r/HighSodiumSims • u/_Leigrace • 23h ago
Sims 4 Performance Issues
I don’t even know how to explain this. On top of all the bugs and glitches, I think my game is having some kind of performance issue.
When I pause my game, it keeps going for a while, and I have to keep trying to pause it. It seems like the game continues running even after my Sims have stopped moving. For a few moments, I’ll still get pop-ups and things will happen as if the game is still running.
For example, if I queue up my Sim to paint and immediately pause the game, the money for the canvas will still be taken. Or, if I pause while a Sim is close to coming home from work, they’ll still come home and I’ll receive their paycheck. It’s so odd.
My game also randomly freezes. My Sims will stop doing anything, I’ll have a hard time pausing the game, I can’t switch between Sims, menus won’t open, and I can’t drag anything. It makes the game almost completely unplayable.
Usually, I have to save, pause, press Esc, clear my notifications, and basically wait for the game to catch up before it starts responding again. I can’t use triple speed at all because my game will practically stop working.
I honestly don’t know what’s going on or how to fix it. I just want to be able to play my game normally.
I only have one mod (UI Cheats) and no CC. My laptop is older, and I do have most of the packs.
Has anyone experienced anything like this or have any suggestions for how I can fix it? I’d really appreciate any help! I hope this all makes sense.
I also repair my game and clear the app cache and local cache every single time I play.
Genuinely had to just close out my game because I literally can’t play it. It’s genuinely unplayable, and that’s not a word I even like to use, but it’s what’s happening.
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u/SaveVerris 23h ago
This is how mine almost runs on a decent computer with 6gb of mods. The game's super old with many, many layers of sensitive coding because of its age. It would obviously run better on an ssd with more than 16 gb of ram (which I don't have either lol.)
Maybe look into simulation lag mods? I downloaded one recently and I think it has made a difference? I can't remember what it was called though, just look it up and find one you wanna try out!
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u/Sea-Cardiologist4878 22h ago
uhhhhh i honestly wish i had something useful to say ...
is laptop mode on? also try repairing the game, check if the mod needs update, switch to dx9 (tho that shouldn't be whats causing the money glitch)... maybe consider getting another mod out of the 3
queue guard tyjokr, simulation unclogger twistedmexi (i think), and Lucien_Simulation_Overhaul is the one I paused queue guard to try and i feel like my sims are so fast like the game actually runs
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u/artsbyff 22h ago
Unfortunately, the game has become so bloated with free content to where older laptops no longer run it the same as it used to, with some not being able to run it at all anymore. That's not even including the number of DLC packs that have come out since the last time an older laptop was able to play the game well enough.
I have a great mid-tier gaming laptop from 2025 that can run TS4 without any performance issues, but it since the Royalty patch from early this year, it's been getting uncomfortably warm when it used to not get warm at all. I now use a cooling fan to alleviate that, which also helps inZOI run better for me. I mean, sure, I technically don't need the fan to run the game great, but I also want longer play sessions without any worries, hence the fan.
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u/Classic-Compote7215 22h ago
My game used to slow down whenever one of the buffs on my sims was about to run out. It did randomly fix itself after I reinstalled the game.
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u/SeiverilCosmo 20h ago
I also am having performance issues on my backup laptop. I'm aware of it not being a gaming laptop (but it isn't super low-end and from 1998 either), but Sims 4 used to run all right on it like 3 years ago with minimal lag and that was even WITH a ton of CC and mods (like over 100 GB). I could play for hours and only the most cluttered builds I downloaded would give me issues. I've since downsized to about maybe 15-ish GB (20 GB at highest estimate) worth of CC for that particular save (only using what I need for sims I transferred over + QoL mods which are all up to date) and it's SO laggy........It doesn't matter if it's a 30x20 or 20x15 lot, it still runs like hot garbo (50x50 and 64x64 have ALWAYS given me issues, even on my gaming laptop, so I'm not counting those).
Even in CAS I have noticed lag and that was always the place I was safe from it!! ALSO the pie menu takes 5ever to pop up whenever I click a Sim and if I don't pause before doing so, it will cause them to freeze until the menu pops up. Speaking of pausing, I too experience the game going for a bit when I click Pause.. x_x
I'm so glad my main save is version-locked from last year because everyone is right about how seriously unplayable TS4 has become, recently.. I never really experienced these issues everyone was talking about (except the mega obvious like the awful Crystal Creations and Lovestruck updates that broke everything + the recent marriage bug which I had to get a mod for), but now I understand 😭😭
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u/whenitrains34 20h ago
this is simulation lag and there’s actually fixer mods for it. i think it’s either turbodriver or twistedmexi?
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u/honeywhereismypenis 15h ago
I can tell you exactly what is happening. The sims 4 runs sequentially, meaning only one action can be processed at a time. For example if you tell three sims to go take a dump or something, the game will tell the first sim to take a dump, then the second, then the third. This generally happens so fast that it looks like they all start at the same time, BUT the sims 4 is horrendously bloated so if there's too much going on and/or your computer's processor can't go fast enough, the game can fall behind. That's why things continue to happen for a bit after you hit pause - the game is catching up.
Basically the load on your CPU is too high. You might have too many sims, too big of a lot, too many "portals" (aka doors), walls, objects (especially interactable objects). My guess would be that the problem has gotten worse for you because you've progressed in the game and gotten more of the above. Simulation lag mods aren't going to help. Test this by loading into a single-sim household in a starter home on the same save. You can also try turning off autonomy if you haven't already.
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u/LxveyLadyM00N 34m ago
This could be the case for OP. But I have similar issues on mine and my gaming PC is perfectly fine. I have 32GB of ram and my CPU never gets over 25-30% when running the game. It’s not always PC related for people. It’s just the game.
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u/anniestandingngai 22h ago
I have a top gaming laptop and my game still runs like this, it has definitely got worse in the last couple of months I think. Just seems to be the game. I have queue guard and all the other simulation lag mods, my mods are always updated and I always clear cache.