Game Help:The Seasons

What are the seasons?

A season is a five sim day period with varying weather and tempature. The seasons are four seasons just like the real world. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. During these seasons, several things can occur:

• Daily temperature will be within a fixed seasonal range
• The probability of different kinds of precipitation changes.
• Your Sims may experience changes in need decay, skill speed, relationship effects, etc.
• The yield of each kind of fruit or vegetable varies based on the season it's planted or harvested.
• Ambient sounds change to reflect the season's theme
• Daylight takes on a distinct quality for the time of year
• Orchard trees may go dormant and stop producing fruit
• Non-fruit trees may change color and drop their leaves (fall) or go dormant (winter)
• Flowerbeds may go dormant (winter) or grow buds for their approaching flowers (spring)

Setting the Season

Yes, you can control the seasons. All summer or all winter? Or have the seasons change just like the real thing. It's up to you. In the upper left hand corner of the Neighborhood view you'll see a button with flowers on it. This is the Seasons Chooser and, you guessed it, it controls the seasons. Click on it to set your seasons up. When the seasons chooser opens up you'll see it consists of four sections. The upper left quadrant is the "first" season for any lot you open for the first time after installing Seasons. The quadrants progress clockwise from this point changing to each season in its turn. Click on any of the four buttons to select which season will occur. In this way you can set them all to summer or winter. Or have two seasons of summer followed by two of winter. It's completely up to you.

Note: sub neighborhoods are not affected by this. You set them independently of the base neighborhood.

The Seasons

Each season is different from the other in various ways that affect weather, what activities your Sims can do and more. It's important to be familiar with the changes in each season and how they affect your Sims.

Summer

Summer is all about friends and being outside.

• Weather is at its hottest
• Energy need decays more slowly when Sims are outdoors
• Chance of rain: 10%
• Chance of snow: 0%
• Chance of hail: 10%
• Precipitation frequency is low
• Trees are lush in the summer
• The sky is either clear or cloudy
• Flowers are alive and flowering with all interactions available
• Summer is the preferred season for tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, eggplants, lemons, and oranges. When planted in this season, they will receive an increase in quality and/or yield.
• Trees will not go dormant
• The chance of a garden or orchard tree being infested with bugs is high

Temperature

Your sims can now be affected by temperature. For those with the Pets EP, pets are not affected by temperature. However they will autonomously choose to be in the more appropriate location for the outdoor conditions.

Internal Temperature

Each sim has their own internal temperature meter which changes both by level and color.

• • Very Hot: High, red
  • Hot: Medium, red
  • Comfortable: Middle, green
  • Cold: Medium low, blue
  • Very Cold: Low, blue

• Clothing
• Heatstroke and Freezing

Seasonal Perks

Each season is different than the other in various ways but each season also has its own unique/special effect on things such as relationships, needs, gardening and more. Certain kinds of plants will receive a quality bonus in their preferred season, relationships are more likely to be accepted in one season than the other, etc.

Summer

Summer is all about friends and being outside.

• Friendly socials (anything that's not romantic or family-related) have a larger impact on relationship score and social need by 50% and are more likely to be accepted.
• Gardening Planting Bonus - Tomatoes, pole beans, and cucumbers
• Gardening Harvesting Bonus - Peppers, strawberries, and eggplants
• Orchard Harvesting Bonus - Lemons and oranges

Fall

Fall is the season for learning. Whether it's at school, at home, or on the job, everyone learns faster.

• Sims learns 25% faster as the leaves begin to drop
• Job performance/Grades/University performance is amplified
• The odds of getting chance cards improve
• Social needs decay more slowly
• Gardening Harvesting Bonus - Tomatoes, poles beans, and cucumbers
• Orchard Harvesting Bonus - Apples

Winter

Winter is the time for family, gift giving, and comfort food.

• Hunger need decays more slowly (-18%)
• Socials between family/household members have a larger impact on relationship scores and social need by 50% and are more likely to be accepted.
• Gifts are more likely to be accepted. Reactions are one level higher so a gift that would normally receive a shrug will instead be accepted with a bit of joy.

Spring

Spring is a time for love, rebirth, and spring cleaning.

• Romantic interactions have a larger impact on relationship scores and social need by 50% and are more likely to be accepted.
• Romantic socials are more likely to occur autonomously
• Hygiene need decays more slowly when Sims are outdoors (-17 to 20%)
• Gardening Planting Bonus - Peppers, strawberries, and eggplant

Weather

Sim weather is much like weather in the real world. Warm in Summer and cold in Winter. Just like in the real world it won't always snow in the winter and hail is more likely to occur in the summer.