Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

by poptart52
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Original Post

Accepted Solution

[FIXED] [SV] Strangerville Scanner constantly low

[ Edited ]
★★ Apprentice

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.64.84.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Expansions: All Game Packs: All Stuff Packs: Kitchen Stuff, Kids Room Stuff, Moschino Stuff, Movie Hangout Stuff, My First Pet Stuff, Perfect Patio Stuff, Spooky Stuff, Vintage Glamour Stuff,
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Play through the Strangerville Mystery. Receive an Infection Scanner by ANY means. Attempt to use infection scanner.
What happens when the bug occurs? Click the ground. Infection scanner (unused) will not allow you to scan, claiming battery is low. Option is greyed out.
What do you expect to see? I click the ground and see an option to scan the area for spores.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Neutral/Not Sure 

https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-Feedback/Strangerville-scanner-constantly-low/td-p/9263...

Copy pasting info from the original thread to show steps I took: 

 

Trying to play Strangerville. I've played it before on a different save file, back when the GP came out. 

 

Playing on my legacy game, haven't had any issues. When my sim gets a scanner, he immediately tried to use it but it didn't really do anything. I try and send him down to get spores at the lab, and I get "Cannot use Infection Scanner as its battery is low, please give it time to charge". Ok. So I forgot about it. Today I went back to try again, and again, infection scanner battery is low. I haven't used it. There's absolutely no way it's low. I tried debugging the scanner, getting a new scanner from a sim, getting new scanners from debug, everything. The last one, I tried both before and after removing all mods and CC, removing localthumbcache.package (and another one very similarly named to see if that one was the issue), and repairing the game multiple times. 

I *did* have issues regarding other aspiration goals not working previously, but they were all for non-strangerville related packs and appear to be ongoing issues that have not yet been completely resolved. 

 

I'm playing on: 
Samsung PC

Processor - AMD Ryzen 5 2500U w/ Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.00 GHz
Installed RAM - 8.00 GB (6.95 usable)
System type - 64-bit operating system, x64-based processer

 

Second fix attempt: 

Ok, so. I did the above (saving as The Sims 4.old, repairing game, making a new save), and it didn't work. I JUST got the infection scanner, went to the lab, it won't let me scan and says it's low battery. 

I may do this all again and try it without the Sim being in the military, to see if maybe that is triggering a glitch for some reason (last Sim I had do the Mystery, when the GP first came out, they weren't Military). But if that doesn't work then I'm not sure what to do. I may check debug to see if there are spores just so I can do the challenge. 

Third fix attempt:

Ok, final update:

 

I made a new save and played a Sim who wasn't military. Got the infection scanner, went to the lab, scanner doesn't work. 

 

I sent him home, input testingCheats true and then bb.showhiddenobjects, went into buy mode, and you can search "spore cluster". I bought a few and the DO fulfill the aspiration requirement, so I guess I'm going to just do that in my Legacy game. (You have to specifically click on the spore cluster you have placed and click "put in inventory" for it to work. Dragging to sim's inventory will not register for the aspiration)

 So I'll just do that. I'm not sure if Eco Living update is interfering with the StrangerVille Mystery or what's going on, but it looks like this is the only way around the glitch right now. 

 

Other notes:
It was suggested to try going to the Library and asking Scientists about spores (this was a fix for the GameChanger helping me). This did not work. Another player said for them, they just had to wait a couple in-game hours and they would get the option for the scanner to work. This did not work for me. However, after initially attempting to fight The Mother, I did get the option to scan ONCE. Later I saw it again - I believe this was after I completed the mystery.

 

Edit By Crinrict: Added Tag to Title, Adjusted some formatting for readablitly

Message 15 of 40 (10,726 Views)

Accepted Solution

Re: [OPEN] [SV] Strangerville Scanner constantly low

Community Manager (retired)

This issue should be fixed now, the charge functionality was completely removed. So there's no such thing as having a "low battery" anymore, the "Scan Area" interaction should always be available now and never greyed out. 


This account is no longer accepting Direct Messages. If you need to send a Direct Message, please send it to TheSimsDirect. Thank you.

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Message 40 of 40 (3,301 Views)

All Replies

Strangerville scanner constantly low

★★ Apprentice

Trying to play Strangerville. I've played it before on a different save file, back when the GP came out. 

 

Playing on my legacy game, haven't had any issues. When my sim gets a scanner, he immediately tried to use it but it didn't really do anything. I try and send him down to get spores at the lab, and I get "Cannot use Infection Scanner as its battery is low, please give it time to charge". Ok. So I forgot about it. Today I went back to try again, and again, infection scanner battery is low. I haven't used it. There's absolutely no way it's low. I tried debugging the scanner, getting a new scanner from a sim, getting new scanners from debug, everything. The last one, I tried both before and after removing all mods and CC, removing localthumbcache.package (and another one very similarly named to see if that one was the issue), and repairing the game multiple times. 

I *did* have issues regarding other aspiration goals not working previously, but they were all for non-strangerville related packs and appear to be ongoing issues that have not yet been completely resolved. 

 

I'm playing on: 
Samsung PC

Processor - AMD Ryzen 5 2500U w/ Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.00 GHz
Installed RAM - 8.00 GB (6.95 usable)
System type - 64-bit operating system, x64-based processer

Message 1 of 40 (11,333 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

Champion (Retired)

@poptart52 

Thank you for the additional system information. That is always helpful when troubleshooting.
You mention mods and CC and deleting and localthumbcache.package/ and that is a great first step.
Having played thru the StrangerVille a couple of weeks ago I had no issues with the scanner.
It does have a limited number of uses before recharging but it sound like you cannot get it to work at all.

Recognizing you have already done some troubleshooting I suggest once more to follow these steps as a test.

Go to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4
Rename The Sims 4 to The Sims 4.old to preserve your saves, tray, screenshots and mods folders/files.

Run Repair from Origin as described in the troubleshooting guide.
Start the game without adding anything back as a test.
The game will automatically create fresh versions of all the folders/files.
Make a brand new save with any Sim.
If the game works correctly you will need to test your mods /custom content (CC) to see which they are causing the problem.

When you are done testing and everything works in a new save game you can copy/paste your old saves back into the new folder.



Reference:
Troubleshooting tips
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/READ-FIRST-Troubleshooting-your-Game/m-p/3621199

EQ Avid Sims Player
I do not work for EA but I do volunteer at AnswersHQ to help others with their game issues.
EAGameChanger - The Sims 4 Gallery Creator
Gallery Tag: #EQCreations
Message 2 of 40 (11,294 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

★★ Apprentice

Ok, so. I did the above (saving as The Sims 4.old, repairing game, making a new save), and it didn't work. I JUST got the infection scanner, went to the lab, it won't let me scan and says it's low battery. 

I may do this all again and try it without the Sim being in the military, to see if maybe that is triggering a glitch for some reason (last Sim I had do the Mystery, when the GP first came out, they weren't Military). But if that doesn't work then I'm not sure what to do. I may check debug to see if there are spores just so I can do the challenge. 

Message 3 of 40 (11,249 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

Champion (Retired)

@poptart52 wrote:

Ok, so. I did the above (saving as The Sims 4.old, repairing game, making a new save), and it didn't work. I JUST got the infection scanner, went to the lab, it won't let me scan and says it's low battery. 

I may do this all again and try it without the Sim being in the military, to see if maybe that is triggering a glitch for some reason (last Sim I had do the Mystery, when the GP first came out, they weren't Military). But if that doesn't work then I'm not sure what to do. I may check debug to see if there are spores just so I can do the challenge. 


Sorry you are still having trouble. I was hoping a new Sim in a new save would have a scanner that worked.
I have played thru the mystery with both Military and non-Military Sims at different points of time.
It is good that you are willing to try different things to solve this issue.
Please post an update to allow us to help you further.

EQ Avid Sims Player
I do not work for EA but I do volunteer at AnswersHQ to help others with their game issues.
EAGameChanger - The Sims 4 Gallery Creator
Gallery Tag: #EQCreations
Message 4 of 40 (11,241 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

[ Edited ]
★★ Apprentice

Ok, final update:

 

I made a new save and played a Sim who wasn't military. Got the infection scanner, went to the lab, scanner doesn't work. 

 

I sent him home,

Spoiler
input testingCheats true and then bb.showhiddenobjects, went into buy mode, and you can search "spore cluster". I bought a few and the DO fulfill the aspiration requirement, so I guess I'm going to just do that in my Legacy game. (You have to specifically click on the spore cluster you have placed and click "put in inventory" for it to work. Dragging to sim's inventory will not register for the aspiration)

 So I'll just do that. I'm not sure if Eco Living update is interfering with the StrangerVille Mystery or what's going on, but it looks like this is the only way around the glitch right now. 

Message 5 of 40 (11,200 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

[ Edited ]
Champion (Retired)

@poptart52 
Would you be interested in creating a bug report?
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/bd-p/The-Sims-4-Bugs
*Edit: Got the scanner to work.  Monday, June 29, 2020 (EDT) 14:40
I played until I got the scanner from another Sim.
Went straight to the lab and got the same low battery message.
No mods or cc to interfere so this clearly needs to be investigated.

Scanner.PNG

 

@poptart52 
Edit:
Monday, June 29, 2020 (EDT) 14:40
After the above discovery (scanner not working) I had saved and closed the game.
Today I deleted cache files, checked for updates and repaired the game.
At first when I joined my Sim at the lab (where I had left him) the scanner did not work.
I had my Sim do random stuff on the home lot and the StrangerVille library.
On a whim I had him try the scanner at the library and it worked!
Took him back to the lab and he is busily gathering spores.
The only thing that may have been a trigger was asking scientists at the library about the spores.

EQ Avid Sims Player
I do not work for EA but I do volunteer at AnswersHQ to help others with their game issues.
EAGameChanger - The Sims 4 Gallery Creator
Gallery Tag: #EQCreations
Message 6 of 40 (11,154 Views)
Highlighted

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

★★ Apprentice

So ask at the library about the spores again and it will possibly work?

I had tested the scanner at the library as well after trying at the lab and it did not work. So I'm just trying to understand what your fix was. 

I feel like this is still a bug and probably should be reported? 

Message 7 of 40 (11,103 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

★ Pro
@poptart52 The scanner is operating differently from the one and only time I tried the mystery in the past. I don't know if it is a bug, or if perhaps tuning changes were made to it. That's why I haven't done a bug report.

I'm finding the scanner takes a while to work at all after getting it and to my memory, can be used less frequently per day. You don't have to ask at the library for it to start working, just wait long enough for the option to appear, checking the ground every now and then while you have the sim do something else. Every time I load the household it shows battery low and I have to play the household for several sim hours for the scan here option to finally show up. At that point head to the lab and scan. After one scan you'll immediately show low battery again, at least that was my experience. I told my sim to go jogging and he ran to the front of the lot and back, lol. Didn't take long and the scan option appeared again as soon as he was done jogging.
Message 8 of 40 (11,073 Views)

Re: Strangerville scanner constantly low

★★ Apprentice

Interesting. I tried last night and it still wouldn't ever show anything but low battery, even after hours of play. I also didn't have the option to ask anyone about the scanner or the spores. 

I've just been using my fix 

Spoiler
where I get spores from debug mode - must be done on home lot

and that's been working. It's kind of annoying to have to do, but it sounds like anyone else who is managing to get the scanner to work is having a similarly annoying time. 

Message 9 of 40 (11,045 Views)