Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Alchemist
Original Poster
#1 Old 3rd Mar 2014 at 12:39 AM
Default After the Countdown
TS3 Challenge: After The Countdown
(follow-on from MistyDW's Countdown to Doomsday challenge)

Backstory
You have survived the deadliest phase of the T12 virus and the social collapse it has caused. However, the crisis is not over yet! The virus is still rampant, services and facilities are non-existent, and those still alive are terrified of each other.

You hear on the emergency radio station that there is hope of a cure at last. Non-humans of all types have proven far less susceptible to the virus, and research is underway to turn this into a rescue for humanity.

There is a new government program to encourage 'genetic innoculation' - children with one human parent, but with non-human genotype, will receive a grant when the birth is recorded. Children of such mixed parentage are much better protected against the virus - a relief for anxious parents, but of grave concern to the Pure Humans League.

Due to a chemical leak in the early stages of the crisis, fish continue to suffer high levels of toxicity, forcing sims to rely on land-based food production. The lack of community infrastructure makes it difficult to transport goods in bulk, so supplies of foodstuffs and other goods continue to be short. There are reports of sims stealing and digging through rubbish heaps in search of usable items.

The black market is strong in the absence of civil order. Small traders appear on regular rounds, with all kinds of goods to barter. They will take anything you offer in exchange, but food and essentials are most valuable. Frivolities such as botanical specimens and rocks are only grudgingly accepted.

Emergency services are crippled. You are on your own in dealing with fires or burglaries. Also, no pizza delivery!


You will need a way of picking random numbers out of 20. The easiest way is to use a 20-sided die or to visit Random.org to generate random rolls. You may also find it useful to keep a few notes as you go - which sims are immune for the moment, what days you have chosen to roll for scenarios, traders etc.

Founding
If you have played through MistyDW's "Countdown to Doomsday", you may begin this challenge phase with whatever household your countdown ended up with. You may continue with whatever facilities they have, including any extra water or power supplies they may have acquired.

If you are starting fresh, create one or two YA sims. They must not share any traits. One may be non-human if you wish. Move them onto a 20x20 lot at the furthest edge of town. Build them a one-room shack of no more than 10x10. Wall off one corner for a bathroom. The yard should include several trees, room for a garden, one fire pit, and one ball (soccer, etc.). Inside, put the cheapest version of the following: small table and two chairs, loveseat, 2 beds, 1 crib, toilet, tub, small mirror, and candles. There is no form of kitchen. You will need to collect seeds to begin food production.

Your household has only two hours of plumbed water available, between 10:00 and 12:00 each day. Outside this time, lock the bathroom so sims cannot wash or use the toilet.

There is no electricity. You may not use any electrical item, unless you have a battery version or a power generator. Battery-powered items cannot be repaired if they break - there are no more batteries.

After setting up, use the familyfunds cheat to reduce funds to 0. Money is irrelevant at this stage, and you may not do anything which costs simoleons.

- Fish cannot be used as food or fertilizer.

- All shops and community buildings remain closed unless specifically directed. Outdoor areas are accessible, but be wary - infected sims may be using them too.

- No careers of any kind. You may paint or craft as much as you like, and use the results, but items cannot be sold except in barter on the black market. You may barter any goods your sims have, whether home-made, grown, stolen or 'found'.

- If you have Seasons, set each season to seven days.

Health
- Sims from different households who touch, talk to each other, or pass at touching distance, may become infected with the latest strain of T-12. Likewise, any sim who develops the 'Germy' moodlet (Seasons).

- There is no reliable medication against T-12, so no flu shots from the hospital.

- The T-12 virus has stabilised at a threshold of 12. This means that sims who come into contact with the disease must score 13 or more (out of 20) to escape infection. If infected, they must again score 13 or more, unless they have modifiers, to recover. Yes, sims will die.

- Any sim with Athletic skill modifies their recovery score by their skill level (eg: if the sim has Athletic 4, add four to their recovery score).

- Non-humans are half as likely to catch the virus, needing 7 or better to escape infection. If they do become ill, modify by adding one point to their recovery score. (This means an occult sim with 10 Athletic need only roll a 2 or better to recover.)

- Any sim who catches and survives the virus gains temporary immunity, and need not make further virus checks while immune. Immunity lasts to the end of the current season, after which a new strain develops. If you don't have Seasons, pick a day of the week, and the new strain begins each week on that day.

Building/Buying without Cash
- the black market trades in all sorts of things, but puts the highest value on foodstuffs and skill items. A skill item is any object which gives skill when used. Match the simoleon value of the thing you want with what you have to trade for it. If you are offering things other than food or skill objects, double the simoleon amount you are giving. No virus check is required for trading (sims lay out their goods, and stand clear). Black market traders appear only once per week (or once per season).

- Apart from buy mode items, traders will offer: --A battery operated cheap radio in exchange for 15 units of food
--A battery operated cheap television for 30 units of food
--A water pump (extra 2 hours of running water per day) for 50 units of food, or one of your beds/crib.
--A small generator (2 hours of power per day) in exchange for 50 units of food, or one of your beds/crib.

- Battery-operated items cannot be repaired once broken. Batteries cannot be replaced..

- To build, cut down mature or barren fruit trees. One tree gives up to four footprint tiles of construction. You may build whatever you like with these resources.

- Use money cheats to allow your sims to buy or build when necessary, then reduce funds to 0 once more.

Expanding the household
- At least one member of the founding household must breed with a non-human. They can breed with/marry a human as well, if you like, but you need non-human descendants. Alien pregnancies count. Robots do not.

- If you create a sim and add them directly to your household, roll virus checks for everyone in the family. New sims are dangerous! If your sim chats up an existing sim from your world, they have spent time getting to know them, and likely made a few virus rolls along the way. No virus check to add that sim to your household.

- Babies born to a mixed human/occult couple may be human or non-human. If non-human, they will have a coloured border around their thumbnail in the relationships panel, although other signs of supernaturalism may not show until at least toddler age.

- Non-human babies should be registered in order to receive their 'grant package'. To do this, send someone to the grocery or bookstore to pick up the package. They may then purchase either ten grocery items or two toddler books (cheat them the money if necessary). The collecting sim makes a virus check..

Services, Facilities
- One registered half-breed (born in-game, at least YA, and with full Athletic skill) may enrol in one of these careers: Law Enforcement, Criminal or Military.

This sim does not need to make virus checks in the course of their career, although they may have to in other contexts. They may keep the money earned, but there is nowhere to spend the simoleons: any trading is still by barter on the black market. No other sims may have careers of any kind at this stage.

- When the chosen sim tops their career, order is restored on the streets. A money economy is again possible. Shops and community buildings can cautiously re-open, although virus checks are required. The black market traders disappear., and household funds can now be used normally in build and buy mode. Foods must be harvested or bought from shops - no buying from the fridge.

- Half-breed children may then attend school. Teens may attend school if they have Athletic skill of at least 5, or are non-human. Roll a virus check after the first day of attendance at school or highschool, in case the school's screening program is faulty.

- Purely human children are high-risk, and may only attend boarding schools (Generations). These schools are approved and funded by the Pure Humans League. No virus checks required. No non-humans. You may cheat your family the money to send their kids to boarding school. If human children attend normal schools (which is difficult to prevent if there is a school in your world), they require a virus check every day they attend. If you prefer to use a home schooling system or otherwise fudge schooling needs for your sims, please do.

- Sims may attend university if you like. Make a virus check at the end of each term.

If your half-breed went the Criminal road, he/she is now an insider in the mob, which values entrepreneurship - up to a point. Self-employed careers are therefore open to anyone, and your sims may register such careers to receive subsidies from the puppet government. Sales of goods require a virus check, so do them in bulk when possible. Fish are still toxic and cannot be sold - unless a Scenario has changed that.

If your half-breed works for the Military, the armed forces are now in firm control of your town. There is curfew from dusk to dawn each day, except for people at work or commuting to/from work. If your sims are out after curfew for non-work reasons, they are fined 10 units of food per sim, per offense. However, rabbithole jobs are freely available, and stringent medical checkups reduce the risk of T-12 infection. Work-related virus checks need only be made after each promotion.

If your half-breed chose Law Enforcement, civil unrest has calmed, and homeowners are less worried about interacting with strangers. Emergency fire and police services return, although you will have to call them - no back-to-base alarms. Hospitals are open for birthing, no virus check required. Professions open up again. Your sims may now earn money as Stylists, Ghost Hunters, Lifeguards, Firefighters, etc. These careers involve a lot of sim-to-sim contact, so a work-related virus check must be made at around midnight, on any day your sim spends work time on a community lot.

Once you have opened up one career type by this means, you may send a sim into the two remaining paths (even if other rabbithole jobs are not unlocked) to open up all the normal job opportunities for your world.

Scenarios
Starting in your second week, and ending when your first sim reaches the top of their career, one of the following scenarios is to be undertaken each week/season. Roll a number between 1-20 to select. If you get the same scenario more than once, you may choose to repeat it or to roll again.

(Roll 1-3) Gang violence.
A marauding gang finds your hideout and grabs the first sim they see, demanding supplies. You must give them 50 units of food. If you don't have enough, they take 2 skill items from your house. If you don't have those, they take three items of general furniture from your house. The sim attacked must make a virus check.

(Roll 4-6) Pure Humans League.
The PHL blockades all local schools in protest against 'genetic innoculation'. None of your children or teens may attend school for 5 days. Boarding school is not affected.

(Roll 7-9) Aid Package.
Your household may collect an aid package containing 2 books, 5 units of food and 2 medipacks. Each medipack treats one infected person, adding 2 points to their next recovery roll.

(Roll 10-12) Campaign Trail.
Things are getting political with the local PHL, and one of your sims must fight back. Make 5 street art murals on community lots in the space of 24 hours. Make virus checks if necessary.

(Roll 13-15) House Arrest
PHL protests are making the streets dangerous. Obvious non-humans must not leave the home lot for 5 days. Less obvious occults (such as witches) risk reprisals if they perform any non-human activities in public during this time. If they do, PHL supporters raid your home, destroying your garden. (Delete all but three of your fruiting plants. You may replant the next day.)

(Roll 16-18) Tipping the Balance.
Send your feistiest sim out looking for trouble on community lots. Find a sim who is not a family friend, and who is human to the best of your knowledge. Pick a fight with them. If you win, the loser must become an occult (any type). If you lose, a supernatural must be 'cured'. Start by curing sims in your household, then start on townies if you run out.

(Roll 19-20) Fishy Business.
One sim must atttempt to catch 10 Angelfish within 24 hours. If they succeed, chemical toxicity has finally decreased and fish may once more be used for food and fertilizer.

The Cure
Now that your sims are back in the system, and earning money, they come to the attention of the authorities. Their dedication and survival skills are noted. One of your sims is contacted by government agents. He/She is invited to become part of the research test team. Participation will require a large amount of time and energy, and some risk, but should lead in time to a cure for the T-12 virus.

- pick one method to find your cure:
- ocean exploration (IP - top diving skill, complete all 3 diving challenges)
- the wisdom of distant lands (WA - complete all tombs in one destination)
- time travel (ITF - top Advanced Tech skill, complete all 3 tech challenges)
- arcane knowledge (SU - top alchemy skill, learn all 44 recipes and get a Philosopher's Stone)
- science (UL - top science skill, complete both science challenges)

- If the sim researching the cure dies before completing their task, another sim can try, but must choose a different method.

Sharing the Love
- once your sim fulfills the conditions for finding a cure, your family is given the task of disseminating information in your area. No further virus checks are needed for your family, but you are required to host three public events to ensure everyone in town is up to date. You can do this by holding parties on community lots, staging protests (maybe it's time the mob stopped controlling your town?) or giving stage performances.

Since everyone has kept to themselves for so long, convincing them to gather in this way is difficult. A sim with 10 Charisma is required to initiate the events, and sims from at least five different households must attend, to make each event a success.

Once your sims have got the word out, congratulations! T-12 is no longer a threat to humanity. Now, about those non-humans...
Advertisement
Field Researcher
#2 Old 3rd Mar 2014 at 1:28 AM
Nicely done. You went in different direction than me but it works. Good job. I'm glad you thought enough of my Doomsday Challenge to take the time to work this up
Lab Assistant
#3 Old 3rd Mar 2014 at 3:25 AM
Now I am going to have to decide if I want to move my family to Mysty's version or start her version fresh and save my family for this version... May have to flip a coin to decide.
Alchemist
Original Poster
#4 Old 3rd Mar 2014 at 4:30 AM
Choice is good. I will probably play Misty's Isolation challenge as well. Our two approaches are very different!
Lab Assistant
#5 Old 3rd Mar 2014 at 5:24 AM
Quote: Originally posted by aelflaed
Choice is good. I will probably play Misty's Isolation challenge as well. Our two approaches are very different!


They are... I am going to have to play three ways I think. Mysty's version with my family and once without, and your way with my family. That way I play test both ways for her and still get to have fun with yours
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 21st Oct 2015 at 1:23 PM
Been looking for an excuse to play with supernatural sims!! Perfect.
Muahahaha!
Test Subject
#7 Old 2nd Dec 2015 at 6:23 PM
So, what is a Non-human sim, and Occult sim?
Alchemist
Original Poster
#8 Old 3rd Dec 2015 at 9:34 AM
Anything apart from a standard 'human' sim. Aliens, ghosts, vampires plantsims, witches, fairies, werewolves...
Alchemist
Original Poster
#9 Old 7th Dec 2015 at 2:01 AM
I am currently playing this challenge myself from a standing start - without going through Misty's Countdown first.

Some suggestions (I will try to put them in the main post before too long)

If you are starting fresh, making one of your two sims non-human from the start is a huge help.
If timekeeping the plumbing is too much of a pain, try limiting your sims to one shower/tub and one loo visit each per day. Or one go per day at the All-in-one bathroom. Keep the plumbing in household inventory if it helps.

Use deco items to represent any plumbing or electrical advantages your sims purchase - e.g. a water tank, a pump, solar panels, windmills.

Traders in my world bring the default offerings every time, plus up to THREE buy-mode items my sims want/need. So you can get a new battery radio every week if you want, but only three items of your choice.

Remember you can scavenge furniture from dumpsters or junkyards, sculpt or steal, as well. TV/radio units found or created are battery versions same as the traders provide, so can't be repaired. Other electrics will not work until you have a generator, but can be traded in like anything else, for half their value since they are not usable.
Back to top