Lots in some worlds are missing
Problem
The world is empty and lacking lots when I load a certain world like Forgotten Hallow or Granite Falls.
Cause
Worlds of newly installed packs sometimes appears without lot since Patch 1.89.214. Often there are two worlds. One of these has lots and the other doesn’t.
The exact cause is unknown but it possibly has to do with starting the game while the pack is still installing. Always make sure you completely install any packs before starting the game. More tips can be found under How to prevent.
Solution
Choose this method if one of the following is true
- You’re playing on console
- You didn’t play with the new world yet and did not use anything of the new pack yet.
- You don’t feel comfortable to poke around your save game with an external tool.
If the method below doesn’t help, repair your game as well.
The following method has the disadvantage that all clothing/objects/.. of the affected pack will be lost on that particular save game.
The method does not work for base game worlds (Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest).
Instructions
Create a backup of your save game in case something goes wrong
Load the save game and load all your homes/families that use something of the affected pack to your library or make a list what you need to add back later. Premade families and houses are removed from the pack when you disable/uninstall and placed back in their original form afterwards. If you changed something about them, you’ll need to save those as well.
Load the save game through Load Game. You will receive an error message that packs are missing for that save. Ignore the message.
The world will be grayed out.
Save the game with Save As and give it a new name. This will remove all content of the pack from your save game. It should be fine to save from the the world but if that doesn’t work, load a family in the base game worlds and save there.
Close the game
Activate/Install the pack again (remove the line in EA app)
Load the save game that you have saved without the pack before.
You should now have only one world and the NPCs duplicates are also gone. Any changes made to the world are lost though.
You can now either replace all your houses/Sims from the library (Attention: This will strip all Sims from relationships they had with Sims outside of their household) or add the objects/clothing back manually. You will need also need to re-establish any occult statuses
Once you’re happy with the result, you can delete all backups you made.
This method is described here: World appears twice on World Map.
How to prevent
It’s currently unclear what the cause is but I haven’t seen any reports that the world is duplicating for already installed packs or base game worlds. It seems to happen when you install a new pack that comes with a world.
Follow these steps when installing a new pack to prevent duplicate worlds.
- Make sure the game is closed.
- Backup your data
- Install the pack through EA app/Sony/Xbox
- Wait until the installation has finished.
- Start your save game and check if you have only one new world and if said world has lots.
- If that’s the case, enjoy the game.
- If you end up with duplicate worlds or missing lots, close the game without saving and try again.
- If it still doesn’t work, choose method 1 to get rid of the extra world.
- Repeat each time you open an older save game that you haven’t opened with the new pack yet.
