[64-Bit] Can't click anything to play beyond mod screen

[desia2003]

When I open the first launcher (where it shows you store content, all the sims 3 packs you have installed) I can click the play button there, but the second one where you are able to choose a save family or make a new one I can't click anything. The music is still playing and I'm stuck on the screen where it shows the mods I have installed but I can't click the check mark. 

I also don't know if this is related or not but I can't log into my Sims 3 store acc in the first launcher either.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@desia2003  You can fix the stuck on connecting issue by removing the Keychain data for the game.  Open Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access, search for sims , and delete anything you see with sims3 in the name.  Then don't try to login at the Main Menu.

[puzzlezaddict]

@desia2003  Do you have any apps running that include overlays, for example Discord?  If so, please close them completely (Quit, don't just close the window) before launching Sims 3.  Disable the Origin in-game overlay too: hover over your username, select Application Settings, then Origin in-game, and disable the option at the top.

[desia2003]

@puzzlezaddict I'm not sure what counts as an overlay, so I quit everything except chrome and safari. I also disabled origin in-game like you said. Sadly I still cannot click the button I hear the music and everything like normal, just can't click.

[puzzlezaddict]

@desia2003  Are you playing in fullscreen or windowed mode, and does it help to switch?  Please try at the Main Menu with cmd-return: I'd like to know whether this works.  But if not, you can edit options.ini, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3.  Search for "fullscreen" without quotes and set it to 1 or 0, whichever you haven't been using.

If this doesn't help, do you have use any accessibility settings or apps?  I've seen a couple of cases where this was the culprit.  You can try disabling the app or setting(s), or if you'd prefer not to mess with your current setup, you can instead create a new admin account on your Mac and change the settings there.  (Or just make sure you're using all default settings.)

[desia2003]

@puzzlezaddict I'm playing in windowed! Followed your advice and I tried to switch at the main menu, but I wasn't able to switch to fullscreen mode by command+return. I then went and changed the fullscreen from 1 to 0, but when I did it didn't change at all and was still windowed. Not sure what I did wrong there.

For the second part, I'm a bit confused on what accessibility settings or apps I should be changing! Or what apps/part of my mac settings I should be looking at.

[puzzlezaddict]

@desia2003  You were actually in fullscreen mode the first time and switched to windowed by setting fullscreen to zero.  What I'm guessing is that the game window had black bars on either side, which is a compensation so the window doesn't stretch unnecessarily.

I don't know what settings or apps you might be using, and to be honest I'm not sure where to look since I've never used any of these features myself.  If you know what you've installed, or someone else in your household does, you can simply disable the relevant app(s) and go from there.  If you're not sure, just try playing in a new user account, one with all default settings, and see how it goes.  This doesn't entirely prevent apps from having an effect, but at the very least it should rule out any user settings specific to your current account.

[desia2003]

@puzzlezaddict I can't remember exactly, but I dont think I had any black bars but I can't be sure. I did go back and forth with the 0 and 1 a couple times but it stayed windowed in both!

Since I can't figure out my setting I decided to try on a new user like you said but when I made a new fresh user it didn't even open! I let it redownload everything and when I would press the play button on the first launcher it would take me straight back to origin.

[puzzlezaddict]

@desia2003  That's quite odd.  Is the new account an admin account, and where was the original Sims 3 installed?  (I mean in the old user account.)  Regardless, you can get rid of the new account if you want; I suspect the two installs of Sims 3 are the problem here, or rather, Origin is still trying and failing to use the original install despite your having reinstalled.

In your main account, I'd be curious to know what user settings, if any, you've changed with regards to accessibility or the scaling of your monitor.

If you didn't see a change when editing options.ini, it's possible you were editing the wrong copy, as in, one that's in iCloud rather than stored locally on your computer.  The way to get to the latter is to open a Finder window and click Macintosh HD in the left panel, then Users > your username > Documents > etc.  If you don't see Macintosh HD, click Finder in the upper left corner, then Preferences > Sidebar, and check the box next to hard disks.

[desia2003]

@puzzlezaddict Yes the new account was an admin account! Uhh I think the original Sims 3 was installed in the application of the user?? I don't know if it was related but I had to messa round with my origin settings for game library location and move it to /applications so my sims 4 could work. I can't remember if I was having this problem before I did that but I think I was? Other than that I can't remember if I have meddled with any application settings or anything.

I followed your advice and I changed the options.ini again and I think I got those black boxes you were talking about! It changed the quality of my entire laptop until I force quit it but the first time it was stuck on the connecting so I couldn't try and see if I could play. The second time I wasn't. stuck on connecting and I still wasn't able to click.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@desia2003  You can fix the stuck on connecting issue by removing the Keychain data for the game.  Open Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access, search for sims , and delete anything you see with sims3 in the name.  Then don't try to login at the Main Menu.