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The Sims 4 => Sims 4 - Stories and Member-Created Challenges => Sims 4 Stories Graveyard => Topic started by: saltpastillen on October 21, 2015, 08:11:58 PM

Title: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 21, 2015, 08:11:58 PM
The Simnation Government needs you!

In the spirit of the explorers of old, we need you to chart our course as we expand into new territories. To boldly go and so on… The hazards and struggles ahead may seem daunting, but with sims as brave as you on our side we know this settlement project will become a success.

Newcrest has the potential to become a model city that we can base all our future territorial expansion on, so it is crucial that all strata of society are represented and included when you erect your city. In order to learn what each neighbourhood needs, you will have to go native and embrace the lifestyle of its future inhabitants. This will place restrictions on you that might seem harsh, but we are sure you can use them to your advantage.

Simply sign on the dotted line to bind you and your future descendants to building the next model city.

__________________________        ________________________           ______________________
Signature                                             Date                                                     Town
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 21, 2015, 08:18:34 PM
Introduction
Hello and welcome to the Captain's Challenge. This challenge was created with the help and support of the community of Carl's Sims 4 Guide's forum.

This is a sequential challenge divided into 3 parts, each part taking place in one of Newcrest's 3 neighbourhoods. Each part has specific building and game play goals, as well as, its own set of game play restrictions. In each neighbourhood you must build 2 community lots and 3 residential lots. All builds have a list of items that must be included and some have budgets to follow. All buildings must be financed by your active household though donations to a Building Fund.

Goals of the challenge/Finishing the challenge:

How does the Building Fund work?
You will use the Money X cheat to subtract money from your household funds – this counts as a donation towards the Building Fund. Donations can be done as often as you wish. You are responsible for keeping track of the amount of money in the Building Fund and must keep a running tally of donations and expenditures.

Do I need a specific expansion to be able to do this challenge?
No you don't! The challenge did originally require the Get to Work expansion but base game only versions have been added so you now only need the base game to play. Look for the asterisks (*) that mark the base game version (will appear under the regular rules). The base game version is in italics.

Keeping Score
Give yourself 1 point for each sim that is part of your household during this challenge. The total amount is your final score.

When you finish the challenge:
Congratulations! You have now created a model city of your own. Sims from all over the Simnation will flock to your version of Newcrest to be amazed and delighted. You are victorious!

Post the number of generations in the thread and we will celebrate with you.

It would also be awesome if you shared your builds on the gallery with #captainschallenge so we can look them up and admire them.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 21, 2015, 08:31:38 PM
The Challenge Rules:
The challenge rules are the master set of rules for the whole challenge. Here you can find rules that are the same in all 3 neighbourhoods of the challenge. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

These rules are subject to change when a new patch, stuff pack or expansion comes out.

Game play Rules:

Building Rules:
*Special rule for retail stores: You may move money from your household account to a retail account in order to make upgrades to your property if you wish.


Cheats, mods and custom content rules:

Restrictions and Goals in the different neighbourhoods:
Note that there are different restrictions and goals for each neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood 1  (http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,24937.msg425364.html#msg425364)
Neighbourhood 2  (http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,24937.msg425381.html#msg425381)
Neighbourhood 3 (http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,24937.msg425385.html#msg425385)

Setting up your game

Before you begin:

Starting the Challenge:

Adjusting the game settings:

You are now ready to start the challenge!

For more information check out the Q&A section (http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,24937.msg425386.html#msg425386).
Title: Neighbourhood 1
Post by: saltpastillen on October 21, 2015, 08:55:30 PM
Neighbourhood 1 - We are on a budget

Introduction:
Welcome to the first neighbourhood in Newcrest. This is the first stop on your journey to build a model city. Here you will be starting out with some starters: a gym and  a mom-and-pop's store to feed the community. Don't worry if you don't have Get to Work, we have special rules just for you.

In order to help you understand the needs of the neighbourhood's future inhabitants, we have devised a set of rules and restrictions to get you in the right frame of mind. The sims, who will live here in the future, are either just starting out, might have fallen on hard times or just choose to live on the wrong side of the tracks. It's not a fancy place and most of them just want to make it through another day without having a massive bill strip them of their hard earned wages. So make their life easier by providing them with somewhere to work off their frustrations and somewhere to pick up healthy food for their families.

Neighbourhood Restrictions:

Managing your household:

Travelling from your home lot:

Making Money:

Retail:

Goals to complete before moving on to the next level:
At the bottom of this section are special rules if you do not have Get to Work.

Game play Goals:*

Building Goals:**

Build List

The Singleton's Starter
Building Fund requirement: $18,000
Finished Price: $17,900-18,000

The Family Starter
Building Fund requirement: $24,000
Finished Price: $23,900-24,000

Our First Home (starting lot)
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: $16,000 and over

The Newcrest Gym
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you

The Newcrest mom-and-pop's store ***
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you

Rules if you do not have Get to Work

* Game play goals

** Building Goals

*** The Newcrest Community Garden and Food Bank
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you

Title: Neighbourhood 2
Post by: saltpastillen on October 22, 2015, 02:03:48 AM
Neighbourhood 2 – Moving on up

Congratulations on completing your first part of the challenge and welcome to the second neighbourhood. Here you will build different styles of family homes, a hot spot for night time activities, and a community centre that promotes learning and academic excellence.

In order to help you understand the needs of the neighbourhood's future inhabitants, we have devised a set of rules and restrictions to get you in the right frame of mind. The sims, who will live here, will feel that they are ready to move up in the world. They will be very focused on education, science and technology. In fact, they will be over-worked and their children will be stressed out. So make their lives easier by providing them with somewhere to relax and cut loose after a tough day at the office and somewhere to go and spend time with their family.

Neighbourhood Restrictions:

Managing your household:

Travelling from your home lot:

Making Money:

Retail:

Goals to complete before moving on to the next level:

Game play Goals:
*If you do not have Get to Work you have to reach level 10 in either branch of the Secret Agent Career

Building Goals:

Build List

The Modest Home
Building Fund requirement: $45,000
Finished Price: $44,900-45,000

The Well To Do Family
Building Fund requirement: $90,000
Finished Price: $89,900-90,000

Moving on Up (starting lot)
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: $100,000 and over

The Newcrest At Night
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you

The Newcrest Community Centre
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you
Title: Neighbourhood 3
Post by: saltpastillen on October 22, 2015, 02:23:19 AM
Neighbourhood 3 – We're so fancy

Welcome to the third and last neighbourhood in Newcrest and congratulations on completing the second part of the challenge. Here you will stretch your new building skills by creating lavish mansions, a park and an arts centre that will promote creativity and self fulfilment.

In order to help you understand the needs of the neighbourhood's future inhabitants, we have devised a set of rules and restrictions to get you in the right frame of mind. The sims, who will live here in the future, will be a mix of old money, nouveau riche and wannabe artisans. These sims have learned that money alone cannot feed the soul – they all want to reach their creative and spiritual potential. So make their lives easier by providing them with somewhere to learn about art and somewhere to get back to their roots and find a new appreciation for the wonder of nature.

Neighbourhood Restrictions:

Managing your household:

Travelling from your home lot:

Making Money:

Retail:

Goals to complete before moving on to the next level:

Game play Goals:

Building Goals:

Build List

The Nouveau Riche
Building Fund requirement: $125,000
Finished Price: $124,000- 125,000

The Too Cool for Cash
Building Fund requirement: $200,000
Finished Price: $199,000-200,000

Founders Legacy (starting lot)
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: $300,000 and over

The Newcrest Artsy Retreat
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you

*If you don't have Get to Work place a Deluxe All-Seasons Easel instead

The Newcrest Back to Nature Park
Building Fund requirement: $0
Finished Price: up to you
Title: Q and A section
Post by: saltpastillen on October 22, 2015, 02:24:43 AM
Setting Up

Q: I want to play this like a legacy. How do I pick my heir?
A: This challenge does not have any strict heir-law, so feel free to make your own if you want one. Biological children, adopted children, alien abduction children, clones, aliens, friends you invite to take over your work or all of the above are allowed. It's up to you to place your own limitations on your game file.

Q: I would really like to do this challenge, but I want to change some things. Is that OK?
A: Feel free to add any additional restrictions or amend rules in order to suit your own play style. It's all about having fun!

Q: I have changed the rules a bit, but would still like to post my progress in the thread. Can I?
A: Of course! Let me know what is going on in your game!


Game play

Q: I can't get the Money X cheat to work. What am I doing wrong?
A: Remember that the X stands for an amount. When you first start the game, have your sims choose a lot and move in there. Open the cheats window and turn Testingcheats on, then type Money 0 in the console. This should give you 0 in household funds.

Q: How does this switching of aspirations work again?
A: In CAS the aspirations are grouped together by type (Food = Master Chef and Master Mixologist). If you choose an aspiration in the food category, you can only switch between that and another aspiration in the same category. This means that you may switch from Master Chef to Master Mixologist, but not from Master Chef to The Curator, because The Curator is in the Nature category.

Q: How do I move to the next neighbourhood?
A: Once you have completed the game play and building goals for a neighbourhood, you will go into Manage Worlds and split off part of the household from your active household. You have to click the “create new household” button before moving over the sims you will bring to the new house. Remember you need to leave at least 1 sim in the original household. You have now created a new household in the “currently not in world” category. Click the new household and choose “move into a new lot”. Choose a lot in your next neighbourhood, and place the household there. Then switch the active household to the newly made household.

Q: What do I do if one of my sims dies?
A: If a sim dies in your household or on your lot, you can either release their spirit or keep the urn around and have the ghosts visit. Or, you can place the urn on a community lot of your choice.

Q: I'm not allowed to sell crystals, but I want to use one to get a sample for the microscope – can I still collect them?
A: Yes, the restrictions only limit how you make money, not what you can collect/create. You are free to create/collect other objects in your game, but those can never be sold. They must be used as decorations or stored in the family inventory.

Q: Can I sell career rewards?
A: Yes you can.


Building

Q: How do I change lot type?
A: At the top menu in build mode there is a house button with an “i” in it. Click there, and a menu opens up that displays details about the lot. Click the button at the far left (it has a stylized picture on it). That opens a drop down menu that will let you choose what type of lot you want.

Q: How do I know how much a lot I am building on is worth?
A: In the top information bar there is a house button with an “i” in it. Click there and a menu opens up that displays details about the lot. At the bottom right Lot value will be displayed.

Q: I'm almost done with my builds in this neighbourhood but I'm not sure what items I have to keep in the house and what items I can sell to raise money to the build fund?
A: You may sell any allowed items for that neighbourhood, any career rewards and build/buy items you don't want to keep in your finished version of the lot. Any non-sellable items you do not want to be placed in the house must be either left in a staying sim's personal inventory or the household inventory. You are only allowed to bring decorative items to your next household (and they cannot be used for anything other than decoration in your future home).

Q: I would really like to add a bar for my sims instead of the gym in N1, can I do that?
A: If you want to keep to the rules, no. But as long as you keep the lot set to a gym and add all the required items on the build check list, you are free to add whatever else you want to your lot.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 22, 2015, 02:33:48 AM
The challenge is now open. I will post in my old thread and all discussions about this challenge can be moved here from now on.

Fell free to post updates, ask questions or suggest changes.

I would love to see some pictures of your builds :)
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: FrancescaFiori on October 22, 2015, 12:55:52 PM
Yay! It's official! I will post some pictures of my builds soon.
I'm currently in the second neighborhood with the second/third generation and have built the bar so far. I'm having a blast!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: Tipi on October 22, 2015, 01:23:53 PM
saltpastillen, your challenge sounds interesting - I might give it a try although I have far too many finished challenges/projects already.

I have a question: is there a rule on the order we build the neighbourhoods in Newcrest or are we allowed to choose the order? It would seem natural for me to start from the neighbourhood with the smallest lots (the one to the north of the map), then move clockwise to the right and build the largest lots last.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on October 22, 2015, 02:14:30 PM
Oh, I love stuff like this! This challenge sounds like a great way to practice building and i'd love to give it a go once my current projects are done (might be a while!). Thanks for posting this, I'm bookmarking it :)
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 22, 2015, 09:12:47 PM
saltpastillen, your challenge sounds interesting - I might give it a try although I have far too many finished challenges/projects already.

I have a question: is there a rule on the order we build the neighbourhoods in Newcrest or are we allowed to choose the order? It would seem natural for me to start from the neighbourhood with the smallest lots (the one to the north of the map), then move clockwise to the right and build the largest lots last.

You are free to decide what order you want.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: simfulicious on October 23, 2015, 05:04:39 PM
Awesome project!!!  I can't wait to start.  I do have a question though.  Neighborhood 3 says the cost to build the mansions is $125,000,000 for example.  Do you intend for us to build a home that costs 125 million dollars, or should it be 125 thousand dollars.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 23, 2015, 07:10:36 PM
Awesome project!!!  I can't wait to start.  I do have a question though.  Neighborhood 3 says the cost to build the mansions is $125,000,000 for example.  Do you intend for us to build a home that costs 125 million dollars, or should it be 125 thousand dollars.

It should be $125,000 - thanks for catching that, I will change it asap.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: Tipi on October 25, 2015, 04:50:34 AM
I started the challenge yesterday. I have always liked the beginning of any challenge when the sims must struggle to make ends meet so I have enjoyed the challenge a lot so far.

Since the site would not work for me at all yesterday and I could not check the rules, I seem to have made a small mistake when choosing the aspiration for a founder. I remembered that we could choose between the athletic, food, nature, fortune and love aspirations in neighbourhood 1, so one of my founders got the Fabulously Rich aspiration instead of a nature aspiration. He has not progressed much on that aspiration so I have changed it to a nature aspiration now but he is stuck with the Business Savvy trait.

I have just copied the rules to my computer in case I am not able to access the site in the future. And I have now read the rules several times and come up with quite a few questions:

Moving in sims: can we move in a couple/family together or do they need to be asked to move in separately?

Paintings: Since you have to paint 3 energized paintings for the gym Is selling paintings straight from the easel allowed throughout the challenge? I know you are not allowed to sell them through inventory or from your store until hood 3.

Sculpting: We must have 1 animal sculpture crafted on the workbench in our mom-and-pop's store. But are we not allowed to sell crafted sculptures/furniture until neighbourhood 3 although we must craft a sculpture in hood 1?

Building retail and community lots: You must build the residential lots in one go, but are we allowed to build the other lots little by little? And can the store be working but not necessarily quite in its final form by the time the founders become adults?

Neighbourhoods 2 and 3: the rules say that you MAY own retail lot(s) at Magnolia Promenade – so you don’t HAVE to have any retail stores after hood 1?

Raise 5 sims from child to adult. – does adult refer to adult or young adult?

Successful Lineage aspiration is bugged. I have never been able to fulfill the goal of having a child complete an aspiration. Although many of my sim kids have fulfilled several aspirations their parents have never registered that. According to Crinrict, there are several goals on this aspiration that may not register. So if any of this happens in this game are we allowed to use the cheat aspirations.complete_current_milestone ?

And by the way: There is a jungle gym in Newcrest near the largest lot in the shore so you don’t necessarily have to allow traveling to Oasis Springs or Willow Creek in order to fulfill the Rambunctious Scamp aspiration.

Forgot one question:
What are the starting funds for neighbourhoods 2 and 3?

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: simfulicious on October 25, 2015, 12:37:38 PM
@Tipi I am not the creator of this project, however, I am attempting it myself.  She said in a previous post that your sims can create whatever they want from the beginning (paintings, wordworkings, etc) however, you cannot sell the items if they are restricted in the neighborhood you are in.  As for starting funds for the 2nd and 3rd neighborhoods...I would think that you take whatever your family has earned.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on October 27, 2015, 01:18:01 AM
Hi Tipi, sorry about the late reply but Im on vacation and only have spotty internet. I'll try to answer all questions in order - but if I miss one post again and I will reconnect next time I have wifi.

You can move sims in and out as you please- you just cant profit from it moving in all but 1 sim from a household is the easiest way to make sure you get no extra money. But you could always use the money x cheat.

Painting and sculpting - yes you are required to create it but cant sell untill later hood. No selling from easle.

Building
-only the 2 not lived on residential lots have a cap that you have to reach before building they are also the only ones you have to complete before going back into live mode (due to depreciation).  Community lots and your active lot can be added to as you go.
-The only lots that have to be completed in one go are the 2 not lived on residentials, all the other can be improved during time. The only point the retail store has to be complete is when you are checking it of your build list in prepaeation for the move to hood 2.

Once you complete hood!1 you are free to skip the retail part of the game if you want to, or play more with it if you want.

Raise kids - ya is fine.

Aspirations not trigged - feel free to use the cheat or just count it anyways.

Thanks about the jungle gym info :)

Starting funds - you bring all the cash (+build fund savings) with you when you move.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: Tipi on October 31, 2015, 09:29:08 AM
Thanks, Saltpastillen, for taking the time on your vacation to answer my questions. I hope you are having/had a good time!

I have been playing your challenge for a week now and am enjoying myself. The only thing that I don't like is the rule that you have to have your store open daily. I may have accidentally broken the rule. With seven sims in the household with vastly different work/school schedules it is really difficult to find time for the store. But other than that I think I am doing pretty nicely with the challenge.

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on November 01, 2015, 01:06:59 AM
Great to hear that you are enjoying yourself. Keeping up with the store is hard, it was supposed to be. But if you miss one day its not the end of the world - I wont hold it against you.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: simfulicious on November 01, 2015, 06:58:03 AM
I'm going to do this legacy style...I'm gonna start with one founder to make it harder on myself.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on November 02, 2015, 05:16:25 AM
Sounds like you will have fun! @simfulicious
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on November 02, 2015, 05:51:49 PM
I started playing this and have a question about the first neighborhood: Can you open the mom and pop's store at any time or does it have to be fully built according to the building requirements first?

ETA: In the same vein, can the store be bought and built using household funds, or does it have to be built in edit mode first with donations and then purchased by the founders? Sorry if this is a silly question, I seem to be having trouble wrapping my mind around it ^.^'

ETA again: I might be missing something obvious, but as far as I know there isn't an option to paint energized paintings on the easel? What energized paintings are you referring to for hood1's gym requirement?
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on November 06, 2015, 03:59:22 PM
I started playing this and have a question about the first neighborhood: Can you open the mom and pop's store at any time or does it have to be fully built according to the building requirements first?

ETA: In the same vein, can the store be bought and built using household funds, or does it have to be built in edit mode first with donations and then purchased by the founders? Sorry if this is a silly question, I seem to be having trouble wrapping my mind around it ^.^'

ETA again: I might be missing something obvious, but as far as I know there isn't an option to paint energized paintings on the easel? What energized paintings are you referring to for hood1's gym requirement?

The only restriction on the store is that it has to be opened before the founder/s become adults. It is ok to add to the store from the household funds (I will clarify this in the rules). The store does not have to be complete before you start using it  - it only has to be complete before the move to the next neighbourhood. (Same rules apply when you are using the alternate rules building without Go to Work).

I apologize - it should be energized crystals, not paintings. I will amend the rules.

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on January 26, 2016, 03:36:25 PM
@saltpastillen   Since I've never played in Newcrest at all and I'm not a skilled builder, I'm very interested i trying your Captains challenge.
Also, I think it would be a great way to become familiar with Newcrest before attempting the Rival Dynasty Challenge.

I'm confused about how the Building Fund works.
We keep track of money we delete using a cheat to contribute toward the Building Fund; then, when our Building Fund is sufficient, we go to Manage Worlds to build the required community or residential lot for the active neighborhood?  Moreover, each residential lot must be build in one session.  Am I understanding correctly?

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on January 26, 2016, 05:20:32 PM
@saltpastillen   Since I've never played in Newcrest at all and I'm not a skilled builder, I'm very interested i trying your Captains challenge.
Also, I think it would be a great way to become familiar with Newcrest before attempting the Rival Dynasty Challenge.

I'm confused about how the Building Fund works.
We keep track of money we delete using a cheat to contribute toward the Building Fund; then, when our Building Fund is sufficient, we go to Manage Worlds to build the required community or residential lot for the active neighborhood?  Moreover, each residential lot must be build in one session.  Am I understanding correctly?



Hi! I think doing this challenge is a great way to get to know Newcrest better.

The Building Fund - you delete money from your household and ad it to the fund (not for real since the fund is all imaginary but on a piece of paper or in a text document so you keep track of it). You are in charge of adding (taking money form your household) and subtracting (using money to build).

When you build a residential lot you need to reach a certain amount in the build fund before you can start and once you start you have to finish building before you go back to play in the game. You are free to save while building (I'm a slow builder and it usually takes me 2-3 times playing to finish a build) you just can't play the family in between.

When you build on a community lot you don't have to build everything in one go - but you should keep track of the amount of money you spend. The easiest way to do this I have found is to note down the lot value when you start building and then again when you finish building. Then you can easily calculate the difference.

I have been looking over the rules for the challenge and I don't think there needs to be any changes. Clubs are fine, it's really up to you. And if you want to add a dance club in one of the other neighborhoods to socialize at that will be fine too.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on January 26, 2016, 06:54:33 PM
Although I'm still at work, I have covertly copied all your instructions to a Word file and printed them out, lol.
I have one more question:

* Neighborhood 2: "Upgrade all electrical items on community lots"
Does this refer to all community lots in Neighborhood 2 only, or in both Neighborhoods 1 and 2?

I actually won't be able to start this for several weeks, but I really enjoy the planning phase!   ;D
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on January 27, 2016, 03:41:12 AM
Although I'm still at work, I have covertly copied all your instructions to a Word file and printed them out, lol.
I have one more question:

* Neighborhood 2: "Upgrade all electrical items on community lots"
Does this refer to all community lots in Neighborhood 2 only, or in both Neighborhoods 1 and 2?

I actually won't be able to start this for several weeks, but I really enjoy the planning phase!   ;D

Lol, you are a lot like me then, the planning is half the fun ;)

It refers to all the community lots in neighborhood 2, but there is no reason you can't do neighborhood 1 as well, or that you couldn't do the once in neighborhood 3 when you get there if you wanted to.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on January 28, 2016, 08:06:56 PM
Thanks for your reply about community lot upgrades. I'm really excited about starting your challenge!  :D

I have a few other points which I'd like to clarify.

(1) "Starting the Challenge" states that our two founder sims must select a Nature aspiration.

Under "Neighborhood 1: Managing Your Household," one rule states
Your sims can choose between the athletic, food, nature, fortune and love aspirations.
Question 1: Does this mean we select one of the Nature aspirations when we create our founders in CAS, but then can switch to one of the other permitted aspirations once we move into Neighborhood 1?

(2) After an aspiration is completed

Question 2: For Neighborhood 1, for example, once a sim completes an aspiration in one of five permitted categories, may she switch to another in the permitted categories?
Question 3: If yes, must she stick to the new aspiration until it's done?

I'm just thinking about how to earn simoleons and reward points until they're qualified to move to the next neighborhood.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on January 29, 2016, 01:40:15 PM
Thanks for your reply about community lot upgrades. I'm really excited about starting your challenge!  :D

I have a few other points which I'd like to clarify.

(1) "Starting the Challenge" states that our two founder sims must select a Nature aspiration.

Under "Neighborhood 1: Managing Your Household," one rule states
Your sims can choose between the athletic, food, nature, fortune and love aspirations.
Question 1: Does this mean we select one of the Nature aspirations when we create our founders in CAS, but then can switch to one of the other permitted aspirations once we move into Neighborhood 1?

(2) After an aspiration is completed

Question 2: For Neighborhood 1, for example, once a sim completes an aspiration in one of five permitted categories, may she switch to another in the permitted categories?
Question 3: If yes, must she stick to the new aspiration until it's done?

I'm just thinking about how to earn simoleons and reward points until they're qualified to move to the next neighborhood.


Great questions!

It's really up to you if you want to play straight through an aspiration or not. I play them straight through because it's harder and I like the challenge. But in the "rules" the only  rule is that you have to limit your switching of aspirations between the ones allowed for that neighbourhood - so switching them is really up to you. Go ahead!

The same thing applies when a sims completes an aspiration, switch between aspirations for that neighborhood and you are fine.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on January 29, 2016, 02:40:53 PM
Great questions!

It's really up to you if you want to play straight through an aspiration or not. I play them straight through because it's harder and I like the challenge. But in the "rules" the only  rule is that you have to limit your switching of aspirations between the ones allowed for that neighbourhood - so switching them is really up to you. Go ahead! 

The same thing applies when a sims completes an aspiration, switch between aspirations for that neighborhood and you are fine.
That's so very thoughtful of you to allow each player to decide whether we want to go hardcore with our aspirations (like you  ;)) or take a more relaxed approach that would allow the player to focus more on hood-building goals/requirements, while still being restricted to a choice of specific aspirations.
I'd like to focus on the Sims 4 activity I'm worst at, building, so I'm going to wait and see how I'll deal with aspirations.

Thank you for replying to my various questions! Do you actually play in your completed Captains Challenge town?

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on January 30, 2016, 03:57:50 AM
I haven't completed my 3rd neighbourhood yet - I haven't had enough time to play lately. Hopefully I will be able to get back to it in march (busy switching jobs at the moment and that takes up a lot of time as it involves moving to a new country).

When I finish I think I will start a new game but move my lots from the library there. I always think a file that has been played for a long time becomes a bit to unstable.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on January 30, 2016, 03:55:27 PM
Awww, getting ready for a move is never fun! But I hope you love your new locale and new job!

I've had lots of issues with my immortal dynasty file. I've been reading various new and old threads in the forum and, as a result, deleted much of my inventories, a retail lot, and a club hangout; then I moved most of my save, tray, and screenshot files to a flash drive. (I'll probably never be able to identify those save files again, lol.)
My game still lags some but it's not crashing or refusing to save anymore. More important, the sims go to work on time and stopped (mostly) standing around hemming and hawing, frozen in place.
A new game is always so great because it's so fast and minimally buggy!

Best wishes to you as you prepare to relocate.  :D
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on January 31, 2016, 11:09:02 AM
Thanks!
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on February 02, 2016, 11:17:21 PM
Lol, I broke down and started playing your challenge!  Omg, "We are on a budget," indeed!
If I weren't such a terrible builder, I'd like to do a story about this....it's hilarious that when I opened the gym with just the minimum (including four punching bags), every punching bag and yoga mat immediately got taken by a visiting sim. I was so shocked that they would leave their own fab gyms behind and come thronging from Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, and Windenberg to my wall-less one-bathroom excuse for a gym.  And, sadly, my sims ended up not being able to take a yoga class, because of those pesky visitors.
Hmmm, maybe I will start a "highlights only" story.   :D  It's so much fun although being poor is not.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on February 03, 2016, 06:59:29 AM
Lol, I broke down and started playing your challenge!  Omg, "We are on a budget," indeed!
If I weren't such a terrible builder, I'd like to do a story about this....it's hilarious that when I opened the gym with just the minimum (including four punching bags), every punching bag and yoga mat immediately got taken by a visiting sim. I was so shocked that they would leave their own fab gyms behind and come thronging from Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, and Windenberg to my wall-less one-bathroom excuse for a gym.  And, sadly, my sims ended up not being able to take a yoga class, because of those pesky visitors.
Hmmm, maybe I will start a "highlights only" story.   :D  It's so much fun although being poor is not.

I'd love a best of!

And I think you will be a better builder by the end of this challenge - I am better at sims 4 style building than when I started.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on February 05, 2016, 04:41:30 PM
Some updates to the rules I have been working on.

- The Grilled Cheese Aspiration is now allowed for all sims in all neighbourhoods :)
- You are free to use the club system any way you wish

In Neighbourhood 1:

-You can now sell all items found when fishing and all items found in trash cans

-You can sell popcorn, ice cream and drinks made on the barista station

-If you are building the Newcrest Community Garden and Foodbank, you now have the option to set the lot to be a café

Neighbourhood 2:

-When building the Newcrest at Night you can now choose lot type between lounge, bar or night club

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on February 29, 2016, 02:22:19 PM
This is my favorite sims challenge and I still play it even though I haven't played Sims much recently. My founders opened a nursery and sold plants, produce, and baked goods only. They made pretty good money, but eventually I abandoned the game because there were way too many plants and tending the garden with only two sims took all day and all night.  :-\ I have some pics of my builds though, I was pretty happy with them.

Founders' house with adjacent shop:

(http://s8.postimg.org/mk1ougts5/11_06_15_12_25_23_AM.png)

The nursery (front):

(http://s8.postimg.org/rqcu5i8jp/11_06_15_1_22_37_AM.png)

(back - eventually I had all the rows filled with plants in planter boxes):

(http://s8.postimg.org/clgq7zkcl/11_06_15_1_22_59_AM.png)

Inside the shop:

(http://s8.postimg.org/o0d7clwp1/11_06_15_1_24_34_AM.png)

I'm starting again today with new founders, plan to manage things a bit better this time. :D
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: FrancescaFiori on February 29, 2016, 09:25:09 PM
I just moved into the final neighborhood! It's going to take me forever to finish, but I'm still enjoying it very much. I am so impressed with your nursery BigMud! My founders' store was just a little box! Can't wait to see how your second attempt goes!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on February 29, 2016, 09:47:40 PM
@BigMud   
I love your nursery/bakery store! Is that your founder couple standing in front?

@FrancescaFiori
Oh, you're doing this challenge, too! I had a problem with my game stuttering after building the store and gym, even though I'm using a separate "saves" folder from my dynasty. I think I built/opened the store too early. No pictures Francesca?
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on March 01, 2016, 05:10:29 PM
Wow, I love how ambitious you were Big Mud! I just had a small cube as well, where I sold some collectibles and cooked foods. It was my first attempt at a store and a huge money pit, it set me back quite a bit, but it was a great learning experience.

I think that in order to be successful in this challenge you need to manage your expectations - especially of the store!
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on March 01, 2016, 08:47:56 PM
Lol thanks guys. :D I really liked building it, but running it was a different story :p. And honestly, I'm okay with the challenge taking a bit longer if my sims can have nice things. The store wasn't actually so bad, money wise. After the first few days we were making money, and it pretty much paid for itself. It was just too challenging to keep up with a garden of that size.

@oshizu yes, those are my founders! They were already elders by the time I thought the shop was nice enough to screenshot, lol. Poor things, I really overworked them.

I'd love to see what others have come up with!!
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: oshizu on March 03, 2016, 09:22:13 AM
@BigMud 
I built a gym for my sims right across the street from their home. This is a screenshot of gym in its second stage. 
In the first stage, it had a foundation with only four punching bags (because of course they're the cheapest) and one toilet/shower room.

In the second stage, I added another toilet/shower room, more gym equipment, and a yoga classroom (still no walls). Once I left build mode, sims from other towns immediately abandoned their own nicely-equipped gyms to come hog the equipment in mine. I realize the photo's hard to see--these sims showed up surprisingly late at night.

(http://i.imgur.com/M4I765h.jpg)

After laughing a bit, I briefly entertained the thought of creating another smaller, lockable room for my own sims to level their Fitness.  Maybe make a club with a gym trainer?
Sorry, I didn't have any "good" pictures of my challenge, but I thought this one was funny, athough a very dark shot since my sims couldn't afford to buy lighting for the gym at the time.

Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on March 05, 2016, 06:30:38 PM
Omg, that gym is too funny! I love how they don't even notice it's night and there are no walls or lights, haha.

Today two of my townies died at the same time while shopping at my store, so I grabbed a pic. It was hilarious but so annoying because it put everyone in a sad mood and no one wanted to buy anything after that. Also, one of the elders who died was just about to be checked out... I was really bummed about losing that sale, LOL.

(http://i.imgur.com/ibxU1BS.jpg?1)

I had just made an expansion before this. The store was super small before and I wanted to add the bar so my sims could practice mixology for work (one of the daughters is in the culinary career), as well as some extra shelves and such because things were getting really crowded.
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on March 09, 2016, 03:33:34 AM
Hey, so I'm ready to move to the next neighborhood and I have a question. In the FAQ it says "switch the active household to the newly made household, and adjust the starting funds as per Neighbourhood Rules." But I can't find anything in the neighborhood rules that specifies starting funds. Does this mean we are to reduce our household funds to 0 before beginning in the new neighborhood? Or can we use the leftover ~20k to start building a house?
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: saltpastillen on March 09, 2016, 05:27:34 PM
Hey, so I'm ready to move to the next neighborhood and I have a question. In the FAQ it says "switch the active household to the newly made household, and adjust the starting funds as per Neighbourhood Rules." But I can't find anything in the neighborhood rules that specifies starting funds. Does this mean we are to reduce our household funds to 0 before beginning in the new neighborhood? Or can we use the leftover ~20k to start building a house?

So sorry about that, I think that line is left over when I was debating different starting budgets for different neighborhoods. You are free to just keep the money they have, or you can switch to 0 if you want. I did that for N2 but not for N3 because it took too long in N2. It's all about how you want to play the game.

Anyways, the key thing is making sure you have as much money in the build fund as possible before you move, because you can take all of the build fund with you. Have fun in your next neighbourhood!
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: BigMud on March 09, 2016, 06:40:07 PM
OK, got it! Thanks :)
Title: Re: The Captains Challenge -creating the model city of Newcrest-
Post by: Nutella on October 04, 2016, 10:42:55 AM
I'm moving this to the Stories Graveyard due to inactivity.  @saltpastillen - you can revive this story by contacting a moderator.

Original Storyboard:  Sims 4 Misc and Player Made Challenge Stories