Sims 4 Mod Conflict Detector

A Python desktop tool for diagnosing, scanning, and managing large Sims 4 mod collections. Built to solve a real problem: when you have 28,000+ mod files, finding what's broken, conflicting, or outdated manually is nearly impossible.

This tool automates the entire process using binary-level analysis of EA's proprietary DBPF file format.

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What it does

• DBPF binary parsing — reads .package files at the binary level using EA's proprietary format to extract resource entries (Type/Group/Instance keys)
• TGI conflict detection — identifies mods that override the same game resource, which causes unpredictable behavior
• Version detection — reads actual version strings from inside .ts4script files (which are ZIP archives) and compares against known safe versions for major mods
• Duplicate & integrity checks — SHA-256 hash verification across the entire mod library to find corrupted or duplicate files
• LOD/GEOM mesh analysis — detects high-polygon mesh mods that hurt game performance
• Merged package breakdown — for packages over 100MB, generates a full resource table with CAS counts, texture sizes, and optimization suggestions
• Exception log analysis — parses Better Exceptions and MCCC log files to correlate crash data with specific mods
• Freeze isolator — binary search tool that narrows down which mod is causing loading screen crashes without manual 50/50 testing
• Excel cleanup report — auto-generates a formatted .xlsx checklist after every scan with actionable removal/update recommendations

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Technical stack

• Language: Python 3.10+
• File format: DBPF (Database Packed File) — binary parsing using struct and zlib
• Script mod reading: .ts4script files parsed as ZIP archives to extract embedded Python version strings
• Parallel processing: multiprocessing.Pool with cpu_count() for scanning large collections
• GUI: tkinter (built-in) — no additional dependencies required for basic use
• Reporting: openpyxl for Excel output, csv for portable export
• Progress display: tqdm with graceful fallback if not installed

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Files

File	Purpose
mod_detector_v6.py	Main application — scanner, parser, GUI, and report generator
sims4_freeze_finder.py	Binary search isolator for crash/freeze diagnosis
FULL_SCAN.bat	One-click full scan launcher (Windows)
QUICK_SCAN.bat	Fast scan — integrity, duplicates, outdated (no DBPF parsing)
FULL_SCAN_WITH_LOG.bat	Full scan + drag-and-drop exception log analysis
FULL_SCAN_WITH_ALL.bat	Full scan + exception log + Scarlet Mod Checker CSV cross-reference
MERGED_ANALYSIS.bat	Deep breakdown of large merged package files
VERSION_CHECK.bat	Standalone version check against known safe mod versions
GUI_LAUNCH.bat	Launch the tkinter GUI
UPDATE_DATABASE.bat	Update the local broken mod hash database

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Setup

Requirements: Python 3.10+ — download here

During install, check "Add Python to PATH"

Optional dependencies:

pip install tqdm      # progress bars
pip install openpyxl  # Excel report generation

Usage:

1. Place all files in the same folder
2. Double-click any .bat file to run the corresponding scan
3. Or use the GUI: double-click GUI_LAUNCH.bat

CLI:

# Full scan with parallel processing
python mod_detector_v6.py --mods "C:/Users/YourName/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Mods" --full --parallel

# Full scan with exception log analysis
python mod_detector_v6.py --mods "path/to/Mods" --full --parallel --log "better_exceptions_log.txt"

# Merged package analysis only
python mod_detector_v6.py --mods "path/to/Mods" --analyze-merged --merged-threshold 50

# Launch GUI
python mod_detector_v6.py --gui

Custom Mods path — if your Mods folder is not in the default location, edit the MODS_PATH line in any .bat file:

set "MODS_PATH=D:\Games\The Sims 4\Mods"

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Scan modes

Mode	What it checks	Typical time (28K mods)
Quick scan	Integrity, duplicates, outdated, broken, performance flags	3–5 min
Full scan	Everything: DBPF parsing, TGI conflicts, LOD analysis, version detection, merged breakdown	15–25 min
Merged analysis	Resource table for packages over threshold size	5–10 min
Version check	Reads version strings from .ts4script and .package files	1–2 min

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Why this exists

The Sims 4 modding community is technically sophisticated — mods are distributed as DBPF binary packages or Python script archives, and a large modded installation easily reaches 28,000+ files. When the game breaks, EA provides no diagnostic tooling. The existing community tools (BetterExceptions, Scarlet Mod Checker) are valuable but limited — they tell you something is wrong, not what or why.

This tool was built to fill that gap: a local, offline diagnostic suite that reads the actual binary data, understands the file format, and gives actionable answers instead of just a list of suspects.

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Version history

• v8.0 — Full rewrite: DBPF binary parser, TGI conflict engine, Scarlet Mod Checker CSV integration, WickedWhims false positive fix, MCCC folder version detection
• v6.2 — Script mod version detection, merged package breakdown, Better Exceptions log parser
• Earlier versions — basic duplicate detection and integrity checking

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Built by Meca Dismukes · github.com/Mecapixel