Sims 3 - Stuck in Build/Buy Mode

[Stephwizzle]

Here is what worked for me!
1. Go to edit town
2. SAVE.
3. Completely exit sims and end the game (you may have to use the task manager)
4. Then enter sims again!
 
 Everything should saved and work good again

[City Builder]

Here is what worked for me!
1. Go to edit town
2. SAVE.
3. Completely exit sims and end the game (you may have to use the task manager)
4. Then enter sims again!
 
 Everything should saved and work good again

This happened to me for the first time since starting to play TS3 (when it first was released) and I tried to go to edit town but when I do it tells me that everything that has not yet been saved will be lost and there isn't the normal save first button like there normally is.

I guess I got carried away with my house building and didn't save for a bit over 3 hours.  Had to finally force quit TS3 through task manager and lost the last 3 hours of designing.

This will be the last time that I forget to save at least once an hour.  It's just that I've got something like 5GB of custom content in my game so it takes a really long time to save the game (as well as loading the game), however it's certainly a lot less time than losing an hour or three.

I'm just surprised that this topic shows something like 2010 when somebody started the topic and the problem is still in the game apparently.

[prosimmer2013]

None of the suggestions here worked and I was about to break something before Ctrl+Alt+Del and force quitting the game.
I then noticed the little pause button in the top, right corner. Clicked it and the game returned to Live mode...
All is good now.

k seriously.. i was about to do the same, then i saw your comment!!
YOU SAVED MY LIFE! well sims life i guess... anyways, got into live mode and saved ASAP, i have been building a house for to many hrs its embarrassing.. i wish i could hug you! lol

 

[DimitriTech]

I want to post this here because this is the first thing that comes up in google when I searched "SIMS 3 STUCK IN BUILD BUY MODE CAN'T SAVE" (Lol)

I LOOOOOVVVVEEEEE YYOOOOOUUUUUU!!!!!! Made an account just to say that! <3


So this happened to me- but I figured it out!! One of the few things you can still do is hit "Edit town" And from there I saved once, twice, once again and quit... Reboot, restart... and it saved my house down to the very last bit!  I am freaking out but I am glad it worked. Success ♥

[Jezza]

I know this post was made last year, but I'm now having this issue. I just plain forgot to save once my Sim returned home from University. She was in her last term with only two days left. I took her back home with the idea to move in her boyfriend and his little brother. While I was remodeling her one story house, I needed her to move. So when I went from build mode to live mode, everything froze. I got the spinning circle as my pointer and am not able to click anything.

I've tried the various methods mentioned here, but nothing seemed to work. Are there any new solutions?

[MrsFlynn]

This may not be the exact same problem. But while I was building a house I got stuck in Build/Buy mode too, and the build panel disappeared. Wasn't sure what to do at that point. So I started searching for answers. Found a couple of things that may help.

Topic: Build mode panel disappears, can't save game?
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,17399.0.html

In this topic, It's suggested to try pressing Fn+F5 to get to Edit town mode. From there you should be able to save the house and game as normal.

Also, Crinrict has posted a few tips that may help.

Re: The Sims 3 panel gone missing!
http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/The-Sims-3-panel-gone-missing/m-p/3320#m311

----

Re: Build mode panel disappears, can't save game? (Check the Spoiler)
https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=17399.msg331783#msg331783

MrsFlynn

[Jezza]

I play on a desktop, there is no Fn key.

I did the pressing F5 to get to Edit Town mode, but my F5 doesn't go to Edit Town, it does something else entirely in the game. I think it's one of the keys to the camera.

I also tried the pause button in the top right hand of the screen, nothing is working.

[OmgItsEmzyy]

You could try using testingcheatsenabled to shift+click the lot and Buy/Build. It's not a certain fix but it is worth a shot. Also, you could try using F1, F2 and F3 instead of the mode buttons... How that would help? I have no idea.

Omgosh! Thank you! This helped me, hope it helps you!

[Lisa46]

Do command+q and it will ask if you want to save your game before quitting. I'm not sure if this works from build mode but it might.

[AmbyrD]

***Solution***

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to respond to this post because a few short hours prior, I was freaking out about my game, Sims 3 - Island Paradise (mac), freezing while I was building a brand new house. For some reason, I was unable to return to live mode after being in build/buy mode for a couple of hours. I searched the internet and found nothing so here's what I did.

I decided to take screen shots of the house so I could rebuild it quickly after exiting the game, however, that was not needed. On the build/buy screen mode, I simple clicked the Edit town button on the left side. The options were to cancel or to continue without saving. Just continue without saving. Once you get in the Edit town screen, then save your game. It never occurred to me that you won't lose changes because you are still playing the game. Now, if you are building/buying and your computer shuts down without saving the game first- then you're probably s.o.l. -Sim outta Luck. But in this case, you are still playing the game and when you save through edit town, you save everything that you did prior to the save. Also, I do have a ton of installed content - I did not need to delete any of it!

Voila!

I hope it helps someone out there and in the words of the Sims - sousou!

[Looseal]

The only way to return to LIVE mode when stuck is to click on Quests, choose one even if only temporary, you must then click the right arrows to turn the page until you see a check mark. This will send you to the choice of LIVE mode afterward.  Also, it seems you can save the game, even when in build mode only when your tutorial is complete.   The tutorial is not so long. If you must continue the next day, just minimize the game to your tray. On a PC, hit your windows key on keyboard to minimize.  Good luck.

[MsXler]

I registered right away to submit a solution I found out just now:
You can use the keys F2, F3, etc. to switch through various menues ingame - I was stuck in Build Mode, none of the buttons being clickable, so I worked around by pressing the F keys to switch to Buy Mode and Live Mode, and it worked. Then I could save my game without any loses. Just in case it is relevant: I'm using the Awesome Mod, various mods of Nraas and had TestingCheatsEnabled, well, enabled.

[RainaElf]

This is a thing that's still happening! I'm sitting here watching loading, loading, loading spin around. Totally stuck between Build mode and Live mode ...

[VampireMuffinMan]

My problem and solution:

What happened to me is...
1) I was in build/buy mode and neither F1 nor the button on the dashboard would return me to live mode.
2) I obviously couldn't save...and trying to quit or edit town gave me options to cancel or continue w/o save.

I read the comment about going ahead with the continue w/o saving and decided to go for it...
It left my changes in tact!  So I saved once in edit town.   

I realize now why this may have happened in my case after...
I think I decided to edit my selected family's lot from edit town, without returning to the game first.

Hope this helps anyone having this issue in the way I was. 

[Atalanta]

I’ve had this happen before several times, once with an architect Sim — very frustrating. I assume it’s a memory problem, because if I’m designing or customizing a house in a new game, it never happens. So, I make sure now to go back to Edit Town or Live mode after finishing a few customizations and save.