Why walk when you can swim?

[eevilcat]

I know sim routing is 'less than perfect' but have been noticing problems with swimming pools over the last few months. Specifically, if I direct a sim to do something e.g. like compost a newspaper and there is a pool with appropriately placed ladder(s)/diving board between them and the target, then the dumb sim will swim across the pool to reach the target rather than walk around it. This doubles the time it takes to do anything with the change into/out of swiimwear and the getting into/out of the pool. Is this normal behaviour? I'm sure it's a fairly recent (Seasons/BV) change.

The only packages I've got installed that seem to directly affect routing are Pescado's noroutefail, TJ's Students Move Away From The Portal and Squinge's MoveAwayFromFridge. Other mods such as ACR may invoke actions that involve routing.

[Emma]

I've noticed that too! I've got a fence around my pools, with a locked gate. Another thing I've noticed with the secional sofas, if a sim is directed to do something, they'll sit down on the sofa first

[Tingeling]

Yeah, thats why my lots dont have a pool anymore. It doesnt matter if they have plenty of space to walk beside the pool, they still swim to the other side...

[Alex]

Actually, this happened in The Sims 1! It's obviously something they have never rectified.

[Process Denied]

It's been happening since Uni for me.  There is a work around by messing with your ladders.  I think it happens when the ladder is in the route.  There is probably a way to manually change the path but I'm not that savvy.  I'm certain it is not a hack conflict-- just a Simmie Stupidity.  It seems like that was suppose to be fixed in on of the patches.

[Zazazu]

I had issues with it during Seasons, which is when I discovered shrunken lots. I found that any homes with a 2-space walkway around the pool where the pool could in any way be considered to be in their path would have sims swimming through the pool to get where they were going.

[Kyna]

I noticed it in Seasons, including on a 5x5 lot with oddles of space on both sides of the pool.  I wouldn't know if it was happening before Seasons, as I tend not to put pools on my lots.  I added one on this particular lot because there was plenty of space on it, and to check out the pool shapes & waterslide introduced in Seasons.  Haven't noticed it since for the same reason I didn't notice before.

[Quinctia]

I haven't had it.  I don't know if it's because of the way I tend to build pools and place ladders, or blind luck.

Of course, in my one house that's had a pool for years, none of the sims go outside autonomously except to throw water ballons or baseballs at each other.   

[Strangel]

I had that issue with a Strangehood house with just the base game.

[jolrei]

I had that issue with a Strangehood house with just the base game.

I am thinking it may be related to the routing problem where a sim will leave the house to walk completely around it, enter into the back door just to get to the room immediately adjacent to the one he was in.  I still get that sometimes as well.

[talysman]

I haven't seen the pool issue, but I've had the go-outside-and-around-the-house issue (who hasn't?) Which is why I love the feature of Macrotastics (I think that's where it's hidden) that allows multiple "Go Here" commands in the queue, so that you can make the sim take the best route.

That's when I'm playing for a specific goal and need the best behavior, rather than the first one that works. Sometimes, letting sims come up with their own stupid solutions is more fun. Like when my teen autonomously rushed outside and told a total stranger walk-by about her memories of being potty-trained.

[Alex]

Well although I've had it before, it's only really started again since BorkTime. Edward and Opal Contrary were standing by the fish tank, and Rick went out of his bedroom, all the way around the house just to get to the lounge room on the other side...

[Sivany]

I haven't seen the pool issue, but I've had the go-outside-and-around-the-house issue (who hasn't?) Which is why I love the feature of Macrotastics (I think that's where it's hidden) that allows multiple "Go Here" commands in the queue, so that you can make the sim take the best route.

Isn't that a seperate hack? I think it's noroutefail. My macrotastics certainly doesn't do this!

That's when I'm playing for a specific goal and need the best behavior, rather than the first one that works. Sometimes, letting sims come up with their own stupid solutions is more fun. Like when my teen autonomously rushed outside and told a total stranger walk-by about her memories of being potty-trained.

Who the hell remembers being potty trained anyway? When I installed FT many of my sims lost all their memories of learning to walk, talk and use the potty, which I thought was quite realistic although somewhat annoying because when I used the upgrade>pre FT on the lot debugger I had to manually add the points for those things. Plus their parents lost all the memories of teaching them as well which wasn't so great and several sims lost memories of having their children which is even worse. It was weird how specific it all was as well. One sim lost the memory of learning to use the potty and talk and her parents lost the memories of teaching her, but she kept the memory of learning to walk because her older sister had taught her and she still had the memory of doing so intact.

[aubreylaraine]

I had that issue with a Strangehood house with just the base game.

I am thinking it may be related to the routing problem where a sim will leave the house to walk completely around it, enter into the back door just to get to the room immediately adjacent to the one he was in.  I still get that sometimes as well.

thats the super fun curious house. they can't even go into the closest door, they have to walk all the way to the front door or go up the stairs to the second floor then back down the inside stairs to get to the adjacent room. the pool thing, i had that just once. pretty cute, but if it happened often i would have to tear all my hair out.

[Zazazu]

Well although I've had it before, it's only really started again since BorkTime. Edward and Opal Contrary were standing by the fish tank, and Rick went out of his bedroom, all the way around the house just to get to the lounge room on the other side...

Wait until you get them hanging out while in different rooms, playing kicky ball while one's outside and the other's stopped at the front door, or best of all having a pillow fight where one is on the second floor and the other is on the first. These don't happen to me much overall, but the hanging out one happened last night.

[J. M. Pescado]

I know sim routing is 'less than perfect' but have been noticing problems with swimming pools over the last few months. Specifically, if I direct a sim to do something e.g. like compost a newspaper and there is a pool with appropriately placed ladder(s)/diving board between them and the target, then the dumb sim will swim across the pool to reach the target rather than walk around.

Poolhack will stomp this behavior. Sims will no longer be allowed to path through pools unless already in swimwear.

[talysman]

That's when I'm playing for a specific goal and need the best behavior, rather than the first one that works. Sometimes, letting sims come up with their own stupid solutions is more fun. Like when my teen autonomously rushed outside and told a total stranger walk-by about her memories of being potty-trained.

Who the hell remembers being potty trained anyway?

Same chick who had the problem with Ricky Cormier later:




So, now she knows Christy Stratton. Not that I really cared if she knew her...

[eevilcat]

I know sim routing is 'less than perfect' but have been noticing problems with swimming pools over the last few months. Specifically, if I direct a sim to do something e.g. like compost a newspaper and there is a pool with appropriately placed ladder(s)/diving board between them and the target, then the dumb sim will swim across the pool to reach the target rather than walk around.

Poolhack will stomp this behavior. Sims will no longer be allowed to path through pools unless already in swimwear.

I was hoping that this was something that had annoyed you sufficiently enough to fix it.

Is there a way of fixing the 'walks all the way around the house to get to the room next door' problem? It also seems to strike when checking for an open area for two sims to interact in e.g. to backrub. If sims are indoors I would have thought that outside would be initially excluded from any search and only looked at if there was nowhere suitable inside to carry out the interaction.

[GayJohnScarritt]

Like when my teen autonomously rushed outside and told a total stranger walk-by about her memories of being potty-trained.

   I've yet to have a playable autonomously go out to meet a walk-by (visiting playables do it all the time tho).  It's probably because i refuse to play without my DMA controller and its auto-greet function.  I also couldn't live without its caller-ID function.  Drives me insane when playing a vanilla game, the phone rings and i have no idea who the call is for and who's calling.  (And speaking of Caller-ID, i find it strange that Pescado doesn't have a hack for that - unless it's a Gwilly type thing).

Is there a way of fixing the 'walks all the way around the house to get to the room next door' problem? It also seems to strike when checking for an open area for two sims to interact in e.g. to backrub. If sims are indoors I would have thought that outside would be initially excluded from any search and only looked at if there was nowhere suitable inside to carry out the interaction.

   Ditto on a wish for a fix for that.  Having to wait for them to walk all the way around to get to the other side of the wall really bites when i've got them in the middle of a romantic (get your fricking moods back to platinum) scenario.

(Edited to add my agreement with Sleepycat's comment)

[Emma]

I know sim routing is 'less than perfect' but have been noticing problems with swimming pools over the last few months. Specifically, if I direct a sim to do something e.g. like compost a newspaper and there is a pool with appropriately placed ladder(s)/diving board between them and the target, then the dumb sim will swim across the pool to reach the target rather than walk around.

Poolhack will stomp this behavior. Sims will no longer be allowed to path through pools unless already in swimwear.

I have poolhack and I have still seen this behavior.