Game Help:Sims 3 Skills/Inventing

Inventing
Icon:
Type:
Age Range:	Teen+
Species:	Human
Expansion:	Ambitions

Inventing

With Ambitions, sims get a new skill, Inventing. Using the Scraptastic Workbench, sims can create widgets, toys, big inventions, and robots!

Sims with the Eccentric trait will have an easier time inventing bigger and better objects.

As your sim invents, the Inventing skill and Handiness skill will improve.

Scrap

In order to create inventions, your sim will need scrap. For lazy sims with extra money, scrap can be purchased directly from the Scraptastic Workbench.

Digging for Scrap

Scrap can be gathered from the Junkyard by digging through scrap piles.

Rummaging through trash cans will sometimes yield a few scrap too, but it will also add trash piles to your sim's inventory which you must delete, and which add a Disgusted moodlet, too.

Detonation

After a few skill points, you will get the option to detonate scrap piles (and pretty much everything else). This can lead to massive amounts of scrap. For example, detonating certain cars has been known to give over 100,000 scrap. Be careful of this, however, because your sim will almost always get fined for the replacement cost of whatever you blew up. Detonating things cannot also lead to chain detonations. This can be a good thing if you set up scrap piles or salvaged items, but careless detonation can lead to brand new objects being destroyed, not too mention your sim!

The Harvester invention is a good item to use when getting ready to collect scrap.

Inventions

Skill Level	Category	Name	Materials Required
1	Widget	Drinking Llama	2 scrap
1	Widget	Smasher	2 scrap
2	Toy	Dog Toy	2 scrap
2	Widget	Rotational Pull	3 scrap
2	Widget	Claw Dipper	3 scrap
3	Toy	Cow Toy	4 scrap
3	Big Invention	Floor Hygienator	10 scrap
3	Widget	Tentacled Wind Up	4 scrap
4	Big Invention	Harvester	25 scrap
4	Toy	Whale Toy	4 scrap
5	Widget	Localized Static Tester	6 scrap
5	Widget	Air Bender	5 scrap
6	Widget	Floating Duck	7 scrap
6	Toy	Robot Toy	3 scrap
7	Widget	Flying Fighters	9 scrap
7	Big Invention	Miner	50 scrap
9	Big Invention	Time Machine	75 scrap
10	Big Invention	Sim Bot	1 Palladium 10 Life Fruit 1 Heart-Shaped Pink Diamond 100 Scrap

More on Inventions

Widgets/Toys

They don't do much, widgets are decor and toys are, well, toys. These are best to make for sale at the Consignment Shop, as they are quick and cheap. Widgets also come in improved versions that move or light up.

The widgets called Claw Dipper and Air Bender are part of the free Ultimate Career Bundle you get access to after registering your game at the official site.

Floor Hygienator

Put this on the floor and it will give your sim a positive moodlet (such as New Car Smell). Lower quality Floor Hygienators can backfire, emitting a green cloud that disgusts sims.

Harvester

Basically an industrial strength vacuum cleaner. Use it to pick up all kinds of collectibles in your immediate vicinity, including scrap, bugs, and even garden items. Lower quality Harvesters can cause sims to spin out of control, making them dizzy.

Miner

Definitely one of the more useful inventions, the Miner allows you to dig holes (and tunnels), almost anywhere you want. Place it on a lot, and start drillin'! You could find all kinds of things including gems, metals, and scrap. The Miner is actually quite adept at finding Pink Diamonds. If you leave it drilling long enough, the Miner will eventually dig a tunnel. Place the Miner in your inventory, go to another location, and dig another tunnel. After naming your tunnels, you'll be able to use them to travel throughout the town. While in tunnels, you'll also find random items, just has when you were digging.

The Miner is loud and if you drill in the middle of the night, sims in your household and neighboring households will get an Annoyed moodlet and your relationship with them will drop.

Time Machine

Another interesting invention, the Time Machine allows your sim (or sims) to go back to the past or venture to the future. Similar to exploring the tunnels or catacombs, you could come back with random items.

Be careful, if your sim and their significant other travel and woohoo in the Time Machine, you could come back with a child!

Travelling in time will give your sim a positive moodlet that will prevent you from travelling again until it wears off.

Sim Bot

See Sim Bot.

Challenges

• Widget Wonder
  • Make 250 widgets and all future widgets will be Improved
• Diabolical Detonator
  • Detonate 150 objects and you will get more scrap per pile
• Scrap Collector
  • Collect 1000 scrap and the amount you collect from each pile will triple.
• Master Inventor
  • Build 100 Big Inventions and all future Big Inventions will take less time to build, require less scrap, and sell for more.
  • All future widgets and toys are Masterfully built
• The Ultimate Invention!
  • Unlocked by completing the Sim Bot opportunity, allows you to build more Sim Bots.

Inventing Professionally

The Inventing skill is one of those that allows sims to register as self-employed and become professional Inventors. See Skill Careers.