This isn’t a true tutorial as I won’t be explaining how to use AutoHotKey (or Stream Deck), but it’s not too hard and a ton of documentation exists!

You can also use a Stream Deck + AutoHotKey to clear your caches, and then start TS3 (or other Sims games). But making a shortcut to your AutoHotKey code on your desktop (or elsewhere) works just fine! Stream Deck is just a nice to have.

I should also add deleting caches isn't always recommended as it can actually make your load times slower. I tend to run this if I am experiencing crashes, or I've recently added new cc to my game(s).

Below are some examples of what code I use.

I know the above (second) image says ALL sims games, however I am unsure if TS1 has caches to delete (probably?) or what they're called so I've not included it here.

You can not just copy + paste these for AutoHotKey! These are where MY files are found (plus I removed my PC name). These are meant as an example.

For TS3:

FileDelete, C:\UsersMYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\CASPartCache.package

FileDelete, C:\Users\MYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\compositorCache.package

FileDelete, C:\Users\MYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\scriptCache.package

FileDelete, C:\Users\MYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\simCompositorCache.package

Sleep 1000

run, G:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exe

return

—

I put it to wait 1 second (Sleep 1000) after deleting the caches as I found it sometimes would start before the caches were fully deleted.

—

For TS2:

FileDelete, C:\Users\MYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\cigen.package

FileDelete, C:\Users\MYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\Groups.cache

Sleep 1000

run, G:\Program Files\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSBin\Sims2RPC.exe

return

—

For TS4:

FileDelete, C:\Users\MYPCNAME\OneDrive\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\localthumbcache.package

Sleep 1000

run, G:\Program Files\Origin Games\The Sims 4\Game\Bin\TS4_x64.exe

return