The No Buy Mode Project - Update for Dining Out

[MissTrips]

The No Buy Mode Challenge

Rules

Create one young adult sim.

Pick a lot at least 50x40 in size and bulldoze it flat.  Move in.

Open Build/Buy

Buy one indoor trash can and one outdoor trash can.

Pick a mailbox of your choice.

Wave goodbye to Buy Mode.  You will not use it again.

Open build mode.  Spend away until you have 1800 simloeans left.  You may use build mode freely throughout game play except for styled rooms.  No downloading rooms from the gallery either! 



*points up*

Anything found in there including all landscaping, pools and fountains - if it's in build mode, you can buy it.  Once you have spent your money, you may begin!

The goal is to complete the Mansion Baron Achievement, and you must be able to fill the Sim's need bars on the home lot.

Sleep - your sim needs an object that you can click on and select "Sleep"
Hunger - your sim must be able to cook food
Bladder - your sim needs a toilet
Hygiene - your sim needs a tub or shower
Fun - your sim must have some sort of object that raises their fun
Social - your sim needs something to raise social without talking to a sim

All aspirations, traits and rewards are allowed.

Clubs and club bonuses from Get Together are allowed.

If you have Spa Day, a Maxis created spa can be placed in the world.  You may place Maxis created restaurants in the world if you have Dining Out.  The Maxis created garden with a wishing well from Romantic Gardens may be placed.

No other lots may be placed.

You may buy an empty lot to create a retail store... but you still can not use buy mode except for a cash register and one outdoor trash can. 

You may also buy an empty lot for a restaurant and may buy a host stand, waitress station, two chefs stations and one outdoor trash can.

Play Options

Single Sim Challenge - Never move anyone in.  Turn off aging for your sim and unplayed sims.  Your sim can marry, but the spouse cannot move in, and any babies need to be aged to children and moved out to their other parent's household.  (Alien babies are sent back to their home world)

Legacy Challenge - recommend Outdoor Retreat or Get to Work is installed.  Set aging to normal span, including unplayed sims.  Set houses to fill.  You can move in a Sim through marriage only.   They must sell any furniture if they are the last sim in a house when they move in.  Children may move out, but they can't come back once gone.  Every sim on the lot must be able to sleep in a bed on challenge completion.

That's it!  Have fun and find ways to fill your home!



Original post

This is a little idea that seeped into my brain while puttering around with various careers.

Can a Sim have a nice home without ever using buy mode?

I think the answer may be yes, yes they can.

I bulldozed down the Oakenstead 50x50 lot moved in a fresh sim and spent all but 1800 simoleans in build mode.  If the item shows up in build mode, it can be freely bought throughout the game play.  This includes pools, the pee/sleep bush from Get Together and the Lighted Trees from Movie Stuff and Holiday Stuff.

The only thing allowed from Buy mode is one indoor trashcan, one outdoor trash can and a mailbox of your choice (I haven't found a method to acquire a trash can otherwise).

With 1800 simoleans left, I started the game and took one day of vacation to Granite Falls.  There I went and visited the kiosk and spent almost everything on a tent, cooler, chair, table and fire pit.



I then started my first career, Detective.  After reaching the third level of the career, I scored a bed, a toilet a bench and several shelves. I also made sure to introduce myself to a very important couple... the Pancakes.





Having their friendship is going to be key, as they have a woodworking bench in their house.  I promptly quit the Detective career after getting the bed and toilet and joined the Culinary career.  This will be a long haul, as  the stove reward doesn't come until level 10.  Using grills and stepping up to tend bars is covering my skill gains.





At the end of two weeks of game play, the only need I can't fill on my home lot is  hygiene, because the pool won't raise that.   Handiness should rectify that, so long as the Pancakes continue to let my Sim come over and saw away!

[oshizu]

What a great idea this is!  And your sims is very lovely.
I forget where, but there's a cheap portable shower obtainable from fishing, but you seem to be aiming for the woodworked bath.  :-)

[grimsoul]

This sounds interesting. I've been thinking of doing a new sim that would go through all of the careers this would add a cool twist to it. There's a lot of items gotten from the different careers. And having to choose what branch to take according to what items you get instead of how much it pays.

[MissTrips]

What a great idea this is!  And your sims is very lovely.
I forget where, but there's a cheap portable shower obtainable from fishing, but you seem to be aiming for the woodworked bath.  :-)

A portable shower?  Interesting! That might be granite Falls, the tarp shower came with Outdoor Retreat, but isn't buyable at the Kiosk at the campground,  I'll have to investigate, thanks for the tip!

This sounds interesting. I've been thinking of doing a new sim that would go through all of the careers this would add a cool twist to it. There's a lot of items gotten from the different careers. And having to choose what branch to take according to what items you get instead of how much it pays.

*nods*  I'm still trying to decide if I want to go E-sport for the gaming rig or Start-up for the big TV.

[grimsoul]

Some of them will be a tough decision. But for me I would have to go with the TV. I never get the gaming rigs tho. It seems like when I have one as soon as I take my eyes off of a sim they go running to it and never want to leave it. It's additive to them or something, they want to live in all the time. Plus I like to have my sims watch the cooking channel while they eat or work out.

Just to be curious are you going to allow items to be unlocked for you in buy mode. Like say with the Culinary career when you get the counter or kitchen sink will you be allowed to buy another one of the same type or is that one all you can have?

[Indira]

Nice idea. You might try to mix it with this Career Challenge by JudeSims. Will make your project even harder with the random career choices.

Just to be curious are you going to allow items to be unlocked for you in buy mode. Like say with the Culinary career when you get the counter or kitchen sink will you be allowed to buy another one of the same type or is that one all you can have?

If I'm not mistaken, it gives only 3 counters. So one for faucet, one for preparing food, and one for coffee/tea maker that you can get from one of the careers. I love the cooking career. Can also get a good bed from the rewards.

[MissTrips]

Just to be curious are you going to allow items to be unlocked for you in buy mode. Like say with the Culinary career when you get the counter or kitchen sink will you be allowed to buy another one of the same type or is that one all you can have?

Nope, buy mode is 100% off limits for this save for the two trash cans and choice of mailbox.  Fortunately the counters come as a set of 3 and there are 3 island counters also in the culinary career, which is enough for a good kitchen.


Thanks to Oshizu's tip, I spent two vacation days in Granite Falls fishing away.  And indeed, a tarp shower was found at the hermit's fishing spot.



The Hermit's House in the Deep Woods special lot also boasted a woodworking bench!  Good for in case The Pancakes get culled and the house becomes unavailable.  I knocked out a few end tables and two more bar stools.



So at the end of week 3, all needs can be met on the home lot!



Time to celebrate with a dance party!

[oshizu]

Your sim looks great in that group dance shot!
Nice work with the shower--looks like you've done A LOOOOT of fishing, too, lol.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you play this.   
*Sinks into a comfy armchair

[grimsoul]

Looks like your coming along well. Can't wait to see more.
That's nice know about getting a shower from fishing. I didn't know you could do that.

[MissTrips]

I haven't been mining for aspiration points very much on this challenge, but there are two cheap ones that are turning out to be highly useful.

Gym Rat - since so far my only 'fun' object is a pool, Gym Rat enables some great synergy.  Builds fun while working out, more fun and cooking skill watching the TV, and social by chatting up another sim in the gym. 1-2 hours of gym time really boosts your Sim's mood!



Always Welcome - this means that popping over to the Pancakes to whip up some Gourmet Cooking points doesn't get my sim yelled at for being inappropriate.  Plus cooking at a home stove is much cheaper than grilling!



My handiness skill is to a point that more furniture is available and I started putting together the kitchen and dining area.

First off was the garden porch with apples, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, onions, parley, basil and sage all busily improving in quality.  I'd like to add a lemon tree and a pear at some point.



The kitchen is nearly complete, awaiting the fridge and stove rewards.  The hanging pots were from a silver trophy dinner party that I threw at the Spencer-Kim-Lewis house.



The dining area is a little barren right now, I think perhaps a silver level date for a flower center piece might be nice.

[Indira]

Looking good. I can't wait to see the final results of your endeavor. Excited!

[grimsoul]

Your house is looking good. I like the giant bear guarding your garden. I thought it was a nice touch.

[Joria]

So the idea of this is to use a SINGLE Sim?  Because if you took your single Sim, got him/her hooked up and did the Soul Mates thing, you could get connections and get ALL the goodies you'd need/want in one fell swoop.  Yes, there would still be some things missing and you'd still need to do the culinary career for kitchen stuff but you'd have all kinds of goodies right from the get go. I really like the creativity of this idea of yours and how you are working out getting stuff basically for free.

[Playalot]

This is a really cool concept. I'd never have the discipline not to 'cheat' if I was doing this though, I'm terrible for building thanks to the Bank of Motherlode! It's going to be really great to see how your house looks at the end. 

[MissTrips]

Your house is looking good. I like the giant bear guarding your garden. I thought it was a nice touch.

He's a friendly bear!  Let him give you hugs!

So the idea of this is to use a SINGLE Sim?  Because if you took your single Sim, got him/her hooked up and did the Soul Mates thing, you could get connections and get ALL the goodies you'd need/want in one fell swoop.

Right now,  yes, I'm using a single sim.  I did however turn aging off because I wasn't sure of the logistics of this and I'm testing out the viability of the challenge.  I'm in week 6 right now at level 7 of the culinary career, but that's taking into account the one week spent as a detective and several vacation days spent during the work week fishing up a shower.  I haven't been playing at optimum efficiency!

Of course for maximum goodie grabbing, there's the scientist career and the ray gun that can change objects into other ones.  I'm leaving that alone right now because I'm seeing what is doable without it.  (Though if my sim ever wants a microwave, I'm going to have to go scientist and start raygunning, either for a microwave or a wedding arch (gold wedding event reward includes a microwave).  A second sink would be nice, there's only the one!)

Though looking through the careers, I have some ideas now lined up for the future.

Painting - Patron of the Arts - High quality double bed!
Writing - Journalist - Computer, some nice decor, bookshelves, an arm chair and a very lovely desk.
Business - Executive - Very nice desk chair, another bookshelf and a nice arm chair.
Tech Guru - Startup - Couch, big screen TV, a rug!

For exercise equipment, there's the athlete career, the astronaut smuggler career (which also nets a spaceship!) and the boss branch of the criminal career.

Musical instruments don't need a career.  Violins and Guitars can be bought in Granite Falls at the kiosk, violins can be fished up at the Oasis park (all the way in the back, by the blackberry bush!) and pianos can be rewarded for a gold medal black and white party.


But my current goals right now are finishing the culinary career and throwing a few parties for their reward objects, getting my handiness up so I can carve out a tub and second toilet and then onto painting!