hodsh1
18th Jun 2011, 01:20 AM
The Desert Challenge
I've been playing this for a few days now with interesting results - the idea is that your sims must survive in a wilderness despite the harsh weather (so this requires Seasons!) and the convenienves of normal life. Sorry if anyone else has already posted a similar challenge!
I don't intend for this to be a strict challenge and I haven't created a scoring system yet since I never really bother with scoring myself on challenges that I play, I just play them for fun. But I might come up with some scoring later if everyone wants it :)
You are allowed cheats and hacks, but obviously you will know if you're making it far too easy for yourself as it won't be fun if there isn't a certain level of difficulty. Personally I play with loads of stuff which probably makes the game a lot easier in some ways eg. all beds have 8 energy and I've also edited my sims' lifespans, but for a challenge like this I wouldn't drag needs up using boolprop or anything like that.
Ok, so on to the general rules of the challenge...
Starting out:
FIRST, make sure the neighbourhood's seasons are set to 4 summers, as your sims will be living in a hot desert. (I also recommend playing in a desert neighbourhood as it might be hard to imagine your sims are in a real desert if they are surrounded by grass)
Make a family (or use any existing family) with 4 or more sims and move them into a fairly large lot.
You may only build a small sheltered area (with a roof), which MUST be open to the outside, so sims have no escape from the outside temperature. After all, if sims accustomed to living in a town were suddenly dumped in the middle of nowehere, I doubt they would be very successful in building something which effectively shields them from the elements :p It should be just small enough to be cosy but big enough so that your whole family has room to move around it easily. If you don't have any tents in your game, this would be where your family sleeps. The only lighting allowed is in your sheltered area.
You must also place around 15 garden plots (depending on how many you think you need based on the size of your family) to grow food as you won't be buying any from the supermarket or getting any delivered! A fishable pond is allowed (pretend your sims moved near a small oasis in the desert) although you can deprive them of this luxury if you decide your desert is going to be ultra-harsh.
Decorate the surrounding landscape however you like - I added a couple of cacti and other desert plants to mine. Feel free to hire a gardener if you're like me and always forget to water the cacti - the point of the challenge isn't to spend ages in build mode replanting everything because you accidentally let it die. Although you will have to pay for the gardener.
Then I strongly suggest you add at least one lemon tree. This is so your sims will be able to later make lemonade which will be a huge help. Personally, I thought it was a bit unrealistic to have a lemon tree growing in the middle of the desert, so I made a 'greenhouse' area for it - although it is not actually shielded from the outdoors by any walls; it is underground :)
Then make sure you buy your sims all the essentials they'll need to survive, including two toilets, a shower (and a bathtub if the family has a dog) and ONE sink, plus you are allowed a juicer. Try to keep furnishings as realistic as possible, bearing in mind that there is no electricity or nearby shops, ie. the items should be things sims could make for themselves or things which they've managed to carry with them from their previous home and can withstand the harsh landscape. That being said, you can allow your sims mobile phones and a landline if you can't bear to cut them off from their friends.
Now, set your sims' family funds at around $5,000, or less if you want to make it harder.
Phew! Finally, you're ready to start playing.
Gameplay rules:
1. No travelling to community lots, apart from quickly to buy mobile phones if your family don't already have them and you want them. However, sims are allowed to go to work/school. If you wanted to make the challenge harder and more realistic, you could also ban jobs.
2. Try not to let any sims die unnatural deaths! If they die of old age, then that's fine but your main aim is to make them survive. Also try and prevent them from having a complete mental breakdown.
3. No ordering groceries or buying from supermarkets.
4. Aspiration rewards ARE allowed, apart from the one which lets you change the weather. I like to think of these as running on sims' imagination rather than requiring any other power source :P Again, feel free to ban these too for a harder challenge.
5. Apart from a gardener, no other hired NPCs.
6. (Difficult and therefore optional) Make your sims obey a curfew of 21:00, by which time they must be either in their sheltered area or in their tents, aside from making quick visits to the toilet. Wildernesses are dangerous at night! They should not emerge until it gets light. If you choose to play with this rule, try and keep your sims where they're supposed to be as far as possible, although it's not the end of the world if one is disobedient and escapes your control for a few minutes. They are also allowed to walk from their tent to the sheltered area.
If you've managed to get through all of that and are still interested in giving the challenge a go, I would love to know how you're getting on. I may add to/change the rules and if you have any questions which haven't been clarified in this post, feel free to ask!
I've been playing this for a few days now with interesting results - the idea is that your sims must survive in a wilderness despite the harsh weather (so this requires Seasons!) and the convenienves of normal life. Sorry if anyone else has already posted a similar challenge!
I don't intend for this to be a strict challenge and I haven't created a scoring system yet since I never really bother with scoring myself on challenges that I play, I just play them for fun. But I might come up with some scoring later if everyone wants it :)
You are allowed cheats and hacks, but obviously you will know if you're making it far too easy for yourself as it won't be fun if there isn't a certain level of difficulty. Personally I play with loads of stuff which probably makes the game a lot easier in some ways eg. all beds have 8 energy and I've also edited my sims' lifespans, but for a challenge like this I wouldn't drag needs up using boolprop or anything like that.
Ok, so on to the general rules of the challenge...
Starting out:
FIRST, make sure the neighbourhood's seasons are set to 4 summers, as your sims will be living in a hot desert. (I also recommend playing in a desert neighbourhood as it might be hard to imagine your sims are in a real desert if they are surrounded by grass)
Make a family (or use any existing family) with 4 or more sims and move them into a fairly large lot.
You may only build a small sheltered area (with a roof), which MUST be open to the outside, so sims have no escape from the outside temperature. After all, if sims accustomed to living in a town were suddenly dumped in the middle of nowehere, I doubt they would be very successful in building something which effectively shields them from the elements :p It should be just small enough to be cosy but big enough so that your whole family has room to move around it easily. If you don't have any tents in your game, this would be where your family sleeps. The only lighting allowed is in your sheltered area.
You must also place around 15 garden plots (depending on how many you think you need based on the size of your family) to grow food as you won't be buying any from the supermarket or getting any delivered! A fishable pond is allowed (pretend your sims moved near a small oasis in the desert) although you can deprive them of this luxury if you decide your desert is going to be ultra-harsh.
Decorate the surrounding landscape however you like - I added a couple of cacti and other desert plants to mine. Feel free to hire a gardener if you're like me and always forget to water the cacti - the point of the challenge isn't to spend ages in build mode replanting everything because you accidentally let it die. Although you will have to pay for the gardener.
Then I strongly suggest you add at least one lemon tree. This is so your sims will be able to later make lemonade which will be a huge help. Personally, I thought it was a bit unrealistic to have a lemon tree growing in the middle of the desert, so I made a 'greenhouse' area for it - although it is not actually shielded from the outdoors by any walls; it is underground :)
Then make sure you buy your sims all the essentials they'll need to survive, including two toilets, a shower (and a bathtub if the family has a dog) and ONE sink, plus you are allowed a juicer. Try to keep furnishings as realistic as possible, bearing in mind that there is no electricity or nearby shops, ie. the items should be things sims could make for themselves or things which they've managed to carry with them from their previous home and can withstand the harsh landscape. That being said, you can allow your sims mobile phones and a landline if you can't bear to cut them off from their friends.
Now, set your sims' family funds at around $5,000, or less if you want to make it harder.
Phew! Finally, you're ready to start playing.
Gameplay rules:
1. No travelling to community lots, apart from quickly to buy mobile phones if your family don't already have them and you want them. However, sims are allowed to go to work/school. If you wanted to make the challenge harder and more realistic, you could also ban jobs.
2. Try not to let any sims die unnatural deaths! If they die of old age, then that's fine but your main aim is to make them survive. Also try and prevent them from having a complete mental breakdown.
3. No ordering groceries or buying from supermarkets.
4. Aspiration rewards ARE allowed, apart from the one which lets you change the weather. I like to think of these as running on sims' imagination rather than requiring any other power source :P Again, feel free to ban these too for a harder challenge.
5. Apart from a gardener, no other hired NPCs.
6. (Difficult and therefore optional) Make your sims obey a curfew of 21:00, by which time they must be either in their sheltered area or in their tents, aside from making quick visits to the toilet. Wildernesses are dangerous at night! They should not emerge until it gets light. If you choose to play with this rule, try and keep your sims where they're supposed to be as far as possible, although it's not the end of the world if one is disobedient and escapes your control for a few minutes. They are also allowed to walk from their tent to the sheltered area.
If you've managed to get through all of that and are still interested in giving the challenge a go, I would love to know how you're getting on. I may add to/change the rules and if you have any questions which haven't been clarified in this post, feel free to ask!