Hey Sim 2 Players There Has Been News That Vegan-kaktus's Uploads Have Also Been Compromised I Know Thats

the way silent hill 2 remake without the fog just looks like an average day in the uk

Quick GUID Checker for Sims 2

This is an expansion on @picknmixsims Microsoft Excel sheet available here. It is a table I made that is incredibly lazy but effective and quick at searching for searching for Maxis GUID conflicts when you create new GUIDs. It's a little easier to use since the GUID Database has been down for a long time and you can add your own GUIDs onto the list and update the formula if you're savvy enough in Excel.

DOWNLOAD SFS

DOWNLOAD MEGA

The Internet Archive needs your help.

A coalition of major record labels has filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive—demanding $700 million for our work preserving and providing access to historical 78rpm records. These fragile, obsolete discs hold some of the earliest recordings of a vanishing American culture. But this lawsuit goes far beyond old records. It’s an attack on the Internet Archive itself.

This lawsuit is an existential threat to the Internet Archive and everything we preserve—including the Wayback Machine, a cornerstone of memory and preservation on the internet.

At a time when digital information is disappearing, being rewritten, or erased entirely, the tools to preserve history must be defended—not dismantled.

This isn’t just about music. It’s about whether future generations will have access to knowledge, history, and culture.

Sign our open letter and tell the record labels to drop their lawsuit. 

Wayback Machine is a GREAT tool. It just has a few issues. The number one issue is that it isn't great at crawling. Normal HTML sites are no problem but more complex sites like forums and especially blogs are hard for it to navigate. It tends to get only very small pieces of LiveJournal for example. The entire official Sims 3 forum from 2009-2017(?) is just gone because Wayback wasn't able to access it.

As I've talked about over the past few years, I'm trying to archive a lot of CC with Archive.org. This works well for most older sites but not so well with newer ones. Plus, I'm focusing on custom content more than webpages and stories.

Stories, that people put hours and hours into, legacies, forum posts, pictures, blog posts, all things that are just TOO numerous for me to even make a dent in on my own.

Buuuut, if I could get a bunch of simmers who were actively viewing blogs and downloading content and reading forum posts to archive every post they viewed that could do something!

Wayback Machine Auto-Archiver is a bot that archives all PUBLIC webpages that you visit to the wayback machine. Think of it as a bot that follows you around taking a shot of every blog you visit. Obviously, this isn't just for Sims content but it would certainly help the community who may go looking for the content that you archived after it's LONG gone from the internet.

The auto-archiver is a simple extension. If you're running Chrome or Edge you simply install it like any other extension and then you surf the web like always.

The more simmers who use it, the more content gets archived. Also, it's entirely anonymous. If you're a lurker and you've never made or posted anyway, think of this as a way to give back!

Download it here and please reblog!

(I will be reblogging this post several times)

Verdant Fields - DRs for Weeds

You all can thank Sunni for putting this idea on the table and in my head in the midst of the DR madness I am suffering. Basically, as she watched weeds spread across a test lot of hers, she thought hm…it would be a nice touch if it was grass growing naturally. NOW IT IS. But you all know me and I can’t stop at that…so not only do you get grass, you get clover! Still not enough! How about some wildflowers instead? Pick from 10 choices! Let one “weed” sprout and watch it go crazy so you too can have wonderous things growing instead of nasty old weeds. But weeds are bad, my sims hate weeds! Is that what you say? These DRs are modified so that they don’t tank environment score when they are present! So enjoy letting them spread. Autonomy has been turned off on them so those OCD sims won’t rush to get rid of them. Too impatient to wait for weeds to grow? These have also been made available to buy from the catalog itself. Plop one down and let it take off. You can find it in the Misc > Misc category. These meshes are less poly than the original weeds so they shouldn’t bog down too much. You can always direct a sim to pick weeds but don’t let them do so unsupervised or they will pick EVERY “weed”. As always, you can only have one DR for anything in your game. Choose wisely. Mesh/texture props to Kate and Kativip.

SFS Download

all Gamestar Sims 2 CDs for download!

Its finally done! ive finally finished uploaded the stuff thats on these CDs! and you can get everything for yourself just like that :D

March 2005

July 2005

January 2006

March 2006

July 2006

March 2007

June 2007

All links lead to simfileshare, CEP is required for a lot of the items, and using clean installer on all builds and sims included is recommended!

these are all gamestar sims 2 cds that exist TO MY KNOWLEDGE, if you know of any more than these please let me know! finding information on these is not easy!

Have fun! :D

Super Duper Hug FAQ

Hi everyone. 

I’ve read the last days about the notites from a few Simmers, who has get the Super Duber Hug Bug from downloading lots from other Simblrs like @simper-fi​, @keoni-chan​ and @deedee-sims​. (Where, however, still unclear is whether they really have the bug.) I’ve the Super Duper Hug Bug, too. And I know some lots from me are “infected”.  And I’m really really sorry that I doesn’t inform you, but I through that was not are problem because it doesn’t destroy the game or something.

I thought to overview I make a small FAQ 

What is the Super Duper Hug Bug?

“The Debug Super Duper Hug is a special autonomous testing interaction that allows any sim to hug any other sim without the fear of being rejected. This hug is very effective and make sims into friends very fast. Some people [modders] use it as a template for creating new interactions, where the original is kept on as a fallback. When such a mod is later removed, the Super Duper Hug is then introduced by the game to compensate for the missing interaction. My No Sim Loaded mod protects against this annoying phenomenon.” -  BoilingOil

Can it break my game?

As far as is known, no. But some Simmer doesn’t like the bug, because it annoys them.

How can I fix it?

It gives two fixes who only suppresses the bug, when you get it already.

Boiling Oil’s No Sim Loaded and dolphin26’s Control This Sim.

Can I fix it at all? 

No - “Dolphin’s hack doesn’t fix the Hug – it just suppresses the problem. You still have it in your game and can infect other games. There is no cure for the Hug, but there is a vaccine: if you install No Sim Loaded before you do anything that might cause the Hug, then you will never get it. If you’re already infected, No Sim Loaded just suppresses the Hug as well.

If you’ll forgive the metaphor, the Super Duper Hug is like herpes – if you take appropriate precautions before you woohoo, you won’t get herpes. If you don’t take appropriate precautions and you end up with herpes, you will have it for the rest of your life. You can take medication to suppress it so that you don’t have an outbreak or any symptoms, but you will never be truly cured, and you might pass it along to someone else.” - @esmeiolanthe

Can I still upload my Lots if I have the bug? And I may even still download Lots of others?

In my own opinion, you can do what you want. The Super Duper Hug should forbid you nothing or you take the fun of playing Sims. It would just be helpful to others, when you write to that you have the SDHB in your game so that they can know and decide for yourself. Many also have no problems with the bug. 

I find the opinion of  @dramallamadingdang​  also justifiable:

“[…] BUT! I don’t think this should discourage anyone from downloading or sharing lots. Simply get BoilingOil’s mod and all is well. You never have to worry about the issue again. It’s a mod that everyone ought to have, really. Same as the anti-corruption ones, if you’re a person who plays neighborhoods long-term.…That said, anyone who knows for certain that they have the Super Hug and who shares lots ought to let people know about this. In fact, probably everyone who shares lots, period, should let others know about this, since lot sharing is how the bug propagates between users. So, consider this MY notice, as a person who shares lots. :)”

Important to know is, when you have the SDHB in your game not all of your Lots are infected! So some of my Lots have it, like the Pleasant House Makeover or the Storm Dorm, but some of my houses hasn’t it… And I don’t know why..  May be someone of you has an answer. :)

I hope I have answered the main questions. Most of the information I have from the Replies of @simper-fi’s and @deedee-sims Simblr.  

Please like comment and improvements attach! ?

Tumblr can defiantly close down without sufficient notice, I've read someone here saying it happened to them on another site before. I've been meaning to make other/backup accounts - as to not put all of my eggs in the Tumblr basket. Got Pillowfort and Bluesky now, and will probably get Dreamwidth as a more proper blog, now that WordPress is out of the question. So far it's a bit empty out there for ts2, but it'll probably grow.

Most importantly there's the regular forums and sites, which I believe to be better for sharing information & downloads. Nothing gets lost that way under endless scrolling. These (anti)social media sites are like chat rooms, good for chat, not for archiving information. I recently got back to modding, and because of the forums I got all the information I needed to mod this relic of a game.

Oh and if anyone's interested these are my accounts, I've also added links to the profile description.. Pillowfort BlueSky Garden of Shadows Mod the Sims Simblr.CC

matt just fired half the remaining tumblr support staff lmao

Resources for Creating: My Go-To things.

Update: I’ll be updating the list on this page from now on, since Tumblr can’t handle so many hyper-links in one post, on Dreamwidth - right here, so I won't have to update it multiple times. Please note: I keep updating this list, and updates aren't showing up on reblogs. Please check the original post for the most up to date list.

Sooo this is going to be a long comprehensive list. I got back to this game after a long time and with a different computer, with a dedicated graphics card, hurray! It made me want to return to making things, so while gathering back all the necessary stuff, I've complied this list. It might be is updated as I go along, but these are the main things I use. Maby one day i'll even finish something. So here are my go-to resources & tutorials; I'm posting it here for safekeeping, and hopefully others will find it helpful. Everything that's listed is here free. So many wonderful things for free under the cut.

Programs – General:

Creating: Blender. Blender Addons: 3D Print Toolbox – comes with blender, enable it from within the program. Originally for 3d printing. Good for fixing flipped normals, and some quick general repairs. Source Tools And source tools wiki – for exporting as SMD!!!! (SimPe: to enable bump maps for the mesh on import). GMDC Addon for Blender 4.0+ by Nopke.

GIMP. GIMP Addons: G'MIC-Qt. Resynthesizer. Nvidia dds?. Doesn’t it come with Gimp?

Other: Nvidia Texture Tools Exporter (iirc it works with all graphic cards that are compatible, doesn’t require Nvidia). For making Normal / Bump / Cube Maps. For high quality compression.

NormalMaps - Online, For making all types of maps, has good setting menus. A very cool tool.

Converting: Umodel, for Unreal Engine (Static meshes: export as gtlf.2. Animated meshes: export as psk. Requires Add-on). AssetStudio, for Unity. AC Viewer, self implied (+ USD Addon for blender). QuickBMS* and support forum, for basically everything else. (don't forget the required scrips, down the same page). *I haven’t tested it fully yet, but it was recommended here. A tutorial for it is listed further down. Works like a charm.

UV Mapping: UV Mapper, Classic (free) and the most recent Demo (for visualization).

Programs – Sims:

Never Mind the Bollox, Here's Osab and MAGIkarp to the rescue!

Latest version of SimPe, works with a non-default installation path. Chris Hatch's updates.

Home Crafter installation, Post by Huge Lunatic at Sims2Artists.

Repository Wizard, by Pick'N'Mix Mods. A game changer.

DBPF Compare, by Pick'N'Mix Mods.

Object Relocator, also by Pick'N'Mix Mods.

SMD Tools, by Lazy Duchess.

The Compressorizer, by JFade – Lazy Duchess's edit.

Bulk Rename Utility, to change file names in well, bulk. As explained by io here.

Lot Adjustor, by Mootilda at MTS.

Tutorials:

Override the game's graphic settings via Nvidia, as explained by iCad. The settings to Nvidia Profile Inspector she linked to at MTS have been deleted for some reason, here they are via WebArchive.

Meshing in Blender:

Mesh Optimization Info (and links), by Crisps&Kerosene.

Additional - Reducing Polycount:

Tutorial, by Flaming-Chickens (another username on other sites perhaps?)

Edge – Un-subdivide, a quick one by CG Link.

Transfer high poly details to low poly object in Blender, by 3Dnot2D.

Shrinkwrap Modifier - Blender Tutorial for Beginners - Basics, by in2vert.

Placeholder for this Addon that I want to try but haven't found, something for AR that was on facebook's defunct AR.

Scaling tips, by Blender Secrets.

How to fix inverted/ flipped normals, by ipaintsmallthings.

Converting: How to Extract 3D Models, Textures, Music from Unreal Engine Games, by iwanMods.

Extract 2D/3D/SFX Unity Assets fast & easy from your Unity Game, by iwanMods as well.

How to use QuickBMS, by darkhorse.

Guide to Converting 3t2 and 4t2 Part 01 and Part 02, by Chiaroscuro/tenlittlepandas.

Converting TS4 Windows and Doors, by Crisps&Kerosene.

Using Different Material Maps as Shading/Details for Base Texture, in Gimp or Blender, by Pineapple Forest & Crisps&Kerosene: https://www.tumblr.com/crispsandkerosene/764893644571525120/great-info-thats-the-reason-some-conversions?source=share

Texture Editing in GIMP:

Using Gimp Add-ons: G'MicQT. Resynthesizer. Both by Davies Media Design. This guy's channel for Gimp in general – here's a good one to begin with. And another one about layer masks.

Making a texture Tile Seamless: 1. My favorite - How to Make Seamless Textures for Cinema 4D - 3 Levels of Photoshop Wizardry using iPhone Photos, by School of Motion.

2. Simple Trick for More Realistic Texture Patterns in GIMP, by Davies Media Design – Quick and simple, using the Resynthesizer plugin. Good for patterns.

Making walls in SimPe out of a square texture, with minimal quality loss. To be written.

SimPe: Cloneable Objects: A List of Good Objects for Cloning, by IgnorantBliss at MTS.

Huge Lunatic's Tutorials, Her website.

Object Creation for Absolute Beginners, by Moune.

Sims 2 start to finish Object Creation Tutorial, by JWoods, Numenor, Lethe_s & IgnorantBliss.

The Material Definition (TXMT) Guide, by PixelHate – very comprehensive. Part 5 is about Bump/ Normal maps.

Null (Texture-less) Groups, by Skell. For bodyshop, for Objects see an elaboration by Midge the Tree below.

Crisps&Kerosene discovered how to add specular maps to objects! It's incredible there are still new things to discover in this ancient game.

More on Specular Maps, by Pineapple Forest.

Making new flooring & walls with SimPE, by Charisa. Includes adding Bump/Normal maps. She added a file to clone from in the comments below. It works for normal maps as well. Here's cool discovery in the game files.

Expanding footprint: a mini tutorial, by Deedee.

How to add correct drop shadows to objects, by Yuxi, via Wayback Machine.

Making Objects Viewable in Neighborhood View, by iCad.

Making Objects Visible In Build/Buy Mode, Invisible In Live Mode, by Midge the Tree.

Making Seasons-Friendly Trees, by Echo.

Io/ Serabiet's resources list, mainly for Bodyshop but not just.

Pineapple Forest's Tutorials, useful tips for efficiency and optimization.

MTS modding forum in General.

The Sims 2 Tutorials, on Tumblr. A database, is more updated.

Sims2Artists tutorials section.

LeeFish modding forum.

Garden of Shadows, Tree of Knowledge section.

Troubleshooting: What to do if you get a System.OutOfMemoryException Error, SimPe Forum, via WayBack Machine. Thank you @fanseelamb for the find.

How to read object error logs: I just want to know what causes it!!, by Episims.

Common TS2 errors, by Midge the Tree.

General game fuckery: How to Stop Sims 2 Crashing (Memory Allocation Fix and 4GB Patch Repair), by Jessa.

Graphics card problems, LeeFish forum.

Graphics help - DIY, by Kiri. How to fix faulty Texture Memory allocation, and the problems that stem from it. Tumblr can't handle anymore hyper links so here it is: https://celebkiriedhel.tumblr.com/post/189431721483/graphics-help-diy

General: Switching between save folders without renaming them, by Nopke.

Resources:

3D Models Online*: Various furniture designers' websites: Porada, Zanotta, Muuto, Hay, Poltrona Frau, many luxury furniture designer basically.

3D Warehouse, belongs to Sketchfab (get the Collada files).

Scan the World.

Wikimedia Commons. And more.

*(NOT OPTIMIZED).

Textures: Architextures.

Fabrics & Wallpapers: Natural Stones: Wall Plasters:

iCad's Woods. Shastakiss's Cluedo Metals, Yeti Metals, Pirate Woods. Goat's Woods.

Textures from other games: Dishonored, Thieve and much more, by Saricoya at GoS. Dreamfell by io.

Resource sharing threads at Garden of Shadows.

SimPe - General: CEP Extras list, HugeLunatic at Sims2Artists.

TXMT settings for different materials, by Hafiseazale.

Extended SimStandardMaterial Shader for the Sims 2 + Optionally Brighter Sims, by Crisps&Kerosene.

Custom CubeMaps, by Crisps&Kerosene.

Shiny TXMT Settings & Cube Maps Packs, by Pineapple Forest.

Build/ Buy: Templates for Recoloring Maxis items; MTS Templates sction, Hafiseazale (+cc), ZeroDark.

Template for Seasonal Trees, Gwenke at Sims2Artists.

Making Roof Recolors, Tutorial & template by Numenor, great template by iCad.

Pack for making food clutter usable, by DeeDee.

CAS: Default Makeup Packages - BYO Packages, by Huge Lunatic.

Body shape, Io/Serabiet on Tumblr.

Skin template, Io/Serabiet on Tumblr.

Hair texture, iCad.

Color Actions, Pooklet on Tumblr.

That's it for now.

Edit: forgot about CEP extras. Added more links. Edit 02: Added Troubleshooting section under tutorials.