Alright.. so I searched and searched.. but not having any luck.. and as you can see, I have done it before, but don't remember how I did it.. where do I go to edit my signature?? I'd like to ad the link to the plum tree ap thing. The help thread I found looks way massive and you ladies in here have been so friendly, I hope you can direct me to where I can go to read what I need to educate myself properly.
@Fizzstix all of your toddlers/children are adorable!! To change your signature: go to your profile, click preferences on the right hand side, then click signature settings on the left hand panel.
@Fizzstix all of your toddlers/children are adorable!! To change your signature: go to your profile, click preferences on the right hand side, then click signature settings on the left hand panel.
Thank you! and OMG how did I NOT see that?? Thanks!
@Fizzstix I completely forgot to tell you how much I love your family (especially the diverse genetics) and that I've added your family tree link to the linklist @XDJSIMMERX Ohh, when I hear the name Phoebe I automatically assume that the mother / simmer is a fan of charmed... Sorry Charmed is a TV show about three good witches, Piper, Phoebe and Paige. It's pretty old though but still lots of fun to watch!
I'm working on a house right now and I've never been so excited about any of my buildings. I feel like this one is going to be my best by far. It's huge and has a playground, garden and cowplant area outside and inside there's enough room for... Everything! I plan on making it a shell with just the necessary furnishings and then having my sims work towards buying and furnishing it. I'll upload it to the gallery and show pictures here later so that you guys can use it as well if you'd like
It looks very much like a house from my home country though
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
@Chellejo Well if you don't have city living you don't have to use lot traits, they are still optional. And it's not every 5 generations but every 5 babies. In the end you can still change that rule if you don't like it. And about the club encouraged / discouraged activities is fine but I would disallow perks in general. If that also means that having a club makes no sense then we might as well just go back to there not being any restrictions. I would like to make the rules smaller and easier to understand, not even more complicated than they already were.
I'm feeling a bit under pressure right now. I can't make rules to accommodate everyone's individual alterations. You're welcome to make alterations but I don't feel like everything has to be added into the core. This is not specifically meant towards you though, @Chellejo.
@XDJSIMMERX I used photoshop. I thought about opening up a little graphics corner where people can request avatars / signatures or banners from me but I'm at this point in time too busy to do it. Once I'm done rewriting the rules and doing other stuff I need to do I might open it.
@Erica87 Don't feel pressured to make any changes based on my feedback. I'm not inclined to interfere in anyone else's play style. My input was just to help people realize just how powerful clubs can be, so that they can make informed decisions about whether to use them. Some challenges do ban club content outright because of this, but I have no particularly strong opinion as to whether you should do the same. I only gave the feedback because some one specifically asked.
My intent was to be helpful, an not to create stress on your account. I know how much effort this sort of project takes, and I appreciate it. If you feel changes are appropriate make them thoughtfully, and in due time. Also feel welcome to ask if you want any further assistance or feedback. I'm knowledgeable about the game, and a halfway competent writer/editor, so always willing to make myself useful, time permitting. I don't necessarily haunt this thread all the time, but I'm pretty active on the forums in general. Feel welcome anytime.
@meubanks@ChelleJo I'm sorry for being so rude in my post, I didn't mean to be this harsh. It's just that the past day has been a bit stressful and this one proves to be similar right now and it was getting to me a bit but I didn't mean it personal and I'd like to apologize for it. I'm actually thankful for your input @meubanks because I do want to limit possibilities for exploitation. Do you guys feel like disallowing the use of club perks would be too limiting? Should we only disallow the perks that help with faster skill gain?
I haven't played with clubs all that much, the only thing I use them for is to quickly gather friends (or potential baby daddies) in one place. For example, my matriarch's kids who moved out are in a club with her so I can quickly call them over for birthdays and the like by starting a club gathering. That's what I do with clubs. But I see that there's definitely potential for exploitation and I'd like the challenge to stay fair and balanced for everyone.
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Alexandrea gave birth to her seventh child, a girl Kiara. Here's hoping the librarian father doesn't catch the stalker glitch and show up at the house!
Her having the baby brought Luke (who isn't even the father?!) to the house into a pre-parental panic. And then days later Akira showed up as well like what the hell!! And he couldn't be asked to leave either!
So, I had to result to building a death room and I lured the two of them in it and locked the door to everyone. Now we wait and see who will die first. I didn't want to have to resort to it, but once Akira showed up as well I kind of lost it and had to.
@Fizzstix I completely forgot to tell you how much I love your family (especially the diverse genetics) and that I've added your family tree link to the linklist @XDJSIMMERX Ohh, when I hear the name Phoebe I automatically assume that the mother / simmer is a fan of charmed... Sorry Charmed is a TV show about three good witches, Piper, Phoebe and Paige. It's pretty old though but still lots of fun to watch!
I'm working on a house right now and I've never been so excited about any of my buildings. I feel like this one is going to be my best by far. It's huge and has a playground, garden and cowplant area outside and inside there's enough room for... Everything! I plan on making it a shell with just the necessary furnishings and then having my sims work towards buying and furnishing it. I'll upload it to the gallery and show pictures here later so that you guys can use it as well if you'd like
It looks very much like a house from my home country though
Thank you @Erica87 .. I also think of Charmed when I hear the name Phoebe, Paige or or Piper.
@CactiSimmer Oh gosh, two baby daddies around at the same time... I'd loose it as well! Did you find a cowplant? If you haven't yet, go to the park in Oasis Springs and fish in the pond that is far in the back part of the surrounding area. You can fish for a berry pretty easily there. Put the cowplant in the same room with them and if you're lucky she'll swallow the same sim twice in a row = death by cowplant Unfortunately I'm not even sure if killing them will stop them from ruining our lives @Fizzstix Right? It's like an unintentional reflex or something
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Liberty after giving birth to the twin at the hospital:
At home:
Macking with Marcus:
Kristine meeting Johanna Flex:
Devan eyeing up daddy Conner:
Liberty playing with Devan:
Macking with Travis Scott:
The twins using the potty:
Devan toddling around:
Johanna getting play time with daddy Marcus:
More pictures to come in another post.. I don't want to overwhelm in one post.
@CactiSimmer Oh gosh, two baby daddies around at the same time... I'd loose it as well! Did you find a cowplant? If you haven't yet, go to the park in Oasis Springs and fish in the pond that is far in the back part of the surrounding area. You can fish for a berry pretty easily there. Put the cowplant in the same room with them and if you're lucky she'll swallow the same sim twice in a row = death by cowplant Unfortunately I'm not even sure if killing them will stop them from ruining our lives @Fizzstix Right? It's like an unintentional reflex or something
I may alone in this, but I don't mind when the daddies hanging around. Though one time she did get caught in the act and had that moodlet for a while, but meh.. oh well. At least the toddler get some play time with their daddies. I have some cute pictures of them playing. The daddies do eventually wonder off without a nary goodbye.
@Erica87 I haven't found a cowplant, when I have cowplants I always seem to have bad luck and my own sims eat the cake so I'm just going to use a death room. When I have more money i'm going to build a death dungeon like someone on here suggested. I am not above killing all of them as soon as she gets pregnant, that's how annoying they are!
@Fizzstix I think you are alone in that, or maybe just in the minority. At first I was fine with it but ghost Jacques scaring the toddlers really pushed me and then Luke kept picking up the toddler and putting them down every time i tried to feed them, and this was when the toddlers were so hungry social services were threatening to take them away. Plus he was walking around my house sleeping in my beds, eating my food (and Alexandrea has almost no money so when she spends $11 making fruit salad, that salad's for her family only), and he was using the washroom and breaking things (we only have 2 washrooms, he can't be hogging it!) and couldn't even repair them properly like!!! it was time for him to go!!
@Fizzstix I think you are alone in that, or maybe just in the minority. At first I was fine with it but ghost Jacques scaring the toddlers really pushed me and then Luke kept picking up the toddler and putting them down every time i tried to feed them, and this was when the toddlers were so hungry social services were threatening to take them away. Plus he was walking around my house sleeping in my beds, eating my food (and Alexandrea has almost no money so when she spends $11 making fruit salad, that salad's for her family only), and he was using the washroom and breaking things (we only have 2 washrooms, he can't be hogging it!) and couldn't even repair them properly like!!! it was time for him to go!!
I have the fridge locked in a "room" for household member only XD
I've done the 100 Baby Challenge, check it out on my tumblr.
@CactiSimmer Lock the room (or pen, in my house I've got them fenced in in the yard... Their fence even looks kind of like a real farm animal fence) for everyone, then unlock it whenever your sims need to feed it or when they lure a poor soul into the room. Lock it again afterwards. Hungry sims will eat the cake so make sure that yours are fed when they are feeding the cowplant or luring people into the room.
I've had a cowplant called Bessie in my first baby challenge and just had it in the frontyard without any sort of fencing. People went to play with it but I've never had one of my sims eat the cake because I always remember to feed it rightaway It even helped out because if the social or fun need of my sims was low they'd go talk to or play with the cowplant. They're more helpful than dangerous in my opinion
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
@CactiSimmer Lock the room (or pen, in my house I've got them fenced in in the yard... Their fence even looks kind of like a real farm animal fence) for everyone, then unlock it whenever your sims need to feed it or when they lure a poor soul into the room. Lock it again afterwards. Hungry sims will eat the cake so make sure that yours are fed when they are feeding the cowplant or luring people into the room.
I've had a cowplant called Bessie in my first baby challenge and just had it in the frontyard without any sort of fencing. People went to play with it but I've never had one of my sims eat the cake because I always remember to feed it rightaway It even helped out because if the social or fun need of my sims was low they'd go talk to or play with the cowplant. They're more helpful than dangerous in my opinion
Do sims actually eat the cake tho? I mean they usually do the first time but they need to eat it twice before dying and somehow they never did eat it the second time when I was playing with it... They were more likely to die from starvation or sleep deprivation (if i locked them in there) than cow plant.
I've done the 100 Baby Challenge, check it out on my tumblr.
Do sims actually eat the cake tho? I mean they usually do the first time but they need to eat it twice before dying and somehow they never did eat it the second time when I was playing with it... They were more likely to die from starvation or sleep deprivation (if i locked them in there) than cow plant.
I thought they eat it the second time too if they're hungry enough. Hmm, maybe I'm remembering it wrong or I used a mod for that.
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Do sims actually eat the cake tho? I mean they usually do the first time but they need to eat it twice before dying and somehow they never did eat it the second time when I was playing with it... They were more likely to die from starvation or sleep deprivation (if i locked them in there) than cow plant.
I thought they eat it the second time too if they're hungry enough. Hmm, maybe I'm remembering it wrong or I used a mod for that.
I knew there was a mod so that it only need them to eat once to die. It's been awhile since I played with a cow plant tho so I might be wrong. Or my file was corrupted (always a possibility).
I've done the 100 Baby Challenge, check it out on my tumblr.
@meubanks@ChelleJo I'm sorry for being so rude in my post, I didn't mean to be this harsh. It's just that the past day has been a bit stressful and this one proves to be similar right now and it was getting to me a bit but I didn't mean it personal and I'd like to apologize for it. I'm actually thankful for your input @meubanks because I do want to limit possibilities for exploitation. Do you guys feel like disallowing the use of club perks would be too limiting? Should we only disallow the perks that help with faster skill gain?
I haven't played with clubs all that much, the only thing I use them for is to quickly gather friends (or potential baby daddies) in one place. For example, my matriarch's kids who moved out are in a club with her so I can quickly call them over for birthdays and the like by starting a club gathering. That's what I do with clubs. But I see that there's definitely potential for exploitation and I'd like the challenge to stay fair and balanced for everyone.
@Erica87 I didn't think you were being harsh or rude. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't feel overwhelmed or obligated by what I intended as a helpful suggestion. To be fair, the clubs that I use are definitely set up for min-maxing, and they typically only include the members of the household, which is what makes running a 24/7 gathering practical. The "normal" way that most people use them is probably less exploitative than my particular setup is. My goal in normal game play is to move kids out with a decent head start on skills and such. I'm not trying to age them up quicker, I'm trying to max them out before their birthday. However, the overall effect is that I do age them up well ahead of schedule, because there isn't much of an advantage to keeping them as children once all of the aspirations are finished.
The main thing that makes the clubs exploitable is the fact that you can rocket the kids so quickly through school performance that it allows you to age them up to teen more quickly, which allows you to move them out more quickly in turn.The matriarch can potentially have more children per generation. In truth, the skills themselves aren't that big of a deal on a non-heir who will eventually be moved out. It's the increased speed in raising the children that seems the most unbalanced to me.
Having had the chance to think it through more closely, maybe the perk to restrict is the "Networked Club" perk, which boosts school performance, and the emotion specific vibes, which allow them to stay focused all day. As an added bonus, this change would have no effect on the matriarch, who can't work outside the home any way.
Since none of the challenges goals are specifically impacted by skills, this approach would allow clubs to still feel useful, while reducing their most exploitable advantages.
My shortlist of recommendations:
1.If clubs are used, the Networked club trait cannot be purchased for clubs which allow children. Reason- this perk gives an advantage which directly benefits the challenge by allowing faster school promotions.
2. Possibly restrict Rally the Troops. The ability to fill all club members needs on-demand with a single mouse click has obvious advantages to just about any challenge. A case can be made either way for this one, but it is a powerful perk. Note that this one only works during an active gathering, while "Networked Club" only requires a sim to belong to the club. Play style has a big impact on the usefulness of this perk, but when you know how to use it, it's incredibly strong.
3. Restrict all Emotion-based club vibes except for the default happiness vibe and it's upgrades. The ability to give a strong emotional boost on demand has obvious advantages, particularly with Focused, because the ability to stay very focused all day directly influences school promotions. It is virtually impossible to get an 8 hr focused mood any other way for kids. That's why the vibes are a bit exploitative in my opinion. The max level vibe is difficult to override. Even if the kid's needs start to fail or they get stressed, they will probably not lose the focused state.
If you do these rules, the skill boosts themselves wouldn't be particularly unbalancing. Since the "goal is to get them an A and age them up, the skills are not critically important to the challenge. The kids would gain skills faster, but they would progress through school at a normal pace, and therefore not really break the intent of the challenge. This approach removes the unfair advantages, with the fewest number of rule additions, while allowing the most flexibility for players who want to use clubs. It levels the playing field without unnecessary restrictions on anyone's play style.
If any of my convoluted rambling is not clearly explained feel welcome to ask for clarification or further feedback. My recommendations are only suggestions. I'll support your decisions whether you use them or not.
@meubanks I think it would be best to implement your suggestions, to avoid confusion however I'd just disallow both networked club and rally the troops, as well as the emotion based perks but allow everything else. I feel like that'd be a good balance. @SuzieSocks I was debating whether I should explain Prue or just leave it at '3 sisters' To be fair though, of all the sisters Prue is my least favourite one, my favourite being Piper
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
My shortlist of recommendations:
1.If clubs are used, the Networked club trait cannot be purchased for clubs which allow children. Reason- this perk gives an advantage which directly benefits the challenge by allowing faster school promotions.
2. Possibly restrict Rally the Troops. The ability to fill all club members needs on-demand with a single mouse click has obvious advantages to just about any challenge. A case can be made either way for this one, but it is a powerful perk. Note that this one only works during an active gathering, while "Networked Club" only requires a sim to belong to the club. Play style has a big impact on the usefulness of this perk, but when you know how to use it, it's incredibly strong.
3. Restrict all Emotion-based club vibes except for the default happiness vibe and it's upgrades. The ability to give a strong emotional boost on demand has obvious advantages, particularly with Focused, because the ability to stay very focused all day directly influences school promotions. It is virtually impossible to get an 8 hr focused mood any other way for kids. That's why the vibes are a bit exploitative in my opinion. The max level vibe is difficult to override. Even if the kid's needs start to fail or they get stressed, they will probably not lose the focused state.
If you do these rules, the skill boosts themselves wouldn't be particularly unbalancing. Since the "goal is to get them an A and age them up, the skills are not critically important to the challenge. The kids would gain skills faster, but they would progress through school at a normal pace, and therefore not really break the intent of the challenge. This approach removes the unfair advantages, with the fewest number of rule additions, while allowing the most flexibility for players who want to use clubs. It levels the playing field without unnecessary restrictions on anyone's play style.
If any of my convoluted rambling is not clearly explained feel welcome to ask for clarification or further feedback. My recommendations are only suggestions. I'll support your decisions whether you use them or not.
1. I think another option could be that you either use the Networked perk or a skill perk. In the end to get an A in school you need to go at least 2 times for grade but you also have to have a skill at level 4 (children)/3 (teen). So the problem seems to be when you have both. Altho I have no idea whatever the have the same amount of "power". A test could be having a kid in a club with the perk and one with the skill and see how they progress.
2. The Rally The Troops should be restricted I think. Part of the challenge is to care for everyone's moods. And the Rally the Troops seems to be kinda without limits. I remember seeing people using in it a lot. It doesn't even seems to have a cool down period. You only need to get the perk once and you're settle for the rest of the challenge. It's not like a mood fixer potion the require you to buy with aspirations points every time.
3. On the emotions I don't really have an opinion. They are easily influenced in other ways anyway so.
I've done the 100 Baby Challenge, check it out on my tumblr.
@Mareviola Thanks for your input! I think it'd be easiest if we'd disallow the networked club perk because getting a skill to level three isn't really a big problem anyway, I feel like the school performance boost would probably be more useful. I didn't know rally the troops was such an effective perk, it's really good that I've been made aware of that now because I would've never thought about limiting any of that because it's not how I personally use the clubs.
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Forum mafias & Minecraft, mainly. Taking a break from the sims for a while!
@Erica87 I agree. Just wanted to give an option in case people though it was too limiting.
Rally the troops really is powerful. It was the reason why I asked about get together rules in the first place. But then I noticed none of you where (ab)using it (or the club system in general) that way. Which is not what I would have done. XD
I remember when I first "discovered" the perk (I think it was a video of the sim supply) and my immediate thought was "that would be great for the 100 baby challenge!". 'Cause trying to keep them in a good mood so they could do things was probably the hardest thing I faced during my first challenge.
Now however I feel like I found a good balance.
I've done the 100 Baby Challenge, check it out on my tumblr.
@Fizzstix I think you are alone in that, or maybe just in the minority. At first I was fine with it but ghost Jacques scaring the toddlers really pushed me and then Luke kept picking up the toddler and putting them down every time i tried to feed them, and this was when the toddlers were so hungry social services were threatening to take them away. Plus he was walking around my house sleeping in my beds, eating my food (and Alexandrea has almost no money so when she spends $11 making fruit salad, that salad's for her family only), and he was using the washroom and breaking things (we only have 2 washrooms, he can't be hogging it!) and couldn't even repair them properly like!!! it was time for him to go!!
I have the fridge locked in a "room" for household member only XD
There have only been a couple of times that I ran out of food and my toddlers were hungry and my matriarch was too tired to cook. I had her grab a quick meal of cereal, then made her stop eating and then had the toddlers grab it for a meal instead. Otherwise, I always have my matriarch make a couple of meals at a time so there is something to eat. I also almost never feed my toddlers IN the high chairs, unless my sim autonomously does it, then I have to remember to let the toddlers down. I have them grab their own food from the table or wherever it is set out.. and then they toddle off to the closest place to sit, or even they have just sat down on the floor at times and ate right where they are. Or, as @Mareviola suggested, put the fridge in a room only family can access.
The main reason I opt to not kill my baby daddies is in my 100 baby game, when the kids have aged to YA, I move them out into their father's house, so they have someone to live with, if they have a house. (They almost always do, and even if they don't, I move them into their household.)
Comments
Thank you! and OMG how did I NOT see that?? Thanks!
@XDJSIMMERX Ohh, when I hear the name Phoebe I automatically assume that the mother / simmer is a fan of charmed... Sorry
I'm working on a house right now and I've never been so excited about any of my buildings. I feel like this one is going to be my best by far. It's huge and has a playground, garden and cowplant area outside and inside there's enough room for... Everything!
It looks very much like a house from my home country though
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
@Erica87 Don't feel pressured to make any changes based on my feedback. I'm not inclined to interfere in anyone else's play style. My input was just to help people realize just how powerful clubs can be, so that they can make informed decisions about whether to use them. Some challenges do ban club content outright because of this, but I have no particularly strong opinion as to whether you should do the same. I only gave the feedback because some one specifically asked.
My intent was to be helpful, an not to create stress on your account. I know how much effort this sort of project takes, and I appreciate it. If you feel changes are appropriate make them thoughtfully, and in due time. Also feel welcome to ask if you want any further assistance or feedback. I'm knowledgeable about the game, and a halfway competent writer/editor, so always willing to make myself useful, time permitting. I don't necessarily haunt this thread all the time, but I'm pretty active on the forums in general. Feel welcome anytime.
I haven't played with clubs all that much, the only thing I use them for is to quickly gather friends (or potential baby daddies) in one place. For example, my matriarch's kids who moved out are in a club with her so I can quickly call them over for birthdays and the like by starting a club gathering. That's what I do with clubs. But I see that there's definitely potential for exploitation and I'd like the challenge to stay fair and balanced for everyone.
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Alexandrea gave birth to her seventh child, a girl Kiara. Here's hoping the librarian father doesn't catch the stalker glitch and show up at the house!
Her having the baby brought Luke (who isn't even the father?!) to the house into a pre-parental panic. And then days later Akira showed up as well like what the hell!! And he couldn't be asked to leave either!
So, I had to result to building a death room and I lured the two of them in it and locked the door to everyone. Now we wait and see who will die first. I didn't want to have to resort to it, but once Akira showed up as well I kind of lost it and had to.
100 baby family tree: https://theplumtreeapp.com/public.html#587fd992b12f3732714ed687
Thank you @Erica87 .. I also think of Charmed when I hear the name Phoebe, Paige or or Piper.
@Fizzstix Right? It's like an unintentional reflex or something
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Liberty after giving birth to the twin at the hospital:
At home:
Macking with Marcus:
Kristine meeting Johanna Flex:
Devan eyeing up daddy Conner:
Liberty playing with Devan:
Macking with Travis Scott:
The twins using the potty:
Devan toddling around:
Johanna getting play time with daddy Marcus:
More pictures to come in another post.. I don't want to overwhelm in one post.
I may alone in this, but I don't mind when the daddies hanging around. Though one time she did get caught in the act and had that moodlet for a while, but meh.. oh well. At least the toddler get some play time with their daddies. I have some cute pictures of them playing. The daddies do eventually wonder off without a nary goodbye.
@Fizzstix I think you are alone in that, or maybe just in the minority. At first I was fine with it but ghost Jacques scaring the toddlers really pushed me and then Luke kept picking up the toddler and putting them down every time i tried to feed them, and this was when the toddlers were so hungry social services were threatening to take them away. Plus he was walking around my house sleeping in my beds, eating my food (and Alexandrea has almost no money so when she spends $11 making fruit salad, that salad's for her family only), and he was using the washroom and breaking things (we only have 2 washrooms, he can't be hogging it!) and couldn't even repair them properly like!!! it was time for him to go!!
100 baby family tree: https://theplumtreeapp.com/public.html#587fd992b12f3732714ed687
I have the fridge locked in a "room" for household member only XD
Babies: 100/100
I've had a cowplant called Bessie in my first baby challenge and just had it in the frontyard without any sort of fencing. People went to play with it but I've never had one of my sims eat the cake because I always remember to feed it rightaway
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Do sims actually eat the cake tho? I mean they usually do the first time but they need to eat it twice before dying and somehow they never did eat it the second time when I was playing with it... They were more likely to die from starvation or sleep deprivation (if i locked them in there) than cow plant.
Babies: 100/100
I thought they eat it the second time too if they're hungry enough. Hmm, maybe I'm remembering it wrong or I used a mod for that.
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
I knew there was a mod so that it only need them to eat once to die. It's been awhile since I played with a cow plant tho so I might be wrong. Or my file was corrupted (always a possibility).
Babies: 100/100
@Erica87 I didn't think you were being harsh or rude. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't feel overwhelmed or obligated by what I intended as a helpful suggestion. To be fair, the clubs that I use are definitely set up for min-maxing, and they typically only include the members of the household, which is what makes running a 24/7 gathering practical. The "normal" way that most people use them is probably less exploitative than my particular setup is. My goal in normal game play is to move kids out with a decent head start on skills and such. I'm not trying to age them up quicker, I'm trying to max them out before their birthday. However, the overall effect is that I do age them up well ahead of schedule, because there isn't much of an advantage to keeping them as children once all of the aspirations are finished.
The main thing that makes the clubs exploitable is the fact that you can rocket the kids so quickly through school performance that it allows you to age them up to teen more quickly, which allows you to move them out more quickly in turn.The matriarch can potentially have more children per generation. In truth, the skills themselves aren't that big of a deal on a non-heir who will eventually be moved out. It's the increased speed in raising the children that seems the most unbalanced to me.
Having had the chance to think it through more closely, maybe the perk to restrict is the "Networked Club" perk, which boosts school performance, and the emotion specific vibes, which allow them to stay focused all day. As an added bonus, this change would have no effect on the matriarch, who can't work outside the home any way.
Since none of the challenges goals are specifically impacted by skills, this approach would allow clubs to still feel useful, while reducing their most exploitable advantages.
My shortlist of recommendations:
1.If clubs are used, the Networked club trait cannot be purchased for clubs which allow children. Reason- this perk gives an advantage which directly benefits the challenge by allowing faster school promotions.
2. Possibly restrict Rally the Troops. The ability to fill all club members needs on-demand with a single mouse click has obvious advantages to just about any challenge. A case can be made either way for this one, but it is a powerful perk. Note that this one only works during an active gathering, while "Networked Club" only requires a sim to belong to the club. Play style has a big impact on the usefulness of this perk, but when you know how to use it, it's incredibly strong.
3. Restrict all Emotion-based club vibes except for the default happiness vibe and it's upgrades. The ability to give a strong emotional boost on demand has obvious advantages, particularly with Focused, because the ability to stay very focused all day directly influences school promotions. It is virtually impossible to get an 8 hr focused mood any other way for kids. That's why the vibes are a bit exploitative in my opinion. The max level vibe is difficult to override. Even if the kid's needs start to fail or they get stressed, they will probably not lose the focused state.
If you do these rules, the skill boosts themselves wouldn't be particularly unbalancing. Since the "goal is to get them an A and age them up, the skills are not critically important to the challenge. The kids would gain skills faster, but they would progress through school at a normal pace, and therefore not really break the intent of the challenge. This approach removes the unfair advantages, with the fewest number of rule additions, while allowing the most flexibility for players who want to use clubs. It levels the playing field without unnecessary restrictions on anyone's play style.
If any of my convoluted rambling is not clearly explained feel welcome to ask for clarification or further feedback. My recommendations are only suggestions. I'll support your decisions whether you use them or not.
@SuzieSocks I was debating whether I should explain Prue or just leave it at '3 sisters'
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
1. I think another option could be that you either use the Networked perk or a skill perk. In the end to get an A in school you need to go at least 2 times for grade but you also have to have a skill at level 4 (children)/3 (teen). So the problem seems to be when you have both. Altho I have no idea whatever the have the same amount of "power". A test could be having a kid in a club with the perk and one with the skill and see how they progress.
2. The Rally The Troops should be restricted I think. Part of the challenge is to care for everyone's moods. And the Rally the Troops seems to be kinda without limits. I remember seeing people using in it a lot. It doesn't even seems to have a cool down period. You only need to get the perk once and you're settle for the rest of the challenge. It's not like a mood fixer potion the require you to buy with aspirations points every time.
3. On the emotions I don't really have an opinion. They are easily influenced in other ways anyway so.
Babies: 100/100
Taking a break from the sims for a while!
Rally the troops really is powerful. It was the reason why I asked about get together rules in the first place. But then I noticed none of you where (ab)using it (or the club system in general) that way. Which is not what I would have done. XD
I remember when I first "discovered" the perk (I think it was a video of the sim supply) and my immediate thought was "that would be great for the 100 baby challenge!". 'Cause trying to keep them in a good mood so they could do things was probably the hardest thing I faced during my first challenge.
Now however I feel like I found a good balance.
Babies: 100/100
There have only been a couple of times that I ran out of food and my toddlers were hungry and my matriarch was too tired to cook. I had her grab a quick meal of cereal, then made her stop eating and then had the toddlers grab it for a meal instead. Otherwise, I always have my matriarch make a couple of meals at a time so there is something to eat. I also almost never feed my toddlers IN the high chairs, unless my sim autonomously does it, then I have to remember to let the toddlers down. I have them grab their own food from the table or wherever it is set out.. and then they toddle off to the closest place to sit, or even they have just sat down on the floor at times and ate right where they are. Or, as @Mareviola suggested, put the fridge in a room only family can access.
The main reason I opt to not kill my baby daddies is in my 100 baby game, when the kids have aged to YA, I move them out into their father's house, so they have someone to live with, if they have a house. (They almost always do, and even if they don't, I move them into their household.)