Ethiopian Challenge! Because E-Mail Was Too Easy!

[baratron]

This is me requesting an Official Update to the rules for OFB .

Snapdragons? Allowed or disallowed? (I was thinking of allowing them ONLY while there is a toddler on the lot - simply to make the toddler stage playable/bearable without needing to involve an entire batallion of buggy Nannies).
Ethiopians owning Home Businesses? Allowed or disallowed? (Do cash registers count as "self-contained" electrical devices?)
Ethiopians working in a Community lot Business? Allowed or disallowed?
Servos in Ethiopian families? Allowed or disallowed? (It seems that a Servo would have a helluva advantage, just based on what I've heard. Is he a self-contained electrical item? He recharges just from sunlight, apparently.)

If an Ethiopian sim is allowed to own a Community lot Business, is that business allowed to have toilets and food preparation equipment? As it would be possible for the Ethopian sim to have staff to do all the food preparation, and never touch those items themselves...

[J. M. Pescado]

Ethiopian doesn't really translate to OFB at all, since OFB's content trivializes everything pre-OFB.

[Lythdan]

So, is Pescado going to come up with a new, OFB compatible challenge for us then?

[HolyForce]

First time i've been to the site.

So, you're saying it is against the rules to use "cheats", but when people use realism mods thats against the rules? Then you people magically create a list of what you think is battery operated and what isn't? A list which I disagree with. Also, I suppose ANYTHING realistic that would make this challenge un-impossible without the exploitations of maxoid stupidity is dis-allowed?

Apperantly you just wanted to create this so other people could be like. "OMGOSH JM YOU MAKE UP SO TOUGH CHALLANGES, YOU RAWK!!

By the way, I get that idea from the fact that you change rules mid-challenge for some, there is many inconsitincies, and you make your own insane list of what you think is battery powered and what is not.

HolyForce.

[Ellatrue]

Awfully hostile for your first post, about what is an otherwise friendly challenge. What axe have you got to grind anyway? Why don't you try writing your own challenge? It's a lot harder keeping everything consistent than you think, especially with all of the expansion packs changing the elements of the gameplay all the time. And, since it is his challenge, who are you to care what is defined as battery-powered, and what isn't? The point is that the challenge itself has rules, and that they are followed- the specifics about what is and isn't battery powered don't actually matter, so long as the specifics are given. And what sort of "realism" mods are we talking about? If you are using hacks or mods that change the gameplay to make the challenge easier, it is obviously cheating, because 1) the other players aren't using them and 2) it changes the dynamics of the game so that defeating the challenge isn't a sort of puzzle.

[Chesspieceface]

What a dick.

[kewian]

Sounds like a crybaby wussy to me.  Perhpas the BBS is a better place for  you.  News flash Holly ...you dont have to take the challenge if you dont like it..hello.

[baratron]

Hi all - I'm in Belgium! Photographic proof. But I'm pretty tired every evening after a long day of hauling my arse round looking at museums, so I brought the laptop with me & have been working on my neglected Sims photo stories. Thanks to the power of the internet, I can post them online even from here, & then point you to the new chapters as they get uploaded  . Hooray for the internet!

Tormented Family Chapter 4 - Profoundly Gets His Man!. In which the founder's son, Profoundly Tormented, grows up and picks his partner, and the third generation of Tormented sims are brought into the world. Enjoy! A non-Exchange version will be posted when I get home & have sufficient motivation to do so.

[baratron]

Yep, I'm still going .

Tormented Family Chapter 5: Twins R Not So Cute!

Two babies. No food. Oh dear.

Generation 2 grows up, while Generation 0 passes on (*sob* ). Thus Extremely Tormented becomes the first ever sim to die in my game. (He'll be back, however - when this Challenge is over. Don't worry!)

[rohina]

Your story was amusing. I "enjoyed" reading it. 

[kaonashi]

Yep, I'm still going .

Tormented Family Chapter 5: Twins R Not So Cute!

Your stories are great! Well done on managing twins during the Ethiopian Challenge!

[RainbowTigress]

Thanks, baratron, enjoyed the stories.   I don't think I'd have the patience for this AND writing a story about it!

[baratron]

I officially finished the Ethiopian Challenge around 21:30 on Monday 13th November 2006. I'm sure Pescado will insist that I'm not awesome despite finishing the Challenge, because it took me something like 6 months of playing to complete it, rather than his couple of days. Oh well .

My final score was, by the way, a very respectable +1. No sims Grew Up Badly. However, not all sims achieved their LifeTime Wants (damn Family sims!). I got caught short because Profoundly Tormented, my Generation 1 sim, decided to die at the end of his 73th day instead of at the end of his 80th day. He most definitely did die of Old Age, however, as many people in the Neighbourhood benefitted from his insurance policy. And it was impossible for all sims to maximise all skills because when the Challenge ended, two sims were still toddlers.

All my Ethiopian Challenge stories are up on my sim page:

Tormented Family 1: Extreme Challenge Time!

Tormented Family 2: No Food and a Baby!

Tormented Family 3 :All Ur Skillz R Belong 2 XT!

Tormented Family 4: Profoundly Gets His Man!

Tormented Family 5: Twins R Not So Cute!

Tormented Family 6: Teenage Trials

and now, NEW!! Tormented Family 7: A Very Nice Relationship. Faithfully Oxfam describes his courtship of Very Tormented.

Chapter 8 will show Unearthly's new family, and Chapter 9 will finish Very's story and the Challenge. Now, it's collating the photos and writing the story that's taking the time, rather than the Simming . Hope to have it all up within the week so I can FINALLY install OFB. I've also put together a Best-Of featuring my favourite photos, many of which didn't make it into the main story for some reason.

Please read & rate .

[rohina]

Thoooo thweet! I enjoyed it very much, and how sneaky of you with the bottles!

[RainbowTigress]

I've enjoyed reading about your experiences with the Ethiopian Challenge.  You've shown how it can be done, but I just wouldn't have the patience to have to visit community lots all the time, nor would I be able to listen to those poor babies cry.  You've done a wonderful job, and you should be proud regardless of what Ye Olde Bastarde says.

[J. M. Pescado]

Strictly speaking, you didn't have to wait for this to end to install OFB. You can play with OFB installed, you just can't use the super-powered OFB features to cover cases that weren't designed with OFB.

[sloppyhousewife]

I'd love to try (and fail at) this challenge, but I need some clarification first:

Is "slobs be slobs" allowed?

What about the food bowls (or better, the fillings) that came with petz - are they considered *real* food (and thus banned) or not?

[J. M. Pescado]

Is "slobs be slobs" allowed?

Yes, although I don't see why you'd bother, it won't add anything if you expect to do well and are thus ruling with an iron fist anyway.

What about the food bowls (or better, the fillings) that came with petz - are they considered *real* food (and thus banned) or not?

No dog food in Ethiopia.

[sloppyhousewife]

Yes, although I don't see why you'd bother, it won't add anything if you expect to do well and are thus ruling with an iron fist anyway.

You're right, of course - and I've forgotten that neat 0 sims enjoy their stink anyway.

No dog food in Ethiopia.

Pity - I wanted to see some toddler-bowl-incident, but this has to wait, then

[Sagana]

baratron, I really enjoyed your challenge story. Thank you.

[sloppyhousewife]

Is giving a treat (? I don't know how it's called in the English Version) to a stray considered as "paying for food"? If so, I lost this challenge in record time because I turned free will off too late .

Another question: Does the programmable sleep clock run on batteries?

[J. M. Pescado]

Yes, and yes. Don't do that.