Game clock not working

[beardeux]

Hi.  My game clock is not working.  It keeps no regular time in any speed mode except that all modes are slowwwww.  The game is extremely jerky, when it is moving along.  The sims freeze every 2 seconds, move 2 seconds - repeat.  It's very hard on the eyes and patience.  Sometimes the clock freezes for hours but the play goes on jerkily.  When the clock finally moves I have missed some events (ex:  clock stops at 5.00am, jumps to 9.30am, and my sims don't get the carpool for work, are late and take 3 or more hours to get there.  Workday is done.  Also the sims take up to 10 seconds (my time) to begin an activity like changing outfits, walking somewhere or talking to another sim. 

I achieve very little in a day.  Time moves, sims don't or vice versa.  It can take up to 6 hrs just to have 3 conversation interactions.

All towns are affected.  This just started about 3 days ago when I got an EA game update.  I'm wondering if this may have been the cause and if others are experiencing this.  I've reset all sims, reset the whole town, tried starting the town over, taken the mods out and as there was no change, put them back.  I also did a system restore from a week earlier, but as the files are not touched, I think the update is still intact.  I delete the files after each game and my computer system is clean.

Can anyone help me fix the game clock?

[Pam]

I don't think it's the game clock.  Others have experienced the same things you describe and I believe it's more of a lag issue.  Have you cleared your caches and gone through the other things to help speed things up on the Technical Help board.  You mentioned a few, but there may be others that will help.

[beardeux]

Hi Pam.  Thanks.  I have done some reading and have deleted my world caches and DCBackup files.  I did't deleted them off the system, just in case.  I had over 800 DCBackup files.  Maybe those two things will help.  The game is becoming unplayable.  I'll start there.  Hope it helps.

[Sonshine]

Hi beardeux, If that doesn't help, could you post your system specs here? That will help. Click on Start, Run, then type in dxdiag and hit enter. The first page that comes up is your system specs, then there is a Display tab which shows your video card and graphics specs. My game lags a bit too, but not quite this bad. It almost sounds like you don't have enough power for the game to run. This game is a HUGE power hog.

[beardeux]

Hi Sonshine, I have windows 7 Professional, 64 bit, 8192 mb ram, directX 11, 3.1 Ghz.  I believe the ram is 16mb.  I have an AMD Radeon HD 6800 video card.  Approx. total memory 710 MB.
  It is a new computer bought to play this game and supposed to be quite powerful.  I had an issue once with houseboats disappearing and causing this same lag problem, but that was solved and the lag went away.  I don't have the boat problem now.  That was the first thing I checked.  This is the first time I've had this kind of horrific lag.

[Sonshine]

Hi again Beardeux! I sure sounds like your RAM is short. Personally, I would recommend at least 2 gig if not more. As I said, this game is a HUGE power hog.

[beardeux]

correction, I have 8 GB ram.  Do you think it would just suddenly start doing this.  The game has always had a slight lag as so many people seem to have.  But really, Today it's fine, tomorrow - watch out!!

I'm considering a factory reset.  Never done one.  I'm not totally computer literate and it kind of seems like lions, tigers and bears to me.

[Sonshine]

OK, You might want to just rename your current game file and then try a vanilla game and see if that works. Yeah, 8 gigs is good.

[beardeux]

Is a vanilla game just a test game?  I did a factory reset. (thanks MoonAreBlue, for making it easy)  I had no problems with that.  Unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem.
  I finally deleted my three Paradise Island towns and the game is running as well as it ever did.  I introduced them back one at a time and my first one seems ok, further play will tell.  The second one had the issue.  I deleted it.  I'm going to try starting the 2nd one over fresh for the third time.  I'm going to scrap the third town.  I believe the issue had to be in the IP town.  That's 3 times this town has given me a serious issue.
  Here's hoping it will settle down and play.  If this issue comes up again, I'll know where to look.
  Thanks everyone for responding and trying to help.

[Sonshine]

I hope you can get it straightened out. A "vanilla game" I think is the same as a factory reset. You just rename or delete the EA folder from you Documents and the game will generate a new folder.

[beardeux]

oh, thanks for the info.  I wouldn't have guessed that.  My third game is now running smoothly so far.  I've play for several hours without a hitch.  I'm now convinced it is IP causing the problem.  It's definitely a favourite town.  I won't give up on it.  I'll make continual backup files.

[Angélique]

A "vanilla game" is when you're only playing the base game with no expansions, no stuff packs, no Store items, and absolutely NO mods or third party CC. It's got nothing to do with factory resets. Look here for a glossary of all sorts of Sims 3 terms.

Beardeux, maybe you don't have to give up on playing Isla Paradiso yet. If you don't mind spending a bit of time and effort, you could try the NVA Diagnostic Tool, as I like to call it. It's a method I worked out when I was desperately trying everything to make my horribly lagging and freezing world Twinbrook playable again. It was/is surprisingly effective if you have routing/pathing issues in any of the worlds. I had to use it on Sunlit Tides and IP too, because it was almost impossible to play them before I did.

Of course it's by no means the ideal or perfect solution, but at least it makes it possible to play. The only other option would be to avoid dysfunctional worlds altogether, and that feels like a terrible waste and loss, especially with such beautiful and wonderful places as Isla Paradiso and Sunlit Tides.

If you choose to try the NVA method, I describe it in more detail here, in reply nr 5.

Anyway, good luck with fixing your game!
 

[beardeux]

Thanks Angelique.  I read your posting for large files.  I play Twinbrook extensively and most often.  I have modified it greatly.  I don't have many empty houses, lots or comm lots.  It's a full and busy town.  Other than taking aprox 7 minutes real time to do a save (go have lunch ) I don't generally have problems with it.  I've run this town for a very long time.  Well over a year.  In windows explorer, for Twinbrook - If I click on the folder and click properties it tells me the file is 1.20 GB.  That sounds huge.  Union Cove shows 300MB.  Isla Paradiso, the one I'm currently replacing and working on is 52MB.
  I found and checked the TravelDB.package files and I don't have any over 1MB.  I left them alone.  Gardens, all my sims have 3-4 produce trees and plants, but I keep decor trees and flowers to a minimum.  Fences though, I always keep a fence around every yard.  I use the low small wrought iron fence around the whole yard and just a bit of higher fence around the entrance for the gates.  So each house has a front court with access to the front door.
  As for Island Paradise, I have no doubt that this is the world that caused the above problem.  I took them out and the game was fine.  I love this world and am not ready to give up on it. I keep regular saves backed up.   The one town I introduced back seems fine.  In one of the worlds that caused the problem, I had to start over.  I'm taking many of my Twinbrook townies to live there (not via the moving to a different town method but from the library bin).  So far since yesterday, it's playing well.
Thanks for your help.  I appreciate it.  I've kept your notes in my binder of notes.

[Pam]

beardeaux,

When you look at the save files in Windows Explorer, do any of them have "bad" in the filename?  This would indicate a corrupt file that needs to be deleted.  If allowed to remain, it will even spread to other save files.

[beardeux]

Hi Pam, No, no .bad files.  I always check for that as part of my shut down and delete package files process.  When I take Island Paradise games out of the saves, everything is fine.  I had the problem crop up again last night.  I'm now starting over for the 4th time.  At this point, I'm still determined to beat this thing and play the island.  I'm convinced it's the IP world thats giving me the problem.  I'm keeping all the saves in a separate file so that if I have to start over I can go back just one or two saves.  Thanks.