I've been playing Sims 4 for over a week now, I have a friend who had been playing longer and he had been guiding me and giving me advice whenever we play together. He told me the abilities Patchy have and the help he'll become if I raise my relationship with Patchy. It's been awhile since I maxed my friendship with Patchy but until now, he hasn't detached himself to his place. I tried selling and buying a new Patchy to see if there's going to be a difference but there hadn't been any changes...Patchy will be a really big help for me since my garden is quite big and my sims are pretty busy with work, i can't always take care of it, and gardeners are pretty expensive in my opinion xDThe version I'm using right now is Version 1.59.73.1020Thank you very much ^-^

@DMDragonCT I put a bug report for that here https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/PS4-Unable-to-Replace-Patchy/m-p/7872600#M89851 even if it happens rarely you can put a me too and a comment that you have seen it or had it happen to you. I also place patchy under an awning or in a greenhouse now since that happened.@Player_goq0p7lw Hopefully I tagged the right person. I also hired a gardner when my patchy stopped coming alive but the gardner didn't appear. Possibly related? I'll have to test. Maybe not, I may have had the door locked.@2FAB4YOU38 Edit: I have moved my family to other houses, sold patchy, stored him in storage, befriended him with everyone in the household, reinstalled my game (for other reasons) also done all the general troubleshooting for PS4. He still just hangs out on his stump almost always. Please add to the bug report if you see this in your game as well. https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/NEEDS-INPUT-S-PS4-Patchy-not-Activating-Properly/m-p/8663395#M120522

@Player_goq0p7lw Your Sim does not have to be at work for Patchy to come alive and I am only guessing about him needing space as he has always worked fine for me. Here's a pic of where I have Patchy placed in my test save:In this pic, my Sim is standing at the edge of the lot with her garden in the background. There is at least one square of open space on each side of Patchy's tree stand, so not a large area but not super small either. Again, I am only guessing as to whether this is necessary or not. It took only one game-day after I maxed out the friendship level with this Patchy for him to come alive. He "wakes up" every day around noon and goes back to his tree stand around 5 p.m. The next time I play I will try to make his space smaller to see if this has any affect on him.I always place my garden plants directly in the ground (I rarely use planter boxes or pots) so as an experiment maybe you can try planting at least one plant directly in the ground? To be honest, I'm not 100% sure that you even need a garden with Patchy. If there are no plants to take care of he will generally try help out around the house in other ways (i.e. clean things, take out the trash, etc) or he'll find some harmless way to entertain himself like watch TV or play with a computer. He'll never do anything bad as far as I've seen.OT- Curiously enough, I think he counts as a household member when it comes to having enough beds to advertise for roommates. My roommate ad was cancelled shortly after he came alive. I need to test further on this.I hope this helps & that we can find a way for Patchy to work in your game! :D

@Player_goq0p7lw, @2FAB4YOU38 and @RandomBuzziness , I have not played with Patchy lately, as I have been testing other things. But when I last played with him he acted just as @RandomBuzziness said. I do play with planter pots and planter boxes sometimes, and he attends the plants in those just like the ones directly in the ground (at least when I last played him), but it is still a good idea to try planting your plants directly in the ground, especially if you don't have a lot of spaceAnd I agree with @RandomBuzziness , that your problem might be because there isn't' enough room for Patchy. However, @Player_goq0p7lw and @2FAB4YOU38 , do either of you play on a console or on PC/Mac. If you play on a PC/Mac, do any of you use Mods or Custom Content (CC)? 🤔 If you do, please try the following:1) Move the Mods Folder to your desktop2) Delete localthumbcache.package file in the game folder.3) Fix you game in Origin by logging in and go to Library, then right-click on The Sims 4 and choose the "Repair Game" option from the list. Wait until Origin finishes repairing all your packs and not just the base game.4) Now, when you turn on your g❤️😃ame again, it will create a new mods folder that will be empty. Check to see if your game is now working without mods/CC.5) Now you can try adding back items from your Mods folder one at a time checking your game each time to see which item is causing your game to not work properly. If you have a lot of items, you can try the 50/50 Method. The CC creators will usually update the CC items and Mods after these updates, so when you find out which one is the culprit, you can get the updated version from whoever made that item of CC in the first place. You should try these steps anytime you have problems in your game to rule out CC/Mods problems. It is the responsibility of the Mods/CC creators to update their items anytime EA releases a patch/update, and it is the responsibility of the people who use Mods/CC to make sure they are using the most recent version. Now, if this doesn't work, there might be another problem with your game, but it is best to rule out any Mods or CC items first! 😉I also think @RandomBuzziness is correct in that if you don't have a garden, Patchy should still come to life if you interact with him enough, and do different things on your lot, some helpful, but other times he quietly occupies himself , or he will talk with your Sims! ❤️I also noticed that he animates around noon and goes back to his post between 5:00pm and 6:00pm. However, Patchy will have a different personality for each time you buy him. The first time I got him, he was Evil!!! I thought this was supposed to be a Halloween thing and assumed all Patchys were evil and didn't play with him until @SheriGR kept saying how nice he was! 😃 I thought she was joking until she told me that hers had some other trait! Since then I've never had another Evil Patchy! 🙌 I did have one with the Genius trait that loved to play chess all the time! 🤓❤️😃 Just know that if your Patchy spawns with the Evil, Mean, Hates Children, or even Hot-Headed he may not be so nice!😞 However, most of the traits are good traits or at least neural so there probably won't be any problems! 🤔Edit: I forgot to say that if Patchy gets hit by lightning, he will burn to a pile of ash and will be no more, unless you buy a new one! 😢

@PugLove888 You should consider yourself lucky that when lightning struck it destroyed Patchy, because in my game, a thunderstorm once happened and struck Patchy's stump while he was alive and running around the house! I could not replace the stump and the "lost" Patchy completely corrupted my save file. The only option left was to revert to an older save in order to fix it. There's a bug report on it somewhere, but since it's considered an "edge case" it's unlikely that this has ever been or will ever be fixed. Now, I always place Patchy's stump under cover in a shed or something.

@2FAB4YOU38I just tried a new Patchy in a test save & he did come to life after I maxed out our friendship level. He even came into the house and watched the Romance channel on TV xD He does not seem to be bugged by the latest patch.How is everything else working with him? Are you able to unlock the Scarecrow outfit? Are you able to Ask for Gardening Tips and Check Pockets for Seeds?He'll only come to life for a few hours a day, usually between noon and 5 pm, give or take. You can try running a CC and mod-free test save on a different lot just in case something is going on there. My test save was at one of the starter homes in Willow Creek. Btw- the Gardening career is pretty cool if you want one of your Sims to be able to work and garden at the same time. Good luck :D

My Patchy isn't becoming Alive | EA Forums

19 Replies

RandomBuzziness
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
@DMDragonCT When you place Patchy's stump in a shed, how much space do you give him? Is it just enough to place the object or do you keep a clear area around it? I'm very curious to learn how much space he needs. I rarely use him other than for a Halloween decoration (my custom holiday version of it is actually called Tricksy Treat Day) or for testing. I prefer to have my Sim do all the gardening.
@PugLove888 The worst thing I've ever seen Patchy do was the time he was watching the Romance Channel on TV and appeared to be flirting with my Sim's girlfriend. I was like stay away from her, or I'll stuff a mattress with you! xDDD
DMDragonCT
Seasoned Hotshot
6 years ago
@RandomBuzziness To be honest, it's pretty tight in there. I'm sure I even had to enable moveobjects when I placed it. But I've never had problems with Patchy not coming alive, getting stuck or throwing an LE due to routing issues.
PugLove888
Hero (Retired)
6 years ago
@RandomBuzziness, LOL! 😃 No, I wouldn't' want Patchy to steal my Sim's significant other either! Bad Patchy! 😢 (And is that a Wizard of Oz reference you gave! 🤔❤️)
Player_goq0p7lw
6 years ago
Hello again, I tried moving patchy to my backyard but he didn't come alive next day. I also installed a new patchy for testing at crick cabana and checked few days later but also nothing. What's most frustrating now is that I cannot cancel my gardening service for some reason over the phone and he keeps coming so this might be interfering with patchy coming alive. I cleared 2 boxes of space for both left and right for patchy, this is becoming very silly and I got seasons asi found patchy so cool but yet he didn't come alive after I got seasons which I can only say that I'm left helpless now...
Player_goq0p7lw
6 years ago
Hello, I'm playing in PS4 and I am starting to feel jaded by the constant bugs and I only started playing Sims 4 last Dec...
RandomBuzziness
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
@Player_goq0p7lw Sadly yes, the PS4 version does seem to have several bugs that we do not see on PC. This could be another one of those. I'm now seeing an active bug report on Patchy not activating properly on PS4 & I recommend you go there and click on the Me Too button to help elevate awareness of this problem.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/Patchy-not-Activating-Properly/m-p/8663395#M120522
For your Gardener Service problem I suggest you create a new topic on that one in The Sims 4 > Technical Issues - Console forum where it will get the attention of someone who is far more familiar with PS4 than I am.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Consoles/bd-p/the-sims-4-technical-issues-consoles-en
I'm sorry nothing I have suggested has worked so far. I'm just a regular Sims player who wants to see this game work right for everyone & I definitely want to see for you to be able to enjoy this game!
@PugLove888 Yup I got that from The Wizard of Oz :D I've seen that movie like a million times! xD
PugLove888
Hero (Retired)
6 years ago
@Player_goq0p7lw, hang in there! EA has been addressing more bugs lately than they have in the past. No game is perfect, and despite the bugs a lot of fun can be had from this game.
@RandomBuzziness, thank you for informing us that the PS4 version has some bugs that the PC version doesn't seem to have! That can help clear up a lot of confusion! 😇
Also, like you, I too have seen The Wizard of Oz so many times I can recite dialogue from most if not all of it! 🤓😃❤️
PoptartJuniper
Hero (Retired)
6 years ago
@DMDragonCT I put a bug report for that here https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/PS4-Unable-to-Replace-Patchy/m-p/7872600#M89851 even if it happens rarely you can put a me too and a comment that you have seen it or had it happen to you. I also place patchy under an awning or in a greenhouse now since that happened.
@Player_goq0p7lw Hopefully I tagged the right person. I also hired a gardner when my patchy stopped coming alive but the gardner didn't appear. Possibly related? I'll have to test. Maybe not, I may have had the door locked.
@2FAB4YOU38
Edit: I have moved my family to other houses, sold patchy, stored him in storage, befriended him with everyone in the household, reinstalled my game (for other reasons) also done all the general troubleshooting for PS4. He still just hangs out on his stump almost always. Please add to the bug report if you see this in your game as well.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/NEEDS-INPUT-S-PS4-Patchy-not-Activating-Properly/m-p/8663395#M120522
ButterPopcorn13
6 years ago
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for this. Turns out I had it too close to my garden the whole time. I would have never knew this. Thank you so much!

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My Patchy isn't becoming Alive

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