The latest expansion pack for The Sims 4 just arrived, and fans aren't exactly thrilled with a so-called "feature" included – one that sees hours of their hard work axed at the literal click of a button.
The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits is finally here, bringing some of the series' most nostalgic elements – like imaginary friends – and a plethora of new content to explore. Admittedly, it's a pretty fun expansion pack overall… there's just one issue. This issue isn't minor, either, as it can leave players lamenting over their lost work, and furthermore, it's an intentional feature surrounding the expansion pack's Getaways – outings fans can customize to their liking.
A few days ago, one player noted the problem on the official EA forums: "When I make a Getaway for one Sim and go to another household, open the calendar (just open it), save, and go back to the first household, the Getaway disappears." They add that they don't have any Sims 4 mods installed, so that can't be the reason… but as it turns out, the reason is that "this is the design" – Getaways are supposed to go bye-bye when you swap households.
Screenshots of the message that pops up when you try to prove as much, reading, "Switching to a different household will cancel any current or upcoming Getaways permanently." That's not exactly great news – especially when some players might spend ages planning and setting up a Getaway, only to swap without thinking and lose all their progress. Simmers are calling it out and warning fellow fans about it now, with threads taking off on forums like Reddit.
PSA: All Getaways permanently delete themselves whenever you switch households from r/thesims
"PSA: All Getaways permanently delete themselves whenever you switch households," one player cautions. "You can spend ages customising your Getaway and choosing the location, start and end time, and all the Sims you want to attend… Well, I hope you weren't planning on switching households. Ever. Because the moment you switch households, the Getaway gets wiped. Even if it's scheduled for the future and hasn't started yet."
They continue, saying this applies "even if you switch back to the original household that you planned the Getaway with, or which you already started playing the Getaway with, it is gone and it will not come back." Unsurprisingly, commenters aren't happy to hear it, with many questioning if it's a bug only to be told that no, it's "not a bug, it's a feature!" As one fan states in a response, "I think calling bugs features is going to be more common."
Another says it's indeed "not a bug, but a really crappy design choice" on EA's part, while a bewildered player asks, "This has got to be a bug, right?" Elsewhere, someone suggests that, "Maybe we should start reporting it as a bug" – and although I share in the sentiment, I'm not sure that would work. This feels like one of those situations in which a developer includes a feature that may or may not resonate with fans, but doesn't go on to change it.
Who knows, though – there's still hope Adventure Awaits may stand as one of the best Sims 4 expansion packs yet. It's certainly fun, and even if Getaways might disappear at the swap of a household, they're a blast to create and play.
