Thanks, Metro!
This one took more pre-game planning than I usually do.
First, I went through the list of possible unique activities and eliminated activities that were never ending (fishing) or took too much time (building rocket) and activities that I would want to do multiple times (cloud/stargazing, eating a meal, dancing). Once I had whittled the list down to 26 activities, I paired each with a venue and made a checklist to follow as I was playing. I tended to go to gyms/libraries/parks in the mornings and bars/nightclubs/ lounges in the evening. During this process, I determined what venues, etc. I needed to add in the setup phase (I have all the packs except the most recent fitness one). My additions included three lots (two spas and a bowling alley), and two activities (an arcade game in one cafe and a video gaming system in another cafe in Windenberg).
My sim was self-assured, outgoing and a dance machine. She went for the Friend of the World aspiration so she had the gregarious trait and within four/five days when it was achieved the beloved trait as well. I completed the aspiration as quickly as possible because the reward trait keeps friendships you've already made from decaying (I wanted that ASAP). Along the way, she also got the observant and great storyteller traits for their benefits in conservation.
She moved into the apartment next to the Bheedas in San Myshuno (it's cheap and without any negative lot traits). I purchased a portable bed, cooler, radio, shower, and dance floor to put in personal inventory for on-the-go needs management (thank goodness for Outdoor Retreat). Near the end, I switched to moodlet solvers to deal with needs.
On the first day, I used a mirror to get to charisma level 2 quickly and then went to the first venue. At gyms I asked a trainer to mentor me and talked to another sim at the same time to build two relationships at once. If I could chat while doing my unique activity, I did. I tried to get straight to good friend on my first encounter. If that didn't happen, I tried to spot people at later venues and continue chatting until I reached good friend. If one of the non-notorious Windenberg clubs was gathering at a venue, I befriended one or more of them because they tend to stick around for a while. I also befriended tons of employees (bartenders, massage therapists, etc.) because they were less likely to go home in the middle of a conversation. I mainly focused on one friend at a time to build relationships faster and keep them from leaving. I switched to the second venue of the day by no later than 4 pm. If my unique activity in the evening was lengthy (bowling was my longest) I would allow more time. I went home late at night to deal with needs.
Once I had completed my unique activity and gained a friend at a venue, I kept befriending (always keeping an eye out for anyone with a relationship already in progress) until I ran out of time.
I did have a close call at the park in Windenberg, the gardener I asked to play chess with me glitched out and sat at my table but was playing chess with the guy next to us, and even when they finished she wouldn't get up. Hours later she finally did, and I quickly asked somebody else to play so my sim would stop. It was my first venue of the day, and I was worried about fitting the second location in before midnight. I managed to pull it off.
I definitely encountered the relationship glitch in that, if I had already begun talking to a sim elsewhere, it doesn't show friendship progress until you load a new lot. To determine when those relationships hit "good friend," I looked for "reveal deep secret" (a good friend only social) in my choices under the friendly category. I went home right before 8 pm on the last day to make sure all my relationships were accurate for scoring.
Thanks to the challenge team for another fun challenge and for answering all of my planning questions.
