[OPEN] [ECO] Sun rays appear when eco footprint is disabled [ Edited ]

[Talia125]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:Mac
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Often (50% - 99%)
What is your current game version number? 1.66.139.1220
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All packs except Star Wars
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? In new game, move sim onto Oakenstead lot in Willow Creek with tiny house, play for 5 minutes, turn off eco footprint.
What happens when the bug occurs? The sun rays for Eco Lifestyle appear no mater what. It started when the neighborhood quickly became green due to my tiny house, but they made my game lag so I turned off eco footprint. Restarted my game, the sun rays come back after playing for ~5 minutes each time. Doesn't matter if I try setting it to neutral or industrial via cheats. I tried moving to a different world, new lot, but the sun rays appear no matter what. Occasionally the sims get the moodlet for clean air.
What do you expect to see? Sun rays to only appear when eco footprint is on, and neighborhood is green
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? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. Patch on September 3, 2020

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I haven't noticed this problem in older saves, only in the one I most recently created after the patch. 

Edit By Crinrict: Added Tag to Title

[crinrict]

@Talia125 Was it just the sun ray or a general ignoring of turning off the option like in this thread: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/NEEDS-INPUT-ECO-Footprint-changes-despite-voting-off/td-p/9188...

Does this also happen in a fresh save where you never had a sun ray ?

[Talia125]

It's only the sun rays/aurora that I can tell. I'm not getting notifications that the eco footprint isn't changing or anything, just the constant rays. 

In a fresh save I turned off NAP voting and Eco Footprint before placing the sim in world, and (in the first 5 sim days) no sun rays have appeared.

I am still getting notifications for the NAPs voting period and one winning, even though nobody is voting so nothing can win. Not sure if that is related to this problem though. 

[crinrict]

@Talia125 That sounds like this issue: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/NEEDS-INPUT-ECO-Messages-for-NAP-being-passed-with-Option-turn...

Sounds like one you have the ray, you can't get rid of it.

This might also be related: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/NEEDS-INPUT-ECO-Lighting-issue-with-Sun-Rays-and-Aurora-on-Gre...

[StephS1984]

Yep, getting this problem too; then the rays get so bright you can barely see anything else in the game. Noticed after the September patch (patch for Journey to Batuu) this issue. Have tried restting the eco footprints, but no luck, still ridiculously bright sun raya in neautral and industrial footprint. Hope there is a fix soon, or a modder comes up with a fix for this.

[canelacaliente]

I am seeing the same issue on a brand new game.  I move into a new lot and the sun rays are present.  I have not disabled the eco-footprint.  I have tested a couple of lots in Newcrest.  Here are images from one lot:

This shows the neighborhood footprint is neutral.

Sunrays showing in the trees.  Sorry if it is really hard to see.

Lot footprint shows neutral

[KenikeHI808]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:Microsoft XBOX One
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? whatever the update is for 2/25/21
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All except Spooky Stuff
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Disable Eco Lifestyle footprint, play on a large lot in Windenberg. Light rays are absolutely blinding (can't see anything on the lot) and causing serious lag. I just got Eco Lifestyle and don't know what is supposed to cause the light rays so I don't know what else to detail here.
What happens when the bug occurs? Eco lifestyle NPC Voting and Footprint have been disabled from the moment it was installed. Every sunny day, the light rays are blinding and cause serious lag. The lag disappears when the light rays do.
What do you expect to see? With the Eco Lifestyle footprint disabled, I expect to see NO Eco Lifestyle effects.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? On console - never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Neutral/Not Sure 

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I bought the Eco Lifestyle pack to have access to the world and build/buy items. I disabled the gameplay options as soon as it was installed. I was originally having problems with the plants disappearing when I left the lot. After the 2/25/21 update, the light rays started and are getting progressively worse. I have tried uninstalling/reinstalling the pack as well as the entire game and add ons, removing items on the lot that note that they affect eco footprint, disabled build/buy item affects in game play options. Nothing has worked. Every sunny or partly sunny day is a horrible experience!

I have seen that this was an issue on PC back in October and there is a mod to fix it. Unfortunately mods are not available on consoles, so this fix is not an option for me. With most of the game bugs, I can either just deal with or work around (ie. plants reverting to just planted state when I left the lot, I just waited for them to grow back and found that if a Sim had Super Green Thumb trait, it stopped OR having to introduce myself to my toddler after aging up from baby before I can interact with it). I can't find a work around for this one and CAN NOT just deal with it! Cloudy days are the only playable days on my lot and I refuse to play in the basement the entire time!

Please just let me know if this is a known issue and if there is a fix in the works for console players. If this is an issue that a CC creator can build a mod for PC, it should be a fix that can be put into the game for console players.

[Hopes_On_Air]

I turned off enable eco footprint gameplay in pack settings and also turned off build mode items grant gameplay effects in gameplay settings and it worked. No more sun rays!!!

[xochiquetzl_xkvn]

In another thread, I had an astonishing 1.5 FPS on Oakenstead with a green Eco Footprint.  It took me a while to figure out what was up, and I tried the disconnecting from the Internet thing, etc., before trying turning off Eco Footprint. I also had trouble getting the sun rays to go away, so I turned Eco Footprint back on, cheated the Eco Footprint to neutral, turned it back off, and reloaded the lot (went to manage worlds and back). That turned off the sun rays and made my FPS something reasonable.

I'm considering doing a separate bug report for Eco Footprint trashing the Oakenstead lot, as I have green Eco lots elsewhere in Willow Creek and on larger lots with no FPS issues. I searched for such a thread and didn't find anything, but perhaps I just used the wrong terms?

[LuchsArcana]

Eco footprint going wild in my game too although I disabled all eco lifestyle gameplay -.- Also the aurora borealis in Henford on Bagley is a nightmare to play with.