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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 11th Jul 2011 at 3:53 AM
Default Alt+Tab causes my game to 'dim' when I get back to it
The brightness lowers, the saturation goes weird - and it will not go away unless I restart the game.

I could avoid the problem by not pressing alt+tab, but it's not exactly a solution.

is it a common thing? the only thing I could find in regards to alt+tab issues was crashes, and this isn't what that is.

I have the 7.0 version of the game - and yes, I have custom content installed. I wouldn't like to think it's what's causing the problem, and honestly am not too eager to test that theory... but it's all up to you guys.

Is there a reason in-game brightness levels go nuts if I switch programs? is there a fix for it?

Much thanks,
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Née whiterider
retired moderator
#2 Old 11th Jul 2011 at 4:00 AM
Do you experience the same problem if you minimise/switch away from TS3 in windowed mode?

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Lab Assistant
#3 Old 11th Jul 2011 at 10:32 AM
I get the same thing playing TS3 on my laptop and have to restart to get a 'normal' picture back, it's not really a problem but it does get annoying - I've been assuming that it's something to do with my laptop's capabilities since my desktop computer will happily minimise and maximise TS3 with no 'dimming' (maybe the resolution settings? I don't really know much about computers though)

Or maybe it's a graphics card thing? Some laptop's aren't really built for playing games like TS3; mine's not.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#4 Old 11th Jul 2011 at 4:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by whiterider
Do you experience the same problem if you minimise/switch away from TS3 in windowed mode?


I just checked, and it doesn't seem to appear to happen in windowed mode.
I'm not entirely fond on windowed mode though, it seems to put much more pressure on my computer than fullscreen and can be awkward - Sims 3 doesn't have comfortable resolutions that fit me.

Knowing it works, though, do you have any idea why this can happen? Also I don't have the greatest laptop in the world, but all requirements met at least the minimum and the game runs smoothly for me absolutely without lag.

Thanks, :sweatdrop:
In the Arena
retired moderator
#5 Old 12th Jul 2011 at 5:41 AM
Default MTS2 Staff Reply
  • General - Post System Specs
    We need more information before we can help with your issue.
    • Please post a Quick summary of your System Specs
      Instructions on finding them are here: Game Help:System Specswiki.
    Please Do NOT post your complete DxDiag report in your thread.

May be a signal that the laptop cannot handle the graphics of the game if even fullscreened Alt+Tab is showing some graphical anomalies.
But we need to see specs to make any kind of informed decisions/suggestions.

May I know how long you've been playing Sims 3 on this laptop? And how long each gameplay session is?
Test Subject
#6 Old 11th Aug 2011 at 12:51 AM
I seem to have fixed my problem.
I had the same issue with the Sims appearing to dim after using alt-tab to switch to another application. I found that after I set the in-game screen resolution to match the screen resolution of the Windows desktop, the dimming effect has apparently disappeared. I have a wide screen laptop with an odd default screen resolution 1366 x 768. I hope this helps.
Test Subject
#7 Old 5th Jul 2015 at 11:55 PM
what worked for me was switching to window mode then back to fullscreen
Mad Poster
#8 Old 6th Jul 2015 at 1:10 AM
What works for me as I posted earlier here ..

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1978 gallons of pancake batter
#9 Old 6th Jul 2015 at 6:39 AM
What works for me is to read the frigging post dates... -_-

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Locked thread | Locked by: Buzzler Reason: necromancy is bad and smells awful
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