How to prepare for Sims 4 game updates & check for broken/updated mods
Modding The Sims 4 isn’t easy. It requires you to be aware of game updates that can lead to mods breaking and make the game unplayable. Here are some tips you can follow to prepare for game updates and see which mods are updated or broken.
Turn off automatic updates
By default, the game may try to update itself. Turn off automatic updates. Updating the game with the mods folder installed runs the risk of folder corruption. See the steps for the EA App and Steam below.
For EA App
Click the three dots in the upper left-hand corner > click settings > then choose “download > toggle “update games automatically” in the updates section.
For Steam:
Right-click on your game > select properties > choose updates > select “Let Steam decide when to update” under the automatic updates section.
Sadly, there isn’t a “turn-off” for Steam. However, Troi uses this setting for all her games, and the game updates when she’s ready.
Go offline (EA App ONLY)
In the EA App, you can choose to “Go Offline” and play the game while you wait for mods to update. To do this, click the three lines in the upper-left-hand corner and choose “go offline” in the list.
The app will ask if you’re sure, and select yes. Afterward, the only screen you will see is the “You’re in offline mode.” When you want to play your game, click the play button next to the “installed games.”
Keep in mind that you will need to turn this feature off to resume the regular EA app function.
Backup Mods, Tray, Save folder
When modding The Sims 4, you should back up your folders. This ensures you have a recent starting point if anything happens. Game updates dealing with mods or other issues have resulted in saves being deleted, mod folders disappearing, mod folders corrupting, and other issues.
To reach this, locate your Electronic Arts folder (the same folder you would go to install mods). All these folders are located in the same overall folder.
All you need to do is copy and paste the contents of each folder on a separate storage space (USB, external hard drive…etc) or cloud storage (Google Drive, drop box…etc).
You should do this every couple of months. Just replace the files so you have them stored away in case something happens.
The mods folder holds your mods. The tray folder holds all the lots and sims save data. This is where you would install custom lots and sims if you had them or export them. The save folder is for your actual save files. This is where you would install custom files too.
Where to find broken/updated mods
Mods break more than you think. When the game updates and the Sims dev team changes code, this can result in mods breaking. Mods rely on the code of the game, if the code changes, modders need to update their mods so they are compatible.
Here are three places you can go to see where mods are broken/updated
itsmeTroi’s Discord
There’s a “mod-update” channel that feeds into when mods are broken or updated. You can also get community help, look for CC, or chat with the community.
The mod update channel's feed is from Deaderpool's Discord server. You can join here.
Scarlet’s Realm
Scarlet created a website to keep track of the majority of the mods known.
Creator socials/Patreon
Script mod creators will most likely make posts about their mods when a major update occurs. Make sure you are following them on their socials and/or Patreon. If they have a Discord, you can join that to get updates directly from them.
Modders are human and have lives outside of The Sims. When updates happen, it’s important to be patient and wait.
Remove mods folder before update
The easiest thing you can do when the game needs to update is remove your mods folder. You can make a folder on your desktop or move it to a storage device.
Move all your mods from the game so that the folder is empty. Then you can update your game.
Depending on the update itself, some mods may break, some may not or mods will be fine. Check the creator's posts and the resources mentioned above to see the status of mods.
Got questions? Comment down below and the community will answer! You can also visit Troi's discord.
Troi is the voice telling you to download more Sims 4 mods for the last 5+ years. Listen to that voice. She also moonlights as a journalist using her degree to write articles. You can find her on all major social platforms @itsmeTroi. Got news? Send to contact@itsmetroi.net with the headline [NEWS TIPS].