Mod and CC Issues, Discussion and Support: 1.103, Dec. 5&14, 2023 Game Updates

Tips and Tricks for Mod Users at Update Time

Before Sims Updates

Because some outdated ("broken") mods can actually corrupt your save file, before you let the EA App update your game, back up your Saves folder. If you aren't sure when an update might come out, you might want to get in the habit of doing this regularly.

"Backing up" a folder or file means making a copy of it in a different place. You'll find your save files in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Saves. You can copy that whole folder to somewhere else — your desktop, say, or a different folder you make yourself, like Documents > Sims Backups. Now you'll have a pre-patch copy to fall back on in case you run into serious problems.

It can be very tempting to just set up a syncing app, like OneDrive or iCloud, to sync your Documents folder online as a way to back up your saves. Don't do this. The Sims 4 and syncing programs, especially OneDrive, hate each other. You'll run into whole new problems, including things like the app undeleting mods you deleted.

It can also be very tempting to rely on a mod manager to handle your mods folder for you. Mod managers from sources that aren't working with Maxis (CurseForge is one that does) can also cause you more problems than they fix by doing things like renaming files (so that you end up with duplicates eventually) or putting back files you deleted. The best way to manage your mods is generally to take the responsibility for it.

One way of taking that responsibility is to have an organized Mods folder. If you don't have a lot of mods, you can ignore this. But if you download mods manually or have a lot of mods, having subfolders that organize by, for example, the name of the creator can help you when you're doing a 50-50 (more below) or hunting for a mod that needs to be deleted or replaced. If you use the CurseForge app, though, don't move the mods it downloads.

After Sims Updates

Many patches change enough in the game to trigger it to turn off the Options setting that lets the game "see" your Mods folder. If you save like that, everything that those mods effect — your Sims' hair, their kitchen cupboards, their careers and aspirations, their height, etc. — will be stripped from that save and need to be put back in by you. You don't want that. But you also don't want to have that save corrupted unexpectedly by an outdated mod.

So, after the game update,

1. DON'T delete your Saves backup. You might still need it.
2. Check to see if mods you use have been reported "broken" (outdated) or obsolete (for example, a bugfix mod that's no longer needed) so you can remove those or wait for them to be updated.
3. Check to see if mods you use have been updated. Some modders will update very quickly. Others need more time for various reasons, all of which are absolutely okay — the update might be complex, they might prioritize more popular mods than what you use, they might be very busy with other responsibilities, they might be unwell. Please give them space. Too many modders have quit modding because they were tired of being asked "Are we there yet?" by impatient players.
4. If you really want to play now but mods you use aren't updated yet, consider making a new save that doesn't rely on the outdated mods. Select "New" on the Sims 4 home page. If you have multiple saves after this, you can use "Load" to pick out the one you want to play next.
5. If you do play your "old" save that relies on mods or use it to test a mod, don't save if you haven't re-enabled mods. To re-enable mods, head to your Settings, under Other. But keep that backup of your Saves folder!

When Problems Happen

If you use mods, someday problems will happen, especially if you use a lot of them. Of course, not all problems after game updates are caused by outdated mods! So this section includes a test for that.

1. Check to see if mods you use are known to be outdated or have been updated. This applied to all mods — both game mods and custom content. Yes, your Sim's eyelashes can break the whole game! Delete the old mods and replace with updated ones, after checking for new installation instructions. Delete obsolete mods. Delete outdated mods that haven't been updated. (And when you delete that content, also delete the file called localthumbcache.) Often this is enough to solve your problem. If not, keep going!
2. Check if the symptom you have is commonly mod-related for this patch or a recent patch. You'll find many common symptoms and their causes in the next post.
3. Test whether the problem was caused by mods. This is called testing "vanilla". To do this, exit the game (if you have cookbook-type mods, delete plates and food first). Go to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4. Drag your Mods folder to your desktop. Now delete the file called localthumbcache. Restart Sims 4 and check to see if the problem is still there. If it's not, it was probably caused by outdated mods. Either way, exit without saving. (Extra tip: Sometimes deleting an outdated mod and localthumbcache isn't enough to make a problem caused by the mod go away in a save. You can test a new save as well.)
4. So, now you seem to have, somewhere in that Mods folder, an outdated mod that isn't on the "Broken/Updated" list. Isolate the outdated mod. One way to do that is to do a "50-50" of your mods folder.

How to "50-50" Your Mods Folders

To figure out which game mod or piece of custom content is causing problems, you can test mods in increasingly small batches, systematically.

1. Drag your Mods folder to your desktop, and delete the localthumbcache file from Electronic Arts > The Sims 4. Start Sims 4 then exit.
2. Make a test copy of your original Mods folder on your desktop. You'll use the test copy for the 50-50 so that you don't lose the organization of your original folder.
3. Divide your folder up into batches. You might not need to do much for this step depending on how your Mods folder is already organized.
4. Some mods depend on other mods to work. That might be a CC mesh or a mods like XML Injector or a core library mod. Make sure those dependencies are with the mods they depend on in each batch. Otherwise, a mod might seem to not work, but it could just be an installation error.
5. Start with one batch. Copy it into the new Mods folder the game made. Try it out. Is it all okay? If yes, delete it from Mods, delete localthumbcache, and drag that batch to a folder for cleared batches.
6. If a batch fails, divide it up. Somewhere in that failed batch is a problem. Separate it into smaller batches and test those separately. Remember to keep track of what's already tested and what isn't, and keep deleting localthumbcache. Test these sub-batches and keep making them smaller to narrow down the cause of the problem.

A 50-50 won't always find a mod problem. It will, for example, miss issues that aren't a result of a game patch, like duplicate files, mod conflicts, missing dependencies, having mods you don't have required packs for, and wrong mod installation. However, while you're doing the 50-50, you might notice some of these issues, and it's a great opportunity to make your Mods folder better organized for next time.

An additional note about cooking mods: Some of these have very particular instructions for removing them. Consider removing your Saves and doing any 50-50 testing on a new save or new household if you weren't able to follow those instructions before mod testing.

Still Stuck?

This thread is here to help! You can also start a new thread in this forum. But please be descriptive: To help you, we need to know what symptoms you have in your game and we need to know what steps you've taken to try to isolate the problem.