The Sunset Valley/Riverview Team Upgrade Race

[Metropolis Man]

The Sunset Valley/Riverview Team Upgrade Race

GOAL:
Form a team of 3 Sims and perform a single Upgrade on all public facility objects in Sunset Valley and Riverview as quickly as possible.

RULES:

• Stating your intent to participate is mandatory. You will be added to the leaderboard. Simply lurking and posting final results is bad sportsmanship and not allowed.
• You must be patched up to the most current EA patch.
• Create 3 Young Adult Sims (Long Lifespan) for your team. No other Sim can be played and you cannot switch Active Households in the Edit Town screen.
• Move your Sims into an existing house or build one yourself to start. You are allowed to move at any time.
• Begin your new game in Sunset Valley or Riverview — does not matter. When you are completely finished upgrading objects in one town, note the Week/Day, and hour (do not worry about minutes) and move to the other neighborhood as outlined here.
• Tinkering is banned.
• You are allowed a single kaching cheat with the completion of each upgraded object (1000 simoleans), including objects upgraded on vacation. Again, it’s just one Upgrade per object. No other cheats or modifications allowed.
• The kaching cheat from Upgrades must be your team’s only source of income.
• You are allowed ONE vacation. Go whenever you want. Go wherever you want. Take as many Sims as you want. Length is not restricted. IMPORTANT: If you choose Egypt as your destination, then talking to Sekhmet Hawas is at your own risk. This local Sim has been shown to magically impregnante female Sims.
• Use of the Moodlet Manager is banned.
• The Challenge ends when all objects in all public facilities in both Sunset Valley and Riverview have received a single Upgrade.
  
• Do not enter Sims’ homes to upgrade any object.
• You are allowed ONE attempt at this Challenge.
• Discussing Strategy and Explicit Info. Revealing very detailed information about how best to achieve a certain goal is forbidden. Ignoring this rule hurts everyone involved, and gives distinct advantages to late-starting players. Here is an example:
  
  

General "playing for tips" advice that is fine: "A great place to play for tips is in front of the Theatre on the weekends. Not many Sims are working, so there are plenty of Sims available. Don't forget to bring a piece of fruit to ward off hunger late in the day."

"Playing for Tips" advice that's way too much information: "Click on your Sim's guitar for the Perform cue and cue up 8 songs. But, as soon as the first note begins, cancel the cue. The more songs you "perform" the larger the tips your Sim will earn.

The 2nd bit of info is obviously walking someone through the steps of an advanced exploit and has no place in a challenge thread. But this information is still solid and there's no reason why players should be hidden from it. So, it simply belongs elsewhere on the forum, or Carl can put it somewhere on the Guide.

If you're not sure if something you want to say in this event thread would be divulging too much information — don't say anything.
 
For Your Reference —

Sunset Valley Upgrades:

Central Park (4 objects)
Le Petit Shark Pool Center (14 objects)
Papyrus Memorial Library (14 objects)
Sunset Institute of Modern Art (4 objects)
28 Hour Wellness Gym (15 objects). NOTE: There are 16 objects, but the TV cannot be Upgraded.

Riverview Upgrades:

Azalea Acres Community Garden (4 objects)
Dogwood Playland (8 objects)
Lost Willow Park (3 objects)
Octagon House: Historical Museum and Art Gallery (6 objects)
River Front Swim Club (10 objects)
Riverview Fish Hatchery (6 objects)
Riverview Gymnasium (14 objects)
The Gazebo (1 object)
The Water Hole Juice Bar (4 objects)
Wright Reading Room (11 objects)

SCORING:

Sunset Valley — As soon as the last object in Sunset Valley is upgraded and you hear the musical notes, pause the game and note the total number of weeks, days and the hour (PM or AM) you finished. You'll find the game clock in the white rectangle directly below a Sim's LTW box. If you're more comfortable expressing hours in a 24-hour format, that's fine. DO NOT worry about minutes.

Riverview — As soon as the last object in Riverview is upgraded and you hear the musical notes, pause the game, and note the total number of weeks, days and the hour (PM or AM) you finished. If you're more comfortable expressing hours in a 24-hour format, that's fine. DO NOT worry about minutes.

Post your final results in this thread. For example, say: "I finished Sunset Valley on Week 3, Day 5, 1PM (13:00 for 24-hour format). I finished Riverview on Week 6, Day 3, 3PM" (15:00 for 24-hour format).

I'll take care of the rest for the total.

Challenge Begins: February 12
Challenge Ends: April 25

Good luck to everyone!

This Event is Now Closed

Final Leaderboard

Player	Sunset Valley	Riverview	Total (Hours)
omega2alpha	96	150	246
lovergirl	111	136	247
meamalso2	115	142	257
Schipperke	119	152	271
akurinne	113	161	274
LenaLJ	126	151	277
TheCub	113	164	277
HelenP	127	150	277
ik	136	146	282
Zylphe	139	144	283
Metro	139	146	285
NancyJ	128	158	286
Jonna	106	168	288
Twinmum	123	167	290
Delgar	139	151	290
tosho	130	161	291
lianne	131	162	293
Eftyen	120	174	294
Margerita	143	153	296
simfulicious	134	172	306
Carl	107	204	311
momofmany	155	166	321
annieb	115	207	322
wildredchild	162	194	356
Kaibilly	163	194	357
kat	162	200	362
Pam	179	183	362
Simone23	184	184	368
xK-la	157	213	370
AriaGirl77	188	184	372
wonderboy2007	183	193	376
Chelkey	190	192	382
Saltypaws	192	207	399
Abyshep	162	251	413
nobi_fawkes	167	262	429
BriannaSkif	282	321	603

[Metropolis Man]

One week until the next Tournament challenge begins. As always, give a shout if you would like to participate and if something in the rules is not clear.

[LenaLJ]

Im totally in on this one. Ive never really cared about handiness so i hope i will learn alot on this one.

[mordana666]

Another challenge - YAY!!!! Please include me in this one, I think it will be a great way to get a feel for Sunset Valley and it's inhabitants. I'm only used to Riverview, so it will make a nice change. Thanks.

[wildredchild]

Throwing my hat in on this one.  Good luck to everyone that does this challenge

[Metropolis Man]

Nice to see that there's good interest in this already. I'll update the leaderboard in batches with everyone that has expressed interest at those points instead of posting 10 times saying, "I got you in."

[meamalso2]

I am in!
I do have a few concerns though, this seems hazardous, what if a sim dies?(my favorite question)
Also, it seems that there is a chance of many close or identical scores, should the hour be included too?
Lastly converting the sim time can be just a bit confusing, it may be best to have everyone submit their Week Day (and maybe hour) so it can be double checked. (I may mess this part up)

[Metropolis Man]

I am in!

Great. I throw you in with my first leaderboard update.

I do have a few concerns though, this seems hazardous, what if a sim dies?(my favorite question)

Given all of us will be creating handy Sims for this I can't imagine how rare that would be. Ridiculously rare. You may have read that Zeus in the nectar challenge did get electrocuted from attempting to repair a nectar maker. But, he didn't die. That was the very first time where a handy Sim of mine ever got electrocuted. But, in the event you would have a Sim die, you would just carry on with your 2 remaining team members. That's about all you could do at that point. But, don't even give that possibility a 2nd thought. Ain't gonna happen.

Also, it seems that there is a chance of many close or identical scores, should the hour be included too?

Yeah, that might not be a bad idea. I think the winner will stand alone and be at least a day ahead, but you never know. I'll clarify the rule.

Lastly converting the sim time can be just a bit confusing, it may be best to have everyone submit their Week Day (and maybe hour) so it can be double checked. (I may mess this part up)

Converting time can be confusing and I agree. I'll clarify this as well. Thanks.

[LenaLJ]

I see you changed the thing about time now and now im a bit confussed. Im from denmark and because of having younger cousins playing sims on my computer i have it installed on danish and therefore i have a 24 hour clock instead of that PM AM. When we had about PM AM in school years ago i never understood it so it would be nice if someone could tell me how i can figure out wish time i shall submit in here when im done in a couple of weeks.

[Metropolis Man]

I see you changed the thing about time now and now im a bit confussed. Im from denmark and because of having younger cousins playing sims on my computer i have it installed on danish and therefore i have a 24 hour clock instead of that PM AM. When we had about PM AM in school years ago i never understood it so it would be nice if someone could tell me how i can figure out wish time i shall submit in here when im done in a couple of weeks.

Lena, whatever is most comfortable for you is fine. If you want to use the 24 hour clock and note that in your final time that's great. I'll edit that in the rules. Basically all I'm going to do is convert everyone's Week, Day, and hours to a total number of hours. So, for example if you say, "I finished Sunset Valley at Week 2, Day 4, 16:00", then I'll know what to do.

So, let's break down this example: You finished one full week, that's 168 hours. Now before anyone says, "But, Metro we all start at 8am on Day 1", I know that. It doesn't matter. I'm math challenged as it is, so it's easier for me just to count all complete weeks as 168 hours. You're in week 2 of the 4th day. That means 3 full days (72 hours) were logged. Finally, you tack on 16 hours of the 4th day for 256 hours total to upgrade Sunset Valley.

It's not going to be too big of a deal to figure this all out by hand, but math-wizzes like Eftyen or TG could probably crank out a formula for this in a heartbeat to make it easier.

[meamalso2]

Now before anyone says, "But, Metro we all start at 8am on Day 1"

That is what I think every time, really the only reason I get confused.

but math-wizzes like Eftyen or TG could probably crank out a formula for this in a heartbeat to make it easier.

I really am good at math. Your formula is in story format, set up for plugging in numbers is:
(weeks-1)*168+(days-1)*24+hours=your score

[The Illuminator]

I was just writing it down! You were 1 minute earlier than me... I tried it and it's okay. I'm still busy with the nectar making challenge, but when I'm done and if I have enough spare time, I'll join you. Good luck everybody.

[Metropolis Man]

I created my team. In the middle is Robin Shelton, a real-life contractor who lives close to my family and single-handedly finished our family's basement. Then, there's his wife Cheryl and brother Henry. All Sims have identical traits just for the purpose of the challenge.

I chose 99 Landgraab Ave in Sunset Valley as their starting place, so they'll be moving to Riverview later.

I pretty much think I've got my strategy down, but I need to write down a few notes between now and next Friday so I don't forget.

[NancyJ]

I'm in. I might finish this one before the nectar making challenge although its a heavy sports weekend so I've managed to blag my boyfriend's computer - hopefully his will make me that $604 bottle

On the electrocution thing, in my experience your sim never dies on the first go. If your sim gets electrocuted and then attempts the repair again while still singed, then he will de... of course I've never had a sim get pregnant from wohoo either.

[Metropolis Man]

I'm in. I might finish this one before the nectar making challenge although its a heavy sports weekend so I've managed to blag my boyfriend's computer - hopefully his will make me that $604 bottle

Unless the computer you started on is broken or something I have a problem with you swapping around computers just to see if you can get a better return on nectar prices, Nancy. Most players probably don't have that luxury.

[meamalso2]

Those nectar makers have given me a bad time, Astarte is handy and Lu Yan is not, Astarte started a fire while upgrading one machine, the fire tried to eat her. Lu Yan was repairing a machine and got electrocuted twice back to back the second time starting a fire (but no death). All the electrocution and fires have me a bit concerned. That leads to one other question, what if the item I am upgrading bursts into flame on a community lot, is there a way to replace it so I can upgrade it? Or is this just my imagination running wild from my recent bad luck?

[Metropolis Man]

All the electrocution and fires have me a bit concerned. That leads to one other question, what if the item I am upgrading bursts into flame on a community lot, is there a way to replace it so I can upgrade it? Or is this just my imagination running wild from my recent bad luck?

Probably. I don't know if you can call firefighters from a community lot. Replacing a damaged community lot object would undoubtedly involve a cheat, so that's a no go. You just have to deal with what the game throws at you, meamalso2. I can't cover 100% of all situations in the rule set and still have the length be reasonable.

[Pam]

I'm in for this one.  Metro, you didn't do the Three Stooges!  Lol.

[Metropolis Man]

I'm in for this one.  Metro, you didn't do the Three Stooges!  Lol.

No, I changed my mind. I'm a firm believer in Woo Hoo and that would have creeped me out a little.

[NancyJ]

If you have a problem with my changing computers just to get on a level playing field with the majority of other players then I withdraw from this and all further challenges.

[Metropolis Man]

If you have a problem with my changing computers just to get on a level playing field with the majority of other players then I withdraw from this and all further challenges.

What?! So, explain to me how you're NOT on a level playing field right now.

[NancyJ]

I've explained multiple times. Different computers product different results for the same nectar recipe. The recipe that most players are using is worth over $100 per bottle less on my computer. I have done extensive research and no recipe I can find matches the value of the widely published 'best value' recipe. The closest recipes I have are $70 lower than that and both those recipes are off limits for the challenge because of the restrictions imposed in the rules. My next best is $90 less. A disadvantage that large makes it not worth bothering to compete.

I was simply trying to overcome the inherent unfairness in the challenge.

[Metropolis Man]

What CPU are you using, Nancy?

[NancyJ]

My CPU is an AMD Phenom II X4, don't know exactly what my boyfriend had but its some intel quad core.

[Metropolis Man]

Okay, we're taking this to PM, so expect something from me momentarily....