Disabling Seasions But Keeping its Stuff - Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
Improving Sims 4: The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
In contrast to Nerd Brain which is a bit disjointed, every aspect of Computer Whiz focuses on one thing - time in front of the computer.
A walkthrough of the Nerd Brain and Computer Whiz Aspirations in The Sims 4. Includes details on the handy and webmaster reward traits, which allow instant upgrade of objects, turking for money, and a research binge..
Overview and Set Up
Instead of starting from scratch with Computer Whiz I decided to continue with my Nerd Brain Sim, Sarah Bellum. She already has the perfect skills that I would have chosen anyway: Genius, Loves Outdoors, and Loner. But, given she is going to go into a career I am getting Sarah a house and will play a more traditional style than I typically do with my Guide Sims. So, maybe something like Ambitious would be better than Loves Outdoors. There is not quite the skilling demand with Computer Whiz as with Nerd Brain - this time the focus is solely on programming. You may also want to level up handiness before you tackle this Aspiration because your success rate at hacking will improve. You'll also get levels in video gaming without even trying. Video gaming skill levels are not a Computer Whiz requirement, but you'll need a few for the career. As always, check out existing Guide articles from Carl. They are a nice reference. The related ones here are the Tech Guru Career Guide as well as the Programming Skill Guide.
Milestone 1 - With the Program
A very simple Milestone that you will undoubtedly finish on Day 1. If you can get your Sim to the Very Focused state, then the 5 hours of Programming will raise their skill level quite a bit and unlock more potential sites to hack. Hacking does not take that long and turns a pretty nice profit. Towards the end of Programming leveling I think Sarah had about 6 places she could hack for around $2000. There is a 24-hour cooldown on each site, so once you jump into the Tech Guru career a nice routine to fall into is hacking all sites on days off.
Explore My Mods! Color Picker for Builders, Seasons Tuner, Dine Out Reloaded and a Gameplay Overhaul! Like other modders, I've been working to make The Sims 4 a better game. Check out my many mods here!
Too funny - immediately after hacking the Lothario Trust Fund (see notification) Don Lothario texts Sarah to congratulate her on landing her new Tech Guru job. And they say bodybuilders are dumb! Bah!
Milestone II - Technically Adept
You very well might leapfrog right over Milestone II as Sarah did. She was Focused for 2 hours while she was video gaming in Milestone I. She hit level 3 programming during Milestone I and she already owned $3000 worth of electronics since she purchased the expensive computer. Speaking of which, do not buy a cheap computer just to save money in the beginning. Invest in a quality one that is reliable given how much time you will be sitting in front of it for this Aspiration. And one more reason to level up handiness beforehand is to do some computer upgrades that will be quite helpful in the long run.
Buffs, buffs, and more buffs to get Very Focused. It does not take too much effort on your part - drinking Pitch Black tea, viewing mathematical diagrams that also give off an aura, listening to music.-->
Milestone III - Computer Geek
You'll need to get to level 7 Programming before Make a Mobile App unlocks, so that is going to take some serious skilling. You may have enough Satisfaction to get the skilling rewards like Savant, Morning Sim, and Night Owl, but since Programming is the only skill associated with Computer Whiz I would first focus on grinding out Whims, canceling bad ones and choosing easier ones, to get enough Satisfaction to purchase Connections. If you intend on staying in the Tech Guru career for any length of time, then Entrepreneurial is another good reward trait as it will aid you in promotions.
With the Connections reward trait in place make the call to join the Tech Guru career and you will zoom past the first 3 levels and actually start at level 4. So, the "Reach Level 3" component of Milestone III will automatically complete.
Milestone IV - Computer Whiz
It is definitely harder to get career promotions since EA slowed down how fast the performance bar rises a while ago. But level 6 programming unlocks a nice trick - Hack Work Performance. Like Hacking various other sites, this computer interaction has a 24-hour cooldown, but I highly recommend it to give yourself a modest boost to your job performance. Not much else to say on the last Milestone - it's just a question of putting in 2-3 days of work to get from level 4 to level 5 in the career, and also putting in enough time in front of the computer to finish up the 100 hours component.
Webmaster Reward Trait
A lot of reward traits given for completing Aspirations come with a single benefit. But, there are several benefits to Webmaster, and not surprisingly, all are accessed while on the computer. The first is the Make Money Turking under the Web category. Turking will not make your Sim rich, but it's kind of cool - similar to the Playing for Tips mechanic where you randomly see green simolean amounts float up in the bottom left of the screen. I got the same amount every time - $75. It may be once an hour or even 3 or 4 payments in an hour, but it's a nice side thing your Sim can do for a little extra cash.
The Internet Stalk feature is kind of interesting and is available under the Social category. There is some potential usefulness here especially if your Sim wanted to break out of the Loner mold and find some friends with common interests. If you click on Internet Stalk, then you'll get to choose from Sims you are at least acquaintances with. After a short interaction on the computer you can then see in the Relationships panel that you have learned all a given Sim's traits.
Sarah: "Hi, Don. It's Sarah Bellum. I hacked your trust fund a few days ago. I was doing some research on the computer and learned you are Noncommittal. What's up with that? Maybe you just have not found the right woman..hint hint."
The last benefit from Webmaster on the computer is found at Web > Research > Research Binge. The description of the tooltip says "exhaustive research lets you raise all skills you have at the same time." How cool is that? My mind raced given Sarah had not unlocked any Inspired related skills: painting, cooking, piano, guitar, etc. I unlocked all Inspired boosted skills and even bought a Inspired potion drink thinking that would also help the whole process.
Sarah is all ready to have a Research Binge. Look at all the level 1 skills just begging to be raised during a binge. She takes a drink of an Inspired potion just for good measure. This is going to be epic!
Hmmmm. Doesn't the word "binge" kind of give you the impression of receiving a lot of something? Do my eyes deceive me or did those skill levels not budge at all in nearly 3 hours? As Sarah walks away I think her biggest inspiration is to not do any more Research Binges.
So, all kidding aside - despite a lackluster reward trait, Computer Whiz is a solid and very focused Aspiration. It's something all Simmers can relate to - spending lots of time on the computer. The icing on the cake is there is decent money to be made too, so your Sim can live the dream.
We now have a Youtube Channel with over 50 guides in video format to go along with the huge site I've already created. Check it out and consider subscribing if you like my style.
The Sims 4 Seasons expansion now has options! Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
Cottage Living Guide! Here is my guide to new features in the Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion
You can also find handy Cottage Living Cheats
I have much more to come, since you can actually write a few guides about this pack!
Blender has been incredibly useful in video production, so I made my own Physics and Simulation Improvement Addon that lumps a ton of unique tools into one compact interface.
Snowy Escape Cheats
Lifestyles in Snowy Escape
Climb Mt. Komorebi
Sentiments in Snowy Escape
Rock Climbing
Skiing Skill
Snowboarding Skill
I've released a guide to Sentiments in The Sims 4 & Snowy Escape.
There is a new platform tool in The Sims 4. There's also a new Sentiments system, but it'll take some time to create a guide to that. Players can also use rental lots in any world now by changing lot types of builds in manage worlds.
I've created a massive List of The Best Mods in The Sims 4 that should be very helpful to new players and those who have not yet explored modding and how much it can do for your gameplay.
New - Secrets I have a new guide to secrets in the game. If you prefer, you can also watch a video about secrets in Sims 4.
Nifty Knitting is now available. Learn all about the stuff pack on my guide page here.
NEW - Nifty Knitting CheatsNew features in the Sims 4 June 2020
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Guide
Eco Footprint: How it Works
Neighborhood Action Plans
How to Cheat in Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Civil Designer Career
Insect Farms & Bio Fuel
Fabrication Skill in Eco Lifestyle
Juice Fizzing NEW
Traits and Aspirations in DLC
Gameplay Ideas for Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Updated
Trait Cheats Updated
Traits List Updated
Aspirations List Updated
Readers who use adblock or those who'd like to thank me for my efforts can now pledge $1/$5 monthly via Patreon. This helps a lot with server costs and provides some stability for my business.
This is inspired by a new series in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to the full playlist!
I now have a guide page to Tiny Living Stuff where you can learn about Murphy Beds, the new death, as well as the lot bonuses you'll receive if you manage to keep the size of your lot down with this new pack's Tiny Home Lot Type.
New I now have a guide to Making Super Sims in The Sims 4. Look for a text version within the next 72h. It won't have THAT much more info but it will help out as a checklist.
This was inspired by a series, "Let's Play a Super Sim" in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to each part for people who are interested. You can also see the Let's Play as a Playlist on Youtube.
The Sims 4 Discover University has been announced for November 15 for PC/Mac and December 17 for Xbox and Playstation 4 consoles. Click to learn more about the pack, see my summary of the livestream or read our FAQs below.
Other Guides to Discover University:
New Lot Traits: Study Spot and University Student Hang Out
New: Discover University FAQ: Gameplay Features
New Video The Sims 4 Discover University Gameplay Tips Video
More videos coming soon!
Disclaimer This site is not endorsed by or affiliated with Electronic Arts, or its licensors. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Sims and The Sims 4 Logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. Game content and materials copyright Electronic Arts Inc. and its licensors. All Rights Reserved. All original Guides on this site © Carl's Guides
Comments (2)
The research binge only works on skills between level 2 and 5, and also only on the base game skills. Once you get a skill to 6 it will no longer work.