Script Mods and the Get Famous Patch
Introduction
About a month ago, SimGuruModSquad announced at the officials that Maxis will be upgrading their Python Version to 3.7.0. starting with version 1.47.46 of Sims 4. This change will lead to all existing script mods no longer working and the creators will need to recompile their mods. This recompilation process isn’t a major problem as such but the change additionally breaks modders ability to see Maxis Python source code via decompilation. Having access to source code is important for modders to be able to maintain and write new their script mods.
This presented a big challenge to the modding community, as the decompiling tools for Python 3.7.0 aren’t that great. Sims isn’t an OpenSource software so chances for getting the code directly through Maxis are slim.
A month has passed and it now looks like the decompilation issues have been solved and the modders seem confident that the future for script mods look bright.
What does this mean for creators of script mods ?
Script Modders need to ensure their mods compile under Python 3.7.0. I don’t know the exact details on that as I’m not a script modder myself but I’m confident that all current script modders are aware of the changes and will adjust their mods to the patch.
The main obstacle was getting a decent tool to decompile the code but as it seems, there are already two promising tools available.
What does this mean for users of script mods ?
If you are using script mods in your game, you will need to remove them before patching. They won’t be working. Regularly check with the page you got the mod from for updates. Bigger mods like MCCC and the likes will probably – as always – get an update pretty fast. If you don’t want play without your current script mods, you will need to turn off automatic updates and play offline. If you want to play Get Famous, the patch is a necessity though and you will need to remove the mods until they are updated.
Older script mods that haven’t been updated in a long while and maybe even are in zip file format (with py or pyo files in it) should be removed. They are unlikely to get updated.
What does this mean for tuning mods and custom content ?
Tuning mods and custom content are not affected by this change. The same thing goes for them as for every patch: They can potentially be outdated and lead to issues.
Lists
How do I know if I use script mods ?
Script mods mostly consist of multiple files in one download. A package file and one or more ts4script files. In the list of mods they appear under script mods. To be on the safe side, you can turn off script mods separately in your game options. Whatever is gone after doing so, was a script mod.
