Just for kicks, I’ve decided to try out the Legacy Challenge posted on the Sims 2 BBS. I’m not sure who posted the original challenge, but Lynda at So Very Posh linked to a copy of the rules, so those are the ones I’m following. The objective is to have the “strongest” family after ten generations of play. In this case, “strength” refers to wealth, “platinum” gravestones, and a host of other criteria. We’re not allowed to cheat, but we can use the Elixir of Life if we so desire. I’m not sure about the other Aspiration Rewards, such as the Money Tree — I’ll have to look into that.
The rules state that you must start with a single Sim, so I created one named Nia Shanley. She has a high score in Outgoing and average scores in everything else. I made her a Fortune Sim and hoped to get her going on the Business track, but hooo-boy, did I have a tough time.
The biggest challenge for me so far has been dealing with the lack of funds. According to the rules, you have to start on a 5×5 lot, which is the largest and most expensive lot. After purchasing it, I had $4,500 with which to build and furnish a residence for poor Nia. Here’s what she ended up with:
(I had my camera set to take medium-sized pics and snapped quite a few before I realized that was the case, so you won’t see any large pics until the end of this post.)
I moved Nia into her crappy abode and got her a job in the Business track as soon as the newspaper arrived. It was too late to go to work at that point, so I had her study cooking.
As you can see, I didn’t have enough money for wallpaper or flooring. Nia’s Environment score didn’t seem to suffer too badly, however. The welcome wagon showed up at the usual time, so I had Nia go out and meet them (I figured she’d need them later — you get points for family friends). I thought it was cool that Joely Dobbins (of my longest-running family) stopped by, so I snapped a pic of her talking to Nia.
After everyone left, Nia didn’t have much to do. She didn’t have a TV, so I had her make a paper airplane and play with it to increase her Fun level.
I don’t recall the exact sequence of events (curse my Swiss cheese memory!), but Nia’s first day on the job was actually a day off, so she made no money that day. Ouch. That really hurt, since I couldn’t buy a mirror (she needed a point of Charisma to get promoted), and she already had bills from the mailman. She wasn’t getting very much sleep on the cheap couch, so I think I ended up selling the shower and buying her a bed. At any rate, I couldn’t keep her needs up, and she quickly became depressed. Thankfully the Social Bunny showed up to help her out of her funk.
While Nia was at work the next day, I received one of those career chance cards. I should have just hit “Ignore”, but I thought if I picked the “right” answer, Nia might get something she really needed. Unfortunately I picked the wrong answer, and she lost her job. Well, you know what that does to Fortune Sims…Nia went stark raving bonkers and received a visit from the friendly neighborhood shrink.
Not long after that, she was out on the curb in her pajamas, begging for Simoleons.
Eventually I got her mood back up, got her another job in the Business track, raised that Charisma, and got her promoted. I also had her fall in love with the mailman and ask him to move in, thinking he might contribute some moolah to the family funds. (According to the Legacy Challenge rules, we can only have NPCs or Townies move in.) Unfortunately he brought a measly thousand Simoleons with him; at least, he was supposed to — I never actually saw the family funds increase. Bummer.
The nice thing about Sheldon the Mailman is that his Skills are out of this world — he has several of them maxed out. So I’m hoping he can get promoted a lot and contribute some money that way. I was shocked to see him go to the fridge and start preparing Lobster Thermidor — none of my Sims have been able to do that yet.
So I was off to a shaky start, but things seem to be improving. I think if I were to try this again, I’d start with a Popularity or Family Sim and put them in a career that makes a lot of money right away, like the Military. I’m going to stay with Nia for now though and see how it goes.
Sounds interesting, Jen! I hope Nia and Sheldon and their progeny become very rich. :D
Hope you have fun doing this, it will be nice to see how it developes.
I was thinking about taking the legacy challenge, though decided instead just to concentrate on the rest of my neighbourhood. It’s a good idea, don’t let it get in the way of your novel too much though.
I’m glad you’re doing this challenge because it’s interesting to see how everyone handles the challenge. I hope you keep it up because I’d love to see how it all ends.
Yea! You’re doing the Legacy Challenge…I wanted to try this too. I was going to start another neighborhood. Since you can only move in NPCs and Townies I thought it would be ok to just start them out fresh.
I had the same thing happen to me with an NPC and the money. They only brought in 1,000 something and I didn’t see it show up in my money total. I don’t know if you knew this but Military and Law Enforcement career tracks both give you a lot of money early on so it’s possible to start them out in one of those but when you get to a point where you want them to get the job they want then they can just quit that job and move on to the next. I used to start out my Sims in TS1 like that. I would work on the skills that I knew they needed for the job I wanted them to get but just stock up on the extra money from the Military career while they were studying up.
Heidi — Cool! I hope you do the Legacy Challenge, too. I’m having great fun with it so far, and it’s a nice break from my usual families. I know what you mean about jobs — I should have started out Nia in Law Enforcement or Military, especially in a challenge like this. But she seems to be doing OK now. I also wish I would have started in a different neighborhood — it’s much easier to meet townies that way! Mt. Geneva is getting so full that most of the walk-bys are families I’ve created. Normally that would be great, but it makes the Legacy Challenge more difficult. :-)
I started it yesterday! I’ll post about it today because I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures. I had some of the same problems…the social bunny was the best though, they actually got into a fight with each other! I’m actually to a point where they have money, but I’m really surprised my guy made it this far, he was not doing well for awhile.
hehe Since you and Heidi sounded like you were having so much fun with the Legacy Challenge, I decided to try it too. It’s really hard starting out. I’ve been so used to using the “money cheat” that I’ve had to consciously remind myself that I can’t use it anymore. In the beginning, I was so strapped for cash that I didn’t buy my sim a shower at first. When it got to the point that she needed a shower, I sold her bed and bookshelf. After her shower, I sold it back and repurchased the bed and bookshelf. The next (sim) day I was able to finally purchase a shower for her to keep. lol It’s fun so far. Right now, I’m trying to get an NPC to move in with her. They already have a crush on each other so it should be soon.
Awesome, Kara! Good idea to buy the shower and sell it again — I didn’t think of that when I was starting out. I hope you have fun with it! I also hope you keep us posted on how your family is doing!