Handiness.. the risks?

[Charls]

Ok, I am fairly new at the Sims3 (Got it about a week ago!, Im so addicted! ) I thought this would be a good forum to ask this question... what are the chances of sims getting electrocuted when fixing/upgrading appliances? Does the risk lower as you level on the skill? My sim is a level 6. Thanks in advance!

[Ricalynn]

I very rarely have someone become electrocuted unless they are already singed and/or standing in a puddle of water.   If your sim becomes singed and looks like they've been blown up, just make sure they take a shower before they try to repair/upgrade anything again.

[Charls]

Thanks!

[Yarakisagoa]

by the way, a low mood could caught your sim get electrocuted, too. (Unless he/she is a handiness and/or completed the Handiness challenge - repair 10 Electronic Objects)

[RunAmokSims]

I don't know if the game is getting patched to keep it from happening or what but I rarely have a Sim getting electrocuted any more. I've had Sims with zero handiness skill try to fix a cheap TV or dishwasher and all that happens is that they fix it and gain handiness levels.

[Kaye]

I don't know if the game is getting patched to keep it from happening or what but I rarely have a Sim getting electrocuted any more. I've had Sims with zero handiness skill try to fix a cheap TV or dishwasher and all that happens is that they fix it and gain handiness levels.

Same for me. I've never had a sim be electrocuted.

[sharpsiren]

I have to chime in here because I noticed the same thing. No electrocutions. There used to be when I first started playing, though. I wonder if they patched it? Anyway, good to know about mood effecting success rate.

[Pam]

I've had an electrocution recently.  My Sim didn't die, but he sure got zapped.  He was trying to fix the dishwasher.  It generally takes a couple of zaps to actually kill the Sim, so don't let him/her go right back to the repair.  The only ones who die the first time are Unlucky Sims, but Grim lets them go. 

Be especially careful with the more advance objects like hot tubs and teleporters.

[sharpsiren]

Hot tubs, dishwasher; I see a theme there (water plus electricity equals zap!) Thanks for the additional info Pam, especially regarding the more advanced equipment. And yes, when my sims got zapped they survived because I put them in the shower.

[Pam]

Hot tubs, dishwasher; I see a theme there (water plus electricity equals zap!) Thanks for the additional info Pam, especially regarding the more advanced equipment. And yes, when my sims got zapped they survived because I put them in the shower.

You're welcome.  And, yes, water might be a factor, but I also had Sims get zapped while trying to repair a computer. 

[Seabody]

I checked the game code. I can't interpret all of it, so here's the code of part of the Handiness Skill:

Code: [Select]

    <UpgradeChanceFailMax value="25">
      <!--The chance of failing an upgrade at the initial level when it can be done (the level of upgrade complexity).  Chance from 0 to 100-->
    </UpgradeChanceFailMax>

Since EA provides handy comments in most of their code, I can guess that there is a 25% rate of failure if your Sim is only just at the required level of Handiness to upgrade an item. Pairing it with the Guide, here is a comparison:

If Bob Sim is upgrading a Television to have more channels (this upgrade requires Level 7 Handiness) and he only has Level 7 of Handiness, there is a 25% chance of him being electrocuted and singed. If he does it again, while still singed, there is a 25% chance that he will get electrocuted, this time, fatally.

So back to the Original Question - your Sim has a greater chance of being electrocuted if he has only just learnt the upgrade. Since you said that he has Level 6 Handness, if he does something that requires a lower level (Like make the Dishwasher run silently, which requires Level 3), he will have a lesser risk of being electrocuted than if he did something that required Level 6 Handiness - like Improved Crushing upgrade on the Trash Compactor.
Of course, all of this is moot if your Sim is upgrading a Plumbing Object, like a Sink.

Someone please correct me if this is wrong.

[Leto85]

Interesting stuff youve got there Seabody. I didnt knew you knew those things about the coding of the game. Computer Whiz trait perhaps?
The only thing I can add here is probably quite obvious, even for the newbie gamers around here: having the Technophobe trait gives a higher change to get electrocuted. But for hard numbers I think you better ask Seabody.

[Seabody]

Interesting stuff youve got there Seabody. I didnt knew you knew those things about the coding of the game. Computer Whiz trait perhaps?

Yep, a Computer Whiz for sure. My Father was a programmer, and my Mother's quite good at coding. And I'm naturally good at Maths so I can quickly interpret those numbers.

[sharpsiren]

Great info, Seabody. Good to know. I recently had a sim turn down the chance to repair a computer because it was smoking and sparking very ominously. I thought maybe it was the game's way of telling me my sim would get zapped. Next time I'll look at the hard facts and numbers

[Yarakisagoa]

Yep, a Computer Whiz for sure. My Father was a programmer, and my Mother's quite good at coding. And I'm naturally good at Maths so I can quickly interpret those numbers.

So you and your family are freelancers? Right? xD