I have an issue with how rigid and limited the "high detail lots" option is. I want to be able to render everything in view with perfect quality to give a beautiful landscape, and I have already managed to modify the draw distance, sim detail, tree detail, etc. to render the way I'd like. The only thing left is the number of high detail lots that will render. I get over 100 FPS on normal maximum settings and 70 after modifying them, so performance is not an issue. Does anyone have any idea how I'd go about fixing this so that every lot I see will render?

Also, don't tell me it can't be done, because anything can be done. You could turn Sims 3 into a first-person shooter if you had the time.

Yes, technically anything can be done, but some things would mean rewriting large parts of the game and /or no one knows how to do it.

In this case I'd look at the methods and properties apparently assigning maximum numbers, like GetSettingValue and mHighDetailLotsMap, and see if there are limits that can be raised. It may come down to a lot of trial and error. But maybe someone who's worked with detail will know more.

What GPU does the system have and what is the maximum already set for it? Does EA rules set this machine's CPU and GPU as Uber or lower?

Of course anything can be done, with enough time and effort spend on it, and the matching will to knock one's head against something hard and unyiedling as EA code is, with how much is hardcoded. But whether you should is another matter. There's a reason there are hardlimits set on these things. It must be nice to have no worry over budget for hardware replacements. And speaking of re-write, how much of re-writing code are you willing to do or how far are you willing to go?

My CPU and GPU are well beyond the "uber" as defined by GraphicsRules.sgr. I looked there first and tried messing with the MaxActiveLots option, but not much happened. There is an array in that screenshot I posted that looks like it has some significance. The only options are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8, but I'm pretty sure that's only for the actual options screen and not for how MaxActiveLots is defined.

Yeah, those values are the defaults for Options.ini set by the rules in sgr file. So, you cannot find the enum that allows the MaxActiveLots array to be edited? If it is easily editable enum that is, and not hardcoded in some obscure portion of the code. That does pose a difficulty, or if the settings in the rules or edited values (when found) can only be recognized by a core mod even...

Just a thought: edit the values in the sgr rules and see if it "takes"? Weirder things have happened, so you never know.

If not, I'm not gonna be of much help, I'm afraid, as I don't dig into the code since the last time I tried. Because there were so many things I wanted to tweak. But lack the time and skills and inclination.

Hopefully someone else has seen it somewhere...You might want to sent Twallan or Pescado or Cmomoney or Inge/Peter a PM after the holidays, to bring their attention to this thread. So the people that have done the most digging into EA's codes can help...or offer some insight.

I know this is a pretty old post but has anyone ever figured out how to do this? I've messed with a combination of settings in GraphicsRules, DeviceConfig and options and still gotten nothing