The Sims 2

The Sims 2

Developers
	Maxis
Pets, Apartment Life	EA Redwood Shores
macOS (OS X)	Aspyr Media
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	The Sims 2 Engine
Release dates
Windows	September 14, 2004
macOS (OS X)	June 13, 2005
Reception
Metacritic	90
IGDB	71
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, DLC, Sponsored, Cross-game bonus
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Point and select
Genres	Life sim
Themes	Contemporary, Zombies
Series	The Sims

The Sims
Subseries of Sim
The Sims	2000
The Sims Online	2002
The Sims 2	2004
The Sims Stories (series)
MySims	2008
The Sims 3	2009
The Sims Medieval	2011
The Sims 4	2014

The Sims 2 is a singleplayer bird's-eye view life sim game in the The Sims series.

General information

The Sims 2 Official Forums

EA Answer HQ

EA Answer HQ (OS X)

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc v3 DRM. Later expansions use v4 or SecuROM 7 and SecuROM PA DRM. A De-Authorization Tool is available for three expansions. Custom DRM code may sabotage the game by disabling the build mode and the saving system. Released on 4 CDs or 1 DVD.
Mac App Store		Super Collection.
Origin (unavailable)		Pulled from the Origin store in August 2014.

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

All Origin versions are automatically upgraded to The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Contact the EA Support for retail versions.

The Ultimate Collection from Origin no longer uses SecuROM DRM. However, it still requires Origin running to play.

Multiple faithful, higher quality icons can be found on SteamGridDB.

Version differences

List of all different versions and regions can be found on Wikipedia.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Cross-game bonus	Worlds made in SimCity 4 can be imported as neighborhood templates.
DLC	Between 2008 and 2011, a "The Sims 2 Store Edition" client that required Pets and was included with Apartment Life, could be used to buy items for real money.
Expansion pack	The game has 8 expansion packs, and 9 "Stuff" packs.
One-time game purchase	The base game is sold for money.
Sponsored	H&M Fashion Stuff and IKEA Home Stuff were sponsored by Hennes & Mauritz and IKEA respectively.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
University	Expansion 1
Nightlife	Expansion 2
Open for Business	Expansion 3
Pets	Expansion 4
Seasons	Expansion 5
Bon Voyage	Expansion 6
FreeTime	Expansion 7
Apartment Life	Expansion 8
Family Fun Stuff	Stuff pack 1
Glamour Life Stuff	Stuff pack 2
Happy Holiday Stuff	Stuff pack 3. Also known as Festive Holiday Stuff in Europe.
Celebration! Stuff	Stuff pack 4
H&M Fashion Stuff	Stuff pack 5. Also known as Fashion Stuff in Australia.
Teen Style Stuff	Stuff pack 6
Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff	Stuff pack 7
IKEA Home Stuff	Stuff pack 8
Mansion & Garden Stuff	Stuff pack 9; default executable of The Ultimate Collection as it is the latest release.

Essential improvements

In-game camera and game recording settings.

Patches

Retail versions of the game require patching and installing expansion packs/stuff packs in the correct order which can be found here. The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection on Origin is already updated to the last patch.

Although the game's patch site has now gone down, many patches are available from here or here. Patch notes can be found here.

Large Address Aware Patch

Enables support for 4GB of RAM, which should allow for smoother gameplay, faster loading times, better FPS and less frequent crashes.

Graphics Rules Maker

Updates the game configuration files to make sure the game recognizes processor, graphics card and screen resolution while improving performance. This tool solves the most common issues that occur on newer systems, such as graphics settings being inaccessible or not getting applied on newer GPUs, as well as black square Sim shadows.

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename video files

For the base game: Delete or rename ealogo_audio.movie in <path-to-game>\TSData\Res\Movies. For the Ultimate Collection: Delete or rename ealogo_audio.movie in <path-to-game>\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Movies. Delete or rename intro_eng_audio.movie in <path-to-game>\Double Deluxe\Base\TSData\Res\Movies. Note that for the Ultimate Collection, attempting to delete ealogo_audio.movie usually results in the game loading the next one available in the expansion folders. Therefore all of them should be renamed or deleted. Go to <path-to-game>. Search for ealogo_audio.movie in the search bar. Delete or rename all of these files.

RPC Launcher

Adds Discord Rich Prescence, among other fix including "first-born syndrome" due to broken internal RNG. More information and downloads here.

Improved view distances

Remove fog
Open the cheat console with Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C. Type boolprop dontMergeNHFlora false and uintProp lotSkirtSizeIncrease 120. Cheats can be loaded on game start by adding them to the configuration file.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\TSData\Res\Config
macOS (OS X)

<path-to-game> changes according to what expansions are installed. For example, the path of Ultimate Collection or all expansions would be ...\Fun with Pets\SP9\....

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\ %USERPROFILE%\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/Aspyr/The Sims 2 ~/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.sims2.appstore/Data/Library/Application Support/Aspyr/The Sims 2 (Mac App Store version)

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.

Video

In-game graphics settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Up to 1280x720 by default. For more widescreen resolutions see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD			The text, UI elements and loading screen do not scale with resolution.
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Use -w launch parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use a utility such as GameCompanion together with the windowed launch argument.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Enabled with the Smooth Edges slider. See Anti-aliasing (AA) if it is greyed-out.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		On by default. Can be disabled by using the vsync off command in the console (Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C) but that may crash the game.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		The refresh rate option goes up to 100 Hz. Windowed mode correctly uses the desktop's refresh rate even higher than that. Running the game above 60 FPS may cause sluggish camera movement, see Intermittent sluggishness when moving the camera.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

The game cannot detect modern graphics cards properly and may set the game to lock the resolution to 800x600 regardless of monitor's highest supported resolution. Additionally its maximum supported resolution is 1600x1200.

Use the Graphics Rules Maker

Open the program and select The Sims 2 in the game dropdown menu. If it doesn't automatically find the game, browse to the latest installed expansion or stuff pack. Modify the settings under Game Tweaks to apply the desired fixes. Press Save Files... and click Yes in the window that appears. If despite using the tool the game cannot run above 800x600 resolution, or the game is locked to 4:3 aspect ratio, see the manual method below.

Manual resolution fix

Navigate to the configuration file location and open Graphics Rules.sgr. Search for: option ScreenModeResolution setting $Low uintProp maxResWidth 800 uintProp maxResHeight 600 uintProp defaultResWidth 800 uintProp defaultResHeight 600 Set maxResWidth and maxResHeight to the display's native width and height. E.g., for a 1920x1080 resolution: option ScreenModeResolution setting $Low uintProp maxResWidth 1920 uintProp maxResHeight 1080 uintProp defaultResWidth 1920 uintProp defaultResHeight 1080 Save and close.

Field of view (FOV)

Each of the game's cameras can have their FOV set independently using the FOV parameter in their camera settings files, which are located in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Cameras.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

The Sims 2 cannot determine how much VRAM modern GPUs have. As a result, it defaults to its failsafe, which is 32 MB, and prevents edge smoothing. If the Graphics Rules Maker does not fix it, edit the config file manually.

Manually raise the amount of fallback value
Navigate to the configuration file location. Open Graphics Rules.sgr. Find the following section: if (not $useSoftwareRasterizer) # failed to obtain device texture memory size, force to 32 MB if ($textureMemory = 0) seti textureMemory 32 endif and set seti textureMemory to the GPU's VRAM.

Input

Alt-tabbing may not work properly during the game's loading screens.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Voices, sound effects, music and ambience.
Surround sound		Stereo, 4.0 and 5.1
Subtitles		No intelligible dialog. All in-game dialog uses the fictional Simlish language.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio		Parts of the BGM OST is listed on streaming services, but have not been known to trigger auto-DMCA systems. The Simlish version of Lily Allen's Smile that was added in the Seasons pack, may potentially trigger ContentID due to the instrumental intro, but individual songs can be turned off in the settings.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Thai

Issues fixed

Game stuck in 800x600 resolution

See Widescreen resolution.

No Anti-Aliasing available

See Anti-aliasing (AA).

Cannot set shadows to high quality setting

Use the Graphics Rules Maker or edit the config manually as follows.

Use a custom config file[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Make a backup of Graphics Rules.sgr. Edit Graphics Rules.sgr and paste the content provided here.

Black square shadows

Use DXVK to fix shadow issues
Download DXVK. Follow this guide on how to install DXVK for The Sims 2.

Download Sim Shadow Fix

Go here and download the prefered file. (0.2 shadows are more opaque, 0.4 more transparent and 0.3 are in between). Extract the .package file inside the downloaded zip file to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection\Downloads. Notes If using an Intel HD Graphics card, the author recommends downloading the xReallyNotMisty versions of the fix. If using this manual fix, do not enable Disable Sim Shadows on Graphics Rules Maker as this option disable all shadows cast from a Sim.

Windows Vista / 7 compatibility

The retail release of the game might show an error message when loaded. Patching the game or installing the expansion packs will correct this.^{[citation needed]}

Can't install the retail version on Windows 10

Attempting to install via AutoRun.exe returns an error message: "This app has been blocked for your protection; An administrator has blocked you from running this app"

Run AutoRun.exe through Task Manager
Open Task Manager, click "Run new task". In the "Open" field, type the path to the drive that AutoRun.exe is located on, such as D:\AutoRun.exe Tick "Create this task with administrative privileges" beneath the text field. Click OK.

Disable UAC temporarily
Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System. Double-click on EnableLUA. Change the value from 1 to 0, and click OK. Restart the computer to turn off UAC. Install the game via the AutoRun program. Once installed, open the Registry Editor again and change 0 back to 1. Restart the computer again to turn UAC on.

Temporarily freezing during launch with certain AMD GPUs on Windows 10

Use DXVK to circumvent DirectX issues
Download DXVK. Follow this guide on how to install DXVK for The Sims 2.

Newer versions of the Radeon Adrenalin driver software cause this issue.

Rollback to Radeon Adrenalin driver v.18.12.1.1[citation needed]

Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller). Download Radeon Adrenalin v.18.12.1.1 or earlier. Extract [Guru3D.com]-DDU.zip. Run DDU v<version_number>.exe. Click on Extract. Go to the DDU v<version_number> folder and run Display Driver Uninstaller.exe. Click on the Select device type drop-down menu and select GPU, make sure AMD is selected in the drop-down menu below. Click on Clean and restart and wait for the computer to reboot. Run Win10-64Bit-Radeon-Software-Adrenalin-Edition-18.12.1.1-Dec5. Click on Install and proceed with the setup. After the setup, restart the computer and launch the game.

Failed to find any DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics adapters during launch

Use DXVK to circumvent DirectX issues
Download DXVK. Follow this guide on how to install DXVK for The Sims 2.

This issue might occur for certain AMD GPUs on Windows 10. In particular HBCC for AMD Vega GPUs.

Instructions[citation needed]
Open Global Graphics Settings in Radeon Settings → Advanced → deactivate HBCC.

The problem might also occur if the monitor does not support 60 Hz.

Instructions[citation needed]
Run the game in windowed mode, by adding the -w launch parameter or installing Sims2RPC launcher and launching the game in Borderless fullscreen. The frame rate will match the monitor frequency, breaking the internal 100 FPS limit. The edge scrolling will stop working.

Alternative[citation needed]
Create a custom resolution at 60 Hz using the CRU tool. The screen mode does not have to be used before running the game, the game will automatically select it. It locks the frame rate to 60 Hz. Possible frame pacing issues.

Fix crashing with Nvidia 1XXX and Windows 10

Use DXVK to circumvent DirectX issues
Download DXVK. Follow this guide on how to install DXVK for The Sims 2.

Apply 4 GB fix to the executable
Download the 4GB Patch. Extract 4gb_patch.zip. Run 4gb_patch.exe. Apply patch to the desired game executable within <path-to-game>\TSBin (Sims2.exe for base game, Sims2EP#.exe for expansion packs, Sims2SP#.exe for stuff packs).

Issues on newer CPUs

The Sims 2 was made before the release of multi-core CPUs. It may have issues loading on startup on newer CPUs with multiple cores and hyperthreading.

Use -CPUCount:1 launch parameter.

Neighbourhoods inaccessible in Ultimate Collection

Remove ™ in registry key[citation needed]
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA GAMES\The Sims 2. Delete ™ from The Sims 2™ Ultimate Collection in the Display Name.

Low quality neighborhood terrain, or generally poor visual quality with Intel Graphics.

If using Graphics Rules Maker, Enable High Quality on Intel Graphics

Disable the game's tweaks for Intel graphics
Navigate to the configuration file location. Open Graphics Rules.sgr Find the following section, below elseif (match("${cardVendor}", "Intel")) boolProp simpleTerrain true boolProp enumerateMultisampleLevels false boolProp disableVSyncSupport true boolProp useShaders false Comment out all four tweaks by adding # before boolProp on each, or remove them altogether.

Enable high quality neighborhood terrain only
Navigate to the configuration file location. Open Graphics Rules.sgr Find the following section: boolProp simpleTerrain true and change true to false.

Z-fighting or trailing black squares

Issues caused by internal dirty rectangle cleanup conflicts with ReShade or when using graphics card's utilities to force multisample/supersampling anti-aliasing methods. Or drivers that doesn't properly handle framebuffer clear operations.

Disable turbo rect or dirty rect.
Create or open userStartup.cheat in save data location\Config folder. Add boolProp useTurboRect false. If existed and/or populated, add it on a new line. Save the file normally. Alternatively, dirty rects can be disabled entirely with intProp dynamicRenderStrategy 0 instead, or alongside with turbo rect above. However, this may have large impact to performance on some systems.

Stuck Sims/Poorly Placed Objects/Frozen Objects

Periodically, a sim may become trapped or a special object may be placed in a bad location, preventing a sim from doing anything. In other cases, a normal object may be improperly tagged as "in use" and cannot be moved, sold, or manipulated.

Use this cheat carefully. Some objects like the mailbox cannot be replaced once deleted.

Use moveobjects cheat code[citation needed]
Open cheat console with Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C. Type moveobjects on and enter buy mode. Move the object to another location. Restore game back to normal with moveobjects off.

"More..." button does not work in conversations

This issue is caused by using a mouse when playing on a laptop with a touchpad.

Disable the touchpad[citation needed]

Alternatively, play with the touchpad instead of a mouse[citation needed]

If playing on a desktop PC, it is solved by pressing Tab ↹ when selecting options in the pie menu.

Intermittent sluggishness when moving the camera

The game might seem like it "lags" or it is otherwise not smooth when the camera moves while the game is running above 60 FPS.

Limit the game to 60 FPS.[citation needed]

Set refresh rate on 60hz.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c

Executable	PPC	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)				Starting with the Nightlife expansion in 2006, the game and all its expansions were made universal binaries for Intel Macs, which continued until the Bon Voyage expansion in late 2007. The Apartment Life and FreeTime expansions were not released individually and thus require the Ultimate Collection, which is Intel-only. Fortunately, it is fully 64-bit as of 2019.

Mods

The Sims 2 attracted a large modding community, allowing further customization features. Unfortunately, even properly designed mods could increase the chances of crashes and errors in the game. Mods have a major impact on loading time and stability, and should be used with discretion if issues arise.

Official tools

These tools were created by Maxis and formerly hosted on the game's official website.

• Content Manager - Allows to manage mods and custom content.
• HomeCrafter Plus - Allows to create custom floors and walls.
• BodyShop (Demo) - Allow to create custom sims, hair and clothes.

The Sims 2 and the BodyShop Demo should not be installed on the same machine at the same time. Existing save games may corrupt and other issues may arise.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98SE, ME, 2000	XP, Vista, 7
Processor (CPU)	800 MHz	2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	3.5 GB	15 GB (with all DLC installed)
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon 7200 Nvidia GeForce2 Series Intel® Extreme Graphics 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible	ATI Radeon 9600 Nvidia GeForce 6 series 64 MB of VRAM

System with non-T&L capable video card, such as Intel Extreme Graphics or Radeon VE requires a system with 2 GHz processors or faster. 2.4 GHz if Seasons or later expansion pack is installed.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.12 (Sierra) or later
Processor (CPU)	2.2Ghz
System memory (RAM)	4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia 330M Radeon HD 4670 Intel HD 3000 256 MB of VRAM

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system. The Sims™ 2: Super Collection does not support hard drive volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (CaseSensitive).