More Awesome Than You!

I wonder why the ojects that are supposed to be shiny -like toilets, sinks, cars- are looking so dull in my game. When I look at them in buy mode, the thumbnails look so good, but when I place them, they are just dull. I hoped it would change with the new computer I bought, but no.

I have an ATI radeon X800 XL video card, 256 MB, maybe that's just not enough?

Can't understand it, though. I'm pretty sure I had the shiny effect once, but that was a couple of computers ago.

It's just starting to really bug me, I want the game to look the best.

Have you checked the game's graphic settings, as well as downloading the latest ATI driver?

Thanks for replying. Yes, I have the latest driver, and everything in the graphic settings in the game, is set on high.

Have you installed Gunmod's lighting mod (possibly through the Scriptorium)? The MTS2-distributed versions disable the use of bumpmapping, and make objects ugly.

I know about the Gunmod lighting. The objects looked dull before I installed it  and there is no difference now that I have uninstalled the mod.

It also comes with CEP now. (that light mod)

Actually he removed it because people complained, even though it clearly asked you if you want to install it and the default was not to.  ::)

Yes, it's in the Scriptorium now.

The bumpmaps in the game looks fine, all the skins, clothes, I can see every detail, and I also have some clothes with glitter ,it looks great.

It's only the objects that are supposed to be metallic/shiny that looks dull and kind of clay like.

I know Inge (or at least someone from the old simlogical forum) had this issue with her custom sink mesh... don't recall what she did to fix it, though.

Other obvious steps... what are your settings for object detail and lighting?

It's all set on high.

The problem is the same, whether I have custom objects in the game, or just stick to Maxis objects.

Well that sucks :p

ATI has notoriously crappy drivers, try updating. Or get the Omega drivers instead, they're supposed to be much better than ATI's factory defaults.

You can also try updating DirectX. DirectX9.0c has been updated multiple times without an increase in version number, but with many enhancements. The last DX 9.0c version dates from October 10 this year.

Ok, I guess I could try some different drivers.
It seems it is my problem, not a general problem with the game, if none of you have it.

I'm running an ATI Radeon X850XT using ATI's Catalyst 6.9 for XP and the graphics are great. 

By chance did you look through the read.me file installed with EP4?  I recall there was some language about graphic settings and anti-aliasing (or something similar) but can't confirm as that's on my home system.

Not that I ever complained or would about it, but I didnt think any additional mods belonged in the CEP either. CEP is bad enough with all the rules and regulations, I dont need additional bloatware with it, especially considering I would never even think to look to CEP to screw with my light settings. Maybe its just me.

No, I can understand that and that's that's a valid and rational argument. It was all the HHHEEEE11111PPPPP111111oneoneoneone type posts that irked me.

I installed it via CEP (choosing to do so because I actually read the installer), decided I didn't like it and took it out. It wasn't difficult at all. And it really disturbs me that people would install software without reading what they are installing. :p

Ziggydoodle - I think that was the driver I had, but I just reinstalled it to be sure. It didn't make a difference, though.

I looked for the readme file, but couldn't find it, do you know where it is located?

I've had this problem for a long time now, and a different graphic card. Still ATI.
The thumbnails looked so good, the maxis apple sculpture for example, but now they look as dull as the objects.
Everything is on high too.

Ok -so I'm not alone :) I hope it isn't an ATI problem, I just bought the card.

Well stuff looks shiny to me and I've played on a Radeon 9700 and X1800, the latter of which I currently play with.

Not sure what the deal is. Maybe it's something different about the game options and/or drivers or maybe it's perception?

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Jessie51/Seabrees%20oktober/October%2023/Untitled-1copy-2.jpg)

This is how it looks.

And it looked different on your old card?

Shininess and specular effects etc also aren't something that show up very well in a still image. :(

I must admit that some of the custom stuff I've gotten is a lot shinier sometimes that the Maxis stuff. So maybe the game is optimized for Nividia or maybe it's just Maxis' usual blandness and custom content creators using more 3d lighting effects. *shrug*

Anyway, I'll look when I get home. I don't remember that blue fancy toilet ever being particularly shiny in my game, but some objects are.

Hm -the card I had in the old computer, was an Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT, and it looked likewise. I don't remember which card I had on the first computer,Ii played Sims2 on, but there was a shine to certain objects, like toilets etc.

If you stick the toilet outside it will look nice and shiny. If you let in enough natural light you can get back some of the shine but it never looks a good as when the toilet  just stick it out in the middle of the yard.  ;)

That looks like the normal terlet to me.

It's pronounced t-OY-let.   Say it again: t-OY-let.  !!   What's with all this terlet?

apparently that's how it's pronounced in Montana, Inge.

Inge: wasn't it "Pip pip cheerio, I say, the old crapper, guv'nor"? =D

huh?

ROFL!!!   Well actually at my old prep school we used to call it The Lavatory *smirk

After I proved it wasn't worth spending money on my education and got put into the state system, it quickly became The Bog.

Ok, more toilet pics -and if you don't behave, I'll start posting pics of my real life one ;D

Outside -no difference, just as dull looking:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Jessie51/Untitled-122copy.jpg)

-and here's the thumbnail in buy mode, why can't it look like this  :'(

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Jessie51/Untitled-11.jpg)

I'm starting to realise I may be toilet fixated, but I swear my parents never tied me to one :D

Exact same for me, but I got fixated on the apple sculpture.
Except, as I said, that now the thumbnail looks dull as well, so I don't know what I'm missing anymore.
Different installs, a 9800 radeon and now 800gto, different harddisk and video drivers (ATI).

In my game the toilet looks like the thumbnail pic: shiny.

Then again I use an Nvidia card.

Jordi, which nvidia card do you have? I had the Geforce 6800 GT on my last pc, but the colors were dull then as well.

I still have a GeForce 5900XT.
My other box (the one my sister plays on) has an Nvidia GeForce4 MX 460 (essentially a rebranded GeForce 2), and there the objects are also shiny.

She has some 80-series driver, I use tweaked versions of the 91.x official releases.

Mine is shiny in the game.  I have a Radeon X700 card.  *shrugs

Mine is dull both on the preview and in game.

It's probably a card issue, or something. But have you tried turning reflections on in the graphic options? (I know other people have already asked about other graphic settings, but I didn't see anything about reflections specifically)

Thank you for your suggestion, but it is already turned on.

I actually believe that they shopped the thumbnails.  It's like false advertising.  YOu get what you pay for.

ANyways, Inge's problem with her sink was that it was FAR too bright.  She went and reduced something in SimPE, so I'd say this would probably be the total Anti-WhateverInge'sproblemwas.

I have the same issue and I am using a Radeon x600.  I am also using a laptop with a pent 4. 2.2 GHz processor with 1 gig of ram.

It is not the processor or memory and I am using the same settings in this game as I am on my primary desktop PC.  So it is not the settings in the game either. 

It has to be the graphics card and/or driver.  Great.  ::)

EDIT:

My card does not support hardware T&L and this is why the objects are dull.  I would assume that is the issue with the other video cards used that are having the same issue.  The only thing to do would be to upgrade the card.

I thought that card did have hardware T&L? Mine does (the X1800) but that particular toilet is still dull in spite of the pre-rendered Maxis thumbnail. I solved that problem by refreshing the thumbnail with control right click and now I have a dull thumbnail too.  ;D

Some stuff is really shiny for me though. Like some of the GLS furniture and decorative items.

my sims toliets are shiny - I've got a "ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and TV Out"

they are shiny on my other computer also, ATI card on that one too but I can't remember what one.

How weird. I also have the dull maxis toilet, but this toilet (from Solander) is nice and shiny:

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Brynne14/CuppaJoe/toilet.jpg)

Cool, I'll just blame it on Maxis EA.  Just another fuck up on their end. 

Actually I suppose if it was a T&L issue the mirrors wouldn't reflect and mine do reflect.  :-\

Maybe they'll put out a patch for it a few months from now that will in turn break something else that will never get fixed.  :P

I found out that if you turn off Shaders you'll get the shiny looking toilets.

That also explains why Flickan had the shiny effect a couple of computers ago when the graphics card wasn't able to use Shaders yet.
All the newer graphics cards can use Shaders which should make objects look more realistic, but in this case makes the Maxis EA toilets actually look less realistic.
With Shaders turned off the game looks lighter overall.

"boolprop useShaders false" turns Shaders off.

But as the picture from Solander's shiny toilet shows, Maxis EA could have made their toilets shiny as well with Shaders if they had wanted to.

Has anyone tried that yet? I haven't started my 45mns loading game yet.
I have another question: I have a new card, ati 800gto, and I have trouble playing the game at night: I can't see anything. I thought it was a hack, but it must be my card. Before I tinker, has anyone advice on that? Maybe the shaders off would solve that problem? What would I be losing?
Or would a lighting mode solve that problem?

I tried. It's shiner but not as shiny as the Solander toilet or some of the Glamour stuff. *shrug* I guess it doesn't make enough of a difference for me to care either way.

THANK YOU SO MUCH -this is how it looks in my game now:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Jessie51/Untitled-15copy.jpg)

I'm happy ;D

No fish? I didn't check that, but I rarely use the fishtank, so...

But no fish in your tanks...

This is kinda weird problem - I've had the lack of specular highlights since the first Sims 2 patch on these cards: Radeon 9800, Geforce 6800 Ultra, Radeon X800 XT and Radeon X1900 XT... I'm currently using the X1900, and I got the highlights back when I installed the game on Windows Vista RC2 :D I'm very happy I finally have them back by default after 2 years, without losing bump maps and nice pool water :P

Heh, well I guess I need to wait for Vista then.  :P

Not that it makes much difference. I don't see what all the hubub is about those toilets personally. And Maxis is certainly capable of making specular stuff that works on XP with the shaders on. As I mentioned before, much of the Glamour Life Stuff is uber shiny. I guess they just don't notice or care enough about the toilets to patch it.

It's a bit dismal that they don't seem to bring out new appliances and plumbing with the new EPs.  When was the last time we got a new toilet?

What? You can refresh thumbnails? I didn't know that. Thanks!

Turned out it wasn't the plumming alone. everything in my game looks much nicer now. Even the wood textures have a luster they didn't have before.

They found out about the Flush Force and decided not to bother making a non-awesome new terlet.

Considering we already have the TS1 Flushforce Uber-Terlet, the only improvement you could get on top of that would be a Vacuum-Assisted Terlet.

Um, you don't want to know the mental image I got from that description...