For those of you whos game lags...

[Santori]

I know this thread is kind of old but I thought maybe if someone is still having problems that this may help:

A friend from Sims3 Community (German Site) helped me fix my hesitation/lag problems in game and in Edit Town mod, and believe me in the Edit Town mode using the Color/Pattern changer the lag/hesitation was really really severe - sometimes 5 to 10 seconds before I could do anything. He gave me 2 links to 2 posts he made on their side ( I used Google Translate to translate them to English) and I followed his instructions and after completing everything I used TSR's Rig Fix and just pointed that at the whole Sims 3 folder - this took a while as I have a LOT in there - and once it was done everything is back to normal! I have NO problems what so ever in the editor, the game does take a bit to load (startup) because of the size of the files, but once in game or in the editor everything runs great!

I'm hoping this may solve your problem:

Yes I know, I'm sorry it is in German but I have no way to post a translated page into English - GOOGLE TRANSLATE will do that for you.

Link #1

Link #2

The reason I posted links is that there are screen shots to help explain things.

When you use the package file Packer, you will need to name that new Package file and it will be placed in your mods section (and folder - if you have things separated into different folders for what the items are) and then what I did was to take the separate mod files (not the new one) and move them to a backup folder someplace else for safe keeping, and only kept the new package files in the main Mods folder. Now I had over 4000 items total between 10 or 11 folders in the mods folder and after running through and doing as he said, I now have 11 new package files, that along with resizing the DBC Cashe file to 2000, this has been part of the major help - along with everything else.

I do recommend that you use the TSR Rig Fix after you are done, this did help also as it fixed almost 800 of my files.

As I said, I do hope this helps!

;)

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Oh also, there is a very small program out there that will change the setting in your startup file to run the game from 2 GB to 4GB - the 4GB patch. Unfortunately I do NOT remember where I found this at!!!

If you want and if the Forum God's don't mind, I can post a link to download this file - it is only a hair over 6 KB - really small.

When I ran it I pointed it to my Launcher.exe file in each of my Sims 3 Expansions and Main Game ( just to be safe ) and I'm assuming it helped as well.

[Sookielee]

I do appreciate you posting this updated information. Even if it is in German, I am sure anyone having severe problems with their game won't mind taking a moment to translate the page, especially if there are screenshots to help them.

As to the "4GB Patch" I am sorry, but without knowing where it came from, I do not feel comfortable having it on my site. Plus whoever took the time to make it deserves the credit for doing so. If in the future you find the info/site, please let me know and we will see about getting it posted.

[Santori]

Sookielee I would naturally post the link to where people could download the program as well as read on it's use, I'm not one to grab credit or anything from someone else's hard work that naturally belongs to them. ;)

I will honestly try to find where I found this and post a link.

[Sookielee]

Oh Please do not take my post wrong. I know that you are an honorable person and would not try to grab credit as you say. I just wanted you to know that it was ok to post once you find the source.

[Santori]

Gawd I feel DUMB! LOL

Here's the link! Found it first try, I do not know why in the heck I could not find this earlier! LOL

4 GB Game Patch for Sims 3


One note - it tells you to go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin.....

you may want to change that to: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin for those who have bought the game and downloaded it only from Origin and do not have the CD's.

Also, just as a safety precaution, I went to each expansion pack and did the same thing to each of those as it says in the instructions - just to make sure that if in case the game used a different game starter than the one in the main folder for the base game ( always backup any file you modify prior to making any changes in case something goes wrong !!!)

[CD43]

I've been looking at these articles, and wonder if anyone has tried changing the ".ini" file in notepad to read 2000, instead of 200?

I found this reference to the above question >>>this is referring to the DCCache file

Quote:Contains all installed Custom Content/Exchange/Store items that you installed through the Launcher. Shows up in Launcher's Installed Content tab. This tab may list more content than you had downloaded and installed, as there are many Sims3Packs that have lots of files getting packed with it. Do NOT install hundreds of files in one go, do small batches that does not exceed 200MB. Launcher cannot handle too big a queue.
There are 3 different file types in this folder:
*.dbc: All third party content
*.ebc: Store content
missingdeps.idx: Probably some kind of Cache file for it gets recreated when deleted.
The files are getting compressed together and unfortunately one does not know what CC item is in which numbered file. The size of the files can be changed in the Default.ini in your \Game\Bin folder. If a file reaches this value, a new one is created and files are named incrementally, from *0.dbc or *0.ebc onwards.
A first file is created the first time you installed ANY sims3pack. If it's a houses/household/Sims/Worlds the file will only be 1 kb big. No actual info is stored there. If you uninstall something, the file size does not seem to be reduced at all although the content is gone from your Launcher & game.

quoted from this article

[Santori]

(12-11-2012 11:30 AM)CD43 Wrote:  I've been looking at these articles, and wonder if anyone has tried changing the ".ini" file in notepad to read 2000, instead of 200?

I found this reference to the above question >>>this is referring to the DCCache file

Quote:Contains all installed Custom Content/Exchange/Store items that you installed through the Launcher. Shows up in Launcher's Installed Content tab. This tab may list more content than you had downloaded and installed, as there are many Sims3Packs that have lots of files getting packed with it. Do NOT install hundreds of files in one go, do small batches that does not exceed 200MB. Launcher cannot handle too big a queue.
There are 3 different file types in this folder:
*.dbc: All third party content
*.ebc: Store content
missingdeps.idx: Probably some kind of Cache file for it gets recreated when deleted.
The files are getting compressed together and unfortunately one does not know what CC item is in which numbered file. The size of the files can be changed in the Default.ini in your \Game\Bin folder. If a file reaches this value, a new one is created and files are named incrementally, from *0.dbc or *0.ebc onwards.
A first file is created the first time you installed ANY sims3pack. If it's a houses/household/Sims/Worlds the file will only be 1 kb big. No actual info is stored there. If you uninstall something, the file size does not seem to be reduced at all although the content is gone from your Launcher & game.

quoted from this article

Yes I have. It's the Default.ini in each version of the game. Not only that but I used the Sims 3 Package Editor to create larger single package files containing my mod build / texture / buy / ect. Package files. I named them - for example: Build 1, Build 2, ect. After completing this, I moved the separate package files to save folders and the game - for me - does run a lot better.

Unfortunately since when I made these posts back in June, in October something happened with my computer - I don't know or understand how or why because I had just turned it on for the first time that day, my CPU decided to fry (it was a quad core 2.8 ghs) and I ended up having to put an older Duo Core 2.5 CPU inside (I can't afford to update my machine for a while yet) and now I can't run Sims 3 at all. There is so many problems with game "lag" and the game freezing up that I have had to put it to the side until repairs are made. Yes I have more than enough memory and I'm running a GTX 570 with 1 1/3 GB Memory so it's not that - and yes ALL of the drivers for everything are updated.

Aside from my problems - I hope maybe that additional bit of info may help

[CD43]

so sorry to hear about your computer Santori :(! I don't download alot of CC, I have some custom hair, makeup, a few clothes, and a few store items in my game, but I play a large world (Vicotoria Isles) for my Legacy game, and it's starting to lag! I recently moved my legacy family to a (clean) Victoria Isles world, but the lag is still there!

I'm wanting to clean up my game files, and I delete "Cache" files with Delphy's Dashboard after each game play .... but in researching the DCCache and DCBackup .... can I delete the contents of the DCBackup??? I'm finding conflicting data, some say yes, some say no!

[Santori]

(12-11-2012 01:24 PM)CD43 Wrote:  so sorry to hear about your computer Santori :(! I don't download alot of CC, I have some custom hair, makeup, a few clothes, and a few store items in my game, but I play a large world (Vicotoria Isles) for my Legacy game, and it's starting to lag! I recently moved my legacy family to a (clean) Victoria Isles world, but the lag is still there!

I'm wanting to clean up my game files, and I delete "Cache" files with Delphy's Dashboard after each game play .... but in researching the DCCache and DCBackup .... can I delete the contents of the DCBackup??? I'm finding conflicting data, some say yes, some say no!

Try this first:

Have you tried the TSR Rig Fix? That helped sometimes when I was having problems.

Here is a link to the section on their website:

TSR RigFix Start Page

There is a file called Granny2.dll that you'll need to get for it as well:

download for granny2.dll - it's a free file

Hoping this may be of help. I know for me, when I have tried other worlds - custom made - they have never worked right for me so I stopped using them.

[Judy Sims]

(12-11-2012 01:24 PM)CD43 Wrote:  so sorry to hear about your computer Santori :(! I don't download alot of CC, I have some custom hair, makeup, a few clothes, and a few store items in my game, but I play a large world (Vicotoria Isles) for my Legacy game, and it's starting to lag! I recently moved my legacy family to a (clean) Victoria Isles world, but the lag is still there!

I'm wanting to clean up my game files, and I delete "Cache" files with Delphy's Dashboard after each game play .... but in researching the DCCache and DCBackup .... can I delete the contents of the DCBackup??? I'm finding conflicting data, some say yes, some say no!

Cindy, I do it all the time, but they have found you need to leave the ccmerged.package file in the file folder. If you have a lot of files in this, it could be lagging your game. I emptied mine out and I think it helped my game, but can not be for sure. I have noticed that after I installed Seasons, my game quit lagging. I rarely get a lag now. I assume you are cleaning up your game with Overwatch? Be sure and check for routing problems with Overwatch once in a while as this will lag the game. I found a Sim stuck in a flowerbed and a wild horse stuck in a warehouse behind some crates. Sims and animals tend to spawn in the oddest places. I turn on the unstuck feature every other game to make sure there are none stuck. Sometimes they are false alarms, but an easy fix usually with the reset cheat. Let me know how it goes.

[CD43]

Thank You both for the helpful links and information. I'm gonna check it all out and will let you know how it goes! For now, though, I'm making "gumbo" for supper, and curling up in front of a
nice warm fire :) ... pretty chilly here (burrrr!!!)

[tontrin]

That is a bummer to hear that your computer has had problems Santori. I hope things get better for you soon.

I think with this game that it acts differently for everyone and for different computers. after installing Seasons on my desk top comp, I have worse lag, and I noticed that the amount of cars cleaned up in the neighborhood by Overwatch is way more than before I installed Seasons. It had been down to around 20, give or take. Just last evening after one day, it was over 100, and there aren't that many sims in the town I was playing. Surely without Twallan's mod, this game would be unplayable for me. I guess I need to test a bit more and see what happens, I put in a few mods that I didn't have on my other computer after installing Seasons. It's also the town that came with Pets, in which I've had issues before.

It also depends on how I have some of Twallan's mods options set. Some things affect it worse. Then also, I've noticed that as I've had the game loaded longer, the lagging is less than after first loading for a while. I also had a problem moving appliances in buy mode after installing Seasons in Appaloosa Plains. I don't know if it will happen in every save, still need more test time with this new EP. Those appliances just stop and freeze when I'm trying to move them. It's weird.

[Judy Sims]

I, too, am sorry about your computer, Santori. That is one's worse nightmare. I have a backup service for my files just in case of such a disaster. Not especially for my Sims, but for my rather extensive Family Tree that I have worked on for years. I lost a hard drive once and it cured me after I lost the whole family tree I had worked on for two years. It was a good thing that I had a hard copy of the tree. Hope you get it all worked out soon and get back to your Sims.

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I did not begin to have lag until I installed Pets. Those wild horses are a nightmare for routing. They get in the strangest places. I installed that Register mod and my game seemed fine until I set the limits on the wild horses and stray cats and dogs. then it froze up every few seconds. I had to take the mod out and after that, my game was fine. I might have done something wrong, I don't know.

I wish EA would fix the lemon cars that pile up everywhere. I can only imagine how the game would play without Overwatch. It probably would not play at all. It removes about 40 to 70 cars a night in my game. That is ridiculous.

What mods are you using, Tontrin? Anything good we should know about?

[CD43]

Ummmm I once had over 6,000 cars removed by Overwatch I couldn't believe it when that message popped up ...but generally it is like 170 or even over 200 and on several occasions is 2,800! but pretty large #'s :(

Judy, I'm gonna try removing register and see if that helps my game! I set the limit's to 1 each, and sometimes 0 for the cat's and dog's stray's ...

Anyway ... no game play for me today ... paying bills and finishing up Christmas cards and gifts to mail!

Hugs

[Judy Sims]

(12-12-2012 09:53 AM)CD43 Wrote:  Ummmm I once had over 6,000 cars removed by Overwatch I couldn't believe it when that message popped up ...but generally it is like 170 or even over 200 and on several occasions is 2,800! but pretty large #'s :(

Judy, I'm gonna try removing register and see if that helps my game! I set the limit's to 1 each, and sometimes 0 for the cat's and dog's stray's ...

Anyway ... no game play for me today ... paying bills and finishing up Christmas cards and gifts to mail!

Hugs

Wow!!!! That is a lot of cars, Cindy. I can't believe that number. I wonder why the game is generating so many lemons. Are you turning off the "check stuck" after you open it in the game? If you don't turn that off each time you use it, it will seriously lag your game.

I hope it is the Register mod lagging your game. It sure did it to mine. It will freeze up every few seconds and was fine after I took it out. I will just depend on Overwatch to check for any routing issues with the animals. Do you have any other mods besides Overwatch. I would take them out and see if they are causing the lag. Victoria Isles is playing great for me. Man, I just don't get the car thing. I would ask over at MTS about that or on the official site forum. That is not normal at all.