Deleting custom content in use

[Revalent]

Sorry if this thread has been done before, I'm new here.

I just got the Sims 3 game with Ambitions. Initially I played without custom content and it worked fine with no lag at all. I then went on a Downloading spree of custom content to enhance my gameplay, both Package files and the other kind which allows you to download from the start up menu.
Now it seems my game is taking longer to load, and my camera is having major stuttery lags with low framerates.
I came to a conclusion that it is probably my custom content that is causing the problem. (I downloaded a whole lot, about 3gb worth so far.)

I have read in the help section about fixing this problem and I intent to try it out, however my family in the game uses some of the custom contents ( buys and sims creation stuff). I am wondering what will happen if I delete a custom content that is currently in use.

PS: My comp spec well exceeds the requirement for the game.

[LifesLover]

Wow, that is a lot of CC. I can't begin to come close to that amount of CC (well, I couldn't when I had my computer). That's a lot of CC to put in the game. You can delete the custom content: most of it (in fact, all of it) will just simply be replaced by something else similar to it in the game. Kind of like downloading houses from other players and not owning a pack that they used in the house: the items they used are simply replaced by others for the most part. There are some CC, though, that can break your game, like core mods: if you saved while performing an action from that mod, there's a chance it could break your game. You'd have to actually look up the mod in question and find what the creator of that CC has to say about removal.

3 GB of CC is a lot of CC, so yeah, I'd suggest deleting some of it, simply because I find that a lot of CC I downloaded and intended to use just didn't look all that great in game like it did on the internet. You'd probably find the same problem, too.

However, if you really want it all, you don't have to delete it. You can significantly increase loading times and the like by combining the packages together. From what I've learned over the internet, there are two ways to do this. You can try downloading... S3pe (I think that's what it's called) and then manually combine the packages together. I don't know where to find that, though, but a simple google search will turn it up. Edit: Oh, look, MTS is nice and auto-linked it for me! And there's also the custom launcher, which will combine packages as well. Either way works well, if you don't want to delete any of your CC (I don't know about you, but I get attached to some CC).

[Srikandi]

A CC object that's in use will be replaced by a similar item if you remove it (clothes, furniture etc). You'll get a random chair or dress or whatever.

Gameplay mods/hacks are another story; if you're using those, you should check the source you got em from to find out if it's safe to uninstall and if so how. You can corrupt a saved game if you just yank em out.

If you remove stuff, also remember to clear your caches before restarting. That'll help the game know they're gone. You've probably also read about combining package files to improve performance.

[emilymarie0201]

I would suggest doing what LifesLover said if you don't want to lose any of your CC (Like me), I had about 2,000 items, package & simpack files combined and it dramatically slowed down my game play terrible. I downloaded S3PE and followed the tutorials, although it took some extra outside help and my game performance improved immensely! My game loads faster, it doesn't freeze and it does not lag at all, and I still got to keep all of my CC (which I check for corruption beforehand!)

[haricots]

Welcome to the forum!
Anyway, for objects in buy and build mode, if you delete it, the game will replaced them with same function object. In my game, my CC always replaced with more expensive object. lol

[Srikandi]

... Or you can just use Granthes's launcher http://www.modthesims.info/d/408296 , which automates package combining ;)

Version 2 of that utility is in progress; it supports maintaining multiple mod configurations, among other things.

[Revalent]

Thank you for the replies, they were certainly helpful. By the way I just want to know whether the S3PE or the Granthes's launcher is better. I am definitely not a computer savvy person and the S3PE seems like a handful to download.

[wickedblue]

I haven't used the launcher so I can't say if it's better but I did use S3PE to merge my package files. The installation is pretty much automatic and the process of merging packages with the newest version is really simple. It does it all for you. All you need to do is open up a folder within the program and select all of the packages in the folder and it will do the rest for you. I would suggest breaking up your package folder into subsections before you start merging so you have similar objects merged together (for example all deco items). I had over 2000 items and my catalog took ages to load, to the point I was dreading decorating but after merging it loads in a snap. The only thing I left unmerged is my hacks folder.

[LifesLover]

I personally like the launcher a lot more. Hence why I mentioned it. It's a great way to not only combine your packages but it also helps you organize your mods so that you don't have to do it all yourself. I've never quite gotten how to work with S3PE, so I've never used that to merge my packages. Plus, the launcher allows deletion of custom content (at least the first one does, I don't remember if the second version (still in beta) does or not) right from the launcher so you can select packages that you want to get rid of and just delete them automatically, like packages that conflict with others.

[Srikandi]

S3PE is extremely easy to download and install ;) However, using it is another matter. It's a package editor, a general-purpose tool -- the basic tool modders use for anything they want to do with package files. It's intended for modders rather than players, so it doesn't hold your hand. So yeah, launcher's probably a better choice ;)

[Revalent]

Thanks all for the help. The launcher did wonders :) back to getting more CC