#ts2 research

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📃🗄️ The most comprehensive list of “official” sources on the development history of The Sims 2 as of 07.11.25

На днях вышел крутой фанатский ностальгический журнал о The Sims 2, Simstalgia, и в нём есть интересные материалы по истории разработки.

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After being busy with a whole bunch of life stuff, I’ve finally gotten back into doing some Sims 2 research, specifically the Bodyshop Demo.

Turns out the demo had an early version of the Elder (No Adult variant) Female Nightgown pajama outfit, where it is much longer. (Thanks to Bella’s “Bells” Bush on the SimWorld Discord for finding that!)

Other than that there aren’t really any new bombshell discoveries, but there are some fascinating insights into what the proper game contained in terms of CAS content at the time the demo was built.

I’m hoping to start compiling stuff for the Demo into a dedicated article on The Cutting Room Floor, but that’s still a way’s off.

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📺🛍️🖥️ How Corrupt Is Bluewater Village Anyway? || Sims 2 Corruption Chronicles

Bluewater Village might look like a charming shopping district—but behind the boutiques and bakeries lurks a web of corruption. In this new video, Tanic Sims 2 takes a closer look at the glitches, hidden issues, and consequences of improper sim deletion that came bundled with Open for Business.

The episode breaks down how neighborhood corruption works, why it happens, and what makes premade subhoods like this one especially fragile. It’s not just a bug hunt—it’s a full investigation into one of The Sims 2’s most notorious problems.

The truth behind the shine of Bluewater Village is just a click away.

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🏪🚪 452-498 University Way: built during the development of the base game

At Sim State University, at 452-498 University Way, there are front doors that have a different name than their name in the Build Mode catalog. This indicates that the lot was created during the development of the base game and the parallel development of the University expansion pack. The difference can be seen not only in the Russian, but also in the English version of the game.

This lot was played before the release of the University expansion pack. The speakers remained on.

Countertop Game Display more expensive than in Buy Mode

The screenshot above also shows the price of the "Countertop Game Display from Group Interaction LTD." on the lot. It's price is §3500, and this is more expensive than it's price in Buy Mode (§1500). This is the same case with this object at the 290 Main Street in Pleasantview.

This is proof that 452-498 University Way lot was created during the development of the base game.

Source (RU):

https://web.archive.org/web/20221222070133/https://thesims.cc/threads/istorija-razrabotki-sims-2.31582/page-130#post-5860130

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⏰ About the BHAV “Try Suicide” from objects.package of The Sims 2 base game

Diagram of this BHAV’s logic:

Thanks to @simnopke for diagram tool 😀.

This BHAV checks the value of the Suicide Unit Mark attribute:

If it’s less than or equal to zero, the execution ends immediately.

If it’s greater than zero, the code compares the number of Units Passed to this threshold.

When the number of passed units reaches or exceeds the Suicide Unit Mark, the object enters a loop: it removes itself (Remove Object Instance), then waits 20,000 ticks (Idle), and repeats the removal attempt as long as the condition remains true.

The number 20,000 comes from the hexadecimal value 0x4E20, which equals 20000 in decimal.

The BHAV most likely belongs to a group that appears to be related to the game’s time or timer or alarm system:

Group 7F93B183

RU:

На днях вышел крутой фанатский ностальгический журнал о The Sims 2, Simstalgia, и в нём есть интересные материалы по истории разработки.

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🔍🖥️🪏 Exploring Unused Text and Cut Content in The Sims 2 with SimPE

If you’re interested in digging into unused or early content in The Sims 2, a great place to start is a tool called SimPE. It allows you to open and explore the .package files the game uses.

To find unused text resources, look for entries of these types:

STR#

CTSS

BCON

You can read more about these formats here:

Each of these resource types contains string tables. When you click on one, you’ll see a list of strings. From there, click the “English” button to view the available language options - each language contains its own version of the text.

Not all of these languages were used in the final game. Some were planned but later cancelled during development. There’s a list of these incomplete or missing localizations:

These unused localizations often preserve:

Early versions of finalized text

Debug messages

Placeholder strings

A particularly useful one is the Ukrainian localization. It was dropped during the base game’s development and never updated afterward. Because of that, it’s a great source for finding unused or early content that didn’t make it into the final game.

You can compare these strings to the English versions to trace how the content evolved over time.

If you’re searching for something specific (such as a name, reference, or behavior), SimPE also includes a helpful tool called Simantics Resource Finder, located under: Tools → PJSE → Simantics Resource Finder.

Hope this is helpful to anyone curious about the game’s development or hidden details!

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2024 Tumblr Top 10

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😂 Fun animation: Talkie Hands

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The Sims 2 University Designer Diary #3 - Going Gold

Created by TumblrTop10

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КАКОЙ ДОЛЖНА БЫЛА БЫТЬ ВЕРОНА? || Бета Верона: обзор кастомного городка The Sims 2 - WHAT SHOULD VERONAVILLE BE? || Beta Veronaville: The Sims 2 Custom Neighbourhood Overview