Author Topic: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You  (Read 66077 times)

Offline Ginj

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #135 on: June 18, 2015, 07:00:40 AM »
So much helpful information here, Claymask; thank you! Most of it it's new to me, though I'd long suspected that writing songs was a very slow way to build music skill.  Thanks for confirming that! Good tip about discussing logic puzzles.  My guy leveled logic by using the microscope and selling the prints, which gave him money and fun, but it meant that I had to plant the garden too early and take time away from skilling to collect fossils and crystals, which was a mistake.  Well done!

Offline MissZoef

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #136 on: June 18, 2015, 07:03:30 AM »
wauw CalyMask! Thanks for the table! I really didn't know that were the fastest ways to skill certain skills! good to know for the future.



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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #137 on: June 18, 2015, 07:09:27 AM »
Awesome write up, ClayMask!

Online MarianT

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #138 on: June 18, 2015, 07:18:59 AM »
Great write-up (and gameplay)! Thanks so much for the table on the quickest ways to level each skill.
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Offline HelenP

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #139 on: June 18, 2015, 09:26:27 AM »
Wow, brilliant game-play and thanks so much for all the information.  I always learn so much from the top players who post their strategy.

Thank You!!

Online Metropolis Man

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #140 on: June 18, 2015, 09:50:00 AM »
Wow, brilliant game-play and thanks so much for all the information.  I always learn so much from the top players who post their strategy.

Thank You!!

Indeed. An excellent write up, ClayMask. Thank you so much for the depth you went into. Congrats again.

Offline Carl

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #141 on: June 18, 2015, 10:28:31 AM »
Oh wow, @ClayMask. First, I came here to congratulate you, so well done on a great win. I read your whole summary and am impressed with a lot of this, but using the renew vows really stands out to me as brilliant. I had initially written off mixology as a bad skill, and while I already retracted that it is clear that it's again a really strong one for longer games.

I did not expect to find a gold mine with the skilling info, but think that when my break is over I need to do some editing on literally every skill, as i never thought to try the socials as a method to raise them. I never would have expected that. Is repeating the social over and over a non-issue?



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Offline Tixxis

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #142 on: June 18, 2015, 10:30:34 AM »
Congratulations, ClayMask!

This was another decisive victory with a huge margin. Thank you so much for your write-up. It's absolutely fab all round.

I'm coming a bit late to the celebrations here. But it's Royal Ascot in the UK and I just had to place a few wagers beforehand.
Got my first winner in at 12-1 so I'm doubly cheering now!

My strategy is not half as impressive, but I'll post it anyway.
What you need to know before reading is this: I wanted to do as much as I could in a linear fashion (one skill after another) without other Sims involved.
In the end, only two skill sets got entwined and only one other Sim was involved.

The picture below shows the days Eliza finished her skills.



Fitness
Eliza did stretch exercises until level 3 (no tiredness, no fatigue). She could now use research fitness on the computer which prevents injuries and allows to keep working out despite fatigue. From level 3 she did endurance runs on the treadmill. From level 8 she did epic workouts.

Home Cooking / Gourmet Cooking
If you open the skill bar in the bottom corner of the screen, you can actually measure the skill rate of your Sim. I found that quality of the appliances or type of meal made no difference. Eliza went mainly for the cheapest options unless her whims dictated otherwise. She had a painting above her cupboard. Her autonomous viewings were very short, because she was cooking, but it kept her amused.

Painting
She completed Painter Extraordinaire upon reaching level 10. Decor and viewing inspired work were enough to crank out the 5 required masterpieces beforehand.

Comedy
Eliza used the right decor plus a playful painting for viewing and a microphone. She told jokes all the way through, always maintaining a very playful mood and never becoming hysterical.

Writing
She wanted to complete Bestselling Author quick and only wrote comedy books. The requirement for 3 bestsellers was fulfilled at level 8.
I handled this wrong. Eliza viewed inspired art. But if she had played a mod game in between books (5 minutes max for an epic game moodlet) she could have levelled the skill about 6 hours earlier.

Piano
Eliza started with this instrument, because it provides a comfortable moodlet. She practiced until level 2. She could now research piano. She played for inspiration until level 4. From there on, she played concertos.

Violin
Practice until level 2. Research violin. Play for inspiration until level 4. Concertos.

Guitar
Practice until level 2. Research guitar. Play for inspiration until level 4. Jam- jam-jam all the way.

Mixology
I read about Pros and Pop and Amygdelight and never tested it! How bad is that?
Eliza practiced making drinks until level 6 and then practiced bar tricks all the way.

Baking
Again, type of recipe made no difference in skill rate. She started with sugar cookies and then made bread. She used a stove because the cupcake factory needs refilling and cleaning ever so often.

Gardening
Eliza wanted to complete Nerd Brain, so she part read all the gardening books. From level 2, she used research.
She ordered seeds and planted 24 plants in two rows of 12.
From level 5, she would take cuttings from row 1 and graft these on row 2. She did this 1 cutting at the time, because grafting does gets easily broken in my games. As soon as row 2 was up for it, she took cuttings and grafted these on row 1. She maxed the skill in less than 24 hours.

Logic
Eliza used a telescope and viewed a mathematical diagram.

Handiness
Eliza had level 2 already from repairing broken items. She upgraded showers because it is cheapest for parts until level 8. Then, she upgraded some cheap kitchen appliances. At level 9, she had to upgrade her telescope only once to max to skill.

Rocket Science
She built it, launched it 5 times and upgraded it 5 times which was enough to max the skill and also secured completion of the Nerd Brain aspiration.

Interlude (1)
Eliza took a short break in Granite Falls at this stage. About 6 hours after arrival, she used travel mode to harvest plants and went back home. She acquired video gaming skill from her tablet in that time.


Video gaming
Eliza used a tablet up to level 7. This handy tool allows your Sim to watch live stream games from level 0. It allows for research from level 5. Thereafter, Eliza used the computer to do just these two things. It gives the best skill increase. But, there is a cool down period of three hours in between sessions. This seemed a good time to work on the programming skill.

Programming
At level 3, Eliza created a game mod. Thereafter, she mainly created viruses. Playing a mod game for a few minutes kept her spirits up. The happy moodlet from playing an epic game just about covers the time to create a virus.

Herbalism
This took 9 hours - which is rather long - but Eliza made insect repellent liniments for her upcoming fishing days.

Charisma
Eliza snatched a passerby from the street with an Incredibly Friendly introduction. She shamelessly used the Great Kisser perk, because she would need a husband of sorts soon.

Mischief
In my opinion, the quickest way to level this skill is by sending chain letters. But as Eliza only knew one Sim at this stage, she used the nicer mischievous interactions.

Interlude (2)
Eliza had another small break to get married to the only person she knew. They kept separate households, of course.


Fishing
Eliza was already deliriously happy, but placed a frog near her chosen fishing spot for a permanent environment moodlet. She also used her insect repellent liniments to boost her mood further.
She didn't examine the water and rarely switched bait. She just kept fishing while maintaining her very happy or very confident mood.

Aspiration Rewards in order:
Gym Rat, Night Owl, Morning Sim, Savant, Speed Cleaner, Steel Bladder, Connections, Marketable, Creative Visionary, Hardly Hungry, Incredibly Friendly, Great Kisser

Aspirations in order:
Bodybuilder, Painter Extraordinaire, Bestselling Author, Renaissance Sim, Nerd Brain, Fabulously Wealthy


This challenge was tremendous fun! Thank you so much. :)


Offline ClayMask

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #143 on: June 18, 2015, 10:34:01 AM »
Thanks, everyone.

@Carl I have to admit I didn't think of using the renew vows myself.  I've seen other people mention using it on the forum before as a way to raise mood.  I think Tixxis was the first one I saw mention it.  Using the socials repeatedly can be an issue if you don't break up the conversation.  I normally repeat an interaction twice before ending the conversation, and then start it back up again.  It's nice when I can level more than one skill using the same conversations because then I don't have to end the conversation as often.

Offline ClayMask

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #144 on: June 18, 2015, 10:52:42 AM »
@Tixxis Thanks for posting your strategy.  I really enjoyed reading it. 

I noticed you use a lot of items to gain moods.  Do you have lamps in your game?  If my Sim is home, 13 mood lamps + 13 decorative lamps + fireplace + laser light show is enough to reach a very [whatever] mood.  Maybe you didn't have access to or use all of these, though. 

Good thinking with the stretch exercises.  I have never tried those.  I just used the best bathtub to get past fatigue if needed, or a moodlet solver if needs were low.  Does research fitness improve the skill?  I thought it just gave a moodlet. 

It seems like you leveled your instruments faster than I did.  I didn't time leveling speed of bow for inspiration or concertos, only practice and write songs.  I thought they would be slower since the interaction only lasts a short time, but I might have been wrong.  Did you find those to level the skill faster than practice?

For programming, was there a reason you chose to write viruses?  Was it the money, or something else?  I did time leveling speed for some programming interactions and didn't find a difference between them, but I didn't time all of them.

I think for cooking and gourmet cooking leveling speed, you may have overlooked the boost the Sim gets at the end of cooking a dish.  So making shorter dishes gives faster leveling.  I did also find a slight increase in speed with the higher level dishes when I timed the speed.  Not sure why we got different results on this.

Offline Tixxis

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #145 on: June 18, 2015, 11:59:44 AM »
I noticed you use a lot of items to gain moods.  Do you have lamps in your game?  If my Sim is home, 13 mood lamps + 13 decorative lamps + fireplace + laser light show is enough to reach a very [whatever] mood.  Maybe you didn't have access to or use all of these, though. 

I do have lamps and, as a rule, I use 13 of a kind. I've never used fireplaces or laser lights. I will definitely try this out in the future. Thank you!

Good thinking with the stretch exercises.  I have never tried those.  I just used the best bathtub to get past fatigue if needed, or a moodlet solver if needs were low.  Does research fitness improve the skill?  I thought it just gave a moodlet. 

The stretch exercises are shorter than push-ups or sit-ups. It also allowed to level the first 3 levels quicker than any other form of workout.

There are two types of research.
One type, like researching advanced gaming techniques, increases the skill while researching.
The other type, like researching workout tips, increases the skill rate when doing a skill-related activity.

In the early stages, researching workout tips also prevents a pulled muscle, if it's followed by runs on the treadmill rather than the weightlifting machine.
After about level 5, it doesn't really matter whether the Sim does runs or weights. There won't be any pulled muscles with the researched tips moodlet.

It seems like you leveled your instruments faster than I did.  I didn't time leveling speed of bow for inspiration or concertos, only practice and write songs.  I thought they would be slower since the interaction only lasts a short time, but I might have been wrong.  Did you find those to level the skill faster than practice?

In general, practice is about the slowest way to skill for any skill. It makes sense: as you become better at something, you unlock specific ways to get even better.
In music, this counts for all interactions except writing songs. So, yes, each time you unlock a new interaction, it will give a better skill rate, apart from writing songs.
The research was crucial to max the skill rate at any stage from level 2 onward.

For programming, was there a reason you chose to write viruses?  Was it the money, or something else?  I did time leveling speed for some programming interactions and didn't find a difference between them, but I didn't time all of them.

From tests, I thought for the longest time that modding games was the quickest way to level programming. But, it turned out that I had a naturally talented Sim on  my hands with an aptitude for programming full stop.
Eliza Dolittle did not have this hidden attribute. I chose viruses for her, because the time needed to create them coincides with the duration of the 'epic game' moodlet. As for the money bonus: when something makes money, I often temporarily switch to 'Fabulously Wealthy'. Just a quick switch over and back to whatever the 'real' aspiration at the time is. It generates 'earn X' whims.

 
I think for cooking and gourmet cooking leveling speed, you may have overlooked the boost the Sim gets at the end of cooking a dish.  So making shorter dishes gives faster leveling.  I did also find a slight increase in speed with the higher level dishes when I timed the speed.  Not sure why we got different results on this.

I'm sorry. I did not overlook the boost at the end of making a dish. And I do not agree that shorter dishes give faster leveling. I actually avoided 'caprese salads' because these are too quick to make. I did time speed for lower and higher level dishes and did not find a spot of difference.
I find it disquieting that our observations on this point differ. But maybe it's a thing like the grafting issue? You never had a problem with it in your games, but I do in mine.

Online Metropolis Man

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #146 on: June 18, 2015, 01:12:20 PM »
I actually avoided 'caprese salads' because these are too quick to make.

Agreed. And salads completely take out the oven out of the equation and I always buy the oven that boosts cooking skill.

Offline ClayMask

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #147 on: June 18, 2015, 01:13:16 PM »
Agreed. And salads completely take out the oven out of the equation and I always buy the oven that boosts cooking skill.
@Metropolis Man The Sims 3 had an oven like this, but I haven't seen one in The Sims 4.

Online Metropolis Man

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #148 on: June 18, 2015, 01:32:12 PM »
One of them in the description says +cooking skill I think...I'll get the name. Be right back...

Offline ClayMask

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Re: The Skills Dilemma: If You Get Help It'll Cost You
« Reply #149 on: June 18, 2015, 01:38:27 PM »
All of the ovens say +cooking skill.  I figure it's like how the computers say +video gaming skill and +writing skill, indicating that you can get that type of skill from using them.  The fridges also say +cooking skill.

 

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