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Red Dirt Road: The Taylor Family Legacy - Gen. 23: Updated 9/22
WoWLynnia
Posts: 2,715 Member
311 Descendants and still going!
Welcome to the Red Dirt Road, home of the Taylor Family Legacy!
Welcome to the Red Dirt Road, home of the Taylor Family Legacy!
This legacy was started in June of 2009 in the Sims 3, although its ancestors have roots in my original legacy that traces back all the way to the Sims 2 in 2004. Given that I've reconstituted the family in the Sims 4, it's fitting to have a new thread to support that. The blog is officially back up and running with fresh chapters. I welcome back anyone who might remember me from TS3 forums, and invite any new faces to check out the links below to acquaint yourself with the family. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
The Family Tree can be found here. It's hosted via Family Echo online and links directly to the family's TS4 founder, River Aspen Hudson. Click on the Biographical tab under a sim's portrait panel for more detailed information on them! Do keep in mind that there may be spoilers when looking at it, as I keep it updated to my game progress, not to the chapters.
The old Sims 3 feedback thread for the family can be found here in the community forums.
The Wordpress blog used for the family in TS3 can be found here, to read about the family's past history and all current updates.
Table of Contents
Founder: River Aspen Hudson (Generation 22)
Introduction: A Founder's Memoir
Generation 1: Christopher Hudson (Generation 23)
Coming Soon!
Founder: River Aspen Hudson (Generation 22)
Introduction: A Founder's Memoir
Generation 1: Christopher Hudson (Generation 23)
Coming Soon!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How did you keep your family going for so many generations?
Despite more problems with my game in TS3 than I can ever count, between moving neighborhoods, backing up my saves, and ensuring I had copies of my legacy heirs saved to my library, my family endured, against all of TS3's numerous attempts to destroy them. As for how I haven't gotten bored and have stuck with them this long, what can I say? I just enjoy playing out my legacy and seeing just how long it can go.
Q: Do you follow Pinstar's Legacy Rules?
I follow a modified version of it myself, without any of the point calculations. In TS2, I played a Strictly Traditional Patriarchy (the founder and all succeeding heirs must be male, unless no male is born that generation, and able to trace an unbroken bloodline back to the founder), and I reached the 6th generation in the legacy household with 154 direct descendants (playing every spare of the family, some of which reached the 8th generation, in addition to playing the legacy household). In TS3, I played a Strictly Traditional Matriarchy (the founder and all succeeding heiresses must be female, unless no female is born that generation, and able to trace an unbroken bloodline back to the founder), and I reached the 23rd generation in the legacy household with 305 direct descendants before moving to the Sims 4. In TS4, I'll be remaining strictly traditional, in that there must be an unbroken bloodline, but I'll be giving my sims equality among their children that anyone, boys or girls, can become heir or heiress. Beyond that and not using any money cheats, I don't really have any hard rules for my legacy family.
Q: How do you choose the the traits for your sims' children?
During my TS3 legacy, I used my own system for randomizing inherited traits, but with the reduced number of total traits each sim has now and the different way they're dispersed across the age stages, my way isn't quite so usable anymore. I'm now using Pinstar's Legacy Trait Generator for TS4, located here, which does essentially the same thing, just much more efficiently (Thanks, Pinstar!).
Q: What lifetime length and aging do you play with?
Long lifetime length and aging only on for my active household. I was perfectly happy to return to Sims 2 style aging, and in fact, it was a welcome change for me. If I choose to play any of my spares, I'll actually get to play them now rather than story progression having its way with them. As for lifetime length, normal is far too short, in my opinion. Long is a little too long for me, but it's better than normal.
Q: Your legacy has gone on for so long! Are there stories for the previous generations I can read?
Yes! As mentioned above, see the Wordpress blog here. For generations 1-17, look under the Memoirs tab; 16 & 17 are incomplete due to me discontinuing the blog last year, but the rest are there, and those missing two may be filled in sometime in the future. For generations 18-22, see the Archives tab.
Q: Why is it called the Taylor family legacy when none of them have the last name Taylor?
The original founders, both in the Sims 2 and the Sims 3, bore the surname Taylor. However, as I have my female heiresses take their husband's last name when they get married, the original surname disappeared early in the generations. Given that it's always been known as the Taylor Family Legacy since the early days, though, I've kept the name, more for posterity and tradition than anything else. As for the title, "Red Dirt Road", it's an old Brooks and Dunn song that's rather applicable to the trials and lessons families experience throughout the course of a legacy, and just because I'm on a kick for songs that remind me of my legacy family, here's another one for you.
Q: Your pictures are so nice! What kind of computer do you have and what settings do you run your game at?
My computer is a Dell XPS L702X laptop purchased in October of 2010. It has a quad-core 2.30 GHz processor, 16.00 GB of RAM, dual hard drives with a total of 1.28 TB storage space, and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M graphics card, running with Windows 7. The system is getting old, and its graphics card and processor are way behind what they should be for current games coming out, but much to my surprise, it still runs the Sims 4 beautifully at nearly max settings.
Q: Are your houses/sims going to be available in the Gallery?
Possibly! Available upon request, I suppose. I don't usually upload my creations without someone asking me to, but I do keep backups of most of my sims just in case, so I can pull any of them out anytime. The same goes for my legacy lot or any community venues I create or alter.
Q: Are you going to continue your TS3 side of the legacy even with TS4 out now?
I will still be playing them, but I won't be writing any more chapters about them. My primary game, and thus, primary legacy line, will now be in the Sims 4.
RED DIRT ROAD: THE ORIGINAL TAYLOR FAMILY LEGACY - The Sims 4 Edition
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After resolutely waiting for their big day before moving any farther than a kiss, both Chris and Zoe's eagerness showed, and they made sure their wedding night was hot and steamy (And safe, of course! Don't want any little ones before the household is ready for them). Passionate kisses abound!
Being an extremely social sim with a lifetime aspiration to be a Friend to the World, Zoe immediately rolled whims to get out there and start making those connections. Now that she and Christopher had tied the knot, Zoe left the rest of the family to work on their own projects at home while she headed out to introduce herself to ALL the sims. Can't be new in town forever. Turning heads everywhere she went, her looks and good humor attracted quite a gaggle of men to vie for her attention. Sorry boys; she's already taken.
She headed home with the first step of her aspiration goals complete, a solid start to getting to where she needed to be. Now that his career had fully taken off and left him no where left to climb to, Lydell looked to his own life goal, to be a Mansion Baron. It looked to be finally time for the eldest child to leave the nest, and with a last hug to Mom and Dad, Lydell moved out of the household to pursue his own dreams. Meanwhile, Christopher saw his career peak to its highest, as well, reaching the rank of Champion Gamer. Supported by all the sponsors lining up to have his name on their product, his livestream was more popular than ever, and the extra money the steady tournament placings brought in was nothing to scoff at, though with income still rolling in from River's royalty checks, money was far from an issue.
However, with Lydell's departure, that left a bedroom in the house empty, which, of course, means it was the perfect time to remodel the room into a nursery. You know... "just in case."
Chris is the heir, after all. Certain things are expected!
As soon as the sun was up the next day, Zoe was up and about, downing a protein breakfast and heading out for an energized jog while the rest of the family rolled out of bed and make their way down for breakfast, Andrew wandering outside to do some morning tending of his prized garden.
After a quick shower, Zoe then headed off to pick up the next step of her aspiration goals: meeting and befriending the neighbors. Now, having actually not paid any attention to who was living around the family, this was as much an adventure for me as it was for her. Her first stop was the larger house at the end of the street, where she met Summer Holiday.
Active, Cheerful, and Outgoing, the two got along fabulously, having quite a bit in common. It was clear within an hour together that these two were going to be fast friends, quickly climbing to good friends and sitting pretty to soon be BFFs--a bonus, since our social butterfly will need five of them for the highest tier of her aspiration. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many unique topics of discussion there were for neighborly sims: everything from complimenting their home, to complaining about the neighborhood youth, insulting their yard, discussing changes to the neighborhood, sharing local fishing spots, gossiping about the neighbors, and more. Neighborhood beware with these two housewives around!
She called it quits following a successful day, and after a night of a satisfying romp in the bedroom with her new hubby, she headed out again the next morning to knock at the house right next door, the Cahill household. Showing her cheerful and goofy personality with some friendly compliments and well-placed jokes to quickly build her relationship, she hit it off well with the Self-Assured, Romantic Slob, Erin, garnering a good friends relationship and even building a friendly relationship with Erin's husband, Bentley, in the process. Add another neighborhood housewife to their growing little group. I see some girls' nights out in the future.
Finally coming home for the night, Zoe had been feeling a little off all day, so just to be on the safe side, she headed upstairs to take a pregnancy test once Christopher had left for work.
Sure enough, Zoe was now eating for two, and she had a perfectly proportioned little baby bump to show for it. Firstborn addition of the next generation incoming!
Stowing her big news for the moment, Zoe turned her attention back to her aspiration goals, taking advantage of her evening time to herself while her husband was at work and stepping over to the mirror to work on her charisma skill.
Speaking of her husband, Chris brought in an easy extra $500 from a chance card at work to wear an absurd shirt accentuating his armpits for a sponsoring deodorant company. Hey, free money, and none of his supporters cared what he was wearing; they were only there to see his gaming match.
Meanwhile downstairs, Andrew and River were being kissy and cuddly, having matching Soulmate aspirations after each of them completed two lifetime aspirations each already: River, Fabulously Wealthy and Painter Extraordinaire, and Andrew, Freelance Botanist and Angling Ace.
Still adorable, no matter how old they get, and since Zoe was busy with her skill building and Chris was at work, perfect night for the soon-to-be grandparents to go out for the night and one of those dates they need for their aspiration done before the baby comes. They head to the Solar Flare lounge, looking for more of a classy atmosphere than a bar scene, and take up seats near the comedian performing.
The guy seemed to be rather unsure of himself and new to entertaining, if how much he kept hitting himself in the head with the microphone was any indication, but he had a small crowd, so he must not have been completely awful. A few hours and some sweet kisses and deep conversations later, Andrew and River get their first milestone of their aspirations complete with gold level date rewards, and they don't just stop there. Since they were already married to their best friend, they both push right on past to the third step of their goals and head home late into the early hours of the morning, Chris and Zoe very much already asleep by the time they got there.
The newlyweds started off their morning with some eggs and toast, though Zoe kept it to just tea, since her morning sickness was already hitting her hard. She also broke the baby news over breakfast, and dude, that is so not the face you're supposed to make when your wife tells you she's pregnant.
Andrew was ecstatic when he heard River was pregnant when they were young! Christopher better get his soon-to-be-parent pants on and get over it, or his mother is going to have a very unhappy talk with him. The couple then headed out for a morning jog together so Zoe can keep her figure, despite the baby, and Chris can lose some of those extra pounds he's put in in front of the computer. Zoe was giving him the stink eye from the whole time from his reaction to her news, but he seemed pretty oblivious to it.
Chris then went outside to see to his dad's garden, since he'll need to not be a novice with the skill when his dad finally passes; someone will need to keep tending to his father's life's work. Meanwhile, Andrew whipped up some Monte Cristo sandwiches for lunch, the gourmand that he is, and showed off his new knife tricks and fancy cooking techniques, reaching level 9 of the gourmet cooking skill. Pictures just can't do justice the tricks they do with cooking, tossing knives in the air and flipping toast.
Erin also stopped by from next door (apparently in her pajamas), interrupting Zoe's nap, but giving the mother-to-be a chance to build up some more of those good friendships she needs for the third step of her aspiration.
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In other news, though, I appear to be eating my words and restarting the blog. I seem to have an inability to do things halfway... but it means there will be new (actual) posts soon, as opposed to the scattering of pictures above, which, while nice and easy, really aren't to the caliber I expect of myself. New chapters on the way!
Memoir: Generation 15 - Latie
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