Ideas

6477cb4052910eed's avatar
3 months ago
Status:
Awaiting Additional Reports

Can't Load Save: KeyError: <CooldownGroup.INVALID = 0>

Platform: PC (Windows 11)
Game Version: 1.118.242.1030 (Sept 18, 2025 patch)
Mods/CC: None (tested with completely empty Mods folder, caches cleared, and after game repair)

Issue:
Household saves fail to load and return to World Select. This happens consistently after the Sept 18 patch. Better Exceptions reports a desync in the vanilla drama_scheduler.py script. The error occurs during lot spin-up before the household finishes loading.

Steps to Reproduce:

Launch the game with no mods/CC.
Try to load a household save.
The loading screen runs briefly, then the game kicks back to World Select.

What Happens:

Household does not load.
Returns to World Select.
Better Exceptions log shows a KeyError in drama_scheduler.py (CooldownGroup.INVALID).

What Should Happen:
Household should load normally without desyncs.

Error Log (excerpt):

Exception raised while processing zone spin up sequence: <CooldownGroup.INVALID = 0> KeyError: <CooldownGroup.INVALID = 0> File "drama_scheduler.py", line 802, in score_and_schedule_nodes_gen File "drama_scheduler.py", line 367, in _update_cooldowns Modded: False Game Version: 1.118.242.1030

Notes:

Happens even in a brand-new save with no mods/CC.
I repaired the game in the EA App, deleted localthumbcache, and tested again — same result.
Appears to be a base-game bug introduced in patch 1.118, not related to mods.
Please investigate the drama scheduler cooldown handling, as it seems to be throwing a KeyError when encountering invalid cooldown groups.

Edit By crinrict: Adjusted Title

8 Comments

  • 6477cb4052910eed​ 

    Please provide the entire LE without BE installed

    - Delete the ones you have
    - Trigger the error again
    - Check if new ones are created
    - If that is the case, please copy/paste the content here. You can open the file with any text editor.


    Deleting the file won't fix your issue. Posting the info is meant for troubleshooting. 

  • After updating The Sims 4 from version 1.117 to 1.118, one specific save became completely unplayable.

    Before the update (1.117):
    – The save worked normally
    – All households loaded without issues

    After the update to 1.118+:
    – The main menu loads correctly
    – The affected save appears in the Load Game menu
    – The world loads successfully in Manage Worlds
    – BUT the game crashes to desktop when trying to load ANY household
      (including newly created households on empty lots)

    Important details:
    – This happens with NO mods and NO CC
    – localthumbcache.package deleted
    – Clean user folder tested
    – DX11 and DX9 both tested (no difference)
    – Repair via EA App done
    – NVIDIA shader cache cleared
    – All backup versions of the same save (.ver0, .ver1, etc.) crash in the same way
    – Other saves and new games work normally

    System:
    – Windows 11
    – NVIDIA RTX 4070 Super
    – EA App
    – Game worked correctly on version 1.117

    Conclusion:
    This looks like a save compatibility / serialization issue introduced in patch 1.118, where existing saves crash when initializing households.

    The save cannot be rolled back because EA App does not support version downgrades.

    Please investigate save compatibility regression between 1.117 and 1.118.

  • Rizuha​  Would you be willing to share your save?  If so, please upload it to a third-party site: Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.  If you use Google Drive, make sure "anyone with the link" can view it.  You can send the link to Crinrict, profile here:

    Member: crinrict | EA Forums

    It's always helpful to have saves to test that are known to be broken in a specific way.

  • crinrict's avatar
    crinrict
    Hero+
    2 days ago

    Hi Rizuha​ 

    tested your save and the game crashed with a lastException. Don't know much about it but I merged your post with existing bug report.

    Attaching the Exception.

    Did you try to run the game with all the mods you had before (updated if necessary) ?

  • Rizuha's avatar
    Rizuha
    21 hours ago

    Hi crinrict​ 

    Yes, I tested the save both with mods and without mods.

    The issue happens in a completely clean vanilla game (no mods, no CC, fresh user folder).
    I also tested with my mods enabled (all updated), and the crash still occurs in the same way.

    The save worked correctly in version 1.117 and started crashing after updating to 1.118.
    Other saves and new games work fine.

    Let me know if you need any additional testing from my side.

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