For the full rules of the One Tomato Challenge check out this post from Simmer SamelaRita on the ea forums, part of the summer 2020 gift exchange https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/17522835/#Comment_17522835 Game settings all attempts: Normal lifespan, normal weather settings for seasons. Only mods nraas sp, errortrap, overwatch, and no fridge shopping (fish = brainfreeze from community fridges if no one is around to mooch a meal off of). My first attempts were with Ella were huge failures, some of that failure was misunderstanding the rules on my part. So Ella went through a few oops. Need a fresh perspective and world I switched over to Chad. While I like roaring heights the community buildings and houses have a lot of empty/dead space which slows down sims getting anything done off the home lot. The first run was going smoothly until a deer ate all the plants. Second run with Chad is going much smoother. When not tending garden or fishing Chad is practically living at the museum across the street from his home lot. It was very close, but the ladder was acquired allowing for basement access. The basement will get grown a bit more to allow for a sleeping bag or cheap bed along with one more rug for plants. Then off to the grocers to buy some extra plants and build up a small home. Interesting side note sometimes when he's chatting with other sims at parties, I get a random pop up stating that Chad has mooched a few simoleans from whomever he's talking to, even though there were no mooching actions picked. Additional game play 06/13/2020 (13/06/2020) Chad's rough basement is now 3x3. When on community lots he makes repairs and cleans up. Chad attends parties when invited, in addition to spending time not gardening fishing or at the library. Sometimes he hangs out at the gym. Sadly or luckily his alien encounter did not result in a simlet. Purchases made so far: 2nd grow rug, groceries for planting - garlic, lettuce, bell pepper; hanging candle, sleeping bag, and cheap shower (cc). Bills are at 46$ The painting was a gift. While I am contemplating a counter and mini/regular fridge, the primary focus from here will be a house & green house. If he can earn enough after the basic house is built there might be a trip to France in his future for juice making equipment. More to come eventually
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Days 9 and 10 were spent chilling out on the lot making sure no one had a bad reaction to their flu shot. The contestants enjoyed themselves, although speculation arose when the production crew took away the un-played chess set from the community space and installed two fish tanks instead. The contestants who enjoyed cooking were excited to see new top of the line refrigerators installed. There was mild confusion when the drapes in the cinema room were updated for aesthetics. Day 11 dawned early with a call to breakfast at 6 am on the dot. The contestants were then instructed to head down to the end of the hall and wait further instructions. As the passed the room where they'd previously done speech challenges they noted 8 new chess tables. They speculated that speech challenges would no longer be issued. Finally they heard a door lock click and over the hidden loud speaker they heard "Everyone enter and stand in front of an easel. Today you will be doing a painting challenge, the first to Complete a painting will be the winner. Finished paintings will be auctioned off to the viewers." Jaimee was the first to abandon her easel in search of the bathroom. Eventually she was followed by Leopoldo, then Britta, and shortly later by Amber. Which left Ricky, Criston, Milton, and Erwin. In time both Ricky and Criston abandoned their posts in search of a bathroom, leaving Milton and Erwin. Milton finished his painting just a few seconds ahead of Erwin, and while not a deciding factor, Milton's lake painting auctioned off for $10 more, at $39, than Erwins abstract pink house did. End of day 11 Stats
The challenge was created by simmer BreeMiles. You can read the sims 4 and sims 3 variation rules here. As with the looser legacy, I made a spinner for the challenge choices for both 3 & 4. Leisure Day (Day 5) Leisure day came and went, everyone seemed to have a nice time out at the karaoke bar. After an unexpected break in attempt the producers gave everyone who hadn't slept through the alarm some extra sleep in time. Day 6 Everyone scrounged random leftovers out of the fridge for their breakfast. A collective groan went up when treadmill was announced as the days challenge. This time the producers instructed everyone to stand in front of a treadmill and change into their athletic clothes before the instruction to start was given. There was a lot of collective face planting over the course of the day. To the point where one camera operator commented that it almost looked like they were doing the wave with their faces. Almost everyone stopped at about the same time, with Jamiee being the very last one off. Day 6 Stat's
Day 7 Everyone woke gradually and took care of needs and then breakfast. Once again the days challenge was announced mid way through the meal, writing practice. No one bothered to change into street clothes, instead everyone took a seat and waited. About half of the contestant's stopped well before the others. The producers even allowed Ricky and Christin back in the room to goof off, while the others pushed on. This time it was Leopoldo who kept writing a few minutes past everyone else. After the last person was out it was time for everyone to get some dinner. The studio head and production team debated weather a taller fence should be gotten. The final decision was if the neighbors filed a complaint with the studio either a taller fence would be installed or the hot tubs removed, but for now nothing would be done. Day 7 Stat's
Day 8 When the production assistant spins writing, the producer shakes their head and advises a re-spin as back to back days of writing won't go well with most viewer's. The second spin resulted with the Power Max (pull up bar) challenge. In an effort to shake up the houses routine, the producers announce that everyone is to report for the challenge right away. Everyone finds their spot, changes, and at the chime begins. Due to a technical glitch causing the production staff to loose the footage showing who actually finished last a three way tie is declared between Milton, Erwin, and Amber; all three are awarded 10 points. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief that they'll have the next 2 days off, and that the producers will let everyone go to the hospital for a flu shot if they're available. While everyone is in getting their flu shot. The production team discusses the houses set up with the medical team. It is decided that with the arrival of fall and cold weather that it's time for water activities, and almost all other out doors items to be packed away. The small fire pit is moved downstairs, and a bonfire pit is set up. Production also learns from the contestants that instead of the professional drink equipment upstairs for juice drinks they'd like a simpler juice bar like the one on the patio. Day 8 Stat's
Production team calls it a wrap for the week, and congratulates everyone on a great job editing film footage.
The challenge was created by simmer BreeMiles. You can read the sims 4 and sims 3 variation rules here. As with the looser legacy, I made a spinner for the challenge choices for both 3 & 4. As was previously mentioned the contestants started their day with waffles for breakfast and learned that the task of the day would be writing. Everyone was instructed to use the bathroom before going to the computer room. Leopoldo informed the producers, that one of the bathrooms had something blocking it's access. The producers also noted that one of the toilets had become clogged rendering the bathroom unusable. After much hemming and hawing everyone finally took their seat and stayed put in front of a word processor. This time everyone started their task at the same time, while they worked on the writing exercises the producers had the surplus desk removed and adjusted the placement of the bathrooms. Milton and Ricky each finished the first lesson at about the same time, with Jamiee and Amber hot on their heels. The producer's and camera crew watched with a mixture of glee, humility, and worry as the contestants typed for almost 12 hours straight before fatigue and hunger started to kick in. As the hour grew alarming close to midnight they were relieved when everyone started to drift out of the room, Amber being the last one to log off, and therefore win the days points. A decision to replace the desk chairs with un-cushioned ones was quickly made. Amber quickly hurried down the hall to catch up to the rest of the household who were either in the kitchen, or waiting their turn for a bathroom. Everyone was quickly made aware that they would still need to be up at 6 am the next day. Day 2 Scores & Summary
Day 3 The head producer grumbled about the advantages of youth, as everyone hoped out of bed after a little over 4 hours of sleep declaring they were feeling refreshed and ready for anything. So with a nod the production assistant gave the spinner a tug to learn the days challenge. As everyone was stretching and relaxing, the hidden speakers boomed - All contestants will head to the second room on the left to compete in the news reporter challenge. Christin grumbled about the extra wait as Erwin stalled a few minutes before joining everyone in the radio room. Once everyone was in front of their assigned stations the producers provided them with a dummy list of global events to report. Much to the dismay of everyone at the studios, the contestants ran through the list of topics in under a minute and then stood around congratulating each other on a fine job. A technician was sent in to replace all radio stands with lecterns and the contestants were told that they would be redoing the days challenge, and this time they had to provide their own speaking prompts. They spoke for a while, with much hemming and hawing, and then as if by some unheard bell they all stopped at about the same time, frustrated the producers decided that maybe practicing with a mirror would work better. It was agreed that since the producers kept changing the item to work with, due to their dissatisfaction with the results that each person who'd been last to finish from each round would receive 10 points for that day, with the final 10 points going to whomever was the last standing from practicing speech with the mirror. This made Britta happy because it gave her her first 10 points, Amber was happy too because it brought her up to 20 points. Everyone wondered who would get the last 10 points for the day. The production team was happier with the results from practicing with a mirror, as most participants practiced for over 4 hours instead of the short few minutes of the previous activities. Jamiee and Ricky both pushed themselves until a little past 5 and seemed to finish at about the same time, so a tie was called and they were both awarded 10 points for the challenge. As everyone grabbed dinner and used the bathroom they were relieved that they had the next to days free, and that they would get to go out on the town on leisure day. Jamiee said that she might try to unclog the toilets instead of waiting for a repair person to come on leisure day. Britta was the only one who stayed up late that night, while everyone else called it a night early. Day 3 Summary
Day 4 Day four was full of laughter, squeals, and hi-jinx as everyone unwound after three days straight of challenges. Leopoldo tried and failed twice to make his Nana's waffles from scratch, even though there was already waffles ready to eat from the previous day in the fridge, while Ricky failed to program the synthesizer properly and produced bad french toast. Christin told a ghost story, and Britta engaged a few of her housemates in pillow fights. The ladies were caught whispering and giggling over some trivial bit of gossip. By days end Christin and Erwin were best friends, and Jamiee and Amber had developed a casual friendship. As everyone settled in for the night, they were excited to learn that they'd be going to Mick Master's Karaoke bar the next day. (Slide show is 21 pictures.) The challenge was created by simmer BreeMiles. You can read the sims 4 and sims 3 variation rules here. As with the looser legacy, I made a spinner for the challenge choices for both 3 & 4. Early Sunday morning the contestant's move onto their lot in Starlit Shores and watch as the shows producers rapidly erect the residence they'll be in for the duration of the challenge. In the hallway is a list of the rules. 1. Treadmill - Who last the longest on the treadmill will be the winner of - 10 points! 2. Mobile Radio Station - Who talks the longest will be the winner of - 10 points! 3. Power Max (pull up bar) - Who last the longest on the pull up bar will be the winner of - 10 points 4. Writing - Who last the longest while practicing writing will be the winner of - 10 points 5. Painting - Who finishes their painting first will be the winner of - 10 points, If a sim leaves without finishing the painting then they are counted out and will not receive any points for this challenge! 6. Power Fit (weight lifting) - Who last the longest doing the power fit will be the winner of - 10 points Tie Breaker is Guitar for 40 Points, ONLY to be used in the case where more than one sims reaches 100 points at the same time! After carefully weeding out applicants that might have an advantage from natural gifts of athleticism or artistic ability, along with any computer geeks. The eight who were invited to participate in the challenge are:
Their six challenge rooms are all windowless rooms, with a few pieces of decor to boost the environment. The rest of the house is furnished with an eye towards comfort, fun, and relaxation. Before they have time to settle in and pick their beds they're informed that they must do their first treadmill endurance test. Per their instructions everyone heads for the treadmill room. Milton is the last one in. Once everyone is in they're randomly assigned a treadmill, with the note that equipment assignments probably won't stay the same. They all do a quick change and hop on their assigned equipment. While Milton managed to be the first on, Leopoldo was the last to start. They all earned their first fitness point about the same time. Milton is the first off, and Leopoldo is the last off. At the end of the challenge everyone is roughly at the same 1 1/3 skill level. The producer's after careful review decide that despite his late start Leopoldo did not gain a time advantage and award him the days 10 points. The producers have made all 381 stills taken over the several hours that the contestants got acquainted with the treadmill available to anyone who wants to view them. Despite the care to provide 8 identical clean up stalls on the first floor, there's still a bit of a traffic jam as everyone tries to use the same two. Except Leopoldo who headed for one of the upstairs cleaning stalls. Milton's looking forward to checking out the theater room. Britta wants to get out of the air conditioned rooms and outside to the warmth of the sun. The camera person realizes that Britta is checking to make sure no ones around, and positions a drone for what is hoped to be some interesting footage. Only to be distracted by another camera person. By the time they come back to their viewing screen Britta is already skinny dipping in one of the hot tubs. There's a bit of excitement and from both the camera teams and some of the other contestants as Jamiee joins Britta. After a bit of elbowing Ricky and Leopoldo decide to go hang out upstairs and leave the girls to their conversation. Upstairs Milton and Christin watch a show on the big screen tv. Outside Amber, Leopolda, Erwin, and Ricky take advantage of the activities on the roof top patio. Eventually hunger sets in and Milton decides to microwave some hot dogs. Once they're ready he calls the rest of the house to the meal, even though the others have been filling up on juice drinks and snow cones. Some eat, and afterwards exhaustion starts to set in, knowing the house alarms will sound at 6 am to start the day everyone drifts upstairs to claim a bed. Even though the dorm, like the rest of the house, is coed the producers carefully followed the networks rules regarding single beds for singles. The head of advertising expressed disappointment that there hadn't been much in the way of fights or drama that day, to be reminded that if there were to be any personality clashes it wouldn't be until fall or winter when everyone was more settled in. End of day 1 Stats
Tune in Next week for Day 2 Day two get's off to an early start with Jamiee being the first one up before the alarm and headed to the kitchen. Janiee, Erwin, and Britta all decided that day two's breakfast had better be waffles, just in case they ended up with another fitness challenge. Almost everyone is in the middle of breakfast when the days challenge is announced.
Huge sighs of relief are exhaled as they are informed they'll be writing.
Because I find spinning a wheel, slightly less predictable than rolling a six sided die. ;)
Link back to the challenge & the rules. :)
The Sims 3 Challenge's are as follows
Side note, the s4 microphone for joke telling gives s4 sims a boost in humor/charisma which s3 doesn't have. After a sim day of the radio station not working out as nicely, I also tested the lectern, and defaulted to the mirror for the charisma point challenge. The one uni object I forgot to test is the white board, so next time they roll mobile radio I'll give that a test to see how it works in comparison to the mirror, for a sim staying on until they loose interest or their needs drive them away from the task.
White board and karaoke are also a no go, so for now just the mirror to sub out unless, you would rather have them practice chess or use a music instrument that doesn't interfere with the guitar tie breaker challenge.
The Sims 4 Challenge's are as follows
When Lilah first came to the island it was with her mother Kalil and grandmother Kalilah. They didn't arrive by choice. Grandmother Kalilah was a widow living with them when word reached them that Lilah's father Nathanial Cobb had died in a train crash. With no skills of her own Kalil had been unsure of what their next step would be after the bank repossessed their home. Kalilah made some calls to distant cousins and they were given tickets for a boat to Riverview. Lilah found herself wondering if she really was as lucky as her mom claimed her to be, given the boat wrecked half way across the ocean and the lifeboat barely got them to the island before it sprung a leak too. "Mom, I'm not feeling very lucky." She had said their first night as she helped gather rushes for a lean to. "Lilah, love we're alive and if we learn fast the land here will provide for us until we can be rescued. I call that very lucky, my miracle child." her mom had replied. That evening Kalil transitioned from adult to elder with a semi apologetic smile to Lilah, as if to say I'm sorry I won't always be here for you. So the three women learned how to fish, snorkel, and gather from the land. It was rough at first sleeping in the open, and Lilah's grandmother developed a deep rattling cough which she brushed off. Through hard work the women managed to get a small single story shelter built. As Lilah blew out the candles on her cake, she worried about her grandmother's cough and lack of apatite. She was also worried about her mom, who was starting to develop the same cough. Lilah had been right to worry, they hadn't gotten the beds built soon enough or blocked all of the drafts. While grief stricken Kalil pushed Lilah to learn as many basic skills as possible. Kalil was thrilled when she discovered some wild plants on the far beach below an abandoned mine. She cried as she harvested the apples, for her mother had loved apples and apple pie. Through continued hard work and determination, they added an 8x8 deck area that between bone rattling coughs Kalil had said "a greenhouse maybe next summer". To which Lilah had crossed her fingers in hope and said "together we'll build a lovely greenhouse". They'd also added a second floor to their little shack. Lilah was prepping her paints when she heard a thud, dreading what she'd find she raced up the ladder. Tears blinded her as she tried to find her mom's pulse knowing even as she tried that it was to late. Two days after her mom had passed Lilah was sitting and crying on the beach when a boat pulled into the bay. She watched in disbelief as a small boat of people steadily grew closer. Was she hallucinating? No she wasn't, the boat and the people were real. They were just as shocked to see her as she was to see them. They were scientists from Bridgeport who checked the island for wildlife once every decade. After a long talk the lead scientist made Lilah an offer; she could stay on the island and they would set up regular trips and satellite communications so she wouldn't be completely cut off from the world, or they could move her shack and belongings to any town on the globe where she could start out with her small allowance ($1,169) from helping them find the local small animals. That night she played the mourning song she'd written for her mother as she contemplated her choices. She could stay and travel a few times off island for supplies when she had the money; or she could move to a new town and sort of start over but with her home as it was now. Moving of course meant people all the time, school, community rules, and access to immediate medical care if needed. Lilah played all night to keyed up to sleep, as the sun rose and the dawn light flooded her small shack, she knew her decision. Letting the last note die on the air she took a deep breath, her mom had been right she was lucky and the future was hers for the taking. So what will her future be, it's in your hands now. Lilah has two grave markers, a guitar, and some seeds in her backpack to start out with. Note her funds might need to be cheated to the above mentioned $1,169 after placing. https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9248689 If you play the lot as a renovation challenge standard rules apply, with the caveat that because Lilah was isolated and unable to attend school she has a lot of catching up to do academically so if in a town with a school she sill need study club and one other after school activity, no part time job for her as a teen. Her traits are genius, lucky, loves the outdoors, and brave.
(Update & exchange link at bottom of post.) Dear Elowen, As my closest friend and confidant I'm writing to you, because I don't know who else to write to. I'm sure by now you've heard of my banishment, but probably not the details. I learned that my younger sister Rosamund was to be engaged to Ronan, what no-one told me was that he has certain needs regarding water use. We were getting the palace grounds ready for a big welcome party for him and his family. You know me Elowen, I'm forever trying to conserve and save, making every last drop of water, food, firewood, or whatever count to it's most so as not to waste for the betterment of our world. Well I saw a large tub of water filled near the wheat fields, and thought that perhaps it was to help with the fields that had been struck by summers heat. In my desire to help, I inadvertently watered several crop fields with salt water destroying them, I also almost killed Rosamund's fiance who'd been napping in the bottom of the tub. Needless to say father was furious, it's bad enough that he's never forgiven mother or myself for me not being a son as he expected of a first born child, but somehow I've always managed to make a mess of things just like when they tried to arrange our engagement, for which I don't blame you for picking Fedelmid over me. As I was saying father was furious, my inadvertent careless action cost our valley half a years crops. It will take several years for the elders to fully restore the fields, even using their powers to make plants bloom. Fortunately for me Ronan didn't die, a quick salt bath was made for him inside the palace, but my actions nearly started a war, for which I'm grateful was prevented. While I accept that it was my fault and I had to have a consequence for my actions, when I woke up I wondered if father hadn't taken things to far. I woke up to a woman who identified herself as Ms. Wolff calling me Miss Norris. She said she'd been trying to wake me for 10 minutes once she realized I wasn't a vagrant crashed on the property, and instead the client she'd been told to meet. My simlish was rusty so it took a few try's to understand that she was explaining that the patch of ground I was on was to be my property. I thanked her in hesitant simlish, when she realized I was foreign she developed a bit of an attitude and became very rude. As with any of the fey kingdom, let alone as first in line for the throne should my parents step down, my first thought was to teach her a lesson she'd not likely forget and cast an inner beast spell. I was shocked to discover that father had stripped me of my powers and my wings, so I'm mortal now, unless I learn a way to reverse what was done to me. After Ms. Wolff left I looked around my surroundings. To the south of me across the paved road that mortals use these days is the ocean and a nice beach. There's a house next to me with a fenced in yard. To the north and up a small hill are more buildings. I suspect mother talked father into leaving me near the ocean, but is it so I can find a way home or as a reminder of my mistake. My stomach rumbled and I realized that I would need to find food on my own if I were to survive. There are no servants in the corners to fetch morsels for me at my whim. Luckily I spotted an apple tree with ripe fruit at the beach. I harvested apples and limes before returning to my patch of land, which is home, but doesn't feel like home. I almost cried when I planted the best apple of the ones I'd picked. To not be able to make a plant bloom hurt to the core. How else was I to follow my goals of making the world the best possible place for all if I had no power to restore the health of plants and animals injured from a persons careless actions. Please don't point out the irony of my actions that got me banished, I would have far rather faded using all my powers and life force to restore the careless damage I'd done than live banished in the mortal realm with no power at all. Once I was done planting the apple I followed the road up the hill towards all of the buildings. Imagine my shock when I recognized the mountains in the background. Elowen, my friend, you would not recognize this place as the same fields we had fenced in when we were young children. I wonder if the arrival of mortals was why the fields had become off limits. Yes we had snuck over to a few mortal cities in our teens, but we had never thought to sneak back to our former play grounds. Improving my simlish was going to be important to my survival so I set out to introduce myself to the first person I met. His name is Iqbal Alvi, I had trouble understanding everything he said, but I managed to understand some basics. The park is open to anyone who wants. People are allowed to pick fruit and fish if they want. I learned that there is a library across the street that is free to use. I spent a few hours wandering around collecting fresh fruit and introducing myself to people. One man, named Xander Clavell, kept going on about something called spaghetti. Eventually both the heat of the day, how I miss our cool forests, and boredom drove me across the street to the library. I read a book on local town rules, since I suspect I'll be stuck here for sometime I'll need shelter. They don't permit partial constructions, so if you want a house or room added to an existing building all walls and roof have to go up at once. Since I know nothing of building a home I looked up the contractors listed in the guides on the table. The cheapest was a small room with two doors and a light for about $2,000, or maybe it was a little more than that. I'm not sure how I'll get mortal money, but I'll figure it out tomorrow. Either I'm really lucky or the town doesn't worry about whose in the library when. Since no one came to kick me out, I wandered up stairs and discovered a bench outside on a balcony. It wasn't very comfortable, but I managed to get a few hours sleep. In the morning I discovered that the park was set up for some type of festival. I spotted some flowers that Rosamund and I used to put in our hair and picked a few. I was about to weave them into my hair when a man with a push cart offered me a large stack of mortal money for them. I needed the money if I was to have a shelter built on my land, so I traded the man and gave silent thanks to Madoc for looking over me. In an effort to learn more about my new home I wandered over to the shops. The grocer paid me for the fruit I'd picked the day before, and indicated I could sell her fresh produce and fish anytime I wanted. She wrinkled her nose a bit as we made the exchange, and suggested that if my shower was busted I could use the ones at the gym. She must have taken in my bewilderment at such foreign words and pointed to a building on the other side of the park, and repeated gym & shower. This time though when she said shower she pantomimed cleaning herself. I'm getting better with the simlish, but the language is so clunky. It has none of the lyrical flow or tone of high elvish. As I wandered around outside the store picking up what looked to be stray seeds I noticed one of the grocers helpers carry out some items and place them in the large blue bin. The way he discarded them led me to think they were being thrown away. Elowen, please if you have ever cared for me, never tell my mother that I, Alvara first born daughter, heir to the throne of the Royal House of Monte of the Northern kingdom, dug through a large bin of trash. Let alone pulled furniture to use from said trash bin. That though is exactly what I did. The smell of the bin was horrid, yet it yielded me some very serviceable pieces of furniture which I collected and tucked away until I had a roof under which to put them. Once that was done I counted the money I'd earned so far, and made a few small purchases, that wouldn't break the towns strict building rules. I bought myself a funny zippered blanket for sleeping in, they call it a sleeping bag. I also purchased a bicycle and a stand to lock it to when I'm not using it. It's not the same as horse back, or horse and carriage, but at least I won't get odd looks for my natural hair color from the car drivers I've met so far. After cleaning myself up, they've come up with a type of indoor waterfall they call a shower, at the gym I wandered back over to the park. A large wooden floor that people were moving around on with wheeled shoes called skates, had been set up in one corner of the park. The skates were free for anyone to use. It took me a little to get the hang of the skates, they're rather fun. I did accidentally run into a man wearing a uniform. He laughed, and said he was having trouble with his skates too. He introduced himself as Hank Goddard as he helped me to my feet, and to regain my balance once upright again. He suggested we skate together for a little while which was fun. Elowen I think he was trying to flirt with me. Eventually I got tired and decided to head home to my little plot of land, which is smaller than the cooks herb garden. I startled awake at one point during the night to strange sounds. A strange creature was scanning me and my two seedlings. I shammed sleep, since I was unsure if the being was friendly or not. The following morning I paid the bills I'd read about. It is strange this concept they have of people owning the land, but paying the government cash money for protection. I suppose it's not that dis-similar from our barter and trade system, or how the farmers and crafters provide to the palace and in return we provide for them through the elite guard and hearing out grievances, and helping to resolve disputes. I won't lie, I don't mind that I won't have to sit in formal dress on that hard ornate throne and hear the petty complaints from the commoners in that stifling room where weekly court is held. Afterwards I practiced riding my bike up and down the road, before heading to the park. I've spent so much time in the sun these past few days, that my skin is almost the shade of a ripe acorn. As I explored the park looking for more collectables to sell, someone set off a small firework. Much to my dismay it caught my clothes on fire. Far more alarming though was the number of people who ignored my pleas for help. Finally a stand worker threw a bucket of ice water over me, but by then all that was left was my undergarments. (Actual event; caught fire from being over heated, I didn't want to loose her so tce'd the fire out by deleting the moodlet.) Dismayed, I rode my bike home, I gathered my spare clothes and went back to the gym to use the shower. After my shower I did some more collecting, and even tried my hand at fishing. I also found a small statue, that looked much like the gnomes that live in the hills. I counted all that I'd earned that day, plus what was left over from the previous day. I had enough to get that small structure built. Fortunately for me the company work's anytime of day. I even had enough money to have the structure built a little wider than it's usual width, and added two windows and a small fence on the side to move my seedlings to so they're protected from stray animals. Elowen I won't lie part of me wants to cry, this tiny shelter I'm now calling my home is smaller than the closet used for my ball gowns. I haven't allowed myself to cry even though it's all I want, as I miss everyone and everything from our homelands so much. I've been staying so busy just trying to keep myself fed and adjusted to this mortal world these first few days. I hope that this letter finds you and Fedelmid well, and that she is well past her morning sickness. I regret that I won't be there when you introduce your first child to the royal court. I'll have no way of knowing if you read this missive or not, let alone receive it, since I can't enchant it the way we always did with our letters as teens. I'll write again if I can, in the meantime love to all especially my sister Rosamund. Your faithful friend, Alvara For anyone interested Alvara Norris is now on the exchange.
She is not strictly a renovation challenge sim, but she & her home can be played in that direction. Special notes of consideration: She is starting with a shelter which has no appliances or plumbing. She has managed in her first few days earned enough from a broke start to build her current shelter, and has 966 simoleans for funds. There may or may not be some items in the household bin or her backpack as she was out dumpster diving and collecting when I packaged her for uploading. Being a former fey princess, she has no understanding of the skills required for even the most basic pt job in the mortal realm. Should a player decide to send her to college that opens her options. Otherwise for funds she can do anything that does not require filing paperwork at city hall or set hours at a rabbit hole. Optional, For Extra Challenge: Additional rooms can only be added using the games blueprints or using the following zoning rule; when adding an additional room/patio/defined space to the house & lot you can only add that which will have all 4 walls, 1 door, 1 window, flooring, wall paneling, & roof (applies for rooms meant to be indoors). Interiors of existing rooms can be renovated as desired. I started her on the lot next to the Frio brothers in Sunset Valley, a fairly standard 20x30 lot with a nice scenery buffer on it. Should you choose to relocate her lot location or town location, the suggested story line is she traded locations with someone for whatever reason you want. Total time spent on renovation 6 weeks 1 day. While Nick was still around he donated $1,100 to charity, which may or may not cover the stuff that I eventually just cleaned up in casT because I was done with the challenge. At the end of part 3 I mentioned moving the bunks upstairs. These are those changes. There really isn't a rule against Nick getting a job, but I'm having him wait 1 week until Rose ages up before starting work, there will be a 1 day overlap. The week trundled by in the usual routine; chores, school, home work, meals. I toyed briefly with the idea of having Nick & Hanako save up the money to move out, but that would have meant even longer game play, and I'd hit an I'm done point mentally with the challenge since the primary goal was to make over the building. So their saved simoleans went into makeover. I had contemplated replacing the table, but once I realized the one they have has an environment score of 2 I left it. After all if the goal is to have the place continue to be an "Orphanage" nice but nothing that triggers sky high bills is important. Time for Hanako, Rose, & Vijay to transition. There's still a little over a week before the twins Paolo & Bianca become young adults. They had left their part time jobs the night before because I had mentally storied them as work study jobs for high school students. Hanako took a job in law enforcement for her LTW. After much thinking both Vijay & Rose signed up for gardener self employment which I don't think receives a weekly stipend. For the time being Vijay will also be staying on with Rose at the orphanage as part time helper, when he's not out fishing. The newly transitioned were required to attend graduation. Which meant Nick & Hanako only had 3 days of work, but they both managed to get promotions. Final week & weekend, final bit of play. I used edit town to move Nick & Hanako to a new home. I think she moved out after a few days, but not before Vijay visited them and they threw a party and invited Rose over. I realized a critical error on my part. Rose is shy, I forgot to have Hanako, Nick, Rose, & Vijay make friends with Paolo & Bianca when they were toddlers. So now every time Rose is in the room with them she becomes uncomfortable. Oops! Rose meets their elderly neighbor while out at the library and two of his kids. Story progression has already moved some children off of the island due to their parents age. Rose agrees that his 3 children can come live at the Orphanage because he and his wife are getting the times nearly up message. It's late at night on a rainy Sunday when they move in. The final look. I cleaned up some of the build/buy items instead of replacing them. I've kept most of the original lights. Lot value is just under $50,000; and the bills are a smidge over $200 per bill or $450 a week, which thanks largely to the continuous reappearance of the mysterious mr gnome death markers won't be a problem. They average to $1,500 per marker, and some days I find 4 on the lot. (Holy moly!) Because the lot is meant to be an Orphanage, having individual rooms didn't make sense to me, so I may not have met all of the challenge goals. Since the lot came with a laundry room I kept the washer, otherwise I'd happily get rid of it. The final version is two stories.
The only thing I didn't add that I would/will if I were to play the save again is solar panels and a wind mill. Last time I played I left off towards the end of week one. This time I left off towards the start of week 4. During the last few weeks I reflected on how I want the finished orphanage to look, and what needed to be the priorities for the limited funds that were happening. Not sure if it's because they are on the outskirts of town, but I noticed that travel time and going into town to do stuff takes both a lot of time for the sims and also seems to wear them out quicker than if they stay home and do stuff. I also readjusted the aging settings; elder is still at 8 days, and toddler still at 7 days; the extra days from elder were split semi evenly between child & teen with teen getting 1 or 2 days extra. School & chores are pretty much the forever bane of a young sims life as well as Mother Linton's. All made that much harder by how far apart everything is spread. Had I really been thinking I would have moved Mother Linton's bed in with the tot's. Having a little money saved up helped, as did having a weekend off from school. As a surprise for Mother Linton, Nick carefully 'deconstructed' the shed where the laundry room was and shifted the materials over to the space between the kitchen and the building that housed the toddlers. Additional materials were purchased/traded for the foundation. The old fence rails were moved to mark the garden boundaries. While Nick was tempted to get rid of the dandelions, Mother Linton explained how dandelion greens were good in salads and how she also made jelly's and herbal remedies from dandelions, but because of heavy pesticide use she had to carefully grow her own instead of wild harvesting them. So Nick carefully replanted them next to the fence. The clothes line was also moved to just off the kitchen to make everything easier to get to. Happily apples produce faster than other plants in game and nick was able to sell off the first harvest for more walling. Tending tot's and laundry was much less time consuming now, and Mother Linton finally had time to teach the tot's the last of their toddler skills. Don't know if it was the garden, or the changes to the house, but something drew some extra attention and while everyone was sleeping they had an unexpected visitor. For the second half of the weekend the children were allowed to do whatever they wanted. For Rose it meant a trip to the library since the orphanage didn't have a computer yet. Nick didn't consider his time off as time off and spent his free day helping out & on his garden. Vijay is always auto fishing so I leave him to his own devices. Hanako likes to explore, so she went into town to pick flowers and fish at the central park across from the school. When Rose came home from the library she was able to make a case for getting a low end computer, which was put in the laundry room. Once it was installed Rose finished writing a short fiction story and earned a little extra money. As everything was set up for the twins, Bianca and Paolo's, birthdays a call came in. Sadly it was a wrong number. The twins aged up and every one enjoyed having cake for dinner, which was not the norm. While everyone enjoyed their treat, the gap between the main building and the children's dorm was filled in, and the cribs were taken apart and reconstructed into a bunk bed for the twins. Now that the twins were old enough to look after themselves a little bit, Mother Linton was allowed to go out for then afternoon. The only place close by was the graveyard, so she explored the catacombs. Exploring the catacombs has it's ups & downs. The up, she found some valuable uncut stones and metals that provided some much needed funding. The downside, she was attacked by something that caused her to pass out from a cold fright, fortunately the morning autumn sun thawed her out so she could return home. With Nick still 6 days from becoming an adult, it's a we bit to soon to force full adulthood responsibilities onto him. Which was just as well because Nick hadn't felt very confident when a burglar tried to rob them during the night. Happily the alarm alerted the authorities, even if the burglar got away. The upshot of that nights adventure was that Hanako, Paolo, & Vijay all decided that they wanted to go into law enforcement, but only Hanako & Paolo were determined to actually pursue the different paths of law enforcement for their future careers. Where as Vijay decided that mastering several skills was more important than anyone career path. While Bianca was momentarily tempted by a life of crime, but then decided that it wouldn't allow her to follow her passion of art and music. With the garden going dormant because of the chilling weather, Mother Linton suggested to Nick that he should start considering some of the schools after school internship programs. Nick wasn't to kean on the idea because none of the programs worked with the science center and he had decided that he wanted to become a scientist. They agreed that he could wait for the onset of winter before signing up for anything. Monday also heralded birthdays for Rose, Hanako, and Vijay. After an early morning chat with Mother Linton it was agreed that Rose could celebrate her birthday in the morning, and have an extra day off from school. Which Rose spent writing. Unfortunately the rest of the day got very busy between chores, school, and homework, so no cakes were made for Vijay & Hanako. They weren't to disappointed because there was still lots of cake in the fridge. The space between the two buildings finally got walled in. An easel along with a domino table was purchased. Whenever the weather permitted Nick tended the garden. Paolo learned to fish, while Bianca spent her free time painting and selling her paintings. Hanako got permission to check out the gym. She really wanted a radio for the house so she could work out to music on her own. Rose continued to work on a scifi book she had started, that is when she wasn't cleaning or cooking to help out. Vijay liked to work on the unsolvable challenges which earned extra money for the household. As the deep cold of winter threatened to settle in both Nick and Rose took after school jobs. Rose really didn't want to, being around people was stressful for her because she had become very shy preferring books to people. She took the job at the bookstore, while Nick settled on the job at the grocery store. As more funds came in an extra wall was added to the laundry room and the bath fixtures were moved into it. As much as everyone wanted nicer accommodations there were other priorities that had to be considered first, such as keeping the bills low and getting nicer kitchen equipment, and a small radio. With no more toddlers to look after Mother Linton was able to spend a certain amount of time networking through phone calls & assorted websites. All that networking yielded a nice surprise for the orphans. And they got to spend the first day of winter at the winter festival. Before leaving Mother Linton insisted on a group picture. She knew that no matter what this would be her last group of orphans she raised. (The picture was hung on a wall, but was lost due to game crash & subsequent file cleaning.) When they got back from the festival Mother Linton and Rose had a heart felt talk. The upshot being Rose promised to stay at the bookstore until spring, while working towards what she really wanted. Which was to become an author, and because of how shy she was, being able to stay at the orphanage and take over the running of it after she finished the schools ece* courses. (ece = early childhood education, and is required for daycares, preschool, and primary educators in the US.) Bianca helped Mother Linton hang some holiday lights they'd been gifted before doing homework. The next few days were the winter grind of school, work for the teens Hanako & Vijay had jobs at the spa, chores, and homework. Rose, despite being a bookworm, struggled with homework constantly. Now for the fun bit ... I forgot to save the game after the third day of the week. Which in a way turned out to be a blessing because they had a really bad snowflake day and never got to open their presents. I'll let the pictures sum it up. My game crashed about two sim days later. So I had to go back to week 3 day 3 the last save point, or as my saves are labeled Orphanage 3-3. Which in a way was a blessing because I really hadn't wanted to age Nick up one day early. I'm usually pretty good about saving once per sim day. Having to restart the week from the third day had it's ups. One of which was shifting the order in which I did one of the planned building changes. Instead of waiting for the second story to be added on I moved Mother Linton's bed to the dormitory, pulled the wall out one width, bought the special rug early and moved the garden into the future greenhouse a little earlier than originally planned. This time when snowflake day rolled around, I sent Mother Linton to explore the catacombs; then go to the gym, where she enjoyed the hot tub; the cafe for a bite to eat; and spend the night at the fire station, just in case while Nick hosted the gift exchange party. It should be noted that Mother Linton was about 103 sim days old at this point and more than earned one night away from the orphanage. The gift giving exchange went off pretty well Nick and Hanako weren't to thrilled with their gifts. He got the rainbow light, and she got coal. Rose like the pretty orchids she received, along with a nice shell lamp. Paolo thought it was cool that he received a bouncy ride, but was a little bummed that he wouldn't get to use it. No sooner than they exchanged gifts and it was time for cake and birthdays. Paolo added loves to swim to his mostly athletically inclined traits. Bianca's additional trait was irresistable. The house received a new front door and the old one became a side door out of the greenhouse. Friday morning was a school day, but everyone pitched in and helped Nick water the garden before school. Friday after school was Nick's birthday. A dryer was purchased for use during the winter, and then due to an odd routing glitch anytime anything was put next to the washer it was moved to the other side of the room. With Nick an adult and Mother Linton at roughly 105 ? 106 sim days of age he quit his part time job. He will be a stand in guardian until Rose becomes an adult. Saturday was Nick's graduation ceremony, then back to the house for chores, homework and skill building. The final round of outer walls and roofing were added to the upper level, but not enough money for stairs yet. With exception of the bathroom on the end of the sleeping quarters the lower floors layout is finished. Early Sunday (week 4 day 1) Mother Linton faded. She had lived a very long life. Grim stuck around and cleaned the tub. The orphans hosted a funeral for her on Sunday afternoon early evening, as the first warm breezes of spring tugged at the air. I played a few days into the fourth week. Which was/is a grind routine week. Everyone continues to help garden, and as they get seeds for achieving the skill point Nick plants the new seeds. Rose got to quit her job, but Hanako & Vijay stayed at theirs. Neither Bianca nor Paolo have after school jobs, but they earn money other ways. Because Rose will be taking over the orphanage, she spends a fair amount of time in the garden. Stairs up to the second floor got added. The plumbing fixtures were moved up stairs from the room off the kitchen, and walled in for privacy, and all beds have been moved up. The easel and computer got moved to the old dormer room which is now a studio/skills room. This lovely gnome sold for $1,000 which will get used for walls on the second floor. I've got about another sim week before Rose, Hanako, and Vijay become adults. At which point Nick, Hanako, and Vijay will move out, how isn't decided yet. Then about another weekish or so before the twins Bianca & Paolo become adults and also leave. At some point I plan on having Rose add a toddler or two into the mix via adoption, because I'm not even close to having the Orphanage finished, maybe about halfway or so. Essentially I've got the shell mostly done. But there's other stuff that also needs to happen. |
Mama Dragon40s almost 50s mother and grandmother, who also enjoys sims. Categories
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June 2020
Random Legacy Progress
Generation 8 Goals
Martial Status: Second Chance Children: 2 Primary Career: Freelance Photographer Secondary Career: Education Secondary Career: Science Generational Goal: Fulfilled Miscellaneous Fun: Half-Siblings Lot's to Add: ? Science Center & Museum (aprox 250k simoleans) or ? Fishing hole & Science Center (aprox 200k simoleans) or ? Fishing Hole & Museum (aprox 150k simoleans) Generation 7 Goals
All gen 7 goals were completed before Thomas even moved out, or within the first sim week of game play. Marital Status: Step Children Children: 5/4 Primary Career: Culinary Secondary Career: Dumpster Diver Generational Goal: Idle Career Miscellaneous Fun: Luxury Lots to add: Bistro - Completed Day Spa - Buy (not partner) the rabbithole (no skill requirement). ($50,000) Times I've used cheats:
Gen 1: * Set family funds to $0. * Killed off Kylie's parents of old age. * Added Rufus to the family to move him to a different lot in town. Gen 2: * Had Natasha eat 3 life fruit to extend her age. * Used tce true to trigger Natasha's age transition from adult to elder and then to death. Gen 5: * Took the 3 possible heirs into cas, for YA headshots. Gen 7: tce + cas to change the last names of both girls to Verde when they became toddlers. Also snuck a peak at their YA stage to see if heir was going to be obvious or if a poll would be needed. Gen 8: Saying goodbye to Julia. And changing out the mailbox & trash can on the new home lot. Tce family funds to 0, shipwrecked = another broke start after camp set up. ;) Lastly tce add to family, while game was paused to add three households in addition to the Verde's to the island. Goofs! Oops! Oh Crap! * This applies to gen one but I didn't catch it until gen 3. I was supposed to have $140,000 and Buy the science building. I haven't decided how I'm going to handle this ... but I think I know what I'll be doing. :( Random Legacy Progress Past Generations
Generation 1 Goals
Completed All Goals Single Parent Children 2: 2/2 Career Science: Skill based Gardening 10/10 Fishing 10/10 Handiness 10/10 Gen Goal: Opportunist Misc Fun: Joker ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Lots To Add Science: 3/3 Completed Grocery Store: Completed LTW Add: Wild Plants to Park - Completed Generation 2 Goals
Completed All Goals Single Parent - Completed Children: 2/2 Career: Education - Skill based - Completed Charisma 10/10 Logic 10/10 Skill Professor 31.45/30 Gen Goal: Fulfilled - Completed LTW - Professional Author $4,209/$4,000 Misc Fun: No Strangers ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Lots To Add Career: School 2/3 LTW Add: Book Store - Completed Skill Add: Chess tables to Park - Completed Generation 3 Goals
Marital Status: Couple - Completed Children: 2/1 oops! Twins - completed Primary Career: Journalism - Completed Skill Based: Writing 10/10 Charisma 10/10 Secondary(Spouse) Career: Music (Classical) - Completed Skill Based: Guitar 10/10 Logic 10/10 Generational Goal: Expansionist - Completed Elder suite for Kyle Jr on the 1st floor Misc Fun: Gourmet 5/5 (old - 2/4) - Completed LTW: Illistrated Author - Completed Lots to Add: Career: Office Building - Maxed Charisma and Writing + $58,000 - Completed LTW/Skill Add: Library Writing + $36,200 - Not Completed ? Misc: Graveyard $26,200 - Completed Generation 4 Goals:
Gen 4 Completed all Goals Marital Status: Couple with help - Completed Children: 4/4 Career: Military - Completed Athletic 10/10 Handiness 10/10 Secondary Career: Law Enforcement (Super Spy) - Completed Athletic 10/10 Logic 10/10 Help's Career: Artist Painting 10/10 - Completed Gen Goal: Change of Scenery - Completed Misc Fun: Hands Off ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Lots To Add Career: Military base - Completed Skill Add: Public Gym Athletic 10/10 - Completed Spouse Career Police Department - Maxed Logic, Athletics, and Painting (no money requirement). - Completed Since Zach their cousin lives in the house I'm using his maxed art skill, combined with Jamal's maxed skills for the requirements. Generation 5 Goals
Marital Status: Couple - completed Children: 2/2 Career: Law Enforcement (Super Spy) - completed Secondary Career: Farmer - completed Generational Goal: Hobby, or Obsession - completed Miscellaneous Fun: Fashion Diva - completed Lots to add: Community Garden - Max Gardening 10/10 & 24,600 - completed Diner - Max Cooking Skill 10/10 & $24,000 - completed Generation 6 Goals
Marital Status: Single Children: 2/2 Career: Criminal (Thief) Skill based - completed Athletic 10/10 Logic 10/10 Generational Goal: Perfectionist - completed Miscellaneous Fun: Live Your Trait - completed Lots to add: Criminal Warehouse - completed Library - completed |