Hi everyone, I want to give you a heads up that in an upcoming release, we will be upgrading the version of Python used by the game. We currently use Python 3.3.5 and will be moving to Python 3.7.0. Once this change is released, all compiled script mods will completely stop working. Note that in this new version of Python, the .pyo extension is replaced by .pyc, see https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0488/ We know this will have impact on your script mod authoring pipelines so wanted to provide notice in advance so you can be ready for the change when it arrives. To assist, I’ve attached the Python scripts from the currently released version of the game (v1.46.18) recompiled under Python 3.7.0. If all goes as planned, this change should arrive in November. Note that there will not be any fundamental changes to tuning data, other than the typical types of changes we make to tuning for patches. Thanks!SGMS

Oh boy :# Thanks for the heads up!

Short term this is going to be such a headache, but I think in the long run this is really good news. Kind of ironic though that I was just telling someone recently that EA would likely never update the Python version due to the number of mods it would break!As Turbo says, THANKS FOR THE WARNING and for including those recompiled scripts so we can try and figure out how we're going to reverse engineer those in advance. :)Any chance we get a more concrete idea of the time frame as you know more about when this bomb will drop?

It's very unfortunate to see that this could be the death of many great new script mods. The lack of a reliable decompiler for Python 3.7 means that a lot of essential sources are missing and without them there is no way to figure out how many elements of the game code work.Is it possible that there is some documentation that we can get that explains all of the files and functions? Is there anything that can help us now @SimGuruModSquad?

@LittleMsSam Compiling existing scripts won't be an issue, there will be some changes required to some batch files but that's minor.@SimGuruModSquad The problem will be getting the EA scripts we refer to for new mods. So far the best decompiler we've been able to work with for Python 3.7 is uncompyle6 and that just chokes and dies on any seriously important script files. Many critical files that would be a required reference for a script modder are simply no longer accessible (unless someone finds a better uncompiler, but they are mostly unmaintained since Python 3.5 bytecode changes).game_object.py, object_tests.py, sim_info.py and many other critical files we'd need to reference are simply cannot be decompiled at this point. Unless something changes, this may well spend the end of script modding for me personally and likely others - I for one have no desire to continue to support mods when I can't look at script changes that break those mods. And certainly any new scripting would be unthinkable for me.Unless somehow EA can reverse their viewpoint on releasing the core scripts to modders for reference, or we can find a reliable method to reverse engineer those files - something which EA has been aware of us doing and quietly approved of since the game came out.

I agree with @Scumbumbo if you're going forward with this change we need to have access to the source.When Sims 4 dropped it toted itself as being modder friendly, and in many ways it is. But other ways it's frustratingly restrictive for the most arbitrary reasons. If we're able to get the tuning source, why not the python source as well? Without it, this is practically a move to end script mods, whether that's the actual reason or not.

Python Upgrade Coming Soon | EA Forums

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SimGuruModSquad
7 years ago
Hi all,

CC will not be affected. Only mods that contain files with the .ts4script extension are affected. CC typically only contain .package files.

I am going to close this thread as it has served its purpose. We have a month to get this sorted out, so recommend that everyone hold tight and let the technical folks work through it. If you are interested in the nitty gritty then check out the the Deaderpool discord, where some promising discussions are happening.

I will post updates to this thread as things develop, along with updates about timing of the patch. So keep an eye out here for further announcements.

Thanks,
SGMS
SimGuruModSquad
7 years ago
Hi all,

Heads up that this Python upgrade will be included as part of the Base Game patch for Get Famous. That pack is released on November 16, as many of you know the Base Game patches usually arrive a few days prior to the pack release. So expect the patch to arrive around that time.

-SGMS
SimGuruModSquad
7 years ago
Hi all,

Update. There are two Python 3.7 decompilation efforts underway:

@_A_ has published unpyc37 which is based on unpyc3 and is available here along with updated instructions, here.

@Fogity is working on a new decomoplier, which is available here.

Both efforts have made great progress and at this point it looks like decompilation will be as good or maybe even better than with Python 3.3.5. And they continue to be worked on, so will only improve. Great news.

Huge thanks to everyone involved in these projects!

-SGMS
SimGuruModSquad
7 years ago
Follow up: The update containing the Python update has been out for a week now and script modders were able to update their mods quickly, resulting in minimal disruption.

This is all due to the hard work from people in the community that ensured the tools were ready when the update was released. Thanks all!

-SGMS

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Python Upgrade Coming Soon

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