Improving the Resolution

When opening The Sims 2 (Ultimate Collection being the latest version), the first thing you’ll notice is the small 800×600 resolution being spread all over your monitor. Going to the Graphic Options menu won’t fix the issue as the only resolution listed will be the 800×600 one.

Don’t worry though – there’s an easy way to fix this!

Go to the directory where you installed your The Sims 2 game and then The Sims 2 > TSData > Res > Config (for Ultimate Collection it’s The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection > Fun With Pets > SP9 > TSData > Res > Config).
Find the Graphic Rules.sgr file and open it.
Search for option ScreenModeResolution and under settings $Low, change maxresWidth and maxResHeight to the current resolution of your monitor (1920×1080 resolution used for this article).

Save your Graphic Rules.sgr file and open The Sims 2.
You will now be able to select multiple screen resolutions, including the one that you’ve set up as the highest resolution.

Capture

Playing in Windowed Mode

Although you cannot set up the windowed mode in Graphics Options, you can use this small little cheat to force this mode whenever you open the game from your Desktop.

Find The Sims 2 shortcut on your desktop. If you can’t find the shortcut, find the Sims2EP9.exe file in The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection > Fun with Pets > SP9 > TSBin, right click and create shortcut.
Right click on the shortcut and select properties.
Under the Target section of the Shortcut Tab, add -w.
Press Apply and select OK.

Whenever you want to play The Sims 2 in Windowed Mode, use the shortcut that you edited using these steps.

Enabling Smooth Edges

For some reason, the Smooth Edges feature is always greyed out and cannot be set up.

This problem is often found in The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection version, but don’t worry, it can be solved with these tips:

Go to the directory where you installed your The Sims 2 game and then The Sims 2 > TSData > Res > Config (for Ultimate Collection it’s The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection > Fun With Pets > SP9 > TSData > Res > Config).
Find the Graphic Rules.sgr file and open it.
Search for enumerateMultisampleLevels and wherever it says false next to it, correct it with true. There are multiple lines with the enumerateMultisampleLevels so keep changing to true until there are no more results.

Capture

Save the file and close it.
You are now able to adjust the Smooth Edges!

Capture

Black Sim Shadows

Inside Lots, Sims will cast dark black shadows underneath them that may look like this:

There are 3 ways to fix this:

If you don’t mind mods, then download the Sim Shadow Fix Mod by Nopke. It will remove the black boxes + keep the Sim Shadows.

To install, download the Mod and extract the zip content in your save game folder (EA Games > The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection > Downloads – if you don’t have the Downloads folder, simply create it).

MTS_Nopke-1591080-simShadowFix

If you don’t like using mods, the second way is to simply set Shadows to Medium in the Graphics Settings.

The third way will save high Shadow quality but will remove Sim shadows.

Go to the directory where you installed your The Sims 2 game and then The Sims 2 > TSData > Res > Config (for Ultimate Collection it’s The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection > Fun With Pets > SP9 > TSData > Res > Config).
Find the Graphic Rules.sgr file and open it.
Search for option Shadows and under setting $high, change simShadows from true to false.

649 COMMENTS

649 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

The Caffeinated Simmer

9 years ago

Thanks for the tips!

elsaaaaa

how do we download it

Woodstock Jenny on MTS

I love the Ultimate Collection added to the Sims 2 in Origin. I had no idea they updated it until I got bored with TS3. LOL, but I’m so happy you posted these fixes!!! Thank you.

From one bored disabled mom.

simKitten

7 years ago

I just received the Sims 2 Ultimate Collection a few days ago and the game did play on my Windows 10 laptop but I was experiencing these problems. I saw another article on here where I could download a graphics rule program but didn’t want to install anything. This worked perfectly! Thanks so much!

Joe

It is not working for me, like, at all

Amber Jeanpierre

6 years ago

The past few days I’m having the problem when Origin is online it detects the changed files and then tells me Sims 2 is not installed, So I have to repair it which removes the changes found here every time. I have OCD so everything is backed up, organized and semi-easy to reinstall but does anyone know how I can stop Origin from detecting those changes? Other games like Sims 4 frequently NEED to be updated so I have to have Origin online sometimes. I’ve had the Ultimate collection installed since they gave it away for free right before TS4 came out, I’ve never had this issue until about 4 or 5 days ago.

miranda

it says I dont have permission to open to file in regards to the screen res fix. it wont let me save the update im trying to make to the file, can anyone help with what i need to do?

Ekwia

Reply to miranda

Hey Miranda, sorry, i know I’m late but try copy the graphics Rules.sgr file on to your desktop and make the changes and save from there. After that, copy it back into the config folder and let It overwrite the existing file. P.s. make sure you copy the original file on to your desktop too, just incase this doesn’t work for you. But it’s worked for at least 80% of us. I hope this helps. 🙂

5 years ago

Same here! Help please x

Lucy

This doesn’t work for me. My only screen resolution option is 800×600.

I can’t find anything in the files anymore? It seems to have been encrypted? I’m so sad I love this game

Reply to Me

Me too did you find a fix for this?

Desireé

OH MY GOD.
I had tried everything – the graphics rules maker, and everything else the Internet told me would work.
Nothing did but THIS DID THE TRICK! Ahhhh finally I can play the best Sims game EVER without dying inside of bad graphics. THANK YOU!

Natalie

Reply to Desireé

I’m trying to Enable smooth edges! And I don’t know what to do! 🙁 where it shows a picture of changing things from false to ‘true’ in the graphics file folder- is that picture above showing what your folder looks like before changing it all to ‘true’ or is that how it should look after changing it? Do I just change enumerateMultisamplelevels to True or do I need to change more stuff to true? I’m so confused! Lol

Bridget

I don’t even have a file folder like this at all. Whenever I go to where my Sims 2 files are, I don’t have the file option. So I don’t know where to go from here because I LOVE the sims 2…I’ve been playing with the awful issues but I’d like to play without the issues. The options I have are cameras, collections, config, lockedbins, logs, lotcatalog, movies, music, neighborhoods, paintings, petbreeds, petcoats, sc4terrains, storytelling, teleport, thumbnails and then i have 2 documents. Do i need to reinstall the whole thing?

Ophelia Nigmos

Reply to Bridget

I suppose you enter the folder on Documents. The writer meant the directory where you installed the game, which is either drive C or D. Most people install it on disc C.

You should go to your pc folder and follow this path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config

You should there find this file. That is, if you have TS2 ultimate collection. Hope this helps!

Bridget Polsley

Reply to Ophelia Nigmos

Sorry for the late reply, I appreciate it!

Emetoner

Thanks mate!

erEddydWerba

Many many thnx, other sites doesn´t talk about shadows or edges. I changed all “option Shadows” to true and putted ingame shadows quality to medium. To having shadows and not having to install any mods, if anyone thinks that it´s the best for him/her.

Yohanes

This is the Bible of fixing The Sims 2.

Leona

Ahhh help! So this works just about, but in create a family the UI takes over so much of the screen, it’s really hard to see what you’re doing. I’ll include a picture. Is there any solution for this? https://imgur.com/a/YBMlHhz

Sinem

I did. But game didnt work, seems to work but didnt

Reply to Sinem

i mean, game didnt open

Blkqueenk

Try going to the Mansion & Garden file location and follow the same steps.

Felicia Lindblom

Is there any mods for fixing the resolution?
I tried this 4 times. First, the game crashed whenever I tried to apply the game in 1920×1080.
And now the options does not even appear since the config file seem to reset itself to its original.
I am following the steps 100%. Idk what I’m doing wrong?

SimmerOfToday

I don’t know if anyone else has this issue but for me sims in cas look to bright and overall the whole cas seems too bright.It is not an issuse outside of cas so i don’t know what is the cause of it and also i can’t find any solution to this…

devotedghosts

Thank you for this! I had to reinstall my game the other day and I had no issue before, I suddenly did this time though. However this was very helpful.

동재

4 years ago

heyy ik that this is very old but pls can u help me?
i installed sims 2 not from origin, my cousin sent me some files and i downloaded them. now i have the sims 2 but the resolution wont change. i tried to find the tsdata folder but i dont have it. how do i fix that? help!!