Re: Mod and CC Issues, Discussion and Support: 1.104, Jan. 16, 2024 Game Update

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Because some outdated ("broken") mods can actually corrupt your save file, before you let the EA App update your game, back up your Saves folder.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, or a USB key. 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, 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. However, nothing built into mod managers can detect when a mod is outdated, and they won't save a backup for you.

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 But you also don't want to have that save corrupted unexpectedly by an outdated mod.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 Check to see if mods you use have been reported "broken" (outdated) or obsolete (for example, a bugfix mod that's no longer needed) so you can remove those or wait for them to be updated.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.

Hi, i read the thread and im not sure if any of the solutions your provide would help me because i tried almost everything and nothing had solved yet, i installed the game two days agol, im new in all of this and it worked well with the mods i installed (every single mod worked and showed well, including live mode)  but after the update the mods werent recognized by the game and i mean that even didnt appear at the main page, it is like i never downloaded mods, i tried downloading one mod and happen the same, didnt show up, the game didnt recognize the mod. To clarify my mods option are active and im not sure if ALL the mods that i downloaded two days ago with the new update outdated. If you can help me i would really appreciate that

Hi @Wit_Katt The game update temporarily disabled mods. Did you go to Options and re-enable them then restart?

Thank you so much for answer, and yes i tried that, im not sure if i have to wait a few days or something and maybe try again? 

@Wit_Katt No extra time is needed. The game should see them when you exit and re-enter the game after setting the option. If not, check where your Mods folder is and what's in it. The "How to Use" thread for PC on this topic explains where you should be finding that folder. If you aren't finding it in the right place or it's been emptied, there's a chance a syncing app like OneDrive is causing problems.

Thanks for the help, i tried again and it seems like all is right, so my last option is if can you please explain or maybe a link or something where it explains the syncing app causing troubles? Where can i find it or how it works?

@Wit_Katt Here you go: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/CURRENT-ISSUE-Sims-4-saves-user-content-disappearing-PC/td-p/12475370

I have some cc, and none have been causing this issue up untill today (i have nothing new for the past while so nothing couldve caused this) , ive tried everything from 50/50 to find the mod but nothing has worked because its still there and i dont know what to do.

Whenever i extend a wall in my house while in build mode after enabling bb.moveobjects, build mode crashes and i cant move or place anything at all and then the game crashes when i try to exit. this has only started today and its so frustrating because ive tried everything and nothing will work, and i just want to extend my living room by 1 to give my kid a chess board ☹️

@toastinoss Have you tested without the Mods folder at all after deleting localthumbcache? Does it work on a different lot? This might not be mod-related at all.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Finally i had find the problem and it was in the thread that you send me, thank you so much im so happy. It was that simple that the user folder, the real folder that the game were using was in the one drive and i didnt notice until you help me, im appracciate a lot your help, thank you!

Hi. I'm unable to get any mods to work.

I run the game from an external drive. Screenshot attached shows what the sims 4 folder looks like.

The game also used to load to users folder on c drive also, but there are no sims 4 files in my user/documents folder.

This is the only reason that I think sims mods won't work now. They used to. 

Hope you or anyone can help, or at least head me in the right direction.

I didn't know what else information you need?

Thanks

@sunwisecircles Head to this pinned topic on using Mods/CC on PC: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Mod-CC-Issues/FAQ-How-to-use-Mods-CC-on-PC/m-p/8781409. If page 1 doesn't given you a solution, we've also got a Tech Support forum for PC (Windows) Sims 4 users.

sorry for not replying for ages, the problem randomly dissapeared so i thought it had gone on its own but it just came back there, yeah i tried that before and i also removed my mods folder but it was still there, idk. it just randomly happens and then stops, i was able to add a whole extention onto the house yesterday and today when i tried to do it again it stopped so idk anymore 

@toastinoss Thanks for coming back. Do you have this at all if you play without mods? I'm suspecting that it's not mod-related. Could you test by removing the Mods folder (just drag it to your desktop) and deleting localthumbcache?

@toastinoss It sounds to me like it's occasional and not mod/CC-related from that pattern. If it happens again without mods, head to Game Issues.

Hi @luthienrising  - I read in your latest mod update list that the "Pool Table Mod" by UTOPIA  has been updated, but when you go to the download page, it still has the old version a0.1 in the download files. It's supposed to be version a0.2 but is not provided.

ETA: Ignore my post... the updated version is now up. They must have fixed just now.

Thanks @LuvMySimz ! Glad this cleared up while I was still asleep 😃

Lol yeah, time difference is high (+10) between you and me 😉 - I downloaded the so called pool table update v a0.2 which says that it has new animations included as shown in their YT video but it's the same version as the v. a0.1 lol. I guess they got their files mixed up and just renamed the old files. Several ppl informed them about the missing "new animations" incl. me, but no reaction. Hope they will get it sorted out.

ETA:

redownloading the latest version seem to work now. New animations show when you play more than just one round and you may get lucky and see different animations. Not all animations are visible in just one round since there are animation limitations. There is an issue with the footprint though. Only placeable with MMO.