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Lola18790's avatar
5 years ago
Solved

Sims 3 64-bit Keeps Crashing and Lagging 2021

Hello,

So I've been playing the Sims 3 for about 7-8 years now but when the Sims 4 came out, I switched over to the Sims 4 and have been playing it ever since. Just yesterday, I decided to download and install the Sims 3 again and play it. I have the base game and pets installed. I made a family with 2 young adults, 1 child, 1 toddler, 1 dog, and 1 horse. Every time I tried to move them into a house, the game crashed. I did some research and found that the pets in the household were causing the problem so I made a new family with just 2 young adults, and the problem stopped. However, even without the pets when I play the game in any form except the menu, loading screens, and CAS, every about 5 minutes, my game lags and I get the spinning wheel of death for about 10 seconds and this happens every 10 seconds after. Then it'll stop for 5 minutes, but it comes back. I have also found that when I take my sims to attend a rabbit hole event (ex. the spa, horseback riding, etc.), it crashes again. Even without attending ANYTHING, the game crashes about 30-45 minutes after playing. This is super annoying because I can barely play the game properly or do pretty much anything with my sims without the game crashing. I am playing on a MacBook Pro--this model was released in mid-2020 and I got it in July so it's very new. It has about 45 GB of space on it as well. When the game crashes, I get a message saying that the Sims 3 quit unexpectedly with some random file attached to it. Here is my Mac's information and my deviceconfig.log file. I have replaced my name in the file to "REMOVED" for privacy.

Please provide all the help you can possibly give. I really want to play the game.

=== Application info ===
Name:            Sims3
Version:         
Build:           Release
=== Rating info ===
GPU: 3 GPU Memory: 5 CPU: 1 RAM: 5 CPU Speed: 1400 Threading: 3
Adjusted CPU: 2380 RAM: 8192 Adjusted RAM: 7680 Cores: 4
Card Found in DB: 0
=== Machine info ===
OS version:      Mac OS X Version 10.15.5 (Build 19F101)
OS prod type:    0
OS major ver:    10
OS minor ver:    15
OS SP major ver: 0
OS SP minor ver: 0
OS is 64Bit: 1
CPU:             MacBookPro16,3
    Brand:       Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8257U CPU @ 1.40GHz
    Family:      8
    Model:       7
    Cores:       4
    HT:          1
    x64:         1
Memory:          8192MB
Free memory:     3891MB
User:            REMOVED
Computer:        REMOVED-MacBook-Pro
=== Graphics device info ===
Number:          0
Name (driver):   Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
Name (database): Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 [Found: 0, Matched: 1]
Vendor:          Intel
Chipset:         Vendor: 8086, Device: 3ea6, Board: 00000178, Chipset: 0001
Driver:          macOS Metal driver, Version: 0.0.0.0
Driver version:  0
Monitor:         00000000
Texture memory:  1536MB
Vertex program:  3.0
Pixel program:   3.0
Hardware TnL:    0
=== Options ===
AnimationSmoothing 0
LightingQuality 2
GeneralReflections 1
TextureQuality 2
VisualEffects 2
TerrainQuality 1
EdgeSmoothing 0
ObjectHiding 1
AspectRatio 0
ForceSquarePixels 1
SimQuality 2
TreeQuality 1
DrawDistance 2
MaxActiveLots 1
NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6
AdvancedRendering 1
AudioQuality 1
Audi🤭utputMode 1
VoiceLevel 255
SoundFXLevel 255
MusicLevel 255
AmbientLevel 255
FocusMute 1
VoiceMute 0
SoundFXMute 0
MusicMute 0
AmbientMute 0
EdgeScrolling 0
EdgeScrollingWarning 0
SupressOpportunityDialogs 0
SuppressOpportunityDialogsWarningProducts 513
SimWhileMinimized 0
TwelveHourClock 1
ShowPlacementGrid 0
AutonomyLevel 1
DisableAutonomyForSelectedSim 1
PetAutonomyLevel 1
AgingInterval 2
EnableAging 0
EnableTutorial 1
EnableIntroTutorial 0
EnableTombResets 1
EnableInGameStore 1
EnableTelemetry 1
EnableMemories 1
AgingStageLengthBaby 3
AgingStageLengthToddler 7
AgingStageLengthChild 7
AgingStageLengthTeen 14
AgingStageLengthYoungAdult 21
AgingStageLengthAdult 21
AgingStageLengthElder 17
EnableInteractiveLoading 1
AgingStageLengthPuppy 0
AgingStageLengthDogAdult 0
AgingStageLengthDogElder 0
AgingStageLengthKitten 0
AgingStageLengthCatAdult 0
AgingStageLengthCatElder 0
AgingStageLengthFoal 0
AgingStageLengthHorseAdult 0
AgingStageLengthHorseElder 0
LunarCycleLength 3
LunarPhaseLength 0
EnableLunarCycle 1
EnableLunarPhase 0
EnableStoryProgression 1
EnableVampires 1
EnableWerewolves 1
EnablePets 1
EnableCelebrities 1
EnableFairies 1
EnableWitches 1
EnableHorses 1
EnableOptOutCeleb 0
ReceiveConnectTNS 1
ReceivedDevGift 0
PostFilterFlags 0
RequireLoginBeforeLoad 0
SummerLength 7
FallLength 7
WinterLength 7
SpringLength 7
SummerEnabled 1
FallEnabled 1
WinterEnabled 1
SpringEnabled 1
IsCelcius 0
FogEnabled 1
RainEnabled 1
SnowEnabled 1
HailEnabled 1
InvertHorizontalRotation 0
InvertVerticalRotation 0
VideoCaptureSize 1
VideoCaptureQuality 2
VideoCaptureSound 0
VideoCaptureTime 60
VideoCaptureHideUI 1
=== Default Options ===
AnimationSmoothing 0
LightingQuality 2
GeneralReflections 1
TextureQuality 2
VisualEffects 2
TerrainQuality 1
EdgeSmoothing 0
ObjectHiding 1
AspectRatio 0
ForceSquarePixels 1
SimQuality 2
TreeQuality 1
DrawDistance 2
MaxActiveLots 1
NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6
AdvancedRendering 1
AudioQuality 1
Audi🤭utputMode 1
VoiceLevel 255
SoundFXLevel 255
MusicLevel 255
AmbientLevel 255
FocusMute 1
VoiceMute 0
SoundFXMute 0
MusicMute 0
AmbientMute 0
EdgeScrolling 0
EdgeScrollingWarning 1
SupressOpportunityDialogs 0
SuppressOpportunityDialogsWarningProducts 0
SimWhileMinimized 0
TwelveHourClock 1
ShowPlacementGrid 0
AutonomyLevel 2
DisableAutonomyForSelectedSim 0
PetAutonomyLevel 2
AgingInterval 2
EnableAging 1
EnableTutorial 1
EnableIntroTutorial 1
EnableTombResets 1
EnableInGameStore 1
EnableTelemetry 1
EnableMemories 1
AgingStageLengthBaby 3
AgingStageLengthToddler 7
AgingStageLengthChild 7
AgingStageLengthTeen 14
AgingStageLengthYoungAdult 21
AgingStageLengthAdult 21
AgingStageLengthElder 17
EnableInteractiveLoading 1
AgingStageLengthPuppy 0
AgingStageLengthDogAdult 0
AgingStageLengthDogElder 0
AgingStageLengthKitten 0
AgingStageLengthCatAdult 0
AgingStageLengthCatElder 0
AgingStageLengthFoal 0
AgingStageLengthHorseAdult 0
AgingStageLengthHorseElder 0
LunarCycleLength 3
LunarPhaseLength 0
EnableLunarCycle 1
EnableLunarPhase 0
EnableStoryProgression 1
EnableVampires 1
EnableWerewolves 1
EnablePets 1
EnableCelebrities 1
EnableFairies 1
EnableWitches 1
EnableHorses 1
EnableOptOutCeleb 0
ReceiveConnectTNS 1
ReceivedDevGift 0
PostFilterFlags 0
RequireLoginBeforeLoad 0
SummerLength 7
FallLength 7
WinterLength 7
SpringLength 7
SummerEnabled 1
FallEnabled 1
WinterEnabled 1
SpringEnabled 1
IsCelcius 0
FogEnabled 1
RainEnabled 1
SnowEnabled 1
HailEnabled 1
InvertHorizontalRotation 0
InvertVerticalRotation 0
VideoCaptureSize 1
VideoCaptureQuality 2
VideoCaptureSound 0
VideoCaptureTime 60
VideoCaptureHideUI 1
  • @Lola18790  Try turning down lighting quality to the lowest setting.  Do so at the Main Menu, then quit to desktop before loading a save.

    If that doesn't help, what world are you playing in?  Sunset Valley and Riverview are quite stable, but some EA-made store worlds have routing issues, and custom worlds can have all kinds of problems, even ones from the Exchange.  If you're not playing in SV, try doing so as a comparison.

    However, the issue here may be the presence of the Pets expansion itself.  Even without pets in your active household, strays will spawn elsewhere on the map, and other households may adopt their own pets.  There are ways to address some of this with mods, if you're interested in trying.  But since it's not clear at this point which elements of Pets cause problems, other than the obvious (pets in the active household), it's also not clear whether any of the available interventions might help.

16 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @CherryCherrys  There are a few ways to find bad custom content, but the gold standard is Method by Mell, described here:

    https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html

    If you look through the cc in each .dbc file separately, you may find something that doesn't belong, in which case you can uninstall it through the launcher.  If you don't see anything suspicious, it's possible that some cc you actually want is the issue, and it gets a bit more complicated.

    If you still had the invisible cat, you could load the game with each .dbc file separately (same Method by Mell, but you're loading your save) and see which one makes the cat invisible.  From there, you might have to guess at which cc item was the issue, although pet accessories would be an easy first suspect.

    Since you don't have the cat anymore, you might try experimenting on a new save, with a cat included, or you could wait until another pet becomes invisible and experiment then.

    Without knowing what hardware you have, it's difficult to say how your Mac might handle those packs, although University Life is probably fine.  If you'd like to post your specs, please click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, select About This Mac, and list everything except for the serial number.

    Seasons is quite demanding but doesn't seem to cause many performance issues in this version of Sims 3.  The graphics issue with roads in winter is annoying, but it doesn't seem to cause crashing.  The world of Isla Paradiso runs poorly on any machine, but the pack's contents are fine, also demanding but not as much as Seasons.

    If your game runs fine without any custom content, you could add one pack at a time and see how it goes.  If it lags with no cc and no mods in a new save, it's probably not a good idea to add demanding expansions.  But again, University Life has only a moderate impact and doesn't seem to be much of an issue, so if you really want one more pack, it wouldn't be a bad choice.

  • CherryCherrys's avatar
    CherryCherrys
    5 years ago

    MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)

    2,2 GHz Intel Core i7 Dual-Core

    8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

    Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB

    I have World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, Supernatural, Generations, High-end Loft, Outdoor living and Town life installed.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @CherryCherrys  To be honest, I'm a little surprised you're able to play at all with Pets—many players with your graphics chip have had to uninstall the pack altogether.  In your position, I'd hesitate to add Seasons, Island Paradise, or Into the Future, or really any expansion at all if you're seeing lag in general.  It's a little harder to say with crashing alone because that can happen for a variety of reasons, some of which have nothing to do with hardware.

    You can try adding University Life and seeing how the game plays; like I said, it shouldn't break things if you're generally having a good experience.  After that, you can see where you are and make the decision from there.

    For the crashing, save often, and use "save as" to rename the save so you have lots of backups.  (You can put a number on the end of the save to keep track, e.g. Bridgeport 5, Bridgeport 6, etc.)  If your game crashes and keeps doing so, trash the newest save and revert to the next newest one.  You can delete the oldest backups when you're sure you won't need them.

  • CherryCherrys's avatar
    CherryCherrys
    5 years ago

    Hahaha after reading some problems I was worried too 🙌  I don't know if it's the world I play that helps, I play in Midnight Hollow, and another save in Riverview, I use the grafics on the minimum except for Sims Details and Textures that are on max and Mirror Reflexes Along With Water that are medium I guess.I'm not having lag but I use Nraas mods to clean my game, reduce taxis and animals on the streets, I noticed that other families in my world have pets but they look okay, the one invisible was the cat that I moved in with my sim's husband, when the husband lived alone with the cat and I would visit the cat could be seen. 🤔 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @CherryCherrys  Good to hear, but you might still have issues at some point.  I'd try changing their collars or any other accessories: use every cc option you have at least once, and see whether any of them makes a cat disappear.

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