Sims seas : ugly blue drinks

[TortureTheNannies]

We all know the sharp lines and cartoon simplicity of the sea-sky edge, and how the water looks transparent .. very simplified in all ways. I've tried rocks and trees. I've seen a tutorial I've now forgotten - it was hiding horizons and creating swimming pools. I've looked a graphics and video options in the game. And, I created landlocked villages just to avoid the problem. Please use this thread as ) suggestions ) and "This is what I did" brag please. Just tell me what you did that pleases your eyes.

[maxon]

What problem exactly are you concerned about - do you want to post a pic?

[TortureTheNannies]

There are other pics available. I have a house built near the beach. Out their bedroom windows my sims can see the rocks both above and below waterline, because the water is slightly blue and perfectly transparent in a way that real water bodies are not. That's the limits of EA programming. We have the green land, the pale blue, transparent water, and the flat ruler edge between sky and water. I've looked for various things to break up the look and disguise the water. I turned on reflections, which aren't that reflective.

[Peni Griffin]

Personally, I embrace iffy graphics because they run better on my machine. I figure high-rez graphics are like bodybuilder muscles - somebody putting effort into all the wrong things and neglecting the ones that matter most. Give me a guy who chooses the library over the gym, any day, and a game that chooses story and playability over graphics every day of the week.

In short, my advice is: don't sweat it and train your eyes to look at your sims, not their backgrounds.

[TortureTheNannies]

Peni, I think you and I grew up on text adventures or such. I agree that high end graphics aren't worth it. The difference between EA's football and Sims 2 is the football heats up my graphics card, sims 2 does not. Right now, I turn their house around and stare at the multiple structures in the village, instead of the simple ocean.. It's how Sims is opposite reality - nobody wants the beachfront property here.

[poisonapple88]

Actually, I played with low graphics for a really long time. I started using Fraps for taking photos of my Sims and the quality of my old pictures to my new is astounding! Their hair textures look beautiful and for once I can actually see their makeup. Here is a before my graphics update and after:


http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l15/khf3/Sims%202/snapshot_bc18f4fd_5c18f629.jpg
The colors and detail are not as vibrant. It is also hard to tell she has piercings!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l15/khf3/Sims%202/Sims2EP82012-06-2716-57-26-68.jpg
It's easier for me to see the detail because I open up my pictures full-screen. But I can see all the details on her face and the hair looks really nice. So does the background and clothes.

Anyway, whether you think high graphics is important or not is up to the player. I personally am happy I made the change. I small differences in the details of the gardens and background make it more real for me.

[Saturnfly]

I prefer higher graphics, since I've played with low for such a long time. I don't notice that much of a performance hit, it's still equally laggy, but I've since learned that zooming in makes the game lag less, even in huge mansions, and if the house is on a foundation, I always go to the lowest lvl when sims are sleeping or whenever the game is on x3 speed.

As for the OP's problem (I think you're talking about the horizon?) there really isn't much you can do about it, other than get used to it. The Sims 2 won't ever be updated by its original creators, and if you're like me and you have a bad graphics card (or lack of a graphics card), then your computer will probably only handle so much before it becomes unplayable.

[M.M.A.A.]

Well, since I have a lot that is close to the ocean which is close to edge, I placed some large boulders, just in-front of the lot, to hide the horizon. Actually, they're 2 lots, which I did the same for the other, they're close to each other. I even added a lighthouse.

[Simsica]

I know that a hood deco "sky" object changes the water in hood view to look more "water-y". There's a similar object for in-lot situations. It changes pond water for sure, but I wouldn't know if it does so for the ocean water visible from in-lot. I haven't tried it yet.

Some maybe useful links:
horizonless sky (hood view) (http://nimi4.livejournal.com/51103.html)
sky with a horizon (hood) (http://nimi4.livejournal.com/49332.html)
in-lot sky deco (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=187229)