The Sims 3 Immortal Dynasty Challenge

[VampirePlasma]

I'm guessing since you're a legendary member that you're not new to some of the major glitches that come with WA? Initially I had all intentions of completing all the adventures with my 2nd generation (which seemed actually work ok when it first came out), but I haven't even managed to do more than 1 day in China now without it becoming buggy. My dynasty are staying right away from it.

Agreed.

[Seabody]

I guess the only thing to do is try and go back to an earlier save that is not bugged.

I regret to say I have none. I've taken to saving often, and the previous save is about 1 RL hour before I noticed it. I unfortunately made heaps of progress since that save, so I don't want to lose it.
I know there is a thread that deals with the vanishing pictures (Pam herself wrote it), so I'll see what they have to say.
Worst comes to the worst, the pictures are grey, but I do know of a way to save the painted pictures if needs be*.

*Painted pictures means pictures painted post-patch. (Alliteration much?)

EDIT: I fixed the vanishing pictures. The grey pictures remain that - grey.

[Pam]

I don't want to see the existing Dynasties' rules changed.  Sure, modify them to include expansion content as needed, but don't change the rules.  If it's made "easier" then it's not fair to those of us who played the "hard" version.  If the rules of new Dynasty challenges need to be easier, well, whatever.  But the challenges that are already in place need to remain consistent in their rules, in my opinion.

[LenaLJ]

I have to agree with Pam on this, ill be a long time lurker on the dynasty, because the first one i started bugged within a week.
But i have been planing a projekt for a long time now, and i think that changing the rules wouldnt be that fun.
Yes that challenge maybe is hard but thats the deal about it. I dont think you should change it, to make it easier.

[Esther1981]

I agree with Pam and Lena. The fun part of this challenge is how hard it is. If you took that away and made it easier, it wouldn't be fun anymore. Yeah I use cheats on mine so I know I'm not getting in HoF, but I'm on the 4th restart of mine and it is a challenge to get everything done, but that's what makes it awesome in my opinion.

[ratchie]

I agree with Pam the immortal dynasty challenge should not be made easier. In fact the only way it might have been easier for me to do is if you dropped the rule about no other immortal maxing another immortals supermax skill. I personally found stopping my immortals gaining too many skill points and having to only stick to certain careers hard but as many people have proven it is possible.

In my opinion most people play this challenge because it is exactly that A Challenge and finishing it gives you a sense of accomplishment that you might not get with an easier version.

Rachel

[Metropolis Man]

Good points, ladies. Yeah, I suppose you're right and I should not do a 2.0 version of the Dynasties. But, I still want to try and edit the rulesets just so they're easier to understand. Not sure if that's possible. If the ruleset itself is very clear, then there should not even be a need for a FAQ.

[Deme]

Well, this turns out to be an excellent topic for a first post, huh? ...I guess I can say my opinion as well as anyone else.

I've been thinking about doing my own, but I'm a bit intimidated by all the minutia... So I'd vote for a more streamlined ruleset if voting were possible. That said, I think nothing should be done to invalidate previous challenges or screw up partially completed things. Wouldn't it be possible to have two seperate "styles" of immortal dynasty, with attempts deciding their style at the start and having different scoring sections for each? There'll always be people who will want a greater challenge, but there will also always be people who see some aspects of a greater challenge to be more annoying than they're worth.

Anyway, I'm debating starting my first trial attempt soon, and maybe a story after Pets comes out, when I'll be a bit less stressed for skills: I heard tell from somewhere (the sims 3 forum maybe?) that there'll be a skill connected to horses, and I am so all over that... Maybe try Hidden Springs as a world to escape the perpetual dynasty-enslavement of Agnes.

Speaking of which, I'm trying my trial in Riverview. I've ear-marked Billy Caspian and his lotsa money, painting skill, and expensive car for my founder's hubby (he's not uneasy on the eyes, either)... But is there anything else there that'd help me out? Sims to ensla -- I mean, befriend, secret useful things (like Sunset Valley's science center having its own omniplant), and so on?

[cathyknits]

One thing I'd recommend to help with the minutia - it sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is - is coming up with some kind of record sheet. I think there's a spreadsheet for download, but I'm actually using pen and paper to track opportunities and LTH Rewards.

I'm playing my Dynasty in Riverview, and it's been a nice change from Sunset Valley. One thing about the town itself - if you check the Real Estate section, you'll find that there's only seven Properties to buy. There's a standing exception to the "No Edit Town" rule to allow you to place one more purchasable Property, even if you aren't placing Late Night or Ambitions content - or, if I'd thought about it/known how to do it, there's one venue called the Watering Hole that can't be purchased in the "vanilla" town but would be awesome for renovation, if you can figure out how to make it purchasable.

Also, I think there's a routing problem similar to what people have mentioned in China from WA - sometimes the game will get laggy/choppy, and resetsim * will usually fix it. I haven't actually found any people stuck anywhere, but the map is really big, and I haven't put that much time into searching.

The place to find Deathfish is not as obvious as it is in Bridgeport or Sunset Valley, but the Guide page on fishing has pretty good instructions on how to find them. The only place to find saltwater fish is at the Fish Hatchery, which is actually kind of convenient - all the different spawners are right in one place, so you're not running up and down the beach looking for that one kind of fish you're after.

There are harvestable plants all over the place - it's supposed to be a farm town, so a lot of the townies have gardens, plus there's a community garden. I can't think of anywhere that has an Omni Plant, though.

If you're after another roomie or two, Norman and Elaine Joy have a really useful skill set. Norman can plant Special seeds right from the outset, and Elaine's a Natural Cook.

[Margerita]

I've never really played in Riverview so I can't give you any tips regarding how to play this challenge there. But I have noticed that having the Legendary Host reward and throwing parties really helps with the Best Friends requirement.

And it seems that the spreadsheet Pam made is very east to miss at it's current place at the bottom of the rule set so I'll link it for you here.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgyKmXvFsKfvdFpGeVZKUklnOTlhUEhMLVhrS2hwOGc&hl=en#gid=0

And don't worry about the requirements so much they sound like a lot more then they are when you finally play it.

[Deme]

Ooh, thanks very much for the help, and especially the spreadsheet link! It is a little hard to spot in the wall o' text.
Oh, but another question... How difficult is inventing to SuperMax relative to oh, say, Nectar Making? I heard Necter Making's a little bit wonky in some of its challenges, and my founder (at least for my story, dunno how simmilar I should make my test run) is likely to do gardening and leave cooking as a freebee...  but it also sounds kinda fun...But then some of the inventing skill challenges sound kind of tough.

[TheChronicR]

Ooh, thanks very much for the help, and especially the spreadsheet link! It is a little hard to spot in the wall o' text.
Oh, but another question... How difficult is inventing to SuperMax relative to oh, say, Nectar Making? I heard Necter Making's a little bit wonky in some of its challenges, and my founder (at least for my story, dunno how simmilar I should make my test run) is likely to do gardening and leave cooking as a freebee...  but it also sounds kinda fun...But then some of the inventing skill challenges sound kind of tough.

Both, in addition Photography, are the top three hardest skills to supermax. Inventing, well, simply because it is insanely difficult to spent so much time patiently making widgets for the challenge. Nectar making... One of the challenges, Vizard of Vine, is bugged, though there is a solution but still. Photography... I won't go there.

[Sportsfan]

Welcome to the forum. Just about everyone chooses Agnes or Christopher if they play in SV, but you don't necessarily have to. The painting skill helps, a lot, but the money just makes the first generation a bit easier. If you can get past the first generation, the money you get from them becomes largely insignificant.
Like Margerit said, the requirements seem overwhelming at first but if you play it out right they aren't too hard.
Also, to help with the best friends, start groups with people. Then if you just use a few socials and get some positive points towards the relationship bar, you can end it and it will say it was epic which will increase your relationship a lot with that person.

Deme: there is already a topic about that here.

[Metropolis Man]

Wouldn't it be possible to have two seperate "styles" of immortal dynasty, with attempts deciding their style at the start and having different scoring sections for each? There'll always be people who will want a greater challenge, but there will also always be people who see some aspects of a greater challenge to be more annoying than they're worth.

I understand where you're coming from. Not everyone wants a challenge like this that can be a real kick in the pants sometimes. But, for my own sanity there can only be one ruleset.

[Ricalynn]

I understand people wanting a FAQ because I remember when I first thought about starting a dynasty there was about 200 pages (before the forum change to 20 posts a page) of stuff that needed to be read.  After the first 20 or 30 pages I actually stopped reading the challenge thread and started reading the stories instead, if Pam or Metro or one of the other HoFers did it then it's safe.  A lot of the questions that get asked at this point are about bugs or curve balls.  The other 5% are about putting in buildings.  Basically at this point the rule should be a) you can put in bars and laundromat before you start your dynasty b) if you've already started.. don't go to edit town - period.   

I think questions will always be asked no matter how simple the rules because the people that want to do this aren't always going to be veteran players/forum readers.