Guide to Houseboats in game & in CAW «123456789...Next Go

DNARequestTeam

Whitneysim wrote:

I'm sorry to go on about this(I made a topic about it) but the port thing not being in the normal build menu is really stupid, I don't like the fact that we have to DEBUG everytime I want to make a port for a boathouse, its rediculous and I hope to god its fixed sometime in the future, I'm getting the game today and I must admit I'm not too excited anymore about it, there have been too many complaints, too many asking about how to build a houseboat because there is no way of doing it normally, sorry but not all simmers use cheats thruout their gameplay and they should have put the port builds in the normal build part, just my two cents of course :evil:

People can disagree, of course, but I think having this in the buyDebug menu is good placement. There is a lot in the buyDebug menu that is very useful on a build, but there are also things in the buyDebug sort that you really shouldn't mess around with unless you know what you are doing (like the tomb building tools and the spawners just as a few examples).

Some people will put spawners on the lot without a second thought but if you put too many you can really cause lag in your game. If you upload a lot with spawners and you get someone downloading who doesn't know any better they will rotate the lot several times as they place it and not realize that they just created multiples of the spawners with each rotation. It is a known issue among builders (unless it was recently fixed) that you double spawner numbers with each rotation on placement.

I think the gangway object is well-placed if you think of it in that way because you DO need to know what you are doing in order to use it.

As I said, people can disagree on that.

Zoo

ZooProfessor3

SORRY SORRY! That last post was me, not the team (I was updating our thread and forgot to switch to my personal account).

I have a question about the lots that are partially in the water and how it will work with uploading and downloading.

I added a lot to Dragon Valley that is partially in the water and I'm just finishing a build (tower and dragon hatchery) on that lot. My plan is to upload it to the Exchange and write in the description some instructions about creating a 50X50 lot in Edit Town that is partially over the water and then placing my lot there.

Am I thinking about this right? Is that how this will work? Anyone using the lot will need a "beach lot" in order to place it, right?

Zoo

MizzRoseBud

SimGuruSemedi wrote:

Can a basement built in a houseboat function as a nectar cellar?
Yes. The hull of a houseboat can function as a nectar cellar for aging your nectar and increasing its value.

Super! Thank you

Looking forward to read your CAW tutorial

JudySims

This was just what I was looking for. Thanks for all your hard work and getting this info out so quick. Look forward to more info on this subject.

LtCyc

I would like to point out that houseboats do pass under a bridge if the bridge is high enough. I had a suspension bridge (the green metal one) which the houseboat wouldn't go through in my custom world. I raised it up a bit (z-axis 35, water level around 10) and it now works. Haven't tested with other bridges though.

Evezan

Thank you for the guide.

I do have one issue with houseboats though that I am not sure is intentional. If you put a basement on your houseboat you are no longer able to fish off of it. Even if you put a hot tub on the main floor you cannot fish from your houseboat.

Is not being able to fish from my houseboat if I have a basement a bug or was it designed that way for a reason?

luvalphvle

Can you use pool objects on your houseboat? Like putting a pool slide on the side so Sims can slide directly into the lake/ocean.

elanorbreton

bklienhart wrote:

The lots that are half-on/half-off the water have uneven edges. Placing a lot that isn't perfectly flat around the edges into a different lot makes it all funky around the edges. While you could do it I'm guessing that it will be more trouble than it's worth.

If you'll notice, all of the generic lots in the bin are pretty darn flat. Probably the only one that isn't is the Sunlit Tides Festival Lot. And that's only because it is created to replace a specific lot that already isn't flat.

Thank you for answering my question, bklienhart.

vattuman79

Thank You Graham, for the tutorial! I was searching after the lot sizes before, but didn't find them. Hopefully I will find them now. I will read everything carefully in my game!

Rukaya

Thank you so much for this tutorial, it is a game saver. I have not only taken notes, but have bookmarked it.

wecantpickaname

Will you guys come out with a kit for sails?
I made a ship/houseboat and had to use tapestries and wall décor for sails but there's no rigging or anything. The cannons from Barnacle Bay are too low but that's alright. Realistic sails would be awesome!

This is how it looks right now with makeshift sails:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/210/636918.page#11010399

sims96fan

Thank you for the guide! I started a new game in Isla Paradiso with a supernatural sim couple I had exported from a previous game. My witch upgraded the helm on the houseboat magically to autopilot, but now the only other options are to replace the existing upgrade with another instead of being able to stack all 3. Also, the autopilot does not seem to be working, as the houseboat just stops if I cancel the "manning the helm" interaction.

enkeli63

Thanks for this awesome guide!

I'm also having trouble with my sim not being able to fish from the houseboat. I added a basement, but I made sure there was enough space for her to fish at the back of the boat, and even though there's no objects there, she cannot fish.

Is this because of the basement?

heathaleatha

I am having an issue with my houseboat disappearing and my sim ending up stuck in the middle of the ocean far away. Then when I go to build/buy it takes me to a community lot. Can you hep with this issue? When I go to "Edit Town", my whole household is gone from the port I began building on. I have no mods or CC.

Evezan

enkeli63 wrote:

Thanks for this awesome guide!

I'm also having trouble with my sim not being able to fish from the houseboat. I added a basement, but I made sure there was enough space for her to fish at the back of the boat, and even though there's no objects there, she cannot fish.

Is this because of the basement?

Yes it is because of the basement. It also happens with putting hot tubs on the main floor of your houseboat. I am not sure if this is intended or not and would like an answer on it.

For now I play with no basement on my houseboat which is frustrating because i love basements. But I also love fishing and want the fishing from houseboat more than the basement.

pamy1124

Evezan wrote:

enkeli63 wrote:

Thanks for this awesome guide!

I'm also having trouble with my sim not being able to fish from the houseboat. I added a basement, but I made sure there was enough space for her to fish at the back of the boat, and even though there's no objects there, she cannot fish.

Is this because of the basement?

Yes it is because of the basement. It also happens with putting hot tubs on the main floor of your houseboat. I am not sure if this is intended or not and would like an answer on it.

For now I play with no basement on my houseboat which is frustrating because i love basements. But I also love fishing and want the fishing from houseboat more than the basement.

I had this same problem happen to me but I had no idea it was the basement. Nice to know now though. Would deleting the basement fix this? Like if I completely get rid of the basement, should my sims be able to fish now?

JerseyGirl1983

How do I place a community houseboat? I did everything in this guide and when I went to place a copy of a pre-made community houseboat the option to place it at the port disappeared. I had the option to build a houseboat but I want to make it a community lot.

***
NEVERMIND! I figured it out!!

elanorbreton

Regarding the Edit Town Tutorial - I have read in the past that adding too many extra Lots to your world via the World Editor button can mess up your game.

So I'd like to know how many can I add before it starts to cause problems, please?

magicmelody

THANK YOU GRAHAM, hehe your a life saver :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: and a massive HIGH FIVE.
I figured everything else out except the gangway thing lol why didnt i think of buydebug its so obvious now lol

I made my first house boat its so cool how you can piggyback the upgrades on them **SPIOLER** The auto pilot has saved my sims so much work haha it thanks EA for my 2nd fave EP lol Pets being first
which reminds me i have 2 large dogs or my curved bow boat and they are happy with main and 2nd deck and love goin ashore pitty they cant swim int the sea but we love visiting the pool

SimGuruGraham

Thanks for everyone who mentioned the difficulty with fishing off houseboats with basement. That was a bug that we'd fixed during development, but I guess it broke again before we went final :x I've added information regarding it to the FAQ.

elanorbreton wrote:

Regarding the Edit Town Tutorial - I have read in the past that adding too many extra Lots to your world via the World Editor button can mess up your game.

So I'd like to know how many can I add before it starts to cause problems, please?

This is entirely dependent on how powerful your computer is. If you add too many and your game gets slower, I'd suggest stopping (or even deleting a few of the ones you added).

sims96fan wrote:

Thank you for the guide! I started a new game in Isla Paradiso with a supernatural sim couple I had exported from a previous game. My witch upgraded the helm on the houseboat magically to autopilot, but now the only other options are to replace the existing upgrade with another instead of being able to stack all 3. Also, the autopilot does not seem to be working, as the houseboat just stops if I cancel the "manning the helm" interaction.

Why can't my Witch add multiple upgrades to the helm when using magic to perform the upgrade?
The Witch actually is adding multiple upgrades to the helm, even though the "Magically Upgrade" interaction asks you to replace an existing upgrade with a different one. This is a known issue, but should not affect in-game functionality. Just use magic to add each of the upgrades to the helm and you should be able to still simultaneously enjoy the Foghorn/Faster Engines/Autopilot functionality.

luvalphvle wrote:

Can you use pool objects on your houseboat? Like putting a pool slide on the side so Sims can slide directly into the lake/ocean.

Can I use the pool slide or diving board off the side of a diving boat?
No. The only way to get on/off a houseboat to go swimming is to use the ladder at the back of the hull.

Wii505

For a video form of how to make Houseboats, go to

elanorbreton

Thanks for your reply, Graham.

Sorry, I have another question! Is there a problem with putting ports in some areas of other hoods? ie. from a routing/ocean depth point of view.

I put one in Sunlit Tides, following your easy tutorial (no cheats used), added a boat. The sim cannot move the boat anywhere away from the port, she gets a route failure icon above her head - even just trying to move the boat a little way forward will not work.

Edit: If there is a problem, what can we look out for which will make placing ports more successful?

mds424

I noticed in your producer walkthrough that Olivia was able to relax on her beach towel on the roof on the houseboat. I chose a prebuilt "starter" houseboat in game (You're On a Boat) and I can't get that interaction. How do I get that choice?

elanorbreton

Never mind.

Mmdrgntobldrgn

Thank you for the guide, I've bookmarked it.