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As I might have mentioned once or twice in "What are you currently playing", Sims is kind of my guilty pleasure game - with emphasis on pleasure.
So, recently, I have been thinking about doing some kind of LP, and because Sims is a very LP-able game and I'm currently being addicted to it, why not do a Sims LP? So, originally I wanted to do a YouTube LP, but decided against it, my voice is an atrocity and, even worse, that way I couldn't have continued blasting Limbonic Art in the background.
Anyway, now I decided to do a screenshot Sims LP on PC instead, let's see how this will work out...
Well, the plan is to do a "Legacy Challenge" (yes, mondays cannot into not playing challenges). I don't know the exact rules (there's some silly scoring system I can't be bothered to implement), but the basic ones are something like:
So, we have the choice between these three...
Or the last two of these other three.
Peasantview (sorry, I couldn't resist) is the one I have been playing all the time, so why not go with the other awful pun, Strangletown? For less poverty but more action!
So, this beautiful, beautiful place it is. I wouldn't be surprised to get 3-eyed children here, such a desert just CRIES for hosting a nuclear weapons test. Apparently they're using wind power here though, very well. Part of a plan to end the use of nuclear power or just decoration? We shall see...maybe.
*note: I added some of the expansion locations I would have had to add anyway... Off-screen because it's, when disregarding the loading times, nothing spectacular. University is the desert one, just because it fits so well, by the way. /note*
So, now all we still need are the huge lot and the sim...
It needed some kind of name, so why not give it a narcissist one?
So, we have the huge lot. BUT: From my personal experience it's always wise to take a look at a new empty lot before moving someone in there
See that little inconspicuous button? And, more importantly, see that hilly terrain? So, guess what pressing the button will do...
Kind of ugly now, but much, much better for building a house here now.
So, all we still need to actually begin will be a sim...
You'll do.
50 money more than usual than a self-made sim would have, big deal. I can buy an extra trashcan from that. Also, such a cheerful family name will help for motivation, even if the guy's first name is something I've never heard before. Sounds kind of Indian or SE-Asian, but I'm not sure.
Enough for part one, isn't it?
So... in case there will be any readers, criticism would be welcome. Constructive criticism, not the stereotypical pointless "dis sux and u suk 2"-kind of criticism. At least give some kind of reason and advice how to improve the problem, if possible.
Also, I didn't find any need for moderator approval for new threads in this section in the rules, but this in case I overlooked it...take this as a request for approval.
...
Did I forget anything?
Hmmm... maybe it would be wise to wait maybe a day or at least a few hours for some resonance or a lack thereof, but how am I supposed to kill all that time?
So, let's move our current hero Ajay Loner into his new home...
Several things to notice here:
Money turns out to barely suffice for the two most elemental things - A fridge, this platform thingy to prepare food on, a stove and a bed. No money for a toilet or shower. Don't even think about a TV.
NOTE: I forgot a chair, so I bought one after making this screenshot. I also bought a bookshelf, they're surprisingly cheap. So, 75§ left in the bag, ouch. I hope I'll get a job with a high early reward, low promotion requirements and low wage increase offered, these tend to be the best for starting situations - I'd rather have decent amounts of money now then the potential to be richer in 40 years. Climbing a career is actually quite tough when you're low on life-necessary objects, so...
But, before starting I think of this: Lifetime aspiration benefits. Permanent boni that don't cost me anything besides the ability to choose other ones. Most of the boni I picked lower need decrease (more on that soon), the big green § sign means my salaries will be higher. Very welcome.
So, speaking of needs... for anyone who doesn't know the game, these are they. Eight bars that need to be filled. Or, to put it more precise...
let's do some preemptive stat raising. I decide on Cooking, while few jobs require it, I don't want too many fires as long as I don't have a telephone or fire alarm. I don't want any fires at all, actually.
So...Cooking... It's one of the seven skills in the game. Each have individual benefits, the most important ones are Logic (a lot of careers require this for promotions) and Creativity (required almost as often and also means you can make and sell expensive paintings). But since I don't have the ways to improve any of these two yet, Cooking it is, 2-3 points into it are always worth it.
The other options to learn with a book seen above are extras with minor effects. Except Physiology, which is glitchy and will make your skill point increase skyrocket. And I mean skyrocket.
One and a half hours later, this gentleman named Payton Wade doesn't only happen to be the first person to ever walk by Ajay's property, but he also brings us a newspaper...
At the same time, Ajay finishes his first point in Cooking, giving him the ability to cook, among other things I can't remember, Spaghetti. Yaay.
A decision is made and Ajay become a Gumshoe, whatever that is (a person who stepped on spat out bubble gum?).
Not impressive at all, but the starting wages of the two other available jobs were both around only 160§ per work day, screw that.
Scratch that, I made a mistake: I accidentally didn't pause the game before tabbing away, with, well, fatal results. Starting over, it's not like I had done a lot yet.
Soooo...
Back at 8 o' clock, I bought the exact same objects as the last time, got one point in cooking and...
Not only was the newspaper delivered by a girl named Marie Mazza this time, we also get different job offers - but again, two kind of suck and the third one is the exact same one as before, so I'm taking it again. Unfortunately he gets the job 8 minutes too late, otherwise he would still have been able to work and get paid this day.
Some dude who wasn't there yet in vanilla (meaning expansionless) Sims 2 walks by and gives Ajay a gift. Now, normally I wouldn't accept a gift by a stranger, but this is no situation to be picky in. It is a computer, and I sell it for for 1350§. As if I would need a computer right now...
So, while a stray cat named Kim walks by, I spend the money on a toilet, a shower, a TV and a small piece of wall I need for the shower and toilet.
Notice the big distance between the stove and the other objects, it's there for a reason.
Now, I accidentally put the newspaper in the trashcan, which was a misplay: That way I could have solved the crossword for around half a Logic skill point. Because for a promotion, Logic is what I need, I didn't lie when saying many careers require it.
So, I spend the rest of the day mainly with increasing Ajay's needs and the Cleaning skill (the Intelligence career's symbol and name suggest spying, this might mean I'll need cleaning. I'm not sure though, so it might be a waste.)
A new days and Ajay goes to work for the first time in his life.
Meanwhile, some granny decides to be an <censored> and kicked over the trashcan. Not good, at all.
Lying around trash will cause roaches to spawn which are a real pita to get rid of and can pass on illnesses, but I got lucky and no roaches spawned. Whew.
There are, however, bad news: Every Tuesday and Thursday, bills will have to be paid, the costs are determined by the value of the family's owned property. Ajay possesses almost nothing and still: This bill hurts.
Another work day passes, and FINALLY we are able to buy this life-saving object any house must have: a telescope.
After about 2 seconds of using the telescope, this happens. Excellent. It has already almost paid itself back.
When Ajay decides to go to bed, his Logic skill has increased from ~0,75 (from solving crosswords) to 3 points. That'll do for a while.
With the required Logic point in the bag and having already left a good impression in the two previous days, Ajay gets his first promotion, to "Private Eye". For another promotion, we will need 2 Logic (check), one Cleaning (check, my prediction of the obvious was right), and one friend (ouch, these are hard to accumulate quickly. Please don't tell me this carrier has a focus on popularity and not skill...)
So, to get that needed friend, we go to a "Community Lot" - a lot that can be accessed by all kinds of sims, but actions are restricted. Perfect for getting to know people.
So, I select a target person and Ajay talks trash to her for hours, until the friendship bar has risen enough to reach the magic 50%. But we're not finished here yet, the friendship bar decreases far too fast to leave it at the border.
Later, the relation is at a decent-but-still-not-secure 66, and Ajay's needs are in the trash can, time to go home. Tomorrow will be a tough day with such a needs deficit. But I do have the needed friend now, so I got what I needed.
Disaster strikes in the next morning: The shower broke and is leaking water all over the place. Why is this bad? Because the otherwise so forgettable Environment bar suffers heavily, and because there's no floor, the water will cause weeds to grow, meaning it will be red.
Took almost the entire rest of the morning to stop the water. The good part is, Ajit got one Mechanical skill point, might come in handy.
Friday evening...
Another promotion rolls in, with the bonus we've more than 3000§ now. Unfortunately for another promotion we will need yet another friend, ouch. Time to get a telephone. Also, Winter is closing in, so the evidence is clear:
Ajay needs a house - and can afford one now...I think.
This seems like a good cutoff point, so the house will be part of the next episode.
...so that's what I did. Situation's looking much better now, Ajay is no longer a quasi-hobo.
This is how it looks on the inside. Not really a lot of space, I couldn't even fit the telephone into the main room, but it'll do for a while. When the family will start to grow, I will probably completely tear this shack down, or maybe only leave the back wall. But until then, it's exactly what I need.
One question: Should I leave the telephone inside or move it to the bathroom? not like it would change anything, just a matter of aesthetics.
For some reason I don't know I'm now having this blue walls-build thing not going away. Reload time, let's see if I saved after finishing the house...
Yep, there it is. Also, the former hill is still being displayed in the neighborhood view, making this look odd. Oh well.
And, success, the blue thing is gone, business can continue as usual.
Since 2 friends are needed for a promotion, here's what I did:
One relation I got up from 30 to 70 with a long, long phone conversation, the other one...
I have to keep friends at friendly by any means necessary. Odd thing: Ajay is not really attracted to her, but he is attracted to that married, close to becoming an Elder woman next door. I'll have to do something about that...
Meanwhile, the shower broke again. This is actually very welcome, as it will allow me to harvest some more mechanical skill points - which turned out to be the third needed skill in this career. Meh, I would have preferred putting points in creativity instead for the reason I stated above, but I already have another plan how to make some extra money. This one is more long-term, unfortunately, as the required object is expensive and takes a while to make profits. But more on that later, unless I change my mind.
Thanks to Ajay's almost constant platinum mood* he keeps getting promoted as soon as skill and friends requirements are being fulfilled, and...
*Sims can have 4 wants and 3 fears, depending on their aspiration. There are 5 aspirations: Fortune, Knowledge, Family, Romance and Popularity. One of the expansions added Fun, I don't know if I like it. Anyway, Ajay has, as I already mentioned before, a Fortune Aspiration, meaning his wishes will be focused on the accumulation of wealth. There is an aspiration bar that decreases with time and fulfilled fears and increases with fulfilled wishes. If it's high, you get a temporary "platinum mood", meaning the sim will do necessary work even with low skills, have a perfect work or school performance. Now, a wealth sim that is quickly climbing up his career will get a lot of high-rewarding wishes fulfilled within short intervals, meaning easily maintaining platinum mood for a long time. This allows you to gobble up even more promotions like crazy, until skill point increase becomes so slow (the first point of a skill will usually be gained within an in-game hour or two, the tenth one will take at least half a day) or you will require ridiculously many friends. Very welcome early on. Unfortunately if you haven't been promoted in a while or are at the top, Wealth sims will develop a desire for luxury instead and will only be interested in statues.
OH COME ON!
Yet another friend, aargh. I'm really spending more time building relations with random people than anything else.
Thankfully Ajay had brought a coworker with home, they start at higher relations. Easy third friend there.
"where making this hapen"
Next day, another promotion, and of course, I require another friend for the next one. This is getting really obnoxious. Also, the next day is work-free, which SUCKS (coincidentally, it IS a monday). It means the statues problem I mentioned above might kick in and stop my promotions steamroller that has been working so well up to now. At least I can use it for preemptive friend-farming. Or some skill points. Better than nothing...
Getting to level 5/10 of the career unlocked this thing, I'm not sure what it does. I'm going to let it rest for a while and try it out when I'm richer, right now I still have to focus on the career.
Ajay is getting old, and still doesn't have a heir or even a wife. Time to change that... Allyn will be a drain to my money at first (she's unemployed), but eventually she'll pull her weight. Children on the other hand...
She is a family sim by the way, could be worse.
Contrary to Ajay, her aspiration bonus tree is less focused on reducing need drops and more on rapid skill point gains. The plan is to pursue the Work column now and get the third reward - it means one less friend needed for promotions. Same thing for Ajay, he's pursuing the same thing.
Hmm... MAYBE it would have been better to leave the house as it was... Oh well, eventually I will get the money for the bedroom walls and making the floor something else than sand. And I will be able to rebuy the sofa I just had bought when I noticed I cannot afford it yet.
While Allyn was watching some TV show about a rabbit in a garden, Ajay interrupted her and wanted to show her his brick hands. She liked them, so they married.
Stuff followed, among other things Allyn got a completely gender-stereotypical job as a cement mixer and Ajay suddenly needed one more friend because one of them, Allyn was now part of his family and stopped counting. AAARGH.
Not like talking about magic lamps with random sales clarks couldn't fix that...
...but even befriending her didn't quite get him up to platinum again. Well, that sucks.
Meanwhile, Allyn manages to get herself fired on the first day of work. So the stereotype is justified?
Ajay, on the other hand, gets lucky. Despite no platinum mood, the low chance for being promoted anyway kicked in. The bad news however...
NOOOOO
I bet at the end of this career I'll need like 20 friends, aargh.
But, things could be worse. I have the bedroom walls, I have the sofa, life is good. If there just weren't these bills that are closing in on 100§ per bill...
Due to work-loss-caused frustration, Allyn has been eating stuff and is now wondering why she is obese. Or does her sudden weight gain have another reason?As if it doesn't, give me some name suggestions :D
TS2 Legacy Challenge - Part IV - The family grows
Winter started and this wolf was sighted. The difference between a big, dark dog and a wolf in this game are the glowing yellow eyes. A dog can have yellow eyes as well, but they won't glow like that.
No suggestions, so I asked the generator. It suggested Iolana, so I took that.
Iolana was in need of a bed and there was still free space in the living room, so...
I also replaced the parents' bed by this one here. Having a cheap bed means constantly low Comfort levels and slowly recharging energy. Unlike with many other objects the differences are actually noticeable here, so getting a good bed is usually one of my highest priorities.
Allyn got a new job, this time as an Aerobics Instructor, and because her and Ajay's work times overlap, I had to hire a Nanny for an hour. It's worth it, she is cheap. Just remember to make the fridge inaccessible, Nannies LOVE wasting a lot of food. Dismissing her was a pain as well, she kept ignoring it. Nice way to make money if you're getting paid per hour, eh?
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ALLYN?
Tasting from the soup while the stove is on fire? Sure why not?
Then she finally noticed it and panicked
Thankfully the firetruck arrived just as fast as the fire itself did.
The house is being quite a mess. While a baby itself is relatively low-maintenance, having one does produce a lot of lying around trash.
Eventually, Iolana grew up into a Toddler. I said, babies are low-maintenance, didn't I? Well, Toddlers certainly aren't - they are hellish.
Well this is unacceptable. Instead of caring for her child, Allyn decides to get drunk, apparently.
Also, that bathroom is disgusting.
This bathtub, mini-toilet and xylophone are only going to be in use temporarily, so I placed them on the outside. Also notice the weeds in the bathroom in the background. Really about time I build a floor. But no, let's wait a while with that, I have my reasons.
While Allyn was being useless more often than not, Ajay sacrificed some of his friend-accumulation to teach Iolana what she'll need for life. He's already at slightly over 1000§ per work day anyway, so my promotion steamroller having completely stopped now is not such a big deal.
So Ajay was once again out at a Community Lot to find potential friends, and look what I found. Now, I would have called this a vampire, but she doesn't sparkle, she has to be something else...
Allyn, you are useless. U. S. E. L. E. S. S.
Seriously.
Eventually Iolana learned all of the toddler skills, even the most annoying to learn one, using the toilet. Meanwhile, Ajay got demoted because of some bad luck. Oh well, I can easily get back up to the previous job and get an extra promotion bonus that way, could be worse.
Oh yeah, Allyn was being prego again recently. What's the worst that could happen?
Oh crap
This IS the worst that could happen. One Toddler is annoying but can be dealt with. 2 of them will be HELL. And still no male heir.
Time to rearrange things. A new house is built, the money barely suffices
This is what it looks like. Still a lot of very cheap objects, but nothing essential one cannot do yet. You can never have enough bathrooms in a house by the way, definitely going to build more later.
Iolana finally stops being a toddler. Excellent. Now there's only two babies to deal with all the time for the parents.
But let's do that later, this part is already long enough.
So, recently, I have been thinking about doing some kind of LP, and because Sims is a very LP-able game and I'm currently being addicted to it, why not do a Sims LP? So, originally I wanted to do a YouTube LP, but decided against it, my voice is an atrocity and, even worse, that way I couldn't have continued blasting Limbonic Art in the background.
Anyway, now I decided to do a screenshot Sims LP on PC instead, let's see how this will work out...
Well, the plan is to do a "Legacy Challenge" (yes, mondays cannot into not playing challenges). I don't know the exact rules (there's some silly scoring system I can't be bothered to implement), but the basic ones are something like:
- Take one adult sim (does one capitalize that word?)
- Buy an empty lot in the biggest size possible
- Play the family for 10 generations
- Can't use custom sims
Spoiler:
So, we have the choice between these three...
Or the last two of these other three.
Peasantview (sorry, I couldn't resist) is the one I have been playing all the time, so why not go with the other awful pun, Strangletown? For less poverty but more action!
So, this beautiful, beautiful place it is. I wouldn't be surprised to get 3-eyed children here, such a desert just CRIES for hosting a nuclear weapons test. Apparently they're using wind power here though, very well. Part of a plan to end the use of nuclear power or just decoration? We shall see...maybe.
*note: I added some of the expansion locations I would have had to add anyway... Off-screen because it's, when disregarding the loading times, nothing spectacular. University is the desert one, just because it fits so well, by the way. /note*
So, now all we still need are the huge lot and the sim...
It needed some kind of name, so why not give it a narcissist one?
So, we have the huge lot. BUT: From my personal experience it's always wise to take a look at a new empty lot before moving someone in there
See that little inconspicuous button? And, more importantly, see that hilly terrain? So, guess what pressing the button will do...
Kind of ugly now, but much, much better for building a house here now.
So, all we still need to actually begin will be a sim...
You'll do.
50 money more than usual than a self-made sim would have, big deal. I can buy an extra trashcan from that. Also, such a cheerful family name will help for motivation, even if the guy's first name is something I've never heard before. Sounds kind of Indian or SE-Asian, but I'm not sure.
Enough for part one, isn't it?
So... in case there will be any readers, criticism would be welcome. Constructive criticism, not the stereotypical pointless "dis sux and u suk 2"-kind of criticism. At least give some kind of reason and advice how to improve the problem, if possible.
Also, I didn't find any need for moderator approval for new threads in this section in the rules, but this in case I overlooked it...take this as a request for approval.
...
Did I forget anything?
Spoiler:
TS2 Legacy Challenge - Part II - Getting actually started
Hmmm... maybe it would be wise to wait maybe a day or at least a few hours for some resonance or a lack thereof, but how am I supposed to kill all that time?
So, let's move our current hero Ajay Loner into his new home...
Several things to notice here:
- First and most importantly, we are broke. And how. Those 50§ might actually make a difference here.
- Ajay is kind of old. Only 23 instead of the usual 29 days until he becomes an elder. Is this supposed to outweigh the extra money?
- Ajay is watching birds (because the game always starts with free will activated - I immediately switched to complete mind control, the sims AI is too dumb to trust). What kind of birds could live in the hellish desert that Strangletown is located in? Vultures?
- Ajay has a Fortune aspiration, which is GOOD. It means he will strive for promotions and more promotions. Exactly what one needs in such an uncomfortable financial situation. Unfortunately it also means he will want to be fed with useless luxury "goods". Oh well...
- Not seen in the pic, but he doesn't know anyone and is unemployed. So standard conditions here.
Money turns out to barely suffice for the two most elemental things - A fridge, this platform thingy to prepare food on, a stove and a bed. No money for a toilet or shower. Don't even think about a TV.
NOTE: I forgot a chair, so I bought one after making this screenshot. I also bought a bookshelf, they're surprisingly cheap. So, 75§ left in the bag, ouch. I hope I'll get a job with a high early reward, low promotion requirements and low wage increase offered, these tend to be the best for starting situations - I'd rather have decent amounts of money now then the potential to be richer in 40 years. Climbing a career is actually quite tough when you're low on life-necessary objects, so...
But, before starting I think of this: Lifetime aspiration benefits. Permanent boni that don't cost me anything besides the ability to choose other ones. Most of the boni I picked lower need decrease (more on that soon), the big green § sign means my salaries will be higher. Very welcome.
So, speaking of needs... for anyone who doesn't know the game, these are they. Eight bars that need to be filled. Or, to put it more precise...
- Hunger is the most important of all needs. If the bar hits rock bottom, you die.
- Comfort is sort of irrelevant and has a low effect on the Sim's general mood (a vertical bar to the left of these, unfortunately I cut it off in the pic above), but early on it will be problematic. Poverty means uncomfortable furniture, this means the bar will constantly be in the red or orange. Very annoying.
- Bladder is nothing we care about right now. When it drops down to the minimum, it will cause the sim to leave a (blue) puddle on the spot they are standing on and decrease Hygiene to the minimum. Therefore a shower will be a higher early priority than a toilet.
- Energy is an important one, if a sim doesn't get enough sleep, they will black out, resulting in a very slow energy increase and a very fast comfort decrease. Energy can also cause death, if a sim goes swimming and energy is slow, he will drown. Very easy murder method, since Energy is one of the faster dropping bars.
- Fun has no direct negative effects, but is a very annoying one. Drops very fast and has an irrationally high effect on general mood. There are, however, ways to gain money while circumventing this trouble. Not in this situation though, so fun will certainly be an issue.
- Social is similar to fun in its effects, but when it's low, the game will spawn a "Social Bunny", with which one can easily restock the bar. Also, there will regularly be passengers in front of the "house", so no isshu here.
- Hygiene is sort of negligible. Still, I'm not going to want it being constantly low, not if I can avoid it.
- Forget about Environment , it will be mediocre for a long time since it will require luxury to rise. Its effects are even lower than comfort's so no big deal.
let's do some preemptive stat raising. I decide on Cooking, while few jobs require it, I don't want too many fires as long as I don't have a telephone or fire alarm. I don't want any fires at all, actually.
So...Cooking... It's one of the seven skills in the game. Each have individual benefits, the most important ones are Logic (a lot of careers require this for promotions) and Creativity (required almost as often and also means you can make and sell expensive paintings). But since I don't have the ways to improve any of these two yet, Cooking it is, 2-3 points into it are always worth it.
The other options to learn with a book seen above are extras with minor effects. Except Physiology, which is glitchy and will make your skill point increase skyrocket. And I mean skyrocket.
One and a half hours later, this gentleman named Payton Wade doesn't only happen to be the first person to ever walk by Ajay's property, but he also brings us a newspaper...
At the same time, Ajay finishes his first point in Cooking, giving him the ability to cook, among other things I can't remember, Spaghetti. Yaay.
Not impressive at all, but the starting wages of the two other available jobs were both around only 160§ per work day, screw that.
Scratch that, I made a mistake: I accidentally didn't pause the game before tabbing away, with, well, fatal results. Starting over, it's not like I had done a lot yet.
Soooo...
Back at 8 o' clock, I bought the exact same objects as the last time, got one point in cooking and...
Not only was the newspaper delivered by a girl named Marie Mazza this time, we also get different job offers - but again, two kind of suck and the third one is the exact same one as before, so I'm taking it again. Unfortunately he gets the job 8 minutes too late, otherwise he would still have been able to work and get paid this day.
Some dude who wasn't there yet in vanilla (meaning expansionless) Sims 2 walks by and gives Ajay a gift. Now, normally I wouldn't accept a gift by a stranger, but this is no situation to be picky in. It is a computer, and I sell it for for 1350§. As if I would need a computer right now...
So, while a stray cat named Kim walks by, I spend the money on a toilet, a shower, a TV and a small piece of wall I need for the shower and toilet.
Notice the big distance between the stove and the other objects, it's there for a reason.
Now, I accidentally put the newspaper in the trashcan, which was a misplay: That way I could have solved the crossword for around half a Logic skill point. Because for a promotion, Logic is what I need, I didn't lie when saying many careers require it.
So, I spend the rest of the day mainly with increasing Ajay's needs and the Cleaning skill (the Intelligence career's symbol and name suggest spying, this might mean I'll need cleaning. I'm not sure though, so it might be a waste.)
A new days and Ajay goes to work for the first time in his life.
Meanwhile, some granny decides to be an <censored> and kicked over the trashcan. Not good, at all.
Lying around trash will cause roaches to spawn which are a real pita to get rid of and can pass on illnesses, but I got lucky and no roaches spawned. Whew.
There are, however, bad news: Every Tuesday and Thursday, bills will have to be paid, the costs are determined by the value of the family's owned property. Ajay possesses almost nothing and still: This bill hurts.
Another work day passes, and FINALLY we are able to buy this life-saving object any house must have: a telescope.
After about 2 seconds of using the telescope, this happens. Excellent. It has already almost paid itself back.
When Ajay decides to go to bed, his Logic skill has increased from ~0,75 (from solving crosswords) to 3 points. That'll do for a while.
With the required Logic point in the bag and having already left a good impression in the two previous days, Ajay gets his first promotion, to "Private Eye". For another promotion, we will need 2 Logic (check), one Cleaning (check, my prediction of the obvious was right), and one friend (ouch, these are hard to accumulate quickly. Please don't tell me this carrier has a focus on popularity and not skill...)
So, to get that needed friend, we go to a "Community Lot" - a lot that can be accessed by all kinds of sims, but actions are restricted. Perfect for getting to know people.
So, I select a target person and Ajay talks trash to her for hours, until the friendship bar has risen enough to reach the magic 50%. But we're not finished here yet, the friendship bar decreases far too fast to leave it at the border.
Later, the relation is at a decent-but-still-not-secure 66, and Ajay's needs are in the trash can, time to go home. Tomorrow will be a tough day with such a needs deficit. But I do have the needed friend now, so I got what I needed.
Disaster strikes in the next morning: The shower broke and is leaking water all over the place. Why is this bad? Because the otherwise so forgettable Environment bar suffers heavily, and because there's no floor, the water will cause weeds to grow, meaning it will be red.
Took almost the entire rest of the morning to stop the water. The good part is, Ajit got one Mechanical skill point, might come in handy.
Friday evening...
Another promotion rolls in, with the bonus we've more than 3000§ now. Unfortunately for another promotion we will need yet another friend, ouch. Time to get a telephone. Also, Winter is closing in, so the evidence is clear:
Ajay needs a house - and can afford one now...I think.
This seems like a good cutoff point, so the house will be part of the next episode.
Still no comments? Hmmm... Anyway, here's another update:
TS2 Legacy Challenge - Part III - You must construct additional friends!
So, the plan was to get a house...
...so that's what I did. Situation's looking much better now, Ajay is no longer a quasi-hobo.
This is how it looks on the inside. Not really a lot of space, I couldn't even fit the telephone into the main room, but it'll do for a while. When the family will start to grow, I will probably completely tear this shack down, or maybe only leave the back wall. But until then, it's exactly what I need.
One question: Should I leave the telephone inside or move it to the bathroom? not like it would change anything, just a matter of aesthetics.
For some reason I don't know I'm now having this blue walls-build thing not going away. Reload time, let's see if I saved after finishing the house...
Yep, there it is. Also, the former hill is still being displayed in the neighborhood view, making this look odd. Oh well.
And, success, the blue thing is gone, business can continue as usual.
Since 2 friends are needed for a promotion, here's what I did:
One relation I got up from 30 to 70 with a long, long phone conversation, the other one...
I have to keep friends at friendly by any means necessary. Odd thing: Ajay is not really attracted to her, but he is attracted to that married, close to becoming an Elder woman next door. I'll have to do something about that...
Meanwhile, the shower broke again. This is actually very welcome, as it will allow me to harvest some more mechanical skill points - which turned out to be the third needed skill in this career. Meh, I would have preferred putting points in creativity instead for the reason I stated above, but I already have another plan how to make some extra money. This one is more long-term, unfortunately, as the required object is expensive and takes a while to make profits. But more on that later, unless I change my mind.
Thanks to Ajay's almost constant platinum mood* he keeps getting promoted as soon as skill and friends requirements are being fulfilled, and...
*Sims can have 4 wants and 3 fears, depending on their aspiration. There are 5 aspirations: Fortune, Knowledge, Family, Romance and Popularity. One of the expansions added Fun, I don't know if I like it. Anyway, Ajay has, as I already mentioned before, a Fortune Aspiration, meaning his wishes will be focused on the accumulation of wealth. There is an aspiration bar that decreases with time and fulfilled fears and increases with fulfilled wishes. If it's high, you get a temporary "platinum mood", meaning the sim will do necessary work even with low skills, have a perfect work or school performance. Now, a wealth sim that is quickly climbing up his career will get a lot of high-rewarding wishes fulfilled within short intervals, meaning easily maintaining platinum mood for a long time. This allows you to gobble up even more promotions like crazy, until skill point increase becomes so slow (the first point of a skill will usually be gained within an in-game hour or two, the tenth one will take at least half a day) or you will require ridiculously many friends. Very welcome early on. Unfortunately if you haven't been promoted in a while or are at the top, Wealth sims will develop a desire for luxury instead and will only be interested in statues.
OH COME ON!
Yet another friend, aargh. I'm really spending more time building relations with random people than anything else.
Thankfully Ajay had brought a coworker with home, they start at higher relations. Easy third friend there.
"where making this hapen"
Next day, another promotion, and of course, I require another friend for the next one. This is getting really obnoxious. Also, the next day is work-free, which SUCKS (coincidentally, it IS a monday). It means the statues problem I mentioned above might kick in and stop my promotions steamroller that has been working so well up to now. At least I can use it for preemptive friend-farming. Or some skill points. Better than nothing...
Getting to level 5/10 of the career unlocked this thing, I'm not sure what it does. I'm going to let it rest for a while and try it out when I'm richer, right now I still have to focus on the career.
Ajay is getting old, and still doesn't have a heir or even a wife. Time to change that... Allyn will be a drain to my money at first (she's unemployed), but eventually she'll pull her weight. Children on the other hand...
She is a family sim by the way, could be worse.
Contrary to Ajay, her aspiration bonus tree is less focused on reducing need drops and more on rapid skill point gains. The plan is to pursue the Work column now and get the third reward - it means one less friend needed for promotions. Same thing for Ajay, he's pursuing the same thing.
Hmm... MAYBE it would have been better to leave the house as it was... Oh well, eventually I will get the money for the bedroom walls and making the floor something else than sand. And I will be able to rebuy the sofa I just had bought when I noticed I cannot afford it yet.
While Allyn was watching some TV show about a rabbit in a garden, Ajay interrupted her and wanted to show her his brick hands. She liked them, so they married.
Stuff followed, among other things Allyn got a completely gender-stereotypical job as a cement mixer and Ajay suddenly needed one more friend because one of them, Allyn was now part of his family and stopped counting. AAARGH.
Not like talking about magic lamps with random sales clarks couldn't fix that...
...but even befriending her didn't quite get him up to platinum again. Well, that sucks.
Meanwhile, Allyn manages to get herself fired on the first day of work. So the stereotype is justified?
Ajay, on the other hand, gets lucky. Despite no platinum mood, the low chance for being promoted anyway kicked in. The bad news however...
NOOOOO
I bet at the end of this career I'll need like 20 friends, aargh.
But, things could be worse. I have the bedroom walls, I have the sofa, life is good. If there just weren't these bills that are closing in on 100§ per bill...
Due to work-loss-caused frustration, Allyn has been eating stuff and is now wondering why she is obese. Or does her sudden weight gain have another reason?
TS2 Legacy Challenge - Part IV - The family grows
Winter started and this wolf was sighted. The difference between a big, dark dog and a wolf in this game are the glowing yellow eyes. A dog can have yellow eyes as well, but they won't glow like that.
No suggestions, so I asked the generator. It suggested Iolana, so I took that.
Iolana was in need of a bed and there was still free space in the living room, so...
I also replaced the parents' bed by this one here. Having a cheap bed means constantly low Comfort levels and slowly recharging energy. Unlike with many other objects the differences are actually noticeable here, so getting a good bed is usually one of my highest priorities.
Allyn got a new job, this time as an Aerobics Instructor, and because her and Ajay's work times overlap, I had to hire a Nanny for an hour. It's worth it, she is cheap. Just remember to make the fridge inaccessible, Nannies LOVE wasting a lot of food. Dismissing her was a pain as well, she kept ignoring it. Nice way to make money if you're getting paid per hour, eh?
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ALLYN?
Tasting from the soup while the stove is on fire? Sure why not?
Then she finally noticed it and panicked
Thankfully the firetruck arrived just as fast as the fire itself did.
The house is being quite a mess. While a baby itself is relatively low-maintenance, having one does produce a lot of lying around trash.
Eventually, Iolana grew up into a Toddler. I said, babies are low-maintenance, didn't I? Well, Toddlers certainly aren't - they are hellish.
Well this is unacceptable. Instead of caring for her child, Allyn decides to get drunk, apparently.
Also, that bathroom is disgusting.
This bathtub, mini-toilet and xylophone are only going to be in use temporarily, so I placed them on the outside. Also notice the weeds in the bathroom in the background. Really about time I build a floor. But no, let's wait a while with that, I have my reasons.
While Allyn was being useless more often than not, Ajay sacrificed some of his friend-accumulation to teach Iolana what she'll need for life. He's already at slightly over 1000§ per work day anyway, so my promotion steamroller having completely stopped now is not such a big deal.
So Ajay was once again out at a Community Lot to find potential friends, and look what I found. Now, I would have called this a vampire, but she doesn't sparkle, she has to be something else...
Allyn, you are useless. U. S. E. L. E. S. S.
Seriously.
Eventually Iolana learned all of the toddler skills, even the most annoying to learn one, using the toilet. Meanwhile, Ajay got demoted because of some bad luck. Oh well, I can easily get back up to the previous job and get an extra promotion bonus that way, could be worse.
Oh yeah, Allyn was being prego again recently. What's the worst that could happen?
Oh crap
This IS the worst that could happen. One Toddler is annoying but can be dealt with. 2 of them will be HELL. And still no male heir.
Time to rearrange things. A new house is built, the money barely suffices
This is what it looks like. Still a lot of very cheap objects, but nothing essential one cannot do yet. You can never have enough bathrooms in a house by the way, definitely going to build more later.
Iolana finally stops being a toddler. Excellent. Now there's only two babies to deal with all the time for the parents.
But let's do that later, this part is already long enough.
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