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xAxekk's avatar
xAxekk
Seasoned Newcomer
7 months ago
Status:
Under Investigation

[PC] Items placed in a room 'flicker' when placing/deleting windows and doors

I don't think I've seen it reported yet but I believe that it started after the newest patch. I noticed while I was renovating a build that whenever I place/delete new windows and doors, all items placed inside a room in all levels would flicker/disappear for a split second along with the windows and doors around the rooms.

Upon testing I noticed that it affects all windows and most doors (some doors are fine when placing them and some doors will make the items flicker). Windows/doors placed on a single wall are unaffected by the flickering but deleting them will still affect windows/doors + items placed in a room.

I've uploaded an unlisted video of the brief tests that I recorded through the in-game screen recorder here: https://youtu.be/QjQkRtyTcEA

The video has my mods loaded in but the same issue also happens when I tested it in a fresh sims 4 folder/new save/newly repaired game. 

edit: I also discovered that while not a window, "The AirCycler",  wall decor object that looks like a wall exhaust fan from Greenhouse Haven kit also causes the flickering issue.

Edit By Crinrict: Added platform tag to title.

27 Comments

  • xAxekk's avatar
    xAxekk
    Seasoned Newcomer
    7 months ago

    I've done just as you've told with moving the folder and letting the game generate a new Sims 4 folder and tested in a new save each time for Willow Creek (morning 8:00 AM, Bargain Bend lot), Oasis Springs (afternoon 4:00 PM, Dusty Turf lot),  and Newcrest (evening 9:00 PM, Avarice Acres lot) and the issue still persists.

    After these tests I thought I'd see which doors/windows can cause this issue and found that all windows do and most doors do. I placed all doors that doesn't make the flickering issue occur to try and find something common between them but it just left me stumped since some doors also have "glass windows" to them that doesn't make the other items in a room flicker.

    edit: The attached screenshots show doors in my game that do not produce the flickering effect to the items/windows/etc in a room.

    edit 2: I forgot to put some doors in the screenshot that doesn't cause the issue but the Base Game door "Steel and Glass Double Door With Narrow Transom" and "Study Block Door" from Discover University are also fine when placing them.

    Also should I direct people with this issue to this thread or should they also make a new thread here in the PC Tech Issues section?

  • xAxekk​  It could simply be the game, but I don't think it's happening to everyone given the lack of complaints here.  So maybe it's only happening on certain hardware, or in certain conditions, even if it's universal for players in those conditions.

    I'll flag it if I get more reports (YouTube doesn't count, no one will listen), but in the interim, it would be helpful if you could confirm it happens in the most vanilla of conditions.  Move the Sims 4 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to this folder; just start a new save in one of the base game worlds and see whether this still happens.

    If it does happen, please test a different lot in a different base game world while building at a different time of day, after quitting and reloading.

    And yes, I realize you did most of this, but maybe not all of it at the same time, which is the critical point.

    When you're done testing, you can trash the new Sims 4 folder and restore the old one, and your saves and other content will appear in-game again.

    And if you talk to anyone else with the issue, please ask them to post here and provide a dxdiag so we can gather more information about who is and isn't affected.

  • xAxekk's avatar
    xAxekk
    Seasoned Newcomer
    7 months ago

    I've downloaded and successfully updated my drivers from the link you've provided. There were no errors so I proceeded with a restart and after launching a newly repaired game with a fresh Sims 4 folder with dx9, the same problem still occurred. https://youtu.be/CgSF_pxPaqI

    Without saving, I exit the game and launched it again this time with the -dx11 command and in a new save. Tested to see if the issue persists and it does indeed still happens even with the -dx11 command line. https://youtu.be/GY4dsfUUnjw

    I've mentioned it in another reply in this thread but I've checked multiple building stream VODs on twitch that were streamed after the latest patch (version 1.115.216.1030) and in all of them, the issue can also be seen in their games (flickering items placed in rooms when placing and deleting windows and affected doors), which led me to believe that this was a game bug introduced with the latest patch.

  • xAxekk​  Please install the newest driver Intel provides for your computer's processor and graphics chip.  You can get it here:

    https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/129941/intel-core-i58500t-processor-9m-cache-up-to-3-50-ghz/downloads.html

    If you get an error when trying to install the driver, use this workaround:

    https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000087660/graphics.html

    Restart yur computer after installing the driver and before trying to play.

    If that doesn't help, please switch the game to DirectX 11 mode.  Open the EA App, click Sims 4 > Manage > View properties, and add -dx11 to the command line box.

  • xAxekk's avatar
    xAxekk
    Seasoned Newcomer
    7 months ago

    I was also looking at recent Sims 4 building streams on twitch and it's also happening to their games too. Like in this recent lilsimsie stream https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2470599590?t=0h28m29s

    and another from caryn & connie https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2471977808?t=0h11m32s

    there's also chat comments after lilsimsie notices it about them also experiencing it with their game so I thought it might've been a game bug.

    I also ran a windows memory diagnostic but there were no problems detected.

  • xAxekk's avatar
    xAxekk
    Seasoned Newcomer
    7 months ago

    I've now attached the dxdiag.txt to the post!

  • Hi xAxekk​ 

    Could you post your Computer's DxDiag?

    - Press Windows-Key + R
    - Type: DxDiag
    - Click on Save all Information.
    - Attach the Text File to your post

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