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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 25th Jul 2010 at 1:43 PM Last edited by Solanacea : 25th Jul 2010 at 7:00 PM.
Default Bad Economy Challenge
This challenge comes in three different flavors. You’ll get a different amount of bonus points for the scenario you choose.

Intro Scenario 1: Single (Easy) – No bonus points.
The situation is bad as it is: There are nearly no jobs available at the moment. The fact that you were a horrible student and finished school without gaining any skills or qualifications at all makes it even worse. You have to admit you are kind of a loser and don’t really possess good qualities. Since your parents have more children to support they kick you out at one point. Luckily you have a distant relative who for some reason left you a tiny house in a different city. The economy isn’t better there but at least you have a roof over your head. Maybe you have more luck there.

Intro Scenario 2: Couple (Medium) – 10 bonus points.
Now that you finished school you have to admit the teachers you never took serious were kind of right. In this bad economy with your horrible grades and lacking experience, skills and qualifications you are really screwed. Shortly after graduation you married your highschool sweetheart and hoped you could leave the working part to him/her. Your partner isn’t any more qualified since he/she was the one you hung out with while skipping classes, but luckily a distant relative leaves him/her a small house in a different city. Maybe the two of you manage to work things out in the new town.
(Attention: The couple has to be married. They can be homo- or heterosexual.)

Intro Scenario 3: Single Parent of a toddler (Hard) – 50 bonus points.
You never took school serious and hoped to hook up with your highschool sweetheart once you graduate. But then one drunken night you got pregnant/got your girlfriend pregnant. Your partner leaves you with child and disappears to avoid paying child support. The economy is bad and you don’t have any qualifications or skills and a small child to support. Once you graduate your parents kick you out. First you have nowhere to go and no one to turn to but then your luck seems to turn. A distant relative leaves you a small house in a different town. So you hop the train with your toddler and search your luck elsewhere. (Attention: The sim you start with as a young adult has to have at least a second child at one point. The first child may never move out even if you don’t choose it as heir/ess. One of the children that were born in game has to remain on the lot too.)

THE RULES

The rules apply to the Base game, for the Add-ons there are some additional rules.

Duration: 10 Generations (Firstborn of Generation 10 becomes a young adult.)
You can play with 50, 90 or 180 Simdays and change as often as you like.

CHARACTER REQUIREMENTS:

Choose your scenario an create the Sims you need for it according to the following. (For the toddler in the third scenario you have to use at least one trait from List A.)

They have to have at least two of the following traits:
(List A)
Absent-minded
Clumsy
Commitment Issues
Coward
Dislikes Children
Grumpy
Hates the Outdoors
Hot-Headed
Inappropriate
Insane
Light Sleeper
Loner
Loser
Slob
Technophob
Unflirty
Unlucky

Every heir has to have at least one of those traits if you are allowed to choose traits at any point.
* If every heir has at least two traits from list A you get bonus points. (50 points)
* For every Sim who has only traits from that list you get bonus points. (25 points)

Each Sim can only have two of the following:
(List B)
Angler
Ambitious
Artistic
Bookworm
Computer Whiz
Frugal
Genius
Green Thumb
Handy
Kleptomaniac
Lucky
Mooch
Perfectionist
Virtuoso
Workaholic
Disciplined (WA)
Photographer`s Eye (WA)
Eccentric (A)
Perceptive (A)
Savvy Sculptor (A)

* If every Sim who is part of your household has none or only one of them during the whole game you get bonus points. (50 points)
* For every Sim who has none of this traits you get bonus points. (10 points)
* When at least five of your heirs are snobs you get bonus points. (50 points)
* When there is a snob in every generation you get bonus points. (110 points)
* If all of your Sims born into the family are snobs you get bonus points. (200)

Should a child get more than 2 B list traits and it’s not your fault you may only use two of the traits to earn money, once you choose with which you are stuck with them.

JOBS

For the first 5 Generations:
Only one family member is allowed to have a job. (The sim can be a teen, young adult, adult or elder.) Only a part time job. Promotions are allowed.
If another family member wants to work, the working sim has to quit job first and the other sim is not allowed to start a job on the same day, even if the other sim hasn’t worked yet or has a day off.
If a pregnant Sim was the working Sim and gets money during pregnancy and after no other Sim is allowed to find a job until maternity leave is over.

When the first child of Generation 6 is born:
Two Sims with part time jobs are allowed, but one has to be adult/young adult the other one teen/elder.
If a pregnant Sim was the working Sim and gets money during pregnancy and after only one other Sim is allowed to work until maternity leave is over. The Sim who works has to be a teen or elder.

OTHER OPTIONS TO EARN MONEY

You can take every opportunity.

You can have a garden and live from it, but you can only sell stuff worth §100 per week for the first 5 generations and §500 for the following generations. (In stuff everything you can harvest, fish, find etc. is included.) You can however sell everything you purchased like books, furniture… without limits. But of course not the useless stuff you wasted your money on in the first place. (What is meant by this you find out under “Lot, House, Furniture”.)

Only one artist is allowed to earn money at a time. This means when another sim earns money with art the sim who did it first is NEVER again allowed to earn money with art. If a write earns more than the working sim, the working Sim loses his job immediately. No more jobs until the writer moves out (if allowed) or dies or stops earning at all. (You are not allowed to kill off Sims. Should a Sim die of an accident you lose 50 points.) Other types of artists who don’t earn on a (semi)regular basis may be allowed to earn more than the working Sims once in a while as long as it doesn’t get too much. Be reasonable there. When you have a artist who really makes a lot of money quit your jobs. Imagine the businesses your other Sims work for are in trouble. Your boss has to fire some people, since he/she knows you won’t starve, but your co-worker Mary Sue or Larry Stu are the sole providers of a family of four he/she fires you.

LOT, HOUSE AND FURNITURE

You have to buy the most expensive lot available or at least a very expensive one. You can place the smallest available house on the lot or build one yourself. It should only have one bedroom, one bathroom and one bigger room where you can put in the kitchen and the living room stuff. You have to buy it unfurnished.

Furniture you are allowed to start with:
Beds for everyone, shower, toilet, only one sink (you can choose if you want it to be in the bathroom or the kitchen), one counter, one stove, small kitchen table and one chair per person, one refrigerator, a bookshelf, a phone – only the cheapest of each item of course
You can have as many lamps as you want but may never sell them again.
Keep up to §500 cash and waste the rest of the money on useless things or use a cheat to get rid of it. Should you not be able to afford the basic equipment listed you are allowed to cheat, but you have to cheat the rest of the money away and only keep §500 of course.

There is no computer allowed until the first child is born. There is only one computer allowed at any times. (If you choose Scenario 3 there is no computer allowed until the first child is born in game.)

FAMILY

It’s up to you if you move in a Sim or become a Single parent. But every moved in Sim is considered a family member and can’t move out once he/she moved in. Moved in Sims do not count against the bonus points you get for having a special number of traits mentioned earlier. But if they have more than 2 B list traits you have to decide which two you will use to earn or save money with. Stick with them.

If you want to create a spouse for your next heir you can do this as long as you create the Sim according to the rules.

The firstborn child of every generation has to stay at home forever even if you decide to use a Sibling to continue the family. If the firstborn child has a partner that moved in all rules apply to him. Their children have to live with them too until they are young adults. All other Siblings except heir (and firstborn child) are allowed to move out. Should a couple break up and a Sim is leaving the family (moves out) you will get a penalty. (You lose 75 points should it be the heir/ess or he heirs/heiress spouse, 50 points for everyone else. Should you be able to reconcile the broken up couple within a week you get back 25 of the lost points. Should the heir/ess leave without producing a new heir/ess and you can’t convince him/her to move back within a week your game is over. You can still count your points.)

Graves of dead household members have to stay on the lot.

* If you have 8 Sims living on the lot for at least 15 days in a row you earn bonus points. You can only get this points once. (50 points)
* If – beginning with generation 3 – you have at least 7 Sims living on the lot all the time you earn a additional bonus. (100 points)
* If – beginning with generation 3 – you have a total of at least 5 Sims living on the lot all the time you earn bonus points. (50 points)

If – beginning with generation 3 – less than 3 Sims live on the lot you lose points. (30 points per week for every time it happens)
You can have playable ghosts but they do not count! (Same applies to other extraordinary Sims.)

You can age babies and toddlers with the cake, but that’s it. If you play the whole baby and toddler stage you get bonus points. (30 per child and stage)

Joining the Household:
If a Sim who moves in has a job, he has to quit this job immediately. Money he brings into the household has to be spent on useless stuff. (Garden or Things you never use and keep in the family inventory.) Or you can get rid of the money with a cheat.

Producing the next Generation:
Homosexual couples are allowed to adopt (unless you use a cheat that allows same sex pregnancy), but only Babies and Toddlers. Singles have to get pregnant unless they are a few days before becoming elders, then they may adopt a baby. In both cases the toddler stage has to be played since you didn’t get to play the pregnancy. Heterosexual couples are not allowed to adopt unless one is already an elder and the other has only a few days left before becoming one.

If the house is so crowded that there is simply no space for newborn children you can move out a spouse of any Sim. (It should be one you married or moved in at an earlier point and you should start by moving out Spouses of the non-heir/ess. If you can choose always move out the Sim with the best qualities.)

SOME MORE THINGS


Game Over if…
…a Sim belonging to your household dies of starvation. (You can still count your points but you get a 500 points penalty and you can make no more points.) If you are revived later it doesn't matter, you still lose, get the penalty and cannot make any more points.
…your Sim fails to produce a heir and is unable to adopt or dies before being able to do so. (You can still count your points.)
…your heir/ess moves out after splitting up and didn’t produce a new heir/ess and can’t be moved back in again (must reconcile and be moved in by Sim who was reason for moving out!) after one week. (You can still count your points.)

Forbidden:
Money cheats

More Bonus Points:
* 100 Points when the firstborn of the last generation reaches young adulthood
* 10 Points for every child raised to young adult on the lot
* 50 Points for every lifetime wish you fulfilled (100 Points for money related fulfilled lifetime wishes)

RESTRICTIONS FOR ADD-ONS

My knowledge of Add-ons is highly theoretical since I haven’t played one yet. So I am very happy about suggestions!

For now I thought this could work:

The trait “Born Salesperson” is strictly forbidden. Should a person with this trait ever join your family for whatever reason this Sim is strictly forbidden to earn any money at all.

If you have a self-employed Sim or a Sim that sells stuff at the Consignment Store no other Sim is allowed to earn any money at all except with traits (e.g. mooching, hacking…). You can’t sell additional stuff you find or make or get from your garden and so on. You can’t have an artist that earns money. But you can have Bake Sales from the beginning. Starting with generation 5 you are allowed to sell garden stuff, gems and other things again but you may not earn more than 1000 Simleons per week from this.
I would prefer no self-employed Sims/professions or selling at the Consignment Store at all, but I leave this to you.

If you have no self-employed Sim and no Sim that sells stuff at the Consignment Store one of your children is allowed to take part on bake sales after Generation 5. But you can’t have an artist, two part time working Sims and a Bake Sale at the same time. If you have no artist it is no problem, should you have one you have to have one of your part time working sims quit for a week, then he/she can start working again.

If you can afford it you can go on vacation, but everyone has to join and there are no hacks/cheats allowed that affect the costs and duration of the journey.

***

The goal is not to get rich, but to deal with the situation the best way you can. Keep that in mind!
Hope you have fun!
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 25th Jul 2010 at 4:45 PM
This sounds awesome!
Fat Obstreperous Jerk
#3 Old 25th Jul 2010 at 4:48 PM
I like how "List A" of "bad" traits contains two of some of the best traits in the game, several which range from hilarious to harmless, and only a few that are actually BAD.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill because they pissed me off.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#4 Old 25th Jul 2010 at 5:29 PM
"List A" isn't really meant to be a list of bad traits, but rather a list of traits that don't help you earning/saving money and traits that are rather annoying. Since I haven't played every single trait I must confess I could have misjudged some of the traits.
So I'm always open for suggestions and very happy about them! So what traits of List A do you consider the best in the game? And what traits would you think would fit better on List A and which would you rather take off List A?
Thanks in advance!
Instructor
#5 Old 25th Jul 2010 at 6:28 PM
The two traits pescado is talking about are most likely neurotic and unlucky(or was it loser? I can't remember).
Neurotic gives a hefty buff with the freakout action, which is a very short action and can easily be taken before work for a performance boost. Also, they get random buffs from being allowed to check the sinks. It's actually a fairly positive trait.
Unlucky(or maybe loser) gives your sims death immunity to all except old age, which is pretty powerful in your particular challenge since one of your lose conditions is the death of a sim due to starvation.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 25th Jul 2010 at 6:57 PM Last edited by Solanacea : 25th Jul 2010 at 8:01 PM.
Ok, I will take neurotic off list A and expand the game over by starvation to: If you die but are revived you still lose.
I'm just not sure if loser works like unlucky. I just looked up unlucky and it says the sim dies but the grim reaper takes pity on him/her and revives him/her. Should loser handle it differently I'll take it off the list later.
Thanks a lot for helping!
Fat Obstreperous Jerk
#7 Old 1st Aug 2010 at 2:18 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Solanacea
"List A" isn't really meant to be a list of bad traits, but rather a list of traits that don't help you earning/saving money and traits that are rather annoying.
There are few, if any, traits that really help you save money. Among the traits I have found that appear to have zero meaningful effect include Absent-Minded (no noticeable effect on active sim, although frequently blamed for things), Clumsy (practically no relevant effects), Inappropriate (zero effect on active sim), Insane (no negative effects on active sim, while granting several useful abilities), Slob (pretty much bonus only: immunity to mood effects from hygiene and mess), Unflirty (no real effect on active sim), Commitment Issues (no effect on active sim), Hates Outdoors (really a mixed bag, since it eliminates Stir Crazy), Hotheaded (This trait is HILARIOUS!), Loner (reduces social decay a LOT - almost entirely a good thing!), Loser (only affects fighting - no relevance to this challenge)...in fact, most of your penalty traits have ANY effect whatsoever, or their workarounds are so trivial (light sleeper) that any Sims veteran has automatically implemented them anyway simply as a holdover from previous versions of the game. Of the only ones that have any effect, Grumpy is the only one that does anything at all, and at least then your sim will stop that idiotic smiling. God, that's so annoying.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill because they pissed me off.
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 2nd Aug 2010 at 7:57 PM
Why is hotheaded so hilarious?

This challenge is huckn fard, I think I'd be reaching for my virtual goggles after a couple of hrs of trying this
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 6th Aug 2010 at 2:22 AM
@Pescado: I don't think there are really bad traits anyway, but I still think those I chose for List A are at least not that useful for the challenge. At least those which I though were the least useful.
Which traits would you rather put on List A? What would you advice me to do to make the challenge harder than it is now?

I do think there are traits that help you save money. Mooch and kleptomanic were always useful for me.
Green Thumb and Angler could help you to earn money to. Since I limited the money you can earn by selling stuff it is not really that important though.
Computer Whiz and Genius definitely opens an option to earn money.
Handy should also save you at least a little.
Frugal also gives you some options and may reduce your bills. But I never really used this trait so I have to rely on information from others.
Artistic and Virtuoso should help you with earning money with art, but I'm not sure about this.
Maybe it depends on how someone plays, but my mooching and thieving hackers could at least survive.
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