Earning and using extended skills

Sims can earn skill levels beyond 10 through the use of the normal skilling methods. Gain rates will be based on the existing algorithms, so progress and decay will continue to slow as skill level increases. The new higher skill levels affect all game systems normally: payouts increase for skill-based work, success chances improve, etc. In addition, the tests for whether or not a Sim can successfully create items using crafting will require these higher skill levels.

Skill decay The decay formula remains the same, with some alterations to prevent scenarios where skill gain is impossible or nearly so. The design goal is that decay never exceeds the gain rate achieved by veteran players in an optimized skill-training environment.

New objects and interactions: Ten new objects become available through the use of crafting. New interactions are earned as Sims reach new skill levels. Each new interaction requires two skills at the appropriate level. The easiest are the 12-12 skills (two skills need to be at level 12). There is one new interaction at each level (12-12, 14-14, 16-16, 18-18, and 20-20). These interactions are entertaining in their own right, as well as having game benefits.

Skill gain and decay There is little change to the skill gain and decay algorithms. If we do need to make an adjustment, the intent is that the adjustment will not alter how skillgain and decay works from skill levels 0.00 - 10.99, and skill gain from 10.99-20.99 will progress logically from a gameplay standpoint (gradually slowing as skill increases).

Skill locking The UI for locking skill levels currently assumes that skills only go to 10. We have a row of 10 "bubbles" that the player can click on to adjust locks. For Extended Skills, we change this to a slider. A colored bar fills as players gain skill. A vertical line shows where the current lock point is. The total size of the bar corresponds to the new skill limit of 20. In the initial release, no additional skill lock points are given to existing Sims. Before this feature comes to all cities, we will increase the base number of skill lock points.

Benefits The following table lists the new objects and interactions earned at each new skill level. Each new benefit requires two skills at the appropriate level.

	Skill 12	Skill 14	Skill 16	Skill 18	Skill 20
Mechanical	Interaction: Change batteries (with Creativity)	Object: Pest Motel (with Cooking)	Object: Water sprayer (with Logic)	Object: Carnivorous vines (with Creativity)	Object: Wall-mount plasma TV (with Body)
Charisma	Object: Trellis vine flowers (with Cooking)	Interaction: Teach (with Logic)	Interaction: Give cookies (with Cooking)	Interaction: Lure (with Body)	Object: Irrigation system (with Logic)
Cooking	(see Charisma)	(see Mechanical)	(see Charisma)	Object: Everfull pet feeder (with Logic)	Make smoothie (with Creativity)
Body	Object: Sprinkler (with Logic)	Object: Bouncy ball chair (with Creativity)	Object: Foot massager (with Creativity)	(see Charisma)	(see Mechanical)
Logic	(see Body)	(see Charisma)	(see Mechanical)	(see Cooking)	(see Charisma)
Creativity	(see Mechanical)	(see Body)	(see Body)	(see Mechanical)	(see Cooking)

 

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New Interactions

New interaction: Change batteries (Mechanical 12, Creativity 12) Self only. You reveal that you're really a robot, opening a door in your head to change the batteries. Boosts Energy, lowers Hygiene.

New interaction: Teach (Charisma 14, Logic 14) One Sim talks, the other listens. Listener gets an immediate boost in a random skill. Costs Fun and Energy from both participants.

New interaction: Give cookies (Cooking 16, Charisma 16) Tasty treats raise improve long-term relationships between the baker and receiver. Adds Fun as well. Costs Energy.

New interaction: Lure (Charisma 18, Body 18) Slinky moves irresistibly entice another Sim or NPC to come to you. Default is "Accept," unlike other interactions, but it does not interrupt currentactions (so you can't be "Lured" out of your Pizza round, for example). The target can cancel or reject the Lure if he or she desires.

New interaction: Make smoothie (Cooking 20, Creativity 20) Power-packed fruity shake energizes receiving Sim. Big boost to the target's Energy. Costs Hygiene, Energy from giver.

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Improved Crafting

Components There are three basic component objects: Stack of Wood, Bolt of Cloth, and Box of Parts. Thesecomponents combine in varying amounts to create the various objects. Componentsare single-tile objects than can be placed on surfaces (tables, etc.) or on theground. Box of Wood: This object looks like, well, a box of wood. It's the basic component most needed forfurniture-like items. It can be "sold back" to Maxis (using the "recycle" button in Buy Mode) for a few Simoleons. Bolt of Cloth: This object looks like a folded-up stack of whitish cloth. It's the basic component mostneeded for wall hangings and high-comfort items such as sofas and beds. It can be "sold back" to Maxis (using the "recycle" button in Buy Mode) for a fewSimoleons. Box of Parts: This object looks like a small cardboard box of mechanical and electrical odds and ends. It's the basic component most needed for machinery or electronic objects such as televisions and appliances. It can be "sold back" to Maxis (using the "recycle" button in Buy Mode) for a few Simoleons.

Salvaging Components are obtained through the destruction of existing objects. The player clicks on the object to be destroyed, and chooses"Salvage." The Sim walks to the object, produces a large mallet, and swings away. The Sim receives some components in his or her inventory, and some trash is left around as a result of the messy process. If the Sim's inventory is full, or more than full, the salvage interaction may be disallowed, with a dialog box explaining the need to clear some space in inventory. Depending on the cost, wear, age, and type of object involved, and the Sim's Logic, Creativity and Mechanical skills, the Sim will recover a varying amount of components. Trees, tables, and chairs will generally produce more wood; decorative and seating items will tend to have salvageable cloth; appliances and electronics will tend to produce a good supply of spare parts. The exact amount of components recovered will depend on the age and cost of the item, and the salvaging Sim's overall mood and Mechanical skill rating. The older and more expensive an item, the better; the higher the Sim's mood and skill, the better.

New objects There are ten new objects that can be created by Sims with the requisite skills and components. The chance of success at the minimum levelwill be low. Chances of success will improve at higher skill levels. Thechances of success at skill levels below the minimum will be extremely small.

Skills needed	Object created	Wood	Cloth	Parts
Logic 12, Body 12	Sprinkler	-	-	X
Cooking 12, Charisma 12	Trellis vine flowers	X	-	-
Creativity 14, Body 14	Bouncy ball	-	X	-
Cooking 14, Mechanical 14	Pest Motel	X	-	X
Mechanical 16, Logic 16	Water Sprayer	X	-	X
Body 16, Creativity 16	Foot massager	X	X	X
Logic 18, Cooking 18	Everfull pet feeder	X	X	X
Creativity 18, Mechanical 18	Carnivorous vines	X	X	-
Charisma 20, Logic 20	Irrigation System	X	X	X
Mechanical 20, Body 20	Wall-mount plasma TV	X	X	X

 

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Crafting

Crafting To build an object, the player goes to the Workbench and chooses what type of item to build from the menu that pops up. The player will be warned that this will cost Simoleons (and possibly components) and can be pretty exhausting. If the player confirms after this warning, the crafting operation completes as normal. Components are removed at the same time that money is paid for the attempt. If it was successful, a success dialog appears and the object will appear in that Sim's inventory. If it was not, a failure dialog appears with suggested possible causes for failure. Requirements test: This operates exactly as in the first stage of Crafting. If that Sim's current skills. do not meet the requirements, then the player is warned as usual: "That's a tough one! You're not quite skilled enough to do this. You might succeed, but it's not very likely. Do you want to give it a try anyway? You'll still have to pay all the costs, even if it doesn't work out." The chance of success in such cases is extremely slight. Costs and confirmation: This operates exactly as it did in the first stage of Crafting, with the addition of component objects. When the player chooses what to craft, we tell the player what the costs will be and explain that it doesn't always work: "Building this will cost $45,000 for parts, and requires 4 boxes of wood. Since it's hard work, you will probably be tired, hungry and in need of a shower when you're done. Make sure you're well-rested, fed, and all cleaned up before you get to work. It might not work out, because this is a pretty tricky job. Are you sure you want to build a carnivorous vine trellis?" The name and cost of the object will be different for each item, but the message will otherwise be the same. Failure: This operates very much as in the first stage of crafting, with the addition of components. If the Sim involved doesn't have enough Simoleons, doesn't have enough of the right components in inventory, or would die as a result of the drop in mood, a failure message appears and there is nomonetary charge.

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As specified above, there are 10 new objects in this extension to the crafting system. Here is a quick summary of the new objects:

Sprinkler: This is a standalone sprinkler system. It waters all plants in a 3-tile radius when it is turned on, then turns itself off after a little while.

Trellis vine flowers: This is a climbing vine flower, such as a rose or bougainvillea. It is brightly colored and stands as tall as a Sim, and looks good when placed up against a wall. At noon every Sim day, the trellis vines "bloom" for four Sim hours. "View" will boost Fun during this Blooming stage.

Bouncy ball:This is a brightly colored exercise ball. Sims can choose to "Exercise" on it, doing tummy crunches to improve Body skill, or can just sit on it like any chair.

Pest motel: This object has little traps that pop up every time it kills a pest. It has four. When it is full, it must be emptied like a trash can.

Water sprayer: This large piece of machinery waters all plants in a 6-tile radius when it is turned on. It turns itself off when it's done.

Foot massager: This is placed in front of a chair. When the Sim chooses "massage feet," he or she switches it on, then sits in the chair in front of it and enjoys a nice Comfort-inducing foot massage.

Everfull pet feeder: This high-tech pet feeder can be filled with 10 times the normal amount of pet food, and it never spoils no matter how sloppy your pet is so it rarely needs cleaning.

Carnivorous vine trellis: This is much like the Trellis Vine Flowers above, except it looks sort of menacing. A bit like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. It helps reduce pest infestations if the little critters come too close. If not fed, it may get desperate, or perhaps just die quietly. Probably best to just keep it fed with the occasional swarm of roaches or mice.

Irrigation system: This control system activates all sprinkler objects on the property, or turns them all off. It can also be programmed to trigger at the same time (TST) every Sim day.

Wall-mounted plasma TV: This special version of the Plasma TV can be hung on the wall like a picture. It shows different programs than the standard television, and is more entertaining for Sims to watch.

 

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TSO Skill Interactions gained by friendships

1 Friend** - Hi5 - Berate - TD Dance

2 Friends** - Kiss Hello - No Way - Heebie Jebbies

3 Friends** - Cheer Up - Stomp Foot - Tantrum

4 Friends** - Back Rub - Grovel - Groove

5 Friends** - Flying Hug - Kiss My $%@ - Startled Scream

6 Friends** - Worship - Tickle-Extreme - Scat Dance

7 Friends** - Dip Kiss - Crack Back - Click Heels

8 Friends** - Sultry Dance - Cheeky Kiss - Can Can Dance

9 Friends** - Hustle Dance - Freak Dance - Melt Down

**With any friends you get "Secret Handshake" interaction with that friend only.

With and enemy you get "Pull out heart" and "Attack" interactions

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TSO Skill Interaction List

Mechanical

Wipe Brow - Level 2
Eye Poke - Level 4
Hand Puppet - Level 6
Head Spin - Level 8
Swallow Sword - Level 9

Cooking

Psych - Level 2
Cabbage Patch - Level 4
Sissy Fight - Level 6
Why Me? - Level 8

Charisma

Vogue - Level 2
Sexy Wiggle - Level 4
Kiss Hand - Level 6
Pop Star - Level 7
Tango - Level 8
Smoke From Ears - Level 9

Logic

File Nails - Level 2
Nyah Nyah - Level 4
Latin Steps - Level 6
Primal Scream - Level 8
Evil Laugh - Level 9

Body

Jazz Dance - Level 2
Flex Body - Level 4
Break Dance - Level 6
Back Flip - Level 7
Bench Press - Level 8
Pile drive - Level 9

Creativity

Showin' Tude - Level 2
Rap - Level 4
Give Gift - Level 6
Serenade - Level 8
Jitterbug - Level 9

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