Purchased Sims 4 base game and Outdoor Retreat not working

by Guest Mon 16 Feb 2015, 13:31

Hi, I'm having serious problems with my game and after hours and hours spent with at least 6 different EA customer support agents, I've just about had it.

I purchased the Sims 4 on release and have been playing it ever since, without any issues. About 3 days ago, I decided to buy the Outdoor Retreat pack, because I felt like playing.
At first I couldn't access Origin, due to an error saying "Origin online Login is currently Unavailable". After that setback, I finally managed to log in, I purchased the new pack, installed it and sat down for some game time.
Or not.
Ever since I installed that pack, my game simply won't start. I get a black screen and, literally, 2 seconds after launching, the game just becomes unresponsive. Just straight up "This program is not responding. Wait for response or Cancel."
I contacted support and then spent my entire weekend on chat with them, trying to fix this mess.
I ran as admin, deleted caches, deleted temp files, cleaned my registry, did clean boots, uninstalled the game through registry three times, I even set up a new account on my computer and tried it there. I've started in safe mode, I've sent DXdiag and UOTrace reports and even considered selling my first born. My ticket got escalated to their specialists, but I would like to be able to play this year, if at all possible. A friend recommended I try these forums, because, his words "if EA breaks it, they can fix it."
I tried the Ultimate fix, but I'm guessing it only works with the download from this site? It didn't work for me, in any case.

So yeah, I'm pretty desperate and if anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

by **The_gh0stm4n** Mon 16 Feb 2015, 19:30

CheshireCat506 wrote:Hi, I'm having serious problems with my game and after hours and hours spent with at least 6 different EA customer support agents, I've just about had it.

I purchased the Sims 4 on release and have been playing it ever since, without any issues. About 3 days ago, I decided to buy the Outdoor Retreat pack, because I felt like playing.
At first I couldn't access Origin, due to an error saying "Origin online Login is currently Unavailable". After that setback, I finally managed to log in, I purchased the new pack, installed it and sat down for some game time.
Or not.
Ever since I installed that pack, my game simply won't start. I get a black screen and, literally, 2 seconds after launching, the game just becomes unresponsive. Just straight up "This program is not responding. Wait for response or Cancel."
I contacted support and then spent my entire weekend on chat with them, trying to fix this mess.
I ran as admin, deleted caches, deleted temp files, cleaned my registry, did clean boots, uninstalled the game through registry three times, I even set up a new account on my computer and tried it there. I've started in safe mode, I've sent DXdiag and UOTrace reports and even considered selling my first born. My ticket got escalated to their specialists, but I would like to be able to play this year, if at all possible. A friend recommended I try these forums, because, his words "if EA breaks it, they can fix it."
I tried the Ultimate fix, but I'm guessing it only works with the download from this site? It didn't work for me, in any case.

So yeah, I'm pretty desperate and if anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

Hello and welcome to the forum, Smile

When you right-click on your Sims 4 game in the Origin library, is there something like "repair game" ? Have you tried that option already ? If not, try it and see if it improves anything.

As a personal note, in terms of technicals, the "Origin"-client is ultra-embarassing; I myself am having issues on a regular basis, with my legit games on Origin. And EA can neither manage to get a grip on that, nor give proper support on issues.

And yes, personally, I would only recommned using the Ultimate fix on our pirated release. Theoretically, it can work on legit games too, but I wouldn't do it honestly.

by Guest Mon 16 Feb 2015, 19:53

Hi and thanks for your reply!

I have tried the repair game option but it didn't work. I also tried running just the base game without the Outdoor Retreat pack and even that doesn't work anymore.

I don't like pirating games, but looks like EA is leaving me no choice.
I'll keep working with her to see if I can find a fix. If something does work, I'll update this topic for any people who might experience the same thing in the future.
Until then, any other solutions you might have are more than welcome!

by **The_gh0stm4n** Mon 16 Feb 2015, 20:00

CheshireCat506 wrote:Hi and thanks for your reply!

I have tried the repair game option but it didn't work. I also tried running just the base game without the Outdoor Retreat pack and even that doesn't work anymore.

I don't like pirating games, but looks like EA is leaving me no choice.
I'll keep working with her to see if I can find a fix. If something does work, I'll update this topic for any people who might experience the same thing in the future.
Until then, any other solutions you might have are more than welcome!

I assume you fulfill the system requirements to run the game (properly) ? Look here in case of doubt:
http://help.ea.com/en/article/the-sims-4-system-requirements/

Beyond that, you could try un-installing and re-downloading the game(s), but I'm not sure if that can help in your case. Besides, it's going to take time anyway until you finished downloading 8+ GB, even with a faster internet connection.

I'm afraid I'm out of any other explanations then. WhatDidUJustCallMe?

by Guest Mon 16 Feb 2015, 20:03

Yep, have all the requirements and have already uninstalled and re-downloaded the game about a good 5 times now. I'm really happy we don't have a download limit anymore.
Thanks for your help, anyway! Like I said, I'll be back with a fix, if I ever get one.

by **The_gh0stm4n** Wed 18 Feb 2015, 19:43

CheshireCat506 wrote:Yep, have all the requirements and have already uninstalled and re-downloaded the game about a good 5 times now. I'm really happy we don't have a download limit anymore.
Thanks for your help, anyway! Like I said, I'll be back with a fix, if I ever get one.

One other thought: do you have ALL available Windows updates downloaded ? Especially any .NET framework or Microsoft Visual C++ updates.

by Guest Fri 20 Feb 2015, 11:20

It's actually working again!
Somewhere between the last clean boot, installing just the base game and starting it in windows 7 compatibility mode, something must have worked. No idea what though :-s

by **The_gh0stm4n** Sun 22 Feb 2015, 20:17

CheshireCat506 wrote:It's actually working again!
Somewhere between the last clean boot, installing just the base game and starting it in windows 7 compatibility mode, something must have worked. No idea what though :-s

Are you running Windows 8 ? If so, that would be another reason to stick with Windows 7. Haters gonna hate

But it's good to hear that it's working again, almost by means of "magic".

Domyou have any other questions for now or can I close the thread ? Smile

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