The Sims 2
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Developers | |
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Maxis | |
Publishers | |
Electronic Arts | |
Release dates | |
Windows | September 14, 2004 |
macOS (OS X) | June 13, 2005 |
The Sims | |
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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]
- Alt-tabbing may not work properly during the game's loading screens.
General information
Availability
- Some expansions are no longer available for purchase.
- All Origin versions are automatically upgraded to The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Contact the EA Support for retail versions.
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
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
Instructions |
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Game data
Configuration file(s) location
-
<path-to-game>
changes according to what expansions you have installed. For example if you have Ultimate Collection or all expansions path would be...\Fun with Pets\SP9\...
Save game data location
Save game cloud syncing
System | Native | Notes |
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Origin | Ultimate Collection does not need Origin running to play. |
Video settings
Widescreen resolution
Instructions |
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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
Anti-aliasing (AA)
- 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 32 MB.
Instructions |
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Input settings
Audio settings
Issues unresolved
Failed to find a DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics adapter
- Game runs fine in windowed mode but opening game regularly gives error about DirectX compatibility even if all system requirements are met.
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.
Instructions |
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Black Square Shadows
Instructions |
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Instructions |
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Neighbourhoods inaccessible in Ultimate Collection
Instructions |
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Issues on newer CPUS
- The Sims 2 was made before the release of multi-core CPUs. It may have issues at the startup loading screen on newer CPUs with multiple cores and Hyperthreading.
No progress in loading at startup screen
Instructions |
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System requirements
Windows | ||
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Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista | |
Processor (CPU) | 800 MHz | 2.4 Ghz |
System memory (RAM) | ||
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 3.5 GB | 15.0 GB (For all Expansion Packs) |
Video card (GPU) | ATI Radeon 7200 nVidia GeForce 2 Series 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0 compatible | ATI Radeon 9600 nVidia GeForce 6 Series 64 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible |
Other | When the Seasons (or Later) Expansion Pack is installed, T&L incompatible graphics chips can be used[2]; however it requires a Minimum CPU speed of 2.4 Ghz. |
macOS (OS X) | ||
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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 |