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Gyldenloev's avatar
Gyldenloev
New Veteran
8 months ago
Solved

Question regarding problems launching, user files and login rewards

So I can see from my save files that last time I checked in was mid August. At that time there weren't any problems with my game. Now I decided to risk the new update in order to try out the Reaper E...
pc
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    8 months ago

    @Gyldenloev  After the most recent patch, the next time you launch the game, the login event-related data from UserSetting.ini is migrated to accountDataDB.package.  So in theory, if you have a copy of the old UserSetting, from before this process happened, and you deleted the current accountDataDB, you could convince the game to keep generating a new accountDataDB with the correct info.  You could do this as many times as you wanted as long as you were preserving a copy of the old UserSetting.

    However, one potential complication is that you used the same UserSetting file for both accounts.  The file has strings in it with some kind of user ID; you couldn't, for example, borrow someone else's and use it without editing the file to impose your own user ID.  I actually don't know whether your file would have both your and your son's IDs, but you can open it in a text editor and take a look.

    The other issue is whether the game has loaded far enough to migrate the data at all.  I don't know exactly when that happens.  If your UserSetting still contains the correct data (whether you have an accountDataDB or not), you could use it in a clean folder to generate a new accountDataDB with, hopefully, the correct data.  You'll need to test yourself though.  And I do believe you'd need to delete the existing accountDataDB if it doesn't have the correct info, that the game only migrates the data when it creates the accountDataDB file rather than updating it.

    And you're correct, a newly-generated UserSetting.ini would not have the old login rewards data.

    For the primary issue, please do test a clean folder just to see whether it works.  Renaming or moving the old one is simple, as is deleting the new folder and restoring the old.  If that doesn't help, please post a dxdiag and I'll take a look.

    https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
8 months ago

@Gyldenloev  After the most recent patch, the next time you launch the game, the login event-related data from UserSetting.ini is migrated to accountDataDB.package.  So in theory, if you have a copy of the old UserSetting, from before this process happened, and you deleted the current accountDataDB, you could convince the game to keep generating a new accountDataDB with the correct info.  You could do this as many times as you wanted as long as you were preserving a copy of the old UserSetting.

However, one potential complication is that you used the same UserSetting file for both accounts.  The file has strings in it with some kind of user ID; you couldn't, for example, borrow someone else's and use it without editing the file to impose your own user ID.  I actually don't know whether your file would have both your and your son's IDs, but you can open it in a text editor and take a look.

The other issue is whether the game has loaded far enough to migrate the data at all.  I don't know exactly when that happens.  If your UserSetting still contains the correct data (whether you have an accountDataDB or not), you could use it in a clean folder to generate a new accountDataDB with, hopefully, the correct data.  You'll need to test yourself though.  And I do believe you'd need to delete the existing accountDataDB if it doesn't have the correct info, that the game only migrates the data when it creates the accountDataDB file rather than updating it.

And you're correct, a newly-generated UserSetting.ini would not have the old login rewards data.

For the primary issue, please do test a clean folder just to see whether it works.  Renaming or moving the old one is simple, as is deleting the new folder and restoring the old.  If that doesn't help, please post a dxdiag and I'll take a look.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

Gyldenloev's avatar
Gyldenloev
New Veteran
8 months ago

@puzzlezaddict - Thank you for your response and apologies for my late reply, but it was a busy weekend.

I followed your suggestion and looked for my son's as well as my user ID in my copy of the old UserSettings and fortunately they were both there, so this made me more confident that replacing the file would work beyond theory. By the way, the new accountDataDB.package hadn't been generated yet. That must happen at some point after the point where my game crashed.

On to the good news - creating a clean Sims 4 folder worked! The game now launches again and I got my Happy at Home rewards back after deleting the accountDataDB.package and replacing the UserSettings with a copy of my old one. Repeating the process in another clean folder where I then checked my son's account also proved successful with his rewards appearing as well. So all is well in that regard.

However, the bad news is that I now have the dreaded shopping cart in my game. Despite several updates that thing hadn't crept into my game yet although it was present in my son's and both were drawing from the same folder. Now if I could just figure out which setting or what string kept it at bay and replace it, I would be very happy. I'm so disappointed in EA/Maxis for putting that thing in there in the first place.

Anyway, thank you so much for providing advice and assistance. It is much appreciated 🙂

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    8 months ago

    @Gyldenloev  There's at least one mod that removes the shopping cart icon.  I can't speak to its effectiveness because I haven't tested it, but you can check the comments on the download site.  Just make sure it's compatible with any other mods you're using.

    I'm glad to hear the other part worked.  And this doesn't count as a late reply at all in my book.  People show up when they have time, and it's always fine.

    • Gyldenloev's avatar
      Gyldenloev
      New Veteran
      8 months ago

      @puzzlezaddict - thanks for your suggestion. I’ve read about a mod that removes it, but last I heard it was conflicting with the Reaper’s event. It may have been fixed since, but I haven’t kept up with it as I haven’t had cc or mods on this computer in quite a while. That’s reserved for a different computer where I rarely update my game. For this event I’ll just try to power through, ignore it as best I can and give it the evil eye from time to time.

      • puzzlezaddict's avatar
        puzzlezaddict
        Hero+
        8 months ago

        @Gyldenloev  Since you originally posted, some details have changed.  The Happy at Home rewards have been added to the game for everyone because a number of people lost access to them through no fault of their own.  The accountDataDB file now only holds data about interim progress towards the Reaper rewards tasks.  (It doesn't hold data about what rewards you've redeemed; this is tied to your account.)  As an example, if you complete only one week 3 task and delete the file, you'll need to complete this task again; if you finish all week 3 tasks, your account and therefore the game will remember that and not offer them again.

        If you'd like the event to disappear temporarily, disable Online Social Features, under Options > Game Options > Other, and remove accountDataDB.  Reenabling the setting will make the tasks reappear. 

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