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.
Upgrading items via the Handiness skill is a key part of the Nerd Brain Aspiration.
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
There's a LOT of skilling in this Aspiration. The main focus is capping Logic, but your Sim will also dabble in Woodworking via the Handiness skill. Finally, your Sim needs to build a Rocket at the end, so leveling up Rocket Science is going to happen as well. The good news is that Sims that choose a Knowledge Aspiration are automatically given the Quick Learner trait - Quick Learners learn all skills a little faster making it probably the best bonus trait in the game given how much time most Sims spend at skilling. Carl's (Logic Guide and Handiness Guide are excellent references for a player pursuing Nerd Brain.
The most obvious trait to give your Sim in CAS is Genius. Genius Sims randomly get the Focused mood which is exactly the state you want to be in with all of your nerdy skilling that you will be doing. If you look at the first screenshot you'll notice a lot of buffs going on - it does not take too much effort to push your Sim into Very Focused for even faster skilling. The other two traits are up in the air for you. I tend to do the "bear in the woods" no building route for my Sims for simplicity and for saving money in the beginning, so I gave my Sim the Loves Outdoor trait. She also flew solo so was a Loner.
Milestone 1 - Prudent Student
Head to the library and read 3 books (make your first a Handiness book) to fulfill the initial Milestone. Buy a Microscope and start leveling Logic that way. Then, you can then sell any prints that come up later.
Try and remember to regularly check out your Sim's Whims. If a Whim fires that cannot be completed quickly, then just cancel it and see if another replaces it that makes more sense. It's a great way to quickly acquire Satisfaction to purchase rewards to make your journey to finish Nerd Brain faster. With the crazy amount of skilling in this Aspiration you're looking to get Morning Sim, Night Owl, and Savant as soon as possible. Your main source of income for now is going to be selling crafted items from Woodworking so grab Marketable too.
The Microscope: a not so subtle way to tell the neighborhood you're a king-sized nerd and into all things Logic. Welcome Wagon: "Welcome to the neighborhood, Sarah Bellum. So, where are you hiding this awesome microscope we have heard about?"
Milestone II - Erudite
Just hop on your John Deere microscope to continue leveling up Logic. If you have the Marketable reward, then you can earn a pretty penny and have some fun cranking out various sculptures and furniture on the Woodworking Table. The Wall Hanging and Bathtub give a nice return on your investment. "Rub a dub dub.three astrophysicists in a tub."
Upgrading the toilet at the public library is a nice way to finish Milestone II. Plus, who wouldn't take a new opportunity to socialize?
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!
Sarah Bellum: "Hi there. I am upgrading this toilet with Superior Flush to prevent others from witnessing horrific sights. Now then... let's shake hands and properly introduce ourselves."
Milestone III - Rocket Scientist
I'm guessing your Sim is probably past level 5 Handiness at this point, but if they are not, then just upgrade a few things around the lot like your shower, toilet, etc. and you'll be done with the Handiness component.
Now it's time for your bank account to take another hit: First the Microscope, then the Woodworking Table, and now you'll be plunking down $5,000 more for a Rocket. This is why I recommend the "bear in the woods" technique of no building - you'll be spending a lot of money in this Aspiration! Oh, yeah - and you'll need $1,000 to build the rocket. I was hoping little rocket gremlins were going to show up to build this monstrosity while I was dreaming sweet logical and handy dreams, but alas, no such luck.
A rocket takes a loooong time to build - at least a full day depending on how good you are at micromanaging needs. Since the rocket takes so long to build, then you'll likely be at the point where you just want to wrap up the Aspiration. Launch the rocket to Explore Space 5 times and do not take the time to do 5 upgrades. You can do them all back to back with no cooldown between launches.
Sarah looks very professional in her spacesuit. She steels her nerves, takes a deep breath and...
proudly waves to the imaginary large crowd as she departs for final Explore Space mission.
Milestone IV - Nerd Brain
It would be nice if the objects you have upgraded already counted towards the last Milestone, but they do not. You're starting from scratch. But, not a big deal here - just a question of upgrading 5 more objects either on your lot or out in the world, and then finally capping Logic.
Handy Reward Trait
The tooltip states this reward allows a Sim to instantly upgrade or repair any object. I am having Sarah Bellum move on to the Computer Whiz Aspiration - note the new Aspiration in the bottom left in the screenshot below, so having her instantly upgrade her computer seemed like a nice way to prepare for that work ahead. To be honest this is almost too cool for words. Think about this: you could build an enormous home with a huge number of upgradable objects, and in practically no time at all you would have an entire home of upgraded items. Awesome. There are no negatives here - unquestionably one of the best reward traits in the game.
So how "instant" is this magic ability? She whipped out what looked like an iPad and then twisted a screwdriver into it a few times and bam - a few Sim minutes later her computer had all possible upgrades. Sweet.
I want to end with just a tiny bit of criticism for Nerd Brain: for an Aspiration where your Sim needs to be Focused much of the time, it's rather unfocused. The main culprit is the Logic skill. It's sort of thrown in there as just something to max. How does Logic really fit into the picture? What's the connection? The need to buy and launch a rocket towards the end is interesting and fun stuff, so maybe drop Logic and expand on that aspect, leveling up Rocket Science and perhaps having mission requirements instead.
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!
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Comments (2)
Five years since the last post, but it's worth mentioning that the Instant Upgrade finally has a downside. Using it on a toilet with the Eco Expansion Pack installed will upgrade it with a compost generator, and if you forget to empty it of compost after each use, will set your toilet on fire, and your sim along with it.