Misplaced Lens Cap
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
almost home
occasionally subtle
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
d e v o n
#extradirty
PR's Tumblrdome
we're not kids anymore.
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
DEAR READER
dirt enthusiast
Love Begins
roma★
Peter Solarz
Acquired Stardust
oozey mess
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Claire Keane
seen from Germany
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@c0smodrom-sims
Genie Scalp Fix
In an unmodded game, the color of the Genie's scalp isn't purple like the rest of his body. That's because Maxis forgot to add the purple scalp overlay to his NPC Outfit. This mod fixes that.
How to install: Place the package file in your Downloads folder.
Known conflicts: None.
Required EPs: FreeTime.
Download
Special thanks to @c0smodrom-sims for this tutorial, which helped me understand how NPC Outfits work, and dizzy for the Age Data (AGED) notes.
the lost curious brother: george curious
Sims modders/CC creators, this is for you...
PLEASE put your name in your filename. One, someone will have a clue who it's by when they go to find more by you or to finally organize their Mods folder. Two, you're less likely to end up with the exact same filename as another creator.
PLEASE put your name FIRST in your filename. Alphabetization is super useful. It's less useful to alphabetize by the cute name you gave that hair or set of chairs.
PLEASE, for the love of all things Sims, consider not only using your initials. My Mods folder now has three different creators whose files start "MM". There might be even more of you MM's out there.
This has been a public service announcement.
people complaining that EA didn't fix pink soup whilst the post a screenshot with 20GB worth of CC and mods gets me
Yeah. I know I'm the reason I have to play on Linux and deal with frequent crashes, then wait an hour to load.
...but EA said they fixed it and they didn't. So...
...and yet, this is the same company that released this game in 2004 somehow not knowing that there was a fairly low limit on the number of memories a sim could have before they'd get a jump bug. You'd think that would be realized it beta testing, but it wasn't. They fixed it pretty fast, but this has always been how EA is. Messy. Sloppy. Lazy. The community is so much more dedicated and knowledgeable.
I think they did fix pink soup for the unmodded game - at least I haven't seen anyone here with pink soup with vanilla.
Whatever you do to your game besides this is your responsibility.
I've played sims 2 completely vanilla for over 5 years, and I cannot recall a single instance of the og game flashing pink. I will not invalidate anyone's who did experience pink flashing on a 100% vanilla game, but I've never even heard of it happening, so I would love for these people to come forward and share their experiences.
EA KNOWS how much people mod their sims games, and they stated -with no 'but's or exceptions- that the pink flashing issue was fixed. It was not. There's no excuse, stop it. They also stated a lot of things regarding sims 1 resolution and UI, just for it to run exactly like it already did with workarounds (with black borders and visual glitches).
I will also mention that CC folder size is not the sole cause for pink flashing. I had my game flash like crazy with measly 8gb (my current purist folder with only add-ons and recolors is 5gb).
I'm not mad about them not fixing the pink flashing issue.
From my own testing and talking to many other people and exchanging save files even, it's really really hard to reproduce it. The SAME hood with the SAME cc folder might flash for one person, but not for another. While lots of (especially unoptimized) CC does seem to make it worse, there is no singular cause we could ever really pinpoint. I have even seen people who experienced pink flashing in an entirely empty hood - no CC, no lots, nothing. Just a few measly EA trees.
So I can imagine that they might have tried to fix pink flashing and really thought they did it, because they couldn't reproduce it anymore. But that does not mean that others won't still experience it. Quality control should have been much more rigorous, but I understand that this particular issue is hard to solve.
What I *am* mad about is the OTHER false claims they made, particularly this one:
This is a blatant lie. The game is still 32 bit. It is still capped at 4GB of memory usage. It doesn't fucking matter if my PC has 6 or 8 or 16GB of RAM, THE GAME CANNOT USE IT. But EA literally claimed it can, and that is just flat out and demonstrably false. That alone deserves a lot of criticism.
well, 4GB was *a lot of RAM*... in 2004...
The Sims 2 Legacy Collection: shadow fix
The rerelease of The Sims 2 introduced a fix for the black rectangles under Sims. You may have experienced this bug in the Ultimate Collection version.
As the creator of the Sims Shadow Fix, I was curious to know how it was done. But first, I'd like to explain what the problem with Sim shadows is.
What's the cause of the shadow bug?
When the game works as intended, a Sim shadow texture is a light bluish blob on a white background. It also has transparency, but it's unused. It looks like this:
However, many modern graphics cards render the texture as plain black with transparency:
That's why black rectangles appear under the Sims.
What does my mod do?
My mod is only a workaround for the bug. It uses the transparency to recreate the shadows.
The first versions released in 2015 and 2016 were achromatic, while the original shadows were bluish. Back then I didn't even know why and how my mod worked.
On 2 January 2025 I released new versions based on my research into shaders. I also recreated the original bluish shadows.
How does the Legacy Collection fix the shadow bug?
Thanks to @ivycopur I was able to examine the code. It uses a workaround, just like my mod.
In fact, it looks almost exactly like the really not misty 0.4 version of my mod, which, ironically, is now legacy. The shader code in the Legacy Collection contains the same nonsense. And a bit more.
Code comparison
The left side is the original code extracted from the Materials.package file in The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. The right side is my code or the Legacy Collection code:
The differences between my code and the LC code:
the debug part: I removed it from my code as players will never see it. The LC has this feature untouched.
alphaBlend srcFactor: despite the difference, it actually changes nothing. Explained later.
The identical changes:
alphaBlend dstFactor,
the same colorScalar has been added,
textureBlend.
Nonsense #1: textureBlend
The textureBlend defines how the colors of the incoming texture are transformed. The first argument is responsible for the color channels, the second – for the transparency.
Originally it's just:
textureBlend select(texture) select(texture)
And it means that the texture is taken as it is.
My and LC code transforms it though. The colorScalar is defined as a partially opaque (40%) black color. The transparency argument takes the transparency of the original texture and darkens it with the 40% factor:
multiply(colorScalar texture)
And this makes sense. The color channels argument takes the transparency part of the texture and makes it pure black, because the color scalar is black:
multiply(colorScalar texture:alphaReplicate)
It's pointless. I could go:
select(colorScalar)
instead. It would be effectively the same.
The texture after the transformations looks like this:
Nonsense #2: alphaBlend
The alphaBlend defines how to mix the source colors (in this case the transformed texture from the textureBlend step) with the destination colors (in this case, the ground under Sim's feet).
The srcFactor argument defines the source color transformations, the dstFaction – defines the destination color transformations. And then they're put together.
Originally it's:
alphaBlend srcFactor(destColor) add dstFactor(zero)
The srcFactor says that the shadow colors are darkened with the ground colors. The dstFactor doesn't really matter because it's multiplied by zero (black). Also, transparency isn't used.
If I understand correctly, you could achieve the same effect with:
alphaBlend srcFactor(zero) add dstFactor(srcColor)
And the final effect is:
My and LC code had to do it differently. The dstFactor says to darken the floor color with inverted transparency:
dstFactor(invSrcAlpha)
It sounds complicated, but the inversion actually means that black becomes white and vice versa. So the transparency texture, which is a dark gray blob on a black background, becomes a light gray blob on a white background.
The srcFactor is actually useless because the shadow texture (from the textureBlend step) is black. So it doesn't matter if you use:
srcFactor(one)
like I did, or:
srcFactor(destColor)
as in the LC code, it will always be black because you can't make black any darker. To make the intention clear, I'd personally go with:
srcFactor(zero)
instead. The final effect would always be:
It's different from the original intended effect. You can even see the difference in the official screenshots:
Source 1 | Source 2
Conclusion
It doesn't look like a coincidence. The cause of the shadow bug hasn't been fixed, and I doubt that an experienced shader creator would come up with such a workaround. There are better ways.
Before you point out that it's against my terms of use to take my code and sell it, especially without credit, hear out. It doesn't matter – EA's policy allows it. And I'm not even angry. It's just funny that they trusted such a messy code. I wouldn't be surprised to see other creators' fixes in the Legacy Collection.
The good thing is that EA has addressed the shadow issue at all. 🙃
reported via discord: bodyshop is not included for some reason
will u let us know how the new version of ts2 runs? i have an old version on my pc but if it's really that much better in the new version mb i have to buy again (sob)
Absolutely! ❤ I'll defo give some updates on how it goes! Loading my huge CC folder into it now, so I'm praying 😂
Well sadly I have to say it runs pretty shitty still!
Positive things:
It doesn't require Graphic Rules Maker/4GB patch out of the box, I'm happy for the new players who'll be able to play it (Although I can't set the Shadows settings)
You are able to transfer your old saves, it loads up fine
Negative:
It's still 32 Bit, so can't handle more than 4GB of RAM 💀
Missing two packs Missing IKEA stuff, sorry I've goofed that while checking the list!
After loading my 7GB of CC and my BaCC, it crashes immediately when I change the graphics to a higher setting
So yeah there's that. I guess no pink soup, because I can't play long enough to get it 😂 For new players I think it's great, or for people who are not comfortable with pirating, but we were not really the target audience for this I fear.
More updates!
After @deedee-sims's suggestion I applied GRM to it, after this it allowed me to set the graphics settings to high. However when I want to enter the buy mode catalog, it crashes immediately. I tried to load up a vanilla pleasantview to see if it's my BaCC that is the issue, then this handsome guy welcomed me:
And I opened up the buy catalog and it crashed again. (UPDATE: it only does it for the "Seating" section so I have probably some faulty cc in there)
Sooooooo yeah. I'm laughing because otherwise I'd cry 💀 Idk if I should still try honestly I don't know what to do. I don't want to remove my CC because like that would be the whole point of having this 😂
However at the same time I'd like to direct attention to this lovely page where you can get a refund in the first 24 hours from EA. (I'm actually not a 100% sure they will refund it but I requested it so I'll let you know)
I'm sorry these updates are so chaotic, I'll do my best to further my investigation! (And I'll update this post so it won't get lost in the reblogs)
UPDATE 4 (01.31. 19:06): Buy mode catalog crash was caused by CC, I assume some IKEA related. But when loading up my BaCC, it crashes on loading the family with the higher graphics.
Wanna play The Sims 1 or The Sims 2 for free? Here you go!
The Sims 1 Starter Pack
The Starter Pack is an all-in-one source for obtaining, installing, and optimizing TS1 on modern hardware.
The Sims 2 Starter Pack
NSIS-based installer for installing & optimizing The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Provides the full Ultimate Collection (free Origin version from 2014 with all packs/updates) and bonus content, including fixes needed for modern systems.
game is still 32-bit (which means pink soup is still likely)
requires a constant internet connection
denuvo (which is well known to make games run Worse)
directx 9 issues "failed to find any directx 9.0c campatible graphics adapters in this system! please make sure you have a directx 9.0c compatible graphics adapter and have installed the latest drivers provided by the manufacturer. the application will now terminate."
reports on steam discussions of crashes, games not opening, and general IssuesTM
what the fuck are those prices. EA are literally trying to scam you
the sims 2
ikea pack is not included
someone has posted theyve experienced pink soup already
difficulty changing graphics settings without graphics rules maker
constant crashes doing various things including making a family
the sims 1
game still crashes on alt+tab
zero tweaks to the ui so the game has black borders still
seems to have a very common issue of opening as a black screen and not actually starting, with it still responding in task manager - haven't found a single fix posted for this yet
both games suffer terribly in any resolution above 1080p, and widescreen is a joke. mods to improve UI as it does not scale and hasn't been touched at all in both games. games also launch at low resolution and some people have reported difficulty in setting it higher. refresh rates locked on both.
also: both legacy collections include a different the sims 4 kit. this is not optional, a purchase of both the legacy collections will get you 2 the sims 4 kits.
EXCUSE ME
HOLY SHIT
wild
- Secrets Post #099, November 6th, 2009
i think I'm fully committing to true maxis match
my ass is TIRED of neverending defaulting everything and setting shit up just to change my concept halfway (and yet, I just changed my concept halfway)
im embracing 2004
Thank you for reblogging it really means the world to me 💜
sending all the good vibes I can 💖
Hi there, my name is Ella, and I have had a constant headache for 14 years. I am … Ella Collis needs your support for Help me get Pineal Cys
Hi there, my name is Ella, and I have had a constant headache for 14 years. I am 26 years old. Painkillers do not work.
The pain is caused by a Pineal Cyst. Pineal cysts are relatively common, 1-2% of the population has one, but it is not common that they cause symptoms. Few doctors on this planet even believe they do cause symptoms.
I need Pineal Cyst Removal Surgery if I am ever to experience a pain free day again. The only hospital that offers this surgery in my country, England, is deciding whether it wants to bear the risk of offering this surgery after I was on the waiting list for 6 months. I have found two European surgeons who can perform this surgery and believe I am a good candidate for it.
Needless to say, I, being a disabled unemployed person, cannot afford the surgery. I should be able to have it free on the NHS but it is not routinely offered so they won't fund me getting it abroad.
I am suicidally depressed because of my chronic pain. Doctors don't care about this cyst because it's not a threat to my life. Anti-depressants can only dull the pain so much.
Can people please reblog this, no matter how small your blog is, so that it can get traction?
i am so tired of hospitals, being in an out of them for the last 2 months, but hopefully im home for good now (new medication here we gooo)
of course i had so many plans for doing cc and mods and actually play the game and stuff when i didn't have my laptop with me and now that im home i don't even want to look in the general direction of simpe and bodyshop and my game isn't set up to play lmao!! all i want to do rn is watch campervan conversions on yt and i don't even have a driving license!!
