Quick and easy swimmable lake tutorial

This method is really easy, I made this tutorial quite detailled to help you the more I can.

1- Dig your lake,

2- Flaten under the water be careful with squares near the ground (Ctrl+Z to go back),


3- Ctrl+C - Move object on - place a column,

4- Tile the top of the column, any default tile, it is easier to see what you build with it,


5- Ctrl+C - boolProp constrainFloorElevation false (CFE false) dig under the column with a large brush click after click until the tile just diseapear 1 click under water,


6- Re-flaten underwatter (redo when needed),


7- Place more columns (a column allow 2 tiles each direction),


8- Tile the top,


9- Page down remove the columns (to enlarge your tiling goto 6),

10- Place a foundation (any type) on the ground (arange it if needed),

11- Using the Shift key place a latticed deck or a column deck foundation on the first one,

12- Then on the tiled undewater floor add an other deck,


13- Reduce the decks height to 4 clicks :
On the ground, then on the floor place 3 successive modular stairs, remove them, turn the CFE true to place a column underwater on the lower level, a foundation and a column on the ground,


...turn the CFE false, from the top of each column flatten to the deck (ground to ground, water to water),


...remove foundation and columns, flatten the ground, flatten the tiles,


14- CFE true, adjust the decks sizes, place stairs to the ground and to the water deck, moveObjects on, place pool stuff,


15- Replace building tiles (Shift-click) with transparent one (RGilles,Niol, Monlight_Muse uploaded diferent models on MTS2), you cant avoid the tile border but you can mask it with plants. add decors...

16- It is done !


...diving boards on the ground deck are usable by the more skilled sims !

Et voilà !

Hope it helps


I thanks and give credit to JustTheBast for his tutorial and to all the contributors in this thread especially the more than useful _Niol

I will add it in the wiki base after your comments and may be changes.

Pdf files in english (TutSwimLake.rar) and in french (TutSwimLakeFR.rar) are availlable bellow.

Darn you are such a clever thing - thanks so much for this, I got quite frustrated with an older one I was using. What to make what to make!

Why replace the tiles? Couldn't you just delete them after placing all pool objects? Does this break the swimmable pond?

Riceball : Yes , the trick is the tiling else the sims dont dive into water.



even with the water bottom higher as possible

The diving board is the single way to enter fake water, ladder is here only to exit, you have not the 'enter' option.

Thanks patul, this is a very easy way!

Tres bon! Patul


Swimmable lake tutorial linkage (These're different methods to attempt to create swimmable lakes/beaches/ocean/sea/ponds or else) (alphabetically ordered in terms of username):


Custom object-based:

frillen
Triple Magic
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=253468

Tutorials:

corvidophile2
Tutorial:Making a swimmable lake-The safe way (for all game versions) (terrain paint approach)
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=171505

HabboArwen
Tutorial-SWIM in a lake (for all game versions) (terrain paint approach) (yes, it's back again.)
http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/sto...?asset_id=20008

JustTheBast
Tutorial: Making real lakes swimmable (for all game versions) (water tool + fake pool approach)
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=158216

patul
Easy swimable real lake -Tutorial
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=245795

sunni9676
Tutorial for creating pool lakes & beaches (for only the base game TS2 and/or EP1-UNI) (swim-pool approach)
http://www.modthesims2.com/showpost...45&postcount=21
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=85093

tkdjunkie
Tutorial: The Swimmable Lake Illusion (for all game versions) (terrain paint approach)
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=131752


Trouble-shooting threads:
Help - Swimmable Lake
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=190297

Wow, Thanks! a real swimmable lake!

Thank you so much for this - real water for swimmable lakes - been waiting so long

Wow, thats so cool, I couldnt never figure out why my Sims wouldnt dive off boards I put over lakes with move objects, I see now, I have to get all hella technical and figure out the boolprop stuff so I can place a floor under the water and stuff.

Thanks a bunch

Thank you for this very easy and clear Tutorial. Even a beginner like me now can make a swimmable lake. In fact I have made several residential lots that work really great, but I have a problem with my commercial restaurant lot: One of the Townies raises above the water, gives the message "Ï'm going home, I have to many needs or something like that" and than the game is starting to freeze and constantly repeating this message. Do you know of a reason why the game is starting this kind of looping, did I make some stupid mistake ??
I have made this lot in a clean account, with only Rgiles clear transparent floor tile and the CEP in the Downloadsfolder, and I have all Expansions and stuffpacks installed.

I noticed that NPC sims dont "see" the water sometimes with a fake lake, they plan their path as it dont exist but are blocked then replan then blocked...issue ...move object on ! Or if it is every time on the same place, a fence.

Thankyou for this tutorial. I found it incredibly easy to follow, and I was able to use your instructions to fix up mistakes I'd made.

For some reason when I push the tiles into the water the tile spots disappear

On step 7-8 it is only visual, you can tile even without gridlines

It seems to be great tutorial to get the idea. Thanks for this...

I realize this tutorial is old, but I do have something to add:

I tried using this to make a swimmable lake for my campground; problem is, the part where you put stairs from the deck on the ground to the one on the water tiles isn't working. It keeps talking about "can't intersect wall", and won't even set the stairs. Of course, the stairs work going from the deck to the foundation (ground) and then foundation to ground, but then gives me fits for to the water. I have followed the tutorial exactly, done it several times as practice, and the only thing I can think that's different is the lot type: I'm using a community lot in a vacation subhood, and before when I got this to work, it was a residential lot in same said vacation subhood.

Has anyone else gotten this to work on a comm. lot in a vacation subhood? If you have, I could really use your advice!

I need to ask a question about the Swimmable Lake Tutorial. Do I have to build the decks like that in order for the sims to be able to dive in water or can I just build the tiles and columns change the tiles to transparent one and just be done with it

Patul's quick and easy swimmable lake tutorial (with pictures replaced)

1- Dig your lake,

2- Flaten under the water be careful with squares near the ground (Ctrl+Z to go back),


3- Ctrl+C - Move object on - place a column,

4- Tile the top of the column, any default tile, it is easier to see what you build with it,


5- Ctrl+C - boolProp constrainFloorElevation false (CFE false) dig under the column with a large brush click after click until the tile just diseapear 1 click under water,


6- Re-flaten underwatter (redo when needed),


7- Place more columns (a column allow 2 tiles each direction),


8- Tile the top,


9- Page down remove the columns (to enlarge your tiling goto 6),

10- Place a foundation (any type) on the ground (arange it if needed),

11- Using the Shift key place a latticed deck or a column deck foundation on the first one,

12- Then on the tiled undewater floor add an other deck,


13- Reduce the decks height to 4 clicks :
On the ground, then on the floor place 3 successive modular stairs, remove them, turn the CFE true to place a column underwater on the lower level, a foundation and a column on the ground,


...turn the CFE false, from the top of each column flatten to the deck (ground to ground, water to water),


...remove foundation and columns, flatten the ground, flatten the tiles,


14- CFE true, adjust the decks sizes, place stairs to the ground and to the water deck, moveObjects on, place pool stuff,


15- Replace building tiles (Shift-click) with transparent one (RGilles,Niol, Monlight_Muse uploaded diferent models on MTS2), you cant avoid the tile border but you can mask it with plants. add decors...

16- It is done !


...diving boards on the ground deck are usable by the more skilled sims !

Et voilà !


Note from gazania: I am only replicating patul's pictures. I do not take credit in any way concerning this tutorial.

Thank you very much Gazania ! Quite appreciated. ;

The single missing picture in the follow-up post is below.

Rosebine and those who saw this: Sorry I messed it up a little, but this is the first time I've tried un-Photobucketing a tutorial. I'll do better next time! Honestly, this might be alarmist, but I am concerned that PB will eventually even stop us from doing this .... if it survives.

Patul hasn't been around here since 2011. If this was a recent Photobucketing, I might have tried contacting the creator first.

Thank you for information.