Radioactive Bathwater and Disco Pillows

[KevinTMC]

I've been poking around these boards for some time and haven't yet found mention of a problem that just cropped up in my game.

My bathwater has gone radioactive and there are disco pillows on the beds.

That is to say, there are a couple of weird color problems that arise when sims use the bathtubs and beds on my lots. When they take baths, the bathwater glows green and greenish-yellow around the edges. When they get into bed, the pillows start shifting from one bright, disco-dance-floor-color to another: blue, then green, then a bright off-white, and so on.

The neighborhood is one I started in original TS2. I imported some nice Japanese-style lots, which seem to work without a hitch (though it looks kinda funny to put western beds and dining room sets and such into them). I also installed various interesting-looking sims that I found on MTS2, many of which did not work as advertised (new entries would usually show up in CAS, but with default clothes and/or hair and/or skin, or even identical default faces), even when they said that all accessories were included, and even when I tried to install all the accessories listed myself. [/whine]

Then, a short while later, I added UNI and NL. I started my Downloads folder from scratch when I did this, reinstalling everything that had come packaged with the custom lots and sims. (And now my Downloads folder is nicely organized, since I actually kept track of what files came from what package this time.) I also installed the NL version of the Director's Cut, and modded up with numerous other Awesome hacks I found around here (there's a few non-Awesome ones in there too, but none that have an obvious connection to how non-custom items appear in the game). Somewhere in the process of doing all this, the graphical glitches started.

Anyone have any insight into this?

[jsalemi]

Sounds like you installed something that needs the Color Enable Package. You can find it here: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=92541

[KevinTMC]

A good thought...but I do already have the latest CEP installed.

[Theo]

Did you changed your graphics environment, such as a new video card, or installed new drivers?

[KevinTMC]

Nope, nothing changed on the hardware or driver ends.

[IgnorantBliss]

This definitely sounds like a glitch caused by certain nVidia video card drivers. Which video card do you have, and which driver version are you using?

[KevinTMC]

Okay, now that I'm back home and can check the driver version...

I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, driver version 81.98.

Haven't updated the drivers in a wee while, partly because I felt lucky to have moved up to 81.98 without breaking stuff (I know some folks are still clinging to, what, 77.something)...but on the NVIDIA site I see that they are now up to 91.31.

[Tina G]

Okay, now that I'm back home and can check the driver version...

I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, driver version 81.98.

THIS is what 'broke' stuff for me when I had a 6600 Nvidia card. Had to roll back to stop the neon pillows and water from occuring. Don't know how the 91.31 will work with your card. Hell if it were me, I'd give it a shot first.

[IgnorantBliss]

I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, driver version 81.98

Hmm, I'm using the same driver, without problems. But maybe try rolling back to 77.77, that also worked well for me, without glowing pillows or anything. This glitch definitely seems to be related only to nVidia cards and some drivers, I don't think it's caused by custom content. I've had the glowing texture problem with some drivers, too.

[KevinTMC]

Don't know how the 91.31 will work with your card. Hell if it were me, I'd give it a shot first.

That was solid enough reasoning for me. So last night I uninstalled 81.98, rebooted, then installed 91.31.

And the result? Drumroll please...

...rumbumbumbumbumbumbumbumbumbum...

...it worked! (Ta daaa!) No more nuclear bathwater, and pillows are behaving so far. Brilliant!

Thanks to all for helping me focus on the most likely issue, and for the encouragification to bite the bullet and try the new NVIDIA drivers.

As an extra bonus, the 9x.xx series has a completely redesigned control panel. Shiny!

[Theo]

Nice to see that it works for you now, but don't forget to save your games often

[Tina G]

Yay! I"m glad you got it worked out!