Turn it on in a new kind of bright – it’s solar!
Well just when we thought we were finally done with scenario playthroughs for a while, SURPRISE! Another SDX drop happened that added a new scenario to the game! This scenario, Plant-A-Sim, is all about caring for a PlantSim. No, they aren’t new to the game. PlantSims have been a playable life state in the base game for quite some time now but if you’re new to them, this scenario is a good way to learn how to care for one.
Here’s how our Plant-A-Sim scenario went!
Getting Started
You’ll notice the scenarios have gotten a bit of a revamp. Along with lots more new scenarios, there are now difficulty ratings on each scenario to give you an idea of the time and effort it will take players to complete them. The Plant-A-Sim scenario is listed as an Easy scenario.
This is a permanent scenario so there’s no need to rush to start it before a certain date. It will be available in the game forever so start it whenever you like!
The scenario description states that your Sim is curious about what life is like as a PlantSim and longs to try the Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim to become one. The household requirements are simple; you just need one Young Adult or older Sim.
The goal of this scenario is pretty vague on the menu screen but there are actually specific goals you need to achieve to finish the scenario. Most of them centre around caring for your PlantSim so this scenario is kind of like a tutorial on how to play the game as a PlantSim. These are not separate outcomes; you will have to complete all the goals, not just one.
- Eat the Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim from your inventory
- Have your PlantSim talk to plants (x5)
- Harvest from a Perfect quality plant
- Satisfy water needs (x5)
- Absorb solar energy from plants (x5)
- Photosynthesize by absorbing sunlight (x25)
- Care for plants as a PlantSim (x99)
IMPORTANT! One thing the scenario doesn’t explicitly warn you about is that you can fail the scenario. The forbidden fruit only turns your Sim into a PlantSim for 5 days. After that, they will get a Wilting moodlet that last for about 18 hours. They must eat another forbidden fruit to become a PlantSim again. If they don’t, they will wilt and you will fail the scenario.
When you start the scenario, your Sim will have 5 Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim and 1 packet of starter vegetable seeds in their inventory.
We randomised a Sim in CAS and spent a short time slapping some styled looks on her before hopping into the game and getting her settled in a cottage in Henford-on-Bagley.
Starting the PlantSim Life
Since many players aren’t too familiar with how PlantSims work in The Sims 4, this playthrough will read a bit more like a tutorial than a story to help players find their footing easier with this scenario. The first thing you should do when you start is open up your Sim’s inventory and have them eat a Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim. This will turn them into a PlantSim and allow them to complete the rest of the scenario goals.
Now, be careful with the rest of the forbidden fruit! You only get five and if you run out, you will fail the scenario! Make sure to plant one of them to produce more for harvesting if you need it and keep the rest for when your Sim turns into a human again. You’ll need to eat another fruit quickly to continue the scenario. Then plant everything you get out of your seed packet so you’ll have plants to care for and harvest from.
We also recommend adding the Homey and Great Soil lot traits to your Sim’s home to help with the Gardening skill and plant quality.
DID YOU KNOW?
Starting this scenario is a good way to start a new household with a PlantSim immediately but if you want a PlantSim through regular gameplay, the easiest way to do that is to max out your Gardening skill and purchase rare seed packets until you receive a forbidden fruit in one. Plant it so you always have some on hand, then eat one when it’s ready for harvesting. Another way to do it is by collecting all the magic beans from rare seed packets, arranging them in the special stump from Build/Buy and watering it to produce a giant tree your Sim can explore. They will find a forbidden fruit inside the tree.
Life as a PlantSim
Many of the goals for this scenario walk you through how to care for a PlantSim. They have special motives and certain requirements in order to stay healthy. We’re going to break down how PlantSims work and show you how to complete all the PlantSim care goals of the scenario.
PlantSims do not have a bladder motive so they never need to use the toilet; however, they do have a Water motive. PlantSims require a lot of water, much more than a regular Sim. Being outside on a sunny day will drain the Water motive much more quickly. Showering, taking a bath, drinking water, and going for a swim will all replenish the Water motive quickly, however. Doing any of these activities five times will complete the scenario goal to satisfy water needs. In addition to a negative moodlet, you’ll know your PlantSim is very thirsty when their green hair turns grey.
PlantSims do not need to eat regular food. They get their nutrients from the sun. All they need to do to fill up their Hunger motive is stay outside on a sunny day. They will naturally absorb nutrients from the sun while they are outside; you don’t need to do anything special. Of course, PlantSims cannot absorb sunlight at night and if Seasons is installed, they won’t be able to absorb sunlight on cloudy days, either. It must be sunny or only partly cloudy for your PlantSim to be able to photosynthesize. Absorbing sunlight directly from the sun will satisfy the scenario goal to photosynthesize by absorbing sunlight.
Sometimes, your PlantSim might find themselves in a desperate situation if it hasn’t been sunny for some time. This is when it becomes very helpful to have a large garden. PlantSims can absorb solar energy from harvestable plants to satisfy their Hunger motive when they can’t get nutrients from the sun. Clicking on a plant and selecting Absorb Solar Energy five times will satisfy the scenario goal to absorb solar energy from your plants.
IMPORTANT!
We’re not sure if this is a glitch or an intended effect from absorbing solar energy but every time our PlantSim absorbed solar energy from her plants, they would temporarily grow to the next growth stage only to revert back to a plot of dirt a few moments after. We’d have to wait for the plant to sprout again. Do not absorb solar energy from plants you are trying to raise to perfect quality to harvest from. It will take far longer for the plant to mature. Do not absorb solar energy from your forbidden fruit tree, either, as you could run out of fruit.
Plant-A-Sim, Plant-A-Garden
The other scenario goals aren’t necessarily specific to PlantSims but remember; you need to stay a PlantSim until all goals are completed, otherwise you will fail the scenario. You just need to care for your plants 99 times, talk to your plants 5 times, and harvest from a Perfect quality plant once.
Caring for your plants 99 times sounds daunting but you will finish this goal without even trying if you have a decent sized garden. All you have to do is keep watering, weeding, and spraying your plants like normal. It will take you far longer to raise a plant to Perfect quality which is where you may struggle to stay a PlantSim for long enough. Your forbidden fruit tree is going to become incredibly important so make sure you’re taking excellent care of it.
Plants will naturally increase in quality over time if you are taking good care of them but it does take a very long time to go from Normal quality to Perfect. To speed up the process, you can fertilize your plants. Sims unlock the ability to fertilize plants at Gardening level 3. Plants can be fertilized with any flower, fruit, veggie, or fish. Growfruit is the best fertilizer in the game but it can be difficult to obtain. You’ll need to max out your Gardening skill and keep buying rare seed packets until you get a growfruit in one. Plant the growfruit to have a constant supply and then use the produce to fertilize all your plants. If you can’t get your hands on growfruit, we recommend using fish, which is also a good fertilizer. Plants cannot be fertilized every day so just keep an eye on them and fertilize them whenever the option is available. We also recommend raising your plants indoors if Seasons is installed so they don’t go dormant during their off seasons.
As for talking to your plants, this is something any skilled gardener can do, not just PlantSims. Simply have your PlantSim chat up the plants in their garden five times and this goal will be completed very easily.
If all goes well and you’re able to do all of these things before your forbidden fruit stash runs out, you will complete the scenario.
Where We Went Wrong
We consider ourselves pro Sims players, so we’re actually embarrassed about how badly we botched this whole scenario. If there’s one good side, it’s that we learned what not to do so we could write this guide for you and forewarn you about potential pitfalls.
The first thing we did wrong was choosing a world with very little sun for our PlantSim to live in. We thought she would thrive around all of the nature in Henford-on-Bagley but we forgot that Henford-on-Bagley hardly ever gets sunny days. It is forever rainy or cloudy there. If you don’t have Seasons, this is a non-issue; it’s always sunny no matter where your Sims live. But Seasons players will need to choose their world carefully. We recommend Sulani as the ideal world for this scenario. It has plenty of sun and plenty of water for your PlantSims to keep both their Water and Hunger motives satisfied easily.
Because she didn’t have enough sunlight to photosynthesize, she had to resort to absorbing sunlight from her plants. Now you will have to absorb sunlight from plants at least five times to finish the scenario but we picked the worst plant to do this with; our forbidden fruit tree. As a result, our forbidden fruit tree never matured and never produced more fruit which is ultimately what killed us.
We ran out of our starter fruit before we could complete the last goal of harvesting from a Perfect quality plant. Our PlantSim ended up wilting and we failed the scenario.
Our Thoughts
Despite the fact that we failed so miserably at this scenario, we actually think it’s a great scenario! Not only does it highlight an often-overlooked occult life state available in the base game; it also shows players how to create and care for this life state a lot of people might not know about.
Plus the possibility of failing the scenario due to poor time management or strategy skills puts some pressure on the player and adds another element of challenge. And if you have Seasons installed, you’ll have to work around the limitations of the weather, too. There’s a lot to think about during this scenario and if we do have any criticism, it’s that labeling it as an Easy scenario might be a bit misleading. We’re seasoned players and even we didn’t expect to have to apply the level of strategy and critical thinking the scenario actually requires. We’d probably call this an Intermediate scenario.
Still, we highly recommend this one. It was a lot of fun and kept us on our toes.
