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Sims 3 on OS X vs. Bootcamp + Windows: definitely Windows
CRS77
Posts: 37 New Member
In terms of graphics, animation, and smoothness of gameplay, there is no comparison. Definitely Bootcamp + Windows.
The Mac version simply pales in comparison. I don't know why EA even bothered with one. To frustrate users? Because that's all the Mac version really means: frustration.
I've got an early 2008 Macbook Pro, 256mb Nvidia, 3gb RAM. On Windows (XP SP2) I've got the settings maxed out (highest res), and the game runs beautifully and looks as it should. It's fast. And I can probably get a bit more quality out of it by tweaking the Nvidia control panel and keep the speed and smoothness up. On OS X, I get choppy, slow performance (along with horrible graphics) at medium settings. It's apparent that the Mac version is not only unfinished and unpolished, but it's also using emulation, which further decreases performance, or at least requires a more powerful setup to get what one can much more easily get using Windows.
So in short, The Sims 3 delivers, on Windows. TS3 for Mac, however, is just another subpar port of a Windows game. And it shows.
The Mac version simply pales in comparison. I don't know why EA even bothered with one. To frustrate users? Because that's all the Mac version really means: frustration.
I've got an early 2008 Macbook Pro, 256mb Nvidia, 3gb RAM. On Windows (XP SP2) I've got the settings maxed out (highest res), and the game runs beautifully and looks as it should. It's fast. And I can probably get a bit more quality out of it by tweaking the Nvidia control panel and keep the speed and smoothness up. On OS X, I get choppy, slow performance (along with horrible graphics) at medium settings. It's apparent that the Mac version is not only unfinished and unpolished, but it's also using emulation, which further decreases performance, or at least requires a more powerful setup to get what one can much more easily get using Windows.
So in short, The Sims 3 delivers, on Windows. TS3 for Mac, however, is just another subpar port of a Windows game. And it shows.
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Maybe when I'm not feeling so lazy (and consumed with this game), I'll repartition it and check it out via Windows.
Were you having the crashing problems on Mac and did that stop when you put in on Windows?
What computer do you have? My game just keeps crashing. I don't understand how people have no problems and why I do when my specs are better than what is needed.
I've disagreed with you a lot over the last couple of days, but this is interesting.
Obviously I knew the emulation would slow things down a little bit, but I'm surprised it makes so much difference.
Do you think the speed difference is really enough to warrant me digging out my copy of Vista again?
Mike: The speed problem makes me not even want to play it anymore on OS X. I now realize how much time I am wasting waiting for this game to play in practically real time. I will probably just give it to my mom, if it dosn't work, it's going back to the store and when I hear they fixed it. I will pirate it. F*ck you EA.
*Edit* Quoted instead of editing, Oop's.
But when it comes to games, let's face it: we get ports. And a lot of them are bad. Mac versions of games are rarely native, rarely designed from the ground up. Sure, we do have Mac-exclusive games, or games that were made for Mac first. But those have always been few and far between. It was actually better in the 90s.
Hop on over to Ambrosia Software and see how they're keeping Mac gaming alive, and doing OK, too. But outfits like that are rare. It's all about the iPhone now.
So, having said that, back to the Sims 3 on Mac and Windows (via Bootcamp.)
The fan issue:
The fans on my Macbook Pro don't run nearly as loud or as fast under Windows. But they do run noticeably faster and louder than idle when playing. There is a definite difference. Someone here mentioned that that might be a concern because they're not running fast enough. There is a firmware update for OS X (for Macbook Pros) that fixes the Nvidia/fan issue. It should show up on autoupdate and then you can run it from the Utilities folder. But for Windows, I'm not sure. The fan speed has never been an issue for me. Sure, it runs hot, but I've played EVE Online (enhanced gfx) on full settings (as much as possible, really) without any problems, for extended periods of time. My assumption with TS3 under Windows (via Bootcamp) is that the machine simply doesn't have to work as hard. Maybe.
Do I recommend even satisfied users of the Mac version try it under Windows?
YES.
First of all, you'll get all the visual goodies if your machine is half decent. At least the option will be there, plus you video card's control panel options, which allow for even finer tweaking. It'll look better and very likely play a lot smoother. Second, and related to the first part, there's no emulation running.
The obvious downside is you'll have to dig up your copy of XP SP2 or Vista and then allocate some space to it and then go through the install. Then boot into Windows each time. I think it's worth it, personally. I'm enjoying the game a lot more. And I'm less pi**ed about EA's negligence.
From a business perspective, EA just included a Mac version as an afterthought, not even native. It grabbed unsuspecting users from a non-Windows market. More money on Release Day. I'm pretty sure more thought was put into the iPhone version! That's where all the action and $$ is. Sad, but that's the way it is.
Even if EA fixes the graphical issues tomorrow, it'll still never run as well as the Windows version, because the Windows version is native to being with. The OS X version is not. EA needs to rebuild it from the ground up. Not likely. Too bad, because OS X does have some unique and impressive graphics technologies.
To be fair to EA, even if they had released a separate version of the game for Mac like they did with The Sims 2, it still wouldn't have been native.
It's great that they've released the two versions together, even if the Mac one can't compare to the native Windows one.
Anyway, thanks for bringing this to our attention! I'm typing this from Windows (in Internet Explorer, shudder) so once I've installed the 76+ updates I can play the game how it should be!
Quick question: If I copy my saved games from Mac to Windows, will they still work? The Brown family will not approve of being left in The Land of No Shadows.
Good question.
I'm afraid I don't know. I imagine it should be ok. I've never tried it, though. Hopefully someone with a bit more experience in this area can chime in on the issue.
I think I might give up on the OSx, too. The only plus side to installing vista being the sims + my other PC games, but ughhhh..
I guess I'll continue my moaning while I try and find my vista cd. I feel ill. :P
I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes. Once Windows has installed its 80 updates.
0 KB total, 0% complete. :?
Ah, Windows. I've missed your nonsense.
Know what you mean about Windows. I hate to reinstall Windows due to all those updates.
I played a day on my mac, then put my family on a USB drive and dropped it on to the PC side, works fine.
I can't play the mac side after seeing the joy of anti aliasing and shadows.
Having to log on to a PC pains me, but it's worth it IMO.
Thanks for confirming that.
Yeah, I guess it's a bit of a lose-lose situation. If you're running it on the PC side that means having to use Windows, if you're running it on the Mac side that means you have lag and no shadows. :-)
I'm not sure exactly how large the issue is. I mean, i have no shadows at all, and EA made a sticky about the problem, but does it apply to every mac?
I think some people just don't know what to look for. Do you have nice crisp shadows outside? Not just dark spots under things but clear defined shadows?
I didn't have so much of an issue with lag or what have you, though. I'm curious to see how it runs now on xp side. (turns out I had xp and not vista :P) Is installing..again.. now.