Beach lots are abeautiful addition to your Sims game, but if you don’t know how to build onthem, or place them properly, you may just find them to be more of a nightmare! With this tutorial I hope to help reveal some of the secrets of these tricky lots, and help you have more fun with your game!

REQUIREMENTS:

Beach lots are available with the Bon Voyage EP, so I will assume you have this, or plan to get it.

CONTENTS:

Section 1 – Beach Lot Behavior

Section 2 – Tips for Downloaders

Section 3 – Tips for Uploaders

Section 1 - BEACH LOT BEHAVIOR: 

First things first, it helps to know WHY beach lots are so different. You have no doubt noticed that they are not grouped with any of the other lot choices in your game. They are separated for some very good reasons which, once understood, make (some) sense.

(1) Beach lots don’t adjust like regular lots:

On a regular lot, if you build a hill and then move the lot to a new place, the hill will be duplicated exactly as you built it because the lot adjusts to your changes. This is not so with beaches. With a beach lot,the non-beach area will still adjust like normal…however, the beach will not. It is static, and does not change to reflect what you have created. This is why there is a line running through the middle of your lot, and why you can’t adjust the land on the beach without cheats.

In the first picture of the ocean ruins below you see multiple items actually IN the ocean and on the beach. If a downloader tries to place this lot on a different spot than the one I built it on, they may find that those columns/decorations are floating in midair and the stairs don’t reach the beach – but the roadside part of the lot will look just as it should!

This is because the beach is locked into place, but the non-beach area is not. So although the land part adjusts to the new lot just like a regular lot will, the beach doesn’t change at all. The hard part for a downloader then is finding a new spot that has the same beach height as the one they downloaded. Hence the reason beach builders tell you where they put the lot originally, so you don’t HAVE to hunt down a spot with the same beach height. To avoid problems, whenever possible you should try to place the lot on, or as close to, the original build site as you can. Or at least one that resembles it.

(2) Lot Bin Removal Secret:

The lovely FA Pinecat found this little behavior by accident, and boy are we glad she did! You cannot turn a new beach lot for placement like you can a regular lot. If you do, you will find that, more often than not, your game will crash. Why? Because of the new animations involved with beach lots and the complex coding involved.

There are several new beach interactions that are not included in regular lots. These include water animations, swimming animations, combing for seashells, building sandcastles, etc. They do make the game more fun and interesting, but the coding required is quite complex. It is this very coding that causes some delicate building problems with beaches.  It takes up so many resources for the game to adjust to the new direction that it will usually just crash. This is more of a problem with larger beach lots, though it can still affect smaller ones as well.

Take a look at the pictures below:

Pic A – When I first removed the lot from the lot bin, this is what it looked like.

Pic B – To properly place it, I should put it in a spot facing the same direction.

Pic C – Turning the lot is a BIG no-no. Sometimes they will still work, but sometimes they can crash or be really buggy. Better to be safe than sorry.

Pic D – Even though the lot shows that it can be placed, it has been turned, and a larger beach lot will probably crash my game.

Hopefully this has cleared up some of the mystery surrounding beach lots! I hope it helps you enjoy your game more!

Section 2 – Tips for Downloaders:

These are just basic strategies to help ensure that you are happy with your beach lot, and have a few less stresses to deal with.

(1) READ THE INSTRUCTIONS:

This is THE most important tip I can give you. (This tip is actually good for any lot that has instructions.) Most beach builders have instructions on proper placement of their lot. For goodness sake…READ them and follow them! The builders didn’t write them for their health, but for your playtime enjoyment. If they are too complex, or if you aren’t sure about them, you can either PM the creator for clarification, or just find a different lot.

(2) Don’t turn your lot.

As we have seen in the information above, turning your lot when you take it out of the bin to place it is just asking for problems. Take out your lot, find a spot that does not require turning it, and place your lot. It helps if you can put your new lot in the same spot that the builder created it in. This will solve almost all of your beach problems before they have a chance to happen. If you can’t/won’t do that, at least try to either set it as close to the original build site as you can, or set in on a site that closely matches the original.

(3) If objects are floating on your beach:

This one is actually fairly easy to solve! If there are just a few items on the beach…a tree or two, maybe a rock…just grab the items and they should drop right down to the beach again. To fix stairs that now don’t reach the beach, you should just be able to delete the stairs and replace them so they do reach the beach properly. If, however, the items on the beach are as multiple or complex as the ruins in the pictures above, this may be more time consuming than it is worth. It is better to either delete all the beach items, or just bulldoze the lot and put it in a new spot. (Remember – By placing your lot in the same spot the builder did you can avoid this problem completely!)

(4) If your lot crashes your game even though you didn’t turn it:

First, don’t panic! Odds are that you have simply put the lot on a beach that is too low/too high for your new lot to accept.(Remember…the beaches can’t adjust!) Try placing it in another spot – Even better, try putting it in the same spot the builder did, as I have recommended a thousand times before. ;) If it keeps crashing your game, and you want to keep the lot, please contact the creator for further information on placement recommendations. If it still crashes your game, it may just be too much for your computer to handle. Try a different lot…maybe something a little smaller or less complex.

Hopefully these tips will help YOU have a better time playing these wonderful lots!

Section 3 – Tips for Uploaders: 

These are just tips…I am not here to tell people how to build, just trying to help solve some problems with beach lots before they happen.

(1) PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS:

Letting downloaders know exactly what neighborhood you built your lot in, and where you originally built that lot isn’t just a kindness when it comes to beach lots…it’s almost a necessity! Having a neighborhood screenie of where you placed the original lot on your previews is even better!

(2) Beach Objects:

Unless it is absolutely necessary for a certain look…like the ruins above…try to keep the items that are actually ON the beach to a minimum. This will prevent a lot of problems with lot placement as the downloader won’t have to worry about items floating on their lots. If you must place objects on your beach, PLEASE be sure you are clear in your instructions and placement information…and remember that not everyone will read this little tutorial. You can either recommend they read this tute, or explain why following your instruction is necessary.

(3) Neighborhoods:

If you are planning on uploading a lot for others to use, try to avoid using a custom neighborhood. This will at least ensure that all downloaders have an equal chance of placing it in the same spot you built it in. If you really want to use a custom neighborhood, be sure that you make it clear which neighborhood you used, and provide a link for downloading it if you can.

(4) Test your lot first!

Most builders are pretty good about this one, but some aren’t. So please move your newly created lot to your lot bin, place it in a different spot, and try to open it to see what happens BEFORE you upload it.This will help better prepare you to answer questions should someone have a problem placing your lot.

-If you find that it crashes more often than it doesn’t you can pretty much bet that downloaders will be sending you emails on a regular basis about your lot. (Or worse, they may not tell you and just report it to TSR as a problem lot!) Of course you can always insist that they ONLY put it in the same spot as you built it, but downloaders have their own ideas of where they want to put their lots, and many will probably disregard a direct order…I would! My recommendation (should crashing be a REAL issue with your lot) is that you scrap that project and try again in a more “neutral” spot on your neighborhood map. Or just keep it for your own play!

-If it usually opens up with no problems, or only a few little errors (like floating objects) just make your directions clear and you can help your downloaders help themselves.

Beach lots can be a lot of fun to build, and beautiful to see in action, but building them for others requires a little more time and effort than just building for yourself. Be a responsible beach lot builder, and you’ll find a lot more downloads with a lot less problems!