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Field Researcher
#276 Old 13th Sep 2025 at 7:03 PM
Went looking and at the very least I'm pretty sure it's NOT related to Vacation (or at least doesn't appear to be in any Vacation-specific globals files).
Field Researcher
#277 Old 14th Sep 2025 at 12:31 PM
Quote: Originally posted by purplewowies
Went looking and at the very least I'm pretty sure it's NOT related to Vacation (or at least doesn't appear to be in any Vacation-specific globals files).


I searched through the group that Island Models belong to... It’s related to cooking on kitchen counters. I found many constants and BHAVs connected to cooking. The constants marked as unused have been added to The Sims 2 page on The Cutting Room Floor:

https://tcrf.net/The_Sims_2_(Window...package#Cooking

The Sims 2 Beta Library
Russian Betahunters forum thread "The Sims 2 Development History" - without them, many secrets of the Sims 2 would not have been discovered and investigated.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#278 Old 4th Oct 2025 at 5:38 PM
Paradoxically straight off my ongoing hiatus we now have renditions of late '98 game snapshots (Steering Committee Season 2?) that are of slightly clearer than the previously only known scans with their quasi-native quality and all. The articles down @ tcrf will reflect this minor discovery. That wouldn't be such a big deal otherwise, but I found these dev builds so strangely cool and seemingly solid .








Signing off...
Screenshots


PIAZZI ROCKS
(so do you)
https://www.youtube.com/LUCPIX
Field Researcher
#279 Old 15th Oct 2025 at 10:16 PM
Quote: Originally posted by LUCPIX
Paradoxically straight off my ongoing hiatus we now have renditions of late '98 game snapshots (Steering Committee Season 2?) that are of slightly clearer than the previously only known scans with their quasi-native quality and all. The articles down @ tcrf will reflect this minor discovery. That wouldn't be such a big deal otherwise, but I found these dev builds so strangely cool and seemingly solid .








Signing off...



Congratulations, @LUCPIX. This discovery has been covered on mainstream gaming sites.

https://www.thegamer.com/the-sims-p...nline-playable/

The Sims 2 Beta Library
Russian Betahunters forum thread "The Sims 2 Development History" - without them, many secrets of the Sims 2 would not have been discovered and investigated.
Test Subject
#280 Old 27th Nov 2025 at 8:31 AM Last edited by iknowme : 27th Nov 2025 at 3:26 PM.
Edit: Solved! I had to deactivate ClearType on Windows.



You guys,

I have a problem with my 1999 alpha version. It is playable but some text is barely legible. Can somebody help me? I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Screenshots
Field Researcher
#281 Old 27th Nov 2025 at 9:01 PM
Yep, the known betas have this problem with ClearType--it's also an issue with Steering Committee and affects any text that's like ACTUAL text (rather than an image of text). I assume Windows is trying to smooth its edges but its resolution and weight (how bold/non-bold it is) mean Windows just... eats it.
Field Researcher
#282 Old 9th Jan 2026 at 11:05 PM
Hello,

I found an interesting magazine that might be useful for describing the development history of The Sims on TCRF.

This article describes strategies for managing large-scale graphics production, using the collaboration between the studios Maxis and New Pencil on the The Sims franchise as a case study. The text highlights four key components of successful outsourcing: accurate cost forecasting, adherence to a unified visual style, phased organization of work, and rigorous progress tracking. Special emphasis is placed on quality control through the use of checklists and libraries of ready-made assets to speed up development. The authors stress that clear communication and a structured approval process make it possible to deliver a huge volume of content without sacrificing detail. These methods are applicable both to external contractors and to internal teams aiming for high productivity under tight deadlines.

https://archive.org/details/GDM_January_2002

Page 32-38.

The Sims 2 Beta Library
Russian Betahunters forum thread "The Sims 2 Development History" - without them, many secrets of the Sims 2 would not have been discovered and investigated.
Test Subject
#283 Old 15th Feb 2026 at 1:54 PM
Quote: Originally posted by LUCPIX
Hi, first-time thread lurkers! We celebrate the ups-and-downs and the weirdest facets of the herculean job that the makin' of The Sims (199?-2000) is, in a way that only we do... don't forget you can participate too, okay?

Convenient shout out to Mother's Day is convenient:

The Sims's first Sim ever made is also the mother of the 20th Century's core culture:

Edith Bunker:


this looks cartoonish as fuck (i mean the image not the post)
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#284 Old Today at 1:09 AM
wow it's been so long @simsample; is a TS1 character now!... (or WAS at least the last time I saw his avatar)



Hi...

I am going to post this because I think the quasi-Jungian synchronicity situation linked to the surfacing of the 1999 prototype (plus myself, of course) owes an explanation to you...

While my previous post has a semi direct connection to the prototype that surfaced a few hours later (even though they are not the same build, technically), you need to believe me when I tell you that both events are in no way related to each other — When I curated + uploaded + sent those screenshots in, I had zero idea that I'd be able to play that specific (even though they are not the same build, technically [2]) build that week or day.

Minutes post-posting the screenshots, I came across this comment from one of my youtube videos, written by @FokieHikari



Jumping to the mentioned footage (plus taking it as genuine if a bit alien), I contacted the video uploader, whose name weirdly rang a bell immediately — he was the "Bowsersaurus" guy that posted a mysterious snapshot of the prototype looooooooooong ago, ultimately leaving me gawped in silence and motivating me to create this thread in the first place! It's basically where it all started. Something about the way it was presented made one believe that the snapshot was the actual thing that he had found stored within a disk drive in a thrift store when, in reality, the actual content of the disk was a fully playable build — the one that, at this point, you had the chance of enjoying as much as I did.

So yeah, it's crazy, it's very unlikely, and yeah, I'm looking forward to having discussions about the contents of this build eventually.

------------


P.S.: Onto a different comment: Bowsersaurus owns an indie gaming company that is, of all names, called Protosprite. He's made a fun platforming game and dropped a Steam card for those who want to give it a shot. I promised him I'd let you all know...


PGCVV-BZWRZ-GTVIV


https://store.steampowered.com/app/...idge_the_Tiger/
Screenshots


PIAZZI ROCKS
(so do you)
https://www.youtube.com/LUCPIX
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