Dark Screen In Full Screen Mode

[myrr]

I recently got a new gaming laptop (Windows 10), but The Sims 3 now has a darker screen when I play it. It's not unplayable dark, but it's still annoying. If I go into windowed mode it goes back to a normal brightness, but I'd much rather do full screen. I've tried changing the screen refresh rate, that didn't work. I can't try turning off compatibility mode because the option simply isn't there. I have also tried looking for the igfxpers.exe process, but it's not under the Processes tab in Task Manager for me for some reason. If anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it.

[cruinne]

Are your video drivers the latest?

Does the refresh rate in the game settings match the refresh rate for your monitor? Is fullscreen set to your monitor's native resolution?

[myrr]

I think the drivers are the latest. Yes to the refresh rate, and I'm not sure how to check if fullscreen is set to my monitor's native resolution.

[cruinne]

Once you know your monitor's native resolution (online specs should be able to tell you) check the Graphics settings in-game to be sure it's the same. You can also use the free version of Speccy to find out ( https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/download ) - it would be on the Graphics tab.

If you're not sure that your drivers are the latest, be sure to check - new PCs tend to ship with very old drivers installed.

[myrr]

Installed the latest drivers and made sure my Graphics in-game are the same. Still dark.

[cruinne]

Well that's frustrating.

I found this in another forum - I'll quote then make an amendment.

Cutting to the chase...
Check your registry for this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\Shims\MaximizedW
indowedMode

If you have that registry key then check for a value that looks like:
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Origin Games\\The Sims 3\\Game\\Bin\\TS3W.exe"=dword:00000001

If you find that value, remove it. Restart Sims and see what you get.

Now of course Sims 3 doesn't live in Origin Games if you got it from Steam - it will live in the Steam folder, but the executable is the same: TS3W.exe.

[myrr]

How do I check my registry?

[Azfar90]

In my case, the game is actually a bit brighter in full screen. I use Nvidia GPU for my PC/Laptop (GTX 1060, RTX 2060 and GTX 980), all the same problem. The black is more like grey color. Seems like contrast is wrong and I don't know how to fix it in the game; have not figure it out.

Assuming you have Nvidia GPU, Nvidia Control Panel has option to control display brightness, contrast and color.

Another way is to use Borderless Gaming software.
-Set your game to window mode with maximum resolution that you prefer.
-While Sims3 is running, run Borderless Gaming and put "TS3.exe" or "TS3W.exe" in Favorite list.

The game will have its border removed and should be in full screen. Possibly the brightness bug should be gone.

Other way, I use Reshade to control the color in game. So, maybe you can try Reshade with DirectX9?
Use Level, Tonemap and/or Curves shader to control the gamma and brightness.

[marstinson]

Originally posted by Zahrii:

How do I check my registry?

Use the "Run" dialog box (Win+R) and "regedit". The HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive is one of the five you'll see, so just drill down to the proper key. That key does not exist on my Win10 installation, but your mileage may vary. Before changing anything, make a backup to cover yourself.

[myrr]

Originally posted by cruinne:

Well that's frustrating.

I found this in another forum - I'll quote then make an amendment.

Cutting to the chase...
Check your registry for this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\Shims\MaximizedW
indowedMode

If you have that registry key then check for a value that looks like:
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Origin Games\\The Sims 3\\Game\\Bin\\TS3W.exe"=dword:00000001

If you find that value, remove it. Restart Sims and see what you get.

Now of course Sims 3 doesn't live in Origin Games if you got it from Steam - it will live in the Steam folder, but the executable is the same: TS3W.exe.

I checked my registry and I got to Microsoft, but Direct3D isn't showing up.