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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 6:10 PM
Default Mac version of Apartment Life & Free Time / Adding to Super Collection?
I thought I'd ask this from the horse's mouth as opposed to continually scrolling through google about this question because there's a lot of uninformed people out there, including Simmers, such as myself. Is there a Mac version of Apartment Life / Free Time out there ANYWHERE? If not, is Maxis even considering creating one, because with all the Mac Simmers out there, it would be a mistake not to.

Also, I can't seem to get a straight answer from googling questions on this, but... is it at all possible to ADD expansions to the Super Collection I purchased from Aspyr. Please tell me I did not waste my money on it, lol.
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retired moderator
#2 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 6:11 PM
No, and No, unfortunately.
Link Ninja
#3 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 6:20 PM
No, the best you could do on a mac is if you have the bootcamp capability to install windows and run the Ultimate Collection on there. Freetime/Apartment Life will never be playable on a MacOS otherwise. EA stopped supporting sims 2 as a game years ago, they won't consider having it ported 13 years after the last expansion pack dropped :*(

Uh oh! My social bar is low - that's why I posted today.

Test Subject
Original Poster
#4 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 6:41 PM
Again, I technically had three questions there, so I'm confused on the no, and no responses. Also I have Super Collection, not Ultimate Collection.

So, I'm assuming no on Apartment Life and Free Time being available for Mac, got it, and I'm assuming no on Maxis ever doing a version of either for Mac. So, screwed on both, got it. But, as far as Super Collection and being able to add expansions to it, that I'm assuming is another "no" or the same response to adding expansions to Ultimate Collection?

Just trying to clarify all of my questions.
Link Ninja
#5 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 6:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by JesseMichaels19
Again, I technically had three questions there, so I'm confused on the no, and no responses. Also I have Super Collection, not Ultimate Collection.

So, I'm assuming no on Apartment Life and Free Time being available for Mac, got it, and I'm assuming no on Maxis ever doing a version of either for Mac. So, screwed on both, got it. But, as far as Super Collection and being able to add expansions to it, that I'm assuming is another "no" or the same response to adding expansions to Ultimate Collection?

Just trying to clarify all of my questions.


So the reason why I said Ultimate collection is because on some MAC computers (not sure which mac you have) you can partition the hard drive to run Windows and play Sims 2 (you would need to somehow get ahold of the sims 2 UC and install if that were the case). See this thread for more details: But otherwise, no, there is no version of FT or AL that work on a Mac operating system.

No, you can't add on more packs or expansions, the Super collection contains all available packs and expansions that were ported to work on Mac so there's nothing to be added

No, EA/Maxis will not consider making FT or AL available to play on MacOS

Uh oh! My social bar is low - that's why I posted today.

Mad Poster
#6 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 8:00 PM
There's no need to make multiple topics everywhere - you asked the same question just a few days ago, right here: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=660639

If you had more questions, you could've asked them there instead of making a new topic.
Lab Assistant
#7 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 8:02 PM Last edited by Morrowindnostalgia : 27th Sep 2021 at 8:22 PM.
Alas as a devoted and passionate Mac gamer, I have been hoping for FreeTime and Apartment Life for Sims 2 for a VERY long time. I haven't given up hope completely...

VTMB 1 was a favourite game of mine and it took 16 years for the developers to consider a sequel. And if we look at things from an unofficial perspective, the game Morrowind came out in 2002 and it took many years until OpenMW came into development, which is an open source fan program that allows for native Mac support of the game.

Nobody would have thought either would be possible yet here we are! So I haven't officially given up hope :D

But realistically it probably won't happen anytime soon, and most likely not in any official way. It would have to be done in cooperation with Aspyr (they are the ones who usually "transform" games into Mac versions) and from what I understand, EA and Aspyr don't plan on ever working together again.

As for "wasting" your money on Super Collection.... I wouldn't dare say so! The Super Collection has many positives for a Mac user. The two most important being Mac support and 64-Bit support, which means it is extremely stable and very smooth to run (correct me if I'm wrong but the UC is somewhat notorious to get working especially on windows 10) and will be compatible with future IOS updates for the next who-knows-how-many years since they just recently made the switch to 64-Bit.

And not to throw shade on the other Sims games but even 2/3rds of Sims 2 is vastly better than any edition of Sims 4 (in my honest opinion lol). FreeTime and Apartment Life not being there is a shame... but my personal favourites were always Nightlife, University and Open For Business anyway.

As a modder, you are a little limited that is true - but you'd be surprised to find you aren't as limited as you'd think. My Sims 2 mod folder is 3,6GB with thousands of CC, I'm quite happy with my setup so far and lots of mods have versions of the mods where you can install the version you need with the lates EP you have (with the Super Collection that means Bon Voyage)
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retired moderator
#8 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 8:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by JesseMichaels19
Again, I technically had three questions there, so I'm confused on the no, and no responses.

Apologies, I missed out a no- Charmful's post #5 explains it all.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 8:55 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Charmful
So the reason why I said Ultimate collection is because on some MAC computers (not sure which mac you have) you can partition the hard drive to run Windows and play Sims 2 (you would need to somehow get ahold of the sims 2 UC and install if that were the case). See this thread for more details: But otherwise, no, there is no version of FT or AL that work on a Mac operating system.

No, you can't add on more packs or expansions, the Super collection contains all available packs and expansions that were ported to work on Mac so there's nothing to be added

No, EA/Maxis will not consider making FT or AL available to play on MacOS


Well, those are just the most unpleasant but somewhat expected answers three fold, lol. But thank you very much, Charmful, for explaining in detail. I appreciate it.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#10 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 9:02 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Morrowindnostalgia
Alas as a devoted and passionate Mac gamer, I have been hoping for FreeTime and Apartment Life for Sims 2 for a VERY long time. I haven't given up hope completely...

VTMB 1 was a favourite game of mine and it took 16 years for the developers to consider a sequel. And if we look at things from an unofficial perspective, the game Morrowind came out in 2002 and it took many years until OpenMW came into development, which is an open source fan program that allows for native Mac support of the game.

Nobody would have thought either would be possible yet here we are! So I haven't officially given up hope :D

But realistically it probably won't happen anytime soon, and most likely not in any official way. It would have to be done in cooperation with Aspyr (they are the ones who usually "transform" games into Mac versions) and from what I understand, EA and Aspyr don't plan on ever working together again.

As for "wasting" your money on Super Collection.... I wouldn't dare say so! The Super Collection has many positives for a Mac user. The two most important being Mac support and 64-Bit support, which means it is extremely stable and very smooth to run (correct me if I'm wrong but the UC is somewhat notorious to get working especially on windows 10) and will be compatible with future IOS updates for the next who-knows-how-many years since they just recently made the switch to 64-Bit.

And not to throw shade on the other Sims games but even 2/3rds of Sims 2 is vastly better than any edition of Sims 4 (in my honest opinion lol). FreeTime and Apartment Life not being there is a shame... but my personal favourites were always Nightlife, University and Open For Business anyway.

As a modder, you are a little limited that is true - but you'd be surprised to find you aren't as limited as you'd think. My Sims 2 mod folder is 3,6GB with thousands of CC, I'm quite happy with my setup so far and lots of mods have versions of the mods where you can install the version you need with the lates EP you have (with the Super Collection that means Bon Voyage)


Thanks for all that info. Very helpful, indeed. I, too, have been playing Sims 2 for a couple decades and promised I wouldn't ever move on to Sims 3 and 4, based on graphics at first, and now after what I hear about what it's missing vs what it has that Sims 2 doesn't, I'm glad I made and stuck to that decision.

It's even more frustrating that I'm not a modder or creator and don't know the first thing about it and have to rely on what's given instead of making things myself.

Sad that we haven't gotten AL and FT for Mac, but I, too, am not giving up hope. I don't know all the politics, but I wish someone would just buy out the game and put out updates and expansions that are compatible with all, as well as having the support we need.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#11 Old 27th Sep 2021 at 9:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
There's no need to make multiple topics everywhere - you asked the same question just a few days ago, right here: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=660639

If you had more questions, you could've asked them there instead of making a new topic.


Apologies, I didn't remember doing that. I will double check next time I post.
Lab Assistant
#12 Old 28th Sep 2021 at 1:34 AM
Hmmm, since I highly doubt that Aspyr is interested in porting the remaining packs to Mac, I wonder what it would take for us fans to port all the missing content to Mac. In the case of all the stuff packs expect Mansion and Garden, it would be pretty easy to get them running- just clone the meshes, textures, and object coding for all the items, and release them as "Custom Content." But FreeTime, Apartment Life, and Mansion and Garden all include new coding that would need to be reverse engineered. Please note that I am no tech expert, but someone who is, what would that entail, actually?
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 28th Sep 2021 at 1:53 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Smefanye
Hmmm, since I highly doubt that Aspyr is interested in porting the remaining packs to Mac, I wonder what it would take for us fans to port all the missing content to Mac. In the case of all the stuff packs expect Mansion and Garden, it would be pretty easy to get them running- just clone the meshes, textures, and object coding for all the items, and release them as "Custom Content." But FreeTime, Apartment Life, and Mansion and Garden all include new coding that would need to be reverse engineered. Please note that I am no tech expert, but someone who is, what would that entail, actually?


@Smefanye: No techie but as I understand it, this would be a very lengthy and complex project. In my comment I mention OpenMW which is a fan project that (again I'm not a techie) basically reverse engineers the Morrowind game. They are rewriting the code in a new engine to run smoother with newer operating systems, granting gameplay improvements and even completely new features due to the new code.

The project started in 2008. With a fairly small team and many user reports, it has made huge strides - but the first stable release was around 2020 and even now in 2021 it is far from finished and is currently only in Version 0.47. It took 13 years to get to this point. It is playable, but nowhere close to finished.

I imagine it would take equally long for a project for Sims 2.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#14 Old 28th Sep 2021 at 8:51 PM
That is disappointing, but yet... I remain hopeful.
Field Researcher
#15 Old 29th Sep 2021 at 11:01 AM Last edited by muridae : 29th Sep 2021 at 11:37 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by JesseMichaels19
Sad that we haven't gotten AL and FT for Mac, but I, too, am not giving up hope. I don't know all the politics, but I wish someone would just buy out the game and put out updates and expansions that are compatible with all, as well as having the support we need.


The politics is basically that Aspyr had a contract with EA/Maxis to convert the Sims 2 base game and a number of expansion packs for PowerPC Macs. Based on The Sims, the add-ons included in the contract would have been enough to cover all expansion packs, but alas EA/Maxis invented the Stuff Pack, which changed things and doubled the number of releases. So Aspyr converted the earlier expansion packs, and three of the stuff packs, but then ran out of licence to do the remainder without negotiating an extension to that. And by that time - since the Mac game release dates always lagged the Windows ones - Sims 3 was on the verge of release and because of the Cider emulation EA were releasing that simultanously for both platforms, so it would have been out before either FreeTime or Apartment Life for Mac. I guess Aspyr took the business decision at the time that there wouldn't be enough return on the investment to renegotiate for a game that had already been replaced. Especially as Macs were transitioning from PowerPC to Intel at that time which meant that new machines were unable to play the game anyway (at least once Rosetta went away).

Obviously Sims 2 and Sims 3 are very different games, with different players, so that wouldn't have been the case at all, and when they rewrote the game for Intel 32-bit (2014) and then 64-bit (2020) they prolonged its life still more and brought more Mac players to it. But that rewrite was done for just the packs that they already had a license for. I guess we should actually be thankful that they skipped a few intervening Stuff Packs to get us Expansion Packs as far as Bon Voyage.

Myself, I can live without FreeTime or Apartment Life. I miss some of the objects, but not a great deal of the gameplay. But I do wish that we could have Mansions & Gardens as an add on. That would update the game engine to be compatible with Windows, give us the missing build tools like hood terrain modification and wall object shifting, and we could all use the same version of mods.
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