Sims 3 crashing to desktop
Hi, Sims 3 crashes back down to the desktop after about 5-10 minutes of gameplay with no error message. Help? Thanks!
Forum Discussion
Attaching the file!
And no mods or custom content, playing using Seasons and Pets only.
Thank you!!
@sfhwchqcpki2 Have you taken steps to manually limit your in-game framerates? Your Nvidia graphics card could generate wildly high fps if allowed, and that could itself cause crashing. If you need help with this process let me know. And even if you believe you've capped the framerates, please test in-game: open the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter fps on , and you'll see the counter in the upper-right corner of the screen. (Use fps off to disable the counter.) If fps is higher the limit you've set, which should be 60 since your screen runs at 60 Hz, that's a problem.
Additionally, your dxdiag lists some Sims 3 crashes related to a VC++ runtime, so it's a good idea to uninstall and reinstall the 2005 x86 runtime, which Sims 3 uses. Hit Windows key-i, select Apps, scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, click on the 2005 version (it probably won't say x86, but ignore the x64 version if you have it), and select Uninstall. You can download a fresh copy from Microsoft:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26347
You only need the x86 versions, not the others. Restart after installing and before trying to play.
I'm not sure how to limit the in-game framerates, though I lowered all of the graphics to the lowest setting. I tested it in-game, and it looks like the number hovers in the 600s (!). How would I fix that?
I'll also do the uninstalling and reinstalling of the runtime as you suggest asap! I, unfortunately, don't have time today, but probably tomorrow.
@sfhwchqcpki2 Lowering the graphics settings actually increases fps most of the time: the graphics card doesn't need to work as hard to render each frame, so it can and will keep its workload high and produce more frames per second. Regardless, you should be able to play on ultra graphics settings. The only two you'll want to turn down are water and high-detail lots, which are especially demanding on the game engine; I keep these at "mirrors only" and 2, respectively, most of the time.
There are several ways to limit fps, the first of which is setting a limit in the Nvidia Control Panel. This doesn't always work on laptops, in fact it doesn't work most of the time, but since you don't need to install anything and can test with a few clicks, it's the first step to try. Right-click on the desktop, select the Control Panel, click Manage 3D Settings > Program settings, select ts3.exe (since you have an Origin or EA App install), scroll down to Max Frame Rate, set it to 60, and save the change. If you play in fullscreen mode, you can also set vertical syng to On; this helps with issues like screen tearing.
If this doesn't help, you'll need to download an outside tool. RivaTuner Statistics Server is lightweight and highly effective (and free), and it allows you to set a max frame rate for any .exe. It does need to be running while you play, but you can set it to start with Windows, and it won't affect any game for which you haven't applied settings.
My screenshot shows TS3W.exe (highlighted in blue) because I have a Steam install, but for you, select TS3.exe, set the framerate limit (red box) to 60, and choose whether to start the app with Windows. Then restart your computer before testing.
If you're always going to play in fullscreen mode, you can try D3DOverrider (also free) instead. It's a tool built on RTSS and forces vertical sync, which syncs the framerates to the refresh rate of your screen.
https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/84-d3doverrider/?changelog=32
Vertical sync doesn't apply in windowed mode, so if you're ever going to use windowed mode, it's best to use RTSS, whether alongside D3DOverrider or separately.
The other option is to use Lazy Duchess's Smooth Patch: the current version has a built-in fps limiter. The Smooth Patch is helpful for game performance overall, and I've been using it for over a year (as have many others) without any problems. The CAS changes can be a bit glitchy at times, so if you don't want those extra features, look for version 1.2.1.
