When you load up your save file, the game reads the color wheel information for every sim, every object, every piece of clothing, and generates multiple texture files for all of them for differing levels of detail. The color wheel was simply too ambitious for its time. The main reason why the color wheel caused performance problems was because the Sims 3 was only 32-bit. I know the experience I’ve just described isn’t everyone’s experience with TS3, but I know this was the experience of a lot of people. So everyone suggesting the colour wheel, there is a reason it isn’t there and wasn’t there at the start, even though it’s frustrating. I have mods and all the expansions which doesn’t help but I feel like I should still be able to play even then, with The Sims 4, sure missing the colour wheel is crap but ultimately I’d take it over having a slow, glitchy CAS. I love TS3, but even with my good gaming PC, CAS takes so long to load and my game is super glitchy, CAS is the slowest part of the game. It’s absolutely my favourite thing about TS3, being able to just custom select a hair colour is amazing but the colour wheel was hugely responsible for some gameplay issues for many people (same reason there is no open world anymore). I always see comments about the colour wheel, and I get it, but I think people need to stop expecting one at this point.
