I've Had It!-Game Running Ridiculously Slow

[Asleep]

Ever since I installed Ambitions, my Sims game started running extremely slowly. Constantly, when trying to move the camera or open the interactions menu, the game would abruptly freeze for a few minutes. My Sims movements and actions are no longer one smoothly connected movement. Instead, they jerkily change positions, as if the sims is just a bunch of moving pictures. When running, my Sims would constantly freeze in mid-run, usually suspended above the air, while life and time go on around them. Constantly, the game would get in such a bad freeze that I would have to force quit the game. I used to love playing The Sims. It used to make me feel happy and entertained. It used to occupy a large chunk of my life. Now I feel nothing but frustration and boredom, up to the fact that I've considered quitting The Sims all together. Please help.

[Pam]

Hi Simstar.

Have you done any cleanup in the game or on your computer?  Sometimes the game gets slow if you've got too many screenshots saved in the game.  Consider moving/copying them to another location on your computer and then deleting everything in the Screenshots folder.  It's also a good idea to do Disk Cleanup and Defrag on your computer regularly.  Lastly, have you done a complete uninstall/reinstall lately?  It's a good idea to do it regularly, as well, and it's often the thing that will fix your problems.  Check this thread for some details.

[John Allen]

Sorry you're having such a hard time.  Know what you mean though.  had and have the same problems.  Actually thinking of just uninstalling and reinstalling Vanilla only.

Pam did make some good points though, and it may help.  


One of the main problems I found is that the game makes videocards overheat, which causes the freezes and stuttering.  With that in mind I did the following, and it has helped a lot:

On my PC: Installed an additional fan blowing onto the graphics card.

With the laptop we have in the house, I put little stands under the feet to raise it an inch and a half.  Then I have a small household fan cooling it off by blowing under and on top of the laptop from the opposite side of the fan vent.  This was in fact the best thing for the game and it has been running much better.

Unconventional yes, but effective.

[Holmes]

@Simstar3 These steps may not apply to you but here are a couple of other suggestions, followed by some questions.

1. Disable any custom content if you have any. Badly designed CC could conceivably cause this problem, though it's unlikely.
2. Delete the game caches if you are comfortable manipulating files on your computer. (see below)
3. As Pam says, you can try reinstalling.

One solution you can try before reinstalling completely (remember to deinstall first, especially if you have downloaded versions of any of the EP's or the game itself) is to delete the game caches. If you are comfortable messing about in folders and with files on your computer, you can find instructions here. Note that if you have a mac, do not delete the WorldCache.

[Link removed. - Pam]

-----------------------
Assuming you're running a windows machine, what is your graphics card? Processor? RAM? Free hard drive space?

Here are instructions for how to find out your graphics card:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4916955_out-graphics-card-windows.html

If you right click on "Computer" in the Start menu, and select "Properties" you should be able to find your processor and Installed Memory (RAM) under "System". (Can't recall if this works in Windows XP but does in Vista and 7).

Are you running other programs (e.g. anti-virus, browser) while The Sims is running?

@John some good points. One tip that you're probably aware of if you are installing fans inside your PC -- be careful if you're getting near the edge of your system's power envelope. I've had annoying problems with TS3 and power use.

[Pam]

Sorry, Holmes.  We don't allow links to mod sites.

[MasterSiwel]

I used to love playing The Sims. It used to make me feel happy and entertained. It used to occupy a large chunk of my life. Now I feel nothing but frustration and boredom, up to the fact that I've considered quitting The Sims all together. Please help.

Don't give up  . I hate to see a good friend leave so prematuraly. Just hang in there and try your best to get the problem. I used to have problems getting the sims work but you know what. I kept on going despite my struggle. Don't let some technical bug bog you down.
I may have a struggle of keeping my intrest but you got to keep going, no matter how hard it is. I will never give up and niether should you. I saw this to from the bottom of my heart "Don't Give Up."

[Swede1992]

This may sound a little wrong, but I also just recently had the problem of my game constantly freezing/stuttering, much worse than I've ever seen it do. I think it must have come with the recent patch, but since the game was virtually unplayable, I tried starting a new game and I haven't had that problem yet. Maybe you can start up a new save game for just a couple of minutes and see if you still encounter the same problems?

[MasterSiwel]

This may sound a little wrong, but I also just recently had the problem of my game constantly freezing/stuttering, much worse than I've ever seen it do. I think it must have come with the recent patch, but since the game was virtually unplayable, I tried starting a new game and I haven't had that problem yet. Maybe you can start up a new save game for just a couple of minutes and see if you still encounter the same problems?

A new patch? My game says that it's already up to date. Am I missing something?

[Swede1992]

No, no, I'm referring to the patch which came out early July.

[Asleep]

If this offers any info, I do use one mod. It allows me to run Ambitions without having to insert the disk. If you read this thread, (http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/index.php/topic,1094.0.html) you'll have a pretty good idea on why I use it. Anyway, lemme know if this helps!

[Pam]

Simstar,

Have you been having the same problems all this time?  Or did it get better after that first thread was posted?

[Asleep]

I've actually started having the problem after I installed one of the patches, but I forget which one.

[Pam]

Well, there are some good suggestions in this thread.  I hope you get it worked out.

[Asleep]

Thank you. 

[Asleep]

I followed PJSims instructions and emptied out my DCBackup folder. Despite the fact that I deleted all 165 files in there, and restarted my computer, my game started getting even slower. My game was pretty laggy and slow before I installed LN, but THIS is ridiculous! The game freezes for at least three minutes if I try to move the stupid camera! My sims actions aren't even connected anymore! It's more like a bunch of pictures being shown one after another!
Gaaaah! I hate this! Playing sims is a nightmare now, and I can only stand to play it- if you call that playing- for a few minutes. Some one help, please! TT.TT

[Jancy]

I also had the same stuttering problem with it pausing every few seconds.  This was happening in Barnacle Bay after I did the patch update and LateNight install. It was so slow and horrible to play with all the pausing.  I just saved my Sim with all her stuff that I wanted in her inventory and started a new game, moved her in a new house and it has been running fine so far.

[Asleep]

That problem occurs in all my games, even when I start new ones.

[Jancy]

I was having problems with BB after the patch.  When I made a Sim and chose a house it shut down to the desktop. Same thing after I  installed LN.  I was going to uninstall and install everything but decided to go this route first. 
I went to my Electronic Arts folder, changed the "The Sims 3 " folder to "The Sims 3 backup" Then started the game up.  I was then able to move into a house etc..  What this did I think was create new user files.  Someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I then moved my saved games in.  Re-downloaded all my downloads from the Sims site. All my games are all working fine. I only had the pausing problem with BB start after days of playing so then I did what I posted above-started a new game.  As of now everything is working fine.  I guess only time will tell.

[TGBlank]

Let's rule out some generic problems first.

Framerate: The sims 3 haves this little issue where the game tries to run at ridiculously high framerate and thus chokes your poor videocard, making the game slower and causing crashes. The easy way to prevent this is to go to your videocard's control panel and force vsync and triple buffering for the sims 3 and each of it's expansions.

Cache Files: The sims 3 creates cache files to speed things up, however, it doesn't clean them up of old unused data. Deleting your cache files will make the game slower the first time it haves to create them again (first time you enter a cas page, or start a world, or open the build/buy menus), but if they were cluttered with things, you should see a speed up afterward. Additionally, the game also caches script files, which are the ones that rule on how things behave. If the game forgot to change/remove those when patching or you at some point had some custom content that used scripts and is no longer compatible, deleting the script cache will help a lot.

On the same place you found the DCBackup folder, delete or move to a safe place: CASPartCache.package, ScriptCache.package, CompositorCache.package and simCompositorCache.package. Additionally, you might want to delete the files inside the WorldCaches folder.


The sims 3 does not do a good job at cleaning up some things, for example, taxis sometimes get stuck and never leave the streets, standing in place or roaming around forever (these accumulate over time, eating memory, note: this is unrelated with bridgeport, there are a number of ever-roaming taxis on the streets as scenery to make the city look busy); Sometimes sims forget to turn off radios or tvs around the town and this eventually starts causing audio delays or sound effects outright not playing. These two, however, shouldn't cause problems on a brand new neighborhood.

Mods, unsuccessful patches, and even outdated video drivers can cause odd problems as well, did you updated WA/Ambitions after installing late night?, are you using many mods?.

[Saltypaws]

Up until recently, my games have always run great.  I also do regular maintenance, but lately, even in starting new games, like my new dynasty, my sims are also walking jerky and not fluid like they were before.  I have done major cleanup on my computer and even got rid of processes too. Nothing works and I have 4 gigs memory and a large video card and clean up those EA folders frequently. It is not to the point of not playing it, it just makes it less enjoyable at times, but it does not happen with all games like Simstars.  I wish we could find out what causes these problems and get a fix.  If I thought it was my computer, then I could probably do something about it, but, you would think with a gaming computer, you would not have slow downs like this.

Simstar, I know your frustration.  I wish I could count how many times I have started over with the sims games in the past because of problems and had to buy new computers and I could not even play them.  Good luck and hopefully your problem will be solved,

[Asleep]

Thanks. I'm seriously hoping I won't have to get a new computer, because my parents will never allow it.

[Pam]

What about your graphics card, Simstar?  Is it up to the minimum requirements for the game?

[TGBlank]

Is it a laptop? Does it get noticeably hotter, particularly when the game is running slow?.

[Asleep]

What about your graphics card, Simstar?  Is it up to the minimum requirements for the game?

I'm not that good with technical stuff, so I can't tell what exactly I need to look at, so here's everything I found under graphics card

GeForce 8600M GT:

  Chipset Model:   GeForce 8600M GT
  Type:   Display
  Bus:   PCIe
  PCIe Lane Width:   x16
  VRAM (Total):   128 MB
  Vendor:   NVIDIA (0x10de)
  Device ID:   0x0407
  Revision ID:   0x00a1
  ROM Revision:   3175
  Displays:
Color LCD:
  Resolution:   1440 x 900
  Depth:   32-Bit Color
  Core Image:   Hardware Accelerated
  Main Display:   Yes
  Mirror:   Off
  Online:   Yes
  Quartz Extreme:   Supported
  Built-In:   Yes
Display Connector:
  Status:   No Display Connected

And heres what I found on the internet about the sims 3 system requirements
OPERATING SYSTEM

Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard or higher
PROCESSOR

Intel Core Duo
MEMORY (RAM)

2GB
HARD DISK SPACE

6.1GB of space, 1 GB extra for saved games and custom content
VIDEO CARD

ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of video RAM or Intel Integrated GMA X3100
.

SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS:
————————

NVIDIA GeForce series

7300, 7600
8600, 8800
9400M, 9600M GT
GT 120, GT 130
ATI Radeon™ series

X1600, X1900
2400, 2600
3870
4850, 4870
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)

GMA X3×00 series
Intel ® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) GMA 3-Series .
This game will not run on Mac systems with processor PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) or video cards with integrated GMA 950 series.

So, it looks like I've got all the requirements.

Is it a laptop? Does it get noticeably hotter, particularly when the game is running slow?.

My computer is a laptop, and I haven't noticed it heating up at all when I'm playing the sims.
On an odd note, I started up one of my Sunset Valley towns, and it was acting considerably faster. It's still pretty sluggish and laggy, but its better then my other game. I'm starting to think its just my towns in Bridgeport with all these problems.

[Pam]

But you've been having these problems long before Bridgeport came out.

[Asleep]

Well, I think the problem for my suburban towns was fixed when I emptied out my DCBackup folders. Bridgeport is probably just too much for my computer to handle. Oh well. On a side note, however, my SV game is running awesome! The only times the actions aren't fluid is when they're running, and that's just a little laggy.

[TGBlank]

Well, bridgeport IS nasty, with it's 80+ empty taxis looping around town for no reason, dozens of stuck-prone elevators and the like. Your videocard sounds perfectly capable of running the game, and the lack of overheating is a very good indicator.

[WINDOWS ONLY] Defragmenting: how long has it been since you last defragmented the harddrive? (you can find the disk defragmenter somewhere under system tools). It's a fairly safe action, but it does take some time to run (1~5 hours).

[WINDOWS ONLY] DirectX: When was the last time you updated those?

Video card drivers: when was the last time you updated them?, nvidia did an upgrade of their 8 series drivers not too long ago, could help a teeny tiny bit.

[Asleep]

My computer is a mac, so the first two I guess I can't do anything about. I'll ask my dad about the Video Card driver this evening.

[winnow]

I have 4 gigs memory and a large video card and clean up those EA folders frequently. . . .

Simstar, I know your frustration.  I wish I could count how many times I have started over with the sims games in the past because of problems and had to buy new computers and I could not even play them.  Good luck and hopefully your problem will be solved,

I agree. Good luck, Simstar. It's frustrating to have to start over on a game or not be able to play a new EP. Sorry but I don't know anything about macs. I hope you can fix the problems. Did you delete the cache files that aren't in your DCBackup (DCCache?) folder? TGBlank lists them in her/his reply. You definitely need to delete those. I always do after a patch or otherwise my game will be buggy. Many people just have the game generate a whole new Sims 3 folder when they update. It sounds like Jancy did:

I went to my Electronic Arts folder, changed the "The Sims 3 " folder to "The Sims 3 backup" Then started the game up.

I think she's talking about the Sims 3 folder in "My documents". That's what I do when I install a new EP. But that's on a PC.

Saltypaws, I'm sorry but I don't know anything about your system or what you've done. Do you have a 64-bit system? Because I do and I had to use CFF Explorer to allow my computer to use more than 2 gb in TS3. (Though I don't know if it will help with 4gb of RAM, it's worth trying IMO.) I also edited my Sims 3 ini file to specify more GB. That fixed some problems. Also, since you have a good video card, have you made sure that your FPS are reasonable? I use FPS Limiter because the FPS on TS3 are ridiculously fast. (At least mine are and I have a pretty bad video card, though my other specs are very good.) They will fry your video card. I don't understand how EA could have released the game with that problem. FPS limiter also lets you see the FPS in game if you want and to change it. But it sounds like the suggestions that TGBlank made about forcing vsync and triple buffering  in order to limit FPS would work as well.

[Asleep]

Did you delete the cache files that aren't in your DCBackup (DCCache?) folder? TGBlank lists them in her/his reply. You definitely need to delete those. I always do after a patch or otherwise my game will be buggy.

So I can delete them? To two things in there are dcdb0, and missingdeps.

[winnow]

So I can delete them? To two things in there are dcdb0, and missingdeps.

I'd rename the folder (e.g., to DCCachebackup) but I don't think you should have any problems deleting them. [Edit: you can delete the backup folder after a new folder gets generated and you've played for a day, a week, or however long until you're comfortable with the new files that have been generated in DCCache. I've deleted those files a few times and never had any problems for what it's worth.]

The files TGBlank specified were compositiorCache.package, simcompositorCache.package, CASPartCache.package, and scriptcache.package. I delete those 4 files at least once a week (assuming I've played more than once during that time). As Jancy said, you can rename (which is the same as deleting to your OS) the entire Sims 3 folder in My Documents/Electronic Arts, which is where the DCCache folder is as well as those 4 files. I always rename the Sims 3 folder to Sims3backup when I install a new EP because not doing so causes problems for many people. The game reads that the same way it would have if I'd deleted it so it generates a whole new Sims3 folder. But that way I have all my saved games, my saved sims, my screenshots, etc.  I can move them over to the new Sims3 folder after the game is working reasonably well.

[Asleep]

I deleted everything you said, winnow, but as soon as I loaded my saved game, I got a message saying:
Missing Object Warning
Some objects could not be loaded and were replaced.
What do I do?

[winnow]

I deleted everything you said, winnow, but as soon as I loaded my saved game, I got a message saying:
Missing Object Warning
Some objects could not be loaded and were replaced.
What do I do?

I've never had that message but it sounds like everything is ok. It sounds like the objects have been regenerated which is what you want. It's kind of like the message that some objects have been moved to family inventory.

How does the game play? Are you noticing any new problems? How are the old problems?

[TGBlank]

Actually, no. That message appears when you are loading a lot/world that haves an object that you don't have installed, be it an expansion/stuff item, store item, or mod item.
By how this thread went, my guess is that you deleted the contents of DCCache. Momentarily disabling your store items.

When one installs store Items (and mods in Sim3pack format) are first loaded by the launcher and copied to the Downloads folder. Then, they are opened, and the .package files inside are copied to DCBackup, afterward, all files inside DCBackup are glued together into the .dbc files you saw on DCCache.
The game completely ignores (or at least, should) the contents of both the download and the DCBackup folders while playing, opting instead for loading the merged .dbc files in DCCache.

Assuming you didn't deleted your downloads folder, you should be able to recover them by opening the launcher and disabling/enabling a store item (or reinstalling them.. it's been ages since I last toyed with that).

[Asleep]

One of the children in my household had a skirt from the store in her everydaywear. When I sent her to get dressed, she was wearing her normal shirt, but instead of the skirt, she was wearing underwear. Also, her bed has the FantaR pattern, which I colored purple, on the blanket, and now her blanker is pitch black. Another one of the children had a desk, chair, mirror, and bedside table from the Animals Abound from the Sims Store, and those had been replaced with random junk from the same category. My conclusion, one of those files held all my Downloadable Content, like TGBlank said, and I want to put it back. So, can you tell me where those files used to be?

[TGBlank]

As I said, unless you blew up the downloads folder, just open the launcher and disable/enable your store stuff, and the game will rebuild the dbc files.

[winnow]

Simstar,

What files did you delete/rename? It's not clear from your replies what you've been doing. Did you rename your whole Sims 3 folder or some of the files/folders? For what it's worth, I'd try to get the game running reasonably well before enabling CC (even official CC) or installing mods but that's me.

If you renamed the Sims 3 folder, you'll need to move the downloads folder from the Sims3backup folder to the Sims 3 folder. Otherwise, the folder should still be there and you can readd the stuff back into your game via the launcher as TGBlank said.

[Asleep]

As i said, unless you blew up the downloads folder, just open the launcher and disable/enable your store stuff, and the game will rebuild the dbc files.

Um... I have to use a mod to disable the game launcher so I can play the sims. I can probably ask my dad to temporarily disable it though.

Simstar,

What files did you delete/rename? It's not clear from your replies what you've been doing. Did you rename your whole Sims 3 folder or some of the files/folders? For what it's worth, I'd try to get the game running reasonably well before enabling CC (even official CC) or installing mods but that's me.

If you renamed the Sims 3 folder, you'll need to move the downloads folder from the Sims3backup folder to the Sims 3 folder. Otherwise, the folder should still be there and you can readd the stuff back into your game via the launcher as TGBlank said.

I moved compositiorCache.package, simcompositorCache.package, CASPartCache.package, and scriptcache.package to my trash.

[winnow]

Um... I have to use a mod to disable the game launcher so I can play the sims. I can probably ask my dad to temporarily disable it though.
I moved compositiorCache.package, simcompositorCache.package, CASPartCache.package, and scriptcache.package to my trash.

Did you rename the DCCache folder or delete dcdb0 and missingdeps?

And besides the missing objects, how is your game playing? Do you still have the same problems as before?

[TGBlank]

Um... I have to use a mod to disable the game launcher so I can play the sims. I can probably ask my dad to temporarily disable it though.

Doesn't matter, the launcher (any of the launchers) still *should* work, just not for playing the sims from it. All you need it for is to install the store stuff back with it.

Alternatively, if you did backups of the contents of DCCache (the .dbc files), put them back.

[Pam]

Simstar,

What exactly is the root problem?  Why do you have the launcher disabled?  Why aren't you running the game in the normal fashion without a mod?  Have you wiped the game from your computer and reinstalled it?  At this point, I don't know why you haven't just wiped everything clean and started fresh from the beginning with a clean install, giving up your saved games, and reinstalling your store content from the Sims 3 site.  You're trying all these different things with the files and such, but I wonder if you're just messing with something that can't be fixed without just starting everything over.

[Asleep]

Simstar,

What exactly is the root problem?  Why do you have the launcher disabled?  Why aren't you running the game in the normal fashion without a mod?  Have you wiped the game from your computer and reinstalled it?  At this point, I don't know why you haven't just wiped everything clean and started fresh from the beginning with a clean install, giving up your saved games, and reinstalling your store content from the Sims 3 site.  You're trying all these different things with the files and such, but I wonder if you're just messing with something that can't be fixed without just starting everything over.

The launcher is disabled, because it sees through the no LN disk mod. I use that mod in the first place, because my computer will not mount the disk. I really don't want to delete all my saved games, they're really important to me. Besides, my game has gotten a lot better now.

[wildredchild]

Just an FYI, you do not have to lose all of your saved games if you do a wipe and re-install.  Just save your saved games file to a secondary location like your desktop and then put it back into your Sims 3 file when you are done doing the re-installation.

[Pam]

Just an FYI, you do not have to lose all of your saved games if you do a wipe and re-install.  Just save your saved games file to a secondary location like your desktop and then put it back into your Sims 3 file when you are done doing the re-installation.

That's true, but there have also been times when my save file was the problem and I just had to let it go

[Joria]

Simstar, to replace items when  you get that message, go into the opening page of the launcher where it has "Welcome", "Downloads", "Uploads" "Installed Content".  To make it easy simply go into the downloads part.  Use select all.  Then hit reinstall.  It will reinstall and replace in the game, everything that got removed.    Since I did not know WHICH cache files to remove initially, I removed them all and got that same Missing Items message.  So I tried what I just said to you and voila!