sims 3 64 bit & metal keeps crashing?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Vibama  I'm sorry to hear that.  I don't think 8 GB RAM is the issue itself; it may be that overloaded saves don't run well, or the game doesn't run well when other apps are open in the background and using a lot of memory.  But based on how much RAM a new save uses for me, I wouldn't expect memory to be the limiting factor alone.  Restarting your computer before playing would help free up as much memory as possible, if you wanted to test, and you could see the system and game RAM use in real time in the Activity Monitor.

The missing open water options is a known issue that affects everyone, as far as I can tell.  It has its own thread:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/CURRENT-ISSUE-64-bit-All-open-water-options-missing/m...

But if you're not interested in trying anymore, I understand.

[amycoLLiNs4518]

It works great with what you suggested! No freezing or even the slightest lag at all! I do want to mention all my expansion packs also still say finalizing. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@Akosantwi79  Your hardware is actually below the minimum requirement for the 64-bit version of Sims 3.  That doesn't mean you necessarily can't play, just that performance may not be great, especially if you play with Pets (might not work at all) or Seasons (you might see crashes during inclement weather).  It can help to play in windowed mode and on low settings.

@amycoLLiNs4518  For the Finalizing issue, try repairing the game in Origin: open your game library, right-click on the Sims 3 icon, and select Repair.  If that doesn't help, run the Origin reset tool for macOS:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/how-to-reset-origin-on-mac/

and repair again.  If that doesn't help either, then hopefully a future Origin update will fix this—it may be related to the issue of packs being grayed out at the bottom of the launcher, which will need an Origin update to fix.  We hope that will happen soon; it's already fixed in the "technical preview" (beta version).

[biancaadav]

Hello!

I am having this same exact issue as everyone explains. My game crashes and closes every 30 mins. The last 3 times I tried to play and my game closes out on me. Yesterday, evening as I was playing. I notice every time I fast forward the game would freeze and the rainbow wheel appeared. 

[biancaadav]

=== Application info ===

Name:            Sims3

Version:         

Build:           Release

=== Rating info ===

GPU: 3 GPU Memory: 5 CPU: 1 RAM: 5 CPU Speed: 1100 Threading: 3

Adjusted CPU: 1470 RAM: 8192 Adjusted RAM: 7680 Cores: 2

Card Found in DB: 0

=== Machine info ===

OS version:      Mac OS X Version 10.15.7 (Build 19H15)

OS prod type:    0

OS major ver:    10

OS minor ver:    15

OS SP major ver: 0

OS SP minor ver: 0

OS is 64Bit: 1

CPU:             MacBookAir9,1

    Brand:       Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-1000NG4 CPU @ 1.10GHz

    Family:      8

    Model:       7

    Cores:       2

    HT:          1

    x64:         1

Memory:          8192MB

Free memory:     611MB

Computer:        Biancas-MacBook-Air

=== Graphics device info ===

Number:          0

Name (driver):   Intel Iris Plus Graphics

Name (database): Intel Iris Plus Graphics [Found: 0, Matched: 1]

Vendor:          Intel

Chipset:         Vendor: 8086, Device: 8a5c, Board: 0000020d, Chipset: 0007

Driver:          macOS Metal driver, Version: 0.0.0.0

Driver version:  0

Monitor:         00000000

Texture memory:  1536MB

Vertex program:  3.0

Pixel program:   3.0

Hardware TnL:    0

=== Options ===

AnimationSmoothing 0

LightingQuality 2

GeneralReflections 1

TextureQuality 2

VisualEffects 2

TerrainQuality 1

EdgeSmoothing 0

ObjectHiding 1

AspectRatio 0

ForceSquarePixels 1

SimQuality 2

TreeQuality 1

DrawDistance 2

MaxActiveLots 1

NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6

AdvancedRendering 1

AudioQuality 1

AudiutputMode 1

VoiceLevel 255

SoundFXLevel 255

MusicLevel 255

AmbientLevel 255

FocusMute 1

VoiceMute 0

SoundFXMute 0

MusicMute 0

AmbientMute 0

EdgeScrolling 0

EdgeScrollingWarning 0

SupressOpportunityDialogs 0

SuppressOpportunityDialogsWarningProducts 164523

SimWhileMinimized 0

TwelveHourClock 1

ShowPlacementGrid 0

AutonomyLevel 2

DisableAutonomyForSelectedSim 0

PetAutonomyLevel 2

AgingInterval 2

EnableAging 1

EnableTutorial 1

EnableIntroTutorial 0

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

=== Default Options ===

AnimationSmoothing 0

LightingQuality 2

GeneralReflections 1

TextureQuality 2

VisualEffects 2

TerrainQuality 1

EdgeSmoothing 0

ObjectHiding 1

AspectRatio 0

ForceSquarePixels 1

SimQuality 2

TreeQuality 1

DrawDistance 2

MaxActiveLots 1

NumMaxActiveLotOptions 6

AdvancedRendering 1

AudioQuality 1

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

[puzzlezaddict]

@biancaadav  Does it help to play in windowed mode?  If that alone doesn't make a difference, try lowering all the graphics settings as well.  If the game is then stable, you can try raising one setting at a time to see whether any of them cause crashes.

Fast forward has always been a little dicey in Sims 3, especially on low-end hardware.  It's unfortunately not likely to change, although it's possible lowering one setting or another will help.

[biancaadav]

Thank you for responding. How do I play in windowed mode? I'll try that and will give you an update 

[Sebosze]

Damn I'm also experiencing these crashes.

• OS: Catalina AND Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B28). Tried on both.
• Mac model: MacBook Pro 15-inch 2018
• Processor: 2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7
• Memory (RAM) 16 GB 
• Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB and Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB
• Are you running any antivirus? No
• What Expansion and Stuff Packs do you have installed? World Adv., Ambitions, Late Night, Gens, Pets, Showtime, Supernatural, Seasons, University, Island Paradise, Into the Future, High-End Loft, Fast Lane.
• Do you use CC/Mods? Not really.

I'm playing in fulscreen mode but I'm not planning on playing in windowed mode or lowering graphics settings since they're already quite low. I thought this game was supposed to work as before and I don't think that it's my job to fix it. I hope they'll patch it sooner than later. I'll attach the macOS crash log if it happens again.

EDIT: I attached the crash report.

[amycoLLiNs4518]

Ok I will try that! I did play last night with my expansion packs on low settings and windowed mode and it worked perfect as well, I’m gonna play around with it to see when the freezing and the lagging starts. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@biancaadav  You can switch between fullscreen and windowed modes by clicking cmd-enter either at the Main Menu or once your save is loaded.  If that doesn't work for some reason, as it doesn't for a few people, go into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, open options.ini, cmd-F to search for fullscreen, and set it to 0.