound to be some problems.

Yes, I really hope that there will be patch released soon that improves the gameplay in Isla Paradiso, because there seem to be so many people who are having trouble with it, even if they don't own any resorts. I think it must have something to do with the routing/pathing of the entire I.P world, something that isn't the way it should be.