Graphics Glitch - Faces

[Orikes]

I am fully prepared to learn how awesome I am not.

I just installed OFB yesterday and I've been experiencing a weird graphics glitch with faces. With some sims (not all), it's like their faces aren't really attached. If you zoom in or they move just right, the face goes away and they become featureless. Then a moment later it will be back.





Most everything else seems to be working fine, though there was one house with a weird graphics glitch on the floor where someone left the newspaper, but I couldn't select it any longer.

I have tried:
  Updating my video drivers
  Updating to beta video drivers
  Removing all downloaded items and hacks
  Replacing character files with back up ones

I have:
  eVGA 256-P2-N389-AX Geforce 6800GS CO SE 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
  AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor
  Crucial Technology 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model

Everything was working fine, for the most part, up until I installed OFB. Last week I ran into a problem (with Uni and NL installed) where a baby wouldn't grow up into a toddler and I had to force things with boolprop, but that's really the only other glitch I've run into.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Ness]

Your sims look possessed!  Maybe you should drill holes in their heads to let the demons out?

Seriously, no idea, but it looks bad!  Hope you find a solution.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I had to reinstall OFB soon after I installed it, because Jennifer Burb (among others) kept getting stuck at her business even though I was using taxis, and one of the new townies, who worked at the bakery, was acting really wierdly, and couldn't be fired.  So, my first suggestion would be to take your game folders out and try uninstalling and reinstalling OFB.

[Simlover]

Don't use the latest Nvidia drivers, go back to a 7 series, 78.1 works fine.

[Orikes]

I'm beginning to think drilling holes in their heads would work.

I tried uninstalling OFB and going back to the files from NL, but the same thing is happening. I'm going to try getting my Nvidia drivers to the recommended ones and see how it goes.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Moral there is, always save your old driver installers - you may have them, you know.  When I installed new drivers, the old stuff was still all there in the NVidia files.

[jrd]

Old Nvidia releases can always be found at http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp-2k_archive.html

[ZephyrZodiac]

But if you already have a copy on your PC using up oodles of MBs, why download another?  When I installed my new driver, somehow all my DirectX files got wiped.  when I reinstalled DirectX, I had about 4 GBs more space on my Main HD than I had before I replaced my Drivers, and when I checked the NVidia files, I have two folders, plus two Installers.  These files just keep piling up and unless you know what is safe to delete, you keep blaming TheSims for using  up your hard disk space!

[jrd]

I always wipe my Nvidia drivers using a driver cleaner before installing new ones, as that is the only way to be sure the right files are used.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, it wasn't the driver files that caused me a problem, the right ones are definitely being used, it was the loss of DirectX, when I installed the new ones - it was definitely gone, I could tell by how much hard disk space had increased, but when I installed the new DirectX, I still had about 4GBs more than i had before the new drivers were installed.  Just shows how Windows Update just keeps piling more and more stuff into your PC, and nothing ever gets removed.

[Tina G]

I've come to the conclusion that there is a possibility that something has gone a bit wonky inside your neighborhoods folder. I am most definately NOT awesome and can barely tell my ass from a hole in the ground but....

I have recently had the exact same sort of glitch happen to me. I downloaded and have been playing around with the combined hood that is posted here in peasantry. A couple of teenagers shared their first kiss. When the cinematic played their faces got all distorted and screwed up looking. After the cinematic was over they were stuck like that until I had them go to a mirror and 'change appearance'.  It really freaked me out so after that I removed the combined neighborhoods folder, put my regular hoods folder back into place and had some teens do the 'first kiss' scenerio. Everything was fine and I breathed a huge sigh of relief at that point.

That means that MY problem is associated with something inside the neighborhoods folder... somewhere. Just thought I'd throw that out there as something to check into. 

[Orikes]

Tina G, I think you're right in that it is something in the neighborhoods folder, but...

*whimper*

Somehow, in my attempt to fix the problem, I've made things even worse.

At this point, I can't even get the Sims2 to run at all. If I try and run, I get an error (little window with a red x) that doesn't have any text.

I tried uninstalling OFB and going back to Nightlife. I got that to work fine, but the graphics glitch was still there. I tried reinstalling OFB, since that didn't seem to be the issue. I replaced the files I thought I was supposed to replace, but when starting it up, I got that error.

So, I tried to uninstall everything and start from scratch. After uninstalling everything, and trying to reinstall... I got an error telling me that the disk couldn't transfer some .bmp file and wasn't going to be able to continue installation. This is from the original disk.

I don't think there are any problems with my disks. I think there's something left behind on the computer that's causing a problem, but I don't know what it is. I'm about at my wits end.

Help?

[rohina]

Are you trying to save your old neigbourhoods? You may need to junk them. This is traumatic, but you will recover. 

[Orikes]

At this point, I'd be willing to let the neighborhood go. It makes me sad, but you're right... I'll live.

I'd be happy to wipe everything and reinstall, but the fact that the game won't reinstall is really bothering me. Starting from scratch would be good, but it doesn't seem to want to do that.

[akatonbo]

It seems to be fairly common for the install to crap out partway through even when there isn't really anything wrong -- in most cases you just need to try it again. (And perhaps gently wipe off your CD first.)

[ZephyrZodiac]

Also it might be worth running a registry checker just to be sure the uninstall didn't leave anything behind.  (Also checking that absolutely nothing remains of The Sims in your programs folder, and running defrag again.)

[Orikes]

I *think* I'm back up and running. I don't know what caused the graphics glitch in the first place, but I was able to reinstall everything finally. Neighborhoods are gone (sob), but it's a relief to just be able to log back in.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Did you not have any back-ups stashed away anywhere?  That's dreadful, it's like losing your friends!  In fact, I suppose it is losing your friends - your little pixel friends!  *sob*  I couldn't cope!

[Orikes]

I am sad, but not completely broken up. I figure I can recreate them and try some different things and see how close I get to what I had.

I think that there was something corrupt in the neighborhood file that caused the original glitch. It's like their faces weren't fully attached anymore.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, if you no longer have any back-ups, you can't clone your originals, unfortunately.  But this time, you really must remember to back up every so often, it's better to lose a week's play real time than to lose your sims!

[Simlover]

I have generations of sims and don't think I could bare to loose them, I always have backed up files.

[ZephyrZodiac]

SimPE will do it for you, just takes a couple of minutes.

[Orikes]

I did have a backup of the neighborhood from when I installed OFB, but when I switched back to NL, the same corruption was still there. I'm honestly not even sure how I might have saved things from that, and by the time I got back up and running, I was just glad to have the game working.

I've learned my lesson for the future, though. I think each day before I play, I'll pop into SimPE and make a backup of the neighborhood.

I was just barely into the second generation of things. I'm curious to see if I get similar kids to the ones I had (although I'm going to miss my twin alien girls, Venus and Mercury).

[ZephyrZodiac]

Do you still have a copy of that corrupt NL backup anywhere?  If so, you could clone all your sims and make a new custom hood and stick them in it.  That's what I did when I had a Pleasantview that was having problems.

[Orikes]

That's the weird thing. When I was starting to pull my hair out, it seemed like something was eating my EA folder in My documents. I lost my OFB backup and I think my NL backup disappeared that way too.

I'm honestly okay with starting over. I wish I could have the *mumblemumble* hours I put into the original group back, but starting over let me restructure things a bit. Basically changed some starting ages (one couple went from being elders with adult children to adults with teens/child), and changed some relationships (made one lone sim the younger brother of a pair of sisters).