A Distraction (Big Brother)

[hazelnut]

I haven’t been distracted from the Haskills for a while…

Since The Island was so much fun, I’ve decided to have a go at the original Big Brother, although with quite a few tweaks to the rules, inluding doubling the number of contestants.  This could be called Big Brother: The Self-Indulgent Edition, because, rather than playing with random Sims, all sixteen of them are old favourites retrieved from the Sim Bin.  Most have had trait changes, while keeping their essential personalities unaltered: not random but with plenty of variation.  Two of them were minor celebrities in their previous lives and so I’ve restored their stars for this game – and dished out one or two to other contestants who would have had them if they’d been played with Late Night – because I want to see how/whether celebrity status spreads in an unsupervised group of Sims.

I’ll be playing in Bridgeport, with all expansion packs enabled.  Weather is switched off on and the moon phase is fixed at waxing gibbous; celebrities are on, stray animals are off.  Ageing is off and freewill is set to high.  I’m playing with the usual game-stabilising mods, plus NRaas Story Progression, so that the evicted contestants will have lives after leaving the house.

The female contestants (scroll down a bit)
The male contestants and the house
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14(ish) and a catch-up
The Final


The Female Contestants

The obvious first pick was my very first Sim, Alys Green.



Alys wrote children's books in her previous existence and had the Illustrious Author lifetime wish, so I was surprised to find when I dug her out again that she’s not artistic.  Her traits are bookworm, couch potato, natural cook, childish and loner.  The last two don’t seem ideal for a Big Brother hopeful but she’s brought her teddy along for moral support.

India Smith, on the other hand, was always going to be up for a contest like this.

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India was my primary World Adventures Sim and wanted to be a Seasoned Traveller, officially at least.  Master Romancer would have been nearer the mark, if I’d had Late Night then.  In recognition of her history of woohooing her way around the world, I’ve replaced two of her traits with irresistible and commitment issues.  She’s kept her adventurous and brave traits and has become a light sleeper, just to make her less of a superwoman.  I’ve given her one celebrity star.

@PeregrineTook, this one’s for you:

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Ro Dent is from my Apocalypse Challenge.  I liked all of the third-generation kids from that family and it was really hard to pick an heir.  Ro has an interesting mix of traits: she’s an insane, excitable perfectionist who is also proper and frugal.  Traits were random at this point in the challenge and I wouldn't have been able to allocate many anyway, in view of the toughness of their lives and Ro's severely limited schooling.  She’s had a minor wardrobe makeover since she emerged from the bunker but has kept most of her tatty old clothes (after all, she’s insane and frugal).

Another spare I very much regretted not being able to play for longer is Georgina Goole, from my Life States Dynasty.  Since ghosts seem to have been responsible for glitches in some recent games, I’m playing Georgie in her human form.

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Like Ro, she’s kept her original random traits: disciplined, perceptive, dog person, kleptomaniac and flirty.

Sara Backer made a brief appearance on the forum a few weeks ago, play-testing Ha’penny Cottage.  She was originally created as a support Sim for her brother, Rick N, who was my first Sim to try out the bass skill.  Rick is long gone but I grew fond of Sara and have played her a few times since then.

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Sara is an eco-friendly vegetarian.  Again, she’s not an obvious Big Brother contestant, being shy – but then, a shy Sim won The Island.  She’s also a savvy sculptor (she originally did Jack of All Trades through self-employment) and has just had gatherer substituted in as her fifth trait, because she really ought to have it.

Contestant no. 6 is Lea Tinker.  She’s a clumsy technophobe but also handy, so at least she can fix the things she breaks.



Lea was the founder of my first attempt at the Household Skills project and one of my favourite Sims ever.  I’ve given her two new traits: vehicle enthusiast (since she was rather fond of stealing cars) and the nearest equivalent of a ‘loves the waterslide’ trait – a love of swimming, which she shares with the next contestant.

Diana Bernal was the twin sister of Helen, the generation 3 heir in my DecaDynasty.  This was the criminal household.  Di dutifully went through the career and contributed to Helen's collection but never quite seemed to fit in with the rest of the family.  Her brother and sister wished as teenagers to be Master Thieves like their dad; Di chose Perfect Mind, Perfect Body as her LTW.  She was an evil klepto for career reasons, but both traits were almost invisible: apart from the causes she wished to donate to, she could have passed for a good Sim, and the only thing I can remember her stealing was a coffee mug from the diner .

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Athletic is the only one of her original traits that I’ve kept.  I’ve added ‘loves to swim’ because she’d definitely have had that one if it had existed at the time.  The family lived in one of the houses around the smaller swimming pool in Sunset Valley and Di spent every free moment in the water.  Family-oriented and friendly were equally obvious choices.  Her final trait is night owl, largely to add some variety to the group.  After all, she used to work nights.

The final female contestant is a refugee from the current Household Skills game: Teresa Haskill. Terry is yet another spare that I’d have liked to have made heir.  I was looking back through the Haskill family tree the other day and was reminded just how pretty she was.  (Also, after popping her into CAS, what a Barbie doll she was – scarily thin but generously endowed .)

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Her traits have been slightly tweaked – she wasn’t originally a cat person but should have been and I’m pretty sure she’d have had star quality if Late Night had been switched on at the time.  Her other traits are unchanged: natural-born performer, social butterfly and ambitious.  In view of her fame as a magician in her previous life (and being the daughter of a vocal legend), she’s been given two celebrity stars.

And here they all are, gathered together in Riverview before travelling to the Big Brother house in Bridgeport:

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They’re clearly overwhelmed with excitement .

In the next update, we’ll meet the men and see the house where they’ll all be living for the next few weeks.

[KRae]

I really like the idea of using sim binners. These are always so fun to read.

[chetanhaobijam]

Nice start. Will be great to read and looking forward for next chapter. And nice name, India Smith.

[Tiamet]

I love the look on Alys' face in the last photo!  Hang on to that teddy, girl!

[Magz from Oz]

Eight women in one house?!?  That's never going to turn out pretty!  I'm hooked. 

[starlives]

As you can see from my posts I am very new to this forum but I have been using Carl's Sims3 guide for quite a few years and I have enjoyed reading all your past challenge stories and I have bookmarked this one.  Your "Island" story was especially interesting to me and I have played my own versions quite a few times and loved them!
Can I ask you something that has been puzzling me for sometime.  How do you see the Hidden Skills your sims have acquired during play?  For example in your "A Bunch of Flowers" story you list the founders skills including the hidden ones like Diving, Arcade Machine, Hopscotch.....  How do you know the level they reached in these?  Do you need a mod to see this information?

[PeregrineTook]

Yea!!!  Ro is back!!

[hazelnut]

Thanks for all the comments.  I'm looking forward to playing this one.  I was hoping to post the second chapter today but getting the screenshots is taking longer than expected.

As you can see from my posts I am very new to this forum but I have been using Carl's Sims3 guide for quite a few years and I have enjoyed reading all your past challenge stories and I have bookmarked this one.  Your "Island" story was especially interesting to me and I have played my own versions quite a few times and loved them!
Can I ask you something that has been puzzling me for sometime.  How do you see the Hidden Skills your sims have acquired during play?  For example in your "A Bunch of Flowers" story you list the founders skills including the hidden ones like Diving, Arcade Machine, Hopscotch.....  How do you know the level they reached in these?  Do you need a mod to see this information?

Thanks and welcome to the forum .

Yes, I used a mod: Master Controller lets you see hidden skills and traits, amongst a lot of other functions.

[hazelnut]

The Male Contestants

You could say that Burl Wood has been in too many stories already: he was the founder of both my Immortal Dynasty and the second attempt at the Household Skills.  On the other hand, I’m very fond of him, especially in his scruffy second incarnation.  (I wonder whether he and Ro will hit it off, based on their similar dress sense?)



I’ve kept the second version unchanged.  His virtuoso trait ought to be quite an advantage in the skilling sections and his love of the outdoors is pretty neutral but his other traits (slob, mooch and inappropriate) probably won’t endear him to his new housemates.

Simon Twitcher, my Crazy Eights Collector (hence the surname) and House Tester In Chief, ought to do much better in avoiding eviction: he’s a schmoozer with a good sense of humour.  He’s also a great kisser and a party animal – possibly the ideal Sim for this contest.

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Balancing that is his fifth trait: since he’s frequently changed his personality with midlife crisis rewards, I’ve made him unstable.  Unless he autonomously breathes into paper bags, he could end up being quite a different Sim.

The next two contestants are from the same family.  The Who’s Your Daddy? challenge produced a number of interesting kids but these two stood out for me.  First up, Sage Flower, eccentric half-alien genius and babysitter extraordinaire.

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His other traits are brooding, perceptive and computer whiz.

I didn’t think much of his half-brother Fluellen to start with – he was such an odd-looking toddler – but he grew on me.  His endearing bafflement at almost everything (especially his siblings’ imaginary friends) was irresistible.  He was popular with readers as well.

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Flu’s traits are heavy sleeper, neurotic, bookworm, loser and socially awkward.  The Flowers had a celebrity star each as a result of being born into a famous family and have kept them for this game.

Vish Outtawatta was created jointly with @Alex, for a shared attempt at taking every photo in the game.  Sadly, we got bored long before we completed the project and Vish and his daughter Nita were consigned to the Sim Bin.

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I thought they’d disappeared forever but Alex, who never deletes anything as far as I can tell, found them both in a very old back-up save and let me give Vish a makeover and use him in this challenge.  Thanks, Alex  .  Vish is the artist of the household: his traits are photographer’s eye, artistic, avant garde (a new trait since his time that he just had to have), born salesman and unflirty.

Although he’s younger than he looks, Jake Morgan is the oldest of the contestants.

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Jake found fame early in life, first as a rodeo rider and subsequently as a model – his likeness can still be seen in various places around Simland.  After his involvement in a secret project for the Simlish government ended painfully, he retired into obscurity, associating only with horses and the occasional ranch hand.  Now he’s been tempted back into society.  Will things go better this time?

Jake’s traits are equestrian, can’t stand art (all that posing tends to put you off the finished product), daredevil, loves the outdoors and loves the heat.  He is a two-star celebrity.  Jake is also a co-creation to some extent.  Other Person, if you ever read this, thanks .

Ever since his sickeningly sweet clone-sister won The Island, He Who Must Not Be Named has been convinced it was only because she shares his genes.



He's determined to show he can do just as well.  And anyway, if they can’t name him, the other contestants can’t vote him off.  Can they?

Lord Voldemort (oops, I said it!)  retains his original traits of evil, mean-spirited, genius, ambitious and kleptomaniac.  I can’t exactly see him being Mr Popular.

The final contestant is someone who’s more used to luring other people into challenges.

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Deirdra and his assistant conspired to put his name forward for Big Brother and, surprisingly, the organisers thought he made perfect sense as a candidate.

Grim’s traits are dramatic (he does like making those big entrances), animal lover, proper, never nude and neat.  Incidentally, because editing a cloned Grim’s appearance in CAS can lead to problems, I have no idea what his clothing and hair will look like when he’s out of uniform.

The men have met up in Lucky Palms.  They don’t look any happier than the women .

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The House

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The Big Brother house is at Bogaard Overlook, in the hills above Bridgeport, which is normally a community lot.  There are eight twin bedrooms and a cloakroom on the ground floor, plus the Head of Household’s suite.

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Upstairs, there is an open-plan living area, which is half-empty at the moment to leave space for skilling objects.   Outdoors-loving Sims have an alternative eating and relaxing area on a balcony.

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The bathrooms are hopefully large enough to allow for the customary Sim socialising.  After some dithering, I eventually decided to add laundry equipment.  The house is generously supplied with clothes hampers but it’s still likely to end up a smelly mess unless someone volunteers to do the washing.

Outside, there is more skilling space, along with a hot tub and a swimming pool, which is roped off for the moment.

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I’ve changed my mind about weather and have enabled everything.  We’ll see how that goes.  With particle effects turned to low, it was OK in the Apocalypse Challenge – but this one’s going to be harder on the computer.  And if it carries on being this dark, I may disable Seasons altogether.

Credits

JK Rowling for LV.
@AnnBeiFong for the Sims 3 Big Brother challenge.
Buzzler for the mod that allows the male/female-specific doors to be used on residential lots.
Velocitygrass for the deco removal tool (used to remove excessive shine from some of the clothes).
HugeLunatic for the showers.

[Trip]

I started out interested in the female contestants, but I doubt you can beat the men's side with Voldemort and Grim!

VelocityGrass' deco removal tool is the best. I rarely let sims out of CAS without it now.

[PeregrineTook]

Still Team Ro!!!  Those boys don't stand a chance against the greatest Dent ever made  :=)

[starlives]

Many thanks for answering my question re hidden skills.  I suspected that a mod would be needed to be able see them.  Unfortunately I'm not using any mods at present but I may look into this more deeply.

Love all the contestants.  Can't wait to see if Grim with his neat trait is the one who ends up doing the laundry!  For what its worth my money is on Sage - aliens are just amazing - they always seem to know just what to do in all kinds of situations.

[KRae]

I'm not a betting woman, but there's just something about an older cowboy.

[hazelnut]

I started out interested in the female contestants, but I doubt you can beat the men's side with Voldemort and Grim!

I certainly wouldn’t like to vote against either of them…

Still Team Ro!!!  Those boys don't stand a chance against the greatest Dent ever made  :=)

She is being rather terrific in this game (see next update  ).

Many thanks for answering my question re hidden skills.  I suspected that a mod would be needed to be able see them.  Unfortunately I'm not using any mods at present but I may look into this more deeply.

I played without mods for years.  I was worried they’d introduce viruses or otherwise mess up the game.  Now I hate having to do without Twallen’s Overwatch and Error Trap (and Traveler, if it’s not a stay-at-home game like this one).  They just make the game so much more stable.  I’ve barely scratched the surface of what Master Controller can do but I’m using some of its functions to be able to play this large household, along with Portrait Panel so that I can see them all.

Love all the contestants.  Can't wait to see if Grim with his neat trait is the one who ends up doing the laundry!  For what its worth my money is on Sage - aliens are just amazing - they always seem to know just what to do in all kinds of situations.

Sage was only half-alien – he still needed to sleep even though he didn’t have a visible energy bar.  I think some of the other alien abilities were missing as well, although I’m not quite sure about that one because I hadn’t played a full alien at the time.  Unfortunately, he seems to have emerged from the Sim Bin entirely human.  I gave him a generous supply of space rocks as a nutritional supplement but he no longer has the option to consume them, and he now has the standard needs bars .

I'm not a betting woman, but there's just something about an older cowboy.

I know what you mean .  It appears that the women in the house may agree: Jake’s been fairly unobtrusive so far but I have noticed his relationship bars with most of the them are creeping steadily into the green.

[hazelnut]

Week 1

The contestants arrive in Bridgeport to find the weather’s less spring-like than they’d expected – which doesn’t prevent widespread moaning about the roped-off pool.

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It takes a while for everyone to get through the gate, especially since some of them are making the most of their last minutes of freedom by standing outside, chatting.

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Alys, of all people, heads straight for the hot tub and strips off  .

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Sage and Burl are delighted.  They’ve only been here half an hour and there’s already a naked woman to ogle!

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Sage eventually wanders off in search of more intellectual pursuits, while Burl joins Alys in the water.

I needn’t have worried about the laundry getting done – family-oriented Di starts collecting washing on the first morning.  I hadn’t even realised there was any yet.  Their discarded outdoor clothing, I suppose.

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But just as I register that, she drops it on the floor  .

And what is His Lordship doing?

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Surely he’s not trying to sneak into the women's bathroom?

No – he’s just passing on his way outside to steal the skinnydippers’ clothes.

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Neither of them seems particularly bothered: they walk around quite happily for the rest of the day wearing only towels.  Soon Alys needs the loo and discovers the big mirror in the bathroom.

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The skill for the first week is cooking and someone, I’m not sure who, gets an early start by making a batch of hot dogs.  It certainly wasn’t Alys, the natural cook: she’s been far too busy playing with the mirror.

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Additional cooking facilities arrive at midnight.

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As it turns out, I needn’t have bothered with the outdoor kitchen – the snow persists for most of the week and everyone prefers to stay indoors when they’re not hot-tubbing.

Grim, like almost everyone else, tends to wander around the house in his pyjamas.

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That skin’s rather worrying – it looks like shiny black plastic to me.  Could this be Robo-Grim?

@starlives, you were right: he does seem to end up doing more laundry than anyone else, although there’s no shortage of volunteers.  The only problem is that one washing machine isn’t really enough for sixteen Sims.  After a few days of foot-stamping, the utility room gets an extension and a second set of laundry equipment.

Halfway through the skilling period for the week, Fluellen becomes the first person to get a whole cooking point by making some revolting-looking mac and cheese.  The housemates seem happy to eat it anyway.

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Alys, whom I'd expected to win this week, is still spending most of her time in the bathroom, although she’s somehow found enough mirror-free time to become good friends with Terry.  As a result, she’s now also a two-star celebrity.

Everyone else stands around chatting for most of the time, generally in the dining area.  After The Island, I’m surprised not to have seen a single pillow fight so far.  With such a variety of traits, there’s plenty of room for disagreements, and there are definitely more minuses than pluses appearing over their heads.

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Simon has a delusional episode and has his good sense of humour replaced by unflirty.  Despite his mental health issues, he has the highest cooking skill (just short of level 2, so not exactly impressive) by the end of Wednesday and so becomes the first Head of House.  He’s not really formed strong relationships with anyone, so the potential evictees are selected by a microscopic margin.  The unlucky pair are Sage and Burl.

Neither of them makes a particular effort to ingratiate themselves with the other housemates: Burl continues to relax in the hot tub for most of the day…

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…while Sage contemplates his surroundings and the meaning of meaning.

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Surprisingly, Simon mostly ignores the delights of the HoH’s suite and joins the others in the main part of the house, although he does like his stereo .

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He’s really quite astonishingly unstable.  Maybe it's the lack of sleep.  He sits in the rocking chair all night, ignoring his comfy bed and ends up passing out on the floor.  Repeatedly.  Eventually, I delete the rocking chair and order him into bed.  Even so, he has two more episodes before the end of the week. He’s lost his new unflirtiness in favour of vegetarianism and is now on the way to becoming a savvy sculptor instead of a great kisser.  But then, almost everyone is feeling ill in some way, what with swapping germs and all the horrible food they’re eating.

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Reality TV ‘stardom’ is rapidly losing its appeal.  Maybe that’s why there’s a furry of wishes to join the criminal career towards the end of the week.

Talking of would-be criminals…  Go Ro!

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I don’t remember seeing that wish before .  She hasn’t achieved it so far, although she’s certainly not averse to giving him a piece of her mind.

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The one she actually has a fight with is India.  I’m not at all sure why - I only saw the cloud of dust, not what led up to it.


With less than an hour to go before the vote, Burl makes a last-ditch attempt to win India over to his side.

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It doesn’t go well.

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Everyone gathers for the first elimination.  Seven housemates vote off Sage; seven (including India) pick Burl.  It’s a tie.

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As Head of House, Simon has the casting vote – and he chooses to eliminate Burl.

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Burl seems pretty relaxed about it (but then, relaxation has been his big thing this week).  He phones friends in the city to let them know he’s out and drives off to hit the clubs.

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It seems he’s really making the most of his first taste of big-city life.  Less than four hours after his elimination, this message pops up:

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Even for an inappropriate Sim that’s impressively fast, but he does have form.  After all, he was married to Agnes Crumplebottom within a day of coming into existence for the first time .