Re: [32-bit] Sims 3 - Mac Help, Guides and Troubleshooting
The 5-step guide to installing the Sims 3
Follow these steps, in this order, for the best possible chance of getting the game to run on your Mac. This does not 100% guarantee that the game WILL run but it gives you the best chance of hopefully playing. If you have previously had the game installed on your Mac make sure you have eradicated all traces of it by manually uninstalling the hidden files which the uninstaller doesn't remove. Also use that guide if your uninstaller cannot bee found or is corrupted. This guide has links to further detailed instructions for each process in order to keep the steps as concise as possible.
If at any stage of the installation process you receive a server error message please read these instructions to fix it.
Step 1:
Download and install the base game only. Once downloaded quit Origin. Now download and install the 1.67 patch. After patching launch your game. If it doesn't load or you receive an error message don't worry too much for now, move onto step 2.
Step 2:
If you have a 2013 or later model Mac it most probably has an unsupported graphics card/chip. You need to add your graphics to the GraphicsCards.sgr and GraphicRules.sgr game files. I have created a bunch of individual GraphicsCards.sgr and GraphicsRules.sgr files that you can download and copy/paste into your own sgr files here. After applying this fix you MUST check the deviceconfig.log file for the Found and Matched values. If your game has not generated the Sims 3 folder in your Documents > Electronic Arts folder then move onto steps 3,4,5 below and come back to step 2 afterwards. If your graphics card is not listed in my link please leave a comment and I will upload a test for you to download.
Step 3:
Install your first expansion or stuff pack, oldest first by release date. After installing open the Launcher and download any further patch if prompted. Launch the game then quit when you get to the main menu.
Step 4 (applicable only if you have one or more of the following packs - Ambitions, Late Night, Fast Lane, Outdoor Living):
These four packs are very problematic and the most common cause of the Unknown Error message. All packs must be present in the base game Application folder but these four are missing so you must add each one manually.
Step 5 (applicable only if you have one or more of the following packs - Ambitions, Late Night, Fast Lane, Outdoor Living):
The core game contents folder (which you should not normally have to worry about) for these four packs does not install properly so must be added to the pack which actually launches your game. For example, if Seasons is the most recent pack by release date you have installed then you add the contents folder to the Seasons folder. If you subsequently install a later pack, for example Into The Future, then you most copy the contents folder into the Into The Future folder. Don't worry if this sounds confusing, corey_0414 has uploaded a brilliant video tutorial here on how to do this. You absolutely MUST do this for each of the four packs. Best practice would be to copy over the folder(s) after installing each pack you own, launching your game after each install to check it is working.
If you do not have Ambitions, Late Night, Fast Lane, Outdoor Living then proceed to installing each pack in release date order, launching the game after each install to check the game is still working. If you're still having issues then please start a thread or post in an existing one and someone will help you.
