Ideas

EA_Cade

The Sims Team

2 years ago

Status:

Important Info

General Information About The Bug Reports Forum

Sul Sul, Simmers!

We want to share a comprehensive overview of how bug reports are tracked, handled, and resolved by The Sims 4 team on the EA Forums. This unified guide explains how to submit your reports, how our teams track them behind the scenes, and what each public-facing bug status means.

How Bug Reports are Tracked & Handled

To make sure your reports reach the right teams quickly and efficiently, we utilize a streamlined tracking and tagging system:

Before Posting: Always check the Compiled List of Reported Issues and the [PLEASE READ] Information/Questions about the bug forum threads first.
- Newly created posts containing issues that already have existing threads will be merged to keep discussions focused.
Upvote Affecting Issues: If you are experiencing a bug that is already reported, click the Upvote button (as seen below) in the top right of the thread. This helps the team gauge how many players are affected.
One Thread Per Issue: To keep investigations clear, we maintain a one-issue-per-thread policy. Do not combine multiple unrelated bugs into a single post.
No Templates Required — Use Tags! We do not require a rigid post template. Instead, please make active use of the tags feature. Specifying your platform (PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox) and mod status is critical.
Cross-Platform Tracking: If players on different platforms contribute to your thread, EA staff or forum volunteers will manually add platform tags to the thread title so the team knows where the bug occurs.
Mod & Technical Issues:
- If an issue is deemed to be related to custom content or mods, it belongs in our dedicated Mods & Custom Content forum.
- Hardware, installation, or performance issues should be posted in our platform-specific Tech Forums (PC, Mac, and Consoles).

EA Forum Bug Statuses & What They Mean

An essential feature of these forums are our bug statuses. These statuses are set by EA Forums staff, forum volunteers, or directly by the TheSimsDirect.

These statuses make it easy for you to see whether an issue has been reviewed, if it is currently being worked on, or if we need your help.

Full Bug Status List

These statuses represent the active lifecycle of a bug report as it progresses from user submission, through QA replication, to development, testing, and ultimate deployment in a patch.

Important Info	Used by EA Staff or forum volunteers for non-bug, informational threads that are highly relevant to the section.
New	Newly created threads default to this state.
Troubleshooting	The bug is currently being troubleshot by EA staff and forum volunteers to rule out common issues.
Reviewed	Has been checked by EA Forums staff or Community Superuser Program members and deemed as something that is potentially a legitimate bug, rather than hardware or mod related issues.
Validating Report	This issue is being looked into by Maxis QA to see if it is a reproducible bug.
Needs More Info	The team needs more specific details, save files, or steps from the community to continue investigating.
Verified	Maxis QA has confirmed and reproduced the bug. It is now in the dev team's backlog awaiting active scheduling.
Under Investigation	The issue is actively being worked on by the Maxis development team to engineer a code fix.
Validating Fix	A fix has been attempted and is currently being tested internally by Maxis QA to ensure it works and doesn't break other features.
Upcoming Fix	The fix has passed all internal testing and is fully packaged, awaiting delivery in an upcoming Base Game update.
Fixed	The issue is resolved, as confirmed by official patch notes.

Untracked Statuses

The statuses below indicate that a thread is closed, or is not being actively tracked by our development teams. This typically occurs when a report lacks required details, contains multiple distinct issues, is in an unsupported language, or requires more widespread community feedback before we can establish a reproduction pattern.

Awaiting Additional Reports	The issue is in our backlog as we wait for more players to report it or share details so we can establish a reproduction pattern.
Incomplete Report	The report lacked the necessary details to determine the issue, or requested information was not provided, blocking further investigation.
Multi Report	The thread contained more than one bug report. (We will request separate threads to track each issue independently).
Unsupported Language	The thread was posted in a language that the forum does not currently support.

What You’ll See in the Bug Forum Sidebar Widget

To help you monitor the highest-priority community issues at a glance, the sidebar widget on the Bug Forum focuses on these five key states mentioned above:

Important Info (Non-bug, informational threads)
Validating Report (Maxis QA reproducing the issue)
Needs More Info (Awaiting community details)
Under Investigation (Active developer work)
Upcoming Fix (Passed QA, awaiting the next patch)
Fixed (Bug resolved)

This process ensures that players can easily track where their feedback stands. You can clearly distinguish between bugs that are being actively coded versus those that are verified and planned for future updates.

We will continue to refine our bug-tracking tools and forum communication based on your experience and feedback. Thank you for your patience and for continuously helping us make The Sims 4 the best it can be!

3 Comments

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crinrict
Hero+
1 year 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. The tags for mods/cc have been removed as reports with mods/cc installed are not useful. Please make sure to test without if you have any and choose either of these tags.

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.

Achievements: The ingame achievements you can do (like the maxing of skills). These are called Trophies on Playstation

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
crinrict
Hero+
1 year 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+
1 year 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

[AA] Adventure Awaits

[BH] Businesses & Hobbies

[CD] Cats & Dogs

[CL] City Living

[CoL] Cottage Living

[DU] Discover University

[EBN] Enchanted by Nature

[ECO] Eco Lifestyle

[FR] For Rent

[GF] Get Famous

[GRO] Growing Together

[GT] Get Together

[GTW] Get To Work

[HR] Horse Ranch

[HSY] High-School Years

[IL] Island Living

[LD] Life & Death

[LS] Lovestruck

[RL] Royalty & Legacy

[S] Seasons

[SE] Snowy Escape

Game Packs

[DHD] Dream Home Decorator

[DO] Dine Out

[JA] Jungle Adventure

[JTB] Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

[MWS] My Wedding Story

[OR] Outdoor Retreat

[PH] Parenthood

[ROM] Realm of Magic

[SD] Spa Day

[SV] StrangerVille

[V] Vampires

[W] Werewolves

Stuff Packs

[BNSP] Bowling Night Stuff Pack

[BYSP] Back Yard Stuff Pack

[CCSP] Crystal Creations Stuff Pack

[CKSP] Cool Kitchen Stuff Pack

[FSP] Fitness Stuff Pack

[HCHSP] Home Chef Hustle Stuff Pack

[KRSP] Kid's Room Stuff Pack

[LDSP] Laundry Day Stuff Pack

[LSP] Luxury Stuff Pack

[MFPSP] My First Pet Stuff Pack

[MHSP] Movie Hangout Stuff Pack

[MSP] Moshino Stuff Pack

[NKSP] Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack

[PPSP] Perfect Patio Stuff Pack

[PSP] Paranormal Stuff Pack

[RGSP] Romantic Garden Stuff Pack

[SSP] Spooky Stuff Pack

[TLSP] Tiny Living Stuff Pack

[TSP] Toddler Stuff Pack

[VGSP] Vintage Glamour Stuff

Kits

[ASK] Artist Studio Kit

[AAK] Autumn Apparel

[BCK] Bathroom Clutter Kit

[BDK] Bust The Dust Kit

[BNK] Book Nook Kit

[BRK] Blooming Rooms Kit

[BTK] Basement Treasure Kit

[CBK] Cozy Bistro Kit

[CCK] Casanova Cave Kit

[CEK] Castle Estate Kit

[CGK] Cozy Gamer Kit

[CKK] Country Kitchen Kit

[COK] Courtyard Oasis Kit

[CSK] Carneval Streetwear KIT

[DLK] Desert Luxe Kit

[DTMK] Décor to the Max Kit

[ECK] Everyday Clutter Kit

[FFK] First Fits Kit

[FSK] Fashion Street Kit

[GGK] Goth Galore Kit

[GHK] Greenhouse Haven Kit

[GRK] Grunge Revival Kit

[GYK] Golden Years Kit

[IAK] Incheon Arrivals Kit

[ILK] Industrial Loft Kit

[KCK] Kitchen Clutter Kit

[LBMBB] Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ball Bundle

[LBMFK] Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Fashion Kit

[LBMBK] Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ballroom Kit

[LCK] Little Campers Kit

[MCK] Moonlight Chic Kit

[MLK] Modern Luxe Kit

[MMK] Modern Menswear Kit

[MDK] Music Den Kit

[PEK] Party Essentials Kit

[PPK] Pastel Pop Kit

[PSK] Poolside Splash Kit

[RRK] Riviera Retreat Kit

[RWK] Restoration Workshop Kit

[SCK] Simtimates Collection Kit

[SBHK] SpongeBob House Kit

[SBKRK] SpongeBob Kid's Room Kit

[SBBBB] SpongeBob Bikini Bottom Bundle

[SNK] Storybook Nursery Kit

[SSK] Secret Sanctuary Kit

[SiSK] Silver Screen Kit

[TFK ] Throwback Fit Kit

[TTSK] Tea Time Solarium Kit

[UHK] Urban Homage Kit

[WPK] Wonderland Playroom Kit

Creator's Kits

[BCCK] Business Chick Creator Kit

[CKCK] Cozy Kitsch Creator's Kit

[EGCK] Essential Glam

[GMCK] Grange Mudroom Creator Kit

[GTCK] Garden To Table Creator Kit

[MRCK] Modern Retreat Creator Kit

[PDCK] Prairie Dreams Creator Kit

[RLRCK] Refined Living Room Creator Kit

[SACK] Sweet Allure Creator Kit

[SBCK] Sleek Bathroom Creator Kit

[SSPCK] Sweet Slumber Party Creator's Kit

[YCCK] Yard Charm Creator's Kit

Capsule Kits

[MGCK] Mean Girls Capsule Kit

[CLCK] Clueless Capsule Kit

Free Pack

[HP] Holiday Pack

Quest Events

[QE] Quest Event. Issues that repeatedly occur with each event

[BPQE] Blast From the Past Quest Event

[CCQE] Cozy Celebrations Quest Event

[DPLE] Deck the Palms Login Event

[FFQE] Forever Friends Quest Event

[HHLE] Happy Home Login Event

[LBMBLE] Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ball Login Event

[LLQE] Lost Legacy Quest Event

[NCQE] Nature's Calling Quest Event

[RRQE] Reaper’s Rewards Quest Event

Maker Packs

There's no specific tags for maker packs as there would be too many.

Use this format: <Pack name> (<Creator>): <Issue>

All Issues with Maker Packs go here The Sims Marketplace Bug Reports | EA Forums

Other Tags used

[GALLERY]

[CHEATS]