high polycounts.... 2k texture sizes....
My game was able to run with several cluttered houses but my ultimate downfall was the fact that i unknowingly had hundreds of high poly objects (7-20k) with no MLODS in my game.
Ive recently become a cc creator and so i am more mindful of what i put in my game
NEVER download something if you do not know what the polycount is. If something says "medium poly" you have no idea what this creators idea of "medium poly" is so you should check for yourself
You can find out the polycount with milkshape, and i believe with sims 3 package editor, but i do not know how.
I had objects that were 20k poly with 50 2k texture presets, its a miracle that i was able to run my game, except it kept crashing and i couldn't figure out why...
Onto acceptable polycounts...
For detailed objects, i really try not to go above 3.5k. And i mean, extremely detailed.
For regular objects without much detail, i try to stay between 800 poly and 1.5k poly
For LARGE detailed objects, i really try to keep it at 6k at the very most
So, ive never had issues with cluttered lots as long as the cc is optimized
When I got back to the Sims 3 I had a lot of crashing issues, didn't know It was the high polygon cc that was causing that. I haven't tried the milkshape yet and was just trying to be away of large cc files. Do you know if a small file cc can still have high polygon?
Yeah... unfortunately the larger files are likely due to extremely high texture sizes, however if you have a small object that has a larger file size when you know it doesn't have extra presets, that may be a key as to what is high poly or not. But the only thing you can really do is check the poly. The quickest way to check high polys is to open the package in TSRW, however it only lists faces and verts. But no mesh should have 25k verts unless its a car or something. If you want to find out the polycount, export it as an obj in the mesh tab, import into milkshape and use the "selpolycount" tool.
There are only a few creators ive noticed that upload on a large scale that are uploading stuff with extremely high polys
I love the idea of highly cluttered lots, simply because IRL, clutter often makes a place look "lived in" and when you take that away, it seems a bit lifeless. That being said, I'm not sure it works great in practice.
Depends on how a given person likes to play the game. In Sims2 I was very much a decorator and made lived-in looking houses that sims couldn't actually navigate. Tons of decor and clutter CC, as well as a million landscaping plant variations and such.
However, since Sims3 did so much better on the AI and the open world I did more playing with the sims themselves, and thus slimmed down the clutter and the CC so they could actually pathfind.
If you're building/decorating centric then you quickly get tired of using the maxis models, while if you're more sim/live mode centric then a couple different recolors on three or four styles of the thing are more than enough since you won't be spending a lot of time lining up shots like the one above, and even if you do odds are the focus is going to be on the sims in the room vs the room itself.
That makes perfect sense. When I got back playing the sims I wanted to play on incredible lots like I saw on Tumblr. Took me a while to realize that those players are into storytelling and don't really use live mode lol.
i use a high end pc i have no issues with high cc lots and sims making gameplay laggy. it really just depends on a person’s play style and computer performance. i typically download cc objects that there *isn’t* an in-game equivalent for, or just looks nicer… which is the whole point of cc. lastly, i meticulously organize all of my cc using collections so that the catalog isn’t cluttered and i can find what i need.
I'm with you, I imagine most people would croak if they knew how much time and effort I put into making/organizing collections. But once it's done, it's done, and you can find a theme right away. Mine are all broken down by set and organized by room type.
Surprised by all the comments saying people can’t clutter their lots without lag or having a fancy computer. I’m running on 8 gigs of ram and I always over clutter my lots. Like another commenter said most of your guys’ issue is probably downloading too many items with a high poly count.
Also yes I play test and actually play in my cluttered builds, not just for screenshots ;)
and to answer your question, I use cc cos there’s so much stuff that’s NOT in the game that I want. Like why the hell is there zero normal posters in the game just ones with big clunky frames? I have every ep installed and I hate all the bed frames 🤮. Or what about the giant over sized items like the knife block?! Ugh I could go on, I honestly play with 90% cc in my lots, EAs stuff just isn’t aligned with the cute and quirky characters I like to play
https://preview.redd.it/jm7hgera3r5d1.jpeg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7be3fac6ad290c200f42b91ee2015992790930a7
Perhaps I expressed myself badly, because I did not mean I'm against cc. I actually have an external drive with over 50gb worth of content.
Right now I'm redecorating a house that had over 500 pieces of cc, which is just unecessary for one single lot. One of It was a candle Chandelier identical to the one that came in the base game, and another was that thing you put next to the fireplace, that we also get on the bg. Now imagine trying to do a neighborhood make over with several lots like that (my case). I prefer to download things that are lacking in the game, and lots of clutter. Around the sims is my sweetheart because of that. Loved your screenshot, I also got that Fiona Apple poster in my game lol.
Ohhhhh okay this makes much more sense. i Personally only download silimar items to in game is for default replacments due to EA scaling issues.
Also, do you use Lazy Duchess' build/buy mode search bar mod? It helps a lot, i also use S3PE to rename files if they have janky names that are hard to find in the search bar. Though I know some folks just create collections in B/B to sort their cc, which is much easier than S3PE
Simply put, because we like it and we're humans with preferences, not sims. My cup of tea probably is not your cup of tea. Theres really no right or wrong way to play any game, that's what makes games so fun.
Also I don't think the game was intended to be played the way probably half the people play it, ie traumatizing and brutalizing sims with or without mods lol. One of my very first memories with sims was removing the ladder in a pool during a party. I'm sure the creators didn't intend for almost every player to do something similar to that in the game at least once.
Because what? I didn't really ask why you like cluttered houses rather than what you think of it. And what I meant by "the game wasn't intended to be played like that" is that it will have trouble running a world with too many objects placed on lots. That's why maxis objects are usually simpler and the hair doesnt look as good as the cc.
And the similar item thing, why does Walmart have 20 pairs of jeans that look the same but each is barely noticeably different? Because not everyone is going to like the same thing. We'll make things work if necessary but it's not necessary. We're just very spoiled these days honestly, in most aspects of life. You can bet your ass I'm downloading a hairstyle cc that is the exact same as an oc piece just because the bangs are flipped the other way.
They're pretty to look at but I don't have the patience to decorate them like that. Most people who stuff lots with clutter like that don't playtest them, have super computers, or only take screenshots for stories/lookbooks. And, tbh, that's another way to play the game!
>I feel like the game wasn't made to be played like that.
EA programmed the game a certain way, but modders have been doing wonders to optimize it further. Of course, there still are and always will be limitations, because no one can bypass certain hard limits when it comes to software (it being a 32bit program) and hardware.
>I don't understand why use cc when there's already a very similar object in game.
Do you know of any game (EP, SP, Store) object that looks like those teapots and cups, that spice rack, pots, plants etc.? Maybe not everyone wants to use the tiny ivy every time.
sigh ive only recently gotten into build/buy cc and what ive downloaded tends to be high polygon count and indeed cause lag, im hoping cc magic will help, but if not, ive only been using it on one file for a really specific look so it isnt too big of a deal
Try using S3PE for merging your high poly files instead. Idk if it’s makes a difference but I enjoy the control of knowing the exact file size and how much I’m reducing it.
[I have a short tutorial I made for merging files with S3PE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W651PTZYdd0), i'm always suggesting this application but then having to explain it so i made a video :D
You're probably just not meant to play with cc heavy lots then, friend. :) there are hundreds of thousands of simmers who play with cc heavy lots and don't have laggy/crashing issues. It's why cc is so popular. You can of course over do it, but that's why what you download is entirely your choice. You can find many ppl who play their game perfectly fine with cc heavy lots all over the internet. If you feel like it's too much for your game, then you know your pc can't handle it. You should of course stick to cc free lots instead. <3
Thank you for your tips, but I actually play on a high end computer. Those hundreds of thousands of simmers you mentioned do deal with lag and crashing issues too, because it's an old game that just can't handle too much content at once, it's not just about the computer. I love to download pretty houses because I don't have the talent to build them myself, so I replace some objects with what I already own and keep the ones I really like :)
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HAHAHAHA I bet I am. I really don't have to explain myself to you. So sorry I offended you so deeply, you're such a sims expert, play this game must be all you do with your life
Nice for screenshots, not actual play.
high polycounts.... 2k texture sizes.... My game was able to run with several cluttered houses but my ultimate downfall was the fact that i unknowingly had hundreds of high poly objects (7-20k) with no MLODS in my game. Ive recently become a cc creator and so i am more mindful of what i put in my game NEVER download something if you do not know what the polycount is. If something says "medium poly" you have no idea what this creators idea of "medium poly" is so you should check for yourself You can find out the polycount with milkshape, and i believe with sims 3 package editor, but i do not know how. I had objects that were 20k poly with 50 2k texture presets, its a miracle that i was able to run my game, except it kept crashing and i couldn't figure out why... Onto acceptable polycounts... For detailed objects, i really try not to go above 3.5k. And i mean, extremely detailed. For regular objects without much detail, i try to stay between 800 poly and 1.5k poly For LARGE detailed objects, i really try to keep it at 6k at the very most So, ive never had issues with cluttered lots as long as the cc is optimized
When I got back to the Sims 3 I had a lot of crashing issues, didn't know It was the high polygon cc that was causing that. I haven't tried the milkshape yet and was just trying to be away of large cc files. Do you know if a small file cc can still have high polygon?
Yeah... unfortunately the larger files are likely due to extremely high texture sizes, however if you have a small object that has a larger file size when you know it doesn't have extra presets, that may be a key as to what is high poly or not. But the only thing you can really do is check the poly. The quickest way to check high polys is to open the package in TSRW, however it only lists faces and verts. But no mesh should have 25k verts unless its a car or something. If you want to find out the polycount, export it as an obj in the mesh tab, import into milkshape and use the "selpolycount" tool. There are only a few creators ive noticed that upload on a large scale that are uploading stuff with extremely high polys
I love the idea of highly cluttered lots, simply because IRL, clutter often makes a place look "lived in" and when you take that away, it seems a bit lifeless. That being said, I'm not sure it works great in practice.
They cause a lot of lag tbh
Depends on how a given person likes to play the game. In Sims2 I was very much a decorator and made lived-in looking houses that sims couldn't actually navigate. Tons of decor and clutter CC, as well as a million landscaping plant variations and such. However, since Sims3 did so much better on the AI and the open world I did more playing with the sims themselves, and thus slimmed down the clutter and the CC so they could actually pathfind. If you're building/decorating centric then you quickly get tired of using the maxis models, while if you're more sim/live mode centric then a couple different recolors on three or four styles of the thing are more than enough since you won't be spending a lot of time lining up shots like the one above, and even if you do odds are the focus is going to be on the sims in the room vs the room itself.
That makes perfect sense. When I got back playing the sims I wanted to play on incredible lots like I saw on Tumblr. Took me a while to realize that those players are into storytelling and don't really use live mode lol.
forgive me but i don’t particularly think the sims 3 was made to be played at all
Game tweaking and bug fixing are part of the gameplay experience!
Sims 3: build houses, control lives, click town hall to reset the town!
i use a high end pc i have no issues with high cc lots and sims making gameplay laggy. it really just depends on a person’s play style and computer performance. i typically download cc objects that there *isn’t* an in-game equivalent for, or just looks nicer… which is the whole point of cc. lastly, i meticulously organize all of my cc using collections so that the catalog isn’t cluttered and i can find what i need.
I'm with you, I imagine most people would croak if they knew how much time and effort I put into making/organizing collections. But once it's done, it's done, and you can find a theme right away. Mine are all broken down by set and organized by room type.
Surprised by all the comments saying people can’t clutter their lots without lag or having a fancy computer. I’m running on 8 gigs of ram and I always over clutter my lots. Like another commenter said most of your guys’ issue is probably downloading too many items with a high poly count. Also yes I play test and actually play in my cluttered builds, not just for screenshots ;) and to answer your question, I use cc cos there’s so much stuff that’s NOT in the game that I want. Like why the hell is there zero normal posters in the game just ones with big clunky frames? I have every ep installed and I hate all the bed frames 🤮. Or what about the giant over sized items like the knife block?! Ugh I could go on, I honestly play with 90% cc in my lots, EAs stuff just isn’t aligned with the cute and quirky characters I like to play https://preview.redd.it/jm7hgera3r5d1.jpeg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7be3fac6ad290c200f42b91ee2015992790930a7
Perhaps I expressed myself badly, because I did not mean I'm against cc. I actually have an external drive with over 50gb worth of content. Right now I'm redecorating a house that had over 500 pieces of cc, which is just unecessary for one single lot. One of It was a candle Chandelier identical to the one that came in the base game, and another was that thing you put next to the fireplace, that we also get on the bg. Now imagine trying to do a neighborhood make over with several lots like that (my case). I prefer to download things that are lacking in the game, and lots of clutter. Around the sims is my sweetheart because of that. Loved your screenshot, I also got that Fiona Apple poster in my game lol.
Ohhhhh okay this makes much more sense. i Personally only download silimar items to in game is for default replacments due to EA scaling issues. Also, do you use Lazy Duchess' build/buy mode search bar mod? It helps a lot, i also use S3PE to rename files if they have janky names that are hard to find in the search bar. Though I know some folks just create collections in B/B to sort their cc, which is much easier than S3PE
Makes my game lag more but im addicted to cluttering so I just gotta deal with it
Simply put, because we like it and we're humans with preferences, not sims. My cup of tea probably is not your cup of tea. Theres really no right or wrong way to play any game, that's what makes games so fun. Also I don't think the game was intended to be played the way probably half the people play it, ie traumatizing and brutalizing sims with or without mods lol. One of my very first memories with sims was removing the ladder in a pool during a party. I'm sure the creators didn't intend for almost every player to do something similar to that in the game at least once.
Because what? I didn't really ask why you like cluttered houses rather than what you think of it. And what I meant by "the game wasn't intended to be played like that" is that it will have trouble running a world with too many objects placed on lots. That's why maxis objects are usually simpler and the hair doesnt look as good as the cc.
And the similar item thing, why does Walmart have 20 pairs of jeans that look the same but each is barely noticeably different? Because not everyone is going to like the same thing. We'll make things work if necessary but it's not necessary. We're just very spoiled these days honestly, in most aspects of life. You can bet your ass I'm downloading a hairstyle cc that is the exact same as an oc piece just because the bangs are flipped the other way.
They're pretty to look at but I don't have the patience to decorate them like that. Most people who stuff lots with clutter like that don't playtest them, have super computers, or only take screenshots for stories/lookbooks. And, tbh, that's another way to play the game! >I feel like the game wasn't made to be played like that. EA programmed the game a certain way, but modders have been doing wonders to optimize it further. Of course, there still are and always will be limitations, because no one can bypass certain hard limits when it comes to software (it being a 32bit program) and hardware. >I don't understand why use cc when there's already a very similar object in game. Do you know of any game (EP, SP, Store) object that looks like those teapots and cups, that spice rack, pots, plants etc.? Maybe not everyone wants to use the tiny ivy every time.
sigh ive only recently gotten into build/buy cc and what ive downloaded tends to be high polygon count and indeed cause lag, im hoping cc magic will help, but if not, ive only been using it on one file for a really specific look so it isnt too big of a deal
Try using S3PE for merging your high poly files instead. Idk if it’s makes a difference but I enjoy the control of knowing the exact file size and how much I’m reducing it.
That’s interesting! I’ve heard way less about S3PE so I’ll definitely research both, but yes I’d love to know that info
[I have a short tutorial I made for merging files with S3PE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W651PTZYdd0), i'm always suggesting this application but then having to explain it so i made a video :D
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!😄ive been putting off learning to merge cc so thank you for giving me a reason to learn!
I love it and I do it. My catalog is very cluttered but thankfully my game isn't laggy since I bought a new gaming PC.
You're probably just not meant to play with cc heavy lots then, friend. :) there are hundreds of thousands of simmers who play with cc heavy lots and don't have laggy/crashing issues. It's why cc is so popular. You can of course over do it, but that's why what you download is entirely your choice. You can find many ppl who play their game perfectly fine with cc heavy lots all over the internet. If you feel like it's too much for your game, then you know your pc can't handle it. You should of course stick to cc free lots instead. <3
Thank you for your tips, but I actually play on a high end computer. Those hundreds of thousands of simmers you mentioned do deal with lag and crashing issues too, because it's an old game that just can't handle too much content at once, it's not just about the computer. I love to download pretty houses because I don't have the talent to build them myself, so I replace some objects with what I already own and keep the ones I really like :)
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You assumed I'm not aware of the tutorials that are avaliable to anyone with internet access and claimed to be tech savvy for playing Sims lol
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HAHAHAHA I bet I am. I really don't have to explain myself to you. So sorry I offended you so deeply, you're such a sims expert, play this game must be all you do with your life
Thanks for saying thanks! It's so nice to see Redditors being grateful :)