lah7/sims2-4k-ui-patch

Work in progress patch program to upscale The Sims 2's UI for 4K displays

sims2-4k-ui-patch's Issues

Crashes with IndexError trying to patch repack version of game

Operating System

Windows 11

Patcher Program Version

v0.1.0

Installation Type

Repack or other automated installation

Describe the problem

Opening the patcher and reads C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games then it crashes with error below

EA Games folder has read/write permissions on users, administators and trustedinstaller
I've also tried moving the folder somewhere else but it stays on Checking for patches forever...

Traceback

Traceback (most recent call last):
File
"D:\a\sims2-4k-ui-patch\sims2-4k-ui-patch\venv\Lib\site-packa
ges\cx_Freeze\initscripts\__startup__.py", line 141, in run
File
"D:\a\sims2-4k-ui-patch\sims2-4k-ui-patch\venv\Lib\site-packa
ges\cx_Freeze\initscripts\console.py", line 25, in run
File "sims2_4k_ui_patcher.py", line 503, in <module>
File "sims2_4k_ui_patcher.py", line 161, in __init__
File "sims2_4k_ui_patcher.py", line 261, in
refresh_game_status
File "D:\a\sims2-4k-ui-patch\sims2-4k-ui-patch\gamefile.py",
line 43, in __init__
IndexError: list index out of range
OK

CAS: Aries button stretched

Game crashes opening Neighbourhood Story Editor

Animated plumbob on Main Menu is cropped

Live Mode: Icon for work not scaled

Live Mode: Aspiration Rewards stretched

I have a feeling this one is just an image, not a 3D render. Buy/Build modes were not affected.

Cursor: Animated loading cursor still small

Static cursors (like the main arrow) are OK, but the animated "busy" cursor isn't processed yet.

At the moment, it shrinks to half the size (1x density), which doesn't look good.

CAS: Increase distance; "Enter Name" field glitched

I believe there is a mod already for this, but I'm curious how to expand the distance myself so we can see the Sim.

There's also a glitch in the text field.

DBPF module does not decompress properly

This is documented at the URLs:

• https://simswiki.info/index.php?title=E86B1EEF
• https://simswiki.info/index.php?title=DBPF_Compression
• https://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=DBPF

I had trouble understanding where within the DBPF file (binary) to process this.

Currently, we must depend on SimPE to extract the files. It would be excellent to process the original ui.package without relying on SimPE and manual steps.

Is it working?

Patcher does not recognize game files in installation folder for Ultimate Collection

Operating System

Windows 11

Patcher Program Version

v0.1.0

Python Version

No response

Describe the problem

The patcher does not recognize my installation folder. I tried selecting it manually, that did not work either. It gives the error,

"Wrong folder selected
No installation of The Sims 2 (or its expansion packs) was found in this folder."

In the patcher status bar it says, "Missing EA Games Folder"

I tried to reinstall the game in the registry as "Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection", but that did not work either. I also tried running as Administrator, and taking ownership of the folder and giving full control permissions.

I am using The Sims 2 Starter Pack.

Traceback

No response

UI: Small dialog box

Looks ugly, squashed and out of shape. At worst, are these not in any .uiScript?

PiP: Gap inside the viewport

CAS: Create a Child - Misaligned icons for left side

Live Mode: Icons for memories too small

Also note the misalignment on the left (#11)

Can the new package files be placed in "Downloads" instead?

Until #3 is resolved, we don't know if we can place the new ui.package in the user's EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads folder instead of the game's installation directory. It would make removal of the "mod" easier for later.

I'm not actually sure how the mod system works - if it needs anything special, or if only concerns custom content (new objects, clothes, etc) and not graphical modifications to the game itself.

At the moment, the game ignores the file if placed there and does not show up in the custom content dialog box.

Support for 1440p / 2K

Players might be able to use this project for 2K or 1440p displays, which is 150% scaling. The project will focus on getting it right for 4K, before we support other scaling options.

UI: Small pie menu

A pie menu with lots of options causes overlapping, which is even worse.

Settings: Ambiant Music slighter out of place

Not sure how that happened. Best check .uiScript

Implement QFS compression for DBPF package

The end result are some pretty large ui.package files. After figuring out #1, it would be ideal to support the compression of the new ui.package file.

Process RIFF files (*.uiScript) to tweak the loading screens

The loading screens are stored in the base game's ui.package. They are some kind of RIFF file with the .uiScript extension.

$ file *
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADE7.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADE8.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADE9.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADEA.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADEB.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADEC.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data
00000000-499DB772-8DA3ADED.uiScript: RIFF (little-endian) data

RIFF is a container, so if possible, we'll need to find out what format this data is, so we can extract and repack its contents.

Sources

• According to this blog, these are the loading screens.

Current

With the rest of the UI upscaled, they don't look great at the moment:

[Question] Sims 2 on macOS

Would love to test this on macOS, but I'm having trouble to install my Ultimate Collection on it (both Origin and Starter Pack).

I followed the steps in your archived repo on it, but the game always shuts down after the EA splash screen. Do you know any updated instructions to install and run it?

I've tried both with Whisky and Gcenx' Wineskin project already, but maybe I'm missing some wineskin?

Thanks for any help!

Settings: Graphic options appear to overflow

Likely the background graphic has lost its proportions, or the .uiScript needs inspection.

Live Mode: "Needs" font size and sidebar misalignment

Not sure why the font title is still small, best check the .uiScript for that one.

The plumbob looks misaligned. Upon closer inspection, it's likely the background image is not accurate. The moods meter is also out of place slightly.

CAS: Black box after number 4

Neighbourhood: Increase the size of Sim profiles in lot summary

Compared to 1x density, it's pretty small at 2x. It would be nice to increase the size, if possible. The description might want looking at too.

Cannot run the script - crashes every time before it can output ui.package

Hello everyone,

Every time I try to run the script I get the following error:

https://i.imgur.com/2w4FvDA.png

It can output FontStyle.ini but not ui.package. What causes this error, and how can I fix it?

Cursor: Family following cursor is tiny

For example, when in the neighbourhood and click a family to move into a lot - it's still the small size.

At worst, this might potentially be hardcoded into the game.

Phonebook: Can't see options

CAS: Increase size of Sim portraits in family tree

If possible, it might be worth increasing the dimensions of the Sim icons when setting up the family tree. On a 4K screen, they're still a bit small.

Live Mode: Furious overlay has black artifact

Might have something to do with transparency after the upscaled version is saved?

UI: Corrupt close button for notifications

Settings: Black square on icon

Optimising QFS compression level

Just an issue to document test findings.

The game compresses its packages using QFS compression - but which level is best for recreating the package?

I wrote a script to benchmark the levels using a test file (can be found in the tools folder) to find out!

Test Environment

• CPU: Intel i5-13600K
  • Ran with 6 threads. This processor has a hybrid "big.little" architecture, so there's the possibility the threads were weaving in and out of the 6 performance cores (with higher clock speeds).
• Test Date: 03 June 2024
• Test File: ui.package from The Sims 2 University.
• Samples: 3 per QFS level

Results

Higher compression levels take longer to compress. When you add up the game & expansion packs, and that the patcher program is currently single threaded, it does take a really long time. After about level 30, it's not really worth the trivial smaller file size. Overall, there is not much difference to the decompression time.

For now, I'll set the hardcoded value to 20. In future, I'll add more options to the patcher program so this can be freely changed.

results.csv

Investigate fractional scaling support

More of a curiosity, does fractional scaling (like 110% or 125%) work? Does the game support floating point numbers for its UI geometry and graphics?

For example, a 64x64 box or graphic:

Scale	Pixels
100%	64 x 64
110%	70.4 x 70.4 ⚠️
120%	76.8 x 76.8 ⚠️
130%	83.2 x 83.2 ⚠️
150% (#37)	96 x 96
200%	128 x 128

Fractional scaling has its disadvantages. It's likely to cause subpixel rendering and potentially blurriness, depending on how we upscale the images.

ℹ️ Give this issue a 👍🏼 if you have a need for fractional scaling.

Fill game loading screen background

These files contain the game's loading screen (after the splash):

• PNG 00000000-499DB772-CCC9AF70
• PNG 00000000-499DB772-CCC9AF80

Perhaps they could be processed again to fill the entire screen (2160p)

Can't find game files for The Sims 2 Starter Pack

Operating System

Windows 11

Patcher Program Version

v0.1.0

Python Version

No response

Describe the problem

Hey, first of all amazing idea! So i have the Sims 2 Starter Pack and it's a different Path then the original UC Version. It's C:\Program Files (x86)\The Sims 2 Starter Pack. It can't find it automatically which i understand but then i put it in manually and it still couldn't find it. Am i doing something wrong is it a bug?

Traceback

No response

Do all ui.package files need to be processed?

First, we need the game to accept our new ui.package so we can test the upscaled UI (#3)

I don't know if every expansion pack needs upscaling, or just the base game and the expansion pack used to launch the game.

Game crashes after splash screen

Using the base game as a test, when the new ui.package is placed in C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UI\Fonts\FontStyle.ini, the game:

• Destroys the file (if it has write access) with 96 bytes of an empty DBPF header.
• Crashes after the splash screen with a generic "the application must now terminate"

From what I can see, the DBPF is structurally correct, and SimPE opens it fine with the same group/instance IDs. The only thing that is absent is the "compressed directory listing". Does the game expect this? Maybe it'll work after implementing #2 or a placeholder listing?

UI: Tooltips have insufficient padding

Looks odd. Be nice to increase the padding. I think it just needs adjustment in the appropriate .uiScript file.