Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.
Collecting information about Origin on Mac
caspinwall
Posts: 916 Member
Hello fellow Mac simmers
I am trying to collect information on Origin for Mac. I don't use it myself, since all my games are on discs, but I see increasing numbers of Mac simmers downloading digital versions of TS3 games through Origin. I've recently been trying to help answer queries from Mac simmers elsewhere. Many of them I can answer from personal experience or by linking to BluebellFlora's excellent guides here on the forums and on her website, but when it comes to Origin questions I sometimes am sometimes stumped. There are days when 90% of the questions are about Origin so I get the impression that it isn't working too well, at least not for Mac simmers.
To try to be able to answer more, I'm collecting information about Origin on Mac. I have pasted what I have so far in the second post. If any of you have any other information to share that you think could be useful to other Mac-users, please post it here so we can all learn from it.
Question Of The Day!
I have one particular query that I'm hoping someone technically-knowledgable can answer *looks around hopefully for Bluebell and Tremayne*
. This keeps coming up again and again, so if anyone can help, please do post.
A lot of people find that their digital downloads, of an expansion pack for example, fail for whatever reason. The game has not therefore been properly installed so they cannot play it, nor can they "uninstall" it (because it isn't there). Origin, however, acts as though it has already been installed, so they can't "install" it again either. This is real pickle.
I want to know if there's a way to deal with this without the player having to uninstall everything and start over.
Crinrict pointed me towards this guide about deleting game installers, but it is PC-specific: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/Help-Guide-All-in-one-fix-except-hardware-issues-PC-only/m-p/734448#M36281
Does anyone know how deleting game installers works on Mac operating systems?
Caspin
I am trying to collect information on Origin for Mac. I don't use it myself, since all my games are on discs, but I see increasing numbers of Mac simmers downloading digital versions of TS3 games through Origin. I've recently been trying to help answer queries from Mac simmers elsewhere. Many of them I can answer from personal experience or by linking to BluebellFlora's excellent guides here on the forums and on her website, but when it comes to Origin questions I sometimes am sometimes stumped. There are days when 90% of the questions are about Origin so I get the impression that it isn't working too well, at least not for Mac simmers.
To try to be able to answer more, I'm collecting information about Origin on Mac. I have pasted what I have so far in the second post. If any of you have any other information to share that you think could be useful to other Mac-users, please post it here so we can all learn from it.
Question Of The Day!
I have one particular query that I'm hoping someone technically-knowledgable can answer *looks around hopefully for Bluebell and Tremayne*
. This keeps coming up again and again, so if anyone can help, please do post.A lot of people find that their digital downloads, of an expansion pack for example, fail for whatever reason. The game has not therefore been properly installed so they cannot play it, nor can they "uninstall" it (because it isn't there). Origin, however, acts as though it has already been installed, so they can't "install" it again either. This is real pickle.
I want to know if there's a way to deal with this without the player having to uninstall everything and start over.
Crinrict pointed me towards this guide about deleting game installers, but it is PC-specific: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/Help-Guide-All-in-one-fix-except-hardware-issues-PC-only/m-p/734448#M36281
Does anyone know how deleting game installers works on Mac operating systems?
Caspin
0
Comments
Specifications for Origin on Mac:
You can use Origin to buy and download digital versions of TS3 games. If you already own the games on discs, you can also register the codes and re-download them from Origin. It is possible to have a setup that combines installations from discs with digital downloads.
The first thing to check is that your Mac is sufficiently up-to-date to be able to run the Origin client. It requires at least OS X 10.6.8 with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better.
More general information on Origin for Mac simmers can be found on the TS3 website here: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/644084.page
To download and install games through Origin:
First install the Origin client for Mac and make sure it is up-to-date. The latest version can be downloaded from here: http://www.dm.origin.com/mac/download
Additional advice on how to download games (thank you Tremayne for this tip):
When downloading from Origin, do NOT use the first install icon. Move your cursor over the game cover and click on the information "i" and then click on the install button from there.
For some reason, downloads from Origin frequently become corrupted. Using the "i" reduces the chance of your download being corrupted. If you have already been unfortunate and have a corrupted download, then it is important to remove all traces of this before trying again, by doing a thorough, clean uninstallation first.
Installation order:
If you own more than just the base game, it is recommended that you install the packs in order of release date, which is as follows.
TS3 (base game)
World Adventures - EP
High End Loft - SP
Ambitions - EP
Fast Lane - SP
Late Night - EP
Outdoor Living - SP
Generations - EP
Town Life - SP
Pets - EP
Master Suite - SP
Showtime - EP
Katy Perry's Sweet Treats - SP
Diesel - SP
Supernatural - EP
Seasons - EP
70s, 80s, 90s - SP
University - EP
Island Paradise - EP
Movie Stuff - SP
Into the Future- EP
What happens if it asks for a disc?
Some simmers find that even though they are using an Origin download of their game, they are being prompted to insert a disc. This may be because you have a previous version installed from disc and this will need to be uninstalled.
Follow BluebellFlora's instructions to ensure a clean uninstallation: http://bluebellflora.com/the-sims-3-on-a-mac/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/
You launch TS3 from the latest expansion pack or stuff pack that you have installed (this means the most recent release date by EA, not the order in which you bought or installed the games). If you run the latest EP or SP as an Origin digital download, it should not ask you for a disc.
Origin won't work on my Mac:
Are you running anti-virus software or any other "clean-up" applications? If so, disable these, as they might be deleting files that Origin needs!
Ursula from EA gave me this helpful information for Mac simmers who cannot use Origin due to their operating system being too old. The TS3 base game specifies an older operating system than is needed to run Orgin, which means that some simmers who bought the base game on disc may have subsequently tried to use Origin to download EPs or SPs, but cannot run them because their OS is too outdated. If this happens to you, try to use the Great Games Guarantee to get a refund (and then buy the disc version!): https://help.ea.com/article/what-s-the-great-games-guarantee
Origin works on my Mac and I'd like to save my files to avoid re-downloading them in the future:
If you are going to change your computer, or just need to uninstall/reinstall your game, you may wish to set your preferences in Origin to save your installers. This will avoid you needing to re-download the games again.
In Origin, go to Preferences. Choose “Advanced” and look in the section entitled “Game Installers”. Tick the box to “Keep game installers after games have been installed”. Choose a location in which you would like the files to be saved (for example, create a folder in Documents ready to receive these files).
The download failed and now the game cannot be installed or uninstalled through Origin:
Sometimes the download or installation fails. This can be for a variety of factors, including your internet connection dropping out during the download. Sometimes this can result in an awkward situation in which Origin acts as though the game is installed correctly. This means you can’t play the game, but nor will Origin let you re-download it. You cannot easily “uninstall” the game, because of course it isn’t there.
First thing to do is to go into Applications on your Mac and look in the folder called “The Sims 3”. This is the location from which your game actually launches (as opposed to a similarly named folder within Documents, which is where your saves and other data are stored). In the folder in Applications you will see the shortcut icons for the base game as well as any expansions or stuff packs installed. If you can see the icon for the game that has failed to properly download from Origin, try right clicking on it and this should give you the option to show the original file. You can move the original files to the trash from there. This may allow you to commence a re-download from Origin. (Many thanks go to Tremayne from TS3 Mac forum for this suggestion.)
If this does not work, or if the icon is missing from the “The Sims 3” folder in Applications, then you may need to completely uninstall and reinstall.
If your installation is stuck on file xxx out of xxx, you may also wish to read this EA help page: https://help.ea.com/article/sims-3-on-mac-installation-stuck-at-32-or-34-files-troubleshooting
Another important tip is to install the games in release order. Here is the list:
Base Game
World Adventures
High End Loft - SP
Ambitions
Fast Lane - SP
Late Night
Outdoor Living - SP
Generations
Town Life - SP
Pets
Master Suite - SP
Showtime
Katy Perry's Sweet Treats - SP
Diesel - SP
Supernatural
Seasons
70s, 80s, 90s - SP
University
Island Paradise
Movie Stuff - SP
Into the Future
For Mac users our actual game (the stuff that runs the game not the saved game files) is stored under Applications. Mine is stored under a folder called Sims 3. When you open that folder up, you should see Sims 3 and the EULA. Next you will see in alphabetical order short cuts to all the EP's and SP's you have installed. If you right click on one it will give you the option to show original. You can move the original files to the trash from there.
Haven't tried it personally, but it should help.
It's tricky to envisage the problems people are having because I don't use Origin myself (and have no particular desire to start, having seen how many people get stuck with it) so your input is really appreciated.
Cheers ladies,
I agree with you and it is nice to be able to play again.
Thank you for this, Tremayne. It sounds like a good idea and hopefully it will work in some cases. A few people said that they couldn't see any files at all relating to their failed download, not in Applications and not when doing a search of their Mac, so would not be able to do this. I guess for them the only solution is to uninstall and start over?
Agreed! Enjoy your game and put your feet up.
Thanks for your help with this, you and Bluebell have been great - as always.
Edit: I updated the second post of notes in light of my new knowledge.
If anyone has any other information/comments/corrections, feel free to keep posting!
Caspin
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/728222.page#11574912
EDIT - it's not really an Origin issue, more a common sense one, but seems to be very frequent with any downloads EA related...
Agreed, faulty downloads seem to happen more often than not! I'll add something in.
Ta, Bluebell
Ah!
Aha! Thanks Tremayne
Quoted from a query at EA Answer HQ:
"I bought the Sims 3 Seasons via Origin and downloaded it; so I didn’t buy a disc. I have a MacBook Pro, so no disc drive. Then I downloaded it, and when I got to installing it a screen popped up saying “The Sims 3 Seasons is a game that must be installed using an external application, which is separate software not a part of Origin….Install through an external application.” How would I go about doing that?"