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EA silence on gameplay slowdown, input delay, and time distortion

Toddlers took 2 and a half years to make (or just shy of that), and for a long time had this thread discussing complaints related to Toddlers. Eventually, we finally got toddlers. It is my hope that people can use this thread as a general hub to stand as a reminder that yes, we absolutely want these issues fixed.

At this point, I do not feel my top request is pets or seasons or hobbies or vacations or witches or anything like that, but general stability. Sadly, as I write this, the last patch that had large, meaningful bug fixes was probably months ago in November. Since then we've had patches that added sizeable new features like toddlers and minor bugs like the Sims' obsession with the woodworking bench, but the problem is that with each new pack and each new expansion, some of the stability issues and game bugs that have existed since release are gradually getting worse. Despite this, we hear a rather limited amount of feedback about how such fixes are going.

What are the main bugs and the main culprits that affect a player's enjoyment of the game?
All three relate to the flow of gameplay and the flow of time, just in slightly different ways.

1) Gameplay slowdown

This is everything from the time it takes to load up a lot, the time it takes to load up the game, the duration of the loading screens and the time it takes Sims to react to orders. As the game goes on, this gets worse. Players who create a new file right now might find the speed isn't so bad, but I feel newer files become slower much quicker than before due to all the extra data we now have via packs. A game file I've played 3 hours is fine, a game file I've played 30 hours is a bit choppy on select lots and scenarios, a game file I've played 300 hours is....well, now I'm back to Sims 3 standards.

Perhaps the most obnoxious example of this is when the game continues to run as normal, but in actuality, Sim brains have "shut off" and nothing is actually happening. This is most noticeable because you'll get a neighborhood of Sims just standing in place or cycling through the same single animation, with either zero or very few actually moving. It's as if the game cannot handle processing the actions of every sim in the neighborhood, so it's now processing them one at a time, wasting ample amounts of time. The common workaround is to either pause the game or open the menu. This allows the game time to "catch up" and start generating actions for Sims again, (usually you can tell when it works because a thought bubble suddenly appears above your sim or their action queue suddenly moves) but is very likely to happen again in another 10 seconds or so of gameplay, rendering the workaround as very, VERY temporary. This kind of slowdown seems to pick on specific lots or households, so seemingly at random, Willow Creek's park might be a place I'll never visit due to frequency of lag, but Oasis Spring's park might be perfectly fine. Still, this delay can be absolutely killer, as I've had sims waste HOURS trying to raise a skill because I didn't realize they weren't actually progressing. For some reason, skill progress and character animations seem intertwined, meaning if the animations start to mess up, so does skill progress.

In many ways, file bloat is natural to a degree. However, lately the rate at which load times seem to increase seems rather excessive, and of course given that it's gotten worse with each new pack release, the worry is this will continue. I feel something needs to be done, or come this time next year, no one will be able to play.

2) Input lag

Often times when you give sims orders, the game can have a weird delay with actually providing them. This is especially noticeable while on x2 speed or x3. Infact, I'm pretty sure if your goal is to have as productive of Sims as possible, you should always remain on Speed x1, since they tend to respond to orders slower as the speed gets faster, often sitting or standing around before they finally begin to move. It's also sometimes a matter that certain orders don't seem to cancel as quickly, meaning even if you've cancelled an order to go watch TV for example, your Sim is likely to walk aaaaall the way to the couch before he decides to stop. I once had a household where the kitchen was on the first floor and the bedrooms on the third. The FIRST child to grab food would inevitably get a wish to speak to one of the last children to wake up on the third floor, and even if I cancelled their wish to go speak to them, they'd make it up the third flight of stairs before they finally stopped. Another classic example for me is that sometimes I cancel an order to "order drink" from a bartender, but the sim won't cancel it from their queue until AFTER they've done it. The X is there, the game shows my order has registered, and yet it doesn't respond until it's already done.

This same issue sometimes affects Sims and how they respond to interactions, as if something is wrong with their AI. Case in point, ever told your Sim to introduce themselves to someone else, your Sim goes to where that sim is going, but then by the time that sim gets there, the action has been cancelled? What's going on here? Did my order EVER register? A workaround fix is to cancel the action and re-queue it (causes the target sim to stand in place), but obviously it's not exactly fun when we have to micromanage our Sims like this.

A last, extra infuriating example is that certain things cannot even be managed at all. At times, Sims will either insist on A) Waving to another random Sim or B.) Sitting somewhere for some reason. In both cases, you have nothing in your action queue to cancel, but the Sim is doing these things anyways. You're helpless to do anything as your Sim wastes time on this meaningless task, and even if you provide new orders, the Sim will refuse to do those until they do their completely unregistered action is completed. This has a couple other examples (Sims wanting to hug you), and all of them are annoying. I once had a Sim take 3 hours to eat a meal because he start wanting to run into the yard or do random stuff like that based on invisible social interactions.

3) Time Distortion

This is probably the biggest one, and I'm sure I don't even need to explain it for a lot of people. Time distortion is when the gameplay and the in-game clock are not actually synched up at all. You might see the clock snap back several hours, you might see skill progress lost, you might see a Sim's needs move back with the clock, and worst of all, it seems directly related to the above two points, as if they all feed off each other and make each other worse. Sometimes it means the clock "spins," though time itself is not actually moving forward, and after enough time, the clock suddenly pops into a certain time in an instant. It has been advised by a SimGuru (don't have the quote on hand) that you can avoid this and the other problems by doing things like NOT HAVING CHILDREN or never using the Speed x3 option at all. The more you use Speed x3, the more time in your game will distort. I've had files where in one household I had used x3 Speed liberally, thus that lot and that household were fairly distorted. For another household, time was more or less fine (unless on select commercial lots). I've heard several people comment this exact time distortion is practically a guarentee feature of living in San Myshuno, though I can't speak on that note. I can say I feel it fairly regularly on Windenburg's island. While the suggested workarounds are nice, the problem itself is ridiculous. This is the first Sims game ever where I cannot use the x3 Speed button. The moment I do, my game will be subject to Time distortion, input lag AND additional Gameplay slowdown.

It's really starting to feel like something is fundamentally wrong with the game engine or the like, because something as basic as time just shouldn't be this unreliable and this screwy. I recall one error we had that was patched (thank you) where the game would give you an error 22 or 23 or something, and it meant the game was incapable of saving and you were forced to lose progress. I remember testing with that a bit, and the telltale sign that this glitch was coming...? Time distortion. You'd go to a lot or the like and lose several hours or a day, and that's how you knew that glitch was absolutely about to hit you.

I just have a very difficult time believing this isn't a huge issue. Even if I got used to the time snapping back and forth all the time, I really do feel like something as fundamental as time jumping about is just a great way for new bugs to spawn. This one is absolutely at the top of my requested fixes.

Honorable mention: Musical Chairs

At this point I feel like somewhat of an "expert" on this bug. It's existed since release and once again, has never been addressed. Super infuriating, yet super consistent.

Based on my observations, it seems like Sims have AI telling them to always always always multitask and always always always always. The multitasking hurts in the sense a Sim can ALWAYS socialize, almost always watch TV, and can often drink alongside their given task, too. This means Sims are constantly seeking new tasks to juggle, which can result in finding a new seat. Great example, I grab breakfast and sit at the dinner table, but THEN my Sim decides they could be building fun too (even though it's maxed), so they want to sit in front of the TV. They'll get up and walk that way. Or maybe they're at the dinner table with their brother, but their brother is ACROSS the table from them, so for some reason they insist on sitting directly next to him. Additionally, that brother might have the same concern and want to move next to your sim, meaning both have moved but neither solved the problem.

A classic example is this: I'm at the bar, I order some food, my Sim goes to sit at a table where another sim is because omg socializing opportunity!!! My sim sits down and the two begin socializing, but now that sim wants a drink from the bar. That sim gets up to order a drink at the bar, and my sim - in his desire to be RIGHT NEXT to his speaking partner at all times - follows that sim and sits himself down at the bar. Once the target sim gets his drink, his AI may not correctly update and think my sim is still at the table, then desire to move there so they're as close as possible to each other. He moves that way, and only AFTER he's briefly sat down does he realize his error, gets up, and comes back my way. My sim might likewise be relocating to that table again since the target sim did so, and on an especially bad day this can go on for a bit.

The moral of the story is kill the AI telling Sims they have to sit right next to each other. (and tone down multitasking Every single action a Sim does means they're seeking out the most optimal seat possible. That might sound great from a realism perspective, but it's abysmal from a gameplay perspective. Because these very same Sims have overzealous desires to multitask as much as possible, they seem to have ADHD and constantly seek out new tasks to juggle. But while they do this, they're ALSO causing their desire to sit next to a speaking partner to have to re-adjust itself. It's not just speaking partners either; say my Sim is watching TV from a dining table. That won't last: he'll recognize the sofa is more optimal seating and insist on getting up to sit over there instead of just accepting that he can watch the TV from further away.


All of the above problems have existed since release, but I can only name one patch update that did anything to try and address them. (early last year) These problems are not getting better, they're getting worse.

To make matters worse, look at the state that EA left Sims 3 in.
Isla Paradiso remained laggy and choppy, the Ghost Hunter career remained non-functional, travel to World Adventures worlds continued to have potential to break family trees and relationships. No, Sims 3 did not exactly finish it's race in pristine condition. This is not a time for optimism. I understand some people might be optimistic by nature and might think "no worries, EA will fix these issues for sure! They'd never leave us with a buggy product!" History says otherwise. For all I know they could be working on addressing these right now, sure, but I also have every reason to be paranoid this will never get fixed. They could be have zero current plans to address these issues, content to wait and see how long they can go before these DEMAND a fix for the game to even function.


If you experience any of the bugs above, please speak up and please let them know how bad it is for your game. I feel it's important EA understands just how many people are affected and just how many people would describe this problem as getting worse rather than better. And if any SimGuru reads this, I would love to hear ANY general input about what's going on in regards to these issues. Any fix planned? Any progress being made? Not enough data or input to pinpoint the problem? No current plans? Throw us a bone here, some of us are quite annoyed with these little instabilities and really want them fixed so we can actually enjoy the game. As it stands, any file I start inevitably gets slow, choppy and unresponsive with certain actions, and that's even when I avoid Speed x3. As I said above, this is my #1 request for Sims 4 right now. Not an expansion, not a game pack, just a sizeable patch focused on bugs and instability.
"Who are you, that do not know your history?"

Comments

  • coldplay2233coldplay2233 Posts: 451 Member
    I'm experiencing all of the above, plus issues like this within 30 minutes of playing, and requires a game restart to resolve.

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  • surraaaaaasurraaaaaa Posts: 859 Member
    I'm glad you made this thread (I was reading the patch thread and saw your comments :wink: )
    I stopped playing sims 4 last week, I've been on and off for a while now, taking breaks but I think I'm really done. And it's because of all you have listed above.
    The game gets boring constantly having to pause to allow the game to catch up, i had a party, all the Sims were standing around "talking" but actually just looping, I got so bored, shut down the game and started sims 2.
    It's funny, not having to play around bugs :p I kept pausing the sims 2 in the middle of the night, and if I have the game on speed 3, I'd go back to 1, just out of habit. I mean, it's literally crazy.... I queue actions, and they actually stay in the queue!! My sim actually does the thing! And the next and the next if it's multiple, they don't stop and stand, or have needs jumping all over. I mean, in 4, sometimes my sims bladder will be in the green, nothing in queue, but they're doing the pee walk towards the toilet, until they go and wash their hands. Their needs are green already and they're on their way to the toilet.... Okay....
    And sims continuing to do an action after it's been x'd out is ridiculous. Canceling an action is exactly that. Cancel. Dont do the thing. Don't walk all the way to edge of the lot to wave with nothing in queue. Don't walk to the second floor from the basement after I already cancelled the action. Just stop. I mean, how hard is it to program "stop" compared to "keep trying to do the thing"?
    Personally, these problems make the game unplayable... And why would anyone want to learn to play around bugs? That's basically what I do/did.
    I'm very computerly challenged, but I think S4 is fundementally broken, like deep down. S2 was, from what I hear of S3, the last game that was developed properly and with care, after that it became about nickel and diming and pushing constant out ASAP. I don't think ea will hear us though, they'll keep pushing out half baked content, with the intention to fix it through patches, but it'll never happen. They already have our money.
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    surraaaaaa wrote: »
    The game gets boring constantly having to pause to allow the game to catch up, i had a party, all the Sims were standing around "talking" but actually just looping, I got so bored, shut down the game and started sims 2.

    Man even I forgot that one. Parties are a NIGHTMARE now. I don't think I've thrown one since December because they're so prone to the "brains shutting off" thing.

    I've been actively avoiding both family play and parties because both always result in a boost to a lot's lag and slowdown issues.
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • LissmelsLissmels Posts: 79 Member
    @SimGuruNick thank you for telling us about the current state of the issue solving, it's nice seeing responses like this in the forum, and it sure is appreciated :smiley:
  • TomatplanteTomatplante Posts: 2,793 Member
    I have all the issues OP describes except musical chairs, I haven't had that for a while (probably since the last fix in december). Time distortion also isn't really a problem for me, since I only use speed three when my sims sleep. I can remember experiencing a jump back in time twice, both times was when coming back from community lots. I travel a lot with my sims, so for me it's definitely not a common issue when traveling either. I had the not able to save issue once, but that's a while ago now.

    Thank you so much for making this thread and describing the problem in such detail. The lag caused by toddlers and children are quite a pain for me, since I play generational and almost always have small sims in the house. I pause the game a lot these days, and it definitely affects how much I enjoy playing. So I'm glad to hear from SimGuruNick that they're working on these issues, and I hope they are repairable!
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    @SimGuruNick Thanks a bunch for the super quick response, I really appreciate it. And it was your list of causes I saw before; been using it as a guide to try and keep my current file lag free, with some success. (no meaningful or sizeable lag now, but I also fear it could be if I kept playing the file another month or so, thus this complaint since it's not a great feeling to play with this fear the file will become unplayable someday)

    I'll have to look through my folder to see if I have any older saves where the problem is much more apparent; created new ones in ~mid-January shortly after the toddler patch precisely because of growing lag on files that had children and more liberal use of Speed x3. If I send a file, do I do it through PMs or rather through the EA bug report link you've provided?
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • MsPhyMsPhy Posts: 5,055 Member
    I find I have to be very careful with using Speed 3, unless their sleeping. My usual routine is 3 for 15 Sim-minutes, back to 1, then 3 again for 15 Sim-minutes, rinse, repeat. This minimizes time jumping backwards, but sometimes even with this it will jump back a few minutes. Quite annoying. I love watching my Sims and their small interactions, but there are some things, like writing a song when no one else is around, that I'd just kind of like to get through, you know?
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    MsPhy wrote: »
    I find I have to be very careful with using Speed 3, unless their sleeping. My usual routine is 3 for 15 Sim-minutes, back to 1, then 3 again for 15 Sim-minutes, rinse, repeat. This minimizes time jumping backwards, but sometimes even with this it will jump back a few minutes. Quite annoying. I love watching my Sims and their small interactions, but there are some things, like writing a song when no one else is around, that I'd just kind of like to get through, you know?

    I could be wrong but I -think- sleeping speed or the speed you get while all Sims are at work could more or less be called "Speed 4" even though it shares a button with 3. It's faster than the general button and doesn't seem to lead to lag.

    ...And if I'm wrong, that would explain why I get the vibe all my files are sloooowly getting laggier/gonna get laggier, cause I use "Speed 4."
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • SimGuruNickSimGuruNick Posts: 384 SimGuru (retired)
    You can feel free to PM me save files any time. Thanks again! :)
  • lulubadwolflulubadwolf Posts: 630 Member
    @DeservedCriticism I do experience time distortion with speed 4, and in my game time distortion is pretty rare with speed 3, only of course if i have toddler/children in the household, but speed 4 often leads to time distortion. And i'm lucky, my game don't lag (i've disabled origin in game, helps a lot). I've only notice small freezing when time distortion occurs, but not always.
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    You can feel free to PM me save files any time. Thanks again! :)

    One last question for you on that note: I've got a habit of deleting old files that lag and irritate me (gets on my nerves and then I wanna start fresh :# ), so I don't know how much help I'd be with saves on that; that came up once while I was reporting another bug in AHQ. The files I do have are my current one where lag is not really a problem (it's fairly new), then just two that must be from....early and late 2016, which obviously are several patches back since I loaded them up.

    HOWEVER someone was asking in another thread about musical chairs and I mentioned you were looking for save data. What exactly are you looking for in terms of save data for musical chairs? That one I'm not quite sure what to "look for" in the sense I think any new file I started would have musical chairs to some degree. Like I think musical chairs is more likely to occur based on the setting, not on any bug or event that triggers it in the same way Speed x3 abuse can trigger time distortion. I tend to experience it in households with families and big homes (which I haven't played in some time due to the advice of kids causing time distortion) OR on bars and commercial lots, including premade ones by EA. Someone else on that page mentioned a café in Windenburg that tends to trigger it. I have single sims that can go to bars and cafés and see it, but obviously they're not seeing it at home since there's no one to distract them.

    My question is is there anything in particular with save files that we should look for when we send musical chairs reports? Like files where the musical chairs glitch occurs at home, or just any game in general? As I said, I'm pretty sure that's any save game for me, it's more about the lot I'm playing on. A location with lots of Sims and distractions (TV, a bar, things like that) is where I can expect musical chairs to come into play, but at a home lot with just ~2 sims probably won't have it that much.
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • SimGuruNickSimGuruNick Posts: 384 SimGuru (retired)
    Just like you said, the setting/lot is what I'm looking for. So I don't even necessarily need a save file, if someone wants to upload a house to the Gallery for me, that I can plug 8 Sims into :)
  • plopppo2plopppo2 Posts: 3,420 Member
    Regarding simulation lag and gameplay slowdowns:

    These are definitely issues my QA team is aware of and has reproduced and filed reports on. The lag is more a symptom of an issue, as opposed to the issue itself. Simulation lag can happen for a variety of reasons, and some of the reasons we've found have been:

    - large amount of items in Sim's Inventories
    - large amount of files in the Tray folder
    - large amount of Sims/relationships in the save file
    - using speed 3 for an extended period of time
    - when a child goes to school
    - when interacting with a toddler
    - when children autonomously do homework
    - on San Myshuno apartment lots
    Yes, this has existed for a long time; however, it seems to manifest in 'group' situations. I first noted it with the Club system when getting a Club to do it as an activity together. It persists if I get my Sim to do homework whilst there is a Club/Group in the vicinity. Homework seems to be a no-no, when in a group/club.
  • plopppo2plopppo2 Posts: 3,420 Member
    edited March 2017
    Just like you said, the setting/lot is what I'm looking for. So I don't even necessarily need a save file, if someone wants to upload a house to the Gallery for me, that I can plug 8 Sims into :)

    IN ADDITION:
    You need to add a RESETSIM ALL command into the Console - the current single-use one is not enough, or add in a Shift-Click ResetSim, so that we can Reset potential Sims that are causing/maintaining the freezes.

    Basically, it is too much hassle at the user's end to manually ResetSim every possible Sim.
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    Just like you said, the setting/lot is what I'm looking for. So I don't even necessarily need a save file, if someone wants to upload a house to the Gallery for me, that I can plug 8 Sims into :)

    I'll probably just try visiting some Maxis premade lots in each town and get back to you if I happen to notice certain lots that get musical chairs more than others. Once again, thanks for the communication. I appreciate it.
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • mirta000mirta000 Posts: 2,974 Member
    - large amount of items in Sim's Inventories
    - large amount of files in the Tray folder
    - large amount of Sims/relationships in the save file
    - using speed 3 for an extended period of time
    - when a child goes to school
    - when interacting with a toddler
    - when children autonomously do homework
    - on San Myshuno apartment lots

    May I ask where and how do I upload save files? This poster has a lot of what is wrong with my save file and I even did a video on it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYZ-ni0g4A

    in regards to musical chairs:

    3:48 time stamp. Sims prioritize interacting with each other over doing their primary function in a restaurant, which is to sit down and eat. If they do sit down and order they will still stand up and walk up to other sims to strike up a conversation and often will not eat. Sims at home will actively try and do something other than what you ordered them to do, meaning that they will sit down, take their food, stand up and march out in search of other sims/ objects to interact with. I feel like it could best be solved by letting us switch off all multitasking that is not ordered by the player that would require them to move from the spot that they're currently in.
  • rosemowrosemow Posts: 163,479 Member
    Hello @mirta000
    To send your save files to SimGuruNick, zip your save folder into a zip folder, then upload the zip folder to Dropbox , mediafire or google drive, then pm him the link to the folder that you have uploaded.
    To pm him, click on SimGuruNick's name in this thread, and it will take you to his wall. On the top right hand side of the screen, there is a " Message" button. Press that and you can then write your message and include the link to the file.
  • mirta000mirta000 Posts: 2,974 Member
    rosemow wrote: »
    Hello @mirta000
    To send your save files to SimGuruNick, zip your save folder into a zip folder, then upload the zip folder to Dropbox , mediafire or google drive, then pm him the link to the folder that you have uploaded.
    To pm him, click on SimGuruNick's name in this thread, and it will take you to his wall. On the top right hand side of the screen, there is a " Message" button. Press that and you can then write your message and include the link to the file.

    I sent my save file off. I'm very glad that there's communication on this issue. If possible it would make a lot of community feel better if there was a stickied list going "these are the bugs we're currently actively working on" and "if you experience a bug, this is how you mail your save file".
  • rosemowrosemow Posts: 163,479 Member
    edited March 2017
    mirta000 wrote: »
    rosemow wrote: »
    Hello @mirta000
    To send your save files to SimGuruNick, zip your save folder into a zip folder, then upload the zip folder to Dropbox , mediafire or google drive, then pm him the link to the folder that you have uploaded.
    To pm him, click on SimGuruNick's name in this thread, and it will take you to his wall. On the top right hand side of the screen, there is a " Message" button. Press that and you can then write your message and include the link to the file.

    I sent my save file off. I'm very glad that there's communication on this issue. If possible it would make a lot of community feel better if there was a stickied list going "these are the bugs we're currently actively working on" and "if you experience a bug, this is how you mail your save file".

    Hello
    Crinrict has a copy of the bug list of issues that have threads on the AHQ EA site, in this link thread.
    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/884218/read-first-compiled-list-of-bugs

    The Developers would be looking at the list, and working on the various issues.

    This is a helpful post also
    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/14040113/#Comment_14040113
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    I can definitely chime in that yeah, restaurants are fairly consistent about musical chairs. It's entirely possible to go a day without seeing them, but it definitely happens, and seems dependent on the social partners Sims have chosen while waiting to be seated. I usually play Chez Llama, Hogan's Burger Bar and...the seafood one? Forget the name, but it's the second most expensive restaurant made by Maxis and all three are Maxis premades.

    The problem is simple: Sims like to be close to their social partner and HATE ending conversations, so even though the Sims seem correctly confined to their chairs (no one can take their chair or table), if they start a conversation with a sim from another table, they're likely to abandon their table entirely and go chat while standing at another one.

    I would say the best way to kill it is to provide the Sims with some finely-tuned AI regarding who they socialize with, how readily they abandon conversations (boost this) or when they seek socialization. Currently, Sims seem to seek socialization 24/7. I could have a sim sitting at home watching TV, and he might suddenly get an itch to go out on the street and chat with a passerby. (<---no exaggeration, this happens) In the context of restaurants, this is a problem because the person they attempt to chat with might have a table that's quite far away from their own. They recognize this, but their AI does not decide to end the conversation or to find a social partner closer to them. No, it just rationalizes that obviously they need to abandon the table and go stand next to their social partner.

    A huge part of musical chairs in general is just directly tied into the social AI. If Sim A and Sim B are chatting at a table and Sim B decides to get a drink at the bar...? In real life, you would say you're going to the bar, the conversation would "end," you go get your drink and then come back before chatting again. In the Sims, the Sims seem to prioritize keeping the conversation alive, and as such, they'll sooner move or abandon their current activity than decide to talk to the other Sim later. Change that...? Musical chairs in restaurants (and other places) would largely be "solved."
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • Cherokeedream44Cherokeedream44 Posts: 196 Member
    Im really starting to not like Sims 4 I thought Sim 3 was bad well 4 is getting there...My game was running fine til this last patch...now its like time keeps moving but my sims just stand there like dummies....I have done everything possible smh ..like if I give them something to do they will do it and stop just stand there like they are in the twilight zone Ima about to just call it a day ...
  • ZaszZasz Posts: 806 Member
    I thought this problem is related to my hardware. But it seems it really is a game issue. This kills sims in the early vampire stages because they just stand in the sun and dont react to commands to move.

    A workaround for this is to pause the game and wait for the command "to drop down". If the command is hovering outside the interface like all new commands, its in some queue that seems to wait for something else to finish first. Even tho sometimes no other action is currently going on and the queue is blocking newer commands.

    As for the sitting next to each other issue:
    Im ok with sims sitting infront of the tv to eat. But the selection of a random chair at the dining table could be solved by assigning chairs to individual sims like we do with beds. Let a sim claim chairs like they do with beds. At the same time let a sim only sleep in his/her own bed instead of napping on a bench outside the house which most of the time is a waste of time compared to actual sleeping to fill the need for energy.
    I think its not too much to ask to change the game that the sim only eats in specific areas WE assign.

    And please add a feature to lock out specific sims from individual rooms. Its annoying when visitors go to the childrens room to play with toys or computers. Its slightly creepy. These are things I expect actually considering we have half a lockout feature in this game but require a mod to get the other half which isnt optimal either. All it takes is a lock for every sim and allow only specific sims. Btw, ghosts dont care about locks but care about walls...
  • ZaszZasz Posts: 806 Member
    edited April 2017
    Deleted.
    Post edited by Zasz on
  • ZaszZasz Posts: 806 Member
    Regarding simulation lag and gameplay slowdowns:

    These are definitely issues my QA team is aware of and has reproduced and filed reports on. The lag is more a symptom of an issue, as opposed to the issue itself. Simulation lag can happen for a variety of reasons, and some of the reasons we've found have been:

    - large amount of items in Sim's Inventories
    - large amount of files in the Tray folder
    - large amount of Sims/relationships in the save file
    - using speed 3 for an extended period of time
    - when a child goes to school
    - when interacting with a toddler
    - when children autonomously do homework
    - on San Myshuno apartment lots

    If you're encountering freezing or lag in your game for a reason that isn't listed above, I'd love if you could provide me with more info, your save file/folder, your Config.log and Options.ini files (all located in your TS4 folder in Documents).

    If you're encountering freezing or lag in your game for a reason that IS listed above, I'd still love your save file. The more save files I can provide to our Performance team, the better, I think.

    There are some workarounds you can also try to help alleviate the issues, depending on the cause of your freezing. You can try emptying out inventories of all played Sims, or saving your Sims to the gallery and loading them into a brand new save game. There are some great threads on AHQ with workaround ideas from @crinrict, such as here:

    I can't tell you when we're going to fix any of these issues, because I don't know. All I can do is to continue collecting reports and making sure that my QA team is seeing the same things that you all are. So if you're freezing/lagging, please send me your files, and any info you have. :)


    Regarding musical chairs:

    We've actually had 4 different fixes go in at this point, the most recent one being from the December 1st, 2016 patch ("Sims should switch seats less when there are other nearby seats available."). We actually don't have an active report on musical chairs anymore, because I hadn't seen any new reports since that most recent fix. Could you share a save file with me where you've noticed musical chairs issues? Thanks for the help! :)

    I have some questions for you.
    How many items in the inventory are considered "much"? My sims have 3-4 rows with items. Each of them a full stack of common upgrade parts.
    Those items in the tray folder, can we delete them?

    And most importantly, do you or your QA team play the game yourself? If yes, have you seen the delay issue in your own game?
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