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How to Create Underwater Lots & Dock Ports

bunbunnynybunbunnyny Posts: 3,678 Member
edited March 8 in Nominated Threads
This tutorial will teach you how to create underwater lots and dock ports to place boat houses! CC-free, both dock and boats!

6269501191_0492939963_b.jpg"width=650"


This is the second step to learning how to create a boat!
If you wish to learn how to build a boat pier or a Boat, please read my tutorials once they are released!


You will need:
• Create-a-World Tool

• The [constrainfloorelevation false] cheat activated once in Edit-in-Game Mode.

• Grid Mode on. It's not necessary, but you can definitely use it, as it may really help you out!



1) First, you should paint the underwater terrain where the lot is located a bluish color to disguise the grass that will show up when the lot is placed, like in the above image.

If you are having trouble finding or creating your own disguise textures, you may save and use the image below as a texture that you can use!

6201760663_1dd02a379c_z.jpg"width=512"


2) Now, place the lot in CAW. Create it from the land, and make sure that you have enough land space, and enough water space!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Before completing this step, please check the height of your pier or the height of the land. If you're entering the water from a distance of any height that looks to be as high as or higher than the below image, you will need to do some terraforming. You'll need to create small "steps" of land at a width of at least 1 flat square grid next to the slope. These steps can be set to any height, although the closer they are, the better. But you don't want too many steps!

6200943435_eff81138a2_b.jpg"width=650"


3) Go into Edit-in-Game Mode, and edit your boat lot.


4) If you don't like the look of the terrain on the ocean floor in your lot in Map View or in Build/Buy Mode, try covering up the ocean floor with this floor tile:

large.jpg

I recommend that you wait until the final step of this thread has been completed before covering the ocean floor inside your lot, if you are creating a dock port!



You have completed your Underwater Lot!
If you wish to learn how to create a Dock Port, please continue to read the remaining steps!



5) IMPORTANT NOTICE: If the elevation from the ground to the point where you want to enter the boat is low enough to your liking already, please skip to step #8)!

Now, if you haven't already, you must create a docking port as low as you want the boat to be entered from, closer to the water.
If you have to, which you probably will, I recommend you use the "Stepping" technique described earlier, which is represented in the picture below.
Make sure that it's at least high enough to be entered from the 5th floor if a house was built from sea level!
Now, this step may be a little tricky. You must have requirement #2 activated, and the creation of this is still difficult.

If the ground has not been leveled off properly, you may not be able to reach the dock port with changing ground elevation. The ground's height will stop rising at a point, and that point is the same distance from the ground where it was made in CAW. That means that on a hilly area, the maximum height for every grid spot will vary in height greatly.

In order to create these "Steps" from Edit-in-Game Mode, enable the Flatten Terrain Tool, Raise Land Tool set to Small Square, and maybe the Lower Land Tool set to Small Square to create a terrain formation similar to the one shown in the below image.
If necessary, create more than one "step".

You will need to create the "steps" carefully. Using the Flatten Terrain Tool, start dragging out from the higher location that you're trying to level off to. Then, either drag out sideways to the width that you want to create the "step" or drag out to the length that you want to create the "step." If you cross over the Flattening selection to another grid line while dragging out, the selection will turn red and you'll need to drag out again. So make sure that you drag straight when you're Flattening!
Also, if you drag out straight and it still doesn't work, try shorter lengths, or dragging out the directions in a different order!

screenshot_original.jpg"width=650"


6) Create sides or a side next to the "step," as shown in the above image. Make sure that you can place a set of stairs leading down to the next "step."

If you can, you may certainly place 2 staircases leading from both sides of the land or from the "step," or even 2 staircases from the middle of the land or the middle of the "step!"


7) Whether or not it's noticeable, each staircase you placed probably changed the elevation of the "step." Use the Flatten Terrain Tool to flatten every "step" immediately after every "step" staircase is placed.


8) Now, there are several ways you can continue on your Docking Port. Here are a couple methods that I have devised, although there is certainly more than what I have listed here! I have used the Tier Dock Method for this tutorial.


Tier Dock Method (Min/Max Boats: 1)
a) Take out the Foundations Tool. You may use the Deck Foundation or Brick Foundation, but please don't use Platforms.

b) If you have "steps," complete this step. If you are not using "steps," please continue to substep c)!

Create a Deck along the outside edges of the "steps." Also create a Deck along the sides next to the "step" and also along the steep hilly drop down to the "step," like a wall. Now, either leave open an opening on the side of the "step" facing the ocean that exposes the entire "step," half of the "step," or the middle one or several grids of the "step."

c) If you don't have "steps," just create a single bar of Deck of any length that you want near the area where you will enter your Boat from the land. You may leave 1-5 grids of space between the bar and the spot where you enter the Boat!

screenshot_original.jpg"width-650"


Pier Dock Method (Min/Max Boats: As many as you can fit into the lot!)
a) This Method will create a "pier" from the land out to the boats, and you will enter the boats from their sides.

First, create land extending out as far as you want out to the ocean from your lowest "step," or from the land.

OR, create a Dock that will serve as the Pier, but make sure that it's higher than the land where you enter from, or the lowest "step" that you're coming from, and that you can place staircases going up from the ground/"step" to the Pier!

b) If you want, create a lining of Docks alongside the edges of the Pier, or if you already used Docks, use Platforms! You should leave gaps in the Platforms/Docks where you will enter the Boats from!


9) Now, finally, if you haven't already, cover the sea floor with a floor tile to disguise the grass at the bottom or to cover up the Ocean Terrain!

You may also color the edges of visible ground to hide the Ocean Terrain or make the Dock Port look more realistic!



And you're finally finished with your Dock Port!

(NOTE: If any of the pictures or links are broken or have been deleted, please friend me and comment on my page, or bump this thread to notify me!)

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Post edited by EA_Solaire on

Comments

  • Rflong7Rflong7 Posts: 36,583 Member
    edited October 2011
    Hi,

    Just a suggestion- wouldn't it be easier to use the Mask and terrain tools in CAW to level and raise the land for the lot then place the lot on the created spot. Also- this way the pier/dock can be created at the same time. :)


    This is the way I do it.. not that it's better but it's an alternative to the CFE code...

    If the land is already at the level needed- Mask the area to be use (size of mask can keep it the right size for the lot)
    AA.jpg"width=650"

    Then use the Valley tool around the lot
    BB.jpg"width=650"

    If you want to raise the land~Mask all the land even where the water lot will be...
    Then lower the Gray Scale of the Mask to 0 and remove the mask where you want to lot and pier...
    CCC.jpg"width=650"

    Use the Flatten Terrain tool from the level point of the land you will connect the pier...
    DDD.jpg"width=650"



  • bunbunnynybunbunnyny Posts: 3,678 Member
    edited October 2011
    I suppose that'll work, as long as you can get it done!
    I'll make a note to get others to read your post later.
  • SimLibbySimLibby Posts: 668 Member
    edited July 2014
    bunbunnyny wrote:
    (NOTE: If any of the pictures or links are broken or have been deleted, please friend me and comment on my page, or bump this thread to notify me!)
    This is an old topic so I don't know if you still wants this but just in case ... bump.

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