Sims 4 and CurseForge
I only recommend the app for two groups of people
- The adventurer: You want to test CurseForge thoroughly to give feedback and make it better. It’s not as important if your game works afterwards.
- The CurseForger: You only use Mods/CC that are available through CurseForge and you don’t download anything from other sites – not even the gallery. You don’t care how your mods folder looks since it was always this suspect thing that never worked in the first place.
CurseForge is a platform and app that allows modders to upload their stuff at one centralized place.
There are two parts: A website and an app.
Website
The website offers approved content from different creators that you can download and put in your game. It’s basically a download platform which easily shows you which mods were updated or to just browse around and find new things. The website does not check the mods you have in your game in order to find out if they are current. You will still need to do this on your own but you can have the website message you when something was updated.
App
The app supports Sims 4 for Windows since Dec, 6th 2022. Mac users still need to wait till 2023 (no specific date). The app is still beta which is very prominent. All mods get installed in the root mod folder without subfolders which leaves the mod folder a giant chaos. Not even files that belong to one specific mod are placed in subfolders.
The app is a mod manager. You can see the installed content (including the ones you haven’t installed through the app) and you can install new ones. Only content that was downloaded through the app can be kept up-to-date.
Functionality to check for duplicates and filters aren’t implemented yet.
You can currently download the following content on CurseForge
- Mods
- CAS
- Rooms/Lots
- Buy/Build Mode
- Sims/Households
- Worlds/World Objects
- Pets
- Save Games (Website only)
Everyone can upload their content on CurseForge. Content will be checked first to see if it aligns with the CurseForge standard. Please check the Website to find out what the requirements are.
CurseForge pays its creators but I don’t know the details.
Everything uploaded to CurseForge will be checked before it’s released to the public. This should guarantee that you don’t get viruses and malware. Mods/CC can still be faulty though and the same rules as before apply: If you have any issues, check your game without Mods/CC first and test the game on a vanilla state.
Mods/CC still need to be checked and if applicable updated by the creator after every patch. Always check if there’s an update of the things you are using and download the newest version.
The details for the Mod Manager are unclear at this point.
The Website is here: CurseForge.
The App/Mod Manager can be downloaded here: CurseForge App
Website
The same installation instructions as before apply if you downloaded the Mods/CC through the website
Archives like ZIP, RAR and 7z need to unpacked first. Copy the files depending on the type into the correct folder. Make sure to turn on Custom Content and if necessary Script Mods in the options and the content will appear in your game as if you had downloaded it anywhere else.
The only difference is that you can get a lot of content from the same source.
App
You can install content with a click of a button. You don’t need to think about where to find your mods folder.
Search for the content you want to install. You can either put in the name of the mod or the creator in the search bar or just browse Get More Mods.
Place the cursor over the content once you found something and click on Install to install the content and all it’s required dependencies.
The files are then automatically copied to either the Tray or the Mods folder. Currently this happens without subfolders, leaving chaos in the mods folder.
Login for the website and the app is currently only available through a Twitch Account. To contact support you will also need an Overwatch account.
Website
You don’t need an account If you just want to download content from the website.
You do need an account if you want to be updated about changes or new content, participate in the forum or ask the creator questions. You can just use your twitch account if you have one.
App
The usage of the app is possible without an account. There is an option to login but I don’t see any advantages to that unless you decide to go for a subscription.
Filters by creators you follow and updates about changes are currently only possible through the website.
CurseForge is free of charge. You can get a subscription for $2.99 per month. If you do that, more money goes to the creators and you can get rid of the ads.
CurseForge pays its creators but I don’t know the details.
The CurseForge Website offers the possibility to download Mods/CC from one centralized source. You can have the site inform you about updates, contact the creator or upload content yourself. Before contacting a creator make sure to read their description to see if they’d rather be contacted through different means though.
Download Content
To find content click on the category and then you can use Search to find a specific content.
You can further filter the content by subcategory or game version or pack if you just want to browse.
Click on Download to actually download the content to your computer. Unpack the file if necessary and copy it to the correct folder in documents.
Content can be installed directly via the app if you have the CurseForge app installed. To do so simply click on the orange Install button. This will start the app and install the content.
Follow Creators/Content
You can either follow a certain content or a certain creator in order to be informed about updates and new content.
Click on the name of the creator in the list to see a detailed view about the creator. Click on Follow to start following the creator.
Click on the name of content in the list to see a detailed view about the content. Click Follow to follow that specific content. You can also set which specific notifications you are interested in.
Account
All information about your account can be found in the upper right corner. You can check whom you follow, which notifications you got or you can set the details of your notifications.
Upload Content Yourself
CurseForge allows everyone to upload their content. Content will be checked and then released.
To start the process click on Start Project and fill out the form. Make sure to include all important information as this is what will show on your project page.
Follow instructions given and make sure to read the rules and terms of service.
The app is currently in beta state. Please use with caution
The mac version of the app currently doesn’t support Sims 4
The CurseForge App is a mod manager that helps to install and manage mods. The app only works correctly with content that you downloaded through CurseForge. Other content is displayed and you can also delete it but there’s no functionality beyond that.
Use the website to upload content as there’s no support for that from within the app.
Add game
You will see a list of all supported games when you open CurseForge for the first time. To add a game, click on the game and on Locate Game. This allows you to have the app scan your computer or navigate manually to the installation folder of the game.
Entry Page/Side Bar
On the main entry page you can select your game. You can see all detected games in the sidebar as tab.
In the lower left corner you can find places to log in (with Twitch, no real advantages), a link to Discord, different support options like opening a ticket or checking the newest CurseForge patch notes and to change the settings.
Settings
The settings are divided in general and game specific settings. I don’t want to go into them all and only explain the most important ones.
Addons – Mods-Installation Path
This path is only relevant for games that support their own installation path for mods. Since this isn’t the case for Sims 4, this section is irrelevant for Sim 4 players.
Languages
See Languages
Sims 4 – Auto Install Updates
Determines if content should be updated automatically. You can overwrite this setting per content. This way you can have control which mods you just want have control over and which should just be updated as soon as there’s a new version.
Sims 4 – Preferred Release
Determines which kind of updates you want. Do you just want stable releases or also alpha and beta ? You can overwrite this setting per content.
Sims 4 – Delete orphaned libraries
Determines if dependent content that isn’t used anymore should be uninstalled if you uninstall the main content.
Overview Sims
The main view consists of a search bar, a menu and two tabs.
The search bar allows you to search by the name of the content as well as by the name of the creator.
Menu
The menu offers several options. You can again scan for new games or manually add them.
Open Mods/Tray Folder
Opens an explorer window that leads to the folder where CurseForge installs package and script files as well as tray files.
Repair folder permission
Allows to repair permissions for the mods/tray folder so CurseForge is allowed to save files to those.
Open Instance Settings
Opens the settings menu für different instances.
My Mods
My Mods shows all installed. All files from the mods and the tray folder are displayed. You can do the following interactions here:
- Update all content
- Update selected content
- Delete selected content
- Filter by text
- Sort by name (ascending and descending)
- Filter by certain criteria (not implemented yet)
- Find outdated and duplicate content (not implemented yet)
- Refresh
To select certain content click on the check mark that appears if you hover over the entry.
Right-Click on the entry to see an individual menu of the content. You can decide if you want to automatically update the content, which release type you want or delete the content. On top of that you can find additional information and links for the content.
Get More Mods
Get More Mods allows you to browse for new content to install and their information. You can filter all content by categories. Except for save games everything you can find on the website can also be found here.
Just click on the entry to see the details for a certain content. Clicking on install will copy all the files to the correct folder. More details on the installation can be found here: How do I install mods/cc with CurseForge ?
Website
The responsibility to keep Mods/CC updated is still in your hands. You can get notifications from the website but you need to download and install them yourself.
App
Content that you installed through the app can be kept current through the app. You can either decide globally or per mod if mods should be kept current automatically or if you’d rather do it manually. More details can be found here: How does the App work ?
Content that you didn’t install through CurseForge must be updated manually through the file system as before.
Mods will still be deactivated on patches as not everyone uses CurseForge. How this influences the app is unclear at this point.
No, the usage of CurseForge is voluntary. Most modders and CC creators still offer their content on their old websites. Houses/Lots and Sims can still be downloaded through the gallery.
There are no visual indications which game content is necessary. You should be able to find more information in the descriptions though.
Website
You can filter content by game version to only see content for a specific game version/pack
App
It’s currently not possible to filter by version.
The answer to this is yes and no. Creators can define via Relations to also directly install other content. These is separate content and it is not part of the House/Sims. The archive files should only contain files of one type (see remarks).
Currently there’s mostly Mods/CC that have required dependencies. Lots/Sims/Etc only have optional dependencies that you need to download yourself.
You can also often find additional CC that was used linked in the description.
Remark: The app decides depending on the content type where to install the content. Sims/Households and Rooms/lots are copied to the Tray folder and all other categories to the mods folder. This can lead to faulty installation if someone uploads something in the wrong category. So if a creator includes package files in their house/Sims file, they will be installed in the wrong folder and because of this the game won’t recognize them. If you see something like that, please consider reporting it so it can be fixed.
Website
You need to download the dependent content yourself. Click on the name of the mod to get to the detail view of the mod. Then click on Relations to see which other content you need.
App
The app currently doesn’t show the dependencies. Required dependencies will be installed automatically without message. Such additional content is just as safe as the main download as they need to be on CurseForge themselves. They will appear as separate element in My Mods.
Please consult the description or the website for optional dependencies.
Dependencies are also referred to as Relations.
Dependencies are other content on CurseForge that are either closely related to the viewed content or help to make the main download better. This could be CC furniture that was used in a house or mods that need to be installed for the content to even work.
There are several types of dependencies and you can filter by them.
- Embedded Library: Unclear
- Optional Dependencies: Other content you may install if you want to.
- Required Dependencies: Other content that needs to be installed for the main content to work.
- Tool: Unclear
- Incompatible: Dependent content that is no longer compatible by the game.
- Include: Unclear. Maybe something that’s included in the archive file.
Website
Dependencies need to be downloaded separately through the website. Click on the content to get to the details and then click on Relations to see all dependencies.
You can then filter by type and download everything that’s listed under Required Dependencies as well. The content won’t work correctly without these. Optional Dependencies are optional and are shown here for easy finding.
The only option to see if a dependency is required or not is to filter. There are no other indications.
On top of that you can also show dependents. These are other content that is dependent on the current content.
App
The app doesn’t have any direct information about dependencies other than the description. Content that is required will be automatically downloaded though when you click install on the main content.
Website
The website also works for macs since you just download files from a centralized, approved places
App
There will be a mac version. The only information is that it will be available 2023.
No. Console players still won’t get Mods/CC. Houses/Sims and rooms can still be downloaded from the gallery.
Website
The website doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t matter if you also download from other sites since it’s just a new place to download.
App
Mods and CC that were installed manually appear as entry under My Mods. Each Package/Script file gets it’s own entry even if some of them belong to the same mod. This content can be deleted through the app but it’s not possible to update them and they aren’t recognized as a specific content. Because of that it’s very easy to have content installed twice if you had already installed the mod manually and are now installing again through CurseForge.
For Mods/CC the same as before applies. If a mod is localized, you also get the localisation through CurseForge. Some mods also have localisations to download separately.
The descriptions and articles are mostly English (or the language in which the creator wrote it)
Website
CurseForge currently supports the following languages for the GUI: English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Indonesian, Greek, Italien, Dutch.
You can set the language in Settings – Preferences
App
CurseForge currently supports the following languages for the GUI: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, French Canadian, Italien, German, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Brazil – Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Spanish – Latin America, Swedish, Hungarian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Thai.
You can set the language in Settings – Languages.
General
- You currently need a Twitch Account to login
- Content uploaded to CurseForge is automatically and manually checked but it seems that not everyone who does the manual work is knowledgeable in the complicated mods structure of Sims yet. Please report uploads that get installed in the wrong place or are otherwise faulty.
- Uploads that have several variations aren’t supported (e.g. Mods, that have several tuning variants)
Website
The website seems to work pretty well. Some parts are not translated in other languages than English and I haven’t found an option to turn of notifications for comments followed creators make on their content.
App
The app still has quite a few issues but is still in Beta.
- There is a mac version of the app but Sims 4 is not listed yet
- You can’t scroll in fullscreen mode. To make it work you need to change to windowed mode and then back to fullscreen. If you change the tab or choose another category, it’s back to not working. I recommend using the app in windowed mode for the moment.
- My Mod is rather chaotic. Filters are not implemented yet and Mods/CC and Tray content is shown rather unsorted.
- The app installs all mods/cc in the root mods folder without subfolders which makes it hard to find things in the mods folder.
- The app doesn’t seem to be able to ‘forget’ content that wasn’t installed through the app. This will make you see content in My Mods that isn’t there anymore if you manually delete files from the mods folder or switch between multiple Sims folders like me. Even manually refreshing doesn’t help.
- The app is only partly or badly translated
- The check for duplicate or outdated mods/cc isn’t implemented yet.
- Don’t move the content installed by CurseForge to a subfolder. CurseForge is unable to properly detect files if you do.
