Correct Resolution / UI Fix | Richtige Auflösung und Ui Lösung

[ApfailKuchen]

[Englische Version unten drunter / English version below]

Wie einige mitbekommen haben dürften, funktioniert die Skalierung des Spiels nicht so ganz bzw. sind die UI Elemente ziemlich klein geraten. Was dagegen hilft? Die ursprüngliche Auflösung.

Wie bekommt man dies nun hin, ohne selbst immer wieder die Auflösung zu ändern? Indem wir einen kleinen automatischen Programmablauf erzeugen über ein winziges Zusatzprogramm und einer noch kleineren Batch-Datei.

Benötigte Programme:

NirCmd: Ein kleines, kostenloses Programm, das die Auflösung ändern kann.
Dies kann man sich unter anderem von Chip.de herunterladen.
Den Windows Editor 2x - einmal als Ablage und einmal für eine spätere Datei

Schritte:

1. Lade das Programm herunter und entpacke es an deinem gewünschten Zielort
   
2. Öffne zwei Editorfenster (Start> EDITOR)
   
3. Gehe zum Speicherort von NirCmd und hole dir über die Adresszeile deines Ordners den Pfad der Datei (kopiere diesen) und füge ihn im ersten Editorfenster ein (unsere Zwischenablage) ergänze diese Angabe durch \nircmd.exe
   
4. Finde nun den Speicherort deiner SIMS Installation:

Öffne Steam und gehe zu deiner Spielebibliothek.
Rechtsklick auf das Spiel (z. B. "Die Sims Legacy Collection") und wähle Eigenschaften.
Gehe bei Spieleverzeichnis auf Durchsuchen.
Es öffnet sich nun das Verzeichnis wo die Anwendung enthalten ist (blaues Icon).

Öffne auch hier ganz einfach über die Adresszeile des Ordners, um den Pfad zur Anwendung zu erhalten und speichere diesen auf unserer Zwischenablage und ergänze auch hier das Ende mit /sims.exe

Nun benötigen wir das andere Editorfenster, denn wir werden eine kleine Batch bauen:

@echo off
"F:\Downloads\nircmd_2.87\nircmd-x64\nircmd.exe" setdisplay 1280 720 32
start "" "F:\Programme\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims Legacy Collection\Sims.exe"
echo Wenn du mit dem Spiel fertig bist, druecke eine Taste wie Enter, um die urspruengliche Aufloesung wiederherzustellen.
pause
"F:\Downloads\nircmd_2.87\nircmd-x64\nircmd.exe" setdisplay 1920 1080 32

Die Angaben in diesem Code ergänzt Du nun mit deinen eigenen Pfaden. Danach speicherst Du die Datei mit STRG + S. Beim geöffneten Speicherdialog änderst Du nun den Dateityp auf "alle Dateien".

Du kannst die Datei nennen wie Du möchtest, in meinem Fall "Simhelper" und am Ende wird noch .bat angehangen. also final: "Simhelper.bat" (nur ohne Anführungszeichen). Nun speichern wir die Datei auf dem Desktop.

Sofern es nicht funktioniert, bitte schau ob beim Übertragen der Pfade möglicherweise ein Anführungszeichen fehlt oder ein Leerzeichen im Pfad vorhanden ist.

Wooohoooo - das wars!
Nun bleibt nur noch viel Spaß zu wünschen!

PS: Das Hauptmenü (Ansicht der Stadt) wird hierdurch nicht geändert, aber die Skalierung des Menübandes und folglich aller Texte ist nun sehr viel angenehmer zu lesen.


Wer mag, ich würde mich über jeden Follower auf meinem Twitch Kanal freuen :)
twitch.tv/apfailkuchen

==== ENGLISH VERSION ====

As some of you may have noticed, the game's scaling isn't quite right, or the UI elements are quite small. What can help with this? The original resolution.

So, how can we achieve this without manually changing the resolution every time? By creating a small automated process using a tiny additional program and an even smaller batch file.

Required Programs:
NirCmd: A small, free program that can change the resolution. You can download it, for example, from Chip.de.
The Windows Editor (two instances - one for saving and one for the later file).

Steps:

1. Download the program and extract it to your desired location.
   
2. Open two editor windows (Start > Editor).
   
3. Go to the location of NirCmd and get the path of the file through the address bar of your folder (copy it) and paste it in the first editor window (our clipboard). Add \nircmd.exe to the path.
   
4. Now, find the location of your Sims installation:

Open Steam and go to your game library.
Right-click on the game (e.g. "The Sims Legacy Collection") and select Properties.
Under Local Files, click Browse.
The folder containing the application (blue icon) will open.
Now, use the address bar of the folder again to get the path to the application.
Save this in the clipboard and append /sims.exe to the path.

Now, we need the other editor window because we are going to create a small batch file.

Batch File Code:

@echo off
"F:\Downloads\nircmd_2.87\nircmd-x64\nircmd.exe" setdisplay 1280 720 32
start "" "F:\Programme\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims Legacy Collection\Sims.exe"
echo Once you're done with the game, press any key, like Enter, to restore the original resolution..
pause
"F:\Downloads\nircmd_2.87\nircmd-x64\nircmd.exe" setdisplay 1920 1080 32

Now, replace the paths in the code with your own. Afterward, save the file with CTRL + S. In the save dialog, change the file type to All Files.

You can name the file however you like, but in my case, I named it "Simhelper" and added .bat at the end. So the final file name would be: Simhelper.bat (without the quotes). Now, save the file to your Desktop.

If it doesn't work, please check if there's a missing quotation mark or an extra space in the path when copying.

Wooohoooo - that's it!
Now, all that's left is to wish you lots of fun!

PS: The main menu (city view) is not changed by this, but the scaling of the menu bar and consequently all text is now much more comfortable to read.

[TanukiDan]

I do not see Editor in Windows. Is it not in Windows 10?

[ApfailKuchen]

Originally posted by TanukiDan:

I do not see Editor in Windows. Is it not in Windows 10?

That actually surprises me a bit. Please check if the following works:

Press the Windows key + R and type notepad into the input field and press enter.

If a large white window opens, that means this is the Editor.

Repeat the process to open it again, so you have two windows. This way, it should work as a workaround.

If a large white window doesn’t open, you might need to download an alternative like Notepad++ and follow the same steps with it

[Renan Pisi]

I followed everything you said, but I think there are some steps missing. Should we install or run NirCMD at some point? How to make the app and the game read the batch file? I'd like more instructions, if possible, please. Thank you!

[ApfailKuchen]

Originally posted by Renan Pisi:

I followed everything you said, but I think there are some steps missing. Should we install or run NirCMD at some point? How to make the app and the game read the batch file? I'd like more instructions, if possible, please. Thank you!

Thank you for your comment. All necessary steps should be correct.

After downloading NirCMD, you still need to extract it. No further installation is required. NirCMD is a standalone program that does not need to be installed.


One thing I actually forgot to mention is that you should extract the x64 version.

The game has no direct interaction with the custom batch file. This file is just for us, so we can skip the repetitive steps of adjusting the resolution.

Before the actual game starts, the batch file ensures that the resolution is set to the correct value via NirCMD, so the UI elements of the game (except for the main menu) and the readability of descriptions (the needs of the sims or furniture) are properly scaled again. So when you run the batch file, it will execute NirCMD.

The batch file window will stay in the background while you play and will be the first thing you see when you exit the game. When you press Enter, the batch file, using again NirCMD, to scale the resolution back to the original state, which is set to 1920 x 1080.

I chose this value as the default because not everyone uses a 4K system.

As long as you have saved your correct code as a batch file following the instructions (and ideally placed it on your desktop), you will launch the game via this batch file from now on—at least until EA provides an official solution for this issue (which is actually quite simple).

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask if anything is unclear. :)

[gen.szreku]

It works. Thank you

[Renan Pisi]

Originally posted by ApfailKuchen:

Originally posted by Renan Pisi:

I followed everything you said, but I think there are some steps missing. Should we install or run NirCMD at some point? How to make the app and the game read the batch file? I'd like more instructions, if possible, please. Thank you!

Thank you for your comment. All necessary steps should be correct.

After downloading NirCMD, you still need to extract it. No further installation is required. NirCMD is a standalone program that does not need to be installed.


One thing I actually forgot to mention is that you should extract the x64 version.

The game has no direct interaction with the custom batch file. This file is just for us, so we can skip the repetitive steps of adjusting the resolution.

Before the actual game starts, the batch file ensures that the resolution is set to the correct value via NirCMD, so the UI elements of the game (except for the main menu) and the readability of descriptions (the needs of the sims or furniture) are properly scaled again. So when you run the batch file, it will execute NirCMD.

The batch file window will stay in the background while you play and will be the first thing you see when you exit the game. When you press Enter, the batch file, using again NirCMD, to scale the resolution back to the original state, which is set to 1920 x 1080.

I chose this value as the default because not everyone uses a 4K system.

As long as you have saved your correct code as a batch file following the instructions (and ideally placed it on your desktop), you will launch the game via this batch file from now on—at least until EA provides an official solution for this issue (which is actually quite simple).

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask if anything is unclear. :)

It worked! Thank you SO much. I just didn't realize I was supposed to start the game from the batch file. Sorry! You're incredible.

[ApfailKuchen]

I'm glad that I could help both of you. :3

[Glutzahn]

Originally posted by ApfailKuchen:

Originally posted by TanukiDan:

I do not see Editor in Windows. Is it not in Windows 10?

That actually surprises me a bit. Please check if the following works:

Press the Windows key + R and type notepad into the input field and press enter.

If a large white window opens, that means this is the Editor.

Repeat the process to open it again, so you have two windows. This way, it should work as a workaround.

If a large white window doesn’t open, you might need to download an alternative like Notepad++ and follow the same steps with it

the name is notepad in english. Editor is purely german :)

Works like a charm during gameplay, but sadly the return to the default doesnt work (its not too much work to rechange the monitor resolution tho)

[ApfailKuchen]

Originally posted by Glutzahn:

Works like a charm during gameplay, but sadly the return to the default doesnt work (its not too much work to rechange the monitor resolution tho)

Bei mir funktioniert es ohne Probleme. Benutzt Du denn auch die 1920 x 1080 Auflösung, auf die zurückgestellt wird?

Gibt es vielleicht irgendeine Art von Fehlermeldung?

Denn wenn die Batch unter Hilfe von NirCMD die Auflösung erfolgreich heruntersetzen kann, sollte es auch genauso problemlos in die andere Richtung funktionieren.

[GraphiX]

It works but doesn't fix the resolution at the end and tbh the game doesn't looks like crispier as legacy edition should be. So EA should solve this problem. That method is not a solution.

[ApfailKuchen]

Please check if the command line for resetting the resolution is correctly stored (and that you're using your own correct original resolution) and that there are no errors in the line, such as a space. If shrinking works but enlarging doesn't, it's clearly a user issue. 😅 Also, reading the interface in the game (active family) is definitely better than before.

and tbh the game doesn't looks like crispier as legacy edition should be.

Wth do you expect? If you reduce the resolution even further, resulting artifacts are completely natural. 😅

[Usoki]

Originally posted by Glutzahn:

the name is notepad in english. Editor is purely german :)

Works like a charm during gameplay, but sadly the return to the default doesnt work (its not too much work to rechange the monitor resolution tho)

Interesting, I got both the start and the re-change to work.

To people who are not tech-inclined like me-- you are downloading the nircmd program but you aren't opening it at all. It actually can't be opened. When the above prompt says "editor" it actually means "Notepad". The instructions have you open two notepad files-- one so that you can copy the file path for the nircmd.exe and sims.exe files, and another to actually write the code. When the instructions have you save it as a .bat file, you will be using that file to launch the game.

(This trick only fixes the UI scale issue-- and honestly, the fix is just to set your computer to a much lower resolution. This bit of code just automates it so that you aren't constantly changing it back and forth in your settings. If your game is crashing for other reasons, this won't fix it. Sometimes the game just crashes on start-up, but usually after the second or third launch it is somewhat stable. It's ridiculous that the community has had to do this much, but here we are.)

[ApfailKuchen]

That's absolutely correct. You definitely understood this little workaround. :3
As a small thank you for your summary, I left you a comment reward.

Have a great time with The Sims! 🫶

-- Edit
PS: My game has never crashed before, so I never noticed something like that. o:

[Rubbe]

If you have nividia just change the image scaling settings on the game.

[SamboNZ]

Originally posted by Rubbe:

If you have nividia just change the image scaling settings on the game.

Could you be more specific please?

I've experimented with every combination of scaling options in my Nvidia App, in both the Scaling and the 3D Settings properties, yet every single change I've made in the Nvidia App has absolutely zero impact on the game.