The Sims 3 Challenge
Maximum Moodlets: Do Opposites Really Attract?
By Pam Marsden
This challenge was written by Metropolis Man on our Sims 3 Forum. Please click here to see the rules and the leader board. The objective is to create two completely opposite Sims, put them in a house together, and try to make both of them as happy as possible. The specific required traits are included as part of the rule set. My Sims are Arthur Strain (the Good Sim) and Elaine Sluder (the Evil Sim).
Arthur's traits: Good, Flirty, Neat, Loves the Outdoors, Friendly. Lifetime Wish: Presenting the Perfect Aquarium
Elaine's Traits: Evil, Unflirty, Slob, Hates the Outdoors, and Inappropriate. Lifetime Wish: Swimming in Cash ($50,000)
Arthur and Elaine moved to Sunset Valley as acquaintances and bought the Monotone house. They got familiar enough with each other on the first day that they were able to sleep in the same bed the first night. I was a little surprised by this and had expected someone to be napping on the couch. No worries, though. They shared the bed without any drama.
They both immediately got jobs. Arthur joined Law Enforcement and Elaine joined the Political career track. There was very little romance in the first few days. There was some flirting, but when a kiss was attempted, they both got the Creeped Out moodlet. They finally got the hang of it and became comfortable enough for woohoo on day 5 of week 1.
Arthur and Elaine did pretty well in their jobs considering they have no skillful traits. They just go to work every day and take care of business. They both got their first promotion within a week, and Elaine a second promotion a few days later. She invited her boss over to get to know her and then talked about her inappropriately to another visitor. Her Inappropriate trait will cause her to be quite... inappropriate. Arthur received his second promotion to Traffic Cop the day after Elaine's promotion. This makes him certified to be a pro in apprehending criminals. Sadly, he didn't get out of bed in time when his own house was burglarized and the thief got away with their truck and an expensive gemstone.
I wanted Arthur and Elaine to have a romantic relationship so that I could benefit from the just married and baby moodlets for my score. Accordingly, they started going steady and then Elaine proposed on week 2, day 3. I had some concern that Arthur would decline the proposal because they don't get along that well and have the opposing traits, but he agreed to marry her.
They each received another promotion, putting Elaine at Yes-Woman and Arthur at Patrol Officer. At this point, Arthur quit his job in order to focus more on fishing. He'll never reach his Lifetime Wish if he doesn't have time to fish. Elaine makes enough money to support both of them and they live modestly. She's moving on up the Political ladder, as well, and got promoted to City Council Member with a salary of $75 per hour.
At this level of the Political career, it's necessary to obtain campaign donations for job performance. In spite of the fact that Elaine had reached the mid-levels of Charisma, she was horrible at asking for donations. Even after spending many hours at the library studying Charisma, everyone she asked flat refused her, even if they were her good friend. I'm sure her combination of unfortunate traits was the cause. So, I bought her the Legendary Host reward and she began having fundraising parties. With this reward, she's guaranteed to have everyone show up and have a great time. She was able to raise huge amounts of money this way, ranging from $25,000 to $35,000 with each party.
Arthur spent most of his time fishing and trying to build his Perfect Aquarium. His Loves the Outdoors trait helped, but he's not an Angler, so it was a challenge for him. He also worked in his garden a lot. The higher quality fruits and vegetables might help him catch better quality fish. They might also make Elaine's cooking a little better. Arthur mastered his Fishing skill on week 4, day 5. He then started catching Deathfish and was able to contribute significantly to the household funds.
Surprisingly, Elaine continued to do well at work and achieved several promotions quickly. She had moved all the way to Vice President at week 5, day 1 and was making $294 per hour. They were able to live comfortably and buy some upgrades and nice things for the house. Elaine didn't need a car because she had a limo at her disposal, but Arthur finally was able to have a truck.
Arthur closed in on his Lifetime Wish in week 5. It was time to implement my strategy for getting the maximum amount of moodlet points for Arthur. He had 12 aquariums with perfect fish all around the house. The 13th and final perfect fish was sitting in his inventory. I did as much as I could think of to put Arthur into the best of all moods. He went to the spa and planned his wedding party. I bought him the Legendary Host reward to ensure that his party was a success so he would get a couple of extra positive moodlets. The wedding itself was almost a major disaster. Arthur was all set with his moodlets and guests had arrived. But when it was time for the ceremony, Elaine wouldn't marry him! It was like failed woohoo. She just pushed him away and refused. Oh no!! I realized that their relationship bar was much too low for anyone to get married. They simply don't like each other very much and don't spend time talking or smooching because of their opposing traits. I got them talking and telling jokes, then having some romantic actions until the relationship bar had risen a good bit. With crossed fingers, I tried again to have them marry. Yes!! It worked! Immediately after they were married, Elaine sent everyone home so Arthur would get his party moodlet. I then purchased the table and empty aquarium and put the last perfect fish in place. Arthur got his Lifetime Wish at that moment. Here are his moodlet scores:
+75 - Very Fulfilled
+50 - Just Married
+40 - Wedding Day
+40 - Having a Blast
+30 - Enjoying Music
+30 - Threw a Great Party
+25 - Nicely Decorated
+20 - Completely At Ease
+20 - My Love!
+20 - New Friend
+20 - New Stuff!
+10 - Squeaky Clean
+05 - Minty Breath
385 Total Points for Arthur
It was now time to concentrate on getting Elaine to her Lifetime Wish of Swimming in Cash (have $50,000). That means money, money, money! She invited her boss over to visit with the hopes of improving their relationship. After some nice conversation, Elaine had the option to ask for a raise, and she did. To my utter surprise, she was given a $40 per hour raise on the spot. I didn't think she had it in her!
The biggest piece of drama happened during a fundraising party. Elaine had long since declared the burglar from earlier a nemesis. She took fiendish delight in torturing Twyla and fighting with her. She always invited Twyla to her parties and the foolish girl always came. Elaine was preparing a dinner to serve at the party when she became distracted by Twyla's presence. She went to fight with her and left the food cooking in the oven unattended. Well, everyone knows what that means, right? Fire!!! Elaine was able to put the fire out moments before firefighters arrived. Nobody was injured and only the stove was destroyed.
Elaine received her promotion to Leader of the Free World on week 6, day 2. Her salary was $490 per hour. The household funds had reached $48,591 and it was time for a baby. Again, my plan was to create as many positive moodlets as I could and then trigger the Lifetime Wish fulfillment. Arthur had enough Deathfish and gemstones in his inventory to push it well over the $50,000 mark. It now became an issue that Elaine would get her wish prematurely because of the amount of money she made. There were again intimacy issues between them. Their relationship bar had dropped since the wedding. They both refused to try for a baby. Once more, I had them spend some time talking and laughing to build it back up again. When they were finally willing to woohoo, she got pregnant the first time. Thank goodness! Having heard the lullaby music to confirm the pregnancy, I had Elaine quit her job the following morning. No more money would be coming into the household until Arthur sold his inventory. She lost the courtesy limo from work, but Arthur had been able to buy another truck to replace the one stolen by Twyla, so they didn't always have to take a taxi.
As had become her habit, Elaine went to the library to study and mingle with others. Her Hates the Outdoors trait prohibited visits to the park like most people do. Her Charisma skill was a high level and anyone she met instantly became her friend. On this day, she befriended Aqbal Alvi and had a wish to become his best friend. I had her continue talking with him until she got this wish, believing it could cause no harm. I was so wrong. The moment she got the wish, I panned the camera to find someone else to talk to and while I was looking away, she kissed Aqbal! Her Inappropriate trait apparently lunged forward and turned Aqbal from a best friend to a romantic interest. And she was newly pregnant. I have to say that this Sim of mine is probably the one I like the least. That set of traits creates quite an unfortunate kind of Sim.
After steering her away from her new romantic interest and keeping her away, Elaine was ready to give birth on week 6, day 6 in the early morning hours. She had been at the day spa stocking up on positive moodlets when she went into labor and literally ran across the street to the hospital to have the baby. Arthur met her there and they soon came home with a baby girl.
The large moodlet for giving birth only lasts 24 hours, so I had to move quickly. Elaine got rested and well fed before planning a house party. The guests came and the party was a big hit. As soon as the last guest left, Elaine sat in the living room while I emptied the inventory to bring the household funds up to the amount that would trigger her Lifetime Wish. I even had to sell the truck and the Collection Helper because of some unexpected last minute expenses. I got it, though, and here are Elaine's final scores:
+80 - It's a Girl
+75 - Very Fulfilled
+40 - Having a Blast
+40 - Completely At Ease
+30 - Threw a Great Party
+30 - Enjoying Music
+25 - Nicely Decorated
+20 - Good Meal
+20 - New Friend
+15 - Comfy
+15 - Fiendishly Delighted
+10 - Squeaky Clean
+10 - Had a Nice Nap
410 Total Points for Elaine
Add Arthur's 385 points and my grand total for this challenge is 795 points, which means I beat Metropolis Man by 20 points. And for that, I'm doing the happy dance!
The happy ending for this story included a move to a larger and nicer house, a complete personality makeover for Elaine through the Midlife Crisis reward, and another daughter. The oldest daughter is now a teenager and the youngest is a child. Elaine has gone back to work in Politics as a City Council Member. Arthur is a happy Dad and continues to fish and garden.
