The Sims 4 Save Files
Backing Up Sims, Creations, and Game Saves
Many players have a lot of save files. Backing these up can avert loss of Sims and prevent a lot of heartache.
Losing your save game in The Sims 4 can go from a minor annoyance to devastation depending how much time you've invested in the game. Saves are stored locally, so hard drive failure and errors can cause you to lose them unless you've backed them up. If you've got to reinstall the game, you may need to do this as well. This is a tutorial to teach players how to properly ensure the safety of their Sims 4 save files - from the game data itself to mods and screenshots.
Where are Saves/Sims/Mods Stored?
If you know about backing up and just wonder where saves are stored, they're in Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves. Mods/CC are located in the Sims 4/Mods directory, and Sims, Lots, and Rooms you've made are stored in the Tray folder. There are also Recorded Videos and Screenshots folders here. These five folders contain everything most players would want to backup. If you need more info, read on...
My saves are now safely stored on another hard drive. USB thumb drives are cheap these days, should your desktop computer or laptop lack a second hard drive.
Basic Information: Copy
If you're a total newbie at computers, you need to know about copying. Dragging and dropping files can be useful, but it doesn't make a copy. Open Windows Explorer or Finder (Mac). Navigate to Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4 and click on Saves to highlight it. Highlighting something and pressing Control + C will make a copy of that file or folder (Command + C on Mac), which you can then put elsewhere with paste. You can also right-click a folder to get a menu and select copy. Holding Control and left-clicking can let you select multiple folders at once. Be careful not to drag them!
Paste
Once you've told the computer to copy, you are now ready to paste. Navigate to a new place by clicking a drive to the left. There are better places to store files, but for now let's say C: because everyone has one, and right click in blank space to select New Folder, name it Sims 4 Saves Backup. Go into that new folder by double clicking it and press Control + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac) to paste the file there. You will see the saves folder appear, and all your data will go with it. If you want, you can also make backups of Houses/Sims, screenshots/videos, and Mods you've downloaded by using the information above to copy those particular folders. If you backup regularly, you'll need to tell the computer to copy and replace files so that the new files write over the old ones.
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Best Places to Store Saves
A safe location is typically another hard drive, because if one piece of hardware fails, you've got it stored on another device until your computer is repaired. So, I recommend a USB thumb drive for this or another hard drive on your computer. You can even burn a copy to DVD if you have the rewriteable kind and know-how. It's good enough to just make a copy and store it somewhere other than the Sims 4 folder on your drive, in a place you can easily access later.
Restoring your Saved Games
If you've got a new install of The Sims 4 or have somehow lost save game information, you can now head to your backup folder and copy the save folder. You can paste it inside The Sims 4 and choose yes to overwrite all files in the save folder. Be careful though, if you have other games that have not been backed up recently you may not want to overwrite them. In this case, go inside your save backup folder and choose the files related to the save you want to restore by dragging a box around them - again press Control + C to copy. You can then go to The Sims 4/Saves folder (where you'll see all save games listed) and paste that individual file. They are named in a strange way, but you may be able to tell which is right by looking at the last modified date on them.
Backup Sims Downloads
Your downloads from Origin can be backed up in order to avoid downloading them again. Here's a great post by Flynn on the Forum, which explains the process. The game always needs patched after installing anyway, so this will save a lot of time in the process of reinstalling the game. Just invest the time once to backup the game downloads, and you'll be free from redownloading them again. This applies to everything from the base game to expansions and stuff packs.
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Sims 4 Paranormal Stuff
Paranormal Stuff comes January 26, 2021. You can learn about the new pack on the page I've just published. It features Hauntings, a new Medium skill, and a Paranormal Investigator Career. Paranormal Stuff also marks the return of Bonehilda to The Sims.
Sims 4 Snowy Escape
The Sims 4 Snowy Escape launches November 13, 2020 and my coverage has started. Until I get my review ready, you can learn about the following:
Snowy Escape Cheats
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Sentiments & Platforms (Free Patch!)
I've released a guide to Sentiments in The Sims 4 & Snowy Escape.
There is a new platform tool in The Sims 4. There's also a new Sentiments system, but it'll take some time to create a guide to that. Players can also use rental lots in any world now by changing lot types of builds in manage worlds.
Best Mods in Sims 4
I've created a massive List of The Best Mods in The Sims 4 that should be very helpful to new players and those who have not yet explored modding and how much it can do for your gameplay.
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Super Sim Text + Checklist and Video Guide! Here is my Super Sim Challenge Guide and Checklist to accompany my video guide to making Super Sims in The Sims 4 that you can view on Youtube.
This is inspired by a new series in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to the full playlist!
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Let's Play Playlist
New I now have a guide to Making Super Sims in The Sims 4. Look for a text version within the next 72h. It won't have THAT much more info but it will help out as a checklist.
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The Sims 4 Discover University has been announced for November 15 for PC/Mac and December 17 for Xbox and Playstation 4 consoles. Click to learn more about the pack, see my summary of the livestream or read our FAQs below.
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Comments (42)
\My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\If it's not the game won't know where to find the game saves or saved Sims/houses etc. So yes, that is a problem.In the post linked below you'll find more information on how to fix this.My Sims User Folder or Install Files are Missing?
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=21899.msg431335#msg431335In short - If you do not have a Sims 4 user folder, you'll need to load the game once to create one in the Documents folder.If your user folder is not in the Documents folder, but found to be some where else on your hard drive. It can be safely moved back to the Documents folder.
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=26496.msg442098#msg442098
Technical Help Board Forum
Slot_00000001.save.ver0What you would do here is either delete or rename the .save file for temorary. Give it the name Slot_00000001a.save So that way if something goes wrong, you've got a backup.Then rename the file with the .ver0. Give it the name Slot_00000002.saveLoad the game, and you should see a playable saved game that the game can recognize.If it's that your save games are completely gone from the saves folder and you have no backups. Then you will have to start completely over with creating a new Sim and game save.
\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves1. Sort by date modified
2. Find most recent save file and make note of the name.
3. Add .old to the end of the filename.
4. Find the file with the same name that ends in .ver0
5. Remove the .ver0 from the end of the filename.
6. Open the game to verify your saved game.Repeat steps 4-6 for any other .ver files for that save slot.
Extra help should you need it.
I have somehow accidently deleted a saved game!
here's how it happened I was playing in my saved world ( one of many) and then when I wanted to exit I just went to "save as" so I could rename the world as I changed a few things while playing it ( but I didn't click save I just renamed the saved game then cancelled) then I just went "saved and exist to main menu" as I always do. but then when I wanted to play another world through load game I realised that the saved game that I was playing earlier had also override one of my other saved games.so now I have lost a saved world ( that I didn't touch earlier) that I have spent so much time and effort in. is there any explanation for this and how do I get it back ?
(Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves)
Rolling Back a Save
Forum Saving Households etc Tips For Back-Up
Slot_00000001.save or Slot_00000001.save.ver1If you do, what you may need to do is rename or restore a game save so the game recognizes the file again.Here's a post that can help explain how to do that.How-To: Restore a Saved Game
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=21519.msg387147#msg387147
Options.ini File -- The graphic/sounds/gameplay options
Saves Folder -- Saved game files
Tray Folder -- Sims, Houses, and Rooms
Screenshots -- Photos you've taken with the C key in-game.
Video -- Video clips you've taken with the V key in-game.
Mods folders -- Game mods and custom content
Here's a link to a forum thread. In the second section there are many links to tips about saves and save folders etc.
crinricts user-files explained
Tips about game play and saves
https://bluebellflora.com/2017/02/06/sims-3-and-sims-4-not-loading-save-games/If you're still having issues with the saved games not loading, you may want to contact her via the page linked above.
Here's a link to a forum thread. In the second section there are many links to tips about saves and save folders etc.
Tips about Game Play and Saves
Crinrict user files Explained
Technical Help
It could be a number of things but usually it is mods.cc that cause the issues.
Your new game will be just that... a new game with none of your sims and houses in it. To get your made sims into your new game you would have to save them to your library and then place them into your new game. That's easily done but the newly placed sims will have no relationships with other sims. They will keep their jobs and skills as of the time of saving (in your old game) but will not save with their money or relationships to other sims other than within the same household download.
1. If i want the WHOLE game, with storylines, , households, friends, and everything. Like , where i last left the game i want to start there so everything Will be the same, BUT at another computer, how do i transfer the whole game as it is from the old computer to the new one and start where i last left it? So Nothing will change? Please tell me how do i do that?
2. And IF i do, will the game Only be playable on the new computer and deleted from the old one?
3. If one game is already running on another computer but i want (everything i Said above) at that computer too, Will the game that’s already in there be lost? Many questions and bad English but please respond
How to Transfer a Save file to Another Computer
2. In the Origin Menu, select Application Settings > Install & Saves tab
3. In the Game library location of this tab, you can change the location that the game gets installed.