It takes a bit of time (exact amount depends on how many active households in a save), but it is possible to "rescue" a save AND keep Eco enabled (using cheats, but no mods, so should work on console too):
- Turn off NPC voting
- Enter the "testingcheats enable" cheat code
- Go into every neighbourhood that's had played Sims living there since Eco came out and repeal all the annoying NAPs (shift-click the mailbox)
- Make a list of all the Sims that need fixing (and which NAPs they are afflicted with)
- While playing on a different household, invite those Sims over (new social event category - NAP repeal party). If it's a long list, invite them in groups by NAP
- While the afflicted Sims are on the lot, cheat enact the NAP(s), then immediately cheat repeal it (shift-click the mailbox)
- Send them home (or enjoy a social visit)
- Repeat until all Sims are clean. Most NPCs probably won't make the list, but you can do this again at any point you notice Sims being weird(er than usual)
- Check the inventories of your Sims for things they'll play with even without prompting (clay, mostly)
Steps 4-8 can be replaced with "save your game; disable/uninstall Eco; play/save your game without it; re-enable/install Eco" - which may be faster in some cases, but is also destructive if you've been using any of the content over the past month. Steps 1-3 still need to be done *first* - or the NAPs will still be in place when you re-enable Eco.
It took me about a week of playing to stop freaking out every time my Sims did anything on their own (active/energized Sims still work out; most Sims with access to clay will play with it; hungry Sims will cook - although usually not cake). Also, the game still gives a notification that a random NAP won the voting every week (unless you have 4 already), but if you check active NAPs, it doesn't actually happen.
To retain sanity, you probably shouldn't enact the NAPs that push autonomous actions (about 2/3 of them) until this gets patched. The commodity that pushes the actions can get stuck to Sims when they're out and about as non-actives (visiting/hosting your active household, or just wandering around the neighbourhood), so if the NAPs are in place, they'll start sticking again. I usually go with Clean Energy Production, Eco-Friendly Appliances, Green Gardening (autonomous gardening is from the Self-Sufficiency NAP, not this one, oddly enough), Upcycling Initiative - even if I'm not compliant, the fines offset the ridiculously low taxes they have now. 🙂
