Inventing

[Leto85]

Your post has me wondering: what does progressing with a career offer, that makes it worth doing despite the cash hit? I may be playing this wrong, taking consignment sales instead of the career.

Career progression in the new professions is similar to the original careers. There are 10 levels, each with a new title and a raise. You also get awards from City Hall along the way. Plus, new interactions with other Sims.

And you can get more money when you sell the selfmade items to the store, every time you get promoted.

[Swede1992]

Just a question about an invention: How long does a simbot live?
I have just found that they apparently 'live longer than normal sims'.

[LlamaMama]

Your post has me wondering: what does progressing with a career offer, that makes it worth doing despite the cash hit? I may be playing this wrong, taking consignment sales instead of the career.

Career progression in the new professions is similar to the original careers. There are 10 levels, each with a new title and a raise. You also get awards from City Hall along the way. Plus, new interactions with other Sims.

And you can get more money when you sell the selfmade items to the store, every time you get promoted.

Haha, that comes around full-cycle, considering I'm weighing career minus consignment sales vs. no career + consignment sales.   

[Leto85]

Just a question about an invention: How long does a simbot live?
I have just found that they apparently 'live longer than normal sims'.

I wish I know that. I am wondering that myself. But you could test that a little bit by playing for a few days (simdays) and than look at how much the age bar get filled, compared to a sim where you have noticed how the bar looks like from the beginning of your testing.

[LlamaMama]

My sim just invented an airbender. Does anyone know what that is?

[samoht04]

I think it is just a widget - I don't think it does anything.

[LlamaMama]

Too bad, sounded interesting. I had some fun gnome antics today. My inventor gnome finished a widget for me (well, 99%), and a magic gnome snatched my sim's plate out from under him and put in next to the outdoor trashcan, my neat sim in pursuit to bring it back inside where it belonged.

[sims96fan]

My female Sim and male Sims both mastered inventions, but for some reason for the female it says that she also collected over 1,800 scrap, thus completing the skill challenge.  Neither of them have ever been to the junkyard or gone out to collect scrap, since they just buy it from the inventing workstation.  The only thing I can think of is they stood in the yard a few times to use the harvester, but since the garden is fairly spread out, it didn't really work or save much time.  Maybe it comes from repairing things?  Any other ideas?

[Esther1981]

Using the miner also does it. You know when they hit a piece of junk and save some scrap? That does it also!

[Tiax]

The detonation achievement (150 items detonated, I think) is a lot easier to achieve than it looks (and is probably the least useful achievement).

It seems that every object that detonates beside the object you chose (chain reaction) is added to your detonation tally.  However, it also adds each object that gets burned.

Take a wide, empty area on your lot and buy about 25 of the measly little 5 simolean plants.  The little potted ones, I can't remember what they are.  Pack them in real tight.  Once you detonate one of them, they erupt into a giant explosion of fury.  It typically starts several fires, but thats what firefighters are for (call them, for your sake).  

What's left is several little piles of 1 scrap and a bunch of burned plants.  Once the firefighters clear out, detonate one of the leftover burned plants.  BOOM again.  Anything that is in the radius of the exploding plant gets added to your detonation count, even if it is just burned.  It took me about two or three tries with this to get the acheivement, and all of 8 sim hours or so of pure, entertaining mayhem.

I would heartily recommend waiting for the firefighters to clear out completely before detonating again--I had a bug where one of the firefighters stayed on my lot indefinately, in one place, doing nothing.  Somehow they never died of starvation, or boredom, from standing still for two weeks.  Couldn't get them to move or interact, and notably no firefighters would come to my aid if I started another fire....    

[Pam]

I would heartily recommend waiting for the firefighters to clear out completely before detonating again--I had a bug where one of the firefighters stayed on my lot indefinately, in one place, doing nothing.  Somehow they never died of starvation, or boredom, from standing still for two weeks.  Couldn't get them to move or interact, and notably no firefighters would come to my aid if I started another fire....    

The next time something like this happens, try resetting the Sim.  Instructions can be found here.

[Tiax]

Thanks!

Also, at Juan's Pick n' Pull;  if you detonate the tallest pile of refuse there (nearest one to the parking spot), there is a good chance you'll nuke every object in the entire junkyard, including your car.  This doesn't actually destroy the vehicle--my sim got right back in it to go home and parked it safely in his garage.  All it did was give me a bunch of extra scrap and a heart-attack.

[Asleep]

Sims can actually die of boredom?

[Pam]

Sims can actually die of boredom?

No, they don't die of boredom.

[LlamaMama]

Also, at Juan's Pick n' Pull;  if you detonate the tallest pile of refuse there (nearest one to the parking spot), there is a good chance you'll nuke every object in the entire junkyard, including your car.  This doesn't actually destroy the vehicle--my sim got right back in it to go home and parked it safely in his garage.  All it did was give me a bunch of extra scrap and a heart-attack.

I just tried this, resulting in the whole junkyard burning. I only got 122 scrap and felt so badly for Juan's whole office going up in flames, that I went back to a previous save. By conventional means I got 117 scrap and a peaceful conscience.