New Skills
Thanks to the plethora of new activities for your Sims to enjoy in Seasons, there are several new skills to master. However, these skills are not topline skills, such as Gardening or Writing. Instead, these are hidden skills, which you’re very familiar with, not just from the base game, but from all previously released expansions. Hidden skills are skill sets related to specific activities, such as chess or arcade games, that develop silently in the background.
Hidden skills do not have open tiers, like the primary skills. When you move up a rank in a hidden skill, you do not receive a note telling you that you’ve “graduated” to a specific level or that you’ve unlocked a new interaction. But three of the four new skills in Seasons do give you little messages that indicate you are getting better at the current activity.
Hidden skills in Seasons have further changed. Three of the four newly introduced hidden skill can be considered semi-hidden, meaning that while you do not have new unlockable new interactions, you can see the skill develop. For example, when you are developing one of these semi-hidden skills, such as Skating, you see the progress bar above your Sim’s head. This indicates a form of development, even though it is not directly tied to a specific rank.
Horseshoes
- Levels: 10
- Available Age: C, T, Y, A, E
Though playing in the snow might be a little chilly, horseshoes is a year-round activity. Found at festival grounds, a Horseshoes Court can also be purchased in Buy Mode and placed on your very own lot.
In Seasons, here’s how a game of horseshoes plays out: Sims have three horseshoes total. The goal is, of course, to get the horseshoe on the stake at the far end of the court. If you nail the throw, that’s a “ringer.” You do not have actual control of the throws, but your Horseshoes skill does affect the throw. If you are new, it’s pretty rare to throw a ringer. More likely, you will completely miss. Over time, your throws will land closer to stake, which earns points. Eventually, you will throw more and more ringers. When you hit a ringer, you celebrate and Sims watching typically cheer and clap. At the end of a game, when all participating Sims throw their three horseshoes, scores are “tallied” and a winner is announced.
Though there are technically 10 levels to this skill, there are no skill development messages shown while advancing. The more you play, the better you get at the game. Over time, you score more and more ringers until you are close to unbeatable. That is, unless you find yourself up against another ace horseshoes player. Because this is a hidden skill, you won’t know until you challenge them or join a game.
Snowboarding
- Levels: 2
- Available Age: C, T, Y, A, E
Ready to get extreme? When winter comes (or you have some extra Simoleons to install a half-pipe on your lot), strap a snowboard to your feet and hit the powder. The Snowboarding skill has just three levels, if you count the first progress between zero experience and that first level.
Whenever your Sim climbs into the half-pipe and starts to shred, they develop the semi-hidden Snowboarding skill. At first, your Sim simply gets on their board and just goes back and forth in the pipe without performing any tricks. In fact, it’s not uncommon for them to fall from time to time. And if there’s a crown on-hand, there may be a few groans from the peanut gallery.
However, after practicing some more and filling the progress meter, the Sim moves into the first full level and indeed falls a lot less. At this point, they begin attempting tricks every so often when they reach the lip of the half-pipe. Tricks consist of grabs, spins, and awesomes. When your Sim fills the bar again and tops out the Snowboarding skill, they never fall, and they perform a lot of tricks to the delight of both you and any onlookers.
| Skill | Age Available | # of Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Snowboarding | C, T, Y, A, E | 2 |
Skating
- Levels: 6
- Available Age: C, T, Y, A, E
In Seasons, there are two types of skating: roller skating and ice skating. Skating in Seasons is a shared skill. Skill development while ice skating transfers over to roller skating when the seasons change, and vice versa. So no matter the outdoor temperature, skating builds the overall semi-hidden Skating skill.
There are two types of rinks: ice and roller. These are featured in the seasonal festivals you see at the designated festival lot in town, such as Central Park in Sunset Valley. While these rinks appear at festivals associated with their seasons, such as the Ice Skating Rink during winter, they can also be purchased and placed either on a community lot or a home lot for personal use. If you are serious about developing the skating skill, or you just find it gives you (and your Sims!) immense pleasure, by all means, splurge for a rink at home.
When you first step out onto the rink, your Sim typically just skates in a little loop. But like any skill or skill-based activity in The Sims 3, the more you skate, the better you become at it: less falling, smoother moves, better tricks. As you build the career, you will see these messages, indicating your progress:
| Skill | Age Available | # of Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Skating | C, T, Y, A, E | 6 |
These interactions with the skating rinks help develop the skill:
Skate/Skate with: The most basic interaction on the rink. When selected, Sims strap on their skates and start moving around the rink in the same direction as the other skaters, if others are currently skating. If this is early in the Sim’s skating “career,” they often stumble around. However, note that meter above your Sim’s head. That is the development bar for the semi-hidden skill. As Sims get better, they stop slipping. Sims can also choose to skate with another Sim, which not only satisfies Fun, but also the Social need.
Join/Ask to Join: You can either choose to join another skater or ask another Sim to join you in skating.
Change Direction: When the rink is empty, you can set the direction you want to skate. With this interaction, you can set whether you want to skate clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Spin/Spin with: While skating, you can choose to do a spin move. This sends your Sim to a spot on the rink where there is enough room to spin. Depending on your skill level, you can perform a wobbly spin (if low skill level), perform a tight spin (medium), or a layback spin (high skill). After the spin the Sim returns to skating in a loop. If you opt to spin with another Sim (and this request cannot be rejected), you link arms and start to spin around for a few moments. If one of the Sims has a low Skating skill, there is a chance both will stumble. But if both are decent skaters, they can pull off some rather graceful spins. Spinning with another Sim is Fun, satisfies Social, and boosts LTR.
Water Balloon/Snowball Fight
- Levels: 3
- Available Age: C, T, Y, A, E
Whether it’s snow or sunshine—or any weather in-between—Sims love to have ball fights with each other. In winter, these are naturally snowball fights. In the other seasons, Sims trade in snowballs for water balloons and have a hoot just splooshing each other. And while playing, they not only have Fun, but fulfill Social needs and build LTR with other Sims.
| Skill | Age Available | # of Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Water Balloon/Snowball Fighting | C, T, Y, A, E | 3 |
There is an actual arena for throwing snowballs or water balloons, and you will see these arenas at festival grounds (or you can buy the Family Fun Water Arena in Buy Mode to place on your lot). It’s a wall that divides two Sims or two teams, as they duck, dodge and throw, attempting to make contact with the opposing side. However, snowball and water balloon fights can occur almost anywhere outdoors. All you need to do is click on another Sim and select which type of “ball” you wish to throw at them. Weather dictates whether or not you get access to snowballs. You can only throw snowballs when there is a decent amount of snow on the ground. You cannot have a snowball fight in a slight dusting. You can have a water balloon fight at any time.
When you select another Sim outside (not at the designated arena) and start playing, you typically get the drop on them. But that first throw is the last freebie you get. Once engaged, your opponent will return fire! If you select a partner while you are inside, you will both head outside and square off for the match. Now, in this case, there is an LTR check. If you have a really low LTR, the other Sim can reject the offer to have a match. That causes a small LTR hit.
When you start playing with other Sims, you throw, dodge, get hot, and evaluate the “battlefield” for your next target. If you are playing with two or more other Sims, you may actually click on an opponent and choose Target. Otherwise, the water balloon or snowball fight unfolds automatically with you heavily reliant on your skill development (which indeed starts developing the moment of your first throw) to increase your hit-miss ratio.
Now, in addition to the developed semi-hidden skill, some traits and moodlets also affect how your Sim (or other Sims) perform in a snowball or water balloon fight:
| Effect | Trait | Moodlet |
|---|---|---|
| Increase hit/dodge rate | Athletic, Lucky, Brave, Daredevil, Disciplined | Good Nectar, Bad Nectar, Adrenaline Rush |
| Decrease hit/dodge rate | Clumsy, Absent-Minded, Unlucky, Evil, Hates the Outdoors, Hot-Headed, Loser | Bored, Brain Freeze, Exhausted |
In addition, some supernatural or non-human Sims have some additional wrinkles when participating in snowball or water balloon fights:
- SimBot (Ambitions): These Sims have naturally higher accuracy when throwing because of their machine nature. They are also more adept at dodging. However, if they are hit, there is a chance they will short-circuit.
- Mummy (World Adventures): Mummies get Soaked whenever hit by a snowball or water balloon. And for mummies, that’s a problem.
- Ghost: Snowballs and water balloons may pass right through ghosts, but it still counts as a hit.
Team Play
When you opt to play at the arena, you can choose the Compete interaction to make things count. You and your opponent(s) split into two teams and square off on opposite sides of the wall. Then the match starts. You may Target if there are enough players in the match. You then play until one side gets enough hits to score 100 point. And if teams are uneven—say, two against one—hits from the single player are worth a little more than hits from the team with two players.
The Sims on the winning team get the positive In Your Face moodlet. If your side wins and you were the last player standing, you get the One Sim Army moodlet instead. If played at a festival, everybody receives Festival Tickets. However, the winners definitely receive more than the losing Sim/team.
When you compete with other Sims, you satisfy Fun and Social needs, although it does drain Energy. Competing with other Sims at the arena definitely develops the semi-hidden skill.