Aspiring Story Mode

[SueDenim]

This is why I don't do Aspiration challenges...  I'm so very bad at them.
6 unique
13 milestones
14600


I only made it to late Tuesday week 2 - but even with the full week, I was only truly on track to finish 2 more probably and 3 more if I got lucky and everything fell into place.  (And when does everything ever fall in to place?)  It was an interesting challenge idea - and I played parts of the game that I never play.  Thanks!

[Metropolis Man]

This challenge is now closed.

What stands out in this event was what so many players -- myself included -- said as they posted their score...something to the effect of "I had never played Story-Mode." So, hats off to @sone for a very creative idea. Congrats to @Rebelangel on another win. Everyone is now free to discuss strategy.

[Rebelangel]

I didn't come into this challenge with much of a strategy, though in hindsight I was doing strategic things throughout, which I'll go into more depth below. However, I think the screenshot at Week 2 Friday night / Saturday morning encapsulates the overall chaotic approach.

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Some noteworthy callouts:
1. Rocket ship for nerd brain - check
2. Wishing well to expedite career promotions - check
3. "Tiny" home that also doubles as a "Mansion Baron" house (see superfluous 3/4 enclosed space that is nothing but walls, 30 windows, 18 columns - there are two randomly on the side), $5000 worth of plants of flowers/hedges, and the ridiculously expensive furniture from get famous) - check
4. 3 fossils (+1), 3 frogs (+1), and 5 elements for the Curator (note crystals were repurchased through computer every time, so I could send them to the geocouncil)  - check
5. 4 different types of emotion lamps + crystals (energized aura) + two incense holders to speed up skill building (can you spot them all?) - check
6. Random skill building objects: archeology tables, chessboards, bar, exercise equipment, garden patches, microphone, guitar, easel(s) - check
7. $1000 worth of kids stuff, including a toddler tent that was never actually used - check
8. That chicken I never bothered getting rid of despite only finishing the first milestone of country caretaker - check
9. Not pictured - the hot springs (in the family inventory) for an ill-fated attempt at Mt. Korobei Sightseer

In terms of the "strategy," I moved out right away any sim that had an aspiration I thought would take too long to complete. This included Mt. Korobei Sightseer (because of the Festival requirements), City Native, Eco Innovator, Freelance Botonist (this was probably not strategic in hindsight). For the ones that had a task that would take a long time (Computer whiz, public enemy, extreme sports enthusiast, and both culinary ones because of the career promotions), I fulfilled the early milestones and moved the sims out. There was some subjectivity here, because I did finish the comedy aspiration, as well as the music & bestselling author one, which both took several days. For the rest of the aspirations, I played through (with the exception of bodybuilder, as my game started to glitch at one point, making it impossible to fulfill the push the limits for 1 hr energized requirements).

I also realized that I was trying to avoid certain aspiration while answering questions in CAS. I knew that the get famous aspirations were hard, I didn't want to deal with vampires or going to university, and I didn't want to travel anywhere (so was avoiding vacation spot aspirations). I was also trying to trigger certain aspirations (like the wealth and collecting ones), but this was pretty unreliable. Later on, I stopped doing this to some extent, and the last unique aspiration I ended up completing was the archeology scholar.

In terms of the unique ones completed: the curator, painter extraordinaire, bodybuilder, joke star, bestselling author, party animal, super parent, friend of the world, angling ace, mansion baron, soulmate, serial romantic, big happy family, leader of the pack, master of mischief, fabulously wealthy, musical genius, nerd brain and archeology scholar. I rolled Mansion Baron 8 times (which was easy because as soon as the sim was moved in it was completed) and Friend of the World 7 times (which was slow to play through in in real time, since it involved a lot of clicking). Master of mischief was my next most common at 5 rolls.

I also had a perpetual club to speed up skill building - members were removed/ added to make sure it always stayed within the active household - and set up other clubs as needed to meet single sims + build friendships.

Finally, all my sims were named alphabetically. I nearly got through 3 rounds of the alphabet (ended on Wendy) and seriously couldn't think of any other Q and U names.

[sone]

Skipping gardening was probably a good call, it took me over a week for the cowplant to grow and I missed completing it by one excellent plant because nothing wanted to grow even with tiny lot, great spoil, green thumb, and bees.

[SueDenim]

@Rebelangel - Congratulations & wow.
Also, I'm stealing your *wink* Tiny *wink* house.  It's way better than my tiny house.

For me, it wasn't just that I never play story mode, it's also that I never do a lot of the aspirations. This was my first time even looking at Country Caretaker (it's kind of glitchy) or really trying the Mt. Korobei ones (good call skipping those).  I'm not sure I've ever actually finished Music before.

It was fun, still.  And I kind of want to do a complete all aspirations on my own now.  Kind of.

[Deklitch]

Congrats all, especially Rebelangel.

Don't do what I did ... it was mostly unsuccessful

I moved into a prebuilt home in Oasis Springs, a home with three bedrooms and a very small backyard. I got mansion baron early on ... and let's just say every space I could got given windows and columns. Columns which made hanging pictures up difficult.

In practice runs, I found 8 sims too hard to control, so I started with only 4 sims - mistake there.

I also tried to think "how would Jean Luc Picard answer these questions and tried to answer accordingly. - mistake there.

Jean Luc completed the leader of the pack Aspiration AND was given the astronaut career by story mode - and yeah, I was more on about the "Jean Luc is an astronaut" coolness factor. - he completed his on Wednesday of week 1.

After Jean-Luc moved out, I decided to send Beverly to him for them to have a baby. A housemate of his kind of set fire to the stove, and I clicked on Beverly and tried to get her to run far away. The sim who tried to do cooking died in the fire. And Beverly had a child with Jean-Luc - Jack Crusher. (that added nothing to the challenge effort, and was just a "nerdy Star Trek" thing. and yes - mistake there.

William Riker rolled best selling author and completed it Wednesday of week 2. I really struggled with his royalties part of level 4. He was rolled as a angler and I kept him in it. He also picked up a burnout at work one day. So I tried various things for him to get through it, including gardening, chess, fitness, sleeping, reading, everything but writing, nothing worked. But he then got a Brain Block. I eventually had him play games on the computer and that ended up getting him through it.

Deanna Troi rolled painter extraordinaire. She completed it by Saturday week 1, but I kept her for a bit longer for her to do more artwork for the family basement (it was the only way I could think to meet the latter requirements of Baron(ess) Mansion, specifically the house value requirements.

Beverly Crusher rolled Baron(ess) Mansion. I got the artwork quickly (there are paw prints for $1 each under children's stuff and 15 of those satisfy the artwork requirement). Beverly's house value ended up getting to beyond $200,000, but try as I might, I couldn't get anywhere near 300,000 let alone 350,000, even though a couple of sims brought in over 100,000 simeloens between them.

Jean-Luc was replaced by Data Soong. He wanted to be a renaissance sim. So I sent the family to a library for him to read and play chess. - Another mistake.

Deanna was replaced by Geordie La Forge, who got Computer Whiz. He also brought in a lot of money, which got the family a wishing well.

Data and Geordie tried the wishing well with various levels of success. Data got fired from his 2nd job (he got to level 2) - while Geordie was told he'd be promoted at the end of his next shift. Later on Data got an automatic promotion, and then a promotion at the end of shift. Sending them to the well to make a donation, then return to make a wish put the actions in the opposite order, so after Data did his, I did them one at a time. - lesson I learnt.

When Will Riker moved out, I brought in Worf (curator), Katherine Pulaski (Friend of the world), Q (fabulously wealthy) and Guinan (Master Chef). I got Guinan and Worf through their first promotions (I find buying seed packets and opening them completes first level curator) and built an extra basement level downstiars. Katherine didn't achieve a thing, while Q completed the household funds task in 1st level of his aspiration.

The kid of Jean Luc and Beverly aged up to infant, and I just left him to his own devices, Beverly cared for his basic needs, and gave him a bubble bath, but apart from that, he was just left in his bed or on the infant play mat thing and looked at toys/played with toys.

I also had a club going non-stop - it was called NCC-1701 D and Will Riker's books, lets just say they were all pretty much Star Trek related, including "There Are Four Night Lights", "Never Eat Your Pet Tribble", "The Starship had Three Nacelles - An Unbalanced Adventure", a trio of Plays "The NEs Take the Bridge, "The NEs Break the Bridge" and "The NEs Forsake the Bridge. He also wrote an informative non-fiction book "Rascals, Doubles and Other Transporter Problems- A cautionary tale for new recruits" and a biography "I am Me and You are Too" about his evil twin, Thomas Riker.


I didn't do well score wise, but I had a lot of fun doing it, which is just as important.