Hidden Items

[imyourboy]

My sim is a mad scientist now ( level 10 Science career ) and now he can experiment on some objects. Sometimes make a couch look better, it gets a glowing circle around it or it catches fire when the experiment fails. Other objects start to make music or a annoying sound. But it can also improve an object, like a fridge can hold more items, and a shower cleans the sim faster.

The only thing my level 10 Scientist can do when she "Experiments On" something is make it give a good mood to people who walk by.  I have tried it on the fridge and the stupid Gnome that moves around.

[Plum]

When you master the guitar skill you get a certificate.

[BlueSoup]

When you master the guitar skill you get a certificate.

When you master any skill you get a certificate.  That's not news.

In the military career, you get a new interaction under friendly, "salute".  It's cute.

[caterpillar]

The children of your military Sims also get the salute option, which is also cute. My Sim's daughters would salute him when he came home from work.
His grandchildren also have the salute option. I don't know when/if the salute stops passing down.

[bloodredtoe]

I have tried it on the fridge and the stupid Gnome that moves around.

The gnome moves? I only saw it stand up in a funny pose, it never really moved from the spot.

[Alex]

The children of your military Sims also get the salute option, which is also cute. My Sim's daughters would salute him when he came home from work.
His grandchildren also have the salute option. I don't know when/if the salute stops passing down.

"Can Salute" is a hidden trait, and is therefore heriditary. There are a whole bunch of other ones too.

The gnome randomly respawns to a different part of the lot, when you're supposedly not looking.

[Lorelei]

I have tried it on the fridge and the stupid Gnome that moves around.

The gnome moves? I only saw it stand up in a funny pose, it never really moved from the spot.

Asked, answered, and discussed to death already in several threads. Try the Search feature.

In short, buyable gnomes do nothing but look tacky. Mysterious Mr. Gnomes can be acquired in various ways, and wander around the lot. This sort of nonsense has already worn thin with me, but I had a whole crew of them teleporting around and pointing at or skulking near things.

[Kerryee]

Someone who apparently figured that I need help in playing pixelized people, just because i had one little argument with my computer screen, bough me the Sims 3 Prima Guide.  If anyone ever needs book-solve-able related answers, feel free to PM me.

According to the books, the rewards for each career are as followed:

Business - You can hold meetings at your whim.  These trump normal work hours, and you do get paid for them.

Criminal, Thief - The aforementioned The Fox statue, which boosts environment and gives the thief a positive moodlet when examined.

Criminal, Evil - The Aura of Evil.  Good sims and cops boo you; cowards, losers, and neurotic sims run away from you.

Culinary - Lvl 6, you get a faster food processor, and at lvl 10, you get the Master Chef fridge, which gives you a positive moodlet and better food quality.

Journalism - The Tells News Story social, which can be used several time per sim.

Law Enforcement, Forensic - Lvl 6, a laptop, and lvl 10, a new computer interaction, Run Analysis, which results in lots of money, supposedly.

Law Enforcement, Special Agent - The Tell Impressive Story social and the Raid Warehouse interaction, that if succeeds, results in cash.

Medical - Yep... play golf.  Which is supposed to boost your athletic skill.

Military - When you become an top Gun, you get the Show Jet interaction.  *snicker*  No, really.  Supposedly, you can sneak them on base to show them the jet you fly.  If you succeed, huge romantic booster, and if you fail, you lose work performance.  At lvl 10, this interaction becomes Show Spaceship.

Music, Rock - No work schedule; money is earned solely through playing concerts whenever you want.

Music, Symphonic - The 85g Audio Explosion stereo boosts the fun and athleticism of sims using it beyond the limits of the normal stereos.

Politics - The Aura of Leadership, where other sims stop and wave at you wherever you go.

Professional Sports - You can hold autograph sessions and can do sponsorship deals while at work at least once a week.

Science - You receive occasional rare gems and seeds from work, and at lvl 10, you can Do Science To It! to any seat, bed, electronic, or appliance.  If it works, it can boost the environmental plus, play music, earn a random handiness upgrade, or broadcast random positive moodlets.  If it fails, the object can catch fire, electrocute sims who try to later use it, disappear completely, break, or broadcast random negative moodlets.

[Plum]

When you master any skill you get a certificate.  That's not news.

Well now there's a picture. Hoo-ray.

[hidethe_cutlery]

Politics - The Aura of Leadership, where other sims stop and wave at you wherever you go.

I didn't get that. What a gyp.

[IgnorantBliss]

I wonder about the laptop at level 6 of the Law Enforcement career (Forensic branch). I had a sim get all the way to the top of that career branch, and she never received a laptop. I was specifically waiting for it to happen because I'd read about it. I assume it's something that's supposed to appear in their inventory.

[J. M. Pescado]

The only thing my level 10 Scientist can do when she "Experiments On" something is make it give a good mood to people who walk by.  I have tried it on the fridge and the stupid Gnome that moves around.

That is probably the single most awesome ability in the game, however: It takes awhile to do, but you can make it so every item in the room grants a useful buff, creating a Room of Ultimate Power.

[BastDawn]

I wonder about the laptop at level 6 of the Law Enforcement career (Forensic branch). I had a sim get all the way to the top of that career branch, and she never received a laptop. I was specifically waiting for it to happen because I'd read about it. I assume it's something that's supposed to appear in their inventory.

It appears in the family inventory.  When my cop sim got it, I moved it to a desk, and then decided to put it in her husband's inventory instead.  Then it broke; any time I attempted to do anything with it, a message popped up saying that it could not be used on the lot.

[kattenijin]

Law Enforcement (Special Agent) also gives a personal Cop car at level 5 or 6.

[IgnorantBliss]

It appears in the family inventory.  

Ahh, well, that explains it, I never realized to look in there.

[Kerryee]

Keep in mind, guys,  th book is not infallible.  It IS an EA product, via Prima, as far as I'm considered.  I've found several typos and inconsistencies, so it wouldn't surprise me to find a good chunk of what I typed from it is wrong.  My guess is, since the book and game were released at the same time, they may have made further tweaks to the game during/after the book writer was playing it.

[Zazazu]

I think most of us are aware of that. However, I love discovering all the ways that the Prima Guide is wrong. My copy of the TS2 basegame one has corrections throughout.

That is probably the single most awesome ability in the game, however: It takes awhile to do, but you can make it so every item in the room grants a useful buff, creating a Room of Ultimate Power.

I'm hating that I already decided to make Trevor's house contain all unbreakables. He reached level 10 of Science sort of by accident. I should have had him experiment on everything. And, unfortunately, that household doesn't have any gnomes, unlike Magnolia's home with 17 of the buggers at last count.

[Death-Jester]

The only thing my level 10 Scientist can do when she "Experiments On" something is make it give a good mood to people who walk by.  I have tried it on the fridge and the stupid Gnome that moves around.

That is probably the single most awesome ability in the game, however: It takes awhile to do, but you can make it so every item in the room grants a useful buff, creating a Room of Ultimate Power.

Sorry to do a minor threadjack, but is there a way to stop the damn aura once you get a good experiment? I haven't tried since I got Awesomemod, does that stop it at all?

I remember early on in the game, I had a few items with positive mood boosters on them, and it was driving me crazy!

[infamy]

Not a hidden item, but an activity that I noticed today:  Children can "fish" in swimming pools.  It's a nice continuation of the toddler "play as learning" concept.

Edit: deleted inaccurate info regarding catchability of fish in pools.

[vincenthardy]

With items like the Thief fox statue and the Culinary food processor I never received them with promotions, is there some kind of trick to getting them, do you have to go to work as soon as I got a promotion to Level 10 culinary it gave me a prompt and placed the fridge in the family inventory. It didn't for the rest...

[Death-Jester]

I have done the Culinary career at least 3 times with different Sims, and every time they have gotten both the food processor and fridge. When you reach the correct rank, you get a prompt about it the same way you do with the fridge, straight after you finish work and get the promotion prompt.

However, I have only gotten 1 Sim to the Thief level 10 rank, and he didn't get the fox statue. Maybe it's luck of the draw, or possibly a bug (this was pre-Awesomemod by the way).

[Josette]

Not a hidden item, but an activity that I noticed today:  Children can "fish" in swimming pools.  Obviously they don't catch anything, but their skill does improve. It's a nice continuation of the toddler "play as learning" concept.

Actually, they can catch any fish that's on the lot (in the pond) + that clownfish or something like that.

Josette

[Alex]

I think being able to fish in swimming pools is tied to the "Insane" trait, but I'm not completely sure.

[ZeKat]

I think being able to fish in swimming pools is tied to the "Insane" trait, but I'm not completely sure.

I don't think so, I've seen it a few times and I haven't had any insane Sims.

[J. M. Pescado]

I'm hating that I already decided to make Trevor's house contain all unbreakables. He reached level 10 of Science sort of by accident. I should have had him experiment on everything. And, unfortunately, that household doesn't have any gnomes, unlike Magnolia's home with 17 of the buggers at last count.

Being unbreakable does not prevent you from experimenting on it, nor are you limited to experimenting on your own things. You are free to vaporize other people's things!