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A Guide to Synchronizing Your Sims 4 Saves Across Multiple Computers Through The Cloud
icmnfrsh
Posts: 18,789 Member
Hey! We all know that Origin doesn't support cloud syncing for TS4 because our gameplay data tends to get really big. I decided to experiment a bit and see if I could sync my saves between my home and work PC (we're allowed to play during breaks, so it's fine). I did a little research and found a method that worked for me, so I'm sharing it with you guys. As a bonus, my files are on the cloud, so if my hard drive crashes, my saves will always be up-to-date.
To the best of my knowledge, this method works for:
We're going to make use of something called symbolic links. Symbolic links are like shortcuts, but a bit fancier. On Windows, these let you trick Dropbox and other cloud services into syncing any folder in your computer, regardless of its location.
We're mostly concerned with these folders in your The Sims 4 folder in My Documents. If you play in a language other than English, the names of these folders will be different.
Why not just sync the entire Sims 4 folder? This is what I did at first, but the disadvantage is that these cloud services don't let you choose which files to sync. You'll end up with a lot of junk that you don't need in your cloud storage. Most of the files outside these folders are temporary files that the game uses for processing or trivial stuff like which CAS items you haven't used yet. Plus the game updates these a lot, so they'll use up your bandwidth too.
Let's get to it!
Windows
1. If you've already synced your folders to the cloud and want to sync a new computer, pause your cloud storage service, and delete any Sims 4 folders that it tried to download. We want it to download the folders into your documents folder.
2. Open your start menu
3. Type cmd
4. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator (you need to use an administrator account to do this)
5. For each folder that you want to sync, type the following:
mklink /d "<path to your cloud service's folder>" "<path to your documents folder>"
Don't forget to wrap them in quotation marks. This is for paths with spaces, which the documents folder has (because of the "Electronic Arts" and "The Sims 4" folders)
For example, I want Dropbox to sync my saves folder. I might type something like this:
mklink /d "C:/Users/Iceman/Dropbox/saves" "C:/Users/Iceman/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/saves"
Of course, the folder paths are different per user, so it's up to you to figure out where everything is.
Mac
Coming Soon
It takes a while to set up, but it's well worth the effort, IMO.
Some tips:
To the best of my knowledge, this method works for:
- Dropbox
- Sync
- OneDrive
We're going to make use of something called symbolic links. Symbolic links are like shortcuts, but a bit fancier. On Windows, these let you trick Dropbox and other cloud services into syncing any folder in your computer, regardless of its location.
We're mostly concerned with these folders in your The Sims 4 folder in My Documents. If you play in a language other than English, the names of these folders will be different.
- saves
- Custom Music (if you have any)
- Mods (if you have any mods or CC)
- Recorded videos (if you would like to sync these too)
- Screenshots (if you would like to sync these too)
- Tray (for the households and lots saved locally in your library)
Why not just sync the entire Sims 4 folder? This is what I did at first, but the disadvantage is that these cloud services don't let you choose which files to sync. You'll end up with a lot of junk that you don't need in your cloud storage. Most of the files outside these folders are temporary files that the game uses for processing or trivial stuff like which CAS items you haven't used yet. Plus the game updates these a lot, so they'll use up your bandwidth too.
Let's get to it!
Windows
1. If you've already synced your folders to the cloud and want to sync a new computer, pause your cloud storage service, and delete any Sims 4 folders that it tried to download. We want it to download the folders into your documents folder.
2. Open your start menu
3. Type cmd
4. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator (you need to use an administrator account to do this)
5. For each folder that you want to sync, type the following:
mklink /d "<path to your cloud service's folder>" "<path to your documents folder>"
Don't forget to wrap them in quotation marks. This is for paths with spaces, which the documents folder has (because of the "Electronic Arts" and "The Sims 4" folders)
For example, I want Dropbox to sync my saves folder. I might type something like this:
mklink /d "C:/Users/Iceman/Dropbox/saves" "C:/Users/Iceman/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/saves"
Of course, the folder paths are different per user, so it's up to you to figure out where everything is.
Mac
Coming Soon
It takes a while to set up, but it's well worth the effort, IMO.
Some tips:
- Always make sure you have enough space left in your cloud storage
- Always make sure your files are fully synchronized before playing to avoid conflicts
- Always make sure to let your files fully synchronize after playing to avoid conflicts
- You can pause syncing on your cloud service while playing to save on bandwidth, but don't forget to unpause after playing!
Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
7
Comments
Before this, it was just me messing around with TS4 stuff on my work PC. But now that my "main" saves are synced, I can make some progress on my saves if I have some time to spare at work.
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
But, this would have been very useful. Thanks for sharing!
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Or does the game still save on my computer, you just created a link to OneDrive/DropBox? You mention Symbolic Links, but I'm drawing a blank on what that is right now. (Seriously, I gotta wake up
The saves are also accessible offline, because you have local copies stored on your devices. (And as a matter of fact, the game won't work without them)
The only thing is that if you're offline, you won't be able to sync your saves to the cloud. That's about it.
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
I had thought about it for a while, but I didn't get around to trying it until recently. And it works pretty well
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
mklink /d "<path to your cloud service's folder>" "<path to your documents folder>"
->>
mklink /d "<path to your documents folder>" "<path to your cloud service's folder>"