extremely slow loading into households, can't travel, action lag, etc.

[pastaarms]

okay i've tried e v e r y t h i n g i can think of, so i'm coming here for help.

i have "factory reset" my sims 4 folder (moving the folder, starting a new game, etc.) multiple times, i have removed my mods/cc, ran the mod conflict detector, removed MCCC and all other script mods, i have cleared my origin cache. i'm telling you, i've tried it ALL. it really seems like it's just the current save i have that is the source of my issues, but i'm too invested to give up on it lol.

some examples of the issues i'm having:

• 15+ minutes to load the household (i will clarify that i can create a new household very seamlessly, but i haven't tried saving and moving in a new household, just entering CAS and fiddling around to see if there's any lag here) the start menu and the worlds load up with absolutely no issue, it's JUST when i try and load my current household (no, i haven't tested this on any other old saves because i'm too nervous to corrupt my legacy family)
• sporadic simulation lag (after i cleared my origin cache, the lag reduced significantly, but every few minutes (think 3-5mins) i have to pause my game because of the lag and wait for the interaction queue to sort itself out.) i typically pause to queue up actions for my sim and then cautiously press play again. because of this, it takes my sim an entire day just to use the bathroom, prepare and eat a meal, and take care of her garden (she's only got 6 plants, there's no way it should take this long)
• i cannot visit other lots like. at all. i can roam around the neighbourhood without issues, but i tried to attend the finchwick fair yesterday evening and waited for nearly 30 minutes before force quitting the game (don't worry, i saved just before i chose to leave the lot bc i knew there was a high chance it wouldn't work)
• speaking of saves, it takes forever to save my game! i swear sometimes it takes upwards of 3 minutes for my game to simply save. 

some other pertinent details:

• i have updated/checked my computer to make sure all the graphics drivers etc. are up to date and that my computer is more than capable of running the sims (i have the acer nitro 5 (2019), AMD and ryzen, i can't provide more details atm as i don't have my gaming laptop with me rn)
• the only save(s) i have in my game are the original save of this household (which i made directly after purchasing and downloading cottage living) and a recovered version (the one i currently play, as i wasn't sure if the issue was one particular save where things went screwy)
• when i removed my mods from my game (because i do have a few CC items in my current household) i did not save, because i was simply checking to see if it was mod related. even without my mods, the household loaded slowly and i was experiencing lag.

i will try and upload a dxdiag when i get home, if that's even helpful at this point. if you have ANY ideas of what i can do, please please please help. i don't want to give up on this save, but i'm starting to think i might just have to abandon it and start a fresh one if nothing can be done :c

[Lucy19112]

This may be a stupid thing to say since it's the simplest thing. but is your WiFi just suddenly bad? Have you noticed any lagging on your phone or tablet? You may be having a problem with your provider that you should be looking into.

[puzzlezaddict]

@pastaarms  How large is this save file itself?  Open Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves and sort by modified date to find it.

Please also open Manage Worlds > Manage Households > Other Households and let me know whether you see a large number of blank households.  And with this save loaded, please let me know how much RAM Sims 4 uses according to the Task Manager.  You can put the game into windowed mode and check.

[bubonickitten]

@crinrict  I'm on PC

[pastaarms]

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@Lucy19112 wrote:

This may be a stupid thing to say since it's the simplest thing. but is your WiFi just suddenly bad? Have you noticed any lagging on your phone or tablet? You may be having a problem with your provider that you should be looking into.

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i mean, i haven't checked but my internet seems to be working just fine? i can't imagine why this would cause issues, tbh. all the files are local and i'm not using the online features etc.

[pastaarms]

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@pastaarms  How large is this save file itself?  Open Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves and sort by modified date to find it.

Please also open Manage Worlds > Manage Households > Other Households and let me know whether you see a large number of blank households.  And with this save loaded, please let me know how much RAM Sims 4 uses according to the Task Manager.  You can put the game into windowed mode and check.

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the most recent save is 37,126kb, which sounds absurdly large. i do have a ton of blank households, but the sim count says 2/150? but yes there's tons of blank households! should i delete them?

[keekee53]

Alright, I am pretty convinced there is an issue with the welcome wagon.  So the question for everyone is...Is everyone here that is having the issues started a new sim or moved to a new lot so that the welcome wagon should show up??

My second welcome wagon issue...

I was time for me to rotate to another sim after getting through all the drama of error codes and crashed with the farming sims in Henford, I decided to play my new sim that I moved to Oasis Spring.  Welcome wagon showed up got the utilities error...the one in the thread from better exceptions.  Closed the report because yeah it was the same thing going on in the new world.  Then played a little longer about halfway through the welcome wagon the game crashed.   Reloaded the game and didn't get any errors, welcome wagon did not show up this time. Groceries are being delivered by a random even though the grocery kid is still in my game.

@crinrict I would try to start a new sim on a lot and see if the welcome wagon comes.  I guess check to see if you get the problem recreated.  I am trying to figure out how to recreate it because that is they only way EA is going to be able to fix it.  When I uninstalled and reinstalled and started a new game with no mods, I never got the welcome wagon there either.  I probably should have played until I got it...I think I still have the save in a folder and I might test it out if I have a moment this weekend.

[Kita5399]

@keekee53 I have been seeing issues with the welcome wagon too, but wonder if it’s a separate bug. My test save (brand new, mod & cc free, caches deleted) had the issue I described earlier in this thread, but still after a lot of testing never got the empty households.

[keekee53]

@Kita5399 Did you get a proper welcome wagon in the new save?  When testing in a new save after a reinstall, I never got the welcome wagon or the households.  Just curious so I can rule that out.  At this point I’m trying to recreate the issue.  I got the bloated households in two out of three scenarios.

[Kita5399]

@keekee53 I got the welcome wagon while I was fishing off my lot, it was the older male couple and the husband from the big family. I didn’t get the event notice or timer at first, I’m thinking they were at my door for a long time. My Sim came back to her house around 6pm, and after introducing herself and chatting a bit the welcome wagon timer finally started (note one of the older guys was holding the fruitcake the entire time). After the event ended, that’s when none of them would leave, the couple went to sleep in my Sims bed, and the other Sim made himself dinner. I had to move her out and back in to get rid of them (traveling and manage worlds didn’t work), I didn’t get a welcome wagon after she moved back in. Despite all that, I’m still not seeing empty households in that save.