Nothing was backed up- the problem was never anticipated. We never had an issue like this before and after the update was downloaded and installed there was nothing we could do about it. This was one reason I contacted the Tech Support- to see if anything could be done or perhaps the update being rolled back.
I really do not see how a back up would have helped in any case. The problem was not in the game files being saved but in the update itself. If I restored from a backup it would result in either the CC being removed again, or in the case of of the entire game and files being backed up and restored, a repeat of the situation since the update would occur once again on the newly restored game.
The only thing I do know is that the newest update caused a lot of problems with us and we are starting over in a new home and waiting fo rthe rug to be pulled out from under us once again (quite literly since the rugs were custom content..
Electronic Arts makes a big thing about the Custom Content and Mods- the game is designed for them to be added easily and it allows people to really have control over their experience. It is stated that one of the reasons is that individuals can spend a lot of time coming up with a perfect object for the game, much more time than EA can devote to practically. THat is the upside. I know not everything created by third parties will work all the time, some get broken with updates. My wife loves Beach colors and themes, she also loves fashion and makeup. She spent weeks finding items and adding them to our game and was having a great time until last night.
There is nothing to be done with our situation according to tech support, we just have to rebuild and go on from here.. I can only hope whatever caused just this one update to do this will not repeat with the next update- if we go through this a second time we will more than likely just shelve the entire game and find something else to do.