Episode 28: Gilligan’s Island Challenge 3.0

* New Listener Line 1-206-350-8072*

Gilligan’s Island Challenge 3.0: By Ginevra Martel (Ginevrasn23 on The Sims2 website)

(Updated 3/10/07)




Let’s go at it one more time! With some major changes. Oh! And please don’t sue me…nothing is mine other than this challenge and the Sims I’ve created.




Cast of Characters:




Complete credited cast:
Bob Denver .... “Willy” Gilligan (Teen, 15 days to Adult)
Alan Hale Jr. .... Skipper Jonas Grumby (Adult, 21 days to Elder)
Jim Backus .... Thurston Howell III (Adult, 16 days to Elder)
Natalie Schafer .... Eunice Wentworth "Lovey" Howell (Adult, 16 days to Elder)
Tina Louise .... Ginger Grant (Adult, 29 days to elder)
Russell Johnson .... Roy 'The Professor' Hinkley Jr., PH.D. (Adult, 26 days to elder)
Dawn Wells .... Mary Ann Summers (Teen, 15 days to Adult)




Just sit right back and hear the tale….




This challenge assumes our Castaways were never rescued. Instead, they dig in and do their best to form a thriving and well-rounded community. As castaways, they must live under a number of restrictions (yes, I got the idea from Pinstar’s Apocalypse Challenge – which I just finished – Woot!)




To begin: Assemble your gang of Castaways, by hook or by crook. Your characters should have approximately the same ages listed above. You may choose to use the cast I’ve already assembled and uploaded to MySim Page http://thesims2.ea.com/mysimpage/pod.php?user_id=260276. I’ve included both a Base game through Pets version and Base – Seasons version. You may use any cheats, mods, or third party programs you wish to get your cast ready. I used TS2 Enhancer to edit characters.




If you have University you may play your graduates through University. Mr. and Mrs. Howell, the Professor, and Ginger should be University graduates. You may give them the minimum skills needed to achieve their degrees. The Skipper and any non-Uni adults may have up to three skill points of your choice. The teens start with none. Each should have a different Aspiration, if possible, including Grilled Cheese. Otherwise, no more than two Sims should be assigned the same aspiration.




The game begins in a blank neighborhood. You should have the following 7 residential lots: 2 small lots (your castaways will begin in one of these), 2 medium lots, 2 large lots, and 1 extra-large lot. You should have the following 5 community lots: 2 small, 1 medium, 1 large, 1 extra large. You may have one additional small community lot as a graveyard if you wish. You may place these right away, or wait until they are needed. If a lot becomes bugged, you may move the affected family into a new lot of the same size and delete the old one. You should choose the actual size of the lots depending on what your system can handle, having different sizes offers variety and something for your Sims to strive for.




Move your Castaways into one of your small lots and be certain they have a net worth of no more than 20,000. If you have Seasons, set your seasons to any combination of Spring, Summer, and Fall. This is a tropical Island, so there should be no Winter. You should play all your lots in round-robin fashion to keep time moving uniformly. The length of a round is up to you.




Rules:


Your Sims may use no more than 1 Bottle of Elixir (5 doses) or the equivalent from the Cow Plant during each life stage. {If you did not or were not able to stagger the characters ages, all characters should be Adults except for Gilligan and Mary Ann. The Howells and the Skipper may not use Elixir/Cowplant until they reach Elder, but they still may use up to 2 Bottles.}


If your Sims are transformed (werewolf, vampire, or plant Sims) they must be cured within one sum week, even if you must violate a restriction to do so. No Sim may “Have Plant Baby” more than once in their lifetime. Plant Sims who are born that way need not be cured but do earn a point for being “cured.”


If you have Open For Business installed, home businesses are encouraged. Community lots except for the graveyard and any parks should be owned by an islander whenever possible. Community lots are also subject to restrictions.


If you have Pets installed, dogs and cats may only be adopted as strays or given/purchased from/by other islanders, or purchased from an islander owned business. They may only be adopted via phone if the appropriate restriction (Fortune) has been lifted. Birds, womrats, and fish may be purchased at will.


Children may only be adopted in order to recover islander children removed by social services and this may only be done once the appropriate restriction (Fortune) is lifted.


If University is installed, islander students may use any items already present in a dorm, even if still restricted. If they live outside of a dorm, they must abide by any restrictions that have not been lifted. For each two semesters (round up) the students remain in school, they must be absent from their original lot in the base neighborhood for at least 1 Sim day. Students may not sell off or return to the island with items belonging to the dorm or Secret Society. You may use mods or hacks to speed up University as long as you do not give your Sims any undue advantage. Or you may use the trick of having a college graduate in the base neighborhood “Propose – Move In” to instantly graduate your Sims. However, a graduate must still be absent from the home lot for at least 4 Sim days.


Households may only be combined through the “Propose” interactions. Exceptions: students returning from University and any Sims moved out for the purpose of troubleshooting a glitch. If you are troubleshooting a glitch, the family funds should be adjusted (if possible) to remove any extra money gained by the move.


Gilligan may not be resurrected. Any other Sim may be resurrected once. Sims may plead with the Grim Reaper whenever necessary.


The Islanders live under tough conditions and must abide by certain restrictions until each is lifted. Each restriction is tied to a specific Aspiration (or career if the appropriate expansion pack is not installed). Each restriction is lifted by the first islander to achieve their Lifetime Want (or reach the top of their career). Each islander may lift only one restriction. If a LTW would lift multiple restrictions, you must choose one. There are Seven Restrictions:


Knowledge: Islanders may not purchase cars or electronics and lighting fixtures priced over 100 simoleans. They may not purchase the electric guitar or bass. They also may not attend University. Once this restriction is lifted, they may enjoy all of these technological and academic marvels. They may purchase cash registers if Open for Business is installed.


Fortune: Islanders may not use the Service menu on the telephone. They may not purchase items from the decorative menu priced above $250 simoleans. If Open for Business is installed, they may not hire NPC’s, Townies or sub-neighborhood player characters as employees. Once this restriction is lifted, your islanders may enjoy all the perks of their wealth.


Family: You may not issue commands directly to toddlers and children, except to direct children to board the school bus. You may not “Invite Headmaster.” Once an islander has mastered family life, the news quickly spreads and children become cooperative and eager to learn.


Romance: You may not marry/move in/join your islanders to NPC’s or townies. Your islanders may not “Try for Baby” with NPC’s or townies. Once this restriction is lifted, you islanders may begin to form new alliances.


Popularity: Your islanders may not leave the base neighborhood to shop or go on outings or dates. They also may not purchase community lots outside of the base neighborhood. They may not go on scored outings.


Pleasure(Slacker career): They may not purchase items other than toys with a Fun rating over 7 points. They may not purchase seating with a Comfort rating over 5 points or a bed with an Energy rating over 5 points. Exception: Cribs, Expensive Telescope. If an “illegal” item is received as a gift from an NPC/Townie it may be used or sold, but not replaced.


Grilled Cheese(Culinary Career): Islanders may not order Chinese Food and Pizza Delivery. They may order or shop for groceries in person only once per Sim week or they may sell and replace their refrigerator once per Sim week. Each lot may have only one mini-fridge or one “Wornable” fridge. They may purchase only the least expensive stove or a grill for cooking. They may not purchase a dishwasher or trash compactor. (Seasons Only: Sims may not store prepared food for family consumption in their backpacks -you should be storing “leftovers” in the fridge. Sims are strongly encouraged to grow produce. Food intended for sale may be kept in a backpack. Pre-made food purchased at a community lot must be removed from the backpack upon return to the home lot.)




A single Sim may achieve multiple LTW’s, but may only lift a single restriction in his/her lifetime. The game is over when Gilligan dies. You may play all your lots up to his time of his death before totaling your score.




Scoring:


Each restriction lifted is worth 10 points.


Each different LTW fulfilled is worth 1 point. Exception: Grilled Cheese will receive 1 point each time it is fulfilled. Stacks with the lifting of restrictions.


Each transformation (vampire, werewolf, plant Sim) is worth 1 point.


Each alien abduction is worth 1 point, plus 1 point per alien baby produced (ex. Skipper gets abducted and has twins = 3 points).


Any points earned by Gilligan are doubled. (ex. Gilligan lifts Grilled Cheese = 20 points).




FAQ’s




Can I use mods, hacks or cheats?

If the mod/hack/cheat gives you an advantage over someone who does not use it, then you may not use it. For example, “motherlode” and “max-motives” would not be allowed. If a mod/hack/cheat is simply for convenience, cosmetics, or correcting a glitch, no problem. Again, it is permitted to speed up University play, as long as you don’t give your students any unfair advantages in doing so.

Do I have to use your version of the Castaways? Does it absolutely have to be Gilligan’s Island characters? No. You can make your own version, or you may make a similar group of characters. You should keep age, gender, and education distribution the same, or it will change how the scenario plays out.

Do I have to have a “tropical” climate? You could experiment with other extremes of climate, such as a cold one. In this case, your year should include spring, fall and two winter seasons. I suspect that would make this challenge tougher and have not had the opportunity to play the challenge this way.

Can I do a reset/reload if something bad happens? If you are trouble shooting a glitch or realized you misunderstood some aspect of the game or the challenge that caused your Sims harm, you may do a reset without failing the challenge. You may not use reset/reloading to affect the outcome of random occurrences (such as trying for a baby, choosing the gender of a baby, alien abductions or twins). For example, I had used the short conical roof on my Sim’s home to make it look like a hut. But, when a thunderstorm occurred, the game gave me a message telling me to place a roof on my home – I had rain inside my house! The Sims were refusing to follow my commands to move out because they were freaking out about being rained on. I considered this a glitch and reset it, choosing “auto-roof” instead of the conical one.




Storytelling by album, blog or any other means is greatly encouraged. Questions or Comments? Please either post to the TS2Challenges group or email me at ginevrasn@yahoo.com with the subject “Gilligan 3.0”.