offline mode

[rayzac]

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 expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? City Living, GTW, Get Together, Dine Out, Outdoor Retreat, Bowling Night, Vintage Glamour, Movie Hangout, Spooky Stuff, Perfect Patio, Luxury Party, Holiday Celebration,
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Online Mode vs. Offline Mode in Origin. Uncheck Online Content in Sims 4 settings. Auto Connect is also Unchecked.
What happens when the bug occurs? While in "Online Mode", the game stutters and freezes every few minutes (estimate of 2-3 minutes). If I restart Origin and Sims in "Offline Mode" it is a very smooth running game. I have checked all options to eliminate any options that would indicate communication with servers while Online, but "something" is using bandwidth during those freezes. That bandwidth usage disappears when "Offline". This may already be known, or by design. I've gotten into the habit of searching community creations from time to time... get anything of interest... then restart the game & client in offline mode and play lag-free.
What do you expect to see? I would like to know if there is a way to limit whatever Origin/Sims 4 communication is happening behind the scenes and also be able to use the community tab without the restart process. As I said, this may just be "by design", but the lag seems extreme - Online Mode vs. Offline Mode. From what I understand, the Sims 4 does NOT sync with servers.
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

‌

Thanks for any feedback. And I apologize if I've started a post that already exist. 

[crinrict]

Hi @rayzac

moved this to tech issues

Could you post your Computer's DxDiag?

To gather a DxDiag on your computer, please follow the steps here: https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

You can attach the txt file to your post directly.

[rayzac]

Here you go. Any insights appreciated. Worked with Nvidia tech recently to remove renegade sound drivers that belong to prior setup. All others updated to most recent, afaik. Forgot to mention that this scenario with the lag also occurs with all Mods removed, and brand new save/game. Offline is perfect, Contacted EA support about the "Saves" button always seeming to stay "On". They said that is known, and since Sims 4 does not use the cloud for saves, the button is irrelevant.

[crinrict]

Your specs look fine.

have you tried a clean boot yet ?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

[rayzac]

Clean boot didn't seem to make any difference. I tried giving EA Support a call, just to throw a few ideas by them about the issue... I was told that I "owned too many of the expansion packs" and "that was the cause of my problems"... ?         I'm still laughing.

As long as I play with Online Feature Access shut off, things are running great. If I do go online to check community creations, I make sure to log off after - dump the cache directory - and switch Online Feature Access back off again before loading a save.

[crinrict]

Did you try resetting your router ?

[rayzac]

Router has been fully reset/re-booted. I'm still trying to isolate why, when Online Feature Access is on (checked), the cache directory just starts filling up with jpgs. We're talking at an approx rate of 1mb/minute. And what data is EA/Origin pulling from my game? I thought with "saves" turned off, nothing was in the cloud, but according to EA they can "see" all my mods and saves.  Seems "invasive".  Any thoughts?

By the way, I do appreciate your feedback. I know you do this in your free time.

[crinrict]

Did you turn off data sharing in your options ?

There is data sent to EA but I also find it weird that they can see your saves. What do you mean by see ? See how many you have ? Which mods you're using or only if you're game is modded or not ?

Who told you that they can ? Support or do you read that from the TOS ?

[jpkarlsen]

@rayzac

Notice that just deselecting Online content in Game Settings does not necessarily mean the game is completely offline. To be sure Select Offline Mode in Origin before launching the game.

[rayzac]

Everything that indicates it is sending or sharing data has been turned off (gray button). The only thing that won't turn off is the "Saves" button. I've reported this to them several times (via chat and phone), and I've been told that it is working as designed and even tho the Saves button shows on (green) it's not really on. (??).

I spoke with Gabe on the phone (he called me in response to my recent ticket), he indicated that 1) I had too many expansion packs and game packs, and that was part of my issue with "micro stutters" and 2) that I had an "awful lot" of mods, and they were most likely also part of the cause. Gabe advised: keep in mind we don't technically support all of those mods, so you might want to delete those to help fix the issue.  Not sure why he worded it that way. Kinda made me feel like I was being spied on. I know that any game company will collect usage data, but giving the perception they can "see" my directory was creepy. I tried to explain to him that the periods of freezing coincide with the times that I can literally see the cache directory increasing in size by keeping the directory's properties windows open on my second monitor. 

I "think" that something changed either this patch or one back, but not enough people are noticing it yet, or just clearing the cache and assuming it's the norm. I might add, that these freezes also occur with a new game save with the entire mod directory removed.

I've added a rule to my CCleaner to wipe the Sims' cache directory every time it runs. Shrug. We make our own "mods" to fix the issues, eh?