Forum Discussion

Anonymous

13 years ago

Solved

My sims3 game runs slow on my mac

OK so I have a macbook pro that runs all my adobe suite without any trouble but for SOME REASON sims3 is so slow its unbearable to play, its like watching grass grow. the sim will pause for like 3 mi...

mac

gaa17
13 years ago
Memory with the game is handled terribly for Mac Simmers because the game uses Cider. Cider tells the game our systems are running a 32-bit WinXP system with only 2gb of RAM (even though are Mac specs are better than that!) so that it's "compatible" for our system. If you haven't already, turn down all the visual effects and turn off both advanced rendering and disable the smoothing option. that should help with the lag.
I'm not sure how much troubleshooting you've already tried, but here's some advice:

If you actually want to "play" the game as it's supposed to work, then get a PC or Bootcamp & Windows for your Mac. The game is not natively written for our systems (I have a mid-2009 Macbook Pro). As long as EA uses Cider, a "wrapper" for the game that enables Macs to play Windows games, it's going to crash with memory issues.

Do not follow EA game advisors' advice without taking into account that many times their advice is wrong for Mac users and can harm our systems. Just use common sense when it comes to their "advice."

Here are two good posts from the Sims 3 Mac forum that have a couple of useful "band-aids" to get the game to play longer before it crashes/ reduce lag:
-- http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/658546.page
-- http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/611723.page

gaa17

13 years ago

Memory with the game is handled terribly for Mac Simmers because the game uses Cider. Cider tells the game our systems are running a 32-bit WinXP system with only 2gb of RAM (even though are Mac specs are better than that!) so that it's "compatible" for our system. If you haven't already, turn down all the visual effects and turn off both advanced rendering and disable the smoothing option. that should help with the lag.

I'm not sure how much troubleshooting you've already tried, but here's some advice:

If you actually want to "play" the game as it's supposed to work, then get a PC or Bootcamp & Windows for your Mac. The game is not natively written for our systems (I have a mid-2009 Macbook Pro). As long as EA uses Cider, a "wrapper" for the game that enables Macs to play Windows games, it's going to crash with memory issues.

Do not follow EA game advisors' advice without taking into account that many times their advice is wrong for Mac users and can harm our systems. Just use common sense when it comes to their "advice."

Here are two good posts from the Sims 3 Mac forum that have a couple of useful "band-aids" to get the game to play longer before it crashes/ reduce lag:
-- http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/658546.page
-- http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/611723.page

vickyyicki
10 years ago
I'm having the same problem with my laptop Macbook Air. Where do I change those options (that you recommended)?
- Bluebellflora
  Hero+
  10 years ago
  @vickyyicki
  
  Please read the stickied thread on this forum regarding issues and help on Sims 3 and Macs. Purging/resetting RAM is especially important.
- curlyfryx
  New Novice
  9 years ago
  Hey, I am having the same problem with my macbook air, the sims 3 game is so laggy even when i try and create a sim its colour changes and doesnt even load. Takes forever, did you find a solution?
  - Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    9 years ago
    @curlyfryx
    
    Is your MacBook Air a 2015 model? http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/CURRENT-ISSUE-The-Sims-3-Issues-playing-on-newer-post-2013-Macs/m-p/4935394#U4935394