It’s 2036, and the world has gone to hell. Literally. After the outbreak of a mysterious virus that turned most of the world’s population into Grilled-Cheese Zombies (similar to the Ice Cream Zombie), life as you knew it ended. Fortunately, you and your family managed to build a rudimentary fortress and wait out the war. Now that the immediate threat has been isolated, life has begun to return to normal. However, you must work to rebuild civilization.

To begin:
1) Roll a six-sided die. This is the number of Sims you can have in your family. (For the purposes of this challenge, if you roll a one, you will have 2 Sims; if you roll a 2, 3 Sims, and so on.

2) Once you have determined the number of Sims in your family, roll again for each Sim.
a. Even numbers = Good traits (Ambitious, Angler, Artistic, Athletic, Bookworm, Brave, Charismatic, Computer Whiz, Daredevil, Family-Oriented, Friendly, Frugal, Genius, Good, Good Sense of Humor, Great Kisser, Green Thumb, Handy, Light Sleeper, Loves the Outdoors, Lucky, Natural Cook, Neat, Never Nude, Unflirty, Vegetarian, Virtuoso, Workaholic)

b. Odd numbers = Bad traits (Absent-Minded, Can’t Stand Art, Childish, Clumsy, Commitment Issues, Couch Potato, Coward, Dislikes Children, Easily Impressed, Evil, Excitable, Flirty, Grumpy, Hates the Outdoors, Heavy Sleeper, Hopeless Romantic, Hot-Headed, Hydrophobic, Inappropriate, Insane, Kleptomaniac, Loner, Loser, Mean-Spirited, Mooch, Neurotic, No Sense of Humor, Over-Emotional, Party Animal, Perfectionist, Schmoozer, Slob, Snob, Technophobe, Unlucky)

3) Because you will be raising a family “from scratch,” it is advisable to make one male and one female Sim (at minimum) in the Young Adult age group. No CAS-based Sims may be aged Teen or lower.

Buy any size lot (empty) and build a house. The size is up to you. However, you may only have the following items:
1) The cheapest stove and fridge
2) Cheapest toilet
3) Cheapest bed(s)
4) The cheapest bookshelf (ONLY ONE)
5) You may also, before officially starting the challenge, buy 5 seeds of your choice from the supermarket. ONLY FIVE. These are, within the context of the story, the seeds that one of the more savvy members of your party managed to salvage before the Great War.

In addition, you MAY NOT:
1) Have any lighting fixtures
2) Have any vehicles
3) Go fishing (the rivers, lakes, and streams are far too polluted from chemical warfare used to eradicate the virus, and some zombies are still living at the bottoms of bodies of water). This will be reversed as the challenge progresses (see below).

Basic Rules:
1)You may NOT go to any community lots (with the exception of work places) until certain requirements have been met to “unlock” these locations (which will be described below).
2)Until Level 5 of the Medical career track has been reached (unlocking the Hospital), ALL BABIES MUST BE HOME BIRTHS. Parenting books are not allowed.

Unlocking Locations:
***To unlock a location or item, you must first reach a designated level in a certain career path related to said location or item. For example:
-To unlock gyms and parks: Reach level 10 of Athletic Career.
-To unlock hospital: Reach level 10 of the Medical Career.
-To unlock grocery stores: Reach level 10 of the Science Career.
-To unlock movie theaters and all other social-based community lots (such as the spa and restaurants): Reach level 10 of the Journalism career.
-To unlock bookstores and libraries: Reach level 10 of the Political career.

Unlocking Items and Activities:
-To unlock fire alarms, burglar alarms, and phones, you must reach level 5 of the Military OR Law Enforcement career track.
-To unlock all other electronic equipment, telescopes, sinks, showers, and tubs, you must reach level 5 of the Science career. To unlock FISHING, you must reach level 10 of the Science career.
-To unlock fitness equipment, you must reach level 5 of the athletic career.
-To unlock the bookstore (and books beyond the basic ones that come with the bookshelf), you must reach level 5 of the Business career.
-To unlock better stoves, fridges, and all other kitchen equipment, you must reach level 5 of the Culinary career.
-To unlock creative equipment (easels, guitars, etc.), you must reach level 5 of the Music career.
-To unlock mirrors, you must reach level 5 of the Business OR Political career.
-To unlock novel writing, you must reach level 5 of the Journalism career.
-For all other items and activities, such as cars, you must reach level 5 of the Criminal career.

!!! You may purchase a bicycle upon unlocking the first community location. !!!

IF YOU HAVE THE WA EXPANSION: You may NOT travel, under ANY circumstances, until you have reached level 10 of the Law Enforcement AND Military career tracks. It is simply not safe to venture away from your fortress until order has been restored. Although the immediate zombie threat has been taken care of, there are still raiders and looters with murderous intent prowling the streets.

cool i will try this

Im sooooooooooo doing this challenge, I sorta cheated and bought alot of seeds to grow, I got find a way to built a fence around the fortresss, no fortress is complete without a fence.

Wait I'm a little bit confused. Since we are rebuilding civilization does that mean the only people in the neighborhood will be the ones in the fortress?

Eh, whatever, I'm doing this challenge anyways. Thanks for posting this iamthecure.

Sounds like fun. I'll definitely use "destroyallhumans" to make the atmosphere complete.

I don't think I'm going to start this until after the world builder is released. Idk why but for some reason I want to create a brand new neighborhood for this challenge.......with post-apocalyptic looking buildings. Lol I'm going all out.

Hmm, I'm a little tempted to make some grilled-cheese zombies as well. I've seen some great custom content to make sims look zombieish (lol I don't even think that's a word)

This looks like a great challenge. I have a question though - do baby cribs count as "other items" that require unlocking by Criminal career? What about potty chairs and toys?

I would make a world, but Sims 3 Create a World doesnt work but Id love to make ruined buildings and post apocalypse stuff but I cant, could some one upload one, I'd love to do this challenge or atleast start it like I said I would, I can make grilled cheese zombies with the blue skin tone that comes with the game but Im busy messing with my game, its borking again.

I have a question--can you upgrade your stuff before you've reached the required level (i.e, upgrade your stove before reaching level 5 of the culinary career)?

This sounds like a fun challenge! A few questions --

-- Are decorative objects to make a lot more visually interesting okay? I've got my Zom-poc survivors squatting in an old factory and I'd like to spruce it up a little with some grunge.

-- How about collecting objects? Seeds, rocks, bugs, etc? (I am guessing that seeds are okay, but bugs & rocks can't be sold until they're unlocked?) And photography for WA?

Well, I've been playing this challenge for a few days now, and I thought of a few suggestions for rules that aren't yet covered here (feel free to take or leave as you like).

New Rules:

* Until grocery stores are unlocked, Sims cannot prepare meals for which they do not have the ingredients (ie, where you pay $ to make it). They can eat Quick Meals (stockpiled food) or use vegetables grown in the garden once they have them.

* Any objects found by using the "Rummage through Trash" options can be used as normal; they are 'scavenged' and therefore OK for purposes of the challenge.

* Any seeds may be collected and planted. Rocks and bugs may be collected, but rocks can't be sent away to be cut until Politics 10 is unlocked (no long distance mail until then). Bugs can be taken to the Science lab to be sold once Science 5 is unlocked.

* You may purchase as much seating as you need, but it must always be the cheapest of its kind. Full seating is unlocked by Business 5. (Craftspeople aren't making furniture or trading it until the economy gets going - you can use what you 'scavenge').

* Decorative items are allowed, provided they're thematic - grungy or miscellaneous use for ambiance purposes are fine, $10,000 paintings are not. No room is allowed to be higher than 'decorated' on the mood scale. All decor items are unlocked by reaching any one of Painting/Music/Writing 10.

Amended Rules:

* I found the light fixture rule super restrictive, so I made a caveat - Sims can have -one- light feature per floor in the house, but only in a windowless room. Lights attract zombies, so they can't be used where they can be seen from a distance. (Thematically, the candles/kerosene lamp are best, as they don't require electricity).

* Though it wasn't specifically denied anywhere, I let my Sims have a football (1) and a fire pit, based on the idea that they were things that wouldn't rely on electricity, and because they were kind of going insane from lack of things to do. (I am not as mean as I should be.) This is totally optional. The fire pit was great for ambiance, though, as they all huddled around it in the dark looking sad. :D

* I found that the Athletic skill was basically impossible to level initially, as jogging doesn't become available until Athletics 1. My compromise on this was to allow the use of the cheapest radio for 1 hour a day, representing a battery-powered tape player or emergency radio. Once jogging opens up, they're fine. If you're hardcore you can avoid using the radio until Science 5 is unlocked, of course.

* No service Sims are available until Law Enforcement 5 is unlocked. People won't travel around to clean things for you unless it's safe to do so. (The exception to this would be to cancel the newspaper or adopt a child -- there are plenty of orphans in a post apocalyptic world that need a home, if you have one to provide). If something breaks, fix it yourself. No babysitters, maids or gardeners.

* If you have WA the travel restrictions still apply, _unless_ the only Sim travelling is a member of the Law Enforcement or Military career and is level 5 or above. It's not safe to travel for anyone else, but soldiers and cops do have the option of taking the risk.
-- Totally Optional Rules for Dangerous Travel:

• You may only sleep in tents that you carry with you, or at the rough camp sites in each locale. No using the 'base camp' with its fancy showers.
• You may only bring one item home with you. Choose wisely.
• No calling long distance, either on vacation or back at home. Communication lines are still down.
• You must attempt at least one tomb per visit.
• Any artifacts must be sold prior to returning, unless it is your '1' item _or_ it's unique. Unique items may be placed in Family Inventory immediately on return and can only be placed out when Decor items are unlocked.
• No Fishing in foreign locales unless it's been unlocked at home.
• A camera does not count toward your item limit. Assume that your job (whichever it is) wants you to take photos for intel purposes. This is a working holiday.
• No purchasing books unless you've unlocked bookstores back home. You can shop at the General Store freely (for dried food, showers in cans, etc) regardless of anything else being locked.

I've got a couple questions:

Someone mentioned "destroyallhumans". Is that a mod or a cheat code to get rid of everyone in the neighborhood?

Are there any restrictions on whether the Sims in the house can be related or married, or are we assuming they're all disparate people forced together by circumstance?

Can we mix and match Good and Bad traits?

PS - can Sims take classes that are offered by the Work lots (ie, take an Athletics course from the Stadium, or a Gardening course from the Science center?)

I'm doing this!

To determine the number of Sims, I rolled a 3, so that means 4 Sims. I decided to make two male and two female.

I chose Riverview as my world.

I was fairly lucky with the die rolling, and three of the four survivors have Good Traits.

Here is my household:

Wendolyn

Something in Wendolyn broke when she had to put down her own parents, who had become zombies. A scavenger and an opportunist, she's ruthlessly practical when it comes to survival.

Miranda

Miranda was a reporter investigating allegations of unethical research at the science research facility. Little did she know how unethical. As humanity rebuilds, she takes it upon herself to share information with her fellow survivors, and reach out to other communities.

Tyler

He doesn't look like it, but Tyler is a scientist. He's also a soft-hearted left-wing environmental advocate and a firm believer in sustainable, green development. He developped a vaccine against the zombie plague, but his lab was overrun before he could produce more than a small amount. He managed to innoculate himself and the other survivors, though.

Bruno

Bruno, a Ranger, was separated from his squad when they were ambushed by raiders. While searching for any sign of his outfit, he encountered the other survivors on the road and helped lead them to a safer place. Bruno has a softer side, too; he likes classical music and is a talented cook.

Screenshots will follow as I figure out how to embed them...

When I was creating my first Sims, I rolled the dice for each trait slot and picked Good (even numbers) or Bad (odd numbers). As they had kids, I did the same for any slot that the game didn't randomly pick a trait for. I started out with a brother and sister and their respective spouses, so I think it's fine to have pre-existing relationships. (If anything, the constant desire to reproduce is SERIOUSLY annoying when you're trying to get people to level in their jobs - all that maternity leave really slows stuff down!)

destroyallhumans is a cheat (I think from Awesomemod?) that deletes all of the NPCs that aren't specifically designated as saved. It can cause some weirdness, so I'd only do it on a duplicated neighborhood just in case. That said, I'm working on a burned-out version of Sunset Valley with ratty textures, weeds everywhere, etc. It's just too cheerful looking at the moment! :D

I tried using destroyallhumans but all it got me was error messages. So, I'm acting as though any NPCs (except for ones specifically linked to the Survivor's jobs) are hostile raiders or worse.

Pictures of the Survivor family and their base of operations are attached.

Here's a link to my current neighborhood - I've been going through and editing the community lots for some apocalyptic flair. :D

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100467...57623081169843/

Preview:

That's looking like a pretty good start to a properly miserable neighborhood.

The Survivor household gathered and took inventory of their meager possessions. It wasn't much. A small generator kept a fridge and stove powered, and there was a store of canned and dried food. The fence provided security, and there were enough beds in the basement for the group.

They quickly discovered that the place had no plumbing, and the only light was a small oil lamp in the basement. The yard was overrun with weeds, and though the lake looked inviting, Tyler warned the Survivors that it was too polluted to drink from or bathe in.

Only a few short hours before sundown. Tyler went to work planting some seeds. He told everyone that he was working on a way to make consumable plants grow. He also claimed that with the right materials, he could build a filter that would clean up the water so it would be safe for everyone to use.

The other three agreed to split up and look around, and to return before sundown.

Bruno went to check out the old mines. Surely there would be some metals and tools the doctor could use to build a filtration system. He saw something that disturbed him inside...



It looks like the mines still hold the last remnants of the infected. Bruno wasn't taking any chances with those monsters, and was forced to return empty-handed.

Wendolyn didn't want the others to see what she had in mind. It could make for all sorts of awkward questions. She knew where to get things. It was time to rob the graves... if they haven't been picked clean already. It was unsavory, dangerous work, but it could be rewarding work, too.



Good gravy, even the bears were infected! Wendy barely escaped with her skin intact, but she did manage to grab a Magic Gnome, some seeds, and a gem before she was forced to leave.

Miranada managed to find an abandoned farm. Most of the crops were rotten or infested with insects, but she picked a few edible plants and ran back home before sunset.

Ooh, nice! :D

I foolishly wasn't keeping up with snapshots while I was working on my first family. I started with 4 too, and the population exploded like crazy - I had a full house within two Sim weeks.

My lot holed up in an old factory with a sturdy wall around the yard to farm, and ended up taking in a few orphans as well as having children of their own. The hardest part by far was how thoroughly stinky everyone got.

Can't wait to see more.

I played by your ammended rules, but I still found Writing to be *very* hard to raise. I had to wait until Tyler got to Science 5 and unlocked electronic stuff so I could get a computer.

Also, Music is basically impossible to raise using the rules as written. You can't unlock Guitars until you reach Music Career 5, but without a Guitar, you won't be able to raise your Guitar skill at all.

I also decided to let Criminals travel, along with Military and Law Enforcement. As smugglers, raiders, profiteers and so forth, I figured they would take dangerous risks to try to reap ill-gotten rewards.

How about this for a compromise for unlocking Music?

• Guitars are unlocked when any two (2) careers have reached level 5. The community is more stable and self-sufficient, and there's free time available for acoustic guitars to be valuable contributions to morale. "Play for Tips" is not unlocked until level 5 of the Music career is reached - people don't have time (or lots of currency) to be giving out cash for music on the street yet.
• Easels are unlocked when any four careers have reached level 5, signifying the availability of art supplies as well as the free time and security to pursue art as a hobby/career. Paints are hard to come by in the first years of the recovery, and take more effort to acquire.

It is supposed to be pretty hard - there's definitely an element of strategy in planning out what to unlock first -- well, aside from Science 5, that's a given. Plumbing is -required-.

My first 4 adult survivors went for Science, Culinary, Military and Business. The Science leveled first, then Culinary, and Military got slowed way down by not being able to level athletics. Business was on maternity leave 95% of the time, which was my fault because I gave her the 'Surrounded By Family' lifetime want. Doh. Once I got electronics and plumbing unlocked, though, it got much much easier. Business and Science are both supergardener green thumbs, and are raising produce left and right. I have some unusual and rare seeds planted, but no idea what they actually are as of yet. I'd really like to unlock Fishing but that'll probably take a while, as Science just had her first pregnancy and is on maternity leave again.

I'm having a lot of fun with the challenge, if that's not obvious. :P

Heh.

Well, in case it's not obvious from the character descriptions, I've got Science (Tyler), Military (Bruno), Criminal (Wendolyn) and Journalism (Miranda).

Using your ammended rules permitting a cheap radio, the Military and Criminal careers were not that difficult to raise; Wendy and Bruno could go jogging once they had Athletics 1, and Wendy is able to Practice Illicit Activities at work.

I came to regret having Miranda be a Journalist, even though I liked the backstory I made for her. I was unable to raise Writing *at all* until Tyler reached Science 5, unlocking computers, which really slowed Miranda's career progression. Journalism unlocks comparatively little compared to Business, but, oh well.

Much to my chagrin, the cheapest bookshelf doesn't come with any skill books! Noooooooooooooooo! I had to wait until the toilet broke and have the same Sim repair it every time in order to get that first point of Handiness.

Wendy comes home to find Miranda and Tyler engaged in conversation. Sullenly, she avoids talking to them and goes straight for the bookcase.



Bruno, Tyler and Miranda talk, report their findings and start to get to know each other, while Wendy makes it a point of ignoring them.



The Survivors break out some of the canned soup from storage. Tyler secretly worries that the stored goods will run out before his crops are fit to eat, but he blithely tells the others that it's all going to be alright. Wendy continues to dodge potentially awkward questions.



The next morning, Miranda confronts Wendy over her secretive behavior. Wendy's temper explodes and she screams right in Miranda's face. That pretty much ends the conversation.



Miranda and Tyler sit down together and discover a mutual love of books. They read and talk all afternoon.



Tyler can see that Miranda isn't doing well, and frankly, neither is he. He leads her into one of the smaller rooms and turns on the radio. After a little fiddling, he manages to pick up a "pirate" radio broadcast from someone calling himself "Three-Dog". It's indulgent, but Tyler and Miranda dance to some oldies.



They dance. They laugh. They comfort one-another. And then...

Three-Dog! Yay for Fallout references!

I'll try to post some pics of my crazy family later today. :D

I'm having a lot of fun with Wendolyn, discovering the joys of being a Kleptomaniac. She's robbing other Sims and community lots *blind*.