This is terrific... how did I miss it? Thanks Bloom... you're a honey.

Smokin'! 

Oops! I should've said Uncheck 'Use stretched Resolutions'... but it seems you've probably fiddled yourself (ooer!) to distraction over this annoyance with your wide display (snigger!) already.

I had all kinds of problems when I changed to a new wide LCD. I actually play on a Mac, but this should work pretty much the same on Windows:
On starting up the game (from the game app icon, not an alias), press and hold Command or Alt (depending on your keyboard). This will bring up a graphics options dialogue box where you can...
* Set your screen resolution more efficiently than with the in-game graphics options
* Check 'Use Stretched Resolutions' box, which ought to cure your CAF problem
* Uncheck 'Optimise Rendering' box, which may improve in-game performance

Edit: Well... I've answered my own problem. Four years playing the Sims 2 and I've only just discovered the graphics options on alt start up. Unchecking the Optimise Rendering box allows me to set the correct screen res for my new LCD and keep ALL custom content visible (no more transparent dresses or blacked out skintones), and makes the game run a lot more smoothly into the bargain.


I have several re-colours of Bloom's multi-mesh outfits that I've downloaded (mainly 34C, Fashion Model and Pin Up sizes), and from which I have fashioned some re-colours of my own. All was well with these until today when I changed to a new LCD monitor.

Now, the original downloads still appear as they should, but all of my own re-colours have turned transparent... or rather the alpha parts have.
I have a feeling this is probably due to something really obvious but have no idea where to begin in solving the problem, so any help would be welcome. I don't know whether this is a resolution issue, a skinning issue or a combination of the two.

If this helps, my screen res is 1440x900 at 60 Hz, but I can only successfully set the game res at 1280x800 (I expected this because my previous monitor was 1280x1024 and I could only ever get the game to run properly at 1024x768).

I'm stumped!

Nina XX
 

Thanks, Ugly_Duck... this is all interesting stuff to know, whether I use it or not. I'm just pleased for now that I've learned how to create a minimal skintone.

Edit: I eat my hat... Bloom was absolutely right about Body Shop minimising identical textures. Using a previously edited package as a base, I just managed to create a fully functioning skintone of just 8 texture files! So, question answered... thanks a million!
 2thumb

I should point out that I use the current crop of Warlokk/Bloom body shape meshes exclusively, so any textures I make will be linked to a specific top/bottom combination and based mainly on packages by Beos.

Elderly Sims are not permitted in my neighbourhoods, and those that the game throws up will simply carry a custom default skintone... until I drop a satellite on their heads! I use my own ageing system in the game... when I decide a Sim ought to start looking older I'll either give them a wrinkly face mask or edit the textures in their skintone, if it isn't in use by another Sim. In all other respects, they will NEVER get old... just like me.

Of course, I have replaced ALL the textures in every single Beos package that apply to the body shapes I use in the game, and more recently Szielin's XHi JW/ILJ series too, so with both the Christianlove and Szielin custom skintone changers I have a great deal of flexibility in changing the way existing female Sims look as I develop them from young teens to older adults. It's a lot of work but it beats actually playing this stupid game.

Thus far, for any skintones I've made in Body Shop, I have only replaced the female teen and adult, and baby textures in SimPE, happy to leave all the rest as a pixelated mess as they'll never be used. But it does seem rather a waste of space, especially since most of these skintones are intended for single characters... tattoos, whip scars, bite marks, warts and all. For this reason, the Beos minimal package format would be very suitable for my needs.

I'm going to try Bloom's idea (love the alpha meshes, by the way... and the sexy feet!) and see if Body Shop will actually recognise identical files and minimise them on compressing, though I must say I'm sceptical... I mean surely it will only recognise body textures by title as nude, cut and soft rather than by the actual image they contain.

But somebody is going to have to explain to me what "re-link the text's(texture files) to the txmt's(material definitions)" means; apparently it's "not hard if you know how all the linking is done" - I'd hazard a guess there's a tutorial on the subject somewhere... any ideas?

Anyway, thank you all for your suggestions... I'm thoroughly confused.

Nina XXX

Mmm... material definitions, eh. Mmmm... well...

I'll have to do a little experimentation... actually, I play on a Mac and have to ferry files back and forth between that and my partner's VAIO in order to use SimPE, and her VAIO is a Jap operating system to further complicate matters. It's a bit of a nightmare and means I am not as familiar with SimPE as I would be if it resided on the sanity of my Mac, though I am probably more familiar with SimPE than I am with Windows in any language.

Anyway, thanks for the pointer, and if you can add anything else that might further simplify matters, I would be most grateful.

Nina XXX

At the very least, you will need to transfer your Downloads, Saved Sims and Neighbourhoods folders if you want to pick up the game where you left off.
I would copy my entire "The Sims 2" folder (Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2) to an external drive, data disc or iDisk (if you have a .Mac account), then install Sims2 on the new computer, run it once, quit and replace the "The Sims 2" folder so generated with the saved copy.
And you might also consider not installing the latest Quicktime 7.6 until you've researched the problems it is supposed to cause with The Sims 2. There is another thread on that subject.

Stop using IE... it's a poor browser, Firefox is far more stable, more secure, faster and is fully web compliant.

Hi
I have a question regarding the linked skintones (BeosTan) that were included with Warlokk's HiRes bodyshape meshes.

These skintones contain only 13 textures and use a single female (and male) texture for adult, elder and teen sims of all weights. I've always found these packages to be very useful, but I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to create similarly economical skintones using Body Shop exports and SimPE. I assume this involves more than simply deleting unwanted textures from the package and would welcome any pointers as to the method involved.

Thanks
Nina

Hi
I have observed that many clothing items, whether my own re-colours, downloaded items or even Maxis originals, cause unpleasant pixelation or lightening of the skintone where this is visible (legs, arms, chest etc.). It is perhaps more noticeable since I recently upgraded my in-game skintones via the miracle of DXT3, and especially noticeable with darker skintones.
So I wonder, is this just something I have to live with or is there a method to making clothing re-colours that don't degrade areas of bare flesh?

Thanks
Nina

Excellent! Very clear tutorial by BeosBoxBoy... exactly what I needed. Thanks a million.

Nina XXXXX

I would like to know how I can make outfits appear in Uni/Young Adult by editing in SimPE, which I gather is possible.

I actually play and create on a Mac, but I have a version of SimPE on my partner's VAIO which so far I have only ever used for replacing BodyShop derived skintone textures with good quality TIFFs.
It's a bit of a bind having to switch files back and forth between computers, but it is better than having blotchy sims!

I've recently started playing Uni more regularly but many of the outfits I am currently using in the neighbourhood are unavailable 'on campus' - assuming these packages can be edited to be Uni friendly, would it also be necessary to edit the mesh files they are based on?

Any suggestions/pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Ta
NinaXX

I thought as much... unfortunately I don't know enough about the way package files work, and I'm even less inclined to find out.
Mine too... I actually play TS2 on a Mac, so when I use simPE I have to transfer files to my partner's Windows laptop. Because the quality of exports from the Mac version of Body Shop is so poor, creating a skintone from scratch takes ages, as ALL the textures have to be resized and tarted up and replaced in the package, which is okay for 'special' sims, but for hood fodder it's a real drag. Anything to reduce the effort involved would be a boon.
By the way, how did you create those simple skintones using one single body texture?

Thanks for your thoughts
Nina XX