Eco Lifestyle SimGuru/Maxis-Sourced Info

Neighbourhood Action and Community Spaces

Unused community spaces are going to waste—literally, as a dump. Rally your neighbors to decide how to use it. To get that maker space, you’re going to need support. Want a shared planting space with vertical gardens instead? Vote for it! Every week, you can join your new community in voting for a Neighborhood Action Plan. Transform the shared lot, promote the performing arts, suggest a weekly workout, demand an upcycling initiative, or explore the many other options on the board. Just know that you could end up wearing a paper bag on your head if things go sideways… - blog

Engage with your neighborhood through the new voting board to decide on different Neighborhood Action Plans each week. Everyone in the community has a voice, so you have to push if you really want something. Team up with local crafters, activists, and technicians to build up support! And if you're not compaigning, why not explore being a civil designer to make the neighborhood a better place? - pack description

Sell your goods with an Entrepreneur's Table at the Community Space. - gameplay blog

Neighbourhood Action Plans include a Water Shut-Off Day (gameplay trailer)

Knox (pre-made) is an eco-lifestyle advocate who pushes Neighbourhood Action Plans (gameplay trailer)

Neighbourhood Action Plans, from the Livestream:

• One of these plans enables the neighbourhood to turn more green; another enables it to turn more modern. The neighbourhood will continue to change gradually over the course of a week.
  
• Cheats for enacting the plans are available for players by shift-clicking the Community Board
  
• Neighbourhood Action Plans can include "Free Love". Romance interactions produce no jealousy; you can gain Community Influence Points for Romance interactions. Tendency to go streaking.
  
• Others e.g. Clean Energy Production, Foodies United, Self-Sufficiency, Support the Performing Arts, Tech Support, Water Conservation, Juiced Community, We Wear Bags, Sharing is Caring... (I missed some!)
  
• An open-street Community Board is where you vote for the week's Action Plans. What you vote for might be voted down by neighbours. There is a new UI Panel which includes your influence points. Socializing, relationships, hosting events can increase influence. Civil Designer interactions also.
  
• You can only vote on the action plans for your own neighbourhood. You can vote at your mailbox. You can't mess with the votes but you can try to convince others to vote or petition to repeal.
  
• Go here to see some of the plans: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/17510236/#Comment_17510236
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263587511269355521
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263588318639341570
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263587693302169600
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263586457651838976
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263584781272363016

Community Spaces, from the Livestream:

• Can be added to any world as a lot type with default space or straight (in Build mode) to a subtype
  
• Community Space Projects have a separate board to vote on Community Garden, Maker Space, or Marketplace: venue subtypes. What you vote for might be voted down by neighbours.
  
• spaces are editable
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263974495393476608
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263591153959489536

Other Worlds:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1258449609233272833
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1265686515218169856
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1265691999081881600
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1265728519985745920

https://twitter.com/ChrissieYT/status/1265731398058549248
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1265761866049040384

Evergreen Harbour and the Changing World

Dedicated thread for discussion: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/975266/evergreen-harbor-discussion-thread#latest

https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263687354134327302

From the Livestream:

• 13 lots including 2 apartment lots with 2 apartments each = 15 lots
  
• In addition, one community lot per neighbourhood
  
• World vibe is a 19th century port industry mining/forestry town reviving itself, and includes homages to the past, e.g. the train station
  
• As you remake the neighbourhood, the non-editable neighbourhood changes; one neighbourhood gets a skyway park out of a disused railway.
  
• Apartments - different from City Living apartments: more modest, shorter. Apartments for living in are on the top floor. One building (two levels) does not have an elevator. Cannot edit outer walls except by Neighbourhood Action Plans. No landlords or noisy neighbour functionality. These are rented, not bought.
  

Neighbourhoods

The community of Grims Quarry is best off, environmentally speaking, though grimy and cluttered with waste. Still, its clean air accentuates its appeal when compared to the middling Conifer Station and rundown Port Promise. Once Sims start making an effort, though, each of these neighborhoods transforms. Go all-in on the industrial-chic aesthetic by turning an old shipping container lot into your new home in Port Promise, or take a leisurely stroll atop of the old train station’s parkway in Conifer Station when Evergreen Harbor finally lives up to its name. - gameplay blog

World Influence

In Evergreen Harbor, every action you take and decision you make influences the state of the world around you. The cleaner Evergreen Harbor gets, the more you’ll see nature thriving. You determine whether the skies are smoggy or clear enough to see the aurora borealis glimmering above... Or try to encourage your neighbors to vote for a community maker space where you can all craft together. - pack description

https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258850000609689601

https://twitter.com/JamesTurnerYT/status/1264230062322151424
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1264754103432839168

https://twitter.com/dribttubs/status/1264945997920296966
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1264947760039489536

https://twitter.com/ferlaguna5/status/1265746857956868098
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1265762737524637696

https://twitter.com/iamjustfiction/status/1266241895824420865
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1266261769275625474


Is this just Strangerville again?
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258081145444540423
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1258101739502198785
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258842658862178305

Does this pack affect other worlds?
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258843379481432066
Why won't Strangerville be affected by pollution?
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258847231857299456
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1260440132013998088
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1265730771819495424

What if I don't want it to change?
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258896797264752640

Sims also reap the rewards of living either the green or industrial lifestyle even beyond Evergreen Harbor. Check your impact in almost any neighborhood or world of your choosing—excluding Strangerville and Destination Worlds—or pause the eco-footprint effects from the game options menu. You decide where and when it matters to you. - gameplay blog

https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1264251219544961024

Map
From the livestream:

• New overlay shows a neighbourhood's Eco-Footprint level
  
• Neighbourhoods now have name-description map tags for all worlds except vacation worlds
  

Careers (and Crafting), Traits, etc.

Explore two new careers in The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle. As a Civil Designer, it’s your job to fix this town up—with help, of course. Once you get your Eco Inventions up and running, your neighbors are sure to take notice. On the other hand, if you’re more of a creative soul, why not turn a profit on the stuff you’re making? Perhaps you’re a Fizzy Juicer, a furniture maker, or a candlemaker. Once you’ve gathered your resources, like ingredients or repurposed dyes, you can get to work and fill orders through the computer as a Freelance Crafter! - pack description

https://twitter.com/Gilad17241665/status/1263564000803110920
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263578249004675072
https://twitter.com/SimGuruPopcorn/status/1263570363465609216

Candle Making?
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258052583555563520
Candles can be hand-dipped (gameplay trailer)
https://twitter.com/SimGuruPopcorn/status/1265014580817739776
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1264966150078689280
https://twitter.com/SimGuruPopcorn/status/1266037819564150784

Civil Designer

Sims can also pursue new careers like a Civil Designer to inspire others to give back to the environment - EA press release

Civil Designer is a work-from-home Career involving product invention, such as some kind of plant grower, some kind of lamp, and the smog-sucker seen in the announcement trailer. Bess (pre-made) is a local entrepreneur and Civil Designe (gameplay trailer)

From the livestream:

Freelance Crafter - different from previous freelancer careers in that it includes more skills; uses new object Fabricator (3D printer)

Civil Designer - (sorry, missed some of this due to a phone call!)

Traits and Aspirations
Will there be some? https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258082310722813954

From the livestream:
SKILLS

• Juice Fizzing, e.g. of kombucha - trait from maxed skill is "Affizionado"
  
• Fabrication, increases what you can make with the Fabricator and Candle Making
  

TRAITS

• Maker - enjoy building
  
• Green Fiend - wants to use renewable technology, garden, make neighbourhoods eco-friendly
  
• Recycling Disciple
  
• Freegan - like getting free stuff out of trash, enjoy dumpster interactions incl. eating out of it
  

ASPIRATIONS (SimGuruJessica)

• Eco-Innovator - involved voting, convincing to vote, ties into Civil Designer career track ...
  
• Master Maker - ties into crafting, recycling; can gain discounts on material used
  

Build/Buy and CAS and Premades/Personalities

New updates in Build/Buy encourage going green, too. For the first time, you can offset your bills with wind turbines, solar panels, and dew collectors. Reduce your eco footprint and invest in a living rooftop for a splash of bright color. Inside, choose between gorgeous new furniture (sustainably made, of course) or upcycle someone else’s junk into beautiful items! - pack description

With the Recycler, you can break that old couch down into reusable components for your next invention. To get the rest of the materials, keep an eye out for Bits & Pieces while you’re scrounging around in the dumpster. Once you’ve collected enough, you can create your own items in the amazing new Fabricator! - gameplay blog

From wind turbines to solar panels, generate your own electricity at home. Whether you place them on your roof or in your yard, they offset your bills and take you off the grid—literally, they expand off-the-grid functionality. Sims might choose to gather their own water with a dew collector too. Who needs infrastructure now? Of course, you could always go for a traditional power generator if green energy isn’t your thing. - gameplay blog

The Vertical Garden allows more plants in a smaller space. The Fabricator is a tool used to manufacture; it has a fail animation for users. There is also a Fizzy Juice machine (Gameplay Trailer)

Insect farming:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruSalo/status/1258068823732654080
(No, it's not chickens!)
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1258252735620636672
(But obviously @SimGuruGeorge means grub, not worm ;)
Insect farming produces a food ingredient (Gameplay Trailer)

Dumpster Diving

Extremists might scrounge through the dumpster, too, to get their next buggy treat or components for a new creation... Need to outfit a start how on a budget? Do it basically for free by dumpster diving! Fish out a few pre-used items like a worn-out mattress you fix or a lightly singed oven you can shine up. - pack description

Need a TV, a table, or even a mattress? Check the dumpster! - gameplay blog

from the livestream:

• source of material for crafting
  
• many interactions include meal grabbing, sort out compostables, dive for deals (furniture, decor, electronics, money), new woohoo
  
• can bond with Dumpster flies
  
• Objects from Dumpster diving include those from earlier Sims versions
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1263583006410764288
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1264947195481972737
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1265025973256257536

Upcycling

Even new furniture and clothes are sustainably made from reclaimed materials for a fabulous look! Repurpose fabric, technology, and many other objects to decorate your home and fill out your wardrobe.

Other Buy Mode
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258146543120629762
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263888452371705856

Build Mode
Ladders:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1258101258553946113
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1258106335519846400
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263579705300545536

From the livestream:
BUILD/BUY

• Choices in decorating and impacting affect gameplay. Some building materials have positive or negative impact, which shows in the Build UI (if it's Green or Industrial).
  
• How neighbours build also affects Eco-Footprint.
  
• Can now search for just Off-the-Grid items in Build/Buy
  
• Not only EP items affect the Eco-Footprint
  
• 6-tile sliding window
  
• shipping-container door makes a metal sound when it opens
  
• ladders *patch* - one patched in, a second ladder only in the EP. Option to slide down a ladder to get down faster. Can build multiple storey ladders. Toddlers and Pets can't use them or be carried on them. Children can use them.
  
• solar panels map to roof angles (except curved). Alternatively, solar shingles produce power. Build mode shows the power production rating.
  
• new fireplace
  
• Flooring can have more or less fire resistance. *patch* This can be turned on and off in Game Options.
  
• NO COMMENT on the window placement, but could see that it was shifting freely
  

GAMEPLAY OBJECTS

• Fabricator - creates fabricated objects are not available in Buy mode without cheats, and require materials
  
• Recycler object - gives bits and pieces out of other objects in the game, eg your MySims doll collection. Can recycle from inventory by clicking on the machine. Results can be used in the Fabricator.
  
• Candle Maker (SimGuruPopcorn) - requires wax, which can be bought from the candle making station - hobby contributes to fabrication skill. Children can make dipped candles but not molded or carved candles. High skill can infuse with scents for different moods. Colours come from dyes: 7 regular colours, 2 special colours - 1 from dumpster diving (houndstooth), the other Grim dye. Candles burn down. Shift-click cheat to set level and keep it there. Candle auto-light system is separate from regular lights. Soy wax can be bought or harvest; beeswax can be got if you have Seasons. All candles work off the grid.
  
• Bike - does not need Discover University; pulled from trash
  
• Juice Fizzer - brewing "juice", kombucha (uses flowers and herbs), and seltzer. Ingredients from inventory, including from other packs. Similar to real distilling, you can set it up and walk away. Amount of ingredients = amount of results. Can name it, send it for evaluation.
  
• Insect Farm - grubs, beetles, bombadier beetles, and crickets. They can be nurtured. New recipes use insects, which must be farmed. Crickets can result in Cricket Flour or Bio-Fuel to power your house. Can feed insects with compostables.
  
• Hydroponic Garden - waters itself
  
• Vertical Garden (SimGuruPopcorn) - Civil Designers can grow fake meat, which can be named. Massaging meat improves its quality. If it is allowed to dry, it becomes jerky. If it catches fire, you get a meat cube. Vegetarian & Squeamish Sims don't like standing next to the fake meat.
  
• Dew Collector - does not require Seasons, but does have extra effects with Seasons. Similarly with Solar Panels and Wind Turbines. They can need cleaning, can break, etc. If you break your Dew Collector, it will water around it, including watering plants. It might sprout plants around it. With Seasons, you can upgrade Wind Turbines to collect electricity.
  
• "You should definitely" press the red button on the Power Generator.
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruPopcorn/status/1263575752068304896
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263590252314152960

CAS
https://twitter.com/SimGuruAzure/status/1258101259422203904
from the livestream:

• Two styles: upcycled/remade/repaired and ...?
  
• New accessories include eyebrow rings, nose rings, septum rings, ear gauges/plugs
  
• New beard
  

Premades
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1261327948537147393
https://twitter.com/Drakenbanner/status/1261385689620414465
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1261410076159381504
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263953328930615296

From the livestream:
PREMADE "NEIGHBOURHOOD PERSONALITIES" and other NPCs

• You can play the Neighbourhood Personalities but when you aren't playing them they take these roles. They only appear in Evergreen Harbour, instead of the Welcome Party.
  
• Knox is an "Eco Master". He will introduce Neighbourhood Action Plans.
  
• Bess is an "Entrepreneur". You can loan her money for her initiatives and you might or might not get money back.
  
• Eco-Inspector can be hired to check Eco-Footprint and give report.
  
• Civics Inspector is based on Neighbourhood Action Plans and will check for enforced objects and fine you.
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263582873770094598
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263672590872178688
https://twitter.com/SimGuruJill/status/1263672261971591169

Everything Else

New Woohoo Spot

Just make sure the dumpster’s not already occupied by any other Sims getting frisky - gameplay blog

https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1262767220997881856

Harvestables and Recipes
Will there be some? https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258082310722813954
"#labmeat" (so labelled on Giphy by Maxis) appears to be a harvestable:
This Maxis-uploaded gif on Giphy shows a "meat" product being sliced from a wall of "meat". Vegans/vegetarians might not want to see a wall of "meat" being sliced until we know what it actually is, so I'm not actually showing the gif here.
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263587640554602496

Connections with Other Packs
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1258093019196088320

Island Living:
https://twitter.com/SimmingFan4000/status/1258102166935482368
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1258102816326868992

Seasons:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1262434820165996555
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1265044648633876480

Strangerville:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263690099025313792

Get Together[/u:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruPopcorn/status/1265357674444554240

Discover University:
https://twitter.com/mynamesamy99/status/1264800377309970433
https://twitter.com/SimGuruPJ/status/1265393269397057536

Odds and Ends
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1260333568196317185

From the livestream:
INVENTORY UPDATE *patch*

• sortable inventory, favorites, selling grouped inventory
  

LOT TRAITS

• Reduce and Recycle - new lot trait requires waste management. Trash picked up weekly.
  
• https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1264955391172939778
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1264955391172939778
https://twitter.com/Dafudge0/status/1264970163541225474
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1265026194279292928

BILLS (SimGuruTom)

• Bill are now split out. Mailbox -> "Show Bill Information". Bills now affected by lot value (a bit less than before) and also by use of power and water. *patch*
  
• You can sell surplus power or water to the power company. "You can turn your bills into a profit-making scheme."
  
• If you don't pay, the Repo Man will arrive and take objects.
  
• Generate more energy with the Treadmill upgraded.
  

https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263593850095845385
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263572173450407938
https://twitter.com/AshleyJohnH92/status/1263601440234393601
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFont/status/1263672422995161089

OFF THE GRID LOTS

• Surplus can be used to have objects operate as normal
  
• Many objects now updated for off-the-grid play, including some fridges to add ice to *patch*
  
• New buffs, so more positive with some traits *patch*
  
• New recipes for off-the-grid survival play, e.g. boiling frogs, give buffs making you more survivable *patch*
  
• Can gather water *patch*
  
• Using Bio-Fuel and Eco Upgrade parts, fabricated, you can upgrade stuff to be off the grid.
  

NEW DEATH

• Death by Flies (Dumpster, Trash Can)
  

NO COMMENT on FIREFIGHTERS seen in the stream

Things Not Included
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/125884941022360780
https://twitter.com/SimGuruGeorge/status/1263573542504808448

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, @LenaDieters ! I've got a link to the trailer. There's likely to be a trailer analysis thread soon :) When we have statements about what's in it, I'll add those here.

Upcoming sometime this month, a livestream:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruFrost/status/1258051780908404737

Hey, guys! Just going to ask that the trailer discussion go elsewhere after this, thanks :) Sometimes it's a bit of speculating.

Here's a trailer analysis thread!
( @EA_Mai maybe that one can move out of Speculation?)

There's another career called Civil Designer.
https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/Greener-Paths-Await-in-The-Sims-4-Eco-Lifestyle-Available-June-5/default.aspx