This could be great news for all. Today EA have made an update available for Origin which apparently addresses some of the Sims 3 stability and compatibility issues those with more recent Macs are experiencing. This
could be great news for all those suffering with the graphics card issues on post-2013 Macs but I haven't had any confirmation yet. This update is only available through Origin so if you are playing the game from the disc you will need to register your product codes in Origin and download the game digitally. If you need help doing this please read
this guide (bear in mind you still have to download Origin from the link below, NOT from the link in the help article). This update is currently
NOT available through the download option on the Origin website so don't head over there to get it.
The download is 61 Mb and is available here -
https://eaassets-a.akamaihd.net/Origin-Client-Download/origin/forum/34349/Origin.dmg
It should change your current version of Origin to 9.11.6.18959
If you already have Origin installed it may be a good idea to use EA's
Origin reset tool on your current installation before installing this new one. It may also be a good idea to
completely uninstall any current installation of the game you have on your Mac before trying this and re-download and reinstall. Remember to move your user data from Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 onto your desktop before uninstalling if you want to keep your Saves etc.
Please leave as much feedback as possible about your experience using this update, it helps so much
@igazor @Tremayne4260 @tamalinn @caspinwall
Comments
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Patch level is still the same, 1.67. I want to know what it does too! My game loaded slightly quicker and definitely quit quicker but I haven't played for any length of time yet to really check gameplay.
What I really want is for those with the unsupported graphics cards to try it out. The graphics files haven't been changed. In fact, I don't really understand how they can update the game through Origin because of Cider?
You should delete your email address, everyone reading this thread can see it.
You need to play the game digitally for this update to take affect, not the disc version. Even then no one yet knows what it's actually meant to fix.
Mid-2014 MacBookPro Retina 15"
2.2 GHz i7
16 GB RAM
Intel Iris Pro 1536
OS X Yosemite 10.10.5
This machine has never seen Origin or TS3 until now. Installed Origin and automatically got version 9.11.6. Checked out @BluebellFlora 's link above. It doesn't look like a game update, it seems to be the exact same file one gets when one installs Origin from scratch now, dated early in February. I "installed" it anyway, thus replacing my original Origin install and still had version 9.11.6.
Installed TS3 base game with all its Cidery goodness (man, it's been a while), and got Patch 1.42. Went ahead and let the Launcher patch (was lazy) and landed on 1.67.2.
Locked down Featured Items, rearranged Game Options (no interactive startup game, no online features or store in-game, the usual). Launched the game, started up one in Sunset Valley with a townie family, and it's fine.
Played for a few minutes in windowed mode, used Edit Town, Build/Buy, CAS, all fine. The graphics options defaulted to the bare ugly minimum across the board, but hey Iris Pro is integrated after all. I moved some of them up to medium, sims on high, switched on Advanced Rendering, saved and reloaded the game. Still fine, all option changes were remembered. By then it was using 1.42 GB of RAM when I really wasn't doing very much and was beginning to run warm, fans on medium strength, but this MBP wasn't meant for gaming or at least not the unoptimized mess that TS3 becomes, so that seems normal.
The DeviceConfig.log says:
Name (driver): Intel Iris Pro
Name (database): Intel Iris Pro [Found:0, Matched:1]
...
Texture Memory: 1536MB
Didn't bother trying to do anything with the sgr files to force recognition and was surprised to not get the usual texture override line.
I'm not sure where exactly this setup is supposed to fail as I've never tried to play TS3 on one of these newer puppies. So what should I try next. A couple of EPs (which ones)? Store content? Mods?
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
We really need further clarification about this from EA. my Origin was up to date before I downloaded this specific update and the version was definitely different. Wish I'd noted down my previous version..... If this one is the same as the current one available on the website, they may have pushed it out officially rather than separately by now.
Ambitions checked out fine, just about to add LN.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I'm still confused over how an Origin update has supposedly fixed some issues....
Uninstalled and reinstalled Origin. You were right, the one from Origin's website is 18286 dated Jan 29, not the slightly newer one dated Feb 2 from the special link, but it still worked the same.
If I didn't already know what would happen, I would install the rest of the EPs, my comparatively gigantic collection of mods, CC, worlds, and store items, and copy over my four year old ongoing game but the 2 GB RAM restriction is not that far away already. It's certainly playable as is, though, to an extent anyway.
But again, I never experienced the failures almost everyone else did with Iris Pro. There isn't any way that my particular model MBP was exempted from all this trouble, is there?
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
But IP? Wow, really pushing things here aren't we. I suppose you want me to actually play in Isla Paradiso, unfixed, as well? May as well set my MBP on fire first...
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Your Mac is definitely one of the affected ones, same Intel Iris Pro 5200 as the 21" iMac. But it has the Haswell CPU and I think those with the Broadwell CPUs encounter even more issues.
This is so promising though. I wonder if the secret is to completely uninstall Origin and the game prior to trying this new update.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
You mean to bypass the Launcher? @Ashpeef has written great instructions which are in my help thread. Typing on my iPhone so navigating and searching for links is always an arduous task.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
My problem is I can't download any CC (Store or otherwise) from the Launcher. Ah, well. Just have to wait until they fix that.
Yep, Medieval won't work for me at all, activation issues.
Have you tried deleting the missingdeps.idx file? That seems to do magical things sometimes