The Greening of Newcrest - an Apocalypse Challenge (Nov 5th 2018) COMPLETE

[HelenP]

A Twist in the Tale

2 teens, Gzifa and Hassun, and 3 children, Ionna, Jyri and Keilani, none of whom are earning money was a mistake on my part and led to a very dark week, and by dark I mean literally!

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Yep they lost water and electricity before they sorted their debt and spent a few days scrounging off their family in the other houses nearby.

Thankfully they had gained a new house member who needed lots of friends and charisma for his aspiration.  Gzifa had fallen for an older man, a much older man.  Remember this guy?
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Elderly Seiji Tanaka was already Gzifa's best friend and as soon as she aged up to YA she moved him in.  Handsome and with good traits - active, outgoing and loves outdoors, his only fault is a tendency to hiss.
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Gzifa joined the business career to clear investor and sell the excess things the family had collected over the generations.  Seiji joined the writer career as an author because we had no luck fishing up vampire books and the hiss is really annoying.  Ionna had planned to clear teen retail but was willing to help out her sister by changing to Mixologist so by the time drinks are allowed, Seiji should know how to make a draught of reconfiguration.

With Gzifa and Seiji both having completed 'Friends of the World' there were enough people who could be asked for loans, and along with the money they earned from their jobs, the power outage only lasted 1 week.  Seiji also used his aspiration points to get frugal which halved the size of the bills.

It wasn't all doom and gloom (though the nights were very dark  ).

Seiji's hiss made romance difficult so he turned on the charm before he proposed
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which inevitably led to a marriage
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and babies
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Hassun aged up to YA and started his career as a start-up entrepeneur
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As I've mentioned, Ionna aged up, first to teen when started her aspiration and got her A grade, then to YA and started on mixologist
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Twins were born to Gzifa and Seiji. They both made it to happy toddler despite mostly eating strawberries, and got A grades in school aided no doubt by the help they received with their school projects.
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Jyri and Keilani both aged up to teen and started on their skills and aspirations while getting their A grades.  Jyri is going to be a musician and Keilani is heading for space as a ranger.  I seem to have missed getting a picture of Keilani aging up.
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There is more to come but it's now 11pm where I am and I need to go to bed (in the dark  ).

[oshizu]

Wow, a week without water and power must have been tough for such a large family!
But they have survived much tougher times. And you mentioned they could visit their relatives to bathe!

I can't believe how much has happened in your household lately! So many children and so many birthdays!
And what about Gzifa and Seiji? Are their twins dormant vampires? Why did they only eat strawberries? To economize?

Gardens are da shizzle! Teens can just harvest a high-quality family garden and earn more each day than working at an adult career!
Your family has access to the alien plants, too!
Still, your idea of have the newly weds level their Charisma then go around hitting up everyone for loans is brilliant!

Can you remind what generation Gfiza is? Third?

[HelenP]

The rules say that if you cannot pay bills then you are not allowed to spend any money.  I've not cleared Teen - Fast Food (quick meals from fridge or take-away) or Teen - Manual Labour (grow a garden) so with no cooker, quick meals or garden my only food was scrounge from the relatives, left-overs prepared by npc's or wild harvest which is strawberries, mushrooms and a herb.  The twins spent their toddlerhood with a pile of strawberries in their inventory to snack on whenever they needed.

At that point I hadn't cleared Business - Investor or Painter - Patron either so I couldn't sell sim created items, buy/build items or things collected from dig spots etc. to raise money and both G & S had 'Friend of the World' as their aspiration so loans it was.

Gzifa is gen 4, the twins are gen 5 (more on them next update) and I'm using Ley Line not Dark Ley Line so vamps are less likely.

[HelenP]

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

After that 1st week, things got easier.  4 working adults meant that the money was sufficient, even when Keilani decided to donate £1000 to charity  , and they started to pay back the friends they had borrowed from.

Time did its usual thing and the teens aged up to YA, and the twins aged up to teens.  Jyri stuck to his guns and joined the musician career, not that he could do much else with his maxed piano and violin skills.  Keilani became an astronaut and took over the repair of all the plumbing so that she could complete Nerd Brain aspiration.

I'm well aware that I haven't introduced the twins properly.  Please meet Latifa (on left) and Lucilla Sotelo (on right). 
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Lucilla is on course for aquiring the 'Responsible' trait to go with her creativity and love of the arts, and will be aiming for Painter - Patron of the Arts so we can sell sim produced items including publish books and licence songs.

Latifa has done an amazing job of clearing Teen - Retail and we can now change outfits, yay.
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To celebrate the occasion, everyone got a makeover and posed for as formal a photo as I could manage.
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She will soon go and join her Grandparents Etsuko and Salim in the house across the way, to make room for the next nooboo.  Apparently woohoo in a coffin does NOT leave an elderly vampire dangerously exhausted (unlike using a bed).
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To go with the change outfits, maxing retail allows us to go into buy/build mode any time we want.  To take advantage of this Gzifa has become an Angel Investor and at last we can sell the excess beds, sinks, and random other stuff that we have gained over the course of this challenge.  Hopefully this will reduce the bills and cut down some of the lag.
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At this point in the game there are 12 careers maxed, 5 careers being worked on, 3 planned and waiting for sims to be born/age up, and 5 that I haven't really looked at yet, 3 of which are teen careers.  I consider myself halfway there.

[oshizu]

So much great stuff happened in this last update!
I giggled to learn that you waited so long to clear the teen Retail career!
I failed my first Apocalypse Challenge attempt for planning outfits without clearing Retail first, and when I started a second time, I had a Gen2 kid clear it right away, haha.
It's really fascinating to follow how different simmers prioritize career unlocks. It's all about what bothers us the least, I guess.

I'd say you're more than halfway if 3 of your remaining 13 careers are teen careers. Your teens start at Level 2 and only need one promotion--they're so quick and easy!
This is not a suggestion but a question: What is the Apocalypse Challenge's ruling on adoption?

Maxing Business/Investor must have been a hugh relief for your sims' bank account and gameplay lag!
Everyone in your family is doing so well!

P.S. Is the reason Seiji didn't get overly-fatigued due to the coffin or because he's an immortal vampire? Love that screenshot!

[HelenP]

For adoption I would go with clearing eSport Gamer and Comedian allowing use phone/computer plus invite any number of people into household. 

Seiji got the fatigued moodlet when he woohoo'd on the bed but not in the coffin, so my current theory is that it's the coffin that keeps him safe.  What I cannot remember is if he had a fatigue problem with the bed before he took the 'only sleep in coffin' weakness.

[KTK10]

I can't believe that it's taken me this long to read your challenge  I have read bits and pieces of it, and then got distracted.. so I made time today to read it from the beginning. i love it! I am absolutely fascinated by the Apocalypse Chalenge.. I have started one a number of times myself, but have not had the staying power to finish.. so I am in awe of you and @oshizu who seem to do it effortlessly! I enjoy your updates, no actual story is needed as it's just so interesting to see the game play! Keep going when you can, I know how difficult it can be to find the time (or the inclination! hehe)

[HelenP]

Thank you for your lovely comments.  I really enjoy the AC gameplay as you have to do a bit of everything, plus I'm a micromanager so keeping to the restrictions early in the game makes it more fun. 

I have played a bit further on than the story has got to but I want a specific event to happen before I update again, and I'm away on holiday for 2 weeks so it will be a while before that happens.  At least I have access to DH's laptop to keep up with forum folks.

[oshizu]

Great news, HelenP!
Now you'll have us biting our nails for two whole weeks!
Can't wait to find out what the "specific event" turns out to be! *chews on a fingernail

[HelenP]

What A Relief

The event I was waiting for is not that exciting, but brings a level of satisfaction.  Spot the difference between these 2 screenshots
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Did you see it - the removal of the Uncontrolled Hissing weakness - Seiji came with it and it turns out that I really hate that weakness.  He managed to get married, complete the Friend of the World aspiration and get Gzifa pregnant 4 times with it in place but he also got hit by the Beloved glitch so nearly all his friends are gone and some of his aquaintances are now slightly in the red.  I'm very much looking forward to rebuilding the friendships so that he doesn't have to work so hard for his plasma.

Here he is posing with the Reconfiguration drink he had just made
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And here's how we got to this point.

There were a few of these
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I think this one was for Madhukar, I didn't take photo's of the others.

Quite a lot of these
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Madhukar

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Madhukar

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Lucilla.  Lucilla my first sim to age up to YA after Parenthood.  I got the pack about halfway through the twins childhood and she got Responsible, Good Manners, Compassionate and Emotional Control.  I admit I was so busy looking at her parenthood traits that I forgot to give her her adult trait and had to cheat it on afterwards. I gave her perfectionist round out her creative, art loving self.

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Ninian

And then these
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Buy and read books, good for Vampire Lore and Parenting

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We can now use all the best things

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Music and dancing, yay

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Drink drinks not make and throw away, phew.  She also got lucky with Snagglefluster, so is staying in the house a bit longer to make some.  I'm currently stashing them in the roof spaces as I don't trust the ghosts in the teleport basement.

Now this is The Sims, so there are always some funny moments:

This is what you get if you ask a vampire to read a parenting book, although he is actually pretty good at it and has reached level 8 Parenting.
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Karma Sutra Kissing?
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ETA Both Madhukar and Ninian are born vampires so that could make things interesting. Madhukar was conceived in the coffin, Ninian from using the Spaceship. Gzifa is pregnant again, this time using a bed, so we'll see what happens.  There's nothing in the rules about supernatural sims so I'm currently going with not changing a sim.  A born vampire will stay a vampire and a normal sim will stay human, unless I change my mind

[oshizu]

Excellent work will all the extra traits from maxed Character Values! How cute that you got so excited that you forgot to add Lucilla's young adult trait.

Quality of life for your Apocalypse household has so vastly improved! And congratz on the Snagglefluster!

[KTK10]

Well done on achieving so many children with the hissing! I hate that negative you have to take.. so also well done in persisting so long! haha. Look at all the stuff you have unlocked.. as Oshizu said.. your sims quality of life is about to improve out of this world

[HelenP]

I've not forgotten the Sotelo's, I've just been too busy with life, tournament challenges and all the bugs from the Cats & Dogs patch to do anything with them.  Now the tournament is over, I'm updating mods/cc and will be back with my favourite family soon (before Christmas gets in the way!)

[HelenP]

Mr Blue Sky

Well it's been forever, Christmas did get in the way and Gzifa's last pregnancy resulted in twins

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Please welcome Ophelia and Odiyah Sotelo, the last babies that will be born into this family.

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Toddlers Ophelia and Odiyah having lunch on the sofa, Odiyah is the one with the cc hair pointing to Ophelia.  They both aged up as Happy Toddlers with 2 of their main skills at 5 and the other 2 at 4.  I found it hard work juggling 4 adults (2 with jobs), 2 children and 2 toddlers as the children and toddlers needed a lot of skilling imput.  Thankfully Gzifa and Seiji have both maxed parenting and eventually gained the Super Parent trait but I could only play in short bursts for a while.

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I placed a photo studio on an empty lot to see what kind of group photo's I could get.  I was a bit disappointed that you could only get pics of single or pairs of sims but I like these ones of the kids.  Ninian aged up with red hair to replace his cc toddler style, and Odiyah gained brown locks in the same style as her sister.  I think I have changed the girls wardrobes since this photo but Ophelia is still mainly pink, while Odiyah has gone more purple (to match her bow).

If you re-read the previous post then you know I was wondering about vampire genetics.  I thought it was quite interesting that out of the six kids born to Gzifa and Seiji, its a 50/50 split.  Lucilla and Latifa, their 1st born twins are both human, Madhukar is vampire, as is Ninian.  Ophelia and Odiyah have given them 1 of each as Ophelia is human and Odiyah a vampire.


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Mr Blue Sky hid away for quite some time in this challenge, and I made a room for some of the 'outdoor' activities to happen in.

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Eventually Keilani managed to max her career

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and now we can play outside under the blue sky. The strange brown box by the water slide is the working beehive created by icemunmun. I don't do much with it but I like having the bees buzzing around.


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I made a small graveyard in the corner and got the plant sim tree stump out of Gzifa's inventory. 

Keilani moved out the join her siblings in a neighbouring house and we decided to pull in a teen as the one move in for this generation so we can clear Barista.

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Both Gzifa and Lucilla befriended Sophia Bjergsen but the 'Ask to move in' interaction doesn't appear for a teen.

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A quick consultation with the founder resulted in Lucilla taking Sophia home and asking Clara for permission to let her move in.

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Thankfully Clara was quite happy with the idea and Sophia joined the household, using the same techique that got Travis in as Avani's husband.

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At this point we discovered that Sophia had a bubbling age bar, but as Pinstar said Potions of Youth could be used, Seiji spent some of his 23 000 satisfaction points and all is good.  While he was at it, he bought another one for Gzifa who is 1 day from her elder birthday.  I did debate oshizu's 'vamp for a day' technique to reset her age but potions seemed less hassle.


So there we are, 2 non-working Adults using vacation days, teaching skills and tending needs, 1 working Young Adult nearly level 8 Patron of the Arts, 1 working Teen starting Barista, and 4 Children at various stages of child aspirations and parenthood traits.


I found some more screenshots that I've not used yet, random photo's follow, out of order and just because.

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I love the animation when a vamp wins a sparring match, especially when the vamp is one of my favourite sims.

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Ninian getting homework help from his grandma Etsuko

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One of the rare occasions when more than 1 sim sat down to eat at the same table.  This is Gzifa, Madhukar and Ninian.

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Madhukar and Ninian going to school, I suspect this is Ninian's first day.

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Madhukar and Ninian trying to make friends and level motor skill.  It didn't really work.

[oshizu]

My favorite shot in this update has to be of the toddler girls! The darker skintone with light hair is simply stunning.

All four of the children have aged up so beautiful!  Great shots of them using the Photo Studio, too!
(I know, right? Why dangle the term "Group shot" in front of us if we can only shoot two sims? Lol)

How cool that your founder showed up just in time for the consultation!

Has the Apocalypse Challenge become less interesting for you now that you've cleared so many restrictions?
It seems like your love for this household makes up for that in spades!

P.S. After your previous update, I forgot to congratulate Seiji on completing Friend of the World while he still had Uncontrollable Hissing. Way to go!

Thank you for sharing what's going on with your Sotelos. I'd been so tempted to post in your thread and ask--you have no idea!