All old photos turned black

[crinrict]

@Liudmila-tian I merged your post with the bug report on this.

Did you save when you tested the backups ? If not, would you mind sending me those so I can test if they turn black for me as well ? Instructions in my signature.

[Liudmila-tian]

Thank you 

Here is the file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1znI7jd0u70eWlrayoIXSROmIK1SeBhSw/view?usp=sharinghttps://drive.goog...

(This one was made before the bug that happened after the wedding. All bugged photos are in the box.)

[crinrict]

@Liudmila-tian They are def black for me too. Do you have a save from before you put them in the box ?

[Liudmila-tian]

Sadly, I don't think I have. I usually just save in one file until I make some major changes to the family. The first big batch of photos was taken more than a month ago, and I immediately put them in the box - there were just too many to store in my sim's inventory. 

I have just checked all saves I have, and indeed, all of them feature photos in the box, and all of them are black; even in the very first save made a long time ago. Could it be that the game can't connect the pictures in the game with the screenshot folder in the Documents, for example? Or I just can't understand how even the oldest save files got so corrupted in this one specific aspect.

P.S. Also, in the older files (before the wedding), there are some photos directly in my sims' inventories. All of them are absolutely normal; these also include several pictures I put on the wall.

[crinrict]

@Liudmila-tian there does seem to be an issue with them going black when you put them in a chest or box. I didn't realize that was the cause until I tested your save.

I'm afraid there won't be a way to get them back. Last time there were back pictures issue EA could only fix them not turning black anymore, not making black ones visible again

[Liudmila-tian]

Oh, that's really sad news for me :< I have just started making proper pictures with all the poses I downloaded; spent hours choosing the right venues and angles (I was never interested in photography in the Sims 4, so it's a completely new activity for me). I really wanted to decorate rooms with photos and selfies of my sims. And now all lost  I did find a way to add screenshots to the game (by using Sims4Studio), but it's not the same. A pretty discouraging experience, all in all. 

Is there any way to avoid such situations in the future? I will be devastated if I take another 300+ pictures and lose them to a similar bug. The whole trick is just not to add them to boxes? Are family inventories safe enough?

[crinrict]

@Liudmila-tian I really don't know what the status is currently and what's save to do. If you read thread this thread they seem to go black on all kinds of situations.

Boxes does seem to trigger it a lot.

What you can try is putting them all on a wall in a separate room and then save that to the library as room for safekeeping (although I'm not sure if that always works)

Also, what I said above is my opinion from what happend in the past, it's not set in stone truth but I personally wouldn't get my hopes up that it can be fixed.

Maybe also keep certain save points. Use save as and save them under a different name, then use save as again and use overwrite the in you're usually saving too. This way you have a 'frozen' state you can go back to although there's also no guarantees that they won't turn black once you load that save.

For now I would go with: Don't put them in boxes at all and I I'm not sure family inventory is safe either. Best to just try. Save a couple, then reload and see if they're still there. Play on for a day or two, then check again.

[TrinityBlack68]

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? 1.69.59.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? I have them all installed but: Journey To Batuu, Realm of Magic and Vampires. (These are the ones I do not have.)
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? I have tried every thing I have seen as a suggestion to do. I repaired my game, I uninstalled and reinstalled, I took all mods out and the problem is still there.
What happens when the bug occurs? All of the photos are black and nothing I do to them fixes it
What do you expect to see? An image in all the photos
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 

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At the start of the new year (2021) I went into my sims 4 game and went to one of my family’s home and all of the photos on the walls were black. The same problem is in every sim house I have. All the pictures that were taken, autographed celebrity photos, graduation pictures, and photos in my sims’ pocket are black. And paintings of a sim are blank. I have tried several different things that I have seen others suggest and the problem is still there. I take new pictures and the image is visible (not black) but all the old pictures are still black. I absolutely love taking photos on the sims and I pride myself in the photos I take, so it upsets me that my hard work is now a black square. Many of photos are irreplaceable because they are of sims as a baby that are now adults or no longer alive so I really want them back. I really hope someone can help because I am out of ideas. I have included photos of one of my sim’s home and how the photos are black and images of what some of the photos should look like.

[corismadiva55]

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? 1.69.59.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? the only pack i have is the holiday pack
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? idk
What happens when the bug occurs? my pic just go blank
What do you expect to see? no black pictures
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 

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i am having a problem with my pictures turning black after taking them my sister is two and we are very upset we both have the same computer and they are both pc it only started happening after the new update and idk what to do im scared to exit my game because my pictures will be lost

[MissFridayx]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
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? n
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Base game, Get Famous, University, dine out, movie hangout.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? n
What happens when the bug occurs? n
What do you expect to see? n
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Yes
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? No

‌

All my pictures turned black. I tried repairing my game, I turned off retina and it still doesn't work. Took off my mods and cc and still black.

Edit By Crinrict: Removed all-caps from title