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Let's ALL Play The Sims 3 - Random Family Wish-Fulfillment Challenge!
Welcome, one and all, to the Sims 3! Yes, the Sims 4 has quite recently debuted and many of us are already sinking our teeth into it, but I assure you, there is still a lot to take in from the Sims 3 before you move on!
Indeed! This Let's Play is different. In fact, I don't think it's even a Let's Play at this point, but here it is! What's so different?
I'm glad you asked!
I will post a general ruleset for a random family ruleset (made up by my wife) and I invite you all to try and follow those rules in your game. Then, let us all post screenshots of the highlights of our playthroughs. Hopefully, hilarity will ensue.
THE RULES
The very idea behind this ruleset is for us to play the Sims in a way that we normally don't - to step out of our comfort zones, so to speak. That said, these rules are meant to be flexible and if you feel you can improve on them or just want to modify them to suit your playstyle - feel free to do so! It's all about fun :) Also, be sure to share any of your ideas here and we can all work to improve this challenge for the benefit of others!
What you'll need:
-The Sims 3 (I'm using the PC version and have all the EPs and SPs aside from Movie Stuff, as well as some Store Content. Don't worry - just adjust the rules to your needs if you're using the console version, have fewer expansions or use custom content.)
-a couple slips of paper and a larger piece to keep notes - the exact amount of slips will be specified below, use notes to keep track of your steps.
-some time to prepare your game (drawing random slips of paper for all aspects of our random families may take some time. If you're computer-savvy enough, I guess you could come up with some method to make the computer do all the randomizing for you. I am not, therefore I did this the hard way.)
On to the rules!
Points marked with an * are optional.
Creating your family
*0. Picking a town: Write down the names of all available towns (that you want to use) on pieces of paper. Take one OR take three and pick one out from those. Alternatively, skip this point altogether and just go with a town you like! :monster:
1. Number of Sims: Choose 1 slip of paper out of a batch marked with numbers: 1 slip marked '1', 3 slips marked '2', 3 slips marked '3', 3 slips marked '4', 3 slips marked '5', and one of each slip marked '6', '7', and '8'. DISCLAIMER: If you aren't using the Pets expansion pack, discard the slip marked with '1'. The idea is that each randomly generated household has at least two playable characters - either two sims or one sim and one pet.
2. Sim age (Td=Toddler, C=Child, Tn=Teen, YA=Young Adult, A=Adult, E=Elder): At least one sim needs to be YA or A, hence in most cases you will need to draw from two seperate batches. DISCLAIMER: Young adults (YA) may only serve as parents to toddlers (Td), so if there are no As that can be parents of the Cs and Tns that you drew, discard the slips with Cs and Tns and draw the appropriate amount from the rest of the batch. (OR you can do what I did in my playthrough - I got an elder, two young adults and a teen. I didn't want to discard the teen, so I simply created the elder as an adult and then, once in-game, I immediately aged him up, so he was the default parent)
- 1 sim: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A
- 2 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 1 slip from 1Td, 1C, 1Tn, 2YA, 2A, 1E
- 3 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 2 slips from 2Td, 2C, 2Tn, 3YA, 3A, 2E
- 4 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 3 slips from 3Td, 3C, 3Tn, 5YA, 5A, 3E
- 5 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 4 slips from 4Td, 4C, 4Tn, 6YA, 6A, 4E
- 6 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 5 slips from 5Td, 5C, 5Tn, 7YA, 7A, 5E
- 7 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 6 slips from 6Td, 6C, 6Tn, 8YA, 8A, 6E
- 8 sims: 1 slip from 1YA and 1A AND 7 slips from 7Td, 7C, 7Tn, 9YA, 9A, 7E
3. Gender: For each sim, draw a slip of paper marked with gender. The ratio is always 50/50, so you'll need just two slips for this batch - one marked 'male', one 'female'.
4. Relationships:
- before drawing any slips, decide if you want to take homosexual relationships into account. If not, then simply don't use slips with romantic relationships when establishing the relationship between two sims of the same gender.
-Adults (from this point, when making this distinction, I use "adults" as an umbrella term for sims from the YA, A, and S age group, and "children" for Tns, Cs and Tds):
- Start with the first sim that you've "created" so far (the one that's either YA or A). Start with establishing their relationships with all the other sims aged YA and up, picking a slip of paper out of an appropriate batch (P=Partner, F=Fiance(e), B/G=Boyfriend/Girlfriend, M/F=Mother/Father, S=Sibling, R=Roommate - use one slip of paper for each, except for siblings - use three of those to balance out the three romantic options when establishing the relationships between (young) adults). If the sim already has a romantic partner or a parent of a specific gender, discard those slips when drawing all future relationships.
- If, for some reason, after drawing the relationships for the first sim there are still YA or older sims without any relationships, repeat the process for those.
-Children:
- If there is only one YA/A sim within the household, or only one romantic couple aged YA/A, all the children in the household are automatically assigned as their children.
- If there are more than one YA/A sim within the household, mark those sims with numbers (couples should be marked with one number) and draw one number out of the batch for the children in the household (don't discard used numbers - children can share parents, of course).
-For any siblings in the household, draw slips on whether they are identical twins/triplets (I) or not (NI). The ratio is 3:1 (3 for non-identical, that is).
5. Traits:
-Option 1: click the "randomize" icon next to the trait box. This will select a random list of traits. Stick with whatever comes first.
-Option 2: use the same method as in option 1, but randomize the traits three times. Choose any of the three sets.
6. Favorites, voice, zodiac sign: randomize them once and leave them like that.
7. Lifetime goal: pick one of the five available ones. Any one is fine, as long as you don't use the sixth box to choose from the complete pool of lifetime goals.
8. Sim appearance:
-Adults: you can randomize the appearance of these sims up to three times and choose one of those three. If the randomized hair color is "unnatural" or generally seems out of place to you. But keep in mind, this is the only element you can change - the skin tone and eye color has to stay as is. Of course, you can change clothes and hairstyles as you please, but we'll get to that.
-Children: decide whether the children are adopted or not. If they are, apply the same rules as when creating an adult sim. If not, you must use the "play with genes" option. If you have two parents, simply choose them as the parents of the child and randomly select the child that gets created. If the child has a single parent, you will need to create a random temporary sim that will serve as the other parent for the "play with genes" part. After you're done selecting the children, delete that "other parent" from the household before entering the "edit relations" screen.
-If an adult sim has their parent(s) within the household, create them using the "play with genes" option as you would with a child sim.
-Adult siblings with no parents: create two random temporary parent sims for the "play with genes" part and create the siblings. Delete the placeholder parents afterwards.
-Hairstyles, clothing, body hair and tattoos may be chosen freely, taking into account the sim's personality traits, favorite color, etc.
-The "muscle definition" slider should be adjusted reasonably (like, you know a chubby sim shouldn't really have a visible six-pack).
-In case of identical twins (or triplets), use the copy sim option (switch the gender if you need to).
9. Names: you may either choose the names on your own or randomize them. Just remember to remain consistent - family member usually share last names, etc.
When using the "Pets" EP
10. Number of pets: choose one slip of paper from a batch determined by the number of sims within the household:
- 1 sim - 1x4, 2x4, 3x3, 4x2, 5x1, 6x1, 7x1, 8x1, 9x1
- 2 sims - 0x4, 1x4, 2x3, 3x2, 4x1, 5x1, 6x1, 7x1, 8x1
- 3 sims - 0x4, 1x3, 2x2, 3x2, 4x1, 5x1, 6x1, 7x1
- 4 sims - 0x5, 1x3, 2x2, 3x1, 4x1, 5x1, 6x1
- 5 sims - 0x5, 1x4, 2x2, 3x1, 4x1, 5x1
- 6 sims - 0x6, 1x3, 2x1, 3x1, 4x1
- 7 sims - 0x7, 1x2, 2x1, 3x1
- 8 sims - 0x8, 1x1, 2x1
11. Type of pet:
-decide whether you want to play with horses or not
-draw one slip of paper for each pet - the batch is always one cat and one dog (and one horse if you're using those)
-for each dog you have, draw a slip of paper to determine if it's a small or big dog. Once again, the ration is 1:1.
12. Pet age: draw a slip of paper for each pet, do not discard already drawn slips. The ratio is 3(adult) to 1 (elder).
13. Pet gender: determined the same way sim gender is established.
14. Pet relationships: draw to determine whether 2 same-aged pets of the same gender are siblings or "partners" (1:1). If there are more than two pets of the same kind, draw just like that for every one of them until you've covered everyone, just like with humans. Is you have elder and adult pets, draw to determine whether they are the related.
15. Pet appearance: just like with human sims, you can randomize the look three times and choose the one that suits you best. You can modify accessories at will.
16. Pet personality: same as above - randomize three times, choose the best set (DO NOT mix traits from different sets).
17. Pet names: adjust the last names to those of their owners while giving them a random name (or whatever name you want - just as with human sims).
Playing the Game
1. Wishes: the main objective of the game is to fulfill as many of the wishes of your sims as you can.
I Promising wishes:
-the basic rule is that you have to promise all the wishes that pop up for your sim and do your best to fulfill them.
-if a new wish comes up when all four wish slots are already filled, the wish that gives the most lifetime point OR the one that can be fulfilled the fastest takes priority and can replace any of the four promised wishes
-Exceptions to the rule: you may not promise wishes that are impossible to fulfill (e.g. if the sim wishes to meet a vampire but you've turned off vampires), wishes that have to do with an area of the game you don't want to use in that playthrough (e.g. travelling, time-travel), wishes to buy objects that won't fit in your house comfortably, and you shouldn't promise more than one career-related wish (if the lifetime goal is reached some level of a specific career, that career takes priority).
II Deleting wishes from the promised wishes box: you may do so if a game error has occurred and a wish that you seemingly fulfilled did not count as fulfilled and just stayed there, or, if a new wish comes up and it grants you more lifetime happiness points for fulfilling it, you may put it in place of a wish that grants you fewer points, or in place of a wish that would take much more effort and time to fulfill.
III Miscellaneaous:
-the wish to have a baby may be fulfilled either by using the "try for baby" option or adopting - it's your call!
-the wish to have a child of a specific gender may be fulfilled by using the watermelon/apple method.
2. Sim needs:
-if fulfilling a sim's need does not correspond with fulfilling a promised wish, the you may only do something about it if a neutral (blue) or negative (red) moodlet signifying that need appears. So, for example, if your sim wakes up in the middle of the night, you can't put them back to bed until a "drowsy" (or something like that, can't remember :P) moodlet appears.
-you may try to gain positive moodlets before going to work if the sim has a wish to get promoted.
-you may try to get rid of negative moodlets.
-if a sim is performing an action that will get rid of a negative or neutral moodlet (e.g. watching TV or reading a book when they're stressed out), they may continue to perform thatction even after the moodlet is gone, so that the need gauge is filled up completely.
3. Actions unrelated to sim wishes and needs:
-aside from fulfilling wishes and needs, a sim may perform actions related to their traits (the icon representing the corresponding trait will appear next to the command on the menu)
-work: a sim may go to work regardless of wishes, while self-employed sims may perform all actions related to their jobs at will
-romantic interacions (besides woo-hooing and going steady) may be performed only on sims that your sim is currently attracted to (a specific moodlet needs to be present); such actions may also be performed by sims with related traits (romantic, flirty, etc.)
-woo-hoo: outside of wishes, this action may only be performed during a date if the "wonderful date" wish is promised. This action may also be performed to relieve a sim's stress if they live in the same household as their romantic partner. Try for baby is treated as a seperate interaction and cannot be performed if a sim does not have the specific wish for this.
-going steady, betrothal, marriage: a sim may not enter such relationships unless they or another sim (i. e. their parent) has this wish.
-dates: when being invited on a date, a sim may accept or decline the invitation. During a date, a sim may spend their time with the date however they please, as long as they don't break the rules covered above.
-prom: a teenage sim may go on prom even if they do not specifically wish to do so. They may also accept a proposal to go steady that arises during prom.
-divorces/breakups/dividing households: if a sim wishes to break up/divorce, you may divide the household by moving out the part of the family that you decide not to play as anymore. Children younger than adult must stay with one of the parents. Household division is also allowed if a sim grows up and establishes their own family with a spouse/kids/whatever. You may then move out the new family and decide which you want to keep playing as.
-choosing a house and furnishing: you may either buy an empty lot or an available empty house, as long as the family can afford it (no money cheats - more on that later). You may furnish it however you please, but try to keep the sims' wishes in mind.
-moving: if none of your sims wishes to do it, you may only do it if the current house is too small or too big for your needs, or if it is too small from the beginning but you couldn't afford a bigger one then. These rules also apply to accuiring additional households.
-clothing: as you play, you may add and modify your sims' clothes at will, taking into account their character traits and favorite color.
-actions taken towards underage sims: baby and toddler sims' needs may be fulfilled by any member of the household (even roommates). Family members (NOT roommates) may teach toddlers to walk, talk and use the potty. Family members may help children and teens with their homework.
-aging:
I. adding new traits: you may randomize the new trait when aging up only once, unless the selected trait conflicts with your current playstivle (e.g. "diver" for when you're not playing in Isla Paradiso" or "supernatural fan" when you have all occult sims off).
II. choosing a lifetime goal: if a sim gets an opportunity to establish a lifetime goal before reaching adulthood, you may do that, but that is not necessary. When setting the lifetime goal when the sim reaches adulthood, choose the goal the same way you would when creating an adult sim./
-actions taken towards pets: a sim may take actions that will prevent the pets from being taken away (i.e. fulfilling the contacts of hunger need) evenm if they do not have the specific wish or trait. Sims may fill empty food bowls even if they have no wish to do so. Sim may also do things that will fulfill a pet's wish or get rid of their negative moodlet. Sims may reinforce proper behaviors/traits in pets. In normal cases, a sim may only adopt a pet if they have a specific wish to do that. Exceptions to that:
I. you may adopt a pet if a neighbor calls and says they have puppies/kittens to give away,
II. you may adopt a pet if having a specific number of pets is a sim's lifetime goal,
III. a sim whose lifetime wish has to do with horses may adopt, buy, sell and breek horses regardless of short-term wishes.
If a pet couple has offspring in the household, you may give them up for adoption, regardless of whether they're still young or adults.
-playing as pets: when it comes to fulfilling wishes, the same rules apply to pets as they do to human sims. If a pet has no wishes, they may act according to their traits or they may be left to do as they please until a new wish or need arises. Pets can be left to themselves even if they do have promised wishes. To fulfill their "contact" need, pets may get in touch with anyone , not just sims in their household - it may be stray pets or even neighbors.
-using cheats: using cheats (ESPECIALLY money cheats) is strictly forbidden. There are however two cases when a specific cheat may be used:
I. if an error occurs you may use a cheat to fix it (i.e. you may reset the sim if they get stuck, or you may enter CAS by using testingcheats if the trait you added to your sim as they aged up just did not get added to that sim's trait list - this has happened to me quite a lot).
II. you may use the moveobjects cheat when moving furniture to make the furniture layout more realistic.
-collectables: any and all collectables may be collected only by sims with the collector trait. Sims with the animal lover trait or with a lifetime goal incolving collecting small animals may collect living creatures encountered and either keep them at home or sell them.
-opportunities: if an opportunity comes up, you may or may not accept it. If you do, act as if it were a wish. If an opportunity takes too long or turns out to be too difficult, you may delete it.
-parties: sims (and their familier) may take part in parties they were invited to.
-lifetime happiness points: you may use your lifetime happiness points however you please and later use them at will.
-the rule of precedent: any and all cases that have not been covered but leave you doubtful on how to act, you should work out yourself and then stick to that rule when another similar case arises. Be sure to share them with your fellow players in case they encounter such a problem!
Everyone, have fun with the game! :D
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Now that the rules have been listed, let me introduce you to my random household. The town I got was Lucky Palms. You guys know the place? It's based on Vegas.
Meet the Kauffmanns! First up, we have Horace, the head of the family.
An elder sim, his traits are: technophobe, unstable, inappropriate, clumsy, childish. That's quite an epic combo right there! His lifetime wish is to be a Jack of all Trades, so he wants to reach level 5 in three different careers. We'll see what we can do about that with that kind of personality!
Next up, we have his elder son, Alex, who is a young adult! He is actually our "main" sim, the first one I got. I actually had to create him as a teen and then age him up for him and his sister to be siblings. Still, I think it paid off :monster:
Alex is many things: a slob, a night owl, family-oriented, athletic, and a handy man! His lifetime wish is to become a Superstar Athlete. All it takes is to achieve level 9 in the athlete career. Easy!
Now we have his sister and Horace's daughter, Stephenie! I had this idea with her clothes. She's this Gothic Lolita wannabe, but she's not really good at it and she doesn't really have the money for it. She's doing her best to find herself, okay? So give the poor teen a break! :mad2:
Stephenie is difficult. Her traits are: loner, hates the outdoors, commitment issues and schmoozer. What trait will she receive when she grows up? What will be her lifetime goal? We may yet find out!
And lastly, we have this person who is not a Kauffmann!
Meet Geoffrey Flores, a roommate! Possibly Alex's future BFF, but who knows? Geoff is brooding, a night owl, a savvy sculptor, a hydrophobe, but a friendly one. His lifetime wish is to become a Fashion Phenomenon, to which he must reach level 10 in the Stylist career. You can tell by the picture that he is tortured but always fabulous.
So I start the game off by assigning everyone the jobs related to their dreams. Stephenie got a wish to take a temp job, so I got her hired at a cemetary becasue she's so dark and deep you guys! Meanwhile, Horace has nothing do in all his craziness, but hoy there! A wish appears! Turns out Horace wants to dabble in the art of... um, street art.
This is so weird. Every time I have someone learn street art, the police catches them on the spot. Horace made like 6 murals in one day - not one police officer in sight! Either Lucky Palms has some lazy police, or Horace's craziness gives him special police-invisibility powers.
Anyway, after getting hired at the mausoleum, Stephenie decides to go for a swim. In the cemetery well. I am not joking. No, I did not make her do it. She did it herself. Look at her!
In the meantime, her brother took a long jog from the sports hall to the gym because he wanted to work out. He got too tired to exercise before he got her. Go figure.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey met someone nice at the beauty salon :jokey:
Meet Kitty Price. Not sure if that was meant to be a pun on Kitty Pride or not. Probably not. Sims don't do puns, ever. Anyway, Geoff wants to make friends with her. And what better whay to hit it off than a karaoke session (at least that's his idea of a good time - it was his wish, make no mistake)!
Those two seem to be having fun! So I leave them for a second to take a look at this magnificence:
But then I come back to Geoff and Kitty and I see this:
He's just standing there by the window, probably caught up in one of his broody episodes. And Kitty's just standing there, watching, waiting, probably wondering if it's okay to go home now because this is getting kinda awkward. Way to blow it, Geoff!
Alright, so the day is drawing to a close and the Kauffmanns are back home (I think Geoff is still contemplating his life at the karaoke bar at this point with Kitty probably just pretending she doesn't know him). Now Stephenie wants someone to teach her how to drive, except her dad is busy.
So instead, she asks Alex. But before that, Alex feels the need to hug her. Little sis is all grown-up and ready to learn to drive :cry:
And so they get in the car!
And that's it for the first day with the Kauffmanns! Again, I encourage everyone to take part in this challenge and I'll do my best to update this thread with my playthrough as well! :D
