I have this same problem of not being able to connect the stairs directly from the foundation on the water to the ground, even though I tried to make it 4-clicks high. I use the UC version of TS2, if that matters.


Does anyone know how I can resolve this?

Not sure this would look the way you want (also don't play Sims 2 too much anymore) but think it would be possible to build a foundation on the land next to water and add couple floor tiles at this higher lever that span across water which you could connect to your water platform via stairs.

Hello @Softlism
Have you tried placing floor tiles on the row nearest the lake then try to place the stairs?
I think you might need to add another row covering the lake while you place the stairs (then remove when stairs are placed).
Using these stairs can be tricky as they don't like walls or windows nearby either.
Hope this helps?
Good luck!

@ladysimplayer8 thanks for your tip. These are the steps I tried so far:

First I checked if the floor above the water was at foundation height (4 clicks high)....


Even though I added a floor, it still refuses to place modular stairs



This is how my setup looks so far.

Hello @Softlism
I thought the best method might be for me to have a go.
I found you need to build the foundation first e.g. the pier or a house using the type of foundation you are using.

I added a couple of floor tiles (slatted wood) to the front of the foundation plus placed some discreet concrete too, then added steadfast stairs.

Then I started creating the lake around it using the water tool.

The height of the foundation sticks will lengthen to the depth of the lake.
To use the water tool beneath the stairs area, just go to the floor below on your controls.

Occasionally you may get an error message that you can't edit some areas, but just move your camera around to access it better.
Edit the shape of the lake, add some ground color as desired. I also, chose to change the steps to an 'open look' and re-edited the area under the stairs.


Hope this helps?
P.S. I am now considering build a house surrounded by a lake.

@ladysimplayer8 thanks for your instructions. I have created a staircase for the dock...


...but how would you suggest connecting the swimming area with the dock area? I cannot place a foundation on top of the swimming area.
Can you show me an example of Sims being able to swim on the lake with your workaround?

Hello @Softlism
There is a step by step tutorial on how to achieve having a swimming area on a lake back on the first post of this thread.
Personally I haven't tried creating a pool area within a lake - I think of Sims 3 when I thinks of Sims swimming.
Looking through the instructions, you will achieve a pier and have a swimming area. If it is not quite where you want your pier, level the area of ground where you want to place the pier with the terrain tool, put in the foundation and stairs again and edit with the water tool as you did.
Good luck!

@ladysimplayer8 I tried the steps from OP's tutorial on the 1st page, but I struggled with placing modular stairs the same way as OP, as shown in my post no.79. That's why I wondered if you are able to recreate OP's tutorial.

Hello @Softlism
So it is actually the final 'step' (pardon the pun) in the tutorial that you are struggling with?

Things I would try:
Select the connecting stairs of your choice, hold the ALT key and try placing them - sometimes this can work when there are different terrain types being connected.

If you have followed the tutorial (achieved the swimming area) and are at the same place as trying to place the steps as in the OP's pic:-
1. Level the land with the terrain tool for another tile (or two) towards the lake.
2. Place at least three or four floor tiles over this area.
3. Place your connecting stairs (try the ALT key too - it won't do any harm).
Then remove the floor tiles, use the water tool to edit the lake again plus add the ground cover paint as desired.

Hope this helps?
Good luck!

This looks like a fun building challenge! I've been trying to become more comfortable with the CFE cheat-- just built my first attached garage and curved Japanese footbridge this year!

@ladysimplayer8 yes I struggled with the final step. Can you add pics of how you reproduced steps 1 and 2 to get the same results as OP? I'm a visual learner.

Hello Softlism
I appreciate you are a learner but I had thought you had been able to follow the pics and instructions from 2 posts early as this is what I was asking you to do again.
I think the best idea is for me to recreate the pic by the OP as the stairs are about to be placed and describe as best I can to how I achieved it.
I believe it is tricky - perhaps even fluky - and it took me several efforts when I tried to place the front steps of the Beaker Home from Strangetown into my Sims 3 game.
Leave it with me just now and I will get back to you as soon as I can - hopefully later today.

Update
01. Lake created and pier placed

02. Level more land under pier (I did two more tiles)

03. Add floor tiles on this area

04. Place steps of your choice - I would recommend the steps used in pic for an open look.

05. Go to the floor below the pier

06. Remove the floor tiles - you can add back floor tiles later.

07. Use water tool to remove the terrain you added under the stairs area

08. Stairs now in place and should look like this


I hope this helps you?
I have not used any cheats to place these stairs. I know in the tutorial a cheat was used, so make sure the cheat is disabled/turned off, in case that is what is giving your any difficulty.
Another thing is that steps need to be least on the third tile from the pavement to the lot.
Good luck!

ETA: I redid the steps but it still didn't work. Instead, I tested the foundation docks on a separate pond.

OP has made the floors invisible before modifying the deck, so you basically add a foundation on top of a foundation by holding the Shift key.
I leveled the top foundation above the pond with the ground-level foundations using the CFE cheat, so the foundation level is y x 4 clicks high in order to place modular stairs.


I can place modular stairs normally on the ground-level foundations stack from every angle...


...but this isn't the case for the foundation stack in the pond, even though I tried the Alt key and every angle.

@ladysimplayer8 I noticed you only used a single foundation dock on the pond, while OP uses a double foundation with the Shift key, so your method looks different than OP so far I noticed. Can you try out adding a functional diving board and use cheats? The floor doesn't have to be painted invisible yet.

Hello @Softlism
I think the best idea is for me to try and do the whole tutorial from start to finish; however I won't be able to do it today but perhaps tomorrow.
I just noticed the tutorial was written in 2006, prior to the release of the Bon Voyage EP which lets Sims swim on the beach lots near the shore line. Would that help you for the lot you want to create?
I will get back to you as soon as I can.

@ladysimplayer8 yes I wondered if it has to do with that OP used an older TS2 set. I want to let Sims swim on a separate lake instead of a beach lot. Good luck with recreating the entire tutorial!

Hello @Softlism
This morning I looked over the tutorial and your pics again then went to my own lot with the pier and removed the steps, then tried to replace them but not possible without my method as I stated in my first post.

Then I sent John Burb to Woodland Park where there is a lake - but only option when clicking on the lake is to "fish using..."; so this confirmed the Bon Voyage swimming option is only for oceans.

I started playing Sims 2 in November of 2006 initially with the Base Game then added Night Life and Glamour Life. By the Spring of 2007 I added some more Expansion Packs - Uni, Seasons and Celebrations and somewhere at this time, that was when I noticed that there was problems placing connecting stairs i.e. needing to remove walls in front, behind and to the sides of any stairs or it would not allow placement.
Regardless of the foundation height, it is no longer possible to place stairs as in the picture of the last step of this tutorial without levelling the terrain to be under the pier (in my opinion) or at least when you have several expansion or stuff packs installed.

All I can recommend to you is when creating the pool part, that it is only goes under one tile of the width of the pier (perhaps make the pier with a width of three tiles?) so that you can level the terrain under to add the stairs then remove the stairs later.
I apologise that I can't offer you any more advice; congratulate yourself that there is nothing wrong with your building skills.

No. You just have to build the lake properly - remembering which level you are on. You have to connect level to level. See my Woodland Park (which was originally uploaded to MTS in 2011, but the newest version is the one I linked to, on my blog.) It was the first lake I made "swimmable."



@Softlism I will write up a new tutorial for this in the next few weeks (Spring Break is coming!) I use a combo of this OP tutorial and this one. But, they are both ancient and could use a good update.

Brilliant! Eagerly awaiting this, I always have such difficulty making swimmable lakes!

So... is that your prime?
I miss the YYZ reference. I will get the tute up soon - thanks for the interest.

Hello @CatherineTCJD
Thank you for showing your Woodland Park and what can be achieved - I think @Softlism will appreciate this too as well as your forthcoming tutorial.

Yes it is! You know me so well!