Re: sims 3 64 bit & metal keeps crashing?

hi, i am having a similar issue - ever since i began playing around a week ago it's been constantly freezing every couple of minutes and it makes it quite hard to play

around 15 minutes ago i launched the game to play it and when i began actually playing it became REALLY glitchy, it came up with weird splotchy patterns of black on the screen almost like the graphics were half loaded or something, and the blue controls/menu part down the bottom wasn't there like it usually is

i kept closing my laptop and opening it again as it kept doing it and then my laptop completely freaked out and turned off, made this weird buzzy sound and the apple logo came up on the screen saying that there was an error and it had to restart, i also had something come up saying 'kernel panic' which i researched a bit and apparently it's quite bad for that to happen.. this is a long explanation but i'm not sure what to do or if i should even launch the game again :/

also i'm definitely not a tech person at all i really don't know much about IT or computers or anything like that 

my laptops info is:

macOS catalina

version 10.15.7

macbook pro: 13 inch, 2019, two thunderbolt 3 ports

processor: 1.4 GHz quad-core intel core i5

memory: 8 GB

graphics: intel iris plus graphics

@sophtoph4  Please try playing in windowed mode (cmd-enter to switch at the Main Menu or in-game).  If that doesn't help, lower all the settings to their minimums and test.  You'll need to do this at the Main Menu, then quit to desktop and reload, rather than switching in-game.

If none of this helps, please attach your deviceconfig.log, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3.  You'll neeed to manually open the folders; the file won't show up in a search.  You can delete your user and computer names, about 25 lines down, but there's nothing else in that file that can identify you.

@paradise12233  Kernel panics are always a bad sign.  If you can, please take your Mac into an Apple Store or a certified to get it checked out.  In your situation, I wouldn't be comfortable doing anything on the computer before someone had examined it.

@kaat31  Thanks for the info.  So you're aware, the graphics chip in your Mac is actually under the minimum requirement for Sims 3.  While that doesn't mean you can't play, it does mean you may have to play on low settings.  Try windowed mode first, and if that doesn't help, try lowering all the settings to their minimum at the same time.  If that helps, you can raise one setting at a time to see which one(s) cause problems.  If you do find a particular setting or settings that cause more crashes, I'd love to know what they are.

Well this is a bit weird. I did everything you suggested.

what happened: opened new world. I was in the tutorial so I placed a household in a world and exited the tutorial. afterwards I went back to the main menu (bc i didn't want to play w that household). Then I opened the world I wanted to play in and selected that one household I wanted to play in. (Same household as last time) Same thing happened. it just immediately crashed. even tho it didn't during the tutorial.

Error report: 

Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000010
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Signal: Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process: exc handler [1208]

@kaat31  Switching saves at the Main Menu is never a good idea: the game doesn't release all the data from the previous save and can impose it on the next one, potentially leading to corruption or occasionally crashes.  So it can't be ruled out as a contributor to your issue.

In the new Sims 3 folder, please open CurrentGame and delete everything in there.  This folder should always be empty unless you're currently playing and have a save loaded.  Please also delete the five cache files in the Sims 3 folder; they should be deleted regularly anyway, and especially when you're troubleshooting.  The clean Sims 3 folder would get rid of them by definition, but whenever you don't want to start from scratch, you should definitely trash the files after a crash.  For reference, they are:

• CASPartCache.package
• compositorCache,package
• scriptCache.package
• simCompositorCache.package
• socialCache.package

By the way, if you find yourself in the tutorial and don't want to deal with it—the easy way to tell is you'll be missing an option in the initial game setup screen—just click the three dots in the lower left corner of your screen and select Edit Town.  The game will ask if you want to exit the tutorial, and once you say yes, you can click Return to Game Setup at the top of your screen to go back to the normal game setup scenario.

@BrittWentz  Thanks for the info.  The graphics card in your Mac is below the minimum requirement for Sims 3, although you may still be able to play.  Try playing only in windowed mode, and if that alone doesn't help, turning all the graphics options down to the minimum settings.

is there a fix for the crashing coming up ? Also the game seems laggy .

I'm not sure where to put this but I literally can't play my game for more than 10 seconds without getting the "spinning wheel of death". It almost immediately freezes every 2 seconds, makes the screen go black but so far it hasn't crashed. I haven't changed any of the game's settings, what can I do to fix it???? I'm on a 2020 Macbook Pro 

=== Application info ===
Name: Sims3
Version:
Build: Release
=== Rating info ===
GPU: 3 GPU Memory: 5 CPU: 4 RAM: 5 CPU Speed: 2600 Threading: 3
Adjusted CPU: 4020 RAM: 8192 Adjusted RAM: 7680 Cores: 2
Card Found in DB: 0
=== Machine info ===
OS version: Mac OS X Version 10.15.7 (Build 19H2)
OS prod type: 0
OS major ver: 10
OS minor ver: 15
OS SP major ver: 0
OS SP minor ver: 0
OS is 64Bit: 1
CPU: Macmini7,1
Brand: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4278U CPU @ 2.60GHz
Family: 8
Model: 7
Cores: 2
HT: 1
x64: 1
Memory: 8192MB
Free memory: 617MB
User: 
Computer: 
=== Graphics device info ===
Number: 0
Name (driver): Intel Iris
Name (database): Intel Iris [Found: 0, Matched: 1]
Vendor: Intel
Chipset: Vendor: 8086, Device: 0a2e, Board: 00000141, Chipset: 0009
Driver: macOS Metal driver, Version: 0.0.0.0
Driver version: 0
Monitor: 00000000
Texture memory: 1536MB
Vertex program: 3.0
Pixel program: 3.0
Hardware TnL: 0
=== Options ===
AnimationSmoothing 1
LightingQuality 2
GeneralReflections 2
TextureQuality 2
VisualEffects 3
TerrainQuality 1
EdgeSmoothing 1
ObjectHiding 1
AspectRatio 0
ForceSquarePixels 1
SimQuality 3
TreeQuality 2
DrawDistance 2
MaxActiveLots 2
NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6
AdvancedRendering 1
AudioQuality 3
Audi🤭utputMode 1
VoiceLevel 255
SoundFXLevel 255
MusicLevel 255
AmbientLevel 255
FocusMute 1
VoiceMute 0
SoundFXMute 0
MusicMute 0
AmbientMute 0
EdgeScrolling 0
EdgeScrollingWarning 0
SupressOpportunityDialogs 0
SuppressOpportunityDialogsWarningProducts 1493673
SimWhileMinimized 0
TwelveHourClock 1
ShowPlacementGrid 0
AutonomyLevel 2
DisableAutonomyForSelectedSim 0
PetAutonomyLevel 2
AgingInterval 2
EnableAging 1
EnableTutorial 1
EnableIntroTutorial 0
EnableTombResets 1
EnableInGameStore 1
EnableTelemetry 1
EnableMemories 1
AgingStageLengthBaby 3
AgingStageLengthToddler 7
AgingStageLengthChild 7
AgingStageLengthTeen 14
AgingStageLengthYoungAdult 21
AgingStageLengthAdult 21
AgingStageLengthElder 17
EnableInteractiveLoading 1
AgingStageLengthPuppy 0
AgingStageLengthDogAdult 0
AgingStageLengthDogElder 0
AgingStageLengthKitten 0
AgingStageLengthCatAdult 0
AgingStageLengthCatElder 0
AgingStageLengthFoal 0
AgingStageLengthHorseAdult 0
AgingStageLengthHorseElder 0
LunarCycleLength 3
LunarPhaseLength 0
EnableLunarCycle 1
EnableLunarPhase 0
EnableStoryProgression 1
EnableVampires 1
EnableWerewolves 1
EnablePets 1
EnableCelebrities 1
EnableFairies 1
EnableWitches 1
EnableHorses 1
EnableOptOutCeleb 0
ReceiveConnectTNS 0
ReceivedDevGift 0
PostFilterFlags 0
RequireLoginBeforeLoad 1
SummerLength 7
FallLength 7
WinterLength 7
SpringLength 7
SummerEnabled 1
FallEnabled 1
WinterEnabled 1
SpringEnabled 1
IsCelcius 0
FogEnabled 1
RainEnabled 1
SnowEnabled 1
HailEnabled 1
InvertHorizontalRotation 0
InvertVerticalRotation 1
VideoCaptureSize 1
VideoCaptureQuality 2
VideoCaptureSound 0
VideoCaptureTime 60
VideoCaptureHideUI 1
=== Default Options ===
AnimationSmoothing 1
LightingQuality 2
GeneralReflections 1
TextureQuality 2
VisualEffects 2
TerrainQuality 1
EdgeSmoothing 0
ObjectHiding 1
AspectRatio 0
ForceSquarePixels 1
SimQuality 2
TreeQuality 2
DrawDistance 2
MaxActiveLots 2
NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6
AdvancedRendering 1
AudioQuality 3
Audi🤭utputMode 1
VoiceLevel 255
SoundFXLevel 255
MusicLevel 255
AmbientLevel 255
FocusMute 1
VoiceMute 0
SoundFXMute 0
MusicMute 0
AmbientMute 0
EdgeScrolling 0
EdgeScrollingWarning 1
SupressOpportunityDialogs 0
SuppressOpportunityDialogsWarningProducts 0
SimWhileMinimized 0
TwelveHourClock 1
ShowPlacementGrid 0
AutonomyLevel 2
DisableAutonomyForSelectedSim 0
PetAutonomyLevel 2
AgingInterval 2
EnableAging 1
EnableTutorial 1
EnableIntroTutorial 1
EnableTombResets 1
EnableInGameStore 1
EnableTelemetry 1
EnableMemories 1
AgingStageLengthBaby 3
AgingStageLengthToddler 7
AgingStageLengthChild 7
AgingStageLengthTeen 14
AgingStageLengthYoungAdult 21
AgingStageLengthAdult 21
AgingStageLengthElder 17
EnableInteractiveLoading 1
AgingStageLengthPuppy 0
AgingStageLengthDogAdult 0
AgingStageLengthDogElder 0
AgingStageLengthKitten 0
AgingStageLengthCatAdult 0
AgingStageLengthCatElder 0
AgingStageLengthFoal 0
AgingStageLengthHorseAdult 0
AgingStageLengthHorseElder 0
LunarCycleLength 3
LunarPhaseLength 0
EnableLunarCycle 1
EnableLunarPhase 0
EnableStoryProgression 1
EnableVampires 1
EnableWerewolves 1
EnablePets 1
EnableCelebrities 1
EnableFairies 1
EnableWitches 1
EnableHorses 1
EnableOptOutCeleb 0
ReceiveConnectTNS 1
ReceivedDevGift 0
PostFilterFlags 0
RequireLoginBeforeLoad 0
SummerLength 7
FallLength 7
WinterLength 7
SpringLength 7
SummerEnabled 1
FallEnabled 1
WinterEnabled 1
SpringEnabled 1
IsCelcius 0
FogEnabled 1
RainEnabled 1
SnowEnabled 1
HailEnabled 1
InvertHorizontalRotation 0
InvertVerticalRotation 0
VideoCaptureSize 1
VideoCaptureQuality 2
VideoCaptureSound 0
VideoCaptureTime 60
VideoCaptureHideUI 1

@younglor and @fiendpinkish  Please attach your deviceconfig.log, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3.  You'll neeed to manually open the folders; the file won't show up in a search.  You can delete your user and computer names, about 25 lines down, but there's nothing else in that file that can identify you.

@younglor  I don't know if there will be a fix for the crashing, but you can try playing in windowed mode and with the lowest graphics settings to see whether it helps.  If the game is more stable, try raising one setting at a time to see which one(s) cause more crashes.  I'd be interested to know which ones work and which don't, if you have the patience to test (and of course if your game does stop crashing at all).  Please also test in Sunset Valley, at least long enough to figure out whether you can get the game to be stable.

@sophtoph4  Your graphics chip is actually under the minimum requirement for the 64-bit version of Sims 3.  That doesn't mean you can't play, just that the game won't necessarily run well.  Are you playing with pets in the household, and if so, does it help to not have any pets?  Is the game more stable in Sunset Valley?

Please also test with the graphics settings at their minimums.  From your deviceconfig, you have a few settings turned up to a degree that your graphics chip may not be able to handle.

@fiendpinkish  Please try playing in windowed mode, to see whether it helps.  Let me know either way.  If it doesn't help, please reduce all the in-game graphics settings to the minimum and test.  I'm not saying you have to keep playing like that, just that it's helpful to see whether you can get to a point where the game doesn't freeze or crash.

Is there a fix for the game crashing only when I use cc? I tested the game by placing sims that have cc and sims that don't and the game keeps crashing when I try to place the sims with cc in a house.  

@cuttieh01  The sims could have bad custom content, in which case the answer is to not use those sims or to try to remove their cc.  (There's a way to do it even in macOS, although it's not completely reliable.)  Or they could have cc that's too demanding for your hardware, which amounts to effectively the same thing.

Does this happen with any sims that have cc at all, or just a few that you want to use?  If it's the latter, please link me the sims so I can try them myself.

Please also attach your deviceconfig.log, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, so I know what kind of hardware and settings you have.  You'll need to manually open the folders; the file won't show up in a search.  You can delete your user and computer names, about 25 lines down, but there's nothing else in that file that can identify you.

I tried to place sims with only one item of cc compared to loads of cc and the one with only one item seemed to work just fine. Here is the deviceconfig.log

@cuttieh01  It sounds like the issue is that you previously installed some bad custom content.  While your Mac isn't particularly powerful, it should be able to run Sims 3 fine, but bad cc can crash the game on any computer.

When installing new cc, it's a good idea to test it out in a clean folder first, just to make sure it works correctly.  If you move your existing Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, a new folder will spawn when you open the launcher.  You can then install new cc itno that folder and have a look.  Check the launcher's installed content tab to make sure you didn't get any cc you didn't expect, and then load the game and have a look at the new items.

If you're satisfied the cc works, you can trash the new Sims 3 folder, put your old one back, and install the items again.  Then you'll be reasonably sure you're not risking your current saves or other content.

Is the cc I download supposed to show up in the Installed Content tab? Because when I put the files in the mods folder nothing shows but they show in cas. To add on, the cc I originally downloaded caused the same problem so I deleted all of the old cc and downloaded new cc (none of them are the same as the ones I previously installed) and it is causing the same problem. 

@cuttieh01  Custom content installed in Mods > Packages does not show in the launcher; the only items listed there are the ones installed from Sims3Packs.

Please download just a little custom content at a time and test.  There's a lot of bad cc out there, and it's really easy to add one item that breaks everything else.  Additionally, if you install too many items at once, that can corrupt the bundles into which the items are installed, even if the cc itself is fine.

If you install a few items and your game works fine, you can save a copy of the Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts (right-click and Copy, right-click on your desktop and Paste).  Then if the next batch of cc doesn't install correctly or your game stops working properly, you can trash the Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts and put the older one back rather than starting from scratch.

Hi,

Does anyone know if we can get a refund on the sims 3 because its not working anymore? I bought it earlier in the year before the update was released and now the updates not working and I don't really want to keep waiting for it to be fixed again. 

@Luisxxluisxx  EA's refund policy is that you can only get a refund within two weeks of buying a game even if you've never been able to play it.  Sometimes support reps will make small allowances beyond that, but the time frame tends to be on the scale of three or four weeks, not several months.  So I doubt you could get a refund for Sims 3.  You're welcome to try though.

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/

If you'd like to troubleshoot your issue, please let me know what happens when you play, or try to play.

I got to the point I just uninstalled the game completely. Such a shame.

Any more advice I switched to window mode and decreased the graphics and still nothing it keeps crashing! Before I would get the spinning rainbow and freezes and now I get it just kicking me out. I am playing with the game on window and the lowest graphics. 

=== Application info ===
Name: Sims3
Version:
Build: Release
=== Rating info ===
GPU: 3 GPU Memory: 5 CPU: 1 RAM: 5 CPU Speed: 1400 Threading: 3
Adjusted CPU: 2380 RAM: 16384 Adjusted RAM: 15872 Cores: 4
Card Found in DB: 0
=== Machine info ===
OS version: Mac OS X Version 10.16 (Build 20C69)
OS prod type: 0
OS major ver: 10
OS minor ver: 16
OS SP major ver: 0
OS SP minor ver: 0
OS is 64Bit: 1
CPU: MacBookPro15,4
Brand: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8257U CPU @ 1.40GHz
Family: 8
Model: 7
Cores: 4
HT: 1
x64: 1
Memory: 16384MB
Free memory: 3918MB
User: jennyslaughter
Computer: Jennys-MacBook-Pro
=== Graphics device info ===
Number: 0
Name (driver): Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
Name (database): Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 [Found: 0, Matched: 1]
Vendor: Intel
Chipset: Vendor: 8086, Device: 3ea6, Board: 00000178, Chipset: 0001
Driver: macOS Metal driver, Version: 0.0.0.0
Driver version: 0
Monitor: 00000000
Texture memory: 1536MB
Vertex program: 3.0
Pixel program: 3.0
Hardware TnL: 0
=== Options ===