64 Bit & Metal Screen Tearing on 16" MBP

by itsmikeee64
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Original Post

Poor graphics/low-resolution/graphics glitches (TS3 64-bit)

[ Edited ]

This is a collection thread for questions and complaints about poor graphics performance and related glitches in the 64-bit version of Sims 3 for macOS.

 

Please make sure your Mac can properly cool itself.

 

Your graphics card or chip may be overheating and thermal throttling, thereby reducing in-game performance.  To help a laptop cool down, elevate it while you play, use a cooling pad, or even point a fan at it.  Or shut down the computer for a bit and come back later.

 

If you are experiencing graphics glitches, please try the following, in order:

 

  • Reduce your in-game resolution to 1920x1080 or lower
  • Try both fullscreen and windowed modes
  • In graphics settings, turn down high-detail lots to 2, and waters to "mirrors only, or lower; be sure to restart before loading a save
  • Delete options.ini from Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 (the game will spawn a new one with default settings)

If anything helps you, please post letting us know what you did and what improvements you saw.

 

If none of this helps, please provide more information about your game and Mac:

 

  • The full specs of your Mac, including operating system
  • Your in-game graphics settings
  • The first 40 lines of deviceconfig.log, found in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3

If you aren't sure what this information entails or how to get it, please follow these instructions:

 

 

Spoiler

To take a screenshot

Click cmd-shift-4 and drag your cursor over the section of screen you want to capture.  The screenshot will land on your desktop, and you can embed it within or attach it to a post.

 

To see the specs of your Mac, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, select About This Mac, and take a screenshot of the window.  Crop out or black out your serial number.

 

specs.png

 

When in-game, click cmd-enter to switch to windowed mode.  Click the three dots in the lower left corner of the game window, select Options, and take a screenshot of the settings in the first tab:

 

graphics settings.png

 

In Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, open deviceconfig.log and copy the first 40 lines, up to where "Options" starts, and paste them into a reply (please use a spoiler), or attach the file to your post.  Your user and computer names are about 25 lines down, so feel free to delete those, but please leave the other information intact.

 

=== Application info ===
Name: Sims3
Version:
Build: Release
=== Rating info ===
GPU: 5 GPU Memory: 5 CPU: 5 RAM: 5 CPU Speed: 2900 Threading: 3
Adjusted CPU: 4930 RAM: 16384 Adjusted RAM: 15872 Cores: 4
Card Found in DB: 1
=== Machine info ===
OS version: Mac OS X Version 10.14.6 (Build 18G103)
OS prod type: 0
OS major ver: 10
OS minor ver: 14
OS SP major ver: 0
OS SP minor ver: 0
OS is 64Bit: 1
CPU: MacBookPro14,3
Brand: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7820HQ CPU @ 2.90GHz
Family: 8
Model: 7
Cores: 4
HT: 1
x64: 1
Memory: 16384MB
Free memory: 3470MB
User: X
Computer: X
=== Graphics device info ===
Number: 0
Name (driver): Radeon Pro 560
Name (database): Radeon Pro 560 [Found: 1, Matched: 1]
Vendor: ATI
Chipset: Vendor: 1002, Device: 67ef, Board: 00000179, Chipset: 00c0
Driver: macOS Metal driver, Version: 0.0.0.0
Driver version: 0
Monitor: 00000000
Texture memory: 4096MB
Vertex program: 3.0
Pixel program: 3.0
Hardware TnL: 0
=== Options ===

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 11 of 49 (4,779 Views)

64 Bit & Metal Screen Tearing on 16" MBP

★ Apprentice

So I just installed the 64 bit and metal version of TS3 on my 2019 16" Macbook Pro and it runs great, I actually am not having any issues so far - Except some pretty terrible screen tearing. I've tried playing in windowed and fullscreen and neither work. Any suggestions on how I can fix this?

 

Thanks in advance!

Message 1 of 49 (4,820 Views)

Re: 64 Bit & Metal Screen Tearing on 16" MBP

★★★★★ Novice
@itsmikeee64 Nothing. EA have a problem and now they working to resolve it. Be patient
Message 2 of 49 (4,810 Views)

Re: 64 Bit & Metal Screen Tearing on 16" MBP

@itsmikeee64  What resolution are you using in-game, and does it help to reduce it?  In fullscreen mode, make sure that you choose a supported scaled res for your Mac (2048 by 1280, 1792 by 1120, 1344 by 840, 1152 by 720).

 

What kinds of framerates are you seeing in-game?  Bring up the cheats console (it's cmd-shift-C now) and enter "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner of your screen.

 

Please also test in Sunset Valley, if you haven't already.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 3 of 49 (4,808 Views)

Re: 64 Bit & Metal Screen Tearing on 16" MBP

★ Apprentice

@puzzlezaddict I have tried both fullscreen and windowed mode, and have tried just about every available resolution. Doesn't seem to change. And yes, I am testing in SV. FPS range from 55-60. 

 

@nana35712 I'm pretty sure this is an issue with the 16" Macbook pros, and not a 64 bit issue, which is why I posted here. Please be educated before you try to patronize me by saying to be patient with a game I've spent >$500 on. 

Message 4 of 49 (4,793 Views)

Re: 64 Bit & Metal Screen Tearing on 16" MBP

@itsmikeee64  I saw some screen tearing on my 15" MBP (2017) last night, so it's not exclusive to your particular model.  But you're right that the 16" models have had quite a few issues with graphics performance, and what you're seeing could definitely be part of the larger problem.

 

It's very possible this won't get addressed, but in case there's something to be done, more information would be helpful.  Please list the full specs of your Mac, including operating system, as described here:

 

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting...

 

Please also grab some information about your graphics drivers.  Open Applications > Utilities, launch Terminal, and copy and paste this line:

 

kextstat | grep -E -i "(amd|intel|graph)" | awk '{printf "%-50s%-20s\n",$6,$7}'

Please paste the results here.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 5 of 49 (4,784 Views)

Re: Only respond to this thread if you have the 64-bit version of TS3 working.

★ Apprentice

hello everyone 

has anyone succeeded to get the game full screen and not just 4/3?

Message 6 of 49 (4,721 Views)

Glass/Reflection Glitch

★★★★★ Novice

Anyone else having this weird glass/reflection glitch with certain objects? I thought it was a CC issue till I saw it on a base game object.

Message 7 of 49 (4,683 Views)

Re: Only respond to this thread if you have the 64-bit version of TS3 working.

★ Apprentice

That’s the problem I’m having and the water is like black or something.

Message 8 of 49 (4,713 Views)

Re: Only respond to this thread if you have the 64-bit version of TS3 working.

★★★★★ Apprentice
@sofiane51 Yes I do, I first change the settings and then re-launched the game
Message 9 of 49 (4,560 Views)