Fallout 4

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Themon

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ThemonWillow

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About this mod

You want larger settlements, don't you? Look no further,
You can forget your ini settings, as well.

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Build High - Expanded Settlements 5.0


What does it do?

- This mod expands the building areas of all exterior settlements (including the Far Harbor and Nuka World ones) and The Mechanist's Lair.
(No Vault 88 support, sorry... )
- The Mechanist's Lair is extended to include the WHOLE facility.
- Gives you a simple but accurate border around the new zones. You can even pick a color. (If you find one that you like of the six I give you...)
- Includes a way to avoid object culling when scrapping large objects.
- Enables you to use the full potential of scrapping mods without ini settings.



What's changed since the last version?

- Object culling is disabled in all Build High settlements to prevent distant objects flickering in and out of existence when large objects are scrapped.
- The use of combined meshes is disabled in every cell that a Build High settlement touches. It allows you to scrap things you normally wouldn't be able to.
(You don't need to edit your ini files for these any more. More on these two in the Scrapper's Patch section.)

- All the Build High settlements have been restructured to cause as little impact on the game as possible and to ensure compatibility with other settlement mods. It will work with most overhauls and expansion mods without overwriting each others' borders. (Build High's settlements are quite big, but should you come across another mod that's even bigger, you can install a borderless version.)
- The Covenant buildable area is enlarged.
- Sanctuary's buildable area is streamlined. It is now even larger and its border is perfectly aligned to that of Red Rocket settlement.

- Some settlements didn't have their sandbox area altered in the previous version. (This is what defines where settlers will do stuff on their own, i.e. outside the assignments you give them.) These are corrected in this version.
- The 'Blue (Default)' tile's colour is tweaked for better visibility in brighter lighting conditions. Other colours are updated as well. Even if you don't like them.



NEW MODULE: Build High - Builder's Patch
- Gives unlimited budget to all Build High supported workshops. (So no, no Vault 88...)
It uses the script from Settlement Limits Slashed, the author of which gave permission for free use as can be read on the mod's page.
I made it compatible with all Build High modified settlements and so it works with the fixed workshops at The Mechanist's Lair, Home Plate and the Boston Airport.
(Funnily enough, this last settlement was missed by the original author and it remained unmodified in his mod... )
It's not implemented in any variation simply because it only needs to run once. Install it, load your save game, you'll see a message on screen, create a new save.
Before you launch the game the next time, you can disable or delete the patch.
Builder's Patch doesn't edit anything in the game, but has a permanent effect on your save. Well, until you change it through the console...


DO NOT INSTALL/ACTIVATE IT IF YOU ARE STARTING A NEW GAME!
It will result in a perpetual loading screen. Wait until you exit the vault. Might work earlier, but better safe than sorry. I'll try to fix this later, if I can.


NEW MODULE: Build High - Scrapper's Patch
- Edits all the cells that the expanded settlements touch in two ways:

 1. It disables object culling.

It is a system to save on processing power by disabling objects that are not currently meant to be seen by the player.
You may observe the effect of this when you use a scrapping mod to scrap the workshop house or the dreaded shrubs in Sanctuary
and suddenly you see distant objects flicker in and out of existence.
This plugin disables culling in every related cell, and only in those.
If you have been using an ini setting to do this ("bUsePreCulledObjects"), you can delete it without losing its effect.
 
2. Breaks up combined objects.
They exist also as a means of optimization and they are the reason many objects can't be scrapped even with scrapping mods and even inside vanilla boundaries.
Disabling them is the equivalent of using the ini setting "bUseCombinedObjects=0",
but while that setting disables them in the whole game, this patch only does so in the cells you actually make use of it: the settlements.
If you use this plugin, it's advised to delete that line from your fallout4.ini, or any other ini files you may have added it to.
Keeping it in defeats the purpose if this patch, but deleting it may give you some performance boost in heavily populated areas, like the city, where combined objects are widely used.


The Scrapper's Patch is included in the complete versions of the mod. If you chose one of those, you don't need to install this as well.
The reason I include this in the optional section is that it can be used with the vanilla border variant of my mod. I only made one version of that.
And it works without Build High, as well: It edits the cells needed for Build High, but they do it just as well for any other settlement expansion mod or none at all.
If you want the original settlements with only the ability to scrap anything in them, this will compliment your scrapping mod very well
while keeping most of the game's areas intact and thus, better optimized.


(A note on use with other settlement expansion mods:
While it works just as well as it does with Build High, if the mod you want to use it with expands into a cell that is not included in this patch,
it may cause the glitch where you get kicked out of workshop mode without warning.
And even if not, you will experience the effects it prevents from happening in the supported areas.)

Be aware, that the Scrapper's Patch edits may cause performance issues in and around the affected areas.
If your PC can't handle it, install a version without the Scrapper's Patch content.
Make a save that you can revert back to before you install the mod and travel to Bunker Hill or Hangman's Alley. If you are fine at those places, you are golden.



What's in the download?

The FOMOD has five variations of Build High.
Each needs the DLCs and the lightbox version of the borders (from 3.4) is not included any more.
(The game has been out for a few years now, so I figured, old players will have the DLCs and new players won't buy the game without them... Still, if enough people need it, I'll upload a DLC-free FOMOD.)

1. Build High Prime. The complete version that I consider The Mod. It has the Scrapper's Patch content, so no need to install that as well.
2. Same as the one above, but WITHOUT the Scrapper's Patch content. Choose this, if you don't want the object culling and combined objects disabled this way, or you have performance issues.
3. Almost the same as the first: Complete version but without visible borders around the settlements.
4. Almost the same as the second: No Scrapper's Patch content and no visible borders.
5. Vanilla sized settlements. Only the height limit is modified. No Scrapper's Patch content.


Common characteristics of most or all variations:
- Vault 88 is excluded from this mod, throughout.
- They all fix the three limited workshops at The Mechanist's Lair, Home Plate and the Boston Airport to function as any other does.
You can build a radio beacon at Home Plate now. (It doesn't mean it will attract anyone, though...)
- Includes some minor "fixes" from previous versions. You can find them in the changelog.
- The Scrapper's Patch is an optional plugin that can be used with the variations that don't already contain it, should you, for some reason, prefer that setup.
Also, it works well with the vanilla variation or any settlement expanding mod on the Nexus.
- The Builder's Patch can be used with any version. Once you made a save while the patch is active,
you may remove it from your mod list to save a space in your load order. It works only the first time you load it.
Though it will work without Build High, it requires it for the simple reason of the three fixed workbenches.
If you used this Patch without the mod, it would definitely not work for the Boston Airport workbench but may work for the Home Plate and The Mechanist's Lair ones,
and, of course, would patch all the rest just fine. (Again, except Vault 88, which is not included, at all.)

Installation

Do not install/activate the Builder's Patch until after you exited the Vault!
If you use Scrap Everything, please, either use option 1 or 3 (the complete mods), or use the Scrapper's Patch with option 2 or 4.
You don't need the patch for option 5 while using SE.
Read the second sticky for further explanation.

Mod manager: download and install choosing the version and patch(es) you want on the first screen and colour of the border on the second. Enjoy.
You can change the version and the colour by reinstalling and choosing 'Replace' when asked.


Manual installation: I tried to be descriptive with the folder names, so pick the ones you want (mod, optional and colour) and copy their contents into your Fallout4/Data folder.

Load Order
While previous versions may have benefited from a higher place in the load order, from this on, Build High should go as low as possible.
Only Scrap Everything should load after this one.
Therefore my advice is the following:

(everything else)
Build High - Expanded Settlements
Build High - Builder's Patch (if installed)
Build High - Scrapper's Patch (if installed)
Scrap Everything



Notes

  • The main idea of this version is to allow you to do whatever you want in your settlement without using unnecessary ini tinkering affecting the whole game. The "bUseCombinedObjects=" and "bUsePreCulledObjects=" lines should be deleted from your ini files when using the Scrapper's Patch or a version of the mod with the patch included. They won't interfere directly, but make the use of my mod a bit redundant.
  • Build High is, by design, compatible with any mod that changes settlement sizes. In most cases no patch will ever be needed. You might want to install a borderless version, if another mod expands into a different direction.
  • The mod edits some of the workbenches. If another mod is installed that alter the same ones, Build High will overwrite them. If you find a mod that is affected by this, leave a bug report.
  • In order to be able to use the 'V' hotkey to enter settlement mode, it's not enough to be inside the borders, vanilla or otherwise: the workbench of the settlement has to be loaded into the game (i.e. it has to be visibly present in the game world). I found only one place where this is an issue: Abernathy Farm. If you stand in the far end of the mod's area, near the Ranger Cabin, the cell containing the workbench isn't loaded yet and the 'V' hotkey doesn't work. Get closer to the farmhouse until you see the textures changing and then you can open the workshop. While it's open, you can build anywhere, of course.
  • Just because an object is now inside the border, it doesn't mean that you can automatically scrap it. I recommend Scrap Everything to amend that. It's description page suggests to make the ini edits that I mentioned earlier. Please, don't use the "bUseCombinedObjects=0" command if you activate a complete version of Build High. Otherwise, read the mod's page carefully and follow it's instructions!
  • The complete versions and the Scrapper's Patch will prevent you from placing objects on the floors of The Castle and some other settlements. Scrap Everything has a solution for the issue among the mod's optional downloads which is called "Building Placement Fix" You can also use Place Everywhere and bypass the glitch that way. Or use both! I know I do.
  • Settler behaviour, in general, is untouched. This mod only modifies the areas they may wander around in and do stuff on their own. If they don't want to do what you assign to them, it's not a fault in this mod.
  • Build High doesn't allow more settlers. There are ways to do that but I can't say any of them worked for me so far.
  • Cleaned with FO4Edit.
  • This is still too long...