Is Sims 3 getting more buggy and imbalanced with EP?

[Shoosh Malooka]

My Sims 3 doesn't have any EP. Because there are so many games that I don't want S3 to monopolize on it.

So, I've read some posts and read things that are scary. More stretching bugs, heckling children and pets, constant bad moodlets, stair problems with lots made before the EPs? Just how bad is Sims 3 with all the EP content right now?

[ButchSims]

I know there are a lot of people posting about this or that glitch/bug, but in all honesty, I have experience very few myself. some of the problems can be fixed just by looking up a few solutions. For example, the stairs issue you mentioned. Generations introduced Spiral Stairs. When Pets came out many people had problems with the stairs no longer working properly. This was because Pets changed a few things, including the footprint of spiral stairs. Simply moving the steps away from the wall slightly, or giving it a slight turn on it's axis, solved the problem. Sure there are a few bugs with the game, but people have to remember, with all the EP/SP's installed, the game is HUGE. There are so many options and things happening at once that it is almost inevitable that problems crop up once in a while. And many (though certainly not all) problems can be boiled down to A) outdated or conflicting mods B) corrupted CC and C) the computer simply cannot handle it.
I have every pack so far, with the exception of Sweet Treats, and so far, my computer hasn't blown up, and I haven't had any major game-breaking issues. True, there are a few issues that EA is to blame for, as in any game this big. But you also have to remember that while there are many posts of people having problems, people who don't have any are not likely to post "Hey, My game is working just fine, any help?". I would say as long as your computer has the right specs for it, go ahead and install some EPs!

[omegastarr82]

A lot of the problems that are posted are due to PEBCAK. A lot of people fail to understand system requirements or think that they don't pertain to them. Being just at the minimum is not good enough. Being on a laptop or a Mac also doesn't help. People also don't patch which can cause problems. Not to mention people also can't seem to grasp the concept of removing mods or updating mods with each new patch and/or EP/SP. Granted there are some problems that EA hasn't touched yet but that's what Awesomemod is for. All in all I've had all games within days of their release since day one(before day one actually) and have had no major problems that would make me want to throw things or bitch and moan on a forum. Then again I'm on a PC that exceeds system requirements and am always patched up to date with minimal mods in my game. And I might also add that I've only ever have had to do a complete uninstall/re-install once, ever.

[Issie]

A lot of the problems that are posted are due to PEBCAK. A lot of people fail to understand system requirements or think that they don't pertain to them. Being just at the minimum is not good enough. Being on a laptop or a Mac also doesn't help. People also don't patch which can cause problems. Not to mention people also can't seem to grasp the concept of removing mods or updating mods with each new patch and/or EP/SP. Granted there are some problems that EA hasn't touched yet but that's what Awesomemod is for. All in all I've had all games within days of their release since day one(before day one actually) and have had no major problems that would make me want to throw things or bitch and moan on a forum. Then again I'm on a PC that exceeds system requirements and am always patched up to date with minimal mods in my game. And I might also add that I've only ever have had to do a complete uninstall/re-install once, ever.

You must be incredibly lucky. I also have a PC that exceeds minimum requirements and I keep everything up to date. I have the game up to Generations (didn't bother buying anymore after that EP as my game still doesn't work properly). My games run fast and I can play for several hours, maybe even a few days and then it slows to a crawl. Basically becomes unplayable.

I've tried Awesome, then re-installed everything and tried Nrass mods (which worked a tad better in regards to the slowdown for a few mins and became unplayable again). A few weeks go by and I want to play again so I re-install everything, try with different patches and still after a few days becomes unplayable. Mind you I use no CC or store content - not even a simple default skin or anything so honestly don't know what the problem is anymore. Now if I play I don't get involved in my characters or anything, I go in with the intent of having a little fun with the new jobs or what have you then make a new neighbourhood every few hours/days.

Honestly I don't care if the game crashes once in awhile, even my Sims 1 and Sims 2 used to crash once every few days or something I can live with that, but I never have had a problem in regards to gameplay like I have in Sims 3 and it is ridiculous that even in my knowledge of the way mods work etc I can't get it to play decently, how about people who are new to it?

Oh and one other thing - even the patch installer on the launcher doesn't work properly I had to use the installer on here to make sure I got all the updates (Yes, I've even tried them in order and tried patching them one by one before installing another).

[jenieusa]

I have a below min req. computer for the game(got it Feb 2009)....I never patch through the launcher...always get the manual patch.....have a butt load of store content in each world..
i use twallans mods in 5 worlds and i have 2 that are modless and CC less..i have all ex's and most sps....i have never had to reinstall do to a game bug or patching mishap......i have a few minor annoyances in my game and thats it....as a matter of fact...since the MS patch in Dec...my game has become ALOT more stable...

I take MANY precautions though...never installing anything new into a loaded game for example...save and save ALOT(at least 2 times a sim day)...
deleteing cache files.....keeping the game and graphics card up to date....knowing my graphics card....you just cant depend on the ingame graphics to
give you the results you like....and much more....

[annoellyn]

I have never experienced any glitches due to EP's or Stuff Packs; i run twallan's SP mod and have had awesomod in the past with zero problems. I have no problem patching my games through the launcher and buy all the EP's the day they come out or the day after. I've never ever had to reinstall except when I bought a new laptop and was moving everything over. My sister has also had no problems with her sims 3 games, either.

If your having no problems with your game so far, I'd say go for it.

Annie

[Ive]

I've tried Awesome, then re-installed everything and tried Nrass mods (which worked a tad better in regards to the slowdown for a few mins and became unplayable again). A few weeks go by and I want to play again so I re-install everything, try with different patches and still after a few days becomes unplayable.

You should try Overwatch by twallan if you haven't. I had the same issues as you on a top spec computer that got worse after GEN. After installing that it really helped a lot! I also found that all EA made towns made me have this issue, except for the new one that came with SHT. So I have found that some user created worlds by experienced creators that know how to do routing properly, and not many tiny lots where sims get stuck easily with constant "can't move here" problems, has solved my issues.


As for my own experience bar the one described above, I haven't encountered any major bugs or glitches in the game. Patching works fine, updating works fine. I have never had to uninstall my game and I only play with overwatch, story progression and master controller from twallan. No CC except store content.

[vhanster]

Eh. I have never had any problems/glitch with my Sims unless I'm:
* Muddling with (core) mods I don't really understand about
* Using a mod that's not compatible with my patch (i.e. out-of-date)
* Abusing the cheats too much, especially testingcheatsenabled

[kiwi_tea]

I usually have a very smooth, problem-free game starting out, but once I hit the second, third, forth generation things tend to go haywire in little ways I just can't stomach. It's only across sustained play that I have ever had problems, and even then my "problems" aren't necessarily the kind that would make others quit their save. I use basically NRaas mods, carefully, and a few cosmetic fixes that I keep updated - things like stencil unlocks, etc.

For example, in one attempted legacy I got nearly to gen 5, then discovered a big family in town with whom I had often interacted had a massively broken family tree - if you browsed from their most recent portraits back through to their grandparents you would find yourself cut off. This is a tiny glitch to some people but to me it just signaled something had gone wrong with my hood - possibly really wrong - and it completely sapped my motivation. Sure, I could just delete the whole family. Or replace them. Or move my family suddenly to a new town as-is. But... ...just... ...ugh. I keep running into stuff like this, so that I only really play once or twice a year, with the session inevitably ending in some stupid glitchfest or other around gen 4.

I do think, however, the game has become less buggy EP-to-EP, but also a LOT less elegant and balanced. There was barely any challenge to begin with, and now there are so many items that buff or advantage the player it's just beyond a joke.

[Issie]

You should try Overwatch by twallan if you haven't. I had the same issues as you on a top spec computer that got worse after GEN. After installing that it really helped a lot! I also found that all EA made towns made me have this issue, except for the new one that came with SHT. So I have found that some user created worlds by experienced creators that know how to do routing properly, and not many tiny lots where sims get stuck easily with constant "can't move here" problems, has solved my issues.


As for my own experience bar the one described above, I haven't encountered any major bugs or glitches in the game. Patching works fine, updating works fine. I have never had to uninstall my game and I only play with overwatch, story progression and master controller from twallan. No CC except store content.

I think I remember using Overwatch but honestly was months ago and I haven't played since then because of all the frustration. I may give it another go soon. Could you suggest some of these player worlds that I may try?

[Miuki]

From my experience it's true.
My PC should run it with no problems (with some settings on medium though), but once I reach generation 3 or 4 my game goes grazy, it lags and glitches. And if there was a patch or a new EP in between I can abandon the save, cause it never works good afterwords (yes, I know perfectly well how to patch and deal with mods and cc).
The SIms 3 is very bad and unbalanced now without mods - if you'll get all EPs you'll have stampeding horses in the middle of your town, vampire and celebrity infestation and your kids may be too grounded to go to school or will be heckled by their grandma and that's just a few bugs that accumulated along the way. So, yay for mods!

[pico22]

Considering that anything from a mouse to a processor can ruin or save your game and being that there are untold numbers of hardware combinations out there and that yours is just one of millions ...

... you've gotta ask yourself a question: "Do I feel lucky?" ...

and act accordingly.

[lucagrabacr]

Go get the EPs

There maybe some bugs or glitches that come with them, but most of them can be fixed or is not gamebreaking.

TS3 without any EP is kinda boring, at least for me.