Forum Discussion

Seasoned Ace

9 months ago

Solved

Pop up on Sims 4 Menu won't close

Hello, why does the Sims 4 include a stupid pop up ad for an EP I have already bought? I am having a problem even loading a save game after having downloaded and added the new EP Lovestruck to my Sims 4 game. I have also applied the recent hotfix patch. I can't resume a game either, and the reason is because an annoying pop-up ad always appears on the menu screen, and no matter what I do nothing will not let me close it so I can get to the game functions. (Everything is greyed out because of the pop up). I can move the cursor, and the pop up seems to acknowledge the cursor's movement initially, but when I go to click the x on the corner to close it, or if I try to hit escape, the screen freezes and I can do nothing more. I have to force-close the game. By the way, I have removed all my mods. This happens even without the mods. I just cannot disable that pop-up and play my favourite save game, load a game or even begin a new game.

Product: The Sims 4
Platform: PC (HP Pavilion)
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time I try to load the game
What is your current game version number? 1.108.329.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Everything up to Lovestruck, except for Journey to Batuu. All EPs, GPs, SPs, and Kits.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Try loading the game? See if the annoying pop-up ad appears when the menu screen shows up, and then freezes the screen.
What happens when the bug occurs? An annoying pop-up shows up in the middle of the screen after the menu appears. Nothing will close it and then the game freezes.
What do you expect to see? I expect to be able to close any pop-ups that appear, to access the game functions and either Load a save, Resume a save or start a new save.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Mods have been completely removed with the new patch.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes, it appeared after I downloaded the Lovestruck EP and the hotfix. It didn't appear on Tuesday when the EP patch came out; I was able to play with no problems then and even had my mods installed at the time.

gameplay issue

puzzlezaddict
9 months ago
@Simfriend68 Can you close the pop-up if you switch to windowed mode? You can force it by editing Options.ini, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4, to set fullscreen to 0 (zero).

5 Replies

puzzlezaddict
Hero+
9 months ago
@Simfriend68 Can you close the pop-up if you switch to windowed mode? You can force it by editing Options.ini, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4, to set fullscreen to 0 (zero).
SimsKim87
9 months ago
I'm having the exact same issue!
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
9 months ago
@SimsKim87 Please try my previous suggestion.
Simfriend68
Seasoned Ace
9 months ago
Thank you for your suggestion. So I did try opening my game in windowed mode and it worked! I was able to close the annoying pop up and get into my game at last. I didn't have to edit the options file as you had explained, though. It as much easier than that. I was able to go into my Library in the EA app, select the game, select properties and in the advanced window just enter -w and save. When I launched the game, it was in windowed mode and I could finally close the stupid pop-up. Currently I am re-adding my mods bit by bit and testing them in game.
I do have another question for you, however. Every time I open my game that stupid pop-up is there again. Luckily I am able now to close it, but is there any way I can get rid of it for good? It is so annoying that it is always there.
Thanks for your help!
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
9 months ago
@Simfriend68 I usually recommend the Options.ini approach because I've seen people forget that they added the -w command line argument, or a different one, and subsequently be confused as to why their game wasn't respecting a change of settings. But either way is equally valid.

For the pop-up, try deleting ReticulatedSplinesView, in the user folder, and if that doesn't help, notify.glob. (I can never remember which one holds which data.) The pop-up would appear again, but hopefully only once.

If this doesn't help, it could be a syncing issue: OneDrive or another cloud storage service is downloading an older copy of the file. Or it could be your antivirus blocking changes to the file. Both are simple enough to test—disable OneDrive syncing by right-clicking the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen, or temporarily disable your antivirus. As long as you don't do anything else at the same time, your computer should be safe.