Hi community! this might be a bit messy and long , but this is my first post, so please be kind

I am posting here as a last hope because for so many years I have been trying and trying to get my game to work and finally the time has come where I say I am ready for mods
I am a medical student, absolutely NOT tech-wise, I've owned a macbook (2018) since highschool and am not planning to get another laptop until I am graduated and make enough money for a high quality gaming laptop (so please do not tell me how bad macbooks are because it will not change anything nor will it help me haha). however, i still want to enjoy the sims since i know it CAN run on mac.

problem:

i have never used mods before because absolutely everything about them confuses me!! i have been reading bout them for years but everytime i try to get into it it's just too much information that i don't understand. everyone talks/writes like they expect everyone to understand all words and meanings but i just don't haha. anyway - i have not found ANY proper up-to-date information on how to safely install which mods for my macbook and my problems. when i try to follow a guide, i notice that the folders are not where people say they are supposed to be and it seems like there is not many files visible for me when i check the content of the game in my folders. so the problem starts there at step 1. (even deleting files doesn't work because there are none of these .cache files to delete?? if you know what i mean)

anyway, when my game runs, it runs quite okay BUT then it just crashes a lot out of nowhere, saving takes a long time so i don't do it as much as i should (welp), it takes FOREVER to load! (even when i re-installed everything with empty files), but the most common problem i have is freezing: the game get's stuck randomly (never in building mode, funnily enough) and while in the backround things are moving (water, leaves, snow etc) and the music is going - it just cannot to be saved... I have tried ALL keyboard shortcuts to force save/unfreezing for mac i could find and it helped me only once. i have to force shut my laptop everytime this happens and playing in windowed option is not available for me? i also play on really low settings and have no CC! i tried everything modless i could possibly find to improve the performance but it's just not working. today it would not even open at all. (note that my laptop does not have any other games or other huge files).
one thing i should mention is that while i don't have many save-files (3 or so) i always play with a different existing/new family in the city because get bored being stuck with one family so i jump from one to the next - but this can not be the sole issue to my problems i'm sure? i also turned off things like horses, hail, fog, strays (i think), vampires, star-level, etc. - i was not able to turn off specific packs to see if one causes problems. packs I have: late night, university, pets, seasons, the traveling one, ambitions, design-garden, dream-suite & the life happiness one (Lebensfreude in german).
oh and not opening via EA does not help because when i try do open the game directly EA automatically opens. steam also is not possible for me to download.

please help:

i would need help on how to download safely (and which mods) for macbook - i have looked through the forum but trust me i can not find anything that actually helps in my individual problem I asked on an AI+ because i have no idea what else to do but i read that developers have advised against it since it can not individualize the help according to my specific needs. anyway, the first step it told me to do is download something with "framework" from nraas, which i can not even find, lol. I am stuck and also scared to corrupt or destroy my game or even laptop.
i just wanna play the sims3 on my breaks when i don't study... there mist be some kind of solution because i have seen people being able to play smoothly and with good graphics on mac? i have put a lot of work into this game and just miss playing it really.

mac info, if it helps:

-macbook air, retina 2018
-intel UHG graphics 617 1536 MB
- 8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
startvolume: macintosh HD
macOS: Sonoma 14.8.3

truly i am sorry for the long message but I am really confused and lost and need help. if anyone wants to help me, please use easy tech language because i will NOT know what you mean haha. I'm sorry if the solution was posted somewhere but i really tried to find it.
thank you for anyone reading this i appreciate any help u can get.


P.S.: feel free to drop gaming laptop recommendations that run sim3 the best so i can write them down for the future!

I am running the Sims 3 on Mac too, Sequoia. the first thing is to get the mod framework here,
https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?ti...Setup_and_Files

then test the game. if you put the folder correctly and it works, then you can install a few basic essential mods from nraas. from what I read, you'll need overwatch, errortrap and probably master controller too to reduce the lags. if you wish to play rotational gameplay, you'll need nraas story progression but I'm afraid it's going to add more stress to your current rigs

thank you! can i just download that framework ? do i have to uninstall and re install the game? also idk what rigs are lol
edit: i cant follow the instruction because my "EA" does not contain "the sims3", its its own app and not within the EA folder? so when i try to "save link as" i can only put into "sims 3 packs" basically