[FIXED] [IL] Mermaids have no tail/no hydration bar (missing trait) [ Edited ]

[HeroicJay]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.52.100
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Get Together, Cats and Dogs, Island Living (obviously), Vampires, Spa Day, Movie Hangout Stuff, Perfect Patio Stuff
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Just wait for a mermaid to spawn, teenage or older. Must be randomly-generated, not player-generated or one of the three existing townies.
What happens when the bug occurs? Affected mermaids never have mermaid fins while swimming, even after being invited to join a playable Sim's household. (You can modify their fins from a dresser, but they still won't use them.) They have Hygiene, which is not increased while in the ocean, instead of Hydration. However, they still have some other properties of being mermaids, like their songs.
What do you expect to see? Correct trait, correct behavior. Outed or playable mermaids should have fins when swimming and Hydration, not Hygiene, meters.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. Installing Island Living

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When I noticed a randomly-generated young adult mermaid behaving incorrectly, I used a trait-checking mod to look at her traits and noticed she was missing a trait found on Nalani and my custom-generated mermaids, whether outed as mermaids or not. The trait was identified as "trait_OccultMermaid_TYAE". This still occurred in a fresh save file after disabling all mods except the trait checker (it does not modify traits, it just looks up what they are). Upon realizing the bug and checking various Sims, I have yet to see a randomly-generated mermaid with the TYAE trait, or a non-randomly-generated mermaid that didn't have it. So I'd guess that missing trait is the culprit.

After some more playing around, I was able to get a bugged mermaid to transform in the water, but her Hygiene bar is still present. 

Edit By Crinrict: Adjusted Tag

[crinrict · Accepted solution]

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Randomly generated Mermaid Sims will no longer be seen without some features in affected Simmer Saves. However this fix is not retroactive, so it should be seen fixed in new saves.

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Fixed in Patch 1.69.57/ 1.35

If you're still experiencing this issue, please create a new thread.

[simvasion]

@HeroicJay how do you know this is "correct" or not used for some other mechanic? Maybe they have this trait until they are outed or discovered, similar to how aliens and vampires switch between traits in their disguised/dark forms?

[crinrict]

@HeroicJay I did some testing on this and there seems to be two legit traits. The first one occurred for me once I reached a certain relationship level with the Sim (don't know how high it needs to be).

Did you add her to your household via cheat ?

[HeroicJay]

It's not correct because the mermaids don't transform and have the wrong need bar. But the trait mismatch is consistent, and my best guess at the problem.

Now then, I am aware there is a separate trait (trait_OccultMermaid_Discovered) that indicates if a mermaid has been outed. Doesn't matter. In my own testing, that fact was entirely irrelevant to the issue. Nalani has the correct trait in a fresh game even before I interact with her at all. She won't transform until outed, but once outed she behaves normally. This is not how bugged mermaids behave.

When I first encountered a bugged mermaid, I asked her to join my Sim's family with the Friendly command (and upon doing so, she HAD the "outed" trait - which is distinct from the two listed above - but still would not transform. Since it came up.) In my follow-up test with the mods disabled, I added a spawned mermaid to the family via Manage Worlds. Both times they remained bugged. No cheats.

MORE INFO: Maybe trait_OccultMermaid is sometimes there and sometimes not? Or it gets replaced by trait_OccultMermaid_Discovered? I just started a new game to get screenshots and used the trait checker on the moment I saw Kalamainu'u. She had both trait_OccultMermaid and trait_OccultMermaid_YTAE (she's pregenerated; does not negate the bug.) LATER: Yes, Nalani and Ukupanipo also have both traits in a fresh game. So the important thing appears to be whether or not they have trait_OccultMermaid_YTAE. Not having that seems to be the bug.

[crinrict]

@HeroicJay OK, I was wrong. My randomly generated Sim had the trait correctly from start.

For me it shows

Mermaid(trait_OccultMermaid)
and a little further down I have

trait_OccultMermaid_TYAE

Guess that what got me confused.

I need to find another.

[HeroicJay]

Hm, this was a Sim randomly generated by the game? If you're seeing the TYAE trait, you're already seeing something different than I am; I was able to get another bugged mermaid in my current test.

[crinrict]

@HeroicJay I don't think it's a matter of wrong traits but of traits not being added correctly. Not sure what triggers it

And yes, she's a random nowhere living Sim (hidden household). Maybe the hidden households are fine but not the other household ones ? Which household are yours ?

EDIT: FUnny thing is when I added her to my household it seemed like the hydration was like you described and all but now she suddenly has that trait and I don't know why. Unfortunately, I saved ... Need to go check the backups so I can refind her in untouched state.

[HeroicJay]

Regarding "wrong traits": you're correct, it looks like it was just the trait not being added.

Just to clarify, the random mermaid you found was not Nalani Mahai'i, Kalamainu'u Iona, or Ukupanipo Hekekia, correct? Those three Sims are pregenerated and work fine.

[crinrict]

@HeroicJay They have premades in hidden households ? I think it was Kala but SimsInfo said she was in a hidden household and a vendor so I assumed she was random (I have not watched/read much cause I didn't' want to get spoiled on mermaids too much:P - guess that's down the drain now :D)

Anyways, could you adjust your error report so it's the trait being missing ?

[HeroicJay]

Yeah, Kala works fine. She was, in fact, the not-bugged mermaid I was using for this image I cobbled together.

I edited the text a while ago. I couldn't find the option to edit the title (I bet it's somewhere obvious though.)