#tips and tuts

[alverdinesims]

to the anon that asked about ReShade v3

a helpful comment left by thewatchersobservatory (thank you):

In case anon checks replies - the issue of reshade v3 not saving presets is because it doesn't have write permissions or is set to read only. Right click the electronic arts folder in program files, click properties, uncheck the Read-only attribute. Then go to the security tab, under permissions check allow write. They should save after that.

[alverdinesims]

hi! i was just wondering - when you take screenshots with reshade on, how do you do it? because when i try to take screenshots with the c command, my pictures show up with no effects. but when i use another program to do it, sometimes sim character bubbles will appear and obscure the shot. thank you so much !!

I use ReShade’s screen capture function. By default the hotkey to take pics is Print Screen and images are saved to the game’s Bin folder as .pngs. Settings for the hotkey and image format can be changed in Profile Settings in the Assistant app. You need to toggle the game’s UI and headline FX off by pressing F10 before taking screenshots.

TIP FOR OTHER RESHADE USERS:You can change the location of where images are saved by opening the ReShade.fx text file (found in the game’s Bin folder) and adding this line at the end then replacing the address (It’s important to use forward slashes and Include the quotation marks): 

#pragma reshade screenshot_location “C:/Example/Desired Folder Location" 

:)

[alverdinesims]

Running games in windowed mode is usually preferable to fullscreen, the main advantages are:

faster access to your desktop

better performance in some games

screenshots and video won’t turn out darker than expected (I think this problem occurs if a game has it’s own display settings that, when set to fullscreen, internally override your monitor’s settings without actually displaying properly- feel free to correct me on that)

The problem with windowed mode in most games however, is that resolution gets squished slightly to make room for the OS task bar- we don’t want that! To fix it, download and set up Windowed Borderless Gaming, a free, easy-to-use app that forces programs to run in fake-fullscreen. Concise set up instructions are found here. It takes only a few seconds to get going and once you do you’ll wonder why you ever put up with fullscreen in the first place. Note: as @buckleysims mentioned, you will also need to use an FPS limiter since VSync only works in fullscreen. I use RivaTuner, set to 60fps.

[alverdinesims]

OMG! How do you do the two steps foundation on your wip house? I have tried to do that thing many times and I only can do one step height, using the ALT key. I would be very happy if you could answer me. Thank you so much (sorry for my english). J.

Hold down alt and dig two stairs into the ground.

Draw foundation out from the lowest point. 

Delete the stairs and flatten the ground back to the original level. 

Hold down alt again as you place stairs from the foundation.

Message me again if that’s hard to understand and I’ll make another post with pictures :)

[alverdinesims]

My ReShade Settings

Twice now I've noticed a glitch where installing a preset folder causes some shaders to go missing, so for now I'm just going to post pictures of settings that you can copy manually. These are almost the same as "Al's Shitty ReShade Test Preset", and I've taken that link down. Please note that these are not great, but for anyone wanting a quick entry setup or an example of what things do, here ya go! I use these settings in conjunction with BrntWaffles' Fresh Cut Day lighting mod combined with gelina's Lighting Tweaks, and 4K shadows.

AMBIENTOCCLUSION | hotkey "5" Relatively high performance hit. Also causes some slightly odd shadowing on sim’s faces- needs tweaking.

**Notes!!** - AO_SHARPNESS_DETECT is better set to 1 rather than 2. - if there’s a noticeable gab between objects and the shadows they cast, like a small ‘halo’ or thin outline, raise the AO_SHARPNESS value (try 1.00)

DEPTHOFFIELD | hotkey "6" Needs tweaking.

DEPTHHAZE | hotkey "7" A simple, alternative version of DoF that blurs scenery at a static distance from the camera.

DEBAND

BLOOM | hotkey "8"

TONEMAP "Defog" makes interiors clearer and outdoors less hazy but also causes really dark nights. Lower or set back to 0.000 if you don’t like it.

VIBRANCE

CURVES

VIGNETTE

AMBIENTLIGHT | hotkey "9"

LUMASHARPEN

FXAA SMAA is better but blurs text more.

Gameplay: - AMBIENTOCCLUSION (if you don’t mind the performance hit) - DEBAND  - TONEMAP  - VIBRANCE - CURVES  - VIGNETTE  - LUMASHARPEN - FXAA 

Screenshots: - DEPTHOFFIELD / DEPTHHAZE - BLOOM - AMBIENTLIGHT

[alverdinesims]

Really helpful quote from @pictureamoebae about ReShade

 Source

You can install ReShade without the assistant (or mediator, if you’re using version 1.0 or 1.1) by first renaming the dll manually. What you rename it to depends on what game you’re playing; for The Sims 4, for example, you rename ReShade64.dll to d3d9.dll.

Then you put that file, along with ReShade.fx and the ReShade folder into the folder where your game’s exe is (again, for TS4 that would be the Bin folder).

To edit the files, all you need is a text editor (I recommend Notepad++ for ease of use and reliability). You open the various .cfg files and edit the lines you want. All the values are the same as what you would see in the assistant/mediator, just written down in text file format. When you save a .cfg file it updates live in game, just as it would if you were using the assistant.

One added bonus of doing it this way is that you can use values that lie outside of the range specified (you can’t when using the assistant/mediator). Some of the best effects can come from using values outside of the official range.

For the longest time, ReShade didn’t have an assistant or mediator program, and this was how you had to use it. It’s the least fussy and most reliable way to use it, because you don’t have to rely on yet another program with yet another awkward and counter-intuitive UI.

ReShade 3.0 will be doing away with the assistant (it’s almost universally hated), and the developer has been looking into an in-game UI approach similar to that used by ENB. You’d still be able to edit files manually (via Notepad++) as well. I’m unsure whether there will still be an installation tool or not, but one isn’t needed in order to use ReShade either way.

Using a text editor to configure ReShade is actually a more foolproof method - I based my tutorial on the helper application because it seemed like a friendlier/less intimidating way for people to dive and get started. Try this if you have troubles with the program!

[alverdinesims]

Making flower arrangements with harvestables is my new favourite thing to do. They stay that way after placing the lot from the library, too.  Rough guide: - buy auto soils from buydebug that are already in a flowering state - pick spot on the ground where you want the arrangement to be and place vase there - *Grab flowers from auto soils and place them on top of vase - use **misukisu’s Decorator’s Best Friend mod to “add interactions to all objects in room” in Live mode - move the vase up to height of table, then move the flowers up to sit in the vase - sit back and admire your unique flower arrangement

* flowers will only ‘stand up’ the first time you drag them from the bush. If you pick them up a second time they will lay down flat, so get it right the first time ** can also use NRaas Debug Enabler to move stuff up and down

[alverdinesims]

TS3 Missing UI in Build/Buy Fix!

I just ran into the glitch where the UI disappears in build/buy mode and came across this little gem of info when Googling for a fix:

IAMJENNIx 

Hey guys, If you somehow lose your main toolbar that controls build/buy mode, as I did just now, press down the f2 button on your keyboard and press Enter. I have no idea how that menu disappeared, but I'm glad to have figured that out or else I wouldn't have been able to save my game! Hope this is helpful for others as well.

Source

It works, and everyone who likes to build in TS3 should know this. How is this not common knowledge already? (Going by the amount of people I see complain about the glitch I’m assuming it’s not.)