[CURRENT ISSUE] sims 3 64 bit & metal keeps crashing?

@daydreamqt  Please post the full specs of your Mac, as described here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/4756624#M2878

Please also let me know whether there's a pattern to the crashing, for example if you or your sims do anything specific.  And let me know whether you use mods and custom content as well.  It's fine if you do, but the content does need to be taken into account.

Operating System (Version): Version 10.15.7

Mac model: MacBook Pro 13 inch 2019 

Processor: 1.7 GHz Quad Core Intel Core i7

Memory (RAM): 8GB 2133 MHz 

Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 1536 MB

Are you running any antivirus?: No

What Expansion and Stuff Packs do you have installed?: Base game, Generations, Late Night, Pets, Seasons, University Life, High End Loft Stuff 

Do you use CC/Mods? If so, have you tried removing them and seeing if that fixes your problem?: No I don't use CC/Mods

I made 1 sim and a cat, and then I was taken to the map view where you can choose what home you want to live in. Previewing a house makes the game freeze for a moment and the rainbow wheel to show up, and then it loads and works fine. Exiting the house preview makes it do the same thing, and then after a few seconds it works fine. The first time around I had my sim buy the house and when the lot loaded up with my sims there I went to build/buy mode and was rearranging the furniture. I used the moveobjects cheat just so things would look a little nicer, and then it just crashed. The second time I got a bit farther. I was able to just buy the house and use moveobjects, etc. Then, I had the cat stay at the house while my sim went to the library. Fast forwarding time on the 3rd speed makes my game freeze, and after a minute or so it works fine (I kept pressing pause and hitting the normal speed while it was frozen). I tried it a second time and tried only doing the 2x speed and the same thing happened. And after a minute of normalcy it just crashed again... I'm not sure whats going on, but honestly both times I feel like I was able to play for about the same amount of time before the crashing... 

@daydreamqt  As a test, could you try doing the same thing except without a cat in the household?  Pets have always been demanding to render, and it would be useful to know whether the pet is the issue in this case or it's something else.

Okay, I just ran a test. I made only 1 sim, no pets. After making the sim and going to the map view where you can pick a house to move into, everything was smooth. Short loading time for the lot preview, both entering and exiting it. I picked a house and decided to not move any furniture. I just had my sim go to the library and get started on a skill. Fast forwarding time at first was smooth, and then it froze my game again. So after it was done freezing and the rainbow wheel went away, I just kept it at the normal speed. I wanted her to go to the park, so I went to the map view and when I clicked on the lot, it froze again and the rainbow wheel appeared. It was like that for a while and then it loaded the lot. I had her "go here" (just some random area on the lot) and I followed her to the lot. However, when she stepped onto the lot it hadn't fully loaded in yet, and then my game froze again. I just saved and quit after that. It froze three times in less than ten minutes... again, I thought the 64bit was supposed to push the computer and make it less buggy ☹️ ...

@daydreamqt  This was just a compatibility update: something to make the game run in operating systems that don't support 32-bit apps.  The game is supposed to be as buggy as it ever was, although your issues are beyond the normal problems in either version of the game.

Please post a screenshot of your in-game settings.  When in-game, click cmd-enter to switch to windowed mode.  Click the three dots in the lower left corner of the game window, select Options, and take a screenshot of the settings in the first tab.  To take a screenshot, click cmd-shift-4 and drag your cursor over the section of screen you want to capture.  The screenshot will land on your desktop, and you can embed it within or attach it to a post.

Ah okay, that makes sense. Anyway, I attached the screenshot. For whatever reason, the game forces my whole screen into a 4:3 aspect ratio and changing the settings just makes all the UI super tiny in-game and doesn't actually change the ratio of the screen... That's something that is inconvenient but manageable. The freezing every few minutes is my main issue ☹️ But anyway, those were the default settings. I didn't change them except for the "Enable Animation Smoothing" (when I played the game I enabled it). 

@daydreamqt  For the screen resolution, try deleting options.ini (in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3) and letting the game spawn a new one.  Switch to windowed mode (cmd-enter) and apply the change, then switch to another resolution.

When you change any settings other than those two, be sure to do so at the Main Menu and then quit the game before loading a save.

As a test, please change all your settings to low and see whether the same issues occur.  I'm not saying you need to play on low settings going forward, but I am wondering whether a particular setting is a problem.

Thank you for the tip about the screen resolution! It looks a lot better now lol. Anyway, I made all the settings to the very lowest. I think that's what the issue was! I was able to have time fast forward with no problems and have my sim travel from one lot to another with no freezing. What should I do so that I don't have to play with all the graphics at the lowest setting though? 

@daydreamqt  The fast-forwarding may be an issue going forward—it's often a problem even in Windows on computers that can otherwise handle all packs on ultra settings.  For the other issue, try raising one or two settings at a time and see how it goes.  Your graphics chip is above the minimum requirement for this new version of Sims 3, but not by a large margin, so performance may always be less than ideal.

I'd be interested to know whether certain settings, and certain levels within those settings, tend to cause more issues than others, so please let me know what you find.  The point is though to figure out how you can play with good enough graphics and no crashes, so if you find some combination that works for you, stick with it.

Hi!! So I finally got the Sims 3 64 bit for my Mac and it runs pretty good and I am very happy with it, there is only one problem. It keeps freezing every like 10 seconds, this didn't happen before though. When it freezes my cursor turns into the like rainbow spinning ball if you know what I mean, I'd like to know how to fix this! :D