UPDATE: The patch is out now. Read the full patch notes on The Sims 4 Snowy Escape update in November 2020 here.
The Sims 4 base game is getting another huge update in November, ahead of the release of the new Snowy Escape expansion pack. The deep dive live stream of the upcoming expansion took place on Friday and some details about the upcoming update were revealed.
The new Sims 4 expansion pack, Snowy Escape, will be released on 13 November 2020. As is always the case when DLC is released, there will be a free base game update that precedes the pack. And it’s quite an update.
Much like the expansion pack that came before it, Eco Lifestyle, this pre-expansion update is going to be a biggie. Because of that, there might be a few niggles when the game is updated.
The Eco Lifestyle patch caused a few games to crash and some players completely lost their save files when The Sims 4 was updated in June.
Sims 4 new base game update: What’s new in November
The two biggest changes (that we know of) that will come to the base game with the November 2020 Sims 4 update is the ability to build using platforms and a change to Simology called Lifestyles.
There will also be additional updates to in-game skin tones, with the biggest update coming in December.
These changes can cause problems for players who use custom content or mods. The patch that was released before the Star Wars Journey to Batuu game pack added the ability to stack windows on top of each other.
That broke every single CC window, door and arch. The issue even impacted some of EA’s own content.
Sims 4 November update release date and time
It has not been confirmed officially yet, but patches of this nature usually release a few days prior to the expansion pack. In this case, this can be either Tuesday or Wednesday prior to the release of Snowy Escape. A number of YouTubers have put the date as 10 November (Tuesday), though.
The November 2020 Sims 4 update patch will most likely release around 20:00 SAST (that’s 18:00 GMT and 10:00 PT). Remember, however, that this is subjects to change.
Patches always have an impact on mods and CC, but due to the vastness of this update, it’s extra important to take care. We?re going to assume if you are reading this, you are familiar with some of the basics like where to locate your mods and CC folders and so on.
There are a few things you can do to prepare for a big update, there’s a slightly longer version of this post over here (published prior to the Eco Lifestyle patch), but we’ll give you a quick TL:DR.
- Back up your Sims 4 save files and all your other files.
- Turn off automatic game updates.
- Start a ‘vanilla’ save that you can use after the update to slowly test whether everything is working.
- Remove your mods and CC folder before starting up your game after the update.
- Don’t add back any script mods until they have been confirmed as working or they have been updated.
- Slowly add back CC – unless you are 100% certain they have been reported as working or you have updated your files.
Remember to turn mods and CC on after The Sims 4 updates
If you?ve updated The Sims 4 and you aren?t seeing your mods or CC appear, make sure you have turned them back on. To do this, go to game options after you have loaded your game and check that script mods and custom content has been enabled. You can find those settings as indicated in the screenshot below.
After doing this, you?ll have to restart your game again.
If you still aren?t seeing your mods or CC, there might be a problem with them and you should contact the creators? support channels for assistance.