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Spycoo16's avatar
Spycoo16
Seasoned Rookie
20 days ago

Spike glitch

Hello I have changed my graphics settings to be medium (I usually play low). I played for about an hour or so and everything was fine. Now I have this weird spike at the center of the screen. It happens on the lot I'm playing on when I zoom in and out but if I scroll off the lot its gone. Included in my pics is also my options levels. I have windows 10 operating system and then I think I have 64 bit lenovo yoga 9 but its also a hand me down and used computer. Does this effect anything? I have cc but all of the cc is downloaded from the sims3 exchange so its not like I've downloaded from another site. I specifically avoid mods because I dont want my game to glitch and not know how to start working back. 

9 Replies

  • Spycoo16  If this only happens when your sim is on the lot, or when a particular sim is, try changing all their outfits and hairstyles (every CAS part) to EA items.

    If that doesn't help, try testing with no custom content.  You don't need to save your progress, but it's important to establish whether bad cc is the problem here.

    It's entirely possible that some cc you use is fine on low settings but not on medium.  It's also possible that some cc is currently being used where it wasn't before, at least not in this context, and the graphics settings are a coincidence.

  • Spycoo16's avatar
    Spycoo16
    Seasoned Rookie
    19 days ago

    puzzlezaddictHello,

    I think it actually has to do with the elevators. My sim lives in bridgeport. I have tried it with no CC and with CC and it seems that when I go to certain apartments with elevators the glitch appears, doesnt matter if sims live in it or not. I tried it on different venues. Nightclubs, community lots, and apartments without elevators dont have the glitch at all. I played more through and it glitches the closer I am to the elevator. But then there are some apartments with elevators where it pops up quickly but then goes away. 

    I noted some addresses where its worse:
    - my sims penthouse (99 embaradero dr) but only when shes in front of the building
    - Drama on TV household (57 dockside road)
    - 4400 Hamming pier road. 

    It seems to be on one specific side of town but I did have a few elevator glitches on the other side, it just went away faster. It also happened in the bistro. Maybe it has to do with it being a penthouse? Is there a specific graphic setting I can set to lower maybe the buildings renderings or the elevator animations that could possibly help? Appreciate the help so far.

  • Spycoo16  I've never seen a mention of this issue in relation to elevators, so I couldn't really tell you what to change.  However, it's worth demolishing and replacing one of the affected buildings just to see whether it helps.  You don't need to save your progress.

    If that doesn't make a difference, try deleting and replacing the elevator, which you might need cheats to do; it's been long enough that I'm not sure.  The combination of testingcheatsenabled true and restrictbuildbuyinbuildings off should do it.

    If that doesn't help either, reduce one setting at a time, while at the Main Menu, and quit to desktop before reloading the save.

    It's also worth testing in a new instance of Bridgeport just to see whether this is about elevators in general or this save specifically.

  • Spycoo16's avatar
    Spycoo16
    Seasoned Rookie
    17 days ago

    puzzlezaddictok I took a while to reply because I wanted to try all of these. It doesnt seem to have the same glitch in sunset valley, but I didnt play every lot.  Back to Bridgeport: I played with low settings, different save, demolished building. Do you think it may be a thing where I should uninstall late night and reinstall?

    I also tried to do it without any cc but there are 4 sims for the exchange that will not uninstall from the sims 3 launcher (they have cc). Heres what it says when I try to uninstall.

    I dont know what to do about them.  After I tried to download them again from the exchange and then try to uninstall got this.

    I feel maybe that is the cause, but I'm totally lost. 

    I also notice when I exit out of my launcher it says this: 

    I feel like I may have to uninstall my launcher altogether to get rid of these four sims. I do wanna ask: is there a way to uninstall my launcher without having to uninstall all my discs? 

    It thankully doesnt effect my gameplay but its REALLLLLY annoying and I hate not knowing why my game is messing up in such a specific way🤧 I think I'm leaning towards uninstalling everything at this point.

  • Spycoo16  The error message can be ignored; just click OK and pretend it never happened.

    Here's a guide to getting rid of stubborn bad cc:

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

    The shortcut is to move or rename the Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts.  This removes (but doesn't delete) your user data: saves, mods and cc, saved households and builds, etc.  You can restore these files later, a bit at a time, after testing with none of it present.  When you first open the launcher without this folder, the game will create a new one with no content, which is ideal for testing.

    I'd still like to know how a new instance of Bridgeport runs, but you can test in the new Sims 3 folder.

  • Spycoo16's avatar
    Spycoo16
    Seasoned Rookie
    16 days ago

    puzzlezaddict I was able to delete the cc that wouldnt go away!! I did the folder rename trick, played a new bridgeport with no cc, low settings, no downloaded sims/saves, and it STILL has the spike glitch specifically in the tall apartment buildings. I dont know what else to do, I think I will just have to accept it as a fact of my game atp. Maybe I can download a mod that improves graphics or something? Really, its not that bad so I feel like I guess I should just be thankful it works, thankful for your help and thankful that that stubborn cc is gone lmfao.

    Im still open to any other suggestions you may have but I really cant pinpoint, I feel like we have gone through every possible issue. The only other thing I'm thinking is maybe completely uninstalling all my games and reinstalling? 

  • Spycoo16  Repairing is (usually) a lot faster than reinstalling the game, and it's almost as reliable, so I'd try that first.  In the EA App, it's Sims 3 > Manage > Repair; in Steam, the option is called "Verify integrity of the game files."  For a disc install that doesn't use the EA App, you'd need to run the Super Patch (again).

    Please test on ultra graphics settings, if only for a few minutes, to see whether the problem is present there.  I'm not suggesting you should play like this in general if your computer can't handle it, but it would be useful to know whether some combination of settings addresses the problem.

    I'd also like to see a dxdiag from your computer, to look for any issues there.  Hit Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

  • Spycoo16's avatar
    Spycoo16
    Seasoned Rookie
    8 days ago

    puzzlezaddictok long time no talk ! SO I tried the super patch, and it didnt work (it actually messed up my launcher display) so I did actually end up uninstalling all of my games and reinstalling. Played on a newly installed game with no cc or added content and I still had the glitch. Played on ultra graphics, still had the glitch. Played on completely low graphics (no cc) to no avail as well. So heres my dxdiag log. I've been playing while the forums were down and it really only gets in the way if I want to take a picture of my sims, so if I end up HAVING to deal with this forever, its tolerable. But there is a part in my brain thats like "WHY CANT I GET RID OF IT" lol, i guess thats just what comes with playing sims 3. I always had glitches when I was younger too. 

     

  • Spycoo16  You're back just in time for this forum's reopening, which happened about 13 hours ago.  So this is the perfect time to show up again.

    The driver for your graphics chip is known to not play nicely with Sims 4 in DirectX 9 mode (but is fine in DX11 mode), and Sims 3 uses DX9 as well.  The newest driver from Intel doesn't have this issue, so please try installing it:

    https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/232155/intel-core-i71360p-processor-18m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz/downloads.html

    Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart your computer after installing and before trying to play.

    As a side note, high graphics settings should be fine as long as your laptop is able to cool itself properly.  I've heard from others on this iGPU who have no problem on high or high-ultra settings, although you may need to turn down the in-game resolution a bit.  Any 16:10 aspect ratio would be fine.

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