Highball
Which renderer to use
Highball can run each game through three different Direct3D translation layers. This is what the database knows for this title — empty rows are open questions, not failures.
| Renderer | Verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| DXVKDirect3D 9-11 over Vulkan | Recommended | run by Highball on Apple Silicon |
| DXMTDirect3D 11 over Metal | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Untested | no report yet — send one |
Last confirmed 2026-09-02. That run predates per-report engine and macOS logging, so those are not recorded for it. A newer report would carry both.
Notes
EA's 2025 re-release draws with Vulkan rather than Direct3D, so the renderer setting has no effect on it; the bottle's renderer is irrelevant (dxvk here). It needs engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r1 or newer plus the Sims recipe, which sets MVK_SHADOW_IMPORT=1. On older engines the window opens black with the game running behind it: the game is 32-bit, Wine imports its own host memory into MoltenVK, and Metal loses the device on the first frame (kIOGPUCommandBufferCallbackErrorOutOfMemory, six times, then nothing). With the patched engine it plays: neighbourhood and lot load, Sims take orders, 65 fps at 1728x1117. Reported black-screen elsewhere on M4 and M5 machines (highball-db issue #7, KhronosGroup/MoltenVK#2766); the fix is not chip-specific.
One-click setup
Highball ships a recipe for The Sims Legacy Collection: open the game in your Library and apply it. The recipe carries the tested renderer and any per-game fixes, so you don't have to reproduce them by hand. Read the recipe.
Provenance
verified locally on Apple Silicon (M1 Pro), macOS 26.6.2 (25G83), engine sikarugir-10.0_6 with Highball's patched MoltenVK, 2026-09-02
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does The Sims Legacy Collection work on Mac?
The Sims Legacy Collection has no native Mac build, but it is reported to run on Apple Silicon through Highball, a free open-source compatibility layer. Highball has run it on Apple Silicon (last confirmed 2026-09-02).
Which renderer should I use for The Sims Legacy Collection?
DXVK. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXVK for The Sims Legacy Collection, and applying the The Sims Legacy Collection recipe sets it for you.
Is there a one-click setup for The Sims Legacy Collection?
Yes. Highball ships a recipe for The Sims Legacy Collection that sets the tested renderer and any per-game fixes. Open the game in your Library and apply it.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run The Sims Legacy Collection on Apple Silicon, working or not, a report takes a minute and fills in the empty rows above. Send a report, or read how the data is put together.