The Sims 2
From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 22:57, 9 April 2020 by Mastan (talk | contribs) (→Temporarily freezing during launch with certain AMD GPUs on Windows 10: template fix)
Developers | |
---|---|
Maxis | |
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 |
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 |
Key points
- Large modding community.
- The disc version may not run properly on Windows 10 due to issues with SafeDisc and/or SecuROM.[1]
General information
- Official Website (archived)
- The Sims 2 Official Forums
- EA Answer HQ
- EA Answer HQ (OS X)
- The Sims Wikia
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | SafeDisc v3 DRM[Note 1]. Later expansions use v4 or SecuROM 7 DRM. |
|||
Mac App Store | Super Collection. |
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- The Windows version is no longer sold digitally.
- All Origin versions are automatically upgraded to The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Contact the EA Support for retail versions.[4]
- The Ultimate Collection has been pulled from the Origin store in August 2014.
- The Ultimate Collection from Origin no longer uses SecuROM DRM.[5] However, it still requires Origin running to play.
Version differences
- List of all different versions and regions can be found on Wikipedia.
DLC and expansion packs
Name | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Apartment Life | ||
Bon Voyage | ||
Celebration! Stuff | ||
Family Fun Stuff | ||
Freetime | ||
Glamour Life Stuff | ||
H&M Fashion Stuff | Also known as Fashion Stuff in Australia. | |
Happy Holiday Stuff | Also known as Festive Holiday Stuff in Europe. | |
Happy Holiday Pack | Also known as Christmas Party Pack in the UK and Ireland and Holiday Party Pack in Australia. | |
IKEA Home Stuff | ||
Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff | ||
Mansion & Garden Stuff | ||
Nightlife | ||
Open for Business | ||
Pets | ||
Seasons | ||
Teen Style Stuff | ||
University |
Essential improvements
Patches
- Retail versions of the base game, expansions, and the Family Fun Stuff pack require patching after installation. The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection on Origin is already patched.
- Although the game's patch site has now gone down, many expansion pack patches are available from here. Patch notes can be found here.
Skip intro videos
Delete or rename video files[6] |
---|
For the base game:
For the Ultimate Collection:
|
Improved view distances
Remove fog[7] |
---|
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\TSData\Res\Config[Note 2] |
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) |
Save game cloud syncing
System | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
Origin | ||
OneDrive | Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Video settings
Widescreen resolution
- The follow utility also addresses common issues like graphics settings that are inaccessible or not getting applied on newer GPUs, as well as black square Sim shadows.
Use the Graphics Rule Maker[citation needed] |
---|
|
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.
Raise amount of fallback value[citation needed] |
---|
|
Input settings
Audio settings
- Alt-tabbing may not work properly during the game's loading screens.
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
Czech | ||||
Danish | ||||
Dutch | ||||
Finnish | ||||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Greek | ||||
Hebrew | ||||
Hungarian | ||||
Italian | ||||
Japanese | ||||
Korean | ||||
Norwegian | ||||
Polish | ||||
Portuguese | ||||
Brazilian Portuguese | ||||
Russian | ||||
Spanish | ||||
Swedish | ||||
Thai | ||||
Traditional Chinese | ||||
Simplified Chinese |
Issues fixed
Vista/7 Compatibility
- Retail release of the game has issues and will show an error message when loaded. Patching the game or installing the expansion packs will correct this.
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"
Disable UAC temporarily[8] |
---|
|
Temporarily freezing during launch with certain AMD GPUs on Windows 10
- Newer versions of the Radeon Adrenalin driver software cause this issue.
Rollback to Radeon Adrenalin driver v.18.12.1.1 |
---|
|
Alternatively, use DXVK to circumvent DirectX issues[9] |
---|
|
Fix crashing with Nvidia 1XXX and Windows 10
Apply 4GB fix to the executable[10] |
---|
|
Alternatively, use DXVK to circumvent DirectX issues |
---|
|
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.[11]
|
---|
Neighbourhoods inaccessible in Ultimate Collection
Remove ™ in registry key[citation needed] |
---|
|
Game stuck in 800x600 resolution, or 4:3 aspect ratio
Edit Graphics Rules.sgr |
---|
option ScreenModeResolution setting $Low uintProp maxResWidth 1920 uintProp maxResHeight 1080 uintProp defaultResWidth 1920 uintProp defaultResHeight 1080
|
Force resolution and texture memory via the Graphics Rules Maker[citation needed] |
---|
|
Cannot set shadows to high quality setting
Use a custom config file[citation needed] |
---|
|
Black Square Shadows
Download Sim Shadow Fix[citation needed] |
---|
|
Low quality neighborhood terrain
Enable high quality neighborhood terrain |
---|
|
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 mail box cannot be replaced once deleted.
Use moveobjects cheat code[citation needed]
|
---|
|
"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
Other information
API
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.
- 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 | ||
---|---|---|
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 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible | ATI Radeon 9600 Nvidia GeForce 6 series 64 MB of VRAM |
- When the Seasons (or later) Expansion Pack is installed, T&L incompatible graphics chips can be used[12]; however it requires a minimum CPU speed of 2.4 GHz.
macOS (OS X) | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | ||
Operating system (OS) | 10.3.8 | |
Processor (CPU) | 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4/G5 | |
System memory (RAM) | ||
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 3 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | ATI Radeon 9000 Nvidia GeForce FX5200 32 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[2] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[3]
- ↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
,%PROGRAMDATA%
, or%WINDIR%
might be redirected to%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References
- ↑ ArQAde: The Sims 2: Please insert the correct CD-ROM
- ↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
- ↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
- ↑ Origin - The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection FAQ
- ↑ The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection: SecuRom Update - Sims Community
- ↑ TS2; skip intro - PC Gaming - Tom's Hardware - last accessed on
- ↑ This is how Sims 2 can look in 2016 : thesims - last accessed on
- ↑ Blocked, can't start the autorun. [SOLVED]
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/thesims/comments/emyybb/psa_dxvk_can_fix_sims_2_totaly_on_modern_systems/
- ↑ https://pleasantsims.com/sims-2-windows-10/
- ↑ Sims 2, Graphics, Windows 10 - LeeFish forums - last accessed on April 4, 2020
- ↑ The Sims 2: Seasons for Windows (2007) Tech Info - MobyGames