Ideas

crinrict's avatar
2 months ago
Status:
Under Investigation

Save Game Corruption (Disappearing Lots/Error 800 or 801)

Problem

The save game starts to disintegrate itself. Lots start to get deleted, causing endless loading, loading into empty lots or Error Codes 800/801.

The problem usually starts in Willow Creek and then goes on to other lots.

There are several symptoms of this issue as outlined in these AHQ threads

Troubleshooting

The issue is really hard to pinpoint but there are a few things that can accelerated the issue.

  • This issue is not mod caused but it can be influenced by mods and cheats, especially if you create lots of Residential Rental units in your save game.
  • Save Game Size. The issue usually typically happens on save games > 200 MB. There are a few factors that contribute to save game size that you can keep an eye on
    • Lots of huge houses with lots of objects: Try to keep those down. Consider using empty houses for set decoration if you don't play certain lots but want houses to make it look nicer
    • Photos Sims take ingame. Try to only keep the photos you really like and that contribute to your gameplay. Delete everything else. Photos take up a lot of space in the save.
    • Lots of Sims. The game creates Sims at abundance. Delete the ones you don't use from time to time.
  • Usually there's nothing you can do once it starts happening. 

5 Comments

Comments have been turned off for this idea
  • This is such a devastating bug. I lost a seven-year save and rebuilt it only for it to happen again immediately in a new save. I really hope EA takes it seriously and fixes it quickly. I don't want more packs or worlds - I want a playable game!

  • crinrict's avatar
    crinrict
    Hero+
    2 months ago

    Did you turn off the game completely before starting a new save or just go back to the map and start it from there ? Some bugs are contagious and you need to make sure to turn off the game after encountering an issue.

  • EJ_Flambert's avatar
    EJ_Flambert
    New Spectator
    2 months ago

    Yes, I turned off the game completely. From what I'm reading bug is likely hard-coded in due to For Rent and rental properties. In my newest save attempt, I'm trying to see if I can avoid using any rental properties altogether to avoid it. We'll see. It shouldn't take all this. 

  • Sims4Ever2022's avatar
    Sims4Ever2022
    Seasoned Newcomer
    12 days ago

    Original Encounter: I initially did not get an Error Code, but I was unable to load any properties in the Sage Estates neighborhood of Willow Creek. It was just an infinite loading screen, but no Error Code (I received Error Code 801 later, as indicated below). I did not have this issue before. I only recently noticed this when trying to access a family. 

    There was no issue prior to the Life and Death patch. I own all expansion and game packs except Eco Lifestyle, Seasons, Werewolves, and Batuu. I do not have any residential rentals in my game, as I removed them long ago due to numerous issues, including the litter bug. 

    First Troubleshoot: I took a look at the Lot Data in Sims 4 Studio and the Object Data for the two Sage Estates lots was missing. I then looked at an older save from late November 2024, and the corruption was present there too (no Object Data present). The last time I played in Sage Estates, and it was normal was in September 2024, prior to the Life and Death patch.

    Second Troubleshoot: I was able to access the Sage Estates lots with no cc/mods enabled after the January 15, 2025 update. BOTH HOUSES WERE GONE! The house next door to this one reverted to the default EA house, but when I entered the lot, it was bulldozed. Now both houses appear bulldozed from the neighborhood view, live mode, and map view. I did not save. I exited and rebooted.

    Third Troubleshoot: I cleared cache etc., rebooted, moved the families out of the two lots, tried to access one of the lots in build mode, got kicked to the World Screen and received Error Code 801. From the map screen, it appears that the houses are still there, but I know they are not. I can no longer access the two lots. One lot gave me the Error Code 801 and the other lot was an infinite loading screen.

    First Last Exception: I received a last exception when I got the Error Code 801. I asked ChatGPT to make sense of what it meant. It said the following:

    The XML report you provided indicates that there are two separate desynchronization errors occurring within a game, "The Sims 4." Here's a breakdown of the issues based on the information in the report:

    First Desync Issue: Error: RuntimeError('Attempting to set _zone_id to 401118774130050038 when its already set 401118774130050614.') Cause: This error suggests that there is an attempt to set a zone ID to a new value (401118774130050038) while it is already set to a different value (401118774130050614). This kind of conflict typically occurs when there is a race condition or an improper state management in the game's code, particularly in the zone initialization process. The game is trying to create or initialize a zone but encounters a state where it believes a different zone is currently active.

    Second Desync Issue: Error: AttributeError("'NoneType' object has no attribute 'id'") Cause: This error occurs when the game attempts to access an attribute (id) on an object that is None. This typically indicates that the code expects an object to be instantiated but it is not, possibly due to a failure in the previous zone initialization or shutdown process. In this case, it occurs during the zone shutdown, where the game is trying to remove an ID from an indexed manager, but the object it is trying to manipulate does not exist (is None).

    Summary: These desync issues likely stem from conflicts in the game's state management related to zone initialization and shutdown processes. The first error is a conflict with zone IDs, and the second error is a missing object reference.

    Second Last Exception: I tried to access the lots again and received another Error Code 801, and last exception. The possible LE causes were further detailed as above but with additional information:

    Possible Causes of the Issue:

    1. Race Conditions:
      • The errors may arise from race conditions, where the game is trying to initialize or shut down zones concurrently in a way that leads to inconsistent states.
    2. Incomplete Zone Initialization:
      • If the zone initialization process fails partway through, the game might attempt to operate on a zone that is not fully set up, leading to a conflict with existing zones.
    3. Scripting Errors:
      • The paths mentioned (e.g., zone_manager.py, areaserver.py) suggest that there may be bugs or unhandled exceptions in the game's scripting. If the code does not properly check for existing zones or handles exceptions during zone creation/removal, it can lead to these types of errors.
    4. Game Environment:
      • The report indicates that the game is not modded, which rules out third-party modifications as a cause. However, issues may still arise from game updates, patches, or bugs within the game's own codebase.

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