[MOD RELATED] Sims disappeared from household/Blue flashing square on map [ Edited ]

[crinrict]

Introduction

This issue has been around for a while now and I do believe it's a mod issue but since it now seems to permanently bork existing saves,

I'd like to get to the bottom of this. If you have any information on which mod (maybe it's multiple) could cause this or if there's any solutions, please let me know in here. I will also merge all newer thread on this into here so we got all the info in one place.

Since this is possibly a mod issue, this isn't an official EA/Maxis investigation. This is me as a user trying to find the cause.

Symptoms of this issue

• You can load your game up to to the map but when you try to load a household, it you only see a blue/flashing background with a never ending load circle.

• When you load the household manager, you will find that most of your household are empty now and editing them in CAS will create a random new Sim.
• Sometimes instead of the blue square, you'll see the portraits of a family that doesn't live there. That mostly happens after you load a family that does still work. That family will then take over all removed families
• When you first try to load the family, you might get an error code. After that it's just nothing happening when you press play. 

Cause

The main cause of this issue is Sims get deleted out of households. If the last one gets deleted, that leaves the household empty, leading to the blue flashes.

So far I've been figure out the following

1. This is caused by playing with an outdated mod in and saving your game while you have it in
2. If you saved your game with said outdated mod, the family was permanently deleted from the game and there's now way to get it back. You must load a backup
3. Most of the time, you will get an error code and map reloading when trying to load a family. When you do, DO NOT SAVE YOUR GAME, exit without saving.
4. This is a game bug that's being looked into: Sim Erased After Repro Visit

Mods (Outdated Versions) that are known to cause this

All these mods should be fine if you're using the correct version for your patch level

1. Meaningful Stories
2. Several Adult mods that can't be named
3. SNB Bills
4. Mods that edit career salaries, like Career Salary reduced - 50% or noextramoneyonpromotion_v2 by Bienchen
5. icemunmun custom food interactions and it's additional packs (harvestables and recipes)
6. Custom Traits which have ts4script files

Solution

There is currently none. The culled Sims seem to be gone forever and there's no way to get them back.It's still possible to go into build mode from the map to save the houses to the Gallery but the Sims themselves seem to be a goner.

The only way is to find a working backup. The game makes automatic ones so check them if they still work: Recover Backup. Do backup your backups before attempting to load them in the game cause it's possible that you bork them as well. Do all those test on a game with no cc/mods added

What info to provide here

if you know of any other mods that cause this, please let me know. Be aware that the naming of adult mods is not allowed at AHQ. Linking any mods is also not allowed, so please, just name them.

If you're unsure how to recover a backup or if any of yours are still working, post in this thread, I'll try to help you further.

[Chumpelet]

Since the patch, I can't load any of my households.  I have removed all cc and mods from my folder and tried to load again, but get the error code 123.9d5d0e8f.df013302. I have tried all the advice from the forums.  Any advice?

[crinrict]

Hi  @Chumpelet 

Try resetting your user files as described in the factory reset described in this post: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-4/FAQ-Troubleshooting-Steps-amp-Known-Issues/m-p/3621199

You won't loose anything. Just make sure to not delete any files  and make a backup.

After renaming, repair your game by right clicking on the game in Origin.

Try on a new game with nothing added back first (start new game). If it works, put back your save game and try again. If it still works, you can start putting stuff back.

• Options.ini (or just re-set all your settings manually)
• Tray Folder
• Screenshots/Videos/Custom music
• Rest of the save games (leave out slot_00000001.save which is the autosave and no longer needed - if you still have it)
• Custom content like clothing, hair, skins, make up ....
• Mods (one by one, making sure they all still work)

The rest does not need putting back, cause they are mostly cache files that recreate or log files that are not needed for the game.

[Chumpelet]

Thanks for the response.  I've tried all of the above. However, when I load my save game, my households still can't be accessed. (This is without anything in mods folder). However, I can create a new sim from cas and load them in, but when I take them to my other households, I get a problem.  

[crinrict]

Would you be willing to share your save with me ?

If so, please zip your saves folder and upload it somewhere like dropbox,, googledrive or OneDrive and PM me the link.

[Chumpelet]

Sent hun, hope you can help Appreciate your time.

[MakThePrince]

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? 1.58.63.1010
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All expansion packs, all game packs (excluding Jungle Adventure), Laundry Day stuff, Backyard stuff, Spooky stuff, Holiday stuff
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Play a game, save it, and go back to the file. This may be a glitch that solely affects me, however.
What happens when the bug occurs? Once a file is entered again after opening, all sims will be erased from the file and become unplayable.
What do you expect to see? All sims remaining in their respective houses and not disappearing.
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 

‌

While I don't 100% know if this is a glitch caused by the most recent patch, it seems to have only been happening recently. When mousing over any reloaded households, the picture will be a loading icon with a flashing blue background. I tried removing my mods, but it didn't seem to improve. When I restored previous versions of the save file, it worked until I exited out and the cycle continues.

[crinrict]

HI @MakThePrince 

this is a known issue caused by an certain adult mod that can't be named. Are you using that one ? I have found it to affect saves even after you remove the mod but haven't found a solution to fix it.

Maybe just putting back the updated version of the mods helps ? Could you try that ?

[crinrict]

@Chumpelet A new save works, right ?

Could you list the mods you have been using ? (no links, just names). Please do not name adult mods, just put <adult Mod> so I know if you're using any.

I don't really get that error on your save but I see the blue background flimmering on your save that many have that use a certain adult mod.

It seems to be persistent even if you remove that mod so I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to make the saves work again.

I personally refuse to install that mod so maybe you could try if you get it to work if you put the updated version of the mod back (if you've been using it)

[planetaery]

Hello !! i'm new here and quite desperate cause its been 2 days since this has happened. It happened right after the huge update yesterday. My sims and the NPCs wont show up like they are literally gone but the houses are still there. I tried removing all my mods and ccs and also updated them but it didn't work. Also, tried repairing it 4 times now, still doesn't work. I don't know what to do anymore i just wanted to play the game but now i can't cause my sims are gone. Please help me :-(