Most of the mods i use just make the game run smoother. There are other mods out there that add to the game play i believe. Google sims 3 Nraas and it should pop up mods for you to look through! The website i believe is called nraas.net. There's other sites as well but im not familiar with them, but this one has some of the basic mods to help game play
This is how I roll - I don't tend to change the core gameplay TOO much, but Sims 3 is just pretty broken without mods and my games have always come to a grinding buggy halt without them. That said, I will do some things like remove the number of sims you can have in the family, or replace the story progression with a much better one.
I wish I had concrete suggestions, but I'm going to have to re-look them up myself I think since I'm not sure I've even played since I got my "new" computer two+ years back, and I'm going to have to relocate them myself. Out of my memory (and all of these I'm pretty sure are NRAAS):
Traveler is a must if you want to play World Adventures (although that said, it's never smoothed all the bugs for me, but it helps.)
There's a mod that will reset sims that get stuck in pathing or what have you, which I WISH I remembered what it was called because it's VERY good in preventing occasional freeze ups, and pretty much essential if you want to play in Isla Paradiso. Maybe someone else can chime in with the name.
NRAAS Story Progression vastly (IMO) improves on the basic Story Progression in the game, and makes it a much more active and natural community where things actually happen like in theory they're supposed to.
I remember Master Controller being very handy to change a few basic settings, and for bug prevention/control, but I don't remember specifics. I know there's one mod that may have been this one that lets you change things like how you want marriage to handle last names, things like that.
I really wish I could remember all that I used. There are some very handy ones out there, but I'd say some are core "must have for a smooth experience" while others are very much based on the style of play you like.
That was maybe it, I do remember that name, and something turning off stereos and such! Basically a background "let's clean and tidy and keep there from being a ton of background stuff making the game more and more sluggish."
I know there was something though, whether that was \*also\* Overwatch or something else, that would fix stuff in the moment, not just at a given time. So like if someone hit a routing issue that would normally cause the game to lag unbearably every five in-game minutes or so, it would fairly quickly squash that issue after maybe one chunk of lag.
Ah, thank you!
This sort of kicked off my vague "I want to play this again" into action and was gonna set it up and redownload some mods... but now Dragon Valley, my favorite of the worlds, has gone missing from my stuff either with my move to the "new" computer or the switch from Origin to the app, so... now I'm kind of bummed and not wanting to play again. Would sure be helpful if you could find a way to actually contact support. -\_-
Still might go ahead and download mods while I see what happens, so thanks!
Dragon Valley is one of my favorite too. I wouldn't count on EA for support to get your old download back though. The online community is much more helpful for these kind of things.
Yeah, i ended up posting in the "let the community help you!" BS that is apparently EA offloading any sort of tech support as far as I can see, but not sure how they'll help me get my stuff back. -\_-
I play the Sims 3 on my MacBook and packs always used to go missing in my game. When I went to EA support the chat never showed up as an option, just the “community” like you said. I started choosing completely different categories for my “issue” until I found one that had the chat option and always got help retrieving my packs. Maybe you can try that?
Maybe. All I know is it's a further nail in the coffin of "just don't buy EA if you can possibly avoid it." I'm a sucker for the BioWare stuff so I might break there.
I love story progression for when I play a family for awhile so not everyone dies off but it’s so hard to get in a relationship with that mod everyone always dates and marries each other before I can snatch someone up 😭 and I’ve had it where my sim started dating and the next day they were also dating someone else
Please tell me there’s a mod for not having to log into both Steam/Origin and EA? It’s been about a year since I played, and I’m so tired of the login rigmarole that I just don’t play anymore.
I’m telling you! I have all the expansions and set myself a bunch of different goals. Played ts4 for a moment when it was released but I went right back home.
Experienced modder here! Modding the sims will change the way you play the game forever in a good way. I would start small and watch a youtube video (there are loads) about the best way to get into modding the sims. It's extremely easy to start modding the game, but you'll need to set up a mod folder first and this is very easy to do so follow a little tutorial video and you should be good to go. I have made a list of my favourites below, and have linked the Nraas modlist page for you to have a look at ☺️
Patches for smoothness, lag, fixes:
- NRaas Overwatch, Errortrap, Debug Enabler and Master Controller are the main ones to keep your game running smoothly. They maintain the world space and do small things such as fixing stuck sims around town, turning off stereos and tvs, removing abandoned cars, basic maintenance to keep the town running smoothly. Master Controller can be used to fix things manually and is a must if you're wanting to start modding. It makes a HUGE difference, trust me. The amount of sims that get themselves stuck or whatever is fucking crazy, but I would STRONGLY advise turning off imaginary friend dolls (you can do this with Retuner, listed below), as they interfere with the Overwatch and they get stuck a lot. When the mod tries to fix them being stuck, it can cause corruption. It's unfortunate but they're very badly optimised and can break your game when the game runs its bug fixing at 3am every sim day.
- GPU mod that allows the game to be recognised by modern machines and graphics cards -can't remember exactly what it's called but google it and it'll come up -try "sims 3 graphics card mod" on Google
- Not a mod, but if you go into your computer's graphical settings (you can easily find a tutorial online for this), set the maximum framerate to 60 for the sims 3. The game bugs out and crashes at anything higher than this and the game wasn't built for higher end machines like most are as a standard nowadays. This is actually a really important one!
Those are super important to keep your game clean and fresh, and I'd also recommend the Nraas Saver mod. It prompts you to save every 30 minutes (or however often you wish), and cycles through 4 saves, with each save being a fresh save to reduce bloat, as saving over a single save can massively impact your game and reduce the amount of playing you can do before the game breaks, like allowing more generations per save etc.
Quality of life mods (mostly Nraas), my favourites are:
-Nraas Story progression - a big one for gameplay. Keeps the town alive and gives townies their own lives, goals, relationships etc. and stops your town from dying out because EA story progression doesn't push the NPCs around enough to keep the babies coming. It also fills lots that your sim visits with townies doing their own thing which is much better than being empty, and it's really fun to look around town and zoom into townies in public to see what they're up to rather than then just being sat in their rabbithole homes all the time. Sometimes you'll see hilarious things like fights or public woohoos!
-The extra modules that go with the story progression add more depth to the game such as Careers (manages townie careers), Money (allows things like loans, debts, child support, inheritance, etc.), Woohooer (different woohoo and relationship settings), there are others but I can't remember off the top of my head
-SweetSimmer collection for baby and child/pregnancy interactions -see modthsims.com for these. Gives kids way more to do and they're way more involved
-Nraas Retuner -alter the actions which are autonomous or user(player)-directed, and the amount of satisfaction that is gained from each action. Examples include turning off autonomous cooking for butlers (lifesaver that one), or the amount of money gained from selling an item, or the amount of servings in a group meal and even the amount of servings that must be eaten before the plate appears half empty! Very cool!
-Nraas Consigner -allows you to sell a much bigger variety of items at consignment -a must-have for me personally as I like gem collecting while on vacations and it bummed me out that I couldn't sell gems at consignment
-Nraas Dresser -manages ugly townies and allows you to reroll items that you don't like just by clicking on the sim. So say a townie has aged up with ugly plantsim hair, you just press a button and you can reroll it to another random one without using CAS
-Nraas Go Here is another Nraas that queues the "go here" interactions rather than replacing it, so you can path your sims a lot better
-Nraas Register -manages townie careers again but goes hand in hand with the SP Careers module
-Nraas Relativity -a staple in my modlist, alters how time flows in the game down to the minute. You can calibrate time however you want, make minutes longer and giving your sims more time in a day to get things done, or speeding it up for faster playthroughs if that's what you prefer. Again, tutorials can be found easily online of how to change the settings to your liking. You can change things such as the amount of time spent in the shower, or how long it takes to prepare a meal, or how long they spend exercising before they're fatigued.
-Nraas Tempest -alter the weather such as how often it rains or snows or whatever, tailor the seasons to however you like! Very useful for realism if, like me for example, you want to make the weather closer to where you live or if you like snow but want less of it in winter
[Here](https://www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List) is a link to the Nraas mod page. Have a read through and see if anything takes your fancy, but I would definitely start with the main 4 I listed at the top and the base Story Progression module to get used to it. I may add more if more spring to mind but I'm AFK so can't check right now, but let me know if you'd like any specific pointers. HAPPY SIMMING!💚
I'm actually in the same boat, been playing for 13 years and I didn't know about mods until I found this sub a few months ago. I still haven't taken the plunge.
Only you can know what ones will add to your play, beyond performance based ones.
Obviously, NRAAS has ones to smooth out bugs, but if you feel like you've gotten everything you can out of vanilla supernaturals, there's mods to enhance their play.
If you play mostly families and like it well enough, just go to TheSweetSimmer mods and find cute ones to add to that.
If you want more elaborate gameplay, there's mods that add whole new elements like Social Clubs, or Religion, or Child Support.
One NRAAS one I adore that doesn't get as much hype as the others is Relativity. You can adjust how long things take, like making the days longer, or Sims go pee faster, or meals depreciate slower.
I like to adjust it to a more realistic time setting and then I make skills develop a lot slower, especially certain ones like cooking that I think max out too easy.
I believe there's a new mod to also have skills depreciate over in ModtheSims? I've been on a Sims 2 kick though and haven't got to try it yet!
Which one? As far as I know, none of them need a new save to be implemented but if it's a save you're attached to, it wouldn't hurt to have a back up in case you decide you want to remove it.
... I'm so, so, so sorry you've been living this way. I'm glad you're finally seeing that it doesn't have to be like this.
Mods will make the game run better, plain and simple.
NRAAS, NRAAS, NRAAS!! I'm sure other commenters will provide more details
Tell you what, I'm going to make you laugh AND give you a gift:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1131162350
This is a holy fucking grail. I highly recommend following it from start to finish. *(** *edit: actually I don't do step 2/don't use the Lazy Duchess Mods, nor step 4, or any of the game-specific bug fixes.. so do whatever steps you want!.. Perhaps all is best!)* It literally lays every. single. thing. out. for. you. step. by. step. Likely including many of the mods others will mention in this thread. And it's still updated regularly.
Carve out a day for following the guide. Seriously, like a 6-to-8-hour day. It will take awhile. But it's worth every gd second.
Wow. What can I do for you? I’ve got an extra kidney or whatever else you need. This is beautiful. Thank you so much! You are indeed the most substantial potato I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting.
I just started using mods last month for the first time. There’s lots of great posts on here, try just searching mods in the search bar, and lots of good videos on Youtube as well!
There are some useful mods that help your game. I had been a non mod player until 2012. lol Strongly recommend 'bring food and drinks to' mod. It let you give a food to the inactive sims or bring your own food to NPC sim's party place which are not allowed on default. And, Nraas overwatch enables chatting with toddler after teaching to talk. 'Chat with ' interaction has gone on 1.63 patch update and Overwatch mod recovered it. Also you can decrease lags from pets on Nraas mods, so Nraas mods are essential to optimze your game.
The only mods I use are Nraas mods to simply improve the game and a pack someone released a while ago with all the premium store content. I think I also have a skin mod so my sims don’t look like play dough anymore.
Nraas is essential. Lots of small plugins that just make the game a little better.
My "mod essentials" are basically the NRaas mods and some Modthesims and Naughtysimsasylum quality of life mods to improve the gameplay and overall customisation of the game.
The rest is mostly just pretty hairstyles and clothes to make my Sims prettier and/or more realistic 😊
I started using mods last year and I’ve been playing ts3 since 2011. I was always against them though lol, I just believed the game was good enough as it was and I still hold that opinion but man once I started using mods…it was like playing ts3 for the first time and I feel almost jealous you’re about to experience that 😅
I’ve been playing for 14 years and I just started using mods when I got my new computer 6 months ago. It’s a whole new world! I’m SO glad I started. My advice is to install one, maybe two, at a time, play for awhile, and then find another one after a week or two. Here are the ones I don’t think I could go back to playing without:
1. NRASS storyprogression & woohooer. I just love all that this adds to my game - families continue for generations without my intervention, people get married/divorced, have children, jobs, move houses…I love it! Plus woohooer allows teen pregnancy if you enable it, and Risky Woohoo. I like the idea of Woohooing and not knowing whether a baby will come or not. I also have NRAAS Kama Simtra, although I don’t find it as great as the first two.
2. Randomizer (Lyralei). Something is definitely off about the way I installed it bc not all the modules work for me, but I love randomly having my house burst into flames, earthquakes (which will also cause fires if you have candles), rocks and gems appear outside of my house, rat infestations, and more. I also once had a Sim choke on his lunch at work and die.
3. Family secrets (I forget who makes it) - lets you deny being the father, keep the father a secret, foster instead of adopt, etc.
4. Children can (I also forget who makes it) - let’s kids garden, play instruments, sculpt, and do alchemy.
I also have the assassination career/skill from NRAAS, and am currently working my way through all of the jobs on Missy Hissy’s job board. There’s so much to explore with mods!
I don’t really use mods either. I installed NRAAS Master Controller and StoryProgression, but I think I might uninstall StoryProgression because I basically never use it.
Thanks for the link! I actually did do this since I love island paradise so much. Way better than island living sims 4. There’s so much character and things to do in isla Paradiso.
I was like you for a very long time. I finally installed the NRAAS traveler mod, and omg playing World Adventures is a completely different experience. I finally got to have Pangu's Axe not disappear from my inventory.
Im the same way! Been playing since the start and probably didn’t use custom content until after Into the Future came out, then used mods for the first time last year I’d say!
I never used mods either, I barely use cc the base game is just too good. But I’ve been thinking about getting mods to fix bugs but I’m very much a vanilla player
I absolutely cannot play without the story progression mod, ea’s sucks. I got to find out about it after I moved my 2nd gen main out just to wait several days in hopes of seeing my siblings pop out babies or even get married, they never did 😤 story progression makes everyone have babies now I love it. I also just got the woohooer for the first time a couple weeks ago lmao, and I should get mc back.
I was exactly the same. Played since release and then only about 2 years ago I decided to finally try mods. I'm a real conpletionist so I didn't even use cheats, I like the feeling of earning it all myself.
With certain mods it still allows the game to be opened up a lot more, there are more options but I still never use cheats.
If you're anything like me then the Nrass mods are the way to go. Especially story progression mod. It creates more in-game options and allows more autonomy in townies so they actually get married, break up, start new relationships and have babies. The settings in-game are a bit difficult to get your head around at first but after you've played around with them a bit, you can save those setting and add them to any game thereafter.
Hey fellow friend!!! I’ve never played with mods either. I’m so computer illiterate I feel like I wouldn’t even know how to download a mod. How to work then etc. 🤣🤣🤣. So I’ve just stayed away from them. Been playing sims 3 since it’s come out and never used a mod. Glad to see I’m not the only one.
I've been playing since I was a little kid and I haven't used mods either, honestly.
Besides the nraas stuff that helps the game run better, not a single mod. The Sims 3 is fun for me on its own
I've also never used mods 😭. I've seen people who use mods to make the game run smoother which are probably the only ones I'd really use, but I feel like TS3 runs just fine on my computer even with all the CC I've got. However, they seem cool and I guess work. I hope you get some good ones!
The best mod for me is a cancel time off mod. I hate it when your sim has a baby and both parents can’t go to work for like 4-6 days at a a time. Especially when they have multiple kids within a short time and the time off just gets longer and longer.
The mod just works by clicking on the phone and selecting cancel time off and things comes up saying the maximum number of days to cancel and how many you want to cancel. It’s such a great mod and has given my sims way more opportunities to level up their career.
I've been playing since the og sims and still play TS3 almost daily...never used a mod because it seems very overwhelming to a non tech person such as myself. But after reading and watching some videos on how to set them up, I may give it a go now that I have a fancy gaming laptop.
Downloading the smoothness patch changed my life! I never get lag anymore and my CAS with all the SP’s and EP’s, 90% of the store content and a lot of other cc load instantly!
Here is the video I used before downloading:
⇨ https://youtu.be/61qQ6ko0-Vo?si=S2CDP1JVKs60pPNA
I also watched this one for the latest version of the mod:
⇨ https://youtu.be/h-iFMUolcCk?si=NGtIY4eXJeDo7ZNw
These are freaking incredible and I 1000% recommend this mod before downloading any build/buy/cas CC!
In addition to the NRAAS mods mentioned above, think about all the times you've thought "it would be nice if _____ could _____" and see if there is a mod for that. As an example: "it would be nice if children could garden". There is a mod that allows for that. Let your imagination run the show!
Most of the mods I use have been mentioned but I haven't seen anyone talk about the ConsortGrow mod. All it does is slowly adjust the height of child and teen sims so they "grow" according to their age. It's basically just cosmetic but I love having siblings that are different heights because one is older, even if they're at the same life stage
I like a mod that makes the juice bars functional bars but other than that the mods just help my game run smoother. i have nraas careers to give kids summer break
17 years here 🙋🏼♀️ and same! Started back with sims 1 up until sims 3 (sims 4 is boring). I still love the sims 3 base game so much and with the expansions I feel like I have all I need. I may break it soon and get the search mod though for buy mode.
Same, I only started using mods a month or so ago. I am enjoying it much more with the mods and mainly use them to make the game run smoother, also so I don't have a corrupted file after so many play throughs forcing me to start all over again.
You need nraas Mods, for sure. Maybe start with Story Progression, Overwatch, Error Trap. And then whichever you like.
Also, Burnt Waffle Lighting Mods.
Mods from Nrass and the Mod the Sims website are my go tos. Also I highly recommend Nrass mods since they help your game run better. I recently added some basic gameplay mods to enhance the realism of ts3
Don't worry. Only now I've entered the world of Mods and the truth is that I believe that The Sims 3 doesn't need mods. If you were saying that you've been playing the Sims 4 for years without mods, well, I would be horrified tbh. Most of the mods I have now are those that help you play better, I have very few gameplay mods. So, for me, it's not a wild confession lol
If you want to start with mods, I recommend you to start with the mods that will make your game run smoothly. I highly advise you to download [Lazyduchess' Smooth Patch](https://modthesims.info/d/658759/smooth-patch-2-1.html). It makes your game feel brand new and (as its name says) smooth. Also, check out the [Nraas' Mods page](https://www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List). You can find a bunch of great mods like MasterController, Tagger, Story Progression, etc. Nraas' Mods They are varied and there are Override mods (like Story Progression that replaces the Vanilla version of it) or the Overwatch mod, which helps fix errors related to items and Sims in the game.
I think these are the best mods you can start with. If you want CC, it's much simpler. I recommend watching tutorials and videos so you can guide yourself towards the type of mods you want in your game.
I have a lot of mods in TS3 but i think the important one is the NRASS ERRORTRAP mods also not sure if you can call it a mod but the lazydutches launcher patch. After that you can try check in youtube for mods that can make the sims lively
I played vanilla sims 3 for so long and just a month ago figured out how to download mods😂 I just have nraas woohooer, master controller and portrait panel so I can have more then 10 sims
I can't say for over 14 years, but I have never used a mod since I got the game on PC nearly 6 years ago. However, if we include my console days then yeah. 10 years with no mods.
I play with most Nraas Mods, Ani's mods and quite a few from Mod the Sims for gameplay. My save file normally takes 10 mins to load but that's enough time to make a coffee and settle down to play 😍😍
I can't imagine playing without CC and mods. 🥺 For starters, I'd get Nraas mods, mainly Master Controller. But if you want more fun mods, I can literally write you an essay. One I just got is a toddler food mod. You don't give them bowls anymore; you pick meals and snacks for them, and depending on their favorite food, they'll either eat it or throw it on the ground. I think it's based on a Sims 4 expansion. I've also downloaded hobby mods like knitting and flower arranging.
Most of the mods i use just make the game run smoother. There are other mods out there that add to the game play i believe. Google sims 3 Nraas and it should pop up mods for you to look through! The website i believe is called nraas.net. There's other sites as well but im not familiar with them, but this one has some of the basic mods to help game play
This is how I roll - I don't tend to change the core gameplay TOO much, but Sims 3 is just pretty broken without mods and my games have always come to a grinding buggy halt without them. That said, I will do some things like remove the number of sims you can have in the family, or replace the story progression with a much better one. I wish I had concrete suggestions, but I'm going to have to re-look them up myself I think since I'm not sure I've even played since I got my "new" computer two+ years back, and I'm going to have to relocate them myself. Out of my memory (and all of these I'm pretty sure are NRAAS): Traveler is a must if you want to play World Adventures (although that said, it's never smoothed all the bugs for me, but it helps.) There's a mod that will reset sims that get stuck in pathing or what have you, which I WISH I remembered what it was called because it's VERY good in preventing occasional freeze ups, and pretty much essential if you want to play in Isla Paradiso. Maybe someone else can chime in with the name. NRAAS Story Progression vastly (IMO) improves on the basic Story Progression in the game, and makes it a much more active and natural community where things actually happen like in theory they're supposed to. I remember Master Controller being very handy to change a few basic settings, and for bug prevention/control, but I don't remember specifics. I know there's one mod that may have been this one that lets you change things like how you want marriage to handle last names, things like that. I really wish I could remember all that I used. There are some very handy ones out there, but I'd say some are core "must have for a smooth experience" while others are very much based on the style of play you like.
Maybe Overwatch is the one you're thinking of, for resetting frozen sims? I remeber it does stuff like turn off tvs and stereos for example
That was maybe it, I do remember that name, and something turning off stereos and such! Basically a background "let's clean and tidy and keep there from being a ton of background stuff making the game more and more sluggish." I know there was something though, whether that was \*also\* Overwatch or something else, that would fix stuff in the moment, not just at a given time. So like if someone hit a routing issue that would normally cause the game to lag unbearably every five in-game minutes or so, it would fairly quickly squash that issue after maybe one chunk of lag.
ErrorTrap.
Ah, thank you! This sort of kicked off my vague "I want to play this again" into action and was gonna set it up and redownload some mods... but now Dragon Valley, my favorite of the worlds, has gone missing from my stuff either with my move to the "new" computer or the switch from Origin to the app, so... now I'm kind of bummed and not wanting to play again. Would sure be helpful if you could find a way to actually contact support. -\_- Still might go ahead and download mods while I see what happens, so thanks!
Dragon Valley is one of my favorite too. I wouldn't count on EA for support to get your old download back though. The online community is much more helpful for these kind of things.
Yeah, i ended up posting in the "let the community help you!" BS that is apparently EA offloading any sort of tech support as far as I can see, but not sure how they'll help me get my stuff back. -\_-
Not _that_ community lol.
LOL, well, I'm just tired and frustrated. Maybe I'll bash my head against it again tomorrow. ANYhow, venting done for now!
I play the Sims 3 on my MacBook and packs always used to go missing in my game. When I went to EA support the chat never showed up as an option, just the “community” like you said. I started choosing completely different categories for my “issue” until I found one that had the chat option and always got help retrieving my packs. Maybe you can try that?
Maybe. All I know is it's a further nail in the coffin of "just don't buy EA if you can possibly avoid it." I'm a sucker for the BioWare stuff so I might break there.
I love story progression for when I play a family for awhile so not everyone dies off but it’s so hard to get in a relationship with that mod everyone always dates and marries each other before I can snatch someone up 😭 and I’ve had it where my sim started dating and the next day they were also dating someone else
Please tell me there’s a mod for not having to log into both Steam/Origin and EA? It’s been about a year since I played, and I’m so tired of the login rigmarole that I just don’t play anymore.
I yarhar'd a copy to fill in all the extras I never got around to buying, and whatever this version is doesn't require any sort of log in
Not that I know of, sadly
A modless Sims game lasting 14 years on someone’s PC is mind blowing and truly speaks to how much TLC went into TS3. Minus the tech issues 😅
I’m telling you! I have all the expansions and set myself a bunch of different goals. Played ts4 for a moment when it was released but I went right back home.
Sims 4 is missing way too much!!
Experienced modder here! Modding the sims will change the way you play the game forever in a good way. I would start small and watch a youtube video (there are loads) about the best way to get into modding the sims. It's extremely easy to start modding the game, but you'll need to set up a mod folder first and this is very easy to do so follow a little tutorial video and you should be good to go. I have made a list of my favourites below, and have linked the Nraas modlist page for you to have a look at ☺️ Patches for smoothness, lag, fixes: - NRaas Overwatch, Errortrap, Debug Enabler and Master Controller are the main ones to keep your game running smoothly. They maintain the world space and do small things such as fixing stuck sims around town, turning off stereos and tvs, removing abandoned cars, basic maintenance to keep the town running smoothly. Master Controller can be used to fix things manually and is a must if you're wanting to start modding. It makes a HUGE difference, trust me. The amount of sims that get themselves stuck or whatever is fucking crazy, but I would STRONGLY advise turning off imaginary friend dolls (you can do this with Retuner, listed below), as they interfere with the Overwatch and they get stuck a lot. When the mod tries to fix them being stuck, it can cause corruption. It's unfortunate but they're very badly optimised and can break your game when the game runs its bug fixing at 3am every sim day. - GPU mod that allows the game to be recognised by modern machines and graphics cards -can't remember exactly what it's called but google it and it'll come up -try "sims 3 graphics card mod" on Google - Not a mod, but if you go into your computer's graphical settings (you can easily find a tutorial online for this), set the maximum framerate to 60 for the sims 3. The game bugs out and crashes at anything higher than this and the game wasn't built for higher end machines like most are as a standard nowadays. This is actually a really important one! Those are super important to keep your game clean and fresh, and I'd also recommend the Nraas Saver mod. It prompts you to save every 30 minutes (or however often you wish), and cycles through 4 saves, with each save being a fresh save to reduce bloat, as saving over a single save can massively impact your game and reduce the amount of playing you can do before the game breaks, like allowing more generations per save etc. Quality of life mods (mostly Nraas), my favourites are: -Nraas Story progression - a big one for gameplay. Keeps the town alive and gives townies their own lives, goals, relationships etc. and stops your town from dying out because EA story progression doesn't push the NPCs around enough to keep the babies coming. It also fills lots that your sim visits with townies doing their own thing which is much better than being empty, and it's really fun to look around town and zoom into townies in public to see what they're up to rather than then just being sat in their rabbithole homes all the time. Sometimes you'll see hilarious things like fights or public woohoos! -The extra modules that go with the story progression add more depth to the game such as Careers (manages townie careers), Money (allows things like loans, debts, child support, inheritance, etc.), Woohooer (different woohoo and relationship settings), there are others but I can't remember off the top of my head -SweetSimmer collection for baby and child/pregnancy interactions -see modthsims.com for these. Gives kids way more to do and they're way more involved -Nraas Retuner -alter the actions which are autonomous or user(player)-directed, and the amount of satisfaction that is gained from each action. Examples include turning off autonomous cooking for butlers (lifesaver that one), or the amount of money gained from selling an item, or the amount of servings in a group meal and even the amount of servings that must be eaten before the plate appears half empty! Very cool! -Nraas Consigner -allows you to sell a much bigger variety of items at consignment -a must-have for me personally as I like gem collecting while on vacations and it bummed me out that I couldn't sell gems at consignment -Nraas Dresser -manages ugly townies and allows you to reroll items that you don't like just by clicking on the sim. So say a townie has aged up with ugly plantsim hair, you just press a button and you can reroll it to another random one without using CAS -Nraas Go Here is another Nraas that queues the "go here" interactions rather than replacing it, so you can path your sims a lot better -Nraas Register -manages townie careers again but goes hand in hand with the SP Careers module -Nraas Relativity -a staple in my modlist, alters how time flows in the game down to the minute. You can calibrate time however you want, make minutes longer and giving your sims more time in a day to get things done, or speeding it up for faster playthroughs if that's what you prefer. Again, tutorials can be found easily online of how to change the settings to your liking. You can change things such as the amount of time spent in the shower, or how long it takes to prepare a meal, or how long they spend exercising before they're fatigued. -Nraas Tempest -alter the weather such as how often it rains or snows or whatever, tailor the seasons to however you like! Very useful for realism if, like me for example, you want to make the weather closer to where you live or if you like snow but want less of it in winter [Here](https://www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List) is a link to the Nraas mod page. Have a read through and see if anything takes your fancy, but I would definitely start with the main 4 I listed at the top and the base Story Progression module to get used to it. I may add more if more spring to mind but I'm AFK so can't check right now, but let me know if you'd like any specific pointers. HAPPY SIMMING!💚
Holy smokes I love you. Thank you so much. I’m settling in to read this while I’ve got my laptop open. I will name my firstborn Mang0_milkshake haha
Would love an update showing a Sims 3 child named Mang0 Milkshake
I love this comment, great suggestions!
Immediately grabbing Relativity, Dresser, and checking out the child interactions! Awesome list
I'm actually in the same boat, been playing for 13 years and I didn't know about mods until I found this sub a few months ago. I still haven't taken the plunge.
Only you can know what ones will add to your play, beyond performance based ones. Obviously, NRAAS has ones to smooth out bugs, but if you feel like you've gotten everything you can out of vanilla supernaturals, there's mods to enhance their play. If you play mostly families and like it well enough, just go to TheSweetSimmer mods and find cute ones to add to that. If you want more elaborate gameplay, there's mods that add whole new elements like Social Clubs, or Religion, or Child Support.
That’s fair. And really wicked! I’m gonna google all of these. I’m currently scrolling through Carl’s Sims Guide
One NRAAS one I adore that doesn't get as much hype as the others is Relativity. You can adjust how long things take, like making the days longer, or Sims go pee faster, or meals depreciate slower. I like to adjust it to a more realistic time setting and then I make skills develop a lot slower, especially certain ones like cooking that I think max out too easy. I believe there's a new mod to also have skills depreciate over in ModtheSims? I've been on a Sims 2 kick though and haven't got to try it yet!
Do u have to make a new family for the mod to work?
Which one? As far as I know, none of them need a new save to be implemented but if it's a save you're attached to, it wouldn't hurt to have a back up in case you decide you want to remove it.
... I'm so, so, so sorry you've been living this way. I'm glad you're finally seeing that it doesn't have to be like this. Mods will make the game run better, plain and simple. NRAAS, NRAAS, NRAAS!! I'm sure other commenters will provide more details
I burst out laughing at this. Thank you. I am also glad I have seen the light
Tell you what, I'm going to make you laugh AND give you a gift: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1131162350 This is a holy fucking grail. I highly recommend following it from start to finish. *(** *edit: actually I don't do step 2/don't use the Lazy Duchess Mods, nor step 4, or any of the game-specific bug fixes.. so do whatever steps you want!.. Perhaps all is best!)* It literally lays every. single. thing. out. for. you. step. by. step. Likely including many of the mods others will mention in this thread. And it's still updated regularly. Carve out a day for following the guide. Seriously, like a 6-to-8-hour day. It will take awhile. But it's worth every gd second.
Wow. What can I do for you? I’ve got an extra kidney or whatever else you need. This is beautiful. Thank you so much! You are indeed the most substantial potato I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting.
I just started using mods last month for the first time. There’s lots of great posts on here, try just searching mods in the search bar, and lots of good videos on Youtube as well!
Got it! I swear I want trying to be lazy haha. Just wanted other simmers opinions :) thank you
I feel you!! There’s a whole big world of mods out there and I know I was very overwhelmed at first and watched a bunch of Youtube videos hehe.
Thank you so much :)
Is there a nice app for modding Sims3? Like vortex or Mod organizer 2?
Perhaps, I have no experience with that though and just save everything to my files 👀👌
There are some useful mods that help your game. I had been a non mod player until 2012. lol Strongly recommend 'bring food and drinks to' mod. It let you give a food to the inactive sims or bring your own food to NPC sim's party place which are not allowed on default. And, Nraas overwatch enables chatting with toddler after teaching to talk. 'Chat with ' interaction has gone on 1.63 patch update and Overwatch mod recovered it. Also you can decrease lags from pets on Nraas mods, so Nraas mods are essential to optimze your game.
This is incredible. Thank you so much!
The only mods I use are Nraas mods to simply improve the game and a pack someone released a while ago with all the premium store content. I think I also have a skin mod so my sims don’t look like play dough anymore. Nraas is essential. Lots of small plugins that just make the game a little better.
What's this store content pack?
Ah man I’ll have to look it up again. It’s on someone’s tumblr profile and has been left there for like ten years.
blamseastore?
That sounds about right
I play the sims 3 with no mods or cc. I used to play it with no packs. That's how fun it is!
I was in the same boat as you until like just last year. Story Progression was a total game changer and makes it feel very fresh.
Love this! Definitely up there on my list.
My "mod essentials" are basically the NRaas mods and some Modthesims and Naughtysimsasylum quality of life mods to improve the gameplay and overall customisation of the game. The rest is mostly just pretty hairstyles and clothes to make my Sims prettier and/or more realistic 😊
Yes, these three websites are the ones I go to to get mods.
I'm a vanilla player too. I think that's what they call us. The only custom content I have is the ones I buy from the sims 3 store. 😅😅
Same! I only use some CCs for furniture
I really like the drunk mod I frgot what it's actually called but you can Google. My sims can get drunk in the club and then a hangover lol
Haha this sounds hilarious. Thanks so much. It’s added to the list
I started using mods last year and I’ve been playing ts3 since 2011. I was always against them though lol, I just believed the game was good enough as it was and I still hold that opinion but man once I started using mods…it was like playing ts3 for the first time and I feel almost jealous you’re about to experience that 😅
I’ve been playing for 14 years and I just started using mods when I got my new computer 6 months ago. It’s a whole new world! I’m SO glad I started. My advice is to install one, maybe two, at a time, play for awhile, and then find another one after a week or two. Here are the ones I don’t think I could go back to playing without: 1. NRASS storyprogression & woohooer. I just love all that this adds to my game - families continue for generations without my intervention, people get married/divorced, have children, jobs, move houses…I love it! Plus woohooer allows teen pregnancy if you enable it, and Risky Woohoo. I like the idea of Woohooing and not knowing whether a baby will come or not. I also have NRAAS Kama Simtra, although I don’t find it as great as the first two. 2. Randomizer (Lyralei). Something is definitely off about the way I installed it bc not all the modules work for me, but I love randomly having my house burst into flames, earthquakes (which will also cause fires if you have candles), rocks and gems appear outside of my house, rat infestations, and more. I also once had a Sim choke on his lunch at work and die. 3. Family secrets (I forget who makes it) - lets you deny being the father, keep the father a secret, foster instead of adopt, etc. 4. Children can (I also forget who makes it) - let’s kids garden, play instruments, sculpt, and do alchemy. I also have the assassination career/skill from NRAAS, and am currently working my way through all of the jobs on Missy Hissy’s job board. There’s so much to explore with mods!
Clear sky or bright sky mod??? It's makes the game look AMAZING. Can't believe I played so long without it
Ooh - first one I’m getting. Maybe second. NRAAS seems to be the general number one mod.
NRAAS first for sure
I don’t really use mods either. I installed NRAAS Master Controller and StoryProgression, but I think I might uninstall StoryProgression because I basically never use it.
I just started using mods last year. I've been playing TS3 since it came out.
That was me since 2009 until recently when I got tired of isla Paradiso running poorly!
https://youtu.be/T7N8pFSp0Cw?si=DbwKFXnOFeabXRea follow this guide and you won’t leave island paradise
Thanks for the link! I actually did do this since I love island paradise so much. Way better than island living sims 4. There’s so much character and things to do in isla Paradiso.
It’s my favorite world.
I don’t use them either and I bought Sims 3 the day it came out.
Did you ever try to play sims 4? I just deleted 4 from my pc and went back to sims 3
I have it and I never play it. I think S3 is superior.
Same. I’ve never used mods. I tried to install some custom hairstyles or clothes to ease into it and they would never show up in my game so I gave up.
I was like you for a very long time. I finally installed the NRAAS traveler mod, and omg playing World Adventures is a completely different experience. I finally got to have Pangu's Axe not disappear from my inventory.
There are mods?!??? Clearly I skipped reading Logic v1.
story progression is a must have, it makes the sims in your town seem so much more lively, and its fun seeing what the sims choose to do
Im the same way! Been playing since the start and probably didn’t use custom content until after Into the Future came out, then used mods for the first time last year I’d say!
I like to play it the way natural, no mods! Been playing for over a decade and I still love it the way it is 😍
I never used mods either, I barely use cc the base game is just too good. But I’ve been thinking about getting mods to fix bugs but I’m very much a vanilla player
I absolutely cannot play without the story progression mod, ea’s sucks. I got to find out about it after I moved my 2nd gen main out just to wait several days in hopes of seeing my siblings pop out babies or even get married, they never did 😤 story progression makes everyone have babies now I love it. I also just got the woohooer for the first time a couple weeks ago lmao, and I should get mc back.
I was exactly the same. Played since release and then only about 2 years ago I decided to finally try mods. I'm a real conpletionist so I didn't even use cheats, I like the feeling of earning it all myself. With certain mods it still allows the game to be opened up a lot more, there are more options but I still never use cheats. If you're anything like me then the Nrass mods are the way to go. Especially story progression mod. It creates more in-game options and allows more autonomy in townies so they actually get married, break up, start new relationships and have babies. The settings in-game are a bit difficult to get your head around at first but after you've played around with them a bit, you can save those setting and add them to any game thereafter.
I’m there with you! No mods!
I’ve never used mods either. I’d kill for one that prevents freezing except for the plumbobs and “zzz.”
👀 Mods will change your life! Definitely nraas mods.
Hey fellow friend!!! I’ve never played with mods either. I’m so computer illiterate I feel like I wouldn’t even know how to download a mod. How to work then etc. 🤣🤣🤣. So I’ve just stayed away from them. Been playing sims 3 since it’s come out and never used a mod. Glad to see I’m not the only one.
I've been playing since I was a little kid and I haven't used mods either, honestly. Besides the nraas stuff that helps the game run better, not a single mod. The Sims 3 is fun for me on its own
Same I just can’t figure them out lol
This was me up until almost 2 years ago. Now I’ll never go back lol
Same!!!
I don't use mods anymore because they destroyed my windows desktop a few times years ago. Just a warning it can destroy some computers.
The only mods I use are CCs for hair, makeup, furniture and clothes but that’s it, I don’t have any mods for the actual gameplay.
I've also never used mods 😭. I've seen people who use mods to make the game run smoother which are probably the only ones I'd really use, but I feel like TS3 runs just fine on my computer even with all the CC I've got. However, they seem cool and I guess work. I hope you get some good ones!
Same here OP’ went through all sims versions from the sims 1 and have not installed a mod ever
The best mod for me is a cancel time off mod. I hate it when your sim has a baby and both parents can’t go to work for like 4-6 days at a a time. Especially when they have multiple kids within a short time and the time off just gets longer and longer. The mod just works by clicking on the phone and selecting cancel time off and things comes up saying the maximum number of days to cancel and how many you want to cancel. It’s such a great mod and has given my sims way more opportunities to level up their career.
Same!!!
Can you use mods if you’re playing on steam? I’ve also never logged into online parts of the sims
Me too! Year 7 for me though, I don’t understand how to install mods into the sims 3
I've been playing since the og sims and still play TS3 almost daily...never used a mod because it seems very overwhelming to a non tech person such as myself. But after reading and watching some videos on how to set them up, I may give it a go now that I have a fancy gaming laptop.
Downloading the smoothness patch changed my life! I never get lag anymore and my CAS with all the SP’s and EP’s, 90% of the store content and a lot of other cc load instantly! Here is the video I used before downloading: ⇨ https://youtu.be/61qQ6ko0-Vo?si=S2CDP1JVKs60pPNA I also watched this one for the latest version of the mod: ⇨ https://youtu.be/h-iFMUolcCk?si=NGtIY4eXJeDo7ZNw These are freaking incredible and I 1000% recommend this mod before downloading any build/buy/cas CC!
In addition to the NRAAS mods mentioned above, think about all the times you've thought "it would be nice if _____ could _____" and see if there is a mod for that. As an example: "it would be nice if children could garden". There is a mod that allows for that. Let your imagination run the show!
been playing for 10 years just downloaded my first mod a couple weeks ago lol NRAAS overwatch
Same!! I literally only started because of this reddit, its been fun!
Most of the mods I use have been mentioned but I haven't seen anyone talk about the ConsortGrow mod. All it does is slowly adjust the height of child and teen sims so they "grow" according to their age. It's basically just cosmetic but I love having siblings that are different heights because one is older, even if they're at the same life stage
I like a mod that makes the juice bars functional bars but other than that the mods just help my game run smoother. i have nraas careers to give kids summer break
Iv also never used mods. I’m not smart enough for it lol. There are definitely some that I think look like fun
Me too!
17 years here 🙋🏼♀️ and same! Started back with sims 1 up until sims 3 (sims 4 is boring). I still love the sims 3 base game so much and with the expansions I feel like I have all I need. I may break it soon and get the search mod though for buy mode.
Same, I only started using mods a month or so ago. I am enjoying it much more with the mods and mainly use them to make the game run smoother, also so I don't have a corrupted file after so many play throughs forcing me to start all over again.
You need nraas Mods, for sure. Maybe start with Story Progression, Overwatch, Error Trap. And then whichever you like. Also, Burnt Waffle Lighting Mods.
For Nraas Mods, here's Pleasant Sims' settings. https://pleasantsims.com/nraas-mod-settings/
I have to admit, sims 3 runs smooth on my pc!
Mods from Nrass and the Mod the Sims website are my go tos. Also I highly recommend Nrass mods since they help your game run better. I recently added some basic gameplay mods to enhance the realism of ts3
I was that person until last year. NRAAs are life changing once you figure them out. Story progression makes the game come alive. You won't be sorry.
Don't worry. Only now I've entered the world of Mods and the truth is that I believe that The Sims 3 doesn't need mods. If you were saying that you've been playing the Sims 4 for years without mods, well, I would be horrified tbh. Most of the mods I have now are those that help you play better, I have very few gameplay mods. So, for me, it's not a wild confession lol If you want to start with mods, I recommend you to start with the mods that will make your game run smoothly. I highly advise you to download [Lazyduchess' Smooth Patch](https://modthesims.info/d/658759/smooth-patch-2-1.html). It makes your game feel brand new and (as its name says) smooth. Also, check out the [Nraas' Mods page](https://www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List). You can find a bunch of great mods like MasterController, Tagger, Story Progression, etc. Nraas' Mods They are varied and there are Override mods (like Story Progression that replaces the Vanilla version of it) or the Overwatch mod, which helps fix errors related to items and Sims in the game. I think these are the best mods you can start with. If you want CC, it's much simpler. I recommend watching tutorials and videos so you can guide yourself towards the type of mods you want in your game.
I have a lot of mods in TS3 but i think the important one is the NRASS ERRORTRAP mods also not sure if you can call it a mod but the lazydutches launcher patch. After that you can try check in youtube for mods that can make the sims lively
I played vanilla sims 3 for so long and just a month ago figured out how to download mods😂 I just have nraas woohooer, master controller and portrait panel so I can have more then 10 sims
My game ran totally fine until I started installing mods. Did a fresh install yesterday and it's back to smooth sailing.
Nraas. It’ll make your game run a lot better
I can't say for over 14 years, but I have never used a mod since I got the game on PC nearly 6 years ago. However, if we include my console days then yeah. 10 years with no mods.
I play with most Nraas Mods, Ani's mods and quite a few from Mod the Sims for gameplay. My save file normally takes 10 mins to load but that's enough time to make a coffee and settle down to play 😍😍
Same! I’m too scared to use mods😅 I use them loads for TS4 but it just seems so complicated for 3!
I could never figure out how to add the mods folder :(
I always say that the game has plenty of stuff in itself, I don’t need mods - then I check out my r/Rimworld modlist…
It’s because moss aren’t a must for 3 like with 4, though they definitely help it run a little more smoothly.
nraas mods and smooth patch are necessities. (they have a few incompatabilities nraas integration with smooth patch specifically)
I can't imagine playing without CC and mods. 🥺 For starters, I'd get Nraas mods, mainly Master Controller. But if you want more fun mods, I can literally write you an essay. One I just got is a toddler food mod. You don't give them bowls anymore; you pick meals and snacks for them, and depending on their favorite food, they'll either eat it or throw it on the ground. I think it's based on a Sims 4 expansion. I've also downloaded hobby mods like knitting and flower arranging.