Moving from old to new save - worth it?
I started one of my generational saves around December 2019 when my parents gifted me Discover University for Christmas, and I've been playing with it ever since. Lately, I've been thinking about the possibility of moving my whole gameplay shebang from my old save to a new one. As in: creating a fresh save in 2026 now, saving all the houses in the old save and replacing them in this new save, saving my still living families to the Library and dropping them in the worlds. It would be tedious and definitely take a lot of fiddling with settings but I'm thinking it might be worth it. The question is - is it, though? Pros of moving: no bugs that have been fixed by now but only on new saves (AKA post-fix) and there's a lot of them, updated/upgraded gameplay mechanics and townies etc., a fresh and more stable save file (mine's gonna be 7yo soon), I've mainly focused on one-two generations at a time so there's not much worry about NPCs and background characters. Cons of moving: any gameplay/world-changing progress I've made (Strangerville infection, Sulani clean-up, Evergreen Harbor eco status...es just to name a few), keeping track of the sims' relationships and their family tree (my biggest concern - will two separate households of the same family know each other after being placed in a new world?), new bugs. Some pros are better than other ones, some cons are definitely bigger than other ones... So, that begs the question - is it worth considering? Would all that work help or just make me more angry at the game? Has anyone here tackled this issue before? How was your experience? I play on PC and I almost never use mods so things like moving CC or anything are not a problem I worry about. Entertaining all answers, it's not a time-sensitive problem. I wasn't sure if this should go here or into General Discussion but here goes!! :)
For Rent: how to become landlord
Hi all, Last week I purchased the 'For Rent'-expansion and created a lot/house for tenants/rent. I made a Sim, with in mind her becoming the landlord. So I'd love her to buy the residential rental, but it has been occupied in the mean time. The system keeps saying "Sims can only purchase unowned businesses or unoccupied residential lots". How can I fix this? What steps can I take to become landlord of my own built house? Thanks in advance! Iris
[CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 Problem With Your Game's Setup
Overview There is a problem with your game's setup. Please reinstall your game. This error has multiple known causes and, at the time of this writing, at least one unknown cause. So if you're not covered by the known triggers, some troubleshooting is in order. jump to: Windows 7 jump to: Windows 10 or 11 N jump to: Other Windows 7 If your computer runs Windows 7, you probably need to run Sims 4 in DirectX 9 mode. The game now defaults to DirectX 11 mode on most systems, but you can force DX9 mode in the EA App or Steam. For an EA App install, open the App, click Sims 4 > Manage > View properties, add -dx9 to the Advanced launch options box, and click Save. For a Steam install, open Steam, right-click Sims 4, select Properties > General, and add -dx9 to the Launch Options box. Windows 10 or 11 N The versions of Windows with N in their names are stripped-down installs, missing some resources that Sims 4 needs in order to run. To find out if this applies to you, click Windows key-R and enter dxdiag in the run box in the lower-left corner of the screen. The dxdiag window will list your version of Windows: If you see N in the name, please install the Media Feature Pack provided by Microsoft. Information and instructions are here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/media-feature-pack-for-windows-n-8622b390-4ce6-43c9-9b42-549e5328e407 Other So far, there have been a few reports of this issue without a definitive cause and where the above categories don't apply. If you're affected, please first confirm that you're running Windows 10 or 11 and not an N version, as described above. The first suggestion I have is to uninstall and reinstall the VC++ runtimes Sims 4 uses. Open Windows Settings > Apps, scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, and uninstall all versions from 2015 and newer. Don't touch the others. You can get new versions here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170 You only need the 2022 x86 and x64 versions, not the older ones and not the ARM version. The 2022 runtimes replace everything from 2015 on, although the older runtimes are standalone. Restart after installing the runtimes and before trying to play. If you're using ReShade or GShade, please remove the associated files and repair the game (EA App > Sims 4 > Manage > Repair OR Steam > Sims 4 > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files). If that doesn't help, close the EA App and kill the EABackgroundService in the Task Manager's background processes list. Delete the Bin folder in [install location]\The Sims 4\Game, then repair as described above. This will redownload the default, unaltered files in Bin, without anything extra. It's possible that the installation of Sims 4 is in fact corrupt or missing some critical files. So you can also try doing a clean uninstall and reinstall, as described here: [PC] How to Clean-uninstall Sims 4 I will add any other known fixes or workarounds here as I find or hear about them. In the interim, if you're affected and nothing in this guide helps, please reply to this thread and provide a dxdiag. Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop. From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons. ↑
Guide: How to get your missing DLCs working | Deactivated DLCS
I made this step by step guide for players who have their DLC packs showing as "Deactivated", Hope this helps you! This is a video which is designed to help The Sims 4 players who have recently discovered that one or more of their DLC's, Stuff Packs has been disabled. Steam will say you never bought it, EA App will say its there and installed. It wont show up in game. No need to buy it again, just activate it - here is how! The Guide on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HnPcVbOpdwo[Current Issue] Sims 3 "serious error" when loading save
Overview "A serious error has occurred while loading [world name]. It is strongly recommended that you restart the application." This error happens when the game is unable to load the save. There are three known causes, the first more common than the others. The game can't write to the user folder The world the save takes place in isn't installed properly The save is too corrupt to load properly To distinguish among these types of errors, try to load a new save in the same world as the save that threw the error. If it works, you likely have the third issue. If the new save doesn't load, try starting a new save in Sunset Valley. If it works, you likely have the second issue. If it doesn't work, you likely have the first issue. The short version At the moment, this error is usually OneDrive-related, and pausing syncing doesn't help most players. So you may need to stop OneDrive from touching your files at all. Please see this section of the guide for further information, under the spoiler: How to get rid of OneDrive Workarounds 1. The game can't write to the user folder jump to: OneDrive-related issues jump to: antivirus-related issues jump to: other causes When loading a save, the game needs to copy the save data into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > CurrentGame. If it cannot, it typically throws the "serious error." Common causes of this block are OneDrive, an overly protective antivirus, and other assorted permissions issues. OneDrive Currently, the most common cause of the "serious error" is OneDrive blocking access to Documents and therefore preventing Sims 3 from writing to the user folder inside. This is only possible if your Windows account's Documents directory is inside the OneDrive folder. (Your computer will have several Documents folders, but only one is the directory.) To find the location, search in Windows for Command Prompt, open it, and enter this command: reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal" If the file path includes OneDrive, that may be the problem. (Otherwise, see the Antivirus and Other sections below.) For possible OneDrive issues, try pausing syncing. This is not a proper fix, but it's a useful test and interim workaround. To see the option, right-click the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen, or it may be hidden in the Tray (^ icon). If this doesn't help, or you'd like a permanent fix, you may need to move your Documents folder out of OneDrive. If you don't want to do this, or you'd rather test first, an alternative is to create a new admin Windows account and try playing there. Make it local—don't link it to your Microsoft account or any email address—and OneDrive will not be in the picture. If you can load a new save in the new account, it's fine to keep playing there. Or you can get rid of OneDrive entirely: If getting rid of OneDrive doesn't help, please create a new admin Windows account and try playing there, as described immediately above the spoiler. Antivirus An overly protective antivirus can block a program's access to Documents and everything inside. To find out whether this is the cause of the error, try disabling the antivirus, temporarily of course. If it fixes the issue, set an exception for TS3.exe (for an EA App install) or TS3W.exe (with the W, for a Steam install or a disc install that doesn't require the EA App). You may not see the .exe extension, but that's fine, it's the same file. The default location is one of these, depending on the install type: C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims 3\Game\Bin C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin If you don't know how to set an exception, google "set exception [antivirus name]" to find a guide. Or see this article for a few examples: https://crinrict.com/blog/2020/10/add-exceptions-to-anti-virus-programs.html Other Causes The Documents directory could be in an unusable location. Or permissions could be broken on the Documents directory, or a folder inside. For more information, expand the relevant spoiler below. Move Documents to a new location: Broken permissions: ↑ 2. The world the save uses isn't installed properly If you can load a new save in a different world, but not in the world in which your main save takes place, that world is probably not properly installed. For Sunset Valley or a world that comes with an expansion (e.g. Twinbrook, Bridgeport), please clear the EA App's cache: https://help.ea.com/en/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/ and repair the game: open the EA App game library, and select Sims 3 > Manage > Repair. For a Store (e.g. Riverview, Dragon Valley) or custom (player-created) world, first uninstall it through the launcher's Installed Content tab. Then open Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > InstalledWorlds and make sure the .world file for the world you removed is no longer present. If it is, delete it. Open Downloads, in the same Sims 3 folder, and delete the .Sims3Pack file for the world. You can reuse it if necessary, but installing with a new copy is more reliable. Finally, download a fresh copy of the world, install it, and try to start a new save in that world. If it works, the world is now installed correctly, and you can test your main save again. ↑ 3. The save is too corrupt to load properly If you can load a new save in the same world, but your main save throws the "serious error," that save may be too broken to use, but there are a couple of steps you can try. First, open Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Saves, and you'll see a folder with your save name plus another folder with the same name and a .backup extension. For example, you might see SunsetValley.sims3 and SunsetValley.sims3.backup. Rename the save and delete the .backup extension (e.g. SunsetValley1.sims3), and the save will be available to load from the Main Menu. If you can load the backup save, it could still be corrupt enough to be unusable later. So as soon as it loads, use "save as" to rename the save so that your backup is preserved in case you need it later. I would also strongly recommend seeking out mods, specifically NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, and MasterController, to try to repair any corruption. ET and OW do their work in the background, with no need for player input; MC does nothing unless you use it to issue a command. Once the save loads, let the game clock run for a few sim-minutes, then click City Hall and select NRaas > MasterController > Town Options > Reset Everything. This may take a few minutes, depending on the speed of your computer and the complexity of the save. When it's done, wait a few more sim-minutes, then "save as," quit, reload the game, and continue playing. If you cannot load the backup save, start a new save in the same world, pick a premade household, play for a few sim-minutes, save your progress, and quit. Open the folder for your backup save, right-click the .nhd file for the world the save takes place in, and select Copy. Open the folder for the new save you just created and delete the .nhd file for that world. Right-click and Paste the .nhd file from your backup save. Then try to load the "new" save. The thumbnail at the Main Menu won't update, but if you can load the save, you'll see your previous save, not the new one. If your sims have traveled to other worlds in the previous save, and you would like to preserve that progress, you'll need to copy over the .nhd files from those worlds as well, and the TravelDB.package file. But please test first with only the homeworld's .nhd file. I would recommend the same mods as above in this case as well. Saves that are almost too corrupt to load won't last much longer without help. ↑ If you need further help with this issue, please post in this thread. State which of the three problems you have, from the list at the beginning of this guide, and what troubleshooting steps you've tried already. ↑
List of Traits in The Sims 4
Hello! Despite the discussion collecting these already existing, I've decided to make my own traits list due to how these forums work (it starts from the first post, not the last post, and it takes long to reach the last post). This list contains all the traits in-game, both visible and hidden, in these sections: Base Game Expansion Packs Game Packs Stuff Packs & Kits Non-Pack Filtered Visible Traits Non-Pack Filtered Hidden Traits Popular traits Update Log To add a trait, you'll need to use this cheat: traits.equip_trait [trait_codename] And to remove a trait, you'll need to use this cheat: traits.remove_trait [trait_codename] In both cheats, [trait_codename] needs to be replaced with trait's codename. For most of the personality traits, it's same as its name, but there are exceptions (Erratic for example). Find the trait codenames in the list below. These lists will be kept updated as patches and packs come out. Please do not post under these trait lists. If you'd like to suggest traits for the popular section or want to discuss some traits, please reply to either this post or someone else's.
