#lutris

ok I need to document this because I’ve just fixed something that refused to work on the SAME machine under Windows 11 😭

Sims 2 custom videos (black screen / not showing) on Linux Mint – FIX

I was having the classic issue:

custom AVIs not showing on computer screens / TVs

black screen or nothing happens

files work fine in VLC so it makes no sense

this is NOT a mod issue. it’s a codec problem.

what’s actually wrong

Sims 2 uses an old video system (DirectShow + VP6 codec)

Linux doesn’t include that properly in Wine by default, so the game literally can’t read the video even though the file exists.

how I fixed it (Lutris method)

open Lutris

select The Sims 2 in your library

at the bottom of the window, next to the Play button, click the small arrow (▲)

click Winetricks

you’ll get a window asking what to do:

👉 choose “Select the default wineprefix” → OK

next screen: 👉 choose “Install a Windows DLL or component”

install these:

quartz

wmp9

lavfilters

let everything install, close Winetricks, then launch the game

result

custom computer screen videos → WORKING

custom TV videos → WORKING

no black screens anymore

important note

if you copied your Sims 2 install from another OS before, don’t overwrite the VP6 folders inside the game files. those are OS-specific and can break video playback.

honestly???

this worked better on Linux Mint than it EVER did on my Windows 11 setup 💀

if your Sims 2 videos are broken and you’re on Linux, try this before doing anything else.

just wanted to share that i finished "dressing up" my lutris covers so theyre a bit more cohesive and i added much-needed categories!

blender and bodyshop get their own covers for very cool'n'spooky reasons. highly recommend!

for anyone wondering, in the first screenshot with the sims 2 splash screen and "waverly": the splash loads the nhood selector in case i need pleasantview or strangetown for testing purposes (i realize i can have separate load-ins for these too but meh), waverly just loads right into waverly! all the entries in that top screenshot all load into their respective nhoods/screens 🖤

If you're trying to play Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill (Original Version), or Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned For Danger on a Linux device via Wine/Lutris/CrossOver/etc., and everything seems to be working fine except the audio, which skips to the next file/track without any input, then try this:

Open your Wine Bottle's C: Drive, and navigate to your game's installation directory.

Locate the "Game.ini" file, and open it in whatever .txt editor your distro has (like gedit).

Find, within the file, where it says "UseDirectSound"

This setting should be set to a value of 1, by default.

Backspace the 1 and type a 0 (zero) in its place.

Save the file.