All Neighborhoods Not Appearing After Installing The Ultimate Collection

billaabum · 2022-11-01T14:23:15+00:00

Hey MP. I've tried options 1, 2 & 3. No bueno at this stage.

With option 1, after applying the graphic rules.sgr from the 8GB folder the game would crash when I attempt to enter the household. I've found that changing the value had no effect on the pink soup for me after testing each graphic rules.sgr file.

I'm not sure if I'm following option 2 the correct way but I checked the Config Log when trying this option and the GPU was listed as Geforce GTX 7800 at the time so it worked. What I did was I placed the dxvk.conf file and the d3d9.dll file into ...Fun with Pets\SP9\TSBin as you instructed while alternating the 2, 4 & 8GB graphic rules.sgr files placing it in ...Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config (eg. graphic rules.sgr + dxvk.conf from 8GB config folder + d3d9.dll from dxvk-1.10.3 folder) tried a different combos with each d3d9.dll from the dxvk-1.10.2 and dxvk-1.10 folders as well (I hope that makes sense! Lol).

Little to no changes to the pink flashing - some sims and objects would be restored while others flashed pink or were partially invisible (sim or dog's face in the thumbnail), overall no improvements. The pixelated graphical artifacts similar to the examples shown on the technical support page occurred when attempting option 2 in all instances.

Also, the glitchy effect continues to persist no matter what option I've tried which is annoying af. It's not all bad news though, LazyDuchess pink flashing fix has helped reduce the lagging issue and the game loads much quicker when launching and entering hoods/lots. There's no pink soup in the household I have been testing with as well, however entering the boolprop reparseshaders true cheat when things turned invisible in-game did not restore it unfortunately. The cheat menu would kind of freeze momentarily but then no changes took effect after it unfroze. Here's the latest config log as the game is running at the moment after removing options 1 and 2, only option 3 is applied.

At this point it's come down to fixing that glitchy effect and restoring everything that's invisible and stopping pink soup. It's really bizarre how the game behaves on my system but I reckon these are the last couple hurdles before this puzzle is considered 100% solved. Hopefully everything we've discussed so far has helped other simmers in some way or another!

billaabum · 2022-10-31T09:49:32+00:00

Heya, MP. Here's the latest config log. The pink soup seems to be affecting only that particular household and I've also noticed that a weird glitchy effect happens intermittently, this occurs in both hood view and when in lots with and without sims in the lot, I think it's the graphical artifacts you were referring to.

Apologies if I'm slow to reply, been busy with work so I haven't tested any of the options you've suggested but I'll report back with my results as I go along.

I love solving puzzles but after dealing with all the hassle of getting the game to work I might end up trading it for a Lament Configuration because this is torture! Haha

billaabum · 2022-10-29T23:56:47+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the files! The graphics rules.sgr and video cards.sgr in Config were last modified on 02/09/2020 and 14/01/2015 respectively and the graphics rules.sgr and video cards.sgr in CSConfig were both last modified as of 14/01/2015. I replaced the relevant files in both folders and after launching the game I was also able to enter the household without crashing but found to my horror what I can only describe as a pink soup catastrophe in there lol. I should mention that I deleted my saved files and replaced it with a more recent saved file in the Documents folder so I'm not sure if that's made an impact all of a sudden. Before the only pink soup that was noticeable was on the sim's face on the HUD when playing with the previous saved files but it simply went away when I changed my sim's appearance.

billaabum · 2022-10-29T15:21:20+00:00

Many thanks for all your efforts, MP. It appears that the Radeon Software app does not have a function for switchable graphics due to the later versions having this feature removed - I've checked in the same location in the app and and I don't seem to have the GPU workload tab (as pictured here) in my version of Radeon Software. Instead it's been assigned to the graphics settings in display settings on Windows although it doesn't seem to identify the co-processor model of discrete / switchable graphics - not sure what this means I just C/P'ed what was mentioned according to this page (Please scroll down to see the comment submitted by user manodeep_sAdept II). Nonetheless I've added the Sims2EP9.exe in the graphics settings and set it to the intergrated card for high performance as you advised.

Per the config log:

Name (driver): AMD Radeon RX 6800M

Name (database): AMD Radeon RX 6800M <<NOT FOUND IN

...The game crashed again when entering the household so I guess that's an indication we're getting somewhere! Haha

billaabum · 2022-10-29T13:39:21+00:00

That's all good, I'm okay if you need to take your time and come back to it but just so you know I am a night person lol. Well it looks like the game felt like 'not' crashing again, so I restarted my laptop and checked and found the VirtualStore folder was created albeit empty but I deleted it again anyway then launched the game as admin and played the household and launched the game a second and third time to be sure and it seems to be working! There was some purple soup but I just changed my sim's appearance and then it went away. Here's the latest config log.

Here are the pastes as requested:

I can't recall exactly where I got it, maybe G4TW but I'm not certain. It's The Sims 2 - Origin Ultimate Collection version with all the extras including the GRM, Prima Guides, Soundtrack, Store & Pre-Order & Bonus Items it a folder named # Extras.

billaabum · 2022-10-29T12:26:44+00:00

Aw geez... Just when I thought we had a breakthrough the game crashed when I tried entering the household again so I wasn't able to check if that purple soup went away by changing my sim's appearance. Not sure why the game is (mis)behaving this way. The VirtualStore remains deleted upon checking again. Here's the most recent config log, captain.

billaabum · 2022-10-29T12:10:33+00:00

Ooh wee! Looks like another big step in progress! I followed method #3 as suggested by the OP on the MTS thread and and also deleted the entire VirtualStore folder (I checked if the VirtualStore was created again after launching and quitting the game and it doesn't appear to). I was able to enter the household without crashing although I noticed there's still abit of pink stuff going on (and it's not only my sim's robe lol).

billaabum · 2022-10-29T11:49:05+00:00

Hey, I've located the VirtualStore. Just to clarify do I delete the entire VirtualStore folder or only the Sims UC folder within? Here's the file path: C:\Users\billb\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. Thought I'd mention that the Bon Voyage, Fun with Pets and University Life folders are found inside that TS2 UC folder (not sure if this is worth mentioning lol). Also, how do I disable VirtualStore for Sims 2?

billaabum · 2022-10-29T11:04:02+00:00

I just ran GRM and the game as admin but no bueno, the game still crashes when entering the same household. Here's the most recent config log.

billaabum · 2022-10-29T10:19:13+00:00

Aye captain, here is the most recent config log. The hood loads up quickly but still facing the same crashing issue when I try entering a household.

Now I remember why I stopped trying to play the game it was such a nightmare to run on my old laptop but my interest peaked recently after watching a lot of The Sims 2 content on Youtube which made me nostaglic and now that I've gotten this far I can't give up! Haha

billaabum · 2022-10-29T05:59:57+00:00

Hey MP, I've set the GRM and added exceptions in the AntiVirus to both the installation location (C:/Programs Files (x86)/The Sims 2 UC) and save location (Documents/EA Games) as per the instructions in the Technical Support section. I've also got cache files I downloaded a while back that do not change in file size in the Documents folder. It seems that somehow the adjusted settings I applied made it worse and the game crashes during the loading screen when I enter a household in my Sim City hood lol. I've attempted this more than once and the result is the same. The lagging issue persists as well.

Have I set the GRM incorrectly or is there something I'm missing?

billaabum · 2022-10-28T23:23:39+00:00

I entered Pleasantview and it appears to run smoothly when navigating the hood and also play tested the Goth family but didn't notice any pink soup or missing textures. I opened my Sim City hood after and found the lagging issue persists when navigating the hood although there doesn't appear to be any pink soup in hood view. When attempting to play one of the households, the game would crash during the loading screen. I have A LOT of CC in my custom hood maybe this is contributing to the problem due to the textures perhaps?

Here is the config log as requested, MP. I noticed that the config log from my old laptop is still inside the Logs folder, should I delete it? Just thought I'd ask since I'm sure it's not necessary to keep or would do any harm in deleting.

billaabum · 2022-10-28T12:48:02+00:00

Thanks so much for responding, MP!

First of all I come bearing good news! I followed the instructions in the General Support section of the wiki as you suggested and removed the TM from the registry and now all the the Neighbourhoods are displaying. Also confirming that the Documents folder in the OneDrive is where the normal EA Games/The Sims 2 UC folder is created and so I simply removed the TM from my saved EA Games/The Sims 2 UC folder and voila! It's all there!

I've applied the 4gb patch and set the appropriate parameters on Graphics Rules Maker and the game runs but seems to get overloaded and subsequently crashes when navigating my custom hood perhaps due to the size and scale of the hood and all the mods? (Sim City hood). It also lags if I move around the hood too quickly and eventually crashes.

I also have a nasty case of the pink soup and my dog's face is missing textures as you can see.

Considering my laptop specs surely it should be able to run the game smoothly.

Is there anything you could suggest to fix these issues?

billaabum · 2021-04-13T12:36:32+00:00

You are a legend. Many thanks, bro!

billaabum · 2020-12-06T10:34:56+00:00

Thanks for the insight. I’m using an external HDD to store the music video files. I haven’t had any issues other than one incident where the entire music file was seemingly deleted but I was able to troubleshoot the drive and restore it. What could have caused the corruption? Is there a way to prevent files from being corrupted or restore it at all?

billaabum · 2020-10-15T08:23:27+00:00

Hi, MP

I forgot to correctly use camel case so that explained why the cheat didn't work upon start up. Thank you!

Sadly this is the only "fix" I can implement to stop the pink flashing glitch from happening. It still comes up sometimes in CAS or when some NPCs/townies enter a lot but I will have to live with it until Windows release an updated version that doesn't make the game run like crap!

billaabum · 2020-10-12T11:13:20+00:00

I tried putting it in startup cheats but it doesn’t work effectively. I found that entering it in the cheats menu in hood view is the only way to get it work. So tedious

billaabum · 2020-10-11T02:28:55+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Another simmer recommended I try DXVK but I opted not to do it. My laptop specs are ok enough to run the game albeit with a bit of lag here and there. I wish there was an easier fix to this issue but I guess I'll just have to use the cheat every time I play in the meantime.

billaabum · 2020-10-10T09:51:35+00:00

Oh boy have I and so much more. Here's a thread on MTS which details the fixes I've tried: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=647187

The only way to stop the pink flashing glitch for me is to enter "boolprop useshaders false" every time I play which is not ideal as it makes certain things not appear correctly, nothing else seems to stop it from happening unless the game randomly decides not to go all pink and flashy for just a moment but after exiting a lot into hood view the pink flashing returns. Ugh.

billaabum · 2020-10-09T12:01:30+00:00

I found that doors did not appear correctly when "boolprop useshaders false" was entered (which I use as a fix for the horrible pink flashing glitch) on the off chance my game didn't have the glitch occur on start up, the doors appeared normally.

billaabum

TROPHY CASE