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puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
2 years ago

Re: Sims 3 64bit Graphics

@woejd  I haven't tested any myself, but an HQ mod should help with some of the issues at least.  These are essentially custom edits of the GraphicsRules.sgr file that tell the game things like what draw distance and level of detail to use.  In the Windows version of Sims 3, players report that these produce beautiful screenshots but aren't conducive to longer play sessions—the mods cause the game to use extra resources, leading to crashes.

This may or may not be a problem in the 64-bit Mac version: the game can use as much RAM as the system supports, but it's still not perfectly stable, and many elements were carried over from the 32-bit version.  Still, it doesn't hurt to try.  Just keep your original copy of GraphicsRules so you can revert if you don't like the results.  The file is here:

[install location] > The Sims 3.app > Contents > Resources > The Sims 3.app > Contents > Resources

(And yes, that's the same set of folders twice.)  To open the contents of an .app, right-click it and select "Show Package Contents."  The install location is wherever you installed the game, likely either Applications or Users > your username > Applications.

You may get a message about an unrecognized graphics card if you simply substitute a different .sgr file for the original.  That's because the 64-bit Mac version is edited to tell the game to set newer GPUs as recognized even if they're not in the database.  You can ignore this, or I can try to help fix it if you want.

The HQ mods help with things like sim detail, but as far as I know, there's no way to fix the pixelated shadows.  There is a shadow extender mod, but it's more of a utility and uses resources that only work in Windows.

3 Replies

  • woejd's avatar
    woejd
    2 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict Thank you for suggesting the HQ mod, i’ve taken the time to try it out, firstly by manually editing my graphics rules.. and well. nothing changed. Next i downloaded a pre-existing graphics rules..(HQ mod + no glow) and once again the results are still the same..

  • woejd's avatar
    woejd
    2 years ago

    to add to the pictures that i have attached here’s how the sims looks with the HQ mod + no glow. 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @woejd  I'm curious as to whether any edits make a difference: whether this GraphicsRules file is being read at all.  I have a test to propose, specifically making this edit:

    https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/17966641/#Comment_17966641

    Please start with the original GraphicsRules; if you didn't keep a copy, you can repair the game in Origin, which will restore the original.  You can scroll up a bit on that same page to see two screenshots (from me) demonstrating how lights show through dark hair without the edit, and then down a bit to see a before-and-after from another user.  Please test in a new save on a cc-free sim to be thorough.

    If the edit to GraphicsRules does fix the problem of hair showing through lights, great, we can try to figure out what other edits to make.  If not, then I'm not sure where to go from here but will ask around.

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