More Awesome Than You!

Surprise! The Prima Guide is completely WRONG.

Here's a list of all the possible upgrades. They become available at different levels of the Handiness skill; I'll add them later, when I will finish to train another sim (I didn't pay attention before, while the first sim were skilling).

Objects		Upgrade		Required Handiness Level*		Notes
Shower Tub Toilet Sink		Self-cleaning Unbreakable		3 6		-
Dishwasher		Silent Running Unbreakable		3 6		Only the cheapest dishwasher has Silent Running available.
Stove		Self-cleaning Fireproof Improved Meal Quality		3 4 7		All have the Improved Meal Quality; the more expensive stoves seems to have the Fireproof and Self-Cleaning features already embedded.
Doorbell		Change Doorbell (Default/Jingle/Jokester/Posh/Haunted)		3		Click on the front door for the menu.
Fireplace		Fireproof Auto Light Change Fire Color		6 7 9		High end fireplaces have the option to change fire color already included.
TV		Unbreakable Boost Channels		6 7		Channels may vary according to the TV model.
Computer		Unbreakable Improved Graphics		6 8		Improved Graphics available at Handiness lvl 0 if the sim has the Computer Whiz trait.
Stereo		Improved Speakers Unbreakable Wire House With Speakers		3 6 8		The portable boombox is not upgradable.
Microwave		Faster Cooking		7		-
Trash Compactor		Unbreakable Improved Crushing		6 6		-
Sprinkler		Auto Water		4		-
Teleportation Pad		Unbreakable Perfect Teleportation		6 7		-
Food Replicator		Improved Memory		9		-

----------------------

Misc Notes

• Tinker becomes available at Handiness lvl 1 and can give the object a random upgrade (or a random failure/break as well)
• Every upgrade has a probability to fail; the resulting damage may vary.
• Sims with the Handy trait will always be successful in upgrades.
• Failure in upgrading electrical objects may have your sim singed. If fails again before the "singed" moodlet wears off, the sim dies. Risk is higher if there are puddles on the floor.

You can also upgrade the lifetime reward teleporter.  I think the name of the upgrade is Perfect Teleport, no clue on the level though.

Off-topic for a bit, what does (The sentence just started to sound retarded) the Perfect Teleporter do?

Is there a Regular Teleporter? The description mentions of some kind of errors... Can the sims be killed?
And yeah, I haven't gotten 75,000 Lifetime points yet. Don't bother to cheat.


Other than that, the sheet looks good.

You can also upgrade the Reward Food Replicator ("improve memory").

From the little bit I used it, it just has a chance to not teleport you, wasting time.  It's not worth the points though, since once you teleport off your lot you have to take a taxi back.

With the teleporter, all of your sims get the option to "Teleport Home" on their cellphones. They still will need a taxi or car to get to another lot though.

Thank you, I didn't think of perk objects. List updated.

Teleporter is upgradable at Level 9.  That's what level my Sim was when she got hers, ergo I don't know if she could have done it at Level 8. Non-"perfected" teleporters can send you to the wrong place, though you tend to end up in the right neck of the woods.

Woah, woah, woah.

*Rubs chin in amazement*




There are trash compactors in Sims 3?

!! 

Not sure if you're thinking of the kitchen ones, or if you're hoping for a big green truck. But they do exist as kitchen appliances.  Either sort by Room --> Kitchen --> Disposal  or sort by Function --> Appliances --> Large Appliances.

Buy and build modes need little search engines.

Bleh, I'm so used to Sims 2 where you click on the Dishwashers thingymabob and poof, Trash compactors!

Infact, I'm going to make a community lot named Trash Compactor Land, just to see it break down and some nut job trying to fix it, ending in an electricution, a funeral and a sexual relationship to a dishwasher.
Wait, what.

I literally lol'd when I read that, my boyfriend does that all the time (meaning he will say something and then just throw in some inappropriate random statement along with it.)

Well thanks n00b, that's added to my knowledge base.

You can get improved graphics on the PC at handiness level 0 if you have the Computer Whiz trait...that's what happened with mine. I think as a Computer Whiz, you have a sadorandom chance to improve it regardless of your handiness skill.

What exactly does Improved Graphics do, anyway? Does it make games more fun? Because it seems unbreakable is more useful than that as they seem to break every other use.

Improved Graphics should give more fun, yes, although I didn't test extensively the matter.
About the improvement, I agree that the unbreakability is more useful, but the difference is that one of the challenges of the game is to have 10 different upgrades completed, so you have to make a bit of diversification.

(Updated the main table)

In addition to the ten unique upgrades, one of the "extra challenges" is to repair at least ten electronic (also one for plumbing) items. How will you ever get this if everything is unbreakable?

Abuse the "tinker" command on it until it breaks.

What does Tinker actually do, apart from breaking objects?  Just a non-book way of raising Handiness, at the cost of breaking stuff?

I had my Handy sim tinker on things a lot, assuming that it would unlock additional upgrade recipes or something, but didn't actually find anything.

Tinkering can also give random upgrades to objects.

If changing the colour of a fire is indeed one of the Handy options then it's available at 0 as my sim has the option and I haven't started him skilling Handy yet.

The high end fireplaces have it as a default option that any sim can change the color of the fire.
The cheap ones require a tinkerer to do some fiddling before the option shows though.

After checking, I found that I could Tinker almost every object in that list with just level 1. And my Sim didn't even have the Handy trait. With level 1, I started tinkering the shower and it got Unbreakable.
Not sure what's going on there.

oh my god there's a sprinkler? I've been watering all my damn plants by hand >:c

(yes, first post, please don't eat me.)

I had the hardest time finding it at first.  If you're looking at objects grouped by room, it's under "Outdoors".  Then click on the football icon (Activities).  The water sprinkler is there.  I guess it's there because Sims can play in it, but it works perfectly well as a garden sprinkler.

There is apparently some risk when applying spcific upgrades too. I had a sim with a very low handiness skill try to apply the self-cleaning upgrade to the toilet at the end of the progress bar, instread of getting the upgrade the toilet instantly went to a dirty state and the progress was reset to 0%

For my site, I had to check all the upgrade options. Still don't have all of them but at least I can confirm the following:
better food quality at stove is indeed 7
Auto light fireplace is indeed 7
Boost channels for tv is 7 but I suspect it's different with each tv. Expensive tv's may already have more channels.
Improve graphics for PC is indeed 8
Wire house with speakers is indeed 8
Faster cooking microwave is 7 (I really didn't see a speed increase though).
Trashcompactor is indeed 6

As for unbreakable (6) and self cleaning (3); It's for all objects the same.

Sims upgrading electrical objects and stoves run the risk of getting singed.

or dying.  Rest in peace, Test Sim #3.

I can confirm that ALL upgrades to the PC ("sturdiness" or "improved graphics") are possible from Handiness level 0 if you are a Computer Whiz and choose the "overclock" option, you just don't get a choice in what upgrade it is that you get - you either fail to improve it, make it unbreakable or improve the graphics.

Upgrading the stove to be anti-fire carries a risk of setting the stove on fire.  Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately?) the house had a fire alarm - it was my first day's play and I hadn't been checking to see if the houses had the basics such as fire or burglar alarms.

I believe every premade house now has a fire alarm, and they're consideredf part of the unfurnished cost of a house, so as long as a fire alarm is ever installed in a house, it will be there forever unless you delete it. (Which i did in order to kill my second gen's first husband when he moved in to her house with a day left before becoming an elder >_<)

has anyone found the underworld gate upgrade or how to do it? it just popped up as a wish for my sim and i'm really confused as to how to upgrade the thing...please help!!!

Any modder want to make the repairman be able to tinker with your stuff? I don't really want to learn that skill for some simmies but would like to have a Posh doorbell, upgrade the computer or have music throughout the house. Would be nice to have the Geek Squad come by. I haven't tried it with a tinkerer but I have invited myself into another simmie's house, was chatting and notice some family members were hungry so my simmie, a good cook, helped herself to their kitchen and they told me I was doing something inappropriate. I'm sure it would be the same with a tinkerer or computer expert.

You won't get inapropriate behaviour from Sims you visit if you tinker something there. For example, as a joke, I changed the doorbell on my neighbor into a very silly sound and they didn't react to my banging on their door with a hammer.

What is the underworld gate?  The crypt in the cemetery?

Is there a list of what the science experiment upgrades do and which objects are upgradable? It seems like from experimentation, either something bad happens, it makes the object much more attractive or higher environment score, makes it more effective, or makes it make a funky electronic sound.  :P

Am I the ONLY person who cannot use the Upgrade option on the sprinklers?  I'm not even kidding.  I have had several sims, handy or not, up to level 10 handiness... and they have never had the option on the sprinklers to upgrade them. o.o  I really want to upgrade my sprinklers!  How come I can't?  I tried removing all my mods, but that didn't do anything. :(  It boggles my mind.

Was the sprinkler on, in use, or already upgraded?

Make sure the sprinkler is turned off. You won't get the option to upgrade it when it is on.

doorbell needs more than handyness skill. It seems to require creativity as well or something. I have 10 handyness with only default doorbell option on the menu, but another sim with a 6 or 7 handyness and about that in creativity as well had 4 different options.

I don't think so, my Sim had no creative and still got all the options (Jokester, Haunted, Posh and something else)

Were you trying on your front door? I *think* if you have set a front door, that's the only door with the doorbell upgrade option. But I could be wrong :p

I want to know what that "underworld gateway" post was talking about.

I bet it was just a translation into English from some other language meaning the mausoleum or catacombs at the cemetary.

I think it's the name of one of the gates, probably the large stone and iron one at/near the end of the catalogue.

From context, it does sound like gates. I've had sims get wants to upgrade gates, but they can't be upgraded.

I got all excited when I read that you could upgrade the coffeemaker so there's always fresh coffee in the morning. I was really disappointed when I realised it cannot be done. Though if you serve coffee and don't drink everything they won't go bad so there really is no deed ofr that upgrae I believe.

Another thing that annoys me is that you can't preview the sounds of the doorbell. How the heck am I supposed to choose what I want if I don't know how it my options sounds like? It also takes too darn long to upgrade the doorbell. You'd figure for something as easy as just chasning the sound the'd shorten the time needed.

I wonder if this part of the patch fixes (1.3)


is somehow related.