TwistedMexi
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Better BuildBuy v4.0: Swatch Tray Update RC1
🕑 Added 2025-06-25 18:39:10 +0000 UTCBetter BuildBuy v4.0 introduces the Swatch Tray feature, a slide-out tray that sits on the left side of your screen. When you select an object that has swatches to pick from, this tray will appear and display the full thumbnail of every swatch for that object. You can select the swatch you'd like from this tray and place it.
This option is on by default but can be disabled in the Construction Center or by clicking the settings gear icon at the top right of the tray.
The tray settings also offers two additional options.
Keep Open on Placement - Off by default. This will keep your last set of swatches visible even after you finish placing the object. Useful if you plan to place many different variations of the same object.
Show Info - On by default. This toggles the Info Panel that pops up when you hover over an item in the swatch tray.
V4.0
Swatch Tray added
Construction Center updated for Swatch Tray toggle.
Swatch Tray settings menu implemented.
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
YOU MUST REFRESH YOUR ORGANIZED DEBUG
REFRESH STEPS:
1. TURN IT OFF, RESTART GAME.
2. TURN IT ON, RESTART GAME.
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ====PREVIOUS UPDATES====
V3.4.2Updated compatibility for the 5/27/25 Patch
Placeholder button for Swatch Tray added to Construction Center
Catalog refreshed to fix an issue with ghost essences.
Italian and Swedish translations added
====================================
v3.4 - Business and Hobbies Updates
Updated for compatibility with Business and Hobbies Patch
Updated Organized Debug for Business and Hobbies items.
I've added a CC Report feature for easily sharing and assessing your CC builds. This is accessed via a new Construction Center button, which will grow with time to become your main point of access for Better BuildBuy's future settings, features, and help guides. Favorites have also received an improvement in behavior.
Added a Construction Center button to the filter panel. This will become the main hub for future Better BuildBuy features and options.
Added a CC Report option to the Construction Center menu, which will generate a list of all CC packages used in your current build.
The CC Report will open in your browser, and has an "Export Spreadsheet" option at the bottom, where you can add a column for links to the creators' CC pages.
Enhanced the favorites system so that favoriting a swatch variant won't require you to have that color selected in the filters in order to see the favorite. This was causing some players to mistakenly think the favorite hadn't been saved.
Color filters can still be used in favorites view to exclusively filter to the selected colors.
===GENERAL INFO===
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
YOU MUST REFRESH YOUR ORGANIZED DEBUG
REFRESH STEPS:
1. TURN IT OFF, RESTART GAME.
2. TURN IT ON, RESTART GAME.
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
New to Better BuildBuy? This video will help you get started quickly.
Ever wanted to be able to pin the objects you use the most?
Better BuildBuy now has a favorites category that allows you to do just that!
Here's a quick start, in addition to the tutorial video above.
Features:
Easily favorite objects with your mouse middle click (track pads can usually middle click with 3 finger tap or by pressing left and right buttons simultaneously)
Favorites will stay even between mod versions.
Debug and LiveEdit categories will automatically turn on the corresponding filter if it's not on when selected. This will avoid the "my debug is empty" issue.
Inventory automatically turns on the debug filter if it's not on when selected, due to the frequency that debug objects end up in inventory.
Added Feature Update Notifications
Favorites Quick Start:
Middle (wheel) click your mouse on an object to mark it as a favorite. You'll see a teal bookmark appear when favorited.
Go to Browse by Function and set the dropdown to Favorites to show all of your favorited items.
While in favorites, you can middle click to mark the object for removal from favorites. This is indicated by a small red bookmark.
Removal is confirmed when you leave favorites or leave build mode.
Notes:
When you favorite an item in a category that has "new item" markers, they will be removed temporarily. This is necessary because of how the catalog recycles cells for each object. The new object markers will return when you change categories.
This currently works only on objects and not build items like floors, wallpapers, etc.
I have plans to expand this feature in the future, but feel this is a perfect starting point.
====PRIOR UPDATES=====
v3.3 - Life & Death Patch Updates
Updated for compatibility with Life & Death Patch
Updated Organized Debug for Life & Death items.
Significantly optimized Favorites load time.
Fixed debug or swatchless objects missing from Favorites.
As a result of above, favorited non-primary swatches now only show in favorites if you turn on the color filters.
Fixed two scenarios that caused the CC Build Report to fail or get stuck.
v3.2.6 - 2/27/24 Patch Updates
Updated UI files for compatibility with the 2/27 patch.
Removed the Shopping Cart menu button because... well, I mean do I really need to explain why? Just no.
v2.11.4 UPDATE:
Fixed kit filters since EA has now separated kit filters natively.
v2.10 UPDATE:
Organized Debug updated for Growing Together's content.
Fixed a bug with the Skill bar icon not showing.
v2.9 UPDATE:
Updated the expandable catalog to support the room catalog. Access per the usual "~" or "1" key toggle.
v2.8 UPDATE
BuildBuy filters have been updated to include a select all in the following sections: Color, Style, Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs, Kits
Better BuildBuy now detects if a player has left the mods list in the main menu turned on while having a large amount of mods, which can cause much longer load times unnecessarily. It will explain and offer to turn the list off for you.
Removed non-buildbuy kit filters from filter panel.
Updated EA Desktop permission fix instructions.
v2.7.1 UPDATE: Anyone who has reinstalled TS4 using the new EA Desktop app may have ran into a UAC error when trying to turn on BBB's Organized Debug. This is due to EA Desktop's file permissions defaulting to read-only. v2.7.1 finally has an automatic fix for this, and BBB will fix the TS4 permissions on your behalf. If you have User Account Control turned on (the windows "are you sure?" messages), you'll be asked to allow "icacls.exe" to run. This is normal and is BBB attempting to repair your TS4 permissions for you. Click yes and BBB will be able to turn on Organized Debug without issue.
Originally designed for Create-A-World's Lighting Editor, the color wheel control for lighting is coming to Better BuildBuy.
It's still accessed via shift+clicking lights in build mode, but now the control includes complete control over the lighting color. For support with existing builds, the control still includes the EA preset swatches.
Yes, the lighting does share through the gallery.
No, the lighting does not make your build CC.
As always, if you experience any issues please come to discord.twistedmexi.com to report them.
New to Better BuildBuy? This video will help you get started quickly.
Public release now available!
=======PREVIOUS UPDATES=======
Welcome to BBB v2.5!
Two main changes - firstly, I've added MOO and Ignore Unlocks to the BBB options.
They can be found under the Organized Debug checkbox.
Secondly, my discontinued BuildBuy Deletion Fix mod has been renewed as part of BBB's features. For those unaware, this was a cheat that stopped BuildBuy from deleting anything, allowing you to make changes like wallpaper or modifying architecture without losing your objects. This is now an option in BBB's filter panel. Unlike the other options, it does not persist between sessions. This is intentional, as you should only turn it on while necessary and turn it back off immediately after. Undo may not work for anything you do with it on. You will also receive a pop-up when turning it on, reminding you of this. No, the pop-up is not negotiable, it's one extra click and is still much faster than typing the old cheat. Without it, our support team would be inundated with players asking why they can't delete objects.
Updates:
Added new "permission denied" error message for the few users who kept getting the desync message over and over, making the actual issue more clear to the user.
The two warning files inside the tmex-betterbuildbuy folder now delete automatically after first successful run, to reduce chances of player confusion
Added a MoveObjects toggle to the BBB filter options. Do NOT use the cheat anymore. Setting will persist.
Added an Ignore Unlocks toggle to the BBB filter options. Do NOT use the cheat anymore. Setting will persist.
Added BuildBuy Deletion Protection to BBB filter options. Setting will NOT persist, by design.
Updated light editor logic to allow cloning of rooms using shift.
=================
ORIGINAL BETTER BUILDBUY INFO
(This video will help you get started quickly.)
New Features:
Having Organized Debug on no longer causes your lot to be marked as CC. That means you no longer have to restart the game constantly.
A Light Editor has been added to build mode, with a dropdown for light selection. You can access it by shift+clicking any light.
Debug/LiveEdit Objects for packs you don't own will no longer appear in the catalog.
"Kit" pack filters have been split into their individual kits, so you can pick exactly which kit you want to see.
Added a "Desync" dialog message. There's a few occasions where Organized Debug can be left in a bad state, for example after deleting your resource.cfg. This new dialog will show when organized debug needs reset. If you get it, all you should need to do is restart your game once and then you can continue using it as you normally would.
Did you know you can use TOOL in build mode if you're using Better BuildBuy? Grab TOOL here!
Better BuildBuy Quick-Start
You don't have to use Organized Debug for TOOL. Just don't check the filter.
Do NOT use debug or liveedit cheats. Use their respective filters instead.
Do NOT use MOO or Entitlement Cheats. Use their respective filters instead.
Do NOT install buildcam or expandable catalog separately. They're included in BBB.
Filters are different! Please don't ask where your CC went.
Filters work as follows: Hide Maxis - Hides all regular objects that aren't debug, liveedit, or cc. Debug - Shows debug objects, replaces the need for the debug cheat. LiveEdit - Shows LiveEdit objects, replaces the need for the liveedit cheat. Custom Content - Shows Custom Content objects. Off by default, be sure to check this if you want your CC visible. Filters stay set even when you close your game, so you'll only need to turn CC on once if desired.Press 1 (number row) to toggle catalog size.
Press Tab to activate Freecam mode in build.
If you'd like to use Organized Debug, open the game and open your buildbuy filters. Scroll to Better BuildBuy and select Organized Debug. You'll receive a pop-up and will be told to restart. After doing so, Organized Debug is active.
If you're completely new to BBB, I recommend watching my original tutorial.
Install Instructions
โ FOLLOW IT WORD FOR WORD. โ
1. Delete any existing copies you have for BBB.
2. Open the "TwistedMexi's Better BuildBuy v4.0 Official" zip and drag the "Tmex-BetterBuildBuy" folder inside to your mods root. (No subfolders!)
3. That's it! Don't restructure or move the files in any way NOTE: On Mac, .zip files may automatically be unzipped when downloaded. In that case, drag the newly downloaded folder to your mods.
Uninstall Instructions
Hate to see you go, but if you are, it's best if you do the following first:
1. Open your game with the mod installed.
2. Turn off Organized Debug in your filter panel.
3. Close your game.
4. You may now delete the mod.
Comments
Amelia Greenwell
i need you to know that this is better then having cars or spiral stairs or even fairies. As a builder who hardly play plays you are the only reason I still give EA my money. I hope one day you can just be in charge of the actual game bc you are a god so thank you for all your hard work I know you must be stressed constantly so really thank you for working so hard so when life gets hard for me I have a game I can retreat to!
Wendy Hubble
Having the swatches laid out so you can compare them without opening each version is an amazing option I never knew I missed!
Martins88
Itโs so cool, it makes me the game a little bit slower, is it normal, is this happening to anybody else?
RobertAtNyte
I LOVE THIS! โค๏ธ
