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retired moderator
#51 Old 12th Mar 2012 at 10:42 PM
Well, when I was playing on my old PC I would make ALL intervals longer; so perhaps set them to fire a couple of times a day instead of each sim hour. You really don't want to have sims running around skilling if you don't have a great computer, so perhaps make the skilling and career settings longest, and turn off collecting and things like the consignment push. Really to have a realistic world you want sims to meet and form relationships and have a few kids, but it isn't so critical to have all sims in your world reach level 10 of their career and have a million skill points.

I've never played 'Harmony' so I can't comment on its playability but I will say that from experience it is very difficult to make a world route well, as even a mistake on a single lot can cause problems.
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Scholar
#52 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 12:42 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simsample

Which worlds are you all using? It could be that some lagging is caused by bad routing, so that's worth looking in to.


I had this problem since I installed Pets not long ago. First in Appaloosa Plains and then I also tried default Sunset Valley and a downloaded Sunset Valley with extra lots. Then I found EllaCharm3d fixed Appalooosa Plains and that seemed to work for a while, but at some point the lag started again (minifreeze about every simhour).

I'm on patch 1.31 with updated mods :
- Overwatch
- Mastercontroller (+cheats, integration)
- Story Progression
- Woohooer
- Careers (+selfemployed)
- Shooless
- Register
- Consigner
- Errortrap

I barely get errors (just some agestuck error sometimes), which makes the lag even more annoying because I have nothing to point out. With patching I also first do a resettown before saving my neighbourhood. Then temp. move mods, clear caches, update, download updated mods, then put mods back and start game.
I am at a loss here. Pets actually sounds fun and I wanted to try training horses, but at some point the lag starts again. (also in one game with a family without adopted pets btw)
This mainly annoys me so because I'm used to resolve issues with my games. This is why I get the strong impression that there is something wrong with Pets or the game as a whole.

EDIT : My game doesn't crash or refuse to load saved games. There is nothing dodgy happening except that unexplainable lag. I also never had this before I installed Pets.
Test Subject
#53 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 4:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
I had this problem since I installed Pets not long ago. First in Appaloosa Plains and then I also tried default Sunset Valley and a downloaded Sunset Valley with extra lots. Then I found EllaCharm3d fixed Appalooosa Plains and that seemed to work for a while, but at some point the lag started again (minifreeze about every simhour).

I'm on patch 1.31 with updated mods :
- Overwatch
- Mastercontroller (+cheats, integration)
- Story Progression
- Woohooer
- Careers (+selfemployed)
- Shooless
- Register
- Consigner
- Errortrap

I barely get errors (just some agestuck error sometimes), which makes the lag even more annoying because I have nothing to point out. With patching I also first do a resettown before saving my neighbourhood. Then temp. move mods, clear caches, update, download updated mods, then put mods back and start game.
I am at a loss here. Pets actually sounds fun and I wanted to try training horses, but at some point the lag starts again. (also in one game with a family without adopted pets btw)
This mainly annoys me so because I'm used to resolve issues with my games. This is why I get the strong impression that there is something wrong with Pets or the game as a whole.

EDIT : My game doesn't crash or refuse to load saved games. There is nothing dodgy happening except that unexplainable lag. I also never had this before I installed Pets.


I don't know if this will help you, but I had to uninstall story progression a while back because it was lagging my game so badly, even without any other CC. It's obviously quite a large mod and I found that my computer couldn't handle it for some reason. I have a lot of Twallan's other mods though and they don't lag my game at all, like error trap and master controller. I guess because the SP mod forces interactions and makes the neighbourhood more lively, and also with the notifications it can just be too heavy for some computers. It's probably just my computer being crappy, but it might be worth a try ? :p
Instructor
#54 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 4:44 PM
That would be SO sad to lose story progression, especially in a game where I'm playing a legacy. It keeps everything moving... I'd already taken out the "personalities" module of it and that seemed to help a bit for awhile. I just have a hard time thinking about going back to EA story progression, which feels soulless.

Cagley Family Legacy (A Random Legacy Challenge)
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retired moderator
#55 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 5:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
I am at a loss here. Pets actually sounds fun and I wanted to try training horses, but at some point the lag starts again.

Did you try reducing the number of strays and horses?
Top Secret Researcher
#56 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 5:35 PM
Just installed Twallan for the first time ever and the problem is now fixed. Got mastercontroller, story progression and overwatch.

(Don't know how I was ever able to play without it )
Alchemist
#57 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 6:13 PM Last edited by calisims : 13th Mar 2012 at 7:42 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
I had this problem since I installed Pets not long ago. First in Appaloosa Plains and then I also tried default Sunset Valley and a downloaded Sunset Valley with extra lots. Then I found EllaCharm3d fixed Appalooosa Plains and that seemed to work for a while, but at some point the lag started again (minifreeze about every simhour).

I'm on patch 1.31 with updated mods :
- Overwatch
- Mastercontroller (+cheats, integration)
- Story Progression
- Woohooer
- Careers (+selfemployed)
- Shooless
- Register
- Consigner
- Errortrap

I barely get errors (just some agestuck error sometimes), which makes the lag even more annoying because I have nothing to point out. With patching I also first do a resettown before saving my neighbourhood. Then temp. move mods, clear caches, update, download updated mods, then put mods back and start game.
I am at a loss here. Pets actually sounds fun and I wanted to try training horses, but at some point the lag starts again. (also in one game with a family without adopted pets btw)
This mainly annoys me so because I'm used to resolve issues with my games. This is why I get the strong impression that there is something wrong with Pets or the game as a whole.

EDIT : My game doesn't crash or refuse to load saved games. There is nothing dodgy happening except that unexplainable lag. I also never had this before I installed Pets.


Your experience sounds identical to mine. Everything was fine before Pets. After Pets, every neighborhood I play gets freezes every Sim hour. That's custom towns and EA towns with Ellacharm3d's routing fixes.
And that's even in towns with no wild animals allowed at all, and no inactive households owning horses. So, it can't be horse routing issues if there are 0 horses.
and like you, I don't get a lot of stuck Sim error messages, so there doesn't seem to be a routing problem.
e3 d3 Ne2 Nd2 Nb3 Ng3
retired moderator
#58 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 6:49 PM
calisims, is your hardware supported? Pets put up the system requirements quite significantly; if you have an under powered computer then that could cause lag.

These may help:
Game Help:Intermittent Freezeswiki

http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/0...nt-freezes.html
Alchemist
#59 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 7:37 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simsample
calisims, is your hardware supported? Pets put up the system requirements quite significantly; if you have an under powered computer then that could cause lag.

These may help:
Game Help:Intermittent Freezeswiki

http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/0...nt-freezes.html


I have a 3.07 GHz processor. Pets requires 2.4. I have 12GB RAM, which I know exceeds requirements.
Instructor
#60 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 8:39 PM
12?? Sheesh, that should exceed the requirements for getting into space!

Cagley Family Legacy (A Random Legacy Challenge)
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retired moderator
#61 Old 13th Mar 2012 at 8:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by calisims
I have a 3.07 GHz processor. Pets requires 2.4. I have 12GB RAM, which I know exceeds requirements.

Well without knowing your full specs and which OS you are using it's hard to make a call on that; make sure you compare your specs with the MTS recommended and not the EA recommendations.
Game Help:TS3 System Requirementswiki

Also remember that the amount of CC and store stuff you have can impact on game performance, as can the state of your system (what other tasks you have running, when resolution you run your game on etc.)

If you can't solve your freexing and lagging by using the information in the links I gave, then your best bet is to post your full system specs in the Sims 3 Help forum so that we can assist you further.
Alchemist
#62 Old 14th Mar 2012 at 2:47 PM
Thanks, simsample. My computer still meets or exceeds MTS recommendations for Pets. I do use CC and Store stuff, but not nearly as much as some. (one make up CC, maybe 2 or 3 CC hairs). I do run at a high resolution.
At some point I'll try tweaking my SP settings as you suggested earlier in the thread. I haven't actually even loaded the game in awhile, the constant freezing has kind of put me off even trying to play. But the next time I get the urge, I'll fiddle with SP and see if it helps.
Top Secret Researcher
#63 Old 16th Mar 2012 at 4:06 PM
I'm going to try ellacharm3d's Appaloosa Plains fix. If that does not resolve my issues then I will just uninstall Pets. EA's screw-ups simply are not worth my time.

TS2 and TS3: Where adult sims potty train their toddlers.
TS4: Where adult sims make Angry Poops.

Which game is made for the juvenile minded?
Instructor
#64 Old 16th Mar 2012 at 4:33 PM
I have extended all the different "modules" (?) in the Story Progressions settings and disabled some of the things you'd said (Collecting and some skilling pushes). Hopefully that will make things run a bit smoother. I'll be able to check it out in more depth this weekend as I plan to get a lot of play time in. =)

Cagley Family Legacy (A Random Legacy Challenge)
Field Researcher
#65 Old 22nd Mar 2012 at 1:24 PM
Quote: Originally posted by calisims
Your experience sounds identical to mine. Everything was fine before Pets. After Pets, every neighborhood I play gets freezes every Sim hour. That's custom towns and EA towns with Ellacharm3d's routing fixes.
And that's even in towns with no wild animals allowed at all, and no inactive households owning horses. So, it can't be horse routing issues if there are 0 horses.
and like you, I don't get a lot of stuck Sim error messages, so there doesn't seem to be a routing problem.


Hello Calisims

I fell on this topic while I'm trying to find a solution on the web for my game too.. I'm serioulsy thinking about uninstalling Pets in my game because everything was fine before Pets and now I've lags and freezes in my game whatever neigborood I play.. I'm in generation 3 of my random legacy and I'm trying painfully to close this legacy with my heir (who is a singer).. but it's difficult.. My computer is above all the requirements too. I've destroyed too all the wild, errands animals, and pets too using Twallan's mods.. but nothing seems to work

In the same time, I've a lot of bugs (sims resetting or disapearring when they try to sing for tips, or watch a karaoke performance, and so on..).. And Twallan's error trap give me a lot of error files every time I play.. So I think the best thing would be to uninstall pets. This EP behaves like a virus in a lot of games.. And unfortunately in our games (It seems to me that you've Vista 64-bits like me, maybe Vista 64 computers cannot manage this EP...)..
Test Subject
#66 Old 3rd Apr 2012 at 4:35 AM
Default Just encountered this issue for the first time.
I too just started experiencing this "pause" bug where the game appears to lock up for a few seconds... while the animations continue (plumb-bob spinning, group indicators rotating, etc.).

What I can contribute to the discussion are two unique elements.

1. I can remember the action that started the effect.
2. While most people have a large number of add-ons, I do not.

A little background.
  1. I installed the Sims 3 a bit over a year ago and have been playing on and off ever since.
  2. I ONLY have Sims 3 installed. No Expansions.
  3. I upgraded almost all of my hardware in December.
  4. I chose hardware that would allow me to avoid having to reinstall my OS.
  5. I have had no issues before yesterday, with either set of hardware.
  6. I have no Mods installed.
  7. The only CC I have installed are some free pieces from the Sims store, Riverview, and the Prius download.
  8. I'm fully patched up via the launcher.

I can give you any and all of the details regarding my system, but suffice it to say that I definitely exceed the requirements. It's not a monster system by any means, but I'm not pushing minimums anywhere.

As for when the pausing issue started for me... Yesterday I was playing a family in Riverview. Male teen guest was visiting at the home of a female teen. He had been "invited over" by her, and they are boyfriend/girlfriend. The visit was considered to be (automatically turned into) a date, but they never left the front step of the home. When it was time to ask him to leave, the only option given was "Ask to leave date". I chose this. The game appeared to pause, but all the animations continued (the spinning hearts over their heads, the girl's plumb-bob, etc.) After the pause stopped, he ran home (across the street) and she went in to eat before bed.

Ever since then, the game has been freezing like that every few minutes. Saved it, shut down, came back to it today, it is still doing it. Changed families in Riverview, and still had the same issue. Started new family in Sunset Valley, and no pauses.

Now, I only have three custom families in Riverview. Everything else is stock. So, I guess I could install the Mod that gives me access to the tool that resets all the sims, or I could manually reset each sim and see if that clears the issue with that saved game?
Lab Assistant
#67 Old 4th Apr 2012 at 12:11 PM
I've been playing in my own custom WIP for a while now, and I also experience "mini freezes" from time to time there, just as in other worlds before. There are no spawners in this world yet, very few lots, no trees, no premade Sims. To me, it looks like the freezes occur when the game is generating Bartender NPCs and such, and wild animals, because usually, there is the mini freeze, and then right after, NRAAS register pops up and tells me Soandso has been assigned as suchandsuch, for instance. My other suspect is the icecream truck as well, like others said.
Test Subject
#68 Old 8th Apr 2012 at 7:36 PM Last edited by grimunicorn5001 : 8th Apr 2012 at 8:21 PM.
Hi I'm new and I have the same problem. Pets was my first expansion pack and it was great, but the disk made odd sounds in my disk drive and it started lagging and freezing after a few real days. Today, I was starting my biggest building and the game froze when I was placing flooring. Because of the freezing, I have been playing the game sparingly because of the freezing in the middle of building something or after a minute plus after saving. I have a feeling the problem is the Ice Cream Truck or the disk. The game tends to freeze when the ICT is near my house or my screen or my sims. The order is like this: Doing stuff in the house-ICTjingle-laglaglag_FREEZE-CRASH-Me: ARRRGH! Edit: l l I was attracted to this thread by frustration from the crashing and freezing.
Test Subject
#69 Old 8th Apr 2012 at 7:50 PM
Quote: Originally posted by bongart
As for when the pausing issue started for me... Yesterday I was playing a family in Riverview. Male teen guest was visiting at the home of a female teen. He had been "invited over" by her, and they are boyfriend/girlfriend. The visit was considered to be (automatically turned into) a date, but they never left the front step of the home. When it was time to ask him to leave, the only option given was "Ask to leave date". I chose this. The game appeared to pause, but all the animations continued (the spinning hearts over their heads, the girl's plumb-bob, etc.) After the pause stopped, he ran home (across the street) and she went in to eat before bed.

Ever since then, the game has been freezing like that every few minutes. Saved it, shut down, came back to it today, it is still doing it. Changed families in Riverview, and still had the same issue. Started new family in Sunset Valley, and no pauses.

Now, I only have three custom families in Riverview. Everything else is stock. So, I guess I could install the Mod that gives me access to the tool that resets all the sims, or I could manually reset each sim and see if that clears the issue with that saved game?


I find that happens to me too, when people visit. Then the game is okay when I start a new town and then the freezing and lag starts after a few real days. Edit: I think it is time to get Windows 7 or something else and I would be able to transfer all my data (Slowly) by flashdrive, SD card, or disc.
Test Subject
#70 Old 8th Apr 2012 at 8:02 PM
Quote: Originally posted by GigaRevival
It's also most likely the game attempting to generate animal spawns. I get the lag (without the crashing) mostly when the game starts producing strays and wild animals around my sims house or location. Kinda annoying.

In another thread, Twallan (I believe) stated that some of the wild animal spawns have hopelessly borked skins (or something to that effect) that can mess a game up and produce some considerable lag. I've been playing in a custom world that is marked as a city, so I haven't had as many issues. However, any time I play in a world that is flagged as a town... forget about it. It's nigh unplayable.

Sorry I can't provide any useful advice/help though. I'm in the hopelessly tech-illiterate camp.


Ah, I see... that does seem possible because, often, the game has minifreeze, then I see a stray cat/dog or a deer/raccoon/wild horse. I think it could possibly be the deer or raccoon because, if you take them into CAS with testingcheatsenabled true, they will be un-editable and look like a demented figure, though my pets do that sometimes when I'm not looking at them for long, there could be a possibility the game is put under strain to make the shapes of the animals!
Test Subject
#71 Old 8th Apr 2012 at 8:19 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Srikandi
This sounds like the problem caused by routing problems in the world. Basically, NPC sims spawn in spots surrounded by unroutable terrain, and the game hangs while they try to find a (non-existent) path. ResetSim fixes it because it puts those sims back where they belong. Possibly this problem, which pre-dates pets, is made worse by wild critter spawns, dunno.


I believe this is the cause, because the wild animals will rapidly spawn in un-routable terrain, creating lag! I'm not good at modding, but we will need a mod that stops raccoons and deer from spawning, the other animals spawn in community lots. The animals and NPCs could be spawning in water! One time an Eye of Horus sent my sim into the ocean instead of the other eye, and I teleported them back with the cell phone, but the game was lagging when they were in the water, I then deleted the eyes. The sims are spawning in water or hills/mountains instead of their desired location!
Test Subject
#72 Old 3rd Sep 2012 at 12:15 AM
After a while I realised, that your friend level is updated in real time. So when you know alot of other sims, any major change in your friendship creates lag.
Try to keep your friend tab closed. Should help alittle.
Instructor
#73 Old 3rd Sep 2012 at 8:19 PM
You can keep storyprogression, but disable some of the interactions that cause lag. For instance, I disabled "push hunt skill" for dogs and cats, and that cleared up the lag a lot. I also used the register mod to reduce the number of wild horses and the like. If you go through and tweak all of these settings, it does make it a big difference.

I've also started to avoid putting down lots that require a lot of NPCs (like bouncers/mixoogists/musicians). Don't download lots that require 3 bouncers, 2 magicians, and 6 mixologists and you'll be fine. Also, I occasionally use MasterController to kill off all of the NPCs I'm not using that the game generates. For example, eventually your game might have like 10 maids and 4 butlers, when you really only need one.
Test Subject
#74 Old 21st Sep 2012 at 9:19 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Howabominable
I have a pretty old computer, and am saving up to replace it, but Skyrim runs beautifully on my computer. The sims? I feel like it's a bomb constantly ready to go off. If it isn't constantly lagging, it's crashing randomly.


Thank you, "a bomb ready to go off" is exactly the perfect descriptor for this game.

Incidentally, I'm back after a long hiatus of glorious bomb-free existence, haven't bought anything past Generations and no cc installed yet, and still the game is freezing. Guess I had used Twallons's Master Controller before, and forgot I need to install it.
Test Subject
#75 Old 8th Oct 2012 at 9:17 AM
Hmm, there are some interesting stories here, but none that fit quite with mine.

I have a horrible start up time. 388 sim3packs & 272 mod files. The whole "merging" thing is not an option for me since im on a mac, an i5 to be exact.
Ive deleted a handful of items from both folders (downloads) & (mods) but to no avail.

There was a link for "monorunner" that was supposed to be a merger for mac but the link given was broken.
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