So there are a couple of things that disappointed me after trying out TS3 Island paradise Mermaids:

•The first is not being able to create mermaids in CAS. After noticing that I couldn’t create a mermaid sim like I would supernatural sims, I turned to Bing. There I found that in order to become a mermaid, you either had to find the Mermadic Kelp or use cheats to get enough lifetime Happiness to buy one. I really wish they would have made it easier to create a mermaid sim.

•The next thing is the way the mermaids swim. It just looks like something with the animation is way off.

•The last thing is those horrible leg scales!! I wanted my sim to look normal on land, but those scales made this impossible. I wish EA would have thought that one through a little.

If there's anything you guys would like to add feel free :]

Bing? Who uses Bing?

But, I gotta agree. There's no real benefit to playing as a mermaid, except for diving. Most of the creatures in Sims 3 just feel so... Bland. Like, to me, they just seem like regular sims most of the time.

I think it'd be neat if mermaids didn't need to eat, or something.

Well a few days before i got island paradise i was on here and found a mod that hides the scales of your Sims but i can't find it anymore :c can anyone help ?? ♥ ♥

Is there a way to summon mermaids or get more interactions underwater because it gets boring as a mermaid after a while :c

Also how to you get the diving skill as a human ?? o_O

Here is the mod:
http://linna.modthesims.info/download.php?t=506912
There's a way to do it without a mod, though. Just open a console window with CTRL+SHIFT+C, then enter:
testingcheatsenabled true
unlockoutfits on

Then go to a dresser and Plan Outfit, then select clothing category and Accessories. You will now see the mermaid scales show up as an accessory and you can remove them. You can return everything to normal by opening up the console window and entering:
unlockoutfits off
testingcheatsenabled false



Snorkeling will do it.

No one says you have to put them in miniskirts and shorts. A stylish pair of jeans, and you'd never know they were mermaids, until they started to dry out.

And you can take a class at the Science Lab.

The reason why you can't make them in CAS is because of code issues or something, sorry!

Also if you don't want to snorkel to gain the skill, you can use Nraas master controller mod.

But that's the thing, I wanted my sims to be able to wear shorts and skirts and look normal.

GnatGoSplat gave you your solution, above

I like the fact that mermaids have scaly legs on land. it's fun, and cute. like vampires shiny eyes. I don't like the way the actual scales look... but I like the idea. anyway, the cheat is a good option for people like me that don't use mods. thanks !

Considering their love of unnatural animations (such as all the TS3 idles), I'm not the least bit surprised.

It's not too bad, though. With the tail fin that way, they would swim a little like a seal or a dolphin.

Someone has probably answered this already, but to build your diving skill you need to dive. After several diving board attempts you'll get a message saying the skill is increasing which you keep doing until you get a further message saying you have mastered the diving skill. (Swimming Pool Diving)

The other diving skill/snorkelling can be done in the Science Lab and then I just kept visiting dive sites and snorkelling and it will soon build up your skill. I was disappointed when I got to Level 10 and there was nothing interesting worth maximising the skill for. (Snorkelling/Diving Skill)

Well I sortof disagree on that. You get a hidden island, and I find the diving skill to be very lucrative with both the fish you catch and the various opportunities you get from the diner, science lab, city hall and restaurant (20k for two eels is a very nice deal). And shark attacks/cave monster attacks become much less frequent, mermaids don't get attacked at all. So it's sortof as useful as the other skills to me, only repetetive.

Personally I really like the mermaids, but as I have played with most life states frequently I guess I was prepared for a few oddities. I really liked the swimming animation myself, don't see how it could be different considering the anatomy of the human half (spine) and the position of the fin. And the scales are nice on the mermaids I've made, but I don't really like them on npc sims
Only thing I don't like? They say mermaids prefer fish, but there's no food buff for fish. You'd think there's be some sort of mood boost if they like it, since they still get the various food buffs from human meals.

Well, you do unlock that new Steampunk diving suit when you get to level 10. Not that I would ever dress my sim in that ridiculous outfit, but it is something for mastering diving (scuba/not diving board).

But that suit would be good used in Lunar Lakes as everyday, formal, outerwear or whatever. They're walking around in a spacesuit; when they go inside they are forced into sleepwear or something, which is normal clothing you've selected.

My sim ditched the helmet somehow, so he dives in that suit without the helmet on; maybe this is because he has the Iron Lungs LTR...

From what I've seen there is no way this expansion can work in any other world that I have unless I am wrong.

It can, we found out not even 12 hours after the release, there were tutorials already out on how to place Dive Spots and Hidden Islands in other worlds. It's a very simple process.

Hidden islands:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=506296

Dive Spots:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/689285.page

I have a working dive spot going in my custom world, based off Bridgeport's terrain. So diving should also be possible in Bridgeport, too.

I stand corrected but most of the worlds like moonlight falls do not seem capable of this unless I am wrong apart from that I have found the new features hard to master.

In my honest opinion, I don't really see hidden islands working in most worlds unless they're like coastal...With some islands along the horizon. As for dive spots, again it's more of a coastal thing to me. But if there is a very large lake, I could see it working as well.

Come to think about it, most of the worlds have a large amount of water which is either sea or river. I know that when you create a new game with a new expansion pack has it's lots and features placed in it but I have not noticed this time around but I have noticed that a lot from a expansion I have not installed (I did but it caused a problem the last time I think it caused either clash with something or it was broken.)

The lot I found was the festival square for the world, why is it in there?

My issue with the mermaids is that there's no way to turn them off in the game options, so any town with a dive spot will eventually end up with most of your townies turned into mermaid, apparently.

I find mermaid scales on land a bit garish, but my solution has been to recolor them to mostly match the Sim's skin color, with a little bit of subtle color added in the middle... you get the scale texture too of course. Still shows they're a mermaid but looks a lil more natural and doesn't clash with all their outfits





Actually you can hide ANY lot... doesn't have to be an island. See this awesome tut: http://www.modthesims.info/article.php?t=506296

And you can put a dive spot in any world that has sufficiently deep water. You'll find a lot of threads here and elsewhere about what worlds people have had success with.

Port lots can go in any world with enough shoreline, and therefore so can houseboats.

Small boats, snorkeling, sunbathing and other new beach interactions work anywhere with even a little water. Similarly, I assume, for the lifeguard career, though I haven't tested that in other worlds yet.

And resorts can go anywhere, although as has been pointed out, your sims WILL sunbathe at them regardless of the weather

So in fact, the large majority of the IP gameplay can be used elsewhere even for non-CAW users, and I'm sure that there will be a lot of CAW worlds that do a more thorough job of implementing all of it and tying it together.

Yup, just like with aliens