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Lizouri's avatar
Lizouri
New Rookie
3 months ago

Lots not saving properly

Mac, Sequoia 15.5

When attempting to save my game in The Sims 4, the game appears to save normally without errors, but no progress is retained. After closing and reopening the game, all progress is gone, and the save file reverts to a previous state.

Expected Result:

The game should retain progress and load the updated save.

Actual Result:

No progress is saved; the game loads the older state as if no save had occurred.

Troubleshooting Tried (Didn't fix the issue):

  • Repaired game via EA App
  • Removed all mods/CC (tested in a clean mods folder)
  • Removed all mods affecting the Data/Delta Folders
  • Deleted all cache files
  • Restarted Mac
  • Tried all variations/options of saving the game
  • Tried installing the newest 5th-September Update
  • Tried turning off the iCloud Settings "Desktop & Documents Folder" and "Optimise Mac Storage", then renaming the "The Sims 4" Folder under Documents to trigger generating the same, but a new, clean folder/game. (This did fix my issue for like 5 minutes, now I'm having the saving issue again)

I always load back into the game at the same location, place a base game bush, load out, and then reload the save. It always disappears. The issue isn't with the bush mesh, though, since only the newly placed one is deleted, and this also happens with entirely new interiors, different lots/types of progress, etc.

Additional Notes:

  • The game does not display any error message during the save attempt
  • The Issue persists across multiple sessions and attempts
  • The Issue started occurring upon installing the August 2025 Update

19 Replies

  • Lizouri's avatar
    Lizouri
    New Rookie
    3 months ago

    The changes did stick.

    (As you suggested, I created a new Sims 4 folder, placed the save in it, then loaded only the Willow Creek lots. I tested it both on a Willow Creek lot and on one in Henford on Bagley, the latter I usually use for testing. In both cases, the changes stayed.)

    Were you trying to check if the issue is caused by my Mods folder?

    ––

    I also found/sorted out a mod yesterday that's reported to cause the 'loading-into-household'-issue.

  • Lizouri​ 

    Brilliant, thanks. I was checking to see if the amount of CC may be impacting your game and it seems it may be. As you probably saw, hundreds of build mode items were removed from each lot when you loaded into them. I wonder if the game is simply struggling to load all of this content. Are you aware of this save corruption thread? Have a read through Crin's opening post and let me know if you think it may be what you're experiencing [PLEASE READ] Save Game Corruption | EA Forums - 5037272  no need to post anything there as we're troubleshooting here.

    Could you let me know which CC you use mainly? Some CC is very high poly meaning it requires a lot of processing power to load into the game which can affect performance. I used to use ridiculously high poly cc in my game a few years ago, mainly for aesthetic screenshots, and I noticed a considerable decrease in performance and sometimes crashing if I played for a long time and had a ton of CC on my lots.

    You could also do another test. Repeat the steps to start with a clean folder and copy the Slot_00000005.save into the newly created saves folder again. This time copy over all of your CC into the newly created Mods folder too but NOT your script Mods (files ending .ts4script). i.e. when you load your lots all of that CC will be loaded in but none of your script Mods will be loaded. So if you use TOOL normally, for example, you won't be able to use it because it won't be in your game. Make sure not to copy over any .package files that are associated with script Mods. Literally all we want are the BB CC objects, and your CAS items if you like but they aren't really important for this test (I hope!).

    Thanks so much for being so responsive and troubleshooting 🙂

  • Lizouri's avatar
    Lizouri
    New Rookie
    3 months ago

    Bluebellflora​ 

    (1) Crin's Opening Post:

    I don't think so. I read through it, and while I could be misreading something, I doubt that I have any of these issues. Most of them come down to endless loading screens, which isn't an issue I have. The closest one on that thread is houses/lots entirely deleted, but I don't have that since mine only jumps back to a previous point in the building process. (The first time this happened was on a lot. I'm trying to renovate, so it jumps back to the original build+changed exterior by me a while back.)

    (2) Mods Folder:

    Updated the Google Drive Folder, adding the CC Creators I use as well as my MacBook info: [removed]

    Of most, I only have a few items, since I'm actively removing things I'm not using. I currently have around 36GB total with 18GB Build&Buy and 14,5 GB CAS of that. Certainly, my MacBook is really weak, and The Sims 4 bring it to its limits. However, there was a time when I had 80GB (=double) and it worked relatively fine, and since I'm using Mods/CC basically since the start of playing, I doubt this may be the issue?

    The high poly cas creator I have most items from is Gorilla 3x with 61 items (816MB). The rest is as I mentioned, at around 10-2 items. Most should be maxis match. In Build&Buy, I try to avoid realistic cc, which tends to be high poly, so I don't think it even applies here.

    What I'm honestly wondering is, why the attempt a few hours ago (reloading lots in Willow Creek) worked, but not only reloading with a clean mods folder.

    (3) Vanilla Testrun

    Just as you said, I generated a new folder, placed my save file (made a new copy called "BUG REPORT SAVE FILE" because the current 05 save is now overwritten with cc-free willow creek lots) and CC/Mods in, unchecked the box "scripted mods" just in case and reloaded.

    Attempt 1: With my folders "! BB" and "! Cas", it works just fine, no issues, bushes get saved.

    Attempt 2: I also tried doing a version with my normal graphics settings, as I set them to the bare minimum before to have quicker loading times, and it still worked just fine. Taking this as support for my thoughts on the (2) you brought up.

    Attempt 3: I also tried adding my entire mods folder, including script mods, and now it starts appearing again, as my progress doesn't get saved. Tbh, this makes me wonder why it didn't work when I loaded my game with a clean folder 6 days ago when I tried troubleshooting myself, but okay. So I guess the issue either lies with all script mods in general or one mod that just doesn't work. In the meantime, I will try to find it using the 50-50 method.

    ---

    Also, you're welcome! I'm obviously the one with the problem and therefore have an incentive for it to be fixed. Really, I'm so grateful for YOUR time.

  • Lizouri​ 

    Ah ok. So it's a Mod thing? Very interesting. Could you send me a list of all your Mods? Open Terminal again and copy paste this command:

    ls -lR ~/Documents/Electronic\ Arts/The\ Sims\ 4/Mods > ~/Desktop/Mods_Folder.txt

    This will list the contents of your Mods folder and save it to a text file on your Desktop called "Mods_Folder". Please upload the text file to a different google drive link and PM it to me, don't put it here in this thread due to the possible nature of some of the Mods.

    Edit - this command is recursive, it lists folders and their contents, in case you were thinking it wouldn't help :)

  • Lizouri's avatar
    Lizouri
    New Rookie
    3 months ago

    The command doesn't work.

    Pasting it directly results in: 

    • ls: /Users/X/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Mods: No such file or directory

    Changing the "The" to "Die" (accounting for my language), its output is:

    • zsh: permission denied: /Users/X/Documents/Electronic Arts/Die Sims 4/Mods

    I also tried creating a folder called "Mods_Folder", but it leads to the same result.

  • Lizouri​ 

    Oh yes sorry I forgot it was Die Sims 4…  Add “sudo” to the beginning of the command. It will then prompt for your Mac login password. I’m presuming your user account on your Mac is an administrator account? So the command would be:

    sudo ls -lR ~/Documents/Electronic\ Arts/The\ Sims\ 4/Mods > ~/Desktop/Mods_Folder.txt

     

  • Lizouri's avatar
    Lizouri
    New Rookie
    3 months ago

    Yes, it should be an administrator account. When pasting it like that, it prompted me for the password, then gave as output:

    • No such file or directory

    When changing the "The" to "Die" again, it puts the command line in brackets and gives the open prompt line (?)

    • X@MacBook-Air-of-X ~ %

    And the "Mods_Folder" I created stays empty.

  • Lizouri​ 

    urgh yes Die instead of The (I just c/p from my previous command) 🤦‍♀️

    The “Mods_Folder” is a text file. The command reads the names of all files and folders and their contents and creates that file with a list. Is your current Mods folder empty?

  • Lizouri's avatar
    Lizouri
    New Rookie
    3 months ago

    Bluebellflora​ 

    It worked now. (Quit Terminal, then reopened.) My Mods folder wasn't empty, though.

    PMing you the Link now.

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