Making a hot tub in Sims 3 requires no mods, hacks, or custom content. However, you will need the World Adventures and Ambitions expansion pack, plus a little creativity.
Step One
Open up the cheat bar by pressing Ctrl+Shift+C on your keyboard. A semi-transparent blue bar will appear at the top of the screen. In this, type: “testingcheatsenabled true.” Visually, nothing will happen, but this cheat will enable a whole range of cheats that were previously unusable. Press Enter on your keyboard to activate the cheat.
Afterwards, the blue cheat bar will vanish, so open it up again and this time type in “buydebug on” and press Enter to activate the cheat. This is a really useful cheat that allows us to access an entirely new feature in buy mode, represented by a question mark (?). From here we can buy a variety of spawners (to place bugs, fish, plants, and gems), tomb items, relics, landmarks and misc. décor.
Step Two
Now it’s time to get constructive. Go to: Buy mode>Debug>Tomb Objects and purchase the “Dive Well.” It’s free, and can be recolored, but it will not lose its stone texture. Place this wherever you wish. I recommend applying decorations such as rocks and shrubbery to blend it into its environment.
In the cheat bar, you may wish to type “moveobjects on” to place objects nearer the Dive Well feature. Moveobjects allows you to place objects anywhere on the grid, interlock objects, and move objects/Sims that weren’t previously moveable. Oh, and don’t forget to apply terrain paints for a much better effect. I personally like to use a sandy effect, such as “Racked Sand,” to give either a beach-like or Asian appearance.
Step Three
It’s time to get your Sims inside! For this, you must use the moveobjects cheat. Go to: Buy mode>Entertainment> Miscellaneous Entertainment, and purchase the “Fuzzy-Logic Picnic Basket” for 150 Simoleons. Short on cash? Type “motherlode” into the cheat bar for a 50,000 Simoleon top-up!
Quickly move the Dive Well out of the way, and return to Live Mode. Tell your Sim to change into their swimwear and serve a picnic. Afterwards, instruct them to sit, because it’s weird to eat and swim! Make sure that you get everyone you want inside the hot tub to be wearing their swimming gear, and make sure that they are all present at this stage, because it is hard to get them into the hot tub afterwards.
When serving the picnic, you will be asked to place the blanket somewhere. Place it were the Dive Well should be, and continue getting all of your Sims into position. To finish off getting your Sims inside, place the Dive Well on top of the picnic blanket back in buy mode. Ensure that you cannot see the corners of the blanket by placing the Dive Well carefully, or by disguising them with décor afterwards. Also, you must make sure that your Sims’ backs don’t sink into the edges, because that’s just odd.
Step Four
Lastly, some special effects to add to the illusion! Go to Buy mode>Debug>Misc.Objects, and select the “Fog Emitter.” This is a handy devise used to make over 300 visual effects in the Sims 3, including graveyard mist and waterfalls!
Place the Fog Emitter in the center of the Dive Well using moveobjects. Don’t worry, it will be invisible in Live Mode. Hold Ctrl+Shift and click the Emitter. Then press “Set Visual Effect.” In the menu that appears, type in “bubbles.” There are many codes for the Fog Emitter that you can search for online. Sadly, its not usually as simple as typing “bubbles”! Experiment with different effects if you wish, such as “bakingdishsteam” for a steamy appearance. You can only use one effect per Emitter, so if you want multiple effects (who says that you can’t?), you will have to get your hands on more than one Fog Emitter. Remember, with moveobjects activated, you can place them on the same tile.
And we’re done! Have fun experimenting with different styles and effects!
