Sims 3 won’t play in full screen mode sims 3 64bits

[vanessamikue]

Hello simmers, every time I play the sims 64bits version I don't have the option to play full screen, any tips or help?

Thank you

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@vanessamikue  Are you technically playing in fullscreen mode, but with bars on the sides of the screen; or are you playing in windowed mode, with your desktop showing behind the game?  If it's the first, you should be able to change the in-game resolution at the Main Menu.  Be sure to pick a resolution with the same aspect ratio as your monitor.  For example, mine has a native resolution of 2880x1800, so I'd pick an in-game resolution with a 16:10 ratio.

If that doesn't help, hit cmd-enter to switch to windowed mode.  From there, change the resolution to what you want, then cmd-enter switch back to fullscreen mode.

In either case, you can also edit options.ini. in Document > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, to specify whether you want the game to use fullscreen or windowed mode.  Cmd-F to search for "fullscreen" without quotes, and set it to 1 or 0, whichever you prefer.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@vanessamikue  Are you technically playing in fullscreen mode, but with bars on the sides of the screen; or are you playing in windowed mode, with your desktop showing behind the game?  If it's the first, you should be able to change the in-game resolution at the Main Menu.  Be sure to pick a resolution with the same aspect ratio as your monitor.  For example, mine has a native resolution of 2880x1800, so I'd pick an in-game resolution with a 16:10 ratio.

If that doesn't help, hit cmd-enter to switch to windowed mode.  From there, change the resolution to what you want, then cmd-enter switch back to fullscreen mode.

In either case, you can also edit options.ini. in Document > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, to specify whether you want the game to use fullscreen or windowed mode.  Cmd-F to search for "fullscreen" without quotes, and set it to 1 or 0, whichever you prefer.

[vanessamikue]

Thank you,  it worked! The problem that I had was that iHad a full screen with black bars at the sides, but I did  the cmd+ enter twice and worked for me thank you again!

[herttave]

@puzzlezaddict In your 3rd paragraph with the document things, how do you do that? When I search fullscreen in the contents, nothing shows up.

[puzzlezaddict]

@herttave  Open a Finder window and click Documents in the left panel.  Then open Electronic Arts, then The Sims 3, use TextEdit to open the file inside labeled options.ini, and cmd-F to search for Fullscreen.

If you can't find options.ini in the manner above, instead click Macintosh HD (or whatever you've renamed your hard disk) in the left panel, then open Users > your username > Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3.  This ensures you're looking at the Documents folder stored on your hard drive, not the one within iCloud.  If you don't see Macintosh HD in the Finder window, click Finder in the upper left corner of your screen, select Preferences > Sidebar, and check the box next to hard disks, then look again.

[MariaSims3547]

Hello! 
I am a MacBook M1 Air user playing 64 bit Sims 3 and I had bars on the sides of the screen. When I selected the 16:10 ratio options, the screen got a lot worse despite it being the ratio aspect of my laptop 😅

I edited the options.ini which was already set to 1 and replaced the 1 with 0, following your instructions. 

I don’t have the black bars anymore on the sides but I can’t click on the full screen button anymore. 

What should I do? 
Thank you.

[puzzlezaddict]

@MariaSims3547  Please trash options.ini and let the game create a new one.  Then set a 16:10 scaled resolution (specifically 1680x1050 or 1440x900), quit, and reload.  It's fine that the game window looks weird initially; the question is whether it looks okay after a reload.

[smdHannah]

im having this same problem, i tried deleting the options file and its still happening, did you find a fix?

[puzzlezaddict]

@smdHannah  Please describe the exact issue you're having.  What do you see on-screen, does it help to click cmd-enter, and what resolution are you using in-game?

Please also list the full specs of your Mac: everything under About This Mac including the operating system version number (i.e. 12.1) and except for the serial number.

[MissKittyPurry]

This worked like a charm, thank you!