@Karababy52 Thanks for the tip on the always welcome trait! My main sims have that trait but I bought it so long ago that I didn’t even connect the fact that that’s why I have a easier time playing them when they visit others without the households getting angry lol. Totally forgot that was even a trait until you mentioned it. I’m definitely going to buy that for her so it won’t be awkward when she visits her sister
I love Tessa’s relationship with Josh - having a big brother figure like that is so sweet and it gives her some guidance and companionship as she navigates this challenge too.
I think I might cheat and add funds as the months go on so that Jules can do very long “vacations” in Selvadorada and Granite Falls since I am missing so many worlds (I don’t have Mt. Komorebi, Britechester, Del Sol Valley, Forgotten Hollow, Glimmerbrook, Evergreen Harbor, or Strangerville) and I’m loving the outdoor lifestyle and activities you all have going with Snowy Escape so I think it would be fun to have more worlds for Jules to explore. I also have heard of mods to make Granite Falls and Selvadorada residential worlds so I may look into those. Or else Jules might just have to live in Magnolia Promenade for a month LOL. Actually she definitely will, even with the vacation worlds. Including the vacation worlds, I only have ten worlds in my game, so if I stick this out for a year, I don’t even own enough worlds to get me a new one each month. I *may* end up buying some new packs at some point though...I did buy Parenthood and Seasons recently, so of course I chose the packs that DON’T include new worlds haha
@permanentrose - Regarding the one month per world, I am going to run into that problem, too, because I don't have the Spellcaster Pack and the Vampire Pack. I might get the Spellcaster Pack, but I know I won't get the Vampire Pack. So, since this is about getting aspirations done, I had kind of compiled a list of what the aspiration would be for each new world. So, for Vampire Pack, there will be 3 aspirations, Vampire Family, Good Vamp and Master Vamp. So, I figured for that one, I would live in either Newcrest of Magnolia Grove, and the Vampire Family would match Parenting. So, for the other two aspirations, I was going to challenge myself and do the two aspirations for the Mischief Area. For Spellcaster, I thought that Master Chef and Mixmaster worked rather well for Purveyor of Potions and Spellcraft and Sorcery. For that one I was going to live in Newcrest.
What you can do for location, is live in a different part of that world, or a different neighborhood. So for Newcrest, I normally take the cheapest lot near the playground. So that could be a first lot, then the next month, just move to the side lots, like Hillside Highlands. Anyway, just a thought. Not necessarily a new world, but a new neighborhood in the same world.
7th January, Real Time (RT)
Sulani, Day 2, Tuesday, First Winter
Household funds: §265 Playthrough Notes:
After River's first day on Lani St. Taz, I couldn't find a public toilet for him and wasn't ready to make him go in the ocean. His needs were depleting until I finally spotted the toilets near one of the cabins. I didn't want him to start at Key Point to make it different from my off-the-grid island living challenge. There he managed to scrounge §265 from fishing one of the Sulani-specific collectibles and then I made the executive decision to send him to school. I hit 1 full Sim day and River barely did anything. Next day I suppose. Also, I'm biting the bullet and getting a WordPress blog for the stats, but it's all a WIP at the moment migrating some stuff and creating new things for the WP blog but yeah bare with me.
Extra
I nearly gave in and bought my missing expansion and game packs that have worlds, but I held back.
I'm gonna read up and post comments tomorrow, I'm not up to date with it all but I am enjoying seeing how everyone's playing. And yes, I wish I had more packs (but I am supposed to be living thriftily [sp?])
I'm modelling River's photos after a friend of mine's Instagram account. They have it really artsy and keep their face off frame and it made interesting photos. So for now, River's face will be a secret until or when I can be persuaded
Keep 'em coming guys, loving this challenge and how I'm encouraged to explore the details put into the game as well as create a mental map of where all the nearest toilets are
I am only replying to mentions now, I will do comments on pictures tomorrow I need to catch up , haha.
@permanentrose , thank you her outfit is from EL . @Karababy52 , first of all, congrats about getting in to Friday Highlights! I am am making the tiny home part of the challenge House follows her where ever she will move Now as a teen, it has to be level1 tiny house.. as YA it has to be expanded to a level2 tiny house,as and adult it has to be expanded to a level3 tiny house, and finally as elder, she can have any size of a house she wishes. So that way I also see how the house will improve during the challenge Thanks for the tip of how to get her bring friends from school, I have to try that one @Skeilah , thank you Oh I did not mean Brant at my comment.. I meant Viktor Feng who I simply cannot stand @Hermitgirl , Thank you No I did nothing to her eyes, maybe her eyes are a bit smaller than regular, to make the pupils seem larger
Okay.. so now your school outfit looks like this.. mmhh...
Melody Connors, day 3
Start funds 247 simoleons.
End of the day funds 824 simoleons.
Back from school, not a happy camper Sorry, you have to fish...
Just eat it!! It is a good tomato!!
Finally a teen.. tho not so sure if he is the best company, Wolfgang got mad at her because she won
And she did that by herself
Back home , planting the tomatoes.
She did not use the onsen, why she has been all day in same clothing She did washed her hands like twenty times at the lounge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND now you are wearing that school outfit.. game.. why?? If we cannot choose, please stick at one outfit per sim!!!
Melody Connors, day 4
Start funds 824 simoleons.
End of the day funds 1755 simoleons.
Yet again not a happy camper after school, her grades are great, tho
Okay, lets try to get you some aspiration points, believe me , you NEED that 500 points!!
Okay.. fun red.. lets go to lounge.. comon sims, stop tipping Björn!!! Gladly Moira tipped Melody
Let's do homework and eat while at here.
Sweety, I KNOW you are tired, just get the last needed points from swimming for an hour!! Oh and get the onions too!
YAY.. always welcome trait! Lets visit Ito family... use their bathroom and their bed! They won't mind!
Back on home lot, just before 5am (cause of the plants) ... nice to start the day with all green motives!
I forgot to take the "mandatory" fishing pic, but she fished 7 salmons among other things, why the funds went up
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
*Notice - I switched around another world due to the fact one of the aspirations has a career that Teens can't do. Therefore, the world I have set now for February is Windenburg. Evergreen Harbor will be the world for October. This is still subject to change as before and only a guideline. Y'all can play the worlds in whichever order will work for you.
@Skeilah I missed that you'd posted Bryon's diary entry for today earlier around the same time I did. I love what he says about living in a tent. He really seems to be enjoying his new found freedom out in the wilds of Mt. Komorebi. At least for now. Very cool that he was also able to celebrate New Year's Eve at the Festival of Snow with his new friends!
@permanentrose You're very welcome! Thanks for what you said about the relationship between Tessa and Josh! You're right, I think having her BFF by her side has helped a lot. As a result of spending so much time together and sharing such a life-changing experience, she has a big crush on him now. I'm guessing she doesn't look at him as a big brother anymore. It appears, so far, Josh might have stronger feelings for her too. We'll see...
I like your plans to help with not having very many packs! I wanted to point out though, there is a Mod to make vacation worlds liveable if you wanted to try it. I don't know who it's by though, I just read about it in another thread somewhere. I personally don't use Mods in TS4, but have nothing against them at all and used many in other iterations. They can be wonderful in situations such as this, or to simply enhance gameplay.
I thought about adding Magnolia Promenade as a world in the timeline, but I see it as more of an extension of Willow Creek for retail, even though I've had Sims simply living there a few times too. I think it's a great option for those missing packs. Perhaps, instead of doing a base game aspiration in that world, it might be fun to have a retail store instead for our Sims in substitution? It's totally up to you though, but thought I'd mention it as another option. You're more than welcome to simply do a base game aspiration instead, of course.
@SoulGal7 I really like the solution to the missing packs problem that you've suggested too! Very smart opting to substitute for similar aspirations you have available in your game and live in several neighborhoods in one of the worlds you do have, I love that! Perhaps I should put that in the Rules/Guidelines?
@Kanindota I wondered if you were planning something interesting by not showing River's face! Very intriguing! Good luck setting up your new WP account. I have one and needed a lot of help and time to figure it all out. I don't use it anymore though except to follow and/or like, comment on the stories of others I enjoy. It's the blog site of choice for most SimLit, but I personally find it a bit intimidating. o.O I'll update your challenge link after you've finished switching over to WP.
It does make it a bit harder to get things done by sending your Teen to school, but I ended up sending Tessa too since it was getting a bit annoying always implementing the cheats to keep her from failing and possibly culled. o.O Good luck to you and River, I'm glad you're having fun with my little challenge and look forward to reading more of River's journey.
@Ellupelluellu Thank you, I was so surprised, but pleased to see this challenge in the Friday highlights! Great idea having Melody keep the same tiny house throughout the challenge, upgrading to higher tiers as she ages. I love what a lot challenge participants are doing to make this challenge their own! You're welcome about the tip! And about your post for today, interesting how their school uniform keeps changing colors, eh? I wish we could just choose which color they get instead. I know there's a cheat to unlock the career outfits category in CAS and make our own, I wonder if there's one for the school uniforms too? I'll have to check that out.
Glad she finally met another teen! I personally don't really don't care for Wolfgang. He's *cough* missing from my custom template save. Did he swipe the chess board clean out of anger when he lost? I've had Hugo Villareal do that a couple times when he lost to my Sims. Silly Sims... 🙄 Cool that she found some tomatoes too! Day 4 - Boy, she really, really doesn't like school. She had a very full day and found some onions! Her garden is coming along quite well, eh? What level fishing is she at now? Sturgeon is the best they can get at that spot, at least in my experience, but Tessa didn't start getting any until around Level 8, I think. The Always Welcome trait is one of the best reward traits offered in my opinion. \o/
@Kanindota Glad you found a him a public toilet! Not sure what lot you have him living on in Sulani, but there's a public toilet by the volcano!
@Ellupelluellu So weird and entertaining that her school uniform keeps changing. I enjoy your commentary, especially in the moments when Melody is frustrated but you're forcing her to do something anyway. Hopefully she can meet some teens a bit friendlier than Wolfgang too, haha
@Karababy52 Oooh, I'm excited that Windenburg is next since I actually have that world! I think it will be fun to play the same world as everyone else. I actually just bulldozed a lot in Winderburg today so now I know where Jules will be living. I installed the mod to make Granite Falls and Selvadorada residential lots so now I have two more worlds to add my rotation without cheating to do a long vacation. I like your idea about running a retail store a Magnolia Promenade too, that seems like a fun challenge and will make Magnolia Promenade more interesting when my sim has to live there since there's really nothing to do in that small world.
@Karababy52 , I am skipping San Myshuno , as that lot will not go well in there, not at that only 3x3 residential or either of penthouses I will take Selvadorada replacing SM, an no I do not have the mod mentioned above, but I like to think Melody can afford 4x7 days vacations at the time when that world comes up After all, if she is exploring, she needs to go away and come back to unlock new temple
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@permanentrose I adore Windenburg, next to Sulani, it's my favorite of all the worlds. Glad you like my ideas and have that Mod now! \o/ It just makes sense to do a retail store in the Magnolia Promenade world in my opinion since that's what it's supposed to be anyway. You'll still need to have her start on another lot, of course, since Sims can't actually have a store in their home lot (unless there's another Mod to make it so they can?). I wish they'd change that. You'll just need to visit the home lot sometimes, especially for things like getting elements in the mail.
Oh, and if Jules has any children by then, they can live at the store with her, but they come home from school on the home lot. A bit annoying, but a minor issue really. Oh, and your Sim won't give birth on a retail lot either. Just a heads-up in case Jules gets pregnant while living there. One of the biggest perks of living on a retail lot is your bills will be very, very small if you don't put anything on the home lot. I had a Sim with a huge store and apartment worth over 100K and she only paid 33 simoleans in bills!
Of course, Jules could just live on the home lot and run the store on another lot separately too and avoid the issues. Just thought I'd mention those things since most Simmers like to have their Sims live on the store lot.
@Ellupelluellu Oh yeah, San Myshuno isn't very tiny living friendly at all. Good point about Melody most likely having enough funds to vacation for a month in Selvadorada. By exploring for treasure, excavating etc., she'll have lots of simoleans very quickly to use for rent!
@Karababy52 I was probably just gonna have her live on the lot next to her store in Magnolia Promenade when I get there since I need to use all my worlds to even just fill up 10 months lol, but that's a great tip about the bills and the retail lot! She'll just have a store with an apartment upstairs and simply keep a mailbox on her actual home lot. I have two families living in Magnolia promenade right now but I'll kick them out to make room for Jules once it's time to move her there. Maybe I'll have them move to Granite Falls or Selvadorada now LOL
@Ellupelluellu I might bulldoze a community lot in San Myshuno and make it residential and have Jules live there depending on what's going on her life then. Or paying rent could be a fun part of living in the city, not sure yet
(Side note: I cheated a bit to play Saturday again, so that my real time matches Sim time)
“Ahhh, finally! It’s warm enough to swim in the Wakaba River. I wanted to try that for soooo long now, but I never got the chance because the water was frozen up. It’s still a little cold, but I managed to swim in it for a whole hour! Super refreshing. I went to the Onsen bathhouse to warm myself up afterwards, but then I bumped into this Japanese Food stall. Must be a pop-up one because I’ve never saw it before (I placed it there temporarily, hehe). A nice chance for me to try ramen! I’m not used to eating with chopsticks, but I managed just fine. Now, off to the bathhouse!”
Bonus Pic of the Day: I couldn't decide which one I liked best!
Notes
It was the first Monday of Winter when I started playing last night. Tessa went to school and I gave Josh full autonomy. The very first thing he did with full autonomy was go outside and jump in a mud puddle! That gave me a laugh! Back inside he got a glass of milk from the fridge, drank it standing there and then put it on the kitchen table instead of taking care of it. Next he grabbed a skill book out of the bookcase. I thought, cool, good man! Until I got a closer look at it. It was Tessa's Level 1 Fitness Skill book. Why? He's Level 10 and completed the Body Builder aspiration! 🙄 Read it for 2 seconds and got bored. Duh!
He threw the book on the table and sat on the loveseat to watch World News. While he was doing that, I saw some random townie walk by the window. She wasn't there to visit, she passed by the front door. Instead she went around to the side and started rifling through the trash can! How dare she? She was making a mess with piles of trash on the ground everywhere. So what did Josh do? Turned off the TV and went out there to pick a fight with her which he won! Yay Josh! That'll teach her! I clicked on the townie to have Josh use 'Send Home' to make her leave, but the option wasn't there. Well, it was there, but it said, "Get off my lawn!" HAHA I have never seen that before. Almost fell out of my computer chair laughing! I put a fence around the trash can after that with a gate set to locked for everyone but household members.
A notice that GeekCon was happening popped up so I sent Josh to give him something to do. I decided it wasn't cheating since Tessa is the main character. While there he participated in the Hackathon and Gaming contests. Being Level 10 in both skills, he won both! He got a new computer and a gaming console. I thought about only letting Josh use those, especially the computer since Tessa already has a laptop. But Josh has been living there using her simoleans to make food, so I figured maybe she could use them sometimes as a sort've 'rental' agreement kind of thing. He also fixes broken stuff, which is very helpful.
Josh traveled back home when Tessa came home from school and then after she did her homework, ate and slept awhile, they went on another hike, to the Shrine this time. Tessa still needs to survive 3 wildlife attacks. The Bamboo forest looks so pretty in Winter and they enjoyed looking up at the stars. Tessa stopped once to tell a hiking story to him, but the hike was pretty much without incident, no attacks. *sigh* Just before they reached the Shrine, the hike together command fell out of Josh's active queue. That happened last time too, so annoying! I had to put them in a group and have Tessa call him over. They checked out the Shrine, made a snowpal and then did some cloudgazing. While they were lying there, a random townie walked over to the snowpal and started cheering and clapping in glee over it. Silly Townies!
I took a bunch of beautiful landscape screenshots and then sent them to the mountain area to go hiking there to see the Cave. Wow, what a pretty area, it's filled with a bunch of those red bridges throughout. At the cave they shouted into it together and I noticed Sims could give a good fortune offering. Tessa offered a chrysanthemum, but all Josh had was upgrade parts, skill books and deterrents in his inventory. I had Tessa give him a blackberry and he offered that.
Lastly, I sent them back to the Onsen for a soak in the hot springs to warm up after their hike. Once they got in I noticed Tessa was embarrassed. I didn't know why at first, thought maybe she was nervous sitting half naked next to her half naked BFF or something. Nope. Turns out she was embarrassed that her offering at the Cave wasn't good enough. I guess those spirits like blackberries better than flowers since Josh didn't get the same moodlet.
Now, what happened next has me totally confused. While they were sitting there, Josh decided to flatter her. Uh... I thought the Flatter option was only a romance thing. Then he showed off his muscles! o.O Okaaaay, I'm pretty sure that's another romance thing, right? It was funny though because they weren't looking at each other when he did those two things. When they were getting out, I noticed someone else had been in there with them the whole time, Kyoshi! He looked very sad too. Poor guy. Before they left, they were standing by the hot springs just having a chat and Josh again flattered Tessa! This time though, they were looking at each other and the smolder between them was clear, especially the way Josh was looking at her. Sheesh! I don't get it, I mean, I like it, but that's not supposed to happen between a teen and young adult!
They talked and stuff for a little bit more after that, shared a hug and went home back to business as usual. That's where I ended my play session for the night. I don't know what I'm going to do to get the elusive wildlife to attack Tessa. Anybody have a suggestion? Maybe she needs to be hiking alone? Let me know! Thanks!
Happy Simming!
Extras
For some reason Tessa felt it necessary to take a selfie right in the middle of their hike. 🙄
I got a kick out of Josh's facial expression, it almost looks like he's thinking, 'Teenagers and their cell phones. Sheesh!'
No reason for this one, other than I thought Tessa looked pretty here. Her eyes match the Turquoise in her outfit.
Tessa! Stop looking at his butt! I mean, I don't blame you, but you're making Kyoshi sad.
After those smoldering looks between them, Tessa reached out and touched Josh. What? Uh... o.O
Psyche! She was just telling him a joke! Sorry, I couldn't resist! It's all in the angles. Catching the right screenshot, at the right angle can make anything look like something else. I have another one where it looks like they're holding hands. Aww... Sadly, Sims can't really hold hands except in a couple romantic interactions.
Back home down to business as usual.
I had to delete my mod for making Granite Falls and Selvadorada residential, it was being buggy unfortunately so I’ll have to get creative in the upcoming months with where Jules will live
— Update 4 - Getting Into a Groove
Notes:
Photo above is Jules playing in the rain, since it's easier to enjoy the simple parts of life when you don't have much
Jules has the hotheaded trait, so that means that sometimes she will get herself in a mood and stomp around for a while. Also notable angry interactions are taking an angry poop, slamming the fridge door, and autonomously kicking trashcans and destroying dollhouses. But Jules has a good heart so she'll fix the things she destroys in these bouts of anger.
Emmett Keyes keeps inviting Jules over, which is an easy way to fill all of her needs. I bought her the reward trait 'always welcome' so she doesn't get yelled at for making herself at home now. Still, she likes to continue to do some favors here and there to show her thanks. She's raising her handiness skills since she has now repaired the Keyes' dishwasher and toilet for them.
Fishing with a friend fills the socialization need, helps complete Jules' aspiration, and gives her items to sell to earn money, so she and Emmett have spent some time fishing together.
She also caught a toy while fishing, and instead of selling it like I do with most things she catches, she decided to gift it to Emmett's little sister, Eliza. I enjoy finding little ways for Jules to connect with the world around her.
I tried to buy Jules a fridge, forgetting that electronics break in the rain, so that was a bust lol. The fridge is in her inventory for now. I still need to save up a bit more money for her before I start building her a home. For now, she also bought a cooler so she can grab quick meals on her home lot now. I may start looking into odd jobs for her since she has the time to complete them since she's not in school.
So far, she still earns all of her money by fishing and collecting odd items to sell - like things lightening strikes leave behind, pet gifts, and items found digging.
I was trying to think of teenage male sims in my world I might be interested in her getting together with, and I had one in mind for her and was trying to think of a way for them to meet without cheating, and it was as if the sims universe had heard my wishes lol. Mario Harrison, teen cutie, called Jules and asked her to come hang out at his house in San Myshuno. I'm focusing on building their friendship for now, but who knows?
Jules autonomously destroyed Mario's step-sister's dollhouse in a fit of hot-headed anger, so along with repairing the dollhouse, she did some extra kind acts and scooped the cat litter and bottle fed one of Mario's half-siblings who was making quite a racket.
Lots of photos today, I know, but a lot of these are just too amusing. Here are two more screenshots I took but didn't know where to add them above.
She got embarrassed after dropping the salt shaker in the soup while cooking
I didn't realize the soup was spoiled when I told you to eat it, sorry Jules! (this is what happens when I store food in her inventory and don't have the headline effects on since they mess up my screenshots lol)
Simoleon count: 626
I know I said I might not have time to post everyday, but I'm invested right now lol
@Karababy52 which aspiration can’t be done as a teen? I never played Evergreen Harbor so I don’t know😂
@Skeilah - Hi, I think it might be Eco Innovator Aspiration because you need to reach level 10 of the Civic Designer Career and I don't think as a teen you can get that job.
@Karababy52 which aspiration can’t be done as a teen? I never played Evergreen Harbor so I don’t know😂
@Skeilah - Hi, I think it might be Eco Innovator Aspiration because you need to reach level 10 of the Civic Designer Career and I don't think as a teen you can get that job.
@SoulGal7 Ahhh, thank you!! I also switched Evergreen Harbor with Windenburg. My Windenburg world was May. At that time Bryon will be Young Adult and able to complete the aspiration^^
Day 9
So I was really tired of Roxanne "living" on a community lot and by Monday she made enough to buy a micro-home. Thank goodness for the gallery! This little gem is by heather4571 and cost $2984 for the unfurnished version. I was really excited to move her in.
I got her the marketable trait and definitely noticed her paintings selling for more. I furnished it, painting as she went to replenish what she put out and get a buffer. Mostly for this gameplay session she painted and invited friends over for social and did homework. It was a school week also so rinse and repeat. I really like living in smaller places with my sims so the greening stuff is all nearby, so settling in happily.
While painting she finished her Mt. Komorebi Sightseer aspiration on Tuesday - she had to be mindful and was able to do that while painting.
Roxi is also a celebrity notable newcomer.. but if that gets to be irritating I might have to have her step out of the spotlight. She already has the refined palate trait and that quirk bugs me since vendor food will make her uncomfortable.
My settings also somehow messed up and the game warned me it was her birthday soon so I flipped it back to aging off! Really weird because I always play with aging off. The calendar had also switched to 7 days...double weird! Maybe I have a ghost in my machine!
Anyway with the tiny living bonuses and her own painting skills there should be no issue with getting ahead pretty quick.
extras:
January - (Sunday) - DAY 8: You're my 'Superstar'!
It's been a week already! Today Sakura experiments with clubs to see if club members will go rock climbing autonomously. I did a search on who had some rock climbing skill in-game. They were Megumi Ito, Jenna Akiyama & Kado Akiyama. Unfortunately, Kiyoshi has none. So, I create the Mountaineer Club with Kiyoshi, Jenna, Kado, and Megumi & start the club at the small wall in Yukimatsu. Then I get a pop-up that I can't start clubs unless I'm home. So much for that idea. So, I just get her to work on her rock climbing skill at the small wall.
Suddenly she sees Brytani Chu - a celebrity - rock climbing beside her! Oh, she should ask her for an autograph! And she gets one! Yes! Then she asks for a hug! Again, yes! Well, this is pretty good and I'm wondering if Sakura should ask Brytani for another autograph. Hey, she's broke and needs simoleons. So she does and she gets another one! And another, and another, and another! I have never had this happen before! While she is collecting autographs, I get a pop-up for the Festival of Youth in the Wakaba neighborhood (Sunday 10 am - 6 pm). She isn't really a kid, but then I remember...they might have a special festival vending machine where she can buy a festival outfit! The minutes are counting down, and she continues to get autographs. Finally, Brytani says no to another autograph (she must have been getting writer's cramp). But the good news is that Sakura got 19 autographs! They are worth $50 each to start and then you call to get them appraised and they jump to $300, wait overnight and they are worth $600 each! She quickly gets one appraised and travels to The Festival of Youth. With only an hour left until the festival ends, she frantically searches for the special vending machine. And realizes there isn't one. I then read the fine print for that Aspiration that says that the vending machines are only available at the Festival of Snow and the Festival of Light. Ah shucks! Her needs are in the red so she travels to the Hazakura Lounge, gets chips, and calls to get the other 18 appraised. Wow! What a day! She now has $5,700 worth in autographs, and if she waits, they will be worth $11,400 simoleons! I have her take a selfie and I get a pop up that she has a Good Reputation! She also has an "Impressed" Sentiment with Brytani Chu. Way to go Sakura!
She quickly gets one appraised and travels to The Festival of Youth. With only an hour left until the festival ends, she frantically searches for the special vending machine. And realizes there isn't one. I then read the fine print for that Aspiration that says that the vending machines are only available at the Festival of Snow and the Festival of Light. Ah shucks!
Oh shucks indeed xD that was exactly my plan for tomorrow. What a bummer.
January - (Sunday) - DAY 8: You're my 'Superstar'!
It's been a week already! Today Sakura experiments with clubs to see if club members will go rock climbing autonomously. I did a search on who had some rock climbing skill in-game. They were Megumi Ito, Jenna Akiyama & Kado Akiyama. Unfortunately, Kyoshi has none. So, I create the Mountaineer Club with Kyoshi, Jenna, Kado and Megumi & start the club at the small wall in Yukimatsu. Then I get a pop-up that I can't start clubs unless I'm home. So much for that idea. So, I just get her to work on her rock climbing skill at the small wall.
Suddenly she sees Brytani Chu - a celebrity - rock climbing beside her! Oh, she should ask her for an autograph! And she gets one! Yes! Then she asks for a hug! Again, yes! Well, this is pretty good and I'm wondering if Sakura should ask Brytani for another autograph. Hey, she's broke and needs simoleons. So she does and she gets another one! And another, and another, and another! I have never had this happen before! While she is collecting autographs, I get a pop-up for the Festival of Youth in the Wakaba neighborhood (Sunday 10 am - 6 pm). She isn't really a kid, but then I remember...they might have a special festival vending machine where she can buy a festival outfit! The minutes are counting down, and she continues to get autographs. Finally, Brytani says no to another autograph (she must have been getting writer's cramp). But the good news is that Sakura got 19 autographs! They are worth $50 each to start and then you call to get them appraised and they jump to $300, wait overnight and they are worth $600 each! She quickly gets one appraised and travels to The Festival of Youth. With only an hour left until the festival ends, she frantically searches for the special vending machine. And realizes there isn't one. I then read the fine print for that Aspiration that says that the vending machines are only available at the Festival of Snow and the Festival of Light. Ah shucks! Her needs are in the red so she travels to the Hazakura Lounge, gets chips, and calls to get the other 18 appraised. Wow! What a day! She now has $5,700 worth in autographs, and if she waits, they will be worth $11,400 simoleons! I have her take a selfie and I get a pop up that she has a Good Reputation! Way to go Sakura!
Never knew about getting autographs appraised, is this one of the features of Get Famous cos if it is then I want to try...wait I'm in Sulani. The grind is real over there. I haven't played today...:😥 to post for tomorrow.
I wanted to say @Ellupelluellu is on top of most Simoleons so far (not that it's a competition) until your landslide of a whooping 5K @SoulGal7
I'm excited to start Winderburg in February, as well.
And @Hermitgirl love the home and it's awesome to see that Roxanne is smashing it. I need to give River more of a push and write the SimLit later
Also does anyone know if short, normal or long aging length affects Sim in-game time or is it exactly the same for any aging option?
I may try to get River up to speed and be in synch with everyone.
@Kanindota - Yes, getting celebrity autographs appraised is an option you can do when the autograph is in your inventory. I didn't travel to Del Sol Valley, Brytani just appeared trying to climb the rock wall beside Sakura. So that worked out well. Hers are worth a good amount. The amount depends on the celebrity level.
"does anyone know if short, normal or long aging length affects Sim in-game time or is it exactly the same for any aging option?" The answer to this is yes for any of the lifespans. I just copied the below from Carl's Guide. So if you are on short lifespan, you will have less time to do things to get your aspiration completed. Most of us are playing with Aging Off. I hope that answers your question.
I don't really use CC in my game, so if you use a lot, I'll have to remodel the Sim as close as I can to the actual Sim. But I'd like to have everyone in-game!
@Hermitgirl What a cute house! The gallery has so many great builds, and it's nice to download an empty house so you can make sure the furnishings really match your sims needs.
@SoulGal7 I own like zero packs, as we all know, so since I don't have Get Famous, celebrity autographs aren't a choice for me. I love seeing you guys play with all these packs I don't have because I honestly don't even know what's available in some of these packs so it's cool to see you playing with features that aren't familiar to me - makes for exciting updates haha.
@Skeilah Jules is 90% CC lol, I have so much custom content in my game. But I just uploaded a version of her to the gallery that has no CC that's as close as I can get to her look as she does in my game - honestly maybe a pack I don't have has better hair for her so please feel free to edit lol. My gallery ID is permanentrose537
Comments
@permanentrose - Regarding the one month per world, I am going to run into that problem, too, because I don't have the Spellcaster Pack and the Vampire Pack. I might get the Spellcaster Pack, but I know I won't get the Vampire Pack. So, since this is about getting aspirations done, I had kind of compiled a list of what the aspiration would be for each new world. So, for Vampire Pack, there will be 3 aspirations, Vampire Family, Good Vamp and Master Vamp. So, I figured for that one, I would live in either Newcrest of Magnolia Grove, and the Vampire Family would match Parenting. So, for the other two aspirations, I was going to challenge myself and do the two aspirations for the Mischief Area. For Spellcaster, I thought that Master Chef and Mixmaster worked rather well for Purveyor of Potions and Spellcraft and Sorcery. For that one I was going to live in Newcrest.
What you can do for location, is live in a different part of that world, or a different neighborhood. So for Newcrest, I normally take the cheapest lot near the playground. So that could be a first lot, then the next month, just move to the side lots, like Hillside Highlands. Anyway, just a thought. Not necessarily a new world, but a new neighborhood in the same world.
Sulani, Day 2, Tuesday, First Winter
Household funds: §265
Playthrough Notes:
Extra
I'm gonna read up and post comments tomorrow, I'm not up to date with it all but I am enjoying seeing how everyone's playing. And yes, I wish I had more packs (but I am supposed to be living thriftily [sp?])
I'm modelling River's photos after a friend of mine's Instagram account. They have it really artsy and keep their face off frame and it made interesting photos. So for now, River's face will be a secret until or when I can be persuaded
Keep 'em coming guys, loving this challenge and how I'm encouraged to explore the details put into the game as well as create a mental map of where all the nearest toilets are
@permanentrose , thank you
@Karababy52 , first of all, congrats about getting in to Friday Highlights!
@Skeilah , thank you
@Hermitgirl , Thank you
Okay.. so now your school outfit looks like this.. mmhh...
Melody Connors, day 3
Start funds 247 simoleons.
End of the day funds 824 simoleons.
Back from school, not a happy camper
Just eat it!! It is a good tomato!!
Finally a teen.. tho not so sure if he is the best company, Wolfgang got mad at her because she won
And she did that by herself
Back home , planting the tomatoes.
She did not use the onsen, why she has been all day in same clothing
AND now you are wearing that school outfit.. game.. why?? If we cannot choose, please stick at one outfit per sim!!!
Melody Connors, day 4
Start funds 824 simoleons.
End of the day funds 1755 simoleons.
Yet again not a happy camper after school, her grades are great, tho
Okay, lets try to get you some aspiration points, believe me , you NEED that 500 points!!
Okay.. fun red.. lets go to lounge.. comon sims, stop tipping Björn!!! Gladly Moira tipped Melody
Let's do homework and eat while at here.
Sweety, I KNOW you are tired, just get the last needed points from swimming for an hour!! Oh and get the onions too!
YAY.. always welcome trait!
Back on home lot, just before 5am (cause of the plants) ... nice to start the day with all green motives!
I forgot to take the "mandatory" fishing pic, but she fished 7 salmons among other things, why the funds went up
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@Skeilah I missed that you'd posted Bryon's diary entry for today earlier around the same time I did. I love what he says about living in a tent. He really seems to be enjoying his new found freedom out in the wilds of Mt. Komorebi. At least for now.
@permanentrose You're very welcome! Thanks for what you said about the relationship between Tessa and Josh! You're right, I think having her BFF by her side has helped a lot. As a result of spending so much time together and sharing such a life-changing experience, she has a big crush on him now. I'm guessing she doesn't look at him as a big brother anymore. It appears, so far, Josh might have stronger feelings for her too. We'll see...
I like your plans to help with not having very many packs! I wanted to point out though, there is a Mod to make vacation worlds liveable if you wanted to try it. I don't know who it's by though, I just read about it in another thread somewhere. I personally don't use Mods in TS4, but have nothing against them at all and used many in other iterations. They can be wonderful in situations such as this, or to simply enhance gameplay.
I thought about adding Magnolia Promenade as a world in the timeline, but I see it as more of an extension of Willow Creek for retail, even though I've had Sims simply living there a few times too. I think it's a great option for those missing packs. Perhaps, instead of doing a base game aspiration in that world, it might be fun to have a retail store instead for our Sims in substitution? It's totally up to you though, but thought I'd mention it as another option. You're more than welcome to simply do a base game aspiration instead, of course.
@SoulGal7 I really like the solution to the missing packs problem that you've suggested too! Very smart opting to substitute for similar aspirations you have available in your game and live in several neighborhoods in one of the worlds you do have, I love that! Perhaps I should put that in the Rules/Guidelines?
@Kanindota I wondered if you were planning something interesting by not showing River's face! Very intriguing! Good luck setting up your new WP account. I have one and needed a lot of help and time to figure it all out. I don't use it anymore though except to follow and/or like, comment on the stories of others I enjoy. It's the blog site of choice for most SimLit, but I personally find it a bit intimidating. o.O I'll update your challenge link after you've finished switching over to WP.
It does make it a bit harder to get things done by sending your Teen to school, but I ended up sending Tessa too since it was getting a bit annoying always implementing the cheats to keep her from failing and possibly culled. o.O Good luck to you and River, I'm glad you're having fun with my little challenge and look forward to reading more of River's journey.
@Ellupelluellu Thank you, I was so surprised, but pleased to see this challenge in the Friday highlights!
Glad she finally met another teen! I personally don't really don't care for Wolfgang. He's *cough* missing from my custom template save. Did he swipe the chess board clean out of anger when he lost? I've had Hugo Villareal do that a couple times when he lost to my Sims. Silly Sims... 🙄 Cool that she found some tomatoes too! Day 4 - Boy, she really, really doesn't like school.
@Ellupelluellu So weird and entertaining that her school uniform keeps changing. I enjoy your commentary, especially in the moments when Melody is frustrated but you're forcing her to do something anyway. Hopefully she can meet some teens a bit friendlier than Wolfgang too, haha
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
Oh, and if Jules has any children by then, they can live at the store with her, but they come home from school on the home lot. A bit annoying, but a minor issue really. Oh, and your Sim won't give birth on a retail lot either. Just a heads-up in case Jules gets pregnant while living there. One of the biggest perks of living on a retail lot is your bills will be very, very small if you don't put anything on the home lot. I had a Sim with a huge store and apartment worth over 100K and she only paid 33 simoleans in bills!
Of course, Jules could just live on the home lot and run the store on another lot separately too and avoid the issues. Just thought I'd mention those things since most Simmers like to have their Sims live on the store lot.
@Ellupelluellu Oh yeah, San Myshuno isn't very tiny living friendly at all. Good point about Melody most likely having enough funds to vacation for a month in Selvadorada. By exploring for treasure, excavating etc., she'll have lots of simoleans very quickly to use for rent!
Bryon's Diary
“Ahhh, finally! It’s warm enough to swim in the Wakaba River. I wanted to try that for soooo long now, but I never got the chance because the water was frozen up. It’s still a little cold, but I managed to swim in it for a whole hour! Super refreshing. I went to the Onsen bathhouse to warm myself up afterwards, but then I bumped into this Japanese Food stall. Must be a pop-up one because I’ve never saw it before (I placed it there temporarily, hehe). A nice chance for me to try ramen! I’m not used to eating with chopsticks, but I managed just fine. Now, off to the bathhouse!”
Bonus Pic of the Day: I couldn't decide which one I liked best!
Notes
He threw the book on the table and sat on the loveseat to watch World News. While he was doing that, I saw some random townie walk by the window. She wasn't there to visit, she passed by the front door. Instead she went around to the side and started rifling through the trash can! How dare she? She was making a mess with piles of trash on the ground everywhere. So what did Josh do? Turned off the TV and went out there to pick a fight with her which he won!
A notice that GeekCon was happening popped up so I sent Josh to give him something to do. I decided it wasn't cheating since Tessa is the main character. While there he participated in the Hackathon and Gaming contests. Being Level 10 in both skills, he won both! He got a new computer and a gaming console. I thought about only letting Josh use those, especially the computer since Tessa already has a laptop. But Josh has been living there using her simoleans to make food, so I figured maybe she could use them sometimes as a sort've 'rental' agreement kind of thing. He also fixes broken stuff, which is very helpful.
Josh traveled back home when Tessa came home from school and then after she did her homework, ate and slept awhile, they went on another hike, to the Shrine this time. Tessa still needs to survive 3 wildlife attacks. The Bamboo forest looks so pretty in Winter and they enjoyed looking up at the stars. Tessa stopped once to tell a hiking story to him, but the hike was pretty much without incident, no attacks. *sigh* Just before they reached the Shrine, the hike together command fell out of Josh's active queue. That happened last time too, so annoying! I had to put them in a group and have Tessa call him over. They checked out the Shrine, made a snowpal and then did some cloudgazing. While they were lying there, a random townie walked over to the snowpal and started cheering and clapping in glee over it.
I took a bunch of beautiful landscape screenshots and then sent them to the mountain area to go hiking there to see the Cave. Wow, what a pretty area, it's filled with a bunch of those red bridges throughout. At the cave they shouted into it together and I noticed Sims could give a good fortune offering. Tessa offered a chrysanthemum, but all Josh had was upgrade parts, skill books and deterrents in his inventory. I had Tessa give him a blackberry and he offered that.
Lastly, I sent them back to the Onsen for a soak in the hot springs to warm up after their hike. Once they got in I noticed Tessa was embarrassed. I didn't know why at first, thought maybe she was nervous sitting half naked next to her half naked BFF or something. Nope. Turns out she was embarrassed that her offering at the Cave wasn't good enough. I guess those spirits like blackberries better than flowers since Josh didn't get the same moodlet.
Now, what happened next has me totally confused. While they were sitting there, Josh decided to flatter her. Uh... I thought the Flatter option was only a romance thing. Then he showed off his muscles! o.O Okaaaay, I'm pretty sure that's another romance thing, right? It was funny though because they weren't looking at each other when he did those two things. When they were getting out, I noticed someone else had been in there with them the whole time, Kyoshi! He looked very sad too. Poor guy. Before they left, they were standing by the hot springs just having a chat and Josh again flattered Tessa! This time though, they were looking at each other and the smolder between them was clear, especially the way Josh was looking at her. Sheesh! I don't get it, I mean, I like it, but that's not supposed to happen between a teen and young adult!
They talked and stuff for a little bit more after that, shared a hug and went home back to business as usual. That's where I ended my play session for the night. I don't know what I'm going to do to get the elusive wildlife to attack Tessa. Anybody have a suggestion? Maybe she needs to be hiking alone? Let me know! Thanks!
Happy Simming!
Extras
For some reason Tessa felt it necessary to take a selfie right in the middle of their hike. 🙄
I got a kick out of Josh's facial expression, it almost looks like he's thinking, 'Teenagers and their cell phones. Sheesh!'
No reason for this one, other than I thought Tessa looked pretty here. Her eyes match the Turquoise in her outfit.
Tessa! Stop looking at his butt! I mean, I don't blame you, but you're making Kyoshi sad.
After those smoldering looks between them, Tessa reached out and touched Josh. What? Uh... o.O
Psyche! She was just telling him a joke!
Back home down to business as usual.
—
Update 4 - Getting Into a Groove
Notes:
Jules has the hotheaded trait, so that means that sometimes she will get herself in a mood and stomp around for a while. Also notable angry interactions are taking an angry poop, slamming the fridge door, and autonomously kicking trashcans and destroying dollhouses. But Jules has a good heart so she'll fix the things she destroys in these bouts of anger.
Emmett Keyes keeps inviting Jules over, which is an easy way to fill all of her needs. I bought her the reward trait 'always welcome' so she doesn't get yelled at for making herself at home now. Still, she likes to continue to do some favors here and there to show her thanks. She's raising her handiness skills since she has now repaired the Keyes' dishwasher and toilet for them.
Fishing with a friend fills the socialization need, helps complete Jules' aspiration, and gives her items to sell to earn money, so she and Emmett have spent some time fishing together.
She also caught a toy while fishing, and instead of selling it like I do with most things she catches, she decided to gift it to Emmett's little sister, Eliza. I enjoy finding little ways for Jules to connect with the world around her.
I tried to buy Jules a fridge, forgetting that electronics break in the rain, so that was a bust lol. The fridge is in her inventory for now. I still need to save up a bit more money for her before I start building her a home. For now, she also bought a cooler so she can grab quick meals on her home lot now. I may start looking into odd jobs for her since she has the time to complete them since she's not in school.
So far, she still earns all of her money by fishing and collecting odd items to sell - like things lightening strikes leave behind, pet gifts, and items found digging.
I was trying to think of teenage male sims in my world I might be interested in her getting together with, and I had one in mind for her and was trying to think of a way for them to meet without cheating, and it was as if the sims universe had heard my wishes lol. Mario Harrison, teen cutie, called Jules and asked her to come hang out at his house in San Myshuno. I'm focusing on building their friendship for now, but who knows?
Jules autonomously destroyed Mario's step-sister's dollhouse in a fit of hot-headed anger, so along with repairing the dollhouse, she did some extra kind acts and scooped the cat litter and bottle fed one of Mario's half-siblings who was making quite a racket.
Lots of photos today, I know, but a lot of these are just too amusing. Here are two more screenshots I took but didn't know where to add them above.
She got embarrassed after dropping the salt shaker in the soup while cooking
I didn't realize the soup was spoiled when I told you to eat it, sorry Jules! (this is what happens when I store food in her inventory and don't have the headline effects on since they mess up my screenshots lol)
Simoleon count: 626
I know I said I might not have time to post everyday, but I'm invested right now lol
@Skeilah - Hi, I think it might be Eco Innovator Aspiration because you need to reach level 10 of the Civic Designer Career and I don't think as a teen you can get that job.
@SoulGal7 Ahhh, thank you!! I also switched Evergreen Harbor with Windenburg. My Windenburg world was May. At that time Bryon will be Young Adult and able to complete the aspiration^^
So I was really tired of Roxanne "living" on a community lot and by Monday she made enough to buy a micro-home. Thank goodness for the gallery! This little gem is by heather4571 and cost $2984 for the unfurnished version. I was really excited to move her in.
I got her the marketable trait and definitely noticed her paintings selling for more. I furnished it, painting as she went to replenish what she put out and get a buffer. Mostly for this gameplay session she painted and invited friends over for social and did homework. It was a school week also so rinse and repeat. I really like living in smaller places with my sims so the greening stuff is all nearby, so settling in happily.
While painting she finished her Mt. Komorebi Sightseer aspiration on Tuesday - she had to be mindful and was able to do that while painting.
Roxi is also a celebrity notable newcomer.. but if that gets to be irritating I might have to have her step out of the spotlight. She already has the refined palate trait and that quirk bugs me since vendor food will make her uncomfortable.
My settings also somehow messed up and the game warned me it was her birthday soon so I flipped it back to aging off! Really weird because I always play with aging off. The calendar had also switched to 7 days...double weird! Maybe I have a ghost in my machine!
Anyway with the tiny living bonuses and her own painting skills there should be no issue with getting ahead pretty quick.
extras:
Suddenly she sees Brytani Chu - a celebrity - rock climbing beside her! Oh, she should ask her for an autograph! And she gets one! Yes! Then she asks for a hug! Again, yes! Well, this is pretty good and I'm wondering if Sakura should ask Brytani for another autograph. Hey, she's broke and needs simoleons. So she does and she gets another one! And another, and another, and another! I have never had this happen before! While she is collecting autographs, I get a pop-up for the Festival of Youth in the Wakaba neighborhood (Sunday 10 am - 6 pm). She isn't really a kid, but then I remember...they might have a special festival vending machine where she can buy a festival outfit! The minutes are counting down, and she continues to get autographs. Finally, Brytani says no to another autograph (she must have been getting writer's cramp). But the good news is that Sakura got 19 autographs! They are worth $50 each to start and then you call to get them appraised and they jump to $300, wait overnight and they are worth $600 each! She quickly gets one appraised and travels to The Festival of Youth. With only an hour left until the festival ends, she frantically searches for the special vending machine. And realizes there isn't one. I then read the fine print for that Aspiration that says that the vending machines are only available at the Festival of Snow and the Festival of Light. Ah shucks! Her needs are in the red so she travels to the Hazakura Lounge, gets chips, and calls to get the other 18 appraised. Wow! What a day! She now has $5,700 worth in autographs, and if she waits, they will be worth $11,400 simoleons! I have her take a selfie and I get a pop up that she has a Good Reputation! She also has an "Impressed" Sentiment with Brytani Chu. Way to go Sakura!
Oh shucks indeed xD that was exactly my plan for tomorrow. What a bummer.
Never knew about getting autographs appraised, is this one of the features of Get Famous cos if it is then I want to try...wait I'm in Sulani. The grind is real over there. I haven't played today...:😥 to post for tomorrow.
I wanted to say @Ellupelluellu is on top of most Simoleons so far (not that it's a competition) until your landslide of a whooping 5K @SoulGal7
I'm excited to start Winderburg in February, as well.
And @Hermitgirl love the home and it's awesome to see that Roxanne is smashing it. I need to give River more of a push and write the SimLit later
Also does anyone know if short, normal or long aging length affects Sim in-game time or is it exactly the same for any aging option?
I may try to get River up to speed and be in synch with everyone.
"does anyone know if short, normal or long aging length affects Sim in-game time or is it exactly the same for any aging option?" The answer to this is yes for any of the lifespans. I just copied the below from Carl's Guide. So if you are on short lifespan, you will have less time to do things to get your aspiration completed. Most of us are playing with Aging Off. I hope that answers your question.
I don't really use CC in my game, so if you use a lot, I'll have to remodel the Sim as close as I can to the actual Sim. But I'd like to have everyone in-game!
@SoulGal7 I own like zero packs, as we all know, so since I don't have Get Famous, celebrity autographs aren't a choice for me. I love seeing you guys play with all these packs I don't have because I honestly don't even know what's available in some of these packs so it's cool to see you playing with features that aren't familiar to me - makes for exciting updates haha.
@Skeilah Jules is 90% CC lol, I have so much custom content in my game. But I just uploaded a version of her to the gallery that has no CC that's as close as I can get to her look as she does in my game - honestly maybe a pack I don't have has better hair for her so please feel free to edit lol. My gallery ID is permanentrose537