Average Polycount of EA Items in TS3: A Reference Sheet
I initially started this list as a personal “cheat sheet” that I could reference to ensure the custom content I'm downloading is appropriate for gameplay when it comes to polycount (and because I intend(ed) to learn how to make my own cc). I decided to share in case others find it useful.
I’m not a Maxis Match purist or anything like that, but purging high-poly CAS items from my cc folder eliminated in-game stuttering for me entirely. For some reason, this is rarely mentioned in discussions about gameplay optimization. Polycount does matter.
There’s a lot of absolutely gorgeous but incredibly high-poly cc out there that is simply not gameplay friendly for the average player. As we see an influx of first-time or rusty players migrating over from TS4, I think it’s important people are aware of this (both players and creators alike).
This might be a nonissue for those whose focus is on CAS and pretty screenshots, or maybe for those who have beastly gaming pcs/graphics cards etc.
But for players whose focus is on actual gameplay, high-poly cc can be detrimental.
With that said, below the cut you can find a list of average polycounts for some EA clothing/objects to use as a reference.
My method
I recorded the polycount of 10 items from each category below so that I could get a decent representation from each one to calculate the average. Since there is a wide range in some of the categories, I’ve opted to also include the minimum, median, and maximum for a clearer picture.
This list is not exhaustive; I feel like after a while, you kind of get the point. Also, this has been sitting on my computer for ages, and I don’t know if/when I will continue collecting data for it, so I figured I would just share what I have for now.
CAS
Tops:
Average polycount: 3538.4
Minimum polycount: 2868
Median polycount: 3443
Maximum polycount: 4872
Outfits:
Average polycount: 4281.8
Minimum polycount: 3865
Median polycount: 4205.5
Maximum polycount: 4932
Bottoms:
Average polycount: 1094.2
Minimum polycount: 770
Median polycount: 1016
Maximum polycount: 1768
Hair:
Average polycount: 4343.2
Minimum polycount: 2298
Median polycount: 4691
Maximum polycount: 6840
Shoes:
Average polycount: 621.6
Minimum polycount: 456
Median polycount: 594
Maximum polycount: 968
Accessories
Average polycount: 520.8
Minimum polycount: 118
Median polycount: 433
Maximum polycount: 1098
Objects
Dining Chairs
Average polycount: 806.3
Minimum polycount: 362
Median polycount: 799
Maximum polycount: 1054
Sofas and Loveseats
Average polycount: 1699.4
Minimum polycount: 958
Median polycount: 1414
Maximum polycount: 2920
Livingroom Chairs
Average polycount: 791.0
Minimum polycount: 290
Median polycount: 920
Maximum polycount: 1006
Beds
Average polycount: 3529.4
Minimum polycount: 1974
Median polycount: 3316
Maximum polycount: 5668
Plants
Average polycount: 746.3
Minimum polycount: 104
Median polycount: 801
Maximum polycount: 1998
Sculptures
Average polycount: 1659.3
Min polycount: 440
Median polycount: 1417.5
Max polycount: 5263
Misc
Average polycount: 914.4
Min polycount: 380
Median polycount: 988
Max polycount: 1926
Curtains
Average polycount: 762.4
Min polycount: 262
Median polycount: 802
Max polycount: 1438
Wall Art
Average polycount: 524.1
Min polycount: 62
Median polycount: 171
Max polycount: 2403
Dining Tables
Average polycount: 754.8
Min polycount: 468
Median polycount: 685
Max: 1262
For vehicles, check out this follow-up from @dhalsims
Further reading from people who are way smarter than me:
Polygon counts and Sims CC by @simlicious, plus their tutorial on how to check polycounts using TSRW. Edited to add: check out their newest essay about polycount vs vertices!
Let’s Talk Polygons by @mspoodle1 plus their tutorial on how to use S3pe to check polycounts.
A warning about high polycount custom content - for downloaders and creators by @tommeraas-cc (this post is for TS4 but still relevant for TS3 as well).
Maybe no one cares about cc polycounts anymore, but I sure do. 😅
Happy simming! I'm on a bit of a break from TS3 right now but I always come back. 🖤
Another step I should have added when disabling ‘SysMain’ from my previous post is to add the game’s .exe files to the DEP exception list.
DEP is a like a Windows protection system that stops old apps and games that it thinks is a virus or malware and will either stop the game/app running altogether or make it crash if it uses a high amount of memory at one time - in the case of Sims 3, when its saving. So disabling SysMain will allow the game to use all its memory, but it’s an old game so Windows OS, especially 10/11 will try to shut it down by causing crashes at short moments of high memory and cpu usage.
Press Windows + R keys together, type the command “sysdm.cpl” in the Run dialog box and press Enter.
Click the ‘Advanced’ tab and click ‘Settings’ under ‘Performance’. Click the ‘Data Execution Prevention (DEP)’ tab. Tick ‘Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:’ and add these game .exe files to the list:
S3Launcher.exe
Sims3Launcher.exe
TS3.exe
TS3W.exe
TSLHelper.exe
You can’t add Sims3LauncherW’ to DEP exception list, so ignore it.
Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ and exit from System properties. Run your game.
See: Disable ‘SysMain’ Service for gameplay.
I said it before and I'll say it again, 'SysMain' service (aka SuperFetch, Prefetch, Memory Compression) is the absolute devil when it comes to Sims 3! lol Sometimes when Windows 10 updates itself, the services reset themselves and 'SysMain' will start itself after I stopped it and disabled it's startup state.
It takes away needed memory from Sims 3, especially at high usage moments like saving and exiting the game, in build/buy mode, yeah some of the most important parts of the game and will crash the game even when the memory usage isn't even near 2GB let alone over 4GB!
Besides, SuperFecth is old, and isn't really needed unless your machine has less than 8GB of memory, so I’d recommend stopping it when you play Sims 3 or disabling it altogether.
Open the run dialog and type 'services.msc', scroll down to 'SysMain' and right click on it and click 'Stop' to stop it. To disable it altogether, right-click and click on Properties and change the Startup type to 'Disabled' and restart your PC. Your game will be smoother and use all the memory it needs without any interference.
Edit: To make clear, anyone using Windows 7, it appears as SuperFetch rather than SysMain - thanks @themaresnest-dumblr 👍🏾
See: Add games files to DEP exception list for gameplay.
It’s not on the Dashboard itself but if you click on “Posts” on the right-hand side of your Dashboard, you should see “Mass Post Editor” in the same place underneath “Edit Appearance”. At least, that’s where it shows up for me. :-)
There it is! lol. The font is so small, I can’t believe its been there all this time :) Thanks Sarah! :))
In Issue 11, we’re debuting a new feature called Can You Explain?, which will be in a similar style to our Quick Tips. We want to answer some questions about The Sims 3 or The Sims 4 from our readers in our magazine!
If you have a question you’d like answered (or you can answer yourself, if you’re an expert!), reply to this post or inbox me!
