Sims 3 slow in comparison

[halsemon]

Hello Carl's Sims 3 forumers!

I've recently upgraded my graphics card and power supply, and I'm able to play some of the latest games like Assassin's Creed 4, XCOM Declassified, Company of Heroes 2 with everything maxed out except AA while getting a high, smooth framerate. But for the Sims, a game that released back in 2009, I still can't manage to get a consistent, smooth framerate. It's always either choppy, or I get a few seconds of smoothness followed by a few seconds of pause.

I've followed the instructions given in this topic: http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=463.0 to delete the files in DCBackup as well as a few Cache files, but this doesn't really help if at all.

My specs:
AMD FX-8120 8 Core Processor @ 3.10 GHz
10 GB of RAM
CoolerMaster 725W
ASUS R9 280X DirectCU II 3GB VRAM

How might I get some smooth gameplay for the Sims? If you need any other specs that you deem necessary, feel free to ask.

[Variosities]

Have you checked your video settings in the SIMS3 options?

[halsemon]

What would I be checking in my video settings, Variosities?

[Pam]

I'm moving this to the Technical Help board.  It should do better there.

[halsemon]

Thank you Pam, and my apologies. I wasn't sure if it would fit in here or Misc. help.

[Pam]

Thank you Pam, and my apologies. I wasn't sure if it would fit in here or Misc. help.

No worries.  It goes on Technical Help because it's dealing with the mechanics of the game.  Miscellaneous is for problems you have with game play itself, like being unable to harvest a plant.  It can be tricky sometimes trying to decide where it goes.

[Blackrosea]

Hello Carl's Sims 3 forumers!

I've recently upgraded my graphics card and power supply, and I'm able to play some of the latest games like Assassin's Creed 4, XCOM Declassified, Company of Heroes 2 with everything maxed out except AA while getting a high, smooth framerate. But for the Sims, a game that released back in 2009, I still can't manage to get a consistent, smooth framerate. It's always either choppy, or I get a few seconds of smoothness followed by a few seconds of pause.

I've followed the instructions given in this topic: http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=463.0 to delete the files in DCBackup as well as a few Cache files, but this doesn't really help if at all.

My specs:
AMD FX-8120 8 Core Processor @ 3.10 GHz
10 GB of RAM
CoolerMaster 725W
ASUS R9 280X DirectCU II 3GB VRAM

How might I get some smooth gameplay for the Sims? If you need any other specs that you deem necessary, feel free to ask.

Welcome to the forum halsemon.

Which expansion packs do you have for your game?

[halsemon]

Thank you Blackrosea, for the welcome.

I have all the expansions and stuff packs.

[Pam]

Thank you Blackrosea, for the welcome.

I have all the expansions and stuff packs.

Have you tried using Windows mode and lowering some of your graphics settings in the Options menu?

[halsemon]

I've yet to try doing so Pam, but I don't intend to.
I'm able to play games that came out recently like Arkham Origins, Company of Heroes 2, Assassin's Creed 4, etc. with almost max settings. The only thing I have lowered on those games are the anti-aliasing but everything else is set to the highest and I'm able to play them very smoothly. If there are hiccups, they are minute and I don't even notice them. So if I can play games like that which came out in 2013, why would I not be able to play a game that came out in 2009 with my current build that has components which are all younger than the game itself? My graphics card alone is less than half a year old I believe. I recall seeing a list somewhere, either here or in the modthesims forum, but it showed a list of graphics cards and how smoothly Sims 3 should run with which expansions and such. My graphics cards was given a green for all of them meaning I should be playing it very smoothly.

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Halsemon,

The game's performance will go down with each expansion, stuff packs and store content installed. Partly, this is due to the large amounts of data the game contains. But between the large catalog of items, the game's simulation engine and any gameplay mods, the game can be slowed down substantially.

The game will use multiple cores on the processor. Being a 32-bit game, it will only use about 2 GB memory by default. It can be increased with the use of a patch, but at least in Hubby's tests it hasn't improved the performance noticeably.

Hope this helps,

MrsFlynn

[Seabody]

I've yet to try doing so Pam, but I don't intend to.
I'm able to play games that came out recently like Arkham Origins, Company of Heroes 2, Assassin's Creed 4, etc. with almost max settings. The only thing I have lowered on those games are the anti-aliasing but everything else is set to the highest and I'm able to play them very smoothly. If there are hiccups, they are minute and I don't even notice them. So if I can play games like that which came out in 2013, why would I not be able to play a game that came out in 2009 with my current build that has components which are all younger than the game itself? My graphics card alone is less than half a year old I believe. I recall seeing a list somewhere, either here or in the modthesims forum, but it showed a list of graphics cards and how smoothly Sims 3 should run with which expansions and such. My graphics cards was given a green for all of them meaning I should be playing it very smoothly.

Welcome to the forum.

Sims 3 is built on an engine that is throttled and limited. I've heard reports from people who asked SimGuru's that the engine was finished in 2005! There's some foul language in the thread I got that info from (on MTS) so I won't link it here, but here's the relevant paragraph:

Which we never talk about really but it's because we didn't know just how limited we are.the fact that they were able pull off LN, just barely, and Island Paradise is true techinical feat pushing hardware limitations.The sims engine was made and finished in 2005. this hardware is so Ancient. In addition, they teams working the sims 3 never created the engine, they have to work with what they have.They can barely even make small changes to CAS UI or build mode features without completely borking the engine and causing problems that were suppost to be unrelated. They ask their engineers 1) what problem would that cause 2) can they fix it? Alot of things cannot be fixed or touched. its so fragile. like a very old car with an old engine. Even they could do /add it, that would take a huge over haul that would take like a month or more and that is if everything was to run smoothly;which realistically is time they dont have.

The Sims 3 is an older game. It's just the way it is. You bought it in 2009 but in terms of engine power, it's more like a 2005/2007 game at best.

[halsemon]

MrsFlynn,
I used a "Downloadable App to Help Game Run Better" in the stickied page Performance Issues in the Technical Help board. It seems to have helped at least a bit, I'm able to get maybe up to an hour's worth of smooth gameplay before it starts to stutter again, but it's better than having it immediately be in such a way. It's truly unfortunate having each expansion pack bog down the game more and more. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. But they probably should have stopped a great deal earlier with the expansion packs, hahaha

Seabody,
Well. OK. But also, this is good news to me. I was debating whether or not going into Sims 4 would be worth it or not, considering that I can hardly run Sims 3 in an enjoyable manner. But if it's due to the engine being... bad... to say the least... then I'll probably give it a go. Maybe immediately as I'm assuming little to no stuttering in that.

Anyways, thank you all for the replies. I guess my only option other than to stop playing The Sims 3 entirely is to play it until I get frustrated and transition into another game. Then come back, get frustrated, and transition again. Let's hope The Sims 4 will be fantastic!

[Blackrosea]

Thank you Blackrosea, for the welcome.

I have all the expansions and stuff packs.

I have found playing these last few expansions, that Seasons (for me at least) seem to be the biggest lag maker. As soon as a NPC or event will happen (like when the University mascot appears or the future portal pops onto your lot), it just slows to a long pause that takes forever to get through and/or have multiple lag issues. If I turn off Seasons, this log either goes away or is super short.