Hunger

Hunger is one of the basic needs of a Sim. Not fulfilling this need can result in death.

Cooking
For obvious reasons, a Sim cannot survive for very long without food. As long as a refrigerator is available, a Sim can have a snack, a frozen heat-and-eat meal, or a regular meal, or can serve a group meal (which is the same as a regular meal except one Sim prepares several servings). The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 added several cold foods, such as cereal, sandwiches, and instant meals-in-a-can.

If a Sim is lacking a refrigerator for whatever reason, or is unable to cook, he or she can also phone for a pizza. However, eating a pizza is not nearly as fulfilling as cooking a meal, and it can take quite a while for it to arrive. Also, a pizza is more expensive than a group meal, costing §30-40. In The Sims, an adult Sim without a refrigerator can also satisfy hunger on his or her home lot by cooking food on a barbecue.

How well a meal fills the Hunger meter depends on several factors. In The Sims, it mostly depends on the Sim's cooking skill. In other games, with more types of food available, it primarily depends on the type of food. If a stove or oven was used, it will be affected by the quality of that appliance. It can also be affected by the quality and cleanness of the preparation surface, and the use of a food processor. (If present, a food processor will automatically be used for foods that require chopping.) In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, some types of food may be more satisfying if the Sim preparing them has a higher level of Cooking skill than is needed to be able to make them.

Starvation
Of course, if a Sim's hunger meter reaches zero, the Sim dies of starvation. Therefore, it is essential that it does not reach zero. Sims will inform the player if they are hungry, usually by refusing to do tasks, or becoming extremely grumpy. In The Sims 3, they will receive a hungry moodlet. A Sim who goes to work or school hungry will not do well. Babies, toddlers, and children will be taken away by the social worker before they can starve to death.



Hunger moodlets
Neglecting the hunger need will give a hungry Sim the "hungry" moodlet for three hours. After that, it will be replaced with "very hungry", which will last for one day. If the Sim still hasn't eaten by the time that moodlet expires, he or she will finally get the "starving" moodlet. If that moodlet expires, the hungry Sim will die of starvation. Toddlers have the second two moodlets for 12 hours and babies have "Very Hungry" and "Starving" for a mere 8 hours.

Sims can also buy the "Hardly Hungry" lifetime reward for 25,000 lifetime points. This will cut the decay rate of hunger to ¼ of usual.

Issues
At least in The Sims and The Sims 2, one issue players face is making sure that Sims have time to eat. At least in these games, Sims take their time when eating, and will not eat faster even if they are at risk of missing the carpool or school bus - or of falling asleep while they eat.

A related issue, at least in The Sims and The Sims 2, is that Sims are very social creatures, and love to talk over meals. They love it so much that talking over a meal will significantly increase the amount of time Sims take to eat it.

Scrap Reserves
For SimBots, the equivalent of Hunger is Scrap Reserves. SimBots can fill this need by eating scrap, which is what they prefer, or by eating Sim food.

Thirst
For Vampires in The Sims 3: Late Night, the equivalent of Hunger is Thirst. This motive is filled by drinking Plasma, the Sim-equivalent of blood. They can get plasma by draining Sims, from Plasma Fruit, which is a new plant, or by snacking on Plasmapacks. Similar to death by starvation, Vampires can die by thirst. The ghost of a Vampire who dies in this way is red, with a pulsing red light beating where the heart would be. The image on the tombstone is that of a bat.