The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle: Influence & Neighbourhood Action Plans
Presented by EA Game Changers
In The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle, Sims are more involved with the communities they live in. Each neighbourhood in Evergreen Harbour has a community voting board where residents of that neighbourhood can come together to vote on Neighbourhood Action Plans (or N.A.P.s for short). If the player chooses to place a voting board in other worlds, N.A.P.s can be enacted in any residential world as well. There are a wide variety of N.A.P.s to vote on each week, but making sure your neighbourhood enacts the N.A.P. you want will require you to gain influence by being involved with the community.
What Are Neighbourhood Action Plans?
Neighbourhood Action Plans affect the way the Sims in that neighbourhood behave and live. There are a wide variety of them, all with a focus on something different for the community. Many are, of course, focused on going green and making more environmentally responsible decisions about how to conduct Sims’ everyday lives, but there are others that are a little more silly and goofy; they’re more for fun, but they also provide certain benefits to Sims who live there.
N.A.P.s are enacted every week and are specific to the neighbourhood; they don’t apply to the whole world. Sims can only vote on N.A.P.s for the neighbourhood they live in.
Voting
Voting on N.A.P.s opens every Friday at 8am and closes on Sunday at 6pm. Sims can vote at any time during this time period, either at the voting board in their community, or through the mailbox. You can also see the voting status of your neighbourhood’s N.A.P. at any time in your Sim’s info panel.
Beware! Just because your Sim is passionate about the environment and wants to enact a clean energy policy in the neighbourhood, that doesn’t necessarily mean their neighbours share the same values. They might be voting for a free love neighbourhood or a juiced up neighbourhood instead because, hey, it’s way more fun than saving the planet, amirite? Enacting new N.A.P.s is a community effort; it’s not all up to your Sim.
So what’s a Sim to do to change the attitudes of their neighbours? That’s where influence comes into play. Your Sim will need a lot of it to either vote more times than their neighbours or convince their neighbours to vote the way you want them to.
Of course, there does have to be some level of fairness in all this. You can’t repeatedly vote in the same N.A.P. week after week. You will have to switch it up and vote for a different N.A.P. than the one that is currently active. Luckily, there are so many N.A.P.s to choose from that it’s not hard to find several to suit your Sim’s interests and motivations.
TIPS!
Feeling a little bit dictator-like? You can turn off NPC voting in the game settings to give your Sims the only say in what N.A.P.s get enacted.
Don’t like any of the available options for N.A.P.s that week? You can propose one of your own!
Influence
Sims need Influence Points in order to vote on N.A.P.s or to convince other Sims to vote on a specific N.A.P. Just like in real life, the more popular you are, the more sway you have over other people and their decisions (for better or worse). If your Sim is a loner who never leaves the house, they might find themselves having a hard time making their voice heard on the voting board.
Luckily, there are many ways to earn Influence Points in the game and we found it fairly easy to rack up a lot of points to sway the voting in our favour while we were exploring this pack.
Sims can earn Influence Points by:
- Getting promoted in any career
- Being active in the Civil Designer career
- Successful introductions to other Sims
- Becoming friends, good friends, and best friends with other Sims
- Giving gifts to Sims
- Following the requirements of an active Neighbourhood Action Plan
The easiest way to earn a lot of Influence Points is to go around the neighbourhood introducing yourself to every Sim you see and giving out gifts of simoleons (a little bribery never hurt anyone, right?). Almost everyone loves getting money (minus Freegan Sims), so being generous with your simoleons is sure to leave you with plenty of Influence Points to just outvote everyone else.
Sims can vote as many times during the voting period as their Influence Points can afford. It costs 10 Influence Points to cast a vote, but only 5 Influence Points to convince another Sim to vote on your N.A.P. If you can successfully convince enough Sims to vote the way you want them to, that can be a good way to get the N.A.P.s you want enacted without blowing a whole lot of Influence Points; however, this is a hit or miss interaction. Some Sims are more stubborn than others and might not be receptive to your persuasion, wasting a whole 5 points. It’s a lot easier and faster to just rack up as many Influence Points as you can and simply outvote everyone else.
Repeals
What if, in spite of all your efforts, the other Sims in your neighbourhood end up voting in an N.A.P. you think is bogus? Are you stuck with that N.A.P. until the next voting period the following week? Not necessarily.
You can petition to repeal an active N.A.P. through the voting board. Once an N.A.P. is in the repeal process, it’s up to your Sim to go around the neighbourhood collecting enough signatures to get the current N.A.P. repealed.
It costs 10 Influence Points to petition for a repeal and 5 Influence Points to ask a Sim for their signature. Depending on the Sim’s interests and your relationship with them, they could agree to sign the petition or refuse to do so.
Once you’ve successfully collected 5 signatures, you can repeal the currently active N.A.P. The N.A.P. will be repealed at the end of the current voting period and the effects of that N.A.P. will be lost. Any Green Initiatives or Modern Development projects that get repealed will have an immediate effect on the environment and slowly continue to deteriorate over time.
You can also stop the repeal process on an N.A.P. by using the voting board if you have a change of heart during the repeal process and decide you want to keep the current N.A.P. after all.
List of Neighbourhood Action Plans
There are a total of 21 different N.A.P.s to vote on every week. A couple are specific to neighbourhoods in Evergreen Harbour, such as Green Initiatives and Modern Development, as these change the landscape of the world over time. Most can be applied to any world, however.
Green Initiatives in Port Promise
This N.A.P. is specific to Port Promise in Evergreen Harbour and is not available for other worlds.
Sometimes Green doesn’t mean completely green, but at least a step towards it. It’s time to blanket Port Promise in luscious plant life.
With this Action Plan in place, we can expect to see not only trees and bushes sprouting, but we’ll also see Port Promise’s Eco Footprint become more Green as well.
All it takes is a small donation from residents in the form of a weekly bill increase. Simple!
Green Initiatives in Conifer Station
This N.A.P. is specific to Conifer Station in Evergreen Harbour and is not available for other worlds.
The lovely Conifer Station is pretty green already, but what if it were more Green in all respects of the word? With a teensy donation from residents in the form of a weekly increase in utility bills, we will be able to fund the planting of many luscious trees, hedges, and more, which will in turn give Conifer Station a greener Eco Footprint. Everyone wins!
Green Initiatives in Grims Quarry
This N.A.P. is specific to Grims Quarry in Evergreen Harbour and is not available for other worlds.
Sure, there might be a smattering of grass around Grims Quarry, but is that enough? With this Action Plan in place, we can finally fund the experimental use of a new evergreen fertilizer that we’re confident will bring a flurry of lovely pines to Grims Quarry!
This won’t only make the neighbourhood more green in the visual sense, but the influx of CO2 will also move our Eco Footprint to a Greener state.
Vote now, don’t worry about that slight increase in your weekly bills, and let’s paint the town Green!
Modern Development in Port Promise
This N.A.P. is specific to Port Promise in Evergreen Harbour and is not available for other worlds.
Feeling down about the state of our fair Port Promise? Vote on additional funding for development projects to help this area live up to its name. By putting in hard work and funding, mainly funding, together we can work on some much needed upgrades to the area.
Don’t be put off by the increase in your weekly Bills to help pay for these improvements. We’re pushing to ensure residents’ career pay goes up to help offset the added costs.
Make this promise to Port Promise, won’t you?
Modern Development in Conifer Station
This N.A.P. is specific to Conifer Station in Evergreen Harbour and is not available for other worlds.
Having seen other cities in the greater Evergreen Harbour area, it’s easy to compare and acknowledge there’s work that could be done at Conifer Station to keep up with the times. By putting funding towards changes in this district, you will start to see new projects roll out with the apartments, railways, and the towers.
Of course, funding for this development will have to come from somewhere. With this initiative, weekly Utility Bills will be increased, but we’ll also put in place an increase in residents’ career pay to offset that added cost.
Modern Development in Grims Quarry
This N.A.P. is specific to Grims Quarry in Evergreen Harbour and is not available for other worlds.
Do you ever look around and think “This place stinks”? That’s because it does actually smell a bit like old carpet. It’s ok. We can admit it.
We live in an area surrounded by some impressive advancements, but Grims Quarry is still outdated for today’s standards.
With enough funding we can make Grims Quarry a better place to live. Vote for the Modern Development Project, and expect modern advancements at the quarry itself, in the Park, and even on the homes in Grims Quarry.
Free Love
Who needs negativity when you could be drenched in love?
Who needs jealousy when you could be embraced with understanding?
Vote with your heart and we can transform our community into a butterfly of love for all. Whether Single, Married, or just open, we embrace loving each other in all its beautiful forms.
When Free Love reigns, you can gain Influence from Romance interactions.
Green Gardening
Have you always had the yearning to start gardening but never quite had the gumption to do it?
Well, this fresh new N.A.P. might be just the thing to push you over that figurative mound of procrastination soil.
Grab your snips, cast your vote, and you’ll get Influence for flexing your mighty green thumb. Growing a garden is beneficial for you, the community, and the planet. Let’s all dig in!
Juiced Community
Get ready to get JUICED! In support of all things fizzy and funky, this N.A.P. wants to get everyone juiced up.
Gain Influence by using the practical Juice Fizzing and Mixology skills to make concoctions for the entire neighbourhood.
Rock Your Body (and Mind)
What better way to care for oneself than with the accountability of a whole community?
This initiative puts the “Action” back in Neighbourhood Action Plans.
Together we can make sure all Sims in the neighbourhood are practicing their Fitness, keeping up on Hygiene, looking after their overall wellbeing, and boosting their Influence while they’re at it.
We Wear Bags
Our community values reducing and recycling. But – has anyone else noticed the paper bags are starting to pile up?We wouldn’t dare throw those away! They could come to good use some day!
Don’t you think every last one of those 8,346 neatly folded pieces of untapped potential have finally earned their time to shine?
With the We Wear Bags Action Plans, we can proudly wear our bags as a mark of our Eco Lifestyles.
Foodies Unite!
Neighbours, let’s get cooking! There are so many fabulous organic, non-organic, home-grown, and freebie ingredient options out there. Crack out that cutting board and start experimenting!
Under the Foodies Unite N.A.P., members of the community will be rewarded Influence by exercising their tasty skills in home style, Gourmet, or any other style of cooking.
Water Conservation
Let’s admit it. The water isn’t quite flowing with the flow with which it used to flow. How can we all pitch in and help to conserve? We believe that with the pairing of a Weekly Water Shut-off Day and an organised effort to Consume Less Water*, this community can really make a difference!
*Failure to conserve a satisfactory amount of Water for your household size, as defined by the Board of N.A.P. will result in a daily fine. Have a nice day.
Sharing is Caring
Some Sims own a lot of thing. Some Sims own just a little bit of things.
But what if everyone could just own everything?
See that bike sitting there? That could be your bike! Or anyone’s bike! With this initiative, everything you see can be yours. You see something, you take it. No questions asked, no repercussions. Just don’t get too attached to anything you already own…
Support the Performing Arts!
There are some who say Music is healing for the soul and Performing is healing for the heart.
Uplift our community and gain Influence by not only sharing the melodies of the Instruments that you play, but also by expressing other forms of Performing Arts.
Professionals working in Entertainment-related Careers can also enjoy increased pay while this N.A.P. is active.
Power Conservation
Energy isn’t free, so what can we do on our part to help conserve? The Power Conservation Action Plan helps to answer that difficult question.
Step 1: Limit your household’s overall consumption of Power by avoiding overuse of Electronics*
Step 2: Sacrifice one teensy weensy day per week without Power. The Landgraab Power Company even agreed to give a discount on utility bills for this.
*Failure to conserve a satisfactory amount of Power for your household size, as defined by the Board of N.A.P. will result in a daily fine. Please thoroughly enjoy your day.
Tech Support
Have you grown too comfortable with things just the way they are? Don’t be caught N.A.P.ing on your community’s technological progress.
Working with Programming, Rocket Science, or other methods, we can continue to make our world a better place through technology and boosting our Influence while doing it.
As an added bonus, Sims working in tech-related career fields such as Astronauts, Tech Gurus, Scientists, Freelance Programmers, and Civil Designers will also have increased pay if this initiative gets voted in.
Fun-Loving Community
Recreation should be celebrated, not stifled! It’s time to eradicate boredom and embrace having fun.
Vote for this N.A.P. and not only will we be able to let loose as a whole, but residents will also be rewarded with Influence for doing activities that involve Comedy, Mischief, and even Video Gaming!
Upcycling Initiative
Why spend your Simoleons on something you could create for yourself?
Why do we throw away so many materials that could go into making something special and new?
With the Upcycling Initiative, we are giving Influence to everyone using Recyclers to get materials and Fabricators to turn those materials into something responsibly wonderful!
Self-Sufficiency
Why keep feeding the corporate beast and keep spinning on this degrading hamster wheel of consumerist shame?
We can rise up and maintain a perfectly good community ourselves!
We can live in a community where things like Fishing, Gardening, and Handiness are rewarded with increased Influence, as well as a sense of accomplishment.
Eco-Friendly Appliances
Neighbours, I think we could all benefit from a good N.A.P. One that promotes even the smallest changes to help make a difference.
Together we can push to fix our neighbourhood one appliance at a time. Let’s take action into our own hands by making Handiness skill and Influence easier to get by using green-upgraded appliances or by repairing any appliance.
Back to the Old Days
I remember the good old days. We used to play board games and read books. Nowadays, all anyone can think about is their phone and TV.
They’re juicing it up, chugging all their wretched… juice.
And what’s with this obsession with woohoo? Woohoo in the bed, Woohoo in the Rocket Ship, Woohoo in the hot tub, Woohoo in the observatory, and if that wasn’t enough – now you delinquents are woohooing in Dumpsters? Gross.
With this initiative, those who live a wholesome lifestyle of reading books and playing board games will be rewarded with Influence. And those who indulge in technology, drinking juice, and woohoo will be properly fined for their woeful deeds.
Roughhousing Encouraged
Have you ever heard another Sim’s opinion and thought, “I should be polite but I really think this conversation would be better if I asserted my stance, refused to back down, and ultimately engaged in a full-out neighbourly brawl”?
We’re with you.
Sometimes we believe there is such a thing as being too polite. We should band together to make this world better, one fight cloud at a time. A world where we can speak our minds without any hurt feelings or bruised egos. Vote for the Roughhousing Encouraged N.A.P. and you can gain Influence by using Mean interactions on other Sims. If that’s the kind of Sim you want to be.
Promote Creative Arts
The mark of a true artistic community is a shared passion for the Creative Arts.
Support this maker mindset with your vote, and you’ll be rewarded not only with the pride you get from creating, but also with Influence from doing Painting, Photography, Writing, Fabrication, and other artistic activities.
Professionals working as Painters, Style Influencers, Freelance Crafters, or Writers will also earn increased pay while this N.A.P. is active.
Clean Energy Production
We have the luxury of living in a world that provides us with everything we need. We just need to learn how to harness that energy!
With the Clean Energy N.A.P. in place, members of the community will be rewarded with Influence for owning functional, clean energy-producing objects like Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, and Dew Collectors.
Which Neighbourhood Action Plan will your Sim work towards? Let us know in the comments or come chat with us on social media!
