Oh, just the thing to hook me.
Of course I already started a new hood and plunked a poor deserted Sim into an empty plot (she spend a pretty uncomfortable autumn). And of course my mind is already bubbling with questions and ideas of how to structure this.
The money thing: I started her with the usual 20 000 §. Does that mean, to pay all her debts she has to sell enough produce (tomatoes, cucumbers and so on) to add up to 20 000 §? Working with 2 plots and 170 § per crop that'll take 50 seasons, if my Sims manages to garden in winter.
To build a house ...
... I'm using a strategy I came up with in other challenges: a Sim with 5 mechanical points can restore old, derelict stuff. So, stuff dug up using the Bon Voyage "search for treasure" feature can be used: one stone builds one segment of wall, vases and other pottery provides wash basins and other plumbing stuff and so on.
What do you think of that?
If you think it makes the challenge to easy, it could be restricted - no more than 5 attempts per day, or only for the first season, or treasure digging is only allowed in winter when there's no gardening to be done, or only one person in a household may dig for treasure.
Farmhands
Oh boy, I want to move someone in, but in an empty hood (I used deleteallcharacters because the other ways take hacks I don't have),I'd have to create a new Sim.
The thing about paying the farm-hands: It seems contra-productive to pay them the entire proceeds of "their" crops - that way, the land-owner makes no profit whatsoever. And after all, they get a roof over their heads and food in front of them while they're working, and in an empty hood/world that's worth something. Land-owners usually keep the crops, the farm-hand gets room and board. And in this case, some wages so he/she can start out on their own after a while.
Social classes
That's an interesting one, after all, at the beginning, any-one's very equal: no porsches and no rust-buckets, no in-door swimming pools and no rusted trailers with beer cans in front of the doorstep (because: no beer cans).
I think historically it's land-ownership, money or useful knowledge that creates a social advantage. (Okay, or a huge big army. Not missing that in the Sims.)
So, maybe after a certain number of households are running, the old-established families ("I've been here for five years! I didn't just stumble into this valley!") put up some restriction on immigration?
"All the land is ours, you can build a home if you want to, we'll even help you at for the start, but you'll be paying us weekly tithes for... well, for ever." Now you have landlords and tennants.
Another "class" could be merchants or of course craftsmen: having a gold badge makes you master of a trade, and you can take in apprentices who are taught (there's a "transfer skill" option somewhere in the game, right?). What they build while living under your roof does of course belong to you, and at the end of their training, they pay for the knowledge received.
As soon as there are social classes, there might be ways of upward mobility and of sliding down (too lazy, not producing enough, unable to pay duties, sheer bad luck
...) . I've been doing a bit of reading on "walking marriages" and if I get that far in this challege, ...
... okay, you can see, I'm taking a run with this.
Pick some ideas if you like them, and please let me know what ideas you come up with!