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ryanswofford
8th Jan 2012, 04:35 AM
Premade Challenge

Basis: Everything used in this challenge is premade—the Sims, the houses they live in, and basically everything else you could possibly think of. The goal of this challenge is to experience the game using as little creativity as possible in order to produce as much creativity as possible. Oftentimes, when we Simmers don’t stick to the basics of the game, things can become overly complicated and dry. So, this challenge challenges you to do the opposite of that: Stick to the basics.

Rules: The rules are:
1. No cheats (except practical ones like moveobjects or resetsim or allowbuildbuy…you can’t use anything that could help you get ahead, basically).
2. You may only play premade Sims using premade houses and/or apartment complexes (or, should any more EPs be added later, whatever else—the only rules concerning housing is that it must be premade and you cannot cheat, especially money cheats).
3. This is not a legacy challenge.
4. You might want to play this challenge using a long or epic lifespan—anything below normal is silly, in my opinion.
5. Premade is defined thusly: The item in the game has not been downloaded or otherwise taken from a source other than the base game itself or an expansion pack. This includes stuff packages (e.g., Modern Living).
6. Last one: Your Sim(s) must have premade spouses. If you need to go to Edit Town and make a premade Sim and move him or her into a separate household so they’ll “meet,” I advise you to do so. Otherwise, think early (as in, make a spouse for your premade Sims(s) while in CAS).

Procedure: Here are the steps:

1. Go to CAS and choose a premade Sim, or go to your library and find one (for example, the Martinez household). Do not change anything about the Sim(s). The only thing you may decide for yourself is his or her Lifetime Wish.
2. Move your Sim into a home he or she can afford. Do not use any money cheats or freerealestate cheats—nothing like that. Do legitimate business, guys. Come on. Also, keep in mind that this house must be premade. No downloaded homes or DIY homes.
3. Also about the house: If you purchase a home unfurnished, you may furnish it, but only to what your budget will allow (again: no cheating!)
4. You must (absolutely must) complete the first 10 wishes your Sim has. Promise them, and complete them promptly. From then on, you may decide to discard or complete wishes.
5. Done? Good. If that took a while, sorry. If not, good. Get ready for more fun.
6. Next: Write your Sim(s)’s bio. Do it in the “Edit Biography” box. By now, you should know who your Sim is. Give him or her a background, or if you have a household of more than one, write short bios for each of them. Then go to Edit Town and edit the household description. Describe the household (duh). Return to the game…
7. Whew. Lots of work, I know. Sorry. We’re done with that part. Part of the challenge is to create creativity, and if you’re not being creative (even just a little), you’ll go dry.
8. Now you should get a job. If one of your 10 obligatory wishes was to get one, you’re already done with this step. If not, you might want to consider getting one. Of course it’s not necessary, but it helps pay the bills.
9. Build some relationships! Go and meet other Sims. Collide with them. Laugh with them. Stalk them. Do whatever, but make sure your relationships are dynamic and complex. Otherwise—again—it will get boring.
10. Live. This is the most exciting part. Now you can actually use all that pent-up creativity and really enjoy your Simming experience—the way it should be enjoyed.

EDIT: A RULE WAS suggested. Instead of just "living," go to Edit Town every week and play a different household (so if you played the Bunch Household for 1 week, switch and play the Goth for another, then another, and develop the town on your own accord).

Scoring system: Everyone has one of these, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I added one, too. I’m only up to 600 words on my word counter, and most of these are at least 2,000, so I think that’s saying something. The score is out of 100. If you get below a 75/100, you lose. You’ll start out with 100 points.

-5 if your spouse dies before you do.
-5 if your child dies before you do.
-5 each time you fail to get pregnant.
-5 if you get a warning from your boss due to performance.
-10 if you get fired.
-10 per lost relationship (break up, failure to communicate, etc).
-10 per burglary.
-10 per social service warning and/or action taken.
-20 if you cheat, even once, for whatever reason, other than the cheats allowed (list above).

Post script: Thanks for allowing me to share my challenge—this is my first one, but hopefully it’s entertaining. I’ve yet to fully experience it, but if you do it, let me know how it goes! Tell us all about it. Happy hunting.

Zerhai
14th Jan 2012, 06:40 PM
what about mods? I use the woohooer.... and am I allowed to use that in this challenge..... or just leave everything basic.......

ryanswofford
21st Jan 2012, 04:35 AM
Mods are okay, as long as it doesn't get in the way of the premis of the challenge.

RedCherries
21st Jan 2012, 06:34 PM
Nice challenge, but you need to go a little further with it not just 'live' at the end, because eventually you'll just end up playing exactly how you usually do ( : :blink:

ryanswofford
22nd Jan 2012, 04:38 AM
^RedCherries: Meh, I'll update it soon, yes.

jamador
23rd Jan 2012, 01:19 PM
aqui ni cristo habla espanis no? vaya truño!!

simsample
23rd Jan 2012, 03:00 PM
jamador- this is an English language forum, so if you want to post here you must provide an English translation also.

jamador-este es un foro de idioma Inglés, así que si quieres publicar aquí, usted debe proporcionar una traducción al Inglés también.

ryanswofford
16th Feb 2012, 04:41 AM
Alright, I'll probably fix this up some time this week (as in, I'll add more to the "just live" part).

Zerhai
23rd Feb 2012, 05:49 AM
another question: what about using a household that is already in the game, say the goths? what about that? Can we continue one of their stories?

ryanswofford
27th Feb 2012, 04:24 AM
@Zerhai: That's totally okay. In fact, I encourage that...because, you know, you already have some story there. Pre-made story, too. :D

(By the way, going to update this this week for SURE. Promise).

http://dingledodie.wordpress.com/

Ravynlee
29th Apr 2012, 09:08 AM
I think this challenge has a promising start; it reminds me of the early days of Sims 1 *nostalgic sigh* and getting back to basic game play. Having said that, it seems the "live" part is something of an anti-climax. Maybe I'm outgrowing the game, I'm not sure, but the living part probably needs a degree more 'creativity' too. I've been trying to figure out if not FIND a challenge that takes me back to the early days of the game, something to make the most out of a Sim's experience. Not sure whether it's because am so used to mods, am trying to do too much (or not enough), repeating the same kinds of game-play, or all of the above, but I've had a growing sense of restlessness with the game that I'm no longer playing it as it is supposed to be played.

While I do enjoy the initial premise of this challenge, I do think there's more to be fleshed out. Not sure where exactly without stifling game play, but good start none the less! :)

catharsis108
30th Apr 2012, 08:46 PM
Interesting.. This challenge should bring me back to the basic laid back ways of playing Sims.. Lately I've been making my Sims skill and career and skill, and that's about it.. Getting rather boring. Maybe you can add a rule where we have to switch to another premade household after every 2-3 weeks or so with the recent household? That way you get to interact with your entire neighbourhood too, change personality descriptions which don't seem right to you, and basically watch your neighbourhood grow..

ryanswofford
8th Jul 2012, 04:45 AM
Alright, guys. FINALLY added the final rule, so it's there in print. Thanks for the suggestions.

hyperphoenix1
16th Jul 2012, 12:45 AM
I was actually trying to do a similar challenge I made myself. I usually create custom Sims a lot and never bother with pre made ones, so it would be fun to experiment with the way I play this game. Definitely will try it, and I'll be more than happy to report what is going on during this challenge.

eskie227
16th Jul 2012, 01:20 AM
Interesting challenge. Only one thought, if you have a -10 for every attempted burglary, you're never going to stay above 75. You have no control over when the game will throw a burglar at you. And there is nothing you can do to "gain" points in offset. Just something to consider.