I Did Buy A New Laptop Finally And I'm Playing The Evil Corporate Game, But I Did Install Ts2 As Well

2 Cover Up Road's (Vidcund's?) indoor garden

...a sleep-deprived interior from yesterday.

preset under the cut ↓

ElusivePerspective.ini

download: SFS or GDrive

i'll add the list of effects later, sorry. this preset uses RTGI, but will look pretty cool without it too. i also suggest turning on PD80_04_Technicolor.fx:

[made with ReShade 4.9.1]

tutorial: hide all UI in ts2 hood view tab mode

if you're like me and you love taking screenshots in hood view, especially with ReShade, you've probably been annoyed by that one UI panel at the top that never disappears in tab mode (aka cameraman mode)...

...but it turns out that if you modify one game file, you'll be able to bring up a window called Sims2 UI Browser, which allows you to hide/unhide any UI elements. no more cropping neighborhood view screenshots!

you can find out how to turn on Sims2 UI Browser here.

the process requires modifying the GlobalProps.xml file, and it's basically the same thing you'd do to use the allMenus cheat, but Sims2 UI Browser isn't related to that. the cheat will become available to you after this though, but you don't need to turn it on in the console, so it won't affect your gameplay.

after modifying GlobalProps.xml your game will automatically start with boolprop testingcheatsenabled on, so be sure to disable them if you're forcing errors on everything with the batbox.

another thing: when testingcheats are on, you get that game version number in the right upper corner of the screen, which might be a problem for screenshots as well. i'm using RPC, which i believe (correct me if i'm wrong) hides that text, because i currently don't have it in my game. but i think you might be able to hide it with Sims2 UI Browser as well.

but anyway, here is the UI element you actually need to hide:

after that, it's gone until you turn it back on, or load a lot and come back to the neighborhood view. here's an unedited (but reshaded) screenshot, taken in hood view tab mode:

have fun! but be careful with modifying game files 😉

gameplay pics with ocs

out there... there's something evil, in the trenches, feeding on the drought

this picture is dedicated to flip phones (and kitchens)

afBodyCaprisShirtSneakers

a shoeswap & recolors of this extremely cute outfit by @executables-sims, + a PSD for the shoes! download and info are under the cut ↓

(i'm putting downloads under the cut in case something is borked and needs updating, btw. excuse my super long description for something so simple, feel free to scroll down for the actual download link)

this version of the outfit doesn't conflict with the original one. the shoes have been taken from afBodyTourGuide, and i edited the texture slightly. the changes aren't too impressive, but i'm sharing the PSD, just in case. the highlights/soles are easily recolorable via a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, and included is the UV wireframe overlay.

i also added the watch from the same tour guide outfit, just for the hell of it (3 different textures across 6 swatches). then i've realized not everyone will be into that, so there's a version without the watch too. the Watch and NoWatch versions use the same packages though, so choose only one.

please let me know if there are any issues. this has been tested in the game, but it's my first ever shoeswap after all!

compressorized, tooltipped; thin and fat morphs, just as the original.

big thanks to @platinumaspiration for helping me along the way, couldn't have done it without them <3

afBodyCaprisShirtSneakers_Watch: SFS or GDrive

afBodyCaprisShirtSneakers_NoWatch: SFS or GDrive

SneakersTextureEdit.psd: SFS or GDrive

some inconsistent images of The Curious Hill. inspired by this observatory (pics: 1, 2)

the house went through SO many transformations... i really wanted to keep at least one tower, but it looked bad in hood view, so i swapped it out for an unrealistically planted tree to simulate that feeling of height. what kind of style this is? no idea. ts2 brutalism? or just a bunch of boxes. as i tried to make the area look similar to that observatory, i wanted the actual lot to blend in with the hood deco, while still looking as absurd as the original house. those improved lot impostors available with RPC are such a blessing! (even if the pic is still retouched lol)

bonus close-up:

so...

i've been thinking about getting a new, more or less powerful laptop/PC that could handle modern games (at least some of them), but also TS2 with 12 gigabytes of CC ofc lol. i would also want to use it for video/audio editing as well.

could anyone recommend something? or just tell me what kind of laptops/PCs you guys have, i'm just curious 😶

(goes without saying that my budget is limited haha. most recommended laptops i've seen online have been around €2k, which is definitely too much for me. and idk where to even start when it comes to building my own PC...)

random edit. decided to give clay hairs a try (this one is here btw)

might as well share this preset ↓

NightBokeh.ini

download: SFS or GDrive

[made with ReShade 4.9.1]

NightBokeh.ini has two types of DOF – CinematicDOF and ADOF.

CinematicDOF creates elliptical bokeh, ADOF creates hexagonal bokeh, and there are some other differences between them too. choose the one you like more, not sure how they look together. ADOF is disabled by default.

also, the effects highlighted in green might get doubled (if you have every available shader installed); if that happens – disable the second instance of each of these (cuz the effects will look too strong).

psst, if you're looking for my other presets i've shared before ("CityPortrait.ini" and "DesertHood.ini"), they're here (SFS) or here (GDrive).