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New to The Sims 4 on Mac? Look no further!

SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
WELCOME TO A HELPFUL THREAD IN THE FORUMS THAT INCLUDES TIPS, TRICKS, INFORMATION, AND OTHER THINGS NECESSARY TO PLAY THE SIMS 4 ON A MAC (OS X) COMPUTER. IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH YOUR GAME, PLEASE READ THROUGH ALL INFORMATION BEFORE ASKING ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS.

Please note, this is not a complete sheet of information for the Mac and more details and helpful tips and tricks will be posted continuously. If you have information to add, Direct Message me or post that information here! Thank you!

:: TABLE OF CONTENTS ::

1st Post : Welcome & Tips, Tricks, & Hints for Mac
2nd Post : Keyboard Shortcuts
3rd Post : Questions & Answers
4th Post : Helpful Links
5th Post : Mac Requirements for The Sims 4


Huge thanks to these people for contributing to this thread:
@BluebellFlora‌
@Tremayne4260
@dancingindior


*** Not finding what you're looking for? Head on over to The Sims 4 Help, Troubleshooting, & Bug Thread for more information and help! ***

:: Tips, Tricks, & Hints for The Sims 4 on Mac ::

:: The Sims 4 is an OS X (Mac software) native game built especially for the Mac. Previous iterations of the series were built using ports or third-party companies. Please know that this game should run well due to the fact it was made specifically for iMacs, MacBooks, and OS X.

:: Any time a new patch or EP/GP is released, you should always remove your Tray folder and your Mod folder (found Documents > Electronic Arts > Sims 4). Move them to your Desktop and then update your game. Slowly add your Mods and CC back into your game only a few pieces at a time.

:: Please be mindful that whenever a new patch or EP/GP is released new game code is also released with these updates. Previous mods or CC may not work with the new updates because of changes to the game code. This can cause your game not to open or start or interfere with your graphics. Check back with the creators of the mods or CC to see if the mod has been updated to be compatible with the new patch or EP/GP.


:: Several users have reported that their newer (2014-present) MacBook (Pro, Air, & Regular) have not been running the game as smoothly as wanted. Please use any hints, tips, and tricks to allow as beautiful as a game that you can, but please be warned it might not be as spectacular as you'd want.

:: There have been many people saying that Edge Scrolling in the game is not working when you move the mouse to the top of the screen. Fortunately, moving the mouse in the right area (about half an inch down from the top of the screen) will not open up that pesky little bar. This is a setting that cannot be changed due to running OS X Yosemite.

:: Hitting the COMMAND button and either up/down key will move the camera up/down. There seems to be no other way of moving the camera unless you have an Apple Trackpad. Using that requires you hit the CONTROL key and right click (2 fingers on Trackpad) and swipe up/down to get the same effect. IF YOU STILL NEED MORE INFO, PLEASE SEE THE Trackpad & Game Controls Thread

:: Do you have an iMac Retina 5K Display? Is your game not looking as crisp or clear as you'd like? Please see this thread for further information. iMac Retina Display Help Information

:: Having issues with your graphics card? Check out the Intel 4000 Graphics Issue thread to see if this may be the problem.

:: To turn the camera up or down (to get a better angle of a room) click COMMAND and either the up or down arrow.

:: If you are having issues with greyed out, opaque, or non 'see-through' windows, check out the Window Help Thread.

:: Laptop mode is found under the Graphics Settings in the game. You have to scroll down to the bottom to find it.

:: Upgrading to OS X Yosemite has helped several simmers improve graphics. It is free to update to this software above OS X 10.7
Post edited by Simsocity on

Comments

  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    edited August 2015
    :: Keyboard Shortcuts ::

    Camera Controls:

    C - Take a picture
    V - Take a video
    W - Move camera forward
    A - Move camera left
    S - Move camera backward
    D - Move camera right
    T - Turn camera into a birds eye view
    Z or - (minus sign) - Zoom in
    X or + (plus sign) - Zoom out
    < - Turn camera left
    > - Turn camera right
    COMMAND UP/DOWN ARROW - moves camera up or down

    Build/Buy Mode Controls:

    E - Eyedropper Tool
    R - Design Tool
    V - Move entire home
    K - Sledgehammer
    G - Turn Grid lines on/off
    L - Changes the Time of Day
    B - Instantly enter Build mode (building walls/rooms section)

    Miscellaneous Controls:

    CONTROL SHIFT C (all at once) - Enter Cheat Mode

    :: Please let me know if there are any other hotkeys/shortcuts that I may have missed. It would be greatly appreciated! :) ::
    Post edited by Simsocity on
  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    edited February 2015
    :: Questions & Answers ::

    Q: I am on a MacBook and my game is going kind of slow?
    A: Go to settings in the top right corner and enter graphics. In this option you will scroll to the bottom and select Laptop Mode.

    Q: My screen resolution looks terrible. What can I do to improve it?
    A: Enter game settings in the top right corner and select the graphics tab. Scroll to Resolution and enter your native screen resolution found on your Mac.

    Q: The graphics in my The Sims 4 game or horrible. Any help?
    A: Your settings may be too high. Go into settings, select graphics, and check your graphics settings. The game presets these options based solely on your graphics card, so selecting a lower settings may improve your performance. If this problem persists, please ask for help on this thread, the forums, or see EA/Origin Help for further help.

    Q: Is there any way I can go between an app on my Mac and The Sims 4?
    A: Of course! With the Magic Mouse and/or track-pad, you can swipe with two fingers to the right and you will be redirected to either another app that you had open in fullscreen mode or back to your home screen.

    Q: I dislike the camera angles in The Sims 4. Is there any way to change this?
    A: Yes. Enter settings, go to Controls & Camera, and you can select The Sims 3 Camera. Unfortunately, there are no camera controls visible, so using keyboard shortcuts and getting to know your mouse will be extremely helpful.

    Q: Can I use Edge Scrolling in The Sims 4 on my Mac?
    A: Yes. Enter settings, go to Controls & Camera, and you can select Edge Scrolling. Just a warning, it is not as simple to use as past Sims games.

    Q: The quality of my audio is terrible, or not even on even though my sound is all the way up. Any help?
    A: Go to settings, select audio, and make sure all music/sound sliders are to your desired settings. If the problem persists, ask for further help or see EA/Origin Customer Supports.
    Post edited by Simsocity on
  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    edited August 2015
  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    edited August 2015
    :: Mac System Requirements ::
    **Please note that these are not definite. Everyone's computers are different, meaning you may have the same computer as someone else but it may run better/worse because of the apps and/or settings installed on each computer!**

    MINIMUM SPECIFICATION

    OS: Mac OS® X 10.7.5 (Lion)
    PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz Processor or better
    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 320M, 9600M, 9400M,ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or better. Video RAM of 256MB or better.
    MEMORY: 4GB RAM
    HARD DRIVE: 10 GB of Hard Drive space

    RECOMMENDED SPECIFICATION

    OS: Mac OS® X 10.9 or later
    PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5 or better
    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
    MEMORY: 8GB RAM
    HARD DRIVE: 10 GB of Hard Drive space
    Post edited by Simsocity on
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    VERY helpful, thank you Simsocity :)
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  • Tremayne4260Tremayne4260 Posts: 3,126 Member
    Upgrading to Yosemite seems to correct many of the graphics card problems. Especially if running older versions of the Mac OS.
    Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
  • Candy810Candy810 Posts: 52 Member
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=D1IpOCVziSY

    I made a video of my gameplay and went through my settings. The game is working great for me! I used a free recording software so it looks a little fuzzy but that's not what it looks like in my game. Enjoy!
  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    Candy810 wrote: »
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=D1IpOCVziSY

    I made a video of my gameplay and went through my settings. The game is working great for me! I used a free recording software so it looks a little fuzzy but that's not what it looks like in my game. Enjoy!

    Wow! Thanks for a confirmation on how it looks. Glad to know it doesn't run just awesome on mine either. ;)
  • Candy810Candy810 Posts: 52 Member
    no problem! After reading some more threads I changed the resolution to 1344x756 and now I'm getting 40 FPS. Not bad at all!
  • AdrianJohnsenAdrianJohnsen Posts: 2 New Member
    command/shift/c dont work on macs for some reason?
  • eightsixteendeightsixteend Posts: 62 Member
    @AdrianJohn It's not command/shift/c its Control/shift/c
  • Tremayne4260Tremayne4260 Posts: 3,126 Member
    @Simsocity, Laptop mode is found under the Graphics Settings in the game. You have to scroll down to the bottom to find it. Please update your first post to reflect this information as several people have been given solutions that require this to be turned off or on. People were saying they couldn't find it. Thanks!
    Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    @Simsocity, Laptop mode is found under the Graphics Settings in the game. You have to scroll down to the bottom to find it. Please update your first post to reflect this information as several people have been given solutions that require this to be turned off or on. People were saying they couldn't find it. Thanks!

    Thank you! I appreciate the feedback and it will be added. :)
  • Tremayne4260Tremayne4260 Posts: 3,126 Member
    No problem! I found it and wanted to make sure the Help Thread was updated! :)
    Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    Yay, stickied!
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  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    Yay, stickied!

    Woohoo! Hopefully I can help at least a couple people! :)
  • jacquelineojacquelineo Posts: 38 Member
    Thank you so much for this!
  • jbristow77jbristow77 Posts: 13 New Member
    I use a trackpad. How do I rotate an object once I have bought it? I can't figure it out
  • SimsocitySimsocity Posts: 224 Member
    jbristow77 wrote: »
    I use a trackpad. How do I rotate an object once I have bought it? I can't figure it out

    You can rotate it by using the < or > key on the keyboard. Or with The Sims 3 controls on you can left click the object and hold it down and should be able to spin it around.
  • McSammerson85McSammerson85 Posts: 1 New Member
    I tried Cmd-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-C and neither of them worked (all I got was a screenshot). I have to use sticky keys, could that be the problem?
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    I tried Cmd-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-C and neither of them worked (all I got was a screenshot). I have to use sticky keys, could that be the problem?

    Maybe, can you disable them and try again?

    apple-signature.png
  • southaltansouthaltan Posts: 152 Member
    I tried Cmd-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-C and neither of them worked (all I got was a screenshot). I have to use sticky keys, could that be the problem?

    For some reason this is a problem, do you have another keyboard, bluetooth, or an iPad? there's an app (air keyboard) that you can use? That is the only thing that worked for me.
  • TheGeekySImmerTheGeekySImmer Posts: 2 New Member
    Im a Mac User And > @southaltan said:
    > McSammerson85 wrote: »
    >
    > I tried Cmd-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-C and neither of them worked (all I got was a screenshot). I have to use sticky keys, could that be the problem?
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > For some reason this is a problem, do you have another keyboard, bluetooth, or an iPad? there's an app (air keyboard) that you can use? That is the only thing that worked for me.

    Yea Same For Me Tried It Wont Work With The I Pad And Stuff
  • southaltansouthaltan Posts: 152 Member
    Im a Mac User And > @southaltan said:
    > McSammerson85 wrote: »
    >
    > I tried Cmd-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-C and neither of them worked (all I got was a screenshot). I have to use sticky keys, could that be the problem?
    >
    > For some reason this is a problem, do you have another keyboard, bluetooth, or an iPad? there's an app (air keyboard) that you can use? That is the only thing that worked for me.

    Yea Same For Me Tried It Wont Work With The I Pad And Stuff

    I downloaded an app called "Air Keyboard" on my iPad. Then had to download something to my mac, but that's how I was able to access the cheats on TS4. can you try that app?
  • virtualgbvirtualgb Posts: 5 New Member
    edited March 2015
    Is there any way in which I can change the Graphics without entering the game? If so, how? I changed some of the settings around and since then every time I enter the game the screen is black and I end up forcefully shutting down the computer because everything stops working.
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