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browncoat47
Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 14th Feb 2021 at 5:33 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 3, World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, Pets, Showtime, Supernatural, Seasons, University Life, Island Paradise, Into the Future
Missing TONS of Custom Content After Transferring to .package File and Merging Into One File
After sorting my CC and transferring all of my .sims3pack to .package files with Sims 3 Pack Multi-Extractor, I then merged each folder of .package files into just one file per folder (clothes, kitchen accessories, dining room chairs, etc.) with s3pe. I ran those new package files through Delphy's dashboard, and 52 out of 68 said there was a conflict. I read somewhere that if the conflict is with objects then it's a "false conflict". So I backed up my Documents>The Sims 3 folder, and then I deleted it, launched the game to regenerate that new folder, and put the new package files into my new Mods>Packages folder with the resource.cfg file inside of it. (I copied my Saves and Library from my backup folder) I still had sims, lots, worlds, and CAP patterns that I loaded through the launcher but when I opened my game, the house I had decorated was missing at least half of the CC I had in it! I had completely redecorated it and now it looks like a basic Sim household. Were those conflicts something I needed to take care of? I also did not copy the file "nav.bin" or "FSIViewCountTracking" from the Downloads as they were already in the new folders I'd just regenerated. I did not transfer "LaunchU3", which was also in the Downloads folder, either.

Also, when I was transferring .sims3pack to .package files, I did get some errors on files that I just skipped, 15 in total. Not sure if that even needs mentioned!

I also wanted to say that I do appear to still have a lot of my CC but clearly a huge difference, as I went into my house and I was missing windows, doors, curtains, furniture, etc. just SO much. I had 4,500 CC before switching to package files. I made sure I didn't put more than 100 files in each folder so they aren't too big! I have no idea where I went wrong here. I hope someone can help!!

Is it possible I still just have some bad CC that was causing my crashing and CAS lagging? (Maybe any of the sims3pack's I kept?)

I do love this game but man sometimes I really hate it
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browncoat47
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 14th Feb 2021 at 10:57 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
yeah, but what you're doing have nothing to do with the game as many people play this game without doing this. i mean, i don't know if you frequent the help forum, but I've been quite verbal about this topic despite a lot of people always disagreeing with me. i've seen so many of these similar posts here from people who messed up their ccs and their game because they want to do something completely unnecessary like this.

1) Always make backups. Rule #1 in attempting anything

2) If you're going to do this? Use CCMagic or some program to do it for you. If you are doing it manually with S3PE? That's just not worth the effort and you get into a lot of problems and mistakes.

3) There is no real advantage in converting from Sim3pack to packages. I don't care what people say with their "I feel it runs faster" b/c if you notice the Sim3pack only extract and pack them into 200MB package files in the dccache, which is basically what you are trying to do manually right now in combining in to a huge package file.

4) Unless you're running on HDD, merging packages will not really speed up your game. Of course, I haven't actually tried it with 4500 CCs, but in theory, what slows down HDD is 4k random search. This is all but eliminated in a SSD, so even with so many index files, it searches really fast. I mean, I guess at 4500 CCs you can still feel a difference in loading, but maybe improves loading by a minute? Is it worth all this hassle?

The same people who tell me you don't need to use a RAMdisk for parts of the game anymore b/c SSD is practically the same since the small random reads are super fast on a SSD are the same people then that tell me merging these files will actually make a significant difference on a SSD. You see the contradiction?



Thank you for the response! So load time was not really an issue, but when I open CAS it drags and lags terribly. And I have noticed that it's worse if I have decorations>misc or decorations>all open (that's the folder that has the most CC in it), so I usually open something with little in it like electronics. If I try to drag a color scheme to another item, it lags so much that I end up dropping it onto the wrong item. This has been an issue for as long as I can remember, but I recently got a new computer and thought it would help and it hasn't. And now it is crashing constantly! I have no mods, I only download .sims3pack from TSR and never anywhere else. If I were to play for, say, 4 hours- it would probably crash about 4 or 5 times. The other night I loaded my game and then had to walk away for a while and when I came back it was closed.

I have a great laptop, that is well beyond the specs that are required to play but I am going to upgrade my RAM soon. I didn't realize that CUSTARD is to check for bad CC in .sims3pack so I'm going to try that now. (I always keep backups!!)

I know most people say switching to package files helps with load times, I just hoped that it would be the solution to the CAS lag but apparently not. I'm missing tons of CC and the lag in CAS appears to be worse

I had followed the tutorials from www.ohmysims.tumblr.com, www.samantha8982.tumblr.com and following Anach's forum on www.moreawesomethanyou.com.

I don't really see the point in organizing your CC through CC Magic, or anything else really, unless you're doing it to merge like .package files, I always wondered what the reason would be? I just download the .sims3pack and leave it in my The Sims 3>Downloads folder and I don't see any reason I would ever need to look at it again unless I wanted to delete it, in which case I can just search the folder and find it relatively easily.

Sorry if this is sort of all over the place!
Sorceress Supreme
Alchemist
#5 Old 15th Feb 2021 at 10:27 AM
Quote: Originally posted by browncoat47
If I try to drag a color scheme to another item, it lags so much that I end up dropping it onto the wrong item. This has been an issue for as long as I can remember, but I recently got a new computer and thought it would help and it hasn't.


To me this only happens when when I have too many color swatches saved into a category (in my case the wood category, which I use the most). Not imported swatches but when you make a color adjustment to one and then save it for later use. I tend to do that a lot.

When it comes to turning Sims3Packs to packages, I only do it because I leave the launcher for store stuff only. I don't want to clutter it and turn it into a one big broken mess. And packages are way easier to handle and organize. But I do agree with Nitromon when in comes to merging, when you have SSD. And yes, I also lost some stuff when I still merged packages. I don't do it anymore. I prefere handling unmerged packages.
browncoat47
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 15th Feb 2021 at 3:46 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Sorceress Supreme
To me this only happens when when I have too many color swatches saved into a category (in my case the wood category, which I use the most). Not imported swatches but when you make a color adjustment to one and then save it for later use. I tend to do that a lot.


It's interesting you say that because I've been doing that constantly lately and I never did before! I didn't think that would have anything to do with my issues but I will definitely go through what I have saved. Thank you!
browncoat47
Test Subject
Original Poster
#7 Old 15th Feb 2021 at 4:07 PM Last edited by browncoat47 : 15th Feb 2021 at 4:33 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
You're not talking about 4 hours continuously are you? TS3 is not designed to run 4 hours continuously so it will crash regardless. Especially the older your save file, the more RAM it uses, and it is just not designed to run that long.


Before the crashing started recently, I was able to play for many hours at a time with no crashing ever.

Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
Are you running NRAAS errortrap? It helps keep your game clean. Also remember to use Kuree's savegame cleaner to keep your saves clean.


Thank you for the suggestions! I will download these and also use CUSTARD like you suggested.


Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
Yes, but keep in mind Sims 3 is a 32-bit application from 2009. At a certain point, hardware is no longer the limitation. You can have a super duper mega computer but you're still pushing an outdated program from 2009 that is only 32-bit with a RAM limitation usage of 3.2-3.7GB.


I do understand this. I really wish they would update this game. It needs a lot of love lol.

Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
How much RAM do you have in your system right now? When you look at your deviceconfig log, there is an area that tells you how much RAM you have available before TS3 loads. If that amount is 5-6GB or higher, you are fine and you are not having a RAM issue.


In my system info it says 8.00 GB installed, 7.85 GB usable. In deviceconfig, it says RAM: 8038 Adjusted RAM: 7526


Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
I'm really confused. Are you actually merging your package files into large package files? Which is exactly what CC Magic does. If you're not doing that and all you're doing is just putting many many many individual packages in the mods folder in various subfolders, it actually makes it slower than when it was Sims3pack.
Ok, I saw a list of programs with a description of what they were used for, and CC Magic just said it was used to sort files. I didn't realize CC Magic was used to merge anything, I thought people were really just sorting their files lol.

And yes, I sorted all of my .sims3pack files into very descriptive folders (hair, clothes, kitchen accessories, bathroom sinks, etc.). Then I converted each folder of .sims3pack into .package files, and then I merged each folder into one file. After, I moved each new package file to my Mods>Packages folder. Sorry if I said something confusing!

While moving my original Sims 3 folder (with all of my .sims3pack) back to my Downloads, I noticed 6 xcpt files in my Sims 3 folder, and when I opened TS3CLA, they all say the likely cause is "Max memory used - try to reduce memory usage by lowering settings". There are four possible solutions, including: Data Execution Provention (with instructions to disable DEP, Large Address Aware/UserVA (with instructions to alter the UserVA settings), Custom Content (with instructions on removing custom content), and unknown (which links to the Sims Wiki website with general information on resolving crashes). Hmm.

I also have a text file in my The Sims 3>Downloads folder called Debug. Is that normal? I can't find anything about it so I'm thinking that it's not. I also have a file called LaunchU3 which is an application. I'm assuming this is to launch the game from the disc?

I also wanted to say, I've only ever downloaded anything from www.thesimsresource.com. Probably a dumb question, but is it possible to get corrupt files from that site?
browncoat47
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 18th Feb 2021 at 12:10 PM Last edited by browncoat47 : 18th Feb 2021 at 5:02 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
How old is your savegame? You can keep track of RAM usage in your task manager. If it is running around 3.2-3.7GB, it is going to crash. Older the game, the more RAM it uses because the more modification you make to the game and the larger the family tree.


I got my laptop in April so I've been playing since then. I only recently started actually playing the game (and even still, not for long at all), so no family tree. I usually just go to every house in each town and decorate them with my CC.

Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
That only tells you what you have, it doesn't tell you what you have available prior to playing. For example, if you have chrome open, you're using a lot of RAM prior to the game. What you need is in the deviceconfig that looks like this:

Memory: 16279MB
Free memory: 4885MB


Ohh ok, so it looks like this for me

Memory: 8038MB
Free memory: 4974MB

Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
That's basically what CCMagic does. If you still have your package files individually, try using CC Magic to do this.


Oh ok, that makes sense then. I didn't realize that. I do still have the individual package files (saved elsewhere) but I've also put my sims3pack back in the game. I downloaded NRaas Master Controller, Overwatch and Errortrap. I used Master Controller to reset my town and I've went to live mode, ffw through to 3am (when Overwatch does it's swipe) and it removes vehicles every night. I also noticed in a house I decorated a while back, there were three items on my kitchen counter that had been replaced with three copies of a single item. I'm assuming this is because I had some bad CC and the reset took them out. But I think I still have to go find the file and delete it manually, too bad I don't remember what they were!



Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
Just so we're on the same page. the "Download" folder doesn't actually contain the CCs you are using in the game. The Download folder is just a backup of the sims3pack you have installed. You don't actually need any files in there and most people delete them because they take up a lot of space. There should only be 3 files in there, MSI, NAV, and FSIviewcounttracking.


Wow, I always leave my downloads in my download folder I will try to do this.


Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
Of course. But most likely, from my understanding you downloaded 4500 CCs from TSR, is that do you pay attention to the polycounts and the resolution?

This was covered in another discussion in the general chat area where many artists do not bother to list these necessary information and causes other people's game to overbloat. From the description of your problems, seems like you have a RAM bloating error, this is likely the culprit.

High poly and high resolution CCs are not meant to be played in the game, but more for story telling, still shots, etc... It is the same as running HD/HQ mod, which they recommend is for taking screenshots, not for general gameplay. If you have several of these high resolution hi poly count CCs in your game, it will overbloat your RAM usage as well as overwork your CPU. Most likely causing crashes when the 32-bit ap cannot handle it. And it would only occur if you have those CCs active in the game, so you may have played a while with only a few in the active game such as clothing, but most of them just sitting in CAS. But once you have more sims wearing high poly and high resolution CCs, the game no longer can handle them.


Hmm, that's interesting. I never thought about it that way! I download TONS of tiny little decorations and use a ton in each house to make it look homey but I always go for the really nice looking stuff and I bet that means each one of them has a high poly count. My decorations folder in my game is gigantic.

Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
But also because if you have never ran NRAAS errortrap and Using Kuree's Savegame cleaner before, it means your savegame itself has collected up a lot of garbage and would also be overbloated and running inefficiently. So this one is easy to do, run errortrap it will immediately start cleaning your game the next time you load and run Kuree's to clean the game itself when you are not playing.


I've tried to run Kuree's but I get an error every time I open it. I'm going to click ok on the first message that pops up and then post the error message found in the details.

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary.
at System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2.get_Item(TKey key)
at Sims3RegistryKey.TS3CC.get_Sims3MyDocFolder()
at Save_Cleaner.Form1.Form1_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at System.EventHandler.Invoke(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnLoad(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnCreateControl()
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.CreateControl(Boolean fIgnoreVisible)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.CreateControl()
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmShowWindow(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WmShowWindow(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4300.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_C
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v4.0.30319/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Save_Cleaner
Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/shari/Documents/Save%20Cleaner%20V2.1/Save_Cleaner.exe
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly Version: 10.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 14.8.4084.0 built by: NET48REL1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualBasic/v4.0_10.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4270.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_C
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4300.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_C
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4084.0 built by: NET48REL1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Configuration
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4190.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_B
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Configuration/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Configuration.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Core
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4320.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_C
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Core/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Core.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Xml
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4084.0 built by: NET48REL1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Runtime.Remoting
Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 4.8.4084.0 built by: NET48REL1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.Net/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Runtime.Remoting/v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Runtime.Remoting.dll
----------------------------------------
Sims3RegistryKey
Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/shari/Documents/Save%20Cleaner%20V2.1/Sims3RegistryKey.DLL
----------------------------------------
s3pi.Interfaces
Assembly Version: 1305.20.1725.31367
Win32 Version: 1305.20.1725.31367
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/shari/Documents/Save%20Cleaner%20V2.1/s3pi.Interfaces.DLL
----------------------------------------
s3pi.Package
Assembly Version: 1305.20.1725.31368
Win32 Version: 1305.20.1725.31368
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/shari/Documents/Save%20Cleaner%20V2.1/s3pi.Package.DLL
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.


Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
If you really want to merge your packages, use CC Magic as this is programmed to do this exact thing and is used by many users. Merging these things manually, especially 4500 CCs, you're bound to make mistakes.


Honestly, I wondered if the reason the package files didn't work is because perhaps I didn't install the Mods folder correctly? I didn't unzip the folder into my Sims 3 folder, I made a Mods folder and Package folder and I just downloaded the resource.cfg file and stuck it in my Packages file. After I had returned to my backup Sims 3 folder, and reinstalled my sims3packs, I followed instructions from the NRaas website and unzipped the file that gave me my mods folder so that I could put the NRaas mods into the game. That's when I realized that maybe I had done it wrong previously? Regardless, I think I will just stick with the sims3pack, especially if doing things the other way would just prove pointless.

I do want to mention, because I'm not sure that I did before, but I did realize when I put my backup folder back that I had a bad file in my Saves. I removed two files, Starlight Shores.sims3 and Starlight Shores.sims3.bad, and then with the backup file (Starlight Shores.sims3.backup) I removed the ".backup" and I have to say I have noticed a HUGE improvement with the crashing. In two nights, I had two crashes. So there is still an issue, probably RAM, but this is huge for me lol. I wish I had checked that sooner.

Thank you so much for all of the help and information you've given me, by the way!!
browncoat47
Test Subject
Original Poster
#10 Old 18th Feb 2021 at 12:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
Just so we're on the same page. the "Download" folder doesn't actually contain the CCs you are using in the game. The Download folder is just a backup of the sims3pack you have installed. You don't actually need any files in there and most people delete them because they take up a lot of space. There should only be 3 files in there, MSI, NAV, and FSIviewcounttracking.


Ok, I will do this but I wanted to say I also have two folders in my downloads folder that I'm concerned about moving. If they're not supposed to be there, then I'm confused as to how they got there? But one folder called "-5375136267753929386" has two package files in it called ChallengeData and PassportData, and then the other folder called "4926204319672873458" has a package file called ChallengeData... hmm.
Sorceress Supreme
Alchemist
#11 Old 18th Feb 2021 at 1:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by browncoat47
Ok, I will do this but I wanted to say I also have two folders in my downloads folder that I'm concerned about moving. If they're not supposed to be there, then I'm confused as to how they got there? But one folder called "-5375136267753929386" has two package files in it called ChallengeData and PassportData, and then the other folder called "4926204319672873458" has a package file called ChallengeData... hmm.


Those folders contain your achievements data: "The challenge data folder holds your badges you've completed in game and the passport data holds/records all the times you have used simport. If you delete them, you may lose everything you have done."

I don't have them in my Downloads folder because I moved them out for savekeeping. I remember reading that to some players removing those folders caused problems but I've never experienced any. Since I don't do challenges or use the SimPort, I have had no use for those files anyway. Also, for some players those folders have regenerated after the removal but that hasn't happened to me either.
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