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d5fc0c1469536b75's avatar
d5fc0c1469536b75
Seasoned Newcomer
4 months ago

Expansion Pack Popups every time I start game

I recently purchased several expansion packs for my kid's account. Every time she starts the game up, she has to "X" out of a popup for each expansion pack that was installed. Is this a glitch? Can these popups be removed? Would greatly appreciate any help.

7 Replies

  • d5fc0c1469536b75  The pop-up should only appear once, unless you delete the file that contains the flag that indicates you've already seen it.  That file is ReticulatedSplinesView, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4.  If the file is corrupted, which can happen, it might not change, which would explain the issue.  So try deleting it, to create a new file; hopefully you'd only see the pop-up one more time.

    If this doesn't help, is any other content missing from the user folder, for example saves?  It's possible the files are being synced and removed from the computer, but it would be odd to only have one affected file.

  • d5fc0c1469536b75's avatar
    d5fc0c1469536b75
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 months ago

    puzzlezaddictthank you for the reply. I had seen a recommendation to delete the Reticulated file you mentioned in another topic as well. I have tried that, but unfortunately no luck. I have also tried deleting the option config and user data files which I had seen suggested elsewhere and still no luck.

    To answer your other question, there doesn't appear to be any missing saves. My daughter is able to start the game and resume without issue. I don't know what other content might be missing from the game folders.

  • d5fc0c1469536b75  As a test, try launching the game twice in a row with the computer offline.  You can sign into the EA App and put it in offline mode, then disable wifi and/or disconnect the ethernet cable before pressing Play.  You'll see the notification again the first time, but hopefully not the second.  Either way, that will narrow down the source of the issue.

    Separately, you can try repairing the game (EA App > Sims 4 > Manage > Repair), and deleting the GameVersion.txt file in the same Sims 4 user folder as the other files.  Or you can rename the entire user folder, to prevent the game from reading any of its info.  The idea here is to get a clean ReticulatedSplinesView in the new folder that you can transfer back to the old one.  You'll need to launch the game multiple times to see the pop-up, so don't think it's solved just because the first launch doesn't have one.

  • puzzlezaddictthank you for the detailed options to try out.

    I tried the first option: put EA app in offline mode, disconnect wifi connection, and start the Sims game, but no luck. The game doesn't get past the loading screen with the spinning icon and tips.

    I tried the second option: repair game and delete the GameVersion txt file, but no luck.

    I tried the third option: rename original Sims user folder and start game. I restarted several times and still got the popup each time. I copied the Reticulated file back over to the original Sims game file folder and still got the popups.

    With each option, I restarted the game several times and the pop ups still appear every time. Could it have something to do with the game running in my kid's EA account?

  • d5fc0c1469536b75  Are you playing Sims 4 with two different EA accounts on this computer, or only the one?  Is the Windows account you're using an admin account or not?  It's possible a lack of admin permissions is the underlying cause, although it would be strange for this to be the only symptom.

    Is OneDrive running on this computer?  Even if not, is the Sims 4 data inside a OneDrive folder?  To find out, right-click ReticulatedSplinesView (or any file in this Sims 4 folder) and select Properties > General, then look at the Location.

    Separately, if you create a new admin Windows account on this computer, and it's local (not linked to your Microsoft account or any email), and you launch the game a few times in this account, do the pop-ups go away?  If so, you could get around the problem, without any other interventions, by copying that account's file to whichever Windows account your kid uses.  The C:\Users\Public folder is a great place to drop files when you want to transfer them from one Windows account to another.

  • d5fc0c1469536b75's avatar
    d5fc0c1469536b75
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 months ago

    puzzlezaddictyes, we both have an EA account. She has the kid account. She is also playing the game in her non-admin windows profile, so maybe it is an issue with not having admin rights.

    I did have issues with onedrive syncing files, but that was a while back and have since unlinked my onedrive account from the PC and resolved that issue. Not a factor with the issue here.

    If I understand, I should launch the game within an admin account, but logged in with her EA account since the expansion packs were redeemed with her account. See if the pop ups go away. If they do, then copy the Reticulated file over to her game files in her non- admin account. Is this correct?

  • d5fc0c1469536b75  Right, launch Sims 4 from your (or any) admin Windows account, using her EA account, at least three times: twice because the pop-ups appear the second time, then a third time to make sure they don't show up again; and then copy the file to her Sims 4 user folder.  Hopefully you'll be able to generate a working ReticulatedSplinesView file that continues to tell the game she's already seen the pop-ups.

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