The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle – How to Use the New Fabrication Skill

After years of Sims fans clamoring for more skills, their characters can master and more traits to set them apart, The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack delivers with two brand-new skills and four unique traits. One of these new skills is the Fabrication skill, a riff on the idea of crafting and DIY upcycling. This doubles as a new in-game focal point, where players can purchase a Fabricator, Juice Fizzer, or Candle Making table for their Sims’ homes or use the ones provided in community spaces to craft everything from homemade furniture and decorations to homemade drinks and candles. Any of these new crafting stations can help a player keep their Sims self-employed in the Freelancer career, as there is now an option to sell custom, commissioned works to clients. Players who get their Sims into the new, more traditional Civil Designer career path will also need to build and maintain their Fabrication skill.

The Fabricator in the game contributes to the overall environmental health and eco-footprint of Evergreen Harbor or other Sims 4 neighborhoods because it runs on recycled materials. To get these, players will need to dumpster dive and separate recyclable materials from trash. They will then have to use a recycling station that will turn recyclable parts into Bits and Pieces, which are used to craft the items available in the Fabricator. There are a variety of reasons a player may want to improve a Sim’s Fabrication skill, as it makes and saves Simoleons, helps clean up the environment, and unlocks a variety of items and customizations not accessible through Build and Buy Mode. Here’s how to use and improve a Sim’s Fabrication skill in The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle.

Using the Fabricator in The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle

The Fabricator is a new item introduced in the Expansion Pack under the Activities and Skills category in Build and Buy Mode. It runs on Bits and Pieces, which are recycled materials. Players can gather Bits and Pieces to craft different items in the Fabricator. They can also purchase Dyes in ten different colors and patterns to create a unique piece of furniture or decoration to use or sell.

To get Bits and Pieces, players can use one of two possible methods. First, they can rummage and dumpster dive for recyclable materials. To do this, they will need to find a full dumpster or trashcan, either in their neighborhood or another, and choose Rummage. Several options will open, but they will want to select Rummage/Dive for Bits & Pieces. This option will yield ready Bits and Pieces for players to use. Players on a lot with the Reduce and Recycle lot trait, like the community space lot, can also choose Sort out Recyclables or Sort out Compostables, which both will result in a trash pile a player can take to the Home Recycler machine and recycle to yield Bits and Pieces. Finally, Sims in one of the two new Eco Lifestyle careers will also see the option to Rummage or Dive for Assemblage or Ingredients. This option has a chance to produce Bits and Pieces, Upgrade Parts, or crafting ingredients, including new dye colors.

Another option would be to recycle items in a Sim’s inventory or home. Generally, anything that appears in a Sim’s inventory, from spoiled food to plates and cups to books to flowers and plants can be recycled for Bits and Pieces. Players will just need to take these to the Home Recycler and drop them in. Players can also recycle larger furniture and electronics items if they want to.

Finally, players can also purchase or upgrade eco-friendly furniture items and appliances to yield Bits and Pieces. For example, players can upgrade their toilet with the Composting Container Eco-Upgrade to get a few Bits and Pieces from toilet compost each day. They can pair this with the new Insect Farm to earn a few more.

Bits and Pieces will appear in a Sim’s inventory. When a player wants to use the Fabricator, Bits and Pieces will automatically transfer from their inventory into the Fabricator. Different item recipes cost different numbers of Bits and Pieces to make, so players will want to be sure they have enough to make the piece of furniture, rug, candle, or other items. They will also want to pre-purchase dye to use to color the item. Dyes are available for purchase at the Fabricator, Candle Making table, or on the computer.

The Fabricator can be rather large and pricey, so for players who want their Sims to maintain a more sustainable, minimalist life, it may be better to use the community Fabricator. The way to unlock this is by voting on a use for the neighborhood community space. There are three of these and, depending on the one in which a Sim resides, they can vote with their community to make the space a Market, Maker Space, or Community Garden. If the local community chooses the Maker Space, a public Fabricator and Candle Making table will become available for use. Players can also edit the neighborhood to include a Fabricator and other crafting items anywhere in the community.

Getting Fabrication Recipes in The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle

While some Fabrication recipes are classed as “starter” recipes and available for players to begin crafting, there are many others players will need to unlock if they want to craft more specialized items. Players can receive new recipes for Fabricated items by three different means. First, they can use the Enthuse about Fabrication interaction when speaking to other Sims. Several recipes, including those for the desk and couch, require players to speak to other Sims about Fabrication to unlock.

Then, players can have their Sim join the Civil Designer career, specifically in the Green Technician track. This will unlock food Fabrication items like Granola and a Protein Plate. It will also unlock the Flower and Flora rug.

Finally, the simplest and most common way to unlock new recipes for Fabrication is to improve a Sim’s skills. There are new Fabricator recipes that unlock at each new Fabrication skill level up to Level 8, and new candle recipes that unlock up to Fabrication Level 10. If players have a high enough Mischief skill, this will also allow them to unlock the recipe for a Fabricated Voodoo doll. And, Sims with a high enough Handiness skill level will unlock recipes for crafting upgrade parts, which can be used to improve appliances, plumbing, and electronics around the home.

Sims will be able to find new dyes from the Rummage and Dumpster Dive actions or may receive them as gifts from other Sims. There are eight initial dyes available for purchase (including the default non-dyed color): Amber Orange, Brick Red, Canary Yellow, Noir Black, Sage Green, Shale White, and Sky Blue. Two others, the Grim and Houndstooth patterns, are exclusive to dumpster diving, however, so to collect them, players will want to keep trying at different dumpsters around town.

Improving a Sim’s Fabrication Skill in The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle

Sims will improve their Fabrication skills each time they use the Fabricator or Candle Making table. Sims in the Freelancer career, Crafter branch will likely have the easiest leveling up process, as each item they make and sell will improve their skills. To earn promotions in the Civil Designer career, players will also need to continue improving their Sim’s Fabrication skill.

Sims cannot count on every Fabrication attempt going smoothly. In general, while just starting out, there is the possibility of a Fabrication failure. Additionally, the higher the skill level required to Fabricate an item, the more likely it is to fail no matter a Sim’s skill level. Fabrication errors are normal, if not somewhat annoying. If a Fabrication gets botched, Sims will receive a four-hour Dyed in an Explosion moodlet, and they (but not their clothes) will be splashed with colored dye until the moodlet expires or they take a bath or shower. Some Sims may react playfully to this mishap, while others will become tense.

The Dyed in an Explosion animation looks grim, but will not permanently harm or kill a player’s Sim. In fact, the Fabricator will even refund the used Bits and Pieces from the attempt into a Sim’s inventory.

Candle Making will never fail. Like Painting or Woodworking, this craft can only result in a poor-quality final product.

Players will want to note that, unlike the Painting or Handiness skill, improving the Fabrication skill will not necessarily result in better quality Fabricated items. In fact, while improved skills in other areas can improve the quality and thus sell price of a painting or woodcraft, Freelance Fabrication prices for furniture and decorations so far remain fairly standard no matter how good a Sim becomes at Fabrication. With any luck, this will hopefully be fixed in a later patch.

The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

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