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Theorist
Original Poster
#1 Old 24th Jan 2016 at 2:32 PM Last edited by topp : 16th May 2022 at 4:26 PM. Reason: minor text edits
Default How to build a deck/foundation/room on the beach on BV beach lots

This tutorial will show you how to make it temporarily possible to build a wall, room, foundation, fence or how to put down objects on or edit the terrain of the beach area on a Bon Voyage beach lot.

In this image, I marked the typical areas of a beach lot:



As you can see by the image below, building a new or extending an existing foundation, room or deck, or placing some objects is normally not permitted over the beach area:



Using Mootilda's Lot Adjuster program, it's possible to temporarily remove the "beach lot" flag from a lot, which will then remove the beach area restrictions.

Things you will need:
STEP 0
Back up your neighborhood. Place down a beach lot. (This method works with existing lots as well.)

STEP 1
Exit the game, and open Lot Adjuster. Locate your neighborhood, and pick your lot from the list of available lots.

STEP 2
Click the Advanced button. Uncheck the "Beach lot" box, click Finish, and close Lot Adjuster.



STEP 3
Open the game, and load your lot. You'll notice that the water now looks different, i.e. the water may lose its reflection and may be hovering over the ground. This is because beach lots draw water differently than regular lots. Having done step 2, we have managed to make the game treat the lot as a regular, non-beach lot. This means it won't block the beach off, but it will also not support placing some beach-exclusive objects down, such as the pirate ship anymore (for now).
You may now customize the beach area as you wish, without the use of moveObjects or constrainFloorElevation codes.






Once you're done editing your lot, save, and quit the game.

STEP 4
Open Lot Adjuster, locate your lot, and under the Advanced options, check "Beach lot" box again. Click Finish, and close Lot Adjuster. Note: if you've moved the portals around in step 3, make sure that "Place portals manually" box is checked before you click Finish.



STEP 5
Open the game, and load your lot. Test it out thoroughly. Does the water look normal again? Can Sims interact with objects placed on a beach?...

Congratulations - with a bit of effort and imagination, you can now create even more beautiful beach lots for your Sims!



IMPORTANT NOTE ON MOVING/BINNING/PACKAGING/SHARING BEACH LOTS
As with any typical beach lot, placing it down in a neighborhood will reset its beach area (this includes moving the lot within the same neighborhood using the in-game move lot tool). In my tests, the terrain was shifted from a cove back to a flat shore line, while the deck remained. The portals also remained on their custom locations, some sank under ground.

If you wish to share such edited lots, the only way to do it is to either:
  • upload the entire neighborhood your lot is in, or
  • follow this tutorial which further explains which files are required to be included along with the lot file itself, and what the end user is supposed to do when installing the lot in their neighborhoods.
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 24th Jan 2016 at 7:44 PM
Thank you, this is a very useful tutorial!
I also like your use of a darker terrain paint below the waterline. It makes for a much more realistic look, in a way.

I'm http://crispsandkerosene.tumblr.com/ on tumblr, admittedly not very active on MTS.
Trainee Moderator
staff: trainee moderator
#3 Old 24th Jan 2016 at 8:59 PM
Thank you! I didn't know it was possible to create such beach lots.

Catalogue of Custom Neighborhoods for TS2
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Theorist
#4 Old 24th Jan 2016 at 11:38 PM
It was so nice of you to put this tutorial up for everyone. Thank you!


“Seize the time... Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.” ― Jean-Luc Picard
Theorist
#5 Old 24th Jan 2016 at 11:48 PM
Love this. Thank you for posting.
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 25th Jan 2016 at 11:10 AM
This will come in very handy, thanks a lot!

(Question: Will I be able to edit the sea bottom with the water terrain tool? I've been dreaming of building fishable sea shores. )
Theorist
Original Poster
#7 Old 25th Jan 2016 at 11:43 AM
The only idea I have on my mind is that you extend the sea over the beach area, create a pond in it, and have Sims fish there. It will look odd, though.

You can't really create it deep in the water (sea area) because Sims won't be able to route to the pond shore.

Try and experiment, perhaps I'm mistaken.
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 25th Jan 2016 at 11:54 AM
Ah okay, thanks!
True, I guess the best way to see how it looks like might be to go and try to build it.
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