A Mac User's Best Friend!/PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING ANY NEW PROBLEM THREADS!!!!!!

First of all, I'd really like to thank BlueBellFlora for all the work, time and patience that she has put into researching and putting together many tips and tricks for the Mac users. This is a Mac user's Best Friend. Read this thread before posting any problems and I'm sure you'll find an answer to your question or concern. Caspinwall, itsaprilXD and tamalinn also have contributed to this thread and many guides other as well.

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/658546/latest-mac-help-threads-guides-please-start-here-before-posting-a-problem-updated-27-07-14/p1

The next thread is from caspinwall and details problems and solutions with using Origin. Yes, Origin does work on the Mac side. Yes, it is your best friend if you lose your disk and have registered your game. If there is a problem with a game not showing up in your Origin account and you have registered it, you will need to contact EA support.

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/727857/collecting-information-about-origin-on-mac/p1

And lastly not to toot my own horn, here is a thread about how to patch your game correctly and safely. I am patched to the current patch 1.67 and run all of the EP's and SP's as well as a lot of Store items and sets. My game is stable and runs fine. I haven't tried to run it on high graphics settings lately, but I'm sure it will run fine.

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/740366/how-to-update-your-game-when-a-new-patch-is-released#latest

We have another thread here that may help with the Disk Authentication Errors that several folks have had. It leads to the EA Help Forums.

http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/MAC-Disk-Verification-Error/m-p/3106024#M163986

If you are trying to play Sims 3 on a newer Macbook, here is a list of the new Macs which have the Iris Intel Graphics cards. Please be advised that Sims 3 does NOT recognize this brand of graphics card and you may experience weird graphics or the game may not start at all. There is a workaround since Sims 3 will never be updated again.

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/840249/macs-that-have-intel-iris-graphics#latest

So Mac users, join me in thanking these wonderful people who have researched and tested these solutions. I know I really appreciate all their hard work and time to write these guides. :D

EDIT as of April 2018:

Newer MacBooks have a hard time running this game with all the EPs/SPs. You can maybe run with the Base Game and a couple of EPs installed. Be warned that Seasons and Pets are usually the two that will give you the most trouble due to the intense graphics these EPs offer.

Since the release of El Capitan (Mac OS version), physical disks will no longer be recognized. You will have to play the digital version of the game through Origin. If you are the original owner of the disk, you can register the CD key at Origin for free and your digital copy will appear in your library. No need to repurchase the game.

If you find that the game does not run as you hoped on the Mac OS, try Bootcamping your Mac and running it through the Windows OS.

mac

technical issues

Bluebellflora
Hero+
11 years ago
You're absolutely welcome, although I find myself getting more impatient than helpful these days!

My game has always run pretty smoothly. I've had a few hiccups but nothing I haven't managed to sort out. I have all EPs bar Showtime and most SPs so my Mac is really having to work hard. So long as I purge RAM, everything is fine :) That's why I started the guide, so people could try things out for themselves which I know should help.

BUT, most importantly, thank YOU Tremayne for being on here regularly and answering so many posts. You're the most helpful of all of us and have the patience of a saint :)
Tremayne4260
Hero
11 years ago
Ok people, because you are too lazy to read these three threads which can really help you keep your game running smoothly, I'm resorting to large fonts and bolding to state this. Read the three threads included on the first page. They will help you solve most any problem in your game. If you honestly try and nothing works and you tell us what you tried to do, we will answer you and help you out. But when we see the same thread resurrected from like two years ago or a new post with a problem that already has been solved a million times before we get irritated. So if this seems like I am upset and irritated, I AM!

On the old Sims 2 Mac section, no acted like entitled little brats too dang lazy to read the threads to find solutions to their problems. So grow up and read these threads BEFORE posting. Thank you.
Bluebellflora
Hero+
11 years ago
Tremayne4260 wrote:
Ok people, because you are too lazy to read these three threads which can really help you keep your game running smoothly, I'm resorting to large fonts and bolding to state this. Read the three threads included on the first page. They will help you solve most any problem in your game. If you honestly try and nothing works and you tell us what you tried to do, we will answer you and help you out. But when we see the same thread resurrected from like two years ago or a new post with a problem that already has been solved a million times before we get irritated. So if this seems like I am upset and irritated, I AM!

On the old Sims 2 Mac section, no acted like entitled little brats too dang lazy to read the threads to find solutions to their problems. So grow up and read these threads BEFORE posting. Thank you.

BUT MY PROBLEM IS SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYONE ELSE'S

..... on a serious note, completely agree Tremayne :thumbup: I've had to ignore this forum for a couple of days because it drives me insane.
tamalinn
11 years ago
I wish a SimGuru would just sticky this, but that would require they visit the Mac threads for a change AND that they admit we have more difficulty getting the game to run than PC folks do.
Bluebellflora
Hero+
11 years ago
That's not true is it candy8? You've had plenty of help from lots of people on these forums and many of us have helped you with your game but you have refused to actually try some of the tips we provide because, in your own words:

http://bluebellflora.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/post5.jpg?w=764

You're, justifiably, cross with EA for making a game that really doesn't work well in OS X but you can't be bothered to help yourself, instead getting upset when you're not spoon fed the help you demand and crave.

Tremayne is not demanding credit for helping, she's pointing out, as I have done and many others, that you just can't help some people because they're not willing to help themselves.

Starting new, pointless, repetitive threads only serves to push further down the forum the threads which have the answers in them, if only some people actually bothered to look.
tamalinn
11 years ago
Jesus F-- BUMP

This thread is even on the first page. WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL POSTING THINGS THAT COULD BE EASILY SOLVED BY LOOKING AT THIS THREAD????
anachrosims
11 years ago
I'd add the link for my tutorial that I posted in the other thread buuuut apparently I haven't been around long enough anymore. Classy way to run a forum, EA.

It's in the "latest mac help threads" though, last page. I hope it helps :)
Bluebellflora
Hero+
11 years ago
@figureitout01 Sometimes you can't help people unless they help themselves. In the threads we have linked to are posts about the disc authorisation error you have encountered, together with the suggestion that I gave you about installing Origin. There are also linked threads about your downloaded content problems. Your problems are nothing new and have been asked hundreds of times on here and all over the web on Sims forums and EA's Answer HQ. All you have to do is spend some time searching yourself, rather than expect everyone to jump to your attention. Has it ever occurred to you that actually there are no fixes for some problems?

And in what way did our "solutions" break your game? I'm intrigued because none of the suggestions in any of the three linked threads are capable of breaking your game.
AussieSimmer1
11 years ago
Hi Mac Users!

I have recently purchased a MacBook Air 13' 128 GB model last week. I originally pre-ordered the Sims 4 before hand as I had a PC. I knew that you could play Sims 4 via bootcamp and other software but many origin advisors were saying that I should cancel my pre-order.

I do have a question....

If I were to pre-order Sims 4 for PC.... is it likely that once a mac version is released that the game itself in my account will be able to play both PC and MAC?

What do you guys think?

Please help! :)
Bluebellflora
Hero+
11 years ago
@David_Wharton there is a dedicated TS4 thread here:

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/758409/the-official-sims-4-for-mac-discussions-speculations-whatever#latest

:)