Game Help Talk:Red Flashing Walls

This issue can also be fixed by forcing your graphics card/IGP to use hardware rendering (might also increase performance):

1. Open file "Graphics Rules.sgr" with notepad, remember to open a file from the expansion's folder you're playing. It is located at "TSData\Res\CSConfig\" (taking backup is also highly recommended).

2. Find (CTRL + F) "setb useSoftwareRasterizer true" and replace every trues with falses and save. You can do this to every expansion's folder if you want.

After doing this my Chrome9 IGP renders Sims 2 without severe graphical glitches and it performs faster.

Vilson 08:15, 12 September 2007 (CDT)

• Wow, very interesting info, Vilson. I'll have to disable my graphics card and try running with my onboard (it should throw a flashing red fit since I have GLS and H&M and I'm not supported for those) and see how it works. Thanks for the info!

HystericalParoxysm 01:50, 16 September 2007 (CDT)

Is this just a bug in the software rasterizer?

I have a supported video card, and the game works fine when I use it. But when I deliberately disable hardware rendering by editing Graphics Rules.sgr, I get red flashing walls. The people who usually get red flashing walls are people who have older video cards, which probably run in software mode by default.

Together with Vilson's experience, this leads me to think that the problem has nothing to do with old video hardware and everything to do with a bug in the software rasterizer. I wonder if Maxis introduced a bug into the rasterizer some time between OFB and Pets which caused it to never work for anyone since then, but the only people who've noticed are those who have software rendering turned on.

If you're reading this, and you have Pets or later, and you don't have the flashing walls problem, you could help test this hypothesis by temporarily forcing software rendering and inspecting your walls. Here's how to do it:

1. Search the installation directory of your most recent expansion pack for the file "Graphics Rules.sgr" (it's in TSData\Res\Config).
2. Make a backup copy (not necessary if you're confident you can undo the change below).
3. Open Graphics Rules.sgr in a text editor. For example, open Windows Notepad from the Start menu and then drag-and-drop the file into the Notepad window.
4. Search for the line that says "setb useSoftwareRasterizer false" and replace "false" with "true" (that is, the opposite of Vilson's instructions).
5. Save the file, then start the game and start playing any lot. Add a note to this wiki page saying whether your walls are ordinary or flashing red.
6. Restore your backup or undo the edit you made.

By the way, when I first turned on software rendering, I also got purple flashing grass in the neighborhood view. That went away when I used "boolProp useShaders false". But nothing I've tried has made the red walls go away.

-- Redacted 14:10, 16 September 2007 (CDT)

Solution to get rid of those annoying red wall

Hello all,

I found out a solution for those who are having the annoying flashing red wall problem, I too have these problem, and so I figure out a way to get rid of it.

First of all these red wall happened while I installed the sims2 pets expansion pack, but I believe other expansion pack have similar solution.

Step1 Go to the location where you install your sims2, then go to the sims2 expansion pack folder that may cause the red wall problem; for example if it is sims2 pets then go for the sims2 pets folder, ex: "D:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Pets" this is where I install my sims2 pets.

Step2 Now if you are already in the folder, go to the "Tsdata" folder, then go to the "Res" folder, then go to the "Catalog" folder, then enter the "Scripts" folder, in there you will lots of note file, look out for the one called as "walls", Enter that one, and you will lots of writing, scroll down until you see this;

wall 1 defaultPattern "blank" invisibleLightBlocking wallThickness standard mayChangeSurface true mayAttachObjects true mayCutAway true requiresFlatBottom true requiresFlatTop true submersible false deleteTool partition thumbnailResource 0 0x499db772 0xe9261348 thumbnailResource 1 0x499db772 0xe9261347 thumbnailResource 2 0x499db772 0xfeed5515 thumbnailResource 3 0x499db772 0xfeed5510 catalogTextIndices 0 1 2 3

Step3 Now add (invisibleLightBlocking) just below the (defaultPattern "blank") of "wall 1",

:!!: *Note* there may be lots of other wall like; wall 301, wall 2, wall 3, etc... 

Dont add below any of those, just add one below wall 1. This writing will make the wall invisible but still acts and function like normal wall.

Step4 Play the game and the wall will be invisible, it doesn't exactly get rid of the red wall, but it is soo much better than having these annoying flashing red wall that makes you hate red color, lol

Keep in mind that using this way will make you hard to build new house as the wall will be invisible, so if you want to build new house, erase the "invisiblelightblocking" and put it back after you finish building the new house.

If you still dont like this solution then the only solution is to get a better graphic card, because I doubt maxis or eagames will release patch to get rid of these red wall thing.

Hope this helps everyone!

i know a solution

often the problem can be solved by copying the "materials.package" of the expansion you didn't had problems with into the newest expansion to do that you have to copy the archive from the materials folder in the earlier expansion eg:C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims\TSData\Res\Materials and override(back up the original first)the archive of the expansion you are having problems with eg:C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims Seasons\TSData\Res\Materials it worked just fine for me and didn't damage anything in the game