What to do if Your Game Slows Down (Clean Up Your Game)

[Pam]

Ugh. I restarted my computer, but my game is acting exactly the same. In fact, I think it's even worse. I'm really thinking of giving up on the sims now. Please, someone help!

Don't you have a thread on this from awhile back?  If not, start a new one and give the specific details of your problem.  I know you've probably done it already, but we have new people now who might have some ideas.

[TGBlank]

Ugh. I restarted my computer, but my game is acting exactly the same. In fact, I think it's even worse. I'm really thinking of giving up on the sims now. Please, someone help!

There's several things i can think of that can cause slowdown. Are you willing to go through some troubleshooting?.
1) What patches do you have? (as in, what patch do you have of the base game and each expansion)
2) Does it happen with brand new neighborhood & sims?
3) What custom content do you have?

Mismatched patches can cause a lot of trouble (can happen if you patch manually or if the EADM did what it does best and failed to do it's job).
#2 would be a clear indicator of either bloated world cache or glitchy neighborhood.
#3 is the wildcard here, if you go through CC fast, deleting the caches would help, if you use a lot of little packages, merging them would greatly improve load times; If there's a bad apple amongst your mods, that one could be the cause. Ironically enough, the right mods can greatly alleviate neighborhood decay.

[Pam]

@TGBlank:  Please address this when Simstar makes a thread for her issue.  I don't want this information thread taken up with a specific problem that should have its own thread.  Thanks.

[Asleep]

Ok, I revived my old thread about my problem.
http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/index.php/topic,1739.10.html

[LlamaMama]

I unfortunately deleted my DCCache contents this morning, instead of the DCBackup contents. When I realized my mistake I reinstalled everything showing under "downloaded" in the launcher.

The contents of my DCCache are now:

dcdb0.dbc
dcdb0.ebc
missingdeps.idx

Is that everything, or is there something else I should do? I have all the expansions, many store items, some T-mobile and Dr. Pepper items.

edit: I found a dcdb1.ebc in my recycle bin too. I just replaced the above 3 files with the same-named ones from the recycle bin, plus added the dcdb1.ebc as well. Am I all good now?

[TGBlank]

Reinstalling everything under downloaded in the launcher should have done the trick. Do note that it is perfectly normal that the end result was different, particularly if you originally installed store items and such progressively (over different launchers/expansions/patches/dates).
Replacing things back shouldn't be necessary unless you find yourself a few items short. If so, re-downloading them is a better idea.

[LlamaMama]

@TG: Whoops, I'll delete and re-install them then. It's good to know not to expect the same end-result.

You've been a really big help to me with your posts recently! 

[Chsharpe]

What are the instructions for this on the new windows 7 on a dell inspiron? Because I can't find my documents and the other folders.

[Pam]

Look under Documents instead of My Documents.

[Leto85]

1258 files in the DCBackup map just because I couldn't find this topic back. I must be blessed with the fact my game was still able to run. Howly cow! :O

[LlamaMama]

Leto, I love your expressions! I will enjoy saying "howly cow" even more than "holy cow".

[Valion]

Hello!

I can't seem to find the DCbackup folder. I've checked the EA Sims 3 Folder and only found the saves folder and other stuff. Does that mean my game isn't slow yet? I'm asking because when I use the option to return to main menu in sims 3, the game takes longer to load than what it used to.

Thank you!

[athena]

Hello!

I cant seem to find the DCbackup folder i've checked the EA Sims 3 Folder and only found the saves folder and other stuff. does that mean my game isnt slow yet? i'm asking because when i use the option to return to main menu in sims 3 the game takes longer to load than what it used to.

Thank you!

Neither was I able to find he DCbackup folder, what I saw was DCCache and I didn't want to fool around with that. I've solved my loading problem by moving my video files to another drive. I solved my slow speed game by saving all my families in the slow speed town (pls note that not all towns have slow speeds, at least not in my game) in the family bin. You can even save the families with their houses if you want to. Then I deleted the old (decayed) town. I recreated same town (SV in my case) and placed back the families there. Now my game is running fine, no more sluggishness or choppiness. Good luck!

[mtglady]

Valion and athena, I am using a PC and run Vista.  This is what my 'The Sims 3' folder looks like.  If you are on a MAC then you have something totally different.  As you can see the DCBackup folder is separate from the DCCache folder. 
I hope this helps you both.



@athena - I am glad you found a solution to your problem.  Moving the files in your 'Screenshots' folder to another file may also help with gaming performance.

[mtglady]

1258 files in the DCBackup map just I couldn't find this topic back. I must be blessed with the fact my game was still able to run. Howly cow! :O

Howly (Holy) cow - the ARM is back!  I have missed seeing your avatar Leto.  Glad you finally found it.