Sims 3: Lags, Interminable Saves, Cannot travel

@MaeveRhea  First of all you need to post your computer's dxdiag. Just posting your hardware doesn't tell us how your system is configured - link - how to post your computer's dxdiag  Why have you not upgraded to Windows 10? Microsoft has ended main support for Windows 8.1 on January 9, 2018. Windows 8.1 is on extended support now. That means going forward there will be less support for drivers and updates. The current DRM for this game is Origin. The disc version installs the DRM of SecuROM and SafeDisc. SecuROM and SafeDisc are no longer supported by Windows and OS X. Your game will continue to work as is as long as you don't reinstall and add new DLC. The latest user patch is version 1.67 manual super patch. Once you get the game in Origin there is a version 1.69 patch which is Origin only. The most important thing the version 1.69 patch does is removes and/or deactivates SecuROM and SafeDisc making Origin the DRM for this game. There will be no install limit and you don't need a disc to play. The exact cause of error 12 was never fully found. My guess is that error 12 is an issue caused by the way the operating system processes the save data and this seems to be cpu related. I don't think it is the compiler as error12 does not affect everyone. I have never had an error 12 and right now my gaming computer has an AMD FX 6100 cpu. IMO - something in the save data is not handled correctly causing corruption of the save file. This could be a buffer overflow somewhere or even how the data is handled in the cpu registers. I'm guessing the game code is a combination of different compilers and assemblers and the source code will probably never be released to the public. Asus is known to make quality motherboards but I have had to retire a couple of Asus motherboards due to capacitor failure in the last year. I now get Gigabyte motherboards and have not had this issue. Lag is usually caused by the computer running out of resources such as not a large enough page file or running out of memory for buffers caused by running too many applications. The Sims 3 is a 32 bit application so it will never use more then 4Gb of memory - actually about 2Gb of memory because of compilers. After that the game will use Virtual memory and writing and fetching from virtual memory is time consuming and this is a good source of lag. As you can see game performance is a complicated issue that depends not only on hardware but how that hardware is configured.

Dear Roberta591, Thank you for your reply.  I will attempt to attach my DXdiag. file.

Answers to your questions:  Why not Win 10?  Because I Hate Win 10.  Why Win 8.1?  Because it does everything I need it to do, and since I have no intention as to purchasing anything from Origin, and I DO NOT trust the internet for anything like down-loading a game, I can see no reason to put Origin on my rig.  My gaming rig is not the machine I am using to connect with you, this is a Win 10 machine and I only use it for the internet.  Also, I have found that running in compatibility mode on Win 10 is not fool proof and from hundreds of posts that I have read, Origin does some nasty background stuff, like info gathering, breaking into the game to try and sell things, ad nauseum.  Thank you, MR

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@MaeveRheawrote:

What am I doing (or not doing)wrong?  I never had these problems when I first played the game in 2011-2014. I understand you cannot discuss Mods but can you point me in some direction for solutions.  I know the game and EP's are buggy - I know that EA did a poor job of compiling, but there is really no excuse for these types of problems - I mean - the Read Me says "Sorry" when the game crashes?

Thank you any solutions you might have.  (BTW-I found Sims 4 boring.) EA can do better.

MR

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😕

?

The Read Me doc lists extensive technical information about the game, such as specs, compatibility, controls, etc. It doesn't say "sorry." 

As for the problems you're experiencing, this has nothing to do with "EA doing a poor job of compiling." There's something on your system that for whatever reason is causing hiccups in the game. Error 12 is a memory issue. It means that your game keeps running out of memory when you save a world. Error 15 is a folder error. Here are posts that talk about these in more detail:

https://itstillworks.com/12347741/how-to-stop-error-code-12-in-the-sims-3

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/sims-3-error-code-15/td-p/1581723

Off the top of my head, two things I would look at is if a program running in the background is draining your memory or if a program/system update is interfering with your game. Another thing you might consider doing is turning off DEP for TS3, which is known to cause issues: 

How to Turn Off DEP: http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Data_Execution_Prevention/TS3W

@MaeveRhea: I didn't post a frowning face. I posted a confused emoticon because I was confused by your claims that the Read Me only says "Sorry." It doesn't say that at all (below is a screenshot), so I didn't know what to make of what you said. 

As for everything else you said, computing has come a long way in 50 years, especially in the world of gaming. It's not the same today as it was back then. Back then, everyone more or less had the same system with the same basic set of configurations. For example, back in 2000 (when the first Sims came out), everyone in the world more or less had Windows 98, X amount of memory (I think the standard was 512 MB), a single core machine and no graphics card. So when devs designed a game, it more or less worked on everyone's system the same way. 

But today, there are probably well over 300 different configurations that developers have to design their games for, machines running the gamut of Windows Vista up through Windows 10 and Mac; single, dual, quad and eight core CPUs; varying amounts RAM; 32 bit vs 64 bit; embedded vs dedicated graphics; hundreds of different graphics cards and their drivers; multiple Direct X versions; overclocked vs non-overclocked; continuous vs dropped support for hardware. And, to make matters worse, are now switching to laptops for hardcore gaming, which is another monkey in the wrench, since most PC games weren't designed to be played on them. 

So given all that, it's virtually impossible for game devs to create a game as robust as TS3 to be able to run without a hitch across the board for everyone perfectly, which is why it's always on the onus of the gamer, when a problem arises, to figure out what it is about their system that is causing a hiccup, whether it's the memory or the system configurations or the graphics cards or whatever. That's not just true of The Sims but of most memory intensive games/AAA titles.

This is the reality of what gaming and computing is today. If you're having trouble with a piece of software, it may feel satisfying to come up with myths and ideas about the nefarious behind the scenes machinations at corporations that is to blame, but it's not going to get you any closer to solving whatever issue you might be having. 

dear Confused Face. I am not famillar with emoticons, please forgive my mistake.  Yes, you are so right;  the onus is on the player.  Therefore, I thank you for your sincere remarks.  And all your help.

My name is not Frowning Face, Confused Face or any other type of face. It's---> @thesims1depot.

Hopefully, the information provided in this thread will help you resolve these errors, as I understand how frustrating it is to want to play a game that doesn't want to play. If worse comes to worse and nothing still works, you can always come back and ask for more help so we can try to drill down what the problem is. 

Thanks

First, Let me thank you for all the help.  I am trying to go through all the links and solve my problems.  I have stripped the computer down, did a clean restore - sorted out the registry, reinstalled the games -left out Ambitions- have no CC or mods.  Still not connected to Origin, but the EA launcher works just fine.  Starting a new game in Bridgeport and will see if I can travel.  Will let you know how it goes.  May all the gods of electronic circuit boards help me.  I guess this calls for an emoticon.  :D

MR

@MaeveRhea  For the reasons stated above you need to activate the game in Origin to play. As your dxdiag above indicates you haven't updated the video drivers for the Nvidia chip. I'll bet I'm an older user then your husband. My first mass storage device was the paper tape reader on my Teletype model 33 ASR I bought at a ham fest. And yes I remember 8 inch floppy disks. I used to play the Colossal Cave Adventure by Will Crowther and Don Woods across Arpanet. OMG I remember all the fun I had with a Heathkit H10 paper tape machine. I answered a 3 line ad in Popular Electronics and got an Imsai computer. When I called the Imsai support number (the phone in their garage) I got a "you got it to work?". I have some Zorkmids around here somewhere. Back to the issue. First the optical drive being a mechanical device is going to disappear (it's already is a endangered species) and downloading services (like Valve's Steam) are going to be the thing. SSD storage devices are evolving and the prices are dropping and the only mechanical thing on your laptop will be the hinges. The DRM that came with the game is no longer supported by the operating systems. Origin will remove and/or disable SecuROM and SafeDisc when it patches your game to version 1.69. The version 1.69 is an Origin only patch. The days of creating games is now big business and garage startups just are not going to happen anymore. got to run - mum says supper is ready.