[CURRENT ISSUE] The Sims 3 - Issues playing on newer (post 2013) Macs [ Edited ]

[Bluebellflora]

Users with post-2013 model Macs with integrated Intel graphics, possibly 15" with AMD GPUs too, are reporting a variety of issues which render their Sims 3 games unplayable. The following issues are indicative of the game not being compatible on certain Macs. This is due to the onboard graphics, notably integrated Intel chipsets, not being supported by the game:

• If your game won't load past the blue screen with the plumbob: 

• If you're getting the error message  "Cannot start the process when the game is running. Please quit the game and try again"
• If you're getting the "Unknown error" message (this message can be for a variety of reasons, not just this one)
• If you're getting an error message saying your game has unexpectedly quit

You may be able to get past the launch screen but then your game won't run properly.

The list of Macs affected:

MacBook:

Early 2015, model identifier MacBook8,1, Intel HD 5300

13" MacBook Pros:

Late 2013, model identifier MacBookPro11,1, Intel Iris 5100

Mid 2014, model identifier MacBookPro11,1, Intel Iris 5100

Early 2015 model identifier MacBookPro12,1, Intel Iris 6100

15"MacBook Pros:

Late 2013, model identifier MacBookPro11,2 (2.0Ghz Intel Core i7 only), Intel Iris 5200

Mid 2014, model identifier MacBookPro11,2 (2.2Ghz Intel Core i7 only), Intel Iris 5200

Mid 2015, model identifier MacBookPro11,4, Intel Iris Pro 5200

Mid 2015, model identifier MacBookPro11,5, Intel Iris Pro 5200 & AMD Radeon R9 M370X

MacBook Airs:

Early 2015 11", model identifier MacBookAir7,1, Intel HD 6000

Early 2015 13", model identifier MacBookAir7,2, Intel HD 6000

Mac mini:

Late 2014 Mac mini, Model Identifier: Macmini7,1 (2.6, 2.8 Ghz Intel Core i5 and 3.0 Ghz Intel Core i7 models only) (Intel Iris 5100, Haswell)

iMacs:

Late 2013 21", model identifier iMac14,1, Intel Iris Pro 5200

Late 2015 21", model identifier iMac16,1, Intel HD 6000

Late 2015 21", model identifier iMac16,1, Intel Iris Pro 6200

Late 2015 21", model identifier iMac16,2, Intel Iris Pro 6200

This list is not exhaustive. Please bear in mind I am reliant on Mac Simmers like you to post with your Mac's specs if your game is not working due to this issue. To find out your exact model Mac click on the Apple logo, top left of your desktop then select About This Mac. In the window that appears click on System Report. Your model identifier will be in the next pop up window on the right hand side.

There is a workaround you can try which involves editing a couple of game files. For a step by step guide please read my instructions here - http://bluebellflora.com/fix-for-incompatible-graphics-for-the-sims-3-on-mac/ Some people are reporting that their game works if they only have the base game installed, others are managing to play with a couple of Expansion Packs. Late Night and Ambitions seem pretty much completely unplayable.

I will move any threads I see about this issue to this one so we can consolidate all the information in one place.

And if you try the workaround..... Good luck!

Update 6th January 2016 - SimGuruDrake has confirmed on the official Sims forum that the Sims 3 team are still looking into this issue -http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/14453811/#Comment_14453811

Update 23th July 2018 - If you're still struggling please see my post here asking for more information.

[EA_Zoe · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone,

We would like to invite players who are experiencing issues with running The Sims 3 on recent Mac models to download and install this version of Origin:

https://eaassets-a.akamaihd.net/Origin-Client-Download/origin/forum/34349/Origin.dmg

This should help with general compatibility and stability issues.

If you are still unable to launch or play the game after that, please come back to us.

Please note that this solution will not work if the incompatibility issues are due to hardware.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SIMS 3

Spoiler

FOR WINDOWS XP

2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent 1 GB RAM 128 MB Graphics card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 The latest version of DirectX 9.0c Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

FOR WINDOWS VISTA

2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent 1.5 GB RAM 128 MB Graphics card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

For computers using built-in graphics chipsets under Windows, the game requires at least:

Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA 3-Series or above 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU (Windows Vista), or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo (Windows XP Service Pack 3) 0.5 GB additional RAM

ORIGIN REQUIREMENTS FOR WINDOWS PC

The Origin client needs to be able to run on your system in order for you to play The Sims 3. You can download it here. 150MB of available disk space Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 1GHz processor 512 MB RAM

FOR MAC OS X

Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard or higher Intel Core Duo Processor 2 GB RAM ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100. At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems, or the GMA 950 class of integrated graphics cards.

ORIGIN REQUIREMENTS FOR MAC

The Origin client needs to be able to run on your system in order for you to play The Sims 3. You can download it here. 150MB of available disk space OS X 10.6.8 minimum Intel Core 2 Duo processor

Windows Supported Graphics cards

NVIDIA GeForce series

FX 5900, FX 5950 6200, 6500, 6600, 6800 7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800 9300, 9400, 9500, 9600, 9800 G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150 GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295

ATI Radeon™ series

9500, 9600, 9800 X300, X600, X700, X800, X850 X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950 2400, 2600, 2900 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870 4850, 4870

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)

GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series

Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slower. Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly.

Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants may default to settings that are higher than what would be optimal for them. Graphics settings can be lowered to improve performance.

The NVIDIA GeForce FX series is unsupported under Vista.

MAC OS X Supported Graphics cards

NVIDIA GeForce series

7300, 7600 8600, 8800 9400M, 9600M GT GT 120, GT 130

ATI Radeon™ series

X1600, X1900 2400, 2600 3870 4850, 4870

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)

GMA 3-Series

[samanthatroulis]

I downloaded The Sims 3 yesterday on my early 2015, 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB. After waiting for like twelve hours for it to finish installing and struggling to find the registration code due to unclear directions, I went to play it. At first a window popped up, it was light blue with the big green diamond. I forget what happened but it wasn't going to do anything so I had to force quit on it. Now every time I try to hit play, this error message pops up: "Cannot start the process when the Game is running. Please quit the game and try again."

I read that other people have this same problem. I think someone said that there's no way to fix it? But that's not fair. Why doesn't it work on this specific computer? I really wanna play the game and I can't figure out how to actually call Origin. All that it lets me do is answer a few little questions and then directs me here.

My friend has the same computer as me and she has the CD version of the game and she said that hers works fine.

Can someone help me?

I do not understand and I just want to play the game now. 

[Bluebellflora]

@samanthatroulis

Does your friend have the exact same model Mac as you? Same year, model, processor, RAM, graphics, operating system?

The problem is your graphics card not being supported in the game, you have to add the details for it manually in order to be able to play. 

 Please follow the instructions in the opening post.

I have merged your thread with this one so all information can be in one place.

[Sorayalps]

Hey i hope you guys can help me!!I always played the sims on my windows laptop.
I recently got a macbook pro 13inch and i bought sims 3 for mac on origin since there is no room for a disk.
I installed sims 3, and after midnight and it wont start. I tried it with and without the launcher bypassing it. The only thing that happens is that i click play in the launcher and the blue screen pops up with the diamond (when its suppose to play the vid) it freezes. When that happends i can not stop the sims i have to force stop it and restart my mac, if i try to open it after only force stopping it a screen pops up saying; i cant play because its already running. (Lol i wish) This happends with and without the launcher. I deleted everything and only installed the sims 3 again but the same problem appears. (Its up to date). I never played it because i just bought it from origin. Can someone please help me.

@Sorayalps moved your post to this help thread. Please read the opening post for more information. - BluebellFlora

[susanmarden]

Hi there. I'm in desperate need of some assistance - I've literally non-stop all day been trying to get my sims 3 and its expansion packs to work and they just won't. I've got the latest edition of the Macbook Air and there is plenty of space and the system I'm running on is Yosemite. First, I redeemed the base game and some expansion packs and then bought the Supernatural expansion pack from Origin. The downloads went fine but when I went to the launcher an update was there. I accepted the update and I would be sitting there waiting for it and when it was about 3/4 of the way there the download would just randomly disappear and it would pop up saying the download was available again. I tried again a few times and when that kept happening I tried to launch without the update and it would just stay on that screen with the light blue background and the green diamond. It wouldn't even let me quit the program to try again so I had to turn off my computer before trying to do it again. When that didn't work still I saw that people were saying I needed to install the expansion packs in order and that I needed to update the base game before installing any expansions and then update each expansion before installing the next one. I also noticed that when I was installing the expansion packs in the beginning it would say that the expansions might not be compatible because the sims 3 base game was a later version than expected even though all of my expansions were purchased after the sims 3 base game, so I don't really see how that works. Anyway, I tried uninstalling using the uninstall icon in the sims 3 folder but it would just keep loading not doing anything. So then I removed the sims 3 folder and emptied my trash. I re-downloaded the sims 3 and when I tried to open it, it wouldn't even go to the launch - just said that there was an unknown error. I then figured out that I had not deleted every related file beforehand and so there could be conflicting files. I did that and emptied trash but one file would not empty because it was 'still in use', even though I have nothing open or activated. I've just deleted and re-installed origin and am re-installing the sims 3 now to see if it works now that I've removed the other files. I hope it works but any suggestions would be much appreciated becausee I am totally losing it by now with this.

Oh! I also forgot to mention that when I was installing the expansion packs and viewed the expansion packs downloaded to my sims 3 in origin it said all of them were there but my pets and world adventures expansions popped up as both installed and available purchase. I don't know if it's just a glitch that doesn't really affect anything or what but I thought I'd mention it just in case anyway.

@susanmarden I have moved your post to the main thread relating to your problem which is the unsupported graphics card in your Mac. Please read my opening post and follow the links to try the workaround fix - BluebellFlora

[Sorayalps]

Thanks for moving post! I have the
Early 2015 model identifier MacBookPro12,1, Intel
iris 6100 broadwell. For this laptop there is no explaining in your link. The funny thing is. It didnt start for like 12 times after restarting my mac it started once. And then it doesnt work anymore? I tried the same thing 30 times. So how it it possible that it worked that one time?

[Bluebellflora]

@Sorayalps

Yes there is, it's 7th down the link list on the first part and the specific page is here - http://bluebellflora.com/fix-for-incompatible-graphics-for-the-sims-3-on-mac/intel-iris-6100-13-macb...

[susanmarden]

Omg you're an absolute lifesaver - I've actually made some progress! However after I installed my expansion packs it did the same thing again unfortunately. I tried opening each expansion and some of them say there is an error while others open and update fine. I tried looking for their contents to change them like I did with the base game as per your suggestion but I can't find anything relating to that. I'd really not like to go through the installing process heaps of times just to figure out which expansions will mess up my game so if you have any suggestions about finding the contents of expansions or anything else, I'd be eternally gratefully!

@Bluebellflora

[susanmarden]

Sorry never mind I figured it out

[susanmarden]

Um sorry to be a bother but I've got another problem. My game works but my map is grey and my game is on all the lowest settings and all unnecessary options have been de-activated. All I see online are possible fixes for Windows systems or people saying that either I must have downloaded too many expansion packs or my graphics card isn't good enough. I really don't want to have to limit my expansion packs or never be able to play because my graphics card won't ever work. Do you know of any solutions for a Mac OS X Yosemite system for an early 2015 11" MacBook Air? @Bluebellflora