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Graphics performance in OS X - we need your info!
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Glad to hear things are *somewhat* improved for you. What settings are you currently using under OS X?
As for the VMMap dialog, this is occurring due to the crash. VMMap is a developer tool that can analyze crash dump files, so when the crash occurs it is asking to analyze the crash.
Model - MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
Graphics card - AMD Radeon HD 6750M
Operating System - Yosemite 10.10.2
VRAM (Total) - 1024 MB
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Type - Fullscreen
Resolution - 1,680x1,050
Vertical Sync - Yes
Sims - High
Objects - High
Lighting - Medium
Reflections - Medium
Visual Effects - Medium
Edge Smoothing - Low
3D Scene Resolution - Medium
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - Yes
Post Processing Effects - Yes
Laptop Mode - No
FPS Live Mode: 15-25
FPS Build Mode: 10-25
Overall I am happy with my graphics and gameplay. Would I like to play on all high setting? Sure. But what I have is good enough for me, and I'm quite pleased with how the game looks. Is 15-25 FPS low? I think, maybe, but I don't notice. So what could I change for better game play? Can I play with better graphics? Should I change my settings? How can I improve the FPS?
I've taken a few screenshots, please see them below.
Thanks.
My graphics settings are:
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Type - Full screen
Resolution - 1440 x 900
Vertical Sync - Yes
Sims - High
Objects - High
Lighting - Medium
Reflections - Low
Visual Effects - High
Edge Smoothing - Medium
3D Scene Resolution - High
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - No
Post Processing Effects - Yes
Laptop Mode - No
Overall, these settings are good for this laptop. There's no real lag and everything works and looks great. I hear the fans kick on after a while, but that's normal. I turn off the retina display because I have to lower the settings significantly if I wish to run the game in full retina. There's just no point in sacrificing how beautiful the game is without retina, for the retina display during gameplay.
I tried laptop mode once just to see if the windows were weird and grayed, and they were. But when I'm not in retina, they are normal.
Overall, I'm really pleased!
Operating System - Yosemite 10.10.2
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Type - Full Screen
Resolution - 2560x1440
Retina Resolution: (if applicable)
Vertical Sync - No
Sims – Very High
Objects - High
Lighting – Very High
Reflections - High
Visual Effects - High
Edge Smoothing - low
3D Scene Resolution - High
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - No
Post Processing Effects - Yes
Laptop Mode - No
Build Mode:
FPS Live Mode: 50-60
FPS Build Mode: 50-60
Note. The numbers above change down to 30+ when I scroll out further.
How happy are you with the overall graphics performance. Are you experiencing any lag?
No lag, graphics are bright, clear and colourful.
iMac Retina 5K
CPU: 4 GHz, Quad Core i7
Memory: 16GB RAM
Storage: 1TB Fusion Drive
GPU: AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2048 MB
Operating System: OSX 10.10.3
Windowed Mode (preferred)--
Graphics Quality: Custom
Display Type: Windowed
Resolution: 2732 x 1580
Vertical Sync: No
Sims: Very High
Objects: High
Lighting: Very High
Reflections: High
Visual Effects: High
Edge Smoothing: Off
3D Scene Resolution: High
View Distance: High
Uncompressed Sim Textures: No
Post Processing Effects: Yes
Laptop Mode: No
FPS Live Mode: 55-70
FPS Build Mode: 55-70
Now, if I play fullscreen 5K resolution with the same settings, I get about 25-30 FPS in both build and live modes.
Not at all, you've just reminded me to update the list - thank you!
"So what could I change for better game play? Can I play with better graphics? Should I change my settings? How can I improve the FPS?"
Thanks everyone.
You should be able to play on all high with edge smoothing on. What's the problem with your gameplay?
Oh really, okay I'll test out my setting more and post an update!
Thanks
CPU - 2.9GHz i5
Ram - 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GeForce 750M 1GB
OS - Yosemite 10.10.3 (including supplementary update & iMac graphics update)
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Mode - Fullscreen
Resolution - 1920 x 1080
V-Sync - No
Sims - Very High
Objects - High
Lighting - High
Reflections - High
Visual Effects - High
Edge Smoothing - None
3D Scene Resolution - High
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - Yes
Post Processing Effects - Yes
Laptop Mode - No
FPS Live - 30~
FPS Build - 35~
**Both drop around 7-10 FPS by zooming our or rotating camera**
Under OS X the games grid (under build) is seriously aliased (even with full AA, which majorly lowers FFS) and there is an odd shadow glitch that makes the whole lot have a hovering square shadow for a few seconds when a lot is loaded.
Under Windows 8.1 (bootcamp) neither of these are issues - Also runs around 15-20 FPS higher at all times :'(
(Noticed that @jedimacfan and @BrownBlossoms have similar MBP models to me and I can get 40-50fps easily so I'm wondering what I've done to make mine work smoother?)
MBP Specs:
MacBook Pro Retina 15" (Late 2013)
Intel i7-4850HQ Quad-core @ 2.3GHz
16GB RAM 1600MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Pro 5200 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB VRAM
512GB SSD
OS X Yosemite 10.10.3
Game Settings:
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Type - Fullscreen
Resolution - 2048 x 1280
Vertical Sync - No
Retina Display - No
Sims - High
Objects - Medium
Lighting - High
Reflections - Medium
Visual Effects - Medium
Edge Smoothing - Off
3D Scene Resolution - High
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - No
Post Processing Effects - Yes
Laptop Mode - No
FPS Readings:
FPS Live Mode: Around 50, typical range 30-80, full range 10-120
FPS Build Mode: Around 40, typical range 30-55, full range 10-60
My personal observations are:
- Turning off Post Processing Effects causes it to drop to typical 20-30 in Live Mode
- Turning on Retina Display causes it to drop to 20-30 in Live Mode
- Turning on V-Sync only will cause it to drop to 20-30 in Live Mode
- Bumping Display Resolution to native 2880 x 1800 will cause it to drop to 30-40 in Live Mode
- I usually see 44-56 FPS in my Sim's house, but I do catch 80-120 in my Retail Lot (but that could be because my retail lot is underground)
- When there is something for the game to draw in the background (i.e. houses, rivers, boats, etc.) it drops to as low as 10 in Live Mode
- When playing the game with all the walls of the building up FPS drops to 25-40 in Live Mode
- As I zoom out from my Sims, FPS will drop. When I can see my neighbourhood and all its lots (maximum zoom out) FPS is around 10-20, when playing normally where I can see the whole room where my Sim is in FPS is around 40-50
- The main map, accessed when travelling (not sure what it is exactly called), has FPS of 230??? (!)
Hope this helps!
Thanks, very helpful
Your settings are lower than the other users who have posted with the same specs. Reflections are on medium and you have Edge Smoothing off which will make a difference.
iMac 27 inch (Late 2013)
Intel Core i5 3.4GHz
8GB DDR3 1600MHz memory
nVidia GeForce 775M 2GB
1TB 7200RPM HDD
OSX Yosemite 10.10.3 (with iMac graphics update)
Game Settings:
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Type - Fullscreen
Resolution - 2560x1440
Vertical Sync - No
Retina Display - N/A
Sims - High
Objects - High
Lighting - High
Reflections - High
Visual Effects - High
Edge Smoothing - Off
3D Scene Resolution - High
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - Yes
Post Processing Effects - Yes
Laptop Mode - No
FPS:
Live Mode: ~35 - Taken on a 30x20 lot in willow creek (with 2 sims) - Runs ~5 FPS higher at night
Build Mode: ~40 - Taken on a 30x20 lot in willow creek - Runs ~5 FPS higher at night
(Both fluctuates when zooming or rotating lot)
I've recently done a Repair through Origin, which helped stabilize frame rate (before repair game ran 5-10 FPS lower)
The iMac is bootcamped with Windows 8.1 (with identical settings EXCEPT for full edge smoothing) and gains 10-15 FPS over mac version at all times.
Random Things:
When loading into a lot (upon game zooming in) there is an odd square shadow that appears over the lot while the camera moves. (not in windows version)
The game grid appears aliased and faded - even with full Edge Smoothing. (not in windows version)
When hovering the mouse towards the top or bottom of the screen the OSX menu bar & dock appear (lowering FPS while there visible)
-- Would be nice if EA fixed these oddities (and Apple/nVidia/Intel optimize the video drivers further)
And no matter how low the frame rate gets the mouse appears to stay at a high frame rate (Windows version seems affected by frame rate)
Graphics card - Intel HD 4000 (1024 MB)
Operating System - Yosemite 10.10.3
Graphics Quality - Custom
Display Type - Full Screen
Resolution - 1280 x 800
Vertical Sync - No
Sims - High
Objects - High
Lighting - High
Reflections - High
Visual Effects - High
Edge Smoothing - Low
3D Scene Resolution - High
View Distance - High
Uncompressed Sim Textures - No
Post Processing Effects - No
Laptop Mode - No
FPS Live Mode: 17-22
FPS Build Mode: 11-17
Thanks
Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB
Operating System: OS X Yosemite 10.10.3
Graphics Quality: Medium
Display Type: Fullscreen
Resolution: 2,880x1800
Retina Resolution: Yes
Vertical Sync: No
Sims: Medium
Objects: Medium
Lighting: Medium
Reflections: Medium
Visual Effects: Medium
Edge Smoothing: Off
3D Scene Resolution: High
View Distance:High
Uncompressed Sim Textures: No
Post Processing Effects: Yes
Laptop Mode: No
FPS Live Mode: 26-32
FPS Build Mode: 25-40
However, I noticed something funny a while back. The game used to be very choppy for me, almost regardless of what graphics setting or resolution I used. The only difference was that it would be noticeably worse if I tried running it at a Retina Resolution. More specifically, any gameplay in a house would be mostly okay until I took my sim out into the street, say, going for a jog or something, at which point it would become very choppy.
One day however, I tried running it in Windowed Mode and it ran like a dream, so smooth. I increased the graphics settings up to what I've posted here and it still ran great (in Windowed Mode). On a whim I decided to maximise the window using the green fullscreen button and to my surprise it continued running smoothly. No more chopping. That was quite a few months ago and I've obviously closed and started the game many times since then and it is yet to return to its choppy ways. Hopefully it doesn't. I also haven't tweaked the graphics settings since then because I'm afraid of it starting to chop again.
Edit: It appears I can't make anything bold, so I've taken out the bold tags.
GRAPHICS CARD Nvidia GeForce GT 750m 2Gb
Operating System OS X 10.9.5
Graphics Quality. Custom
Resolution. 2,732x1,580 windowed mode
Retina Resolution. Yes
Vertical Sync. Yes
Sims. Very High
Objects. High
Lighting. Very High
Reflections. High
Visual Effects. High
Edge Smoothing. High
3D Scene Resolution. High
View Distance. High
Uncompressed Sim Textures. Yes
Post Processing Effects. Yes
Laptop mode. No
FPR Live Mode-16-20
FPR Build Mode-14-16
Runs very good with no lag. Runs great overall.
Looks great and smooth. Awesome graphics.
> > @Tremayne4260 said:
> > That is the standard command to open the Cheat window. Control (which is right under the Shift key) + Shift + the letter "C". You have to hold all three down at the same time. You did the exact same thing in Sims 3.
>
> I know, I just restarted my macbook, so i'll try it when I open the game up again. For what its worth, I couldn't ever get the cheat window open on the sims 2 when i downloaded it from the app store a few months ago.
>
> i have a few screenshots why trying to open the cheat window.
Hey, haven't read through all the posts yet but in case no one has mentioned it, I believe it is "Command", Shift , C. Not control. Try that and the cheat window should open. If someone has already mentioned this, then I will be on my way :)
No it's not, nor has it ever been, CMD, Shift and C. It is CTRL, Shift and C. Maybe if you changed identifier keys on your Mac and made the CMD key act as the CTRL key then yes, it would be CMD. Otherwise for all factory shipped Macs and installations of the game, it is CTRL
Here are my details: (I am terrible with technology so apologies, if something is missing)
OS X El Capitan 10.11.5
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB
Model: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15', Mid 2014)
Operating System: OS X Yosemite 10.10.5
CPU: 2,5 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB RAM 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB
Display Type: Fullscreen
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Retina Resolution: Rarely, almost only for Screenshots
Vertical Sync: No
Graphics Quality: Custom
Sims: Very High
Objects: High
Lighting: Very High
Reflections: Medium
Visual Effects: Medium
Edge Smoothing: Off
3D Scene Resolution: High
View Distance: High
Uncompressed Sim Textures: Yes
Post Processing Effects: No
Laptop Mode: No
FPS Build Mode: ~75
FPS Live Mode: ~65
They tend to drop to 30-40 when rotating and/or zooming in and out.
Some people seem to experience lag after installing several expansion/game/stuff packs, so is this information relevant as well? If yes, I have all of them and my game (FORTUNATELY!) still runs very smooth. (Yet I'm always worried about that when a new one comes out.
English isn't my first language, so please excuse any mistakes.