One of the biggest changes to The Sims 4 that comes with the Eco Lifestyle expansion is the addition of eco footprints. These change the very world you live in and can adjust it in different ways. They are available in every residential world except Strangerville, so the effects on your environment run right through the entire game.
The feature is more complex than first appeared and ties into several different aspects of the game, both new and existing. In order to change your environment in the way you desire, neighborhood by neighborhood, then you'll need to make the right choices. Here are the essentials every player needs to know about eco footprints.
10 Eco Footprints Can Be Changed By Every Household
The majority of neighborhoods and lots will begin the game in a neutral state. From here eco-friendly choices will make an area green and polluting the neighborhood will turn it industrial. These choices work on a neighborhood-wide points system, assigning values to different items and actions to assess the impact of each lot, so all households matter when changing the world.
Neutral is the default state of worlds with industrial changes bringing smog, trash, coughing fits, and acid rain. Changes towards green footprints include more vibrant foliage, clearer skies, and visible auroras.
9 Building Materials Matter
Your eco footprint is affected from the moment you enter build mode. Certain build items, in particular walls, flooring, doors, windows, fireplaces, and energy-generating items, have footprint values. These values can be either green or industrial. Some items will also reduce your household bills.
Choosing the right combination of buffs alongside neutral objects will help you achieve the type of home you desire right from the start. This should be replicated in as much as the neighborhood as possible to have a decent effect on the area's footprint.
8 Some Neighborhood Action Plans Affect The Eco Footprint
Another simple way to affect the neighborhood's eco footprint is through certain neighborhood action plans. Each week the community can vote for a N.A.P. and this will have an effect on everyone in that neighborhood, thus changing the behavior of every household, for better or worse.
While some plans only change sim behavior, such as free love, others adjust the eco footprint with water and power-saving initiatives. In Evergreen Harbor you can also vote for green initiatives and modernization which will positively affect the area. This is a fast way to make a big difference.
7 Your Power And Water Consumption Affects More Than Your Bills
Power and water consumption is now far more important than ever before. Utilities have been separated and your power and water will be charged for. Different electronics have different levels of power consumption and these will affect your bills. Water consumption works in the same way.
Utility consumption is also linked to the eco footprint. Systems like auto lights, along with turning off electronics after use will keep power usage down and your footprint green, the opposite actions are a fast step towards smog.
6 Not All Energy Generation is Equal
There are different ways to generate energy but not all will help you be more environmentally friendly. While wind turbines, solar panels, and dew collectors give green energy to households, other items will do more harm than good.
Power generators and water filter machines will use dirty fuel as a default. They generate utilities quicker but it comes with an environmental cost. This can be offset somewhat by upgrades and using eco fuel from bugs but there is still variation, so watch those meters.
5 Not Making Repairs Will Cost You
Items have always broken in The Sims 4 but now it will feel like a priority to fix them. Water consuming items will waste water while left unfixed and this will cost you both money and green points.
Those generating their own energy also need to keep an eye on these utility producing items. Solar panels can get dirty and all water and energy-producing items can break with the exception of roof-based solar panels. These will affect your utility production hugely so make sure you look out for breakages, especially after storms.
4 You Can Make Items More Eco Friendly
Different items can be upgraded to use less power or water. These upgrades can be made with regular handiness skill and parts or by using new fabricated eco upgrade parts. The enhancements vary depending on the item and skill level.
You can also use items together. For example, the composting toilet feeds the bug farm which provides green fuel for generators.
3 Recyclers And Fabricators Are Useful
Everything can now be recycled, including trash. If you have the new lot trait linked to this, it will be especially important if you want to keep your neighborhood green. These items can then be used to craft new furniture.
The fabricator can also be used to produce eco upgrade parts to improve existing items in your home in a greener way.
2 Dumpsters Contain Hidden Gems For Recyclers
Dumpsters are a huge source of raw materials and money-making items. You can collect upgrade parts, items to be recycled and furniture to be upcycled. While some items can just be fixed others will require more attention.
Those in the Civil Designer career can also craft items that will help restore the damage caused to furniture found in the trash.
1 Eco Footprints Can Be Adjusted With Cheats And Options
If you struggle with the ecosystem you can adjust the settings to keep things in their natural neutral state. The game options will allow you to turn off the values on building items and turn off the footprint system. You can also stop autonomous NPC voting on N.A.P.s.
For those who want to adjust the footprint of a blank world for gameplay reasons, cheats can be used. After enabling testing cheats Eco_Footprint.Set_Eco_Footprint_State 0 makes a town green then replacing the 0 with a 1 turns it neutral and 2 makes it industrial.