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noorhanss0111's avatar
4 years ago
Solved

Sims 3: Black dot/tear on sim's necks

I have had this issue for a while and I'm not sure what's causing it nor how to fix it. I tried "factory resetting" my game and launched it without any saves, CC, mods, etc. and the black dot was still there on my sim's necks in live mode (it doesn't show up in CAS). Also, townies have the same black dot/tear in all of my saves. I'm not sure what I should do, and I'd really appreciate any help or insight anybody has on this! Sorry if it's hard to see it in the screenshot; it was difficult to get it to show up without having the camera positioned from a distance which is usually when I can see it. 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    4 years ago

    @noorhanss0111  Your graphics driver is a bit old, which is probably fine for Sims 3 and is unlikely to be the cause of the black dots.  Updating it might fix your Sims 4 crashes though.

    https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/184717/en-us

    If you choose the custom route and perform a clean install, you'll need to reset your Control Panel options.  The clean install is probably a good idea anyway considering how long it's been since you've updated.

    I do think the black dots are probably just an artifact of how old Sims 3 is and how it was never built to be rendered at high resolutions.  We could fiddle with graphics settings even further if you want, but I'm not sure you'll do any better than what you have now.

6 Replies

  • @noorhanss0111  With your custom content still removed, try changing the outfit, the hair, and the skin swatch of an affected sim.  You can always change them back later, or quit without saving.

    It's also possible that this is just an artifact of your in-game graphics settings combined with the resolution of sims at this viewing distance.  You could try increasing the graphics setting for sim detail (do it from the Main Menu, then quit to desktop before loading a save), and if that doesn't make a difference, editing graphicsrules.sgr to increase the distance at which the game uses high or medium level-of-detail for sims.  For the latter, I can help with that, but please try the other steps first, and if they don't work, let me know what setting you'd prefer to use for sim detail.

  • noorhanss0111's avatar
    noorhanss0111
    4 years ago

    Hello, sorry for not replying sooner. I changed the outfit, hair, and skin swatch of one of my sims (without any custom content present in my game) and it was still there. I also increased the sim detail setting to the highest it could go, but it didn't change anything. As for the setting I'd prefer for sim detail, I think high would be best as my PC should be able to handle it. Thanks! 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @noorhanss0111  If you only see the dots at certain angles or viewing distances, the issue may be one of those things about Sims 3 that doesn't quite work correctly.  But you can try enabling antialiasing in your graphics control panel.  For an Nvidia card, right-click on the desktop, select the Nvidia Control Panel, click Manage 3D Settings > Program settings, and choose TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (for a disc or Steam install).  These are the settings I use:

    Antialiasing - FXAA: On
    Antialiasing - Gamma correction: On
    Antialiasing - Mode: Override any Application Setting
    Antialiasing - Setting: 2x

    If that doesn't help, please post a dxdiag so I can look for any other potential issues that might be interfering.

    https://help.ea.com/en/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

  • noorhanss0111's avatar
    noorhanss0111
    4 years ago

    I changed my Nvidia settings and went in game and the dot was still there, but it wasn't as noticeable as before. I've attached the dxdiag as well. Thank you so much for your patience! 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @noorhanss0111  Your graphics driver is a bit old, which is probably fine for Sims 3 and is unlikely to be the cause of the black dots.  Updating it might fix your Sims 4 crashes though.

    https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/184717/en-us

    If you choose the custom route and perform a clean install, you'll need to reset your Control Panel options.  The clean install is probably a good idea anyway considering how long it's been since you've updated.

    I do think the black dots are probably just an artifact of how old Sims 3 is and how it was never built to be rendered at high resolutions.  We could fiddle with graphics settings even further if you want, but I'm not sure you'll do any better than what you have now.

  • noorhanss0111's avatar
    noorhanss0111
    4 years ago

    I updated my graphics driver, and the black dot is definitely far less noticeable than it was before to the point where I can barely see it even from a distance. I think I'll just keep things just as they are, so thank you so much for helping me out with this. I appreciate it! 

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