Not comprehending the BV/SecuRom problem

[Zazazu]

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.

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.

[Invisigoth]

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. 

[pixiejuice]

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.

[KatEnigma]

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.

[Invisigoth]

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.

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.

[veilchen]

@ 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.

[Lorelei]

NEEDS MOAR RAMS.

@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.

[Jelenedra]

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.

[Zazazu]

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.