How to HQ

Requirements for HQ mod:

In game:

  • set sim detail to “very high”
  • enable custom content and mods

General:

  • approx. 6 GB of additional hard disk space (base game only), more if you own packs. 
  • your computer must be able to run the game on high settings. If you’re using the legacy version or your game is having troubles running on highest graphic settings, it is a clear indication that HQ mod may not be a suitable option for you 
  • HQ mod is primarily targeted towards sims, but it enables to use build&buy objects with high resolution textures as well.

Set up HQ:

In principle, HQ mod is simple. You just tell the game to display high resolution textures by changing a game configuation file. However, the way sims4 handles sims textures, all textures must be of the same size. Make your game HQ in 3 steps as described below:

  1. Change the GraphicsRules.sgr file or use the HQ switch
  2. Download HQ replacement files 
  3. Make CC HQ-compatible 

> > > STEP 1 < < < 

1) Change the GraphicsRules.sgr file or use the HQ switch

Obtain an altered GraphicsRules.sgr file

Your options:

  • Recommended: Use the HQ mod switch by jwofles: LINK
  • Alternative: Adjust the GraphicsRules.sgr yourself as described here: LINK

If you use the HQ switch: 

It comes with 2 fiiles: GraphicsRules.sgr and a jwofles-sims_HQModMenu.package.

Put the GraphicsRules.sgr into the ConfigOverride folder (it’s near your Mods folder in documents/electronic arts/the sims 4). This will override the game configuation and will not be resetted with game patches.

If you do not want to use ConfigOverride or it doesn’t seem to work for you, go to the TS4 installation directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 4\Game\Bin), make a backup of the GraphicsRules.sgr that is there, and then replace it with the file that came with the HQ switch. You will have to do this after every game update).

The package file needs to go into your mods folder. 

> > > STEP 2 < < < 

2) Download HQ replacement files 

Unfortunately, thanks to the way TS4 handles sims textures, every single sim texture must have the higher resolution (HQ texture), including basegame (BG), game pack (GP), expansion pack (EP) and stuff pack/kit (SP) files. Otherwise, your sims won’t be displayed correctly. (See troubleshooting page here: LINK). 

This issue only concerns sims. Build&Buy objects don’t need replacement files.

You can find the HQ replacement files for the basegame and all current packs here: 

> > > REPLACEMENT FILES < < < 

Download the basegame files and any additional packs you have installed. Place the .package files in your mods folder. If you don’t care about townies looking strange, it is not absolutely required to download replacement files for everything, but base game is a must (If you own the Highschool Years EP, it is a must too!)

Thanks to all the amazing people who took care of HQ files in the past: alf-si, veelous, LazyEyelids, TheRedsStudio, SimularitySims. Also thanks to magic-bot and you guys for reporting issues! And special thanks to peachtonium ♥

> > > STEP 3 < < < 

3) Make custom content HQ-compatible 

During the past years, more and more CAS CC creators switched to HQ and thus a large portion of CC is ready to use. You’ll probably still have a lot of non-compatible items that you don’t want to miss out on though. 

The amazing cmar (RIP) released a tool to convert CC for HQ-mod in batch: it’s easy to use and very convenient and your best choice if you have a lot of non-HQ content you want to convert! And you don’t need to worry about having a mixture of HQ and non-HQ CC, the tool will convert what it needs to.

> > > The HQ texture converter < < <

We recommend to not use more than 20% sharpen and no sharpen at all for hair. 

For everything except hair, the best quality is achieved by conversion using Adobe Photoshop, but the converter generally does a sufficient job. If you are crazy enough or you want your favourite item to be just right, check out the manual way: https://remussims.tumblr.com/post/152480740745/how-do-i-convert-cc-for-hq

If you are a CC creator, check out how to make your CC compatible: LINK

> > > STEP 4 < < < 

Wonder whether HQ mod is really working? Use our test files: LINK

4) Things to consider for game patches

  • Every update resets the GraphicsRules.srg file. Unless you put it in the ConfigOverride folder, you need to replace or edit it again afterwards. Sometimes, EA randomly disables the ConfigOverride folder functionality and we will report about it here.
  • Sometimes Often, EA introduces changes to the game that will require changes in the HQ replacement files. If you encounter any issues after game updates, check our replacement files for updates and feel free to reach out to us if things go wrong even after we provided updated files. For now, due to the insane work load, we will update base game files only if issues come up, so every report is valuable. 

Disclaimer

The HQ replacement files contain resized textures of the respective game files. You need the original game packs for them to show up in your game. Downloading the replacement files won’t give you access to the functionality or items of game packs.