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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 12th Mar 2012 at 1:09 AM Last edited by krazybabe135 : 4th Apr 2012 at 5:31 PM.
Default Build a New Life (Base Game Compatible) (Updated)
This challenge can easily fit any combination of expansions, or no expansions at all. Choose any neighborhood, and create two Sims, and parent and a child.

The parent Sim needs the following traits:
  • Dislikes Children
  • Mean Spirited

I also recommend these traits:
  • Grumpy
  • Slob
  • Evil

The child Sim can have any combination of traits, though I recommend at least one of the following:
  • Green Thumb
  • Mooch
  • Loves the Outdoors
  • Virtuoso

"Home"
Choose any size empty lot. Place the cheap outdoor bench, the cheap outdoor table, and two cheap chairs, then fill the rest of the lot with trees/plants/grass/weeds/rocks for a homeless look.

Once that is done, make your family have $50 or less using either the Familyfunds cheat, or buying things until you have that amount and then putting the purchased items in your family inventory not to ever be used or sold.

Nothing more can be purchased until the child Sim is a teen, and then only a sleeping bag (if you have Generations), or the cheapest bed (if you don't have Generations).


Parent Sim
The parent Sim can get a part-time job, but not a career.

They are not allowed to Work Hard.

They are only allowed to interact with the child Sim under the Mean interactions.


Child Sim
The child Sim can make friends with neighbors, eat/sleep/bathe in their houses as long as they aren't asked to leave.

If they are asked to leave for inappropriateness they cannot return to that family's home until the next day.

If you have Generations, your child Sim cannot do after-school activities or go to Boarding School.

Once they are a teen:
The teen Sim must get a part time job.

They can buy any skill books that the household can afford.

They can buy one of each vegetable from the grocery store, if desired, for planting a garden only.

They can buy one guitar, but it has to stay in their inventory.

Once per day, you may put a patch of weeds/grass or a rock into the family inventory. Your Sim is laying the groundwork for their new life.

Once they are a young adult:
Take the "Living in the Lap of Luxury" LTW, as completing this LTW is how you complete the challenge.

They may keep their part time job.

You must move out or kick out the parent Sim immediately.

You may start building their home, whatever you can afford at a time.

Once they are an adult:

They may get a career/profession.

They may get married and start a family, if desired, but they may NOT move off of their lot. You may only move the significant other in, no additional Sims from their household.


Completing the Challenge
Once you complete the "Living in the Lap of Luxury" LTW, congratulations! You have completed the challenge!

For More of a Challenge
To increase the level of difficulty, while I'm playtesting a "Hardmode" challenge, try one or more of the following:
  • Start your child Sim as a toddler instead of a child.
  • Start your challenge with multiple children (twins, triplets, etc).
  • If you have pets, start with a pet and make sure that it doesn't get taken away. You may buy a food bowl and a basic chew toy in addition to the starting items.
  • Instead of having the parent around and having a job, keep the parent off of the lot and away from the child at all times. Basically, the child is completely on their own, or "abandoned".
  • Don't depend on any friends or neighbors for help. Sleep where you drop, eat what you find, etc...

Some combinations won't be possible so use common sense!
I'm starting my playthrough of the Hardmode challenge now, so as soon as I have a set of rules for it, I'll have it posted!

Tips
From my own playthrough of this challenge, I have the following tips:
  • Garden as often as you can! This will be a free source of food for your Sim. Sell your excess to the Grocery Store (or through your inventory).
  • "Play for Tips" in the park, or on a sidewalk as soon as you're able.
  • The first room I built was a small bathroom. Then I went to the store and bought the bubbles. Bubble Bath gives a great moodlet! Being able to use the toilet whenever she needed to, and being clean most of the time was very helpful.
  • If you have the sleeping bag, don't bother with a bed for a while! My Sim was perfectly content in her sleeping bag. Focus on other things, like a kitchen.
  • Keep your house as small as you can for as long as you can, you'll save money not building excessively large rooms! I also used the $0 wall coverings and floors, so I didn't get the "Unfurnished" moodlet, but didn't waste money on it.
  • For the longest time, my girl slept outside in her sleeping bag, and had a one room "house", that was just a bathroom with her diploma and prom pictures on the walls.
  • This isn't really a difficult challenge and there aren't a lot of rules, but I wanted a challenge that wasn't as time consuming and complex as the Apocalypse Challenge (though that one is still my favorite).


EDIT:
Some tips from Kerryanne13:
My girl Missy finally made it to adulthood. I plan on having her marry Ethan Bunch soon. So since I'm wrapping up this challenge I thought I'd give a few tips. If you want your sims to eat or shower, the gym is a great place to grab a quick meal and they have public showers. You can also do this at the firehouse if you have Ambitions but for just the base game the gym is a life saver. Nearly every lot has toilets so you shouldn't have any accidents, that's the good thing about Sunset Valley. Another thing about Sunset Valley that I noticed is that at the Library there's a play table and a toy oven, a good place to stop for your child after school. When you get to teen state it's actually a little harder, sure you get a sleeping bag or a cheap bed but the added hours of a job can make you run out of time quickly. Try having your sim teen do their homework before they get on the bus that would take them all the way home, wasting precious time and go straight to work after. If you have a later job then try to get the other things you need done, done before you are forced to go to work and end up having to rush home because of curfew and your basically trapped there, exhausted with your motives low. If you have Pets, watch out! It's horrible trying to protect your garden from rampaging deer and horses that are attracted to your lot because of all the trees and shrubbery. I've lost so many plants to this happening because it's nearly impossible to wake up your teen in time to shoo them away from the plant before going back to sleep, sometimes the shooing doesn't work so you have to do it again until they run off and your sim teen is trashed and tired the next day from dealing with it. As soon as your a young adult try to put a fence around your garden and lock the gate so no pets or wildlife can enter, that way you can get a full night's sleep. That's all I can think of, happy simming and this challenge has been really fun! ^_^
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 12th Mar 2012 at 3:18 AM Last edited by kerryanne13 : 12th Mar 2012 at 4:59 AM. Reason: Added Pics
I've been looking for a short challenge, think I'm gonna try this out ^_^

Direct linking because the pics are big

Meet the Stake's! Tabitha is the mother, and Missy is the little girl.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...creenshot-7.jpg

Here's a shot of the lot they're living on.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...creenshot-8.jpg
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 15th Mar 2012 at 2:53 AM
The screenshots looks great! I hope you enjoy!
Instructor
#4 Old 15th Mar 2012 at 10:22 AM
I may have to try this
Test Subject
#5 Old 15th Mar 2012 at 6:55 PM
Just one question... how are they supposed to eat until the child makes friends? O.o...
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 16th Mar 2012 at 3:14 AM
They will eat at school, and after school I was having my girl eat off of people's picnic baskets at the park. It was a pain, but effective until she turned into a teen and could grow a garden!
Test Subject
#7 Old 16th Mar 2012 at 11:49 PM
Hi, this is the first legacy I’m trying (I wanted something that didn’t span countless generations and a friend pointed me over here). I’ve made a kind of intro post on livejournal, just introducing the characters and adding a bit of back story.

I do have one question though, if the child finds rocks, or catches fish or bugs can they sell them for money or must they wait until they’re older?

This legacy looks great fun, I’m looking forward to doing it!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#8 Old 17th Mar 2012 at 12:09 AM
They can sell them for money right away! If you can balance the time to gather/fish/collect, feel free! And if you have the extra money from selling things, you are also allowed to eat out at the restaurant but I don't recommend it as an every day thing.
Lab Assistant
#9 Old 17th Mar 2012 at 11:45 AM
My girl Missy finally made it to adulthood. I plan on having her marry Ethan Bunch soon. So since I'm wrapping up this challenge I thought I'd give a few tips. If you want your sims to eat or shower, the gym is a great place to grab a quick meal and they have public showers. You can also do this at the firehouse if you have Ambitions but for just the base game the gym is a life saver. Nearly every lot has toilets so you shouldn't have any accidents, that's the good thing about Sunset Valley. Another thing about Sunset Valley that I noticed is that at the Library there's a play table and a toy oven, a good place to stop for your child after school. When you get to teen state it's actually a little harder, sure you get a sleeping bag or a cheap bed but the added hours of a job can make you run out of time quickly. Try having your sim teen do their homework before they get on the bus that would take them all the way home, wasting precious time and go straight to work after. If you have a later job then try to get the other things you need done, done before you are forced to go to work and end up having to rush home because of curfew and your basically trapped there, exhausted with your motives low. If you have Pets, watch out! It's horrible trying to protect your garden from rampaging deer and horses that are attracted to your lot because of all the trees and shrubbery. I've lost so many plants to this happening because it's nearly impossible to wake up your teen in time to shoo them away from the plant before going back to sleep, sometimes the shooing doesn't work so you have to do it again until they run off and your sim teen is trashed and tired the next day from dealing with it. As soon as your a young adult try to put a fence around your garden and lock the gate so no pets or wildlife can enter, that way you can get a full night's sleep. That's all I can think of, happy simming and this challenge has been really fun! ^_^
Test Subject
#10 Old 18th Mar 2012 at 12:42 AM
Thanks for the tips. I've always found the teen age the hardest to accomplish, when I get there it should be interesting.

At the moment I'm still trying to figure out the best software and screen capture methods on my non legacy game I'm running. This is turning out to be a lot of fun though, I love adding in my own back story to their lives especially.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#11 Old 18th Mar 2012 at 6:16 AM
Great tips Kerry! Thanks!
Test Subject
#12 Old 18th Mar 2012 at 5:32 PM Last edited by Iren1203 : 2nd Apr 2012 at 3:25 PM.
I started yesterday and I'm enjoying it a lot ^^ :http://unwantedsims3.wordpress.com/. It actually is the first challenge I've decided to blog about.

I won't be impressed with technology until I can download food.
Sims Blog: (x)
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 18th Mar 2012 at 5:43 PM
I think the in game camera works the best. Of course I didn't write a story with mine and now that I'm nearing the end I really wish I had. If you don't have a photo program to alter pictures I think that Gimpy is a free program that does a lot of the things photoshop does.

I'm glad you guys liked my tips and I have to smile seeing my tips up there *so proud* Thank you for this challenge Krazy! It's been really fun and not as time consuming as some of the other ones! I can actually get this one done!

I've had a lot of fun reading the stories out there, keep it up! I want to see more please!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#14 Old 19th Mar 2012 at 5:46 AM
Paint.net is also a good free program, and it's very similar to Photoshop, but with less of the high end features. I highly recommend it. I had a lot of problems figuring out Gimp because I was already accustomed to Photoshop from school.
Lab Assistant
#15 Old 22nd Mar 2012 at 4:48 AM
So I started this challenge. It isn't too hard now. The only thing I have real difficulty with is the mother and daughters relationship. The mom, Robin, wants to do all these "nice" actions to/with her daughter, Penny, and buy all these toys and stuff... Penny will be a teen soon. We'll see how things turn out.

Click HERE and you'll get a surprise!
Test Subject
#16 Old 23rd Mar 2012 at 11:25 PM Last edited by Ladygagasimsfan : 24th Mar 2012 at 11:10 AM.
I have to try this RIGHT away! I just have one question. How would the parent eat? Also, I was thinking, maybe you could update with a harder version of the challange for the people who think they can handle it. Maybe two/three kids and you need to have a pet? Something like that. Also, you should probs do a few more things for the mum/dad, since they don't have a role really, it's all about the kid, and I was thinking they have to go out and leave the kid alot.
Lab Assistant
#17 Old 24th Mar 2012 at 6:40 AM
I just had my mom sim out on the town a lot, she never helped her kid. Went to parties and stayed out late. Personally I thought the challenge was difficult enough with just the one kid *lol* By the way I just finished this challenge! Missy ended as an adult with a little girl of her own named Elisabeth and married happily to Ethan Bunch. Oh and for food, try the park, there's a lot of picnic baskets laying about and there's also the gym where they can get a quick meal. You could always splurge and have them go to the diner, they do make some money with their part-time job Thanks for this challenge Krazy, I had fun!
Test Subject
#18 Old 24th Mar 2012 at 11:16 AM
Thanks for the tips. I'll def use them. I might actually have two kids, see how it goes XD. But this challange might just be my fave ever!
Lab Assistant
#19 Old 26th Mar 2012 at 10:44 PM
This sounded like fun, so I decided to give it a try. I've made it to Day 4 without stopping this challenge, so I'll most likely keep going with it until the end. I've also decided to blog about this challenge, which can be found at this link if anyone is interested.

http://asimmerslife.wordpress.com/

I have Twallan's career/part-time mod installed, so once my child becomes a teenager she can get a part-time job at a place other than the base game options. I guess that's allowed and still within the rules of this challenge?

"Sometimes I feel like a door with no key, and all the answers are locked away in me." - Send Me An Angel, by Alicia Keys
Test Subject
#20 Old 30th Mar 2012 at 4:36 PM Last edited by Iren1203 : 2nd Apr 2012 at 3:26 PM.
The challenge is great fun so far but I've got to ask is it ok if I use the Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous Lifetime Wish insted of Living in the Lap of Luxury? It also has the $100,000 goal but is a bit harder. ^^

I won't be impressed with technology until I can download food.
Sims Blog: (x)
Lab Assistant
#21 Old 30th Mar 2012 at 6:31 PM
Enjoying this short challenge, I NEVER finish legacy challenges.

One question: what's the lifespan requirement?

Also, an a**hole robber stole BOTH my chairs. Seriously?!
Test Subject
#22 Old 31st Mar 2012 at 3:30 PM
@goteampink Since this is my first legacy i kept the lifespan at normal, but i adjusted the age brackets so young adult and adult are longer to give me a better shot. For me I don't see this as a cheat, I think it evens it out as I'm not used to playing this way. Also, that sucks that you got a robber! My parent sim gets in fights autonomously though, so hopefully she'll act as a guard dog lol

When I get to the kicking the parent out stage I was thinking of using a mod to kill her instead so her ghost will haunt the lot forever and never leave him along hehehahaha! Does anyone know a mod that will make the red ghost? I think that will look the creepiest floating through the trees
Test Subject
#23 Old 31st Mar 2012 at 5:48 PM Last edited by Iren1203 : 2nd Apr 2012 at 3:26 PM.
@captainofsims Red ghosts are those of vampires(Late Night). If you got that ep, turn the parent into one (this mod is useful) and leave them in the sun for a while

I won't be impressed with technology until I can download food.
Sims Blog: (x)
Lab Assistant
#24 Old 31st Mar 2012 at 8:09 PM
Yeah I tried a normal lifespan with minor adjustments on each lifestage (I am not crazy about playing old people, so I shorten it.) The mean dad died like two days into his elder stage, so at that point my girl was a teen, just about a young adult. I am not quite sure where he died, as I played him as little as possible, I just left him at the firehouse and made sure his needs were met and then he just sat there playing video games or watching tv. I am guessing his grave must be at the graveyard, haven't bothered to go and check...thought about leaving his grave at the house to haunt, but then I thought poor Paige had already suffered enough in the hands of her dad.

Update on the robber...she came back and took the bench too. So all my sim had was a lot full of junky looking plants, an apple tree and an unusable table. Definitely buying an alarm system once she can afford it!
Test Subject
#25 Old 1st Apr 2012 at 9:46 AM Last edited by Iren1203 : 2nd Apr 2012 at 3:26 PM.
@goteampink I hadn't had a burglar from quite a while so it surprises me that you had one twice in such a short time. I do hope things turn out better for Paige.

I won't be impressed with technology until I can download food.
Sims Blog: (x)
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