-: ATTN - if your game won't start, READ HERE :-
Update 30th August 2015 -
Thanks to @tmethei, @the11thmoon, @wendyp7 for detailing their graphics cards and posting how they fixed their issue. We finally now have a fix that works! I've written a really comprehensive guide on my website with detailed instructions for all affected Macs :D
On this very helpful forum for Mac users we already have Tremayne's fantastic stickied thread - "A Mac user's best friend..." which has links to every possible conceivable problem you are experiencing on your Mac in relation to The Sims 3. Believe me, we have seen all issues before, your problem isn't new and you are not the only one experiencing it. That post should be your very first port of call before you even think about starting your own thread.
In the last few months the most frequent post is that the user's Mac will not load the game at all past the loading splash screen. The Launcher opens (trust me, you should be extremely thankful that that even happens), the user presses the big Play symbol, the game loads the blue splash screen with the green plumbob then nothing. Zilch. Nada. Nani mo. Niente. Zero. Not a sausage.
I'm going to hazard a guess now that you're thinking "but my Mac is superduper and new and can do absolutely anything including the washing up and take the kids to school". Yes, yes it can do all those things but it can't play The Sims 3. Why? Because your super pretty, all singing, all dancing Mac has a graphics card inside it's pretty aluminium casing, attached to the beautifully designed logic board, which isn't supported in the game. In plain speak, the game doesn't know what to do so gives up.
If you have one of the following graphics cards (GPU) in your Mac, you have a problem:
Intel HD 6000 - found in the following Macs:
AMD Radeon R9 M370X - found in the following Mac:
- : - : - : -
Now, you have two options to try and get your game working:
Option 1 -
This is thanks to two wonderful Simmers who have taken the time to post how to possibly get your game working. It involves concentration and courage so pay attention! You must understand though that this fix doesn't appear to be working for everyone:
Read this thread by @tmethei. It gives extremely clear and concise instructions on where to find the relevant files that you have to change for the game to recognise your graphics card. His instructions are for the Intel Iris Pro.
If you have the AMD Radeon R9 M370X read this post and this post by @the11thmoon. They used tmethei's instructions but substituted Intel Iris for their AMD Radeon GPU.
If you have the Intel HD 6000..... well, I'm afraid I don't have the exact line you need to add to the GraphicsCards.sgr file as no one with this GPU has bothered trying yet. You could always be the first and post your success story here to share with others.
Option 2 -
Try just running the base game with no Expansion or Stuff packs, patched up to date, 1.67.
- : - : - : -
And one more thing, please, please, please, PLEASE don't moan about it not working. We all know how awful it must be for you but here are the steps for you to try and get the game working on your Mac. EA aren't going to release a patch to miraculously fix this. The Sims 3 finished when the last Expansion Pack, Into The Future, was released in October 2013. The last patch, 1.67, was released in January 2014. No one else can do this but you, there is no magic fix. You are all on your own.
I highly recommend you also read Caspin's very helpful thread and WinMacSims3's equally helpful thread. Yes, we have an overload of threads on this issue but us helpers hope that by saturating the Mac forum with posts about the same thing but with different titles, it may stop the same threads being posted over and over and over again. Capisce?
If you can add anything constructive to this thread then it would be most welcome :)
@Tremayne4260 @caspinwall @igazor @tamalinn @Ashpeef @WinMacSims3
Thanks to @tmethei, @the11thmoon, @wendyp7 for detailing their graphics cards and posting how they fixed their issue. We finally now have a fix that works! I've written a really comprehensive guide on my website with detailed instructions for all affected Macs :D
On this very helpful forum for Mac users we already have Tremayne's fantastic stickied thread - "A Mac user's best friend..." which has links to every possible conceivable problem you are experiencing on your Mac in relation to The Sims 3. Believe me, we have seen all issues before, your problem isn't new and you are not the only one experiencing it. That post should be your very first port of call before you even think about starting your own thread.
In the last few months the most frequent post is that the user's Mac will not load the game at all past the loading splash screen. The Launcher opens (trust me, you should be extremely thankful that that even happens), the user presses the big Play symbol, the game loads the blue splash screen with the green plumbob then nothing. Zilch. Nada. Nani mo. Niente. Zero. Not a sausage.
I'm going to hazard a guess now that you're thinking "but my Mac is superduper and new and can do absolutely anything including the washing up and take the kids to school". Yes, yes it can do all those things but it can't play The Sims 3. Why? Because your super pretty, all singing, all dancing Mac has a graphics card inside it's pretty aluminium casing, attached to the beautifully designed logic board, which isn't supported in the game. In plain speak, the game doesn't know what to do so gives up.
If you have one of the following graphics cards (GPU) in your Mac, you have a problem:
- Intel Iris and Iris Pro - found in the following Macs:
- All Late 2013 Retina 13" MacBook Pros and subsequent models
- Entry level (cheapest) Late 2013 Retina 15" MacBook Pro and subsequent models
- Late 2014 mid (2.6 Ghz) and higher (2.8 Ghz) spec. Mac mini
- Entry level (cheapest) Late 2013 21" iMac
- Early 2015 11" MacBook Air
- Early 2015 13" MacBook Air
- High spec. (most expensive) Mid 2015 Retina 15" MacBook Pro
Now, you have two options to try and get your game working:
Option 1 -
This is thanks to two wonderful Simmers who have taken the time to post how to possibly get your game working. It involves concentration and courage so pay attention! You must understand though that this fix doesn't appear to be working for everyone:
Option 2 -
Try just running the base game with no Expansion or Stuff packs, patched up to date, 1.67.
And one more thing, please, please, please, PLEASE don't moan about it not working. We all know how awful it must be for you but here are the steps for you to try and get the game working on your Mac. EA aren't going to release a patch to miraculously fix this. The Sims 3 finished when the last Expansion Pack, Into The Future, was released in October 2013. The last patch, 1.67, was released in January 2014. No one else can do this but you, there is no magic fix. You are all on your own.
I highly recommend you also read Caspin's very helpful thread and WinMacSims3's equally helpful thread. Yes, we have an overload of threads on this issue but us helpers hope that by saturating the Mac forum with posts about the same thing but with different titles, it may stop the same threads being posted over and over and over again. Capisce?
If you can add anything constructive to this thread then it would be most welcome :)
@Tremayne4260 @caspinwall @igazor @tamalinn @Ashpeef @WinMacSims3
