Snowstorms lure Sims to the pool?

[ZiggyDoodle]

Was playing a private Uni dorm last night and it began to snow heavily.  Each of the three students who had to go to class left the dorm then jumped into the pool before continuing on to class.   

While they are in the pool, only the "at class" icon appears.  They pop in, swim to the nearest ladder, climb out, and proceed to class.  In their bathing suits.

The two who had class at the same time returned and proceeded to play in the snow.  After finishing a snowman, snow angel, and a snowball fight, their body temp was only slightly blue.  No autonomous clothing change upon entering the dorm.

I've had the same issues with a couple of Servos in Pleasantview.  While the Sims are none worse for the wear, wet Servos are something else.

There's either some mighty strong pool advertising going on during snowstorms, or I have very odd Sims.  Anyone else see this behavior?

[Hook]

I had a Servo jump into the pool during heavy snow.  Not a good idea.

However, the pools are body temperature the year 'round.  They'll cool down a Sim in the Summer and warm him up in the Winter.  This may be why the Sims are jumping in the pool with snow on the ground:  they're cold.  Now, what this has to do with Servos is beyond me.   Maybe the pool advertises heavily during temperature extremes.

Hook

[kewian]

wEll apparently an outside bathtub (dog washing) will do the same thing. They cant wait to get into that piece of crap.  snowing heavily..strip down nekkid and jump right in.. Its soooooooo stupid. I hate it. Im like get the hell out of there retard.. youre going to be a popsicle. 

[ZiggyDoodle]

The oddity is that they go into the pool regardless of body temp and there is no icon showing they are in the pool, as there would be under other cirumstances.

Plan to keep better watch as I've never seen how they get into the pool (jump, dive, slide?); just that they're in it.

BTW, my MATY access has been really doggy since last night.  Snowstorm in Malaysia perhaps?

[purplehaze]

This reminds me of the short story by John Cheever (if memory serves me right) about a man who swam everywhere he went. I can't remember the name of the story...it's been decades since I read it.

On topic: Swimming pools normalize temp, so maybe they were trying to warm up a bit?  Or is there something blocking their route and they 'walk/swim' through the pool to get to the portal?

[Zazazu]

MATY access has been fine, it's just been slower than <insert cliche here> and has been causing lots of time outs for me.

As for the snow-pool conundrum, my suspicion is that it's part of the major route-finding issues sims are having in Seasons. (aka, not being able to walk around the corner of a house even though a path 3 squares wide is open). I had one particular home that had an admittedly small back yard (1x2 lot). The pool was in the back, with a 2 deep path all around it and also wrapping around the sides of the home between the fence and the house. Basically, the path was a big letter A, with the rectangular pool being the dead space up top and the home underneath the butt. Sims still chose to dive into the pool, swim to the ladder, and climb out to go to the tail end of the A-shaped yard to make a snowman. And proceeded to become icies. If I did a "Go Here" sequence to get them to the same spot, they proceeded normally.

[ZiggyDoodle]

maybe they were trying to warm up a bit?  Or is there something blocking their route and they 'walk/swim' through the pool to get to the portal?

Nope.  They were in the house and were warm and dry.  They changed to winter clothing as they exited, then changed to swimsuits and went swimming, then went to class.

They go class and avoid the pool when it is not snowing, so it isn't a portal issue.  Related to the heavy snow somehow.  Not even annoying, just ditzy.

[phyllis_p]

I've noticed odd tracking during deep snow at one of my dorms that has a 6-square wide porch, with steps the whole way across.  Passers-by, instead of just walking on the sidewalk, will walk up the stairs on one end of the porch, traverse the length of the porch, and then walk down the stairs on the other side.  Only during deep snow.  I've also noticed that residents will not use the middle 4 squares of stairs during deep snow.  They will go to one end of the porch or the other and only use the outer-most stairs.

[J. M. Pescado]

Does this happen even with the pool hack, which disallows autorouting to sims that aren't appropriately dressed for swimming?

[ZiggyDoodle]

Don't have the pool hack. Will check it out and try tonight. 

Still think there is some sort of association with heavy snow and swimming since they don't exhibit this behavior in other weather conditions. 

I also question the lack of a pool icon while they are in the pool. They are aware of what they are doing every other Sim moment.  Why not then?  They think they are in class.

A bit of phys ed before physics? 

[J. M. Pescado]

There's some suggestion that heavy snow influences the routing preferences of your sim, perhaps causing them to end up routing through the pool. The pool hack prevents such routing.

[Gwill]

Does the poolhack prevent sims from using the water slide too now?
I had a funny incident with the poolhack.  On a fancy downloaded community lot there was a pool with a little island in the middle; on the island there was a hottub.
I had added the swimwear lady painting (visitor controller) to the lot so that sims would use the pool.  Suddenly I had a bunch of sims standing on the island, dressed in everyday, waving about blocked route.  Turns out they were outgoing sims who had gone into the hottub naked, and dressed when they came out, now trapped on the island because they didn't have their swimtrunks on.

Found Picture:

Notice pee puddles...

[J. M. Pescado]

The pool slide is now covered, yes. I will add an exemption for sims attempting to leave so they don't get stuck.

[rohina]

Does the poolhack prevent sims from using the water slide too now?
I had a funny incident with the poolhack.  On a fancy downloaded community lot there was a pool with a little island in the middle; on the island there was a hottub.
Found Picture:

Notice pee puddles...

Ooooh! Major lighting trap. Heh.

[Hook]

Passers-by, instead of just walking on the sidewalk, will walk up the stairs on one end of the porch, traverse the length of the porch, and then walk down the stairs on the other side.  Only during deep snow.

I noticed the same thing in a house I played that had 3 square wide stairs.  Thought it was very weird, and I think it only happened during deep snow.

Apparently deep snow *does* do weird things to routing.  But going through the pool??  Jeez, Maxis.

Hook

[JaneK]

This reminds me of the short story by John Cheever (if memory serves me right) about a man who swam everywhere he went. I can't remember the name of the story...it's been decades since I read it.

On topic: Swimming pools normalize temp, so maybe they were trying to warm up a bit?  Or is there something blocking their route and they 'walk/swim' through the pool to get to the portal?

I cannot name the short story either, but a film was made years ago starring Burt Lancaster and the title was The Swimmer.

[joanm]

This reminds me of the short story by John Cheever (if memory serves me right) about a man who swam everywhere he went. I can't remember the name of the story...it's been decades since I read it. 

Apparently the title is The Swimmer.  I googled John Cheever.  http://www.amazon.com/Stories-John-Cheever/dp/0375724427

[Gwill]

OK, speaking of routing through the pool...  The Dorm Cook(!) just left his shift by going through the pool.
Cleared the tables, went outside, spun out of his uniform and into trunks and jumped in, swam to the other end, got out and left the lot.  There was snow on the ground, but by god, it must still be easier to wade than swim!
I do have the poolhack installed, btw; I have the complete director's cut minus marriagetraditional.

[J. M. Pescado]

I do have the poolhack installed, btw; I have the complete director's cut minus marriagetraditional.

The poolhack now allows this sort of exit, specifically because of your "stuck on the island" sims. So yes, the theory is thus correct, the snow IS messing with their routing.

[ZiggyDoodle]

It is also messing with their ability/desire to do the clothing spin upon entry into the house.   Had a few flakes fall on my Avio lot.  No biggie storm; just a dusting.  Sent Cassie Avio out to the greenhouse to water and then to go inside to talk to the parrot.  She dutifully spun into her outerwear, watered, then climbed into the pool (I was watching this time), swam around, climbed back out (using the same ladder) and headed for the bird cage.     

She remained in her bathing suit, as all my wonky-swimming Sims have.

[sewinglady]

And here I thought it was just MY idiot sim.

I also thought it might be the configuration I gave the backyard, so I moved a tree and the compost bin.

That seemed to stop the getting in the pool swimming to the other pool access ladder and climbing out and proceeding in swimwear to the greenhouse in the middle of winter.

I left 4 tiles free between the deck and the pool, figured that was plenty, but then the dingy sim does this... even when preggers!

And no pool hack installed in my game.  Off to find that one...

I was beginning to think I should have just left her dead (she managed to spawn the idea to serve omelettes the morning she got knocked up and then set herself on fire doing that.  Hubby hadn't gone off to work yet so he plead for her life and won against Grimmy...)

[Kasmira]

This bug is really funny.  My daughter plays my 'hood with me and her one simmy has a business.  For some reason she had a pool on her business lot and during winter the employees would path through the pool on their way to restock or do sales or whatever.  There were plenty of spaces to go around it and it wasn't in the middle or anything, but she finally took the pool out because of it.

[Swiftgold]

I have a house built on a few platforms in the middle of a lake, where some of the long platforms connect to the sidewalk. Usually the walkbys will just pass on the sidewalk, but when there's any snow at all they'll hop onto one of the platforms, go up the stairs, across the main house, down into the house, and then outside. It makes no sense whatsoever, the sidewalk doesn't even get snow on it really, so why do they have to go tracking through the house? *sigh* No pool here though, just the lake, but it's definitely the snow's fault.