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Bluebellflora's avatar
Bluebellflora
Hero+
5 years ago
Solved

[CURRENT ISSUE 64-bit] red flashing game window

Users have reported that the game screen can sometimes flash red for a second or until they interact with the game window again. Reports so far state that it can happen: going up/down floor leve...
mac
technical issues
  • ashbymcdonald's avatar
    ashbymcdonald
    5 years ago

    I am pretty sure the red flashing screen issue has to do with the number of objects that need to be displayed at one time.  This is why on large lots with a lot of objects, the problem only occurs when you zoom out or increase the number of viewable floors on the buildings (go up a few floors), which causes more objects to have to be rendered. 

    So the solution I have found is to go to options>graphics and check the "enable object hiding" box.   This should fix the problem even if you have maxed out graphics settings.    

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago

@spencertenesen14  Uploading videos to a third-party hosting service and linking them is fine.  But it's not really necessary—the issue was reported at the time, and it's pretty easily reproduced if anyone from EA is still looking into it.  So if you want to, go ahead, but it's not worth going too much out of your way.

I'll take a look at those lots when I have time, which was not last night and won't be tonight, unfortunately.  I'm guessing I won't have any further insight to offer either; you've tested pretty thoroughly already.

ba0ef18cb8c3b02's avatar
ba0ef18cb8c3b02
2 years ago

Hello there,

        I need some help. I keep getting that red screen on my MacBook Pro as the others do, but it only happens during the build mode in The Sims 3. My MacBook Pro is a brand new computer with the M2 chip, so I am fairly certain it isn't that. This happens almost every time I build something and zoom out to look at it. At first I thought it was the size of the house I was building because it never happened on the smaller ones, however this time it happened on one that wasn't so big although not right away, it started after I finished adding furniture and stuff, but when the house was empty with just the kitchen and three bathrooms done, it did do that. only after adding the furniture and a car. and when I bulldoze the lot, the red screen goes away too. I normally have a lot of patience, but this is getting very irritating. I really like this game, and it's frustrating that I can't enjoy it because of this. Please is there a way to stop this from happening? I've asked in some Facebook groups and they just rag on me for having a Mac and are of absolutely no help at all. I've sent EA at least three error reports on this, and I've yet to see it resolved. although they did help me fix the freezing and crashing issues I was having. You seem to know what you're talking about, so I figured I would ask you if you have any suggestions on how I can fix this issue, or if there's something I can do on my end. I'm not a tech savvy guy lol :D so a detailed list would be good :P it's 2023, this kind of thing really shouldn't be happening in my opinion, but I guess maybe its because the game is old. Anyway thanks for taking the time reading this.

Sincerely David...

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @ba0ef18cb8c3b02d  Try enabling object hiding, which is an option on the game page as the other graphics settings.  Change the setting at the Main Menu, then quit to desktop before loading the save.

    In terms of why this happens, I believe it has to do with certain objects being two floors down from where the camera is currently focused.  So having a single-story house would get around the problem, as would happening to not have any of those objects present.  But it's been more than two years since I last tested, and I was never able to completely explain the issue, only describe the context where it would happen.

  • ba0ef18cb8c3b02's avatar
    ba0ef18cb8c3b02
    2 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict  Hay, thanks for the reply. I have other houses that are two floors, such as the one my character lives in, and some other public ones that I have built that have a lot of stuff in them. so I'm curious how it can be ones with more than one floor. but I will try the thing you suggested. I will let you know whether or no it works.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @ba0ef18cb8c3b02d  I was a bit vague in my earlier reply because I'm not entirely sure about the trigger for this issue.  In my experience at least, it seemed to only happen when a build had at least three floors, but two might be enough, or two plus a foundation.  The problem isn't the multiple levels so much as having a certain item two levels (or perhaps only one level) down from the floor you're viewing, so whether a given build had the issue would depend on the objects used.  It also seemed to depend on where the camera was centered and how zoomed out I was.

    Anyway, checking the box to Enable Object Hiding was a reliable fix for me, and I hope it fixes the issue for you.

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