Author Topic: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge  (Read 22171 times)

Offline hazelnut

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (updated 11/1/15)
« Reply #30 on: January 12, 2016, 04:09:13 PM »
The apt naming of Axxi Dent was a stroke of shear brilliance!

Thank you :).  I'd been hoping for an alien baby just so that I could use the name.

Also, love how you left us with a catastrophic meteor disaster.  Way to put us on the edge of our seats waiting for the next update!

Unlike Pippin, I am opposed to the suspense. End it posthaste, please!

Next update coming right up.

That's a great screenshot of the meteor explosion. Everything in the background is so scenic and peaceful til boom.

How to spoil a pretty sunset.

After all the spontaneous meteor strikes my game produces, I still can't believe I was mad enough to cause one deliberately  :-\.

Offline hazelnut

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge
« Reply #31 on: January 12, 2016, 04:35:54 PM »
The End

Somehow, everyone survived – including Descen, who’d been standing almost underneath when it hit.

54.Meteor.jpg

The bunker was wrecked, though, even four floors down.  Fortunately, the irreplaceable things, like the paintings and the chef’s fridge, survived unscathed.  Almost everything else was reduced to scrap.

55.Damage.jpg

56.Damage.jpg

57.Damage.jpg

It was just as well they’d become obscenely rich recently.  The top floor was reinstated, with a few upgrades.  The next floor down was completely rebuilt, with comfortable beds for the three who needed to sleep.  Descen had his own locked room, so that he could carry on writing even if someone else wanted to play computer games.

Rebuild.jpg

After school the following day, Descen toured the science facility with the largest meteorite in his inventory – and Alien Tech was unlocked.  All of the reward objects apart from the moodlet manager were now available, if they had the points.  Axxi bought a collection helper to make it easier to find rocks, even though it seemed pretty pointless now.  There were more than enough already on the lot to keep her brain energy motive filled for the rest of her life.  She could have left at this point – but most of the appliances and plumbing were new and breakable.  Having someone around who could recombobulate them was very useful.



Stride became a rock star minutes before celebrating his adult birthday.

59.Stride_adult_BD.jpg

With Entertainment unlocked, he could buy sheet music and play for tips.  He spent a day learning all of the guitar pieces, then bought Apocalypse Park and installed a subway.  It took just over two hours to complete the Money Maker challenge.

He maxed athletic, then looked around for something else to do.  Why not analyse some space rocks?  Having become an Amateur Rock Collector with the stuff that was stockpiled around the house, he borrowed Axxi’s collection helper and spent a few days chasing around Lucky Palms in search of the missing specimens.

Sue reached the top of the forensic career.

SueLTW.jpg

That was the last of the required lifts: the Dents had restored civilisation to Lucky Palms.  The challenge was technically finished. 

Not that I was stopping yet – Sue was still a couple of points short of maxing athletic and Descen needed another best-selling novel, half a point of writing skill and a masterpiece painting to complete his lift.  It might be optional and now completely pointless but I wasn’t going to leave it unfinished.

And then there was Stride.  A few hours after Sue achieved her lifetime wish, the space rock collection had the once-desired effect.

60.Stride_abduction.jpg

The game was clearly trying to tell me something.  Even though Alien Tech had already been unlocked, I decided to have a second go.  Calling down a meteor had felt a bit like cheating – and anyway I’d never been in control of a flying saucer before  8).  The following day, Stride invited his abductor to visit and Axxi lost no time in befriending her and asking her to move in.

Amki Ne’Xafughos was old.  Staggeringly old, given that life expectancy on this setting was 90 days.

61.Ancient_Alien.jpg

Fortunately, the family had a generous supply of death flowers.  Amki was given one at once.

She upgraded her Galaxa for space travel and then spent the rest of her time in the active household enjoying all the odd things Earthlings filled their houses with.  And flirting.  Despite the considerable age gap, Amki and Axxi were madly attracted to one another and were soon a couple.

Axxi took several trips to the moon, Sixam and the asteroid belt in her girlfriend’s ship and, only four days into the permitted week, had accumulated over §2500-worth of treasures, completing the requirements for unlocking Alien Tech for the second time.

64.Space_treasures.jpg

Meanwhile, Descen had written his fifth bestseller.  About two pages into his next book, he maxed the skill and finished off his lifetime wish.   He turned back to art and, shortly after Axxi’s last spaceflight, painted his first masterpiece.

62.Descen_finished.jpg

And that really was the end.



Generation 5

Stride Dent

Stride.jpg

Traits: virtuoso, loves the outdoors, ambitious, athletic, workaholic
Career: Music (rock)
Unlock: Entertainment
Maxed skills: guitar, athletic
New skill challenges: Master Guitarist, Money Maker, Amateur Rock Finder, Awesomest Rock Collector in the Universe
LTW: Rock Music

Sue Perrin Tenn Dent

Sue.jpg

Traits: artistic, couch potato, brave, genius, ambitious
Career: Law Enforcement (Forensic)
Unlock: Forensic
Maxed skills: painting, athletic
New skill challenges: Proficient Painter, Brushmaster
LTW: Dynamic DNA Profiler

Axxi Dent

Axxi.jpg

Traits: good, friendly, over-emotional, ambitious, charismatic
Career: Alien Test Subject
Maxed skills: athletic, gardening
LTW: Swimming in Cash
 
Descen Dent

Descen.jpg

Traits: artistic, couch potato, bookworm, born salesman, hates the outdoors
Unlocks: Alien Tech, Comforting Children
Maxed skills: Painting, writing
New skill challenges: Consignment Store Reputation, Consignment Profit, Speed Writer
LTW: Illustrious Author



Bonus scoring categories

Books collected: 100 (= 10 points)

These were from school and career opportunities, spouses’ inventories, buying bookcases and (mostly) stealing from base camps and university dormitories – although it wasn’t mentioned in the story, Stride went briefly to uni after completing his LTW.  Axxi went twice.  I really regret not joining the Book Club as soon as it was allowed and getting books the easy way.

Gnomes: 10

65.Gnomes.jpg

The score’s capped at 10 and the vampire gnome doesn’t count anyway – despite Axxi’s sizeable garden of plasma fruit bushes, she only appeared on the very last day of play, after I’d finished the challenge.

Collectables: 60

Again, that's the capped score.  I have no idea how many different ones they found.  Given that space rocks, gems, metals, insects, plants and fish all count, the number must be in the hundreds.  Sixty assorted collectables were kept in a chest in the lowest basement and, fortunately, survived the meteor strike even though the chest was scorched.

Lifetime wishes completed: 18 (score capped at 15)
Skill challenges completed: 43 (score capped at 40)

Sims with maxed athletic skill: 19 (probably)
I think Axxi counts but Sue finished after the official end of the challenge, so I just missed the maximum score.
Sims from outside the household trained in athletics: 0
I decided I couldn’t be bothered with that one.

Household funds: >§2,000,000 (=10 points)

Large tombstones: 5 (=15 points)

66.Tombstones.jpg

Unused ageing-off days: 10

Total bonus score: 189 (or 170?  I’m not sure whether the athletic score counts without the training.)



Family tree

Tree_small.jpg



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Offline PeregrineTook

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (updated 12/1/15)
« Reply #32 on: January 12, 2016, 07:09:42 PM »
Congrats on finishing a super-confusing-and-challenging challenge!
I really enjoyed this.  Not sure I'll try this whole thing, but I did get some ideas that I may contort into a project of my own (which in all honesty, I started planning out shortly after starting reading this).
Kudos!


Offline Magpie2012

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (updated 12/1/15)
« Reply #34 on: January 12, 2016, 09:27:19 PM »
Really cool! Congratulations on finishing a challenge I don't have the cajones to even try!

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because... Math *Pippin The Most Tenacious Simmer*

Only 2 things are infinite... The universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe. *Albert Einstein*

Don't believe all the quotes that have been attributed to me. *Albert Einstein*

I can't ignore ALL of the voices in my head - Some of them actually make sense! *Blayzen*


Offline Nutella

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (complete)
« Reply #36 on: January 17, 2016, 11:23:11 AM »
Congratulations on completion.  I'm moving this to the completed board.



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Offline oshizu

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (complete)
« Reply #37 on: January 28, 2016, 04:03:02 PM »
I haven't played Sims 3 since the vampires came out (my laptop died) but have been playing Sims 4 again.

I very thoroughly enjoyed reading your playthrough of the Apocalypse Challenge!!!
Congratulations on completing it. 

Offline hazelnut

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (complete)
« Reply #38 on: January 31, 2016, 02:47:35 AM »
Congratulations on completion.  I'm moving this to the completed board.

Thanks, Nutella :).

I haven't played Sims 3 since the vampires came out (my laptop died) but have been playing Sims 4 again.

I very thoroughly enjoyed reading your playthrough of the Apocalypse Challenge!!!
Congratulations on completing it. 

Thank you.  I'm glad you enjoyed it  :).  It was fun to play (apart from the computer malfunctions, which weren't the challenge's fault).

Offline Ausette

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (complete)
« Reply #39 on: December 07, 2016, 01:49:27 AM »
Crazy late, I know. But congratulations on finishing :D ! I really enjoyed this story and am impressed by your strategic skills as always. Not gonna lie, you've inspired me to maybe give the challenge a shot myself. What do you think were the hardest parts of the apocalypse challenge for you?

Offline hazelnut

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (complete)
« Reply #40 on: December 07, 2016, 05:12:41 PM »
Thank you :).  The hardest part by far was getting my head around the rules.  I constructed one of my epic spreadsheets to keep track - I'd offer you a copy but I bet they've changed the rules again by now.  The initial set-up and deciding which lift to do with Arthur took longer than they probably should have done but after that it all kind of flowed from what had gone before.  Once you've started, it's actually a lot more straightforward than it appears.  It's just a case of attacking the next unlock.

Logic and athletics are never a waste of time with anyone.

The TS3AC website has a lot of useful advice, although some of it is quite well hidden, and I'd recommend reading the Instructional Apocalypse.  It was played to an older ruleset but is a good general strategy guide.

Offline Ausette

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Re: Repairing Dents – An Apocalypse Challenge (complete)
« Reply #41 on: December 09, 2016, 06:30:58 PM »
Thanks so much for the response! I just finished the Instructional Apocolypse, makes the challenge seem a lot more achievable. :)