world of make believe

we're part of a story, part of a tale...so make it a good one

[teaaddictyt]

Merging Sims 2 CC: Tea's Top Tips

These questions were asked by @divagirl76 in a reply to my post about load times, and I thought it should be it's own separate post:

Do you recommend merging the mesh with the recolours into one file OR merge recolours only and leave the mesh separate?

Answer: I will answer this with examples 😊

a) Let's say I download a set which has a bunch of individual objects each with their own recolours. For each item, I merge the item together with it's recolours. In times gone by I'd just merge the entire set into 1-2 big files, and sometimes I still do, but these days I like to have more control over it and still be able to delete a CC object from within the game if I decide I don't want it anymore, and be sure the object + recolours all disappear at once. I sacrifice a little bit of load time speed for this, but I'm okay with it.

b) Let's say I download a big CC set like Honeywell's Bespoke windows and doors set. This set has some key master objects, then a bunch of recolours and repo meshes. Here's what I'd do with it or how I'd merge it.

First, I look through the set in a test game and see if there's any meshes I don't particularly want or need. I make a note of them in a notepad file, then outside of the game, delete anything I don't want.

Once I'm happy, leave the master meshes out on their own, then I merge:

All recolours together

All repo meshes together.

c) Let's say I download CAS stuff - I handle this slightly differently. With CAS stuff, all of the meshes (whether hair or clothing) I

Only remove special characters

Do not merge

I put all of these into a folder called CAS_Meshes_Hair or CAS_Meshes_Clothing

Why? Because otherwise I accidentally end up with 20 copies of the same hair mesh, lol. If I stick to this system, I get a prompt if the file is already in there. Handy! Then the recolours, I vet first and then merge.

2. Do the file names (or length of file names with or without spaces or weird characters) BEFORE merging matter? I know you will rename them when you do merge, so if they don't matter, I can save myself alot of time now and just bundle the recolours (or mesh and recolours) and rename them when I do merge.

Answer: nope, you can leave them as they are and then just give your merged package a nice neat name 😊

3. Do you merge recolours by creator?

Answer: Yes 😊 Let's say it's a Maxis mesh. I'll name it something like DECO_CivicIdolPoster_xmathyxRCs_merged If it's recolours of a cc set, I'll go something like SET_Bespoke_ShastaRCs_merged

4. Is there a limit to how many recolour files you should merge?

I've never run into any issues with it, but there's possibly some issues with merging a lot of large textures together - @picknmixsims might be able to weigh in here, as we were helping @lamare-sims with a broken merged file just yesterday, and William worked out that it was unhappy about texture files I think? In general, I would say I don't worry too much about it.

5. Is there some cc you shouldn't merge?

Yes, anything that when you merge it, you go in game and try to look at it, it's invisible 😄 This doesn't happen to me much anymore, but it can happen. In particular I remember trying to merge some old couches from HolySimoly that would throw a tanty every time, lol. You also cannot* merge:

Hood Deco

Fences

Columns

*You can merge these I think, definitely fences, but you need to go into SimPE afterwards and tweak some stuff. See this tutorial by @hugelunatic

6. Can you merge repository meshes or should they be kept separate?

Answer: As in my answer to your first question, you sure can. I just like to keep the master objects out on their own or things can start to complain. I also like to leave master meshes out in case I decide I want to make recolours 👀

General tips:

The thing with merging is that it can be tedious and time consuming, so attack it in small chunks. Like "this week I will merge all my painting recolours".

It's ultimately up to you where and how much you want to merge your content together. Some people will do huge merges and throw a bunch of content in together (looking at you, Lamare lol), others prefer to do smaller merges. These days I tend to prefer smaller merges, which as I mentioned above does sacrifice some load time speed, but gives me better control of my catalogue in game.

I also recommend everyone check out the latest update to object relocator by PickNMix, and for CAS stuff the Outfit Organizer, as we can now merge files with these and it's SUPER streamlined and simple. I merged a crap tonne of windows together with their diagonal meshes earlier this week and it was 10x faster with Object Relocator than it would have been otherwise.

While you're learning to merge, test in game regularly, keep an un-merged backup, or just keep a link to what you downloaded in case you need to try the merge again.

Hope that helps x

[spockthewok]

Sims 2 Object Limit Fix

Soooo... I didn't intend for two highly requested fixes for The Sims 2 to drop within the space of a week and a half, buuuut...

Here's where you can download an experimental patch to fix the so-called 'object limit'!

https://github.com/spockthewok/TS2ObjectLimitFix

(Ultimate Collection only at the moment, I'm afraid).

The good news is:

Both @lordcrumps and @teaaddictyt have tested it with stupidly large CC folders and report that it works.

There isn't a dissertation the length of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' you need to read through to understand wtf is going on.

The crashing wasn't caused by some hardcoded object limit at all! (That I know of).

An explanation of the issue for programmers:

And for everyone else:

The code for the Build/Buy menu was missing basic checks to confirm that the data it was trying to do things with was actually valid. No, I'm not joking.

Basically, it appears that all of the objects you can buy in the game are stored in something you can think of as being like a big, long list, which grows in size with the more custom objects you have.

The only purpose of the code that this plugin patches is to sort the items in the list into some kind of order. This is done by assessing if the value of the previous item in the list is larger than that of the item currently being looked at, and swapping their position if this is true (also known as an insertion sort).

In short, the game wasn't asserting that the data it was about to compare for sorting was valid before accessing it, and then promptly blowing up when it tried to do so and discovered it wasn't.

I imagine that the odds of the game making an oopsie and dumping some funky data into the list increases with the number of objects it is having to process - this might be why this issue only presents itself to those using multiple GB of Build/Buy CC. It was much easier to patch the code encountering the bad data within the list than to try and hunt down the mysterious culprit putting the data in there to begin with, so this is all the information I have at the moment unfortunately.

Either way, one of the first things you're taught when learning to code is to ALWAYS check that the data you're operating on has been initialised (i.e. it holds some kind of value). I guess someone at Maxis must have skipped that lecture :D

Is the 255 objects per subcategory limit theory true?

The Downloads folder I was using for testing had ~672 objects in the Deco/Misc subcategory (Maxis objects included). With the patch, I can freely navigate throughout the entire subcategory with zero crashes, so I guess not?

What about the whole OBJD limit thing?

People have varying beliefs of what the limit on OBJDs might be, but HCDU reports my Downloads folder had an OBJD count of 20,787. Again, without the patch the game would crash when switching categories in the Build/Buy catalogue, with the patch, no crashing.

If you want to hear my opinion on whether such a limit exists, watch this video.

Do I even need this patch if I don't use much CC?

As it adds some fairly important crash-prevention checks to part of the Build/Buy menu's functionality, I'd probably recommend using it anyway, just to be safe - we all know how much this game loves to crash!

Aaaah! I'm still getting crashes with the patch!

I'm aware that a few of you CC addicts out there have Downloads folders larger than the total size of everything ever uploaded to the internet, so if you still experience crashing in Build/Buy mode with this patch, please take a look at the mod's GitHub page and send me over the information requested there. Fingers crossed that shouldn't happen, but if it does, I'll try my best to investigate :)

Anyway...

Will

(I wish I had looked at this for my dissertation, as it was literally only a day's work).

[lordcrumps]

Wanna fix pink soup?

Have fun! 🤣

Edit

Just to clarify, I’m not the author (Will)

Thank you Will!!

GitHub - spockthewok/TS2MemCapRemover: A patch to fix the 'pink soup' bug in The Sims 2.

A patch to fix the 'pink soup' bug in The Sims 2. Contribute to spockthewok/TS2MemCapRemover development by creating an account on GitHub.

[lordcrumps]

UPDATE

Soooo... after stress testing this fix on windows UC, I can safely say it works! I have this mega Downtown hood, that would instantly pink whenever I took a sim here. I have been swapping many different lots and each time the lots have many sims spawned, and it has had no issue!

#ThankYouWill!

[brandinotbroke]

Spockthewok (aka Will Nixon) wrote a master's thesis on pink flashing, figured out the cause and potentially found the first genuine fix.

The fix itself (along with the thesis for those interested) can be found here:

A patch to fix the 'pink soup' bug in The Sims 2. Contribute to spockthewok/TS2MemCapRemover development by creating an account on GitHub.

[paluding]

Sims 2 - Making tall buildings actually playable

I've always hated how the camera jumps up and down when playing tall and slim buildings. Turns out, it's really easy to fix! It’ll take you less than a minute. All the details under the cut.

All it takes is opening the LiveCamera.txt file in your Documents>Cameras folder with a text editor and changing these two parameters near the bottom to a higher value. Doesn’t matter if you're using a custom camera mod or not. Those parameters should be there. I have set mine like this (remember to save a backup just in case you don't like these changes).

It might seem a bit extreme, but I still think it’s fine.

-The top parameter, floorheightsamplerange, handles how much the floors “extend out”, so the camera object can stand on it mid-air. The higher it is, the further the floor will extend. This will make it so your camera will be able to stick to the floor you’re on, even if you pan away from the building. No more annoying jumps up and down!

-The parameter below that, floorheightsampleinnerrange, handles the transition between sticking to the current floor and dropping to the ground level once it goes past the edge. The higher it is, the smoothest the fall will be.

I’ll note though that the behaviour of these parameters might not be 100% accurate with how the game actually works, but from what I tested I think it’s pretty close as an explanation. If someone knows better how this Live Camera works, please let me know and I’ll try my best to correct any inaccuracies.

Save the .txt file and check how it works in game. It might feel weird at first, but personally I find it so much smoother and easier to handle. If you’re not happy with these values, close the game and edit those parameters until you find your sweet spot. Unfortunately, you will have to close and open the game every time you change it to check how it works.

There’s so many cool Custom Camera mods out there that I thought it’s probably better to just show how to edit those 2 parameters than editing and reuploading all of them.

So yeah, that’s it. Now you can play those tall lots without getting a headache. Go ahead and send your college simmies to that hideous Sim State Tower with a hot tub on top of it. Now you’ll be able to see what’s going on up there.

[teaaddictyt]

You are an absolute life-saver oh man.

My Landgraab towers wedding function space is finally playable

Thank you thank you thank you thank you.

[sim-novels]

How to install the Sims 3 and make it run smooth

With DXVK and S3SS living their high days, older Sims 3 installment guides are rapidly starting to become outdated. So here's a brand new and up-to-date step-by-step guide to go through when you do a fresh install of your game that will help you get the best performance you could possibly imagine for this old and laggy gem of a game.

Have Sims 3 installed, but is it performing abhorrently? I highly recommend a fresh install. You don't have to delete your saves or mods. Just get yourself a fresh bin to work with by uninstalling, going into your program files The Sims 3 folder and deleting any remnant files still in there. Then follow my guide!

All of the steps to follow are below the line ->

Step 1: install your game through your respected platform.

Just follow the regular steps and install the game without adding any other stuff yet whatsoever.

(I personally have a legit copy of the Sims 3 on Steam. If you use another app and have any questions, I'll probably not be able to help you.)

Step 2: run the game once through the official launcher. Once you get to the main menu, you can quit again.

It is very important you run your game through the original launcher at least once after installing it. Not doing so can cause problems with programs like CC magic. You only need to do it the first time. After that, we'll be skipping the launcher entirely.

Step 3: Create a short cut of TS3W.exe on your desktop.

You'll be skipping the launcher from now on. This helps with performance and it starts up your game much faster. It is also important to do this because of DXVK.

You can find TS3W.exe in your bin folder. For me (Steam version) it's in this location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims 3\Game\Bin

Right click TS3W.exe, click 'show more options' and choose 'create a shortcut'. Place this shortcut on your desktop and Run Sims 3 from there from now on.

Step 4: Run the GPU Add-on Support patcher

You can find this patcher here. It is essential to run this because Sims will otherwise not recognize your graphics card unless it's over 10 years old. This patcher helps to get your GPU recognized.

The patcher will create a new Graphicsrules.sgr and new Graphicscards.sgr for you in your bin folder. After installing this, you can move the ones that have _old behind them somewhere else (or delete them).

P.S.: if you pirate your game you'll have to do this manually, there's guides online for it but since I have a legit copy I can't help you here.

Step 5: Install DXVK

Make sure you follow this guide by Nornite and do every single step. Don't skip anything!

I'd say DXVK is pretty essential nowadays, especially if you have a modern graphics card with 6GB of VRAM or higher. It'll greatly help to keep your game stable and can prevent a lot of crashes. The way Dxvk works, is that it loads textures through your VRAM instead of your RAM. Especially when you use a lot of CC or HD textures, this will make a huge difference for your RAM usage. Sims 3 can only use 4GB of RAM at once and will start crashing once you hit the 3GB mark in your task manager. With DXVK, you will use a lot less RAM and it'll take much longer for your game to reach this hard cap.

When not to install DXVK: if you have a shitty GPU (like an integrated graphics card on a laptop, or one with 4GB of VRAM or less).

Step 5: Start up the game

Use your new desktop shortcut that also has 'run as administrator' permissions now if you followed the DXVK guide properly.

Step 6: set up all your settings through the ingame options menu

The best graphics settings for you will highly depend on what computer you're using. But there are some things you should always turn off because they negatively affect performance. I will share my (relevant) settings with you (I use a custom UI so your screen style will look a little different from mine). Click on the images to enlarge them so you can read them:

Things of note about these settings:

I recommend you play in windowed mode, especially if you plan to use ReShade. Playing fullscreen is possible, but it does make Reshade presets behave differently in your game. I will include a step in this guide that you can follow to play windowed borderless. So, when you plan to do this: make sure you set the resolution to your display resolution.

Enable object hiding helps with performance. Advanced rendering is essential because otherwise your game looks like absolute shit.

Set your High Detail Lots to any value between 2 and 4. Don't go lower or higher, because you'll get rendering issues that lag out your game.

All other graphics settings can be set to your heart's desire. I'd say start with the highest settings and only go down if you notice your frames per second are bad.

Disable shop mode and lessons and fully disable memories or use this mod to severly limit them. Disable interactive loading screens as well. These are all performance eaters. Interactive loading screen also causes crashes. Memories also don't do anything for your sim, it's just a scrap book with no in-game effects.

Disable any online mode feature. This also lags out your game. Unless you really want to use these features it's best to just play fully offline.

Save your settings, close the game again.

Step 7: Install Sims 3 Settings Setter

This is the most recent magic genie that Sims 3 was blessed with. Especially combined with DXVK it is a life changer. Installing it is simple. You download the most recent version here and drop the .asi file in your bin. Also grab 'wininet.dll' from here and drop that one in your bin too.

Start up your game and load up a save. Once you're inside your save, you press 'insert' to open up the menu for Sims 3 Settings Setter. Go to the 'patches' tab and enable what you like. These are my enabled patches and they all work really well for me, but feel free to experiment with them to find your own performance sweet spot:

Only enable uncompressed textures if you have a GPU with at least 8gb of VRAM. My game will use over 6gb of VRAM easily with this enabled, so you've been warned.

Once you have everything you desire enabled, press 'file' in the top left corner and click 'save settings'.

Step 7.5: if you're playing windowed mode: go into the Other/QoL tab and enable 'Borderless Window'. Set it to 'Full Screen'.

Save your settings and close your game again. No need to save the game you entered for this unless you want to.

Step 8: Install Nraas Errortrap, MasterController and Overwatch

These 3 mods by Nraas are pretty much essential to keep your game from breaking down in the long run. You can download the mods here. Have you never installed a mod for Sims 3 before? Here's a guide (skip the part about Sims3pack and go straight to the part where it explains how to install .package mods).

That's it! You can now play The Sims 3 and it'll be as smooth and stable as it'll ever be. From here on, you can stock your game with more mods and CC (check out my mods masterlist!), or you can install Reshade (here's a guide).

Some important things to keep in mind while playing:

Clean up your game regularly. You can easily do this by using Regul Save Cleaner.

When you install a new mod or update/change Sims 3 Settings Setter, always restart and clear your caches.

Use CC Magic for installing CC, because it merges your files and this really helps with performance. Here's a handy guide on how to use it. Don't put your script mods in here, just your CC.

If you plan to travel to vacation destinations in the EP World Adventures, Nraas Traveler is a must to prevent most of the bugs and crashes that happen in this expansion.

Always keep in mind: mods and corrupt CC can still break your game, make it laggy or unplayable. Always be mindful of the mods you add, so you can always trace any issues you're having back to the mod causing it. I highly recommend not downloading a ton of mods in one session, but adding them step by step and see what they do to your games performance.

Use 'Reset the entire town' from Nraas MasterController at least every other sim week. It'll help clear up any lag that happens because of NPC sims getting themselves stuck routing or annoying stuff like that.

Got a slow CAS? Use Nraas MasterController Compact mode! (Make sure you have the Nraas MasterController Integration module installed). Navigate to NRaas > MasterController > Settings > CAS. Set the following to True: Show in Compact Form: Accessories Show in Compact Form: Clothing Show in Compact Form: Hats

[felidae-sims]

Sims 2 Databases Database

(Alright it's an index, I just had to)

Made it for myself, I might as well share. If there's something I've missed please let me know. This list is being updated, Tumblr is being a pain and updates won't show up on re-blogs. Visit the original post to view the most current version. Mirror: Dreamwidth.

CC:

By Type:

Sims 2 - Object Default Database [Discontinued - DW].

Sims 2 - Object Default Database [Active - Spreadsheet].

Sims 2 - [CAS] Default Database.

Sims 2 - Hair Database.

Sims 2 - CC: Afro Hairstyles.

Sims 2 - Shoes Database.

Sims 2 - EA Store Items 2016.

Sims 2 - The Maxis Match Repository Project [CAS] [Pinterest Ver.]

Sims 2 - Repository Finds [CAS&Objects] [sorted into categories].

Sims 2 - Functional Finds [Sorted by function].

Resource list: Clutter and decorative items [massive index at GoS].

Sims 2 - Wall Hanging Decor Recolors Database [New!].

Sims 2 - Lot Database [Maxis ones emptied out].

Sims 2 - Lot Makeover Database [of Maxis Lots] [Note the Uploading Tutorial].

SkyBox/Horizons/Skylines Database.

Maxis Career Conversions TS1+3+4 to TS2 [Sorted by Game&EP - Under Downloads].

Fractured Moonlight's Stone Super Set Database [Creator Unknown, let me know if you know].

By Theme:

List of Maxis Lost & Found Objects Converted into Usable Items.

Stories to Sims 2 Conversion Database. [DW Backup]

TS1 to TS2 Conversion/Recreation Database.

TS1 to TS2 Catalog Conversions [Active, Includes OG Object Descriptions].

TS3 to TS2 Conversion Database [DW Backup].

TS3 to TS2 Traits Project Mod Tracking Sheet [Blog Ver.]

TS4 to TS2 CAS Conversion Archive [EA].

TS4 to TS2 CC Clothing Conversion Database [Custom - ts4 only?].

TS4 to TS2 Build/Buy Conversion Database [EA].

TS4 to TS2 CC Build & Buy Database [Custom].

The Sims spin-off games to the PC TS2 [&3+4].

TSM-to-TS2 Conversion Database [DW Backup].

Sims 2 Historical Finds [CAS&Objects] [Sorted by Era/Period].

Historical Sims 2 Wiki [New!].

Grunge Masterlist Project 2025.

List of Asian Sims 2 Sites With Working Downloads [As of 2017?].

CC Archives:

Sim Archive Project, at The Internet Archive [Introduction Post].

Sims Cave.

Sims Graveyard.

Simblr.cc - Dead-Site Repository.

Liquid Sims - Community Archives.

The Booty, at PSMBD.

Sims 2 Packrat, on Tumblr [Watch out for the recent SFS Hacking problem].

Ekrubynaffit (a.k.a bestbuild4sims) has re-uploaded a lot of archives of defunct creators. Albums with DL on her pinterest. Mainly build and buy mode, thanks a lot!

Resources:

CEP-Extras List, Huge Lunatic at Sims 2 Artists.

The Sims 2 Tutorials Database [Active] (Really needs a backup outside of Tumblr).

Several Lists of Maxis Resources for Modding,Pick'n'Mix Mods, own website, under Notes.

Sims 2 GUID Database Revival (Yes I'm shamelessly promoting it).

Sims 2 Trait GUID Database, by FireFlower.

Sims 2 Painting Sizes Database.

List of all Color Actions, With DL, ZeroDark/Graphic at GoS.

List of all WSO Actions, by Blue Heaven Sims, under Resources.

List of Hacks & Mods That Use Tokens, Bulbizarre at MTS.

Giant List of Simlish Fonts - Collect ‘Em All!, by franzillasims.

Masterlists of Recolouring Templates; MTS [+Cloning] | Hafiseazle | ZreoDark [not a list but a tag].

Index of Effects Names & Definitions [+ Guide], by AmmarAskar at GitHub.

Update notes are under the cut:

Update: Custom Clothing Conversion db [4t2], by @brandinotbroke/ Hair db, by @krabbysims/ Sims 4t2 CAS Conversion Archive [EA], by @mdpthatsme/ CEP-Extras List, by @hugelunatic/ Lists of Maxis Resources for Modding, by @picknmixsims/ Sims 2 Tutorials db [Active], by @sims2tutorials/ Sim Archive Project at The Internet Archive, by various - see @simnostalgia. Update 1: added EA ts2 store items at GoS/ Painting sizes db/ Tutorials db, by @sims2tutorials. Update 2: GUID db Revival. Update 3: believe it or not, there's more - Shoes db/ Sims 2. Functional Finds [sorted by function], by @sims2functionalfinds. Update 4: Resource list: Clutter and decorative items, at @gardenofshadowssims. Update 5: added archives section. Update 6: added @ekrubynaffit's Pinterest Archive. Update 7: Fixed TSM link, added Stories db/ Afro Hairstyles db, by @letomills/ SkyBox/Horizons/Skylines Database, by @simmergetic/ Grunge Masterlist Project 2025, by @pixeldolly/ and DW backup links (Everything that's exclusively on Tumblr/LJ should be backed somewhere else). Update 8: List of Asian Sims 2 Sites With Working Downloads [as of 2017?] by @0201-sims. Update 9: added Sims 2 Repository Finds [sorted into categories], by @sims2repositoryfinds. Update 10: added Sims 2 Object db [Discontinued], because the more the better. Update 11 Yet another (!): The Maxis Match Repository Project [CAS], by @whattheskell [how did i forget?]/ TS3 to TS2 Traits Project Mod Tracking Sheet, by  Rowena Sims & @noodlebelli. Update 11: Maxis Career Conversions TS1+3+4 to TS2 [Sorted by Game&EP - Under Downloads], by @sims2idea-lientebollemeis2i. Update 12: HS I found another one: List of all Color Actions - Names, Creators, and Download Links. Maintained for over a decade by @zerographic at GoS :P Update 13: separated by type & theme. added Sims 2 Historical Finds [CAS&Objects] [Sorted by Era/Period], by @ts2history. Update 14: added to resources Trait GUID db, by @fireflowersims. Update 15: I shit you not, there's more - Sims 2 Lot Makeover db [Maxis Lots], by @ts2lotmakeoverdb/ List of Hacks & Mods That Use Tokens, Bulbizarre at MTS/ TS1 Catalog Conversions [Active], by @kitteninthewindow/ WSO Action Masterlist, by Blue Heaven Sims under Resources. Update 16: List of Maxis Lost & Found Objects Converted into Usable Items, @kirlicues. Update 17: Sims 2 Lot db [Maxis ones emptied out], by @mikexx2 @mrsktrout @ts2lots. Update 18: Historical Sims 2 Wiki [New!], by @theacmecatalogblog. Update 19: under archives; Simblr.cc - Dead-Site Repository by @simblrcc-site. Jackpot! Update 20: added Giant List of Simlish Fonts - Collect ‘Em All!, by @franzillasims. Update 21 [can't believe there's more]: Masterlists of Recolouring Templates; MTS [+Cloning] | @hafiseazale | @zerographic [not a list but a tag]. Update 22(!): Index of Effects Names & Definitions [+ Guide], by AmmarAskar at GitHub. Update 23: added Sims 2 - Wall Hanging Decor Recolors Database [New!], by @sims-for-semi

[ralfmaximus]

Some users report Firefox scoffing CPU power

: You guessed it: looks like it's a so-called AI

Mozilla, in its finite wisdom, embedded LLM bots into recent versions of Firefox for the vitally-important purpose of… naming tab groups. Now, some users are noticing CPU and power usage spikes caused by a background process called Inference.

Ugh. Reminder again for Firefox users to visit your about:config page, search for the browser.ml.chat.enabled key, and set that to false:

If yours says true then double-click it until it reads false.

Doing that turns off the AI chatbot features in Firefox, but also the stupid new LLM tab-naming feature that's rolling out.

[a-for-effort-f-for-execution]

if you want to turn off as much ai crap in firefox as possible, from this post on mozilla's connect forum, you should also set all these to false using about:config:

browser.ml.enable

extensions.ml.enabled

browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled

browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled

browser.tabs.groups.smart.userEnabled

to get rid of the revamped sidebar, which is also trying to incorporate ai:

sidebar.revamp

unrelated anyone got browser recommendations for when we have to jump ship from firefox

[mckitterick]

and now keep in mind that all the other browsers are doing this shit, too, but you can't reconfigure them as with Firefox

on A for Effort's last point, is there any browser that offers users even half as much control as Firefox? if so, I'd like to try it as a backup

[mckitterick]

irritatingly, the list of AI settings in Firefox has grown. to kill them all as of today (Nov 20, 2026), go into about:config and set all of these to false (yes, you'll have to copy and paste them one by one):

browser.ml.enable

browser.ml.chat.enabled

browser.ml.chat.menu

browser.ml.chat.page

browser.ml.chat.page.footerBadge

browser.ml.chat.page.menuBadge

browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled

browser.ml.pageAssist.enabled

browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled

browser.tabs.groups.smart.userEnabled

extensions.ml.enabled

browser.search.visualSearch.featureGate

in addition to nuking AI, it'll also speed up your browsing

[felidae-sims]

Sims 2 Databases Database

(Alright it's an index, I just had to)

Made it for myself, I might as well share. If there's something I've missed please let me know. This list is being updated, Tumblr is being a pain and updates won't show up on re-blogs. Visit the original post to view the most current version. Mirror: Dreamwidth.

CC:

By Type:

Sims 2 - Object Default Database [Discontinued - DW].

Sims 2 - Object Default Database [Active - Spreadsheet].

Sims 2 - [CAS] Default Database.

Sims 2 - Hair Database.

Sims 2 - CC: Afro Hairstyles.

Sims 2 - Shoes Database.

Sims 2 - EA Store Items 2016.

Sims 2 - The Maxis Match Repository Project [CAS] [Pinterest Ver.]

Sims 2 - Repository Finds [CAS&Objects] [sorted into categories].

Sims 2 - Functional Finds [Sorted by function].

Resource list: Clutter and decorative items [massive index at GoS].

Sims 2 - Wall Hanging Decor Recolors Database [New!].

Sims 2 - Lot Database [Maxis ones emptied out].

Sims 2 - Lot Makeover Database [of Maxis Lots] [Note the Uploading Tutorial].

SkyBox/Horizons/Skylines Database.

Maxis Career Conversions TS1+3+4 to TS2 [Sorted by Game&EP - Under Downloads].

Fractured Moonlight's Stone Super Set Database [Creator Unknown, let me know if you know].

By Theme:

List of Maxis Lost & Found Objects Converted into Usable Items.

Stories to Sims 2 Conversion Database. [DW Backup]

TS1 to TS2 Conversion/Recreation Database.

TS1 to TS2 Catalog Conversions [Active, Includes OG Object Descriptions].

TS3 to TS2 Conversion Database [DW Backup].

TS3 to TS2 Traits Project Mod Tracking Sheet [Blog Ver.]

TS4 to TS2 CAS Conversion Archive [EA].

TS4 to TS2 CC Clothing Conversion Database [Custom - ts4 only?].

TS4 to TS2 Build/Buy Conversion Database [EA].

TS4 to TS2 CC Build & Buy Database [Custom].

The Sims spin-off games to the PC TS2 [&3+4].

TSM-to-TS2 Conversion Database [DW Backup].

Sims 2 Historical Finds [CAS&Objects] [Sorted by Era/Period].

Historical Sims 2 Wiki [New!].

Grunge Masterlist Project 2025.

List of Asian Sims 2 Sites With Working Downloads [As of 2017?].

CC Archives:

Sim Archive Project, at The Internet Archive [Introduction Post].

Sims Cave.

Sims Graveyard.

Simblr.cc - Dead-Site Repository.

Liquid Sims - Community Archives.

The Booty, at PSMBD.

Sims 2 Packrat, on Tumblr [Watch out for the recent SFS Hacking problem].

Ekrubynaffit (a.k.a bestbuild4sims) has re-uploaded a lot of archives of defunct creators. Albums with DL on her pinterest. Mainly build and buy mode, thanks a lot!

Resources:

CEP-Extras List, Huge Lunatic at Sims 2 Artists.

The Sims 2 Tutorials Database [Active] (Really needs a backup outside of Tumblr).

Several Lists of Maxis Resources for Modding,Pick'n'Mix Mods, own website, under Notes.

Sims 2 GUID Database Revival (Yes I'm shamelessly promoting it).

Sims 2 Trait GUID Database, by FireFlower.

Sims 2 Painting Sizes Database.

List of all Color Actions, With DL, ZeroDark/Graphic at GoS.

List of all WSO Actions, by Blue Heaven Sims, under Resources.

List of Hacks & Mods That Use Tokens, Bulbizarre at MTS.

Giant List of Simlish Fonts - Collect ‘Em All!, by franzillasims.

Masterlists of Recolouring Templates; MTS [+Cloning] | Hafiseazle | ZreoDark [not a list but a tag].

Index of Effects Names & Definitions [+ Guide], by AmmarAskar at GitHub.

Update notes are under the cut:

Update: Custom Clothing Conversion db [4t2], by @brandinotbroke/ Hair db, by @krabbysims/ Sims 4t2 CAS Conversion Archive [EA], by @mdpthatsme/ CEP-Extras List, by @hugelunatic/ Lists of Maxis Resources for Modding, by @picknmixsims/ Sims 2 Tutorials db [Active], by @sims2tutorials/ Sim Archive Project at The Internet Archive, by various - see @simnostalgia. Update 1: added EA ts2 store items at GoS/ Painting sizes db/ Tutorials db, by @sims2tutorials. Update 2: GUID db Revival. Update 3: believe it or not, there's more - Shoes db/ Sims 2. Functional Finds [sorted by function], by @sims2functionalfinds. Update 4: Resource list: Clutter and decorative items, at @gardenofshadowssims. Update 5: added archives section. Update 6: added @ekrubynaffit's Pinterest Archive. Update 7: Fixed TSM link, added Stories db/ Afro Hairstyles db, by @letomills/ SkyBox/Horizons/Skylines Database, by @simmergetic/ Grunge Masterlist Project 2025, by @pixeldolly/ and DW backup links (Everything that's exclusively on Tumblr/LJ should be backed somewhere else). Update 8: List of Asian Sims 2 Sites With Working Downloads [as of 2017?] by @0201-sims. Update 9: added Sims 2 Repository Finds [sorted into categories], by @sims2repositoryfinds. Update 10: added Sims 2 Object db [Discontinued], because the more the better. Update 11 Yet another (!): The Maxis Match Repository Project [CAS], by @whattheskell [how did i forget?]/ TS3 to TS2 Traits Project Mod Tracking Sheet, by  Rowena Sims & @noodlebelli. Update 11: Maxis Career Conversions TS1+3+4 to TS2 [Sorted by Game&EP - Under Downloads], by @sims2idea-lientebollemeis2i. Update 12: HS I found another one: List of all Color Actions - Names, Creators, and Download Links. Maintained for over a decade by @zerographic at GoS :P Update 13: separated by type & theme. added Sims 2 Historical Finds [CAS&Objects] [Sorted by Era/Period], by @ts2history. Update 14: added to resources Trait GUID db, by @fireflowersims. Update 15: I shit you not, there's more - Sims 2 Lot Makeover db [Maxis Lots], by @ts2lotmakeoverdb/ List of Hacks & Mods That Use Tokens, Bulbizarre at MTS/ TS1 Catalog Conversions [Active], by @kitteninthewindow/ WSO Action Masterlist, by Blue Heaven Sims under Resources. Update 16: List of Maxis Lost & Found Objects Converted into Usable Items, @kirlicues. Update 17: Sims 2 Lot db [Maxis ones emptied out], by @mikexx2 @mrsktrout @ts2lots. Update 18: Historical Sims 2 Wiki [New!], by @theacmecatalogblog. Update 19: under archives; Simblr.cc - Dead-Site Repository by @simblrcc-site. Jackpot! Update 20: added Giant List of Simlish Fonts - Collect ‘Em All!, by @franzillasims. Update 21 [can't believe there's more]: Masterlists of Recolouring Templates; MTS [+Cloning] | @hafiseazale | @zerographic [not a list but a tag]. Update 22(!): Index of Effects Names & Definitions [+ Guide], by AmmarAskar at GitHub. Update 23: added Sims 2 - Wall Hanging Decor Recolors Database [New!], by @sims-for-semi

[amythestfenix]

To find later

[bleaksimmer-deactivated20260409]

★ Sims 2 External Tools ★ A MODS LIST

⋆ External Tools that pertain the Sims 2 in one way or another ⋆ UPDATE 2.2 ⋆

⋆ SimPE ⋆ #1 RECCOMMENDED

A Package Editor you can use to Extract/Create/Edit .package Files

⋆ Hoodchecker ⋆ GAMEPLAY ⋆ ❗ESSENTIAL ❗

Examines & ceases neighbourhood corruption

⋆ Lifespan Mod Builder ⋆ GAMEPLAY

Want custom lifespans but don't know how to configure in SimPE? Just enter your desired amount of days in a life stage & download!

⋆ HDCU+ ⋆ CC / MODS ⋆ ❗ESSENTIAL❗

Checks for conflicts between mods in your downloads folder

⋆ Outfit Organiser ⋆ CC / MODS

Allows package files to be merged, renamed, moved and deleted. Resources can be reclassified (gender, age, category, etc) either individually or together within the game itself

⋆ Downloads Compressor ⋆ CC / MODS

Compresses your CC files so they take up less space on your computer - making your game run faster 🚨 NEVER USE THIS ON MOD FILES - ONLY CC FILES! 🚨

⋆ Download Organiser ⋆ CC / MODS

Organises & identifies your mods packages

⋆ CC Merger ⋆ CC / MODS

Merges your CC files so they take up less space on your computer - making your game run faster 🚨 NEVER USE THIS ON MOD FILES - ONLY CC FILES! 🚨

⋆ Clean Installer ⋆ CC / MODS

Safely installs custom lots

⋆ HoodPlanner ⋆ BUILDING

Allows you to plan your custom neighbourhood layout before mapping it out in SimCity4

⋆ Hood Replace ⋆ BUILDING

Allows you to copy terrain, roads, bridges, trees and decorations from one Sims 2 neighbourhood to another

⋆ Lot Planner ⋆ BUILDING

Allows you to plan your lot layout before building it in the game

⋆ Lot Adjuster ⋆ BUILDING

Allows you to adjust the size of a lot

⋆ Lot Compressor ⋆ BUILDING

Compresses your lots so they take up less space on your computer - making your game run faster

★ Changelog ★

13 | 8 | 2025 ⋆ 2.0 ⋆ Imported & updated from @bleakfinds

19 | 8 | 2025 ⋆ 2.1 ⋆ Updated SimPE link to newest version

21 | 8 | 2025 ⋆ 2.1 ⋆ Upload Date

21 | 8 | 2025 ⋆ 2.2 ⋆ Included HDCU+, Outfit Organiser (Thanks to @teaaddictyt), lot planner (Thanks to @nervosims) & Clean Installer, added descriptions, restructured the listing

[marticoresims]

USEFUL SOFTWARE FOR THE SIMS 2

[under construction, there's more to come]

This is a list of programs that will make your life easier if you're an avid Sims 2 player. Click on program titles to get download links.

SimPE The most known software for The Sims 2 that lets you edit package files. You can do basic stuff like rename a Sim, change family name, edit Sims' genetics as well as edit/create mods. Don't use if you have no idea what you're doing, watch a tutorial first or back up your neighborhood beforehand in case you mess something up! The newest version also has a terrain editor.

Sims2Pack Clean Installer The best program for installing downloaded lots and Sims. Those don't just go into Downloads, you need to install them!

Hood Checker This program checks neighborhood references and can clean out ones that are broken. Also useful for bringing back lost graves (it's still good to have NoUnlinkOnDelete).

HCDU Plus The Hack Conflict Detector Utility lets you scan your Downloads folder to check if you have any mods that edit the same aspect of the game, so can potentially be in conflict. Also useful to navigate which mods load first (load order is important for some mods to work).

What Caused This When you have 'testingcheats' on, the game gives you error messages if there's something going on. Not all of them mean there's a serious problem, but What Caused This can help you navigate what the source is. Upload the log file (Documents/EA/TS2/Logs) in the program, give it your Downloads folder and it will scan it to look for the culprit. Might give you straighforward information on which mod conflict caused the issue or that you lack Smarter EP Check for a mod that requires it.

Outfit Organiser You downloaded CC clothes that the creator marked as outerwear but you think they don't fit in that category? With this program you can quickly change that! It's also doable in SimPE, but Outfit Organiser is a lot easier to use.

CPack Editor If you want to make plastic surgery genetic, there's no need to do it manually in SimPE, especially if it's more than one Sim. In CPack Editor, you just choose your neighborhood's folder, run the program, and it changes ALL surgery faces in that neighborhood to genetic!

[criisolate]

What if I say I learnt a way to make ts3 run even smoother🙀 The game is currently running on 2.5+gb of RAM and 5+gb of VRAM… This is insane.

[criisolate]

I'll explain what I did below, before making any change please back up relevant files and make sure you have a decent computer (or at least a good video card, mine is Nividia RTX 2060 6GB). This method was initially posted by Foul Play in Discord, so a big thanks to them!!! 📢Check out the comment section first please. There seems to be some issues with Reshade/Gshade📢 We all know that The Sims 3 is a 32-bit old game that can only use less than 4GB of RAM, making it prone to crash due to memory overflow. Moreover, the game loads some texture memory into RAM, resulting in high RAM usage and low VRAM usage. Even the most powerful computers can't leverage their advantages. Therefore, what we need to do is to allow the game to fully utilize the performance of modern computers, while reducing RAM usage and increasing VRAM usage.

Download and install dxvk. Copy the d3d9.dll from the x32 folder to your bin folder (where you installed smooth patch and reshade/gshade). If you are not familiar with dxvk, it is recommended to check out this post (the 7th page) or videos about dxvk on Youtube.

If you have installed reshade/gshade before, you may be prompted to overwrite files, please choose yes. If reshade/gshade stops working after entering the game, reinstall reshade/gshade, and choose Vulkan mode(for reshade) /dxvk mode(for gshade) instead of d3d9 when installing. For GShade users: you have to manually delete the dxgi.dll generated in your Sims 3 bin folder after installing since it's unnecessary for a d3d9 game like the Sims 3.

Download the dxvk.conf file and place it in the same folder. Open this file with Notepad, delete all content, and add the following text. The first line must be added, and the second and third lines are used to set vertical synchronization and frame rate lock (It's just my personal preference, you can set it up based on the documentation on GitHub). d3d9.textureMemory = 1 d3d9.presentInterval = 1 d3d9.maxFrameRate = 75 At this point, you can enter the game and observe if a TS3W.dxvk-cache file is generated in the bin folder. If so, dxvk is successfully installed. After entering the SIMS 3, the game settings will be reset, so you need to back up the original settings or readjust them directly. For me, simply installing dxvk converted the game's RAM usage of over 300MB to VRAM usage. The Sims 3 became more stable. It's harder for it to reach 3.7GB RAM usage and then crash.

(Experimental, set it cautiously and test yourself)Next, open your GraphicsRules.sgr, search and find two lines seti MemCacheBudgetValue, which determine the size of the game's VRAM Cache. The values behind represent 200MB (209715200) and 160MB (167772160) respectively. Modify these two values to larger numbers (for example 1073741824, which means 1GB). You can choose according to your computer and then have a test in the game. Check how much RAM and VRAM the game is using in the Task Manager after modification and find a proper value. If you don't install dxvk, increasing these values will make your RAM usage higher! EDIT: The original values of 200MB and 160MB are calculated as 200x1024x1024=209175200 and 160x1024x1024=167772160. I set MemCacheBudgetValue to -1 during testing, which represents no limit. Before using dxvk and modifying GraphicsRules.sgr, the game only used less than 1.5GB of VRAM. But now, the game is using over 5GB of VRAM after 2 sims day playing. However, RAM usage continues to increase at the same time and does not remain at a certain size as I expected. Maybe MemCacheBudgetValue should be set to an appropriate size to prevent the game from eventually using over 3.7GB+ of RAM. After applying all these changes, with 6GB of mods and all graphics settings set to the highest, my game now runs more stable and smoother. I recommend you to try these steps above. Results may vary from person to person, so please share your test results in the comments^^

some extra information you may want to know

This method doesn't fundamentally solve the issue of the Sims 3. I suggest going through the performance optimization guides on Steam before attempting this.

Some of the settings in Nvidia (and maybe other cards) no longer take effect after installing dxvk. For example, the vertical sync, frame rate lock, and anisotropic filtering that I set in the Nvidia Control Panel don't work anymore. This may be due to switching the game from d3d9 to Vulkan. Fortunately, some settings can still be adjusted in the dxvk.conf file.

I recommend not opening the Nvidia Control Panel or similar utilities when running games with dxvk, as there's a chance it could switch the game back to d3d9 mode, causing the RAM usage to revert to its original state (I've experienced this a few times).

Each time you install and uninstall dxvk, switching the game between Vulkan and d3d9, is essentially making the game recognize the graphics card again, which results in the settings being repeatedly reset.

[bleaksimmer-deactivated20260409]

Pink Flashing Solution

Are you still getting pink flashing in the new age of 2024?

There are plenty of solutions but there is one that ultimately stopped mine

Click here for the tutorial!

*I'm unsure if its compatible with mac

This tutorial is someone else's work, I'm just bringing light to it since it literally saved my sims game.

I might copy the text and reupload it here since many people don't trust links (which is ok, I don't usually too), but I'll see about that...

[amythestfenix]

Re-blogging in case I need this.

[ivycopur]

so all this time ive been rocking the 2019 version of simpe but i just checked out the new version updated december 2024 and bruh??? These terrain editing tools????

the hours ive toiled away hex editing road tiles, fighting with sc4 and the modifyNeighborhoodTerrain cheat... this is going to be such a game changer...

i also noticed this, not sure what it does exactly but intriguing for stories games enjoyers 👀

this version does come bundled with some external tools plastered with chris hatch's signature titty pinup ladies but simpe itself is titty-free now as far as i can tell lmao

[ilovethesims2cc]

Bulk Rename Utility.  

A simple life saver program. As you know cc files with spaces and special characters makes our favorite game (The sims 2) very slow..

“ My Mods Folder is 12.3 GB and used to take 10-15 minutes to load. Tonight I removed all the spaces and special characters, and when I loaded my game it made a huge difference! 12.3 GB didn’t take any more than 2 minutes to load. And the game is a lot smoother now! “

If your game is slow too, you can get it to run faster by renaming your packages! All you have to do is remove the spaces and special characters! eg. this is a file name_1.package  > thisisafilename1.package

List of special characters: (for those who don’t know)

é ”, ; . : ~ ! > £ ’ < ^ # $ + % ’ ½ & { / [ (  _ * ? \ - ] ) } € @ æ ß ü ğ ı ç ö ¨ ’

Here’s a program that allow us to rename several cc with just one button!

The only thing we have to do is to write the symbols/special characters we want to remove and click one button!

Thanks SO much @grecadeasimsstudios for showing me this!

Download Link.

[osab]

Install The Sims 2

How to install The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection on modern systems.

Worked on a cuter / easier to follow version of the TS2 install guide for the starter pack at TS2.crd.co!

[iowafashionweekbegins]

hi, i just want to let everyone know, if any of you are frustrated with the state of TS4, i've compiled several different tutorials and made an all-in-one guide for playing TS2 on modern computers. it has all the fixes necessary to prevent crashes + pink flashing, and tips to make the game look just as nice as TS4, if not better!

please let me know if this guide is useful for you, or if anything needs to be changed/added/removed. i've tested it myself on multiple computers, and, while it works for me, there are many possibilities for error, considering that everyone's computer is different.

thank you for reading! i hope you like it :]

Evie's TS2 Guide!!

Evie's guide to playing The Sims 2 on Windows 10 or higher!!

last updated: september 18, 2024

[kayleigh83-reblogs]

Always great to see more (and more current) guides for this out there! Very useful for both new/returning players, or even ongoing players moving to a new machine who haven't had to do the set up in a few years.