TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 3, 16:00
Sims 3 has gardening! Really, detailed gardening! The gardening system is huge and quite similar to Sims 2 Seasons, but you know what? Sims 3 had it first! Of course we didn't know about it because it was so long in development, but the Sims 3 team developed the gardening system for their game before the Sims 2 team took it for their EP.
This is evident early on in your game when creating Sims as the Green Fingers and Loves the Outdoors traits lend themselves perfectly for Sims who wish to tend their gardens, grow their own fruit and vegetables and spend quality time in the great outdoors.
Sims can collect fruits and vegetables as they explore the neighbourhood. These can then be taken home and either used right out of their inventory for cooking great new dishes, or they can put them in the refrigerator so the whole family can make use of them. Alternatively, plant these gathered fruits and veg at home to provide a crop for the family, or to sell at the local "Everfresh Delights" supermarket.
Some of the harvestables include the apple tree, lime tree, grape vine, watermelon vine, bell pepper plant, wild garlic, lettuce plant, onion plant and tomato plant. There are also some rare flowers including the death flower and the life fruit. A sim in possession of a death flower at the time they meet their untimely end are able to deal with the Grim Reaper who will gladly take the death flower instead of a Sims soul! The life fruit can be used to extend the life of a Sim, but if used in cooking to make a quality Ambrosia, it can be used to bring ghosts back to life.
Planted fruits and veg can be tended, weeded and watered. Sim gardening skill levels increase as they study or practice gardening too. Plant and harvest quality can be improved with fertilizing, a by product of all that fishing your Sim can engaging (rotten fist seem to do the trick). Fruit quality can be perfect, nice, poor, foul, putrid or horrifying! The rarity of certain plants also adds value to them when selling at the local market.
Its perfectly possible for a Sim to make a comfortable living from their gardening skills, meaning they can become a recluse and life their quiet little life at home!
I hope that throws a new play details in your direction, its certainly new to me and I haven't seen it mentioned before in any of the previews. I've been playing the system today, picking wild garlic in the graveyard (well duh) and looking around fishing lakes for rare flowers. Loving it already!
/Steve