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YaBoiJinx3489's avatar
11 months ago

My Sims can no longer Cook

As of writing (September 3rd, 2024), my Sims will no longer cook properly. When i direct them to cook from the fridge or stovetop, they will always use counters that they shouldn't be pathing to or using at all, like those occupied by decorations, appliances or sinks. Every time I have my Sim try and cook, he will path to a counter occupied by a sink, most often than not a bathroom sink on an entirely different floor. When the room that has that sink is locked, he will cancel the action of cooking, ignoring the empty counter right beside him, and will not cook a thing. This has been happening non-stop for the past few weeks and has been chipping away at my patience.

I do not understand how this problem came about, or even why it could be happening. Moving around or removing decorations in the kitchen does not help. Filling all the counters except for one completely empty counter seems to make it worse, and restarting the game and even my computer have yielded no results. Though this is definitely not the most game breaking thing to occur in the Sims 4's history, it's come to a point where my enjoyment of the game is being stymied by progressively dumber Sim pathing with each update. It didn't used to be this terrible but it's been a consistent issue in my game for more than a couple of weeks, and it baffles me that it feels like the game's progression is going backwards with every update. I could just be being disgruntled and frustrated, but I can't understand why this has been such a simple but pervasive issue.

5 Replies

  • @YaBoiJinx3489  In addition to what @crinrict asked, there are several other things it that could cause what sounds like a route block in your kitchen near the stove or the sims can't find an unoccupied surface in the kitchen. 

    Placing things in the kitchen with MOO on is a really good way to inadvertently create surface route blocks when you build.  For instance, clutter items placed on counters with MOO on, will more often than not, cause sims to use the counters with those items on them because they are not detected when there the isn't an object placed exactly in the slot that the object would occupy if placed with MOO off.  The way to get around that is to place the first object on the counter with MOO off so you block the slot, and then the counter will be seen as unavailable for cooking prep. Then try to see if any other clutter will lock on any other slots on the counter. Then turn MOO on and place the rest of the clutter on the counter that you want to have there. Rinse and repeat for all counters you want clutter or appliances on.  Just make sure you have one counter surface in the kitchen completely empty.  If you do it correctly, your sims will always use the closest surface to prep food in the kitchen.  One thing that will still happen is simply due to where the sim is located when you queue the cooking action.  If they are in a bathroom that has counters in it when you queue cooking, sometimes they will see that counter as the nearest despite the fact that is may be across the house from the kitchen so will troop to the fridge then back to the bathroom to prep and then go to the stove.  I just use go here to send the sim to the kitchen before the cooking action to keep that from happening.  

    MOO will also cause sims to ignore the kitchen sink if the sink was placed with MOO on.  Stoves and fridges too, especially if you use Alt when you place them.  I either of those appliances are not in exactly in the right spot, you can get route fails.  Another thing that can happen is stoves and fridges will become unusable if you inadvertently get another item placed that infringes on the appliance footprint or is clipping into the appliance.  For instance, I routinely place the cookbook clutter item on top of a fridge using a combination of MOO, Alt and the 0-9 keys but on occasion, I might not get it high enough to clear the top of the fridge, so the bottom of the cookbook item is imbedded slightly in the fridge.  That's enough to block the fridge.  Same with stoves and placing a wall mounted pan, or utensil rack on the wall behind it.  You can also do it with counters which will look empty to the naked eye, but the game might see some type of infringement.  And one last thing about placing counters with MOO on, on a couple of occasions, given the way placing counters work, it is very easy to place two counters on the same tile, one on top of the other.  When you do that, the counter will not work at all so one thing you can do is, with MOO off, check your counters to make sure that only one occupies a tile.

    Another thing to look at that causes route blocks for cooking is overhead lights and the hanging pot racks.  Every pot rack will cause the stove to be blocked if placed above the tile in front of the stove for medium and short wall rooms.  A large number of the hanging ceiling lights will do it too.

    But the one thing that I encounter most that blocks cooking, assuming the sim is finished with the mixing and prep, is that there is something still in the oven.  With autonomy on, a lot of my sims decide they need to do something else after they put a meal in the oven and go off to do it.  Get a drink, for instance and if there is an infant anywhere close or a baby crying somewhere, they will quit cooking in an instant.  So, you have to always remember to check the stove before starting cooking just to make sure nothing is already in the oven.  

    From what you describe in your post, since you didn't have the problems before and your sims cooked without problem, my guess is that you probably still have something in the stove though.  So, check the stove and empty it if you get the empty or remove dish option.

    Hope this helps.

  • Thank you and @crinrict for your replies, @CGrant56. I have attempted to move around my kitchen supplies with move objects off with your advice in mind, and found that it has helped a little. Most of the issues that my Sims were having also seemed to have been tied to the specific appliances I had in my build as well, and had them replaced(I was using a stove top from Dream Home Decorator and a separate oven that snaps into the counters, also from Dream Home Decorator. I changed them out for a stove from the culinary career). Since swapping things around, and removing a pot rack that I had bought the issues are definitely not as pervasive, but unfortunately they are still present. My Sim still opts to use a sink counter in the bathroom most times, but I no longer have to worry about my Sim just quitting with cooking for no reason (I play the game with autonomy off, so the whole oven-being-occupied situation isn't an issue for me).

    Thank you again for your help!

  • CGrant56's avatar
    CGrant56
    Hero+
    11 months ago

    @YaBoiJinx3489 

    Just curious since you mentioned the stove top.  I have found that stove top has a couple issues.  First, sims ignore that it is there when choosing where to prep a meal and will prep right on top of it. And second, it cannot be above another undercounter item like the matching DHD base counter oven or a dishwasher.  With MOO off, you can't place that way and if you use MOO to place the stove top on a countertop directly above either the oven or a dishwasher, sims can't use it, and you get a routing fail. Tbh, I grew up in a house that had a countertop electric stove top above an oven mounted in the counter below and to me, that seems the way it should be, so I found it odd the game wouldn't let you do it that way.  

    So, I guess the question is:  Did you place that countertop stove top on a counter directly above the oven or a dishwasher?

    Hope this helps.