SleepyD2k Guides - Updating Graphic Settings in the Ultimate Collection

There are many ways to change the graphic settings in The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection to get a better experience. Below are a few ways you can edit these graphic settings.

Note: Increasing the screen resolution may cause the game to appear distorted. Edit these files at your own risk. If you make a mistake or the fix does not work simply replace the file you edited with the backup you made. If that doesn't work, right click on the game's box art and select "Repair Game".
Increase Screen Resolution

1. Determine your screens resolution by going to Control Panel and Adjust Screen Resolution. Write these numbers down. It should look similar to (1080x1920).
2. Locate GraphicRules.sgr in C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config and backup this file in a safe place.
   
3. Open GraphicRules.sgr. (If it asks you to select a program to open it with select NotePad)
   
4. Near the top of this file you will find the following lines: “seti Low 1″ and “seti Medium 2″. Change “seti Low 1″ and “seti Medium 2″ to “seti Low 3″ and “seti Medium 3″. This will tell the game to use the “high” settings within this file.
5. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (without any spaces and quotes) “ScreenModeResolution” then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section. What you see will look like this:
6. Edit “uintProp maxResWidth” to the number after the x in all four sections. For example if your resolution is 1920x1080 you would change this number to 1920.
7. Edit “uintProp maxResHeight” to the number before the x in all four sections. For example if you resolution is 1920x1080 you would change this number to 1080.
8. Save and exit the file.
9. Open the game up. Once you have entered a Neighborhood go to the Options then Graphics/Performance Options.
   
10. You should now see that in the Screen Size settings you have many more options. Select the desired size and
    click "Apply Settings".

Remove Black Squares

1. Open your game.
2. Load a neighborhood and go the "Graphics/Performance Options" menu.
3. Under "Shadows" click on medium and click "Apply Settings".

Or

1. Locate GraphicRules.sgr in C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config and backup this file in a safe place.
2. Open GraphicRules.sgr. (If it asks you to select a program to open it with select NotePad)
3. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (without any spaces and quotes) “boolProp simShadows” then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section. What you see will look like this:
   option Shadows
   setting $Low
   boolProp simShadows false
   boolProp objectShadows false
   boolProp guob false
   boolProp heightMapShadows false
   
   setting $Medium
   boolProp simShadows false
   boolProp objectShadows false
   boolProp guob true
   boolProp heightMapShadows true
   
   setting $High
   boolProp simShadows true <- change this to false
   boolProp objectShadows true
   boolProp guob true
   boolProp heightMapShadows true
   end
4. Change “boolProp simShadows true” to “boolProp simShadows false”.
5. Save and exit the file.

Fix Screen Flickering or Stuttering Issues

1. Open your game.
2. Load a neighborhood and go the "Graphics/Performance Options" menu.
3. Under "Smooth Edges" raise the bar all the way to "More" and click "Apply Settings".

Note: These solutions involves editing game files to change the game settings Origin has recommended for the game. Although The Sims 2 does not recognize newer graphic cards, Origin is able to recognize these and set the game to run on what it thinks the optimal settings are. If your do not meet the minimum requirements you may damage your computer hardware. Edit these files at your own risk. If you make a mistake or the fix does not work simply replace the file you edited with the backup you made. If that doesn't work, right click on the game's box art and select "Repair Game".
Improve Graphics

1. Locate GraphicRules.sgr in C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config and backup this file in a safe place.
2. Open GraphicRules.sgr. (If it asks you to select a program to open it with select NotePad)
   
3. Go to Edit, and select Find (or simply click CTRL+F). Type in "simpleTerrain" (without quotes). You should see something like this:
   
4. Change the "true" in "boolProp simpleTerrain true," to "false". It should now read "boolProp simpleTerrain false".
   
5. Summon the Find window again and continue looking for "simpleTerrain." Make sure you change every single one of them to "boolProp simpleTerrain false".
   
6. Save and exit the file.

Have the Game Recognize your Newer Graphics Card

1. Go to Libraries\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Logs and click on <your PC's name>-PC-config-log.txt
2. Under copy the information under "Graphics device info" to a new text/word file for future reference.
3. Exit the text file without saving changes.
4. Locate GraphicRules.sgr in C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config and backup this file in a safe place.
5. Open GraphicRules.sgr. (If it asks you to select a program to open it with select NotePad)
6. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (keep the quotes around your graphic card vendor) "elseif (match("${cardVendor}", "Your graphic card vendor"))" then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section.
7. Change "setb useSoftwareRasterizer true" to "setb useSoftwareRasterizer false".
8. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (without any spaces and quotes) “if ($textureMemory = 0) ” then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section.
   
9. Change "seti textureMemory 32" to "seti textureMemory 128".
10. Change "setb textureMemorySizeOK false" to "setb textureMemorySizeOK true".
    
11. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (keep the quotes around your graphic card vendor) "elseif (match("${cardVendor}", "Your graphic card vendor"))" then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section.
    
12. Change "boolProp simpleTerrain true" to "boolProp simpleTerrain false".
    
13. Change "boolProp enumerateMultisampleLevels false" to "boolProp enumerateMultisampleLevels true".
    
14. Change "boolProp disableVSyncSupport true # work around flickering UI" to "boolProp disableVSyncSupport false".
    
15. Change "boolProp useShaders false #" to "boolProp useShaders true".
    
16. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (without the quotes) "if ($memory <= $memoryLevelLow)" then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section.
    
17. Change "if ($textureMemory > 32)" to "if ($textureMemory > 128)".
    
18. Change "seti textureMemory 128" to "seti textureMemory 128".
    
19. Scroll down a little.
20. Change "setb forceLowSettings true" to "setb forceLowSettings false"
    
21. Change "setb forceLowResolution true" to "setb forceLowResolution false"
    
22. Save and exit the file.

Or

1. Locate GraphicRules.sgr in C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config and backup this file in a safe place.
2. Open GraphicRules.sgr. (If it asks you to select a program to open it with select NotePad)
3. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (without any spaces and quotes) “Determine if gfx device is supported, force software rendering if not” then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section.
4. Scroll down until you see:
   else
   # unsupported/unknown vendor
   setb useSoftwareRasterizer true
5. Change "else" to "elseif (not match("${cardName}", "Parallels *"))"
   
6. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find box and enter this line in (without any spaces and quotes) “Apply gfx device specific workarounds” then click "Find Next". This will take you to the required section.
7. Scroll down until you see:
   endif
   intProp deviceLocalVideoMemorySizeDefault ($textureMemory * 1024 * 1024)
8. Add this above it:
   elseif (match("${cardName}", "Parallels *"))
   if ($textureMemory > 128)
   seti textureMemory 128
   endif
   endif
   intProp deviceLocalVideoMemorySizeDefault ($textureMemory * 1024 * 1024)
9. Save and exit the file.

Sources:
http://simsvip.com/2014/07/20/the-sims-2-ultimate-collection-increase-resolution-guide/
http://simsvip.com/2014/07/20/the-sims-2-ultimate-collection-remove-black-squares/
http://modthesims.info/t/479610
http://www.leefish.nl/mybb/showthread.php?tid=5446
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140201182620AAsjLLX
http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?210407-Sims-2-Graphics-Issues

I would consider it free to those people who didn't own all the EPs and SPs. To the ones that did, it is more like a replacement to an unsupported version. I only think it is fair of them to replace something I purchased on Origin with an equal or greater copy if they are no longer going to support it.