Game freezes when trying to freshen up in the dwelling

Update

This bug was fixed in Patch 1.68.154

Problem

My Sim traveled to Batuu and wants to freshen up in the dwelling. Unfortunately this leads to the game freezing up. All I can do is close it through the task manager.

The main issue is that I can’t progress in the Batuu missions if the game freezes before the Sim gets a chance to tick off the task.

Cause

This looks to be caused by the reward trait Steel bladder. It’s possible that other traits that freeze or slow down needs are also at fault.

The Queue fills up with empty entries until at some point the game freezes and crashes.

Sleeping doesn’t seem to cause any issues. It’s only Freshen Up.

Solution

Do the following steps to use the cheat console

Open the cheat console with ctl-shift-c
Enter the cheat you need in the entry box which appeared in the upper left corner of your screen.
Hit ENTER
Repeat steps 2 & 3 for every necessary cheat.
After entering all needed cheats, close the cheat console with ctl-shift-c

The easiest solution is to remove the trait while you are in Batuu and then re-add it once the Sim is back home.

Use the following Cheats to do this

traits.remove_trait trait_SteelBladder (Removes the trait)
traits.equip_trait trait_SteelBladder (Adds the trait back)

Further Suggestions

Use cheats to fill the needs (testingcheats on, Shift-Click on the Sim to make happy or freeze the needs)
Travel a lot between the neighborhoods in Batuu. Travelling fills the needs.
Do the missions with a Sim that doesn’t have the trait.
While refreshing, cancel the interaction as soon as it seems to start freezing. The needs don’t fill up completely but at least a bit. You can also repeat. You do need to pay close attention though so the game doesn’t freeze.