I hadn’t planned on blogging this, because I thought it might be another thing I start and never finish, but I’ve actually made it to the YA stage of 2nd generation (my first time ever with a Sims 3 family!) and am still going strong with it. Plus one of my Simming friends asked to see pics, and I thought I might as well just post them here. So, introducing the umpteenth project I’ve undertaken in TS3, the Wishful Living Challenge!
This is my founder, Zuzu Shanley. The name may be familiar to those of you who followed my very first Legacy Challenge for TS2 way back in 2004-2005. She was the first daughter of the 4th generation heiress, Fiona, and her husband Robi, and the twin sister of the 5th generation heir, Patrick. This was during the “have 10 babies” madness, so she ended up being shipped off to Uncle Liam’s house to make room for more kids. I always liked her and almost wrote some stories about her a few years back — even had her grow up to an adult and moved into a house — but it never got off the ground.
When I was thinking of a founder for the Wishful Living Challenge, I thought it would be fun to re-create Zuzu for TS3. Her aspiration in TS2 was Popularity, so I gave her the traits Friendly, Charismatic, Party Animal, and Good Sense of Humor. The woman was built to be a friend-making MACHINE. To round her out a bit I gave her the Neat trait as well; I figured she’d be cleaning up after guests a lot, so she might as well enjoy it (plus I love the “Clean House” option that Neat Sims get).
Now, the Wishful Living Challenge is kind of like the Legacy Challenge in that you start with a founder and go through the generations. However, there are several big differences. The first is that the founder can move into any house they can afford, and it has to be an actual house — no empty lots allowed! So I had Zuzu move into the Dogpatch in Riverview.
Another big difference is that the scoring is based on completing Lifetime Wishes. The ultimate goal is to complete every single LTW in the game and see how many generations it takes. The catch is that only the heir, their spouse, and a designated spare heir are eligible as far as the scoring is concerned. Furthermore, they have to fulfill their LTWs before the heir moves out, which must occur before they are three days into the Young Adult stage. So yep, no lingering on the same lot for generations on end — the WLC heirs have to pack up and find another house in town, starting all over again (though generally with more money in their pockets than their predecessors). This appealed to me since I always felt that Legacy Challenges get too easy to play after 1st generation (and hence, become boring).
Zuzu’s LTW was to Have 20 Friends, and she wasted no time in getting to know the people of Riverview. She wanted to join the Law Enforcement career right off the bat, so I had her do that, and one of her co-workers was Don Lothario. Don works everywhere, doesn’t he? That’s when I finally realized that Don must be programmed to take the same career as your first Sim in town. There is no avoiding the Don.
Anyway, I wanted Zuzu to make some babies, and since Don was her partner at work I figured he might as well be her partner at home (*groan*). Don Lothario became Don Shanley, and much woohoo was made.
Since I didn’t plan on blogging this, I didn’t snap many pics. Here’s the only one I got of Zuzu pregnant, dancing away to the stereo outside (I decided that all stereos must now be outside because otherwise people turn them on the middle of the night and disrupt sleep. A lot. It’s annoying!)
My mind was blown when Zuzu up and had twins. Yikes! I didn’t bother with any pics during the boring pillbug stage, so here they are as toddlers:
The blonde twin who is basically the mirror image of Zuzu is named Mara, and the brunette, who looks more like her dad, is named Hope. Mara started out Athletic and Friendly, and Hope was Excitable and a Heavy Sleeper. I rolled those randomly because I had no idea where I was going with them, but at least I had the power to veto if something icky rolled up. Like Evil – I’m not ready for an Evil Sim yet. I keep putting it off, and I don’t know why. I need to bite the bullet one of these generations and be like “BAM! You’re EVIL! Now go become the Emperor of all EVILNESS!” But not yet. Although, in retrospect, it would have been cool to make one twin Good and the other Evil…maybe next time.
After Zuzu made some money, I also renovated the Dogpatch somewhat. The rules of the WLC state that you cannot change the footprint of the house or add any levels, so I just repainted the windows, floors, and walls, and then changed the style of the fence around the sideyard. I also plopped down more trees and shrubs. You can see Don’s super-ugly Sloppy Jalopy parked in front of the house (that got a repaint later, too).
Zuzu ended up quitting her job to take care of the kids full time (I wasn’t sure how the whole Babysitter thing worked yet — that’s how little I’ve played families with kids in TS3!). At least they can multi-task a bit while holding their offspring.
Don’s LTW was originally Heartbreaker (be the boyfriend of 20 Sims), but I couldn’t make him do that to Zuzu, so after the twins were born, he had a “change of heart” and decided he’d rather become a CEO and make scads of moolah to support his new family. (In other words, I used Lifetime Happiness points to change his LTW. Very handy.) He was still Flirty, though, so I had to keep an eye him to make sure he wasn’t puttin’ the moves on other chicks when Zuzu was around. Once a cad, always a cad: that’s our Don.
Before long the twins became children, and hooray! I was through the toddler stage. I managed to teach them both to walk, talk, and use the potty, so for Mara I settled on the Genius trait, and for Hope I chose Loves the Outdoors. I still wasn’t sure where I was going with their LTWs, so I was still randomly rolling, but rolling again if a trait I disliked came up.
Here’s a typical Shanley family scene: a party in the sideyard, with everyone in formalwear, Zuzu drinking a capuccino to stay awake a bit longer, the kids doing their homework diligently, and Don dancing it up. (Vertical woohoo!)
As a Genius, Mara enjoyed playing chess, and she raised her Logic to a high enough level that she had the Lifetime Wish to Become a Chess Legend roll up before she even hit teen. Hope, on the other hand, hadn’t had any LTWs show up yet, so I designated her as my heir (to give her more time) and Mara as the spare. According to the rules of the challenge, I had to try to fulfill Mara’s LTW before the pair were three days into the YA stage.
So Mara spent most of her child and teen days playing chess, mostly against ranked opponents. I selected the trait Lucky for her when she became a teen so she’d win games more often and progress to a higher rank in chess more quickly. In the above picture she’s playing against George Dean, a friend and neighbor of the Shanleys. Hope is watching them with concern.
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“Clean house” rocks! I kind of want a hack to have it for all Sims (for TS2 as well!) because I have the Lazy trait, lol!
You’re exactly like me with the Evil trait. I’ve had Evil Sims but I always groan a bit when I roll randomly and I get Evil. It just seems a bit…cartoonish to me.
Mara looks so much like Zuzu!
Maybe I’ll try this challenge – you make it sound like such fun and it does sound actually challenging, as opposed to the Legacy Challenge.
You did a great job making over Skunk Haven! Poor Hope though…fingers crossed she manages to find a better guy than Barry or Conrad! Or hey, maybe Story Progression will decide Travis and his wife aren’t right for each other!
I have the Lazy trait, too! Heehee. A “Clean House” hack for all Sims would be awesome! I wouldn’t be able to use it in the challenge, but it would come in handy in other households.
I agree on Evil Sims seeming a bit cartoonish. That’s a good word for it. But I suppose a less cartoonish, more “realistic” Evil would be too scary and disturbing for this kind of game. I shudder to think, actually!
Heh. My anti-spam word: “ikea”. It’s fate. A furniture store wants to visit Skunk Haven. Wow. I can’t believe the 2nd generation heir had to move into such a hovel. Granted, I loved what you did to the outside, but hot damn! O__o That’s some rough living!
It’s funny that you mentioned the interesting tidbit about “Zuzu”. I had just read some Avatar: the Last Airbender fanfiction where “Zuzu” happens to be the nickname of the firelord’s banished son Zuko (a nickname given to him by his crazy-ass sister Azula). Teehee.
Dang. I’m so ashamed. You started this challenge long after me, and where am I with it? Nowhere. Heh. My generation 2 has been born, but I haven’t played since then. :”> I like how yours is going though. You seem to be doing quite well!
Haha, and my anti-spam word is “move”, as in “move outta Skunk Haven”! ;-p And ooh, ahh, Avatar: The Last Airbender! That is one of my all-time favorite shows. I actually just rewatched Season 1 last week. Good stuff. I did chuckle a little and think of Zuko when I was writing this update!
I went to Facebook between each page to make the story last longer. Your stories are like a really great tutorial of the challenge btw. I’m thinking of trying it. I haven’t played since March.
I was thinking about Twallian story mode. How is it different from the awesome mod story mode do you know?
Wow, thanks, gethane! I’m glad you enjoyed the update. As for Twallan’s SP vs. Awesome SP, I’m not too sure, since I’ve never used Awesome SP. I used to be an Indie Stone mod user so when Twallan took that over, I just migrated over to his mod. Twallan’s mod is a bit tough to configure at times, whereas I think Awesomemod has the HTML config page that makes things easier, but I think Twallan’s is more versatile. It covers so many areas and almost all of it is configureable by the user. Also, you get pop-ups notifying you about everything that’s going on, which can be annoying for some, but those can be turned off, too. Like if you only want to know what’s going on with blood relations, you can limit it to that, or if you only want to know when someone in town has a baby, you can configure it that way. It just takes a little exploring around the interface, which unfortunately is not the most intuitive. I like it a lot, though, and Twallan is great about updating and answering questions. Hope that answer helps a little.
Jen!!!
You cannot believe how happy you just made me by reintroducing Zuzu :)
How great to read something about one of the Shanleys once again! I really remember her and her purple as favorite color. Aaaand: This is just the kind of story-writing of yours that I love most, be sure that I will follow it eagerly as you continue! You started this off so great that I’m totally excited to try it out myself, haven’t had a try with TS3 for a looong time, so maybe this might be just the challenge that I’ve been waiting for.
I love Hope (we both share the same favorite color, that means something!) and her sister (Mara is a beautiful name) and hope to see that gen 3 will be rolling soon.
And that guy who’s about to chomp a piece out of Zuzu’s shoulder is hilarious, you made me giggle :)
Thank you very much!!
Too great you’re back :)
Hey EvaH!! It’s always great to see you. :) It really is a fun challenge; you’ll have to let us know if you try it out! Thanks for being such a fan of the Shanleys. It’s too bad, you won’t get to see much more of Zuzu now that Hope has moved out. Anyway, hope you have fun with the Sims or whatever you decide to do!
I’m so glad that you’ve shown us a bit of your challenge! I love what you did with Skunk Haven. Can you imagine living somewhere named Skunk Haven??
Your sims are lovely! Zuzu & The Don made a good couple. Hope is quite the cutie too. I hope to see more from this challenge.
Thanks, Lisa! Skunk Haven really is a terrible name for a house, isn’t it? Blech. Although it’d be kind of funny if skunk spawners existed and you could litter a whole lot with them…well, maybe not so much funny as annoying. And stinky.
Eeee! Zuzu Shanley! Now I have to go and reread the old Shanley Legacy again.
It’s good to see you playing again. :D Also: hi hi! I’ve gotten hooked on Sims 3 as well. What skintones, eyes etc are you using for CC?
OMG, Kay!! How the heck are ya, lady?? So you’re hooked on the Sims 3 now, too? Do tell!! I’d love to hear about what you’re up to! As for CC, I’m using kind of a Frankensteinian mash of bits and pieces. The faces and eyes are from Aikea Guinea/Club Crimsyn: Default Replacement Skintones – Faces Only and Multicolored Default Eye Replacements. Then I also have the Increased Shine and the “More Detailed” Skins (bodies only) by Hysterical Paroxysm. I can give you some links to make-up, too, if you want! Actually, I need to make a credits page for my TS3 stuff anyway…I’ll get on that. :) But until then, feel free to ask away! So great to see ya!!
Heee, it’s been a while, hasn’t it! :D I haven’t Simmed at all for about a year or so, and now coming back there’s finally enough mods (i.e twallan’s story mode, alien eye contacts, skin colours etc etc) that I can finally play the game like I want to play it. Also there’s more resources and tutorials and all around information about Create a World, so that’s also easier to deal with. I just did not have fun with only the two default ‘hoods. And the first EP being adventures didn’t thrill me either. But! Aspirations has promise, and I like the stuff pack. :D
I’m currently making families for a Prosperity challenge with a touch of the Build a City challenge. You can find me over on LJ as saunasims: http://saunasims.livejournal.com/
holy boop their kids are adorable. nice choice on heir as well… very smart choice anyhow and geebus you did an awesome job on that house. I mean, sure I know you’ve always had a way of building houses that just rock, but man the before and after pics of that skunk haven is mind boggling.
as for spouse, I’d go with Newbie cuz he is at least the better looking of the two.
Conrad sounds like he is Neurotic. I had one, they’re erm… interesting. wash hands 3 times and then he’s worried about the sink breaking cuz he used it . *headdesk*
Ask Travis if he’s taken. the McDermott’s have money if IRCC
Thanks, Ruby, and LOL at your experience with neurotic Sims. I’ve only ever seen them do the “freak out!” thing, then get the “happy place” moodlet after (don’t remember what it’s called now). They are amusing, though. Still working on the Travis McD thing…
Hey there Jen! I’m so excited to see you back to simming. I love the things you’re doing with TS3. This new challenge sounds very fun, I may have to try it out after I finish my legacy challenge. I’m on Gen. 6 now, although I’ve been slacking in the blogging of it. I’ve only blogged through Gen. 2 or so! Woopsy! Heehee.
I always loved Zuzu, and was rooting for her as your heir in the first Shanley legacy. So it’s really good to see her back in action. Also, how cool is it that your G2 Shanleys in this legacy and the original were both twin girls?! I think that’s pretty nifty.
I hope you continue having fun playing this challenge, because I’d love to see more about it!
Mandie! Wow, Gen 6 on your legacy challenge? That’s awesome! I miss the Spaghettis! :) Holy cow, I see that you updated in April and I missed it! D’oh! Off to read now!
Oh! And I vote Hope goes for Travis McDermott. From the pic it looks like he’s got more interesting features than your run of the mill TS3 Townie. And if he’s married, well. Hope can just seduce him anyway and once he’s smitten tell him to get a divorce! >:)
I agree with you on Travis’s features! They’re a bit odd, but at least they’re not cookie cutter like most of the other guys in town! Hope hasn’t seemed like the seducing type to me, so I’ve been careful with her, but she’s getting desperate…
Ha! Before reading a single word, I looked at that first picture and went, “Oh, that looks like Zuzu!” And then, lo and behold, it is! I may have squealed a little when I read that bit, I have such fond memories of reading about the Shanley’s and just itching to start my own Legacy family. =)
Amusing that Zuzu had twins! And Barry Newbie sounds like quite the character, though Hope probably could do better. Finding marriage material in Sims 3 can be so hard; it seems like everyone in town is always an elder or just about to turn elder. I’ve resorted to breaking up couples just so my sims have people to marry.
Loved the update, Jen! =)