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Off-the Grid Challenge Island Living!

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Hello there! So, while diving in (pun intended) to the new pack I decided to start right away with the rags to riches challenge. I always find it more fun to work my way up from nothing. Sometimes even doing that it feels like the challenge difficulty is over too quickly. Well I changed the rules to suit my sim last night and I think I found a challenge that is incredibly well... challenging.

Your sim was out enjoying a day relaxing on a rowboat when they fell asleep. They awoke when their boat capsized just off the coast of the island of Sulani. Their wallet and all other belongings were lost at sea. Now it’s up to them to survive in their newfound oasis.

Rules:
1. Live in Sulani in a lot trait that is “off the grid”. This is specific because the collectibles are less easy to find in this world.
2. Reset household funds to 0
3.Your sim won’t be able to leave Sulani and venture outside until they live in a four-walled home. The exception to this rule would be to take a dog to the vet or have a baby at a hospital. But you aren’t permitted to talk to anyone beyond the caregiver nor are you permitted to gather collectibles while you’re there.
4. In order to buy a home, your sim must earn $10,000 in reserve.
5. Your sim may only earn money by doing odd jobs, beach-combing, playing for tips (if they manage to buy an instrument for themselves) and selling other collectibles (and only with the yard sale table and function if you have City Living). As an added challenge (though I found this plenty hard without adding anything more difficult) - limit the odd jobs to one a day.
6. (Optional) Make it so your sim has to have a level 4 of Handiness before they can 'make' the yard sale table.
7. To make the challenge even harder, you can strand your survivalist with a child or pet. Caring for someone else besides themselves takes time away from tending to their own needs so things can get pretty crazy. For instance my dog kept jumping in bushes and getting bit by squirrels which was a huge vet bill.
8. No formal careers allowed.
9. (Optional) Can't use the cooler or fridge to have a "quick" meal. If you want to cook, you have to catch your own food - fish - or harvest Coconuts, Pineapples, etc and cook them on the bonfire or campfire.

I hope you’ll find this as fun as I did!
Post edited by kitnkabootle on

Comments

  • RebeccaLynnRebeccaLynn Posts: 79 Member
    Ooo I love this! Great job, I’ll try it as soon as I start a new game
  • mpilneympilney Posts: 150 Member
    I love this! I am starting this right now!
  • StarlitDownStarlitDown Posts: 17 Member
    I love these challenges. Even more fun to randomize the sim as much as possible. :D
  • Out16Out16 Posts: 51 Member
    Can a teen sim go to school with this?
  • PalmArrowPalmArrow Posts: 4,329 Member
    This is a great idea! I'm currenty playing a sim just enjoying happy life on the island, but this will be the next thing I'll try. Should the sim also have no skills and aspiration points and rewards at the beginning?
  • pixiecandypixiecandy Posts: 1 New Member
    I'm going to do that too, but with additional rules to make it a bit harder!

    My sim starts with 1 outfit, and it's a plain one. No makeup, no jewelry, no nothing. She can only cook fish she's caught (on a campfire), and if she wants new clothes or makeup, I will remove a certain amount of money with the money cheat, based on what she's getting.

    I won't let her leave the island she lives on and go to the other islands unless she pays money for "the ferry." 50 each way seems about right.

    I will start the lot with a cooking campfire, trash can and a bench (because the campfire bugs out on me without it) and 0 money.
  • abbyblueflowerabbyblueflower Posts: 15 Member
    I do love the Challenge you created, so I hope you do not mind that I added some rules to spice things up a bit. Hope you do not mind the changes I have made to your challenge.
    Original Challenge by: kitnkabootle

    Overboard and Stranded

    Your sim or sims were on an ocean liner when everyone abandoned ship due to a fierce storm. Your sim/sims held on to a raft for dear life until they were tossed on a beach on the island of Sulani. Their wallet and all other belongings were lost at sea. Now it’s up to them to survive in their newfound oasis. You landed on Key Point the 40 x 30 lot that has Oceanic Paradise and Off-the-Grid traits.

    Rules:
    1. Live in Sulani on Key Point. This is specific because the collectibles are less easy to find in this world. You cannot change the two traits, but you may add one. You can choose one or roll the die.
    If you want to make your Sim/sims pay to travel from one island to another, go ahead and do so. I find it very frustrating to do that each time. Instead maybe once a week “buy” a weekly travel card instead of paying each trip.

    2. Put a mailbox and an outdoor trashcan on the lot. Hard: No trash can.

    3. Reset household funds to 0.

    4.Your sim won’t be able to leave Sulani and venture outside until they live in a four-walled home. The exception to this rule would be to take a dog to the vet or have a baby at a hospital. But you aren’t permitted to talk to anyone beyond the caregiver nor are you permitted to gather collectibles while you’re there.
    Children and teens can go to school.
    If you have a toddler you must take them with you around Sulani.
    If you have a baby, you cannot leave home at all.

    A Home includes but is not limited to:
    a. A bedroom
    b. A bathroom
    c. A kitchen area
    d. A pier

    5. How your sim manages their money will determine when they are able to have a home.
    a. Your sim may earn money by doing odd jobs. (See restriction below)
    Hard mode: Only one odd job a day.
    b. Beach-combing.
    c. Playing for tips (if they manage to buy an instrument for themselves). (see below)
    d. Selling collectibles.
    e. Fishing. No restrictions, we don’t want smelly fish.
    f. Gardening. See Restriction below.
    Hard mode: You must use planters and you must make them yourself.
    g. You may sell woodworking items, but no more than 3 a day.
    Hard mode: Only one a day.
    h. If you want to paint. You may sell no more than one painting a day. (Restrictions below)
    i. You may not write books; you do not have electricity for a computer and you may not use anyone else’s.
    j. You may not get a part-time or full-time job.


    6. Milestones. If you have more than one sim only one sim has to complete a milestone.

    a. Once you have completed Angling Ace you may purchase an Outrigger Canoe.

    b. Once you have completed Beach Life you are considered a local and can now marry.

    c. Once you have completed Well-off, the 3rd level of Fabulously Wealthy and Estate of Art,
    the 1st level of Mansion Baron, you can have electricity brought to your home for $25,000.
    Hard Mode: You must complete both Fabulously Wealthy and Mansion Baron
    in order to buy electricity for your home for $25,000.
    d. Once you have completed New in Town, the 1st level of Friend of the World, you can do
    odd jobs.
    Hard Mode: No more than on job a day.

    e. Once you have completed Garden Variety, the 2nd level of Freelance Botanist you may sell your fruits, vegetables and flowers. Until you
    reach that level you may not sell, for you have to prove your wares are good.
    f. Once you have completed Ill at Easel, the 1st level of Painter Extraordinaire and reached Level 4 of the painting skill you may sell your
    paintings. You may not sell until then.
    g. Once you have completed Fine-Tuned, the 2nd level of Musical Genius you may now play for tips.

    7. General Rules:
    a. You may not use cheats, except to fix your money to zero at the start and if you choose to pay for travel.

    b. You may buy and use any Reward Traits you earn except for Potion of Youth and Money Tree.

    c. You must turn Celebrity Off for your household if you have that expansion. If you want to be a Celebrity, you must complete Friend of the World before turning it on.

    d. You may choose your Sim’s traits or randomize them. To make it harder, use Child of the Ocean, and they cannot eat fish.

    e. Choose your difficulty by choosing your life span.

    8. Once you have electricity you are free to do as you please, you have succeeded and your family is on its way to becoming a true native.
  • jinzou214jinzou214 Posts: 74 Member
    Thank you for putting together this challenge! :D

    I've started it last night, though with a few modifications. Basically the main points are staying on "key point", removing the requirement for $10k to buy a house, but you can't do odd jobs because you can't use the phone! So you have to wait until you buy a boat to leave the island and visit a lot with cell phone reception.

    I'm posting on my tumblr here: https://simdaisies.tumblr.com/tagged/IL-off-the-grid-challenge/chrono

  • MaiynaMaiyna Posts: 13 New Member
    I absolutely love these types of challenges, it reminds me of Sims Castaway series. Still love playing Castawat on PS2 haha!
  • kitnkabootlekitnkabootle Posts: 90 Member
    edited June 2019
    I love the additions you all made! I'm going to try again I think with some of these in place, minus my dog. The dog was adorable but SO NEEDY. It was exceptionally hard especially having to buy a pet dish so quickly. One thing I just tweaked with my original challenge, that I forgot to mention, is I only used the sales table with the "yard sale" function when selling things from my inventory. If you couldn't sell it on the table, you couldn't sell it at a profit period. Fun fact: You can sell fish on that table! And they look kind of hilarious just flopped on top. But they will decrease in freshness while they're out so it's best to sell them in small batches. Maybe Sims will buy spoiled fish but I'm not sure?

    Anyways It's so much fun and I'm glad you guys are enjoying. I might film a version for youtube at some point. My current challenge sim is already quite set up now, her home has grown and included the essentials.

    I changed the title of the thread to differentiate this challenge from the regular rags to riches!
    Post edited by kitnkabootle on
  • kitnkabootlekitnkabootle Posts: 90 Member
    Here's a couple of photos from my game.

    1ruAuwn.jpg
    My sim, Sloan, trying to drum up some sales.

    L0inUlp.jpg
    My doggo - the adorable but insufferably needy "Carl"
  • PalmArrowPalmArrow Posts: 4,329 Member
    @kitnkabootle , the screenshot of the yard sale looks so beautiful! The dog is adorable, but I think having a pet living in difficult conditions would upset me much more than when it's just a human sim!
  • JACKIEJOYJACKIEJOY Posts: 802 Member
    If you are looking for a low maintenance way to pay for transportation the bird feeder works great. 5 simoles everytime you fill it and you can't leave again until it is empty. I call it the bird bus on land but bird boat works too.
  • Tiger_Lover_78Tiger_Lover_78 Posts: 163 Member
    I do love the Challenge you created, so I hope you do not mind that I added some rules to spice things up a bit. Hope you do not mind the changes I have made to your challenge.
    Original Challenge by: kitnkabootle

    a. Once you have completed Angling Ace you may purchase an Outrigger Canoe

    This sounds like a lot of fun doing it this way but the Angling Ace Aspiration doesn't work in Sulani no matter where you have them fish it does not check off "Fish at 3 Different Locations"
    Other than that this add on sounds like loads of fun!

    SD2011-ANGELINDISGUISE-F1-SHERA5-1.jpg
  • abbyblueflowerabbyblueflower Posts: 15 Member
    > @Tiger_Lover_78 said:
    > abbyblueflower wrote: »
    >
    > I do love the Challenge you created, so I hope you do not mind that I added some rules to spice things up a bit. Hope you do not mind the changes I have made to your challenge.
    > Original Challenge by: kitnkabootle
    >
    > a. Once you have completed Angling Ace you may purchase an Outrigger Canoe
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > This sounds like a lot of fun doing it this way but the Angling Ace Aspiration doesn't work in Sulani no matter where you have them fish it does not check off "Fish at 3 Different Locations"
    > Other than that this add on sounds like loads of fun!


    You are so right and I guess that is something EA will have to fix. In the meantime just get fishing to level 10 before you are able to buy the canoe.
  • Tiger_Lover_78Tiger_Lover_78 Posts: 163 Member
    > @Tiger_Lover_78 said:
    > abbyblueflower wrote: »
    >
    > I do love the Challenge you created, so I hope you do not mind that I added some rules to spice things up a bit. Hope you do not mind the changes I have made to your challenge.
    > Original Challenge by: kitnkabootle
    >
    > a. Once you have completed Angling Ace you may purchase an Outrigger Canoe
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > This sounds like a lot of fun doing it this way but the Angling Ace Aspiration doesn't work in Sulani no matter where you have them fish it does not check off "Fish at 3 Different Locations"
    > Other than that this add on sounds like loads of fun!


    You are so right and I guess that is something EA will have to fix. In the meantime just get fishing to level 10 before you are able to buy the canoe.

    That works for me. I do hope they will fix that soon but for now that is a solution I can live with. :) Thanks :)
    SD2011-ANGELINDISGUISE-F1-SHERA5-1.jpg
  • AwkwardElfAwkwardElf Posts: 18 Member
    I can't wait to try this for myself ! Already so many ideas for what sims to create for it...
    AnxiousPeacefulBorderterrier-size_restricted.gif
  • EmschmemEmschmem Posts: 84 Member
    Off-the-grid challenge in Sulani looks so much more fun than with base game! Crying in broke 😂
  • JojoMOMSTERJojoMOMSTER Posts: 1,957 Member
    edited July 2019
    This is a brilliant challenge idea @kitnkabootle! I have gone ahead and tweeked this a little bit more, I hope you don't mind

    Off-The-Grid Challenge Island Living

    original challenge by @kitnkabootle
    first edit by @abbyblueflower

    Need Travel Papers to leave and Canoe to get around variation by JojoMOMSTER


    Overboard and Stranded

    Your sim or sims were on an ocean liner when everyone abandoned ship due to a fierce storm. Your sim/sims held on to a raft for dear life until they were tossed on a beach on the island of Sulani. Their wallet, passport and all other belongings were lost at sea. Now it’s up to them to survive in their newfound oasis. You landed on Key Point the 40 x 30 lot that has Oceanic Paradise and Off-the-Grid traits.

    Rules:
    1. Live in Sulani on Key Point. This is specific because the collectibles are less easy to find in this world. You cannot change the two lot traits, but you may add one. You can choose one or roll the die.

    2. Put a mailbox and an outdoor trashcan on the lot. Hard: No trash can.

    3. Reset household funds to 0.

    4.Your sim won’t be able to leave Sulani and venture outside until they live in a four-walled home. The exception to this rule would be to take a dog to the vet or have a baby at a hospital. But you aren’t permitted to talk to anyone beyond the caregiver nor are you permitted to gather collectibles while you’re there.
    Children and teens can go to school.
    If you have a toddler you must take them with you around Sulani, they must be constatantly supervised so at least one parent or teen sibling has to be on or in the water near the key point islet (no daycare).
    See below regarding the canoe, if you have been able to purchase a canoe the parent can now transport their tot on their canoe to the Volcano/Caldera Camp/Admiral Wreckage main Island of Mua Pel'Am (teleport them) and also travel with them to other parts of Sulani using 'M' as per usual.
    If you have a baby, same as above, you must stay on or near the key point islet, no visiting the lots on the main island of Mua Pel’Am as daycare is not available.

    A Home includes but is not limited to:
    a. A bedroom
    b. A bathroom
    c. A kitchen area
    d. A pier
    Hard mode: 10000 cash in hand before buiding, simple outdoor things like picnic table, beach towels, camp fire are allowed before building. Also allowed: seller tables and chests for storage. If you have a canoe, you may sell from your table anywhere in Sulani. Optional: If there is an IL build/buy variant of the item it must be used because the home is to be built from locally sourced materials. eg: beds, dining chairs would be the Island Living ones

    5. How your sim manages their money will determine when they are able to have a home.
    a. Your sim may earn money by doing odd jobs. (See restriction below)
    Hard mode: Only one odd job a day. (no rabbit hole if you have a baby or toddler and only one parent) if two teen or older SIMs in household, one can leave in the rabbit hole as long as little ones are not sent to daycare
    b. Beach-combing.
    c. Playing for tips (if they manage to buy an instrument for themselves). (see below)
    d. Selling collectibles.
    e. Fishing. No restrictions, we don’t want smelly fish.
    f. Gardening. See Restriction below.
    Hard mode: You must use planters and you must make them yourself.
    g. You may sell woodworking items, place woodworking table in the morning and put it away at night, allow SIMs to craft autonomously
    h. If you want to paint, place easel out in the morning and put it away at night, allow SIMs to paint autonomously
    i. You may not write books; you do not have electricity for a computer and you may not use anyone else’s. Your SIMs can build writing skill by keeping a paper journal if they would like.
    j. You may not get a steady job until you have a home and a canoe.

    6. Milestones. If you have more than one sim only one sim has to complete a milestone.
    Hard mode: Every YA/Adult has to complete an aspiration that is possible without electricity before becoming an elder.

    a. Once you have the funds, you may purchase an Outrigger Canoe. Until you have a canoe, travel is restricted to areas around Mua Pel'Am that are accessible by walking and swimming. Each teen/YA must have their own canoe to travel. So if there is only one canoe only one SIM teen or older can travel to other parts of Sulani in Lani St Taz and Chan'Ali town at one time (remember, no daycare). If a couple wants to go on a date to Sand Bar, the family needs to own two Canoes. We assume a toddler or child rides with a parent or older sibling.

    b. Once you have completed Beach Life you are considered a local and can now marry.

    c. Once you have completed Well-off, the 3rd level of Fabulously Wealthy and Estate of Art,
    the 1st level of Mansion Baron, you can have electricity brought to your home for $25,000.
    Hard Mode: You must complete both Fabulously Wealthy and Mansion Baron
    in order to buy electricity for your home for $25,000.

    d. Once you have completed New in Town, the 1st level of Friend of the World, you can do
    odd jobs.
    Hard Mode: No more than one job a day.

    e. Once you have completed Garden Variety, the 2nd level of Freelance Botanist you may sell your fruits, vegetables and flowers. Until you
    reach that level you may not sell, for you have to prove your wares are good.

    f. Once you have completed Ill at Easel, the 1st level of Painter Extraordinaire and reached Level 4 of the painting skill you may sell your
    paintings. You may not sell until then.

    g. Once you have completed Fine-Tuned, the 2nd level of Musical Genius you may now play for tips.

    7. General Rules:
    a. You may not use cheats, except to fix your money to zero at the start and if you choose to pay for travel, or to get unstuck

    b. You may buy and use any Reward Traits you earn except for Potion of Youth and Money Tree.

    c. You must turn Celebrity Off for your household if you have that expansion. If you want to be a Celebrity, you must complete Friend of the World before turning it on.

    d. You may choose your Sim’s traits or randomize them. To make it harder, use Child of the Ocean, and they cannot eat fish.

    e. Choose your difficulty by choosing your life span.

    8. Once you have electricity you are free to do as you please, you have succeeded and your family is on its way to becoming a true native.

    9. Passports and travel documents to be able leave Sulani cost 10000 for the family and are only available to locals as described above.
    If the family wants to move back home to their previous home in another world after obtaining their travel documents, if the game has auto-populated their previous home, there is another 10000 cost to get the SIMs evicted before they can buy back their former home.
    Post edited by JojoMOMSTER on
  • thelisabug1982thelisabug1982 Posts: 3 New Member
    you can't find odd jobs off the grid since internet doesn't work
  • PalmArrowPalmArrow Posts: 4,329 Member
    @thelisabug1982 , yes, you're right! Personally I allowed my sim to travel to Ohan'ali Town right away and he would always make the call from there. But with the rule suggested by @JojoMOMSTER - that you're not allowed to travel outside Mua Pel'am until you buy a canoe - the challenge becomes much harder. It means no odd jobs, and also no access to food vendors and to those seashells just lying around on the shore in Ohan'ali Town, until you buy the canoe.
  • JojoMOMSTERJojoMOMSTER Posts: 1,957 Member
    hi
    @thelisabug1982 @PalmArrow

    please note the Caldera Camp does have internet and there are no restrictions on how set up the Caldera Camp and Admiral's Wreckage lots before you start your challenge
  • JojoMOMSTERJojoMOMSTER Posts: 1,957 Member
  • PalmArrowPalmArrow Posts: 4,329 Member
    @JojoMOMSTER , oops, you're right - only Key Point has the "off the grid" trait! I misremembered that all three lots in the volcano area had it.
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