Bad Graphic Details on iMac M1 Model [ Edited ]

[iyoung91]

Hello all, I have been reading through all of the questions on this form but have yet to see if there are any other iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) users out there like me who are playing Sims 3 64-bit but running into issues. 

My specific issue is this. I do not think my DevicConfig.log file is properly reading my graphics from my computer, I'll attach what I mean below. 

The quality of my Sims and objects are great, but things like shadows, the in-game world maps, and houses (even with distances set to high), are all of pretty terrible quality. 

Attaching a snippet of my hardware overview, my memory and graphics, and the DeviceConfig.log which seems to not be reading all of my graphics, and screenshots of examples of bad shadows and poor graphics of neighboring houses. 

Hardware Overview:

  Model Name: iMac

  Model Identifier: iMac21,1

  Chip: Apple M1

  Total Number of Cores: 8 (4 performance and 4 efficiency)

  Memory: 8 GB

  System Firmware Version: 7459.121.3

  OS Loader Version: 7459.121.3

Memory: 

Memory: 8 GB
Type: LPDDR4

Apple M1:

  Chipset Model: Apple M1

  Type: GPU

  Bus: Built-In

  Total Number of Cores: 8

  Vendor: Apple (0x106b)

  Metal Family: Supported, Metal GPUFamily Apple 7

 Displays:

iMac:

  Display Type: Built-In Retina LCD

  Resolution: Retina 4.5K (4480 x 2520)

  Main Display: Yes

  Mirror: Off

  Online: Yes

  Automatically Adjust Brightness: Yes

  Connection Type: Internal

DeviceConfig.log

=== Application info ===
Name: Sims3
Version:
Build: Release
=== Rating info ===
GPU: 5 GPU Memory: 5 CPU: 3 RAM: 5 CPU Speed: 2400 Threading: 3
Adjusted CPU: 3200 RAM: 8192 Adjusted RAM: 7680 Cores: 8
Card Found in DB: 1
=== Machine info ===
OS version: Mac OS X Version 10.16 (Build 21F79)
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: iMac21,1
Brand: Apple M1
Family: 4
Model: 7
Cores: 8
HT: 0
x64: 1
Memory: 8192MB
Free memory: 2224MB
User: XXXXXXXX
Computer: XXXXXXXX
=== Graphics device info ===
Number: 0
Name (driver): Unknown Unknown
Name (database): Unknown Unknown [Found: 1, Matched: 1]
Vendor: ATI
Chipset: Vendor: 1002, Device: 6810, Board: 00000000, Chipset: 0000
Driver: macOS Metal driver, Version: 0.0.0.0
Driver version: 0
Monitor: FD626D62
Texture memory: 5461MB
Vertex program: 3.0
Pixel program: 3.0
Hardware TnL: 0
=== Options ===
AnimationSmoothing 1
LightingQuality 2
GeneralReflections 2
TextureQuality 3
VisualEffects 3
TerrainQuality 2
EdgeSmoothing 2
ObjectHiding 1
AspectRatio 0
ForceSquarePixels 1
SimQuality 4
TreeQuality 4
DrawDistance 2
MaxActiveLots 6
NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6
AdvancedRendering 1
AudioQuality 3
AudiutputMode 1
VoiceLevel 255
SoundFXLevel 255
MusicLevel 255
AmbientLevel 255
FocusMute 1
VoiceMute 0
SoundFXMute 0
MusicMute 0
AmbientMute 0
EdgeScrolling 1
EdgeScrollingWarning 1
SupressOpportunityDialogs 0
SuppressOpportunityDialogsWarningProducts 1067047
SimWhileMinimized 0
TwelveHourClock 1
ShowPlacementGrid 0
AutonomyLevel 2
DisableAutonomyForSelectedSim 0
PetAutonomyLevel 2
AgingInterval 2
EnableAging 1
EnableTutorial 0
EnableIntroTutorial 0
EnableTombResets 1
EnableInGameStore 0
EnableTelemetry 1
EnableMemories 1
AgingStageLengthBaby 3
AgingStageLengthToddler 7
AgingStageLengthChild 7
AgingStageLengthTeen 14
AgingStageLengthYoungAdult 21
AgingStageLengthAdult 21
AgingStageLengthElder 17
EnableInteractiveLoading 0
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 0
EnableWerewolves 0
EnablePets 1
EnableCelebrities 1
EnableFairies 0
EnableWitches 0
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 1
InvertVerticalRotation 1
VideoCaptureSize 1
VideoCaptureQuality 2
VideoCaptureSound 0
VideoCaptureTime 60
VideoCaptureHideUI 1
=== Default Options ===
AnimationSmoothing 1
LightingQuality 3
GeneralReflections 2
TextureQuality 3
VisualEffects 3
TerrainQuality 2
EdgeSmoothing 0
ObjectHiding 0
AspectRatio 0
ForceSquarePixels 1
SimQuality 3
TreeQuality 3
DrawDistance 3
MaxActiveLots 3
NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6
AdvancedRendering 1
AudioQuality 3
AudiutputMode 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

High-Quality Sim but terrible pixel shadows (See all the dark pixels on my Sims skintone) 

Poor pixellated flickering shadows on houses 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@iyoung91  Between the two, I'd go with a Legion if the prices are at all similar.  The Helios is fine, but the Legion has the best build quality overall, over several years at least, of any gaming laptop in the "budget" range, i.e. any that doesn't charge a huge price premium for the same hardware.  Legions run relatively quiet and cool, they generally have good screens, and they mostly have good battery life if you need that, although you'd always want to play with the laptop plugged in for best performance.

On the subject of screens though, it's a good idea to go to a physical store and look at the screens of the laptops you're considering.  None of them will compare to your iMac, but some will look good enough, and others may be bad enough, in a subjective sense, that you wouldn't enjoy using them.

Each model of laptop will come with a few different possible screens, depending on the configuration you're buying, but you can distinguish among them by their specs.  For example, Legions may come with a 144 Hz or 240 Hz 1920x1080 screen or a 144 Hz 2560x1440 screen, and any Legion from a given year or series number would have one of those three exact screens.  So you could just find one laptop with the same screen as the model you're considering and judge that; you wouldn't need to see the precise model laptop in person.

[puzzlezaddict]

@iyoung91  The "unknown unknown" in the deviceconfig is normal for ARM Macs and doesn't have anything to do with the other issues.  The pixellated shadows are just as bad on Intel Macs, and they're also present in the 32-bit Mac and Windows games to a lesser extent.  As examples, these are from my Intel MacBook Pro (i7-7820HQ, Radeon Pro 560):

The second image is what I see in Windows as well even after tinkering with settings in the graphics control software.

The pixellated skin is also an issue with the game itself and is present in Windows.  (Here again, I see it on my Intel Mac and in Windows.)  The underlying problem is that the game's textures are compressed and have limited color range.  It used to be that graphics software smoothed out these differences (a process called "dithering," if you want to look it up), but that feature was phased out in Windows a few years ago, and I don't know whether it was ever present in macOS.

At any rate, there's nothing that can be done unless you want to import new textures into the game.  This might be simple for sims: perhaps there's a custom skin out there that looks good enough for you, although many custom skins looked worse in Windows after the change.  But the only way to really fix this would be for EA to remaster Sims 3, which is probably not happening any time soon.

You didn't mention it specifically, but if other lots are low-resolution even when you think they shouldn't be, that's partly by design and partly something weird about the 64-bit version.  Map view is supposed to be low-resolution in all versions of Sims 3.  For individual lots when not in map view, I've seen a lot of reports that the game only renders one or two lots in high detail even when the "high-detail lots" graphics setting is higher.

[iyoung91]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so much for the response. Do you feel like there's any hope that we could see updates to these issues from EA? I have been toying with the idea of getting a PC gaming laptop instead, but perhaps it would not be much better quality there. For some reason, I just remember the gaming quality being so much better years ago. You'd think the 64 bit version would make the graphics look stunning, but sadly that is not really the case. Also weird that in the PC version you can turn shadows off, but in the mac version you can't. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@iyoung91  I have two Macs that can run the 64-bit version of Sims 3, and I only play in Windows because I can't deal with all the Mac version's issues.  For me, the stuttering and other graphics oddities alone make it worth using Windows, but there are also a number of bugs that only exist in the 64-bit Mac version.  Most of them are listed here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/A-partial-guide-to-64-bit-Sims-3-for-macOS-in-progres...

I can't guarantee you that a Windows laptop would run the game perfectly—I've seen a few players with inexplicable issues that are difficult to address—but the game should run the game quite well as long as you're dealing with a true gaming laptop.  (As in, you're getting a dedicated graphics card made in the last few years and not one of Nvidia's MX series.)  Just get one that you can return in the first few days if need be, and you'll be fine.

I would recommend staying away from 12th-gen Intel processors though.  The game doesn't load correctly on these CPUs, and while there are workarounds, it's better not to need one.  On the other hand, if a laptop with a 12th-gen Intel CPU is exactly what you want in every other way, using one of the workarounds should only be a minor inconvenience.

As for whether the issues with the 64-bit Mac version will ever be addressed, my guess would be no.  For a long time, it looked like there would be a second, more comprehensive patch for this version, and EA has never come out and said that's off the table, but it's been 20 months at this point.  And even that patch would probably only address problems like the missing open water options and the red flashing effects, not the shadows or skin textures.  Those might require overhauling the graphics engine or at least creating new textures, which would basically mean a remaster or even a remake.

[iyoung91]

@puzzlezaddict I was looking into the Lenovo - Legion Series of gaming laptops. Either the 5th model or higher. I was also considering the Acer’s Helios series. 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@iyoung91  Between the two, I'd go with a Legion if the prices are at all similar.  The Helios is fine, but the Legion has the best build quality overall, over several years at least, of any gaming laptop in the "budget" range, i.e. any that doesn't charge a huge price premium for the same hardware.  Legions run relatively quiet and cool, they generally have good screens, and they mostly have good battery life if you need that, although you'd always want to play with the laptop plugged in for best performance.

On the subject of screens though, it's a good idea to go to a physical store and look at the screens of the laptops you're considering.  None of them will compare to your iMac, but some will look good enough, and others may be bad enough, in a subjective sense, that you wouldn't enjoy using them.

Each model of laptop will come with a few different possible screens, depending on the configuration you're buying, but you can distinguish among them by their specs.  For example, Legions may come with a 144 Hz or 240 Hz 1920x1080 screen or a 144 Hz 2560x1440 screen, and any Legion from a given year or series number would have one of those three exact screens.  So you could just find one laptop with the same screen as the model you're considering and judge that; you wouldn't need to see the precise model laptop in person.

[iyoung91]

@puzzlezaddict Thanks! I went with the Lenovo Legion 5. Just in time too, my 64-bit game keeps crashing on my M1 Mac and won't run, even after repairing the game. Really unfortunate that despite EA launching a 64-bit version that there's so little support for it. I can't believe I'm so crazy about this game that I switched to a PC Gaming laptop to keep playing it. Hopefully it will be worth it, haha. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@iyoung91  You have no idea how many people have bought new gaming laptops or desktops, even when their current computers are otherwise perfectly fine, just so they can keep playing Sims 3.  Many even buy the new computer just to get better in-game performance.  So you have a lot of company.

One thing you'll definitely want to do is manually limit your in-game framerates.  Whatever graphics card this laptop has, it's capable of generating wildly high fps and overworking itself in the process.  If you'd like help limiting fps, just let me know what graphics card you have, and I'll post instructions.

Otherwise, enjoy your game, and if you run into any other trouble, you know where to find me.