I'm testing the re-release out, this is what I found
Note: I got the game from Steam, there may be differences in other stores. Regardless, if you want to get this re-release, I recommend getting it either in Steam or in Epic Games, for easier refunds.
- Bugs:
I haven't had time to test more after the 2 patches, they claimed that they fixed disappearing Sims, in both of the patches... so who knows if it's fully fixed yet.
Vacations seem prone to infinite loading, judging from the reports I'm seeing.
Alien abductions aren't fully fixed.
The game won't launch in full screen if your PC doesn't support 60Hz. It always tries to go full screen by default, so have to force windowed mode and then it should work correctly.
- About the DRM:
Steam used to say that it needs the EA App and has Denuvo, that was a mistake. I can run TS2 offline, directly from the Sims2EP9.exe (Steam launches, it fails to connect, but the game opens anyway. The EA App doesn't even try to launch). The installation files also aren't protected, you can still install stuff there, or delete stuff (like the opening movie).
- Is there anything missing?
Some licensed songs are gone (but instead, I think that none of the songs are region locked anymore). It should be easy to get everything back, since you can easily add songs to the radio from "Music" folder in your Documents.
The Body Shop is missing missing, but you can still open it with the exe from the UC. The only problem is that the project files will be created in a different Documents/EA Games folder.
In terms of EPs and SPs, everything except the IKEA pack is there. But you can get the items back easily as well, following this guide. And here are the IKEA files are used.
- Compatibility fixes:
If you aren't a tech person, all you need to know is that the Graphics Rules Maker fixes and the 4GB patch are applied. So yes, you can choose your preferred resolution in game.
There's a "but" about the graphics card. The game doesn't run in an awful quality anymore, but it's possible that the game still doesn't use the graphics card. In this case, you'll probably get lower FPS than you should. You can use the app of your card's brand to force the game to use it (better Google for the process, because I can't type a tutorial for the 3 brands).
The game still uses the same DirectX versión, so none of the problems related to that seem to be fixed.
- Interface:
There was an attempt. The CAS UI is unchanged for 1080p, and it's smaller than usual in live/buy/build modes. But it doesn't get any smaller when you use a higher resolution. See this comment for CAS comparison at 1440p, see here for live mode comparison at different resolutions.
Also, my "CAS56Plus" mod (which moves the interface to the right and adds more columns) is still working perfectly.
• Save files:
I transferred all my hoods from the UC, everything seems to be working. Everything loads, everything saves correctly.
• CC/mod compatibility:
All mods that go into the Downloads folder seem to be working! No problems so far with the over 10k files in my folder. (This is after installing the IKEA items like I explained above, it's important because there's a lot of CC that depends on them).
I've successfully installed the Scriptorium and the CEP as well. But you have to follow the manual installation.
Camera mods also work.
The RPC Launcher and RPCLib don't work.
More detailed list here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_kn2hOlR4_oiIpptPSHw01v0qoEWx9XitDD8u8e47c4/htmlview
• Other:
Black box shadows are fixed (not disabled, but fixed).
Pink flashing seems to be harder to trigger, but it can still happen.
I have the old UC still installed. It's still working, and the Documents folder doesn't conflict either.
Performance seems to be the same for me, including loading times, but some people say it's improved.
The game launches in full screen, you can use alt+enter to switch between windowed and full screen. If you want to use borderless, you will have to use a tool like the "fullscreenizer". The RPC doesn't work (yet, hopefully? Since the game doesn't have DRM it shouldn't be hard to make it compatible).
Size is 12 GB, basically all the unnecessary files are gone. But the structure of the files is different. Every pack is separate and named like "EP1", "EP2", "SP7".
A folder "Sims Club" was created in Documents/EA Games. I have no idea what this is for, it has an XML file inside with some text, but it doesn't give me any clue.
The userStartup.cheat file works.
I compared the files of the default hoods, and it seems to be the exact same. So yeah, we still have the Strangetown brokenness.
Same with other package files like objects.package. Meaning that all patches are applied.