Questions about the Legacy Challenge

[joandsarah77]

I always thought the reason for starting on a large empty lot was so the sim started with little money or possessions making it more interesting to watch and more challenging to play. I think it's more fun myself, but then I really enjoy a hard start. Also I think if you have built a house from scratch it feels good to see how the house evolves. I think many of us just start out with ticky tacky boxes but end up with something surprisingly good. Soon as I have the cash I start building mine to a house plan. I'm not a great builder, but I can follow a house plan with some degree of resemblance. From having a horrible house at the start I am quite proud of the house I built, to a plan, during my re-build.

[Devilfish]

That's a good point. The only reason I want to do a Legacy is because I'm a bit bored with my game and I'd like a good challenge. Now I don't really know what to do anymore...

[ScribalGoddess]

You may have answered this already, but what do you think of people who may... bend the rules slightly because they're using the challenge to tell a story? Not the usual cheats, with maxmotives and such, but things such as using auxillary lots and neighborhoods to stage scenes you wouldn't be able to do under legacy rules in the real household. Or people who, for reasons of plot, need to make simselves or imports into custom townies (or who just needed a couple of townies with elf ears and rolled for their other genetics and personalities.)
Lastly, how do you feel about the "short version" legacies, like the Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge? I realize it's not as long of a commitment as the regular 10 generation legacy, but in my opinion, the first three generations are the hardest anyway - after that, a family is going to be fairly wealthy.

[Devilfish]

I'm doing pretty much the same thing, creating custom townies, using mods and such... Nothing like cheating, no buyable aspiration rewards or money hacks or anything like that. If you're not playing for points and mention that you're playing this way, nobody would mind. I think the only thing that really matters is that pictures are nice and the story is fun. That's all I care about anyway.

I also have a question of my own. My second generation is ready to move to college, and I want them to start a Greek House. I've been reading the threads here and there's talk of a placeholder. I presume this is so the house doesn't revert back to residential when the playables move out, but how exactly does it work?

[ScribalGoddess]

I'm pretty sure that as long as you have a full member of the greek house living in the greek house, they keep their charter. Also, it allows the next generation to get pledged into the greek house, and prevents the game from deleting your college pictures. A greek house looses it's charter if it's empty just like a business in OFB looses it's rank if it's sold.
How to work it: pick anyone, spare, playable, dormie or whoever, who is friends with people in the greek house and let them pledge. Then, you should move them in when they have more time left in college than the youngest person in the greek house. They will therefore stay until after your second generation has graduated, and you needn't play them again until generation three.
Hope this helps, Devilfish!

[Devilfish]

So, when generation 3 rolls around, do I need to repeat the process? Pick another placeholder so he/she is the youngest member?
Gah, I have no idea why this is so difficult for me to grasp! I'm usually a lot less stupid, but this is frying my brain for some reason. Must be the heat.

[ScribalGoddess]

Um, yes. This is what cousins are good for.

[Devilfish]

Alright, I get it now. Thanks a lot

[joandsarah77]

No one replied to these.

what do you think of people who may... bend the rules slightly because they're using the challenge to tell a story?

I do this. Last chapter I moved the heir and intended and his brother onto a lot to stage the heirship challenge chapter. They lived there a few days with maxmotives and aging off while I shot everything.
Technically by the time that was finished and i moved the heir back to the main house nothing for him had changed since graduating Uni except he may have gained and lost some aspiration points and I set his aspiration level to green. Probably my loss rather than his gain though.

people who, for reasons of plot, need to make simselves or imports into custom townies

I see nothing wrong with making simselves into townies. I think it's ok for spouses too, sometimes. Although if the writer does this and uses a pretty face one every time I think it takes away something. Makes the spouse less interesting. Rather than having who the next spouse is as an interest point, it's more like 'oh this again' It's a bit boring. I think taking a risk with the genetics is more fun. Maybe not fun for the writer who ends up with stabby death nose for seven generations but more fun for the readers anyway.

how do you feel about the "short version" legacies, like the Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge?

I love my OWBC! I'm sure I will do another one after I finish my current one. With the regular legacy...I keep wondering if I should make mine short. Not that mine are wealthy in that they have lots of cash at hand, it was all spent re building them a house and buying back the businesses. I figure too much cash just means another business is needed. But then OFB is my favourite EP and isn't loved by everyone. I guess like an alphabet legacy people could start over every three generations on a blank lot.

[ScribalGoddess]

Well, I admit to screwing up on the actually making custom townies - I hadn't used boolprop before, and didn't know that you could. (I thought you needed simPE or something.) Then I was like "Hey, since the legacy is really more about how the group of immigrants fits into a modern neighborhood, I'll just let them marry other immigrants." Especially since I'd already fried the scoring thing by using modded objects.
Erm, please don't hate me Pinstar. I'm a storyteller at heart.

[joandsarah77]

I never touch Boolprop, because I'm scared of it. But I have made a townie on the sim summoner from simlogical. Although even that made me nervous. I wanted to make a custom cat for the pet adoption pool, so after placing them on a lot I just selected 'make townie' and she immediately became a townie and walked off the lot.

[ScribalGoddess]

I use boolprop occasionally now, though I prefer sim-blender for the cheaty type stuff that I use it for in spare lots. Also, I can't have a pregnancy without whipping out the ficus every few hours to check on it - I figure that hey, I'm not changing anything with the monitor, so I can use it on legacy lots just to check that things are all right. (Or to prepare me for naming twins.) And that the latest Greenman pregnancy really was the seventy-five hours I thought it was.
I've been making custom dormies like crazy, because I need a pool of elf-eared sims at SSU, and I've promised myself to stop, for plotty reasons, at a certain point in the story. However, I will probably make one specifically for one of my extra spawn, as I'll feel less guilty about where his role in the legacy is going if he gets a cute guy out of it in the end.

[joandsarah77]

I have the blender now, although again some of the options on it make me nervous. I always think I will make something go kaboom if I'm not careful. The main thing I use it for is to check on pregnancy. Seeing options such as 'make pregnant with' and then one of the name being the sims self or daughter make me go Not touching! But spares you can do anything you like with.

[ScribalGoddess]

Not entirely anything, Jo. The dawn of the next generation will see me visiting the cave quite frequently. And that's all I'm saying there.

[Devilfish]

Alright, I am fully aware that this is a ridiculous question, but hear me out.

I'm struggling to figure out how to label my legacy chapters, numerically speaking. Most legacies start at 1.1, then when the second generation 'takes charge' so to speak the new chapters start at 2.1, then 3.1 for the third and so on. What I'd like to know is when you go from 1.# to 2.1, traditionally. Is it when the members of the previous generation die, when the new generation starts dominating the story, or something else?

The reason I'm asking is because there's so many legacies, I assume there's a general consensus for that sort of thing and I haven't quite figured out what that is yet. I'd just like to comply to the standard, if there is one, to make things as easy and familiar as possible for the readers.

I hope I've made myself clear, this is actually rather hard to explain

[joandsarah77]

I believe it's when the next heir comes home from Uni. I really wish I had started my chapters this way, but it's too late for me to change now I think.

[Chemic]

There's no real standard to labeling chapters. Some, like Jo stated, start when the next gen officially takes over (turning into adults). Although I've also seen (and done) ones where they start at college. Or, you could just do what others do and just label each chapter numerically (not having any .2 or .5 unless the chapter is in parts).

[Devilfish]

I think I'll do it like Jo said, when they come home from Uni. It sounds easiest. Thanks very much!

[ScribalGoddess]

Um, I've been using when the generation is born. Because my founder isn't generation one, but zero, and that helps me keep track of things better. I fail at keeping it all in order with the interludes and numbering, though. I might end up going "here's generation one" and then just listing the titles.

[Devilfish]

Um, I've been using when the generation is born. Because my founder isn't generation one, but zero, and that helps me keep track of things better. I fail at keeping it all in order with the interludes and numbering, though. I might end up going "here's generation one" and then just listing the titles.

God, I completely misread that. I thought you said "here's generation one" and then just listing the t***ies

Anyway, using zero for the founder generation is a good idea. I wish I'd done that. Maybe next time.