A follow on from my thread "I never got the TS2 closure I needed *update*"
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/885930/i-never-got-the-ts2-closure-i-needed-update#latest
I've chatted with EA and told them the problem, what happened when I tried to re-install from disc and they said they'de never heard of the problem I had before, but they gave me a code for UC and it's in my game library, but please guys and gals, I need your imput:
Due to the problems I've faced with sims 2 before (see other thread) I'm scared as plum to actually download/install/run it in case it happens again. The advisor told me I would need to run it in compatibility mode for XP (not a problem, I did that before) but can you please tell me how this digital UC differs from the disc version -
Is it a more updated version? will it run better on windows 7?
Do I have to launch it like sims 4 - through Origin?
Apart from one version being written onto discs and the other being digital, how else are they different?
Plus I've created a restore point in case anything goes wrong - can you recommend any other safeguards?
Advice would be really, REALLY appreciated; I've missed it so much and it's almost within reach.
Comments
2. Differences: It's fully patched. If you were missing any EP or SP, you've now got it as the Ultimate Collection has everything. Since you're not installing the base game and then updating those files, installation is much quicker.
3. You do not have to launch through Origin. I loaded up Sims 2 a few days ago on my desktop. Origin on my desktop thinks I last loaded the game on October 29, 2015. I've got the game's exe pinned to my task bar. Likely pinned it on October 29, 2015 after launching it from Origin. When I've got no internet, I can play it just fine with no issues.
4. The installer used for the program is up to date. Disc versions would use the installer used during the time the EP was released. And sometimes the issue is with the installer and not the program itself.
This point is particularly of interest; I've had STRANGE issues trying to reinstall from disc and I had wondered if it was the installer rather than the program.
Since you back up your work, since you know how to do a system restore, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't understand what happened to your last install from disk and can't give any good help.
I had problems installing and uninstalling TS2 on disk because they had to be uninstalled in order and all the info was never fully uninstalled. I learned how to manually uninstall in Registry to get it to work.
The Difference now with the UC was I had to not clean the registry of any TS2 because they're not installed the same. So, It's much easier to install and uninstall- in my experience.
It doesn't need Origin to play and I do use a No-CD exe to start the game.
Another thing that I want o mention that I've seen confuse some players:
-The cover art in Origin is the Sims 2 base game
-The loading screen says Sims 2 Fun with Pets
-The main menu says Mansion and Garden Stuff
This is perfectly normal and you do have the ultimate collection when you see these things. I think I've seen some ultimate collection cover art and loading screens around, so you could download those if you really wanted to.
Thank you it's from the apartment life wikia lol it's awesome
This video shows that you can. Note The Sims 2 in the video shows the Black rectangles, that's a graphical glitch with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960.
Only The Sims 3 and The Sims Medieval as of November 12, 2015 and December 2013 respective require Origin sign-in, The Sims 4 also requires it. No Sims 2 game has the Origin sign-in requirement. However, please note that it does still include the activation limit, see this thread for more information