Generally speaking, the more packs you have, the more load your computer has to work with. I only own The Sims 3 Seasons, Pets, and my recently purchased World Adventures & Generations Bundle pack. I am still new to the World Adventures & Generations Bundle, since I bought that one today and tested it out in-game. I have not tested out the World Adventures EP yet, because my current save file only runs on the other three EPs. I have seen some Simmers apparently playing with multiple packs at the same time. Is there a way to find out how much your computer can take on before you make the pack active, or do you have to test it out?

Whether your computer can handle any more or everything TS3 has to offer depends. Does your computer meet minimal system requirements, is below system requirements or is far above system requirements? How is the game running currently, is it stable, crashes/error code 12 a lot or lags and freezes? Can you play with all settings maxed out except high detail lots and performance is still good?I have all EP's/SP's/Store Content plus some mods installed and the game runs fine on a computer that is overkill for TS3. A shame TS3 isn't 64-Bit, anyway the majority of my issues that do show up are mod related. All my settings are maxed out except high detail lots which I leave at 1 unless I really want to take a decent picture out in the neighborhood.

"waterywatermelon;c-17766635" wrote:"Deshong04;c-17766469" wrote:Whether your computer can handle any more or everything TS3 has to offer depends. Does your computer meet minimal system requirements, is below system requirements or is far above system requirements? How is the game running currently, is it stable, crashes/error code 12 a lot or lags and freezes? Can you play with all settings maxed out except high detail lots and performance is still good?I have all EP's/SP's/Store Content plus some mods installed and the game runs fine on a computer that is overkill for TS3. A shame TS3 isn't 64-Bit, anyway the majority of my issues that do show up are mod related. All my settings are maxed out except high detail lots which I leave at 1 unless I really want to take a decent picture out in the neighborhood. I just compared the minimum requirements as reported on EA's website and my computer's hardware, and it looks like my hardware is sufficient. The game is running smoothly, even with all 4 expansion packs installed and active at the same time. Hmmm... now, I may consider on buying another Sims 3 EP. LOL. My next Sims 3 EP on the wishlist is Ambitions because of the great expansion to the careers, then maybe University Life for the expansion of the Young Adult life stage. Then, I am just going to stop right there, because those EPs seem to cover the core life simulation. I may consider Late Night/ShowTime/Island Paradise/Into The Future/Supernatural EPs later... or perhaps, never. It is fairly stable. Never had Error Code 12. Ever since I downloaded some helpful mods and followed a couple of tips and tricks to optimizing the game, my Sims 3 game has become virtually lag-free. Even Create-A-Style feels so much faster!These are my typical graphical settings:- Enable Object Hiding- Enable Animation Smoothing- Enable Advanced Rendering- Mirrors Only - Edge Smoothing Low - Visual Effects Medium - Lighting and Shadows Medium- Tree Detail Medium- Draw Distance Low- High Detail Lots Low- Texture Detail Medium- Sim Detail MediumSounds good. Though there may be issues later down the line as minimal requirements may mean the game should play but doesn't mean it will play at peak performance. Unfortunately, The Sims Studio never gave any recommended system requirements for the best performance. If you do eventually want more EP's other than Ambitions, it might be a good idea to try one at time to check gameplay performance. There are 3 EP's that may cause performance issues in computers below system requirements or computers with incompatible hardware. Such as one might have a gaming graphics card and good CPU but if the motherboard and RAM is not also geared towards gaming or at the very least can keep up with the same or near same performance level then the GPU and CPU gets limited and cannot perform to its fullest potential which will affect a games overall performance. Pre-built gaming computers are not all the same and one should know what's inside and do their own research on the brands and hardware being used. As well as the quality and performance from reputable reviews.Moving on, The 3 EP's are Seasons, Pets and Island Paradise that may cause issues for computers who do not meet minimal system requirements or computers with incompatible hardware. Oh, actually there's one other thing to mention that's common knowledge but I'll say it anyway. Be careful with mods and know which ones are okay and still give good performance for TS3 because TS3 is a 32-bit application and some mods/cc likes to go overboard and really push the max limits of the game engine and also can give poor gameplay performance. Seasons because of the weather effects upon the whole neighborhood.Pets because animals add extra routing. Speaking of routing, from experience, the better the CPU then the better and faster the routing and also the more lively Sims are in general. But also routing depends on the player providing sufficient space for mobility. You have those two already. But you may want to be wary of IP. Island Paradise because of extra routing modes enabled for all worlds such as houseboats, jet ski's, etc. Plus, there are some world building/lot issues in Isla Paradiso that needs to be manually fixed before playing. There are other options like downloading a fixed world version but that never worked for me. This EP is really nice and compliments Seasons summer activities. I think it's also quite versatile with resorts and you can create or download all kinds of hotels/motels/resorts to own or stay at. Using the arcade building from the store, I turned it into a casino resort. Spoiler (Highlight to read)https://i.postimg.cc/k5d4KVWB/Screenshot-2503.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/Fs774X9s/Screenshot-2609.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/XJ4ZTnjq/Screenshot-1097.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/15hk775X/Screenshot-4503.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/k5d4KVWB/Screenshot-2503.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/Fs774X9s/Screenshot-2609.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/XJ4ZTnjq/Screenshot-1097.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/15hk775X/Screenshot-4503.jpg

So, I have experienced some lagging issues in the game. I quit and went to the Mods folder to downsize on the number of mods, especially that custom Story Progression mod. I have read on a website that the Story Progression mod can actually put more stress on the computer. I value gameplay performance and computer longevity over cool stuff and more realistic gameplay. When I went back into the game, the game was back to normal, and everything was running so smoothly again! Yea!

Isla Paradiso's lag, at least for me, can be corrected by removing some residential lots with poor footpathing and the Sims can be moved into another house. I demonstrate this, except the moving them into a new home because this is just a test of BlueSpaarkle's suggestions to see if it actually works, which I already know it does because I have been using this method since I learned about it. I'll share the video in a moment of what IP is like as is and then what it is like after removing those certain lots. Best to do this before getting into gameplay but this is to show what many, if not all, are experiencing. Such an easy fix, though. So here is BlueSpaarkle's post. https://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/comment/12449762#Comment_12449762"Island ParadiseIsla Paradiso's World Fix for lag/stutter/freezing.I had the same problem and I solved it. All you need to do is go to edit town and delete some houses. You need to delete houses of the households below:Ichtaca ScottLos AmigosMedinaIf it still lags, then remove those houses as well:The RomanticThe PrinceJust delete those houses and move sims living in them somewhere else. Or just delete the sims as well.I hope this helped."I also added The Angler Household because I noticed when this Sim resets sometimes he or others will be in an unroutable location in-between the ports. I didn't even know I played that long...but timestamp around 19:30 is when the freezing starts and 31:00 after I fixed it. Quality isn't so great in windowed mode but doesn't matter, the point is to see the difference in IP as is, IP freezing and IP fixed. https://youtu.be/HUKUSsNOQ3c

I throw every single pack (except Sweet-Treats and one other I can't remember) and expansion at my PC.It's one of those though, The Sims 3 isn't very well optimised, and worlds like Bridgeport or Isla Paradiso will probably tax your PC more. Personally I think the best way to go at it when seeing if you can run an expansion is your world, CC like Nraas and especially your config files. Trial and error more-or-less once you get the CC and config files sorted.Like my gaming PC can run the game relatively well even, albeit it'll still lag on triple speed and freezes at 9am briefly sometimes, but I use fixed worlds to reduce lag since routing errors is your main performance murderer.Things like Nraas' MasterController's CAS blacklist help reduce CAS lag/loadtimes since with all packs and especially with CC/store content your game will practically spend 10 hours loading a YA/A woman's outfit section, and longer with the shoes.

How many The Sims 3 packs do you play with at the same time?

28 Replies

timurjr96
5 years ago
I have all the ep installed, you need to test it out first to determine whether your computer is capable of running it.

in my experiences there is no differences in performance with or without all ep installed, the lag is usually caused by routing issue in the world, if you played only in sunset valley or custom world you'll likely be fine with it.
NikkeiSimmer
Legend
5 years ago
My laptop (not a gaming laptop) has all expansion packs and one stuff pack running plus a few store items.

My laptop is a budget (Vivobook) PC and it severely hates my guts right now.
karritz
Legend
5 years ago
I have all Expansions plus all Stuff Packs pluss all of the store plus a few GB of CC and mods. And I usually have households with more than 8 sims.

The two Expansions that cause the most trouble are Seasons and Pets. Others don’t seem to create as much work for your computer.

It depends on your computer. Some can run everything and others will barely cope with the base game only.
IreneSwift
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I have all expansion and stuff packs except Katy Perry's Sweet Treats, plus quite a bit of store content and some CC. I play with all of it, all the time. I play without Origin, so there's no turning off anything, and I wouldn't even if I could.
Deshong04
5 years ago
Whether your computer can handle any more or everything TS3 has to offer depends. Does your computer meet minimal system requirements, is below system requirements or is far above system requirements? How is the game running currently, is it stable, crashes/error code 12 a lot or lags and freezes? Can you play with all settings maxed out except high detail lots and performance is still good?

I have all EP's/SP's/Store Content plus some mods installed and the game runs fine on a computer that is overkill for TS3. A shame TS3 isn't 64-Bit, anyway the majority of my issues that do show up are mod related. All my settings are maxed out except high detail lots which I leave at 1 unless I really want to take a decent picture out in the neighborhood.
SimsxZelda_fan
New Spectator
5 years ago
I always ran all the packs all at once. I actually didn't know there were people who didn't play all the packs they own all at once...
InfraGreen
5 years ago
I sacrifice three or four EPs for gameplay because all eleven slow me to a crawl or at least to annoyance (I have a lot of CC) Island Paradise and Into The Future are almost always on the chopping block.

Screenshotting is a different beast though. I have most EPs on and ITF is a must for dressing up my daemons (who rarely cross over into gameplay)
waterywatermelo
5 years ago
"Deshong04;c-17766469" wrote:
Whether your computer can handle any more or everything TS3 has to offer depends. Does your computer meet minimal system requirements, is below system requirements or is far above system requirements? How is the game running currently, is it stable, crashes/error code 12 a lot or lags and freezes? Can you play with all settings maxed out except high detail lots and performance is still good?

I have all EP's/SP's/Store Content plus some mods installed and the game runs fine on a computer that is overkill for TS3. A shame TS3 isn't 64-Bit, anyway the majority of my issues that do show up are mod related. All my settings are maxed out except high detail lots which I leave at 1 unless I really want to take a decent picture out in the neighborhood.

I just compared the minimum requirements as reported on EA's website and my computer's hardware, and it looks like my hardware is sufficient.

The game is running smoothly, even with all 4 expansion packs installed and active at the same time. Hmmm... now, I may consider on buying another Sims 3 EP. LOL. My next Sims 3 EP on the wishlist is Ambitions because of the great expansion to the careers, then maybe University Life for the expansion of the Young Adult life stage. Then, I am just going to stop right there, because those EPs seem to cover the core life simulation. I may consider Late Night/ShowTime/Island Paradise/Into The Future/Supernatural EPs later... or perhaps, never.

It is fairly stable. Never had Error Code 12. Ever since I downloaded some helpful mods and followed a couple of tips and tricks to optimizing the game, my Sims 3 game has become virtually lag-free. Even Create-A-Style feels so much faster!

These are my typical graphical settings:
- Enable Object Hiding
- Enable Animation Smoothing
- Enable Advanced Rendering
- Mirrors Only
- Edge Smoothing Low
- Visual Effects Medium
- Lighting and Shadows Medium
- Tree Detail Medium
- Draw Distance Low
- High Detail Lots Low
- Texture Detail Medium
- Sim Detail Medium
Sprottenham
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I started playing the Sims again last october after not playing it since 2016, and just got two packs. University Life and Seasons.

I don't remember my settings now, but the settings look similar to the user above. Only slowdown is on the loading screen and when there are unroutable sims (afaik). My computer should be able to handle it as per the minimum requirements.
sparky1922
5 years ago
I use all of the packs plus the whole store content plus a lot of Mods and CC :) The more content the better for me-)