The May 12 update has arrived in The Sims 4, bringing not only a slew of fixes, but also some new content to check out. The Sims 4 continues its work on improving its quality-of-life gameplay to ensure a bug-free and polished experience for players. There’s also the new layer clothing feature to explore, along with some other free add-ons.
The update also brings with it the Lady Bridgerton Masquerade Ball Event, which is live until July 7, allowing players to earn free rewards simply through logging into their game.
With the patch notes detailing everything that’s been added or fixed, let’s go through them all.
New Content Added With May 12 Update
Let’s start by covering everything new that’s been added with the May 12 update for The Sims 4.
New Infant Playmat
With this update focusing on improving Infant and Toddler gameplay, a free item has been added to the base game to celebrate. The Infant Playmat was originally an exclusive item to The Sims 4 Growing Together Expansion Pack. Thanks to this update though, a new free Infant Playmat has been added to the base game of The Sims 4, so you no longer need to have Growing Together to use this object.
The Lil’Wiggle Playmat can be purchased from Build Mode under Kids’ Room > Infants and Toddlers.
Lil’Wiggle Playmat in Buy Mode.
Create-A-Sim Base Layers
If you’ve ever wanted to layer clothing in The Sims 4, namely tops and full body outfits, this new feature added in this update allows you to do just that. The Base Layers feature is new to The Sims 4 and available in Create-A-Sim.
Base Layers allow your Sims to wear visible undergarments like vests and tops under their usual tops and outfits. They work similarly to tights and leggings, which can be worn in conjunction with skirts, shorts, and shoes, or just on their own. Base Layers too can be worn without an overshirt, with other accessories such as neckwear and wristwear fitting over the top.
The base game adds 8 Base Layer options for Adults, 4 for Children, and 2 for Toddlers. They come in varying lengths, designs, and colors.
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- Masculine Adult Base Layers.
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- Feminine Adult Base Layers.
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- Child Base Layers.
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- Toddler Base Layers.
How to Layer Clothes in The Sims 4
Layering clothes in The Sims 4 is a quick and straightforward process. To access Base Layers and add them to your Sim, do the following.
- Enter Create-A-Sim and select your Sim to access the clothes and accessories.
- Select Accessories > Base Layers.
- Select a top from the list to have your Sim wear it.
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- In Create-A-Sim, select Accessories…
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- …then Base Layers at the bottom.
Day, Week, and Month Backup Saves
The Backup Save feature has been updated with this patch for The Sims 4. Previously, the last five sessions of your game were backed up. This was in case you experienced technical issues with your game, such as save game corruption, and could revert to a previous version of your save. This system still exists.
With this update, new ways of backing up your game has been added in. The Sims 4 now saves sessions from over a day, week, and month ago.
For full details on backing up saves in The Sims 4, make sure to read the instructions at the official blog.
Backup saves are useful for recovering games that have become corrupted.
All Bug Fixes With May 12 Update for The Sims 4
This update brings a whopping 150+ bug fixes to The Sims 4, focusing on Infant and Toddler gameplay, autonomy, and sleep. There are also bug fixes for the base game and packs. We’ve already covered some of the anticipated bug fixes in the last laundry list, but we’ll list them all here for your convenience.
Top 5 Fixes As Voted by the Community
The following fixes are the top 5 most voted for by The Sims 4 community.
- 6 individual fixes for the Black Photo issue consistently happening in The Sims 4. More information below.
- Sims should stop putting down Infants before picking them up.
- Sims will no longer get the annoying Secret Witness Sentiment when when a married/engaged Sim is seen WooHooing with their partner by another Sim.
- The “can’t place item” issue has been fixed for old and new saves.
- Sims should stop getting stuck with Scandals and their accompanying VFX. Applies to new and old saves.
All Black Photo Fixes
We’ll go into more detail over the fixes focusing on the notorious Black Photo issue in The Sims 4, as it’s quite complex and fixes specific issues players have reported having.
- Should no longer get Black Photo if photo is taken with filter, then another filter is applied after placement. Applies to old and new saves; however, old saves with already black photos cannot be restored.
- Custom Paintings (aka Paint From Reference) should no longer appear white and blank on the easel when created off-lot.
- Custom Paint From Reference paintings can now be correctly uploaded and downloaded via the Gallery without texture or system issues.
- All wall and tabletop photos should retain their data when uploaded and downloaded via the Gallery.
- Medium and Large photos taken with the in-game camera should no longer appear blurry. Does not fix blurry photos from old saves.
- Paint From Reference no longer turns white on easel when returning to lot after traveling. Partial fix; unfinished paintings can be successfully completed, but finished white paintings in Inventory will remain white.
The black photo issue is being rectified.
Infant and Toddler Gameplay Fixes
This update focuses largely on improving quality-of-life gameplay for Infants and Toddlers in The Sims 4.
- Sims are now more likely to place Infants on an available Playmat instead of the floor.
- New togglable option in Game Options to disable caregiver autonomy with Infants. More details below.
- Infants now get a buff and thought bubble when they are woken up by a loud noise, along with a one-off tutorial explaining this behavior.
- Infants can use the Attempt to Pull Stand interaction to get the Stand Up Milestone, with an improved tooltip for the greyed-out option.
- When choosing feeding preferences (bottle or breastfeeding), tooltip clarifies how these preferences work and affect gameplay.
Tooltips for infant feeding clarify how they work.
How to Disable Caregiver Autonomy
If you don’t want your Infant’s caregiver to keep automatically tending to their Needs, you can stop this by disabling caregiver autonomy in the game’s settings. Under Gameplay, you can toggle Disable Caregiver Autonomy for Infants. This means only you can manually take care of Infants.
Be very careful when disabling caregiver autonomy. If Infants are neglected, they may be taken away by the social worker. If you’re going to take care of Infants yourself, don’t forget about them!
The Check Infant interaction is still available even with autonomy disabled, if you want to check your Infant’s Needs.
Disable caregiver stops Sims autonomously taking care of Infants.
Infant Autonomy Improvements and Fixes
A lot of fixes and improvements specifically target autonomy with Infants in The Sims 4.
- With removing Infants from cribs, caregivers will now only do so to tend to key needs (such as diaper changing). Infants will also call caregivers over less when in cribs.
- The amount of times caregivers tend to Infant Needs has been reduced.
- Sims should no longer freeze when attempting to “Check Infant”, “Give Infant a Nap” or “Tummy Time” while the Infant is sleeping, crying, or being held by another Sim.
- Sims place Infants on the floor less often, including when handing over to another Sim. They’ll still adjust Infants for Tummy Time, as Infants cannot move independently.
- Infants should no longer get stuck between a Sim’s legs when “Hold Infant” is canceled during “Put Infant Down Here”. Still occurs when game is paused; fix being worked on.
- Sims can now autonomously give Infants a bath successfully.
- Infants will no longer automatically be taken out of the Baby Carrier after being put into one.
- Check Infant can be canceled if immediately next in a Sim’s queue, but not if another action is before it.
- When Infants’ Needs are low, their associated interactions such as feeding and diaper changing are first on the pie menu.
- Sims now clean up empty bottles on the ground. Infants also need feeding less often, their Hunger Need depleting more slowly, and they feed much faster.
- Sims now clean up freshly-removed diapers off the ground.
- Changing diapers at the table takes much less time than before.
- Taste Testing baby food at a high chair now satisfies Hunger better.
- The Rest Time moodlet is weaker, meaning Infants won’t crave naps as often and other moodlets can take priority.
- Care interactions on infant objects won’t happen while they’re sleeping.
- Milestones dependant on the Tummy Time interaction takes much less time to accomplish.
Caregivers should only remove Infants from cribs if they need to.
Other Infant Fixes
We’ll now cover the rest of the bug fixes directly linked to Infants.
- Butlers will now tidy up discarded diapers with their hands instead of vacuum cleaners (Bust the Dust Kit) and also clean up ash piles and cat fur (Cats & Dogs Expansion).
- Infant and Toddler Needs will stop decreasing when the active Sim is away at another lot.
- Toddlers should no longer be idle when hungry but having access to food.
- If an Infant is eating finger food but the action is canceled, it can now be resumed.
- Issue fixed where caregiver Sims stand next to empty Infant rug outside lot when switching between home and vacation Sims.
- Cause of Death selection UI disabled for Infants and Toddlers.
- Infants and Toddlers should be interactable after returning from daycare.
- Infants, Toddlers, and Children merged with other households after being taken away should be playable.
- While in a basement, “Practice Standing”, “Practice Crawling”, and “Tummy Time” should now be available.
- Infants no longer T-pose when switching between Accessories, Bottoms, and back to Accessories in Create-A-Sim.
- Toddlers can now successfully ask Teens or older to read to them.
- The “Be Read to By” interaction from Infants should now work on Toddler Books.
- Sims should stop resetting when attempting “Read to Children”.
- Also fixed issue with Sims attempting “Practice Standing” on Infant being held by another Sim.
- Typo fixed with Infant’s Angry Mood hovertip.
- Infants should stop getting “Controlled Emotions” moodlet when sleeping near fireplaces.
- The Holiday Tradition of receiving present from Father Winter now works with Toddlers when they Ask for Present.
- Should now get Maxed Movement Milestone after getting Level 5 Movement Skill, unless mods force level up from 1 to 5.
- Infant Milestones should stop disappearing when another playable household visits them.
- Infants can act on their own Milestone development process when away from home.
- Toddlers and Infants should now get First Time at Daycare Milestone.
- Infants should now get Milestone when going to daycare away from home lot.
- Infant Milestone notifications should stop duplicating when traveling away from home and back.
- The Fun Need should remain greyed out until unlocked with Sit Up Milestone.
- Infants no longer display “Inquire About Local Hauntings” interaction (Life & Death Expansion).
- Teens and older with Grouch trait can no longer spread rumors about others with Infants.
It doesn’t take as long to feed and change diapers now.
Sleeping Fixes
With sleeping being an ongoing issue for many in The Sims 4, this update addresses several fixes related to sleeping.
- Sims woken by a nearby TV or radio should now automatically switch them off before returning to sleep.
- The Nap interaction has a new tooltip to clarify that it simply boosts some Energy, not completely filling it even with a full nap.
- Exhausted Sims should stay in bed and sleep instead of getting up again just to collapse.
- The “Think About Partner” idle interaction no longer occurs for sleeping Sims. This previously prompted them to wake up.
- Sims should be able to sleep in the same double bed as each other, but only if relationship is high enough.
- An assigned bed with two assigned Sims should now show both Sims when hovering over it.
- A bed can now be assigned by a multitasking Sim.
- Sims can now Sleep and Cuddle in bed so they can sleep together. (Lovestruck Expansion)
- Canceling Cuddling doesn’t result in both Sims getting out of bed. They will now stay in bed, unless the action is canceled before either Sim is in bed.
A friendly reminder that napping only partially fulfils Energy.
Other Autonomy Fixes
More autonomy fixes are available for The Sims 4 base game, as well as one for the Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack.
- Sims should stop automatically drinking water.
- NPC Sims should also stop entering homes just to drink water. Doesn’t apply to saves with this issue already in action.
- Sims should now once dance autonomously once a day, including with METAL music (Nifty Knitting Stuff).
- Children should no longer be taken away if they’re not neglected. Doesn’t restore Children to households.
- Child Sims should now eat after traveling and when hungry, as well as when returning from restaurants.
- Jealous Sims should no longer get upset when their partner socializes with their children.
Sims’ obsession with water should stop now.
General Bug Fixes for The Sims 4 and Packs
The final part of the bug fixes focuses on general fixes applied to the base game and packs.
Base Game Fixes
- Packs disabled in EA App and Steam’s Properties menu no longer appear in the game.
- Photos taken by camera should no longer get stuck in Inventory when attempting to place on wall.
- Phone and camera photos should no longer get duplicated.
- Fixed issues with overlapping or missing information on Family Trees.
- Fixed issue where spouses could become related if sibling was created and then they both had a child together.
- Deformation issues fixed with certain clothing. Caused by body shape and gender not matching item’s original male body shape.
- When called, Police Officers should now show up.
- Stove hoods can now be replaced after a fire.
- Removed coffee drink in menus.
- Teens can now play chess at lots during Discovery Quests and Events.
Many issues with photos have been fixed.
Console Fixes
- Marketplace visitors using the virtual cursor input method on a controller would find the Right Stick would not scroll through the Marketplace without toggling input types. Right Stick will now scroll on the Marketplace in all input types.
- By scrolling through then back up in the Marketplace while using Virtual Cursor input type would force the game back into Snap Cursor input method. Scrolling Marketplace will no longer force you out of the input type you are using.
- For issue above that went back to the Main Menu would find that the controller was still navigating an invisible Marketplace making it impossible to navigate the Main Menu without restarting the game. Main Menu navigation works again, and restart game isn’t needed.
- While using a controller, players who uploaded their creations to or deleted their creations from the Gallery would find the controller focused on the Main Menu instead of the Gallery. This should no longer happen and the details panel can be closed as usual.
- Issue fixed where the Confirmation button was missing from Schedule Preset UI when using a Keyboard and Mouse on Xbox (Adventure Awaits).
Gallery Fixes
- Gallery uploads should get less timeouts.
- “My Favorites” should now load all favorites.
- Default sort order reassigned to New instead of Most Popular.
A few tweaks to the Gallery have been made.
Pack Fixes
- Can participate in Hackathon again at GeekCon festival (City Living).
- A uniquely dressed walkby Sim in San Myshuno is now labelled “Local Weirdo” to clarify that strange garb is intentional (City Living).
- Family Dynamic relationships greyed out for pets in Create-A-Sim (Cats & Dogs).
- Hair and makeup will now properly change when using salon chair after skin tone change (Get Famous).
- Sim’s portrait won’t distort after Sunbathing nude or in swimsuit (Island Living).
- Hens and Chickens no longer randomly disappear (Cottage Living).
- Teens aging up into Young Adults should now lose their acne (High School Years).
- Selling price of nectar in Inventory now shows actual selling price (Horse Ranch).
- Nectar bottles at food stands should now show correct price (Horse Ranch).
- Should no longer get blocked by certain objects for Watch Sky/Stars action. Also should now only do interaction with compatible Sims (Lovestruck).
- Fixed an issue where household items could remain on a lot after moving if the lot type had been changed to Rental and back. Items now correctly move to inventory on Residential lots (unless selling furniture), while items on Residential Rental lots remain unless manually moved. Applies to all container items and their contents (For Rent).
- Children can now attend Grief Counseling (Life & Death).
- Facial features should match between Sim and Fairy (Enchanted by Nature).
- Fairies should now show wings in portrait (Enchanted by Nature).
- Wings reappear after Fairy puts away book (Enchanted by Nature).
- Sims with Danger Kid trait should no longer get Bladder thought bubbles when Bladder is fine (Adventure Awaits).
- Dynasty Heads should stop getting Poor Leadership Sentiment after closing Dynasty panel if nothing has been altered (Royalty & Legacy).
- Pre-made Dynasty offsprings should now appear in Dynasty (Royalty & Legacy).
- Babies should no longer be born as “secret” after recent patch. Doesn’t fix all instances or it will affect all secret babies (Royalty & Legacy).
- Sims with Scholarly Dynasty Ideal no longer cancel reading books (Royalty & Legacy).
- Sims should wear assigned attire to Grand Ball events (Royalty & Legacy).
- Mask option no longer disabled when entering Create-A-Sim during Grand Ball (Royalty & Legacy).
- Mask UI icon for Grand Ball fixed (Royalty & Legacy).
- Fixed exception code for scandals based on issue with age groups (Royalty & Legacy).
- Household items should appear after moving house with Keep Furniture option (Tiny Living Stuff).
- Horses and Cats no longer unlock Special Touch Family Recipe when sick (Cats & Dogs/Horse Ranch).
The Hackathon’s back!
Tagging, Text, and Thumbnail Issues
A bunch of issues across The Sims 4 base game and packs have been addressed regarding tagging, text, and thumbnail issues. For full details, see the patch notes.
- Male Child Sims wear boxers in Create-A-Sim by default instead of feminine-style underwear.
- All Everyday Jewelry added to Hot and Cold Weather categories.
- Aloe Vera Plant now costs 30 Simoleons instead of being free.
- Woodland Lodge Bath and The Cabin Shower from Adventure Awaits is now available Off-the-Grid.
- Crabby Bottom Armadillo Yellow and Wacky Wonderful Carnival Sock Alien objects from StrangerVille have been moved to the Kid’s Decoration Category in Build Mode.
- Woody’s Wallpaper wall pattern from Refined Living Room is now categorized under Paneling in Build Mode.
- Prairie Dreams Create a Sim outfit swatches will no longer appear more darkened than intended in the thumbnail.
- Various wall patterns updated to sort under purple.
- More Hot and Cold shorts and skirts added.
- 45 doors updated to have Style tags for sorting.
The Aloe Vera Plant is no longer free.
Conclusion (Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ball Event and Kits)
That rounds up all the patch details for the May 12 update in The Sims 4. Make sure to check out Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ball Event, where you can unlock regal rewards simply by logging into your game every week.
Also, look out for the two Kits releasing on May 14: The Sims 4 Lady Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ballroom Kit and Ball Fashion Kit. You can also get these two Kits in a bundle, which includes three exclusive bonus items.
