Why the new cutout method for windows and doors??

That kinda goes without saying on all your points!!

The fact that windows and doors which have working cutouts are not reflecting correctly in mirrors doesn't mean something is wrong with the windows and doors... it almost certainly means that the mirrors have not been told to use the new cutout system.

We already know, because they announced it, that we're getting a patch one week from today, for the first skintone update that's supposed to fix the texture problems with some of the darker EA skintones. I'm gonna guess that the mirror fix, as well as the cutouts for the handful of EA windows and doors that were missed when they switched all the others over to the new system, will probably both be coming in that patch too, since those are probably straightforward to do -- they already gave tons of windows and doors new cutouts, so a few more shouldn't be a big issue for them, and the code to use the new cutout system when rendering windows and doors already exists in the game; mirrors just need to be told to use it. We'll probably get some gameplay bugfixes too, maybe make a mod or two obsolete (like the freelancer one). We might even get some improvements to how the walls look around certain items when zoomed in close; depends on how difficult it is to fix and how busy they are with bigger (i.e. things they announced, things that aren't cosmetic, and things that are cosmetic but are noticeable from farther away) issues.

None of that is at all likely to change anything related to CC windows and doors, but we already have that well in hand. I realize I have it easy when it comes to being chill about that, a) having played Sims games on and off for almost 20 years and seen a lot, b) being old enough that every single one of those years was while I was already an adult and therefore I'm also old enough that I'm almost completely out of f*cks and have none whatsoever to spare for getting mad about this, and c) having already embarked on a CC reorganizing project that means I haven't been playing with my regular Mods folder at all for the last month anyway, but we've got this. We're making a ton of progress on a complex change to the game. We'll get everything looking like it was meant to again, and then we'll be able to enjoy the flexibility that came with the new cutout system. (Or possibly just forget we couldn't always do certain things. That's also a thing we might do.)

(Depending on where what they need to change for the mirrors, CC mirrors might need a batchfix in order to get the same change as EA ones, but if they do it should be the simpler 'check for outdating tuning and replace it' kind, not a complex one like the windows and doors, and they also might not need one at all. I have no idea whether that part of how mirrors work is located at the object tuning level or higher up, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's higher up, and if it's higher up, then it'll probably just work.)

(Oh, and having actually played the Star Wars pack a little? There are hardly any WALLS in Batuu, y'all. It's full of outdoor spaces, rabbitholes, and fadeaway objects. There's barely anywhere to PUT a window or a door. (Many of the doors you actually do see in Batuu are basically just decorative, because they don't go anywhere. And many of the buildings are round, so they can't be built with current TS4 build mode capabilties; they had to be objects because they can't be builds.) Plus, just about no matter what they wanted to do in the new pack, they wouldn't have needed to make a change like this to make it work; they would always have had the option to just make windows that looked like they were made up of a bunch of separate smaller windows (or a door with separated-looking windows built into it, or whatever) and it would have been much, much easier than updating almost every single window and door and a few other things from the base game, nine expansion packs, eight prior game packs, and seventeen stuff packs (which tbf did not all contain windows and doors, but many did) to a brand-new cutout system. They didn't do it for Star Wars. I don't think JtB even uses it. And it was free, so they didn't do it for money either. Unless it turns out to see heavy use in some near-future pack (in which case their timing is excellent, since we'll have already mastered the new cutout system by the time it comes out), I'm not seeing any likely motivation here except... actually adding a new features for builders. (Which doesn't mean anyone is obligated to like it, not even people who play without CC and love to build. It just doesn't look like it had anything to do with Star Wars or getting people to give them money.))

(Also, yes, I am verbose.)

Has anyone noticed that when you use the tab key for camera in build mode that the page up key on the keyboard no longer works? (I used to use this to check out the light fixtures on the first floor; they usually disappear if you don't use the "page up" key. I hope that makes sense..

Mine worked fine until after the September 3rd patch...