“Unrecognized Video Card” error on Mac

If you experience this error message at the main menu in The Sims 4 when launching the game, don’t panic! It’s nothing to worry about and won’t stop you playing the game.

It’s simply because EA haven’t updated the GraphicsCards.sgr file in the main game to incorporate your GPU. You can do one of two things to stop the message from appearing:

  • Download the updated GraphicsCards.sgr file I have uploaded here
  • Open your Downloads folder, right click on the downloaded file and select Copy
  • Open the ConfigOverride folder in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4. Right click in the folder and select Paste item. That’s it.

Or:

  • Right click on the Sims 4 base game, wherever you have it installed (Applications folder by default) and select Show package contents
  • Navigate to Contents > Resources
  • Right click on the GraphicsCards.sgr file and select Copy
  • Open the ConfigOverride folder in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4. Right click in the folder and select Paste item.
  • Open the GraphicsCards.sgr file you have pasted into the ConfigOverride folder. If prompted to choose an Application in Finder, choose TextEdit.
  • Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the file to the Apple bit and paste the following lines:
vendor "Apple" 0x106B
card 0x0000 "Apple M3" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M3 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M3 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M2" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M2 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M2 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M1" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M1 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple M1 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber
card 0x0000 "Apple A12Z" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh
end
  • Close the GraphicsCards.sgr file, saving if prompted (you shouldn’t be)

It’s important to copy and paste the GraphicsCards.sgr file. Do not drag it to the ConfigOverride folder as it will only create an alias of the original file.

The lines above add all Apple Silicon models to the .sgr file. I think all previous Intel model Macs are covered but if you’re on an Intel Mac and getting the error, jump into my Discord support server for help.

This is not a Mod in the typical sense, it does not need to be in your Mods folder, it is a simple addition to a simple text file. For more info on the ConfigOverride folder see this article.

The Sims 4 For Rent – Renovated townhouses available soon!

3 Georgian Townhouses – 5 floors, small garden, balconies, possible roof terraces, very exclusive. Available early December 2023.

EA App finally coming to Mac

How disappointing although of course inevitable. Today EA announced that the EA App will be arriving on macOS soon. In what must have been a fun news item to write, given that barely any of it is actually true, EA proudly stated “…it’s the best place for you to experience EA’s incredible games, services and content.” and “…you can ensure that your games are ready to play when you are”. You can read all about how unstable and buggy EA App is for Windows users over on the EA App bug forum here. Yes I know Origin isn’t much better but since the launch of EA App we’ve had it considerably better than Windows users (apart from the September 2023 patch).

A small flavour of what we most probably have to look forward to:

Horse Ranch Pack will not install

Individual Pack download issues

Kit showing as unowned after purchase

Horse Ranch Pack installed but not present in game

Hopefully these issues, which seem to pop up frequently in EA App, are also down to the hell-hole that is Windows and maybe our lovely macOS will run the app a whole lot smoother. But I really don’t hold out much hope….. If you want to read further, EA_Kent (don’t shoot the messenger) posted some further details over at Answers HQ in this general info and FAQ post.