Em's Random Sim Pics and Projects

Em wrote:

Even though I have a million other things I should be doing. I got this idea that I just had to give a try.

I am so glad you are taking some time for some fun stuff. I know I have said before how important I think that is; I need to take my own advice.

Em wrote:

I happened upon a Sims 3 blog the other day where someone was starting a challenge where they start out with 4 couples, living very primitively and from those founders they try to build up to an advanced civilization.

This is an interesting approach to a prosperity or population type challenge. It is more simplified, actually, which takes the good part of that challenge and simplifies it so more people would probably be willing to do it. I like the guidelines you have set, especially the earning things through talent badges, even if you can afford the item. It adds a work ethic to it and builds character in your sims. And I love your group of sims; very diverse.

Em wrote:

(Sponge bathes helped, but apparently weren't good enough.)

You have to have one of the expensive sinks in order for a sponge bath to make a dent in a sim's hygiene.

Ari and Toni, no matter how many downloads I have, you two always manage to find at least one I missed. Great finds...so glad you are on our team, !

Em, this was a great update. I loved reading about your creative process and look forward to seeing where you go from here.

Em wrote:

Yes, we did! And I thought of that when I started thinking about this ... going back to see if I still had a copy of that hood.

I looked through my old Photobucket acct and think I found my original four couples for our Whole New World project.
I'd be curious to learn if I could find the actual thread at PTS forum.
I remember how attached I became to some of the founding couples, but can not remember how far any of us got...

Em wrote:

I didn't mean that you always plan it out. Just that you're good at when you do.

Fair enough and I thank you for saying so!

Em wrote:

Do you have OFB?

No. I play with NL, BV, FT & AL plus most of the SPs.
I decided I didn't want Uni, OFB, Seasons or Pets (which I had, but didn't reinstall with the new puter).

Wow! Ari and Toni, you two must have a hack for every possible need in game!
I can't believe some of the ones you've found.
Thank you both for sharing them all with us here.
And Toni, I looked through some of those witch hack threads.
I could probably live with the witchy garb, names & idle witch animations.
But the glows/green bubbles & ugly Wicked Witch of the West painted on skin I'm quite sure will get on my nerves BIG TIME!
Enayla's Pixie Emerald skin is SIMply lovely ... and a DEFINITE improvement.

Elle wrote:

I am so glad you are taking some time for some fun stuff. I know I have said before how important I think that is; I need to take my own advice.

Elle wrote:

Em, this was a great update. I loved reading about your creative process and look forward to seeing where you go from here.

Thanks for the link, Em. I am interested in trying this, but now I'm trying to decide what kind of atmosphere to give it. I could go for a caveman theme for the beginning to really get in the mood, or crashed aliens trying to build up a civilization on a destroyed planet, Earth or otherwise. Hmm.

I forgot to mention that Inge's Flexi school also allows you to not send children to school at all (their grade will stay at a C), which makes sense for peasant families or Apocalyptic families before the school is rebuilt or what-have-you.

Elle wrote:

You have to have one of the expensive sinks in order for a sponge bath to make a dent in a sim's hygiene.

Really? I had no idea the sink price had anything to do with it. Cool.

Sugah and Em - I remember the Whole New World Project. We had a lot of fun with that. If I remember correctly, my 3rd generation were children...at least I think so. That was fun, but I can't remember why we quit. Life and other sim interests, probably. This is very similar. I am worried about breeding myself into a corner, though.

Sugah - you said you were interested in doing this without Seasons - it is possible, with the Farmer's set from MTS2. All other harvestable sets will need this one to function. But from there you can get harvestable zucchini, Candyland plants, strawberry and mushroom plants (I have this one, but still can't find the strawberries in my game), and I can PM you a link for pumpkins, watermelon, and corn. They are on a *ahem* different site. Also, you may want to check out Potted harvestable fruit trees.

Toni and Jenn - those are all some nice options for plantsims. I have a default I got years ago, but may change it for something new.

As usual, I am excited to try any new challenge and will probably jump right into this one with both feet. How long will my interest last? Who knows, we are dealing with the Fickle Fairy, here. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. You have saved me from sim boredom - at least for awhile.

Edited to add a waterfall shower! I forgot I had this. Sims get a little bit of fun and comfort from showering, and it has a cooldown function if sims get too hot. Plus, it looks neat and totally natural.

Toni wrote:

By the way Em...if you're interested, poifectly_poiple has done a mod that gets rid of the leafy plant hair, and lets you change your plant simmies hair to anything you want...and here's some nicer coloured Default Replacement Plantsim Clothes....still leafy, just prettier!

Thanks, Toni.

Elle wrote:

This is an interesting approach to a prosperity or population type challenge. It is more simplified, actually, which takes the good part of that challenge and simplifies it so more people would probably be willing to do it. I like the guidelines you have set, especially the earning things through talent badges, even if you can afford the item. It adds a work ethic to it and builds character in your sims. And I love your group of sims; very diverse.

Thanks, Elle! I definitely want it to be a simplified version. Something that you can follow, just by using common sense and thinking logically while you're playing, rather than having a complicated set of rules that you have to constantly refer to just to make sure you don't mess up. I think it will be a good way to incorporate some things I haven't used much in the game yet, like the hobby benches. So it should be interesting. Since I'm not allowing any outside marriages, I wanted to start with a lot of diversity to make sure all of the skin colors, eye colors, hair colors were represented. It might be interesting to see if the group remains as diverse generations down the line.

Elle wrote:

You have to have one of the expensive sinks in order for a sponge bath to make a dent in a sim's hygiene

Really? That's good to know. I have one of the cheaper ones and it makes their hygiene go up to a decent level, not completely full, but well into the green. It's just, I've noticed, some of my sims wait until they just can't stand it anymore until they will resort to stripping down and washing up in the sink (usually the neat ones) while others don't seem to hesitate (the sloppier ones). They all wait until their hygiene is totally in the red before they'll take a sponge bath though. You'll all be happy to know (especially Toni) that all of my families now have a shower or a tub.

Sugah wrote:

I looked through my old Photobucket acct and think I found my original four couples for our Whole New World project.
I'd be curious to learn if I could find the actual thread at PTS forum.
I remember how attached I became to some of the founding couples, but can not remember how far any of us got...

Ari wrote:

Sugah and Em - I remember the Whole New World Project. We had a lot of fun with that. If I remember correctly, my 3rd generation were children...at least I think so. That was fun, but I can't remember why we quit. Life and other sim interests, probably. This is very similar. I am worried about breeding myself into a corner, though.

Mine didn't get vary far. I was making it overcomplicated thinking I had to have every sim have a baby with every possible partner in order to not as Ari put it "breed myself into a corner." I don't think it matters though. (I'm still worried about having too many sims that are too closely related to marry and have kids, though. But part of the challenge is to see if it works.) In the WNW project, my first generation that was born in the game (I guess that would be second generation) didn't even make it to adulthood, if I'm remembering right. I know the two of you got a lot farther with it than I did.

Ari wrote:

I am interested in trying this, but now I'm trying to decide what kind of atmosphere to give it. I could go for a caveman theme for the beginning to really get in the mood, or crashed aliens trying to build up a civilization on a destroyed planet, Earth or otherwise. Hmm.

Those both sound like really awesome ideas. I always wanted to do a legacy where the generations progress through time. Either one would be really cool. Now I'm wishing I'd done a theme or had some of great hacks you gave me links too before I started. Oh well. I played everyone up to the same point in time, to be fair, and then I'm going to add some of the harder (less profit from) gardening hacks you shared with us.

Ari wrote:

Sugah - you said you were interested in doing this without Seasons - it is possible, with the Farmer's set from MTS2.

I was thinking for how this could be done without Seasons, or without downloading farming/gardening sets or without the hobby benches. Maybe you could make sims reach certain skill point levels before they can buy certain things. Like for each cooking point your sim earns you could buy another kitchen item or more advanced cooking items. You'll probably have to let them have jobs, unless you want them to be "starving artists." You could limit the career paths available from the start, if you want to and make the more advanced or more skilled ones become available later. I think it might be kind of fun to see how much money a sim (or sim household) could make just from the money trees under the aspiration rewards. I'm sure that would be challenging before you'd have to earn aspiration points in order for sims to buy them and then keep their aspiration scores high so they can make more money from them. Gosh, it's been so long since I've used any of the aspiration rewards, except for the toddler milk. The only time I remember using the money trees, except for when I very first started playing, was when I was doing the seven toddler challenge and the dad couldn't work because he wasn't allowed to hire a nanny. I used them as his source of income. If I'm remembering right, they got a dollar whenever they were harvested if they had low aspiration levels and $100 if they were gold or platinum. Hmmm . . . that might be worth taking a look at again. How much can a sim make only from the money trees.

I need to get some pics together soon to show you all. I'm at work now, about to leave, so I can't right now. I've played all three couples through a sim year. From the end of summer to the beginning of fall. I have a hack that makes each season shorter, so it's been about 12 simdays. So far, it's getting a little dull, since all of the families are essentially the same. They garden, they fish, they try to take care of their needs. At least one sim in each family has a gold gardening badge and maxed out nature enthusiasm. They constantly want to look for bugs and birdwatch and go for hikes. A few sims are already rolling wants for hobby benches. (Yay!) But they can't afford them quite yet. 3 out of 4 of my households have had one member of the family turn into a plantsim. Each couple has had a baby (one is pregnant with their second already). I'm hoping as they start making more money, maybe they'll spend it in different ways - different types of badge earning objects, maybe fruit trees. My couple with a second baby on the way probably needs to expand their house before they do anything. I'm buying them all fire pits now. Grills that look like spits over an open fire, so they can actually cook and eat the fish they've caught. That make make things seem more interesting and less same old, same old (times 4). And as they have kids and they grow up and pair off I think that will be more fun too. I am liking their different personalities and how they cope with their living situations. That has been fun to watch. I need more storytelling moments to make this more fun for me. When I get a chance to post some pictures, I'll tell you more about the couples and their personalities.

I wanted to pop in and show you something else. Pescado has extracted the banana, papaya, and coconut trees from Castaway stories. Your sim can climb them and pick the fruit to eat. You can find them here. I am not sure if this base version requires Seasons or not.

Gwenke has gone a step further and made the fruits stockable in the fridge, as well as eaten off the tree. You can find that version here. These most likely require Seasons. Not sure if you'd want these or not, but they might give the game a little more flavor. Ha! Literally!

On that first link I gave you, Pescado also has a peeable bush. He also has a pile of leaves bed.
Edited to add: I just found in the comment thread that the leaf pile does not play nicely with ACR. Causes some jump animations for regular beds. So never mind about that one for us ACR users!

Thanks, I'll have to check those out. It's a shame though that the leaf beds don't work with ACR.

WOW! Thank you for all the links that work with the Farmer's Set, Ari.
I see the waterfall shower link is here. I was asking about it in your thread, AF.

Ari wrote:

Sugah and Em - I remember the Whole New World Project. We had a lot of fun with that. If I remember correctly, my 3rd generation were children...at least I think so. That was fun, but I can't remember why we quit. Life and other sim interests, probably. This is very similar. I am worried about breeding myself into a corner, though.

Em wrote:

Mine didn't get vary far. I was making it overcomplicated thinking I had to have every sim have a baby with every possible partner in order to not as Ari put it "breed myself into a corner."

I don't think I made it past generation two. I got so involved in playing them ... I remember I fell in love with all the original families, then their teens equally.
I feared the same thing as you both mentioned. I was worried about breeding myself into a corner.
Of course, with learning first cousins (re: Toni's Maya & Charlie) can fall in love, I suppose that wouldn't have been an obstacle, correct?

Em wrote:

You'll probably have to let them have jobs, unless you want them to be "starving artists."

That was one of the first thoughts that came into my mind. Remember we did that project, too, over at PTS?
I rather liked that one, if I am remembering right.

Em wrote:

I think it might be kind of fun to see how much money a sim (or sim household) could make just from the money trees under the aspiration rewards...If I'm remembering right, they got a dollar whenever they were harvested if they had low aspiration levels and $100 if they were gold or platinum...
Gosh, it's been so long since I've used any of the aspiration rewards.

Do you know I have never used the money tree? I didn't know the first thing about how it works!
It has possibilities for a project like this, doesn't it?

Lady E wrote:

I need to get some pics together soon to show you all. I'm at work now, about to leave, so I can't right now. I've played all three couples through a sim year...
Each couple has had a baby (one is pregnant with their second already)...
And as they have kids and they grow up and pair off I think that will be more fun too. I am liking their different personalities and how they cope with their living situations. That has been fun to watch. I need more storytelling moments to make this more fun for me. When I get a chance to post some pictures, I'll tell you more about the couples and their personalities.

Looking forward to it, Em. You are really coming along with this challenge.
I'm glad you're enjpying it so far. Thank you for sharing.

I already introduced you to my first couple, Karina and Jake. She is a knowledge sim and he is a family sim. They were a pretty easy going couple from the start. Always working in the garden when I asked them too, not hesitating to sponge off in the sink when their hygiene got bad (before they bought a shower). Since I updated they had their first child, Tom. Since she was a plant sim, I really wanted to give their child a plant name, but the names that came to mind were all for girls. At first I named him Ash (after the tree), but then I had an strong feeling to change his name to Tom. (Maybe after all the TOMatoes they've been growing. )



I really love the breastfeeding mod, but it looks kind of wrong when the mom is a plantsim. (Also, I need to set up my no blur hack again. When I get all of EPs and Simpe set up again, someone remind me to do that. )



I turned her back to normal. I missed her human/sim self.



Tom grows up with a thick head of redhair. So cute!



Jake is shocked, it's another baby! Another baby boy. They name him Samuel.



Things are tougher the second time around. Karina had no problem nursing Thomas on her own, but with Sam, I usually had to direct her to do it before he starved. I think it's harder since she just finished nursing Tom when Sam came along and she got pregnant right away with baby #3. Also, I didn't buy a second crib since Tom was just a day away from becoming a child, so they had to sleep in turns.



But Sam grows up into a healthy toddler.



Meanwhile mom isn't doing so well. Passing out and peeing herself during her third pregnancy sends her over the edge.



Not just once, but twice . . . if she didn't have to deal with the silly therapist, she could have just gotten her exhausted self to bed and wouldn't have freaked out the second time because she passed out before she could make it to bed.



Three children means it's time to add on to the house. It's nearly impossible to live well in a single room when they have multiple children and when one reaches childhood (the child keeps shooing their parents out of bed so they can take a bath in privacy )



Their third child is a girl, Lilah.



My second couple is, Stephan and Nina. Most of these sims I picked from my sim bin, so they're ones I've used before. Stefan was R.J. from Arrendale Heights. Nina is a sim from another player who is supposed to be visiting one of my other hoods soon. He is a pleasure sim who wants 50 first dates and she's a romance sim who wants to woohoo with 20 sims. Obviously they aren't going to be able to get what they want, but having "dates" with each other (which usually involve fishing and gardening) help keep them happy.



They aren't as obedient as Karina and Jake. Sometimes when I order them to "tend all" or "harvest all," they do one and then go off to do something else, like lay down on the bed. I had to direct Stefan to tend to each plant individually to get him to get the job done at one point. They also seem have an aversion to sponge baths, so they don't wash up and then won't work when they're stinky. Since they seem to want to relax a lot, I bought them a tub, instead of a shower so they could be comfortable when they washed up (I eventually got all the households tubs instead of showers, so they could bathe their toddlers)



Uh oh, plantsim.



Somehow I forgot to take pictures of the goings on with this family. Nina got food poisoning and was pregnant with their child at the same time. So Stefan had to take on the work in the garden while she rested. They had a son, Max, and since Nina was too ill to nurse him, Stefan ended up bottle feeding him most of the time. Eventually the food poisoning took it's toll and the Nina nearly died (darn, realistic sickness mod. I'm losing track of how many sims have had never-ending bouts of food poisoning and almost died. It's ridiculous). Luckily Stefan was able to save her from dying. But maybe an hour later he passed out from sunlight deprevation. I'm glad he wasn't passed out when she nearly died or there would have been no one to save her.



She survives, Max reaches childhood . . .



And she gives birth to twins, Matthew and Mariah (I think those are their names . . . All names are whatever randomly came to mind at the moment)



The parents being awoken by two screaming, stinky babies.



Big brother looking on. "Why doesn't someone feed these babies?"



Toddler Matthew



And toddler Mariah



My third couple, Nick and Saira, is my negative chemistry pair. They were the ones left over when everyone else paired up. He likes hats and she likes beards, so I gave them both slight makeovers to see if that would help their chemistry . . . it didn't seem to help much, but that's ok, because they seem to get along anyway. Saira is my Lucy from Arrendale Heights. I think Nick is somebody else too (at least as far as my game goes), but I can't remember who.



They get along, but Nick draws the line at sharing a bed and chooses to sleep on the floor instead.



Oh no, he gets struck by lightening while working in the garden! I'm very worried at this point, because I can't afford to have anyone die before they have children, otherwise I think my sims will be too closely related to have further generations down the line. I know their relationship isn't that strong yet, so I'm not confident in Saira's ability to save him. I'm thinking at this point, I might have to exit without saving.



But she does it! She defeats the Grim Reaper and saves Nick's life. Yay!



He tries to thank her with a hug, but she's having none of that. "Hey, don't get all mushy, just because I saved your life."



They go inside, hang out and talk, getting to know each other better.



I just thought this was a pretty picture.



One or both of them had the want to go on a date, so I had one ask the other on a date. The date was accepted and it seemed to go pretty well, until Saira tried to get too romantic. It's weird. I think Nick had the want to make out with her, but since he wasn't in love with her he didn't have the option too and when she tried to interaction, he rejected it. They don't know what they want.



But after that rejected kiss (or whatever romantic interaction it was) they decide they have no problem hopping into bed with each other. I don't get it, but I won't complain about it.



They're starting to warm up to each other.



Saira is a family sim, so she wants to get engaged to Nick and get married. He's not in love with her and has no such wants, but I have her propose anyway and he accepts.



With Nina and Stefan, when they got pregnant I starting thinking they should get married, then I realized this isn't my Royal Kingdom challenge. There's no laws or government here and there's no benefit in the game to being married (they're pretty much committed to each other, since there aren't many sims to choose from in this hood), so I'm leaving it up to the individual couples as to whether they actually marry or not. So far my couples with a family sim involved have gotten married, the ones without haven't. So it's 50/50. Saira is a family sim. Nick is popularity. He goes along with the idea of getting married, probably because he knows he doesn't have any other options as far as women go.



Even though they're married, they've slept together, and at this point, I think she's pregnant with his child, Nick is still not in love with Saira and refuses to let her in the house when he bathes. That would be too intimate, I suppose.



He has no problems with kissing on her though.



They have a baby girl and are the only couple among my founders to have a first born daughter. Her name is Denise.



Denise as a toddler. She very strongly resembles her mother.



Then they have twins! Two more girls, Cherie and Lenore.



Giving birth out in the cold gave Saira a chill. Need to warm her up.



Since it's going to be awhile before Denise outgrows her crib, they need one for each child. They don't have enough money to expand their house quite yet. so it's a tight squeeze.



If I had any doubts about pairing up Nick and Saira, they were erased when I started playing my fourth couple, Brendan and Cecile. They are just so cute together and they both happen to be wealth sims, so that makes them extra compatible. (Cecile is the same sim as Chloe from Arrendale Heights. I don't remember who Brenden is, but up close he looks kind of like Blaine, but I'm not sure if that's the sim I used for him or not . . .)



They waste no time starting their romance.


He's so smitten, he can't help looking at her while they work in the garden.



He is Mr. Romantic.



But they have a kind of easy, fun, playful dynamic to their relationship too.



Brendan gets turned into a plantsim just as Cecile goes into labor.



Baby boy, Carter.



Carter as a toddler.



Cecile goes into labor with baby #2.



And this is the one baby I cannot remember. I was doing so well remembering their names too. I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl even. I kind of think it was a girl. When I get everything set up again, I'll have to go in and check.

And you say my families are like rabbits? Kinda looks like yours are, too.

Wow, what an exciting season that was! I can't believe the misfortune of some of your poor families. Near death by lightning, near death by food poisoning, not being able to nurse, aspiration failure, bad chemistry, and plantsims galore! You certainly aren't running a boring game - lots to see and do with these growing families.

Tom Tomato is just darling with that bright red tomato hair. And Mariah! What a beautiful little girl! She has such distinctive features and pretty coloring. I can't wait to see how she turns out when she grows up. Nick is really cute with a beard. And Karina is just adorable. I loved reading about Brendan and Cecile. How cute are they? He's picking out tomatoes while he's checking out her tomatoes, isn't he?

Do you have a no instant love mod or some other harder romance mod installed? I have one installed in my Apocalypse game and had some of the same situations you described where one sim is smitten and the other isn't. It was difficult to get those couples engaged and married, and I worried I wouldn't be able to get them to reproduce. One couple, the woman had been in love with her mate all her life but he didn't love her back no matter how often I had them interact romantically. Then finally, when they were both very old elders, a couple of days before his death, he fell in love with her. It was such an awesome experience. But it does make things a lot harder! I fully intend to use one down the line the next time I start a Prosperity challenge.

Your winter picture is just lovely. I used to regret Seasons because the snow slowed my computer down to a crawl. I always turned the weather off to avoid that and lightning. But now I like it a lot for challenges like this where the families are exposed to the weather - it makes it different each time you play - you never know what will happen.

Did I give you a link to Chaavik's shorter breastfeeding time? I don't know how long it normally takes, but I use it with my breastfeeding mod by Boiling Oil. Whose mod are you using?

Your world is growing quickly. Do we need to use complicated mathematical equations to see which sims should breed to keep the families going? My head hurts just at the thought of it, lol.

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And you say my families are like rabbits? Kinda looks like yours are, too.

Yes, definitely! That's what I thought too. So far they all have 3 kids (except for my wealth couple who have 2, which seems appropriate) and they have about 10 days to elderhood, so that means about 2 or 3 more pregnancies possible for each couple. I noticed my family sims seem to have less time between pregnancies than my other couples, so I can imagine will all of your founders being family sims, you're going to have a bunch of sim kids too. I didn't set the ACR to try for baby everytime, but I set risky woohoo pretty high, like around 50%, so I'm expecting more babies to come (hopefully not many more multiples though.)

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He's picking out tomatoes while he's checking out her tomatoes, isn't he?

I like Mariah in that shot too. I'm not sure what her personality is, but she looks really sweet and shy there, doesn't she? And I knew I had to change his name to Tom for sure when I saw that tomato red hair.

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Do you have a no instant love mod or some other harder romance mod installed?

I believe I have to no instant love mod installed. With ACR installed reproducing wasn't a problem. They were both game. Aw, that's so sweet that your couple finally fell in love in their elder years. It took him awhile to warm up to her, didn't it?

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Did I give you a link to Chaavik's shorter breastfeeding time? I don't know how long it normally takes, but I use it with my breastfeeding mod by Boiling Oil. Whose mod are you using?

I'm not sure, I think the boiling oil one. It was from the link you gave me.

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Do we need to use complicated mathematical equations to see which sims should breed to keep the families going? My head hurts just at the thought of it, lol.

I'm not sure. I tried to figure it out when I first started. Like if we have couples A, B, C, and D and the offspring of A and B married, their children would be AB and they could only marry a CD. Then I realized with multiple children, there would be multiple As, Bs, Cs, and Ds. Then I decided it was getting too confusing. I'm not sure if I'm going to have to plot out who goes with who or just let them choose and hope for the best. (It might work out just as well or better if I let them work it out. ) Right now I'm not sure if it's better for siblings to try to marry into different families or find spouses within the same family. I'm not sure if it will make a difference or not. I think the more sims in this generation and the more variety I can keep at the beginning will probably be the best.

I have started the new "Em challenge." My couples are ready now I only have to pair them together.
That is not easy.
You mensioned you had a firepits grill as a stove where did you find that? Do they get the grill after they have got the first cooking skill?
I have to find that insim cheat to get the last couples founds to zero. Oh Now I see I could use the familyfounds too.

I´m going back to Zora ventura legasy when I have checked my downloads folder I have some troubles with it.
I will send some pics soon at least of the start sims.

I found the fire pit here. I didn't come up with a specific rule for when they were allowed to buy it, but I thought they should be able to have a simple fire to cook with pretty early one. Letting them buy it after they have a cooking skill point would be a good idea.

If you don't want to cheat or use hacks to set their money to 0, you could use up the rest of their funds on plants or by using the terrain tools.

I can't wait to see what you come up with for it. I'm kind calling it "The Founders Challenge" in my mind. I don't know if that name is taken for anything or not.

I played my families for awhile, but I think I will be taking a break because my mind has kind of turned back to storytelling. All of my founders have 3-4 days until elderhood, so I think they're done having babies. I decided to pause a moment to look at their "final" families for this generation. I haven't decided if I'm going to play out the full teen years or age them up when they have 8 days to elder as I usually do. I'm kind of surprised my families only had 3 pregnancies each, except for one family that just had 2. I hope it's enough to keep the neighborhood going . . .

Here is Family 1: Jacob, Karina, Thomas, Samuel, and Lilah.



Family 2: Stephan, Nina, Max, Mariah, Matthew, Mitchell



Family 3: Nick, Saira, Denise, Cherie, Lenore, Marie



Family 4: Brendan, Cecelie, Carter, Danielle



Next, I'll need to get the kids grown up so I can start pairing them up!

Your families look great! It will be exciting watching them grow up and who they choose as their mates. I haven't played mine in awhile - I'll have to get back to them soon.

Thanks Em for the link now they can start grilling Oh wait they need to have some skills first.
I think that´s a great name "The founders Challenge"
Your families looks good!
I´m having troubles with pairing my first simmies up.

Wheeeeee......new couples! Ok....by total favourite by far are Nick and Saira! They are hilarious! And what an adventurous beginning...saved from death and all that. They really are all lovely Em, but these two intrigue me. Cute kids too!

Thanks! Nick and Saira are an interesting couple. Sometimes I'm not quite sure what to make of their relationship. Their household is kind of fun with so many girls running around. I'll need to go through my pics one of these days and share some highlights. I've actually played them quite a bit since I posted last (probably too much as I should be focusing on other things, but I need something relaxing and fun to do). I was afraid that my next generation was going to be hard to pair up, since at first it seemed like there were a lot of negative chemistry bolts, but either their chemistry improved or as some of the younger ones got older they were better matches for the older ones, because my sims (with ACR) started taking matters into their own hands and have been choosing their own mates. The third generation is already underway.

My kids in this challenge have been busy pairing up too. I haven't played them in awhile, because each time I start to, I can't decide on who I should play next. I'm trying to keep them all pretty equal, but haven't been really picky about keeping track. Sims are moving in and out, and I'm trying to get them played as equally played as possible before anyone moves and since I go awhile between play sessions, sometimes I lose track.

Here are a few gameplay pictures. I'm trying pick out just the best ones.

Here's Nina freaking out. I'm thinking this was following the birth of her fourth and last child. At least her husband still thinks she looks good after three pregnancies (including one set of twins!)



I've been using Inge's flexi-school hack, so the kids don't go to school. So, in order for them to meet future mates, I have them greet each other whenever I can catch someone walking by. I considered having a big get together for my Royal Kingdom challenge, but they seemed to do pretty well meeting and getting to know each other by just greeting walkbys and with occasionally teleporting someone in.





Here are a few pics of cute family moments.





First love! This is Brendan and Cecile's daughter Danielle and Stephan and Nina's son Max.



My second couple to pair up is Jacob and Karina's Tom and Nick and Saira's Denise.



Max and Danielle go steady just before he aged into an adult. Max and Danielle go steady. I think his mom seems to approve.



While he's aging up. His little brother Matthew tries to kiss Danielle. She rejects him, but they end up becoming best friends.



She can't believe how mature he's become.



Matthew tries again and this time she agrees to kiss him.



And agrees to more than that apparently. Max is totally shocked, but surprisingly not angry.



Danielle isn't totally over Max though. Later at his parent's place, they hop in bed together.



I decided once my teens start to become sexually active, I use insiminator to make them "independent teens" which are sims that look like teens, but are adults as far as the game is concerned. I made Danielle and independent teen and she became pregnant right away. I'm not sure if she's sure which brother is the father of her baby, a fact her father is NOT happy about at all.

Em wrote:

(Maybe after all the TOMatoes they've been growing. )

Em wrote:

He tries to thank her with a hug, but she's having none of that. "Hey, don't get all mushy, just because I saved your life."

Em wrote:

I don't get it, but I won't complain about it.

Em wrote:

...probably because he knows he doesn't have any other options as far as women go.

Em wrote:

Even though they're married, they've slept together, and at this point, I think she's pregnant with his child, Nick is still not in love with Saira and refuses to let her in the house when he bathes. That would be too intimate, I suppose.

Em wrote:

I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl even. I kind of think it was a girl.

Ari wrote:

He's picking out tomatoes while he's checking out her tomatoes, isn't he?

Em wrote:

I turned her back to normal. I missed her human/sim self.

I definitely prefer her this way.

Boy, you sure are giving it to Karina. One crib for two babies...maybe it's because I just had a baby and am experiencing the lack of sleep as we speak but that seems extremely cruel. It's no wonder she passed out all the time, needed diapers of her own and had to finally resort to therapy.

Em wrote:

Their third child is a girl, Lilah.

I love that name!

Em wrote:

He is a pleasure sim who wants 50 first dates and she's a romance sim who wants to woohoo with 20 sims.

Pleasure sims and romance sims make great roommates, as do popularity sims with either of them. The can more often than not help one another with goals without conflicting with them.

Em wrote:

I'm glad he wasn't passed out when she nearly died or there would have been no one to save her.

That was a lucky break. By the way, Nina is really lovely.

Em wrote:

But she does it! She defeats the Grim Reaper and saves Nick's life. Yay!

Em wrote:

I just thought this was a pretty picture.

Ari wrote:

Your families look great!

Em wrote:

Her name is Denise.

She's a cutie; nice coloring.

Nick and Saira are a really nice looking couple. They should make some lovely children.

Em wrote:

I'm not sure if she's sure which brother is the father of her baby, a fact her father is NOT happy about at all.

I think I have to agree with him. Makes you wonder about the omnipresent force running things in this hood...

I love the shenanigans, Em! You are doing great with this challenge. I love your families and the way they are progressing. I am looking forward to reading more.

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Boy, you sure are giving it to Karina. One crib for two babies...maybe it's because I just had a baby and am experiencing the lack of sleep as we speak but that seems extremely cruel. It's no wonder she passed out all the time, needed diapers of her own and had to finally resort to therapy.

That's only because the toddler was about to age up in a day or a half a day and I didn't want to spend the money on a second crib when they would be needing an extra bed instead soon. I have another couple that's in the same position. Their toddler is going to age up almost exactly 24 hours after the next baby is born. I might have to buy them a second crib, but money and space are really tight for their family too...

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Their third child is a girl, Lilah.


I love that name!

Thanks. I do too. I was thinking along plant names like Lily, but wanted something a little different. It's just what came to mind. She grows up to be really pretty too.

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Her name is Denise.


She's a cutie; nice coloring.

Nick and Saira are a really nice looking couple. They should make some lovely children.

I really like Denise's looks too. She got a really pretty skin tone. I think her younger sister Lenore turned out really pretty too. All of Nick and Saira's daughters have kind of funny looking chins, very narrow (chins and jaws) and kind of long.

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I'm not sure if she's sure which brother is the father of her baby, a fact her father is NOT happy about at all.


I think I have to agree with him. Makes you wonder about the omnipresent force running things in this hood...

Hey, that wasn't my doing! That was 100% ACR. I didn't direct any flirting or woohoo. I just stand back, observe and comment.

Thanks for the comments, Elle. I've been trying to play this hood much faster than I normally do, because I want to see how far I can get before my sims are too closely related to breed. I want to try to get some pictures of my second generation couples to post next time. I've been working it out and I think there's going to be some trouble pairing up generation 3. I realized one of my couple's children are going to have no one to marry, because everyone in their generation will be their first cousins, unless I make some of them have affairs or partner across generations.

It looks like love is in the air, and a little bit of drama, too. Gotta love ACR - I know I do. I love the randomness and sims that surprise me.

I'll be interested to see how the breeding continues without running into a roadblock. I haven't played my new generation sims in a bit - so many sims, so little time, and too many project interests.

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I haven't played my new generation sims in a bit - so many sims, so little time, and too many project interests.

I hear ya!

I started doing some figuring about my next generations. In generation 1, Couple 1 was Jacob and Karina, Couple 2 was Cecile and Brendan, Couple 3 was Nina and Stephan and Couple 4 was Nick and Saira. I was really hands off with them as far as having children goes. I'm thinking I should have encouraged them to have more children, especially Couple 2, Brendan and Cecile, who only had 2 offspring. The good news is that my second generation was pretty evenly paired. I had 6 males and 7 females.

In generation 2, Tom (offspring of Couple 1) and Denise (offspring of Couple 4) paired up.



Since they are 1 and 4, their children can only pair up with offspring from 2-3 parents. That would just happen to be Danielle (offspring of Couple 2) and Max (offspring of Couple 3). (Max decided to step up and be a father to Danielle's child, even though they probably wouldn't really know if he's the father or if his little brother Matthew is the real father. Max really is the father, but even if he wasn't, the baby would still be a 2-3 offspring.)



Samuel (offspring of Couple 1) paired up with Mariah (offspring of Couple 3)



His sister Lilah paired up with Mariah's brother Mitchell, making their children also 1-3s and first double cousins with Sam and Mariah's kids.



Their children can only marry 2-4 offspring, which would be Carter (2) and Lenore's (4) offspring.



Then my last couple is Shari (I was going to change the spelling of her name, but I never did in the game, so she's still Shari) (offspring of Couple 4) and Matthew (3). Their kids are going to be first cousins with the children of all the other couples, so they're either going to have to pair with someone in a different generation (older or younger) or I'm going to have to make a 1 and 2 have an affair, Tom or Sam with Danielle or Lilah with Carter. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.



Then there is Marie, who is my extra girl (who happens to be the offspring of Couple 4). I don't know if she will remain single and childless, have an affair, or marry a younger man who would be the age of her sisters' children. She's a knowledge sim, so she might not mind staying single. She seems to enjoy being an auntie though.



My problem now is the genders. My 1-3 and 2-4 couples are having mostly girls and my 2-3 and 1-4 couples are having boys, in other words the kids of the opposite gender are first cousins. So I'm making them all have lots of kids in hopes that it will balance out better. I think gen 4 will work out, but I think I'll be stuck after gen 5 unless I mix things up a bit.

I'm completely confused, lol. I hope that there are enough sims to successfully breed new generations. I'm curious to see how you progress!

I knew that was confusing as I was writing it. But I understand how it's going to have to work . . . I think.

Em wrote:

Hey, that wasn't my doing! That was 100% ACR. I didn't direct any flirting or woohoo. I just stand back, observe and comment.

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Then there is Marie, who is my extra girl (who happens to be the offspring of Couple 4). I don't know if she will remain single and childless, have an affair, or marry a younger man who would be the age of her sisters' children. She's a knowledge sim, so she might not mind staying single. She seems to enjoy being an auntie though.

I had a sim like that in one of my challenges. She was a romance sim, though, but I got her pregnant by someone before he met his betrothed. She had a baby like I wanted, he was faithful, and she stayed single like she wanted. It was win-win-win.

Em wrote:

I knew that was confusing as I was writing it. But I understand how it's going to have to work . . . I think.

I'm glad you have it because I am lost.

Thanks for sharing, Em. I love reading about your sims.

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I had a sim like that in one of my challenges. She was a romance sim, though, but I got her pregnant by someone before he met his betrothed. She had a baby like I wanted, he was faithful, and she stayed single like she wanted. It was win-win-win.

Sounds like that worked out perfectly.

I haven't visited this hood in awhile, but I'll have to tell you all about Denise and Tom, because I had a lot of fun with them.

Instead, the last time I played I was working on building some new lots. One is a beachy getaway / deserted island type lot.









I need to figure out how to get the sand all the way to the water, since this is the biggest lot the game would allow me to put in this spot. I may need to try lot adjuster. And this is the first time I tried using conical roofs! I totally forgot about the new options the last EP I got (OFB) added.