Not trying to rush you, but I'm wondering how your mod is coming along. Can we get an update?

I've kind of turned that into a guessing game, when it'll be out. I'm trying to time it with my episode, which has been delayed until I'm actually happy with it. Fuck these "predetermined goals" and "deadlines", it has to be the best it can be. I'm sure you modding guys agree because between this, the Third Person Mod and gameplay overhauls like that new Job Overhaul mod, TS3 is probably having its best year since EA moved on to TS4.

I seriously was going to release an early version a few days ago, but after typing the instructions on how to do it, I decided that that version was way too slow. Like seriously, I was typing them up, and I realized, "Wow! This installation process sucks.".

So I'm going to fix that first.

Anyway, the code needs further optimizations to not make computers cry when asked to process Sims 3 files. Sims 4 files convert really fast as it's using a fast built-in library, but the Sims 3 conversion code takes AGES. Like you would not believe it.

I got all of The Sims 3 EPs on sale during the Steam Summer Sale, and the conversion time with all 11 EPS + BG turned out to be around 2-ish hours. Which is frankly unacceptable. I'm hoping I can rewrite the sims 3 conversion code.

The code, although multithreaded, still has functions that run 3 million(!) times for a regular 150 megs file.

So yeah, although I could release it right now, It needs to be less tedious and slow. A LOT less tedious and slow.

EDIT:

I managed to speed up conversion time for the previously mentioned 150 megs file from 95 seconds to 20 seconds! Turns out that it wasn't the code that was the problem, the default python interpreter really is just that slow. Switching to a different python interpreter yielded 5x speedups!

I've got a free afternoon come Wednesday, hit me up with that tool if you want. I'll do a whole video on it and hold off judgement till it's actually done
But yeah I totally get the ease of use thing. I spent quite a bit of time putting that shader preset of mine together, because I was writing out my installation guide and realized having to go through some dumb external tool kinda sucks. So I spent a few hours learning about Reshade works, and then changed all the code so that everything points inwards. The end result: no install process whatsoever. You drop a DLL and a folder in your Game/Bin/ folder and everything magically figures itself out when you launch the game. Had to give myself a good pat on the back for that one.

I'm free this whole month soooo We all want it even if it takes a day to make it work. But it's the best to wait for a fully functional, optimized release, makes things easier for OP.

Hey, where's the fun in waiting like every other sucker

This is the most excited I've been for something TS3 related in SO long.

Yeah, I'm already planning around it. Might be able to shoot everything in realtime now, with the same amount of Sims on screen, in 4k. While something off Guns 'n' Roses' Appetite for Destruction album is playing because I'm allowed to use that in my next episode. Shit, I know exactly what I'm going to do for that scene.

Welcome to Bridgeport we've got '80s fun and sims.

If you've got the money, honey, we've got your disease. Only I still need to find out how far I can take that bit before it starts being terribly out of place. I'm on the fence about how much of a shithole I want Bridgeport to be but there's places like Boroughsburg now, they're a little bit nasty and they totally get away with it. You know how in TS1, after having coffee Sims would jump up and down and whoop? I'm thinking I can do just about anything, provided it's stylized enough. Except genuinely nasty shit but then again, I've seen Miami Vice get away with some stuff and that was PG-13 all the way through.

I think it'd be pretty cool, if TS3 could be a little grittier without it clashing with the cartoony animations. Will have to abduct some Sims to do mad science on. And then a few to act as a mad control group. And then I'll publish my mad findings. Stuff like that still takes an age though with how slow the game is without this mod. It's just such a pain in the ass to keep starting and stopping the game.

EDIT: probably not allowed to show boobs in certain contexts, because Americans. So I guess I'll just have to break out into song the next time a Sim randomly takes her shirt off because the little fuckers just can't seem to help it sometimes. No kidding, it's happened a bunch of times already and I've usually had to crop the shot or whatever because I still needed the footage.

Heh, I like you.

First time creating a user interface, so people who have never heard of words like "command line" and "terminal" also get to enjoy the goodness of this tool.

Looks great, eh?

Core functionality is done at this point, although to be honest, I'm not 100% pleased with the speed of the program. If given the opportunity, I would definitely rewrite this in a faster language.

I'm currently working on some neat helper tools so you can easily copy the converted files back to the game directory.

Also, here's the previously mentioned horribly long and convoluted instructions that convinced me to create the helper program. (Don't worry, you won't be doing this!)

Those instructions actually aren't too bad. I understood most of it, at least xD

Yeah, but those are just the first few steps. The steps after these involve going into each folder manually and replacing the original files with the converted files, which is very tedious.

I'm so hyped for this I already reinstalled TS3 Good luck with the project.

Would this also reduce the likelihood of Error Code 12?

Unfortunately, this is what corporations and lawmakers have put us on course for, since the start of digital authentication for games.

But from a consumer point of view it shouldn't be the case, because it used to be different. And I am positive that it is still not the case in all countries for all games (games that rely on servers to run content are a different case). I expect that this will become an issue the moment a still popular game stops working because a big publisher stops the authentication server for it because they think its not cost effective anymore (for example they want to push sales of the next installment in that franchise more aggressively).

This is really important, because the moment that whatever you buy is not your actual property anymore, you have no say about how long you will be able to use that product and will be at the mercy of some company's financial strategy. And it doesnt even make sense that this can be the case for digital offline products, because in the case of materialistic products , courts already ruled against these kind of scenarios (like in EU where consumers are protected by law for warranty and fair expected use of products and against the skimpy warranty the companies aimed for).The digital products should be an extension of this. It should be yours as long as you want to.

Also TOS is not above local law. Companies are not law makers. And a lot of content in digital TOS is not being tested in court yet.

A game that you buy and for 100% install on your computer is not a 'service'. Not even if it require online authentication to prove that you actually own the game. And also not because Simon (CEO) says so. I am confident that this will become a big legal issue at some point for some product. Offline games should be tradable and 2nd hand sellable.

The way companies try to artificially limit the life of products (both material and digital) to maximize profit is very wasteful and anti consumer. It should be obvious that this should be fought.

EDIT : And to be on topic , I can't wait until these tools are released, simmythesim

The only problem I have with those instructions is, people might get confused as to what should be in the search bar.
Is it:
Delta
Delta\
Delta\*
or Delta\*.package
The answer is, I think, Deltabuild but some people will type the whole thing, including the *, which will yield no search results.
If you type in Delta rather than Deltabuild your search results will show files and folders. Only one (the files) is supposed to be copied, right?

Except it will, because Windows reads an asterisk as a placeholder for another string of text. ".package" will search for any file with the .package extension. "Delta\*.package" won't return any search results though, because there's no folder named Delta. There is a folder called DeltaPackages, however, but the .package files are all in subfolders of that folder. In fact, I can't get any syntax at all that searches for files matching the .package extension within a folder named "DeltaPackages" because it reads the entire query as one. It will search for files with the .package extension AND a name matching DeltaPackages, rather than files with the .package extension inside the folder named DeltaPackages. Even in the correct order, it'll come up blank.

Of course, searching ".package" within the The Sims 3\GameData\Shared\DeltaPackages folder solves this issue. But that seems kind of inefficient.

Hmm ok. I'll leave it up to simmythesim to do it how they want. The current instructions says Delta\*.package which I think should be modified. But I dunno, however.

I wouldn't be surprised if this varies per version of Windows and even per system language but on my end, "DeltaBuild_*.package" is what makes it find the right files and nothing else.

I've never been so hyped for a game mod ever. Checking this thread in nearly every half hour.

To be honest, I've been nervous in releasing the mod because of the immense hype that's been built. I should probably change the thread title to be something more like, "This mod speeds up reading package files. Might speed up performance, might not at all."

I've bought a new computer, and for the last few days, it was forcibly shutting down when I initiated the package conversion process. That isn't helpful when you're about to release the mod lol.

Anyway, core functionality is done, but the UI for the helper programs isn't done yet. That's a formal way of "this program might spontaneously combust if you look at it wrong", haha.

Jeez. Can you tell how nervous I am in releasing this tool? I feel like this is going to be a disappointment, after all speeding up wasn't the reason I even started this project. It was just a quick little program to test if I could process DBPF package files.

Don't worry. If it speeds up reading package files then it will be worthwhile

Please don't be nervous, you are not doing a homework. We are just excited because your tool gave us hope. Don't mind our hype, we are all just crazy simmers after all. I say "we" because I'm pretty sure everyone else here feels the same. The game's engine is just simply a mess, your method is all that's left for us. If it helps reducing the lag then yay we are happy, if it doesn't then you still have our gratitude and thanks - you did everything you could. If it's impossible to fix such a broken game then we have to deal with it.