The Ultimate Sims 1 Guide

This guide will cover basic cheats, command lines, and mods to improve the classic Sims experience.

Intro

The Ultimate Sims 1 Guide

Welcome to the most comprehensive guide for The Sims 1: Complete Collection on Steam!

Artwork by SimsNostalgia[www.instagram.com]

Cheat Codes

Cheat Codes for The Sims 1: Complete Collection

Below are all the cheats you can use in The Sims 1. To activate cheats, press Ctrl + Shift + C in-game to open the cheat console and enter the desired command.

• ! - Repeats the last cheat entered
  
• ; - Enter several codes at the same time (e.g., !;!;!;!;!
  
• autonomy [0-100] - Adjusts Sims' free will (0 = none, 100 = full)
  
• bubble_tweak [number] - <Z offset> Sets, in pixels, how far from a Sim’s head the thought bubble appears
  
• draw_floorable on/off - Enables/disables floor grid
  
• edit_char - Opens Create-a-Sim in the middle of gameplay**
  
• interests - Shows Sim interests
  
• lot_size [number] - Adjusts lot size
  
• map_edit on/off - Allows modification of neighborhoods
  
• *move_objects on/off - Allows movement and deletion of any object or sim
  
• nessie - Brings up the Loch Ness monster on the Downtown, Old Town, and Vacation neighborhood view
  
• rosebud - Adds 1,000 Simoleons (use !; to repeat; alternatively, type rosebud;rosebud;rosebud;...)
  
• set_hour [0-23] - Changes the in-game hour
  
• sim_speed [-1000 to +1000] - Changes game speed

* - Not working as of release, likely due to censor blur glitch from the original
** - Used to work with cheat patch but not working as of release

Controls and Shortcuts

General Controls

• Alt + Enter - Cycle Screen Resolution Scaling
  
• Esc - Cancel
  
• Ctrl + Shift + C - Toggle cheats window on/off
  
• F1 - Live Mode
  
• F2 - Build Mode
  
• F3 - Buy Mode
  
• F4 - Enter camera mode (snapshot)
  
• Enter or Space - Accept dialog
  
• Y/N - Select Yes or No option in dialog
  
• Ctrl + S - Save game
  
• Q - Quit
  
• Alt + F4 - Save and quit
  
• Ctrl + C - Copy text fields
  
• Ctrl + X - Cut text fields
  
• Ctrl + V - Paste text fields
  
• Ctrl + Z - Undo text fields
  
• Ctrl + Y - Redo text fields
  
  

  House Controls

  
  
• Page Up/Page Down - Next/previous floor
  
• Home/End - Next/previous wall mode
  
• Tab - Switch floors
  
  

  Camera Movements

  
  
• +/- or mouse scroll wheel - Zoom in/out
  
• </> or Shift + Arrow keys - Rotate left/right
  
• Right-click and/or drag or Alt + mouse or ↑ / ← / ↓ / → - Move camera
  
  

  Build/Buy Mode Controls

  
  
• F2 or double left-click Buy Mode button - Toggle sorting objects by type or room
  
• </> or left-click and drag - Rotate objects
  
• Delete - Delete object
  
• Hold Shift + left-click - Place multiple of the same object continually (Buy Mode only)
  
• Z/X - Scroll between pages in catalog
  
• Wall/fence tool: Shift + drag - Create a room/fenced area
  
• Wallpaper/flooring tool: Shift - Fill room with wallpaper/flooring
  
• Left-click and/or drag - Place walls, fences, floor tiles, wallpaper, and pools. Drag to place multiple.
  
• Ctrl + left-click and/or drag - Remove walls, fences, flooring, wallpaper, and pools. Drag to remove area.
  
• Terrain tool: Ctrl + left-click - Create or remove curved hills (terrain)
  
• Terrain tool: Shift and/or Ctrl + left-click - Inverts direction of tool, can also invert creation of curved hills (terrain)
  
• Grass tool: Ctrl + left-click - Remove grass
  
  

  Live Mode Controls

  
  
• F1 or double left-click Live Mode button - Hide/show main panel
  
• Left-click Sim or object then left-click or right-click - Select and perform interaction
  
• Left-click + drag + release - Click and drag to select interaction, then release
  
• Left-click another Sim - Select interactions done by active Sim to other Sims
  
• Space or N - Switch to next Sim in Household
  
• Left click Sim portrait or right-click Sim - Switch to (specific) Sim
  
• Right-click Sim portrait - Lock camera to Sim
  
• Enter or left-click active Sim portrait - Center camera on active Sim
  
• Ctrl + left-click Sim portrait - Edit Sim biography
  
• P or ~ - Pause game
  
• 1/2/3 - Regular/fast/ultra speed
  
  

  Camera Mode

  
  
• F4 - Enter Camera Mode (snapshot)
  
• Ctrl + ↑ / ← / ↓ / → - Adjust snapshot area
  
• Drag mouse - Select area to snapshot
  
• Left-click mouse - Take snapshot
  
  

  Misc Shortcuts

  
  
• A - Toggle anti-aliasing
  
• T - Show framerate in-game
  
• S - Toggle shadows
  
• V - Display build version of the game
  
• F5 - Access settings/options in-game
  
• F7 - SimsWebCam/Stalker camera (removed in later versions)
  

Launch Options

To apply launch options, right-click The Sims in your Steam Library, go to Properties, and enter these commands in the "Launch Options" field.

• -w - Runs the game in windowed mode
  
• -fullscreen - Forces full-screen mode
  
• -skip_intro - Skips the EA intro video [1]
  
• -r1024x768 - Sets resolution to 1024x768 (adjust as needed)
  
• -nodx6 - Disables DirectX 6 rendering for improved stability
  
• -nosound - Disables all in-game sound

[1] Legacy edition seems to not include the intro video regardless

Mods / Custom Content (CC)

Enhance your Sims 1 experience with these mods and CC:

• Shared folder with THOUSANDS of mods[simfileshare.net] - Master folder of thousands of Sims mods and CC! (Courtesy of Steam user Cyndersan for finding this, YoNonna for uploading them, and Corylea for the Reddit comment)
  
  
• Simlogical[www.simlogical.com] - Decor, plugins, hacked items, guides, etc.
  
• Simitone[github.com] - 3D Sims mod, still in development
  
• Domcal[white.leadpipecollection.net] - Adds actual weekends to the game!
  
• Widescreen Patcher[github.com] - Allows proper widescreen resolution (Generally outdated for legacy collection)
  
• Alternative UI[justmiha97.tumblr.com] - Modernized UI for widescreen
  
• Corylea Mods[corylea.com] - QoL mods and objects from the early 2000s
  
• Andrasta's world[doortomore.net] - Gritty gothic-styled mods/CC
  
• Shiny Things[shinythings.madoria.com] - Skins, decor, CC
  
• A Little White Magic[white.leadpipecollection.net] - Plugins, mods, decor
  
• Beta Items Restoration[modthesims.info] - Adds beta items from the intro
  
• Vivacious[taure.unixdaemons.com] - Very high quality CC and decor
  
  

Other Tips and Tricks

• Use move_objects on to remove unwanted objects
  
  
• Always save before experimenting with cheats
  
  
• If the game crashes, try running it in Windows XP Compatibility Mode
  
  
• Keep backups of your save files in case of corruption
  
  
• This game does not have weekends! If you miss two days in a row, you will be fired from your job. However, as long as you space out your days, you can essentially "take weekends." (Check the mods section for a fix!)
  
  
• This one is significantly more difficult than the other games. If you're new, start off with a one-person home to get the hang of it.
  
  
• The soundtrack on streaming services is incomplete. The full soundtrack is located in your game directory!

• If your game is consistently crashing, try lowering the Simlish speech to off!

Changes to the Legacy version

• Can now run on Windows 10 and Windows 11 without compatibility problems
  
• Pixel resolution scaling on higher resolution monitors
  
• New rendering engine
  
• Ability to change scaling type for windowed and fullscreen modes (alt+enter)
  
• According to Reddit user, LUCPIX, some of the thumbnails for Sim models, seemingly humans and pets, are both lower resolution and entirely different from the original release.

Outro

Have suggestions or questions? Drop a comment and I'll make sure to update it!!

[ldrancer]

there used to be a sim maker for sims 1. you could take your own picture; one from the front and one from the side and put yourself into the game. I did that once.

[Flake]

oh god reading the comments make me feel old af T_T

[Sneaky P]

What is a Vulkan Device?

[imayknott]

What is a Vulkan Device? My game cannot find it aand it will not run

[ColonelGumby]

What resolution should the game be played at? Also when I played this when it came out 20+ years back there were tons of sites with skins and such. You could find tons of celebrities, etc. Are there still sites like that?

[Cyndersan]

Woops, totally missed your last comment Zakiya. Please feel free to add anything I've put below, onto your guide. Happy to help wherever I can!

[Deso.]

Does anyone knows, where i can find some cc objects but by theme? I look for some library or office stuff.

[Zakiya]

Thank you deso and eolan! I'll add those and make sure to specify the donator aspect as well.

[Deso.]

About CC. There is still aroundthesims but you can't download full packages, unless you're donator there.

[eolan1970]

For Custom Content : https://sims.monis.ch/index.htm is still online