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Test Subject
#951 Old 26th Jul 2021 at 11:36 PM
Hi! I have a new chapter after ten month without posting or playing this challenge.

2.1 Something in the Water
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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#952 Old 20th Oct 2022 at 9:22 PM
Hey folks! Yes, I do, indeed, still exist. I even come and lurk on this thread occasionally - I think it's cool that this challenge got as popular as it did, and it's fun to browse through everyone's tales of their challenge.

But I figured that I'd take a break from lurking because I made a thing that others still playing this challenge may find helpful, especially in the beginning. Or not - it really depends on how you're playing the challenge. I, for one, like to inject a lot of randomness instead of trying to make optimal choices all the time - hence why I put in the stuff about how to combine this challenge with a Random Legacy so many years ago. But it can take some time to figure out what to do with a job your Sim can't work because of what is available in your city, which is normally not a problem, but I'm going to start streaming a playthrough this weekend so I wanted to streamline the process.

NIF Job Helper - this is what I came up with.

For every job I figured was viable, it lists a backup job that your Sim should be able to work even without anything else unlocked, and also something for children to focus on during the massive amount of free time they have before they have a school to go to. It also lists the lot that they probably most want to unlock, and an easier backup option for them to unlock if their first option would be especially difficult to do early game. If you want a random job, get a number between 1-70 on a random number generator (#70 is unemployed Sims).

I will admit that I made... interesting choices here and there that you might not like, and I have all the expansions so if you don't you'll probably need to tweak it for your own use, but it's a lot easier to alter something like this instead of making it from scratch so feel free to mess with it. Enjoy!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#953 Old 25th Jul 2023 at 9:04 AM Last edited by Avalikia : 25th Jul 2023 at 9:56 AM.
Behold, I come bearing gifts again! And it's a bigger one this time:

OLD WEST VARIANT

Overview:
Many of the core rules are the same or similar, and I'm lazy, so this is going to be a messy 'here are the differences' writeup instead of restating the entire ruleset. I'll also warn that because this challenge is almost all additional rules on top of the standard Nothing Is Free rules, it's harder to build up your town. But maybe you like harder? If so this is for you. If not, maybe it's not.

To Begin:
Same as the main ruleset, except that I additionally recommend finding a world without any roads. This completely eliminates taxis, bikes, and other rule and immersion-breaking things from your world - even for Sims who aren't under your control.

Also, in the furthest, least convenient corner of your starting world, you may freely build an equestrian center, a grocery store, and a saloon (you can decide what type of lot the saloon is - I decided mine was a 'local watering hole' from Late Night, seemed to work well). You know it's in a good spot if it's ridiculously painful for your Sims to get there. Because that's the point: to exist but be very, very far away.

No, you do not get a free horse with this variant - this is still the Nothing is Free challenge!

Variant Rules:
1. All of the rest of the core rules of the Nothing is Free challenge still apply - everything from how you earn lots to which things are allowed from the various expansions, etc.

2. Anything you buy in buy or build mode you can sell back freely, but anything else your Sims find or make can't be sold unless there's a business in town that can buy them. If you have Ambitions this can mean the consignment shop, but it can also mean any other appropriate business - if you have an art gallery, that brings enough interest in art to your town that you can sell your art. Until then it's worthless - either horde it or find some way to get rid of it, but you can't sell it.

3. The far-away equestrian center, grocery store, and saloon represent a simple trading outpost for wagon trains and other travelers. The equestrian center is only interested in buying and selling horses, and the grocery store is only interested in buying and selling produce and fish. All of the other functions of both - the classes, racing, the other grocery store goods, etc. - are not allowed to be used. When you earn these lots yourself you're not only allowed to put them in a closer, more convenient location, you're also then allowed to use all their other functions. Combined with rule #2, that means the way to make money is to garden, fish, and train/catch/raise horses when you're starting out. (I suggest demolishing your trading outpost when you've built up your main town enough that it's no longer useful.)

4. Cars are forbidden, including taxis. Bicycles too because, while bicycles were being developed during this time period they were more of a 'big city, back east' thing at the time. This is why a world with no roads is recommended, but if you don't mind babysitting your Sims all the time it works if you tell them to 'run here' or stick them on a horse to go anywhere. If they somehow get in a taxi while you're not looking, cancel it immediately and make them walk.

5. Cell phones are partially forbidden. You may accept opportunities at any time, but if someone calls you just to chat then you can't accept. Your Sims may only make calls in certain situations in order to mimic the communication options available at the time: Unless/until you build some sort of official post office in town, decide which place in town is the unofficial 'can you give this note to Jeb next time you see him?' place. 'In town' is the far-away trading outpost at first, but when you start building your own town center it can be somewhere there. Your Sims can make any phone calls they want at that location or, if they need to make a phone call that can only be done from home (like inviting everyone to a party at home), they can make the call immediately after returning home from there. All other cellphone use is forbidden.

6. All items that existed back then are allowed in your game. When is 'back then'? Well, the Old West time period went anywhere from 1607-1912 depending on what you count, but it's usually more like 1865-1890. A relatively small number of things relevant to Sims were invented during this time period, so I'll leave that judgment call up to you. The more important question than whether or not something was invented was whether or not you could find them in a small frontier town. Obviously, something like a table they could easily just make on the spot. A grand piano, on the other hand, existed but required expertise and materials your town is unlikely to have in the beginning. Then again, settlers had all kinds of priorities when they packed their wagons and headed west, and a grand piano is something someone might bring if they cared that badly. What that means for you is that such items are allowed, but you really should limit how many such items exist in your town until it's big enough that it makes sense that it would be easier for your Sims to get them. Rather than coming up with complicated rules for that, I'll say it's a judgment call and you can decide.

7. All technology that existed back then is allowed in your game, even if the game only offers you the modern equivalent. For example, they had stoves back then, but they were wood or coal powered and not electric like the ones in your game. I made my Sims' stove the color of cast iron and stuck it next to the fireplace. I'll admit that the refrigerator is more of a stretch, but they did have ice boxes back then and it's a very needed item for game functionality, so I colored it to look more like a cabinet - that's allowed. I also stretch to allow them a washer, which they didn't really have, but they need one if you want the laundry system to work. Though in cases like these appliances where the modern equivalent is so much better than what they had back then, and the game actually makes the expensive one work better than the cheap one, your Sims are only allowed to have the cheapest one. Then there are things like the computer, which is allowed if you only use it for writing, as typewriters were invented around this time period and might be one of those rarely found items like a piano.

8. Everything else that absolutely didn't exist back then is forbidden. Which is surprisingly few items, actually, but it's mainly anything that you really, really need electricity to make it work. So no treadmills or TVs or things of that nature.

Time Period Notes:
As someone more obsessed with game mechanics than aesthetics, I'm not going to say it's a rule for you to make your Sims and their houses look the part, but it's fun to do that. And I personally had a lot of fun looking into how people dressed and built their homes and such back then - it really helps it feel like you're playing the time period. So here are some thoughts on how to make everything look and work like they would back then:

Fabrics and textiles - While most clothing was still made by hand back then, the fabric was being mass-produced and was available in all sorts of colors and patterns at the general store. The main thing to avoid if you want to be authentic is any texture that simply looks too modern - use solids, plaids, stripes, paisley, or anything that seems reasonably 'old fashioned' for your Sims clothes and the other fabrics around them. They'd generally use very light cotton fabrics to stay cool in the summer and thick wool in the winter for warmth. They also used a lot of leather at the time. This was before modern carpeting, but they would have plenty of rugs.

Other materials - This was before the invention of stainless steel and a lot of the other things we do today to metal to keep it looking shiny and new without trying. What this means is you should avoid shiny metals unless it's something people would keep polished all the time. This was also before plastics were available, and while glass was available it was difficult to get nice, large pieces of it. They were up to their armpits in wood, though.

Clothing - A lot of what they wore back then we still wear now, especially men and boys. (It's just that we wear a lot of other styles too, now.) This means you don't need to go on a CC hunt to find appropriate clothing if you don't want to. I find it easiest to find the good stuff by looking for collared, button-down, long-sleeved shirts for tops - whether that shirt is plain or has a vest or a coat over it then it'll probably work great, perhaps after customizing the texture if not immediately. Though note that blue jeans were newly invented back then, so maybe don't pick that a lot - leather pants were more common for men doing a lot of physical work that would wreck their nicer clothes. This was still the time period where it wasn't at all fashionable for women to wear anything other than a full-length skirt or dress, even one settling the frontier, though the ones that were really hardcore would scandalously wear pants or skirts that were merely mid-calf. For shoes, pretty much everyone was always wearing leather boots - even the back east city-folk were wearing mainly boots. To sleep, men and boys wore long underwear, and women and girls wore nightgowns.

House Layout and Furnishings - Especially if you're talking about the houses people made when they first settled, they went extremely basic - in fact, building their house like a newbie Sims player is perfect: just give them a square, one-room cabin and you're being authentic. That and an outhouse - put that cheapest toilet in a tiny room out at the far corner of the property, and there you go. When people were first settling and were more worried about things like getting a farm started and making sure they'd survive their first few years in an area, a basic shelter was enough. And then if they needed more room they'd simply tack on another one to an existing structure or build another out-building.

Once they were well-established they'd build something better and longer-lasting - if they're feeling rich I suggest looking at some Victorian-era house designs if you really want to get into that - they're fun, they have things like parlors. And fireplaces all over the place to stay warm. But even then they didn't have proper plumbing - at most they'd have a water closet with a chamberpot in the house, which they'd go empty in the outhouse. They did have washstands, often in bedrooms. Oh, but you want something more like a tub? They had those, but they were the same ones they'd use for washing clothes, usually down in the kitchen, at the back of the house. See, getting that amount of water was difficult, especially if you wanted it warm, so that was the place for a tub.

So what I did with my Sims is their kitchen has a fireplace, and next to that the stove (which I made look like cast-iron), and on the other side the fireplace is the tub (a dull metal), and next to the tub the washer (which I colored to look more like a wooden counter so it wouldn't break my immersion). It made it difficult for my Sims to find the privacy to bathe, but stinky Sims are in keeping with the time period, so...
Field Researcher
#954 Old 1st Aug 2023 at 6:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Avalikia
Behold, I come bearing gifts again! And it's a bigger one this time:

OLD WEST VARIANT

Overview:
Many of the core rules are the same or similar, and I'm lazy, so this is going to be a messy 'here are the differences' writeup instead of restating the entire ruleset. I'll also warn that because this challenge is almost all additional rules on top of the standard Nothing Is Free rules, it's harder to build up your town. But maybe you like harder? If so this is for you. If not, maybe it's not.

To Begin:
Same as the main ruleset, except that I additionally recommend finding a world without any roads. This completely eliminates taxis, bikes, and other rule and immersion-breaking things from your world - even for Sims who aren't under your control.

Also, in the furthest, least convenient corner of your starting world, you may freely build an equestrian center, a grocery store, and a saloon (you can decide what type of lot the saloon is - I decided mine was a 'local watering hole' from Late Night, seemed to work well). You know it's in a good spot if it's ridiculously painful for your Sims to get there. Because that's the point: to exist but be very, very far away.

No, you do not get a free horse with this variant - this is still the Nothing is Free challenge!

Variant Rules:
1. All of the rest of the core rules of the Nothing is Free challenge still apply - everything from how you earn lots to which things are allowed from the various expansions, etc.

2. Anything you buy in buy or build mode you can sell back freely, but anything else your Sims find or make can't be sold unless there's a business in town that can buy them. If you have Ambitions this can mean the consignment shop, but it can also mean any other appropriate business - if you have an art gallery, that brings enough interest in art to your town that you can sell your art. Until then it's worthless - either horde it or find some way to get rid of it, but you can't sell it.

3. The far-away equestrian center, grocery store, and saloon represent a simple trading outpost for wagon trains and other travelers. The equestrian center is only interested in buying and selling horses, and the grocery store is only interested in buying and selling produce and fish. All of the other functions of both - the classes, racing, the other grocery store goods, etc. - are not allowed to be used. When you earn these lots yourself you're not only allowed to put them in a closer, more convenient location, you're also then allowed to use all their other functions. Combined with rule #2, that means the way to make money is to garden, fish, and train/catch/raise horses when you're starting out. (I suggest demolishing your trading outpost when you've built up your main town enough that it's no longer useful.)

4. Cars are forbidden, including taxis. Bicycles too because, while bicycles were being developed during this time period they were more of a 'big city, back east' thing at the time. This is why a world with no roads is recommended, but if you don't mind babysitting your Sims all the time it works if you tell them to 'run here' or stick them on a horse to go anywhere. If they somehow get in a taxi while you're not looking, cancel it immediately and make them walk.

5. Cell phones are partially forbidden. You may accept opportunities at any time, but if someone calls you just to chat then you can't accept. Your Sims may only make calls in certain situations in order to mimic the communication options available at the time: Unless/until you build some sort of official post office in town, decide which place in town is the unofficial 'can you give this note to Jeb next time you see him?' place. 'In town' is the far-away trading outpost at first, but when you start building your own town center it can be somewhere there. Your Sims can make any phone calls they want at that location or, if they need to make a phone call that can only be done from home (like inviting everyone to a party at home), they can make the call immediately after returning home from there. All other cellphone use is forbidden.

6. All items that existed back then are allowed in your game. When is 'back then'? Well, the Old West time period went anywhere from 1607-1912 depending on what you count, but it's usually more like 1865-1890. A relatively small number of things relevant to Sims were invented during this time period, so I'll leave that judgment call up to you. The more important question than whether or not something was invented was whether or not you could find them in a small frontier town. Obviously, something like a table they could easily just make on the spot. A grand piano, on the other hand, existed but required expertise and materials your town is unlikely to have in the beginning. Then again, settlers had all kinds of priorities when they packed their wagons and headed west, and a grand piano is something someone might bring if they cared that badly. What that means for you is that such items are allowed, but you really should limit how many such items exist in your town until it's big enough that it makes sense that it would be easier for your Sims to get them. Rather than coming up with complicated rules for that, I'll say it's a judgment call and you can decide.

7. All technology that existed back then is allowed in your game, even if the game only offers you the modern equivalent. For example, they had stoves back then, but they were wood or coal powered and not electric like the ones in your game. I made my Sims' stove the color of cast iron and stuck it next to the fireplace. I'll admit that the refrigerator is more of a stretch, but they did have ice boxes back then and it's a very needed item for game functionality, so I colored it to look more like a cabinet - that's allowed. I also stretch to allow them a washer, which they didn't really have, but they need one if you want the laundry system to work. Though in cases like these appliances where the modern equivalent is so much better than what they had back then, and the game actually makes the expensive one work better than the cheap one, your Sims are only allowed to have the cheapest one. Then there are things like the computer, which is allowed if you only use it for writing, as typewriters were invented around this time period and might be one of those rarely found items like a piano.

8. Everything else that absolutely didn't exist back then is forbidden. Which is surprisingly few items, actually, but it's mainly anything that you really, really need electricity to make it work. So no treadmills or TVs or things of that nature.

Time Period Notes:
As someone more obsessed with game mechanics than aesthetics, I'm not going to say it's a rule for you to make your Sims and their houses look the part, but it's fun to do that. And I personally had a lot of fun looking into how people dressed and built their homes and such back then - it really helps it feel like you're playing the time period. So here are some thoughts on how to make everything look and work like they would back then:

Fabrics and textiles - While most clothing was still made by hand back then, the fabric was being mass-produced and was available in all sorts of colors and patterns at the general store. The main thing to avoid if you want to be authentic is any texture that simply looks too modern - use solids, plaids, stripes, paisley, or anything that seems reasonably 'old fashioned' for your Sims clothes and the other fabrics around them. They'd generally use very light cotton fabrics to stay cool in the summer and thick wool in the winter for warmth. They also used a lot of leather at the time. This was before modern carpeting, but they would have plenty of rugs.

Other materials - This was before the invention of stainless steel and a lot of the other things we do today to metal to keep it looking shiny and new without trying. What this means is you should avoid shiny metals unless it's something people would keep polished all the time. This was also before plastics were available, and while glass was available it was difficult to get nice, large pieces of it. They were up to their armpits in wood, though.

Clothing - A lot of what they wore back then we still wear now, especially men and boys. (It's just that we wear a lot of other styles too, now.) This means you don't need to go on a CC hunt to find appropriate clothing if you don't want to. I find it easiest to find the good stuff by looking for collared, button-down, long-sleeved shirts for tops - whether that shirt is plain or has a vest or a coat over it then it'll probably work great, perhaps after customizing the texture if not immediately. Though note that blue jeans were newly invented back then, so maybe don't pick that a lot - leather pants were more common for men doing a lot of physical work that would wreck their nicer clothes. This was still the time period where it wasn't at all fashionable for women to wear anything other than a full-length skirt or dress, even one settling the frontier, though the ones that were really hardcore would scandalously wear pants or skirts that were merely mid-calf. For shoes, pretty much everyone was always wearing leather boots - even the back east city-folk were wearing mainly boots. To sleep, men and boys wore long underwear, and women and girls wore nightgowns.

House Layout and Furnishings - Especially if you're talking about the houses people made when they first settled, they went extremely basic - in fact, building their house like a newbie Sims player is perfect: just give them a square, one-room cabin and you're being authentic. That and an outhouse - put that cheapest toilet in a tiny room out at the far corner of the property, and there you go. When people were first settling and were more worried about things like getting a farm started and making sure they'd survive their first few years in an area, a basic shelter was enough. And then if they needed more room they'd simply tack on another one to an existing structure or build another out-building.

Once they were well-established they'd build something better and longer-lasting - if they're feeling rich I suggest looking at some Victorian-era house designs if you really want to get into that - they're fun, they have things like parlors. And fireplaces all over the place to stay warm. But even then they didn't have proper plumbing - at most they'd have a water closet with a chamberpot in the house, which they'd go empty in the outhouse. They did have washstands, often in bedrooms. Oh, but you want something more like a tub? They had those, but they were the same ones they'd use for washing clothes, usually down in the kitchen, at the back of the house. See, getting that amount of water was difficult, especially if you wanted it warm, so that was the place for a tub.

So what I did with my Sims is their kitchen has a fireplace, and next to that the stove (which I made look like cast-iron), and on the other side the fireplace is the tub (a dull metal), and next to the tub the washer (which I colored to look more like a wooden counter so it wouldn't break my immersion). It made it difficult for my Sims to find the privacy to bathe, but stinky Sims are in keeping with the time period, so...


Ooh, that sounds like a fun extra!

What about writing books in the new Old Wild West? Is that still all right without a bookshop since they aren't sold through it? (There was something else I thought of while walking the dog, but I can't remember now...)
Forum Resident
#955 Old 7th Aug 2023 at 4:10 AM Last edited by KittyCarey : 7th Aug 2023 at 4:28 AM.
I've been getting back into this challenge, so I thought I'd add an update. My founders, Henry and Charlotte FitzOsborne, have had way too many kids but are making good progress with the town.

Residential Lots: 9
FitzOsborne Hall (Played lot): Henry FitzOsborne (founder), Charlotte FitzOsborne, Alice FitzOsborne, Victoria FitzOsborne, Louise FitzOsborne, Elizabeth FitzOsborne, Mary FitzOsborne, Frances FitzOsborne, Sophie FitzOsborne, Imogen FitzOsborne, Beatrice FitzOsborne, Jane FitzOsborne, Dorothy FitzOsborne, Geoffrey FitzOsborne, Winifred FitzOsborne, Aurora Groves
1 Fulcaster Terrace: Suzanne Myers (plus cat)
2 Fulcaster Terrace: currently empty
4 Railway Road: Ho Sung Kim, Beverley Kim, Melody Kim, Leia Kim, Harry Kim, Tiffany Kim (plus two dogs)
6 Railway Road: Stephen Farne, Deanne Farne, Guy Farne
8 Railway Road: Troy Delainey, Erin Delainey, Neville Delainey, Cecilia Delainey
2 Upper Eley Street: Charles Humphries, Sun Young Humphries, Peter Humphries, Lionel Humphries, Clare Humphries
2 Distillery Lane: Dave Cooke
4 Rosebourne Park: Laurent Durand, Adele Durand, Marie Durand (plus dog)

Community Lots: 20
Lake Galson: Fishing Spot (Stephen Farne)
Jericho Fire Department: Fire Station (Beverley Byers)
Black Books: Bookshop (Charlotte FitzOsborne)
Farne Foods: Grocery Shop (Deanne Farne)
Rose Nouveau Spa: Day Spa (Guy Farne)
The Dancing Dragon Academy: Martial Arts Academy (Ho Sung Kim)
FitzOsborne School: School (Henry FitzOsborne)
Jericho City Hall: City Hall (Troy Delainey)
The Old Station Museum: Art Gallery (Sun Young Humphries)
The Lost Sock Laundrette: Laundromat (Peter Humphries)
Foresdell Play Park: Small Park (Charles Humphries)
Jericho Community Hospital: Hospital (Alice FitzOsborne)
Portland Breakers Yard: Junkyard (Suzanne Myers-Cooke)
The Green Dragon: Local Watering Hole (Dave Myers-Cooke)
Benville Common: Big Park (Erin Mercado)
Soylent Environment Laboratory: Science Lab (Victoria FitzOsborne)
Caltown Liquor Store: Nectary (Adele Durand)
Jericho Police Dept & Gaol: Police Department (Louise FitzOsborne)
Bistro Verdis: Bistro (Laurent Durand)
Dalerport Community Theatre: Theatre (Elizabeth FitzOsborne)

Now I really need more people to fill out the residential lots, and have some more children who aren't related to each other! Alice has just become a Young Adult and will be off to university as she's already build a lot - can she recruit fellow students from there?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#956 Old 9th Aug 2023 at 4:47 PM
Quote: Originally posted by LucyBorgia
Ooh, that sounds like a fun extra!

What about writing books in the new Old Wild West? Is that still all right without a bookshop since they aren't sold through it? (There was something else I thought of while walking the dog, but I can't remember now...)


In cases like books where the game just gives you money for doing a thing (another thing that comes to mind would be stargazing), you can only do that if there's a business in town that it reasonably makes sense would be funding you. So even though you don't physically take books to the bookstore to sell them like you would with crops and fish, one needs to be present in your town for you to make money to write books. To max out writing without writing books so you can get the bookstore, using the 'refine writing' option does that trick. And for my stargazing example, you'd need some scientists in town to care about your discoveries to get money that way...

I've been trying to make sure there aren't any 'chicken and egg' problems where it's impossible to earn a lot without doing a money-making activity to fulfill the requirements, but then you'd need the lot in order to make it okay to make that money. But I think we're good. In some cases like with sculpting or painting you might need to hang onto what your Sims are making and wait to sell them until the appropriate lot is earned (though I'd say it's fair to use cheats or mod things to delete anything you don't want your Sims to hang onto but you're not allowed to sell), but that's easy enough to do. Do let me know if you think of anything that seems terribly unfair or doesn't work at all, though - the NIF is pretty expansive and this variant doesn't make it any smaller so it's hard for me to think of every potential issue by myself.
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