The Sims Team
The Sims TeamThanks for this article. It was very informative and helpful.
My concern is, and I know this is probably out of developers' hands and probably more of a decision of upper level management, is that more content is still being released. Doesn't that just add more variables into the mix that you have to examine when you investigate issues? I know Sims 4 will never reach a point where 100% of issues are fixed, but isn't continuing to release DLC detrimental to the process of fixing problems?
Another question I have is more clarification about us playtesting. Given that it was mentioned that y'all are having a hard time finding players who have played without mods/cc, would a player be able to simply do a clean uninstall/reinstall of the game and playtest without adding mods/cc?
Also, since the article mentioned there was a paid group of testers, would they be able to do testing without mods/cc or are they already doing so? Given that it requires no mods/cc, I would imagine this would be easier to do for testers since the environment already likely has no mods/cc.
Again, thanks for the in-depth information. I really do hope that over time, these issues are resolved, because it does create a wariness to play the game because it may cause players to have to start over and lose so much they put into their saves.
-Mo.
The Sims TeamHeya MsMoBear
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. To make sure I address your questions, I’ll do my best to address each of your points below:
Doesn’t adding DLC add more variables into the mix that you have to examine when you investigate issues? Is continuing to release DLC detrimental to the process of fixing problems?
Adding new content to any game adds more variables as you mentioned. We’re very familiar with these variables as a sandbox-style game, and have dedicated and continuous testing processes in place. While we do our best to catch a wide range of "golden path" type bugs, “golden path” being the bugs that are most likely to impact the largest subsection of players as they effect the most commonly used systems; part of what makes The Sims 4 so special is that every player creates their own unique experience and pathway.
We’re actively investing more time and resources into regression testing to ensure we catch bugs earlier in the development process. This allows us to implement fixes before those issues reach players in the first place.
Would a player be able to simply do a clean uninstall/reinstall of the game and playtest without adding mods/cc?
In a way, yes – however, some mods will leave behind files in The Sims 4 directory that aren’t removed by uninstalling the game. These files need to be deleted manually, or they may continue to interact with the game. Playing a save that previously had mods enabled carries some risk, as remnants of those mods can persist even after they’ve been uninstalled. This is especially true for “script mods”.
You can find the steps for removing these files to test on a “vanilla” game here.
Also, since the article mentioned there was a paid group of testers, would they be able to do testing without mods/cc or are they already doing so?
Our testers cannot test against mods or CC in The Sims 4, as those have always been an “at your own risk” scenario for players. We do however provide support for mod creators via the TDESC files which are shared on our Discord with every base game update that will modify how mods interact with The Sims 4. Sharing these files allows mod creators to quickly update existing mods to function on the latest base game update.
Cade,
Thanks so much for the response and clarification. I'm hoping to get a computer set up for my kids and if I can, I'll get a clean install of Sims going and they or I could do some playtesting here and there. In the meantime, I hope you're able to get more saves submitted to help in the investigation.
It's also helpful to know that there can be mod remnants left behind even after removing them, so I'll be keeping that in mind for the future as well!
- Mo
