Moontown

[simgaroop]

When I first read a reference about the "Prosperity Challenge" in gotaluvsims2 's journal, I got curious, for it looked like a very complex but interesting way to play this game. I know there are thousands of challenges, some more complicated than the other, but this one caught my interest quickly. I've done the Asylum challenge before, but I lost on the first day (Because my silly sims had zero cooking skills!) and I don't think I have the patience to do an Apocalypse challenge (which also looks cool, but there are way too many rules to remember).

Anyway, I joined the prosperity_sims community a few weeks ago, and I found the rules for this challenge on the user info. And that's when I got hooked with it.

From the rules:
Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a rut in your Sims 2 playing? Do you find yourself giving each of your CAS sims the same aspiration and personality? Well here’s a challenge that will break you out of it!

The design of The Prosperity Challenge is to create a well-run, prosperous neighborhood. The difference comes in with the set-up. From the very beginning, you must stretch your abilities by creating sims from the roll of a dice.

As a control freak (at least regarding my sims), this looked promising. I'd be motivated to play random families, different from the "brown hair, brown eyes, neat, nice and family aspiration" pattern I always follow when I create original families.

At least with the Brokes, I've been forced to respect the original personalities and genetics of the Maxis sims I include on each generation, and that has made that challenge more interesting to me.

So, I created a "Prosperity Neighborhood". It's the first custom neighborhood I've ever played (Maxis hoods all the way for me!) and it took me several tries to make it look decent enough to play. I downloaded a bunch of stuff from MTS2 (lots by Plasticbox, Khakidoo, twoflower and Simcere), got empty neighborhood templates from MATY, finally got brave enough to try the Wardrobe Wrangler and genetized some new skins, a ton of eyes from Lyran and townified clothes (which won't appear for YA now! :P) and followed every single tutorial I found to generate random custom townies with a new CAS face template.

The result is "Moontown" (yup, creative name, I know), a very small (for now) neighborhood that I'm dying to try out (I want to see what kind of townies I've got!) as soon as I get Free Time. I'll keep a record of the pics and stories from my families (although a lot less detailed than the Brokes) although I don't think I'll start posting them until I reach at least Gen 7 with my legacy.


But since I've just finished creating my families with the help of a small application named Sim!Randomizer that chooses random genetics, personality, turn on/off, aspiration and even names, I wanted to post their pictures here along with the first drafts I have for their future stories.

For more info about setting up a prosperity neighborhood, click HERE. and HERE.
There's also an online Sim!Randomizer HERE.







I tried to take some good shots of Moontown, which for now consists in one long street, but my neighborhood graphics aren't precisely good.
I guess my video card can't handle detailed neighborhoods, so I was forced to erase a lot of decorations.
I'd never noticed there were so many things to place on your neighborhoods.
I enjoyed placing lamps, benches, small community lots, banners and trees everywhere.

You can also see some of the lots where my families are going to live.
Yup, the name generator made some odd choices for last names.
And nope, I'm not following the rules and scoring.
I just want to see what kind of mess I can create playing seven families for five generations.




A closer shot of Moontown's main street.

And now, here are the families. I'm listing them according to the order in which they were "generated" by the Sim!Randomizer and my dice (and that'll also be the order in which I'll play them, according to the few rules I'll follow).




For story purposes, I'm working a general theme for all my families. They all arrived to Moontown as a last resort, as some way to escape from their past lives.
Moontown is a little known town that usually appears in the path of those who are seeking a place to hide and to start over.
The Qwaine Family is no exception.




Roberto was a plastic surgeon at Veronaville who is been accused of murder.
His very last patient, Steve Mine (a famous male model), died during surgery under unknown circumstances.




The main evidence against Roberto is the fact that his wife, young actress Albertina, is rumored of having an affair with Steve just a couple of weeks before the surgery.




Providencia is Roberto and Albertina's daughter.
She doesn't know the reason why she was forced to leave behind her town and friends.


Is Roberto guilty or not? Was Albertina Steve's lover, or is all a huge misunderstanding?
Will Providencia ever discover the truth?
__________________________








Nathaniel and Araceli are scientists.
They claim to have discovered the recipe of the elixir of youth, a potion so potent that it can slow down the aging process to a halt.
The circumstances behind their discovery are quite shady, and that's why they are currently hiding at Moontown.




Heidi is Araceli's mother.
She had a long career as a basketball player during her youth.
She never married Araceli's father, who died under strange conditions when their daughter was a teenager.
Most people are amazed at the fact that Heidi still has the same strength and vitality as a young girl.




Valerie is the eldest daughter.
She's 15 and is interested into Paranormal studies.
Her favorite pastime is to meditate and she often claims she can sense the presence of ghosts and spirits.




Antione is the youngest son.
He's a shy boy who helps his parents with their garden, despite the frightening species that grow on it.
Why won't his parents grow flowers and tress instead?

__________________________________




The McCoy sisters aren't related by blood. They were both adopted by John McCoy during their teenage years.
When John McCoy died, he left them a large sum of money to start a home business.
The only condition was that it must be settled in Moontown.
What's the explanation behind John's wishes?




Lasonya is the eldest sister.
She's very shy and serious, and is known to have marvelous artistic abilities.
She's the one in charge of creating the beautiful flower arrangement the McCoy sisters sell at their shop.

(And yup, there's an issue with her skin and I have no idea how to fix it! :( )




Rana, on the other hand, is in charge of dealing with the clients.
She's outgoing and cheerful, so she has no problem convincing them to buy their flowers.
Her odd genes were the main source of grieving during her teenage years, but what'll happen when she meets sims just like her at Moontown?

(Rana, like all the sims, was randomly created in CAS. As soon as I saw her "alien" eyes I decided to keep her)

________________________________________________








Laurinda has nothing to do with the usual "evil step-mother" stereotype.
Since her husband, Patrick, died 20 years ago, leaving her in charge Regina, she's treated her like a real daughter.
Laurinda has been living at Moontown since she was a baby, and met Patrick when he first arrived with his newborn daughter.




Regina has never left Moontown.
And she can't wait the hours to do so.
Like Laurinda, Regina's a widow, who married when she got pregnant as a teen to an older man.




Nanette is Regina's daughter.

______________________________________




The Frouds have just arrived to Moontown.
Of course, their real surname is not Froud, but for the time being, they are being forced to adopt new identities.
What's the reason behind that?




There's nothing Ned wants more than to know everything there is to learn about this new world.
Perhaps he arrived here on accident, but he's decided to make the most of this awkward situation.
He just hopes his thirst for knowledge won't get him into trouble again…

(Cookie for the one who guesses who Ned is based of. It's so obvious!)




Dwaine just can't believe his luck.
He's stuck in this stinky, old planet with no way to escape at the moment.
If only Ned had been more careful!

(Dwaine is also based on another sim)



Eryn is Ned's niece.
She just wants to make friends in this odd new land.
(Yup, Eryn is also based on one of my sims)

_________________________________




The loudest household at Moontown is the Shaaras.




Sometimes, Monty wishes he could go back to the carefree life he had as a bachelor at Downtown.
If only he hadn't been so careless...
Perhaps his neighbors would still be alive.




Amal is Monty's right hand in his mission to redeem the damaged he caused back home.
She's an orphan who has quickly learned to call him "Dad".




Twins Alan and Shaden,




And Negmar, are the people Monty treasure and protect.
As long as he lives, they'll never be alone.
That's the least he can do to them...

__________________________________




The Lloyds are a bonus family.
I originally rolled a "6", so I created the first six families.
But then I downloaded a school and realized I needed someone to take care of it.
Thus the Lloyds were created.




Jasper has dedicated his life to teaching mathematics to children, despite the low salary.
When he was asked to manage Moontown's School in exchange of a large sum of money, he accepted the position without doubts.
He hopes he can save enough money to send his son to College.




Derek is Jasper's son.
He was left at Jasper's door when he was an infant, and no one knows what happened to his mother.

Derek and Jasper are eager to start a new life at Moontown.
If only they knew what happened to the previous school principal...


________________________

And that's everything I have thought for Moontown at the moment. I'm sure the plot will be modified as soon as I start playing and the sims' personalities show up (plus, I'm letting ACR manage the romantic interactions this time).

If you are looking for a new challenge, give this one a chance! You won't regret it!