How to fix conflicting mods?
forbiddenjoy:
I seem to be having a manic moment and don't mind sticking my neck out on the chopping block tonight. I rarely respond to posts anymore because the last time I did so was hours from having surgery and I did not have the time to search through a bunch of details that did me no good. However as it was pointed out to me that was my own stupidity.
I decided to add my details in case they help you with what you are searching for. I also feel the need to respond because I am one of those idiots with over 1000 downloads, and yet my system basically runs smoothly. I am not going to make major changes until the next expansion comes out. It has been my experience that with each expansion EA causes a lot more turmoil with all their mistakes, so I have decided to deal with any problems at that time all at once instead of tearing out my hair a little at a time trying to fix every little problem daily.
Even though I have many downloads - I only download from certain sources. I don't download just any file - I download for quality work. I am a detail fanatic, and each of my SIMs have a personality of their own. I don't like using the same files over and over again. I have collected many files to feed my desire for having unique SIMs.
I am running Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 and will do so until my software will no longer run on it. Maybe by then all the kinks will be worked out of the newer systems. My processor is a AMD Phenom II Quad Core - 3.00 gigahertz speed. My graphics card is a Radeon 4890 with 1 GB RAM. I have 4.00 GB of system RAM, I just noticed I have two empty slots for more ram but my husband is telling me I will have to upgrade my operating system to use it. I guess I know what I want for Christmas in the future at some point.
I have 860 files in my Mods folder and 1,495 files in my downloads folder. I have a few hacks - one changes the lighting and adds shadows that look more realistic. One makes the baby bottle a normal color and of course I have gotten rid of the censor blur and I have default skins. It bothers me more to see body parts that should be there that have been cut off; I have never been offended by realistic bodies.
Most of my downloads are patterns, clothing, hair, a few lots that I feel were exceptionally done. I do have a NoCD crack because I hate having to switch out my CD all the time. I prefer to keep it put away safely so it stays in good condition. I would love to know why EA has such a problem with that. I have also found that my system runs much more smoothly running the game in this manner. I just recently added a mod to get rid of the intro but as of yet I have not played the game to see if it works yet.
My husband built this system for me in April so I am still getting used to it. I had awesomemod on my previous system and it ran smoothly. However when I switched to this system I could not get awesomemod to work. My game crashes after seeing the SIMs 3 logo. I spent an entire day trying to fix the problem with no results so I gave up. I tried to add awesomemod to the game after installing it with nothing added and it still crashed. The only conclusion I came up with is that the mod must not like something in my new system. My game runs smoothly - it never lags even on huge lots. When I play it is for long periods of time, sometimes I will leave it on two full days and still no lagging. The only time I have had a little lag is when I make major changes building and that's after spending hours doing so. I have no lag on busy lots, I have parties with the maximum amount of guests with no problems. I'm very happy with how my system performs.
Problems I have had have been minor and as you have noticed in your own game seem to be from custom content and not the hacks. I downloaded a hair file that causes some trouble when the SIM ages. The hair sticks out of their stomach until I can get to a mirror and reset it. I decided to just live with resetting it because it's a hair that I really like. The other problem began just recently. It seems that a bathing suit that I added to the game has taken over the EA whole bathing suit. If the SIM has that in their collection of clothing it makes them nude when they wear it. It's not one of my favorite pieces of clothing, however it is a bit of a problem for my insane SIMs. I use the insane trait as the trait passed down for my legacy family. Some of those have this suit in their collection and because an insane SIM will wear whatever they want - whenever they want even if it's inappropriate this makes life for my SIMs rather interesting. My insane SIM will stroll around stark naked in some of the most inappropriate times. Again I decided to just deal with it because I don't feel like rummaging through my files to find out which one is guilty.
I'm not sure my experiences will be any help, but there it is.
tomomi:
Hi forbiddenjoy, thanks for replying.
I am sad to hear you can not run awesome mod on your new computer. I am not a huge fan of awesome mod because it is "too powerful". That is right, too powerful. It does so much for TS3 and it even pops up a little message asking me to update at TS3 loading screen. While I have nothing but admiration to those programmers who made Awesome mod and the like, I feel such core mod just messes too much with TS3, while TS3 itself is not anywhere close to being a stable game. However, awesome mod is truly awesome, it helps so much when I need it, especially loading with no CD, nuke inventory, Nuke in general (especially reserved for Repoman).
Your system can not even use up to 4Gb RAM because Windows XP can only see 3Gb RAM. Although in my mind it should be adequate for TS3. You said you run big lots smoothly, by that you mean how big? If you have a spare time, would you be able to choose a few "castles" from MTS at 60x60 size and put 2-3 sims in there, is it going to be smooth for you? For my system, 40x40 is all I can handle. My only real big lot is the EA default central park. Nothing else is bearable as it is a slideshow instead of a game. True I refuse to lower the graphic details on sims, objects, but I feel with my computer spec, I should not have to yield to TS3. Besides, switching graphic setting in and out all the time is quite a hassle. So I just don't play 60x60 altogether. Ack, sorry, went off topic.
Regarding cosmic problem like hair sticking out from stomach like you describe, I can totally deal with that. Although, I have similar issues: sometimes objects, or even sims, start to lose texture but instead replaced with 1 color mesh. Example: a sim with all blue skin (except the head). It is an indication that the object is corrupted, I have to get rid of it somehow before saving, or even a save will result in Error 13. But it usually happens during long time play and I can fault it with corrupted memory issues.
Forbiddenjoy, thanks for the input. I am envious of your ability to play smoothly. Let me know if you are just as smooth on 60x60 lots as well. And for awesome mod, I suggest, beside updating with latest mod, you should try the awesome config and eliminate some "junk" settings in there. For starter, disable autosave. Then, use Indie Compatibility program to search out other "Core" mods and remove it. Indie Checker gives a lot of false alarm. Don't get freaked out if you have 2000 conflicts. I just use it to find Core and Tuning mods.
forbiddenjoy:
Quote
Your system can not even use up to 4Gb RAM because Windows XP can only see 3Gb RAM. Although in my mind it should be adequate for TS3.
When I told my husband I see two empty slots in here, he said, "It will hold more RAM but it will be just be sitting there doing nothing." What I meant by future Christmas present is when I'm ready to upgrade to a newer operating system I want a BIG FAT RAM to go with it.
About trying out the 60 x 60 lot - I will check and see what I have loaded already. If I don't have something that size I will hunt one down and try it out. My preference is the medium sized lots. I have been playing on the huge lot for my legacy family and the house has gotten rather huge. Bigger than I really like, not because it plays badly but because by the time the SIM walks from one edge of the lot to the other they are hungry and have to shower and pee again and then after they shower they want to go to bed. It just seems like the big lots are more work than they are worth. If they are pregnant you might as well forget it. I sometimes feel like building a pregnancy room with just bathroom plumbing, a bed and a fridge and letting her live in there until she has the baby.
I'm not certain when I will get to this because I have had a lot going on in my family at the moment. Two deaths in the family in one week and one of them was my 16 year old niece. She has fought Cystic Fibrosis all her life. It's just been a rough time right now.
I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly about the hair file. Do you think my file may have gotten corrupted? If that's the case I might try to download the file again and replace it, but as I said I can fix the problem. Although it's annoying I can deal with that. As for awesomemod - I tried using the method to cut out the things I don't need but still it crashed on me. The other program the Indie one - I see no difference when I have it in my game so I left it out. I did use the tool to check for conflicts. The few that it listed didn't cause any problems so I just ignored them because I wanted both files.
I will get back to you when I get a chance to play the 60 x 60 lot unless my legacy lot counts. Right now there are 8 people living on it and two ghosts. They have parties all the time with the maximum number of guests. I get a very small amount of lag if several things happen at once - such as the maid showing up as the husband gets a raise while his wife is giving birth to triplets and the school bus just showed up to take the older kids to school. But the amount of lag is just a few moments - it doesn't bother me. The game loads up and shuts down quickly and the CAS screen comes up quickly when I want to plan their clothing or change their appearance. I'm basically a happy camper.
I was curious about why the game seems to not like to get along with certain files myself. It seems like every computer handles the game differently.
forbiddenjoy:
I did find a few 60x60 lots that I liked this morning - when I get a chance I will play them and let you know how they worked.
nanacake:
Quote from: tomomi on 2009 September 27, 07:37:16
The word "mod" is somewhat a generic term, it describes anything that is not made by EA. Let me know if a better word to use if you disagree with me calling them "mods". You made it sound more serious than it should. I am sure most MTS designers tested before they uploaded. But more importantly, most serious TS3 players would play with more than just 2 mods in their folders, don't you agree?
Yes, and no for MTS downloads. Do not assume because it comes from MTS that it has been tested thoroughly; it varies from creator. I have downloaded things completely broken from MTS and had to go back to report to the creator. Then a creator had told me they did not intend on fixing their download right away so they removed it to abstain any effort. This creator continued to post new sets that also had the same texture, or broken meshes without taking any advice. This is very frustrating so I would not download from creators like this. But there are some amazing creators who constantly put quality work from MTS. I do frequently visit their page. It's a great site for keeping free content and help guides. The moderation process is not perfect. The use of the word mods as all in one was confusing in your questions, I don't understand how I made anything sound serious but it is irrelevant.
Quote from: tomomi on 2009 September 27, 07:37:16
It does affect initial load time, but once the game is running, its performance more or less contributed by what you put on the lot.
This is not always true for patterns. Custom patterns can worsen the memory leak problems in CAST mode on some systems.
Opening CAST and trying to change category/pattern colors becomes incredibly unresponsive and slow. Question marked tiles may show as a replace for broken or not loading patterns, errors in graphics can occur in CAS (skin/eye textures plastering to a body) and a system restart will be needed to fix the problem. Corrupted LOD files from hair meshes on sims within zoomed out camera view can crash the client, or hurt performance with incredibly bloated meshes see this thread about that.
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