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Rebuilding Viper Valley and The Apocalypse Challenge

Comments

  • NightRowanNightRowan Posts: 19 Member
    edited April 2011
    Is the Toy Oven restricted by Culinary and Descendant of DaVinci, or just Culinary? It's not specifically mentioned on Wikia, but it just seemed to go with the flow of the rules...
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited April 2011
    My thoughts are that the 'Toy' part comes under the Descendant of Da Vinci, and the 'Oven' part (in that it produces edible food) goes under Culinary as that muffin could be the one meal of the day. Which would mean both restrictions would need to be lifted in order to purchase and use it.

  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited April 2011
    Toy oven - covered by Culinary. Davinci dosn't cover it since it's more of a tool than a toy. I just updated the rules to reflect that until Culinary is cleared, you may not have the toy oven.

    Oh, btw, if your cooking is high enough w/ your founder, you MAY make single servings of peanut butter sandwiches, but that's the only single serving meal you can make since it doesn't require fresh ingredients.

    The Life of Crime vs. Weekly rental from the commissary of certain goods.

    The $1200 weekly rental (you purchase the big lemon which goes into family inventory for ever) covers that list of things at the very top of the challenge. You never have to sell those back. In fact, you can't ever get rid of them. They stay on your lot for the rest of the challenge since you pay rental on them for the rest of the challenge. ANYthing else you buy and put on the lot needs protection money paid to the mob - so every week, you sell them back and buy them again. That is anything on the lot. The big lemon you buy for your rental money does not need to considered under life of crime. It's money paid, so to speak.

    God Bless,
    mik

  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited April 2011
    Thanks for clearing that up Mikitta, I was hoping that was the case, but I get so worried re-reading the rules sometimes to check for things.

    Oh, and Caitlin cleared Medical, and I went to make a celebratory cuppa only to come back and find the PC rebooting..... That'll learn me, back three weeks we've gone now! I have come to the conclusion though that I hate playing without culinary lifted... maybe I'll re-roll her a dice or try the paper and see if we get lucky? Showers are great, food is better!
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Good morning all :) I've been working on the new Challenge neighborhood for the last week. I FINALLY got the terrain painting to where I really like it. It only took several months LOL! The street lay out is much different than Viper Valley, but the sculpting is similar.

    There will be 10 64x64 challenge size lots available and I'm trying to make it so there will be at least 10 neighbors per challenge available lot so you will have people to get to know right in your area. One other thing I'm going to try to do is create a populated neighborhood so you don't have to worry about making sims at the beginning. There WILL be a story line for you to follow and a quest to complete (nothing too hard though). If it all goes off like I envision it, it should be very cool.

    I've been establishing lots today. After my nap (Lortab puts me to sleep ... gotta love dental work) I plan on building some more of the community lots. All the community lots are built bunker style - that is the buildings are buried in basements. I'm trying to go several steps further than I did for Viper Valley in terms of ambiance.

    There will be space to place your own lots if you so chose. Keep in mind, however, that all the built in challenge size lots will have a beautiful vista score of 100, which helps out your sims a great deal.

    Do any of you happen to know what community lot is being released with Generations? They said it is shipping with one community lot and 9 residential lots.

    Thanks.

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    I think it's a play park? With the new playground equipment in it....

    I have managed to build a really cheap Apocalypse Challenge House! I set a brand new ($16500) sim in it and she had just over $5000 simoleons left. I called it the Den, I can upload to the exchange, but it's a very basic 8x8 basement with old wood stairs up, four columns and a floor over that. In the basement I have a large-ish bathroom separate to the main room, which can be subdivided to give a 4x4 bedroom as the funds increase. It's floored, the walls are covered, and it has all the commissary items in it.

    I'll have to see if I can upload a few pics..... but that's four variants of "apocalypse" houses, mostly they just vary in price and style of build, but, I have two 'upstairs' ones and two 'basements', if you're interested I can stick them on the exchange?
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Apologies for double posting..... but two pics! The lot is a flat 64x64, desert terrain with no decorative features - I did colour the corner squares with "dark and dirty dirt" terrain paint just so I know where my sims are jogging too on each side though! I make them run laps. They de-stress rather nicely after work doing that if they have the Athletic trait.

    TheDenGF.jpg
    I haven't placed a driveway, or bike racks, although there is plenty of room for both, and I didn't fence it in any either, that saved loads of simoleons! Plus, I have CC fences that are cheap and look nasty! The columns are an old wood style existing EA wood pattern, recoloured from white. I used the same wood pattern on the floor above the columns - no it's not flat roof, it's a floor (0$ per square though!) I'm not sure but it could be CC.... it just doesn't have an asterisk in game. I recoloured the Mailbox with the same old wood pattern, and a rusty looking metal pattern, and then gave the trash can a similar rusty metal look! That one is definitely an EAXIS pattern under Metal.

    TheDenB1.jpg
    The bathroom is to the bottom left, obviously, I left a space next to the stairs up for a set of stairs down in case you want to expand that way, and of course you can put more going up from the ground too! Fully equipped, no lighting added at all (again, saved simoleons and I'm using CC candles at $5 each rather than $70 torches!). The bathroom is that big deliberately, I love getting Medical lifted, and hate then finding there is NO room in the bathroom for a shower/tub combo. So I built it in! The flooring and wall pattern throughout the basement is valued at $0 - not sure if it is CC or not, it doesn't have the asterisk in game, and yes, that's an archway not a door into the bathroom ($10 cheaper than the cheapest door!)

    Out of interest, most of my floor plans for Apocalypse houses rely on the stairs doing that zig-zag up one side of the house, so you can probably guess what the other three variants look like inside! The Eyrie is built on columns, The Holt has foundation blocks and wall pillars (it's also the most expensive!), and the Sett is built on a slab foundation. I checked, The Den is my only primarily basement built Apocalypse house.
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited May 2011
    I like that :)

    BTW, the $0 wall and floor coverings of which you speak are all EA. I had them when I reinstalled the game before I added any of my downloaded items. Kind of nice to have stuff on the very cheap.

    If you would like to see some screen shots of what the new challenge neighborhood looks like, head to http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/15/331189.page.

    There's 4 pages of discussion, but I've got developmental screenies and on the last page there's a whole neigborhood shot showing all the lot placements. There will be 10 total challenge lots available to choose from.

    I'm torn on the townie builds. I'm thinking of doing lots that just have a couple of tents and a fall out shelter with a bathroom in it for them so they hang around in their yards. As things get better because of the founder's family, you can replace them with real houses and such. That was always my vision for Viper Valley, anyway.

    How many townies should live in the hood at the start, do you think, to make things run well? I'm leaning toward about 25 resident sims total. I'm going to try to make the sim part of the actual world file (using NRAAS Porter and Master Controller) but I may do an empty world with a save file instead - I haven't decided yet.

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    I think 25 is probably about the right number, some families, some singles, some just couples? I realise families is an odd request, but, if the founder gets married and has kids? They'll need other kids to grow up with so they can get married, and besides, sometimes the founder meets a kid who will be his/her future spouse when they've grown up some. Teenagers seem to be missing from Viper Valley, I've not come across one until the McCoy kids grow up! But I might be missing some somewhere.

    I'll be building houses this evening if I get the chance, have to finish an essay and gave myself a migraine yesterday trying to get that done. Still have a headache, but not so bad now.
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Viper Valley is a blank 'hood, meaning the game generates the population based on what you do. On day one, it generates general NPC's and maybe moves in one family. When you have a teen that goes to highschool, the game generates sims to be their class mates. If you never send your teen to school, the game likely won't generate any teens for them to get to know.

    As for marrieds vs. Singles - when I did all my testing, except for about 5 families I put in the 'hood, I placed almost all single men and women. Within a week, almost without exception with every single test, they were paired up LOL! It's like the mating call of the sims.

    Since I have in mind a story for Rattlesnake Ridge, 25 is about right. There will be a few families with kids from baby to teen, but most will be singles who have wandered there along with your sim, to find a place to rebuild.

    I'll work on making a new save file for Viper Valley at some point - with some reasoning behind the placements.

    God Bless,
    mik
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited May 2011
    I posted some new development pics of Rattlesnake Ridge. I'm looking foreward to playing it :)

    God Bless,
    mik
  • perfectvelvetperfectvelvet Posts: 739 Member
    edited May 2011
    Rattlesnake Ridge looks fantastic, by the way. I love the details like the toppled lighthouse hanging on by a thread.
  • rambleramble Posts: 70 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Oh wow, look at that - I can finally log in again! What a long wait, lol.

    Anyway, I wish I had been able to come a bit sooner... Namely, to see this change in the rules:
    Fast update - significant change if you are clearing Education-The Renaissance Sim rather than the Education Rabbit-hole career...
    ...
    Changes are underlined. I realized that trying to also do Logic would make this category take WAYYY too long - greater than 60 days - if you didn't have Genius AND Handy AND Artistic as a trait. It took me a while to do anyway (54 days) and it was not easy since money was a real problem.
    One of my spare sims spent almost their whole life trying to lift this restriction - mostly due to lacking logic skills (surprise, surprise). And what a pain it was...

    ---

    My sim family must have the worst luck of all, as the first few generations were mostly able to lift trivial restrictions - and playing with Military unlifted for three generations has not been fun or easy. I had already given up my hopes to lift the said restriction until all other careers ran out, when the last member of my third generation found the career in the paper. I was elated! Now I'll just do my best not to have her fired or late for work for any reason and I should be fine.

    I have now lifted (or almost lifted) the following restrictions: Cooking, Athletic, Music - Symphonic, Comforting Children, Education, Medical, Journalism, Business, Politics and, last but not least, Military.
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Hi Mikitta,

    Just reading through and updating my printed out copy of the Rules Wikia, I noticed a bit of a discrepancy....

    1) Under "The Rules" it states: "If a career has components that ask or require your sim to go out and amongst the neighbourhood, you may not fulfill those requirements until Military is lifted."

    2) Under "Law Enforcement - International Super Spy" it states: "Sims may not visit most community lots or go out into the greater neighborhood alone — they must take a friend or family member along using the "go with" interaction - except for going to perform their job.

    If you have jobs to perform in the community, such as a doctor holding a vaccination clinic, a Director scoping out filming locations, a Fireman going to a burning building, etc. you may do these things without an escort."

    I then read through Military, and it doesn't mention work opportunities other than to say that sims can stay late to work overtime, or must complete the opportunity immediately after their shift. Should "The Rules" be updated in accordance with Law Enforcement? I believe if the PTB's wanted sims vaccinated enough to hold a clinic, they would have made sure it was safe to hold it, so I would vote for updating "The Rules" section, but I will of course defer to your judgement on this....

    And yes, I am updating because I want to play today and I like to know what changes I have to accommodate before I start!
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Hey .. sorry I didn't see this yesterday, Ang :/

    Ok ... if there is a job, like fireman, you HAVE to have military cleared to do it unless otherwise stated in that particular job's description.

    Doctors may not hold clinics, film directors can't scope out locations, actors can't do photo shoots, stylists can't do their thing, neither can architects or ghost hunters or private eyes, until Military is cleared.

    Also, until Military is cleared, you can't do the extra opportunities, except for staying late opportunities (donate a kidney for medical comes to mind) at your job. Military sims can't do the fitness exam or fly in the show until Military is cleared.

    ONCE MILITARY IS CLEARED, you may go to do job opportunities without an escort.

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Right, so that means Law Enf needs an edit.... *grins* and I got lucky, Jo King (yeah, new sim, new AC) got Athletic in the paper and is currently a Starter. She's desperately trying to meet people, but, not having much luck, all the people at work are just, not her type apparently. Still, she has a house bang opposite the large park, between the diner and the hospital (they're across the road though), so she spends her days off there sometimes just meeting folks. So far the only likely candidate for a spouse is the guy who burgled her a few nights ago though, and somehow, I don't think so.... *shakes head* We'll find someone!
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited May 2011
    Hey Ang, I edited your edit a little - just clarifying things a bit. If there is a community lot near you (w/in 5 lots on any side of you) young adults, adults may visit. Elders and teens with 10 athletics skill may also visit it from the beginning of the challenge. Just wanted to make sure that was made clear in how things were worded.

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    No worries, clarity is always good and sometimes I don't know quite how to achieve that. At least, not without paragraphs of text! I'm not at home this weekend and already missing my baby, my tower drive with S3 on it! Still, this time in two weeks I'll be off-line and deep into Generations! Can't wait!!! But have to... *sigh*

    Have a great weekend of simming!
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited May 2011
    OK, I'm having a problem living with the Architect rules, specifically the one relating to comfort.

    I've tried to purchase a chair, or a cheap sofa for the family to sit on now that I'm getting them the second cheapest TV, but, I can't. Because the Architect rules state that:

    Sims may not purchase anything with a comfort score over 4

    This is IMPOSSIBLE! The cheapest chairs (including the Bistro Dining chair) have a score of 5 for comfort! While the lowest comfort rating on any sofa (or loveseat) is 10 (unless you include the community bench which is still 5).

    I would suggest we change 4 to 5, although that still cuts out buying any beds (minimum comfort = 10 on the Small Brass and B.R.A.🐸🐸🐸🐸. double beds), so maybe 10 would be better?

    First edit for a typo, second edit to avoid double posting and say that I have re-uploaded the Apocalypse houses that seemed to have vanished off the exchange! Just in case anyone wants/needs them.
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited June 2011
    How about this ... since it seems the different versions of the game have slightly different ways of dealing with the comfort score, we'll just put a hard list together. In my game, I don't have a comfort score number. I have a chair icon with a + sign next to it. The higher the comfort the more + signs there are.

    So ... chairs and couches ..


    Living Chairs - only the Avant and the Eco-Rustic may be used
    Dining Chairs - Anything up to $110
    Sofas - Nothing over $390
    Outdoor Lounges - The Contempo outdoor Living Lounge
    Miscelaneous - The Community Bench and the UV by Uwe


    Those all have only one + sign on them for me. How do those stack up in the UK version of the game?

    Oh, Ang -I did download the Holt the other day, but by net was wiggy so I didn't get to download anything else yet. I do like the Holt. It was missing the mirror but that's not really so important :)

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited June 2011
    Hmmm, that should work, but for info the Avant is comfort 10, the Eco-Rustic is comfort 20!

    The $110 works for dining chairs, watch the store content though! However, with sofa's etc there are some store items at $350 with comfort 20 ratings, if you want to restrict that to the Prim and Proper Loveseat, and the Sofa LE the value needs to be set at $340 so people don't pick up the Woodrow's Woodworks Loveseat (comfort 20, env 8 ). I would say restrict the living chairs and sofa's etc to those three things (Avant, Prim and LE) anyway, they are a nice matching 3 piece suite if you recolour them yourself. Or grungy and mismatched if you prefer!

    On the subject of outdoor loungers, really? It's a post apocalyptic nasty toxic ash world... ban them altogether! Partly because they all have a minimum comfort rating of 15! Oh, and partly because who'd want to sit outdoors in that sort of environment?

    on the miscellaneous seating though I quite agree with those two only! UV and Community bench.

    I'm not entirely certain if it is the UK version of the game, or AwesomeMod that means I can see the comfort/environment scores as some come up as "kewian based" and I think that's an AwesomeMod term?

    And I knew I'd forgotten something!!! Glad it was only a mirror and not the roof or anything. I'm finding the Den is my favourite, founder has enough cash left over to purchase all gardening books, and complete the sets on cooking, logic and handiness! they do have to jog to work for a couple days, but hey, that improves athletic and I figure sims run faster than zombies...
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited June 2011
    It must be Awesome giving you that info. It is, after all, Awesome :P

    Well, let's just decide on 1 or 2 or a few items from each sub menu out of comfort then (no store or cc in this list), that are allowable, since that will be most standard. We'll have to come up with some way to deal with store content and CC, though. Maybe a price range and number of "+" marks since not everyone can see the actual comfort ratings.

    I'm going to argue in defense of the one lounge as that might be all you can afford instead of another bed when Jr. comes along LOL!! I do see your point, however, and will give it some thought.

    Hey, did you know there's an Asylum challenge where you have to have 8 people in the household, and you can only have 5 beds and 1 couch or lounge? You can also only control 1 of the sims, who is also the only one who can work or have any type of way to earn a living. You have to let the other 7 do what ever they are going to do unless your 1 controllable sim can direct them to do something. It's pretty hysterical :p

    I digress.

    I think the whole comfort thing is handled somewhat differently in Sims3 than it was in sims 2. We just need to find that balance point that makes it make sense in the context of this game vs. the earlier version. What is the comfort rating on the best items in the comfort category? Perhaps if we look at the entire range, we can select what is low end appropriate for our challenge?



    On to some decisions I've made about Generations ...

    Well, honestly, I'm not getting it yet. I'm waiting to see what the actual patch does, and if it doesn't fix my game breaking issues, I WON'T be getting it for a long while. Since the patch doesn't seem to be available to me yet, it may be a while before I can even make that determination.

    Preliminary Observations based on third party information ...

    - Bachelor/Hen parties, teen parties, proms, weddings and all other types of parties are restricted until the Film careers are cleared.

    - Chemistry sets are restricted until Science is cleared.

    - Strollers are restricted until Military and L.E. DNA Profiler is cleared since children, teens and elders with less than 10 in athletics can't leave the house except for going to school (under LE). You can't take your kids to the park anyway till those restrictions are lifted.

    - Private schools, boarding schools, trade schools are all restricted until Military and Education are cleared. Boarding school is also restricted until L.E. DNA Profiler is cleared (less than 10 athletic). We'll assume that boarding school occurs in SimNation rather than abroad, so we don't have to also restrict it with Politics and L.E. Intelligence BUT if there is the option to send your kids overseas, then those additional restrictions do apply.

    - Pranking is restricted. I'm thinking Military, both Law Enforcements and both Criminal branches will be required to lift it's restriction.

    - Imaginary Friends are allowed as playmates and friends. However, you cannot turn them real until science has been cleared (chemistry set) AND they cannot lift any restrictions once they are made part of the household in this way - they are like adopted children at that point, not a part of the bloodline (if made real as children or teens). I'm debating weather to allow adult formerly imaginaries to be married in once they are made real. I'm leaning toward NOT doing that in the generation they ARE made real. However, if they go out and marry a townie and have kids, their kids are fair game for your sims to marry.

    - Spiral Staircases are restricted until Architect is cleared.

    - Bunk Beds are allowed.

    - Day Care - this one is sticky since it's a career. I WANT to be able to tie a restriction to it, like Comforting Children, which would require amending the rules to allow you to take in the children of townies, and allow them into your home to get the kids. I don't have a problem doing this, and even in a post apocalyptic world, there is a need for reliable and efficient child care.

    It would take the pressure off getting a child up to 6 in painting in time (I've always had a bit of trouble with this in the past, especially if the child in question is NOT artistic). However, there are space limitations, money limitations, limitations on what can be purchased to keep the kids fun up, feeding limitations and all that to be taken into account.

    PERHAPS ... what I'll do is make Comforting Children suppressible in each generation - requiring any one child in each generation to get their painting up to 5 (no special portraits) for the household elders to function - this suppression does NOT keep that child sim from permanently lifting another restriction --> little Janey suppresses Comforting Children and then grows up to be a Super Spy - she makes it so dear old mom and dad, and even grandma and grandpa (all household members who are or will be elders before SHE herself turns into an elder - each generation requires that child artist until it's lifted permanently), BUT she also clears L.E. Intelligence career. However, HER child must also get their painting up to 5 or Janey and her spouse are going to sink into senility.

    When Military, Business and L.E. Intelligence are cleared and sims can invite people into their homes again without fear, THEN one sim can decide they love kids so much they go for the Child Care career which lifts Comforting Children permanently.

    Those without Generations will have to have the child with painting at 6 AND a portrait of someone in the family done by that child to lift the restriction permanently.

    I may fiddle with it to make some other requirements for permanent lifting vs. suppression for those w/o Gen to make the effort required equivalent - maybe something done in the teen and adult years in addition to the painting as a child to make it more of a career.

    Ok that's all I can think of right now. Are there any other considerations that need to be taken into account? Any input on the restrictions I've listed for Generations? Thoughts on the Day Care career? What features of the new expansion have I missed?

    Thanks for all your help!

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited June 2011
    I'm picking up my copy of Generations on Friday morning, along with another child for the day - I won't even see the sims on my pc until after those two have picked it clean no doubt! However, I will observe and make notes! Otherwise, I can't see any problems with your suggested rules, but I'm not sure I like the Comforting Children thing only being suppressed. Whether or not the career is tied to it, I personally have never liked suppressions, because you get so used to it being suppressed you forget it's not when the suppressor dies.... well I do at any rate. Perhaps if Law Enforcement - ISS was cleared so non-friends could enter the house, and Descendant of Da Vinci so you could have toys, along with Business for being self-employed and Culinary for food (although bottles would be fine for toddlers), and make it a later career?

    After all, in a two bit rebuild town there wouldn't be that many kids to start with, only as the town begins to re-establish itself to they start to come along. So childcare might not be such an issue straight off. Besides, Anna King has made it to one day before teenage and NEVER HAD A CLASSMATE at school in Viper Valley. Her eldest brother Simon had two, elder brother Leonardo had one, she has had none. She's also the last child of generation 2 that I've had born. It's going well, Athletic is what Jo lifted, Ed with Military is almost there.... *rolls eyes* Please god can I have medical and culinary next?

    Re the furniture, I can make a list, might take me some time tomorrow (pray for rain or I'll be in the garden for most of the day!), but I should be able to come up with something by about mid-evening my time.. no promises mind, the weather is what will determine that! And the garden really does need doing...



  • mikitta47mikitta47 Posts: 2,250 New Member
    edited June 2011
    Being as it's a "profession" career, I think it would be fair to say it should follow the same basic dictates as the Ambitions professions - Military, Business and perhaps Criminal - Master Thief restrictions lifted. I like the idea of making Law Enforcement - Intelligence required too.

    As for there not being many kids - story progression, as long as you have that on, takes care of it for you.

    Suppression - it worked in the Sims 2 AC. As long as you had 1 pet in a certain career. I'm not sure what all kids will be able to do in the challenge even WITH generations - but sticking them on an easel gives them a purpose - so just make sure once a generation a child is on that easel and get them to level 5 (which isn't too hard - getting 6 and the portrait is the tough bit for me before they age up - I usually end up having them skip school for one day LOL). As long as you do that - the restriction stays suppressed each generation. And I'll definitely make it so a suppressed restriction isn't something that takes that sims ENTIRE ability to clear restrictions. I don't think that would be fair.

    I'll come up with something more for the restriction to fall in line with having Day Care clear the comforting children restrictions with Generations. Maybe level 5 before they age to teens, then 10 before they age to adult, and they have to reach level 10 in the writing career and sell a certain number of best sellers in the children's genre (if you have ambitions, you have to be self employed to clear. If you don't, you just have to have the certain number of best sellers in that genre and level 10 in the skill). Basically, you end up becoming an illustrious author :P It never did sit well with me that the Comforting Children category was so uninvolved in respect to the rest of the challenge, so I welcome the chance to bring that bit up to par with the rest of the categories.


    Oh, wanna hear something funny from my challenge? I had my heir try to clear Naturalist. He was ONE promotion away from finishing gardening and a meteor struck. He ran away and managed to avoid it, but it TORCHED 4/5ths of the garden. I almost had 22 perfect plants and then BAM - I had like 7. I had been carefully putting perfect fruit and veggies away under the house when the meteor struck but I didn't have them all :/ On the plus side, I have the meteor in my current heir's inventory and all she needs to do is go tour the science facility with her husband to lift Alien Technology now. Ah well, her dad wasn't going to make it on the Naturalist anyway - he died of old age before I could even get started on fishing. He had like level 7 in it :/ As soon as I've got a super spy in the family, I'll have a child work on getting his fishing high the first day she ages to child from toddler and then clear Naturalist.

    What a bother! LOL. I'll post a pic tomorrow of the meteor strike. Almost EVERYone from the street they live on came to watch the thing fall and they all got singed. I had like 10 or 15 sims wandering around my lot in smoked out daze!

    [edit to add]

    Ah forget about tomorrow :P here's the pic now ...

    LittleMeteor.jpg

    and here's a link to the larger pic :D

    http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s281/mikitta_43/BigMeteor.jpg

    God Bless,
    mik
  • Anghara130Anghara130 Posts: 233 New Member
    edited June 2011
    I am so jealous, I have never had a meteor strike, and I want one!!! Shame about the gardening sim though...

    Re the Comforting Children thing, I can only state that I personally will try and find any way possible to play around a suppression. I hate them. It's not a proper lift, it doesn't achieve anything in the long run, and I would far rather that once a restriction is lifted it stays that way. Leonardo has 48Hrs of childhood left, and will be missing a day of school I suspect to finish the still life he has yet to start! He's currently level 4 artist, but almost level 5 and even with only painting one large painting per day (Business) I'm sure he's gonna make it... His mother ages up the day before him, he's already best friends with her.... it's a go!

    But suppressions, no, I never liked them in Sims 2, and I personally rewrote a few rules to avoid them altogether. Leave it as a lift, it's hard enough that dedicating a whole sim to it is worth it, and if that sim is done then they can either become the heir or move out (on reaching young adulthood) as the player wants. Have Childcare as a separate career lift dependant on having three or four others lifted first, maybe make them different to the other ambitions professions, because they work outside of the home, daycare works IN the sims home. Just my thoughts!

    PS: Love the pics!! Poor sims all getting singed and have you gone close up on them while they're still surprised? White eyes in a soot covered face can be funny!
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