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Guide to Houseboats in game & in CAW

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  • happyjmehappyjme Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited July 2013
    Ryuzaki5 wrote:
    Thank you so much for all this information! It will really come in handy (especially for converting that old pier in Sunset Valley into a functioning dock. I have ALWAYS wanted to do that but, until now, haven't had the tools).

    I do have a question however; Can my sims get abducted from their houseboats? Also, can aliens even visit a houseboat?

    I know I saw a picture somewhere on someones blog of an Alien leaving their spaceship on the land and taking a boat out to a houseboat to visit in the middle of the night as usual! lol
  • Ryuzaki5Ryuzaki5 Posts: 50 Member
    edited July 2013
    happyjme wrote:
    Ryuzaki5 wrote:
    Thank you so much for all this information! It will really come in handy (especially for converting that old pier in Sunset Valley into a functioning dock. I have ALWAYS wanted to do that but, until now, haven't had the tools).

    I do have a question however; Can my sims get abducted from their houseboats? Also, can aliens even visit a houseboat?

    I know I saw a picture somewhere on someones blog of an Alien leaving their spaceship on the land and taking a boat out to a houseboat to visit in the middle of the night as usual! lol
    lol well that answers one question! Glad to know my sim will still be used as research, even out to sea!
  • ClairkPClairkP Posts: 136 Member
    edited July 2013
    ClairkP wrote:
    Thankyou for your tutorial, absolutely marvellous. Built a houseboat at the island and everything worked beautifully. However, went to the world I am playing, (one of my own creations) build a Port, following your instructions exactly. Put the houseboat I had built on it. my Sims couldn't get off the boat, they just stand there, stamping feet waving arms and yelling. So, I deleted the houseboat, and (again using your instructions) built a houseboat. Same thing happened, tried to get my Sims to go to town and they couldn't get off the boat. Any suggestions?

    Sorry to hear about the difficulty, it'd be really difficult for me to diagnose the issue on a case by case basis like that though. My best suggestion would be to ensure that there is plenty of room for the Sims to route on each side of the gangway, that the gangway/dock were built at the proper height, and that the ocean depth is deep enough in that section of the port to not cause any interference.

    The other thing you may want to check is if you have a basement or hot tub on the deck of your boat, players have had problems with route fails when fishing off the side of the boat. I don't explicitly know if it may cause issues with routing off the gangway as well, but it's something to potentially consider.[/quote]

    The houseboat has a hot tub but there was no problems with it in Isla Par?? (whatever) think I'll have to rebuild port etc again.
    Allergic to Trolls
  • ClairkPClairkP Posts: 136 Member
    edited July 2013
    Me again, due to the frustration of my houseboat not working, I thought I would practice putting houseboats in the world I'm currently creating, however, when I click on the 'place houseboat button' I end up with a houseboat platform (hull) way out in the ocean and nowhere near the neat little port I had built for it. How do I move it so it is attached to my port?
    Allergic to Trolls
  • EndlessSims3EndlessSims3 Posts: 1,077 Member
    edited July 2013
    aw I found this cool ty so much for this I posted to get help how to build on a house boat but I did it all wrong now to go back and just redo the game in a new game lol TY :lol: How can I own the port lot now? TY I finished most done on my house boat will show photos later must get to bed ty so much! :mrgreen:
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • honeygirl25honeygirl25 Posts: 35
    edited July 2013
    My houseboat won't dock at any ports.

    How do I return my houseboat to its port?
    There are a few ways to return a houseboat to its port when it's out at sea. You can...

    • Click on the button next to your Sim's picture. This is normally "Return Home", but switches to "Return Houseboat to Port" when on a houseboat. There is no button there when they are on the houseboat

    • Click on the helm, hull, or wall of a houseboat and select "Return Houseboat to Port". That option doesn't show up. Only move boat and foghorn that's it.

    • Switch to map view, click on the map tag of your port and select "Return Houseboat to Port". option doesn't show up

    • Click on the ground at your port and select "Return Houseboat to Port". Option doesn't show up


    Hi Honeygirl. If you clicked "Abandon Port" at any point, then you'll no longer get the option to "Return Houseboat to Port" because your houseboat isn't assigned to one. Click on your helm and select "Change Port" and then select an open port in the world. Once you do that, the options to "Return Houseboat to Port" should be available once again.

    Found out the ShimrodsTowniesOutOnTheTown150 mod caused Ports, Resorts, and Scuba Diving not to work.
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • mds424mds424 Posts: 37 Member
    edited July 2013
    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?
  • ShadowSkillz_NLShadowSkillz_NL Posts: 9
    edited July 2013
    Thanks for putting this on the forums so we can build ports but...
    I like earning badges and if I enable testingcheats won't that mean that badges will be disabled for that save?
  • cutiepie13579000cutiepie13579000 Posts: 1
    edited July 2013
    Hi, I was wondering, where can I find the houseboats used in the advertisements? I really like the yellow one and the blue one that are in the Sims 3 Official Magazine. The ones under the "Life on the Water" subtitle in the Island Paradise section. I can't seem to find them in game.
  • vicaddictvicaddict Posts: 340 Member
    edited July 2013
    How do you go fishing off the side of a houseboat?
    To be able to fish off the side of a houseboat, a Sim needs a minimum of three tiles wide and two tiles deep of free space along the edge of a houseboat. The edge of the houseboat can't be obstructed by a fence, half wall, object, etc. If your Sim can't find enough space to go fishing anywhere off the side of their houseboat they will route fail - should you see this, you need to free up more space for them.

    Are you sure that these are the requirements? I built my Sim a 22x8 barge and he just won't fish. I deleted all objects around the end of the boat, removed the floor above and even the basement. He is standing at the end of the boat with at least 8x4 of free space and he won't fish.
  • Myles728Myles728 Posts: 2
    edited July 2013
    Hey Graham! You are awesome for answering all of those but, I have a problem where there was never a houseboat that moved around in my gameplay so, there probably won't be a solution to this but if there is one can u please tell me. Thanks!
  • DajuberthelotDajuberthelot Posts: 12 New Member
    edited July 2013
    Could you do anoter guide to know how to do underwater exploration lot please !

    Thanks ! (Post it on Facebook)
  • Ryuzaki5Ryuzaki5 Posts: 50 Member
    edited July 2013
    Gah! Just learned something that should hav been obvious. The side of the houseboat that connects to the gangway is in fact the back of the boat... Regardless to where i put the helm apparently. My sim is driving his houseboat in reverse lol. Now i have to rebuild it! XD
  • CherrysetteCherrysette Posts: 134 Member
    edited July 2013
    Thank you very much for all your efforts creating this guide to houseboats and ports, Simguru Graham. :-) Your tutorial has helped me a lot and is very clear and understandable. I am constantly using it and looking up what I need to know. I really appreciate it. :thumbup:
  • EngelSim83EngelSim83 Posts: 69 Member
    edited July 2013
    Amazing.
    realy big thank u for this this guide.

    now i only need to wait for the guide for CAW. ;)

    I have the tiny lil hope that maybe soon i can find those guides also for diving lots and hidden isles for all the world creators out here ;).
    My Origin: EngelSim
    Twitter:https://twitter.com/EngelSim
  • bklienhartbklienhart Posts: 2,975 Member
    edited July 2013
    Thanks for putting this on the forums so we can build ports but...
    I like earning badges and if I enable testingcheats won't that mean that badges will be disabled for that save?

    No.
  • Klingklang1Klingklang1 Posts: 18
    edited July 2013
    One simple question:
    I don't know when or if I am supposed to turn OFF the cheats I used when making my houseboat. Could someone explain to a builder-newbie?

    Thank you, and for all the great inspiration out there.

    :)klingklang
  • SimGuruGrahamSimGuruGraham Posts: 1,188 SimGuru
    edited July 2013
    Good news folks, the CAW tutorial is now available for those of you eager to build houseboats in your custom worlds. You can find it on the 1st page of this thread, or simply click here.

    I'll continue to get to more questions and still plan on organizing the FAQ better in the near future.
  • CinderellimouseCinderellimouse Posts: 19,380 Member
    edited July 2013
    Thank you Graham! :D It all seems straightforward enough, I can't wait to try it out on my world!!! :D
  • elanorbretonelanorbreton Posts: 14,518 Member
    edited July 2013
    Good news folks, the CAW tutorial is now available for those of you eager to build houseboats in your custom worlds. You can find it on the 1st page of this thread, or simply click here.

    I'll continue to get to more questions and still plan on organizing the FAQ better in the near future.
    Thank you. I hope you will be able to help us out with locations for putting ports into other hoods without routing issues (as per previous posts).
  • MizzRoseBudMizzRoseBud Posts: 71 Member
    edited July 2013
    Thank you Graham ... there were a couple of steps in the CAW tutorial, that I wouldn't have thought of ... I am so glad that I waited :lol:

    I know that this is about houseboats, but will there be a tutorial about dive lots, here or somewhere else ... or is dive lots just another community lot ?

    ETA: In the Edit Town Tutorial you say
    4) Select a lot size from the bin. You're going to want to use a large lot that has enough room to add a houseboat on top of.

    I see that you choose the largest lot (64x64) ... is that the only size we can choose or what is the minimum size we can use ?
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • bklienhartbklienhart Posts: 2,975 Member
    edited July 2013
    One simple question:
    I don't know when or if I am supposed to turn OFF the cheats I used when making my houseboat. Could someone explain to a builder-newbie?

    Thank you, and for all the great inspiration out there.

    :)klingklang

    Yes, you should turn them off.
    The quickest way, if you are completely done, is to exit the game. :)

    The slower way is to take all of the cheats you used, and put off or false after it:
    enablelotlocking off
    buydebug off
    testingcheatsenabled off


    Either off or false should work with all cheats. You want to do testingcheatsetc last otherwise it won't recognize the other ones.
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    edited July 2013
    Thanks for the quick response SimGuruSemedi :) I wish the SimGurus on the tech forums were as prompt... :wink:
  • SimGuruGrahamSimGuruGraham Posts: 1,188 SimGuru
    edited July 2013
    Thank you Graham ... there were a couple of steps in the CAW tutorial, that I wouldn't have thought of ... I am so glad that I waited :lol:

    I know that this is about houseboats, but will there be a tutorial about dive lots, here or somewhere else ... or is dive lots just another community lot ?

    ETA: In the Edit Town Tutorial you say
    4) Select a lot size from the bin. You're going to want to use a large lot that has enough room to add a houseboat on top of.

    I see that you choose the largest lot (64x64) ... is that the only size we can choose or what is the minimum size we can use ?

    Glad it helped! I won't be writing other guides outside of houseboats as they were my area of expertise during Island Paradise. You'll probably have to look to the community to come up with those.

    As for port lot sizes... you can certainly use ones smaller than 64x64 if you wish. It really depends how much of the lot you want to have on land, and you'll just need to experiment with the sizes to find the one that's the right fit for what you're trying to build.
  • Klingklang1Klingklang1 Posts: 18
    edited July 2013
    Yes, thank you moderators! You are life-savers
    Is that exactly before I leave the lot (edit town) and after I've finished placing objects, or directly after I finish placing objects and leave the lot (edit town). I assume clicking edit town saves the lot as is.
    Thanks again

    :-)klingklang
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