Black squares on screen and crashing

[Bluebellflora]

@pcjr_ea

No other line of Mac models have these specific issues, they are unique to The Sims 4 on these 16" Macs with 5300M and 5500M GPUs. Has anyone posted an issue with the 5600M? There's nothing Apple can do as it's an issue on the Sims 4 side that EA should address. What are the Mac minimum system requirements for Magic Arena? Does it say it must be a Mac that supports Metal?

The Config.log file is in the Sims 4 folder where your saves etc. are. You can attach it to a post here.

[pcjr_ea]

@Bluebellflora 

I'm not sure what you mean by "they are unique to The Sims 4 on these 16" Macs". I think I get the same symptoms as you running Arena as either a native Mac OS app or within a Parallels Windows VM.

Mac systems requirements for Magic Arena:

OS: macOS X/10 (64-bit Intel)
Processor: Intel Core i5
Memory: 4 GB
Graphics: 1024MB
VRAM Resolution: 1280 x 720 minimum display resolution

They are relatively low. I have a  2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 and 64GB RAM. This game is also supported on Android.

In Magic Arena forums, I see 16" MBP users complaining about the same issues. I've done a bit of searching for this problem with Magic Arena and I find quite a few hits. This person has had the problem with both the native app and Parallels (I sent them a message with the parallels work around).

[Bluebellflora]

@pcjr_ea

No other Mac model displays the issues in the Sims 4 that these 16” MBPs do. It doesn’t happen on any 15”, 13”, any iMacs or Mac mini. There is clearly an issue with these specific model Macs and the Sims 4. You’re also saying it happens with another game, Magic Arena. So maybe there is some common factor between the two games?

Does Magic Arena ONLY work on Metal supported Macs? Or is it OpenGL compatible too? How does it play on any other model Mac?

You keep comparing your issues with the game running in Parallels but this just isn’t a relevant comparison because the game is running in Windows via a VM. It is not running the Metal API natively, is loading Parallels drivers, and running in a different OS. This is why I have asked for your Config.log file, to compare with the game running natively in macOS.

[Bluebellflora]

Just had a thought if anyone wants to give this a go.....

Follow the steps here - https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-4-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting... but don't do step 4, repairing the game. This should force Origin to prompt you to install the Legacy Edition of the game. I wonder how it will perform without using Metal?

[pcjr_ea]

@Bluebellflora 

Definitely some common factor between the two games.

If Parallels Windows tries to use the Metal API with Magic Arena, it crashes the GPU and usually the VM, but also sometimes the entire system. If the Metal API is disabled in the VM there are no problems at all. What conclusions would you draw from this?

I have never played SIMS, sorry if I somehow left you with the impression that I did. This forum is the best one I've found that discusses this issue with the MBP. I just wanted to offer information that its not just SIMS that causes the MBP to fail.

I am working a lot with Apple support to try to get a software/firmware fix for this. At their request, I've sent them Capture Data logfiles multiple times along with timestamps for when the problem happened. So far, they have only responded by replacing my logic board. Its been replaced three times now. I'll be spending more time on the phone with them again tomorrow.

[Bluebellflora]

@pcjr_ea

Apple often replace logic boards when the immediate issue isn't apparent. That you've had 3 now is a pretty good indicator that there is not an issue with the Mac but the game and how it's utilising the hardware.

I'm happy you've found this thread helpful

[drhe177]

@Bluebellflora I tried doing that, but it didn't work. I got an error message saying that I needed to download Legacy and I tried to install it from Origin, but my regular game keeps overriding it or something. It's not working. I tried a few other instructions I found online but couldn't get Legacy to install properly.

[Bluebellflora]

@drhe177

Interesting. It's definitely not running the Legacy Edition? Do you have gallery access and packs released since Realm of Magic are accessible?

Another way to try to force it to load Legacy is startup in Safe Mode - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh21245/mac

Thanks for trying

[isaroo]

Basically I am dying here. I had these floors being see through, i went into build mode added and removed flooring didn’t work. I uninstalled and reinstalled the sims. Removed all mods. Several repairs. Deleted my mods and tray folder and got them back when i re opened. And i try new games, different houses, different saves. Nothing. These weird black and red flashing things. I even restarted my computer. I love the sims so much and I have spent so much on it because i love it so much and this is driving me crazy. Someone please help.

[Bluebellflora]

@isaroo 

Please can you provide more information about your Mac. Instructions on how to do so and what to provide here - http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-4-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/4612...

Also, here's a help page on how to take screenshots on a Mac - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201361