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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 10th Mar 2020 at 3:25 AM
Default Capabilities and Uses of Lakes
This is a question regarding a key feature in a world I am building, but not a help request or issue, just a curiosity.

A world I am working on is based around a rather large lake. This lake is built using almost 20 water planes (I am quite proud of it, as it is the first time I have ever made such a lake), meaning is not normal sea-level ("ocean") water. I am wondering if anyone has tested or otherwise knows the capabilities and uses of these lakes. Normal oceans allow for fishing, swimming (with Seasons), boating, and houseboat ports (with Island Paradise). I was playing a custom world which had a similar (though much smaller) lake. When I attempted to add a new lot (via Edit Town) on the shore of this lake, I got the message "lots can not be placed on lakes" while I was able to place the lot partially or entirely on normal sea-level water. This lake did, however, have a small dock house lot on it. This tells me that lots are perfectly fine being placed on lakes in CAW, but that lakes are more restricting than normal water.

My questions here are:
Can I build houseboats on a lake?
Can Sims travel across a lake on a boat?
Can Sims swim in lakes?
Do lakes provide for fishing?
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Inventor
#2 Old 10th Mar 2020 at 5:43 AM
Quote: Originally posted by bobgrey1997
Can I build houseboats on a lake?

Probably. To build a houseboat you just need a lot that's partially on water and the special "dock." As long as the dock fits in the lot you placed on the lake, there shouldn't be any issues. I don't think the game internally knows the difference between oceans and lakes. It's all water.

Quote: Originally posted by bobgrey1997
Can Sims travel across a lake on a boat?

If you manage to place the houseboat dock and install a houseboat on it, I don't see why not.

Quote: Originally posted by bobgrey1997
Can Sims swim in lakes?

Yes. They can swim in any body of water not made using the POND TOOL (i.e. any body of water that's part of the world and made with Create-A-World)

Quote: Originally posted by bobgrey1997
Do lakes provide for fishing?

Yes, as long as you put fish spawners.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 10th Mar 2020 at 9:44 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Naus Allien
Probably. To build a houseboat you just need a lot that's partially on water and the special "dock." As long as the dock fits in the lot you placed on the lake, there shouldn't be any issues. I don't think the game internally knows the difference between oceans and lakes. It's all water.

The game does know enough to know it is a lake and not an ocean. Normally, you can place port lots in Edit Town by placing the lot partially in the water, at which point the game tells you "lots can not be placed on lakes".

Quote: Originally posted by Naus Allien
Yes. They can swim in any body of water not made using the POND TOOL (i.e. any body of water that's part of the world and made with Create-A-World)

Well, the lake was not made in CAW, it was made in a hex editor. CAW does not allow for building lakes (or any water) at a different height than sea level. Water plane files have to be made and edited in a hex editor and imported into the .world file.

Quote: Originally posted by Naus Allien
Yes, as long as you put fish spawners.

I will probably place several. The lakes and rivers in the area it's based on have many, many fish.

Thank for the reply. I hope that lakes not being normal water won't prove to be too problematic.
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