Apocalypse Challenge - Realistic/Tiered Variant (Ruleset Mods Available!)
It's the super bowl and all across the region, people are watching. The whistle blows for half time and every Sim in the city goes to use the toilet. Every single toilet in the region is flushed at the same time. The resulting drop in water pressure causes the three nuclear power plants in the area to go critical and melt down, devastating the region. Thankfully, the founder is off at college when this happens, but when he returns to start his family, he finds a very different world he must survive in.
Chances are most of us have read these words and have either at least read though, perhaps attempted, or possibly even accomplished Pinstar's Apocalypse challenge. I'm in that second group. I think its a fantastic idea, but the 12 pages of rules were just impossible for me to keep in my head all at the same time. This might be true for you as well. The other problem I had with it was that it was too darn easy to cheat, or to accidentally cheat. With these issues in mind I decided I needed to make a set of mods to make my game force the rules on me and my sims. This set of mods is available for download here at MTS. While reviewing the rule set I decided to make my own adjustments. The rules have grown organically while the EPs were still coming out, so the full final set doesn't make as much sense as it would if you had started with all the EPs. Some of the rules bugged me or didn't make sense so for my own version I rearranged a lot. Hopefully these changes make sense or help you remember whats left of the rule. One of the major changes I've made is that the rules have to be lifted in a particular order. I've not mapped out each individual one to do in which order, rather I've grouped the 28 careers into Restriction Levels. The first level is the 'Securing the Basics'. In this level your sims are focused on security, food, and medical attention. The next is 'Rebuilding Society', in this level, your sims are focusing on unlocking careers that will help rebuild the town and the community. The final level is 'Rebuilding Culture'. At this level, your sims have more time to devote themselves to the arts and pleasures in life. There are a couple basic major differences between this Apocalypse Challenge and any others you may have done before. 1) Mine is tiered. You need to do each level before the next. 2) I allow and encourage your family to move the spares out and start their own homes (after lifting the Law Restriction) to help the afflicted neighborhood rebuild itself twice as fast. This doesn't effect how much time it takes you to finish it, but it helps the neighborhood grow more organically and when its over you should have a completely playable 'hood. 3) I've included mods to help you remember all the rules I've listed the rules that are taken care of with my mods in GREY. Though, I didn't do very thorough testing, so please let me know if something is wrong. 4) I require you to have and visit community lots. Before your sim can take a job in any career, they must visit the corresponding community lot to 'apply' or 'volunteer'. While this is an end of the world scenario, it's also about rebuilding the community. You can't do that without visiting the community. |
Overarching Rules - Setup
Apocalypse Challenge – Realistic Variant
The following is a set of harsh restrictions the family must obey. Each set of restrictions is tied to a specific career field. When a Sim reaches level 10 in that career field, that restriction is lifted. A single Sim may only lift one restriction in his or her lifetime. To lift all 28 of the main restrictions, it will take 25 different Sims and 3 different pets. There are 3 levels of restrictions; all restrictions in each level must be completed before moving on to the next. I recommend downloading Pescado's Zombie Apocalypse mod to add some flavor to your challenge. Sims part of the bloodline and the spouses to heirs can unlock restrictions. Servos cannot lift restrictions. The ONLY Sims that may be moved into the Legacy family’s household are Sims that will directly contribute to the birth of the next generation. (In other words, the spouse of each heir.) After the Law Restriction has been lifted, the ‘spares’ can move out of the house and start their own households to continue unlocking restrictions in tandem. You must keep the other houses in time sync with the main house and follow all the same rules. Only Townies and NPCs may be brought into the family. Moved in Social Townies may not keep their Uni jobs unless your Sims are otherwise able to attend Uni themselves. Until your founder lifts the first restriction, you may not move in any Sims or pets, or redeem Family Aspiration Perks. If a Townie at the top of a career joins the house as a spouse and that career is not lifted and is in the current restriction level, it is lifted instantly. If it is for a future restriction level, those restrictions may be lifted as soon as that restriction level is reached, even if the sim has already passed away. However, they may not work toward lifting a different one in the meantime. If that career has already been lifted, the spouse can work on lifting a different career. If you have the Pets EP, you must unlock the three pet restrictions to complete the challenge. If you do not have the EP for a career, consider that career restricted until all others on the same level have been lifted. At that point the ones you are missing can be considered lifted and you may move on to the next restriction level. The family lot must be on a desert or dirt tile set. You may not place the home family lot on a beach lot. When your founder returns to the neighborhood, move him or her into an empty lot. Any lots built after the disaster that your sims visit must comply with all current Apocalypse restrictions. This includes all lots but those in vacation neighborhoods. Any lots built pre-disaster must be stripped of objects that can not be used anymore, and the architecture should be modified to look as if it is barely surviving. If an object has no value, (such as a used up Aspiration Reward), you may delete it, regardless of existing restrictions. Cheats, mods, or hacked objects that would give you an unfair advantage over a player who didn't have or use them may not be used. You can use any custom object as long as its cost, ability and mood fulfillment exactly mirrors an existing 'official' object. Autonomous actions need not be canceled unless specified by the restriction. If you do accidentally break a rule, just fix your mistake - make up for it, and continue. As long as it was just an honest mistake, you don't need to consider failing the challenge. Starting Options: Full Uni Start: The founder starts as a Young Adult in college. None of the restrictions applies to the founder in college, as the disaster has not happened yet. The college has a strict no-pets rule. Neither the founder, nor any Sims attending college afterwards may purchase them while there. Founders may bring up to 3 items back from college that were purchased with their own money. If the founder graduates, one of these three items MUST be the diploma. The founder may not start an off-campus business. The founder must leave college after 9 semesters. If the founder goes on academic probation, those extra semesters count against the 9 you are allowed. Founders who graduate on time (8 semesters), may stay for the full post-graduation period. (The 9th semester.) If the founder goes on academic probation once, but still graduates, he or she must return to the neighborhood immediately after graduation. The founder does not need to graduate. Founders and anyone who comes after are prohibited from raiding the Secret Society house and bringing objects that were originally there back to the Apocalypse Family house. After the founder has returned, any future Sim sent to college may not move into a dorm, and must move into an empty lot (any size). Their college must also be on a dirt or desert tile set. Young Adult Sims that come after the founder must obey any restrictions that have not been lifted yet. Neither the founder, nor any Sims that come after may found or join Greek houses. The founder may not give gifts to prospective spouses before the ‘disaster’ happens. Mid-Uni Start: The disaster is going to happen sometime during Uni, and you don't know when. At the beginning of each day, roll two dice. Double sixes means the disaster is happening and you need to drop out of Uni by noon. If you make it all the way out of college without rolling double sixes, then it happens upon Graduation. All of the Full Uni rules still apply except with changes on the time limits of course. Adult Start: Either you don't have Uni, or you hate playing it. Start with an adult Sim, put them in a regular house, grab them 3 items for their inventory, play them as you would normally for 2 days and on Wednesday morning, you've suddenly been sent into the Dark Ages. You house has been totaled. Move out out and into an Apocalypse Lot. Suggested Housing Arrangements: These lots meet the basic building requirements for the challenge, but might be furnished a little too nicely for the beginning of the challenge. You might have to do some stripping. More lots will be added as I find them. I think its alright to use lots or build lots that only have a footprint of 64 squares in the living area and use walls and fences and other things to 'build up security' against the zombies or looters. , , , , and Nengi's Ghetto Grundge |
Basics - Safety, Shelter and Food *Restriction Level 1*
"It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
The physical effects of the nuclear winter are clear, but it is only half of the devastation. The damage to the population's mindset and willpower has also been great. People are starting to give up hope and despair has begun to set in. People have no motivation to band together or leave the shelters they have made. Once your founder reaches the top of a career, (ANY of the first 3 careers, it doesn't matter which), he or she shows the region that the worst is over, and that things can and will begin to get better. A few Sims are even willing to risk traveling the streets to be with the regions new and only ray of hope. You may move-in/marry spouses for your founder and future heirs and redeem Family Aspiration Perks. You are still restricted to moving in only those who will contribute to the next generation. *Note* As the newspaper isn't being published, nor do the carriers feel it is safe to travel, you may use whatever means you like to get your sims into any of these first three jobs - at level 1, of course. I recommend MogHughson's Job Notice Board. The region is so badly off, each of these fields can use as many recruits as possible. Pick whichever you'd like. Interesting Rule Change: Here you should include a few community lots in your hood at the moment. A military base, a soup kitchen/food bank, and a First Aid station may be built and sims may visit them a few times provided they follow certain rules. While these comm lots *may* include items currently restricted, such as a restaurant stove to feed the hungry. They still need to be very VERY limited. This challenge is much more about story telling than it is about finding sneaky ways to win. Your military base should include things that a forward war zone military post would have. Really get into the spirit of it. I had planned on making the official versions of these lots, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll update this thread if that changes. As for visiting them, the entire family needs to visit when you go. Protection in numbers, you can't leave anyone at home either. If you have toddlers or infants currently, you will have to wait. You may only go out once a week, and you need to visit all before going to any a second time. Once all lots have been visited once, you don't need to go to them again if you don't want to. Your sims may NOT take a job without visiting their new 'place of employment' first. Send your founder down to the military base, first aid station, or soup kitchen to become their newest 'recruit'. Community lots are allowed to break their own rules but no others. You are allowed to eat at the Culinary community lot, and you are allowed to fish at the Oceanography lot, however, you can't have electrical lights at the Medical facility until Science has been lifted, understand? Update/Rule Change: Teen jobs are restricted even further. Its really just not safe enough out for teens to go by themselves. They may join the military, but if they want to be in medical or culinary, they may only take that job if one of the adults in the house also has that job. Once they themselves are adults they may, of course, switch jobs by visiting a different career center comm lot. Culinary - "Hunger is the best spice." The gas lines and power grid have been severely damaged. Running a gas stove or electric appliance carries too much of a risk. Food is scarce. The quality of the food the Sims can get is very poor and can bring illness to some. Coffee is now scarce in the region due to supply cuts. Fresh food is non-existent.
Medical - "It's the dark ages once again." The plumbing has been severely damaged in the region. Water brought to the house is dirty and unsanitary. To make things worse, local drug stores have been cleaned out by looters. You are suggested to download the Sponge Bathe for All mod.
Military - "The government advises all citizens to lock their doors and remain indoors." The mobs of radiated zombies wandering the streets make it unsafe to travel anywhere but a select few highways. Neighborhoods are scattered as nobody is willing to risk traveling just to visit with friends. The roads to and from local colleges are blocked. Your founder just barely made it back to the neighborhood.
Security Pet Zombies, mobsters, anarchists, burglars . . . there is a lot out there that can get you. Even if these threats don't directly harm Sims, the fear of them does. A thick blanket of paranoia has spread over the region. Sleep does not come easy to a fearful mind, and the idea of these bad guys out to get them is enough to keep most Sims awake at night.
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Reviving Culture *Restriction Level 3*
In this last round, its much easier to visit lots. You still may not leave children home unattended, but your sim can visit comm lots alone. You will need an artist studio (Art, Dance, Music), a Trail Head (Adventure), Sports Complex or Gym (Athletic), Coffee Shop (Gamer, Slacker), Nightclub or TV Station (can be built onto News Center) (Entertainment, Show Business), Cemetery, Church, or Mystic shop (Paranormal). You can go back and upgrade your old lots as new things become available to you.
Artist - “Imagination is more important than knowledge” –Albert Einstein With survival on everybody’s mind, the arts have virtually disappeared overnight. People are more worried about finding their next meal than attending a concert in the park or buying art.
Adventure There is a particular energy around certain objects that gives them special properties. Objects with this energy are frequently given out as aspiration rewards. Ever since the Apocalypse, these objects have suddenly lost this energy and have become useless. While many are baffled by this, there are a few theories. It is said that the stone of Unga-Nunga is the key to the energy that makes Aspiration objects work so well. This stone was being held at the Sim City museum, where it powered the city's reward objects as well as slowed the EQ decay of the city's population. In the chaos of the meltdowns, somebody stole the stone.
Athletic - “Only the strong survive.” The radiation in the air weakens muscles and bones. As a result, muscle degeneration has set in. Even simple physical tasks have become impossible.
Dance Amongst the toxic ash and hoards of zombies lies a region of despair. Sims are not able to psychologically calm themselves enough to meditate. They are constantly off balance: either anxious or apathetic. Rhythm is lost to them and nobody even considers tapping their foot or humming. Stores containing stereo equipment have been cleared out by looters or destroyed in the wreckage. All dance left the region when the famous dancers fled.
Entertainment - "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Before the incident, it was common for people to balance work and relaxation. Too much stress can make people snap if they don't find fun things like television, books, and the internet to keep them entertained. Now many of those things have been taken away by the disaster. Whether destroyed in the blast or lost in some other manner, the people of the region are left to themselves. How can anyone conceive of cracking a joke in such a dismal state?
Gamer The disaster has fried most of the delicate electronic components, this means anything programmable is toast.
Music The skies are dark and packed with clouds; No more concerts, no more crowds. The land sleeps in a blanket of snow; Waiting for the start of the show. All that's missing is the lead; For the land to wake and take heed. Blast Mother Nature’s eardrums out; Show grandfather winter what you're about. Make the existence look and nod; To the emergence of the Rock God.
All of the Music restrictions are lifted. Paranormal - “One death is a tragedy. 1,000 deaths are a statistic. Stop bothering me before you become a statistic.” –The Grim Reaper With the death toll in the thousands, the Grim Reaper has been pulling long shifts. He is so tired of hearing pleas he has stopped bargaining for the dead. The whole region has become haunted with angry spirits. These spirits have disrupted the mystical energies, and all magical items have become mundane.
Slacker - "White hot iron, red hot iron, cold black iron. An Iron taste and iron smell, and everywhere an iron sound." -Bleakhouse With government regulators unable to enforce fair labor laws and the remaining businesses able to mistreat their workers who are desperate to keep their jobs, standards of employment have gone down the drain.
Show Business - “It’s the end of the world and you’re wearing THAT?” Sims don't care about personal appearance anymore. They would rather be fed and safe than pretty. Cosmetics, hair care supplies, and clothing stores have all been cleaned out by looters or destroyed. Nobody wants to spend any money to bring these items back to the region. As a result, Sims' appearances have taken a turn for the worse, leading most to keep to themselves. Large gatherings, socials, brunches and parties have virtually disappeared. The social elite of the region have long since fled for greener pastures.
Showbiz Pet Life in a desolate world is harsh to Sims of all ages. Younger Sims find the new world they are growing up in not only scary, but mind numbingly boring as well. With no entertainment for kids and teenagers, concentrating on work is very difficult.
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Back to normal
The skies clear, the zombies are gone. The power plants are repaired and life returns to normal. The family stands as a testament to a Sim’s will and ability to survive. The whole city owes a great debt of gratitude to the host of leaders and heroes that have emerged from the family. By this time you should have a fully functional and realistically built up neighborhood. Congratulations! From this point you can take your neighborhood and play out the lives of all the residents. Your town is thriving again, all thanks to your hard work!
Scoring: 100 pts for each level 1 Restriction lifted 50 pts for each level 2 Restriction lifted 25 pts for each level 3 Restriction lifted Perfect score is 1325, but as this is a very long challenge, we have different levels of winning. Lifting all of Restriction Level 1 makes you a Bronze Apox Survivor, lifting all of Restriction Level 2 makes you a Silver Apox Survivor, and lifting all of Restriction Level 3 makes you a Gold Apox Survivor. Tell us all how you did! We'd love to hear some 'survivor' stories! Also, tell me if you ran into a wall with anything, as this challenge is so restrictive and requires things to be done in certain orders, I'm not 100% its actually do-able yet. It is supposed to be super hard, but its not supposed to be impossible. Let me know and I'll see about a fix. Suggestions: I highly recommend Pescado's Zombie Apocalypse and ARC to make the threat of Zombies real. Remember, this challenge is about rebuilding a community and telling a story of hard work and survival. Have fun with it! |
This is looking awesome Phae - but aww my poor sims. So no shower, no cooker, no fridge, no sink. Right.
Is there a list of lots available that we can download? Or do you need people to build/share lots? I guess once the travel restriction is lifted we could have some bars and markets... my poor, poor sims. I am starting to ponder a strategy - which one first. |
I can't wait to try this challenge Phaenoh.
I love the compound you built. A set of lots to work within the rules is an excellent idea. I'm searching for lots now so I can get started |
So many challenges and so little time ! Why do I have to work so many hours a week when I would gladly sim them instead
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Hmm, as a "normal" Apocalypse player I'm a little confused on some of your rule changes; could you possibly clarify?
The Military section still restricts traveling to community lots, but you say that going to the "workplaces" is how jobs are acquired. Does it not apply? And can you simply go there any time, for any purpose? I know you say you shouldn't use these to cheat, but is there a purpose to these lots besides flavor? Are we allowed to meet other sims there, and are the restricted objects allowed to be used, or is it all just for look? Intelligence restricts talking on the phone, saying that only "invite over" is allowed. Are we allowed to do this at all times? I may just be looking too hard, but there isn't any Tuesday 12-12 restriction, right? And why the restriction on supernaturals? I assume they are moved out even if Law is in place, but afterwards why aren't they allowed to unlock restrictions? Is the post-apocalyptic world just too species-ist to accept their contributions to society? Getting on the subject of moving spares out, once they're moved out they act almost like a new founder, right? Heh, I guess I asked quite a few questions. Sorry for the bother. I'll definitely try it out, even though I think the ordering of restrictions removes a lot of the strategy from the challenge. I am, however, quite excited to destroy some lots for this new neighborhood. ...Oh! And one last thing. How would you feel about an Adult Start? I'm never very fond of the beginning Uni phase, so I tend to just skip it and make the beginning a bit hellish. |
I'm seriously thinking that I ought to convert my uberhood into a 'post-apocalyptic' one, at the end of their week-with all the mods installed. My idea is when the meltdown happens, all families are evacuated into their shelters, and they have to give up all of their previous lives to adapt to the new conditions.
Quite a concept, especially since there are mods that can really make survival tough, like the 'real sickness' one from MATY, which I'm probably going to use. With no doctors around, nobody can survive a minor illness quite so easily. I'd call it 'reversal of fortune' for the entire neighborhood. Nobody is spared. I'd do it the other way from scratch, but I'd forget which CC I like so much, and I do so hate to start fresh with my 'empty templates' that I have installed, which will make it harder to really get the neighborhood off to the proper start. |
Quote: Originally posted by Ugly Duckling
Goodness thats a lot of questions but I'm glad you've asked them. Military restricts visiting other community lots besides the ones listed in the fashion I've explained. In my version of the military lot, there will be an obstacle course that you sims can use (assuming they are in that career) and there are showers. This is not considered cheating as the military would be one of the first into a region and they would be able to set up things like showers and a base camp. The community at large doesn't have running water yet, but they would. You may meet sims and interact with them as Intelligence allows, just watch out for zombies. Just don't go over board with what you place there. I'm not including computers in mine because I don't want to babysit them from playing games. As for the Invite over, Tuesday thing, that's gone. The restriction on Supernaturals isn't being speciest, or whats, they are being disallowed from the stance of simplicity. They have too many special powers to rule against. They are to be moved out regardless of Law restrictions, and they still must be played to keep in sync. However, it's Intelligence that is ruling against them in general. After that has been lifted the rest of the hood can trust them again, fall in love, get married, move in, and unlock restrictions. It's just slightly more likely that they would die alone and shunned before Intelligence gets lifted. Also, after Intelligence is lifted, the family no longer needs to 'kick them out'. It's purely a trust issue. And for the regular spares, yeah, they behave just like a founder of their own lot, but all lots *must* be kept in time sync with each other. Adult starting is allowed, its just much harder. Uni allows your founder to skill up while they can. If you adult start, you may choose your three items and go from there. I personally prefer a mix of the two. The disaster is going to happen sometime during Uni, and you don't know when. At the beginning of each day, roll two dice. Double sixes means the disaster is happening and you need to drop out of Uni by noon. If you make it all the way out of college without rolling double sixes, then it happens upon Graduation. It always seemed odd to me that your sim seemed to know what was coming and was preparing for it on a deadline. Hope that clears some things up! |
Since post-apocalypse/industrial/dystopia-style settings are my new default playstyle, but I have always thought the original Apocalypse Challenge was a Big Ball O' Ridiculous, I was considering this challenge - but I also object to the discrimination against supernaturals, which is very Not Allowed in my game (discrimination against humans is fine, though - they were also very Not Allowed in my game until recently). So I would say count me in, but... just... no. Sorry, but that's not the way I roll.
(I am not trying to be rude or anything. Just stating my opinion. Feel free to completely ignore me - everyone else does.) - VT |
If you'd like to include the Supernaturals in your version of you, you may, but you will have to look up and follow all of the rules against them that the original version does. The supernaturals have lots of special attributes that would give them an unfair advantage over other sims. I simply ruled them out for simplicity's sake. There are a lot of rules against them and the whole purpose of this from the beginning was to simplify the rule set.
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Thanks for the reply, Phaenoh. I think I might do that - in which case, count me in!
*goes off to find original version of the challenge to check rules now* (of course, that's not too hard. I'll just look under 'A' since I print off all the challenges I like and keep them in an alphabetised folder. Three, to be exact - I love challenges) - VT edit: I just thought of something. I play with clean templates. Clean templates = no townies. Can I make my own? (I think it would probably add more flavour if I used custom townies, since I could create suitably apocalyptic looks rather than facepalming every time I see a townie walk through a zombie-infested fallout zone in a suit and tie, but I just thought I'd check first) |
Crikey, I am in a building frenzy for this I have another lot coming up - a community lot - which is a food/showers/used clothing depot set up by the Sim government. Its not very apocalyptic - but its very sterile and governmenty.
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This looks interesting. I've been thinking of writing a version that incorporates some more aspects of how people actually deal with an apocalyptic situation myself.
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Quote: Originally posted by nuidyaforever
Lee? I love it. I'm also building up as much as I can, hopefully get those uploaded soon. If you get some lots that are built to these specifications, I will link to them. (and that goes for anyone else as well, not just Lee!) |
um well, built to specs... why does it have to be a 5 by 5 lot? Is it just for the lot value? Cos I don't want a load of enormous empty looking lots with a little blob in the middle.
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Phaenoh- I've never used Zombies much, but I've been working on a post-apocalyptic neighborhood and I've been thinking about adding them. Are the zombies you're using modified or can regular spread zombism like an infection??
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Lee, I have no idea why it has to be a 5x5, but I find that too be the least important lot building rule out there. Things like keeping to the footprint, raising it above ground level, nothing living growing, and having nothing left outside in the elements are the important ones to stick to.
A.G.Doren, I've only used zombies with Pescado's hack which makes it more like an infection, I think regular ol' zombies would behave more. |
I've always assumed the 5x5 rule was for starting the sim with as little money as possible. So what I do, if I want to use a smaller lot, is simply familyfunds the price difference away so they start with the same amount, regardless of lot size.
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So with MATY's zombie hack you'll get zombie outbreaks from time-to-time. I've heard that hack would pretty much overwhelm your neighborhood...how would you manage to build the community??
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Quote: Originally posted by A.G.Doren
Someone on this thread at MATY suggests using Paladin's weapons in defense. http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/s...ic,6720.25.html That, and making sure your playables have really high body skill. Apparently, with the hack in place, zombies gain body skill with each attack, so over time, their attacks will have higher chances of succeeding. |
Quote: Originally posted by leesester
I think that rule is just for residential lots, so the founder doesn't start out loaded. I found no mention of community lots having to be 5x5 in either the original Apocalypse challenge or the Legacy challenge, so I'm assuming that the lot size rules don't apply to community lots. - VT |
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