Part 1: TS2 Ultimate Collection Tweaks
Part 1: TS2 Ultimate Collection Tweaks
So TS2 is an old game, we know this. As a result, you have to utilize some workarounds to make it work well with newer computers. Most people already know about these, but I'll list the ones I think are super useful here.
Graphics Rule Maker
You used to have to edit this manually by opening the .txt file and changing it there. I prefer this little app which will allow you to easily just set it up and have it generate a new set of rules for you instead.
If you prefer to do it manually, you can find instructions here as well.
Nopke's Shadow Fix
Even after you've set up your Graphic Rules, you'll find that there are still things to finesse in game. One of which being the black boxes that will float under your Sim in the place of shadows. This was previously solved by turning shadows down to "Medium" instead of "High", but this mod is a much better solution with several options to choose from.
Getting rid of Simple Terrain
If you open up your game and find that your water looks like a flat sheet of blue cardboard and your grass looks like hay, then follow the instructions above to turn off Simple Terrain, which I believe is the default.
CFF Explorer for accessing more than 2gigs of RAM
Yes! Even you can access up to 4gigs of RAM (provided you have 4gigs of RAM) for TS2, which by default can only access 2gigs. I would highly recommend this step because running a Historical game requires quite a bit of CC and having extra memory access will be invaluable. I would suggest doing this earlier in the process rather than later, so that if you screw something up, you won't mess up an entire game in progress.
Please, please make backups of your original .exe files before doing this. And keep the originals somewhere safe in case you ever need to switch it back.
There is an extensive thread about it here, and a wiki article here. Well worth the read. *I will note that making a copy of TS2 exe to the Desktop, editing that version and then overwriting the original exe file did not work for me. It only worked when I edited the original file in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSBin directly. Therefore, again, please remember to make a backup of that original .exe file before editing :).
I have linked to the 4GB Patch version of the CFF, because it's by far the simplest, but if you'd like the CFF Explorer Program, you can find that here as well.
So TS2 is an old game, we know this. As a result, you have to utilize some workarounds to make it work well with newer computers. Most people already know about these, but I'll list the ones I think are super useful here.
Graphics Rule Maker
You used to have to edit this manually by opening the .txt file and changing it there. I prefer this little app which will allow you to easily just set it up and have it generate a new set of rules for you instead.
If you prefer to do it manually, you can find instructions here as well.
Nopke's Shadow Fix
Even after you've set up your Graphic Rules, you'll find that there are still things to finesse in game. One of which being the black boxes that will float under your Sim in the place of shadows. This was previously solved by turning shadows down to "Medium" instead of "High", but this mod is a much better solution with several options to choose from.
Getting rid of Simple Terrain
If you open up your game and find that your water looks like a flat sheet of blue cardboard and your grass looks like hay, then follow the instructions above to turn off Simple Terrain, which I believe is the default.
CFF Explorer for accessing more than 2gigs of RAM
Yes! Even you can access up to 4gigs of RAM (provided you have 4gigs of RAM) for TS2, which by default can only access 2gigs. I would highly recommend this step because running a Historical game requires quite a bit of CC and having extra memory access will be invaluable. I would suggest doing this earlier in the process rather than later, so that if you screw something up, you won't mess up an entire game in progress.
Please, please make backups of your original .exe files before doing this. And keep the originals somewhere safe in case you ever need to switch it back.
There is an extensive thread about it here, and a wiki article here. Well worth the read. *I will note that making a copy of TS2 exe to the Desktop, editing that version and then overwriting the original exe file did not work for me. It only worked when I edited the original file in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSBin directly. Therefore, again, please remember to make a backup of that original .exe file before editing :).
I have linked to the 4GB Patch version of the CFF, because it's by far the simplest, but if you'd like the CFF Explorer Program, you can find that here as well.
Thank you so much for these tips. I've been trying to get TS2 to run decently on my Win 10 Laptop for awhile now, and I had pretty much given up hope. I tried your suggestions in a last ditch effort, and they have helped so much! My game is no longer flickering when I move the cursor, and the grass and water look better.
Thank you for saving my game!