Snow on the lot in the neighborhood with problems

[Henrique]

I have the expansion pack 4 seasons, but every time it snows, the snow on the lot is not bright white ... And with a blinking blue color ... and in the neighborhood she gets graphical errors too. 

Before it did not happen ...
Just recently it 

Help me! 

[Theraven]

It might be a memory problem. Although when it happened to the snow in my game, it was a purple color, and my game lagged a bit more than usual whenever there was a lot of snow.
My lots ended up looking like this --> http://i42.tinypic.com/66khzs.jpg and http://i46.tinypic.com/91jb4w.jpg and http://i50.tinypic.com/2jdgqqs.jpg, with purple penguins flying about http://i45.tinypic.com/s4mgw5.jpg
Found a couple of fixes, eventually - but I still try to avoid snow unless I need it for pictures.

I usually get blue color on missing meshes and such, but unless you've been messing around with SimPE, missing or changed game files are rarely a problem. So I find the blue color a bit strange...

What are your computer specs? Version of Windows (or any other operative system - and 32 or 64 bit?), graphic card, memory(RAM), processor speed, and so on.

Some tests you can do:

First try to run your game vanilla (no CC at all in the game, make a clean neighborhood, a clean new lot and sims with no CC), and test if this still happens. You might need a weather hack for getting snow, but other than that don't use hacks. Let us know how it goes.

You could also try to find out if it's a memory problem by running the game in windowed mode, and then bring up the task manager to see if your computer is struggling. If the memory bar is somewhere near the top, you might have to consider doing some changes in your game.
With Vista (possibly win7) you can right-click on the task bar and choose "task manager", or click Ctrl+alt+delete.

Windowed game mode:
Right-click on the shortcut you use, choose "open file location", locate the main application (mine is named "Sims2EP9" as I have M&G), and right-click on it, choose "create shortcut". You'll probably get a warning that the shortcut will be created on the desktop. Right-click the new shortcut, and click "properties". Under "target" , add " -w" (with the space) to the shortcut
It will look something like this:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Mansion and Garden\TSBin\Sims2EP9.exe" -w
Now when you start the game using this icon, the game will run windowed, and bypass the launcher.

[Henrique]

First thanks for posting ... 
But I ran my game in windowed mode and it was the same thing ...
And so ... the images that you were left more or less my problem ... But the color is blue and not purple ...
And the blue color only applies to the ground and not to other objects too ...
As you said, opening the task manager, CPU usage comes to about 50%.

My computer is:

Windows XP
Intel Pentium Dual]
1.60 GHz
1.00 RAM

You will probably say that my computer is not good ...
But never denied a game, such as The Sims 2, I have all expanções and almost all collections of objects.

Translation: Portuguese / English: Google Translator.
thank you! 

[Theraven]

The windowed mode was only meant to be a help for the task manager. Not quite the same effect if the game is minimized. I do run my game windowed - only way to make it show up not stretched with widescreen...

How about the memory usage?

And did you try to run your game vanilla (as in no CC)? Might be conflicting CC. If you have Targa's pond mod, for instance, you might want to look here.

That is a bit strange... The color coding tells you a bit of what is happening. If purple, it's usually memory. If blue, it's usually a missing mesh (or slave meshes gone wrong - done that several times).

Could you perhaps post a picture of when it happens?

The computer specs are in the low range, but as long as your game runs it can run. Though, be careful - overheating or too much strain might end up as troubles later on. I ran my game (everything up to FreeTime) with 512 mb RAM and not much better specs than you - but then again, I ended up killing my laptop (after around 5 years, but still)...

Does the game lag when the snow appears, or is the game speed normal? Could be a problem with the shaders or something like that (if your game can't run certain aspects of the graphics, they often turn off automatically. I never had shiny materials, bumpmaps, or proper water reflection on my laptop, so those were a surprise). Can't say I'm an expert on the area, as getting a new computer was what fixed it. If the snow has never showed properly, then this might be what is wrong.

[Henrique]

How do I put pictures on this site?
Could you explain please?
If I put images you'll see what happens and you can tell what is happening.
 

[caffeinated.joy]

Take a picture in game and resize it to 600 x 600 pixels or less, then upload it to your account on whatever image host you use (Photobucket, Imageshack, etc). Most image hosting accounts will give you the BB code you need to post your hosted pictures on forums. Basically, it will be:

Code:

[img]image url[/img]

[Henrique]

caffeinated.joy thanks for the tip! 
The photos are here:



Notice that all the decorations in the neighborhood are with the texture of snow, but snow should be on the floor does not appear.




Also note that in lots where the soil had to have snow turns blue.

The mouse cursor when the snow begins, it becomes a "blue cube". 



A download may have done this? 

[caffeinated.joy]

Yep. Now that I can see exactly what's happening, I can tell you this is likely a mesh issue. A general rule of thumb to keep in mind is red flashing is a hardware issue, blue flashing is a mesh issue (from cc).
 

[Theraven]

Might be conflicting CC. If you have Targa's pond mod, for instance, you might want to look here

Did you see that link?

[Henrique]

Yes ..
I know that the problem is this.
But it seems that the mod has been deleted from the site.
Can you help me find this mod?

[caffeinated.joy]

First, what mod? If you don't tell us what mod, we can't help you find it?

Second, this is the Sims 2 Help section, not the WCIF section. If you want to find something, use the proper section and don't hijack someone else's thread.

[Theraven]

You could search for "targa" or "pond" in your downloads folder.

[Henrique]

caffeinated.joy -> As said, there was a link up:http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=222509
A member mentioned that the solution of the problem was to delete the mod of the pond with different color, the "Mod The Sims". 


Theraven -> The name of the creator of the mod would be very helpful in this search.
The mod was eliminated by site, however, was not found, I'm asking you to help me find the mod on another site, it is no longer present in mod the sims. 

[Theraven]

As I've said already - made by Targa, and probably has "pond" in the name.
 
After a quick search I noticed a few others has had the same problem with the mod. Apparently the name of the mod is "TARGAS_POND_WATER_MOD"
Here's a link to what appears to be recolors of the mod - and read the bold message at the top! The original is NOT compatible with Seasons but the one in post 80 might be.

Haven't used it myself, so I can't say it any clearer than that.

I suggest you search for it in your downloads and delete it. The original might simply have been deleted from MTS because it didn't work properly, and there's no need for such a troubly mod in your game.

[Henrique]

 

Successful Problem Solved! 

Lot with problem
The lake was actually the problem. Excludes this mod, and I entered the game and it worked.

Problem in the neighborhood
What does the problem occur is a mod which is also in MTS. It's a mod that changes the color of water.
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=225473

Thanks
Theraven
caffeinated.joy

I am very grateful.
Thank you for helping me in this huge problem!

You are amazing