Tips and Tricks: Fun With Waterfalls

When I wrote the first few chapters of this story, I was having a lot of difficulty building a realistic waterfall. So today, while I was supposed to be writing chapter 27 *cough* I thought that I might play around with building a waterfall. The results were spiffy. (Come have a look.)

The waterfall that I made for these pictures is pretty dinky but after building it, I believe that I have mastered the art. I could do one 10 stories high if I pleased! But seeing as how my processor probably wouldn't thank me for that, I think I'll stick to waterfalls 4 stories and under. 

This will be useful if I ever re-visit Arbormoor Falls (the spot where Macaulay half-heartedly tried to off himself). And now for your gaming/storytelling benefit, here is how I accomplished this feat of engineering:

Step 1: moveobjects on, boolprop snapobjectstogrid false

Step 2: Build a corner. You can make it any number of tiles that you wish and any number of stories (up to 12 or so I hear). You may even prefer to make a series of corners, that is, a wall that forms a zig-zag pattern. If you choose to make the waterfall more than one story, start from the bottom up. 

Step3: Build a pond at for the waterfall (optional). The pond should be located on the inside of the corner, ie at the arc of the angle. You are likely going to want to nestle the waterfall between the walls so that is where the pond should likewise go.

Step 4: Next, you're gonna need some rock. I use the rock from this set.  To place the rock walls, you just move them over top of your existing walls. This set also includes ceilings that can be used as ledges in the waterfall. 

Step 4: Water! I used these multi-story waterfalls. But this set includes some beautiful ones too. However, that last one requires Bon Voyage. Just place the waterfalls as you like against the walls (on the inside of the corner). At the bottom of your waterfall, you'll probably want to place a few of these guys. Because you have those cheats activated, you will be able to put these little waterfalls together to make different shapes and whatnot. The ground rocks in this set are an excellent addition to the waterfall as well. I used them in the pictures above.

Step 5: Plants. Plants hide a myriad of sins. You'll find that the fountain-type waterfalls have bases on them that will need to be hidden. This can be done with rocks but it can also be done with plants (or better, a combination of both). Plants give the scene a lush, idyllic look. I'm a big fan of the groundcover plants from that macarossi pond set linked above but you'll also want plants for placing on the waterfall its self. You can use almost anything for this, even the Maxis bushes. And let's not forget other great decorative items like swans and frogs. 

A waterfall is a pretty easy thing to do with the right custom content. And it can make for some gorgeous scenes. Happy simming. :)