The Sims 4 Rival Dynasties Challenge

[sdhoey]

I only hope our talented builders will build more houses for this challenge, and here i am not only thinking about starters, but also mansions and what other creative idears you have
(I cant build anything pretty and not 15 different builds :O )

I don't do Mansions but I can handle making starters and mid priced ones. But mine don't compare to what I'm seeing on #carlsguiderdc

[Joria]

I only hope our talented builders will build more houses for this challenge, and here i am not only thinking about starters, but also mansions and what other creative idears you have
(I cant build anything pretty and not 15 different builds :O )

On it~~!  Let me know what you guys want and I'll do my best.

Ok, I made my first challenge Sim today.  Getting more nervous by the second!  Can you do something like 2 Retail, 1 Mansion, or 3 of one thing and avoid the alien route entirely?  I'm not fond of aliens.  This handsome founder wants to be a Mansion Baron.

[Nutella]

Can you do something like 2 Retail, 1 Mansion, or 3 of one thing and avoid the alien route entirely?  I'm not fond of aliens.  This handsome founder wants to be a Mansion Baron.

Absolutely yes.

[Playalot]

I think making houses should be easier for everyone now that we know the details of the challenge.

[Teresa]

My only preference is 2 bedroom houses.  I know those are hard to get made for under $17k though.

[Joria]

My only preference is 2 bedroom houses.  I know those are hard to get made for under $17k though.

Well, you lose something in style but it can be done.  I'll give it a try and see what I come up with.

[dontmindme]

Disclaimer: I am very, very new to Sims 4 so I'm probably missing something. Does anyone have any tips on how to give the aliens a fighting chance? Between all of high value rewards, the upgrades which require a ton of skill building and/or time in the scientist career, and the whole 'must marry an alien' thing, it seems like the odds are stacked against them when competing with the other options.

[callycat]

Disclaimer: I am very, very new to Sims 4 so I'm probably missing something. Does anyone have any tips on how to give the aliens a fighting chance? Between all of high value rewards, the upgrades which require a ton of skill building and/or time in the scientist career, and the whole 'must marry an alien' thing, it seems like the odds are stacked against them when competing with the other options.

I haven't got very far yet, just to the birth of two of the first heirs and the marriage of the third founder, but I don't think it's as hard as you think. If you're more used to the other styles of play represented in the retail or mansion building option, those might be best to go with though.

I've chosen to do three sets of aliens, because I love them. The trickiest thing was I started with three male aliens, which was probably a bad idea since I had to find three female aliens or hope for abductions. Keep the genders balanced and make a few spares (I believe spares are allowed to marry into the other bloodlines, but I will check that again before I do it!), and make sure someone in the household does the scientist career not just for the gadgets but because when you get alien visitors to the lab you can make a note of their names. If you have trouble meeting them again then coming back from Sixam can give you the option to bring people back with you to your house, even if you didn't spot them there. That's how I just found the third wife.

Invite some helpers in, get one painting, maybe one gardening and another in the science career until they get to the cloning machine at least, use their points from doing aspirations to keep your aliens in moodlet solvers and speed them through their careers and their own aspiration, rocket building and the rest, and it shouldn't be any tougher than the other options.

If you haven't already, reading some of the tournament challenge winners talking about how they kept their moods high, completed aspirations, made lots of cash and finished careers quickly should give you more ideas. Also check out the dynasty stories that have already started so you can see what people are doing.

[Playalot]

Just to reiterate: remember that careers have to be unique across all the bloodlines so only one founder/heir in your whole dynasty can max the Science career. Better to leave this career for helpers etc. as callycat suggested.
If you max out rocket science early a trip to sixam will trigger aliens into your game so you should be able to find a spouse that way too.

[reggikko]

For me, the alien option is probably the easiest to complete because it fits nicely with my regular play style. Although I've had the game since day 1, I have not played with the retail stuff until now. I'm still not sure I like it. To me, that's the hardest option since they have to both max a career and run a successful business. Mansion Baron is just amassing as much money as possible. I say Alien is easier for me because I've never really been very interested in making my Sims rich, so focusing so much on money is a little boring to me. I've started with one of each option, but I may wind up scrapping this save and going with the 3 aliens like callycat did. We'll see.

A sure-fire way to meet aliens without the science career OR going to Sixam is to go to the nightclub in Willow Creek frequently. Most of the aliens are young adults and that's what gets generated the most at the nightclub. Strike up a conversation and if you have options like "discuss weird atmospheric pressure" or "discuss brain power" (these will have a little alien icon on them), then you know the other Sim is an alien. It's faster than waiting until you can go to Sixam. There are always aliens in disguise working in the science lab, too. You can join the career, meet some aliens, and then quit if that isn't the career you're pursuing with that Sim.

You can build a rocket fairly quickly if you just recruit passers-by to help. Just click on them and "ask to help build rocket." You don't have to know them or even interact with them at all. As far as the upgrades go, the more Rocket Science skill your Sim has, the faster they will do the upgrades. Being focused also speeds up the process.

[Joria]

My only preference is 2 bedroom houses.  I know those are hard to get made for under $17k though.

Find the first one done HERE

[Tipi]

The heir must become a good friend with the Founder of his or her bloodline, make 3 good friends with townies and become enemies with at least one member of each of the rival bloodlines.

At what stage of their life must the heir be good friends/enemies...? Do they have to keep up the friendships and enmity or can they let these feelings fade away at some point?
The heir i
Oh and thanks to Lena for the spreadsheet - it really makes the rules so much clearer for me.

Edited to add more questions: Can the heirs purchase the required rewards any time they have the points for them or do they have to wait until they have moved out on their own household?

I am still playing my test file. In my retail family I have both of the parents on the painter career. The heir is now teen and was running their store on Saturday while her parents were at work and both were due a promotion. The store was the active lot when the parents came home from work. I got the notification that the founder was promoted and even got to choose a career branch for her. When the heir returned home from the store I got the notification that the spouse was promoted, but to my surprise the founder had not been promoted at all and she did not even get her salary for that day. So is it allowed to use the cheat careers.promote in this kind of situation when clearly a sim has been promoted?

[sdhoey]

I"m not sure if this has been asked but can two families do the Retail? I have one Alien(GTW) and One is doing the retail(gtw) and the other is Mansion. But can the one doing the mansion also own a store for the extra income with the helpers running it?

[MarianT]

@sdhoey, yes, your Mansion Baron and Alien sims can also have retail stores and they don't have to get the perks or achieve a set amount of money.

@Tipi, your heir's friendships and enmities have to be in place at the time the heir moves out, just like in the Immortal Dynasty when they have to be good friends at the time of the first ambrosia. The heirs can purchase rewards any time; they don't have to wait until they move.

Also, in case anyone is wondering, your founders and heirs can download from #carlsguiderdc at any time, so if there are any builders who want to do larger homes and even mansions, I'm sure the rest of us would appreciate it.

[Nutella]

I got the notification that the founder was promoted and even got to choose a career branch for her. When the heir returned home from the store I got the notification that the spouse was promoted, but to my surprise the founder had not been promoted at all and she did not even get her salary for that day. So is it allowed to use the cheat careers.promote in this kind of situation when clearly a sim has been promoted?

If this happens in your actual dynasty file, PM the team first for permission before you apply any cheat.