Hi, everyone!
Like Lena, I had my eyes set on a maximum score for this challenge. But after extensive testing and full comprehension of the amended rules, I had to abandon that idea.
A score of 100% in the plant category seemed impossible. This would require planting a steak and a burger patty which are only available from the store. Only after harvesting these, there could be access to the omnificent plant. This meant three plants down.
I had the horrible feeling that the glow orb mushroom might be another obstacle to maxing the plant category. It could not be bought from the elixir shop, and I had never ever seen one in the wild.
It can be harvested from the Goodfellow garden in Moonlight Falls. However, playing the challenge in that world would seriously jeopardise maxing the seashell and fish categories.
It's one thing to think you may not find a certain item and another to know it. Initially, I tested only in Isla Paradiso. For this test, I used the 'discover all islands cheat' and ran the test for 40 Sim weeks which is ten times longer than the duration of this challenge. I cleared every single seed and mushroom 24/7 to allow for maximum spawning. I came up with nothing and repeated this procedure twice with new files, just to make sure... still nothing.
This annoyed me no end, and I could have saved myself a lot of time by calling it a day just there and then. But no, too OCD to accept a simple fact, I then wanted to check other worlds as well. Sunset Valley, Bridgeport, Appaloosa Plains - I even checked Moonlight Falls itself. I spent 40 frustrating Sim weeks in all of these worlds and never found one single glow orb mushroom growing in the wild.
At the time, I was convinced this plant could not be found in the wild. Now, of course, I must ask myself whether this has anything to do with my computer or even the EP packs I downloaded. I can't imagine it being a glitch repeating itself over and over.
So, just for the record. I'd really like to know where glow orbs were find in the wild. And more than that, I'm dying to find out how Lena maxed the plant category as a whole!
In further testing, I was able to find everything else needed, except for the Will-O-Wisps, the termite and spider. I also noted that the Plasma Bug did not register, much like gems obtained from mining do not register.
I decided to uninstall Late Night.
I also uninstalled World Adventures. This pained me, because it brought my highest possible plant score down from a very attainable 94% to 88%. Yet, it seemed a fair exchange for the hassle of finding supernovium and compendium.
And in the end, I decided to live without University Life as well. I did not know at the time, that a player would be allowed to count the plasma bug. It simply does not register, much like mined gems won't register. However, you can clone mined gems, put them on the ground and then collect them. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for insects. As I saw it, it would bring down the highest possible % for the beetle category to 91%. It had to go.
I did not buy a board-breaker or a miner. These items lead to collectibles and in a PM I was told that they could not be purchased. Mad Hopper read inventing books until level 8 and invented her own miner. She dug a multiple adventure hole on the first try and jumped it incessantly for about 36 hours. That was enough to find plutonium (which annihilated the need for maxing diving) and all the space rocks for both space rock challenges, as well as most seeds.
Mad Hopper found woohooium, fluorite and the elusive pink diamond from sculpting.
Island Paradiso was a revelation to me. I actually scored
103% in the fish department, which felt as a huge bonus at the time. And the discovery that I could score 100% in seashells was' to say the least, elating!
The seashell category, I must admit, confused me for the longest of times. I still don't know quite how it works. But my score went up when I found the Extraordinarily Unusual Message in a Bottle at Port Pepper. It then increased when I found a ordinary bottle through cave exploration. And it maxed, when I found a Piece of Map in a bottle, also in an underwater cave.
In testing, I found the seashell % also increased after finding 5 ordinary message bottles on the seabed. Maybe, there are other methods still to max the seashell category?
I took two very strange photographs during this challenge. One is of a stingray-type fish on the ocean bed and another is of a red lobster-like creature near the shoreline. I tried to upload these pics, but failed miserably. Maybe later...
EDIT TO ADD:
I forgot to say that Mad Hopper found Refuge Island via the Resort Adventure. Ninja starfish can be found at Plumbob Island which she already had. But this island was important for the trilobite beetle as well. That beetle can also be found on Mermaid's Secret, but securing Refuge Island felt simple, safe and less time consuming.
