Fans and followers of G4TW!!
The following alternative installation format is inspired by guest contributor anadius's (former) work on G4TW, and partly also by a user suggesting that we re-surrect what used to be known on G4TW as the 'TS4 Update-Only Ultimate Fix'. The format is meant to simplify and reduce the number of necessary steps to patch your The Sims 4 game. In addition to that, there is now an option to add individual DLCs at your leisure!
Everything is in the 'usual' G4TW format of extract/copy/paste. Note that in case you still haven't grabbed 7-zip, you can do so for free here.
Who exactly should use this format? The main audience it is intended for, are the people who don't regularly keep up with The Sims 4. EA are not showing any sign of 'relenting', with regards to constantly releasing mini-DLCs for the game, and G4TW's regular format of TS4 repacks has become a nightmare to use. Yes, we have to concede that. Maybe not so much for the people who really show up here every time we release something new. But if people don't regularly keep up, they have to resort to doing the step-step-step procedure.
Not so anymore! The format will just have one (1) patch, that can be applied regardless of which patch version you are on. It will always bring you to the latest available patch version + the No-Origin fixes courtesy of the group CODEX, plus the 18 language strings. It will drastically simplify and reduce the overall number of steps people will need to go through. Also included is the dlc-toggler, that is created and maintained by anadius. All credits for that go to him, we merely add it here as a supplement to the format.
We have also decided to re-release the Legacy Edition Patch, to accommodate the fact that EA's initial release was bugged. Without further ado, please read the detailed installation text guide and/or view the example walkthrough on the video.
You can view the general 1.69.57.1020 patch notes here:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/984647/december-7th-2020-patch-notes
Installation guides.
Text Guide (.pdf format)(although the patch version says 1.61 & I never bothered 'updating' the text guide, the basic principle on how to install these items still applies).
Video Example Walkthrough - Global Patch (.mp4 format)
For users with a 64-bit Windows system
The Sims 4 - Basegame [FIXED] (vanilla basegame on patch version 1.0.732.20)
The Sims 4 - Global Patch [1.69.57.1020] (update patch for users with a 64-bit Windows, Snowy Escape follow-up patch)
The Sims 4 - DLC files [up to & incl. Snowy Escape] (folder with all available Sims 4 DLCs !!)
For users with a 32-bit Windows system
The Sims 4 - Basegame [FIXED] (vanilla basegame on patch version 1.0.732.20)
The Sims 4 - Legacy Patch [1.62.67.1520] (update patch for users with a 32-bit Windows)
The Sims 4 - Anadius dlc-toggler [up to Tiny Living Stuff] (Adverts-free supplement to the 'new format', all credits to anadius!)
The Sims 4 - DLC files [up to & incl. Nifty Knitting Stuff] (folder with all available Sims 4 DLCs !! Extra note: in 32-bit Windows systems, you can only play up to the DLC 'Realm of Magic'. DLC released after that such as University, Tiny Living & Eco Lifestyle do NOT work, even if you toggle them with the dlc-toggler)
Direct Downloads
Temporarily re-introduced! If you are having difficulties with downloading these, read the guide about how to import items to your own GoogleDrive account. Additional note~ we generally recommend using the above torrent/magnet solutions, in combination with a VPN. The direct downloads below are intended for those people who do not trust (commercial) VPN services and/or who cannot or do not want to afford VPN subscriptions.
However, as is the nature with direct downloads, they are prone to takedowns, despite our best efforts in 'countermeasures'. We have therefore decided to create individual download links for each individual component of this TS4 format. And yes, that unfortunately means people will have to go through the Linkvertise much more often, compared to using the torrenting/magnet solution above.
Those direct downloads are therefore best seen as a supplement and 'backup', to the torrenting solutions.
Quick update, if you notice that the links for the individual (GoogleDrive) downloads do not work, feel free to try the 'Global folder'. Issues with the safelinking.net and/or the Linkvertise do happen sometimes. Note that the STACK pages are going to get banned by not later than the beginning of February, 2021. If you eventually get to the STACK page, as long as it is online, and the download link does not react to your click, then bookmark the STACK-page URL and try later.
Individual downloads for basegame + global patch components:
The Sims 4 - Basegame [FIXED]
The Sims 4 - Global Patch [1.69.57.1020]
Global DLC-folder:
The Sims 4 - DLC files [up to & incl. Snowy Escape]
Additional comments.
use a paid VPN service such as ProtonVPN, NordVPN, Windscribe, VPN.ac, PureVPN, or comparable services when torrenting. Otherwise you may receive an 'ISP warning letter' and/or risk your internet being terminated completely.
the base game is 8.1 GB in download size, the Legacy Patch 6.3 GB, the Global Patch 7 GB, and the individual DLCs range between 150MB (stuffpack) and 2.5 GB (expansion).
Every time a new Global Patch (version) is released, you should use the dlc-toggler to activate the white DLC entries in there, and de-activate the red entries.
if you decide to grab the torrent folder with DLCs, you are able to 'select' which ones to download, in the torrent preview, when you load up the magnet link. If, however, you decide to reconsider and grab more DLCs later on, you would need to re-load the magnet into your torrent client. Make sure to copy the magnet URL (unless you really want to go again through the Linkvertise here), and then REMOVE your active torrent. Maybe some torrent clients don't need to do that, I don't know. But either way, you can then re-load the magnet and re-select DLCs. That DLC torrent folder will always remain the same, and we will only re-release the torrent when we have to add a newly-released DLC to it.
I don't care what anybody else might say, but I do not recommend applying the Global Patch - or the Legacy Patch - on top of a basegame on Origin. I'm aware of the trick involving multiple 'Game'-subfolders (Game-cracked, Game-Origin, etc), but unless you really know what you're doing (which most people won't) it's just going to invite problems down the road. Apply these patches only on cracked basegames of The Sims 4. And if you want to grab your Gallery items through a legit Sims 4 basegame, by all means. But make sure the Origin installation in a separate folder path, from your cracked game. 'But I don't have enough filespace for that!!!' Then free up some space on your hard-drive, damnit.
you will probably say 'this is actually a lot easier than the existing TS4 Must-Read guide!'. Well, yes and no. As said, it is mainly intended for the people who don't regularly keep up with the game. If, however, you are a regular follower of G4TW and you utilize this new format as your new go-to-Sims 4 patching method, then you will notice that the stuff you download is going to be (slightly) bigger, compared to the normal updates. This is because we always pack ALL of the files necessary to fully patch a Sims 4 base game. The central idea is that the Global Patch is to be applied regardless of what a user already has. But you also have to keep in mind, that from one patch version to the next, not all files change. That sounds complicated for most. But as a quick example, we always put all ClientDeltaBuild*.package files in the Global Patch. But from one patch version to the next, it is possible that only ClientDeltaBuild1.package, is updated. You get the gist, maybe.
I'll also give you this here. You know why we use the Linkvertise? I mean, apart from generating some revenue to pay for the hosting costs? I'll give you some hints. The Linkvertise also functions as a barrier, in certain ways. A psychological barrier for example, in the sense that the project will be seen as 'not so popular'. Most of you will perceive that as a disadvantage now, but try seeing it from our side as well! If something is not so popular, it also means it won't attract much heat. Which in turn will give us (I mean the G4TW team) some more breathing space, and it will enable you and your fellow G4TW users to enjoy these direct downloads for a longer time. At the cost of the slight inconvenience of having to go through the Linkvertise. And as a final note, it slightly improves our position from a legal standpoint, in that we 'don't even directly link to external filehosting platforms'. OK, the latter is more of a smokescreen than a real barrier I suppose, but you get the gist.
some people might very well perceive this now as an attempt by me to make the policy of running links through ads, look 'more acceptable'. That's fine, really. 'Freedom of Speech', and all that. But besides the very deliberate choice of words at the opening of this announcement (fans and followers of G4TW) and the fact that in the end I really don't care about clout and popularity, everybody has the choice of where they get their stuff from; nobody is forced to come to G4TW. And if the adverts-policy is something that you do not approve of, for whatever reason, you will not be appeased on here. It's as simple as that.
in theory it is possible to also use this format as a means of 'rolling back' to a previous patch version, provided that you actually have saved the previous patch version somewhere. Just delete your existing 'Game'-subfolder again, and then copy-paste an older version of the Global Patch, over your TS4 installation. Make sure to really REPLACE all of the existing files when prompted by Windows on what to do. Though in practice it's not going to have much relevance; most people who ask about 'rolling back' are concerned about mods/CC. If you decide to roll back, please ALSO go under DocumentsElectronic ArtsThe Sims 4, and delete your GameVersion.txt file.
the Global Patch will be re-uploaded every time there is a new CODEX-update available. The basegame and the Legacy Patch will remain the same now (future .exe files to the Legacy Patch will simply be added in the form of updated 'Game'-subfolders). If there is a new DLC, we will have to re-create the .torrent folder as well.
Guide last updated on 06-06-2020.