I'm not going to repeat all my ideas here because I have an entire thread full of them in my signature.
However, I felt very disappointed with
Island Living Expansion when they introduced merfolk and
Excluded Underwater Gameplay. It felt like
Half the expansion pack was missing, and it would make a difference for me if there was a patch that added underwater lots to the game. I want my merfolk sims to have a place in the game like the other occults, and I want my human sims to be able to scuba dive and actually see what my sim sees.
The way merfolk drift underwater while back floating or sleeping is a nice touch, but it isn't the underwater gameplay I'm looking for.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51159963999_5ba61420ec_h.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51144702144_2058cbc595_h.jpgAs a marine biologist, merfolk
can perform the
snorkel interaction to
survey marine life, but the interaction
doesn't feel right because the game
specifically excludes the snorkel interaction
for merfolk. It would be nice if merfolk had their own
unique interaction around shallow reefs. Not being able to climb a ladder makes sense, but it
felt very cheap to be
Unable to do Anything Unique around these
Shallow water buoys as Merfolk. For
Deep water buoys, I
expected to be able to follow my sim to where they go like in Sims 3.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51153879015_6e8705a9e7_k.jpgFor relaxing and sitting at the pool edge, I think a toggle for the merform would be a nice option so that I don't have to have cheats enabled. I like being able to get achievements, but as things are now, I almost always have to have cheats enabled to do everything I want to do.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50291385027_9c7202ccdd_k.jpgSitting at the waters edge doing homework, reading, a book, or just sitting at the waters edge in general. Feels unrealistic that sims can't sit at the waters edge. I would like to have the option to use my merfolk's merform at the water's edge.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51102902767_9f902c5345_b.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51145029715_f67dc98f85_b.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097173500_5a5b8b6ba6_b.jpgMerfolk will autonomously sleep in a pool, but on waterfront lots or near swimmable water in world, they do not autonomously sleep in water. It's a little awkward creating a pool for merfolk that won't sleep in the ocean... Also! the game doesn't let you build in-ground pools on waterfront lots because there is no basement... So, the house looks weird too. It would be nice if time sped up while merfolk slept in the water.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50960266718_f1bde0a6aa_k.jpgI wish children and toddlers had a merform. I've actually had multiple instances where the illusion created by game play was broken, and I know that occult children not being able to engage in various occult actions can feel disruptive. Vampire children can't consume anything made with plasma fruit (Effectively you have to make two separate meals to meat your occult families needs.) Merfolk children can't sleep in the water (this forces very complicated builds to meet the needs that are satisfied differently because merfolk don't actually need human beds to sleep.) Both Merfolk Toddlers and Children can do enough interactions in the water to justify a Merform. I don't expect the full range of mermadic magic even if Island Elemental Children from the
same pack can literally
summon giant fireballs from the sky...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51154172767_4bd3ea461c_b.jpgToddler Neck Deep in the water and a different Toddler getting carried by his mermaid mother in the water (By the way, there is one lot on Mua Pel'Am that is exceptionally buggy with toddlers because they don't leave the lot the way they enter it and it is completely surrounded by water that toddlers can't go in and can't be carried through. This is unique to that one lot.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50692714701_0082ba657e_b.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50691969278_b0be2b0992_b.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50889584222_617f3d6237_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50201459766_e51ccd48c5_z.jpgI mean, I don't understand why the merchildren simply can't have the tail in the water, the ability to sleep in the water, the ability to go underwater with their family, and the ability to swim faster and effectively use less energy. If merchildren could do this, then merfolk would almost be able to have actual underwater
residential lots. The only thing they can't do in the water is eat and use the bathroom without embarrassing moodlets.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50224683968_ef8c097986_k.jpgMerfolk reveal some interesting bugs and pack incompatibilities. There are some strange things you can't do in the water and other things that use the exact same animation that you can do in the water. Merfolk can practice their speech without leaving the water using some wall mirrors, but they can't practice debate or acting. So, they never really revisited the merfolk when University and Get Famous came out.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50302913223_c4b410f280_k.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50302913583_951f32656b_k.jpgAlso, merfolk can't look at posters from the water...
When enough merfolk gather on a lot, there are some other oddities. I'm not exactly trying to report a bug, because a lot of these things are just lag, but I think merfolk need to be revisited. They went to great lengths to depict Polynesian Culture accurately, but they sorta gave merfolk the short end of the trident. They could have done so much more with the merfolk and didn't. And, the gameplay leads me to believe they never went back to change this.
The product of in game lag...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51143926551_df43ecd2c1_k.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51144702394_2e3b7c9d30_k.jpgCelebrities walking on water while more than 8 merfolk appeared on the lot.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51144701099_883c0d0059_b.jpgChildren and Toddlers did have the appearance of a merform, but I was extremely unhappy that they hid it instead of actually giving them a merform.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50306560602_927a87e3b6_k.jpgI know that not everything will be done as quickly as I'd hope it would, and I understand that this isn't a wish list. I'm not reporting bugs because some of these things aren't real problems for me and rarely ever happen. I'm just saying that merfolk and many other existing occults
Need updates. I know a few people would probably be happy if updates were made. I'm sharing so many screenshots, so you can see what I'm trying to say, and I honestly wouldn't believe me if I didn't actually see some of this.
Edit was to fix a typo.
EA Staff (Retired)