Well, the new Island Paradise Expansion was released last Tuesday, and I’ve been having a great time exploring the new features in the pack — mainly the BOATS! I gotta say, being able to take my Sims out boating on the open water is one of those things I never knew I wanted in my game, but now that I have it, I love it! There’s so much variety in types of boats – rowboats, sailboats, aqua sleds, speedboats, pedalboats, and of course the houseboats. The first time I heard about the houseboats, I imagined good old Uncle Elvis owning one and taking it out to sea for fishing trips. So naturally, Uncle E., along with his son Lucas, was my first Sim in Whimsett Cove sail the seas.
First I wanted to try building a port (mainly as a place for his houseboat to dock), so following SimGuruSemedi’s tutorial, I built one along Timberline Beach (where Uncle Elvis and the Theater Trio live).
It’s a pretty simple pier, with a gangway for a houseboat and then some other boats (rowboats, sailboats, and a pedalboat).
Since there are some tall dunes on this beach, I built a stairway going down to the pier, but the Sims don’t use it — they just run down the hill and right to the water. So I guess it’s just for looks!
More pics of the pier:
I couldn’t figure out how to have Uncle Elvis purchase a boat from the pier (although I found out later that you have to click on the mooring post, not the boat itself), so I ended up placing a boat trailer in his front yard and buying a rowboat that way. I clicked on the ocean and directed Elvis and Lucas to a spot near Manketta Island. They ran down to the water, hopped into the rowboat, and off they went!
Hooray, the first real boat in Whimsett Cove!
And of course, I took way too many pics of this grand event.
Poor Lucas got seasick. I can relate.
But he recovered well enough to be able to fish!
Once they’ve taken the boat out a bit more, I’ll have to reward them both with the “Strong Stomach” lifetime reward!
As much as I enjoyed the rowboat, I really wanted to build Uncle E. a houseboat, so that was my next project! He used up almost all of his savings, but it was worth it.
Elvis brought Lucas and their dog Betsy on board for a few days to sail around Matkooskee (I’ve decided that Whimsett Cove is the town and Matkooskee is the island) and do some relaxing/fishing.
(I had no idea what to do with the top of the houseboat, so it became a random collection of stuff that didn’t fit in downstairs — giant grill, garden planters, a game of Cochon Qui Rit so they’d have something fun to do together, etc. I want to work on a better layout!)
Elvis caught some outstanding fish off the edge of the boat. He’s lovin’ life!
Not so much for Betsy. Sure, she was happy they brought her along…
…but there wasn’t much room to run around, and definitely no decent place to relieve herself! :facepalm:
They spent the first evening in a little bay on the western side of the island. There was a beautiful sunrise the next morning.
Lucas has the summer off from school, so even though it was a Monday, he got to stay on the houseboat and have fun. I love that Sims can jump off the back of the boat to swim and snorkel.
It’s hard to take decent pics of the snorkeling — I might need to download a different camera mod that will let me go underwater a bit. Not that there’s much to see! (Unless you scuba-dive, that is, and there are no scuba-diving lots in Whimsett Cove…yet.)
That evening they sailed to their next stop — the lighthouse on the southern side of the island, which they don’t see very often since they live on the opposite side. I didn’t realize how huge that thing is until I saw their boat next to it!
They relaxed that evening by playing a rousing game of Cochon Qui Rit.
I’m testing out a few of Burnt Waffles’ lighting mods to see which one I like best, if any (they’re all beautiful but I’m hoping to find one that feels coastal New England-y). This one is Moonrise Kingdom 4.0 with Aurora Skies water and no chance of aurora. I just thought the water and sky looked so pretty here.
I also put her Enhanced Star Field mod in, and I really like it. Billions upon billions of stars!
That’s it for now! Happy Simming!
I’m so happy ! The new expansion is a good addition for Whimsett Cove ! Your houseboat and the pier are amazing ! Have you other projects with the new expansion for the island ?
Thanks so much, Corblas! I do plan on building some more piers for boats and houseboats, and eventually I would like to build a proper marina (everything I’ve built so far as been a quick job, just so I could play more! ;-). I want to try resorts, too, but I have a feeling I won’t use them much in Whimsett Cove — I don’t like how the game assigns locals to be guests. I’d rather choose who stays there myself. So we’ll see!
What a cute story! I love that little pier you built along Timberline Beach! And that time with Uncle Elvis and Lucas (and Betsy of course!) is so idyllic and oh, I almost feel like I was there!
I love your site since I saw it for the first time. And I love all your creations! Whimsett Cove is so pretty! And you’re an amazing architect and decorator! I love all your posts in “Design Challenges” – you have a great talent!
Aww, thank you, Kate!! :) You’re such a sweetheart. I really love the Sims and builds I’ve seen on your Tumblr! Thanks so much for stopping by. :D
May I have the little red sailboat, pwease, pwetty pwease?!? Oh, boy, new thing to save up for, the new pack! I wasn’t that interested at first, but I know I have two sims in Bouganvillia Bay (think that’s spelt right, I usually just refer to it as Plant Bay, that’s easier on the tongue) that would get a big kick out of the new pack: Johnny Dash, who would love the sailboat, and the guy with the mohawk (don’t like him, he’s an idiot, can’t remember his name) would love a houseboat :-) And, nope, you can never have too many pictures, you know :-) Brilliant update, and more more more please!
Scally! I love the name Bougainvillea Bay! It just sounds so beautiful and relaxing. :) Johnny Dash, he sounds like a hoot…Thanks for your lovely comments!! :)
Not happy now :-( Fixed a TV, and a couple of computers, and got enough $$$ to get Island Paradise, Generations and University Life. Went to install, and Sims 3 stopped working. Uninstalled it all, went to reinstall, disk drive wouldn’t read the disk. So, I put it in my other laptop, and the darn disk shattered! I’m hoping (fingers crossed) I have a copy of the install files on Porky, my external hard drive, otherwise no more Sims 3 for me :-( Oh, and Bouganvillia Bay is from the exchange, I think :-)
Oh no, Scally!!! I’m so sorry to hear your disc is broken. :( Especially after you worked so hard to get those other EPs. Were you able to install it from your external HD? If not, I just heard that the base game is on sale on Steam right now – 50% off!
All okey dokey (kinda sorta). I managed to get the base game, Uni, and Island Paradise installed, but I couldn’t install WA, AM, Seasons or Pets, since the laptop won’t read the disks. I’m in the process of transfering the data to Porky so I can reinstall those. And, no matter what I did, I couldn’t get Generations to work, but hey, two out of three ain’t bad :-)
Darling, I’m going to repeat myself but you’re the best advertisement for that expansion pack to me!
I’m not interested in Isla Paradiso at all, but those cute little boats with the dock, the stairs on the dune, that keeps making me swooning over! It looks so natural, so serene, so perfect… Awww…I’m in love!
Big hugs for the poor little Lucas!
Uncle Elvis gets even a houseboat!! Ahaha, I laughed at Betsy peeing in the bedroom. For sure, I haven’t thought about it, but there’s not much space on a boat… :D
What a fun day! (playing Cochon Qui Rit!!! *yahoo*)
Those landscapings are amazing!!! I’m in awe with that starry night! I didn’t know I needed that mod! ;)
*dreamy sighs*
Thank you so much, Sandy-dear! I thought IP was just an OK expansion myself until I started doing things with it in Whimsett Cove…I didn’t know how much my island was missing some real boats! But the rest of the EP is pretty useless for WC, I think — I don’t think I like how the resorts work (though maybe modders can make that better!), and all of the Spanish and tropical-themed stuff doesn’t really work in my world. *lol* But I do love it for the boats! And yay for Cochon Qui Rit — thank you for making that; I thought it was the perfect game for Elvis and Lucas to play together. :)
Squee Gorgeous Pictures. I was becoming a Lone Tacki Bear, suffering from a lack of TSD (I have been unable to find the forum for something like two weeks) but looking at your pictures I feel all better now. <3<3
They are gorgeous as always, and with that realistic feeling. I love how you used the nautical items from Island Paradise. It's so much the perfect add-on for Uncle Elvis and Lucas.
What a gorgeous (house)boat ! Love how you did the upper deck thingy (totally a technical word :P!) And I adore that picture of uncle Elvis proudly catching his fish with lil' lucas at the table who looks like he is cheering on his dad for having caught lunch! ;D
Lol Poor Betsy , no all in one bathroom for dogs….* huuuugs to her*
Little Lucas going snorkeling had me on the edge of my seat….but Phew! No weird big fish/ shaaaaarks around …( or else you might have heard my scream from the other side of the Ocean ;D )
Yay a game of 'Cochon Qui Rit' Lol, I love how Uncle Elvis and Lucas seem to handle it like a very serious thing *giggle*
Oooh what a gorgeous sky….Hope you don't mind if I stay a bit staring at the boat and billions of stars. *sigh* BLISSS!!! (now where have I put my cookies…….. )
TEDHI!!! You haven’t been able to reach TSD?? Oh no!!! :( Manu, Lilidebergerac and some of the other French members were having the same problem. I think they’re able to reach it by proxy or something, but I don’t know how that works. :( Webby just changed some settings today, so I hope that means you’ll be able to access it soon!! WE MISS YOU! *hugs* Here, have some cookies!!
Thanks so much for your kind words about my update! I’m glad you enjoyed it! :D And yeah, I’m not sure I want to put any of those shark spawners in my world…too scary!!! (Although I might put them in along with a no shark attacks mod…then I could at least have some sea life in my world, but no nasty shark attack deaths! *nodnod*)
I have ti agree with Sandy: You are the best advertisement for this EP! I have been unsure of whether or not I will eventually get it, but when I look at your pictures, I am *almost* convinced! I love how many different boats there are, and your houseboat is one of the best I’ve seen so far, because it looks like a real boat! You did such a great job!
Aaahh, uncle Elvis is living the life!!! Uncle E and Lucas are the perfect boat testers, and I adore those pictures of them on the water *sigh*
Thank you so much, Sara-love! *hugs* It’s too bad they couldn’t have just done a mini-EP which was all boats, so everyone could get the boats without paying for all of the extra stuff that they don’t need or want! Heh.
Gosh, Jen, every time I see your pictures, I want this EP even more!! I already started planning where to put the pier in Bimlico *lol* Yes, it would have been so great to get just the boats, and not all the extra stuff from the EP!
Sooo lovely Jen!!
Aw, thanks for stopping by, Jenny!!