Oh, go ahead and post it. We don't worry about spoilers here. If someone doesn't want to know how to do it, he/she simply doesn't have to read it.
Ok Pam, as you have sanctioned this
It saves me having to check my messages and send replies.
The following is a SPOILER!
Assuming you are starting a new sim:
Recommended lifetime wish - the culinary librarian.
Recommended traits - ambitious, for the extra happiness points; adventurous, for the quicker, cheaper travel; bookworm, for the quicker reading; loves the outdoors, for the extra HP again.
But will work with pretty much any sim. Obviously, make adjustments if not going for "the cullinary librarian", and expect slightly less drematic outcome.
Move sim into the cheapest possible vacant lot.
In SV you might prefer to spend a bit extra and buy one of the vacant beautiful Vista lots for the extra HP, but don't spend too much, you will need a lot of cash soon.
Buy the cheapest portable stereo. Build a single wall section and buy a burglar alarm. Put alarm on wall section.
Go to library turn on stereo and read the first chapter of cooking. (to level 1)
Go to consignment store and buy every gem and metal available. Except iron if price is over 9 simoleans as you will get the ripped off negative moodlet.
Immediately buy again and keep doing this until no further gems or metals are offered. If you are really lucky you might get offered supernovium, but don't worry if you are not. If unlucky, you might get ripped off, but it’s no big deal in the scheme of things, just annoying. If you get Supernovium get it smelted and sell the resulting ingot(s), the money comes in very handy.
Post all gems for cutting and all metals for smelting.
Obviously, complete as many life time wishes as are practical. If these include buy a fridge or cooker, get the cheapest, and sell back as soon as the points have registered.
Return to library and read cooking again.
Eventually you will wish for a bed. There is a very good very cheap double bed which you may have available depending on your EP's. Otherwise, buy the best single bed. Keep your bed.
Use the gym for a shower and toilet and a quick meal then sleep in your bed on your vacant lot.
When you wake up get your mail and pay your bill. Sell supernovium if you have it.
If you wish, collect any items from easily accessible places that you know about (i.e.: there is frequently a good gem and one or two pieces of good metal behind the warehouse in SV.) Don't waste time on random searching. Post gems and metals and consign seeds.
If you wish, collect any items from easily accessible places that you know about (i.e.: there is frequently a good gem and one or two pieces of good metal behind the warehouse in SV.) Don't waste time on random searching. Post gems and metals and consign seeds.
Return to library to improve your cooking.
You should still have plenty of money. Live like this until you have enough HP to buy the Prepared Traveller reward. With luck it should be Tuesday or Wednesday. But I have achieved this Monday p.m.
Travel to China or France - 6 days. (not Egypt, the merchant rarely has enough valuable gems and metal available) France is best.
Go to Relic Merchant and buy all available gems and metals.
Return to base camp and post off your purchases. Accept and complete first adventure, if you want to, there will not be any collectables on the map on the first day. Otherwise do whatever you wish to improve your HP.
Go to relic merchant daily and buy up entire gem and metal stock. (Stock is replenished daily at, I think, about 2 a.m.). Post all purchases and any gems or metals collected. Analyse your relics and meteors if you have them.
You may, if you've been lucky with your collecting, or if you bought a beautiful vista lot have to sell a few items from your inventory to finance further purchases. If so, sell anything valued above 3,500 first then select random high or medium value metals. Keep buying and posting. Smelted metal (other than silver, copper and iron) is always worth more than you paid for the raw metal. Anything over 4,500 will have to be sold as is in any case. I haven't noticed much difference between selling from inventory or selling to merchant. However, selling to the merchant is easier as all values are listed and you can do it simultaneously with buying.
Read cooking and collect from easily accessible places for the rest of your time. If you get stressed, go to the bookshop and read for a while.
Before returning home, buy a storage box.
Do not spend any more HP until you have completed your lifetime wish and obtained the moodlet manager (who needs sleep!); you may, if you've been lucky with wishes actually complete this while on your holiday. You will complete the LW when you have read 28 recipes. This can be any time after level seven cooking depending on how many recipes purchased and read or at cooking level ten.
When you get home, purchase the largest display cabinet, I think it's Carter's, it costs 1,250 simoleons.
Place a high value metal, gem, relic or meteor in the top left position of your display table then descending value items until the table is full, 8 items. The total value of items must be between 3,500 and 4,999 simoleons. The table must be mixed even if only one item is of a different type. i.e.: seven metals and one gem or seven gems and one metal. But you could have a table with metal, gems, meteors and relics.
Your trip to France should have netted you at least 20 ingots valued at around 1000 each plus a lot of lower value ingots and a selection of low or medium value gems.
Your trip to China should get you around 30 ingots or mercury vials worth between 500 and 600 plus a lot of good value (300 to 400 ingots and a selection of low, medium and high value gems.
Assuming I went to China, I would place 7 ingots above 500 and below 600 and one very low value gem, relic or meteor for my first table.
Transfigure (cost 500) and place resulting spire cut tiberium on the ground.(This is where the burglar alarm comes into its own; I've had 3 burglars on three consecutive nights after stealing my tiberium garden.)
Keep placing metals and low value other items and transfiguring until you have either run out of money or out of easily calculated loot.
Place the tiberium well spaced on the ground each time.
You may now have to calculate more carefully to complete further tables, and you may have to sell a few items outright to finance the transfiguration.
Alternatively, you could wait until the tiberium you have has grown and take another trip for more, or you can place low value metals on the table (2 to 4 different types). Place the two highest value of the same kind top left then fill with low value metals. (i.e.: place two iradium top left then 3 gold and 4 iron individually), total 9 ingots. I rarely use anything above iradium for this and you can do it with just copper and iron. You may actually invest, with the 500 transfiguration cost, slightly more than the value of ingots returned. However, you should get back one ingot worth more than 500 a second ingot worth about 200 or 300 and you may also get one iron. You may, with luck, get some really good metal back. Six gold and 3 silver usually transfigure into plutonium and compendium with a combined value of about 3,000. Do this with as much of your low value metal as you can then recycle the resulting ingots to transfigure another tiberium.
Alternatively, Place eight gems on the table, highest value top left. You must have five different gems and four different cuts for this. This is where all those low value emerald cuts are useful. Transfigure into a soulpiece. Either get this Heart cut and sell from inventory - value will be in excess of 8k and could be anything up to 30k. Or emerald cut it and use to transfigure tiberium.
Your first trip should get you 10 or more tiberium which when grown will be worth between 29k and 49k each.
Growth should take between 24 and 48 sim hours. If one hasn't grown in this time, don't worry either leave it, or pick it up and then place it again. It will grow.
Place grown tiberium into your storage box (they make you sick in your inventory) and sell them one at a time to maximise the HP you can get. i.e.: sell one and you will probably get the "become a partner" wish, get your partnership and you will likely immediately get the "become part owner of 3 businesses" or "own a venue". Sell another and complete the wish and immediately you should wish for owning 3 venues etc.
So, before the end of week one you should have a net worth in excess of 300k and have the moodlet manager. Your next trip can be taken without the moodlet manager and still yield the same or almost the same simoleon outcome.
Take another trip. With the moodlet manage you should be able to complete enough adventures to reach level three and buy your first holiday home. Don't forget the partnership thing so that you can stay 18 days next time. Wonderful for completing skills, and, you will be able to collect vast amounts of metal and gems when not adventuring (if you still feel the need to
).
When you get home from second trip, transfigure your loot for another 300 to 400 + simoleons. After trip three you should have well in excess of 1 million and never have to bother with collecting, unless you feel like it, again. And, it is still only week two.
After the transfigurations, what you do between trips is up to you. I usually join the culinary career tract to get that nice fridge and learn guitar to make lots of friends. I will also read one level of charisma and one of gardening, but, it’s up to you.
I haven't tried this, but I am sure, if you start with a family of adults, and sent each one individually on trips, you could make that million in the first week!
No cheating, not even any stealing of books in China and you can have so much money you won't know what to do with it in just a few sim days!
PS - There is an element of chance. My last sim only got a disappointing 5 tiberium from her 6 days in China, but the next trip to France (6 days) yielded an exceptional 19 tiberium so I came out on top anyway.
Good luck and happy metal buying
