Third Culture Sims

Gileumjin Burger

Calsimfornian-styled burgers, now in Boroughsburg (and with a Korean twist)! With S-Pop playing obnoxiously loud in the background, burgers so greasy they can give you a heart attack and an industrial modern interior that already tells you each item on the menu costs at least 50 simoleons each, this new spot in the boro is, by the owner’s words, “more than a diner, it’s an experience”!

So yea I wanted to build a restaurant using @potato-ballad-sims’ Fast Casual Restaurant Set, but instead it’s a modern, “gourmet” burger parlor. This lot is supposed to be placed on 3-69 Badford Avenue in Boroughsburg and works as a Cafeteria (the ITF one).

Requires all expansion packs but Supernatural and Seasons, Boroughsburg’s CC and the Fast Casual Restaurant Set. No SPs or Store.

I have done ton of research and read basically every forum on this subject, and I came to some conclusions about what you can do to prevent Error 12 and max memory crashes.

Let me begin by clarifying to not confuse memory with storage. Your memory is not how much you can have saved on your computer - it's another word for RAM or Random Access Memory. It's a temporary kind of storage, what you're doing at any given moment is stored in the RAM - the more you have, the more you can do all at once. When you close things, that information leaves the RAM. Unfortunately with TS3, RAM doesn't drop off like it should. Most programs use it when they need it and let go of it when they don't need it. TS3 while running will take RAM and hold onto it and not let go of it, essentially killing itself because it has a restrictive limit on how much it can use, as it's a 32 bit program. Contrary to pseudo internet fixes out there, there is no way to avoid this, the game can use at most 3.6 GB before crashing, and at the 3.0 GB range, Error 12 and crashing are imminent threats. The longer the game runs, the more at risk you are.

What can be done?

First, you need NRaas Saver mod (https://www.nraas.net/community/Saver ). Error 12 messages are much more likely in a long play session that hasn't been saved in long periods of time. You can have NRaas Saver prompt you to save in whatever increment of time you choose, and it will also create a save cycle for you, meaning it will make about 4 copies of your save (or however many you'd like, you can change it in settings) to rotate through so you're not saving to the same massive save file over and over again. Bloated saves put you at risk for Error 12., and legacy saves are prone to become bloated as they're played over time for many generations.

Second, open resource monitor before you launch the game. Just type in resource monitor on the start menu, and it should come up. Then you need to look under the memory/RAM tab. Leave it open. Launch the game. And then if you play in full screen mode, if you press the windows key it will minimize the game. You can then check the resource monitor. Look at ts3w.exe or ts3.exe (whichever one it shows up as) and look at the committed KB of memory. When it starts getting up to 3000000 KB (kilobytes), this is the equivalent of 3GB. At this point you need to be checking it every so often to make sure it doesn't spike up too high. Save save save. And then if it reaches 3.5 GB assume the game isn't going to save the next time you try. Attempt to save and exit and reload the game...

Which brings me to the next point, never click Save and Quit! It uses up more RAM than just saving does. Always save and then click options again and then quit without saving.

Also, if you can help it, save in map view. Best to do it in a particularly uninteresting part of the world, like over an open field. Map view is much safer to save from because the game releases a bit of RAM when you pop into the map. I've seen it using MSI Afterburner, it drops a good chunk of the working memory almost instantly. Doesn't do much about committed memory, but anything helps and it's easy enough to remember.

If your game is crashing, use Crash Log Analyzer to see if max memory crashes are the cause: https://modthesims.info/d/580022/sims-3-crash-log-analyzer-version-1-69-compatible-updated.html?fbclid=IwAR0gvTbewWkG4lKA8wdChgouza7jt_kcP34s91wkKd9uLpJhUwnD2Lono2U

Download Kuree's Save Cleaner tool. (http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/1532/ ). It is a program that you can run to clean your saves. Truthfully you can clean your saves on your own using S3PE, but it's tedious. The program is just easier and takes like 3 seconds usually. It works by clearing your .nhd file in your saves folder of images, random little images generated from building and decorating as well as scrapbook memories from downloaded sims, your sims, etc...a lot of stuff you don't need weighing you down.

Word of advice, if you can do without the memory scrapbook, turn it off. The constant images and memories contribute to the RAM issue as well.

Try not to work in CAS for too long, and if you do, exit CAS, save, quit, reload. *SAVE WORK IN PROGRESS SIMS TO YOUR BIN IN CAS JUST IN CASE YOU GET ERROR 12*

Same goes with too many changes made in Edit Town or build/buy mode, don't hop into gameplay right after. Save, quit, reload.

Never, by any means, play a game, quit to main menu, and load another save up. The committed RAM won't be released from the previous town, so the second save may not end up saving.

****If you're a CC hoarder and/or you use Create-a-World (and honestly anyone interested in merging content easily for better performance)****

https://modthesims.info/d/461888/cc-magic-custom-content-management-and-game-launcher-updated-07-15-2012-works-with-supernatural.html?fbclid=IwAR2VrpQ_lioLHG0dDx5w-4vuxd_SN56RogYMsmFL3G19R3IANTsEi_f5X08

I HIGHLY recommend installing and switching over to using CC Magic for your CC purposes. Merged CC works better because it's less files the game has to read on loadup. Never merge mods, but CC Magic has a system that helps prevent you from doing this, separating your CC (Default) and your Mods (Legacy). The default content will be merged, legacy content will not. This helps you organize and sort without merging things you don't want to be merged.

Why is it better than using the launcher and why is it relevant to Error 12 and memory crashing? If you use a lot of content, the game is going to use more RAM. Unfortunately, EA poorly designed the launcher's install process and the way those files translate into the game. When you install content into the launcher, it installs into either an .ebc or .dbc file, the former being Store content and the latter being any other non-store custom content, at most each is about 200MB or so. For some, odd, odd reason beyond my understanding, the launcher generates copies of every single one of these files as .tmp files when you open the launcher. On patch 1.69, you can't avoid the launcher. Deleting them won't make a difference, the damage is done. These .ebc and .dbc files load entirely into memory when the game is launched. The game commits them and holds onto them with a death grip. Why, I have no idea. After a certain point, the game becomes unplayable if you add too much, which isn't fair and certainly shouldn't be the end all be all.

It isn't, you can convert CC into package file format and merge them on your own, but in large quantities this can take a lot of time and requires a lot of patience and testing. If you don't want to do this, CC Magic is the alternative route. CC Magic has a learning curve, but it's easier to use in the long run and makes things much more convenient for you.

Avoiding installing large amounts of content in the launcher will prevent your game from choking on itself, and switching to CC Magic will keep the RAM usage down when you play with a large amount of custom content.

Unfortunately, not everything can go in CC Magic. But the good news is, you can still completely avoid the launcher. Yes, even with store content, and now as of 2023 if you are on the EA App, your store content likely doesn’t even stay installed through the launcher anyway.

Lots, sims, pets, patterns, and worlds - all of these seem like they need to go in the launcher, but they truly don’t. Using this tool: https://modthesims.info/d/364038/delphy-s-sims-3-pack-multi-extracter-updated-5th-sept-2009.html

You can extract the package files out of sims3packs. The procedure for installation is a bit different for each type of file. If any of these filetypes come with attached CC, you would install those leftover files in CC Magic if you wanted them. You now have the choice to not install attached CC that might be unwanted.

Lots - use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. If there are multiple files, the lot came with attached CC that if you installed in the launcher, you’d have had no choice but to install along with it, even if you didn’t want it. You need to identify the lot file’s package. If you use Custard (link below) on the original sims3pack, it will identify which package is the lot to help you out. Once you know which file is the lot, put it in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Library

Sims and pets - these are truly individual sims, accessible via CAS bin and not households. Use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. Like with lots, attached CC may come with the sim. Using Custard on the sims3pack will tell you which of the packages is the sim. When you identify it, rename it to the sim’s name and change the file extension from .package to .sim

Windows will ask if you’re sure, say yes. Then move the file to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > SavedSims

Households - these are groups of sims as a household to be found in the Edit Town library. use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. If there are multiple files, the household came with attached CC. You need to identify the household file’s package. If you use Custard on the original sims3pack, it will identify which package is the household to help you out. Once you know which file is the household, put it in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Library

Worlds - this is only for custom worlds. I will link the guide for store worlds and store content below. Use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. There may be multiple files because some worlds come with attached CC and you would then need to identify the world file. Custard can do so to help you find it, as with the other types. Once you know which package the world is, rename it to the name of the world and change the file extension from .package to .world. Windows will ask if you’re sure. Say yes. Then you need to move the file to wherever your TS3 game installation is located. This may vary depending on where you installed it. A quick shortcut to that area of files would be to right click on your TS3 shortcut on your desktop and clicking Open File Location. This will take you to The Sims 3 > Game > Bin. Go to the folder The Sims 3. From there you should see folders for all of your EPs and such.

Follow this filepath: The Sims 3 > GameData > Shared > NonPackaged > Worlds

This is where you’ll leave your world file.

Link to custard: https://modthesims.info/d/390235/custard-sims3pack-cleaner.html

Patterns in package file format are fine to use in CC Magic, but be wary of .sims3pack patterns because patterns created with CAP will cause Materializing Materials errors when CASting them, causing you to need to restart the game and lose progress.

While there is a fix for CAP patterns, I personally avoid using any patterns created with CAP as I don’t have the patience to manually fix them for use as package files.

As for store content, that’s too long of an explanation to have here, so here’s a link to another document explaining that process: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19_Tmwn7ekVhk0iT0m8-Xm514iejT9ejh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110680973770894032193&rtpof=true&sd=true

If you need help on how to use CC Magic, I made a (pretty long) video recently explaining it through the user manual first and then doing a demonstration if you learn better with both a lecture then a demo (that's how I prefer to learn things like this). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSul1XA_c7k&t=1s …

Since people all over the world play this game and I wanted to include everyone, I also made captions available in many languages and edited my CC text to match the words I was saying as accurately as possible so that the auto translation picks up what I'm saying more accurately.

If you do switch over to CC Magic I also suggest making a new Sims 3 folder to keep your old installations and saves intact in case you decide you don't want to use CC Magic anymore. I have a short video on how to do this, not the best quality because I hadn't slept for 2 days when I made it and barely remember doing it but at least I did it, right? 😅https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwhD7pqhQ24 …

The last ditch thing is that if you're doing all these things and nothing is working, it could just be the world you are playing in is too big or has some unresolved issues. No matter how good or bad your computer is, sometimes some worlds are just too much for the game to handle. You might have to move your sims to a different place to live or start a new save. Also if your computer is running on 4GB of RAM or less, it's not even allowed to use the maximum amount, so this issue would be more common. MacBooks that aren't on the 64 bit update also have a 2GB RAM ceiling, so that's even more restrictive.

Now these solutions aren't always going to work 100% because the game has serious memory issues that were never addressed, and it's clear that these issues made it difficult for EA to make the game 64 bit for Mac users without causing a million new glitches we have never seen before. With the help of these solutions, you can dramatically reduce the frequency of these problems. Using multiple/all of these suggestions simultaneously improves your chances of less errors overall.

I have done ton of research and read basically every forum on this subject, and I came to some conclusions about what you can do to prevent Error 12 and max memory crashes.

Let me begin by clarifying to not confuse memory with storage. Your memory is not how much you can have saved on your computer - it's another word for RAM or Random Access Memory. It's a temporary kind of storage, what you're doing at any given moment is stored in the RAM - the more you have, the more you can do all at once. When you close things, that information leaves the RAM. Unfortunately with TS3, RAM doesn't drop off like it should. Most programs use it when they need it and let go of it when they don't need it. TS3 while running will take RAM and hold onto it and not let go of it, essentially killing itself because it has a restrictive limit on how much it can use, as it's a 32 bit program. Contrary to pseudo internet fixes out there, there is no way to avoid this, the game can use at most 3.6 GB before crashing, and at the 3.0 GB range, Error 12 and crashing are imminent threats. The longer the game runs, the more at risk you are.

What can be done?

First, you need NRaas Saver mod (https://www.nraas.net/community/Saver ). Error 12 messages are much more likely in a long play session that hasn't been saved in long periods of time. You can have NRaas Saver prompt you to save in whatever increment of time you choose, and it will also create a save cycle for you, meaning it will make about 4 copies of your save (or however many you'd like, you can change it in settings) to rotate through so you're not saving to the same massive save file over and over again. Bloated saves put you at risk for Error 12., and legacy saves are prone to become bloated as they're played over time for many generations.

Second, open resource monitor before you launch the game. Just type in resource monitor on the start menu, and it should come up. Then you need to look under the memory/RAM tab. Leave it open. Launch the game. And then if you play in full screen mode, if you press the windows key it will minimize the game. You can then check the resource monitor. Look at ts3w.exe or ts3.exe (whichever one it shows up as) and look at the committed KB of memory. When it starts getting up to 3000000 KB (kilobytes), this is the equivalent of 3GB. At this point you need to be checking it every so often to make sure it doesn't spike up too high. Save save save. And then if it reaches 3.5 GB assume the game isn't going to save the next time you try. Attempt to save and exit and reload the game...

Which brings me to the next point, never click Save and Quit! It uses up more RAM than just saving does. Always save and then click options again and then quit without saving.

Also, if you can help it, save in map view. Best to do it in a particularly uninteresting part of the world, like over an open field. Map view is much safer to save from because the game releases a bit of RAM when you pop into the map. I've seen it using MSI Afterburner, it drops a good chunk of the working memory almost instantly. Doesn't do much about committed memory, but anything helps and it's easy enough to remember.

If your game is crashing, use Crash Log Analyzer to see if max memory crashes are the cause: https://modthesims.info/d/580022/sims-3-crash-log-analyzer-version-1-69-compatible-updated.html?fbclid=IwAR0gvTbewWkG4lKA8wdChgouza7jt_kcP34s91wkKd9uLpJhUwnD2Lono2U

Download Kuree's Save Cleaner tool. (http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/1532/ ). It is a program that you can run to clean your saves. Truthfully you can clean your saves on your own using S3PE, but it's tedious. The program is just easier and takes like 3 seconds usually. It works by clearing your .nhd file in your saves folder of images, random little images generated from building and decorating as well as scrapbook memories from downloaded sims, your sims, etc...a lot of stuff you don't need weighing you down.

Word of advice, if you can do without the memory scrapbook, turn it off. The constant images and memories contribute to the RAM issue as well.

Try not to work in CAS for too long, and if you do, exit CAS, save, quit, reload. *SAVE WORK IN PROGRESS SIMS TO YOUR BIN IN CAS JUST IN CASE YOU GET ERROR 12*

Same goes with too many changes made in Edit Town or build/buy mode, don't hop into gameplay right after. Save, quit, reload.

Never, by any means, play a game, quit to main menu, and load another save up. The committed RAM won't be released from the previous town, so the second save may not end up saving.

****If you're a CC hoarder and/or you use Create-a-World (and honestly anyone interested in merging content easily for better performance)****

https://modthesims.info/d/461888/cc-magic-custom-content-management-and-game-launcher-updated-07-15-2012-works-with-supernatural.html?fbclid=IwAR2VrpQ_lioLHG0dDx5w-4vuxd_SN56RogYMsmFL3G19R3IANTsEi_f5X08

I HIGHLY recommend installing and switching over to using CC Magic for your CC purposes. Merged CC works better because it's less files the game has to read on loadup. Never merge mods, but CC Magic has a system that helps prevent you from doing this, separating your CC (Default) and your Mods (Legacy). The default content will be merged, legacy content will not. This helps you organize and sort without merging things you don't want to be merged.

Why is it better than using the launcher and why is it relevant to Error 12 and memory crashing? If you use a lot of content, the game is going to use more RAM. Unfortunately, EA poorly designed the launcher's install process and the way those files translate into the game. When you install content into the launcher, it installs into either an .ebc or .dbc file, the former being Store content and the latter being any other non-store custom content, at most each is about 200MB or so. For some, odd, odd reason beyond my understanding, the launcher generates copies of every single one of these files as .tmp files when you open the launcher. On patch 1.69, you can't avoid the launcher. Deleting them won't make a difference, the damage is done. These .ebc and .dbc files load entirely into memory when the game is launched. The game commits them and holds onto them with a death grip. Why, I have no idea. After a certain point, the game becomes unplayable if you add too much, which isn't fair and certainly shouldn't be the end all be all.

It isn't, you can convert CC into package file format and merge them on your own, but in large quantities this can take a lot of time and requires a lot of patience and testing. If you don't want to do this, CC Magic is the alternative route. CC Magic has a learning curve, but it's easier to use in the long run and makes things much more convenient for you.

Avoiding installing large amounts of content in the launcher will prevent your game from choking on itself, and switching to CC Magic will keep the RAM usage down when you play with a large amount of custom content.

Unfortunately, not everything can go in CC Magic. But the good news is, you can still completely avoid the launcher. Yes, even with store content, and now as of 2023 if you are on the EA App, your store content likely doesn’t even stay installed through the launcher anyway.

Lots, sims, pets, patterns, and worlds - all of these seem like they need to go in the launcher, but they truly don’t. Using this tool: https://modthesims.info/d/364038/delphy-s-sims-3-pack-multi-extracter-updated-5th-sept-2009.html

You can extract the package files out of sims3packs. The procedure for installation is a bit different for each type of file. If any of these filetypes come with attached CC, you would install those leftover files in CC Magic if you wanted them. You now have the choice to not install attached CC that might be unwanted.

Lots - use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. If there are multiple files, the lot came with attached CC that if you installed in the launcher, you’d have had no choice but to install along with it, even if you didn’t want it. You need to identify the lot file’s package. If you use Custard (link below) on the original sims3pack, it will identify which package is the lot to help you out. Once you know which file is the lot, put it in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Library

Sims and pets - these are truly individual sims, accessible via CAS bin and not households. Use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. Like with lots, attached CC may come with the sim. Using Custard on the sims3pack will tell you which of the packages is the sim. When you identify it, rename it to the sim’s name and change the file extension from .package to .sim

Windows will ask if you’re sure, say yes. Then move the file to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > SavedSims

Households - these are groups of sims as a household to be found in the Edit Town library. use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. If there are multiple files, the household came with attached CC. You need to identify the household file’s package. If you use Custard on the original sims3pack, it will identify which package is the household to help you out. Once you know which file is the household, put it in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Library

Worlds - this is only for custom worlds. I will link the guide for store worlds and store content below. Use the tool on the sims3pack and find the package (s) that come out of it. There may be multiple files because some worlds come with attached CC and you would then need to identify the world file. Custard can do so to help you find it, as with the other types. Once you know which package the world is, rename it to the name of the world and change the file extension from .package to .world. Windows will ask if you’re sure. Say yes. Then you need to move the file to wherever your TS3 game installation is located. This may vary depending on where you installed it. A quick shortcut to that area of files would be to right click on your TS3 shortcut on your desktop and clicking Open File Location. This will take you to The Sims 3 > Game > Bin. Go to the folder The Sims 3. From there you should see folders for all of your EPs and such.

Follow this filepath: The Sims 3 > GameData > Shared > NonPackaged > Worlds

This is where you’ll leave your world file.

Link to custard: https://modthesims.info/d/390235/custard-sims3pack-cleaner.html

Patterns in package file format are fine to use in CC Magic, but be wary of .sims3pack patterns because patterns created with CAP will cause Materializing Materials errors when CASting them, causing you to need to restart the game and lose progress.

While there is a fix for CAP patterns, I personally avoid using any patterns created with CAP as I don’t have the patience to manually fix them for use as package files.

As for store content, that’s too long of an explanation to have here, so here’s a link to another document explaining that process: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19_Tmwn7ekVhk0iT0m8-Xm514iejT9ejh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110680973770894032193&rtpof=true&sd=true

If you need help on how to use CC Magic, I made a (pretty long) video recently explaining it through the user manual first and then doing a demonstration if you learn better with both a lecture then a demo (that's how I prefer to learn things like this). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSul1XA_c7k&t=1s …

Since people all over the world play this game and I wanted to include everyone, I also made captions available in many languages and edited my CC text to match the words I was saying as accurately as possible so that the auto translation picks up what I'm saying more accurately.

If you do switch over to CC Magic I also suggest making a new Sims 3 folder to keep your old installations and saves intact in case you decide you don't want to use CC Magic anymore. I have a short video on how to do this, not the best quality because I hadn't slept for 2 days when I made it and barely remember doing it but at least I did it, right? 😅https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwhD7pqhQ24 …

The last ditch thing is that if you're doing all these things and nothing is working, it could just be the world you are playing in is too big or has some unresolved issues. No matter how good or bad your computer is, sometimes some worlds are just too much for the game to handle. You might have to move your sims to a different place to live or start a new save. Also if your computer is running on 4GB of RAM or less, it's not even allowed to use the maximum amount, so this issue would be more common. MacBooks that aren't on the 64 bit update also have a 2GB RAM ceiling, so that's even more restrictive.

Now these solutions aren't always going to work 100% because the game has serious memory issues that were never addressed, and it's clear that these issues made it difficult for EA to make the game 64 bit for Mac users without causing a million new glitches we have never seen before. With the help of these solutions, you can dramatically reduce the frequency of these problems. Using multiple/all of these suggestions simultaneously improves your chances of less errors overall.