Glitches

"Bugs" redirects here. For the activity, see Bug collecting.

Glitches

The infamous Save game error glitch occurring after installing World Adventures before it was patched out.

Glitches (or bugs) are errors in a game that cause unexpected problems or behavior.

Tip: There's already A LOT of info on glitches, how to fix, how to report them and more on EA's Possible Bugs forum and Answers HQ. The Sims Wiki recommend that you check there first.

Causes

File:Glitchy Sim

A video showing a Sim full of glitches.

Glitches in The Sims series can be caused by any of the following:

• Programming errors and/or oversights in the game itself.
• Changes caused by a patch.
• Use of some cheats (notoriously Testingcheatsenabled and Moveobjects on).
• Improper installation of official game updates/patches.
• Bad mods.
• Bad CC.
• Hardware and driver problems: A malfunctioning computer component, a computer that does not meet minimum game requirements or even driver issues.
• Game/neighborhood corruption. (The Sims 2 only)

If your game will not start after installation of a new SP or EP, or you are having problems updating your game after installation of a new EP or SP, follow this link Instructions for Cummulative Manual Update from The Sims 3 official site to get help updating your game.

Severity

Many glitches are so minor that they can be ignored, even if they occur often. Some glitches, while they do not corrupt any game data, may make the game partially or completely unplayable. Examples of these include graphical errors that cause the game to not render or display correctly. The most severe glitches may corrupt saved game data or cause a CTD (Crash To Desktop). Severe glitches also include Save game errors; bugs that can prevent a game from being saved.

Below is a list of how The Sims Wiki classifies glitches for use on this page:

Severity	Examples
	Corrupting saved games, unable to save & CTD's.
	Glitches requiring quitting without saving, unable to progress in opportunity, adventure or career.
	Avoidable features not working, causing game lag, minor annoyances.
	Graphical abnormalities, no impact on gameplay.

Warning: If you want to add a glitch please go to the talk page and see if someone has already reported it. If multiple people are experiencing the same bug it can be added to the lists. Referencing at least one website which reports this glitch is a must.

Glitches

Please note that glitches are sorted by severity first and expansion pack/patch notes second.

The Sims 3

Confirmed The Sims 3 Glitches

Severity	Info	Notes
	Create a World is unable to start and crashes.	Patch 12
	Unable to use CAW after Ambitions and Patch 12. EA has confirmed the bug. Temporary fix: Uninstall The Sims 3 and re-install The Sims 3 and Create a World, but do NOT install Patch 12. Fix: Download Patch 14 and then a new Create a World patch.
	Unable to open tomb door or loot adventure item.	Patch 5
	This can happen if you go too far into a tomb or teleport there without having the appropriate adventure. Note: It is unlikely that this will be fixed by official patches. Fix: AwesomeMod fixes similar issues, but if you are already experiencing the bug there is a guide in the references.
	Unable to capture certain motives with the Photography skill.	Patch 5
	The 'Town Theatre' and the Riverview spa and school were impossible to capture, but EA fixed that in Patch 9. Motives which continue to be uncaptureable are the Dropa Stone relic collection. Fix: Follow the link for a mod which fixes this glitch.
	A corrupt package file infects The Exchange and causes game to slow.	N/A
	Unable to open Consignment store buy menu.	Patch 12
	The game is supposed to return items to you which haven't been sold within 5 days, but it does not work. Instead the items start counting down into the minusses, preventing you from opening the buy menu. Temporary fix: This can be fixed temporarily by cancelling your consignments. You will need to repeat this step every 5 days.
	Unable to excavate since Ambitions	Patch 12
	People with Ambitions cannot excavate if the site is on a slope, the terrain has to be completely flat.
	Cemetery ghosts behave differently since Ambitions.	Patch 12
	Since Ambitions, ghosts appear to rise from their graves and then drive off in cars. This is possibly related to the new Ghost Hunter career.
	Challenges and wishes with numbers reset when going on vacation.	Patch 5
	Some challenges and wishes which require a number of items or tasks to be done have been known to reset when going on vacation. Most notably the 'Vizard of Vine' challenge in Nectar Making.
	Cursor hand grabs something and cannot let go.	N/A
	The player hand would sometimes get stuck holding an object, unable to let go. Temporary fix: Exiting to main menu and reload your saved game seems to clear it. Switching between game modes does not. Note: This may have been fixed in recent patches 11 or 12 .
	The neighborhood is red	N/A
	The entire neighborhood (or part of it) is bright red. Fix: There are five things that are known to have caused this: outdated graphics drivers, unsupported graphics hardware, The Sims 3 Mod Manager, an old or corrupt Resource.cfg file, or a corrupt savegame or game installation. First, check to see if you have the Mod Manager. If you do, uninstall it. If the problem still is not solved, delete the file Resource.cfg from your TS3 install directory (default is C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3). Failing this, update your graphics drivers to the latest version. Next, try reinstalling your game, and if the neighborhood is still red, delete some (or all) of your save games from C:\Users\*your username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\Saves and then adding them back one by one until the problem recurs. If that does not fix it, then the game is incompatible with your graphics setup.

Old/Fixed The Sims 3 Glitches

Severity	Info	Notes
	Save game error in World Adventures	Patch 5
	Save game errors 12, 13 & 16 which prevents games from saving in The Sims 3. This was introduced in World Adventures. Fix: Patch 7 was released to fix this problem and Patch 8 introduced a recovery prompt for already corrupted games.
	'A Great Lecture' moodlet has no icon.	Patch 12
	The moodlet has no icon and is an empty frame. Fix: Install Patch 14.
	"Try for Baby" with the Grim Reaper results in pitch black children	Patch 2
	The 'Try for Baby' interaction was available with the Grim Reaper in the base game and produced children with a pitch black skin color. Fix: The interaction was made unavailable in Patch 2.

The Sims 2

Sims 2 glitches.
Severity	Glitch	Game	Description	References
	Sim's face is replaced with flashing blue light		Changing appearance from mirror can fix this glitch.
	Class performance bar does not open fully even when Sim has all required skills.		A young adult's class performance may not open fully even if he or she has all the required skills for that semester. What to do: If the Sim is sent to a community lot, the bar will usually open up while he or she is there. The glitch will often resolve itself when the Sim moves onto another lot.
	Drama professors keep losing best friends memories every time they interact with non-best friend Sims.		Drama professors will always have 100/100 romantic relationship with everyone they know, causing them to always use autonomous romantic interaction and lose best friends memories.

Old/Fixed Sims 2 glitches.
Severity	Glitch	Game	Patch	Description	References
	Sim becomes stuck in the Eclectic and Enigmatic Energizer with Seasons installed.		1.7.0.158	With Seasons installed, a Sim may become stuck when using the Eclectic and Enigmatic Energizer. Fix: This was fixed in the subsequent Seasons patch.
	Can not move Dream Date object rewards		1.16.0 [confirmation needed]	Dream Date objects and genie lamp could not be moved since they are placed outside the apartment. Fix: This was fixed in the Apartment Life patch.
	Sims would continuously go to the window to check the weather.		1.7.0.158	They would even queue up multiple actions of doing so. A user-created mod was made in order to fix this behaviour. AntiWeatherReaction at More Awesome Than You. Fix: This was fixed in the subsequent Seasons patch.
	Patricia Wan would be connected to the Ottomas family		1.7.0.158	Fix: Download The Sims 2: Seasons/patch

The Sims

There is a glitch which can cause the maid to get stuck in the shower while cleaning it.

Shower/tubs from Vacation and Unleashed can get stuck in a dirty state.

If someone bulldozes every house in a neighborhood, there may be save game errors and promotion (or job) stalling.

Building a certain, unusual kind of house may (or will) lead to all computer-generated artificial intelligence to grind to a halt, even if Free Will is turned on.^{[confirmation needed]}

For an unknown reason, all Sims living in a neighborhood may be "wiped out," quite literally. Although the empty houses will still have objects inside, there will be no signs of life left (unless one creates more Sims). However, tombstones will spawn family members of families in the Family Bin instead of actual ghosts at night.^{[confirmation needed]}

Sometimes, the rake may stick to a Sim's hand after gardening and follow him/her along all daily activities. Exiting to the neighborhoods may fix this, or you can evict that Sim and move he/she to new residential lot. However, if you save the game after the rake stuck, you may only evict him/her.

It seems that hiring the Butler and having Servo in your house may cause the Gardener to become immobile as soon as she appears on the sidewalk. The Gardener usually becomes static for a period of time before leaving.

This section is in need of additional information. You can help The Sims Wiki by expanding this section.

See also

• Talk:Glitches
• Patch notes
• Crash To Desktop
• Category:Glitches
• Category:Glitchy Sims
• Bad Mood glitch
• List of glitches (The Sims 3 era)

External links

• Possible Bugs at TheSims3.com forum. ← Use this link!
• A list of unofficial bugs and issues with The Sims 3 at TheSims3.com forum.
• External Ambitions links:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krUKQSqM3QA
  • Ambition bug thead at TheSims3.com forum.
  • Ambitions: What's borked at MATY forum.
  • Issues after installing Ambitions or patching to 1.12 / 2.7 / 3.3? Try these fixes! at ModTheSims forum.
  • Generations Bug Thread at The Sims 3 forum.