More Awesome Than You!

I don't get it... I know there's a problem but despite reading many threads I just don't understand what it is precisely, in a completely computer-stupid way.

I bought BV, installed no problem, but the longer (in RL) I played, the greater the lag. To the point it was taking around 5 minutes to walk from the 'call a taxi' phone to the lot exit portal on a small/medium lot. Luckily, I hadn't played BV long enough to get attached, threw up my hands and uninstalled.  I simply assumed that BV was the straw that broke the camel's back and was simply too much for my pc - I have just 512RAM, all eps plus GL and H&M.

So. Was the extreme lag caused by this SecuRom... thingy? Was it something else? I did the 'bypass the launcher' thing but I'm never disconnected from the internet (some sort of hardware problem; I disconnect, I can't get a persistent connection later)

Please, please, please don't direct me to other threads for an explanation because I've read most of the ones here and and at the official site and it. All. Goes. Over. My. Head.

I'd really like to reinstall BV, so I just want to know;
A) What the problem is? and
B) How could it affect me and my pc

thnx

No, the extreme lag is caused by playing on a fucking 512MB RAM PC!  Seriously!  Buy more ram or don't even think about complaining about anything else.

512, jeez...

NEEDS MOAR RAMS.

Wasn't complaining, I was asking and you answered, so thnx.

Yeah, moar rams. The min. requirement is 512 MB, but in the manual it states that if you have more than 5 EPs or Stuff packs, you should have at least a GIG.

It's fairly cheap to upgrade too, and easy to install.

Pfft. You were trying to blame BV or SecuROM for your own ineptitude in reading the system requirements.

Seriously, more RAM. RAM makes it go whoosh. Did you know there were special event videos in the game? Can't see them with that piddly RAM amount. 1 gig is your absolute minimum for base + two or more EPs (the official site is too dang conservative and apparently thinks we like to play at 1 sim day = 1 real day), but if you can get up to 2 gigs it's best.

*planning on doubling up to 4 gigs RAM before Christmas*

/me has 4 gigs

*throws stuff at Gwill*
Do you also have the ATI Radeon x1950s I'm planning on getting? Brat.

Nah, it's an old Sapphire Radeon X700 from 2005.  I might have to find a way to seriously upgrade my whole computer.  The RAM and one of the hard drives are soon going to be the only bits worth keeping.

512 ?? good lord.  I had 1 GB and I had to turn off every non essential service and apps on my PC, just to play a smallish house with not too many people in it.  The minute I started getting a lot of visitors, the game would start swapping heavily and slow to a crawl.  2 GB should be your minimum.

But yeah, wasn't there some issue with the game becoming reaaaaally slow until you denied the game access to the net? 

BTW, you wouldn't necessarily have to shut your internet off when you play the game.  I would assume denying the game access to the net is enough.  Which means running a firewall.  Which means less ram for the game which means....

MOAR RAMS

unless you use your host file to do the job.

Actually, you can see the special event scenes with that amount of RAM, as I could see them on my old PC, and that only had 512MB of RAM. However, they're disabled on my new PC (for an obvious reason: 512MB of RAM + all EPs up to Seasons + Vista = (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b354/Venusy/Emoticons/emot-suicide.gif). I haven't even tried playing in months, what with the slowdown, and the lag).

/me is pushing up his RAM to his system's limit when Ebuyer decides to dispatch his order.

I would never try to play with 512.  On the other hand, with 1 GB I can run things just fine.  There is, admittedly, a bit of a crawl factor if I have more than 4 sims on a lot with a large house.  I don't play with a lot of trees.  Special events videos run fine (I turn them off 'cos they bore me - after 6 "first kisses", you've seen 'em all).


People certainly reported this.  I have never actually had the computer connected when playing, not even to register.  It has never "phoned home".  I have no lag issues.  Possibly coincidence, but...

I still want MOAR RAMS!

(http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w75/nilsschouten/redeyerammargaret.jpg)

512 is what my half-power PC is running on now. It handled special events and all EPs up to Petz fine. I just didn't trust it with Seasons, so I upgraded before I installed Seasons. Then, my other RAM stick blew up too, so I'm back to 512. I haven't been brave enough to try the Sims + Seasons with only 512.

Thankfully, I just need to get off my lazy butt and trudge over to Best Buy for my $35 RAM to get back up to snuff.

*rofl - jolrei can't breathe for laughing*

Perhaps I should have been more specific...

I do ;)  *is smug*

I hate you. And because no one loves me in the upgrade thread, can you upgrade processors? I have an Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs) But if I can get better, I want better, because I'm a spoiled brat who gets everything she wants (but has to pay for it herself). I'm coming out of laptop world, where upgradability is an urban myth. It's nice to be able to get new shinies without delving out $2000 for a whole new system.

Yes you can, providing you get one that is compatible with your mobo (check the socket compatibilty).

However I curse you because I am feeling inadequate with my 2 gig of RAM and am just browsing overclockers.co.uk for MOAR! :P

Zaz, as far as I know, you can has new processorz. The last time I upgraded one it was simply a matter of popping the old one off the motherboard and plugging the new one into it's place. There's probably more to it than that, but I wasn't the one who bought the thing, I was just the one doing the manual labor. :P

Maybe my computer's a freak or something. I have 512 MB of RAM and run all EPs and SPs without lag problems like the OP experienced. Sure I get lag sometimes, like when someone just got their brain munched and turned into a zombie, but that's not unusual. BV hotels seem to be the only thing it really has a hard time with. I also play with the crappy graphics card the came with this computer four years ago. *shrugs*

@Zazazu - A new processor and mobo together can be bought and installed reasonably easily (in a couple of hours) and for much less than $2K.  Then you just have to make sure your RAMZ and your video, sound, other cards work with your board.

Ya - probably easiest if you just upgrade the processor.  Match socket size.  If you have your board specs that will likely tell you what's compatible.

As for "more to do than popping out the old and popping in the new", there is a BIOS config setup step, but instructions for that should come with your new processor.

I built my own rig last year (first time - no real experience with that at the time) and the RTFM stuff included with the parts I bought were very good.  I cannibalized anything I could from my old rig (which is why I live with a 2x CD-burner). 

There are also "how to build your own PC" instructions on the intarwebs that are good.  These are the ones I used:
http://www.buildeasypc.com/
http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/

You actually sound (from posts) like you're more 'puter savvy than I am, so I can't imagine you'd have much trouble with this.

My old computer had 512 MB and it played TS2 just fine (granted that was back when Pets came out, and I had the swap file on a different hard drive).

Yeah, when I was being cheap, my game loved my 512 mb. I didn't have much CC then though. I got picky about my CC last year.

Only took three minutes on the loading times too.

I have only 768 RAM and whatever else my ATI 9700 throws in, and my cutscenes (or whatever it's called in SimLand) are present and accounted for. I'm looking at one right now. Shy sim, my great aunt fanny.

It stutter-lags only on occasions, when treasure digging stuff is found, or when suntan/burn is applied, etc.

I run it on the highest setting with only shadows and reflections turned off. I have 1.3 GB of CC, by the way.

Of course, I delete the .cache files and thumbnails every time before logging in, but that's about the only 'special' thing I do.

Why clear the cache and the thumbnails?

Doesn't that make loading the game slower? (And going through CAS more annoying?)

Meh. Bits and pieces. I'm good at figuring out programming due to learning BASIC when I was 8 (most of which I've forgotten). I know enough to be dangerous in COBOL, and I used to program games in this weird RPG maker program, which was sort of similar to C++ programming. I'm good at looking at things and breaking them down, then putting them back together. When I was four or five, my parents' easy way to amuse me was to give me something slightly complicated (like a lawnchair with the woven backs), a screw driver, and let me tear it apart and remake it. Now I'm more artsy, though I will randomly do home repairs and rewire lamps for kicks.

I forget exactly what Diva2 (my last laptop) had as specs. I know it was 512 mb RAM, the card was mid-to-low range, and it overheated like a polar bear in Argentina. I had Sims2 + Nightlife on it. In base-game, it was s-l-o-w. The Tests (first Sims1 family, first Sims2 family) had that house that apparently no one likes...the Maxis tiny cabin...as a starter, and it was just Chuck and Saish at that point. In the time it took them to walk down one flight of stairs and sit on the couch, I could go to the restroom. It took about 40 minutes for the game to load up. On Addison (current desktop) it took about 2 minutes before I crammed him full of content. The graphics were maxed by default. I seriously almost cried. I'd been second-guessing spending so much money on a comp (cheap am I) but at that moment, it was totally worth it. Total geek hard-on.

Uh, I play TS2 with all EPs including BV with 512 mb RAM with no problem. I have a 2.4 ghz intel celeron processor, an intel eXtreme onboard graphics card (yes, I am using a laptop. I know, my game simply shouldn't run, but she's sturdy and tough as nails so she manages). And I have just under a gig of CC. Sure, my load times are long but it's not that bad. I've heard some people talking about waiting 30 minutes or more to go from the desktop to the lot. I might wait about that long if I've just deleted all of my thumbnails.package files, but not typically. Obviously my computer is teh suck and a better computer would be better (duh), but have some consideration and respect for those of us who are less fortunate.  ;)

I've only got 640 mb RAM, all SPs and EPs, plenty of CC, and I can see the stupid movie things (they're turned off though, because they're annoying).  I do have another 512 that I'm waiting for hubby to install, and I'm pretty excited about it.  I'm going to send all of my sims to the mall at the same time.

You know the thing I've found that sucks up the most RAM is the UI transparency.  Turn that sucker off and it makes a huge difference. 

So does RAM have to do with loading times too?  If so, that's good news.  I'm waiting anywhere from 4-8 minutes between lots since BV.

This is all subjective. What one person would consider "running smooth as silk" because it's all they've ever know, another person would consider lag-city.

I've never heard the UI transparency thing before, that's a really great tip! Thanks for sharing. I'll try it out when I play tomorrow.

I believe that RAM impacts load times, particularly since my game's RAM usage spikes during load times. But I'm sure that processor speed and graphics card (well, I'm not sure if this counts as technically during the load time, but if you have a shitty graphics card you might get as much as about 10 seconds of black screen while the lot tries to display. On really big complicated lots I get the black screen for a second or two) are also relevant factors.

@ Jelendra: Yes, it does prolong the load times, but only the first loading of a lot in a neighborhood. I have to delete the thumbnails, because for some reason my computer believes that shaking things up a bit is entertainment. I have the oddest things happen in the catalog and in CAS if I don't do that. Go figure

@ Kat. That is basically very logical, but my daughter has a gaming computer that kicks serious butt. I installed the sims (not BV, and I don't have any StuffPacks.) just to see how big the difference was, and they run the same way as they do on my old coot. At any rate, if it were a pain in the ass to play TS2, I wouldn't play it. They don't move jerkily, no lag, other than what I said earlier, and the whole game loads in about 4 minutes. Not that I would mind getting a bit more RAM, but buying anything right now would be a waste of money.

Come to think of it, she doesn't need her other computer anymore, now does she? Her old computer has 1GB of RAM.... Now where did I put that screwdriver...

I thought I had finally dealt my old coot the death blow with BV because the audio weirdness, but it seems that this happens even on super computers. It happened on my daughter's computer as well. She did uninstall them after I did my checking upping (bad daughter, bad bad daughter :)). She is not interested in the sims at all. She's more of a WoW, turn-based RPG, Oblivion kind of gamer.

Edited: because I also want to thank Darcee for the tip. I never thought of that. Oh, and I also turn off the neighbors. I don't know how much it helps, but it has to help some. And in that way, Kat is most certainly right. I would love to have shadow, reflections, and neighbors, but that has to wait until next year.

(http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x121/britpoptarts/eweneedrams.jpg)

(http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x121/britpoptarts/ramzforewe.jpg)

@Jelenedra: Because the stupid game frequently corrupts those files, deleting them sometimes clears up gameplay oddities. But yes, it does slow down loadtime a bit, as all the thumbnails have to regen. If I recall correctly.

Yeah, I usually play with neighbors and decorations off. I didn't know about the UI  transparency gimmick though. I'mma hafta try that when I get my PC reformatted. I dunno how big a difference it makes, but I leave the shadows on a lower setting too. (I like having them, but I don't see a big difference most of the time between the lower setting and the higher one) It only seems to affect objects casting shadows rather than the lighting shadows.

UI transparancy on or off makes absolutely no difference looks-wise. Well, it does...for a tiny little strip of the UI that you wouldn't be trying to look through anyways. I didn't notice any performance boost by turning it off, but then I only have a bit of lag on one lot...and I've decided it's normal sunburn on/sunburn off lag.