Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Difference between revisions of "The Sims 2"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Line 112: Line 112:
  
 
===[[Glossary:Widescreen resolution|Widescreen resolution]]===
 
===[[Glossary:Widescreen resolution|Widescreen resolution]]===
The game's max res is 1600 x 1200. For higher resolutions you need to edit the following file:
 
  
 
<code>EA GAMES\<b>(Latest expansion installed)</b>\TSData\Res\Config\Graphics Rules.sgr</code>
 
<code>EA GAMES\<b>(Latest expansion installed)</b>\TSData\Res\Config\Graphics Rules.sgr</code>
Line 122: Line 121:
 
Set <b>maxResWidth</b> and <b>maxResHeight</b> to your display's native width and height, or copy/paste the following:
 
Set <b>maxResWidth</b> and <b>maxResHeight</b> to your display's native width and height, or copy/paste the following:
  
<pre>option ScreenModeResolution
+
<pre>
setting $Low
+
  setting $High
uintProp maxResWidth 2560
+
      uintProp maxResWidth     2048
uintProp maxResHeight 1600
+
      uintProp maxResHeight     1152
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
+
</pre>
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
 
 
 
setting $Medium
 
uintProp maxResWidth 2560
 
uintProp maxResHeight 1600
 
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
 
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
 
 
 
setting $High
 
uintProp maxResWidth 2560
 
uintProp maxResHeight 1600
 
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
 
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
 
end</pre>
 
  
 
This fix does not automatically change your game's resolution. It will need to be set manually in the game's settings, but the game should now allow the changing of resolutions.
 
This fix does not automatically change your game's resolution. It will need to be set manually in the game's settings, but the game should now allow the changing of resolutions.

Revision as of 15:05, 24 July 2014

This page may require cleanup to meet basic quality standards. You can help by modifying the article. The discussion page may contain useful suggestions.
Template:Infobox game/row/osxporter
The Sims 2
Cover image missing, please upload it
Developers
Maxis
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Release dates
Windows September 14, 2004
macOS (OS X) June 13, 2005
The Sims 2 on Wikipedia
The Sims
Subseries of Sim
The Sims 2000
The Sims Online 2002
The Sims 2 2004
The Sims Stories (series)
MySims 2008
The Sims 3 2009
The Sims Medieval 2011
The Sims 4 2014

Key points

Runs well on low-end hardware
Large community
All Origin versions get a free upgrade to The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection (contact EA Support for non-Origin versions).[1]

Availability

Template:Availability Table

Some expansions are no longer available for purchase.
All Origin versions are automaticaly upgraded to The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Contact the EA Support for retail versions.[2]

Version differences

  • The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection is a complete edition containing all expansions and Stuff Packs (except Happy Holiday Stuff). Origin customers are upgraded to this version automatically; for non-Origin versions contact EA Support for manual activation.[1]
  • The Sims 2 Holiday Edition includes the base game and the Holiday Party Pack (aka Happy Holiday Stuff Pack).
  • The Sims 2 Deluxe includes the base game and the Nightlife expansion.
  • The Sims 2: Double Deluxe includes the base game, Nightlife expansion and Celebration Stuff.

The Sims 2 Store Edition

There was briefly an online store that sold additional items for use in The Sims 2. To use the store, the game required a patch to The Sims 2 Store Edition. Store Edition removed the need for a physical CD, but introduced instability to the game. Support was pulled from the Sims 2 Store, and the Store Edition is no longer available.

Essential improvements

In-game camera and game recording settings.

Patches

The game, its expansions plus the Family Fun Stuff pack requires patching after installation.
Although the game's patch site has now gone down, many expansion pack patches are available from the PCGamingWiki filespace.

Disable intro movie

To disable the intro movie that plays every time the game opens, navigate to the following folder:

<path-to-game>\TSData\Res\Movies

Move/rename/remove intro_eng_audio.movie. The intro movie won't play anymore.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

Save game data location

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin

Video settings

In-game graphics settings.

Template:Video settings

Widescreen resolution

EA GAMES\(Latest expansion installed)\TSData\Res\Config\Graphics Rules.sgr

For users who own the Ultimate Collection version of the game, their most recent expansion is Mansion and Garden Stuff, meaning the path is as follows:

(Origin Games directory)\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config\Graphics Rules.sgr

Set maxResWidth and maxResHeight to your display's native width and height, or copy/paste the following:

   setting $High
      uintProp maxResWidth      2048
      uintProp maxResHeight     1152

This fix does not automatically change your game's resolution. It will need to be set manually in the game's settings, but the game should now allow the changing of resolutions.

Field of view (FOV)

Each of the game's cameras can have their FOV set independently using the fov parameter in their Camera Settings files, which are contained in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Cameras

Edge Smoothing (Antialiasing)

If your "Edge Smoothing" slider is greyed out in-game, then it's likely that the game cannot determine how much VRAM your GPU has and is defaulting to its failsafe of 32MB. To remedy this issue, go to: EA GAMES\(Latest expansion installed)\TSData\Res\Config\Graphics Rules.sgr And find the section below.

if (not $useSoftwareRasterizer)
   # failed to obtain device texture memory size, force to 32MB
   if ($textureMemory = 0)
      seti textureMemory       32
   endif

Change the value for seti textureMemory to the value of your GPU's VRAM, in megabytes. (with no "MB" suffix, so 1GB = 1024, 2GB = 2048, 3GB = 3072, 4GB = 4096)

Doing this will result in the game falling back to your actual amount of VRAM when the game cannot determine the amount itself, meaning that options that are not enabled with the default of 32MB texutre memory will now be available. Should you change your GPU, this line should be changed to reflect your new amount of VRAM to avoid potential issues.

Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Issues fixed

Vista/7 Compatibility

The Sims 2 is compatible with newer versions of Windows, however the original release of the game has issues, and will show an error message when loaded. Patching the game or installing the expansion packs will correct this.

Stuck Sims/Poorly Placed Objects/Frozen Objects

Periodically, a sim may become trapped or an special object may be placed in a bad location, preventing a sim from doing anything. In other cases, a normal object may be improperly tagged as "in use" and cannot be moved, sold, or manipulated. To fix these issues, open the cheat console by hold Ctrl, Shift and C, then type moveobjects on and enter buy mode. You can now pick up the sim or broken object, and move it to another location. To restore the game to normal after this, open the cheat console again, and type moveobjects off.

Black Square Shadows

There are two methods that may fix shadows appearing as large black squares:

Neighbourhoods inaccessible in Ultimate Collection

If neighbourhoods are unavailable from the Choose a Neighbourhood screen, follow these instructions:

  1. Open regedit (Window+R)
  2. Backup your registry first by going File -> Export and selecting the "All" button
  3. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then open SOFTWARE.
  4. For 32 - Bit CPUs: Find the EA GAMES folder and open The Sims 2. Change the Display Name, Deleting the ™ out.
  5. For 64- Bit CPUs: Open Wow6432Node. Find the EA GAMES folder and open The Sims 2. Change the Display Name, Deleting the ™ out.
  6. Before the entry should look like this : The Sims 2™ Ultimate Collection
  7. After it should say: The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista
Processor (CPU) 800 MHz
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3.5 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon 7200
nVidia GeForce 2 Series
32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0 compatible
Other When the Seasons (or Later) Expansion Pack is installed, T&L incompatible graphics chips can be used[citation needed]; however it requires a Minimum CPU speed of 2.4 Ghz.
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.3.8
Processor (CPU) 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4/G5
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon 9000
nVidia GeForce FX5200
32 MB of VRAM

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Origin - The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection FAQ
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named EA Help - The Sims 2: Ultimate Collection