Sims 3 is way too bright!

[kraftyape5]

Whenever I play the sims 3 (I have all the expansion packs as well) the game changes the settings on my computer (or something like that) because I can't see any details. The faces are all washed out, everything is too bright or the contrast is too high. When I exit the game, the appearance of my computer is the same as it was in the game. I have tried minimizing the game, changing the video settings and returning to the game only to find that the game changes everything back. The only way I can get the game to look right is to play it in window mode, change the settings on my desktop, and play. BUT I hate window mode (ths sims game isn't window mode friendly, it takes forever to move around the screen and town).

I've not had this problem before, I don't know which expansion pack started it because I bought a few of them around the same time. Is there a patch coming out? Is there a plan to give a gamma, brightness, or contrast sliding thing? The brightness is so bad it makes the text on screen hard to read, it makes the game unplayable.

Thank you for your help.

April

[crinrict]

• What's your operating system ?
• What's your graphic card ?
• Are your drivers updated to the newest version ?

[kraftyape5]

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_ldr.110408-1635)
       System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
       System Model: Inspiron N7010
       BIOS: Ver 1.00 BIOS A09 PARTTBL
       Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU       M 460  @ 2.53GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz
       Memory: 6144MB RAM
       Available OS Memory: 5940MB RAM
       Page File: 2009MB used, 9869MB available
       Windows Dir: C:\Windows
        DirectX Version: DirectX 11
        DX Setup Parameters: None
        User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
        System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
        DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
        DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode

 Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
 Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics (Core i5)
DAC type: Internal
 Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0046&SUBSYS_04571028&REV_18
 Display Memory: 1696 MB
Dedicated Memory: 64 MB
 Shared Memory: 1632 MB
Current Mode: 1600 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)

All my drivers are up to date

[crinrict]

What's the driver date ?

Are the graphics settings the only one that reset when you change them ?

[kraftyape5]

7/19/2010 is what it says under properties and I click to update and it says it's up to date. The Intel(R) HD Graphics is my video card right? I couldn't find anything else.

[simplybuilds]

Hi.  On most computers on the keyboard there is the option to change brightness.  on one of my pc it is located next to the arrows and on another pc i own its located with the F buttons at the top.  If you have brightness setings on your keyboard you wont have to close out of the game.  Also try the in game settings and try changing the gamma or brightness, whichever it asks.

[rumbutter]

if your keyboard is like mine and does not have the button to adjust the brightness then in the start menu type in power options click on that to open up the power options then in the window that pops up  tick the balanced option

[kraftyape5]

It's not just about the brightness, the contrast and everything is so saturated that when I turn the brightness down...it's just a darker washed out picture.

[kraftyape5]

The game doesn't have ingame brightness, gamma, or saturation settings. I can change the level of detail the trees have but I can't make the game darker or brighter...it seems EA has left logic out of the options menu.

[kraftyape5]

I already have the balance power plan selected, that's not the issue.