Time machine

The Time Machine is an object in The Sims 3: Ambitions. It is created with the Inventing skill. It will be about the fifteenth invention of your Sim and it requires inventing level 9.

The exterior look of the time machine is most likely based on the one seen in Blackadder: Back and Forth. The Time Machine is a rabbit hole similar to the Mausoleum. A Sim can return with various items including a caveman gnome, much as the original Mysterious Mr. Gnome is discovered in the Mausoleum.

It's possible for Sims to meet their previous selves and/or previous companions, and tell them to stop fighting and focus on love and family. If this happens, a Sim may suddenly have a child, but the child will only have one parent. When a Sim travels to the past, he or she can accidentally knock over a job board. If that happens, when the Sim returns, one of his or her housemates will have switched careers. Occasionally, traveling to the past will result in a message about the Sim using the machine having saved a child in front of his or her past self. This results in a new child being added to the household.

The time machine also makes a quick reference to Mass Effect when it says that the Sim was passing a crowd, listening about a shepherd (Commander Shepard, the main protagonist), saving the Galaxy from an ancient god threat (the Reapers). Additionally, the futuristic outfits that can be gained by going into the future highly resemble the Spectre Armors that can be acquired in Mass Effect.

It is thought that the time machine will feature in the console versions of The Sims 3: Pets.

Effects of time travel
Traveling to the past can have huge consequences for a Sim's household (new job, new friends, new Sim in the household), while traveling to the future seems to be more harmless, though the Sim sometimes comes back with an object or moodlet. It is also possible for a Sim to return from a time travel trip with a new outfit related to the time period he or she traveled to. There are 4 unique outfits for each gender.

Both

 * Positive or negative 'Traveled in Time' moodlet. (Bigger chance of getting positive moodlet if the Sim has the Adventurous and/or Brave traits)
 * Random other moodlet.
 * Cash. Between §81-§2487.
 * New clothing (including a rusty set of armor and a futuristic suit).

Past

 * New career for random member in household.
 * 3 new friends of the entire household.
 * A new Sim joins the household as child of the time traveller, though the infobox will say ancestor. (Edit: sometimes they are adopted so they'll be son/daughter with a single parent.)
 * New outfits: Prehistoric rags and Medieval attire
 * If the Sim is a ghost, they may get a message saying "[SIM'S NAME] went back in time to see how they became a ghost, but accidentally changed events so they never became one! [SIM'S NAME] is alive again!"
 * If the Sim is a mummy, they can prevent the invention of mummies and will be cured when they return.
 * Slight possibility of the Time Machine getting hit by a huge meteorite happen 3 times to account for it to be plauseable.
 * Items:
 * Caveman Mysterious Mr. Gnome.
 * The Four Courners of the Earth, non-skill book, sellable for §1,945.
 * To Hunt or Gather?, non-skill book, sellable for §1,239.
 * War and More War , non-skill book, sellable for §1,663.
 * Fire: Terrifying but Essential, non-skill book, sellable for §676
 * 1000 Ways to Stew Brontosaurus, non-skill book, sellable for §1,484.
 * The Fall of Atlantis, non-skill book, sellable for §2,068.
 * Lady Veronica Farfleton and the Magical Harpsichord, non-skill book, sellable for §1,577.
 * Sul Sul: Trapped in Tar, non-skill book, sellable for §942.
 * Plague and Pestilence, non-skill book, sellable for § 1,689
 * Sonaflux Guitar.
 * Firefighter of the Year wall trophy (§0).
 * Life Fruit
 * Omni Plant seed
 * Flame Fruit
 * Mood Light Candle
 * Artsy Easel
 * Fuzzy Logic Picnic Basket
 * Death Flower seed
 * Money Tree seed
 * Thoggus, a new sculpture.

Future

 * A new Sim joins the household as child of the time traveller, though that child can be any age from child to elder.
 * Items:
 * Birthday Inferno Birthday Cake.
 * SimCity 7940 Tips and Tricks non-skill book, sellable for §1707.
 * Mars Real Estate Dos and Don'ts non-skill book, sellable for §497.
 * Gone with the Solar Wind non-skill book, sellable for §967.
 * Don't Tread on Me: A Robot Manifesto for Freedom non-skill book, sellable for §1,470.
 * Blips and Bloops: A Thesis on Mechanics non-skill book, sellable for §799.
 * Remembering the Internet; How the World was Changed non-skill book, sellable for §2,754.
 * So Hot In Binary non-skill book, sellable for §1,266.
 * Signs You're A Clone non-skill book, sellable for §2,493.
 * The New Ice Age non-skill book, sellable for §1,785.
 * Thoggus, a new sculpture.
 * Dancing Bunny painting (§100).
 * Audio Lite by LoFi Audio.
 * XS 4258p Laptop from Landgraab Industries.
 * Death Seed
 * Omni Plant Seed
 * World's Brew Bubble Bath
 * Prince of Pickleburb (painting)
 * Ducksworth of Bathington
 * A Life Fruit

Try for baby

 * If trying in the future, there is a chance where the child will return to the present visiting his parents as an elder.
 * If trying in the past, there is a chance where the child will return to the present from finding his long lost parents as a Teen or a Young Adult.

woohoo'ing in the time machine is only possible if the partner lives on the same lot as your sim

Trivia
Time travel has previously been featured in the mishap that brought Don Lothario to Riverview, and the time machine is available for use in The Sims 2 for Nintendo DS.

It also appeared in The Urbz: Sims in the City for Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance as a strange machine. The player should go in 5 different times, each having a different area. One of the outfits from the future resemble the clothing from Tron.