Broken text in Windowed mode:

http://imgur.com/a/kBSAw

This is simply a matter of unchecking Fullscreen in the in-game graphics options.

So far it's happened to me on:

Desktop 1: older gaming desktop with NVIDIA GTX 560 (origin of screenshots)
Desktop 2: identical to desktop 1 but with GTX 970
Laptop 1: MSI Ghost gaming laptop / i7 / 860M

It has happened with Origin base game, arr repacks, and my current legit Steam install + several xpacs at patch level 1.67.

All machines are Window 10 and running very recent NVIDIA drivers, which is the only thing they have in common.

NVIDIA control panel = VSYNC on and that's about it, but I'm pretty sure it'll happen if I default the settings.

The problem is that you're trying to play in windowed mode and your monitor has the SAME resolution of your game. In other words, you're probably trying to play in windowed mode on 1080x1920 screen and your game's resolution is 1080x1920. You should set the game's resolution to be smaller than your screen's resolution, 720p for example. Be careful not to change the size of TS3's window because that will also create some distortion.

EDIT:
Just checked. Indeed, the problem is the game's resolution. Just lower it to 1600x900 and there won't be any kinda of distortion. For 1080p you'll have to play fullscreen.

Hmm. Needless to say I haven't run into this with other games set to the monitor's native res in windowed mode before (not even TS2).

That said, when I'm playing in windowed mode it's because I need to swap back and forth between other things very frequently, so I'm not that immersed to begin with, so a smaller window won't be a problem in those situations. Thanks.

Which has more impact on lag, the size of the world or the number of used lots?

Assuming both worlds are empty, world A is 512x512 and World B is 2048x2048. World A has 60 lots with buildings but the much bigger World B only has 30 lots with buildings but has many empty lots.

I think it's the amount of used lots. Though I base this on nothing but when I load up an empty world, it goes pretty fast.
But most of the worlds I load are small or medium, so I don't know about large worlds.

Is it safe to use testingcheatsenabled to delete an IF? I have two IFs in my current file: one that I want and one that I don't want. I'd like to be able to delete the unwanted IF but if it's not safe, I won't do it. Thanks!

If the doll has even been animated, then there is an underlying sim that a testingcheats shift-click to delete can't reach. Deleting the doll object but leaving the sim behind can cause all kinds of issues. But if you get rid of both the doll and the sim in order described below, then it's fine to do.
http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Imaginary+Friend

I believe if the doll has never been animated, then there is no sim and it can be deleted like any other non-sim object.

Neither IF has been made real, and I have no intentions of doing so (even with the IF I want). In fact, I didn't even know the unwanted IF existed until I caught the toddler Sim (the one that shouldn't have an IF) playing with the IF. So you're saying that it's safe to delete the unwanted IF?

An IF can be animated long before the player attempts to make them real, I'm not sure why our site phrases it that way now that you mention it. That creates an underlying service sim, hence the need for the two step deletion process -- one for the doll, the other for the sim. I would attempt the MasterController Total Annihilation step anyway, if no IF by the expected name shows up then I guess all is well.

I have a question, do magic mirror makeovers stick forever or do sims revert back to their original clothes?

I recently relooked the community pool and was faced with the same problem lol So from experience:
Something to be able to eat - picnic basket or a vending machine
A picnic table
Loungers of course ^^
Buyable beach towels (http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=541657)
A life saver chair (or whatever it's called) if you have Island Paradise, adds a lot of realism and useful when I play a sim in that career
A sprinkler for kids to play with (there's a lot of nice CC ones looking like inflatable animals, at T$R IIRC)

I'm not sure what happens if the sim already has three casual outfits but the game should generate the new look as an alternate everyday/casual outfit. You can manually change the sim back to their normal clothes without having to redo the old outfit (I seem to remember the magic mirror having questionable fashion sense).

So, basically, if you didn't get the "<Imaginary Doll> wants to come out and play" or you didn't drag out of inventory (where they move around while their 'owner' is awake and can only be seen by them) then you're okay to just nuke the doll. If you have done that, you need to do the two step deletion.

That about right?

Can't give anyone a simoleons back guarantee on that since I banned IFs from my game with Retuner some time ago, but yes that is what I was saying and I believe it's correct.

So this isn't a stupid question in the sense that the answer must surely be obvious or straightforward, but it's definitely stupid in the sense of "WHYY did you do the thing you idiot?? Someone please help me!"

So, I wanted to turn a non-desk surface into a desk. It was roughly the same height as a desk, so I had the bright idea of using move objects to place a desk on top of it, and then use debugenabler to make the desk invisible. And, well, it works!

BUT the chair is also invisible. And when I directed a sim to write in a notebook at the desk, the notebook became invisible. And I can't figure out how to make any of it visible again, or even delete it (without nuking a 2 tile radius, which I really don't want to do because it happens to contain a DIY cabinet system involving many parts that were a real pain to get into the right position and I don't want to have to move them).

So. Yeah. Any advice would be much appreciated. Both for fixing my invisible objects issue and my need for an invisible desk solution.

Dumb question: is it possible to make a 'mansion'-esque house in a small-ish/medium lot? I see a lot which are pretty, but tend to go for huge lots, which I rarely use and don't have much room of.

Also, not sure if this is more a WCIF or general question: is there a mod that makes it so that swimming/jogging/etc does NOT make a Sim lose weight? (if I make a chubby or fat Athletic sim, I'd prefer them to remain that bodysize, since that's how I 'created' them in my mind)

If I leave them alone, I found that they eventually go back to the mirror and get another makeover. Magic mirrors are horribly addictive to sims.

I can't recall if when the get up in the morning if they have the makeover outfit on or not. Guess we could try it. But I don't usually play with Magic mirrors, 'cuz the addictive properties of the mirror are heartbreaking, and they're not good for much.

I mean, if you're playing with supernatural, then you probably gave your sim has the green thumb trait and the planter. So plant a potato in the planter and talk to it all year round! You don't need the mirror to talk to, and talking to the mirror can give you a negative moodlet. Potatoes don't sass you back like the mirror.

Edit: think I'll make a mod where if Green Thumbs talk to a Ghost Chili, they can get a "burned" buff.

Is there a way to increase the number of trait slots, but only for a selection of sims? The mods I know of that increase the number of traits do so for all the sims in town; I would like to add extra traits to only a few sims.

IIRC Awesomemod does it, with a console command. With the wanted sim being selected, enter 'Add TraitName' in the console.

So, you cue up a bunch of actions, and one of the action in the cue is Plan an outfit at a dresser or make a plumbot.

Then you start cuing up another sim's actions, but you are rotating the view a bit and then suddenly... you're planning an outfit.

When you come out of planning an outfit, your view is rotating.

I distinctly remember there was an easy way to stop the rotation. I remember thinking "I gotta remember this so I can stop it easily next time".

Well... ya know, I forgot.

If you pause the game, does it still rotate? (Dumb question, I know) Though maybe try the buttons for rotating...?

Is there a way to get Painter or Writer as your job Without having Ambitions installed?

NRASS' Careers mod does it, no?

@MiniMimi

Bummer--I don't run Awesomemod. Thanks for the reply anyway!

@Butterbot - You can actually add traits with MasterController and the Cheats module, without adding a trait slot to all the other sims. Downside, it won't stick if the sim travels or if they age up. There was a discussion about that over at Nraas a few months back.

@Blyss

Thanks for the info. According to igazor on that Nraas thread, extra traits added this way make the sims error-prone if not removed before aging up or traveling. I'm waaay too forgetful to not have that bite me in the butt!