UPDATE 9-2-20 Has your Sims 3 game been affected by the recent pixilation issues? «1234567…26...Next Go

ZeeGee

My game has been affected and I'm upset

Added this to the first post: For those who don't hang out in the techie section, these are the things I've tried: First thing was Nvidia, had long chats with them 2 nights in a row. No help. Finally told me to go back to the developer. Tried reporting to Windows. No comment. Tried rolling back graphics driver. No help. Tried a total reset thinking Windows would be restored to the original condition when I purchased the computer. That doesn't work anymore. Windows now restores the updates along with your system restore. No way I can find around that. Puzzlezaddict did some testing here if you want to look at that thread in the techie section. Posted over at NRaas. The techies over there think it is definitely a Windows update, and also that it is affecting more recent games than Sims 3, even some of their Xbox games. Because of this they think Windows will eventually fix it. That's where we are now.

ZeeGee

My game has been affected and I'm upset

GraceyManor wrote: »

Unfortunately I had no choice but to update if I wanted to shut my
Computer down while at work I don’t know if it effected my game or not

@GraceyManor That's so annoying! I've always wondered why all the hate for Windows. Now I understand! If this ever gets fixed I'm taking my computer off the internet and never allowing it to touch my computer again.

GraceyManor

My game has not been affected

ZeeGee wrote: »

GraceyManor wrote: »

Unfortunately I had no choice but to update if I wanted to shut my
Computer down while at work I don’t know if it effected my game or not

@GraceyManor That's so annoying! I've always wondered why all the hate for Windows. Now I understand! If this ever gets fixed I'm taking my computer off the internet and never allowing it to touch my computer again.

My laptop has to be abut down when I’m not at work So the fans can get a break.I updated and logged in and noticed a little around the mirrors I think but nothing that bugs me however my graphics mod by brntwaffles isn’t working

JACKIEJOY

I have a nvidia 10something card. Am at work so will get the exact name this evening.

Nikkei_Simmer

Other. Please explain in comments.

It’s really rare that something can annoy me with Sims 3. But with Win 10 having had three bad issues: erasing image files in Oct ‘18, making games lag in Mar ‘19 and now this carp in Jan ‘20. If I can figure out how to install Sims 3 and all expansions without mishap, I’m seriously thinking about going to Linux as an OS.

SPARKY1922

Other. Please explain in comments.

Hi @ZeeGee

Is this a definite update as my 3 digital game via origin on windows 10 (that I only use for testing these days) is not showing an update in origin itself when I have just logged in as I was going to test this in my game for you as while I have an issue that has never been able to be resolved with sim graphics I don't have issues with anything else in game and i am pretty sure my textures don't look like the pic you have posted..

Update: okay been in game and am afraid to report I am noticing texture issues more than normal on shiny surfaces like the fridge shown in the following pics then I jumped into my disc win 7 S3 game on my other hard drive and can report I don't get the same issue like I do in the digital game..

With the light on in the room it's not as visible but like a rolling shadow across the whole area if that makes sense..



with the light off it's almost like someone took a paintbrush drew a larger shadow over the surface however i don't think it looks as bad in my game as it appears to do in yours..I knew this would happen because something is always fiddling with the digital game which is why i got out and went over to discs..

Plus whether the light in the room is on or off scrolling in an out can make the issue look definitely worse.

I am using a 1070 Geforce Nvidia graphics card if that matters at all.



I hope everyone suffering this can find some sort of solution as I know what it's like to have issues with the game..

Karritz

I have the problem on the chillgood fridge. It almost totally goes away if I recolour the fridge with a darker colour. Also having it well lit reduces the problem significantly.

Also, choosing to not allowing Windows to update would be a really bad idea as they keep finding new security issues that need to be updated to fix the problem. And new security issues are constantly being created by hackers so don't expect the security issues to go away unless you can find some way to stop hackers from trying.

SPARKY1922

Other. Please explain in comments.

Hi @Karritz

I don't think there is anyway to hold off on windows 10 updates as it appears we don't have that particular choice anymore that we had in previous windows operating systems. I know when I need to update as my PC it lags like heck and then i realise it's deliberate because I need to allow the update or lag gets worse. I wish there was a version of 10 where there were more controls but when i looked into it some time ago there wasn't any version of the OS that appears to offer much in the way of more control including the most expensive version of the OS so if anyone comes along and could explain how to take back that control I would be very grateful

InfraGreen

My game has been affected and I'm upset

Which update was it? I've been having problem with skin textures specifically but it started a month ago I think:

It goes away once my default skin kicks in (like when I drag them into CAS) but it looks awful lol. That's so specific though. :-\

igazor

We've had some difficulty pinpointing which exact Windows update may be responsible here because Win 10's Update mechanism rolls them all up instead of more conveniently listing them individually like home consumer versions of Win 7 (and 8?) and prior used to do. But just to clarify in case there is some confusion here, we are talking about Windows updates, not updates to the game. And its seems to have been an update that was issued or at least began reaching most of us sometime in December that was common to the current and at least prior two Win 10 builds.

InfraGreen

My game has been affected and I'm upset

igazor wrote: »

We've had some difficulty pinpointing which exact Windows update may be responsible here because Win 10's Update mechanism rolls them all up instead of more conveniently listing them individually like home consumer versions of Win 7 (and 8?) and prior used to do. But just to clarify in case there is some confusion here, we are talking about Windows updates, not updates to the game. And its seems to have been an update issued or at least began reaching most of us sometime in December that was common to the current and at least prior two Win 10 builds.

Thanks. I just wanted to see if the timelines added up and it seems like they might.

Mikezumi

@ZeeGee I just loaded my game for a look and my sims don't seem to be affected, unless I am missing something.

Blank wall where I couldn't see anything but could be my eyesight.


Went down to kitchen and could see it on door and fridge.


Indoors shot of sim in which I can see nothing but your eyes could be better than mine.


Same sim outdoors where I usually try not to take pics of my sims because they never look good outdoors to me, although this time it doesn't seem too bad at all!


Overall, if this is the problem, I can live with it. I never look at my sims' surroundings anyway. My focus has always been on their faces.

Emily4331

My game has been affected and I'm upset

I'll have to go in-game and check, but I don't recall seeing this recently. I'll report back.

GraceyManor

My game has not been affected

I just officially got into the game and sure enough my game's effected

Emily4331

My game has been affected and I'm upset

Ripperino. I can't see it on my sims very well, but I'll give comparison pics.

My game before:


My game now:




By the way, I'm on Windows 10, fully updated, and I use an Nvidia card. It's almost like the game is rendering shadows like it's on a low graphics setting even when it isn't. Very weird.

Also, weirdly enough, this screenshot is from 4 weeks ago and doesn't seem to have this going on? Just adds a new layer to the mystery.

GraceyManor

My game has not been affected

I think I see it a little bit...

Karritz

SPARKY1922 wrote: »

Hi @Karritz

I don't think there is anyway to hold off on windows 10 updates as it appears we don't have that particular choice anymore that we had in previous windows operating systems. I know when I need to update as my PC it lags like heck and then i realise it's deliberate because I need to allow the update or lag gets worse. I wish there was a version of 10 where there were more controls but when i looked into it some time ago there wasn't any version of the OS that appears to offer much in the way of more control including the most expensive version of the OS so if anyone comes along and could explain how to take back that control I would be very grateful

There are times when I really badly want to hold off on updating. Such as yesterday when I was on the computer and there was thunder crashing around me and lightning and I wanted to shut down asap and unplug it. But I had to wait for windows to update first. Fortunately my computer survived.

Karritz

I think the problem could be the graphics drivers as the newer graphics are meant for newer games. Sims 3 is probably just old technology. There was a recent Windows 10 update that also updated the graphics drivers for my NVIDIA card. But I'm just guessing. The only thing I've noticed the issue with so far though is that one cheap fridge.

Mikezumi

@ZeeGee I just had a quick look at the thread in Tech Discussions and see the problem is mostly at night. When I loaded my game it was day so when I get home this afternoon I will try to remember to play my game through until evening and have another look.

Kynan

My game has not been affected

If the problem is mostly at night and in unlit rooms, that explains why I haven't noticed it. I have my game well lit so I can see and I keep everything lit up, even at night.

SPARKY1922

Other. Please explain in comments.

Hi @Karritz

I thought you were playing a disc version of the game on a hard drive that never goes on the internet like me? however if not I am pleased that your win 10 update did not cause you any significant issues but I know from experience you cannot hold them off for long anymore and it can be a nail biting experience.

You also mentioned newer graphics cards and later tech possibly adding to the issue with the game and I can certainly state I have been unable to play my Origin digital version of the game without awful sim face graphics since adding a new 1070 Nvidia card when having a PC upgrade done but I suspect now it is a combination of various software upgrades and possibly new tech that is causing the many issues lately but then when I notice other players games appearing to be fine with specs like mine I have to wonder why it does not work for me.

Also Sims 2 UC plays like a dream on win 10 for me so I simply don't understand that if we are thinking it's new tech or software updates lol

I am sorry for the players experiencing issues and pleased for all the players not experiencing any could you pass along the magic potion along for the rest of us

Karritz

@SPARKY1922 I do have a disk version of the game patched to 1.67 without Origin installed. But I am on the internet all the time.

I have no idea why some have problems and others don't.

I personally always seek the simplest possible solution. I think a lot of people who have problems like to personalise their computer setup and every personalisation, in my opinion, introduces the possibility of bugs and conflicts. I know it should work perfectly no matter what is done to personalise it but if there is a bit of problem code that hasn't been found and fixed, someone personalising their comouter will come across it eventually.

And there are massive numbers of different computers out there and each one will have its own ways of running.

And some software combinations could cause problems.

My computer is not designed for gaming. But it will run the game. I wanted a computer that would do a great job at multi tasking. Im usually doing a few different things at a time.

I don't know much about windows. I just take what is on my computer and pretty much leave it alone. But I do have the professional version.

Cororon

My game has been affected and I'm upset

*sigh* A couple of days ago I posted that I hoped that a Windows 10 update wouldn't break the game, and now it seems that they are trying to. I haven't played my game in a while so I don't know if I'm affected. The issue is called colour banding. Somehow the game now shows fewer colours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_banding

Nikkei_Simmer

Other. Please explain in comments.

Cororon wrote: »

*sigh* A couple of days ago I posted that I hoped that a Windows 10 update wouldn't break the game, and now it seems that they are trying to.

No worries @Cororon, considering the Happy Tree Friends at Microsquash and their “we just program; you guys find the bugs” QC policy, it was bound to happen. The question now is will the incompetents at Microsquash fix the problem or just shaft us with well “just don’t install it” since the damage is done.

God, Linux is sounding better and better every day.

SPARKY1922

Other. Please explain in comments.

Hi @Karritz

For some reason i thought you were playing your disc game without an internet connection. I understand trying to keep it simple I think it used to be but not so much anymore lol

this whole thing reminds me of Digital service TV apps working through my xbox one X where one digital service works fine and the other not and each service blaming various software issues mis-matching-)

My PC skills (or lack of-) have actually only been enhanced through the pain of trying to resolve issues in sims games but in turn it forced me to learn as much as possible (not a bad thing) however I do not consider myself a techie by any shape or form and am very grateful to all sims players (including yourself) that have have helped me along the way to keep my beloved games going.

That last Origin 1.69 S3 update did me in and then it slowly got worse after each subsequent upgrade of origin and windows 10 until i could no longer sustain a good enough S3 game and went over to discs.

I also contacted Microsoft themselves fully prepared to pay the ridiculous amount for the professional version of windows 10 if it only came with more controls such as holding off updates but they informed me even that version does not come with that functionality either so as I don't know any other way to hold the updates back I stuck with the version i already have.

I feel so sorry for players who love the game but are experiencing more and more issues however when I could no longer sort out my graphic issue I realised if I did not change over to disc soon I would be unable to play at all and that was unacceptable to me-) In fact my old desktop PC is stored away with the older specs just in case I need to tweak that at some point to play in the future if my current tech gets too new. I think somehow I will always find a way to play

Getting back on topic I know ZeeGee has spent a lot of time and effort developing her skills with the game for movie making purposes so I can understand the disappointment in trying to sort the texture detail when it looks as bad as the pic she posted..