Ideas

EA_Cade

Community Manager

8 months ago

Status:

Important Info

General Information About The Bug Reports Forum

Sul Sul!

As we have completed our transition to the EA Forums from Answers HQ, I've compiled some handy info below on how bug reports are tracked, handled, and ultimately communicated as resolved by the team on these forums.

Please read through the Compiled List of Reported Issues before creating a new thread, newly created posts that have existing threads will be closed as duplicates. Please click the upvote button in the thread if you are affected by an issue just like you would the "Me Too" button on AHQ.

For issues reported here that are deemed as a mod issue, please use our Mods forum for further help, similarly for technical issues please use the dedicated tech forums for PC, Mac and Consoles.

We will have one thread per issue, pack tags will be added to thread titles, tags and titles may be adjusted to reflect issues better by EA staff or Community Connection Program members.

Unlike AHQ the EA Forums does not require a template. Please utilize the tags feature instead, platform and mod status are important!

If other users on different platforms post in your thread, additional tags will be added by EA staff or Community Connection Program members to show which platforms the issue occurs on. So please make sure to state your platform when adding to a thread.

A new feature for EA Forums, we now have publicly visible statuses for bugs reported here which I will explain in more detail below. These statuses can be set by EA Forums staff like myself, a Community Connection Member like crinrict, or even directly by TheSimsDirect .

Finally, there is no need to report any currently open issues again as the bug reports from AHQ have all migrated to the section called The Sims 4 Bug Reports - Archive on the new EA Forums.

The EA Forums are setup a bit different on the backend for handling bug reports than AHQ was, so we can't merge the AHQ bug reports to the bug reports section that's already live on EA Forums.

This is because the bug report forum on EA Forums is actually an Idea Board and not a forum at all, this allows us to set statuses and provide updates on investigations much easier and without editing thread titles. This should allow both EA staff and Crinrict to relay information to you all in a clearer and more visible way.

Status Definitions:

New: Newly created threads default to this state.
Troubleshooting: This bug is currently being troubleshot by EA staff or Community Connections Program members.
Reviewed: Has been checked by Community Connections Program members or EA Forums staff and deemed as something Maxis will review.
Under Investigation: This issue is being looked into by Maxis.
Laundry List: On Maxis' Laundry List of bugs they are currently investigating and aiming to fix in an upcoming patch.
Needs Info: This needs further Info like Saves or Videos, etc.
Incomplete Report: The report did not contain enough information for us to accurately determine the issue, or was not updated with requested information that blocks us from investigating further.
Important Info: EA Staff or Community Connection Members will use this status for informational purposes, these are not bugs but belong in this section of the EA Forums.
Fixed: This issue has been resolved as per patch notes or other users.
Resolved: This issue turned out not to be a bug during troubleshooting.
Mod Related: This issue turned out to be mod related during troubleshooting.
Duplicate: This already has a thread. See link provided in the thread.
Multi Report: More than one issue was reported in your post. One issue per thread please.
Declined: This issue was declined for whatever reason (Collection of several issues in one post, unsupported language, etc.)

3 Comments

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crinrict
Hero+
5 months ago
If you have a report for the a stuff pack/game pack or expansion pack please put a abbreviation (see list below) in front in your title. I'll be editing thread titles if that info is missing.

Please do not add any tag for Base game. Everything comes down to being base game.

Add the tags in [] and put a space between tags if you have more than one. If a pack affects more than 3 packs, don't add any tags.

Expansion Packs

[GTW]: Get To Work

[GT]: Get Together

[CL] City Living

[CD] Cats & Dogs

[S] Seasons

[GF] Get Famous

[IL] Island Living

[DU] Discover University

[ECO] Eco Lifestyle

[SE] Snowy Escape

[CoL] Cottage Living

[HSY] High-School Years

[GRO] Growing Together

[HR] Horse Ranch

[FR] For Rent

[LS] Lovestruck

[LD] Life & Death

[BH] Businesses & Hobbies

Game Packs

[OR]: Outdoor Retreat

[SD]: Spa Day

[DO] Dine Out

[V] Vampires

[PH] Parenthood

[JA] Jungle Adventure

[SV] StrangerVille

[ROM] Realm of Magic

[JTB] Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

[DHD] Dream Home Decorator

[MWS] My Wedding Story

[W] Werewolves

Stuff Packs

[LSP]: Luxury Stuff Pack

[PPSP]: Perfect Patio Stuff Pack

[SSP]: Spooky Stuff Pack

[CKSP] Cool Kitchen Stuff Pack

[MHSP] Movie Hangout Stuff Pack

[RGSP] Romantic Garden Stuff Pack

[KRSP] Kid's Room Stuff Pack

[BYSP] Back Yard Stuff Pack

[VGSP] Vintage Glamour Stuff

[BNSP] Bowling Night Stuff Pack

[FSP] Fitness Stuff Pack

[TSP] Toddler Stuff Pack

[LDSP] Laundry Day Stuff Pack

[MFPSP] My First Pet Stuff Pack

[MSP] Moshino Stuff Pack

[TLSP] Tiny Living Stuff Pack

[NKSP] Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack

[PSP] Paranormal Stuff Pack

[HCHSP] Home Chef Hustle Stuff Pack

[CCSP] Crystal Creations Stuff Pack

Kits

[TFK ] Throwback Fit Kit

[CKK] Country Kitchen Kit

[BDK] Bust The Dust Kit

[COK] Courtyard Oasis Kit

[FSK] Fashion Street Kit

[ILK] Industrial Loft Kit

[IAK] Incheon Arrivals Kit

[BRK] Blooming Rooms Kit

[MMK] Modern Menswear Kit

[CSK] Carneval Streetwear KIT

[DTMK] Décor to the Max Kit

[MCK] Moonlight Chic Kit

[LCK] Little Campers Kit

[FFK] First Fits Kit

[DLK] Desert Luxe Kit

[PPK] Pastel Pop Kit

[ECK] Everyday Clutter Kit

[SCK] Simtimates Collection Kit

[BCK] Bathroom Clutter Kit

[GHK] Greenhouse Haven Kit

[BTK] Basement Treasure Kit

[GRK] Grunge Revival Kit

[BNK] Book Nook Kit

[PSK] Poolside Splash Kit

[MLK] Modern Luxe Kit

[CEK] Castle Estate Kit

[GGK] Goth Galore Kit

[UHK] Urban Homage Kit

[PEK] Party Essentials Kit

[RRK] Riviera Retreat Kit

[CBK] Cozy Bistro Kit

[ASK] Artist Studio Kit

[SNK] Storybook Nursery Kit

[CGK] Cozy Gamer Kit

[SSK] Secret Sanctuary Kit

[CCK] Casanova Cave Kit

Creator's Kits

[CKCK] Cozy Kitsch Creator's Kit

[SSPCK] Sweet Slumber Party Creator's Kit

[BCCK] Business Chick Creator Kit

[RLRCK] Refined Living Room Creator Kit

[SBCK] Sleek Bathroom Creator Kit

[SACK] Sweet Allure Creator Kit

Free Pack

[HP] Holiday Pack
crinrict
Hero+
5 months ago
I encourage everyone to PM links instead of putting them in a thread, especially if you're using a personal account that shows your real name. I will never give your information to anyone else without your permission. I will forward your save links to EA Staff/QA though unless you tell me not to.

I sometimes ask for save games. This has two purposes: I want to try out on my game if I can reproduce the error and also to forward the save game to EA/Maxis so they can fix this. Be aware that I usually get no feedback from them so forwarding is a one way street. All you can do is hope that they fix it in an upcoming patch.

QA will sometimes ask for saves directly. Please follow their instructions to upload. Please do not PM saves to me if it was QA who asked.

There are no guarantees though that already affected save games can be recovered. Sometimes bugs are fixed but they only prevent the problem from happening again, not fixing old ones.

Instructions for Saves Folder

Navigate to this folder: documents\electronicarts\thesims4\

Right click on the folder saves you find inside it and choose Send to --> Compressed (zipped) folder

A file will be created in your sims4 folder with the extension zip (if you have known extensions turned off, you will not see the .zip but you can tell by the icon). Rename that file with your user name (right click on the file and choose rename)

Upload the save to a file sharing site like WeTransfer, Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive and PM me the link. Make sure the save is not set to needing permission to read

Instructions for a specific File

If you have a lot of saves, it's advisable that you only send the one that has the bug. To find out, which save you need to send, open the game and click on load.

Next to the save that has the issue, you will see a little folder. If you hover over this, you can find the path and name of the save file. Follow instructions above but only zip that one file,
crinrict
Hero+
2 months ago
Thread Tags

Thread tags are are tags you choose to indicate what your issue is generally about. These can be used as filters to help narrow down if something was reported before. They also give information needed for a bug report since this forum doesn't have a template.

Thread Tags will be added/removed if they are wrong or missing. To edit tags in your own post, click on the cogwheel all the way to the right to edit the first post.

Which tags should you add

These instructions are specifically for the bug forum but they also apply to some extend to other forums. Mod usage is ALWAYS an important information for folks helping you.

Platform

The platform tag very important and gives an indication which platforms are affected. It's possible that extra tags are added by EA Staff or myself but as it's a lot of manual work so it's not always done. If something is only for specific platforms , it's also indicated as a title tag.

Please choose at least one of these: PC/Mac/XBox/Playstation. If you tested on multiple systems, choose multiple

If you are on PC, please also choose Steam, EPIC or EA app.

Mod usage

This is the most important information and please be honest about this. It's no problem if you usually use mods but to be sure it's not mod related, everything MUST be tested on a game without mods/cc.

Reshade/GShade and other third party content that go elsewhere than your mods folder do also count as Mods/cc. Only thing that doesn't is official DLC and Households/Lots downloaded from the gallery or added to your tray folder.

Please chose EXACTLY ONE of the following

Mods and/or CC (these are two tags, add both if you use mods and CC): Use this if you have mods/cc in your game

CC or Mods Removed: Choose these if you usually use mods/cc but you have removed them and tested without. Make sure to actually move the mods folder to the desktop and delete the localthumbcache file. Disabling can be tricky, especially if you just disable script mods.

Never CC or Mod: Choose this if you are on Console or you have never (or not in a long time) used any 3rd party content.

Performance

There's a few tags for performance. Only choose these if this is happening in your game. These issues are all concerned with something a bit more technical and you might be sent to the tech forum to troubleshoot those as they can have many causes.

Crashing: A crash is when your game closes to the desktop.

Freezing: Freezing means your game doesn't move anymore. You are stuck cause non of the buttons work (this excludes issues that get stuck because a button is disabled or you get an error code)

Lags: The game is slow and choopy but not frozen. Interactions that should be fast, take a long time.

Loading times: Anything related to long or endless loading times.

Game Issues

The following tags help a bit to categorize your issue. There are a lot more that could be added but currently, it's kept to those. More will probably be added in the future.

Error Codes: Use this if you receive an error Message with a code or a lastException. Make sure to post the actual error code/exception in your report. Exceptions cannot be uploaded. You need to copy/paste the message to your post.

Cheat Codes: Any bugs related to Cheats. Please refer to this post for most common pitfalls: [FAQ] Common Issues with Cheats | EA Forums - 8532966

Game Menu: Any bugs related to the main menu (before you load a save game)

Manage Household: Any bugs related to the Household manager.

Maps: Any bugs related to the map (Map overview + world maps)

Graphics: Anything related to how the game looks.

Live Mode: Any bugs happening in Live Mode

Build Mode: Any bugs happening in Buy/Build Mode

Create a Sim: Any bugs happening in CAS

The Gallery: Any bugs related to the Gallery/Library. Please post connection issues either in The Sims 4 Gameplay Questions & Issues or in the tech forum of your platform.

Scenarios: Any bugs that are related to a scenario you picked to play on the main menu (such as Stuck in their Shadow or New In Town)

Time Limited Events: Any bugs related to events that you can play during a limited amount of time (such as the Reaper Event or Blast from the Past)

UI (User Interface): Any bugs related to the User interface