Sims 3 Crashes Unexpectedly in CAS

[ProtakuEmmie]

Hi, Sorry if I mess this up as it is my first time using the EA Support Forum. Basically, after reinstalling Origin and then the Sims 3 on my PC, I keep encountering an error during create a sim where the game crashes unexpectedly. This does not at all occur outside of (before getting to or after finishing my sims in) create a sim. Sometimes selection boxes will turn black before the game crashes, and other times the sim will become corrupted. I haven't found any solution to this on the forum, even from those who have had similar issues. 

OS: Windows 10
Crashes during CAS

I can play regularly outside of Create a Sim. Usually CAS lasts for about 5 minutes before crashing.

I have University, Supernatural and Island Paradise. The Sims 3 crashes with or without them.

I have lots of custom content. I verified that these are not recognized as bad custom content (that can cause crashing) and got all of my custom content from The Sims Resource. My mods are NRaas, a Medic Career package and A graphics enhancer, all from mod the sims (except Nraas).

DxDiag included as text file.

[puzzlezaddict]

@ProtakuEmmie  I've moved your post to the Sims 3 PC tech forum.  Thanks for the dxdiag; it makes things so much easier to start with one.

First of all, the usual tools to detect bad cc are not 100% accurate, so you could still have some.  (The Sims Resource has definitely been known to host items that cause problems, by the way.)  NRaas mods are well-made and safe to use, and I wouldn't expect the medic career package to cause problems in CAS.  (Still, check its page on Mod the Sims to see whether it's updated for patch 1.67/1.69.)  The graphics enhancer might be a problem though.  If you want, you can PM me its link, or name it here without a link, unless it's adult-themed.

The easiest way to find out whether a bad mod or cc item is the problem is to test CAS in a clean game folder.  If you move your existing Sims 3 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts—you can put it on your desktop—the game will create a new one the next time it loads.

However, the more obvious issue in your dxdiag is that the TS3 crashes reference a component of VC++ 2005, which the game uses, and which can become corrupt.  It's easy enough to reinstall though.  Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of your screen and select Settings > Apps, then scroll to where Microsoft 2005 Visual C++ Redistributable is listed, and click to uninstall.  Then download and install a fresh copy from Microsoft:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26347

You probably only have the x86 version, whether it says so or not; the game wouldn't run at all if it weren't installed.  And if you only have the one, just reinstall the x86 version.  But if you have two for some reason, install the x64 as well.  (The _IA is only for servers.)

Also, have you taken any steps to limit your in-game framerates?  A Radeon RX 560 is a fast enough card to generate excessively high fps if not manually capped.  Regardless of whether reinstalling VC++ 2005 helps, you should make sure your fps doesn't go above 60, the refresh rate of your monitor.  To check, bring up the cheats console (ctrl-shift-C) and enter "fps on without quotes."  The number will appear in the upper right corner; "fps off" makes it go away,

If your framerates are too high, the easiest tool to use on AMD cards is RivaTuner Statistics Server (free download).  You can create a profile for TS3.exe and manually set the fps limit to 60.  RTSS does need to be running while you play, but it takes very little in the way of resources.  It's pretty straightforward to use, but let me know if you need a screenshot.

[ProtakuEmmie]

@puzzlezaddict Thanks so much! I’ve actually encountered more problems with Origin that I’m going to have to solve before getting to this problem, however I have a link to my graphics enhancer. Also, thank you so much for the heads up on my DxDiag and graphics card! I’m gonna try the stuff you suggested when I get Origin fixed.

http://modthesims.info/d/600416/extrareal-graphics-shader.html

[puzzlezaddict]

@ProtakuEmmie  Please remove the link; we're not allowed to actually post links to third-party downloads unless they come from verified sources (Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, etc.).

Reading the description of the shader, it could probably be the cause of your crashes all by itself.  Your graphics card is slower than an Nvidia 960, and according to the graph posted, a 960 will only maintain an fps of about 30 in 1080p, even using the "medium" version of the shader.  (It's a bit better at the current resolution of your monitor, but I'm not sure why you're not using the monitor's native 1920x1080.)  So your card would certainly struggle under the heavy workload.

For now, please remove the shader from the game's program files, disable Reshade for Sims 3, and see how the game runs more or less in its vanilla state.  Manually limiting fps is a good idea, but otherwise, don't add anything else to the mix.  Once you have a baseline for performance, you can start fiddling and see what you can add without causing any more crashes.

If you want to troubleshoot the Origin issue, feel free to do so either here or in the Origin tech section.  I'm not an Origin expert, but I do know one, and I can certainly at least cover the basics.