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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 19th Jun 2019 at 10:37 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 3, Late Night, Pets
Save files in sims 3 got corrupted
Hey fellow simmers,

I have a very nasty problem with my Sims 3 game. When I tried to save my game I got error 12, which means the file i'm trying to save on is corrupted. I've had this problem before and could always fix it by just using the backup folder and get back to where I last saved my game. The problem is... there is no backup folder I have no idea how this is possible. All the saves that were left ended with .bad which means they are corrupted and can't be used anymore. Does this mean I lost my whole game? Or is there another way to recover my neighborhood? Any help is much appreciated!
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Field Researcher
#3 Old 21st Jun 2019 at 2:34 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
Have you quit the game yet? If not, we can try to salvage it. But if you already quit then it is over.



Just in case... for those of us that do encounter this issue - can you post the salvage methods, @nitromon? I'd be interested, as I occasionally get this issue. I know of a couple of methods (pulling the save folder, etc.) but still - if you have ideas on how to salvage an Error 12, I think there's a lot of us interested in that.

Dead Ringers
Discord: RedBaroness13
Mad Poster
#5 Old 21st Jun 2019 at 10:44 PM
Wouldn't something like the 4GB fix (I think it helps on TS3 too) or a program that empties the RAM (like the memory allocation fix) help on the memory issue? It does work for TS2 which suffers from similar issues, and should work on most 32-bit programs running on 64-bit systems: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=610641

I do second the "use smaller textures where possible" thing, too. You don't always need those super-detailed high-def textures to make your game look good. if you can make do with 512x512, do so. A 1024x1024 map is actually 4 times the size of a 512x512 map, so with each increase in size you quadruple it. Don't even think about using 2048x2048 for everything, because those are a memory drain like nothing else.

If you make CC, make sure the items are properly UV-mapped and scale everything so it use as much of the map as possible, so you don't have to scale up the texture.
Mad Poster
#7 Old 21st Jun 2019 at 11:09 PM
Still, something that can empty the standby memory automatically could possibly be of help to let the game run longer.
Scholar
#8 Old 22nd Jun 2019 at 12:01 AM Last edited by ElaineNualla : 22nd Jun 2019 at 9:47 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Still, something that can empty the standby memory automatically could possibly be of help to let the game run longer.


@nitromon's tricks are such "methods", you won't find any magic bullet (despise particular claims) for extending possible gameplay if the program already consumed most if not all available resources. If you'd just run the script for cleaning/emptying the memory you'd just sent the pages to swap (that's how this "magic", once popular in the XP era works) effectively crippling the game performance and achieving exactly nothing.
In theory there could be possible to run a memory-page daemon with the Windows kernel and on its execution level, which (like in old '80 of the previous century) would shuffle RAM pages from 32bit area to 64 as needed (if there would be such available RAM ofc.)- in general similar method was used for 8-bit machines to use more than 64kB of memory.
But, good look with that. It's really complicated method of wasting one's time.

The real problem is that the program practically does not control its resources (and therefore very quickly, loose most of them), there are not even properly implemented caches (there're caches on disk but theirs resource pool is not checked) or resource management/control. It's poorly designed and with each expansion that mess just adds up.

So, be frugal, Sim safely


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Scholar
#10 Old 22nd Jun 2019 at 9:29 PM
You know, theoretically there's no reason (except some artificial limitation in code) why the game fails before it reach maximum 32-bit limit on 64-bit systems with e.g. 6GB RAM. yet it happens even if it has no sense, because there often still *is* free RAM in such case inside said limit which could be consumed freely.

The Windows never was particularly good with managing memory (and probably never will be - MS just does not care anymore, desktop is not where the money for the Company is lying) nor with managing processes, anyway.

Putting aside memory leaks problems, which are maybe only partially on the Maxis side (and partially on the compiler), why the program does not control it's resources is beyond understanding of my tiny brain. We f*k taught that in the programmers' kindergarten. It's terrifying to imagine what would happen if they would try to make a driver...


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Mad Poster
#11 Old 22nd Jun 2019 at 10:29 PM
Well, TS3 was never particularly stable out of the box. I haven't played it for quite a few years (tried to install ITTF, everything bugged out, never bothered to fix it), and haven't yet set it up on my new laptop (expecting issues because Win10). But when I played it, the game lagged and kept corrupting saves left and right. Could play fine one day, next day the save wasn't even possible to open, and the ingame bugs were many and increasingly annoying (usually a sure sign of corrupted saves coming my way). I hadn't modded the game much, so there may be CC/mods that could help stabilize the game, but I never got attached enough to these saves that I really bothered to fix them.

I never remember it's called "standby memory", but that's what I meant above

The Windows 32-bit systems seem to be a little better at managing memory, while the 64-bit systems are really bad at it with older 32-bit programs. Windows 10 - I never had more issues than with this one. I also don't think the game developers thought people would still stick with the "oldies" TS2 and TS3 when their new shiny TS4 came out. They don't plan much for future computer development in their games, either. I think 64-bit systems was getting more common in the TS3 startup era, but the game developers probably thought a lot of people were still using 32-bit Windows versions, which may be why they decided on the 32-bit format. Which ultimately turned out to not be the best decision. Back when TS2 was made, most people were probably using XP, so the 32-bit decision is understandable. Anyway, game developers tend to prefer if you use their newest games...
Scholar
#12 Old 23rd Jun 2019 at 9:50 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
The Windows 32-bit systems seem to be a little better at managing memory, while the 64-bit systems are really bad at it with older 32-bit programs. Windows 10 - I never had more issues than with this one.


actually the 64b iterations are far better in this department than the 32b ones (don't even start with XP) - the W10 problems are the whole new area with its infinite beta status and rampart telemetry (essentially this system fights with itself for resources sometimes). The problem with the game - any Maxis game in general - is exceptionally ambitious project with poor design at the beginning and even worse execution (yeah, different teams for different expansions for example, what could possibly go wrong, right?).


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Test Subject
Original Poster
#13 Old 24th Jun 2019 at 12:31 PM
Hey everyone!

I've tried to recover my corrupted saves without success. It was a method someone on another forum shared with me. Thank you nitromon for explaining why error 12 shows up, that was unclear to me also. I did close the game so I was only left with corrupted saves. I will just start over with the game and create new sims and lots (not too many :P). I learned that it's also very helpful to always make backups yourself and keep your gamefolder clean. I will definitely do that in the future so I won't deal with this again.

Thanks again for the help.
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