So, I'm feeling bored, So I thought I'd try a let's play for The Sims 3, and since my current legacy family is starting to lag something awful, I thought I'd start a new one, this time with the people of the playground at the head! So, the basic stuff.
Now, the basic premise of the legacy challenge is you start with one sim, on an empty lot and only enough cash to buy a bed and a toilet or about that. From there, you get married, have kids, and gradually reach 10 generations of sims. The rules are here, although the OP is a bit out of date.
Now, playgrounders, there are choices you have to make.
1) What Town should we live in? Since I have ambitions and World Adventures, that just leaves us with the 2 base game towns, Riverview and Sunset Valley. Sunset Valley is the classic legacy challenge, and has a lot of choices for potential wives (Husbands, less so). Riverview, on the other hand, I'm less familiar with (so that's a plus, because I get to see new faces), and a better male-female bachelor ratio. On the other hand, the Riverview Sims have less pre-developed personalities from the start, which is both a good thing and a bad thing.
2) What should are founder be like? Male? Female? What should their name be? What should their lifetime wish be (Any lifetime wish that isn't from Showtime, Pets, Late Night, or Generations is fine, although a few aren't actually possible with the default lifespan)? What about traits? (Pick 5)
3) There are a couple of optional challenges for the Legacy Challenge, Like Matriachies, Patriachies, and Legacy Traits (Every child needs to have one pre-selected trait, like Insane, Genius, Flirty, or the like). Do we want to do any of these?
....Umm, let's see...
Let's make her a lady, for variety, so doing Riverview works out fine for spousal options.
We need something special, something for when there's something strange in the neighborhood... Someone we can call...
Yes. Paranormal Profiteer this sucker up!
Traits can include eccentric (because inventors are fun) and Genius, which'll cover our bases for work...
Maybe Insane and Brave, too? Mad inventing and courage to stare down ghosts?
Checking again, it's not so much that Riverview has more options for male spouses, as it is that Sunset Valley has a disproportionate number of single women. Riverview has 9 single adult men (1 has kids, and 2 are rich and off limits, though) and 7 single adult women (None have kids, and I don't think any of them are rich).
Sunset Valley 8 single adult men (Although one has a child, and another is probably gay), and 14 single adult women (Although 2 have kids, one is pregnant, and 1 is rich and thus off limits*)
I'll also probably add a few young couples to ensure there are enough children for future generations to marry.
*Rich sims can't join the household during the first generation. However, I follow the spirit of the rules rather than the letter, so sims who are rich because they live in a big, nice house with a bunch of friends (and thus, won't sell the house off when they move in) are reasonable. Thus, Agnes Crumplebottom is out, but the people in the Roomies household are fine, because most of their wealth is tied up in the house the five of them live in.
We need to pick the founder's favorite Color, Favorite type of Music, Favorite Food, and what she (Since I think there's going to be a strong preference towards a female founder, especially since female sims are much more fun to make outfits for) will look like, too.
I don't care about most of that stuff, but I vote at least one unusual element that we'll see how long it lasts in the dynasty, like a strange hair or eye color. Maybe both.
...Maybe give her a quirky, geeky look. Because she's a ghost-buster!
1) Theme Naming: Theme naming can be fun, but we'd also need a good theme. I'm not going to permanently scar some poor sim for life by naming him Helium, for instance. I thought about music, but I'm not sure Fermata or Allegro is a good boy's name.
2) Potential outfits I made, and a possible look for the founder. These are pretty tentative, especially if I've committed a crime against fashion again.
Spoiler
Everyday Outfit
Formal Wear
Sleepwear
Atheltic outfit (I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made this. Probably that there aren't enough crazy looking outfits in the default athletics stuff, and I haven't found one I like on the TS3 store)
Swimsuit
(Note to self: Use photobucket for future uploads. TS3's site has horrible resolution.)
The purple outfit and the swimsuit are my favorites as well, but the make-up could do with some de-intensifying...It reads a little less "weird tinkerer" and a little more "clown," particularly since all her colors are very strong; I agree that our heirs should be the sims with hair most like their mother.
As for theme-naming....Hmmmm...
Oh, how about Astral Bodies? Stars, constellations, planets, and such related themes. Our founder can be... *deep breath* STELLAAAAAA!
The purple outfit and the swimsuit are my favorites as well, but the make-up could do with some de-intensifying...It reads a little less "weird tinkerer" and a little more "clown," particularly since all her colors are very strong; I agree that our heirs should be the sims with hair most like their mother.
My first thought was, "why am I looking at the Joker in drag?" Ahem.
Maybe a darker skin tone, like a heavy tan. Or something other than green hair for a whiter than white complexion.
What, you didn't see The Dark Knight? Plus the whole iconic green/white/purple combo. Blame DC.
Anyway, I think the darker skintone works better for your sim in this case, and brings out more face detail like the nasolabial creases but without being over the top.
She's as bright and brave as they come, but also a bit childish and eccentric, and, well... She thinks people are watching her. Which they are. But sane people don't mock the invisible beings watching them. If they want to survive, anyway.
Spoiler
Blah, Blah, Blah. I'm a big, omnipotent invisible being who can mess around with people's houses. Well I don't have a house, so the joke's on you!
Thankfully, she's been kind enough to model a few outfits for us.
Spoiler
Boooorrring. This outfit is no fun at all. But some people insist that I have to look "dressy" so this is what they're going to get.
I love stars, don't you? They're all twinkly, and the big invisible beings live inside of them We really don't, Stel-
That's just what you want me to think!
In the future... All people will wear gymnastics clothing. In their spaceships! Whose idea was it to make all space suits in sci-fi shows look like pajamas, anyway?
The Gnomes, of course!
I like long walks on the beach! The cold sand feels good between my toes, and beaches are where the Moon Beagles come to earth! what
First true update will be up later today, after I finish sprucing up the neighborhood.
Remember how Stella said she didn't have a house? She wasn't kidding. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much money either, so all we can do is this.
"Yay! My own little Shack!" No, it's an outhouse.
"Actually, now that I look at it closer... *gasp!* It's a magical gnome castle!" Why do I bother.
"I don't know, Why do you bother?" Rhetorical question. Moving along.
"Moving right along in search of good times and good news, with good friends you can't-" Stella
"-lose. This could become a habit!" Stella.
"Opportunity knocks once let's reach out and grab it." Stella.
"Together we'll nab it." STELLA!
"What?" First, don't sing in the cab, it bothers the driver.
"Oh, sorry Mr. Cabby Gnome!" The Cabbies are not gno- You know what, never mind. Just try not to violate copyright again, okay?
"If there's something strange in your neighborhood... Who ya gonna call?!" *sigh*
"GHOST BUSTERS!" I'd ask how you passed the interview, but I know for a fact there aren't any.
"I wonder if the newspaper arrived yet?" Thankfully. Hopefully now I can get some peace and quiet.
"Hey, there's an article in here!" Gasp! Who would have thought a newspaper would contain articles?
"By order of our Benevolent Overlord- Such a funny name for the little lemurs that rule over us." I don't even want to know.
"All sims of adult or young adult age are to provide details about their traits, professions, and lifetime goals for a list to be compiled and distributed in this periodical. And look, there's a list of single men in Sunset Valley!"
Eligible Bachelors of Sunset Valley
Spoiler
-Stiles Mcgraw
Traits: Loner, Loves the Outdoors, Frugal, Light Sleeper, Neat
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Music Talent Scout (Music 4)
Lifetime Wish: Swimming in Cash (Have 50,000 in simoleons)
Personal Information: Wow, I’m… living with 4 other roommates. Who I don’t know. And now I have to fill out a form all about me? Eep.
-Cycl0n3 Sw0rd
Traits: Absent Minded, Computer Whiz, Couch Potato, Genius, Inappropriate
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Automated Spell Checker Checker (Journalism 2)
Lifetime Wish: Chess Legend (Master the Logic Skill and become a chess grandmaster)
Personal Information: Man, this is so totally awes- Wait, what is this form about again?
-Jared Frio
Traits: Absent Minded, Good, Loner, Bookworm, Unflirty
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Automated Spell Checker Checker
Lifetime Wish: Profesional Author (Make 4000 Simoleons a week in royalties)
Personal Information: Well… This is awkward. I certainly have no interest in this. I mean, I suppose meeting a nice woman would be great, but that’s not going to happen. My brother gets all the girls, after all.
-Connor Frio
Traits: Heavy Sleeper, Mean-spirited, Innapropriate, Natural Cook, Party Animal
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Spice Runner (Culinary 2)
Lifetime Wish: Celebrated Five Star Chef
Personal Information: Man, I don’t know. I’ve always had an easy enough time making friends, but then they annoy me. What’s the point?
-Christopher Steel
Traits: Angler, Friendly, Daredevil, Great Cook, Great Kisser
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Unemployed
Lifetime Wish: Presenting the Perfect Private Aquarium (Have 13 different species of Perfect Fish in fishbowls)
Personal Information: I moved to Sunset Valley, recently, so I don’t really have a job or anything. But it’s nice to have a clean slate, isn’t it?
-Xander Clavell
Traits: Innapropriate, Hot headed, Party Animal, Commitment Issue, Mooch
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Decoy (Criminal 1)
Lifetime Wish: Hearbreaker (Have 10 girlfriends/boyfriends)
Personal Information: Man, my parents are such a downer. So what if all I want to do is party. Is that a bad thing?
-Leighton Sekemoto
Traits: Ambitious, Brave, Good, Family Oriented, Frugal
Age: Young Adult
Profession: Toddler Sports Coach (Athletic 3)
Lifetime Wish: Surrounded by family (Raise 5 children from babies to teenagers)
Personal Information: I’m a single father currently focusing on my career and raising my toddler. Love is not exactly number one on my list of priorities right now, although I suppose it might be one day.
So, voting time! Which man should Stella pursue? Keep in mind that Stiles and Cyclon3 share a house (as do the Frio brothers), so we can get to know both of them a bit better before we make any decisions if either of the two sound interesting. I currently don't have any hard and fast ideas about how the characters are going to be personality wise, so feel free to choose just about anyone as a possible choice if they look interesting, even if their blurb makes them sound like they wouldn't be interested.
I'm going to be changing the dialogue format a bit so that it's easier to identify who's talking. Stella is purple, much like her favorite color, while I've given Connor Frio Dark Green and Jared is Dark Blue.
Spoiler
As it turns out, there's one more ad in the paper that caught Stella's eye.
Is your house missing vital supplies like bath tubs or electronics? Are the kids getting in your hair constantly? Do you feel like you just need to get away from everything? Then Come to Crazy Dave's Community Center. Featuring an extensive library, an indoor pool, a kitchenette, a wide variety of hobby related objects, a fishing pond, a lovely park, and a community garden, Crazy Dave's Community Center is the perfect place for a young family that has been forced to move onto an enormous lot that left them without enough money to actually build a house!
And as luck would have it, this enormous building that must have been designed by a madman, or perhaps a bored college student who couldn't be bothered to spend time designing a sensible interior, is right across the street from Stella!
Did you have something to do with this? I have no idea what you're talking about. Why don't you go visit someone else?
That's a great idea! I'll go see if that Connor Frio guy is looking for a friend! See? I told you the cabbies weren't gnomes.
Silly invisible watcher. The gnomes have to change into sims to drive the taxi, of course! ...
And this is the Frio house. Lovely, isn't it?
And the interior's not bad either. Stella, what are you doing?
Swatting a fly. Oh, okay. That's fine.
Yum! That was disgusting.
That was delicious!
Having swallowed a fly (note to self: Keep Stella away from spiders. And birds, just to be on the safe side. Better just keep cats, dogs, goats, and horses away from her too, while I'm at it), Stella rings the Frio's Doorbell, and is invited inside.
Hi, I'm Stella Solaris! I'm new in town, and I saw your name in the newspaper's singles section.
Wait, the lemurs actually published that? They're trying to mess with my head, I just know it. Simland isn't really ruled by lemurs.
So what brought you to Sunset Valley?
The Invisible star-beings told me to come here, and purchase a giant lot that left me without enough money to buy a shower or a fridge.
You know, that gives me a great idea for a novel! Oh, I'm a journalist by the way.
Wow, a journalist! That's pretty cool!
Thanks. So what do you do for a living?
Well...
I'm a ghost hunter!]
Who ya gonna call?
Ghost Busters! We have GOT to stop making that reference. My favorite meal is Parfaits! What's yours?
I'm more of a fish and chips guy, myself. But parfaits are definitely delicious!
Yup! You know, Parfaits may be the most delicous desert on the planet...
They went on like that for a while. I'm not going to bore you with all the details (although Stella must have complimented the Frio house, like, five times), but the topic of astrological signs did come up. Connor's an Aquarius, apparently. Stella's a Pisces, by the way.
Eventually, Connor had to go to the bathroom. While her new found friend was emptying his bladder, Stella got into a fight with her left hand.
The hand won, apparently.
Some gossip was exchanged inside the Frio's bathroom (from the direction, I suspect Stella was talking about me, but I'm big enough not to mind), while Connor's brother Jared trolled forums like the jerk he is.
Somehow, gossiping about players turned into flirting...
Which Connor was surprisingly into.
Bathrooms aren't the place I'd choose to hug, but then, I'm not a sim. Thankfully. After they hugged, Stella asked to stay over for the night.
Stella herself had toast and jam, while the Frio brothers ate Peanut Butter and Jelly.
If memory serves, the topic of blockheads came up during a discussion of some rude behavior on Jared's part. Connor apparently agrees with Stella.
Hands were held... Connor...
Yes, Stella?
Huh. Didn't expect to actually get them to kiss this soon.
I don't think Connor minded in the slightest, though.
Stella, being Stella, went to bed in her bathing suit.
D'awww...
Oh, and Bunny of Faith asked about putting the bed in the Outhouse. I'm going to leave it up to you guys which you think is a better layout, although once Stella gets a double bed or a shower, the bed is going to have to go out.
Spoiler
By the way, Connor is probably going to be moving in in a few days. The question is, should Jared come with him? On the one hand, Jared's a jerk (I didn't get screenshots, but he insulted both his brother and Stella). On the other hand, if he does come, the Frio household will be sold, and the money from that should let us add something resembling an actual house. Also, Jared is a natural chef, which means the rest of the household will hopefully put up with him because of his cooking. Also, that fridge you get for reaching the final level of the culinary career is pretty sweet.
Word around the town
Spoiler
By the way, I use several mods in my version of TS3. One of those is the NRAAS Story progression, which replaces EA's Story mode. I use NRAAS because a) Sims don't always reproduce often enough in EA's story mode, which limits options for our heir's spouses, and b) IT also gives me nice little blurbs about stuff that happens around the town. So, here's some of the latest gossip from Sunset Valley.
-Haley Starshine and Elan are now engaged to be married!
-Pauline Wan and Hank Goddard's engagement lasted all of 12 hours of coming into contact with NRAAS's story progresion.
-A Fight between Mr. and Mrs. Marr proved that even if you give two evil sims Family oriented, that's no guarantee they won't start fights with each other.
-Cycl0n3 Sw0rd and Emma Hatch are now dating.
Good call on the mods. I know some people are "purists" as far as that goes. Any chance of getting a full list of the mods you're using? I like NRAAS stuff.
As to the whole chef thing, do you have that "there can be only one" option turned on for the careers at higher levels? I know I had a upper mid level chef constantly kicked down to level 5 until she quit in a huff and went into painting. Just saying, you might be putting up with sourpuss for a long, long time....
I use a memory mod to cut down on auto memories (and frankly, I ought to reduce the stuff it does remember), a mod that makes Romantic Reputation less stupid, a couple of quality of life things form AwesomeMod, NRaas story progression, and a mod that eliminates the stupidity of twins and triplets with different zodiac signs.
Connor is a jerk! Clearly the solution is to build an actual house, and then force him to live in the outhouse.
In two out of my 3 plays in Sunset Valley Connor always ends up being BF with my household for some reason. Molly French on the other hand...
As an elder she seduced my main guy...who than brewed a youth elixir for her. She used and became young again. It was all sweet and dandy until after their wedding night...
The next day she joined the mafia...cheated on her husband...and started stealing stuff...
She also got pregnant at the time which was amusing rp wise. (the daughter was my guys though...thankfully)
She got kicked out of the house shortly afterwards...:P
__________________
Awesome FE sprites done by Penguinator
Connor is a jerk! Clearly the solution is to build an actual house, and then force him to live in the outhouse.
Now that is an excellent idea.
Days 2-4
Spoiler
When we last left Stella, she was sleeping over with her new boyfriend. Here's a picture of the happy couple.
By the time Stella wakes up, the sun is already overhead. Breakfast is eaten,
Spoiled PBJs are cleaned up,
Video games are played,
And kisses are shared. Eventually, though It's time for Stella to leave. Sensibly, she decided to visit the library and learn a little more about logic and it's use in fighting ghosts before her first night at work.
Eventually, though, the call comes in.
By the time she's finished banishing a spectral infestation from 2 houses, Stella is famished, and without a fridge, she ends up eating out at Hogan's Deep-fried Diner.
... In her exercise gear, for some reason.
Arriving at the little shack she calls home, Stella pays the bills (A measly 5 simoleons), then goes to bed. Good Night, Stella.
Exhausted from a late night at work (A Ghost Hunter's work hours are from 5 PM to 3 AM!), Stella sleeps until, well, noon. Now that it's been a while since she last saw Connor, she invites him out on a date at the library.
So, last night was your first day at work. Catch any ghosts?
Just a couple of spirits. I sent most to the science facility for study, but one was so cute and friendly I just had to keep him! I named him Casper!
(Here's a picture of Casper on the sink, by the way)
You know, Connor, dealing with ghosts has had me thinking...
About what, Stella?
Well, about mortality. Life is really short. We only live for about ninety days, and it seems a shame to waste even one of them.
Yeah, I suppose it does.
So...
Connor Frio, will you marry me?
Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my go Oh my g Oh my Oh my Ohm Ohm Oh Oh Oh Breathe, kid. Before you invent a new letter symbolizing half an O.
*gasp* I mean... *huff* Yes, Stella, I'll *huff* marry you.
YYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYY!
Can't... Breathe...
AFter something like that, I suppose the next thing Stella did had to be a bit of a let down, but...
Drinking juice in the library, Stella? Really? Wait. What kind of library has a bar in it?
Wait, who's that?
Oh, hi Haley! Congratulations on your new marriage, by the way (Haley and Elan seem to have wasted no time in tieing the knot properly, since they were married within a day of their engagement. Granted, that's typical for sims. And they're not the only couple that got married that day; Emma and Cycl0n3 Sw0rd-Hatch were married yesterday as well, although that was to ensure there were no legal complications over the child they're now expecting.
For some reason, Jared Frio showed up at the library as well... Arguing with some random woman.
You make me want to vomit great swarms of big, buzzing flies! Now that's just cold.
Meanwhile our heroine and her new fiance discussed important details over a game of chess.
So, we're going to do things simple, so no cake, right?
Yeah, that sounds about right.
But we still need the wedding rings, right?
Oh, yes! We can't have a wedding without rings? How else could we say, "With this ring I thee wed!"
And then there's the wedding license to fill out, and-
Connor.
Yes, dear?
Checkmate.
Oh, right, the game. Uh.. Congratulations?
For some reason, winning a game of chess apparently convinced whatever Arcane organization that manages ghost hunters to give Stella a promotion. She's now an ectoplasm cleaner.
Sadly, work calls Stella away from the date, and with a kiss goodbye,
It's off to the diner.
I don't get it. The diner is being haunted, and yet a huge army of sims descends on it to-
Picnic?
After Stella resolves the haunting (apparently a poltergeist had started flinging soup at the customers), she heads of to the Wan/Goddard household. Apparently, despite breaking off their engagement, Pauline Wan and Hank Goddard are still living in the same house. Sims sure are wierd.
Stella, as one would expect from someone who's deepest desire is to become a paranormal investigator, is unphased by this large congregation of spirits.
Pauline Wan, on the other hand...
6 Upset spirits later, Stella heads home exhausted, stopping only to pick up a couple of apples at the grocery store.
So tired, she's still shaking the sleep from her eyes when a very important guest arrives...
No, not Jared Frio.
Wait, what's he doing?
... Really, Jared, really? On your brother's wedding day?
Undettered by his brother's tomfoolery, Connor places the wedding ring on Stella's finger.
(Ooh, pretty!)
And Stella does the same.
(Shiny!)
You may now kiss the bride.
Very good.
Umm... That's enough now...
Oh dear. I'd tell them to get a room, but... they don't have one.
Much better. Now, let's give the newlyweds some privacy, shall we?
That's right, clean that up. Jerk.
Well, at least you're nice enough to make a pancake breakfast for your sister in law.
Wait, did Connor leave that out? Huh. Didn't think he was going to get baby fever that quickly.
Wait, wait, wait. How did Stella manage to change outfits while consummating her marriage? Wait, no, don't tell me. I really don't want to know.
While his new bride gets some well deserved rest, Jared begins his first novel, "The Girl who came from the stars." Aww... That's sweet, Connor.
So, here's the new house. The Frios moving in brought a whopping 70000 Simoleons, so I was able to make the new Master Suite very luxurious.
Spoiler
A good look at the new house. EVERY HOUSE NEEDS A PICTURE OF DEATH AND SUSAN, don't you think?
And this... This is why I didn't let Stella design her own bedroom. Don't worry, Mrs. Solaris, you'll get to design your children's rooms.
And this is the rec room, complete with an inventing station for Stella to come up with new inventions (hopefully without burning the house down).
Jared moved into the outhouse, sleeping in Stella's old, uncomfortable bed, right across from the shower with no hot water. Serves him right, knocking over his brother's fiance's trash can on their wedding day.
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Let's Play The Sims 3: Legacy Challenge
Plus the whole iconic green/white/purple combo. Blame DC.
My favorite meal is Parfaits! What's yours?
Connor...
Now that is an excellent idea.
Good Night, Stella.
