Completing an Immortal Dynasty Hints and Tips (Not Questions)

[ratchie]

I don't think there are any skills that you really need to avoid. I don't like to give my fisherSim the coward trait because they need to go the graveyard to catch deathfish. Of course some skills are more useful then others.

Rachel

[Ricalynn]

That is good. Are any of them special seeds.

None of the seeds said special and the highest quality I found was rare.

One special note for Dynasty starters in Moonlight Falls -  MF actually has a life fruit plant for you to pick from which is rare for a EA town.

The only trait I avoid is absent-minded but that's really because I'm such a micromanager sometimes I don't want my Sim to stop what they are doing.  My current dynasty actually has a theme where each person is insane and evil so I have to fit skills for career/supermax into the other three slots.

[Wiry]

I prefer my sims to be loons, but I like to make sure that it's not going to affect my dynasty. What is this Dynasty called Rica?

[samoht04]

My advice, not that I've ever finished but on the plus side I've never failed due to failing a specification, it's always been technicals or something else like a Mortal eating some Ambrosia that an Immortal was eating when I left him. 

Never supermax Charisma if you dislike socialising in Sims. It saves so much time and makes it easier.
Get some helpers, you can do it with just one Sim and their spouse but it's pressure that you can avoid.
Always have Gardening before Nectar Making, the Gardener can boost the quality of the plants and really help the Nectar Maker in producing good quality nectar.
Build a small house, this is where I never follow my own advice. It keeps loading times down slightly and helps on loading the house when you return to it from another lot.
Plan ahead and be prepared for anything.

I prefer my sims to be loons, but I like to make sure that it's not going to affect my dynasty. What is this Dynasty called Rica?

Rica's Dynasty is Artie's Lunar Lunacy, or also known as the Grims. It's a great read and she's so close to the end now with Gen 7 in her game! 

I did have and now also have an Insane Founder to my Jade Dynasty, it's quite fun and keeps him interesting and amusing, Lol.

[ratchie]

Here are my top five tips to getting your founder to ambrosia.

1)Move in the help you can do it by yourself but having a few extra Sims around the house to concentrate on the skills that your founder is not doing can really help matters. So if your founder is cooking you will need a painter(essential),fisherman(essential)and a sculptuor(optional).
2)Send somebody out to collect seeds as soon as possible. Getting those special seeds into the ground is very important. I go into a non dynasty game cheat to get the collection helper and take screen shots of the seed locations. Now I can find special seeds in Sunset Valley straight away without having to use the collection helper in my dynasty game.
3)Don't try for a baby until you have your painter and sculptor able to do the museum peices.
4)Befriend children,teens and vampires as they have the most chance of being around when your founder gets to ambrosia.
5)Send a level ten fisherman to the graveyard after midnight to fish even with no bait they will catch deathfish.

Rachel

[ArianaJade]

My top five tips:
1. Lock away skilling objects sims might use if they'd skill up someone's supermax. A couple of my dynatsy sims were constantly trying to sculpt and cook which would have invalidated gen 3 and 1's supermax skills.
2. Don't worry too much about best friends until your sim is coming up to elder. It's better to focus on the skill and career and make friends later in case they die off. Or like ratchie says befriend kids or vampires.
3. If you want to supermax an instrument, make sure your sim has no other skills and has an opportunity wedged in the special and career slots (or have no career) so the only opportunity calls that come through are for the instrument. Or better still, don't supermax an instrument. It's far, far more hassle than it's worth and I wish I'd done something else instead!
4. Move potential spouses in as soon as you can to prevent them turning vamp. If your heir is still a teen an older member of the family can move them in.
5. Read other people's dynastys to see what works and what doesn't. People like ratchie who have completed a million dynasties know what they're doing!

I also second ratchie and samoht's lists.

And yeah, insane sims won't stop you finishing. I'd probably avoid using can't stand art because of all the art that goes on in a dynasty, but I can't think of any I'd be unable to play if a sim had.

[Odinsdottir]

Am so glad this has come up as I just started my first Immortal Dynasty last night!  *Bookmarked.*

[Ricalynn]

I have two strategy tips that I've used and find very helpful in the beginning.   

1) Have someone able to make sleep potions (logic) or possibly even the elixirs (alchemy but needs testing) so that it takes less time for Sims to sleep.  If they need less sleep than they have more time to sculpt or paint in time to get your founder's pieces.

2) If you're going  to allow celebrities into your game, grab a paparazzi early on.  A paparazzi while hard to get to move in sometimes almost always come with 5 to 10 points in the photography skill as well as a camera (usually the medium one).   This way you have someone who already knows it and they can work on sculpting or something else important if you wanted.  The MultiTab 6000 from the The Sims 3 store also helps get you a photographer skilled quickly but you'd have to find a camera at the consignment shop.

[ratchie]

The museum.

Where possible have a mortal produce the museum pieces.
I line up around five different sculpting stations and get my sculptor to begin a ice sculpture on each one. Then they can work on the sculptures while the subject is at work or school.
I make at least three portraits one goes in the museum the second goes in the family inventory and the third I sell. I have discovered that all sold paintings end up at the art gallery in an emergency if you loose portraits out of your museum and you accidentally empty  the family inventory you can buy the art gallery and they will all be there.
I name all my portraits for example Rachel Founder elder. I also try and give toddlers different hairstyles so I know who is who at a glance.
If you happen to have a teen hanging around the house get them grounded so they can stay at home and sculpt for you.(The same goes for any teens working on any skills in an immortal dynasty school is not important so they can stay home)

Rachel

[Shirin]

Plan. Plan plan plan.

Always have a backup idea in mind. (Generation 5 was supposed to SuperMax Martial Arts, but I got a stupid glitch with the sparring, so couldn't complete the last skill challenge - so I switched her to Athletics)

Be creative! Look at other stories in progress for ideas on what to do.

Once money is rolling in, don't be afraid to spend it (the Wind household has so much money that, to keep the elders out of my hair, I send them to the spa daily for a Massage, a Manicure/Pedicure/Soak, Facial, Body Treatment, and the $7500 Package).

Make backups. Glitches happen.

This is a weird quirk of mine, but I prefer to save the game first, and then exit the game. I've only ever gotten 1 error while saving by doing that, whereas if I would do the save while quitting method, I was plagued with errors.

If you can do it without failing the Dynasty, work on some achievements during the slow times of the game.

[Wiry]

The mortal to do the art is to make appreciation skyrocket yes?

[Ricalynn]

The mortal to do the art is to make appreciation skyrocket yes?

When the creator of a portrait/photograph/sculpture dies, a death bonus is applied to all of their artwork.  I've noticed photographs can be a little buggy but for paintings and sculptures it works 100% of the time.

[Wiry]

Doesn't it also double the future appreciation rate?

[Ricalynn]

Yes for paintings but for sculptures it depends on the quality if I'm understanding Chuckles study correctly.

[Frey]

You can cook Ambrosia with the items being in your sim's inventory. You just have to click on the stove, not on the fridge  .

Nice thread! It will help a lot when I start my 101837363th attempt at a dynasty LOL.