My game has started lagging/stuttering significantly after years of playing without issue. It's lagging to point that playing isn't manageable outside of build mode and load times have increased considerably. My save file has more than doubled in size after saving with the new pack too - haven't downloaded anything else and the issue persists even with mods removed. Is there anything that can be done about this? I'm unsure why my save file is so bloated after only one new expansion pack?

Marking as the solution for visibility For anyone having the following issues: Save game bloat: your current save file is much larger in size than previous versions; you can check in Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves Excessive RAM use by the game A large number of empty households in the Other Households category: go to Manage Worlds, then Manage Households > Other Households to check Please click Me Too and post in this thread in the bug forum: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/Game-creating-tons-empty-households/td-p/10543014 The Sims team would also like to see your saves: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/Game-creating-tons-empty-households/m-p/10552812#M193283 If this is not your issue but your game still lags, please create a new thread in this section instead.

Game is lagging/unplayable after loading with cottage living pack.

38 Replies

Kucki232
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
@im_JoelSF I have the same problem and now, it is unplayable. Many lags and it is loading 5 minutes.
wfblake1
5 years ago
@im_JoelSF same! build and buy are okay, but game play is very laggy. Just last week my game was perfect! Now it's so stuttery and the audio is like a disk skipping it plays the same thing over and over before the game catches up and it moves on.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@im_JoelSF @Kucki232 and @wfblake1 I'm curious about the relative sizes of your save files. Please post a screenshot of your saves folder, in detail mode, so I can see the size and modified date of each file.

Please also start a new save, for comparison, and let me know whether it lags like your current saves do.
Kucki232
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Do you mean a screen like this?
A new save is fine and not with laggs. Only my old save.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@Kucki232 Yes, exactly like that, thanks. In one of your laggy saves, please open the Other Households category and let me know if you see a large number of extra households that shouldn't be there. They might be blank, or they might include stray foxes or similar; the point is, if there are too many households, that could cause the lag you're seeing.

You can try deleting these households manually, or I think you can purge the entire Other Households category with MCCC, but that would delete sims you might want to keep as well.
Kucki232
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict Thank you. I look for it. I tell you the answer later.
Kucki232
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict Hey. I found thousands of new households that blocks me. What should I do now? Can I clean this and no new housholds generated?
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@Kucki232 You can delete the extra households, and I hope no new ones spawn, but please keep an eye on it and let me know either way.

If you don't mind losing all the other sims in Other Households, you could use MCCC to delete them all at once. This is the approach that fixed the overspawning of Father Winter from back in November, and the principle should be equally valid here.

https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2020/11/father-winter-doesnt-appear-at-winterfest-endless-generation-of-father-winter/

It also might be useful to people who test these things to be able to look at your save. I don't test saves myself (I'm not good at it), but those who do may want to poke at an affected save. If you'd rather not share yours, don't worry about it, but if you're willing, here's how you'd do it:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/INFORMATION-How-does-this-forum-work/m-p/7368675#M181741

If you send me the link, I'll pass it on to Crinrict or QA if anyone does in fact want it. I can't ask right now because they're not around, but I'll mention it when I get a chance.
Kucki232
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict My savegame is one year old and I have family on it and many friends. This is not easy, when I delete them with MCCC. I hope, the problem is away, when I delete it manuell. And I hope, EA fix it in the next time. It is not funny 🙂
Kucki232
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict I deleted all the homelss Townies and now have more generated Townies. I deleted them with MCCC ☹️