More Awesome Than You!

omg, so thanks to the help of many others, i finally got the awesome mod to work with my game, but what do i come to find, that my game is slow as a freaking snail in a pile of my poo! i thought it was possibly graphics, so i turned them all to low, now it was about as slow as a turtle with arthritis! (for the sake of my abscure references, we will say that the turtle is slightly faster than the snail in poo).

yikes, its terribad! i tried to make new sims of me and my girl and about in the time it took me to make those first two sims, i was only in the everyday clothes for the first one this time! it took an approximate 30 seconds for each little menu to load, as opposed to before when it was approx. in 2-3 seconds. (these times im using are not accurate, i did not use a stopwatch to time how it was before and after, but the point is that the loading time of each menu seems to be nearly 5 times longer than what it used to be)

is there a reason for this apparently sudden slowdown? is there specific items i can turn off with the awesomemod config that will pump it up a bit? help would be extremely appreciated, i just want to play my sims 3 today! im sick of having to deal with the bs, i just wanna plaaaayyyy.

(http://cats.moreawesomethanyou.com/moarinternets.jpg)

I don't have any slowdown with awesomemod when editing in mirror, dresser, or CAS. They just load right up! Do you have a bunch of custom skins, clothes, or hairs that are clogging everything up (that shouldn't slow down menus though).

My savegames do load slower but I think that's because more people move into the neighborhood.

Maybe another mod is incompatible?

Maybe you should post your computer specs because maybe the computer isn't tip top.

no, i do not have a bunch other clothes mods, i only have one clothing piece, and a skin tone mod. the game is also much slower during load, and game actions, not just editing. i know my computer is not tip top in any way shape or form, but i rarely had any lag other than the occasion item showup lag when countinuelly jumping around the city, now my game will pass nearly every other second when my sims are merely walking around the house. to J.M., very cute, but not helpful at all, and internet has nothing to do with this, its more like "i need moar user friendly mods"

J.M. created AM to be quite user friendly by supplying the online Config file and Manual in lengthy detail for new users to read MOAR and study. JamesNine asked for your comp specs in an effort to help you further with your continuing problems with AM. Instead of MOAR complaining, you need to provide what is asked of you so that others can help you here.

Also watch your capitalization, punctuation, spelling and grammar.

Must I really watch my grammar?  I figured this was a normal forum atmosphere, now I knew that you guys were not ones for such "leet" speaking and such, but I figured you would still be lax on extreme proper grammar and the such, after all it's the internet not school. Yet, if the community are sticklers about that here, I will abide by such seeing as how this seems to be the most active and helpful forum I have come across yet.

  Now, I did not complain more, I answered the questions concerning if I had other skins, clothes, hairs, or the likes as if that would be making my game quiet slothish.  As for my last sentence, that was clearing a response back to J.M. in his comment, which was irrelevant, so I was making an irrelevant message back.  I know that he was the creator of the mod, I thank him for such, and I meant no insult, but I still stick by my comment in that I see more threads of issues rather than praise, but that is clearly aside the point at the moment.

  Although I did not formely answer JamesNine by listing out every inch of my machine because honestly, I do not know what exactly he expects, since you will find various different definitions of what a user wants when they ask for "system specs" across the internet, and because hell, I don't even exactly know how to find all of my system specs.  So if someone would like to step me through the process of finding what it is that you want on a Vista 32-bit, then be my friend, and I will answer.  What I did do, is answer his question informaly, by stating that although it is not of tip-top state, that it played The Sims 3 perfectly smooth on an average of medium settings across the board, and now after installation of the AM, it's slow as hell on low settings across the board.  So, as can be slightly assumed by that, my computer's ability to load the graphics involved with the game does not seem to be the problem, as it is just as laggy with lower settings as it is with high.  I deducted that it must be something concerning the files that I have put into my game folder's with the AM that has caused this, such as the perhaps excess of different items, i.e. Supreme Commander, the story mode thing, and the such, the was making my game run slower since it was not used to processing all of those extra things.

 And Silver, I do not know why you insisted on continuely caps locking MOAR, because if you noticed I'm not an idiot, and the reason I spelt it MOAR was because that was how it was spelt in J.M.'s posting.

If we ask for specs, we want specs. Processor, ram, video card. Did you create the framework properly? Are you using framework from Pescado or Delphy and not someone like Rose/Peggy's? If you remove awesomemod & the config file, does your game return to regular speeds?
In short: MOAR information pls.

Wow, everyone is just loving the MOAR aren't they? Comments will be kept to myself but boy are the comments flowing.

The framework I am using is from Delphy. End question.

My processors are two Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2200 @2.20GHz. End question.

My graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT. End question. (I'm hopefulling going to get a new one for Christmas, I can't stand this crapstack anymore.)

As for my ram, I do not know, if you would be abliged to tell me where to find out, I would be happy to suit you with the answer. If you would just like to keep asking me for my ram after the statements of me not knowing how to find out (luckily I dwelled into my control panel and was able to figure out the above specs), then you can go by the guestimate that it is whatever is standard for a ACPI x86-based PC. Question still open.

As for the config files, I will test that out as soon as my game finishes saving, seeing as how I was going to get rid of the autosave anyway.  My save game command was already slow enough for me to be able to get up from the computer to use the restroom, get a drink, and get back with time to still watch the crystals float around, so that happening every twenty minutes was a fail choice on my behalf.  I will report back as soon as I test out the package removal. Question still open.

Edit: As I foolishly forgot, I cannot take out the awesomemod package files and play the game, for I need the awesomemods cd bypass to play the game with the 1.46 patch, otherwise my game glitches out unless I use a patch of 1.27 or less, and of course it is known that AM needs at least a patch of 1.3 or higher. So that, is out of the question.  But, it can be deducted that the lag is either caused by the AM, or by the patch then I guess? More help required please...

Go to your Start button, left click on it and then click on the Run... icon, you will see a window, Open: type in "dxdiag" without the quotes and you should see on the first menu the specs for your RAM.

Thank you SilverOne, my Ram is 3070MB

(http://cats.moreawesomethanyou.com/inadequate.jpg)

Lol, I see you quite like kittens there huh.  Inadequate for what praytell?  For the game? For your mod? Because my computer seemed to be handling the base game quite well.

Unlikely. If your game is suddenly operating very slowly, before you're accessing anything computational at all, your computer was never adequate and the growth of your neighborhood and explosion of content has likely brought it down to its knees. The computer you're using is not really very good and you NEED MOAR COMPUTAR.

I know the computer I'm using isn't the best, but it works. I do not have to money to get a new one, and even if I did, it's not at the top of my list of things I need.  I'm fairly positive I would be the one to know if my game was running fine before, and it was.  The recommended settings were all on medium, and the game ran smooth as my groin...well...probably a day or two after I shaved it.  Of course I would love it to run as smooth as a freshly shaved pubic region, but as you said, my computers not that good.  But it still ran it as good as I needed it, that's for sure.

EDIT: By the way, I checked the game's requirments, and as I stated, all standards are met.

I was playing on a mac laptop up until recently. Once AwesomeStory really got going the lag was too much to bear. I put all the graphics settings down, and like you, saw a minuscule improvement. So in a way way, it *is* AM that's doing it: my game ran fine when it was the crappy, nothing going on, town soon-to-be extinct pre-AwesomeStory version because that scenario didn't tax the mac's resources by creating story events and especially by increasing the population. The bottom line for me is that the mac can't handle that sort of thing but the game is unplayable without AM... it was just starting to get interesting, too. Sigh. So I'm back on my pc--and that game crashes about every 90 to 180 minutes. No idea why. So the autosave feature is very good on that one.

Meeting the base game's minimum standards is not the same as meeting the minimum standards for running non-suckily, especially since the calculations used by AwesomeMod are more computationally intensive. If you want to play below-spec, you'll probably have to deactivate most of the Story Mode sanity checks, or turn off Story Progression entirely, as calculating logical behaviors is more expensive than random, idiotic shit, or nothing at all. Alternatively, depopulating your neighborhood is a good way to reduce the load. Just because you can meet minimum spec doesn't mean it won't run like shit. It's not some magical switch that happens the moment you pass the line.

The (graphical) settings don't affect the CPU load.

Are these the same requirements which suggest TS3 could be played with an archaic 2GHz single core CPU? Where have you been the last couple of years that you don't know the minimum requirements are just outright lies?

Well see, this is what I asked of what my computer was not good enough for. And you answered my question indirectly, it is not powerful enough for your mod.  I can play the game itself fine, but it is all the extra content that comes with your mod that makes it slow.  Well, as of now, I have decreased the lag an extraordinary amount, I guess we will have to see how it goes once the story progression gets deeper as pheonixflying said.

The extra content can be easily turned off, although then you expose the underlying awfulness of the original system that was replaced. But your computer really isn't adequate for that, either, and turning off Story Progression entirely is probably your best bet for reducing load.

Alright, so we have identified the problem, we discovered the reasoning of the problem, and we have offered multiple solutions for fixing the problem, all of which I gratefully thank the users who have posted in this thread.  For now, I will probably have to take the low route, of disabling most, if not all of the story mode progression, but like I said, I would like this to be only for now.  As I have mentioned before, I have been in the market for a pump-up for my computer, not only for this game, and not only for games alone, but for a multi-tude of reasons, but as I have also stated, my finacial situation is...tight to say the very least lol.  But, with the holiday season coming up, and the hopefullness of becoming employed, and having money left from my....fees that I must take care off, what would you suggest as being an adequate processor to use? Would a possible Pentium E5300 or E6300 be suitable? Or should I just say fuck Pentium and try for Intel Core? Which would most likely end up coming down to Core2 E7500?  Also, what would you suggest for a good, cheap video card? As I said, I have NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, and I was thinking of replacing this before anything else, but now looking around I would say that the processor would be the better first choice.  

EDIT: Ooooohhhh I actually just found some Intel Core 2 E7400 for a pretty good price. Anyone know if this is a solid choice? Anyone have this? I'm just looking for a sort of user review.

If you are trying to do it on the cheap, check out what is the max processor your mb can handle. Even better if it is a reasonably new socket type for further upgradability. I'm using an old AMD AM2 socket, but my mb will take newer AM2s and AM3s. As for video cards, I'm quite pleased with my Nvidia GTS250 1gb. Things are pretty, and it was AUD $170.
Edit: Can't say I've done much with core2, all the recent work I've done building kit is quadcore.

Thanks Skadi, lol I feel ashamed to ask, but I'm rather tired and out of it, but how would I check to see what the maximum processor my motherboard could handle? lol.

@blackninja: Since the cache on your E2200 is cut back to a point where it really hurts, an E7400 might be up to twice as fast - 1.5 times as fast at the very least. If the lag right now is really so unbearable, this won't change your game perfomance into a fairy tale of smoothness though. There might be something else jamming the gearwheels.

Check the mark and name of your mainboard, and then look up the CPU support list on the manufacturer's web site.

It's hard to tell what you would consider a "cheap" video card, but I'd suggest a ATI Radeon HD5750. At any rate you'll have to check if your power supply is capable to fuel a new CPU and a new video card.

TS3 is not really cutting-edge graphics and likely will not require a graphics card upgrade, given that it is reported to run at 500 fps on newer cards to the point where they simply catch fire. Your problem appears to be CPU-bounded. An E7400 should be a reasonable-spec system that exceeds one of my test systems I test on, so it should be "enough"...until the expansions start, anyway.

A Geforce 6600GT usually has only 128MB VRAM, and I doubt this is enough for TS3. And a video card isn't allowed to overheat no matter what. If it does, it's just crap.

Well the graphics card wouldn't really be for TS3, it would be for more along the lines of my Fallout 3 and Mass Effect, as well as whatever new might come out.  I think the E7400 seems to be a fairly reasonable choice, from what I've seen from reviews there isn't much bad about it except for when trying to overclock it, but I have no intentions for that.  To Buzzler, I stated that I was able to tone down the lag to a bit of stutter every now and then when doing certain activities or in build mode, but it's no where as near as bad as it was at first. Although, this is just at the begining of the Story Progression with AM, which I have yet to turn off, since I have mainly just been redesigning right now.

Yeah, well, lots of video cards are, in fact, crap. So how does this represent a defense? The fact of the matter is that it happens and I have written code to specifically address this point. Clearly, the problem is not too little video card, but too much.

If the problem is occurring in BUILD MODE, then it is NOT due to AwesomeMod and is definitely due to shortcomings in your computer, because nearly all mod-related things are inactive when build mode is on.

Ooooh, ok, well thank you for that info. That is a definite probability then. It only really occurs when I use the eyedrop tool and then quickly try to paint a large room or outside of my house.  But the in game lag is far more subtle now, although it's not like I still wouldn't love giving my computer the boost it sincerely needs.

Sorry, I'm an ignoramus. So what you're saying is that it's bad to have a really good graphics card? I know it's bad to have one part of a computer be really high end and other parts low end, as the low end parts can't support the high end parts. Like having a really great motor in your car and weak transmission. Is that why? Or is there something else going on with high end graphics cards?

I'm very interested in this sort of question as I plan to upgrade my computer in the coming months and would like to do it right if at all possible.

My specs, copied from the manual that came with my ABS computer:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13Hz
NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GT
SigmaTel Audio
Total Physical Memory 2.00GB
Total Pagefile Memory 3.85 GB
Hard Disk Drive 1/1
Capacity 298.09 GB

Can anyone recommend how best to upgrade? I'd really appreciate it.

I run Windows XP.

I'm saying there are issues with good graphics cards in TS3 that are not present if you have a mediocre-spec one. TS3 seems to like to drive graphics cards at totally unnecessary speeds, and many graphics card are not designed to unnecessarily worked like that, as they have heat dissipation that is not sufficient to cope with being driven at 100% for hours of simming...and driving them at 100% is totally unnecessary, to boot. A crappier graphics card would be maxed out as well, but older graphics cards are less powerful and therefore have less ability to convert energy to heat.

For those with questions about video cards: My machine is a good example.
Originally I had a ATI 9550 - 128mb. Ran fine on med/low settings, could play for hours without a single issue. I was given a ATI 9800 series, 512mb. Game looked beautiful, on med/high settings, but then I noticed my system would get unstable and crash. Temp monitors showed my card hitting the high 80'c range, and then the system would reboot. Sometimes it would lock out the video card until it cooled. Thinking that the card had died, I went and bought the earlier mentioned Nvidia GTS250 -1GB. Game was even more pretty. Card would get to 79'c and I could smell a burning smell. The heat sink on this bitch is huge, like 2" thick of fins and copper pipes and a fan plus I have fans pushing air right over it. Set up a fps monitor and realised I was getting 3000+ fps while the game was loading. [That stupid plumbbob screen] I would get ingame fps from 100+ to 1500+. Using 3booter and the fps plugin, I get a happy 30fps, everything is pretty, and my card never gets over 60'c unless it's a hot day. The only time I get abnormal spikes in heat is when using the launcher, as that shows 1500 - 3000+ fps.

Before you blame the card - Crysis runs lovely with vsync on, and keeps it below 60'c. EAxis fucked up.

Thanks, I understand!
So maybe I shouldn't upgrade my card, then. What's the best scenario for upgrading my computer, the processor? Several parts?

Edit: @Skadi, It sounds like the reason my game crashes may be due to my card overheating? That is... sucky.
Is there a good fan control program out there for desktop pcs like the one I dl'ed for my mac laptop (SMC fan control)? I googled and came up with "Speedfan," but I would like a recommendation, as I don't want to dl a POS.

I have an Nvidia Geforce 9400 GT 1Gb DDR2. It overheated, I think. It made a whirring motor noise that was incredibly annoying and when I took it out it was very warm so I put the old one back in. The company is replacing this one as it was only 3 months old. Could you explain what you mean by "using 3booter and the fps plugin" for a not so technical player? I'd like to prevent the problem from occuring again. Thanks.

Check out this thread (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,15585.0.html), first and second posts contain the two downloads, instructions for use and useful informations.

Nvidia card users can also run EVGA to adjust their fan speed. I use it to put the fan at max, and use JM's 3 booter and fps plugin to keep things sweet. There is also a thread floating around of a standalone fps limiter here on MATY, but it wouldn't play nice for me, and the 3booter was easier.

It's really the same FPS-limiter, but 3booter loads it up in a way that is simple for the peasants, and gets rid of the floaty black window after it has served its purpose.

I just need a clarification. I just dl'ed 3booter and the FPSlimiter. So now when I want to play TS3, I double-click 3booter in the root install directory, where I extracted it? And it automatically runs FPSlimiter?

Right. In fact, you can just replace your startup shortcut with a link to that, and it will work.

Sorry if this is obvious and has already been stated--searches turned up nothing--but a while back I read some of the threads concerning fps-limiter and noticed several people complaining about the big green numbers. I thought it might be helpful to know that they can be toggled by pressing F10.