help? my game is messed up.

[dokusouryoku]

so, when I installed apartment life, it worked fine up until I loaded them onto a lot. that's when it went haywire. my sims were all dimented and what not, so I uninstalled and tried playing without it. I still had my families and such, but when I loaded them up, it had the same problem. it didn't do that before I installed apartment life. it worked just fine, but after I installed it and uninstalled it, it's all rawr with me. here's what I'm talking about when I say dimented.

*oversized image removed along with attached image*


it's frustrating. >< help?


add (5 minutes later): btdubs, that big white thing is my dog. O.o and my girl is headless for some odd reason.

[Mr Heartache]

LOL. That happened to me. I think it might have something to do with updating your graphics drivers. xD
Try and get the latest for your graphics card and it might fix it.

[Tenshii~Akari]

Yes, most definitely make sure they're up-to-date, along with your DirectX files.

If that doesn't work, what are your computer and video card specs?  That may be playing a role as to why everything is messing up with AL on your end.  :angel:

[dokusouryoku]

well,
this is a brand new gateway laptop.
here are the specs:
http://i35.tinypic.com/1sbbs2.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/dn1yk8.jpg

i hope that helps.

[EKozski]

Try updating your drivers.

They're from 2007.

[Tenshii~Akari]

Also, part of the problem is that particular chip (X1270) isn't supposed to be compatible with Sims 2... even with the amount of shared video memory you have (which I am DEEPLY envious of... :bawl:)  Doesn't mean that it won't work, as people have run their games on much less.

The official site recommends at least the ATI (Mobility) Radeon X1300 or higher chips for better performance.  But doing what Ed suggested and updating your drivers and your DirectX 10 files might help out in solving the issue.  That, and possibly increasing your paging file some (at least twice the size of your physical RAM I believe), not to mention making sure any background tasks that are running while you're playing the game are disabled.  Even with the amount of RAM and the processor speed, those can still drag your laptop's gaming performance a bit.  I know what I'm about to link to is mainly for XP users, but since Vista still has a lot of familiar features, I'm sure looking through the tutorial on Sim Wardrobe may help out in giving more tips on computer optimization for gaming.  :angel:

And if that doesn't work, not sure what else to suggest... other than possibly making sure your laptop is getting enough cool air flowing through its fan.  Heat can also take its toll on video cards, old and new.  :?

[caffeinated.joy]

There are a few things I see there. One, your graphics, as tenshii mentioned, is below the recommended minimum for AL. Keep in mind too that Vista (which is what you have) is a resource hog and means a few of the minimum specs you need are raised in comparision to XP users. XP users need 512 mb RAM for AL while Vistas users need 1 gb (which you have). XP users need a 1.3 Ghz processor, while Vista users need a 2.0 Ghz processor, which you just have. Keep in mind, too, that these are the MINIMUM system requirements and not the recommended.

[wanturs]

and i  had motherboard change seems to b ok

[dokusouryoku]

well, now it's only doing that when i move new sims into a house. but after they've moved in and the game has been closed and reopened, it's just fine. so it doesn't really bother me all that much. but i'll probably end up giving my al to my best friend since she wants it for her computer. although her's is a bit old and may not run it either. bummer. thanks for the help anyway though. i'll update my drivers and such and see what happens


OH also, if you're good at making sims, i'd like to have a self sim done. i've done one myself, but unfortunately forgot to save my savedsims file when i uninstalled al, thus deleting myself. v.v

[caffeinated.joy]

If you'd like a sim done, please put your request in the Requests section, and make sure the read the sticky posts at the top telling you what we need to fill that request.