Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

by JeanVW
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Original Post

Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

[ Edited ]
★★ Guide

Hi everyone,

 

I'm having this weird issue with my game.

Overall my game plays very smoothly, like butter. Specs are i5 7600K 3.80GHz, 1060GTX 6 GB and 16GB of ram. On Windows 10 Home Edition x64. I have all expansions, game packs and stuff packs.

 

 

However, when playing, sometimes when I'm in live mode, and I go to build mode, it lags terribly (like REALLY terrible).

It then goes over to my live mode as well, it's not permanent, as it goes away after a while, but then it comes back fairly early too.

 

I have a video of my problem, see below:

 

 

As you can see, pretty sluggish (it's normally very fluent in panning the camera)

I've literally tried everything. Setting my settings (shadows, as I read that that could help).

Removing my mods. 

Repairing my game.

I've even reinstalled my PC. 

I just cant seem to get around what's causing this. I just don't like this, because I love this game very much (just like all of you) and it's really frustrating to me, as my system meets (and exceeds) the requirements.

Message 1 of 176 (33,677 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

@JeanVW  How often does this happen?  Are there any patterns, for example that the same world(s) are affected, or only households with a high number of sims, or when you use a certain cheat?  Did this start happening before or after the June 3 patch?  Can you reproduce this reliably?

 

If you can reproduce, it would be useful to see whether it happens in a completely vanilla game.  Please test in a base game world (Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest) in a clean folder.  Move your entire Sims 4 user data folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just start a new save and see whether the error reappears.  Let me know either way.

 

If you can't reproduce, that's fine, just tell me if there's a pattern to when it happens, even though it's sporadic.  I'd also like to see a dxdiag, in case anything jumps out.

 

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

 

When you say you "reinstalled your PC," do you mean that you reinstalled Windows, or reset the PC to factory settings, or something else?  There are a lot of different kinds of resets, and they're all a bit different in what they accomplish.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 176 (33,616 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

[ Edited ]
★★★ Apprentice

I'm having the same/similar issue, currently working to find a solution but no luck yet.

Basically everything is smooth as butter but after a little while of playing i'll switch to build/buy and it will drop to what feels like single digit FPS, the funny thing is that opening any of the menu UI elements fixes the FPS - for example clicking the Notifications or camera icon top right or opening the ESC menu. If i go back to live mode it will slow down again until a UI element opens (even a notification appearing seems to fix it).

 

What i've tried so far:

- Deleting the entire Sims documents folder and the game bin folders - followed by repairing. Still happens on a clean game.

- Playing on another PC -  the problem only occurs on my main PC and i couldn't reproduce the problem elsewhere. Elsewhere I do get a bit of lag when switching between modes but it's only for 1-2 seconds which is pretty normal. On my main rig the lag feels the same but doesn't stop.

- Updating NVidia drivers with a clean install

- Messing around with in-game graphics settings

 

I'm not home right now so i can't post my dxdiag just yet, but my specs are:

- Windows 10 64bit

- i7 2600k @ 3.4ghz (OC)

- GTX 980TI

- 16GB RAM

- Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi external sound card

- Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250gb

 

Software i have running in the BG:

- Logitech Gaming Software

- Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Audio software

- Spotify

- MSI Afterburner

- Spyder 3 Utility

 

I've also monitored my system performance before and after the bug kicks in, basically as soon as the FPS drops my GPU and CPU usage halves, so it's not struggling with anything.

 

I'll continue to test things when i get back home. Something that has been giving me differing results is deleting my household inventory and switching back but it needs more testing before i can say anything conclusive.

 

Edit: Updated some info

Message 3 of 176 (33,586 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

@Gummingtons  Afterburner is known to cause issues (sometimes) with Sims 4.  Try disabling it before doing anything else.

 

It would also be helpful to see a dxdiag on your computer.  Even if you're rigorous in maintaining it, you might have a driver or some other detail in common with the original poster that could possibly be involved.

 

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

 

If you want to keep experimenting, try playing in a clean boot.  You'll have to disable Afterburner manually though, since last I heard, it still runs in a clean boot.

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-boot-windows-10

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 176 (33,542 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

★★ Guide

@puzzlezaddict It's usually when I enter build/buy mode. It'll start to lag REAL bad when there. 

Usually when I click the three dots (options) menu it goes away. But it comes back often too. So it's very frustrating.

My FPS is usually a steady 59/60 (I've capped it to 59).

 

I've put my Dxdiag in my message!

 

 

Message 5 of 176 (33,519 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

[ Edited ]
★★★ Apprentice

Thanks for the suggestion~

 

After some problem solving tonight i may have made some progress.

Disabling all the mentioned software didn't change anything, however i tried disabling High Definition Audio Device and NVIDIA High Definition Audio in the Device manager (under sound) and was able to play for a few hours with no issues, worth noting for anyone reading that i only use my Sound Blaster sound driver so i personally don't need the other two.

 

Whether i've solved it or it's just a coincidence i'll have to wait and see when i get more time to play tomorrow.

Update: Didn't work in the long run

 

Attached is my DxDiag

There's a couple of ts4 and reshade errors in there but it happens regardless of reshade.

 

Cheers.

Message 6 of 176 (33,486 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

[ Edited ]
★★ Guide

It's worth noting that I have the same thing. When I click the three dots, or any UI thing, the FPS goes back to normal (which is smooth as butter).

 

 

EDIT: I've also checked how much difference there is in FPS, when my game goes as 'normal' it's between 58.85 and 60 fps (it's locked at 60) When it lags it's between 10-12fps 

Message 7 of 176 (33,463 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

★★★★ Apprentice

This is exactly what happens to me too, i hit the 3 dots, it goes away, but only when i go from build to live mode, and live to build mode! 

Message 8 of 176 (33,421 Views)

Weird Lag From Build to Live Mode and Live to Build Mode

★★★★ Apprentice

Im having the same problem, I usually run my graphics on ultra (I got a new gaming PC like 3 weeks ago) 

When Im first loaded in the save, it works just fine, no lag when I transition between live and build mode, then about 10 minuets in, It starts, And its like real bad. 
Ive repaired my game, cleared cache, took out my CC and the issue continues!

I did find it only seems to be happening in my Evergreen Harbour save tho!
Not in willow creek, newcrest, or windenburg!
The only way i can get the lag to stop is by hitting the “...” button, then after closing the menu, the lag is fine! 
lol im just glad im not the only one with this issue, cuz i messed with my grapic settings and drivers for like an hour and a half 🤣

Message 9 of 176 (33,374 Views)

Re: Weird lag in build/buy mode and sometimes in Live Mode too

[ Edited ]

@Gummingtons  That's really helpful information, thanks.  I looked around and saw some complaints about the Nvidia sound driver causing a bit of latency in other programs, although I haven't heard about it in Sims 4.  But now I'll know to look for it.

 

@JeanVW  Would you try disabling the Nvidia sound driver as @Gummingtons did?  You have what is almost certainly the same version, since the two of you have the same graphics driver, and the audio driver installs as part of that package.

 

@MadPeachyTV  If you have an Nvidia graphics card, it's worth disabling the audio driver as well, at least long enough to test.  Please also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.  Whether this works for you or not, it would be good to compare information.

 

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 10 of 176 (33,406 Views)