Plumbot

Plumbot is the life state that will be included with The Sims 3: Into the Future. Plumbots are shown in the announce trailer and in some promotional images, which suggest that several different styles of Plumbot will be available. The trailer also suggests that Plumbots will be able to scan Sims in some fashion.

Sims are able to buy pre-made and pre-programmed Plumbots. There is a "Create a Bot" feature, which allows players to create Plumbots and customize existing ones. Plumbots can have up to seven "trait chips", and this can change the robotics skill of the sim/Plumbot which changes the trait chips. Trait chips will allow Plumbots to have a variety of features, abilities and skill sets. Sims are able to buy trait chips, or design and make them; and are able to buy materials needed to make them Sims are able to build a bot-building skill which allows them to make better Plumbots, upgrade existing ones, and make more advanced trait chips.

Simology
A Plumbot's Simology panel will show the bot's name, gender, and quality (on a scale of 0 to 10). It will also show which trait chips are installed.

In the Q&A on July 30, it was mentioned that Plumbots do not age, but can have accidents. It was implied that Plumbots that are kept maintained will last indefinitely.

Motives
Like Servos from The Sims 2: Open for Business, Plumbots have 4 needs. Those needs are: Battery Power, Maintenance, Social, and Fun. Whether or not Social and Fun are greyed out depends on which trait chips are installed. Plumbots have a mood meter, but it will be greyed out unless an appropriate trait chip is installed. Plumbots do not need to eat, and will not want to eat.

Battery Power
This appears to be the Plumbot equivalent of energy. The Live Broadcast on July 30, 2013 mentioned that Plumbots would be able to siphon power from household appliances. It also mentioned that there would be recharging stations for Plumbots. The Solar Powered trait chip allows a Plumbot to use solar power during daylight, and the Efficient trait chip lets them use power more efficiently. The higher the quality of the plumbot, the slower the battery will decay.

Maintenance
Unlike Servos and SimBots, Plumbots will require maintenance, and the quality will affect how fast this decays (the higher the quality the slower it decays). Plumbots are able to maintain theirselves, and there is a possible change when a sim/plumbot with a medium or high robotics skill tunes a plumbot, their quality will rise.

Create a Bot
The announce trailer suggests that it will be possible to create Plumbots inside a special machine. The live broadcast from July 30, 2013 indicates that clicking on the machine will allow the player to enter Create a Bot, which is similar to Create a Sim, but oriented toward building robots. The player will be able to customize the Plumbot by choosing a Head, Body, Arms, and Legs, and will be able to color the parts in a manner similar to Create a Style. There is a "randomize" button, as there is in Create a Sim. The player will also be able to use the machine to customize an existing Plumbot.

Access to Create a Bot will not be free. Creating a Plumbot will cost §250, and customizing one will cost §100. Create a Bot appears to create Plumbots with no programming; the July 30 demo did not show how much it would cost to buy or make trait chips.

Basics
The very first of the five tabs is Basics. This is where the player chooses the Plumbot's name and gender.

Name: Type in the Plumbot's name.

Gender OS: Choose either Male or Female.

Voice: Choose one of three voice types.

There is a slider below the voice select buttons. It was not demonstrated but the labeling suggests it may control the pitch of the Plumbot's voice.

Head
The player can choose a head from the collection..

Body/Torso
The player can choose a torso from the collection.

Arms
The player can choose arms from the collection.

Legs
The player can choose legs or a hover bottom from the collection.

Trait Chips
Trait chips give Plumbots various skill sets, abilities, and features. A Plumbot starts out able to have between 3 and 7 trait chips, depending on the skill of its maker, and Plumbots can be upgraded to have more trait chip slots. Sims will be able to buy trait chips from the Bot Emporium in Oasis Landing, or design and create them with the Bot Workshop. Sims will also be able to buy a Trait Chip Bundle for 10,000 lifetime happiness points.

These are the currently known trait chips:

Trivia

 * Plumbots were originally called ServoBots during development.
 * Some of the parts are from Servo in The Sims 2: Open for Business.

Gallery
"Trailer Images"=