Happy Timezones, everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick update to let you all know I’m still very much here and in operation. I haven’t gone MIA, I promise. I’m sorry I’ve not gotten a post up lately. I hadn’t planned for that to happen, but you know how it is when unplanned things happen. As much as I hate setbacks, I suppose when looking on the bright side, you could call them character builders. Sometimes I could do with a little less character. 😛

What’s been keeping me from posting? Well, mostly the daunting task of redoing my CC folders. I noticed my game has really been stuttering and loading super slow. Even with the Lazy Duchess Smoothness Patch, my game has become exceedingly boggy and laggy. I am chock full of CC, so that doesn’t help matters one bit, so I figured it was time to roll up my proverbial sleeves, rub my hands together to begin the fight, and just go at it.

Sorry if this next part sounds too technical, but this has really become quite involved and detailed. I’ve always merged my CC using S3PE after turning Sims3Packs into Package files. I HATE using Sims3Packs and find that they are trouble waiting to happen. So, everything gets converted except patterns, which makes it so much easier to manage.

There is still a big problem though. Once I merge the files, it’s hard to know what’s in them unless you take them back into S3PE to unmerge, which I hate to do. I do keep several backup copies of all my unmerged stuff and Mods folder so I don’t have to start from scratch and redownload everything. Besides, more and more things are being deleted for Sims 3, making it nearly impossible to find certain favorites. That’s a huge pet peeve of mine that can be discussed in a later post.

I’d been looking at CC Magic for quite some time but have been stubbornly holding out on it. It’s a different method than I’m used to, and there are certain steps you have to take before the content shows up in the game. Howevever, it seems to give you more control over your content, meaning you can look for certain pieces to delete or disable. Plus, you can make different configs for different games to tailor your CC to showing, for example, a certain time period or a certain style. You create “sets,” making it easier to manage. Plus, you get more details about the files you put in and can do a search for certain things you’re looking for. I’ve watched a good number of YouTube videos on it, and there are folks who swear by this little program.

The long and short of it is, I caved and downloaded the thing. It’s not that hard to learn – you just have to remember to follow a couple steps before opening the game so your content shows up. I’m hoping this helps with CAS lag, as it’s supposed to run your CC more efficiently. I made a test run to try it out, but I still ended up with quite a lot of lag. To be fair, I added a sizable chunk of CC I didn’t have before so I quit the game and took out the new stuff I’d added. I spent a good deal of time running a bunch of my folders through Delphy’s Dashboard tool to check for bad CC. Low and behold, there were a few files marked as bad CC for one reason or another, so out they came. I know from experience that if you get bad CC, it can do all sorts of weird stuff, including bringing your ghame to a complete screeching halt. Fingers crossed that when I load up the game again, I’ll have a much smoother experience.

Although I haven’t been able to get screenshots lately, I’ve been working on pre-writing chapters so I’ll have material to work with once everything gets settled. In the past, I’ve usually just worked on one chapter at a time – write, let it sit, edit a little, get screenshots, edit more, and submit. However, I’m hoping I might feel a bit more productive by working on several chapters at times when I don’t have the game open. I’ll write the rough draft for one, start another while the previous one sits for a couple days, go back and proof and edit the one that’s been sitting, and then keep working on unfinished ones. Wash, rinse, repeat – you get the picture. Please know that I’m a one woman show over here, and sometimes there’s just not enough hours in the day. Combine that with darn RL butting in, so things get a little slower than I’d like.

I sincerely appreciate you all hanging in with me and reading, liking, commenting, and subscribing. Welcome to anyone who has just found this site, and I hope you enjoy my stories. Forever in Time is my magnum opus in the world of SimLit, and I take much pride in providing an entertaining story with strong characters and storylines. If you know of anyone who would enjoy my stories, please feel free to send them here. Newcomers are always warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

FYI, you can find all the programs mentioned in this post on Mod the Sims.

I hope you and your Simmies are doing well. 🙂