Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 16th Sep 2019 at 10:39 PM
How many expansions is better to put on?
Good evening, I hope it's the right section, I wanted to post in the help section but I didn't succeed ...
I already have the basic game, pets, supernatural, seasons, Island Paradise, which I use through Origin.
I wanted to buy other expansions and / or stuff packs, but I don't know if my PC would hold up with everything, having already some expansions, I would like your opinion, given that many of you have them all.

I also have several mods and items bought from the store loaded.
I already have the basic game, pets, supernatural, seasons, Island Paradise, which I use through Origin.

I put the specs of my pc under spoiler.

Advertisement
Mad Poster
#2 Old 17th Sep 2019 at 7:28 AM
I am not sure anyone can answer that, but if I were you I would just add one at a time and see how it goes. If/when you start slowing down you will know you may be reaching your max for smooth gameplay.

How well does your game play now?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 17th Sep 2019 at 8:05 PM
Quote: Originally posted by daisylee
I am not sure anyone can answer that, but if I were you I would just add one at a time and see how it goes. If/when you start slowing down you will know you may be reaching your max for smooth gameplay.

How well does your game play now?

Hi, now that's fine, so I asked why I don't know what happens if I buy other expansions ...
I saw from your profile that you have them all, does your PC work?
Instructor
#4 Old 17th Sep 2019 at 9:21 PM
All I can speak on is from my experience (and I don't claim to be an expert by any means), but my computer appears to be similar to yours in terms of specs. I can't tell what exact graphics card you have, but at the least it has twice as much memory. I play my game with all EPs and SPs installed as well as a good number of mods (mostly NRaas) and pretty much all of the Store Content. I don't experience much of any lag at all. However, I also have all Story Progression off, memories disabled, and other households don't age/get promoted for any reason/etc. because I rotate households.

When I did have StoryProgession on, I used NRaas StoryProgession (which I believe is more intensive than the default EA one) and didn't have much of a lagging issue then, either, but I did run into Error 12 saving issues a lot (which apparently occur when your game exceeds the 32-bit 4gb RAM limit for even a moment). So that would require me to have to quit and go back to my most recent save.

I might one day finish my Zanes Hollow project, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Until then, you can see what I'm up to on my Simblr!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 18th Sep 2019 at 11:46 PM
Quote: Originally posted by PlyPlay665
All I can speak on is from my experience (and I don't claim to be an expert by any means), but my computer appears to be similar to yours in terms of specs. I can't tell what exact graphics card you have, but at the least it has twice as much memory. I play my game with all EPs and SPs installed as well as a good number of mods (mostly NRaas) and pretty much all of the Store Content. I don't experience much of any lag at all. However, I also have all Story Progression off, memories disabled, and other households don't age/get promoted for any reason/etc. because I rotate households.

When I did have StoryProgession on, I used NRaas StoryProgession (which I believe is more intensive than the default EA one) and didn't have much of a lagging issue then, either, but I did run into Error 12 saving issues a lot (which apparently occur when your game exceeds the 32-bit 4gb RAM limit for even a moment). So that would require me to have to quit and go back to my most recent save.

Hi, let's play in a similar way, I also play with the esps that I have all together, (pets, supernatural, seasons, Island Paradise,) and I have many mods (mainly NRaas) and I believe about half of the Store's content.
And I have disabled all progression history, disabled memories and other families do not age / are promoted for any reason / etc. because I also rotate families.

Thanks for your reply, so I buy some of the EPs that I miss, and I add some SPs, which I don't have yet.

My graphics card for games, (since my pc has two, integrated and switchable) should be the Radeon HD 8500M switchable
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 22nd Sep 2019 at 5:38 PM
Evening, but if I install an expansion from origin, and then I don't like it and I want to take only that it is possible?
Without creating damage to the bailouts and settings I had before installing that expansion?
Mad Poster
#7 Old 22nd Sep 2019 at 6:15 PM
Some of the EPs may be worse than others for perfomance, for instance Island Paradise which is known to cause slowdowns. Seasons could be another one because of weather. It's difficult to say how many EPs your ocmputer can handle, but if your game runs fine with these two installed, you may be fine with more EPs. You won't know until you've tried, though. Start with the ones you want the most.

Which settings you use can also have a say. Everything on high is more likely to cause slowdowns than more moderate settings. Same with CC - using a lot of CC (in particular items with high-poly meshes & large texture maps, or CC labeled HQ) may cause slowdowns, while using low-poly CC with smaller texture maps sparingly may not influence your game much. And anything in between. Store items would technically count as CC, but most of it is made to be relatively game friendly in regards to textures and meshes.
Mad Poster
#8 Old 22nd Sep 2019 at 7:20 PM
TBH, you already have most of the most-demanding EPs already installed:

- Pets,
- Supernatural
- Seasons
- Island Paradise

The only other intensive EP is probably Showtime.

Generations + Ambitions (and maybe University Life depending on your taste) are probably good packs to round out your game, all the stuff packs are avoidable, and there's probably only a few store sets I would try to get (i.e. the restaurant set which you'll need to use with Ani's mod).
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 22nd Sep 2019 at 11:07 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Some of the EPs may be worse than others for perfomance, for instance Island Paradise which is known to cause slowdowns. Seasons could be another one because of weather. It's difficult to say how many EPs your ocmputer can handle, but if your game runs fine with these two installed, you may be fine with more EPs. You won't know until you've tried, though. Start with the ones you want the most.

Which settings you use can also have a say. Everything on high is more likely to cause slowdowns than more moderate settings. Same with CC - using a lot of CC (in particular items with high-poly meshes & large texture maps, or CC labeled HQ) may cause slowdowns, while using low-poly CC with smaller texture maps sparingly may not influence your game much. And anything in between. Store items would technically count as CC, but most of it is made to be relatively game friendly in regards to textures and meshes.

Evening, thank you for the info: D
Island Paradise I saw that a little slows down, but only if I play on that world, at least it seems to me.

Stuff, maybe I was interested in one of the max, otherwise I bought a lot of items from the store, other CCs I downloaded 20 cars and a few other things, then I have some mods, and I only map those games I have + Riverview, Midnight Hollow and Sunlit Tides.

Thanks for the explanations on the various types of CC that can slow down, like maps, I didn't know.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#10 Old 22nd Sep 2019 at 11:23 PM
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
TBH, you already have most of the most-demanding EPs already installed:

- Pets,
- Supernatural
- Seasons
- Island Paradise

The only other intensive EP is probably Showtime.

Generations + Ambitions (and maybe University Life depending on your taste) are probably good packs to round out your game, all the stuff packs are avoidable, and there's probably only a few store sets I would try to get (i.e. the restaurant set which you'll need to use with Ani's mod).

Hi, for the expansions, given the options it offers, I thought that Showtim was an intensive EP, thanks for having confirmed it.
Generations, since I often change families of Sims (I almost never make many generations of a family), I didn't think of taking it;
I don't think I take University Life and Showtim, for the moment, they don't fit the way I play.
I was thinking of Ambitions that you suggested to me, as I really like motorcycles, SimBots, laundry and the new professions that Ambitions introduces;
Then I thought Late Night for the elevators, since I really like building, and Travel Adventures for travel;
But would Late Night and Travel Adventures, despite the many things they allow, be less intensive?
Mad Poster
#11 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 12:24 AM
I think that World Adventures and Late Night are only intensive in the worlds they include- Bridgeport because there's so much in it, while WA sort of inflates your filesize if you travel to all WA worlds.

It's just like Island Paradise- if you just use the items and not the worlds, it's not that intensive.
Alchemist
#12 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 6:42 AM
What a good thread!

I usually play with 6-7 expansion packs at a time, because when I play with all 11 the game gets slower and everytime I click a sim the game stops for like 0.4 seconds, which is really annoying when you click multiple sims. I play on super high graphics as well and can still maintain a good and fast flow in the game, so keeping it at 6-7 is a good compromize for me. I alternate between expansions but the ones installed (+ means it is always installed as a favorite). I just activate an expansion pack if I feel like I'm missing something from it.

Ambitions+
Late Night+
Generations+
Seasons+
Showtime
Island Paradise

I usually keep Pets uninstalled because I usually just never do much with the pets and they really lag the game with all strays that gets spawned (mostly horses!) and then have routing issues. Every damn time.

My specs:

Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.8 GHZ (8 CPUs)
8GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

But why is Showtime demanding?

what does his name even mean?
Mad Poster
#13 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 7:26 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ZenGarden

I usually keep Pets uninstalled because I usually just never do much with the pets and they really lag the game with all strays that gets spawned (mostly horses!) and then have routing issues. Every damn time.



I shut off all strays with Nraas.
Scholar
#14 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 8:16 AM
I say don't get stuff packs. There already are a ton of CC you can get plus the expansions have plenty of objects for me. As for expansions you can get them all imo, for island paradise I suggest you use a player made island world instead of the one that came with the EP. And keep stray animals turned off like daisylee does. As for seasons there's an Nraas mod tempest that lets you control the weather better.
You can also download a smaller world with fewer lots to play.

If you like my mods. Consider supporting me on Patreon
Check out my website for updates on my mods and other work PuddingFace.wixsite.com
Check out my Youtube channel for tutorials(modding tutorials) and other content Youtube

Follow me on Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tumblr
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#15 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 4:39 PM
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
I think that World Adventures and Late Night are only intensive in the worlds they include- Bridgeport because there's so much in it, while WA sort of inflates your filesize if you travel to all WA worlds.

It's just like Island Paradise- if you just use the items and not the worlds, it's not that intensive.

Hello, ok thanks for the info, I am interested in the objects in fact, so I could use them without problems;
Even Island, I use more objects than the world included.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#16 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 4:44 PM
Quote: Originally posted by ZenGarden
What a good thread!

I usually play with 6-7 expansion packs at a time, because when I play with all 11 the game gets slower and everytime I click a sim the game stops for like 0.4 seconds, which is really annoying when you click multiple sims. I play on super high graphics as well and can still maintain a good and fast flow in the game, so keeping it at 6-7 is a good compromize for me. I alternate between expansions but the ones installed (+ means it is always installed as a favorite). I just activate an expansion pack if I feel like I'm missing something from it.

Ambitions+
Late Night+
Generations+
Seasons+
Showtime
Island Paradise

I usually keep Pets uninstalled because I usually just never do much with the pets and they really lag the game with all strays that gets spawned (mostly horses!) and then have routing issues. Every damn time.

My specs:

Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.8 GHZ (8 CPUs)
8GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

But why is Showtime demanding?

Hi, thanks for the info, ah so here with 6-7 expansion packs the game runs well, that's what I'd like to get.
Pets, it also makes me slow down, but I play enough with animals, so I always keep it active.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#17 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 4:45 PM
Quote: Originally posted by daisylee
I shut off all strays with Nraas.

Hi, good advice tonight I do it too, especially the horses create many problems.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#18 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 4:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by PuddingFace
I say don't get stuff packs. There already are a ton of CC you can get plus the expansions have plenty of objects for me. As for expansions you can get them all imo, for island paradise I suggest you use a player made island world instead of the one that came with the EP. And keep stray animals turned off like daisylee does. As for seasons there's an Nraas mod tempest that lets you control the weather better.
You can also download a smaller world with fewer lots to play.

Hi, thanks for the advice;
In fact about the stuff packs you're right, I already have CC's and many things in the store.
To download the worlds, I didn't understand how to make them work after installing them;
By world of the island created by a player, do you mean this?
http://modthesims.info/d/514909/isl...2013-11-29.html

Regarding seasons, I didn't know about that Nraas mod that allows me to better control the weather, I'm looking for it tonight, thanks for the suggestion.
And the stray dogs will be blocked as Daisylee does.
Regarding the worlds, if I understand how to install them, maybe I will download a small one for when I have to build, so it will load
  faster.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#19 Old 23rd Sep 2019 at 5:36 PM
I forgot, pets can I travel with Travel Adventures?
Ambitions introduces the tattoo artist, I have a mod that adds tattoos to the game, it could create conflict and I have to take it off?
To put the new esp, Ambitions, Travel Adventures and Late Night from Origin, do I have to uninstall the ones I already have and put them back in order?
Putting new esp, do I have to remove the mods and CC while installing from Origin? Excuse the questions, but it's been a long time since I've added expansions and I can't remember how to do it ...
Alchemist
#20 Old 24th Sep 2019 at 7:42 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Zamira
Hi, thanks for the info, ah so here with 6-7 expansion packs the game runs well, that's what I'd like to get.
Pets, it also makes me slow down, but I play enough with animals, so I always keep it active.


Not to be a bitch, but for me 6-7 expansions works best. It's all individual and based on your own computer. Try adapting one expansion pack at a time and see where you think you draw the line as far as performance goes.

what does his name even mean?
Mad Poster
#21 Old 24th Sep 2019 at 8:28 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ZenGarden
It's all individual and based on your own computer. Try adapting one expansion pack at a time and see where you think you draw the line as far as performance goes.


That is what I said way back when so I totally agree. The only way to know how the game will play on anyone's rig is to try things little by little. How the game plays on one person's computer may not and probably will not match another player.
Inventor
#22 Old 24th Sep 2019 at 8:34 AM
Other than your GPU being fairly weak, your PC should be able to handle most if not ALL the EPs. If you can already run Seasons, Island Paradise and Pets without any issues, then the rest won't be a problem. What matters is not how many EPs you're running, but the SIZE and STATE of the world you're playing in. If you're playing in a large world (like most of EA's) with poor routing (like most of EA's), you'll encounter issues eventually no matter how powerful your PC is and even if you aren't running many EPs. The state is also important. A bloated save game with too many Sims, memories enabled, strays (especially horses), supernaturals, etc. will inevitably make your game lag.

Play in smaller worlds (the number of lots doesn't really matter, but the smaller the world, the less chances of Sims getting stuck due to bad routing) and keep your save game as clean as possible (disable strays as soon as your start the game, disable memories, make sure to delete the SNAP files inside your world file every 3 or 4 Sim weeks). Also get NRaas Overwatch and ErrorTrap.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#23 Old 24th Sep 2019 at 4:34 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Naus Allien
Other than your GPU being fairly weak, your PC should be able to handle most if not ALL the EPs. If you can already run Seasons, Island Paradise and Pets without any issues, then the rest won't be a problem. What matters is not how many EPs you're running, but the SIZE and STATE of the world you're playing in. If you're playing in a large world (like most of EA's) with poor routing (like most of EA's), you'll encounter issues eventually no matter how powerful your PC is and even if you aren't running many EPs. The state is also important. A bloated save game with too many Sims, memories enabled, strays (especially horses), supernaturals, etc. will inevitably make your game lag.

Play in smaller worlds (the number of lots doesn't really matter, but the smaller the world, the less chances of Sims getting stuck due to bad routing) and keep your save game as clean as possible (disable strays as soon as your start the game, disable memories, make sure to delete the SNAP files inside your world file every 3 or 4 Sim weeks). Also get NRaas Overwatch and ErrorTrap.

Thank you all for your help;
Ok I will avoid bloated rescues with too many Sims, enabled memories, strays (especially horses), supernatural memories, etc. keeping the rescue game as clean as possible;
I've already disabled strays and memories.
Looking at the SNAP files in my world file, where will I find them and how do I delete them?
And the smaller worlds that I can download here on the site, then how do they install themselves? I didn't understand how to make them work.
Ok discharge NRaas Overwatch and ErrorTrap, also need Traffic?
Is there a way or a program, to find out if I have mod or CC, that slow down the game?
Scholar
#24 Old 26th Sep 2019 at 10:02 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Zamira
Hi, thanks for the advice;
In fact about the stuff packs you're right, I already have CC's and many things in the store.
To download the worlds, I didn't understand how to make them work after installing them;
By world of the island created by a player, do you mean this?
http://modthesims.info/d/514909/isl...2013-11-29.html

Regarding seasons, I didn't know about that Nraas mod that allows me to better control the weather, I'm looking for it tonight, thanks for the suggestion.
And the stray dogs will be blocked as Daisylee does.
Regarding the worlds, if I understand how to install them, maybe I will download a small one for when I have to build, so it will load
  faster.


@Zamira http://modthesims.info/d/514909/isl...2013-11-29.html this will definitely help. But I meant like custom worlds created by players using the world creator tool.
This website for eg. http://sims3.thesimscatalog.com/sims3-category/worlds/ has a lot of worlds.

If you like my mods. Consider supporting me on Patreon
Check out my website for updates on my mods and other work PuddingFace.wixsite.com
Check out my Youtube channel for tutorials(modding tutorials) and other content Youtube

Follow me on Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tumblr
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#25 Old 26th Sep 2019 at 4:37 PM
Quote: Originally posted by PuddingFace
@Zamira http://modthesims.info/d/514909/isl...2013-11-29.html this will definitely help. But I meant like custom worlds created by players using the world creator tool.
This website for eg. http://sims3.thesimscatalog.com/sims3-category/worlds/ has a lot of worlds.

Hi, now I understand what you meant, but how do you install them? Do you put them and work like EA worlds?
Page 1 of 2
Back to top