Weather (game mechanic)

Weather was introduced in the Seasons expansion pack for The Sims 2, and will return in The Sims 3: Seasons. (Sims were able to talk about weather long before that, and Weather is also an Interest found in The Sims 2.) There are four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn/Fall. Each season has five Sim days in it, so the full cycle runs for 20 Sim days. However, in The Sims 2 each neighborhood and sub-neighborhood has a separate Season Chooser, which allows the player to determine which seasons will occur there, and what order they will occur in. By default, a neighborhood will start in Summer, followed by Fall, Winter, and then Spring. Riverblossom Hills is exceptional, with the order of Winter, Winter, Spring, and Fall. Sims' moods can also change with the weather. Each season has a slightly different color cast, (e.g., winter is more desaturated, and fall has warmer, reddish tone).

Weather is also in The Sims 3 for Wii. The seasons work the same way and have the same characteristics as in real life.

Weather is featured in The Urbz: Sims in the City (the first game to feature this), The Sims 2 for console, The Sims 2 Pets for console, and The Sims 2 Castaway for console. When it rains, Sims will put an umbrella or newspaper over their head.

Winter
During the winter, Sims can build relationships with family members at a heightened rate. It may snow onto a residential lot, covering everything outside with snow. Sims are able to freeze or catch a cold if left out in the snow too long. A child, toddler, or baby Sim may be taken away by the Social Worker after they become too cold for too long. The player will receive a warning before this happens though. Sims are also able to have snowball fights, make snow angels, and build snowmen. Toddlers can also play in the snow and both toddlers and dogs can eat the snow. On some days, if the snow is too heavy, Sim children or teenagers that attend school may be able to have a "snow day". Outdoor flowers will become dormant during the Winter, and may die. Garden plants and orchard trees will become dormant unless they are in a greenhouse. As a rule, Sims will automatically change into seasonal wear, but this may not happen consistently.

For the Sims, winter is a time for family, fun in the snow, and the warm indoors.

Environment Changes

 * Temperature ranges from low in the Comfortable zone to low in the Very Cold zone, and tends to drop from day to day
 * Light takes on a bluish tone
 * Night-time appears to be darker
 * Lakes freeze
 * Crops die

Probable Weather

 * Snow

Winter activities

 * Sims can build snowmen
 * Sims can have snowball fights
 * Dogs can eat snow
 * Toddlers can play in the snow
 * Sims can make snow angels

Other changes

 * Sims dress in winter wear outside
 * No plants outside will grow (orchard trees will become dormant)
 * Chance of catching a cold increases
 * Penguins can come to a lot, and they will likely talk to snowmen, even broken ones.
 * Sims can turn blue and freeze if they become too cold (hot chocolate and other warm things can alleviate this), which may be fatal.
 * When it's snowing heavily outside, there is a small chance of getting a snow day, which means children don't go to school.

If a Sim's home doesn't have a roof it will start snowing inside! Sims will be affected by the cold temperature, if this happens.

Spring
During the Spring, it may rain, snow a little, and finally have sunshine. Romance is in focus in Spring, and Sims can build romantic relationships at a higher rate than usual. Sims are able to splash in puddles, grow plants, harvest fruits, and much more! The Sims will still change into their Seasonal clothing, and the temperature might still be cold, but warmer than winter.

Environment changes

 * Temperature ranges from slightly low in the Comfortable zone to low in the Hot zone, and starts rising
 * Snow and frozen lakes melt
 * Light takes a greyish tone

Probable weather

 * Snow flurries
 * Rain
 * Thunderstorms

Spring Activities

 * Sims can splash in puddles
 * Sims can begin gardening

Other changes

 * At the beginning of spring, it may be cold enough for Sims to dress in outerwear when going outside
 * Plants grow, but beware of the cold
 * Interactions with romantic partners are more potent, adding more relationship points than they do in other seasons

Summer
During the Summer, Sims build friendly relationships more quickly. Sims can have water balloon fights or splash in the pool. There is a chance of catching heatstroke if your Sim is overheated. Again, a child, toddler, or baby Sim may be taken away by the Social Worker if this happens.

Environment Changes

 * Temperature ranges from high in the Comfortable zone to high in the Very Hot zone, and tends to rise from day to day.
 * Light takes on a neutral tone
 * Night-time appears to be lighter

Probable Weather

 * Sunshine
 * Rain
 * Hail
 * Thunderstorms

Summer Activities
(Sims can perform these activities in other seasons, too, but they often develop special Wants to do them when summer begins.)
 * Sims have water balloon fights
 * Sims can go fishing
 * Sims can play Marco Polo in the pool

Other Changes

 * Chance of heatstroke and sunburn
 * Sims develop friendly relationships faster

Autumn/Fall
During the fall, the temperature begins to drop and it may begin to snow or rain. During this time, Sims are able to maximize their skills easier and faster than the other seasons. Leaves begin to fall, and of course Sims are able to rake them. After raking them, Sims may jump into the pile of leaves and play with them or even burn the leaves. Sims also begin to change back into Outerwear once outside at the end of Autumn. With this comes along a chance of catching a cold, but not freezing.

Environment Changes

 * Temperature ranges from somewhat high in the Comfortable zone to high in the Cold zone, and begins to decrease
 * Light takes on a slightly golden tone
 * Night-time appears to be darker
 * Lakes may freeze
 * Trees become colored and leaves fall on ground

Probable Weather

 * Rain
 * 15% Chance per day
 * Snow is more possible than probable, but will occasionally happen.

Autumn activities

 * Sims can rake the fallen leaves and play in them, burn them or compost them
 * Harvest crops

Effects on Sims

 * Social Need decays 14-25% slower when Sims are outdoors
 * Chance of catching a cold increased
 * During cooler periods, Sims will dress in outerwear
 * Skill building is 25% faster

The Sims Castaway Stories
The Sims Castaway Stories is also a game that features weather. It features normal, hot weather which is one season, and the second one features rain with thunder and hail. Weather also changes the Sim's body temperature in The Sims Castaway Stories. Sims can change weather using the story reward object, the weather machine, which was firstly meant for Winford Rhinehart so that he could take over the island.

The Sims 3
Weather is available to some extent in The Sims 3. With The Sims 3: Ambitions installed, using buydebug one may purchase the "Fog Emitter" and ctrl+shift+click to enter codes. Some of these codes give effects such as rain and snow. These are not fully functional and appear to be for story-telling purposes. Here's a Dutch guide to weather in The Sims 3: Sims3nieuws - Tutorial: Rain and Snow in the Sims 3!

An EA employee has stated that they (the developers) would have included weather in The Sims 3: Late Night, but decided to postpone it to make weather a great addition to an Expansion pack instead of a minor feature

Weather has been confirmed to return in the upcoming The Sims 3: Seasons, and appears to be similar to that of The Sims 2: Seasons. New weather will also appear, such as fog.

Trivia

 * If both The Sims 2: Seasons and The Sims 2: Bon Voyage are installed, by default Takemizu Village only has the spring and fall seasons and Three Lakes only has fall and winter.
 * Hail can kill a Sim if they are outside and their needs are too low.
 * Lightning can kill a Sim if they are outside. This is more likely if they are in water (for example, swimming or using a hot tub) and their needs are too low.
 * Ghosts can haunt at noon if their tombstone is struck by a storm.
 * In The Sims Castaway Stories, during the story, fireballs from the erupting volcano can fall from the sky burning things. It is not known if this can happen in the free-play storyline.
 * Lightning can also damage trees in Castaway Stories.