Game Help:Package File Lag

Package File Lag

Problem

After installing some/tons/any custom content in .package format, you experience one or more of the following:

• Slow load times - the game itself takes longer to load than before.
• Choppiness
• Slowdown
• Lag
• Low framerate
• Slow response time after you click on anything
• Time runs slower in-game
• Slowness in moving the camera around/scrolling
• Surprisingly poor performance despite having a computer that well exceeds the game's requirements

Cause

There is no general problem with package files - package files in general are perfectly safe to use. It is only specific files that have problems.

This issue usually happens after installing the version 1.7 patch (or later) for the base game, or after installing World Adventures. Something changed in the game's coding with how it reads files. Certain files have contents which the game does not expect and due to that change in coding, it gets caught up reading those files over and over endlessly (thousands of times per minute), which is the root cause of the lag associated with those files.

Reasons for individual package files having this issue include:

• Sims 2 Package Files: If a creator mislabels an upload, uploads the wrong file, or if you don't realize something you get is actually for Sims 2 rather than Sims 3, and end up with package files for Sims 2 in your Mods\Packages, you will likely have issues. Though both games use .package files, the actual file formats and contents are very different, so Sims 3 doesn't know what to do with Sims 2 files.

• Corrupted or Broken Files: Any files that are simply broken may cause lagging issues. Files can get broken in a variety of ways - disk error, copying issues, or it simply didn't transfer right when you downloaded it in the first place.

• Incorrect Data: S3OC, the tool used to make many custom content files for Sims 3, had an issue in its cloning process that would cause incorrect data to be written to the file. Before the patch/WA, the game didn't have problems reading the incorrect data. Any files made with S3OC before 13 Dec 2009 may cause this issue with lag, or certain objects can also cause the Sims 3 Blue Lots Issue.

Solution

The best way to fix this issue and to retain the custom content that you want to use is to identify the particular offending files and either remove them or fix them. As long as you're using Windows, Process Monitor is a quick, easy, and free way to do this.

Process Monitor

Process Monitor is a free program that will tell you which files your computer is accessing. This lets you easily see if it's reading the same files over and over.

Step 1 - Download Process Monitor: Download this file to your computer's Desktop: ProcessMonitor.zip

Step 2 - Download Filter: Download this file to your computer's Desktop too: Process Monitor Filter

Step 3 - Extract Files: Extract the contents of both zip files to your Desktop.

Step 4 - Run Reg Filter: Double click on the Sims3WA_ProcMon_Filter.reg file. This will install the filter you need to see just problem files. Say Yes when it asks if you want to install it to the registry.

Step 5 - Run Process Monitor: Double click on the ProcMon.exe file to run Process Monitor.

Step 6 - License/UAC: Agree to the license and, if you are on Vista or Windows 7, click through the User Account Control prompt to allow Process Monitor to run.

Step 7 - Filter: Click Cancel on the Filter window that comes up, and then click on the Filter menu > Load Filter > Sims 3/WA Filter

Step 8 - Run the Game: Run The Sims 3 and allow it to fully load.

Step 9 - Test in Live Mode: Open any existing lot with a family on it and play for several minutes in Live Mode. Just 2-3 minutes in Live Mode should be plenty to test.

Step 10 - Close the Game: Shut down The Sims 3. You don't need to save.

Step 11 - Examine Logs: In Process Monitor, scroll to the end of the list and start scrolling up from there. You'll be able to see the names of the files being accessed.

Step 8. Launch your game and go to a Lot. Play for a couple minutes at least.

Step 9. Close the game.

Step 10. Important: Scroll to the END of the list, then start scrolling up from there. You should see a lot of entries as in post #254.

Step 11. Post a screenshot of the Procmon window.

Optional:

If you see lots of entries that exist in the Mods\Packages folder, ie [b]not[/b] My Documents, try doing the following: Locate these files and move them (cut, dont copy) to the Desktop. Repeat steps 7 to 12.

I have created a filter that automatically sets up your ProcessMonitor to do the following:

- Only track TS3.exe and TS3EP01.exe - Only track .package files - Ignore FullBuild package files

This can be downloaded from http://www.delphster.net/0912010341...cMon_Filter.zip

Extract the file and run the .reg inside. Then, next time you open up Process Monitor the filter will be created for you.

(Note, I had to do it as a reg file becuase the "Export Filter" button is broken for me)

Also, to get a nice overview of how many file operations where performed on a single file or to see a list of the "top" accessed package files, you can do the following:

- Finish your TS3 2 minute playthrough with procmon *and* close the game down - Go back into ProcMon and click on Tools, File Summary - Click on the "By Extension" tab, and expand that out to see your Packages - Now in the right hand side you should see all the package files opened by the game during it's run. - Click the "Total Events" column to sort it by most accessed first (the higher number) - The files at the top of the list should have significant events, in the order of thousands or tens of thousands depending on how long you ran the game for

This is a good (and fairly easy) way to see which files are being accessed the most.

=OSX

For OS X users to figure out what the game is loading:

- Start the game - Cmd-tab out and open /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app - Select "The Sims 3", click the "Inspect" button at the top of the window, select "Open Files and Ports" in the panel that opens.

However, I don't see any packages or the resource.cfg being loaded, although I do see everything else (my CC is there and working, I also placed a few CC objects in game and painted walls with package content and so on). So, not sure if this method is inadequate or if loading stuff works different under OS X since it's running in a wrapper .. below is what my game has open right now, I see a temp file being loaded near the beginning, maybe that's how it gets the package content. Also, I haven't added anything new before starting the game just now.

I do not seem to have any problem CC though (my game has always been slightly laggy since I patched, and the lag is the same with and without CC as far as I can tell), so users who think they have reloading issues (or are just curious) might want to check if they see anything interesting going on.

Related Pages

• Sims 3 Blue Lots Issue
• Installing Sims 3 Package Files