ATS is just so amazing, her objects are consistently stellar quality, and she's so generous with her usage policy and doesn't get all pissy when people use her stuff in worlds and lots etc. Much, much love for ATS!!!
This set is offered in the .package format too. However, I think the problem with the dashboard or whatever you are using extract the packages from the sims3packs and not with Sandy's files. I don't get why people extract from sims3packs? It is much faster to just use the Launcher to install multiple sim3packs at once.
Sims3Packs tend to clog up the game and make it slower. I extract Sims3Packs into packages and then merge them into one package using s3pe. Game runs so much faster/smoother that way.
On topic: Sandy, this is brilliant! The fact that they also help with skilling only adds to my excitement! Thanks so much for these. :)
sims3packs DO NOT make the game slower omfg. They get compiled into one huge package known and .dbc and the game only has to read that one file unlike hundreds of individual .packages.
"sims3packs DO NOT make the game slower omfg. They get compiled into one huge package known and .dbc and the game only has to read that one file unlike hundreds of individual .packages."
The person above is correct. Tons of packages are what slow down the game unless of course you have them merged with s3pe. Sims3packs get combined into one .dbc file and thus make loading much faster.
Packages are certainly easier/quicker to install and uninstall, though because you just go to your folder and stick a file there or take it out. However, the Launcher is convenient because it has an icon so you can see what is being installed instead of having to open up the file in Postal or s3pe to see how it looks if you've forgotten. The biggest drawback I find with the Launcher is that it doesn't have a SEARCH function that it so desperately needs. It can take forever to find a file you want to uninstall now, especially since it scatters the installed files instead of keeping them in alphabetical order or something.
However, it amazes me how many people mistakenly think you can only install one .sims3pack at a time through the Launcher. This isn't true. All you do is go to the Downloads tab and and put a checkmark by the items you want to install and it will install them all at once. If you want to install everything in the Downloads folder, you just choose 'select all.'
^Also, there are certain things that do not work well when ripped out as packages. Counters are a perfect example of this and it's best to keep them in .sims3pack format instead of using the extractor or you will often find you are unable to get them to corner correctly and especially recolor without the texture going bad.
Granted, CC distributed in package format is easier to install - if all you are doing is putting it into your mods folder, but once you start combining packages (which is necessary at some point) - I think the ease of use disappears.
What I don't understand is people ripping packages out of sims3packs and then combining them. Are they just control freaks who need to be in total control where each little file goes or what?
Yay an ATS3 update! Absolutely one of my favorite sites ever.. Really love this set, great addition to Late Night, and not just for decoration! <3 Thanks Sandy!
If your game is slow, it may be coz you have Late Night and need Twallan's Overwatch that deletes all the stuck cars and stuffz. My game stopped lagging with that and i haven't combined any packages. Runs smoothly now.
I think it depends. I've heard it both ways. I use .package files only. When I had all of them in .sims3pack i couldn't play the game. It would take HOURS to load and the lag was terrible. To go on vacation from one world to the next took nearly an hour. With combined packages I have NO issues whatsoever. The game loads in about five minutes or less and runs smoothly. So... yeah I guess it all depends.
Anyways, Thanks so much for this set. Its amazing.
the reason i use packages almost exclusively is that i have been bitten in the butt multiple times by installing sims3packs that were corrupt or conflicted in some way, which ended up slowing the game down horribly (i'm talking 30 minutes+ to load a saved game).
by using packages, at least i can scan for issues easily beforehand, and the installation/removal of packages is much simpler than that of sims3packs.
I agree. When installing sims3pack files it puts those extra files on your computer that are harder to get rid of and like whit the whole doll situation you needed a mini tutorial to figure out how to really get rid of all that came along with it. Even when you unistall via the launcher things aren't really gone.
"What I don't understand is people ripping packages out of sims3packs and then combining them. Are they just control freaks who need to be in total control where each little file goes or what?"
You clearly don't understand the purpose of combining files. It has nothing to do with control. It does, however, massively improves game performance. As an anon said, you can go from requiring several minutes or even an hour to load, to taking just a minute or two even on a large world.
Packages are far, far superior to sims3packs, as long as you know how to handle them. Handling them requires a bit of knowledge about how they work, and some S3PE use from time to time. Some people are probably intimidated by it, but S3PE is a wonderful, very easy to use program. I have learned so much about how the game actually works, and created some of my own content even though I started with zero knowledge of how to do so, just by playing around with it. I have no game issues whatsoever.
I like JFade's decrapifier and compressor a lot. S3PE is super easy to use. Merging pkgs is the only way to go. Overwatch reduced the car clutter a lot in my game! I have zero lag now:)
Sims3PackIS just a DBPF Package with some nice XML into it to the launcher reads.
In therms of performance, Sims3Pack is installed through the launcher to sum all together into one single DBC (Combination of Packages). Having a DBC makes the engine read it easier since the package have on it's header all the information and file offsets it needs to read.
This changes when it's a too large package, for example, try to make at MAX at 200Mb-300Mb. I say this because a new Stream needs to open everytime a new file is written, thus why taking more memory.
Having multiple packages, the processor needs to do more work than a single, since it open multiple Streams and thus needing to access the hard drive and maintain a intact communication with it until it finishes.
It basically resumes on how fast is your connection with your hard drive and how fast it takes for your CPU to access the file and maintain a reading process.
Also, I'm not going to lie, the engine takes a big part on this process.
The Sims 3 current engine code must be pruned a little harder by EA to make it more reliable to certain amounts of CC; But try always to keep your game clean, by using what you need, not exaggerating, as always.
I use merged .packages for the majority of my cc. The only things I don't convert to .package format are patterns (since the ones made with the CAP tool don't show when converted to .package), sims and lots. Of course, I rarely install sims and lots because I've had a lot of other cc I don't want, attach to them. So then I need to go into the installed content tab and try to find anything I didn't personally install (usually clothes, makeup and patterns) and uninstall them. Well, when I used to have more cc installed via the Launcher, what would happen is it would crash when trying to load all the thumbnails for all that content. Now that I only use a few things in Sims3Pack form, I haven't really had that issue.
So not everyone who uses .package files is doing it because they think it makes the game run faster. I just simply got tired of the cluttered "installed content" tab that would always end up crashing the Launcher.
"aWT, nobody cares of what you know/think. SO STFU!"
I don't care what you know/think either. I am just sharing my knowledge for those who wants to learn, if you don't want to, no need to jump into conclusions as to what everyone thinks.
^I care and am glad s/he came in to clear things up. Some of you anons are so nasty for no reason just because you can hide behind a computer screen. You attack creators often with no reason - other than the fact that you are just jealous and/or hateful because they possess more knowledge than you.
So please stop trying to speak for all of us. Keep your ignorance to yourself.
quote:"You clearly don't understand the purpose of combining files. It has nothing to do with control. It does, however, massively improves game performance. As an anon said, you can go from requiring several minutes or even an hour to load, to taking just a minute or two even on a large world."
I totally understand the point of combining. Loading a few big combined files is much faster than loading 100 or 1000s of small individual files. That after all is the whole point installing through the Launcher.
Repeating myself again... What I don't understand is ripping packages out of sim3packs when one can use the Launcher to do the combining just as well, if not better than S3PE. I think people just don't understand how to use the Launcher efficiently. The fact the doll freaked so many people out is proof. It was NOT a big deal if you understood how the Launcher works. The Launcher does not send mysterious pieces of files around your computer. Things in up a fixed set of folders all of which can be deleted.
I am familiar with S3PE and I do use it combine packages I download. But, I would never rip packages out of sims3packs and then combine them s3pe. I don't understand why anyone would.
This is what is in my game: Currently, I have about 10,000 sims3pack installed by the launcher into 12 dbc files (3rd party cc) and 4 ebc files (ea-store content) located in my DCCache folder.
I also have combined about 250 .package files into 5 larger files in my Mods folder.
My game loads in under 3 minutes without the Mods folder in. If the Mods folder is in it is more like 5 - 7 minutes. If leave the .package files uncombined it loads maybe 7-8 minutes.
If I take out the entire DCCache folder out and leave the Mods folder in the game still takes at least 4 minutes to load. Having anything my Mods folder slows my game down and ups the amount of RAM used by the game.
Are you honestly telling that my game would improve if I ripped the packages out of my 10,000 .sims3packs and used s3pe to combine them? If so, how?
"Are you honestly telling that my game would improve if I ripped the packages out of my 10,000 .sims3packs and used s3pe to combine them? If so, how?"
Depends on whether or not you avoid with the launcher when you play. The more S3Ps you have installed, the longer it takes the launcher to load up and, consequently, the game. Otherwise, no. There shouldn't be a difference between combining packages and installing S3Ps.
So basically it's the same shit, so one is not better than the other. "
That is my point, IF there isn't a difference or much of a difference, why go through the work of ripping out the packages from the sims3packs?
quote: "Depends on whether or not you avoid with the launcher when you play. The more S3Ps you have installed, the longer it takes the launcher to load up and, consequently, the game. Otherwise, no. There shouldn't be a difference between combining packages and installing S3Ps."
I am the using the Launcher to start and I am not waiting a huge amount of time. The under 3 minutes included the launcher starting up. The only time I see a delay is if I don't move the sims3packs out the downloads folder once they have been installed. As long as the download folder is empty it loads without a problem.
"The only time I see a delay is if I don't move the sims3packs out the downloads folder once they have been installed. As long as the download folder is empty it loads without a problem."
I hope you at least have your Downloads backed up on a flash or external hard drive or somewhere else on your computer. I know from experience that if your Launcher gets borked due to a piece of corrupt custom content and won't load, then the only way to fix things WITHOUT reinstalling is to delete the DBC files the Launcher created from DCCache. So it's always good to keep a backup of the Downloads somewhere that's easy to find in case you need to reinstall the .sims3packs.
Just yesterday I dl'ed s3pe, and followed this tutorial http://club-crimsyn.dreamwidth.org/28336.html#cutid1 on combining packages. Now my game loads faster and the biggest improvement I have noticed is in CAS all the clothing and hairs load soo much faster. Also I have noticed my game has stopped lagging so much, it is really great. And in one combined package the files upcombined are 305 MB but combined it is only 110MB. but I have not changed anything from s3p to packages. just combined stuff that I already had as packages
^^ Yes, I keep backups of the sims3packs - I also make backups the DCCache folder regularly. Therefore if I do install something I want to get rid of without going through Launcher's uninstaller I can replace the .dbc files with an earlier version.
I don't understand why you would need to reinstall the entire game if the dbc files become corrupt. Deleting the corrupt files should be sufficient -- at the most renaming the Electronic Arts folder located in the documents so that a new folder is generated the next the game is started should be enough.
Quote: "Just yesterday I dl'ed s3pe, and followed this tutorial http://club-crimsyn.dreamwidth.org/28336.html#cutid1 on combining packages. Now my game loads faster and the biggest improvement I have noticed is in CAS all the clothing and hairs load soo much faster. Also I have noticed my game has stopped lagging so much, it is really great. And in one combined package the files upcombined are 305 MB but combined it is only 110MB. but I have not changed anything from s3p to packages. just combined stuff that I already had as packages"
Yes, that is a good tutorial and I also follow it when I want to combined packages. However, I haven't seen a huge change, but that could because I don't have that many packages to combine.
"I don't understand why you would need to reinstall the entire game if the dbc files become corrupt. Deleting the corrupt files should be sufficient -- at the most renaming the Electronic Arts folder located in the documents so that a new folder is generated the next the game is started should be enough."
I wouldn't want to reinstall, but the reason I mentioned it is because not everyone knows this. I've seen the Gurus and several others on the official forums tell people to reinstall for the exact issue I described (Launcher becoming borked and not starting because of some custom content)...when there is really no reason to do so. It's just that "reinstall the game!" is the go-to answer for so many when their problems could be solved much easier.
^Ok, I get what you are saying now. Reinstalling is very rarely necessary, but is a very easy thing for ea support to suggest. It will probably will fix whatever the problem is and support staff won't have to take the time figure what is really wrong.
Random question, but how long does it take a vampire to be cured? I had a Sim drink the potion but after the little bats animation she got stuck and wouldn't move. I had to reset her and I can still see "O Positive" as her favorite food and "Thirst" instead of Hunger in the motives.
^ It should be instant. Sounds like a glitch. :( I would reload an older save and try again to see if it will work right.
The launcher just tends to have problems, so I just avoid it all together with the combined packages and manual install of patches. I've never had a problem that way.
^Thanks. I tried it again and it STILL didn't work. I really don't know what is going on...everything went back to normal (bars went from purple to green) for every category but "Thirst" was still there instead of hunger and the vampire tattoo remains on her neck. I can see the bottle of "vampirism-b-gone" in her inventory but when I mouse over it, it says that only Sims who are vampires can drink the potion. However, her previous vampire interactions are still there...like Hunt, "make X think about me," "read mind," etc and she has the "vampiric vigor" moodlet. This is so annoying.
i'm going to chime in with support for merged packages. after finally getting over my laziness, i merged my crapload of CC into about 8 packages. my average fps went up about 20 and game lag was reduced significantly. woohoo
"What I don't understand is ripping packages out of sim3packs when one can use the Launcher to do the combining just as well, if not better than S3PE. I think people just don't understand how to use the Launcher efficiently."
Believe me, I tried, but I have never found a way to get the Launcher to be efficient unless I have a minimum of CC installed through it. It just takes FOREVER for me.
"Believe me, I tried, but I have never found a way to get the Launcher to be efficient unless I have a minimum of CC installed through it. It just takes FOREVER for me."
Same here. I think people should just stick to whatever works for them, but having installed content in the launcher (even if the S3Ps have been removed) slow my launcher down by a lot.
I tried merging a bunch of my packages last night but I have about 3,960 of them haha... I wasn't quite sure if it was okay to split it into ten or so, thought it might be too many at a time. Does anyone have a recommended limit?
Well many of them are just like, 0x232240892390.package or something, I can't really tell what they are. ;| But that's a good idea-- for the ones I can tell what they are I'll definitely do that. Was reading Aikea Guinea's tut but still was a little sus of the outcome.
Could anyone help? The Monitors, speakers, logic based desk and desk with fx racks are just appearing solid black in game, ive tried downloading it again, also tried it on someone elses game and the same happened. The rest of the set is fine. What am i missing? This is doing my head in.
Oh, this looks cool. I wonder if the sim gains logic, cause it looks like they are using the chess play animations.
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks great!
ReplyDeleteWow, just read the download. Sims can gain logic and charisma. Woohoo, now time to build a recording studio.
ReplyDeleteI love Sandy's creativity, hasn't disappointed me since Sims 2.
So, so clever! What a great idea, and really well-made too. Thanks Sandy, this is awesome.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I'll definitely be downloading. How perfect for the home of rock star sims. ;)
ReplyDeleteSTOP IT SANDY! My game is gonna explode from so many awesome objects!
ReplyDeleteWOW! what a brilliant idea!! soo creative and awesome!
ReplyDeleteI'm still pissed EA didn't include a DJ booth in a game that focus' around going out and clubbing.
ReplyDeletesuch an awesome download. but whenever i scan these packages from aroundthesims with sims3dashboard tool, they show up as conflicts. :\
ReplyDeleteSIMPLY INCREDIBLE!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLovely idea, and they look great too... plus I'm really glad they are actually USABLE. Top-notch work.
ATS is just so amazing, her objects are consistently stellar quality, and she's so generous with her usage policy and doesn't get all pissy when people use her stuff in worlds and lots etc. Much, much love for ATS!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteNow we just need a few more instruments and SINGING (for bands) implemented into the game, and my musician-fix will be completely satisfied.
This set is offered in the .package format too. However, I think the problem with the dashboard or whatever you are using extract the packages from the sims3packs and not with Sandy's files. I don't get why people extract from sims3packs? It is much faster to just use the Launcher to install multiple sim3packs at once.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSims3Packs tend to clog up the game and make it slower. I extract Sims3Packs into packages and then merge them into one package using s3pe. Game runs so much faster/smoother that way.
ReplyDeleteOn topic: Sandy, this is brilliant! The fact that they also help with skilling only adds to my excitement! Thanks so much for these. :)
sims3packs DO NOT make the game slower omfg. They get compiled into one huge package known and .dbc and the game only has to read that one file unlike hundreds of individual .packages.
ReplyDelete"sims3packs DO NOT make the game slower omfg. They get compiled into one huge package known and .dbc and the game only has to read that one file unlike hundreds of individual .packages."
ReplyDeleteThe person above is correct. Tons of packages are what slow down the game unless of course you have them merged with s3pe. Sims3packs get combined into one .dbc file and thus make loading much faster.
Packages are certainly easier/quicker to install and uninstall, though because you just go to your folder and stick a file there or take it out. However, the Launcher is convenient because it has an icon so you can see what is being installed instead of having to open up the file in Postal or s3pe to see how it looks if you've forgotten. The biggest drawback I find with the Launcher is that it doesn't have a SEARCH function that it so desperately needs. It can take forever to find a file you want to uninstall now, especially since it scatters the installed files instead of keeping them in alphabetical order or something.
However, it amazes me how many people mistakenly think you can only install one .sims3pack at a time through the Launcher. This isn't true. All you do is go to the Downloads tab and and put a checkmark by the items you want to install and it will install them all at once. If you want to install everything in the Downloads folder, you just choose 'select all.'
^Also, there are certain things that do not work well when ripped out as packages. Counters are a perfect example of this and it's best to keep them in .sims3pack format instead of using the extractor or you will often find you are unable to get them to corner correctly and especially recolor without the texture going bad.
ReplyDeleteGranted, CC distributed in package format is easier to install - if all you are doing is putting it into your mods folder, but once you start combining packages (which is necessary at some point) - I think the ease of use disappears.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand is people ripping packages out of sims3packs and then combining them. Are they just control freaks who need to be in total control where each little file goes or what?
I love Sandy's high quality stuff. She's brilliant and always surprises me with her ideas. One of the most talented creators!
ReplyDeleteYay an ATS3 update! Absolutely one of my favorite sites ever.. Really love this set, great addition to Late Night, and not just for decoration! <3 Thanks Sandy!
ReplyDeleteIf your game is slow, it may be coz you have Late Night and need Twallan's Overwatch that deletes all the stuck cars and stuffz. My game stopped lagging with that and i haven't combined any packages. Runs smoothly now.
ReplyDelete^ Overwatch is such a game saver.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends. I've heard it both ways. I use .package files only. When I had all of them in .sims3pack i couldn't play the game. It would take HOURS to load and the lag was terrible. To go on vacation from one world to the next took nearly an hour. With combined packages I have NO issues whatsoever. The game loads in about five minutes or less and runs smoothly. So... yeah I guess it all depends.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, Thanks so much for this set. Its amazing.
^^ Thanks for the tip. And this set is just great!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the s3pe? Can someone give me the link to download it? And maybe a link to all the information I need to know about it?
ReplyDeletethe reason i use packages almost exclusively is that i have been bitten in the butt multiple times by installing sims3packs that were corrupt or conflicted in some way, which ended up slowing the game down horribly (i'm talking 30 minutes+ to load a saved game).
ReplyDeleteby using packages, at least i can scan for issues easily beforehand, and the installation/removal of packages is much simpler than that of sims3packs.
s3pe stands for Sims 3 Package Editor.
ReplyDeletehttp://sourceforge.net/projects/sims3tools/files/
I agree. When installing sims3pack files it puts those extra files on your computer that are harder to get rid of and like whit the whole doll situation you needed a mini tutorial to figure out how to really get rid of all that came along with it. Even when you unistall via the launcher things aren't really gone.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful set.
ReplyDelete"What I don't understand is people ripping packages out of sims3packs and then combining them. Are they just control freaks who need to be in total control where each little file goes or what?"
You clearly don't understand the purpose of combining files. It has nothing to do with control. It does, however, massively improves game performance. As an anon said, you can go from requiring several minutes or even an hour to load, to taking just a minute or two even on a large world.
Packages are far, far superior to sims3packs, as long as you know how to handle them. Handling them requires a bit of knowledge about how they work, and some S3PE use from time to time. Some people are probably intimidated by it, but S3PE is a wonderful, very easy to use program. I have learned so much about how the game actually works, and created some of my own content even though I started with zero knowledge of how to do so, just by playing around with it. I have no game issues whatsoever.
I like JFade's decrapifier and compressor a lot. S3PE is super easy to use. Merging pkgs is the only way to go. Overwatch reduced the car clutter a lot in my game! I have zero lag now:)
ReplyDeleteDon't get too confused.
ReplyDeleteSims3Pack IS just a DBPF Package with some nice XML into it to the launcher reads.
In therms of performance, Sims3Pack is installed through the launcher to sum all together into one single DBC (Combination of Packages).
Having a DBC makes the engine read it easier since the package have on it's header all the information and file offsets it needs to read.
This changes when it's a too large package, for example, try to make at MAX at 200Mb-300Mb.
I say this because a new Stream needs to open everytime a new file is written, thus why taking more memory.
Having multiple packages, the processor needs to do more work than a single, since it open multiple Streams and thus needing to access the hard drive and maintain a intact communication with it until it finishes.
It basically resumes on how fast is your connection with your hard drive and how fast it takes for your CPU to access the file and maintain a reading process.
Also, I'm not going to lie, the engine takes a big part on this process.
ReplyDeleteThe Sims 3 current engine code must be pruned a little harder by EA to make it more reliable to certain amounts of CC; But try always to keep your game clean, by using what you need, not exaggerating, as always.
Sorry for the off-topic.
ReplyDeleteSandy always makes the best of objects for the game.
I think from all my objects, most of them are Sandy's. :P
I use merged .packages for the majority of my cc. The only things I don't convert to .package format are patterns (since the ones made with the CAP tool don't show when converted to .package), sims and lots. Of course, I rarely install sims and lots because I've had a lot of other cc I don't want, attach to them. So then I need to go into the installed content tab and try to find anything I didn't personally install (usually clothes, makeup and patterns) and uninstall them. Well, when I used to have more cc installed via the Launcher, what would happen is it would crash when trying to load all the thumbnails for all that content. Now that I only use a few things in Sims3Pack form, I haven't really had that issue.
ReplyDeleteSo not everyone who uses .package files is doing it because they think it makes the game run faster. I just simply got tired of the cluttered "installed content" tab that would always end up crashing the Launcher.
^ aWT, nobody cares of what you know/think. SO STFU!
ReplyDelete"aWT, nobody cares of what you know/think. SO STFU!"
ReplyDeleteI don't care what you know/think either.
I am just sharing my knowledge for those who wants to learn, if you don't want to, no need to jump into conclusions as to what everyone thinks.
^I care and am glad s/he came in to clear things up. Some of you anons are so nasty for no reason just because you can hide behind a computer screen. You attack creators often with no reason - other than the fact that you are just jealous and/or hateful because they possess more knowledge than you.
ReplyDeleteSo please stop trying to speak for all of us. Keep your ignorance to yourself.
Sandy, this is fantastic! Thank you!
ReplyDeletequote:"You clearly don't understand the purpose of combining files. It has nothing to do with control. It does, however, massively improves game performance. As an anon said, you can go from requiring several minutes or even an hour to load, to taking just a minute or two even on a large world."
ReplyDeleteI totally understand the point of combining. Loading a few big combined files is much faster than loading 100 or 1000s of small individual files. That after all is the whole point installing through the Launcher.
Repeating myself again... What I don't understand is ripping packages out of sim3packs when one can use the Launcher to do the combining just as well, if not better than S3PE. I think people just don't understand how to use the Launcher efficiently. The fact the doll freaked so many people out is proof. It was NOT a big deal if you understood how the Launcher works. The Launcher does not send mysterious pieces of files around your computer. Things in up a fixed set of folders all of which can be deleted.
I am familiar with S3PE and I do use it combine packages I download. But, I would never rip packages out of sims3packs and then combine them s3pe. I don't understand why anyone would.
This is what is in my game:
Currently, I have about 10,000 sims3pack installed by the launcher into 12 dbc files (3rd party cc) and 4 ebc files (ea-store content) located in my DCCache folder.
I also have combined about 250 .package files into 5 larger files in my Mods folder.
My game loads in under 3 minutes without the Mods folder in. If the Mods folder is in it is more like 5 - 7 minutes. If leave the .package files uncombined it loads maybe 7-8 minutes.
If I take out the entire DCCache folder out and leave the Mods folder in the game still takes at least 4 minutes to load. Having anything my Mods folder slows my game down and ups the amount of RAM used by the game.
Are you honestly telling that my game would improve if I ripped the packages out of my 10,000 .sims3packs and used s3pe to combine them? If so, how?
Magic.
ReplyDeleteSims3pack = dbc file
ReplyDeleteMerged packages = dbc file
So basically it's the same shit, so one is not better than the other.
End of discussion.
"Are you honestly telling that my game would improve if I ripped the packages out of my 10,000 .sims3packs and used s3pe to combine them? If so, how?"
ReplyDeleteDepends on whether or not you avoid with the launcher when you play. The more S3Ps you have installed, the longer it takes the launcher to load up and, consequently, the game. Otherwise, no. There shouldn't be a difference between combining packages and installing S3Ps.
*avoid the launcher. Wish there was an edit button!
ReplyDeleteQuote: "Sims3pack = dbc file
ReplyDeleteMerged packages = dbc file
So basically it's the same shit, so one is not better than the other. "
That is my point, IF there isn't a difference or much of a difference, why go through the work of ripping out the packages from the sims3packs?
quote: "Depends on whether or not you avoid with the launcher when you play. The more S3Ps you have installed, the longer it takes the launcher to load up and, consequently, the game. Otherwise, no. There shouldn't be a difference between combining packages and installing S3Ps."
I am the using the Launcher to start and I am not waiting a huge amount of time. The under 3 minutes included the launcher starting up. The only time I see a delay is if I don't move the sims3packs out the downloads folder once they have been installed. As long as the download folder is empty it loads without a problem.
"The only time I see a delay is if I don't move the sims3packs out the downloads folder once they have been installed. As long as the download folder is empty it loads without a problem."
ReplyDeleteI hope you at least have your Downloads backed up on a flash or external hard drive or somewhere else on your computer. I know from experience that if your Launcher gets borked due to a piece of corrupt custom content and won't load, then the only way to fix things WITHOUT reinstalling is to delete the DBC files the Launcher created from DCCache. So it's always good to keep a backup of the Downloads somewhere that's easy to find in case you need to reinstall the .sims3packs.
^BTW, I meant without reinstalling the game and expansion/stuff packs.
ReplyDeleteMerged packages FTW!
ReplyDeleteLovely set, Sandy. Thank you so much for making this.
Just yesterday I dl'ed s3pe, and followed this tutorial http://club-crimsyn.dreamwidth.org/28336.html#cutid1 on combining packages. Now my game loads faster and the biggest improvement I have noticed is in CAS all the clothing and hairs load soo much faster. Also I have noticed my game has stopped lagging so much, it is really great. And in one combined package the files upcombined are 305 MB but combined it is only 110MB. but I have not changed anything from s3p to packages. just combined stuff that I already had as packages
ReplyDelete^^ Yes, I keep backups of the sims3packs - I also make backups the DCCache folder regularly. Therefore if I do install something I want to get rid of without going through Launcher's uninstaller I can replace the .dbc files with an earlier version.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why you would need to reinstall the entire game if the dbc files become corrupt. Deleting the corrupt files should be sufficient -- at the most renaming the Electronic Arts folder located in the documents so that a new folder is generated the next the game is started should be enough.
Quote: "Just yesterday I dl'ed s3pe, and followed this tutorial http://club-crimsyn.dreamwidth.org/28336.html#cutid1 on combining packages. Now my game loads faster and the biggest improvement I have noticed is in CAS all the clothing and hairs load soo much faster. Also I have noticed my game has stopped lagging so much, it is really great. And in one combined package the files upcombined are 305 MB but combined it is only 110MB. but I have not changed anything from s3p to packages. just combined stuff that I already had as packages"
ReplyDeleteYes, that is a good tutorial and I also follow it when I want to combined packages. However, I haven't seen a huge change, but that could because I don't have that many packages to combine.
"I don't understand why you would need to reinstall the entire game if the dbc files become corrupt. Deleting the corrupt files should be sufficient -- at the most renaming the Electronic Arts folder located in the documents so that a new folder is generated the next the game is started should be enough."
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't want to reinstall, but the reason I mentioned it is because not everyone knows this. I've seen the Gurus and several others on the official forums tell people to reinstall for the exact issue I described (Launcher becoming borked and not starting because of some custom content)...when there is really no reason to do so. It's just that "reinstall the game!" is the go-to answer for so many when their problems could be solved much easier.
^Ok, I get what you are saying now. Reinstalling is very rarely necessary, but is a very easy thing for ea support to suggest. It will probably will fix whatever the problem is and support staff won't have to take the time figure what is really wrong.
ReplyDeleteRandom question, but how long does it take a vampire to be cured? I had a Sim drink the potion but after the little bats animation she got stuck and wouldn't move. I had to reset her and I can still see "O Positive" as her favorite food and "Thirst" instead of Hunger in the motives.
ReplyDelete^ It should be instant. Sounds like a glitch. :( I would reload an older save and try again to see if it will work right.
ReplyDeleteThe launcher just tends to have problems, so I just avoid it all together with the combined packages and manual install of patches. I've never had a problem that way.
/is technologically stupid
ReplyDeleteSo... .sims3packs slow down my game? Or not? o.o
^Thanks. I tried it again and it STILL didn't work. I really don't know what is going on...everything went back to normal (bars went from purple to green) for every category but "Thirst" was still there instead of hunger and the vampire tattoo remains on her neck. I can see the bottle of "vampirism-b-gone" in her inventory but when I mouse over it, it says that only Sims who are vampires can drink the potion. However, her previous vampire interactions are still there...like Hunt, "make X think about me," "read mind," etc and she has the "vampiric vigor" moodlet. This is so annoying.
ReplyDelete"So... .sims3packs slow down my game? Or not? o.o"
ReplyDeleteIf you can't tell the difference, it doesn't matter.
Just FYI, I'm not being sarcastic, I'm being serious. There shouldn't be any difference between the two, so just keep doing whatever works for you.
i'm going to chime in with support for merged packages. after finally getting over my laziness, i merged my crapload of CC into about 8 packages. my average fps went up about 20 and game lag was reduced significantly. woohoo
ReplyDelete"What I don't understand is ripping packages out of sim3packs when one can use the Launcher to do the combining just as well, if not better than S3PE. I think people just don't understand how to use the Launcher efficiently."
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I tried, but I have never found a way to get the Launcher to be efficient unless I have a minimum of CC installed through it. It just takes FOREVER for me.
Packages ftw.
great for my thug sims. you know all of them want to be a rapper
ReplyDelete"Believe me, I tried, but I have never found a way to get the Launcher to be efficient unless I have a minimum of CC installed through it. It just takes FOREVER for me."
ReplyDeleteSame here. I think people should just stick to whatever works for them, but having installed content in the launcher (even if the S3Ps have been removed) slow my launcher down by a lot.
^Try using your launcher without the mods folder in. 'Cause the Launcher has to deal with whatever you have in it before it starts up.
ReplyDeleteI tried merging a bunch of my packages last night but I have about 3,960 of them haha... I wasn't quite sure if it was okay to split it into ten or so, thought it might be too many at a time. Does anyone have a recommended limit?
ReplyDeletei don't know if there's a limit, but why not categorize them: hair, clothes, furniture etc etc.
ReplyDeletea good tutorial:
http://ts3.tscexchange.com/index.php?topic=1397.0;wap2
Well many of them are just like, 0x232240892390.package or something, I can't really tell what they are. ;| But that's a good idea-- for the ones I can tell what they are I'll definitely do that. Was reading Aikea Guinea's tut but still was a little sus of the outcome.
ReplyDeleteWow, nevermind. That was ten times easier than I thought. Doing things when you're fully-awake is key.
ReplyDeleteGreat set, but i can't place corner table as you did in pics. How can i do?
ReplyDeleteGi
Could anyone help? The Monitors, speakers, logic based desk and desk with fx racks are just appearing solid black in game, ive tried downloading it again, also tried it on someone elses game and the same happened. The rest of the set is fine. What am i missing? This is doing my head in.
ReplyDelete