The Sims 3 Forum

Just leaving this here in case someone else encounters this issue:

If you force the graphics to the integrated graphics card via gfxcardstatus before launching, the trees will render. I was then able to switch it to discrete manually after loading. If the neighborhood is loaded in discrete/dynamic mode then the trees will not render.

Edit: This looks like it affects other Geforce 650m users as well.

There are some hacks that might help.

However, I am not sure what feature is the issue.

There are a series of options relating to tree rendering in the GraphicsRules.sgr file in your Sims 3 Binary directory.

I suspect the big issue is either the alpha transparency, or the LOD setup. You could try adjusting either of these.

You could also check that your video memory and video card is being detected properly. You can check for this in a log that is located in your Sims 3 data directory. The file is "DeviceConfig.log" and the information on your detected hardware should be near the top.

Edit: I forgot to add: It might also help to add your graphics card to GraphicsCards.sgr it is reporting as an undetected card.

It may also help to "force" the PCI ids (vendor and device) of the card under the wine:Direct3D. You can look up the IDs using "lspci -nn".