Terrain: Difference between revisions

'''Terrain''' is an area of land, usually referred for just a lot but not limited in that scope. Players can modify it by terraforming or painting it through [[build mode]] tools. [[Weather|Elements]] can affect the said terrain, such as snow and rain. Certain objects, especially outdoor plants, can only be place on empty terrain (unless cheats are used); likewise, some objects can only be placed on floor tiles and cannot be placed on terrain. There are also certain interactions and activities limited to empty terrain that can't be performed anywhere else, including but not limited to [[Bug collecting|catching insects or bugs]], [[collecting]], doing various snow activities (making snow angels, building snowmen and having snowball fights), having water balloon fights, watching stars, etc.

In ''[[The Sims]]'', terrain editing is very simplistic compared to later games. Players can raise or, lower, and level the terrain as a basic form of terraforming, although Sims will typically have difficulty using objects placed on a slope. In addition, players cannot build walls near or on sloped tiles, nor can they add floor tiles of any kind. When the player raises or lowersadjusts the terrain, the grass will die off and will grow back on its own over time. Terraforming costs a small amount of money to complete depending on the extent of the changes done to the terrain.

Sims can watch clouds during the day and stargaze at night; these interactions can be done on empty terrain located outdoors. Weeds can grow from puddles left on empty terrain, which will need to be pulled. In ''The Sims 2'', certain insects may spawn depending of the time on the day: butterflies by day and fireflies by night. Sims and [[dog]]s{{vgversion|TS2:P}} can [[digging|dig]] on any piece of empty terrain. {{vgversion|TS2:BV}} If ''[[The Sims 2: FreeTime|FreeTime]]'' is installed, Sims can only birdwatch and [[bug collecting|collect bugs]] onoutside—the emptylatter terrain—theof interactionswhich will not be available on any outdoor floor tiles. In the [[winter]], snow-related interactions, such as making [[snowman|snowmen]] and having snowball fights, are only available on empty terrain.

Terrain was heavily expanded in ''[[The Sims 3: Seasons|Seasons]]'', as many seasonal activities, such as raking leaves, making [[snowman|snowmen]], and constructing [[igloo]]s, can only be done on empty terrain.