I've spent at least two years designing this neighborhood in the Sims 2. From the map in Simcity 4 to the lots and sims. I didn't do all the lots.
Some were just lots downloaded from Mod The Sims etc.
Here, you will find screenshots and the story behind Kitakama.
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One of the oldest mansions left in Kitakama, owned by the descendants of it's founders, the Nakamuras.
The gardens are splendid to walk through.
The house has been modernised to fit the current times while keeping it's traditional looks. This house took a while to build (obviously) but I'm overall happy with how it turned out. I just hope my game doesn't crash whenever I load it!
I thought while it's clean and empty, I might as well upload the neighbourhood for others do with as they please. Of course I would add the CC folder and any other downloads needed. What do you think?
I've encountered some problems with Kitakama that has forced me to go back to an older version of the hood. However, my Myoga house which I thought I backed up, wasn't backed up. I'm going to reset the neighbourhood by removing all the sims, rebuilding the house, then back that hood up and re-add the sims again. I'm new to creating a hood this detailed and I want to get it right. I'm also going to go through my CC list and delete the ones I don't need. Annoying but hey! 20 year old game. I'm still getting pink flash and have tried the latest fix by @spockthewok but it doesn't work for me. Neither does Lazy Duchess launcher. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong lol.
Anyway here's a screenshot of Daigo celebrating Pride Month!
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One of my favourite community lots in Kitakama is the arcade. Only teens and young adults can go here (thanks to the visitor mod).
It consists of the main arcade room, an outdoor area for BBQ's and parties, and an upstairs room with beds on pallets. Some teens broke in so they can sleep over night.
And of course the gross toilets.
I might make this available to download. It will require mods obviously. But what do you guys think?
With DXVK and S3SS living their high days, older Sims 3 installment guides are rapidly starting to become outdated. So here's a brand new and up-to-date step-by-step guide to go through when you do a fresh install of your game that will help you get the best performance you could possibly imagine for this old and laggy gem of a game.
Have Sims 3 installed, but is it performing abhorrently? I highly recommend a fresh install. You don't have to delete your saves or mods. Just get yourself a fresh bin to work with by uninstalling, going into your program files The Sims 3 folder and deleting any remnant files still in there. Then follow my guide!
All of the steps to follow are below the line ->
Step 1: install your game through your respected platform.
Just follow the regular steps and install the game without adding any other stuff yet whatsoever.
(I personally have a legit copy of the Sims 3 on Steam. If you use another app and have any questions, I'll probably not be able to help you.)
Step 2: run the game once through the official launcher. Once you get to the main menu, you can quit again.
It is very important you run your game through the original launcher at least once after installing it. Not doing so can cause problems with programs like CC magic. You only need to do it the first time. After that, we'll be skipping the launcher entirely.
Step 3: Create a short cut of TS3W.exe on your desktop.
You'll be skipping the launcher from now on. This helps with performance and it starts up your game much faster. It is also important to do this because of DXVK.
You can find TS3W.exe in your bin folder. For me (Steam version) it's in this location:
Right click TS3W.exe, click 'show more options' and choose 'create a shortcut'. Place this shortcut on your desktop and Run Sims 3 from there from now on.
Step 4: Run the GPU Add-on Support patcher
You can find this patcher here. It is essential to run this because Sims will otherwise not recognize your graphics card unless it's over 10 years old. This patcher helps to get your GPU recognized.
The patcher will create a new Graphicsrules.sgr and new Graphicscards.sgr for you in your bin folder. After installing this, you can move the ones that have _old behind them somewhere else (or delete them).
Step 5: Install DXVK
Make sure you follow this guide by Nornities and do every single step. Don't skip anything! Make sure you install the version in this guide (DXVK 2.3.1)
I'd say DXVK is pretty essential nowadays, especially if you have a modern graphics card with 6GB of VRAM or higher. It'll greatly help to keep your game stable and can prevent a lot of crashes. The way Dxvk works, is that it loads textures through your VRAM instead of your RAM. Especially when you use a lot of CC or HD textures, this will make a huge difference for your RAM usage. Sims 3 can only use 4GB of RAM at once and will start crashing once you hit the 3GB mark in your task manager. With DXVK, you will use a lot less RAM and it'll take much longer for your game to reach this hard cap.
When not to install DXVK: if you have a shitty GPU (like an integrated graphics card on a laptop, or one with 4GB of VRAM or less).
Step 5: Start up the game
Use your new desktop shortcut that also has 'run as administrator' permissions now if you followed the DXVK guide properly.
Step 6: set up all your settings through the ingame options menu
The best graphics settings for you will highly depend on what computer you're using. But there are some things you should always turn off because they negatively affect performance. I will share my (relevant) settings with you (I use a custom UI so your screen style will look a little different from mine). Click on the images to enlarge them so you can read them:
Things of note about these settings:
I recommend you play in windowed mode, especially if you plan to use ReShade. Playing fullscreen is possible, but it does make Reshade presets behave differently in your game. I will include a step in this guide that you can follow to play windowed borderless. So, when you plan to do this: make sure you set the resolution to your display resolution.
Enable object hiding helps with performance. Advanced rendering is essential because otherwise your game looks like absolute shit.
Set your High Detail Lots to any value between 2 and 4. Don't go lower or higher, because you'll get rendering issues that lag out your game.
All other graphics settings can be set to your heart's desire. I'd say start with the highest settings and only go down if you notice your frames per second are bad.
Disable shop mode and lessons and fully disable memories or use this mod to severly limit them. Disable interactive loading screens as well. These are all performance eaters. Interactive loading screen also causes crashes. Memories also don't do anything for your sim, it's just a scrap book with no in-game effects.
Disable any online mode feature. This also lags out your game. Unless you really want to use these features it's best to just play fully offline.
Save your settings, close the game again.
Step 7: Install Sims 3 Settings Setter
This is the most recent magic genie that Sims 3 was blessed with. Especially combined with DXVK it is a life changer. Installing it is simple. You download the most recent version here and drop the .asi file in your bin. Also grab 'wininet.dll' from here (the 32 bit one) and drop that one in your bin too.
Start up your game and load up a save. Once you're inside your save, you press 'insert' to open up the menu for Sims 3 Settings Setter. Go to the 'patches' tab and enable what you like. These are my enabled patches and they all work really well for me, but feel free to experiment with them to find your own performance sweet spot:
Only enable uncompressed textures if you have a GPU with at least 8gb of VRAM. My game will use over 6gb of VRAM easily with this enabled, so you've been warned.
Once you have everything you desire enabled, press 'file' in the top left corner and click 'save settings'.
Step 7.5: if you're playing windowed mode: go into the Other/QoL tab and enable 'Borderless Window'. Set it to 'Full Screen'.
Save your settings and close your game again. No need to save the game you entered for this unless you want to.
Step 8: Install Nraas Errortrap, MasterController and Overwatch
These 3 mods by Nraas are pretty much essential to keep your game from breaking down in the long run. You can download the mods here. Have you never installed a mod for Sims 3 before? Here's a guide (skip the part about Sims3pack and go straight to the part where it explains how to install .package mods).
That's it! You can now play The Sims 3 and it'll be as smooth and stable as it'll ever be. From here on, you can stock your game with more mods and CC (check out my mods masterlist!), or you can install Reshade (here's a guide).
Some important things to keep in mind while playing:
Clean up your game regularly. You can easily do this by using Regul Save Cleaner.
When you install a new mod or update/change Sims 3 Settings Setter, always restart and clear your caches.
Use CC Magic for installing CC, because it merges your files and this really helps with performance. Here's a handy guide on how to use it. Don't put your script mods in here, just your CC.
If you plan to travel to vacation destinations in the EP World Adventures, Nraas Traveler is a must to prevent most of the bugs and crashes that happen in this expansion.
Always keep in mind: mods and corrupt CC can still break your game, make it laggy or unplayable. Always be mindful of the mods you add, so you can always trace any issues you're having back to the mod causing it. I highly recommend not downloading a ton of mods in one session, but adding them step by step and see what they do to your games performance.
Use 'Reset the entire town' from Nraas MasterController at least every other sim week. It'll help clear up any lag that happens because of NPC sims getting themselves stuck routing or annoying stuff like that.
Got a slow CAS? Use Nraas MasterController Compact mode! (Make sure you have the Nraas MasterController Integration module installed).
Navigate to NRaas > MasterController > Settings > CAS.
The Myoga's are an enigma to the residents of Kitakama. Their family has been in Kitakama for generations. Unlike the more traditional families of Kitakama, the Myoga's are much more progressive and open minded. The family consists of:
.Abe Myoga - The father
.Illumise Myoga - The mother
.Daigo Myoga - The son
.Kiki Myoga - The daughter
The parties held at the Myoga house are famous. If a party is being held, everyone wants to be there. The Myoga's are known for their warm hospitality.
And because it's Pride Month, let's look at Daigo. Daigo is one of the few LGBT sims in Kitakama. He isn't afraid of it (and nobody should be!). He has a crush on his neighbour: Ken Fujiwara who, unlike Daigo, can't come right as freely because of his family's conservative views. So the two have been meeting secretly, getting closer as they go. Kiki, Daigo's sister, is very supportive of her brother. She's pretty much a party animal like her parents.
And that's all for now. Remember, love is love! No matter your gender!
What's the story? Let's start with these two families: Nakamura and Robinson.
What's the story behind Kitakama? Well it's the typical Romeo and Juliet story. I know. So original but the classics are classics for a reason: they are timeless and they work. The town is inspired by Japan and the unique architecture of both old and new buildings in the country. I have tried to be as accurate as possible as someone who has never visited Japan, but one day I would love to! The story focuses on two main groups: the old school traditionalists and the 'new blood' moving in from SimCity and modernising it.
Kitakama was founded by a family called Nakamura. They are well respected by the community. They have kept the town afloat with their wealth and power. The current family are as follows:
.Daichi Nakamura
.Michi Nakamura
.Genji Nakamura
.Hanako Nakamura
.Kenji Nakamura
.Asako Nakamura
The Robinson family are the new blood family from SimCity. Their investments into the town have added new venues that clash a little with the local culture such as the arcade (more on that in another post). Much of the investment has gone into Kitakama Plaza, the Downtown area of the neighbourhood (which I will also address in another post). The family are as follows:
.Ben Robinson
.Mary Robinson
.Scott Robinson
.Roxanne Robinson
Here is where the Romeo and Juliet side comes in: Scott and Hanako have fallen in love despite their families conflicts. It's not going to be an easy road for them. I will go into more detail with the families in their own posts. Plus I need to get more screenshots going. I'm obsessed with pose boxes right now!
Here are some screenshots of the main neighbourhood. Divided into two sections: you have the old traditional town in the middle, and the more modern buildings to the south. Towards the East is the farmlands and rural areas with a local fishing spot.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Kitakama: Japanese Sims 2 Neighborhood @kitakamahood - Tumblr Blog | Tumlook