Re: Poor graphics/low-resolution/graphics glitches (TS3 64-bit)

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@fififoofoo3123  You should, in theory, be able to play on ultra settings.  I have the same Mac as you (although not with the upgraded CPU) and play mostly on ultra in Windows.  In practice however, water and high-detail lots have always been hard on the game engine, and it's best to turn those down to "mirrors only" and 2, respectively, unless you're taking screenshots.  The framerates were also a lot worse in macOS than in Windows, although that should have improved somewhat with the new version.

I haven't had much of a chance to test this particular aspect of performance, but I remember in the previous version of Sims 3, putting tree detail on the highest setting had a startlingly large effect on fps.  Perhaps it's something about how the trees wave in the wind, I don't know.  Point is, try turning that down a notch and see how your framerates look.  That's a good metric for performance, that is if your Mac can cool itself properly and isn't throttling performance.

What settngs you should use will also depend on the packs you have installed, and (if you have Seasons) what the weather is like.  Rain, snow, and hail are more demanding than a sunny day; pets are stressful, and long-haired pets and horses especially so.  You may need to turn down the graphics to adjust, but you'll need to experiment a bit to find out.

To see your in-game framerates, bring up the cheats console (now cmd-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner of your screen, and you can use it as a rough comparison.

The screen tearing is real, and difficult to deal with.  Try different resolutions in both fullscreen and windowed modes; in fullscreen, be sure to use only resolutions with a 16:10 aspect ratio, the same as your screen.  Unlike most of the other settings, you can change these with a save already loaded and not worry about restarting.

If you do settle on your preferred settings, I'd love to know what they are, along with the packs you have installed.

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thank you so much for this reply! i currently have Sims base game with late nite and loft stuff pack (included with metal) installed. i’m going to install supernatural but i don’t think i’ll ever want seasons/pets, so hopefully that’ll help with frame rate! 

edit: i also have a cooling fan under my Mac just for longevity :-)

Have no idea what to do. Haven't played the game properly yet as I can't seem to remove the black borders from the game that are either side of the screen, could someone help? There isn't a fullscreen option so I can't just make it fullscreen either, would appreciate the help.

@ItsDylann  You're already in fullscreen mode, and the black borders are there because the in-game resolution you're using is very different from the resolution of your screen.  So instead of stretching the game window to fit, the black borders get added.

As @Arual7296 mentioned, you can try a different in-game resolution, although be sure to pick one that has the same aspect ratio as your screen.  (To see it, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, select About This Mac, and click the Displays tab.)  As an example, my screen's native resolution is 2880x1800, which is a 16:10 aspect ratio, so I use other 16:10 in-game resolutions when in fullscreen mode.

Or you could try windowed mode.  Click cmd-enter to switch back and forth between fullscreen and windowed.