Huzzah! I think I finally have a decent terrain.
I may still have a little tweaking to do (such as smoothing some of the pointy peaks), but I’m happy with how it turned out. I wanted hills and valleys, a bridge, rivers and beach lots, room for farmland, and some “out in the boonies” roads for the campground and some secluded cabins, and I managed to fit all of it in. Woot!
And thanks to Jade, my neighborhood deco is showing up from within lot view! She recommended I create a userStartup.cheat file and add “boolProp dontMergeNHFlora false” to it. That worked beautifully. More info on what the blazes a userStartup.cheat file is and what you can do with it here and here.
I am really happy about the bridge; I’ve never gotten one to show up in a terrain before. It looks a little funny in lot view (the road just goes up and disappears into nowhere), but I like its appearance in neighborhood view. I added some deco just for fun, but I’m sure I’ll be rerarranging it and/or adding more as I go on.
Now I just need to figure out the graphics glitches. They’re minor, but they bug me to no end. What can I say? I’m picky as heck. :-) The first one is weird shadows showing up in neighborhood view. You can see them in my first shot up above. See how some spots on the terrain are like dark little blobs? I have no idea what is causing that.
Secondly, I have what I call the “green square” problem. They show up on textures and skintones, mainly. (They also appear on certain textures in my Lord of the Rings Online game, so it’s not just The Sims 2.) Here’s an example:
See how Maury’s and Elvis’s pants have green squares on them, right around the, erm, private area? Heh. Anyway, it’s not a gamebreaking glitch by any means, but having random green squares show up in my pictures is going to drive me batty. :-p
I’ve tried the new Nvidia driver, but that didn’t help. I’m going to keep researching and hope for a solution. Until then, you guys can play “hunt the green square” with my pics!
Oh, the green squares would drive me nuts too! I wish I could offer a suggestion to fix it but I’m so clueless with graphic issues.
The Gnomesby terrain looks beautiful so far. I think you could leave it how it is and it would be wonderful but it’s important that you’re completely satisfied with it before you start.
Even if you cannot fix the green squares, it might be funny to “hunt” them in your pictures ! I never had this problem though I think it is mostly because my graphics are so low that I can’t see them… Anyway, good job, your terrain is so beautiful ! Now I want to do another neighborhood !
Wow Jen! Your work is just awesome! I love the new terrain. Better than any of the in games ones, that’s for sure! I can’t wait to see it decorated, now.
I wish I could tell you whats causing the green & black squares. Hopefully someone will come along & help you fix it.
Wooow the terrain looks beautiful! You’re so creative!
I love that terrain, I can’t wait to see it with buildings!
As for the green squares… gah. I tried searching, but all I could find was people with their entire screen being filled with huge, green squares. Sigh.
I showed my fiance and his reply was a weird face. When I explained it happened in LOTRO and your hood screen, he asked if you reinstalled DX9/10 (whichever you’re using)… I just assumed you had a new Nvidia, since you mentioned a new PC and Nvidia.
I have those stupid black squares too! I thought it was maybe a memory issue because my drivers are all up to date, but even with just the base game installed they still show up. I hope you get that issue resolved because it might mean some peace of mind for me as well!
Lookin’ good so far Jen! I am so excited to see the buildings you’re going to put in! I wish I could be of help with the green squares and the little dark blobs on the terrain (although I didn’t notice the dark blobs until you pointed them out). I just have no idea about technical stuff! But I’m gonna try that “cheat” that Jade told you about. That sounds like it would help with my hood deco issues too! Can’t wait for more of Gnomesby!
I agree with you Jen, that green square would drive me absolutely insane! But hopefully something will work. But I love that Terrain! It’s simply amazing! I can’t wait to see what you build for it! :D
Haha. In the private area! I really hope that you get everything sorted out!
Uh oh! The green squares rear their ugly heads! I have that same problem, let me know if you get it sorted out, I need to fix it in my game.. Hey I know those guys, Elvis and Mauricio! Do they move to Gnomsby? or are you not continuing their story?
“hunt the green square” so funny!!! Those glitches would drive my dad nuts too. Once he had one pixel out on his monitor (it stayed blue) and he couldn’t stand it!
It’s great to see you back again, Jen. (Tee-hee, that rhymes) I’m anxiously awaiting more on Gnomesby!!!
You know it Jen when you read, “Huzzah!”
God I love it(:
Wow the terrain looks extra spiffy. I have a question about the water though. How did you make it look nice and mirrory and not that skank blue they give you?
Wow Jen! I Love The Terrain!!
Its way better than the in game ones, they get boring.
I Didn’t notice the black blobs untill you mentioned them either!!
I dont think its that noticeable, but i guess when you know they are there it could bug you.
As for the green squares, i used to have that on my old computer. But i couldn’t figure out how to sort it.
I can’t wait for more of gnomesby!
is Fran Moving there? :D
Hope everything goes well
OMG! Jen, this is so great!
Thank you Jen. I just did a search on boolProp dontMergeNHFlora to see if that would fix my tree problem. I appreciate you sharing your findings. Now I’m hooked on your neighborhood!
The hood looks nice, have you remembered to make sure all the designated lot areas are completely flat so you can place flat lots and export lots from it without damaging the hood?
As to the graphical issues, what I say to everyone who says they have updated to latest drivers is to try older versions. I have had the latest drivers cause problems before. Though the positioning that to me indicated that it might be some sort of alpha channel error, does it occur on different colours or just black/dark blue clothing?
I am sorry about your graphics problem and hope you can get it resolved. Also I have a question, will you be doing anymore Fran updates? I really miss her story.
Hi Jen,
Gnomesby’s terrain looks fantastic! and the reflections in the water…WOW! I didn’t notice the black spots until you pointed them out, but considering the thought and planning that went into the terrain that I can see why the weird shadows and specks would be annoying. :S
I wanted to say thank you for posting the tips and tricks you used along the way. I had no idea what a userStartup file was, but now I do! Thank you!
I can’t wait to see the buildings and deco, I’m hooked on Gnomesby :)
Hey Jen, i was just wondering if you got your issues sorted out yet. And when we can expect another update! Also when you get the chance, you can check out my site, its about sims next top models! :] I just started a new round of girls!
Awesome, Jen, I love the new terrain. I still think Gnomesby will look good with the minor glitches and as for the green squares, you’ll find a soloution around it, like you always do. Is it an alien infection or a tracking device from the government to montor what our pants are doing? Hmm, I wonder! Hehe. xx Gemma
Hi, I have a question about the cheat that makes neighborhood deco appear from within lot view. Does it make it show the deco just surrounding that particular lot, or does it make it so all the neighborhood deco you laid down appears? Thanks in advance.