@selmiisen , Graphics Rule Maker adds your graphics card to a specific game file so that the game will recognize your video card. You do need to make sure you add your graphics card information to the file GraphicsRule.sgr file. If you need help specifically with Graphics Rule Maker, do a Google search for Leefish's forums and you should be able to find more detailed information there. This will also solve the DirectX 9.0c problem as well.
Thanks for the answer! I couldn't really find any useful and understandable information on the forums unfortunately. Could you explain how to add graphics card information to the file?
@selmiisen , mind you I'm not an expert at doing this. 🙂 First and foremost you need to determine what kind of graphics card you have. To figure out the graphics card available on Windows 10 with Task Manager, use these steps:
Write down this information as this will be important later on. Next, make a copy of your original GraphicsRule.sgr file and the Video Cards.sgr file. These files are what Sims 2 uses to control the graphics in the game. Start up Graphics Rule Maker and see if your graphics card is listed in the drop down information. If it is not, then you should be able to type in the name and the program will add it for you. Don't be afraid to edit this file as long as you have made a copy of the original. I'd place the original copy in a file somewhere on my Desktop to keep it safe. Make sure you have the newest version of Graphics Rule Maker. I think the latest version is 1.9. Simsnetwork has it I think, but you can Google search for it.
See if the newer version will work for you and edit the GraphicsRule.sgr automatically. Please keep me updated and if it doesn't work, I'll try to figure out how to manually edit the file. 🙂
HI, I'm having the same problem, and tried to follow the steps you mentioned (my graphics card does appear in the dropdown list) but I cannot open the game at all. I used to be able to go to the Properties of the shortcut, then in the target line add a space then -w to the end to open a windowed mode, which was too small, but now it won't open anything at all and still comes up with the DirectX error message!
I also tried to follow the video by Classy Phoenix on YouTube (both the old and the updated version), to edit the .sgr file manually, but that also hasn't worked!
Please let me know if there's anything else I can try.
@lemonteajunkie , so you've used Graphics Rule Maker to edit your GraphicsRule.sgr file? Did you also try to edit the Video Cards.sgr file as well? Also, did you apply the 4GB patch? You should be able to find that with a Google search.
@lemonteajunkieIf you get the DirectX 9 error after using Graphics Rules Maker, make sure that you did not pick "Do not force" for texture memory. There is a bug at the moment in GRM, and choosing Do not force for Texture Memory will trigger that error.
If the error persists, try launching the game in windowed mode. Right-click on The Sims 2 shortcut on your desktop, open Properties. Find the Target line, and at the end of it press space once, and add "-w" (without the quotation marks". Save that and try launching the game.
If your PC has multiple GPUs (integrated + dedicated, for example), The Sims 2 can sometimes choose the integrated one. Go to Graphics Settings for your PC (under Display Settings), add The Sims 2 to the list (look for the latest pack's executable, usually it's Sims2EP9.exe) and force it to use the High Performance card.
Nope I didn't try to edit the Video Cards file. I just applied the 4GB patch, still the same error message when I try to launch...
Yeah I tried the -w addition before, it used to work but the screen was tiny. Now it's not working with or without the -w addition, just comes up with the DirectX 9.0c error message.
Also just set the graphics card for Sims EP9 etc to High Performance, still fails to launch unfortunately.
Could I ask what would you recommend I change the 'Do not force' field to?
Thanks, I tried that, and Sims 2 does open but in a very small window....This is also after editing the Graphics Rules .sgr file under 'Screen Mode' to 1920 x 1080 as per the Classy Phoenix youtube video
@lemonteajunkieAre you able to change the resolution in game options (after applying the resolution fix with Graphics Rules Maker)? The game won't automatically launch in the new resolution, you have to change it yourself.
If the option does not appear in-game, try using an argument for the target line (like -w). Add your resolution to it, e.g. "-r1920x1080", but with the resolution you want. See if that works.
Thanks, that has finally worked! It's strange cos I tried the -r1920x1080 before, but perhaps I needed the combination of all the other suggestions so far to make it all work together. Weirdly the loading times are now much faster too just from the very last suggestion alone (i.e. the -r1920x1080), which is great cos that was potentially going to be my next question!
Thanks again! Hopefully there won't be anymore issues....!
Thank you so much, I was having the same issue. I've been tearing my hair out editting all of the Graphics Rule's files in all the expansions to have 1920x1080 in them and it wasn't working. I also had added ' -w' to the end of the Target because otherwise I would get the Directx error. I haven't seen it suggested anywhere else to put ' -r1920x1080' on the end of the target, but that was what finally worked. I'm so relieved, I was close to giving up.
