Patch Day Countdown: EA's Big Autonomy Fix and the Fix They Left Behind

Becca HartwellOkay, I need to say this out loud. I have pack fatigue.

Danny ReyesSul sul, and also what the heck, right?

Becca HartwellLike another kit, another stuff pack. My wallet is staging a protest.

Danny ReyesMotherlode energy would help, honestly.

Becca HartwellSeriously, I counted like six new kit notifications this month alone.

Danny ReyesSix? At some point, that's basically a subscription fee, not a game.

Becca HartwellThis is the Plumbob Report. I'm Becca.

Danny ReyesAnd I'm Danny. And okay, this week is different.

Becca HartwellWait, really?

Danny ReyesNo packs. No like $12 kitchen curtains. This week, EA is actually fixing stuff.

Becca HartwellA whole update just for fixes? That's wild, right?

Danny ReyesSeptember 22nd, mark it, circle it, whatever you do with calendars.

Becca HartwellI'm already picturing my Sims not walking into walls for once.

Danny ReyesSure, sure. The autonomy stuff is in there.

Becca HartwellWait, sure, sure? That's it? I want details, Danny.

Danny ReyesNot spoiling it yet. You'll get details in a hot second.

Becca HartwellBut-

Danny ReyesBut there's a whole other thing EA's been asking players about too.

Becca HartwellOoh, okay. Tell me.

Danny ReyesNot yet. That's later.

Becca HartwellCome on, just a hint?

Danny ReyesNope. Zero hints. My lips are sealed tighter than a Sim's fridge during a party.

Becca HartwellYou're doing this on purpose.

Danny ReyesAbsolutely I am, and honestly, there's a catch buried in this patch that people are not going to love.

Becca HartwellA catch. Great. Love a catch.

Danny ReyesYou say that now.

Becca HartwellI always say that. It's basically my whole personality at this point.

Danny ReyesIt's a very consistent personality.

Becca HartwellThank you. I cultivated it.

Danny ReyesWe'll get there. First, the actual patch notes.

Becca HartwellOkay, so PC and Mac players get first dibs, but consoles stuck waiting one extra day while EA runs some kind of verification pass.

Danny ReyesWait, why does console always get the short end?

Becca HartwellNo idea, but that's straight off EA's roadmap, so it's not a rumor.

Danny ReyesHonestly, it makes sense though, right? They don't want a broken save file situation on millions of consoles.

Becca HartwellTrue. One extra day of testing beats a week of bug reports and refund requests.

Danny ReyesFine. What about actual patch notes? Because "trust us" isn't a patch note.

Becca HartwellThose drop a few days before launch. EA's promising the full notes ahead of time.

Danny ReyesWhich translated means, "Here's your homework before the homework."

Becca HartwellBasically, and they're begging people to go upvote bugs on the forums before it ships.

Danny ReyesI love that they're crowdsourcing their own bug list. Like, "Hey, do our job for us, but for free."

Becca HartwellThat's every live service game ever, Danny.

Danny ReyesAt least they're asking nicely instead of just ignoring it.

Becca HartwellBlue bar, but sure, I'll take nice.

Danny ReyesFair. Okay, but the dev team actually showed up for once, right? I saw something about a Discord thing.

Becca HartwellYeah, The Sims team hosted a whole Q&A on Discord specifically walking through what's in this update.

Danny ReyesWait, a real Q&A? Not just a tweet thread pretending to be transparency?

Becca HartwellA real one. Sims Community wrote it up, and it's just them fielding feature questions live.

Danny ReyesHuh, that's actually kinda nice.

Becca HartwellIt's a nice change from just staring at a change log and guessing what half the bullet points mean.

Danny ReyesRight? Actual humans answering actual questions instead of just corporate speak.

Becca HartwellRight? And on the same day, they also dropped a fresh Laundry List.

Danny ReyesOh, the bug fix rundown?

Becca HartwellExactly. Sims Community's Laundry List post. Bug fixes and general improvements they're planning for this exact update.

Danny ReyesSo we've got the roadmap, the Discord Q&A, and the Laundry List all landing basically back to back.

Becca HartwellIt's a lot of communication for one week, that's for sure.

Danny ReyesIt's giving please believe us this time energy.

Becca HartwellA little, yeah. Guess we'll see when the patch actually lands.

Danny ReyesWhich is wild because, I mean, people have been screaming about broken autonomy since, what, forever?

Becca HartwellSince launch, basically. Sims falling asleep standing, routing through walls, all of it.

Danny ReyesAnd every patch we're like, "Is this the one?" And then it's a recolor of a chair.

Becca HartwellDon't remind me. I still have PTSD from the fixed pool ladders that weren't actually fixed.

Danny ReyesThe infamous pool ladder saga, a whole era we don't talk about enough.

Becca HartwellNot this time, apparently, or so they're telling us.

Danny ReyesSo is this actually EA listening or is it just really good PR timing?

Becca HartwellThat's the question hanging over the whole thing.

Danny ReyesBecause showing up on Discord is nice, but showing up on Discord and then shipping the fix are two different things.

Becca HartwellYeah. I want receipts, not vibes.

Danny ReyesSame. Show me the fix in the actual build.

Becca HartwellTotally. And speaking of are they actually listening-

Danny ReyesUh-oh

Becca Hartwell... there's a second thing going on right now that's testing that exact question.

Danny ReyesWait, what now?

Becca HartwellEA just put out a brand new survey, and it's not about bugs this time. It's about Create-A-Sim and Build Mode.

Danny ReyesHold on. They're asking us what we want built, like before they build it?

Becca HartwellThat's the pitch, yeah. Feels like a different flavor of the same are they listening question we just asked about the patch.

Danny ReyesOkay, now I need the actual questions on this thing. What are they asking?

Becca HartwellOkay, so EA didn't stop at the patch. Same week they dropped a brand new survey.

Danny ReyesWait, another one? What are they asking this time?

Becca HartwellSims Community picked it up. It's asking players which CAS and build and buy items they actually want more of.

Danny ReyesLike hair, furniture, windows shaped like cows?

Becca HartwellSure, if that's your thing. But yeah, it's open-ended. Categories, colors, styles, all of it.

Danny ReyesOkay, that's actually kinda nice. Direct line to the team.

Becca HartwellRight. And here's the part that matters. This is not the same thing as that other survey that leaked earlier this month.

Danny ReyesOh, the private one? The Maker Packs thing?

Becca HartwellYeah, that one was closed, invite only. Went to a small group about future Maker Packs. This one is public. Anyone can fill it out.

Danny ReyesSo there's two separate surveys floating around right now.

Becca HartwellTwo totally different projects, two totally different purposes. One's about Packs down the line. This one's just CAS and Build Buy stuff.

Danny ReyesGot it. And you said Sims Community had this. Did anyone else pick it up?

Becca HartwellYep, a nineties kid ran their own piece on it too. Totally separate write-up, and they land on the same thing. It's a quick survey focused specifically on future CAS and Build Buy items.

Danny ReyesSo two outlets, same read. That's not nothing.

Becca HartwellNo, it's not. It means this isn't some misread screenshot going around. It's a real live thing players can actually go fill out right now.

Danny ReyesOkay, but here's what I keep circling back to. We just spent ten minutes on the patch listening to players about bugs.

Becca HartwellRight.

Danny ReyesNow there's a survey basically asking players what CAS items they want.

Becca HartwellMhm.

Danny ReyesAnd that's EA actually building around what we tell them, or is it just a really nice-looking suggestion box?

Becca HartwellThat's the question, honestly, because a survey costs EA nothing to publish. The real test is whether anything from it shows up in an actual pack six months from now.

Danny ReyesRight. Like anyone can ask, "What do you want?" Doing something with the answer is the hard part.

Becca HartwellExactly. And so far we've got the patch notes promise, the Discord Q&A, the bug upvotes, and now this. That's a lot of tell us stuff.

Danny ReyesA lot of listening posture.

Becca HartwellSure. Let's call it that.

Danny ReyesOkay, so speaking of listening, I gotta bring something up because I went digging, and there's a thing EA has very much not answered.

Becca HartwellOoh, okay. Conspiracy voice, I'm listening.

Danny ReyesFor real. It's the one request I see more than literally anything else in the comments, and it is nowhere on this patch.

Becca HartwellWait, what is it?

Danny ReyesI'm not gonna say it yet. I want you to guess first.

Becca HartwellDanny, come on.

Danny ReyesNope. Next segment. Trust me, it's a big one.

Becca HartwellOh.

Danny ReyesOkay, so EA posted this whole forum thing about the quality of life roadmap, and it's got the usual autonomy stuff.

Becca HartwellLike what?

Danny ReyesSims picking the worst possible spot to do an action, staring at objects like they've got beef with the toaster.

Becca HartwellObject obsession, name of my memoir.

Danny ReyesRight. It's not just one thing either. It's the combination that gets you. Wrong spot, wrong time, wrong facial expression.

Becca HartwellTruly a master class in getting yelled at by your own game.

Danny ReyesRight? But buried in the replies on that same thread, somebody just goes off, "Full customizable family tree system."

Becca HartwellOh, here we go.

Danny ReyesThey're specifically asking for it to fix Sims vanishing out of the genealogy, broken family lines, the whole mess.

Becca HartwellThat's the thing people have wanted forever though.

Danny ReyesIt's not even a small ask, in fairness. Genealogy is like half the appeal for legacy players.

Becca HartwellRight. People build whole family trees spanning generations. Losing that mid-game is genuinely heartbreaking.

Danny ReyesForever. And it's sitting right there in the replies to EA's own post about what they're fixing.

Becca HartwellDid EA say anything back?

Danny ReyesNope, just sits there.

Becca HartwellUgh, classic.

Danny ReyesSo let's back up because this autonomy push didn't start last week. Back in March, there was a community manager, goes by Mindy, who opened a Discord and Reddit thread just asking players flat out which autonomous tasks fail the most.

Becca HartwellWait, that's where all this traces back to?

Danny ReyesThat's the origin point. Whatever's shipping now grew out of that thread.

Becca HartwellThat's kind of wild actually. Half a year of buildup just to get here?

Danny ReyesYeah, and it wasn't even a big flashy announcement back then, just a quiet ask in Discord.

Becca HartwellOkay, that's actually kind of cool. Like there's a paper trail.

Danny ReyesIt's rare, not gonna lie. Most studios just ship stuff and let you guess where it came from.

Becca HartwellExactly. So at least here we can point to an actual starting point.

Danny ReyesThere's a whole paper trail, and there's a piece out from the Sims Resource framing this as bigger than one patch. Like it's part of a year-long push. March had flirting fixes, phone use fixes.

Becca HartwellRight, the phone thing.

Danny ReyesAnd apparently dining and eating behavior stuff is already planned for later this year.

Becca HartwellSo there's a roadmap behind the roadmap?

Danny ReyesKinda, yeah.

Becca HartwellOkay, but if all this planning has been happening since March, how are Sims still this broken? Because I was on Steam yesterday. There's this whole discussion thread where players are just trading autonomy fail stories. Somebody posted that their Sim went swimming during a thunderstorm.

Danny ReyesOf course they did. Lightning's basically a dinner bell for Sims apparently.

Becca HartwellI mean, come on. That's a whole safety briefing they're ignoring.

Danny ReyesHonestly, the storm thing might be the most relatable autonomy fail I've heard all year.

Becca HartwellIt really captures the vibe. Zero risk assessment, maximum vibes.

Danny ReyesSo here's the actual gap though. You've got the March thread. You've got the roadmap post. You've got a community member directly asking for the family tree fix on EA's own forum.

Becca HartwellAnd nothing. No confirmation it's in the September patch.

Danny ReyesNothing. Not a yes, not a no.

Becca HartwellThat's kind of wild when you think about how long people have been asking for it.

Danny ReyesRight. And it's not buried either. It's like top of the thread every time.

Becca HartwellWhich makes it even weirder that nobody's addressed it directly.

Danny ReyesMonths, multiple threads, and it's the one thing that keeps coming back up every single time EA talks about fixing the game.

Becca HartwellAnd it's not like it's a niche request either. It shows up basically every time they open the floor for feedback.

Danny ReyesWhich makes the silence feel a little more pointed, honestly.

Becca HartwellDo we know if it's just not ready yet or if it's not even on the list?

Danny ReyesNobody knows. That's the frustrating part. There's no timeline, no maybe next time, just silence.

Becca HartwellSo we don't get to close this one out today.

Danny ReyesFeels like one of those things we'll be talking about again in another six episodes.

Becca HartwellProbably. Until then, it's just a very patient, very loud request sitting in a thread somewhere.

Danny ReyesNope. It's just hanging there.

Becca HartwellOkay. Honestly, I need a breather after that. Let's talk about something that's actually confirmed, actually happening, no waiting around.

Danny ReyesStuff that's landing this week?

Becca HartwellExactly that. Let's get into it. Okay, palate cleanser round two. EA dropped a new Gallery Showcase this week called the Rockridge Chronicles.

Danny ReyesOoh, back to school theme?

Becca HartwellExactly that. EA's post says it's got a full high school build, a whole auditorium build, and they aged up, well, aged down some of the iconic legacy Sims to teens for it.

Danny ReyesWait, they de-aged them? Like which Sims?

Becca HartwellThey didn't list names, just teased it as part of the collection.

Danny ReyesFair. Keeps a little mystery in it, I guess.

Becca HartwellOr they just don't want spoilers going around before people log in themselves.

Danny ReyesThat's still kind of adorable. Teen chaos incoming.

Becca HartwellKinda nice that it's not gated behind buying anything either.

Danny ReyesFree stuff that doesn't feel like a trap? Groundbreaking.

Becca HartwellRight? Free builds, no purchase needed. Just go grab them off the gallery.

Danny ReyesSpeaking of free stuff, well, not free, but cheaper, there's also a sale going on.

Becca HartwellOh yeah, the September sale. It's a big one.

Danny ReyesHow big?

Becca HartwellFifty-three packs discounted.

Danny ReyesOkay, that's actually a decent chunk of the library.

Becca HartwellRight? Worth checking even if you think you own everything already.

Danny ReyesOut of how many total?

Becca HartwellOne hundred and eight DLC items exist for this game right now, so we're talking almost half of the whole catalog on sale.

Danny ReyesThat's a lot of shelf space.

Becca HartwellKits are sitting this one out, though. They're excluded.

Danny ReyesClassic. The five dollar guys never get the discount.

Becca HartwellSomeday, kits. Someday you'll get your fifteen percent off too.

Danny ReyesNever hold your breath.

Becca HartwellNever do.

Danny ReyesOkay, pivoting genres for a second. Paralives is teasing stuff too.

Becca HartwellOh, what have they got?

Danny ReyesNew elementary school classes, apparently. And I'm reading this right, something murder related?

Becca HartwellWait, murder in Paralives?

Danny ReyesI know, right? Feels like a genre pivot nobody asked for.

Becca HartwellBold move for a game that's still building its school system.

Danny ReyesThat's what the tease says. And get this, this isn't even the big content update they've been building toward. This is just a smaller update before that.

Becca HartwellSo the actual expansion is still coming later, and this is just an appetizer.

Danny ReyesBasically. Theyre just dangling little bits to keep people fed.

Becca HartwellIts a smart way to keep the hype simmering without overcommitting.

Danny ReyesSure, as long as the big update actually shows up eventually.

Becca HartwellEveryones learned the EA trick of teasing in pieces, huh?

Danny ReyesIt works though. I click every time.

Becca HartwellOne more before we wrap this bit. Pokémon Pokopia.

Danny ReyesOh, the little life sim spinoff thing?

Becca HartwellYeah. Nintendo already showed in their trailer that the second wave of the Expansion Pass is going to be about Accessories for the Pokémon.

Danny ReyesAccessories? Like hats and stuff?

Becca HartwellI mean, if it works for Sims closets, itll work for Pokémon too.

Danny ReyesEverybody wants their little guy dressed up, apparently.

Becca HartwellSounds like it, yeah. Dress up energy for your Pokémon.

Danny ReyesEveryone's chasing the same dopamine now. Build a house, dress a creature, decorate a life.

Becca HartwellIt's genuinely a whole genre now, not just us.

Danny ReyesAnd honestly, that's good for The Sims too. Competition keeps EA a little more honest.

Becca HartwellCompetition's good, honestly. Keeps everybody sharpening their own game instead of coasting.

Danny ReyesAs long as we don't end up playing five different life sims just to keep up with all of it.

Becca HartwellA little. Look, the patch might still have gaps, the family tree thing's still up in the air, but there's real stuff on the calendar and a community that's still building around all of it.

Danny ReyesYeah. People are still showing up, still making things, still yelling at EA in the replies. That's not nothing.

Becca HartwellOkay, before we go full soppy on you-

Danny ReyesLet's land the plane.

Becca HartwellOkay, but I'm still stuck on the family tree thing. EA had months. Months. I know, I know.

Danny ReyesI just think if you're going to open a thread asking what's broken, you gotta expect people to answer honestly.

Becca HartwellSure, but answering honestly and shipping the fix are two very different timelines.

Danny ReyesGenealogy nerds have been begging in threads since spring, and the patch just skips it.

Becca HartwellFor now. Nothing's confirmed either way.

Danny ReyesMux gasp.

Becca HartwellThe audacity. Okay, dial it back.

Danny ReyesI'm just saying somebody at EA is reading these requests. They're just taking their sweet time answering.

Becca HartwellRight. And honestly, that's kind of the community in a nutshell. People keep asking, keep making mods to fill the gap themselves, and eventually stuff gets picked up.

Danny ReyesTrue. The mod scene's already halfway there anyway.

Becca HartwellHonestly, some of those mods are better documented than EA's actual Patch Notes.

Danny ReyesLow bar, but yeah, the modders earned that one.

Becca HartwellExactly. So even if EA is slow, the community isn't waiting around.

Danny ReyesNever has.

Becca HartwellIt's kind of the whole spirit of this show, honestly. Us complaining, then somebody in the community just fixing it themselves.

Danny ReyesTruly the circle of Sims life.

Becca HartwellAll right, before we go any further, you know what time it is.

Danny ReyesSubscribe if you haven't.

Becca HartwellLeave us a review. It actually helps people find the show.

Danny ReyesAnd tell us your Sims stories, weird glitches, dead spouses, whatever chaos your household's up to.

Becca HartwellPost it over at Plumbob Report. We read every single one.

Danny ReyesEvery single one, even the unhinged ones.

Becca HartwellEspecially the unhinged ones.

Danny ReyesFair.

Becca HartwellAll right, that's the episode. Thanks for hanging out with us.

Danny ReyesSee you next patch.

Becca HartwellSul sul.