I've recently bought a new computer with Windows 11 PRO installed. I installed the game and ran it today and experienced several CTDs when the Age mod (by Consort) started working at 1 AM to update all adult and elder sims in town. Same with overwatch console commands which also alter the appearance of adult sims. Seems to be the memory issue. It didn't happen on my previous computer (Win10 Home) even though that computer was a lot slower than the new one.

I'm on patch 1,63 and it's the same patch I'd played on before buying the new PC.

My new PC is really good and I don't see any reason why the game crashes. Has anyone experienced similar problems?

Is it an EA lot or a custom one?

The double-edged sword of a better computer can be that objects load further and faster, overwhelming the hard limits of the game engine or encountering bad CC faster.
You'll also want to make sure that you have graphics card recognition and FPS limited, those are important steps on a new setup.

It could be possible that you have CC that isn't compatible with the game patch you're currently using.

I also recently bought a PC with Windows 11, but I've never had any issues with custom community lots since I'm using the 1.67 game patch, no matter which Windows I use.

When I installed The Sims 3 on my new PC, I installed the latest update of .NET Framework 3.5, as well as all the Visual C++ packages from 2005 to the latest, both 32bit and 64bit.

Also try to make fresh copy of game data folder, uninstall all of the CC, clean everything from DCCache folder, and install CC back again. Then delete the files with .tmp extension in the same folder after installation. Clean the other cache files. Delete the bad CC if possible.

Hey. Thanks for all your advice. I left the sims for some time due to work, but now I want to get down to playing the game. There's one question I have.
I remember there was a program out there at MTS which kind of divides FullBuilds into smaller parts which improves the game's performance. It worked on my previous computer and I want to do it on my new one as well, but don't remember the program's name or the name of the thread where it was introduced. Does anyone know where it is?

Sorry for not answering your question, but I just heard about this for the first time and I find it hard to believe. Does it really work though? I’ve heard about program that is recompressing these files, but dividing them is new to me. Is it the same program?

Yes, it compresses FullBuilds and divides them into smaller files. I don't remember the name of it...

@Wojtek

Maybe you are talking about Sims 3 Compressorizer. There is a thread here on MTS about it: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=693302

Updated the main post.

How can I manage the sims memory usage to avoid the crashes I described in the updated main post?

@Wojtek

In Sims3.ini file (located in game installation folder)change this:

From this:
[ResourceSystem]
MemoryUsageLimit = 2000000

To this:
[ResourceSystem]
MemoryUsageLimit = 4000000

This is the memory limit (probably in bytes).

https://www.nraas.net/community/TIP...AME-PERFORMANCE

Sims3 has been large address aware since patch 1.17. Not really an issue at 1.63

https://www.nraas.net/community/General-Issues-FAQ

Is there a reason you're not patched to 1.67/1.69? I would suspect that most mods are patched to that level by now, so I suspect any core mod is probably causing problems. And some NRAAS mods.

Did you match your graphics card? Cap the framerate?
Did you run it without mods and what happens then?

What kind of CPU does your new computer have? Is it Intel Alderlake? It needs a patch.
https://modthesims.info/d/667734/in...lake-patch.html

The CPU and other specs of Wojtek's computer are showed at the picture in the first post...His CPU is AMD Ryzen.

The problem probably occurs because of patch 1.63, and he probably need to update to patch 1.67 . Or the game reaches the memory limit.

So, I am not an expert on any of this but I feel I have a exactly one qualification that makes me feel at least a little confident posting this: I am a CC fiend. My mods folder is 27 GB. LOL

From my experience, using DXVK helped. From what I understand, it makes the game use more VRAM where it would otherwise use your normal RAM, thereby allowing you to play for longer before the game reaches the dreaded 3.7ish GB.

It allows you to cap your FPS at 60, which is always good for TS3.
Note: Initially, I had instructions here on changing the value of MemCacheBudget. Upon further testing, it seems that increasing this number in GraphicsRules might actually cause the game to reach the memory limit a bit faster, particularly in RAM intensive tasks like CAS. In my experience (and a few others I've seen), it is best to leave this value at its default. DXVK will still cut your RAM usage without editing the MemCacheBudget value and your game won't reach the memory limit as fast as it would without DXVK. I tested this a bit by greatly increasing MemCacheBudget and comparing it to the default. With the increased version, CAS in particular would cause memory crashes very quickly. At default MemCacheBudget, I was still seeing the benefits of DXVK (upon loading an ongoing world, my game would be at around 2000 MB RAM usage), but CAS was being way less of a memory hog (memory usage increased by maybe 50-100 MB even when loading a lot of CAS items and spending a decent amount of time in CAS).

Here's a link to the original post about it on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/criisolate/7...fore-making-any
And this is a perhaps more simplified explanation if the above link is overwhelming: https://nornities.tumblr.com/post/7...with-the-sims-3

Using DXVK, I've had sessions where (don't judge me) I've played for a solid 8 hours with no crashes. Typically, I play in Medium sized worlds. I also tend to play in EA worlds, so a custom world might see lesser results since they are usually more bloated.

Beyond DXVK, I also do the following (though I did do these before using DXVK, so I might not even need them anymore, so consider them optional additional optimizations...and try to say that 5 times fast):

-Enable Object Hiding in Settings. This is a graphics setting that will hide objects on floors you aren't currently on.
-Decrease number of detailed lots. It looks worse, yes, but I am not often taking pictures of my town and if I wanted to it's a setting that can be adjusted without restarting the game so you can take pretty pics of the town and play without the additional detailed lots bogging down the game, too.
-Use the medium setting for water. I think it's which ever one doesn't say "super water". Does it make the water look a little "worse"? I guess. I don't really notice much.
-Use NRaas Register to disable/delete Deer, Raccoons, Strays, and Wild Horses. Because I'm not paying that much attention to the world and I never interact with these beings. They are just bloat at that point.
-Use Rabbit Holes where applicable. I know it might be enticing to have beautiful, decorated open buildings. But they are just glorified set decorations. Same as rabbit holes in function, but harder on the game.

Also, it's important to keep an eye on the size of your saved game. If it's too large (I'd say over 100 MB, but I'm not sure what the upper limit is considered. My current game is only 46 MB and I use Kuree's Save Cleaner after every session), then it might be time to use NRaas Porter to move your family to a fresh save file.

I don't use Consort's aging mod, so I can't speak for how much this would help it. But I do use other mods that are calculating a bunch of stuff in the background. My game isn't immune to crashing. I don't think Sims 3 every could be. lol But doing all of this does, at the very least help it pretty greatly in my experience.

Speaking of Consort's aging mod, you might want to also keep an eye on your world's population. If that mod is having to calculate and edit every single sim in town in minute detail, then I'd imagine that is a pretty intensive task for the game. I believe you can check the total population with Master Controller and Story Progression has a "Max Residents" setting under Options:Sims that allows you to set a maximum number of all the animal types and sims, and Story Progression will stop pushing pregnancies once that cap is reached. The default is 150, but the number that works best with a mod like Consort's might be something lower.

Edit: I just thought of this as well! If you are using both Overwatch and Consort and they are running checks at the same time, you could see if there a is a setting for either mod that alters the time in-game that they run. Perhaps putting a few sim hours between them would help the load as well.

Hopefully this helps!

P.S. a few extra notes:

-We have extremely similar specs. I am also on Windows 11, I have a slightly slower processor & half of your RAM, but we have the exact same GPU! 5060 Ti fam wooo

-If you're curious about what DXVK actually is: It converts DirectX (DX) commands into Vulkan (VK). The purpose is to make games made for Windows run better on Linux, but it has this great side effect even on Windows machines: It makes older games run better! I don't know the ins and outs of DirectX vs Vulkan, so I couldn't tell you why this is. But, hey, if it works it works!