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back home essential sims 3 fixes
i love the sims 3, but out of the box it is unfortunately an unoptimized, ancient mess.
many don't realize that there are some fixes that you have to do in order for it to work as best as possible. not only does it increase performance but it prevents your saves from being corrupted or breaking. the following info is required if you want to play this game, but its definetly worth it. if you know anything about computers (if ur on this website i bet u do) it will be a piece of cake. :D
my own written tutorial
this trusted guide on the steam webpage is the main resource for sims 3 essential fixes.
I used to suggest the steam community sims 3 guide, but after reviewing the 2026 version I cannot recommend it for sims 3 beginners. The overall process that it tells you to do is not actually essential. So here is my own written list on what I think is essential for sims 3 gameplay. Ill try to be as minimalistic as possible.
- use the gpu addon tool to make the game recognize your graphics card
- allocate more cpu
- limit fps to 60-120
- sims 3 setting setter
- create mods folder
- essential nraas mods
- overwatch
- error trap
- register
- master controller
- retuner
- saver if you want pop ups to remind you to save
- other bug fixes
back in my day we had to go in the games config files and change it manually... yall are SPOILED
best to do this in your computers graphics card settings so that it will be fixed no matter what mods you change.
dont let github scare you, scroll down and the whole thing is explained very succinctly!
save as on the blue download button
this list used to be much longer. I love that the modding community is sitll active and makes improvements every single year!
video walkthrough
the video guide that i used is acottonsock's sims 3 fixes guide. ik it seems long but thats because she goes into complete detail for absolute computer beginners. it shouldnt take hours to set up the game i dont think lol. acottonsock is one of the pillars of our community!!
although this video says 2025, i still think it is the absolute best way to play ts3. for 2026+, the sims 3 setting setter has replaced the smoothness patch. when she says to download the smoothness patch, install sims 3 setting setter instead. you can also put off downloading regul save cleaner but its cool to have.
sidenote - for sims 4 migrators, NRAAS is the MCCC of the sims 3. i often get overwhelemed when downloading mods like NRAAS because they have so many settings. This video is amazing because it gives an exact guide on how they work. NRAAS mods work fine without you needing to tinker with them all the time to get it just right. basically, its ok to leave it alone is what im saying. Tinker with them as problems arise