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The Sims 3 Seasons eGuide
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Contents

  • Interactive
    • Sunset Valley Interactive Map
      • Sunset Valley Interactive Map
  • Essentials
    • New Simology
      • New Simology
      • New Moodlets
      • New Wishes
      • Lifetime Rewards
      • New Socials
      • New Parties
      • New Romance
      • Achievements
    • New Career and Skills
      • New Career and Skills
      • New Skills
    • Seasons
      • Seasons
      • Seasons, Holidays, and Festivals
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Spring
    • Aliens
      • Aliens
    • Object Catalog
      • New Object Catalog
      • Object Catalog
    • Build/Buy Mode: Blueprints
      • Build/Buy Mode: Blueprints
  • Walkthrough
    • Tour of Sunset Valley
      • A City for All Seasons
      • Shopping and Commerce
      • Community Spots
      • Parks and Fishing Spots
      • Households
      • Collectibles

The Sims 3 Seasons Guide › Walkthrough › Tour of Sunset Valley

Parks and Fishing Spots

Parks and Fishing Spots

The founders of Sunset Valley established several parks for residents to enjoy, including a metro park and multiple smaller hideaways, as well as a series of small unnamed parks.

Parks

There are three parks in Sunset Valley. The parks are excellent social grounds for meeting new Sims or hooking up with acquaintances. Parks are nice for just getting outdoors (certain Sims get a charge just by being at a park) and having a pleasant little picnic, but these locations also have special facilities such as chess boards and grills you can use for free.

Central Park

Interactions

  • View
  • Sit
  • Fish
  • Practice/Play Chess

Central Park is the main park in downtown Sunset Valley. On any given day, Central Park is positively bustling with life. Sims are everywhere, just enjoying the mild weather by having picnics or sitting by the huge fountain.

In addition to enjoying nature, Sims can also practice or play chess at outdoor sets around the park to help develop the Logic skill. Sims who want to fish can also use the pond at Central Park to try out their lines. This is actually a great beginner’s spot to fish, when you are still experimenting with bait and just want to get a nibble or two to satisfy a wish.

Tip

There are also a handful of fruit trees in Central Park. Pick limes and apples from the fruit trees and then plant them on your lot to start your very own orchard.

In Sunset Valley, Central Park is the site of all of the seasonal festivals. Every season, the festival changes not just decorations, but also activities. All four seasonal festivals are detailed extensively in the Seasons chapter.

Maywood Glen

Interactions

  • View
  • Sit
  • Practice/Play Chess

Maywood Glen is a smaller park set closer to the mountains. It lacks a body of water for fishing, but contains many more trees, which really please outdoorsy Sims. Maywood Glen is often busy with picnics and Sims on strolls, making it a good place to socialize. Like Central Park, there are chess sets for practice and play—great for building up the Logic skill without having to invest in a set for the house.

Old Pier Beach

Interactions

  • View
  • Sit
  • Practice/Play Chess
  • Have/Make Drink
  • Make/Serve Meal

The Old Pier Beach is an excellent place for Sims to go sun themselves while soaking up the conversation of other beachgoers. There are plenty of seats to lounge in while unwinding after a busy shift or a lengthy writing session in front of the computer. There is a chess set at the beach, too, for practicing the ancient game.

The beach is also notable for its food features. There is a juice bar on the lower part of the beach, near the sand. Sims can jump behind the bar and serve up fresh drinks for others Sims—a superb ice breaker. There are two grills just above the bar where Sims can cook meals for free. Not only is this a good way to meet other Sims by serving up some eats, but the Cooking skill can be practiced here on the cheap. And with all the benefits of getting some sun while doing so!

Fishing Spots

Fishing is a popular pastime in Sunset Valley. There are multiple fishing spots around town, including both lake and ocean, where you can reel in a catch. The pond in Central Park has already been noted, but there are the other fishing spots in Sunset Valley, too, located far and wide.

Recurve Strand

Sunnyside Strand

Summer Hill Springs

Crystal Springs

Stoney Falls

Pinochle Pond

Brownie Bites

Now, are all fishing spots equal? No. But a lot also depends on what kind of bait you use and the degree of your Fishing skill. The best time to go fishing is between 4 AM and 6 AM. This is when the best and biggest fish are biting!

Tip

Sims who Love the Outdoors get a huge mood boost out of fishing, and you can plop a radio next to them to drive that mood even higher. (This works for any Sim, not just those with the Loves the Outdoors trait.) Fishing is a great stress-reliever, too, for any Sims but those who Hate the Outdoors.

1. Anchovy, Jellyfish, Red Herring, Blowfish, Salmon, Swordfish

2. Anchovy, Jellyfish, Red Herring, Tuna, Tragic Clownfish, Shark, Lobster

3. Alley Catfish, Red Herring, Tragic Clownfish, Tuna, Siamese Catfish, Shark, Lobster, Starfish Purple

4. Jellyfish, Red Herring, Blowfish, Angelfish, Swordfish

5. Red Herring, Tragic Clownfish, Blowfish, Shark, Angelfish, Starfish Silver

6. Minnow, Goldfish, Rainbow Trout, Red Herring, Siamese Catfish, Black Goldfish

7. Minnow, Goldfish, Red Herring, Salmon, Angelfish, Lobster

8. Goldfish, Rainbow Trout, Red Herring, Piranha, Shark, Lobster

9. Alley Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Red Herring, Salmon, Angelfish

10. Red Herring, Piranha, Black Goldfish, Shark, Angelfish, Vampirefish, Lobster

11. Robot Fish

12. Death Fish (catch between 12 AM-5 AM)

crates

On rare occasions, you will reel in something other than a fish from the waters of Sunset Valley. Litterbugs in Sunset Valley have discarded belongings in the lakes and ponds, but at least their refuse is another Sim’s treasure. When you do manage to reel in a crate, there is a good chance it will contain a valuable item, such as Bubble Bath or Death Flower. If you’re really lucky, the crate will have a magic gnome inside of it!

Crate Item Chance of Finding
Laptop 3%
Rubber Ducky 20%
Guitar 10%
Bubble Bath 16%
MoodLite Candle 16%
Birthday Cake 16%
Flame Fruit 3%
Death Flower 3%
Money Tree Seed 5%
Mysterious Mr. Gnome 6%

Fishing Skill

The Fishing skill is good for three things: Keeping food on the table, earning money, and relaxing. Sims with the Angler trait have a head start on other Sims who pick up a rod and reel, but any Sims can take a class to advance the Fishing skill or just plop a bobber in the water and start learning through experience.

  • Acquire by: Take Fishing Class, Read Fishing Book, Fishing
  • Development tools: No tools needed

The Fishing skill begins one of three ways—by reading a book, taking a class, or just going out to a body of water and using the Fish interaction. Once the Fishing skill is under way, the skill increases either by continued reading or continued fishing. Just having a hook under the surface is enough to develop the skill, but this is a slow way to learn. The skill actually gets a bump when you catch a fish. And the bigger the fish, the bigger the skill bump.

When a fish is hoisted out of the water, the Sim holds it up and the weight of the fish is automatically logged in the Skill Journal. If it’s a new type of fish, that is also noted.

Tip

Certain traits in addition to Angler affect the Fishing skill. Loves the Outdoors Sims get great moodlets from just being outside and fishing. Hates Outdoors, Easily Bored, or Clumsy dampen the ability to catch fish.

Once the Sim reaches level 3 with the Fishing skill, they can choose the Bait interaction at the water’s edge to use a specific type of bait while fishing. Bait is essential if a Sim hopes to catch more than just the basic fish. Gaining levels also unlocks the ability to catch certain fish. However, just unlocking a type of fish does not guarantee actually catching it.

Using any bait slightly increases the chance of catching all fish. It also drastically increases the chance of catching the fish that loves that specific bait type. Higher quality bait tends to catch bigger fish, but only for fish that specifically like that bait. So use Perfect bait to catch the biggest fish. You can also use bait to catch fish that are somewhat higher level than your Sim’s Fishing skill. Sims can catch fish up to 3 levels higher than their skill by using the right bait, although it will be harder to catch those fish until the Sim is higher skill.

REAL ESTATE

Careers and producing objects are not the only sources of income in your neighborhood. Smart investors can generate a healthy household income through real estate investments. Almost all venues in a town can now be purchased and upgraded. As a result of the investment, the household owning the lot is given a weekly payment. The more you invest in a property via upgrades, the more you make per week.

To invest in a venue, choose the Purchase interaction on the establishment from the town map. The base price of the venue is displayed, which must be paid to acquire the venue. There is no payment plan for investing in real estate. Once a venue has been purchased and the deed awarded, you may name the venue anything you wish. Use a computer (in the game) to monitor your investments. The Check Real Estate interaction lets you monitor your investments and spot open opportunities to buy additional venues. You may also track venue upgrades here.

You may also use Build Mode to create a venue from the ground up. However, you cannot just erect four walls, drop in a treadmill, call it a gym, and then expect a weekly payment. You must meet a set of requirements. These are your upgrades, which are also essential for maintaining the operation of purchased existing venues. Upgrades allow you to improve an establishment, which in turn pays out more Simoleons. In Buy Mode, you may install new objects at a customizable venue (a venue your Sim enters and is still visible—you cannot upgrade the diner, for example) to raise its overall value.

Investing

If you have the money, you can invest in a number of businesses around Sunset Valley. You can invest money in the bistro, bookstore, business tower, day spa, diner, supermarket, warehouse, hospital, science facility, stadium, and theatre. After making your initial investment, you get a cut of the profits every week. Some weeks will be better than others. When you save up even more, you can outright buy the business and keep all of the profits to yourself. Here are the investments required for each business (investment/ownership):

Bistro: §12,500/§25,000

Bookstore: §7,000/§20,000

Corporate Tower: §18,000/§40,000

Day Spa: §15,000/§35,000

Diner: §6,000/§18,000

Supermarket: §7,000/§20,000

Warehouse: §15,000/§35,000

Hospital: §30,000/§75,000

Science Facility: §40,000

Stadium: §35,000/§80,000

Theatre: §18,000/§40,000

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