.

The scripterror can be deleted and the files that have the Cache.package extension at the end can be deleted. The cache files will regenerate fresh. I also delete my sims3logs file and sims3launcherlog file because I don't care about the achievement tracking. If you don't care about old video recordings, you can delete or move that file out as well. Same with screenshots. I tend to add a number unto the end of those when I am writing long stories and don't keep any more than 50-100 screenshots in them. Both files will regenerate fresh when you take a screenshot or movie in your game. I add a featureditems text file and delete the .txt extension to keep the featured items folder from regenerating after I delete that. You can safely move out or delete all files in the DCBackup folder EXCEPT the ccmerged file. Personally, I prefer to MOVE them somewhere safe rather than delete as those package files can all be put in the MODS folder if you ever can't get the items to show in your game normally. 

Personally, I delete every file that ends with Cache. (CASPART.CACHE, compositor.cache, script.cache, simcompositer.cache, and Social.cache). Though they regenerate every time I play, I still like to go in and delete them every once in a while. Also, the stuff in featured items can be deleted as well. They are just pictures from the advertisements from the store content and thumbnails generated by the game. 

Which one of the cache files affects my Create-a-Style creations? It's one of them.

Which one affects the options settings in NRAAS SP and MC, and the game options settings including lifespan?

And I think the DCCache folder, and the IGACache folder? Oh and in that case the SigsCache folder too?

Why have I got a folder of patch system files? Its the smooth patch thing, did I put it there for somewhere to put it, not in the Mods folder? There are the correct copies in my system Game-Bin folder. In my Mods-Packages folder there's Id_Smooth Patch.package and the MasterController one. Should I move the patch system files folder into the Mods folder, or store it somewhere else? That scripterror usually happens every now and then without the smooth patch, and did long before I ever met it. I remember I do usually delete that.

Do I need to go and update all my NRAAS? I vaguely remember a notice about that somewhere.

DivinylsFan  Saved CASt patterns are stored in UserPresets.package.

I would suggest not using the Smooth Patch's .package files, as they're not compatible with NRaas MC and have other issues aside from that.  They won't break your saves, but you might see some crashing or other anomalies.  And the MC compatibility package has been removed because it didn't work.  The Smooth Patch files that go in Bin are fine to use and are independent of the .package files.

If you use NRaas ErrorTrap, it's normal to get a scripterror or two every time you load the game.  That's typically just ET telling you it did its job.  I wouldn't even bother reading these files unless you see other signs of trouble.

Here's a description of everything in the user folder:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

As for updating your NRaas mods, you don't need to do so; the previous versions are just as compatible with patches 1.67 and 1.69 as the current ones are.  But if you do decide to update one mod, check for updates to your others too—you might as well update them all at once, among those that have updates.

The one exception is ErrorTrap, which needed an update to match the update to patch 1.69 that EA released two weeks ago.  If you're not on patch 1.69, this has no effect on you, and you're not using the version of ET that got updated anyway.

puzzlezaddict wrote:

I would suggest not using the Smooth Patch's .package files, as they're not compatible with NRaas MC and have other issues aside from that. They won't break your saves, but you might see some crashing or other anomalies. And the MC compatibility package has been removed because it didn't work. The Smooth Patch files that go in Bin are fine to use and are independent of the .package files.

Then what do the package files do? What is the point of them if they're not needed and the bin files are independent of them?

I only got the smooth patch because everyone went on about it and said it was the thing to have now and made it sound like as integral as NRAAS SP and MC or such, and the Sims 3 influencer YouTube videos about it all say how much better its supposed to be with it ...

I'd be interested to know if the same people swearing by it are experiencing the alleged improvement from the update.

Yeah I probably don't have the ET whatever that is, but I assume you're meaning Windows? I only have 10, Windows told me my computer doesn't have the specs for it, although I think it is a decent machine. Its probably meaning the Alder thing is it?

Anyway, thanks.

DivinylsFan  The idea behind the original .package file is to speed up CAS loading, and the point of the MC compatibility file is to fix the known incompatibility with MC.  I don't know what they do on a modding level, but I do know that the MC compatibility file was ineffective enough that Lazy Duchess removed it.  And the original triggers the occasional crash and some other issues that show up in scripterrors.

The Bin files increase the number of tasks per second (TPS) the game can process overall, from the default of 30 to whatever limit you set (500 by default).  This applies across the board and, as far as I've seen, doesn't cause any significant issues on any system strong enough to run Sims 3 in general.  I've been using it since about a month after release, in 2021, and seen significant improvements and no problems that required any special effort to fix.

The .package files were supposed to be an enhancement to the existing improvement to CAS that comes from the faster loading you get with the increased TPS.  It just hasn't worked out that way.

When I said ET, I meant ErrorTrap.  And none of this has anything to do with the Alder Lake issue.  The only connection is that Lazy Duchess created a patch for that too, one that is no longer necessary on EA App installs after the January 13 update.

The patch wouldn't have any effect on how Sims 3 itself runs unless someone was previously using a different workaround to fix the Alder Lake issue, one that DOES tank performance if applied incorrectly.  Then once they didn't need that workaround, they wouldn't be accidentally tanking their performance.

Are you still launching it with it's system launcher file or are you using the EA App?

DivinylsFan  I have a Steam install, so I launch from TS3W.exe.

Sorry I don't know what TS3W.exe is :( 

Also not familiar with Steam, I've never had it.

DivinylsFan  TS3W.exe is the game executable that runs the game itself, what starts running once you press Play in the launcher, IF you have patch 1.67 or earlier.  That means all-disc or Steam installs.  The equivalent for the EA App is TS3.exe without the W.

Sims3LauncherW.exe (1.67 and below) and Sims3Launcher.exe (1.69) run the launcher, respectively.

If there's something you're trying to troubleshoot here, let me know.