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 | 1 report |
| DXMTDirect3D 11 over Metal | Reported | 1 report |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Untested | no report yet — send one |
last confirmed 2026-10-05 · engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r21 · macOS 27.0. Dated runs record the engine build and, where the reporter gave it, the macOS version.
Notes
Re-verified on engine r2 on 2026-09-10: launches from Steam and reaches the neighbourhood view at 99.3 fps, 1728x1117, 2.8 ms of GPU per frame, presenting directly rather than through the compositor. No MoltenVK device losses in the run, so the shadow-import fix is holding. 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. Run again on an M4 on 2026-10-03 (macOS 27.0, engine r19): with the recipe's variable in the process the neighbourhood and a lot draw correctly; without it the window is black and MoltenVK loses the device at the first frame, as the older-engine note above says. Re-checked on 2026-10-05 on an M4 with engine r21 (DEP kept on): the neighbourhood view draws as before. Live mode checked on 2026-10-06 on an M4 (macOS 27.0, r21, MVK_SHADOW_IMPORT=1): the tutorial family's lot with a Sim on screen, zoomed in with the clock running, once at 1440x1080 and once with Retina resolution on (a 3840x2160 screen for the game). The Sim drew correctly both times, no black figures or noise, no lost device in the log. The black Sims and missing portraits reported on M4s with engine r5 (highball-db#160, #174) did not reproduce; family portraits were not brought on screen.
Known issues
Sims drawn as black silhouettes on the lot, and in the neighbourhood view the family portrait is coloured noise and the lot preview a black block
What helps None yet. The game plays through it; tracked from highball-db#160.
Why reported by two people, both on an M4 (M4 with macOS 27 and DXVK, M4 Pro with macOS 26.5.2 and DXMT), so it is not tied to one graphics mode. Not reproduced here on an M1 Pro, where the neighbourhood and an empty lot drew correctly at the default resolution on 2026-09-21; the two reporters describe it differently, one saying it shows at a high in-game resolution (2880x1620) once a house is built, the other that it shows from the start and survives a restart of the game. The pattern, small textures arriving as uninitialised memory, points at the host-memory import path this 32-bit Vulkan game needs (MVK_SHADOW_IMPORT=1). Checked on an M4 here on 2026-10-03 (macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r19, the recipe's MVK_SHADOW_IMPORT=1 confirmed in the process): the neighbourhood map, the Goth lot with its walls, floors and pool, and Buy mode all drew correctly, with no MoltenVK error over ten minutes. The sims themselves and a lot's family portrait were not reached in that scripted run, so the reported part is still neither reproduced nor ruled out on an M4.
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), engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r2, macOS 26.6.2, Highball 0.9.3 mattpilott (highball-db#160, 2026-09-20): rated 4, playable with minor issues, Apple M4, macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r5, Highball 0.9.32, DXVK, 54 minutes played through Highball with the recipe (MVK_SHADOW_IMPORT=1 in the environment); the minor issues were not described. kasettakorn (highball-db#174, 2026-09-21): rated 3, playable with workarounds, Apple M4 Pro, macOS 26.5.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r5, Highball 0.9.32, DXMT, 6 minutes, 'when I have already built house completely, neighbourhood map, character icon and thumbnail missing', with a screenshot.
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 2026-10-05 · engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r21 · macOS 27.0).
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.