Author Topic: End of the Line Dynasty (4x4)  (Read 179269 times)

Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - Love and Marriage, Part 2 (1 July)
« Reply #420 on: July 02, 2014, 02:24:53 PM »
That wedding was fabulous hazelnut!

Thank you  :D.  I wanted to make up for missing out on the big party for Ellie's wedding and  I'd always felt that Matt was rather neglected in the DecaDynasty.  He only really existed to give Sophia a child to tutor and he didn't have much of a life apart from that, whereas Sophia, as the heir, got a lot of attenton (even though I dislike her supermaxed skill) and Paul was probably the member of the family I played most because of all the travelling.  From the time I started working out the overall story for this dynasty, I'd planned to marry Matt to someone at about this point, and Donna became my favourite potential spouse when she turned out to be so pretty in human form.  As it happened, they were strongly attracted to each other as soon as they met.

The shots were just wonderful ^^

Those wedding photos were amazing!

Thanks.  They certainly took long enough to do (three Sim days and two of my weeks, including the set-building - admittedly much interrupted by real-life events, including two weddings  ;) ) and the discard rate was about twice as high as usual.  I'd not used Pose Player before, so wanted to have a go.  The screenshots I used in the end were a mixture of poses and normal gameplay.

I wouldn't recommend playing such a large household, though, even with 'make needs static' for most of the time.  The game only crashed twice but it took a very long time to get everyone organised and just finding the portrait you want can take quite a while when there are so many  ::).

Who knew that Grim was a sucker for weddings and enjoyed mixology?   ??? Also, I loved seeing the families, especially the Gooles :)

Margaux Goodman's wedding in my DecaDynasty is the only time I've seen Grim appear at a wedding in an actual game and he certainly seemed to enjoy the occasion.  This Grim's turning into a bit of a softie, whatever he claims.

The mixology just happened.  That shot was taken when almost everyone else was posed.  Grim popped a wish to learn mixology, walked over to the bar and got out a shaker - and his assistant happened to be sitting at that table nearby, apparently watching him.

All of the others just stood around chatting or picked up the toddlers for a cuddle when they were unsupervised.  Grim kept wandering off and doing stuff.  Maybe it's his traits: genius, insane and inappropriate  :).

Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty
« Reply #421 on: July 06, 2014, 01:32:47 PM »
Grim’s Little Helpers

“Christabel, William, Tina-Patricia, Joseph, Macy, Louisa, Tavares, Madeleine and Quinton… it is time.  Please come with me.”



“Oh, for graveyards’ sake!  What are you all looking so worried about?  I didn’t mean that your lives are over, simply that I need your help and there’s not much time left.  Emily, I’ll ask Deirdra to collect you and Marabel at a later date.  As for the rest of you, come on!  We have a lot to do.”



“Welcome to my home.  Since this place seems to disconcert humans for some reason, I’ve built you somewhere to stay while you’re here.  This way…



“…And here we are – a little plain but perfectly functional.  Now, you’re probably wondering why I need your help.  As you may have guessed, it involves your descendants.  They are reaching the end of the tasks I set them and I promised Sophia and Samuel that they and their heirs would be revived once that was achieved.  I had originally planned to have everyone resurrected by genies but, as you may have noticed, there appear to be bugs in the process.  Those members of your family who revived ghosts as potential spouses all ran into relationship difficulties as a result.  It may even have contributed to the breakdown of Philip and Ruth’s marriage, although I suspect that it was doomed whatever happened.  That Ruth was a nasty piece of work.

“I have a team of genie scientists looking into the problem and they have concluded that the fault lies in the second stage of the resurrection process, the transformation from living ghost to solid human.  Therefore, unless they isolate the exact problem in the very near future, I feel it safer to complete the process using Ambrosia.  That is why you are here: between you, you possess all of the necessary skills to make the large quantities of Ambrosia that will be needed, as well as Young Again potions for everyone.

“But now, if you will all excuse me, I’m behind schedule: things to do, people to see, souls to reap.  You know how it is.”



And he was gone.



“Typical! Well, I suppose it’s up to me to show you around now.  Come in, everyone.  I think you’ll like the facilities.”



“This is where the genies work.



“We’re not allowed in.  The genie scientists say it’s dangerous for living humans even to enter the room.  Personally, I think they’re just protecting trade secrets.  Not that I’m prepared to risk going in there…

“And this is the potions lab.  We should have everything you need here.  We built the place without windows because, well, you've seen the local scenery, but we can put some in if you'd like –  and if you want anything else, just ask.



“Ground-floor bathroom.  Latest all-in-one plumbing from Isla Paradiso and right next to the lab and workshop, in case of accidents.  The boss doesn’t want to be called in professionally.



“Storeroom.  Empty… or not.  Time machines?  I wonder what he wants those for?



“Through here is the workshop.  I thought this was just for fun but perhaps not, given the time machines.



“Anyway, if you want to learn new skills while you’re here, we're pretty well set up.  There’s a gym and pool in the basement, a huge library, a music room…  Every skill-building object we could think of, really.  Well, apart from telescopes.  There wouldn’t be much point here.  And we also have a roomful of brain-enhancing machines if you want to do it the easy way.

“This is the kitchen.  Grim wanted to make it an Ambrosia factory, pure and simple, but I pointed out that humans do need to eat and we’d rather have a varied diet.  So we now have a fair old stock of ingredients and everything we need to cook them.



“And here we have the human-type science lab.  Tina-Patricia, I know you love gardening.  If anyone can persuade life plants to grow indoors, you can.  We’ve not been doing very well with them so far.



“The pond is stocked with death fish and we plan to breed more in the tanks.



“And finally, we were hoping some of you might want to learn the science skill.  Cloning would be another way to increase our stocks of both fish and plants.



“But I think that’s enough for now.  It’s been a long day.  I’ll show you your rooms and we can tour the rest of the place after you’ve slept…”



Grim hadn’t begun his preparations any too soon.  Over in Starlight Shores, Ellie and Louis returned home from the beach and retired to their room.





Shortly afterwards, Ellie was craving cheesy snacks at all hours and moaning about getting fat, although Louis made it quite clear that he still found her irresistible.



When the labour pains started, Ellie was alone in the house.  Louis was at work and the rest of the family were outside in the garden.  She briefly considered going to hospital but felt that it was only right for the final heir to be born in the family home.  Between contractions, she waddled into her old room.  It was comforting to be surrounded by her beloved childhood friends.  Besides, she could rely on Beauty, Rocky and Bobo not to tell the paparazzi about any unladylike language.



She groaned, pushed and panted – and finally her daughter was born.




Next chapter



Summary – Generation 15

Heir: Eleanor
Traits: Virtuoso, Loves the Outdoors, Ambitious, Charismatic, Natural Born Performer
Lifetime wish: Vocal Legend
Unique maxed career: Singer
Two unique best friends: Jeffrey Oakley, Teri Dupree*
Three unique skill challenges: Amateur Rock Finder, Awesomest Rock Collector in the Universe, Master Guitarist
Four unique opportunities:  Networking is Key, Celebrity Body, Attend Master Class, Kumbaya
Buildings bought this generation:  The Binder Clips Centre, Serenity Bookstore & Spa
Newly-upgraded properties:  Landgraab Sell’n’Swap, Buckshot Lake, Rodeo Go-Go, Brotherhood of Fine Fellows Hall, Community Library
Vacations used: 2 out of 4

*Both of Ellie's best friends were proprietors (although only one of them was from the coffeehouse ;) )



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Offline Rikki8528

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - Grim's Little Helpers (6 July)
« Reply #422 on: July 06, 2014, 02:20:48 PM »
Welcome, Generation 16! Can't wait to find out the name! I really like the facilities myself. Did you build that place?

Offline Shewolf13

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - Grim's Little Helpers (6 July)
« Reply #423 on: July 06, 2014, 03:59:39 PM »
Oooo!  Very cool!  The facilities were awesome!  Welcome little one!

Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - Grim's Little Helpers (6 July)
« Reply #424 on: July 06, 2014, 04:20:34 PM »
Oooo!  Very cool!  The facilities were awesome!  Welcome little one!

Welcome, Generation 16! Can't wait to find out the name! I really like the facilities myself. Did you build that place?

Thanks.  Yes - apart from the Monte Vista house and the one on the little island in Barnacle Bay, I've built all of the houses/sets in this game.


Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty
« Reply #426 on: July 08, 2014, 01:32:34 PM »
The final heir-congratulations!  Looking forward to meeting her  :)

Coming right up  ;).



Baby Naming and Toddler Training

Naturally, the baby’s name was the subject of endless discussion.  While Louis was keen for it to reflect the French side of her heritage, he was thoroughly overruled by Ellie’s relatives.  Obviously the last in the line must have a family name.  For a long time, it was going to be Sam for a boy or Sophia for a girl (or maybe Sophie, as a nod to Louis) but then Ellie, who had developed an enthusiasm for genealogy as her enlarging bump prevented most of her usual activities, discovered how much further back her line extended.

So the sixteenth heir (or the twenty-fourth or twenty-sixth, depending on your point of view) was saddled with a name to honour all three founders of the family, and became Hannah Pauline Gold.  It was quite a lot of name for someone so small but maybe she’d grow into it.  Starting as soon as possible, in fact.





With Louis concentrating on his dream of success as a musician and composer, Ellie became a stay-at-home mum, temporarily ignoring her own career and the frequent irate phone calls from proprietors.  It was their own fault: she’d tried and tried to cancel gigs but they’d refused to listen.  Now they were stuck with the consequences: stage, audience and staff all in attendance but no star.  There must be a lot of disappointed punters out there.

Ellie was sorry for her audiences but teaching her baby her life skills was more important.  Talking lessons came first.  Life would be easier if she could explain why potties and walking were a good idea.  Naturally, she started with music: surely the child of two virtuosi would respond to nursery rhymes?



Apparently not.  Hannah Pauline seemed to enjoy listening to her mother’s singing but showed no interest in learning to sing the songs herself.

So Ellie tried conversation.  Well, monologues.  She was used to social chat with the family or talking to an audience, but this was different.  What could she say to a little person who couldn’t talk back yet?  She chose topics at random, talking about whatever came into her head: the awkwardness of proprietors, how she’d met Louis, her annoying agent.

“And now she says I should think about a makeover; change my image.  Get some new clothes and shoes…”
“Shoes!”



Ellie supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised: her daughter was half-French, after all.  She must have inherited an interest in fashion.  Continuing with that train of thought, she moved on to food.



Success!  Even baby milk was an interesting subject, it seemed.  Soon they were chattering away about all the different meals Hannah Pauline could try when she was a little older.  Somewhat to Ellie’s relief, the lesson was cut short by bedtime.  She’d never been interested in cooking and was running out of foods to talk about.

The following day, she moved on to the subject of dynastic duties.  If her daughter was keen on fashion, maybe she could be a stylist when she grew up.  But styling needed the painting skill and it seemed that art was even more boring than music.



“But you do need to have a job.”
“Job!”

Was Hannah going to be a workaholic like her father?

With communication mastered, Ellie tried teaching her daughter to walk – and found that they were more alike than she’d realised.  The rest of the family were given to reminding her at embarrassing moments about her initial reluctance to get up from the floor and Hannah Pauline clearly felt the same way.  She was quite comfy where she was, thank you very much.



Ellie left that problem for another day and moved on to potty training.



As the little girl’s next birthday approached, she was still refusing to do more than be pulled to her feet, stand wobbling for a moment or two and then plop back down onto her bottom.  “No!” had become her favourite word.

Then Ellie had an inspiration: why not go outside?  Maybe if Hannah Pauline could see the big wide world out there, she’d be motivated to explore it.  The weather was warm and sunny and the grass would provide a softer landing than a wooden floor.  Besides, Ellie herself was always happiest outdoors.  If she was more relaxed, it might rub off on her daughter.



Gradually, they made progress.



As evening fell and it grew cooler, they moved back indoors.  For once, Ellie had an appointment that she didn’t want to miss but she carried on as long as she could.  Hannah was so close to being self-propelled now.



The limo was hooting impatiently.  Ellie gave her daughter a final hug and ran out to the waiting car.  There was a SimFest at the Brotherhood of Fine Fellows’ Hall tonight.  She’d won one at Rodeo Go-Go early in her career but she’d never competed at a higher level and it would be good to remind her fans that she still existed.  She admitted to herself that she was a little worried about the venue.  The only time she’d played there was the night her parents had died and she’d superstitiously avoided the place ever since.  It was high time she laid that fear to rest.

She arrived, had a word with the proprietor and waited for her turn.  There was only time for a short set but it went well – her audience clearly hadn’t forgotten her.  She ended with an abbreviated version of Oogie Fever (of course), left the stage to cheers and settled down to watch the remaining acts.  Then the proprietor bounded back on to the stage and announced the result: she had won.

As she was accepting the award, her phone rang and she panicked.  Had something happened to Louis or Hannah?

No, they were fine.  It was her uncle Dan.






Next chapter



RIP, Daniel Gold.  He didn’t appear much in the story but was probably the most exploited Sim in the whole dynasty: without him, Ellie couldn’t have completed two of her challenges while still a teen and her collection wouldn’t be nearly as impressive.  Although he also found time to max fishing and gardening, he was primarily a logician, becoming my first Sim to discover 100 stars.



He was also the unfortunate possessor of the largest pair of ears since Mike’s, something that became very obvious in old age:





Since this chapter ended up being a little light on the pictures, here are a few random screenshots from the last few generations.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)



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Offline Shewolf13

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - Baby Naming and Toddler Training (8 July)
« Reply #427 on: July 08, 2014, 04:13:24 PM »
Awww, Hannah is adorable!  And that certainly is a lot of name for a little girl.  But it suits her.  Can't believe this is the last generation!  I know it must seem forever since you started, but in some ways, it's gone so fast too!


Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - Baby Naming and Toddler Training (8 July)
« Reply #429 on: July 09, 2014, 04:29:12 PM »
Awww, Hannah is adorable!  And that certainly is a lot of name for a little girl.  But it suits her.

Hannah is so cute! She's got some big shoes to fill but I have no doubt she'll be fine :)

She's now a teenager in-game and still cute - possibly the best-looking of the heirs.  She was quite a serious child, totally unlike her mother.  Either she's very aware of her responsibilities or it's just that she's desperately short of company her own age  ;).

Can't believe this is the last generation!  I know it must seem forever since you started, but in some ways, it's gone so fast too!

I just had to go and check the dates.  It's been over ten months now - much longer than any other game I've played (almost) continuously.  I can't decide whether I can't wait to finish or want to draw it out.  It usually depends on how infuriating the bugs are being on a particular day :).

Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty
« Reply #430 on: July 12, 2014, 02:43:49 AM »
A Matter of Time

“Everyone, thank you for agreeing to help.  Macy, I have heard that you feel less needed than the others.  In fact, you are essential to the plan.”



“I asked you all to come here now so that I can explain why.  I gather you have seen the time machines in the storeroom downstairs.  Madeleine, I owe you an apology: they are family heirlooms.  I borrowed them while you were at the wedding reception.  They were made by your ancestress Andi Goodman, a gifted inventor.  After standing outside for generations, the casings are starting to rust but I believe that the internal mechanisms are still intact.  I would like you, Macy, to check them over and restore them.  Then we need to install the improved controls and guidance system that you and the Darers developed to enable William to rescue his missing daughters.  This mission will be far more complex than merely returning to Twinbrook’s past.

“We have the task of retrieving both the gravestones and the living humans from Hidden Springs, Monte Vista and Barnacle Bay in time for the family reunion…”

“But you brought us here easily enough.”



“Easy, was it?  I’d like to see you try.



“No, transporting you was relatively simple because my world is currently aligned with yours.  Collecting the family from Starlight Shores will also be reasonably straightforward.  You must have been aware that the relative speeds of your descendants’ lives and your own have been changing.  After Samuel and Sophia settled in Hidden Springs, I progressively accelerated their timeframe.  It is now slowing again.  The process should be complete by the time Hannah Pauline reaches adulthood, allowing her to come here when she has completed her tasks.

“But the other places present problems.  Each time your descendants moved to a new town, I placed their old home into stasis to make it easier to keep track of every family member.  That is why Michael, India and Abigail were unable to communicate with those they had left behind: for their relatives, no time has passed since they left.



“However, such frozen worlds are almost impossible to access, even for me – and I feel that this task is better suited to humans.  For some reason, people tend to get upset when I appear.  You would be far more likely to succeed in persuading the living to join us here.  The problem is getting you into and out of the place unharmed.

“Ordinary time machines would offer some protection and Andi’s should be superior – her workmanship and attention to detail were superb.  With your improvements, they should be adequate for the task – although I'm sure these things would be easier with a LLAMA…”



“Did he say llama?”



“And so, in conclusion…”
“Look!  Sparkles!



“Hannah’s having a birthday!”



Grim never got to finish his speech.




Next chapter



Sorry for the short chapter.  It was originally intended to go with the next episode of the main story but there ended up being too many screenshots for one post.



I’ve put the Barnacle Bay house up on the Swap Shop.  It was almost ready for posting weeks ago, together with their chalet from Hidden Springs, but then I somehow forgot about it.

Offline butterfly

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Re: Re: End of the Line Dynasty - A Matter of Time (12 July)
« Reply #431 on: July 12, 2014, 07:28:55 AM »
Haha I love how Grim's speech has been interrupted by Hannah's birthday. :P The house looks amazing, I will definitely download it :D
My TS3 Dynasty: Avilla TDD

Offline hazelnut

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - A Matter of Time (12 July)
« Reply #432 on: July 12, 2014, 10:01:46 AM »
I love how well you compose the pictures.

Thank you.  The screenshots for this chapter involved some trait changing and 'move objects' used on Sims, plus a random townie to have the birthday that they were really reacting to.  She was also the active Sim while the screenshots were being taken, to avoid in-shot plumbobs.  Then there was rather a lot of Photoshopping...

It's so cool how many ancestors you've been able to include throughout this dynasty story. Congratulations on making it to the final heir!

I did wonder at times about whether it was worth having the two parallel stories.  It's certainly made putting the story together much slower - but I like the Gooles and always loved Maddy, who is probably the most excitable Sim I've played.  It's been good to have an excuse to get them out of the Sim Bin again.  Now the stories are coming together, I'm glad I went down this route.

Haha I love how Grim's speech has been interrupted by Hannah's birthday. :P The house looks amazing, I will definitely download it :D

Yeah, well, I kind of ran out of steam when writing his speech - then it occurred to me that putting the screenshots of Hannah's child birthday on the TV screen would be a way to wriggle out of finishing it :).

I'm also fond of the house.  I keep being tempted by that Nautical Living set at the Store and this would be the place to put it.  The house is based on a number of places where we've stayed on holiday in Devon, Cornwall and Wales (although rather larger) and I keep thinking that one of those slightly cheesy displays of knots is just what it needs :).  It's likely to get adapted and re-used when/if the Household Skills family get to Barnacle Bay.

Offline Malley

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - A Matter of Time (12 July)
« Reply #433 on: July 12, 2014, 11:35:32 AM »
Happy birthday, Hannah! Her birthday is far more important than anything Grim had to say anyway ;D

Offline smartburn

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Re: End of the Line Dynasty - A Matter of Time (12 July)
« Reply #434 on: July 12, 2014, 11:59:36 AM »
From what you've said about Hannah Pauline's name, I can guess where the Pauline came from but what about Hannah? Is that supposed to be after Ana, or something else? I've read your deca summary, and your life states story, can't remember if you did an immortal dynasty though.