I promised this tutorial a while ago and just started making my harbour for my current hood. I figured I may as well kill two birds with one stone, so here it is! This technique is completely modular, allowing you to create harbours of any length. As you can see, I've already done one of the lots, just to show you how they fit together. You will find yourself saving and exiting quite a lot with this method!
Requirements
LotAdjuster
A neighbourhood with accessible shoreline
Possibly some understanding of the 'boolprop constrainfloorelevation false' cheat
Important: I do not use beach lots for this method. I find this method gives me more control.
Step 1: Place Your Lot
Start with a lot that is 20 tiles deep. This gives enough room to create a stone harbour wall and dock area. This is preference, but I find any bigger looks dumb.
The lot should be 10 tiles wider than the harbour segment you ultimately want. For example, if you want a final harbour segment that is 40 tiles wide, start with a 50 tile wide lot. That is what I've done here.
Bring the water as close to the lot edge as possible. If necessary, use the cheat 'modifyNeighborhoodTerrain on'
The terrain should slope down naturally towards the water.
Step 2: Mark the Tiles to Remove
Measure 5 tiles in from each end of the lot.
These tiles will be removed later with LotAdjuster.
For a centre segment, mark 5 tiles on both ends.
For a left-end segment, mark 6 tiles on the left side.
For a right-end segment, mark 6 tiles on the right side.
Step 3: Build the Stone Harbour
Create a foundation within the remaining space. This can be as big as you want.
The foundation walls should extend flush (but not connect along the length) to any edge that will connect seamlessly to another lot.
I use Numenor's custom foundation walls, but you can achieve the same effect using standard walls with the cheat 'constrainFloorElevation false'. Just flatten the walls after placing them.
Cover the foundation with floor tiles of your choice, filling in that gap.
Important: Do not place walls along any edge that will connect to another harbour segment.
Step 4: Add the End Cap
At the opposite end of the harbour wall, add a small "cap" section. It will not stretch out as far as you want, but that's okay. Again, make it as big as you want.
This creates a natural transition point where stairs can lead down to the wooden docks.
Step 5: Build the Dock
Lay out the wooden dock below the stone harbour. Mine was a full story (16 steps) lower than the stone.
As before, don't place foundations flush against the lot edge. Use floor tiles to create the seamless connection instead. You will know it's correct if there's no stilt on the 6th tile from the edge.
Again, at this stage, don't worry if the dock isn't the exact width you want.
Save and exit the game.
Step 6: Extend the Lot
Open LotAdjuster and add 20 tiles to the back of the lot.
Do not change any other settings.
Step 7: Finish the Waterfront
Load the game, and then the lot again.
You now have what is effectively a custom beach lot. I usually add terrain paint to match my shoreline, otherwise the extended area remains grassy.
You can now adjust the dock to its final width. In my example, I created a dock that was 5 tiles wide.
Step 8: Plan the Dock and Bay Pattern
Decide how many docks and bays you want. Bays should be big enough to fit ships.
The harbour should always end on half a bay, so that adjoining lots complete the bay when placed together.
Do this before shrinking the lot. Once the lot has been reduced, you won't be able to place floor tiles on the very edge.
For my example:
Dock width: 5 tiles
Bay width: 10 tiles
This creates the pattern: 5 (half bay) - 5 (dock) - 10 (bay) - 5 (dock) - 5 (half bay)
I also made them 15 tiles long. You can do literally whatever size you want.
Save and exit once the layout is complete.
Step 9: Trim the Lot
Open LotAdjuster again and remove 5 tiles from both the left and right sides.
This is the step where you're most likely to run into problems. I certainly did while creating this tutorial!
If LotAdjuster throws an error, reload the lot and make sure there are no walls, fences, or foundations crossing the line where the new lot boundary will be.
When you reload the lot:
End pieces should have one side flush with the lot edge.
Centre pieces should be flush on both sides.
These flush edges allow the harbour sections to connect seamlessly.
Step 10: Repeat
Repeat the process for as many harbour segments as you need. If they don't line up, you can't just pick up the lot and move it. You have to use LotAdjuster to either move it left or right. I had to do so in this very tutorial.
The good thing is, you can use the original dock as a visual guide for widths! Also, make sure the wooden dock is on the same elevation across both lots.
For this example, I created a left and right segment and mirrored them, but you can continue adding centre sections indefinitely. I tend to add stairs in the very middle if I do that. You need a flight of stairs to get down to the harbour.
Finishing Touches
Once your harbour is assembled, decorate it however you like.
I usually place lots like warehouses, taverns, fishmongers, market stalls, or more on the stone harbour, and use neighbourhood deco ships (or this refurbished version of the Bon Voyage ship) in the bays. I also decorate the docks with crates, barrels, dead fish, etc. For some extra fun, add invisible fishing spots to the end of the docks!
The result is a fully modular harbour that can be expanded to fit any waterfront.
I hope this tutorial helps! If anything is unclear, feel free to ask.
Like many of us, I grew up with Garden of Shadows. To me, it was more than just a forum. It was a place I could ask for help, learn new skills and, best of all, find amazing content in any style I could possibly want. I loved the board names, the people, the themes; everything, really.
And I admit I was more than a little heartbroken to find it gone.
After mulling it over, I decided that I wanted to preserve what I possibly could. I spent a few hours yesterday running through strategies and ideas about how to best go about it, and the best I could come up with was, well, exactly the same.
So, here it is: the Garden of Shadows mirror forum.
I've only just started, but I hope to add a little bit to it every day. The primary focus will be on preserving all the knowledge and custom content. I'm tackling it myself, but if you feel so inclined, you're more than welcome to join in.
--
PS. I am not here to offend, break Terms of Use, or to step on any toes. This is simply an effort to preserve content and knowledge for a game I have played and loved for over twenty years. Thank you ♥
CC-free, Unfurnished | §118,664 | Up to 11 Bedrooms and 9,5 Bathrooms, do whatcha want :D
💾DL: SFS
Ayy, my 1st ever upload! I've been working on my little re-imagined Bluwater Village project for a while because I really needed a poorer, gloomier region for my sims and the Maxis original doesn't cut it with its lot sizes and cozy architecture. So, I'm building all of my BV makeovers from scratch! For this lot specifically instead of a fairy-tale looking house I wanted an 'abandoned' Victorian mansion for the sims to suffer in cold <3 I also left a small surprise for them in the tower on the left.
Also, note the lot doesn't have flat edges, hope that isn't a problem 😬
Have you ever wondered why Bodyshop makes your PC work so hard?
BODYSHOP HAS NO FPS LIMIT
With limited frame rate, Bodyshop only puts a strain on PC when it loads CAS content. If your GPU fans go significantly faster the entire time you have Bodyshop open, then FPS is very likely way too high.
It's similar case for TS2 game - but FPS also depends on your system / PC /Laptop and the way you run TS2.
➤ To check FPS in the game, use a shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + S to bring up FPS HUD. FPS is displayed right in the upper left corner.
Tip: if FPS is changing too fast, take a few screenshots so you can read FPS from those
➤ If you set a limit to 60 FPS, that tells CPU/GPU to produce 60 game frames per second. This is the sensible number for TS2. Without FPS limit, your hardware is trying to put out frames as fast as it possibly can, heating up and using unnecessary amounts of energy.
The Sims 2 engine was not designed to run any higher than 100 FPS
➤ When you play The Sims 2 with TS2 RPC & borderless window, Windows Desktop Manager usually handles frame rates. Same for windowed TS2 Legacy edition. This is thanks to Vsync*, which forces desktop's default refresh rate on game window.
*In case of high-refresh gaming monitors / laptops, FPS limit imposed by Vsync may not be low enough for TS2.
*I showed a screenshot of my hood, but I recommend checking FPS in lot view, because in hood view, 'heavy' particle effects like clouds can dramatically slow down FPS even on a modern gaming GPU.
➤ On older gear, FPS may never go beyond ~70 even without the limit, but CPU / GPU still try hard to reach the unachievable frame rate.
Varying FPS numbers may be an indicator that the game is running uncapped, OR that the default frame rate is set too high for your system to handle.
➤ On modern gaming GPU, you'll have no problem telling the game runs uncapped - FPS in lot view usually oscillates between ~200 - 600.
➤ A few ways to set FPS limit:
Playing a game in windowed mode often solves high FPS issue. Unless you have a monitor with high refresh rate. But the general recommendation for old, uncapped DX9 games is: do not trust WDM, do not rely on Vsync, set a hard FPS limit.
If you use DXVK, you can set FPS cap in the DXVK config file, both for the game, and for Bodyshop (you pick the same 32-bit d3d9 version). *I've explained how I tweaked my DXVK's FPS in this post here.
If you don't use DXVK, and Windows Desktop Manager doesn't affect your game's FPS for some reason, or if you insist on playing fullscreen, you can set FPS limit for TS2 with driver-level GPU settings: Nvidia 3D program profile* / AMD adrenalin. Same applies to Bodyshop.
*Nvidia's global FPS cap may not work in fullscreen mode, often it's required to set FPS limit for TS2 exe specifically.
➤ In case of laptops using "Mux-less" or "Optimus" technology, the integrated Intel/AMD graphics card may be forcing FPS adjusted to screen refresh rate, ignoring Nvidia 3D profile's FPS limiter settings.
If so, you may need to use DXVK with FPS limit, or an external tool like Riva Tuner Statistics Server. RivaTuner apparently can make FPS feel smoother ;) It can be used along DXVK, too (but in that case you set limit with RTSS only, ofc).
TS2 game actually has the option to adjust screen refresh rate, it's in the middle of the graphic options tab. I was told that in the Legacy Edition, the Refresh Rate box is blank and permanently locked, meaning you cannot fix FPS inside the game menu.
I have Mr Dj's repack, and this box was always greyed out for me because I always used FPS cap. When I uncapped FPS, the refresh box became active, game allows me to switch between 59 and 60 mhz refresh options, but these do nothing. FPS stays at 80 for a while, then it goes uncapped.
Some say the Refresh Rate setting is broken in Legacy version, but ,more likely, it got disabled cuz it doesn't work anyway on modern systems.
So, I thought I would share couple of above ground pools I made. There are several things to keep in mind.
I test played these lots and they work in my game. All I can say is results may vary. I suggest testing the pool out first before building the house to make sure your sims can swim. It feels so horrible to spend hours building a lot only to find out the pool doesn't work.
These pools are something that the game does not do easily so if you try to modify it, it may cause irreparable damage to your lot that may cause you to start over on your build so make sure that you work on the pool first, test it to make sure the sims can still swim in it and then build the rest of your lot.
This is my first time posting something like this. Please provide feedback and let me know how it worked out for you.
Most importantly, enjoy, and take lots of great pictures.
Always make a backup of your game before installing this or any DLC into your game to prevent permanent loss of all your hard work in your game.
I used TS2 UC to makeover this lot. This lot is CC free. If there are any issues, please let me know so I can fix and re-upload. Enjoy.
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.
i'm new into the community and looking for mutuals and new simblrs to fill up my feed so pls reblog if u're currently active and post the sims 2 content, ty !!
Does anyone know why this is happening??? First photo is my attempt at replacing afbottommomtailored - the jeans texture of the new mesh is showing up on the arms. The custom version of the jeans (second photo) is showing up normally on the same shirt so I know the jeans are the problem. Are these pants meshes just not going to be friends?
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
Fun fact: lingering pink soup might be caused by borked files inside shader cache. This post contains instructions on how to clean caches on windows 10 (or 11)
Playing TS2 on Nvidia GPU:
How to clear shader cache
Symptoms: The pink comes back even after PC restart - but each time you run a game it's a bit less intense.
⚠️If you get pink flashing after 1+ hour of gameplay, that's likely memory related, and clearing shader caches won't help.
Invalid shader cache file - possible causes
Pine's post-processing mod called Custom Post Effects, or an edit by DreadPirate (if it's present in Downloads it may cause pink soup, without enabling the features)
Conflicting shader mods
Broken mods
Game crashed when shaders were being compiled
GPU driver-related issues
(It's not relevant for TS2 but I might as well mention that in modern games, a major game update or driver update can make older cache files obsolete and cause some issues until files get refreshed.)
⚠️Shader-specific issues usually summon pink soup faster than 'usual' memory issues, often as soon after you open the game. If you have a shader conflict going on, clearing cache won't do much until you remove culprit mods.
Let's say you removed the problematic mod, and the pink still lingers. You could wait it out. Well, you don't just "wait", you need to actually play for a while, let the driver identify invalid files and re-compile them. But it can be frustrating if you have a small window of time you'd like to spend taking screenshots. You can speed things up, and clear caches manually.
You start by clearing .cache files in /Documents/ The Sims 2 folder, of course.
[ *if you use DXVK: clear dxvk shader cache in your TS2 game exe folder]
Clearing DX / GL shader caches:
Don't do this when the game is running.
Don't do this if you don't experience lingering pink - this is not a cure for random pink flashing
⚠️If you play many games, naturally this will affect them - games take longer to load when shaders are being compiled!
1. First, open NVIDIA Control Panel /Manage 3D Settings, take note of the current Shader Cache Size settings, then set the size to Disabled and restart your system*
*This is a 'proper' way, but sometimes I skip this step if I really don't want to restart PC.
2. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run box.
Type:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\
..and press Enter.
3. Clean DX cache folders:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache
%LOCALAPPDATA%low\NVIDIA\PerDriverVersion\DXCache
4. Clean OpenGL shader cache folder:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\GLCache
Of course you could try to only clean DX cache (or GL cache, if you play with DXVK), that might work.
*You may wonder, why clean GL /or DX shader cache if TS2 game runs on DX / or Vulcan? Apparently, there could be some "spillovers" in all cache folders. And I did notice files being generated in DX cache folder when I run TS2 via DXVK.
5. Re-enable Shader Cache Size in NVIDIA Control Panel, if you disabled it. Set it to driver default, or whatever you set before (if you play 'AAA games', 10GB is the recommended GPU cache size. By default it's 4GB for most modern GPUs). Restart the system.
Tip: prevent automatic clean-up of shader caches. If you use automatic disc cleaning, exclude DX Cache folder.
6. Optional:
Windows DX shader cache might contain "corrupted" files. You can use windows "Disc Cleanup" feature, it includes windows DX cache folder.
Or you can do it manually, these should be at
%LOCALAPPDATA%\D3DSCache
Windows might also use secondary shader caches. On my system these are always empty though (AppData = a hidden folder):
Redesigned Gustav's Grocery in Desiderata Valley. Download link + more pics under the cut!
This place never really gave me "grocery store" vibes so I tried to fix that. I also moved the parking lot to be in front of the building so it actually looks usable.
I got rid of the RV cars and basketball hoop because otherwise my sims would never go in the building. FYI the floor tiles placed outside of bounds may disappear if you move the lot - easy to fix but kind of annoying.
On the first floor is groceries, clothing, electronics, and a cafe.
The second floor is a break room which includes a kitchen and locker rooms.
A little community lot for the holiday season! I used just a liiiitle bit of CC which I will link under the cut.
I saw this adorable deco train station on Pinterest and got an itch to recreate it for my sims. It's not as decorated as I would normally like and the preview pics aren't great, but I wanted to make sure I actually uploaded this before Christmas.
Exterior (monorail tracks not included):
Interior:
Layout:
Let me know what you think of it! Merry Simsmas!!!!
DOWNLOAD (SFS)
CC used:
Big Clock by darylmarkloc
Holiday Roof Lights (specifically the wreaths and straight wall lights) by Honeywell
Bespoke Build Set - "Growing Green" roof color by Honeywell
Bold of me to call this a tutorial when it’s literally two steps, but I picked this up from The Jessa Channel on youtube!
Okay, all you need to give your mountains / forests a hiking trail is two pieces of maxis hood deco.
The hood deco that gives your beaches “waves” in the neighborhood view has a little strip of dirt and sand attached to it. This hugs the terrain, and when it’s placed on terrain away from the water it creates path that can follow bumpy/hilly/etc terrain. No extra pieces of hood deco, no fiddling with heights or slopes, just plop it down and it follows the map like terrain paint.
(You may have two versions in your game, depending on what mods you have. The one you want has THIS picture specifically, and it comes with the base game. If you have no mods this will be the only one you have, so don’t worry about this.)
The effect can be a little bright though, and stand out awkwardly on the terrain. So to blend it in a little, you’re also gonna want to place any of the terrain decos on top of it.
I’m talking about these three bad boys, the flowers would probably also work. They also hug the terrain so again, just put them down on top of your “ocean surf” and boom! A quick and easy path that’s versatile, requires no CC, and can be used on hills without fiddling with the terrain heights.
This won’t show up in lot view unfortunately, but from hood view it adds a lot to the overall neighborhood look!
It's finally here, my tutorial for adding new terrain types to The Sims 2!
This was tricky to write so I hope I documented everything correctly!
You can also get the guide as a PDF (including tutorial files) at SFS.
Tutorial: Adding a custom terrain and road in The Sims 2
By JodelieJodelie
Version 1.0
13-10-2025
This is a tutorial for adding new custom terrains with roads to the four existing terrains (temperate, desert, concrete, dirt) in The Sims 2.
This tutorial requires knowledge of SimPE and editing files.
Required software
The Sims 2
SimPE
A text editor such as Notepad
A hex editor such as https://hexed.it/
Files that will be edited
The files you will edit should be in the folder of your latest EP/SP. Since I have the Ultimate Collection (UC) I will refer to the Mansions & Gardens subfolder (SP9) in Fun with Pets folder.
In my case, my install folder looks like: C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. I’ll refer to the installation path as ~.
~\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Sys\NeighborhoodTerrain.ini
~\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Catalog\Scripts\terrainPaints.txt
~\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Materials\Materials.package
OR if you have shaders installed such as LazyDuchess’ Lot Lighting Fixes or the Multi Road Mod (1, 2) you’ll need to edit those instead.
Optional: Instance 0xFF1AFA1C: Shaders for terrain tiles
Tutorial files
I have uploaded a package with texture files for a snow terrain based on this dirt default by Freezer Bunny (uploaded by Shastakiss). The road texture is based on the Rural Charm road by Criquette.
Download at SFS.
The terrain file contains the following textures:
lottexture-canvas-snow_detail_txtr
lottexture-canvas-snow_txtr
snow-rough_txtr
snow-rough-hsnow_txtr
snow-rough-lsnow_txtr
snow-rough-light_txtr
snow-rough-light-hsnow_txtr
snow-rough-light-lsnow_txtr
snow-smooth_txtr
snow-smooth-hsnow_txtr
snow-smooth-lsnow_txtr
snow-smooth-rougher_txtr
snow-smooth-rougher-hsnow_txtr
snow-smooth-rougher-lsnow_txtr
The road file contains the following textures:
lotskirtroad_snow_00000304_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00000304_hsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00000304_lsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00000f04_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00000f04_hsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00000f04_lsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00004b04_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00004b04_hsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00004b04_lsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00005704_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00005704_hsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00005704_lsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00020704_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00020704_hsnow_txtr
lotskirtroad_snow_00020704_lsnow_txtr
snow_roads_00000304_txtr
snow_roads_00000304_hsnow_txtr
snow_roads_00000f04_txtr
snow_roads_00000f04_hsnow_txtr
snow_roads_00004b04_txtr
snow_roads_00004b04_hsnow_txtr
snow_roads_00005704_txtr
snow_roads_00005704_hsnow_txtr
snow_roads_00020704_txtr
snow_roads_00020704_hsnow_txtr
Notice how all the textures have the word “snow” in them. If you want to create your own terrain, you can replace these with a word of your choosing (but don’t replace hsnow and lsnow, these are needed when it’s snowing in the game). Don’t forget to click “fix TGI” and “Commit” in SimPE if you do.
Step 1. Editing NeighborhoodTerrain.ini
Make a back-up of your NeighborhoodTerrain.ini file.
Open the file in a text editor.
You will need to add new text in three places.
First edit: PaintInfos
Under [PaintInfos] you will find all the terrains in your game. The last one will be the concrete terrain.
Under [TerrainTypeInfos] you will need to add your terrain with 0x10 and 0x11. These are the cliff and beach paints. Technically this means you could have different cliff and beach paints per terrain. But that’s for another time.
So the format is Name=Cliff_Paint_ID,Beach_Paint_ID.
In our case this means you will add the following line under the concrete one:
Snow=0x10,0x11
Third edit: PaintMapTable
In this last edit you will need to add a paintmaptable of your new terrain. This map will determine at what height which texture will get applied.
Copy a map of a terrain. I used the dirt one as my inspiration.
Note, I don’t know what other terrainTypeSoundSuffix types exist.
Save the file.
Step 3. Editing shaders
This step depends whether you use shader mods or not. If you don’t, you will need to edit ~\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Materials\Materials.package. Otherwise, you will need to edit your mods.
Regardless, make back-ups.
Predefined neighborhood materials
Open the Materials.package or your mod.package in SimPE.
Look for instance 0xFF6BE964.
Scroll down and add the following to the other NHoodRoadMaterials.
This step is not required to make your new terrain functional but will improve how it looks, especially if you have a texture with multiple colors or a grid.
The edit will need to be done in another shader, namely the Shaders for terrain tiles (instance 0xFF1AFA1C). Note: these values apply to all other terrains and terrain paints.
So again, open the Materials.package or your mod.package in SimPE.
Directly underneath terrainMatDiffCoef you will find the following.
# Specifies the number of tiles over which the paint & bump textures should be applied.
setf canvasDetailTextureScale 4
setf canvasBaseTextureScale 20
setf paintTextureScale 20
setf paintDetailTextureScale 4.0
setb hasCutout false
These settings determine the size of both the terrain and terrain paints. For some mysterious reason, the developers put the values at 4. This means that the terrains will span 4x4 tiles. This means it will never line-up with the neighborhood terrain that is visible from the lot.
The default 4x4, this makes lining up textures difficult.
By editing it to 5x5, you can line up textures better.
As you can see, by increasing the texture by 5x5 it will be easier to make matching terrain defaults.
So change the values to the following.
# Specifies the number of tiles over which the paint & bump textures should be applied.
setf canvasDetailTextureScale 5
setf canvasBaseTextureScale 20
setf paintTextureScale 20
setf paintDetailTextureScale 5.0
setb hasCutout false
Click “Commit” and save your file.
Example with another texture.
Before:
After:
Step 4. Changing the terrain in your neighborhood
It’s time to start the game!
Either select an existing neighborhood or create a new one. If you want to apply it to an existing neighborhood I recommended creating a back-up.
When in the neighborhood, use CTRL + SHIFT + C to open the cheatconsole
Type “Terraintype Snow” and hit Enter.
The terrain will change, but will look a bit weird. That will fix itself when you either reload the neighborhood or restart the game.
But we’re not done yet, we need edit some values in SimPE.
Close the game if you haven’t already.
Step 5. Changing the road with SimPE
I learned about this from this thread on ModTheSims.
Open SimPE and use the Neighborhood Browser (via Tools) to open your neighborhood.
Extract the Neighborhood Memory (NGBH) and save it somewhere as SnowTutorial.simpe.
Open the .simpe file with a hex editor. I use an online version: https://hexed.it/.
Go to byte 14. This will have a number. This number corresponds with the number of letters in your terrain. In our case “snow” has 4 letters, so this value will need to be 4.
Starting at byte 18 you will find the letters of the terrain name. Depending on the length of the current terrain and the one you need, you might have to remove or add bytes. Replace the text with the name of your terrain and add/delete bytes if needed.
It will look like this in hexed.it:
Save the file and give it another name, such as SnowTutorialEDIT.simpe.
Return to SimPE and NGBH and replace (right click) the NGBH with the edited version. Click save.
Close SimPE and start the game again to check on your neighborhood.
If everything went alright you now have a snowy neighborhood terrain and matching road!
Note: any existing lots will need to be picked up and placed again. This will reset the terrain.
Result
I currently don’t have a lighting mod. Below you can see lot and neighborhood terrain comparisons per season. The difference is biggest for summer.
It’s not perfect, for instance snow during winter will do this to the terrain and neighborhood road from lot view. Maybe I’ll figure out how to fix this another time.
Made this little mushroom lot a while back and then completely forgot about it. I love building high fantasy lots even though I never play with them lmao. Is this something y'all would be interested in downloading?
