~ Handy Links:Carl's Guide to the Private Investigator Profession
https://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/careers/ambitions/privateinvestigator.phpSims Wiki - Private Investigator
https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/InvestigatorA link to most of the PI Cases -
https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/Investigator/cases
~ Important Notes on the PI Career: ✦✦ The Help Investigate opportunity (The one where Sim goes to the police station to offer their psychic services) is bugged. It does not register as completed. This case is actually for the Fortune Teller Career (Supernatural Expansion). It's best to cancel out of this opportunity when it pops up. This does not harm the save or PI career progress.
– Careers from Ambitions may not be scripted to be used with venues from newer packs, for example Showtime. If you have any lots in your save from the different packs it may cause issues with the P. I. career.
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– Issue: PI Career May Have Issues with Edited/Moved Lots. (Example: Science Lab/Stadium)
If you find your Sim gets reset and aren't able to complete a case or part of one, it may be due to the lot being placed from the library, edited or moved. Try again with an unedited version if available, skip the case or the step in the case that is glitching. For example, step 8 of the Art Heist (Robo Heist). Use Nraas Debug Enabler to queue up the step after to help possibly finish/solve the case.
– If moving or replacing the Stadium, make sure to add it to a Community > Visitors Allowed lot type. This will help cases like Wayward Jalopy and Bad Call work better.
– If the Science Lab rabbithole is moved (even slightly) or replaced, you may have issues with cases as well.
– Rabbit hole rugs and doors may not help and have the same results as replacing, moved or edit lots.
– Rabbitholes place in basements may not make the some cases work properly either, due to them being placed/moved down to the basement.
✦✦ Some PI cases may or may not work or work well in custom worlds due to what lots are placed or not placed when the world got created in CAW and if they creator used the original base game or Twinbrook science lab which were most likely coded to work better with the PI career.
✦✦ Combination Rabbitholes, rabbithole rugs and doors are known to cause issue with this career. The suggested work-around of replacing them with single rabbithole buildings may or may not work for some cases.
Please note replacing rabbithole buildings in the middle of a saved-game may make the case still not work correctly. It's recommended to skip that case and try a different one.
~ Tips: – To start the career, go to the Police station or check the paper for the Private Investigator Career.
– Click on the police station to have the option to obtain cases and/or do low level police work that can bring in some extra money.
– Try to do cases during the week day, say between 10am and 5pm (Monday - Friday). Reason being - it seems cases have more of a chance at failing during evening/night hours, and some won't work on the weekends.
– Doing Low Level Police Work gives job experience!! (up til you reach level 10 of the career.)
– Skilling up in Chess gains Job Experience!! (up til you reach level 10 of the career and chess skill.)
– Your Sim can earn more than $650 a case if they have the Opportunistic Lifetime Reward. Like $1300. each case.
– Cases take anywhere between 2 hours up to 11 hours in-game time.
– Use computer to search for Investigator case or hack information database.
– Hack Information Database does not give job experience.
– Getting Degrees from University doesn't have any affect on the Private Investigator Career. The two don't have any connection.
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– The magnifying glass and finger printing kit are placed in Sims' inventory to use when needed for a case. These cannot be deleted while in the PI career. When Sim leaves Career they are automatically deleted.
The rest of the promotional awards can be sold off if desired, as they are placed in the family inventory.
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– Break In Issue and Always Wanting to Go Home. (Dust for Prints/Search for Clues)
Wait till someone is home or befriend the Sim asking to dust for prints so you can go to the lot together. Use Friendly Introduction.
Ask to Group Up. Click Map View to view lot. Click on the lot or front door of the home to have Group Visit that lot. When on lot, click on door to visit household. -- With someone from household being home it's easier to dust for prints, search for clues and to complete those parts of the case.
You can cancel the go home action when your Sim is searching the garbage can and/or mailbox for clues. They'll still complete that part of the case.
This sounds like it's a conflict between two processes of the game. One that allows the Sim to break in, and one that makes your Sim leave when no one is home or the family has left the lot.
Dust for Prints Tip: After being invited inside, look around for the magnifying glasses around the house, pause the game and then do the action. No more searching around no chance of the magnifying glass moving to a different object.
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– It's okay to ResetSim FirstName LastName if needed. It shouldn't cancel out the case.
– Reset Sim you're trying to interact with, without resetting case.
Click on Sim you're trying to interact with > Nraas > DebugEnabler > Options: Sims > Object > Reset
– Can't do stakeouts on residential lots, only community lots. Unless a case prompts a stakeout on a residential lot.
– Writing stakeout reports doesn't take any writing skill and you can get $250. from each report written.
– Stakeouts are only possible from level 2 onward and can write reports after doing a couple-few successful stakeouts.
– A stakeout takes about 1 hour 20 minutes - in-game time.
– A couple of tricks for the stakeouts:
When a case calls for a stakeout use map view to look for a special map tag, click on it and your Sim will go to the corner of the lot to do the stakeout. This is sometimes helpful for some stakeouts.
When doing random stakeouts, you want to leave room for the stakeout action to take place or else the game says something like There's nothing going on here. However, this also happens if nothing happens during the stakeout. Though some of these stakeouts still count toward the stakeout want or wish you pin to complete.
If the stakeout doesn't go right first try, leave the lot and come back to it by clicking on the map tag in map view.
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– If the case icon is slightly off screen and you click it and you can't select Visit lot, use the mouse or arrow keys to go over to the lot and then click the mailbox and/or garbage can to Inspect or search for clues.
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– If having a hard time following along with a case. Click on the Opportunity tab in the user interface for notes on the case.
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– If needing to inspect something and it doesn't give the option, click Map View to look for special map tags on the map.
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– Mouse over the Lifetime Wish to see information about the wish and case count.
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– Work outfits are known to be buggy. Have Sim switch to another outfit before saving the game. Or else you'll load your save and find an invisible Sim. This can be fixed by clicking the dresser and and select plan outfit or click on Sim and select Change Outfit.
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– Tip: Trying to Confirm Presence
Once Sim goes to work (into their rabbithole), around 9am you should be able to confirm presence. This part may fail if trying in the afternoon.
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– Issue: Game assigning Service Sims for cases.
If you find you aren't able to search the garbage on an unoccupied lot and need to cancel the case. It's suggested to either try case again, during the day. You may need to try more than once. - You can use Nraas
Debug Enabler to get the case list.
See
this post to see how to use Nraas DebugEnabler's PI Case List.
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