Problem with Sims 3 Starter Pack on macOs (unknown error)

[Alicestvs]

Hi everyone, 

I am on MacOs Sierra and I have a serious issue with my Sims 3 starter pack (the one with late night and high-end loft stuff).

When I first put the base game and high end loft stuff there was absolutely no problem to play. But when I put the Late Night one I have this message : "unknown error" with no launcher.

I watched two tutorials on youtube to try to find a solution but nothing seems to work : 

- I tried to go to Applications and changed a line in the info.plist text from "/S3Launcher.exe" to "/TS3.exe"

- And I also tried the tutorial on youtube made by Mega_Mateo288 : "Sim3 Mac Os Unknown Error Fix for Multiple Expansions Packs". 

I also uninstalled the game many times and everything is updated on my computer and origin account. 

I really don't know what to do next.

Please help me, 

Sorry if my english is not perfect but I am a desperate french girl who really needs to find a solution

Alice 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Alicestvs  The unknown error issue is common and entirely fixable.  It's good that you could play the base game on your mac—this means that you don't have to do the hardest step to make the Sims 3 work again.  (By the way, your English is fine, so don't worry about that.)

The first thing you need to do, though, is manually uninstall.  The uninstaller that comes with the game misses some files, and they can get in the way of launching the game later on.  Here's a guide on how to which files to remove:

https://bluebellflora.com/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/

Next, you can reinstall the base game and both packs.  Then use the Super Patch (digital download version) to patch the game.  The Super Patch is better than the launcher, which can't handle all of that data at once.

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-manual-super-patch-for-mac-1-67/

Now look in your Sims 3 folder inside Applications.  You should see an alias (icon) for the base game and one for High-End Loft Stuff.  But the one for Late Night is probably missing.  You can create one manually by following these instructions:

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-packs-not-showing-as-installed/

After this, you should be able to launch and play your game just fine.  But if you install any other packs later, there is another step you'll need to take.  (There's a tutorial for that as well, and the problem is just as fixable as the one you're having now.)

By the way, what are the specs of your mac?  It would be useful to know.

gather mac specs:  https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/475...

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Alicestvs  The unknown error issue is common and entirely fixable.  It's good that you could play the base game on your mac—this means that you don't have to do the hardest step to make the Sims 3 work again.  (By the way, your English is fine, so don't worry about that.)

The first thing you need to do, though, is manually uninstall.  The uninstaller that comes with the game misses some files, and they can get in the way of launching the game later on.  Here's a guide on how to which files to remove:

https://bluebellflora.com/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/

Next, you can reinstall the base game and both packs.  Then use the Super Patch (digital download version) to patch the game.  The Super Patch is better than the launcher, which can't handle all of that data at once.

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-manual-super-patch-for-mac-1-67/

Now look in your Sims 3 folder inside Applications.  You should see an alias (icon) for the base game and one for High-End Loft Stuff.  But the one for Late Night is probably missing.  You can create one manually by following these instructions:

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-packs-not-showing-as-installed/

After this, you should be able to launch and play your game just fine.  But if you install any other packs later, there is another step you'll need to take.  (There's a tutorial for that as well, and the problem is just as fixable as the one you're having now.)

By the way, what are the specs of your mac?  It would be useful to know.

gather mac specs:  https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/475...

[Alicestvs]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you very much pour your reply and your solution.

I followed every step you advice me and it worked very well.

I can play the game with the expansions.

There is only one step that I can not do : the very last one where you are supposed to put the Late Night folder into an other expansion folder (As example on the tutorial : in the Ambition folder), because I don't have any other expansion yet. Except the high-end loft stuff kit, so I tried to put the folder in it but It didn't change anything to start the game with origin. 

So I can not start the game from Origin but by clicking on the Sims 3 Late Night folder in the Sims 3 folder. 

But it's not a problem. I created an alias on my computer desk to get to it quickly and it works. 

And I was wondering if it was normal to access to the game like this with your solution or if Origin should be able to start the game.

Also, I would be interested to get your tutorial to install (later) any other packs.

Thanks so much again

Alice

(Specs of my mac : 

2,7 GHz Intel Core i5

8 Go 1867 MHz DDR3

Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 Mo)

[Alicestvs]

Well, new thing unfortunately I started to play and the game crashed after 20 minutes of playing... 

I really don't know why and what to do..

[puzzlezaddict]

@Alicestvs  I'm glad you got the game running (even if it temporarily).  You don't need to launch it through Origin on a mac—in fact, you could uninstall Origin completely, and your game would run exactly the game.  Only Windows computers were tied to Origin by the lst update.

You also don't need to move Late Night's files around.  That step only applies if one of the affected packs (the others are Ambitions, Fast Lane, and Outdoor Living) is not your newest pack by release date.  Since Late Night is newer than High-End Loft Stuff, this doesn't apply to you.  For example, if you installed World Adventures (the oldest expansion pack) you still wouldn't need to move any files, but if you installed Into the Future (the last one to be released), you'd copy Late Night's files into ITF's folder.  But if you're curious, I'll link the best video here.  (And none of the posts I've linked are my tutorials—they were written by Bluebellflora, who is the only reason most of us could get this game running on our macs at all.)

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/CURRENT-ISSUE-Sims-3-Unknown-Error-in-El-Capitan-Sierra-High/...

I don't know why your computer crashed during gameplay because it could be a number of issues.  The main problem with TS3 on macs is that it can only use 2 GB of RAM at a time and can crash without warning if it goes over.  It could also be a problem with mods or custom content, but it sounds like you haven't added any yet.  (Of course, sometimes the game crashes for no apparent reason.)  Regardless, I wouldn't worry about it unless it keeps happening; in that case, it would be helpful to know what you were doing in-game at the time.  Just save often and try not to spend too much time in Create-a-Sim or Edit Town at once.  You can monitor RAM use in the Task Manager and quit the game when it gets too close to the 2 GB limit.

[Edit:  Were you playing in Bridgeport?  There are some issues with how the world was designed.  Crashes can be due to sims getting stuck and constantly trying to get out of wherever they are, taking up resources that the game engine doesn't have.  There are ways to deal with Bridgeport too, if this is the case.]

https://bluebellflora.com/resetting-ram-during-gameplay/

By the way, you might benefit from getting your graphics card recognized by the game.  It's not strictly necessary for you, as you can launch and play already, but your graphics could improve.  For me, the results were striking.  Normally, this process is a bit difficult to do correctly, but Bluebellflora is helping people do it right now.  If you're interested, you can just reply to this post on her website, and she'll give you all the help you need to make it work.  (And if you don't like the changes for some reason, you can always put your old files back.)

https://bluebellflora.com/2018/07/24/sims-3-mac-players-i-need-your-help/