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UPDATE 9-2-20 Has your Sims 3 game been affected by the recent pixilation issues?

Comments

  • TurjanTurjan Posts: 1,713 Member
    edited February 2020
    Hmm, you see fences through horses? That's creepy. I wonder if some of the hair issues stem from the same reason.

    Windows 10, Linux and dual-boot is an issue in itself. I have Linux on a virtual system, but there you don't get good graphics without using a commercial virtual system solution (I use a free version). Also, I guess the Linux experiment probably depends on you having the game on Steam (which I don't). Steam has a very good solution to run many Windows games on Linux without much fuss. I haven't looked whether The Sims 3 is among those many games though.

    Edit: If you look through the reports on ProtonDB, the experiences mean you may still need to do a bit of work to have it run smoothly. And using Proton (aka SteamPlay) is the easy way.
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @Turjan Yes, it’s weird. Maybe the hair is the issue but I’ve not had an issue with my sims’ hairs.

    I don’t understand virtual system. I was able to install Ubuntu on a thumb drive and it worked perfectly, just couldn’t get it installed and working on computer. I came so close! And was really excited that I’d been able to do it by walking through the steps and then.... kablooey. I do have Sims 3 on Steam and it is approved fir the Linux system.
  • TurjanTurjan Posts: 1,713 Member
    edited February 2020
    If you try to set up a dual boot system on your computer with Windows 10, definitely produce a repair disc for your boot sector. I didn't get it to work last time I tried it, and I had a few dual boot systems in my life. I had to repair my whole boot partition afterwards in order to get Windows to start up again, fortunately without reinstall.

    There's another way to have Linux completely on a separate disk and switch the boot partition every time you want to start Linux. That at least leaves the flaky Windows 10 untouched.
  • ArchivistArchivist Posts: 4,375 Member
    I think it's important to not confuse the game's normal color banding with the OP's issue. There's always been some amount of color banding in the game, mainly on smooth textures in areas with poor light. I used to go to great lengths to try to photoshop it out of screenshots when I'd make comics, so I've stared frustratedly at a lot of these ugly gradients over the years.

    That said, there are definitely some examples in this thread where the color banding is way worse than usual, to the point of looking like old 256-color graphics. ZeeGee and Emily4331 have the best examples on the first two pages of the thread (especially Emily's where it's happening in broad daylight). But some of the other examples that have been posted here don't look unusual for this game at all and probably shouldn't be any cause for concern for those Simmers.

    Image spam for reference, on different Windows versions and graphics cards:

    2010 / Windows XP / NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
    c4Jd7k2.jpg

    2017 / Windows 10 / NVIDIA GeForce 950
    vMbVTjG.jpg

    More image spam:
    2009 / Windows XP / NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT (that horrible refridgerator)
    gLU15Bq.jpg

    2011 / Windows XP / NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
    iEszj71.jpg

    2012 / Windows Vista / NVIDIA GeForce GT 520
    NTyMuXc.jpg

    2012 / Windows 8 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 (outdoors during a full moon)
    P47TaDq.jpg

    2013 / Windows 8 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 640
    1cxvgtS.jpg

    2014 / Windows 8 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 640
    Mny0vD7.jpg

    2016 / Windows 10 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
    D1wGkS6.jpg

    2018 / Windows 10 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    npVnRoN.jpg

    2019 / Windows 10 / AMD Radeon Vega 8
    Aed8aVU.jpg
    9d9hOnJ.png
  • SimplyJenSimplyJen Posts: 14,823 Member
    edited February 2020
    I've been meaning to post here but haven't. My game has always had a color banding issue for as long as I can remember. I play around with the indoor light intensity to combat the worst of it but it's not a true fix. It's not extreme in my game like it appears to be for others.

    I haven't loaded up my game since June of last year. I'll have to check if anything has changed. The last issue that popped up for me was extremely jagged edges (not related to this issue) after a graphics update so I did a clean install of a previous driver. Even if rolling back or trying a completely different driver doesn't help, you can try a clean driver install. :/

    Instructions:
    • Download the driver for your card from the Nvidia website. (or AMD for Radeon users.
    • Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to thoroughly uninstall the current installed driver.
    • Run the program in safe mode
    • Choose NVIDIA - Clean and restart (or AMD/Radeon)
    • Install the new driver you downloaded from the manufacturers website.
    i7-13700K • 16GB • RTX 4070
    S3 simblr: http://simplysimming.tumblr.com/
    S4 simblr: http://simlogic.tumblr.com/
  • emorrillemorrill Posts: 8,110 Member
    edited February 2020
    My game has been affected but it doesn't bother me
    @SimplyJen ^And you found that to fix the jagged edges? I've noticed a little more jagged edges on my sims and objects too even with all the object details set to high (after that dreaded Windows 10 update that reset all my in game options to the defaults! So I had to set them back where I had them). They just don't look as smooth anymore...
    52607642900_bbbac3a314_c.jpg
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @Archivist Looking at all your pictures, especially those from much earlier, I do now understand the complaints about Sims 3 graphics. For whatever reason I've not experienced these issues until recently. Your cheap fridge pic was from 2009, however, I started playing in 2014 and did not have the color banding issue on the cheap fridge. I used those cheap little houses in SV to start my sims off quite frequently and would have noticed that, as I did notice some banding in the night sky.

    @SimplyJen Thanks for the advice. I've done a 'clean install' of the driver using 'run as admin' and then selecting clean install. I'll try your way. I have an older driver, not the newest update as that made it worse. I'm supposing it will work the same?

    @emorrill Same problem here with the jagged edges. I thought it was due to all the changes that I'd tried with varying solutions but a computer to get rid of all that didn't help.
  • SimplyJenSimplyJen Posts: 14,823 Member
    ZeeGee wrote: »
    @SimplyJen Thanks for the advice. I've done a 'clean install' of the driver using 'run as admin' and then selecting clean install. I'll try your way. I have an older driver, not the newest update as that made it worse. I'm supposing it will work the same?
    Display Driver Uninstaller does a more thorough job. I use it anytime I feel things are not working as they should with graphics or if I'm getting errors.
    emorrill wrote: »
    @SimplyJen ^And you found that to fix the jagged edges? I've noticed a little more jagged edges on my sims and objects too even with all the object details set to high (after that dreaded Windows 10 update that reset all my in game options to the defaults! So I had to set them back where I had them). They just don't look as smooth anymore...
    At the time I updated my driver in order to play around with Nvidias new "freestyle" feature but I felt like that's what caused the jagged edges so I used the DDU method to do a clean install of an older driver. Then I went into the Nvidia Inspector tool to turn on Antialiasing FXAA. That seemed to fix it a little bit but it just doesn't look the same. I agree something has mucked up the games edges... Maybe it wasn't the driver I installed. You can try and see if my tips help. If you do try it, let me know the results.

    i7-13700K • 16GB • RTX 4070
    S3 simblr: http://simplysimming.tumblr.com/
    S4 simblr: http://simlogic.tumblr.com/
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    OMG I just found my Windows 10 Cyperpower PC recovery disc for my desktop!!!! Can I use that with internet off to recover my PC to factory default without all the updates?!
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    edited February 2020
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    Nevermind!
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @SimplyJen I followed your steps exactly and installed version 390.65 from Nvidia. The wood is still shiny, the clothes are still really pixelated, and the horses still look plastic. :cry:
  • emorrillemorrill Posts: 8,110 Member
    My game has been affected but it doesn't bother me
    ZeeGee wrote: »
    @SimplyJen I followed your steps exactly and installed version 390.65 from Nvidia. The wood is still shiny, the clothes are still really pixelated, and the horses still look plastic. :cry:

    ^Ugh, I'm sorry to hear this @ZeeGee :cry:

    Guess it's like the IT guys told me...it's purely a Windows issue. So there's no fix we can do on our end. (Unless the Linux Partition really works) It royally su'cks! :pensive:
    52607642900_bbbac3a314_c.jpg
  • lowpolygallowpolygal Posts: 422 Member
    Apart from the issues on the walls, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what's wrong with the other pictures, so... I think my game has always looked this "bad" :joy:
    Here's pictures of the cheap fridge as an example:
    This one was taken on September of last year:
    E8uvfO2.jpg
    The color banding it's maybe not as jarring but it's there.

    This one, was taken around three years ago:
    ajVaANu.jpg
    No color banding at all, I guess it has something to do with the pattern/color used?.

    And this one is not mine, it's from a friend, around 7 years old:
    GHtzy.png
    Color banding is present.
    I think it's probably just the texture of the fridge, I remember this happens with skins too, if you're not careful when making them they turn ugly and it's worsened the darker the skin gets (the sims get weird looking patches on their faces :disappointed: )
    Also, I believe my horses have always looked kinda plasticky... I think I even remember downloading a skin replacement or something for them that fixes that out? I'll have to check :lol:
    And next time I'm in the game I'll check the walls too :smile:
    zDZ4NFB.png
    I have a Simblr
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    edited February 2020
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @emorrill Oh I forgot. We did rule out Nvidia with your IT guys. My brain is going a hundred different ways.

    The reason I care is because the difference is so drastic ever since that stealth December update. My wood used to look like wood instead of being shiny plastic looking. My horses used to look exactly like real life horses. My darker sims looked just as pretty as my lighter sims. Now I have to lighten Bella and Cassandra's skin so they don't look like they have a skin disease. I don't really care how the cheap fridge looks. I could live without it. But it's a good indicator of what the rest of the game looks like. Maybe the pictures aren't showing the extent of the damage. Or maybe for some reason my game looked better than most others and has just now caught up to the badness. I don't know.

    I don't like Sims 4 cause it looks like a shiny plastic cartoon world and now Sims 3 has turned the same in some respects. But it seems I'm much in the minority so I'll just shut up about it.

    Sorry, didn’t mean to point this at any one person. Edited.
    Post edited by ZeeGee on
  • lowpolygallowpolygal Posts: 422 Member
    @ZeeGee
    Uuhh... maybe I'm about to make a completely fool out of myself, but it seems to me like I somehow said something wrong and ended up upsetting you? I don't know, it's the vibe I'm getting from your response, I'm sorry about that :cold_sweat:
    And if that's not the case, please ignore this, sometimes I just get confused and wrong ideas because English it's not my first language :persevere:
    zDZ4NFB.png
    I have a Simblr
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @Ziristha I’m upset but not at you though looking back at my post it comes across that way. I’m sorry.

    I’ve been trying to fix this for over a month and am very frustrated that my game looks like crap and despite jumping through many hoops way over my head there’s nothing that will fix it. Guess it’s time to step away and take some deep breaths.
  • JustinRideJustinRide Posts: 16 Member
    Thankfully i haven't had this issue, though i did just build a new computer. But i do have a windows update tonight, hope that doesn't mess it up for me! o:
  • Satanu_ReevesSatanu_Reeves Posts: 402 Member
    CHvc5vS.jpg
    I've always had some banding in my game and I play on Windows 7. The cheap fridge is actually the worst of it. It's barely noticeable otherwise. You can see it on the dark part of the fire truck and a little on his clothes.
  • lowpolygallowpolygal Posts: 422 Member
    @ZeeGee
    I actually thought that that might be the case, that you were stressed over this issue and your response to me just came across that way, but I wanted to adress it anyway because I don't like misunderstandings and just in case I did said something wrong, I don't enjoy bothering people, so no apologies needed for me, I totally understand, after all I believe most of us have been in the same boat of my-game-doesn't-work-and-I-don't-know-why-but-I'm-about-to-lose-my-head-'cause-I've-tried-everything-HELP regarding TS3 :sweat_smile:
    I wish I was tech savvy so I could be of actual help for you but I'm not, I only can talk about my own experience with the game. Honestly, I hope you can find a way to fix it, I can only imagine how jarring it must be to have your good graphics look suddenly so bad, because it seems it might be worse than how my game usually looks (I don't have the problems with the walls :cry: ).


    And, well just for those who maybe curious, here is the fix I remember downloading for the plasticky horses... although the link in the thread doesn't go to the download page and I didn't look where you could find it.

    So, yeah, my game has always loooked like this, I always thought it was normal and that for other people looked good because of their superior graphics card + HQ mods and for others simple editing with an external program was the trick :sweat_smile:

    zDZ4NFB.png
    I have a Simblr
  • emorrillemorrill Posts: 8,110 Member
    My game has been affected but it doesn't bother me
    Classic example of the shininess on the wood that @ZeeGee was talking about...from my own game. :pensive:

    Graphics-issues-8.jpg

    *sigh*
    52607642900_bbbac3a314_c.jpg
  • KoumoriDiruKoumoriDiru Posts: 6,681 Member
    I don't think mine's as bad as some of the issues you guys have, it doesn't really bother me or I haven't noticed it. It's noticeable on one of the fridges, so I just don't use that one.
    tumblr_nvbyvezH0b1uvyu9yo8_r1_400.gif
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @Ziristha Thank you for being so understanding and thanks for the horse fix. I’ll try to chase it down.

    @emorrill Thats it, shiny wood everywhere, floors walls... 😰
  • ArchivistArchivist Posts: 4,375 Member
    Curious, for those with the extreme banding issue, have you guys tried using ReShade? Emily4331 mentioned the Debanding option in that software earlier in this thread. I was playing around with it this week and it does a pretty good job of cleaning up my walls:

    Before:
    1WHAZXE.png

    After:
    L1bOODx.png

    The refridgerator unfortunately is still quite garbage:
    Before:
    4amwosg.png

    After:
    2s0T5R9.png
    9d9hOnJ.png
  • ZeeGeeZeeGee Posts: 5,355 Member
    My game has been affected and I'm upset
    @Archivist I tried Reshade, 3 different presets. Which one did you use or did you tweak it yourself? It looks like it helped with the jaggies too.
  • ArchivistArchivist Posts: 4,375 Member
    edited February 2020
    ZeeGee wrote: »
    @Archivist I tried Reshade, 3 different presets. Which one did you use or did you tweak it yourself? It looks like it helped with the jaggies too.
    I started with the default preset then added Deband with 'Debanding strength' set on High, and SMAA set to all default settings. For the jaggies, ReShade was actually disabling my NVIDIA antialiasing when taking screenshots, so I turned off NVIDIA's antialiasing and used ReShade's SMAA instead. (I can't for the life of me tell any difference between them except that one shows up in screenshots)
    9d9hOnJ.png

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