2016 Sims 4 Challenge Tournament Overview

[coolsim9999999]

As the team gets ready to discuss changes to the 2017 Challenge Tournament we want to give all participants the opportunity to throw in their two cents to help us create an even better experience for next year.

** did you like the variety of events offered this year? Would you like to see some specific types of events next year?

** did you feel rushed - i.e. there was not enough time to complete events? Was the balance between long and short events about right?

** do you feel how the world ranking is calculated is a good indicator for players?

1. I liked all of the tournament ideas this year --- I found out about it late --- but I'm going to participate in the finale!  Next year, I will complete at least 3 challenges, so that I can be somewhere on the world ranking --- but mostly because challenges are fun! 

I like challenges, which only involve one YA sim until they're an elder.

Next year, I think one challenge tournament that would be cool would be:
Create a YA in CAS, and have that one Sim max any career in either branch to level 10 --- such as a Start-up Genius in the Tech Guru career --- or whichever career a player picks.  ---- with or without the option to use disable household needs decay.

2. I will not feel rushed (I play the game for a good chunk of time many days) --- I tried Restaurant Wars --- but didn't finish, but now, I understand how challenges work. 

3. I think that the world ranking system works well.

[Deklitch]

As the team gets ready to discuss changes to the 2017 Challenge Tournament we want to give all participants the opportunity to throw in their two cents to help us create an even better experience for next year.

** compared to many Sims 3 events the participation has seemed to fall for the Tournament. Can the team do anything to bring that back or is it more of a reflection on the game's popularity?

Thank you.

I edited Metro's post as I'm only commenting on the Sims 3 and Sims 4 question.

I find the Sims 4 stressful. I don't play the Sims to be stressed, but rather to relax. As a result, I tried to participate in one or two of the challenges, but gave up.

The main part of the stress I have with Sims 4 is that the controls don't work for me as I believe they are meant to work. So, I just go back to Sims 3 where I find the controls easy to use.

The other thing this has led me to is the decision not to buy any more expansion packs for Sims 4. With Sims 3, even the packs that didn't do anything for me - Island Paradise, Seasons, Pets - I purchased, because I wanted to support the franchise, even though they are currently uninstalled and sitting on my shelf gathering dust. I can't justify doing that with Sims 4.

So, unless the game developers do a major redesign of the controls of Sims 4, or I try it one day and find them somehow easier to control, I'm one member who won't be taking part in any 2017 challenges for Sims 4.

Having said that, the challenges for the most part seemed as though they should be fun, and it was interesting seeing people's approaches to it and my struggles with the game should not be seen as a commentary on the challenges developed, afterall the challenges developed are constrained by the environment, mechanics and so forth of The Sims 4, which our challenge team have no control over.

Regards,
Dek

[Magpie2012]

@oshizu I know what you mean about the challenges that make you do different things. Like the Voidcritters one, you had to do collecting/trading as well as training, so you had to try figure out some strategy. Or the cloning around, where, even though you're working on the clones you still have to be aware of other things (I had 2 clones check out the TC poster and a TC showed up, but, I didn't know which freaking clone he was there for until he went to talk to them lol). And I enjoyed the cooking challenge, where you could only use ingredients you sourced yourself!

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[Minnie Mouse]

As the team gets ready to discuss changes to the 2017 Challenge Tournament we want to give all participants the opportunity to throw in their two cents to help us create an even better experience for next year.

** did you like the variety of events offered this year? Would you like to see some specific types of events next year?

** did you feel rushed - i.e. there was not enough time to complete events? Was the balance between long and short events about right?

** compared to many Sims 3 events the participation has seemed to fall for the Tournament. Can the team do anything to bring that back or is it more of a reflection on the game's popularity?

** do you feel how the world ranking is calculated is a good indicator for players?

Talk it up, folks. We want your input.

Thank you.

Late to the game here, but I have some (rather lengthy) opinions.

1) I think I echo others when I say that the ones I enjoyed most were the less grindy, more broad challenges with different tiers of goals. The Cloning Around challenge is a good example of this because once you accomplished one goal you had to do something completely different to achieve the final goal. I think I would like more time-scored challenges like that (i.e. less "do as much as you can in 6 weeks," more "accomplish this as fast as you possibly can"). I also enjoyed Restaurant Wars, even though I couldn't finish, simply because there were different goals that needed to be achieved and it was never boring (even though the bugs were frustrating). I think Voidcritters Go was my favorite though - closely followed by Competing Collectors.

Overall, I really liked the variety, and I think it did cater to all different types of players. I discovered collecting for the first time ever (for some reason I had just never tried it), and I've been collecting in all my non-challenge saves ever since. Also, I really appreciate how the team incorporated new packs into the challenges, and I hope we will do some kind of City Living challenge next year!

2) Sometimes I felt rushed, but other times I was done early. I would be very happy to see a 4/8 week rotation, but that's personal preference. You could also think about making exceptions to the 3/6 week rule (maybe a special 9 week challenge) for for those YA-Elder ones that require tons of micromanaging (i.e. Baby Boomer, Homeless Shelter).

3)  I agree with what others are saying about decreased participation being mainly due to the current interest level in the Sims 4. I don't think it's due to your challenges at all, although it might be good to have an "easier" one every 3 months or so maybe (possibly less intimidating for newbies). Personally, I don't think I would play the game as much if I didn't have these challenges, so I'm very grateful to the team for putting them together.

4) I like the way the world ranking is calculated - I think it's very fair and balanced.

Hopefully this is helpful! I really appreciate all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. Like I said above... even though I love Sims 4, I honestly don't think I would play it as much if it weren't for these challenges. So thank you!

[lesleyj42]

As the team gets ready to discuss changes to the 2017 Challenge Tournament we want to give all participants the opportunity to throw in their two cents to help us create an even better experience for next year.

** did you like the variety of events offered this year? Would you like to see some specific types of events next year?

** did you feel rushed - i.e. there was not enough time to complete events? Was the balance between long and short events about right?

** compared to many Sims 3 events the participation has seemed to fall for the Tournament. Can the team do anything to bring that back or is it more of a reflection on the game's popularity?

** do you feel how the world ranking is calculated is a good indicator for players?

Talk it up, folks. We want your input.

Thank you.

I was late to the party. I found this forum in August and have participated in all the challenges since Baby Boomer. My favorites so far have been Voidcritters and the Renaissance (still working on it). Some of the ones earlier in the year looked really fun, too. I hate that I missed It's a Steal and Cloning Around.

As to your questions...

1. I like the variety. It gives players chance to play outside of the "norm" long game and dig into specific expansion/game/stuff packs.

2. I don't feel rushed. I like the overlap of 3 week and 6 week challenges. It allows me to choose which challenge I feel like playing in the 3 week window.

3. I tend to agree with everyone else. It's a function of the differing popularity of Sims 3 vs Sims 4, nothing you guys can control.

4. I don't have any problems with how the world ranking is calculated. Looking forward to seeing my name show up on the list now that I have participated in enough events to be eligible.

I have an idea for a potential future challenge. Should I PM or post to some other thread?

[Metropolis Man]

I have an idea for a potential future challenge. Should I PM or post to some other thread?

Thank you for all the feedback, lesleyj42 - and many thanks to everyone else who has given us stuff to chew on. Feel free to give us any challenge ideas right here in this thread.

[lesleyj42]

Thank you for all the feedback, lesleyj42 - and many thanks to everyone else who has given us stuff to chew on. Feel free to give us any challenge ideas right here in this thread.

Let me just start with an apology. This might be a bit long winded.

Here's my challenge idea...

Party with Your Friends

Objective: Complete as many Friend of the World (FOTW) Aspirations and unique gold parties as possible before your Sim becomes an elder.

Start with one YA, any traits. Move them into one of the neighborhoods. My preference would be San Myshuno, but since that will only be available if you have the still-to-be-released expansion, perhaps Oasis Springs.

Have Sim complete FOTW and throw one gold party. Once done, move to another Oasis Springs household, have them (teen and up) all complete FOTW and as a household throw one unique gold party.  Continue through all Oasis Springs households (original and moved in by the game). If Oasis Springs runs out of households start in another town. Parties must be unique until you have thrown a gold party for each party type available. Must complete all FOTWs and successful household party before moving to the next household. Challenge ends when original Sim naturally ages up to elder.

No Sim can work on other aspirations until FOTW has been completed.

To make it a bit more challenging, ban the Incredibly Friendly reward trait.

Scoring: 10 points for each completed FOTW aspiration. Two points for each completed milestone if aspiration can't be completed (in the event of untimely death). Two points per unique (in type, i.e. birthday, dinner, black & white, etc.) party thrown with gold medal earned. Only one unique gold party per household.

I took inspiration for scoring and some of the mechanics from the Renaissance challenge. I'm enjoying it so much, I wanted to incorporate the town takeover aspect; and, the similarities in scoring just made sense.

You guys can take it, leave it, or change it up as you see fit. It sounds fun/challenging to me and thought I should share.

[reggikko]

@lesleyj42, that sounds like fun! I am really enjoying moving from house to house in the current challenge and would also like to see similar challenges in the future.

The bare bones of a challenge I thought of:

True homeless challenge. Move a YA sim onto any empty lot. Buy 1 tent and set household funds to zero. Travel to one of the parks. Your Sim will live in the park for the duration of the challenge. No editing of the park via build mode either before or during the challenge, no adding to the household, and no traveling. The Sim may not get a job. The challenge ends when your Sim turns elder.

Scoring should be based on household funds with a multiplier for skill points. Something like 10 pts for every $10000 (move decimal three places to the left to get point value for funds) multiplied by number of skill points.

Alternate scenario: The Sim lives in the park until they amass $20000. At that point, they may move into any lot they can afford, may get a job (or not) and may travel freely. The challenge ends when the Sim turns elder. Scoring would be based on lot value plus cash on hand with the skill multiplier.

Alternate 2: Same as above except that the challenge ends when the Sim is out of the park and maxes any career. You guys are better at scoring options!

[lesleyj42]

@reggikko True homelessness sounds like it could be fun, too. I've done some rags to riches challenges before but never ones that involved never leaving the park. No quick trips to the gym for a hot shower. It would definitely make things a bit more challenging.

[Metropolis Man]

One idea I have for next year is to make less actual playing time for files. The easiest way to accomplish this is to make challenges all played on Short life span vs what we have done for the last two years - Normal life span. Challenges could still end at the normal times - Adulthood for the short challenges and Elder for the longer six week events, but if Sims' lifespan is essentially cut in half, then everyone could finish the events much faster.

Let us know what you think.

[coolsim9999999]

One idea I have for next year is to make less actual playing time for files. The easiest way to accomplish this is to make challenges all played on Short life span vs what we have done for the last two years - Normal life span. Challenges could still end at the normal times - Adulthood for the short challenges and Elder for the longer six week events, but if Sims' lifespan is essentially cut in half, then everyone could finish the events much faster.

Let us know what you think.

Hi Metro,

I think that Normal life span provided just enough time to finish the challenge's goal .  I think that Short life span would be too short a time to complete the challenge's goal --- especially for members (like me) who have only started to do challenges.  Thanks for bringing this up, though.

I just thought of something: You could set up challenges to include a choice of life span --- either Normal or Short --- with  the stipulation that the player may not change his or her mind after having started their play file.  Then, members who don't have enough time to use Normal life span could still participate and players who have more time could opt for Normal life span for each challenge. 

The start and end dates of each challenge could still remain the same, as well as 3 weeks for short challenges and 6 weeks for long challenges.

Coolsim

[Metropolis Man]

Giving a player the option to choose Normal vs. Short life span is not an option because we all have to play under the same circumstances. Let's take for example a simple money making challenge -- make as much money as you can with one Young Adult Sim by the time they turn Adult. So, a YA Sim would have 20 days on a Normal life span and 10 days on a short life span. The goal need not change -- make as much money as you can, it's just that they'd obviously make far less on a short life span.

I brought it up because we're all busy -- many of you are students, or you work, etc. Whatever the case - we all have real lives and cannot devote endless hours to Sims. So, if we can get fun challenges done and actually play the files in less time, then maybe that would be a good thing.

[FrancescaFiori]

I really like the idea of using short instead of regular life spans. I didn't participate as much as I wanted to in the tournament this year, and lack of time was part of what stopped me from starting some events. I think I'd be more likely to jump in if I knew I could finish an event quickly. It would be challenging for sure!


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[oshizu]

I think having some challenges that use the Short life span would be really fun!

@coolsim9999999
I'm pretty sure our fearless leader @Metropolis Man would be balancing such a challenge to suit a shorter life span.
For example, all participants across the board would earn a corresponding lower number of points during a shorter challenge period.
A shorter challenge period would also make it easier to do multiple practice runs in advance, if we so wish.

So, @Metropolis Man, please count me in favor of some challenges using a shorter life span!

[coolsim9999999]

Giving a player the option to choose Normal vs. Short life span is not an option because we all have to play under the same circumstances. Let's take for example a simple money making challenge -- make as much money as you can with one Young Adult Sim by the time they turn Adult. So, a YA Sim would have 20 days on a Normal life span and 10 days on a short life span. The goal need not change -- make as much money as you can, it's just that they'd obviously make far less on a short life span.

I brought it up because we're all busy -- many of you are students, or you work, etc. Whatever the case - we all have real lives and cannot devote endless hours to Sims. So, if we can get fun challenges done and actually play the files in less time, then maybe that would be a good thing.

Hi Metro,

If Sims would have to accomplish less if short life span were used, then, it would work out the same way that using normal life span would if the goals were more involved. Is that what your idea would entail?  If that's the case, then, I totally agree that short life span is a good idea .  That makes sense. 

Coolsim