Main Apartment Switch Rules | Switch Two Rules
Switch One < | > Switch Two Part 2

Welcome back to the Ritchie household, it’s time for Athena to start her journey through the Apartment Switch – Switch Two. Here’s what we start with.

And.. the dreaded money shot. (or lack of money shot?)

Ready to go! My first order of business.. looking for a guy for Athena. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? .. Think again.

Young Adult.. yes. Scary-looking… also yes.

Too old.

Too young.

Too… busy to stop and talk to Athena.

I see possibilities…

However, I don’t like his traits.. and Athena doesn’t seem impressed.

Again.. too busy to stop to talk.

What is it with sims that won’t stop for an introduction!?!?

Well.. that’s interesting. And loud. We go spouse hunting down the street a ways. (No traveling.. I have no money!)

Umm… what? Just saw her go running by.

Deciding both of us are seeing things, it’s time for a nap or two. By this time I’ve collected a couple of posters.. but certainly not enough money to start furnishing.

Please… can you drop the prices so I can get food??

Guess not. So much for that $10.

Whoa!! He better have good traits! (Okay.. so it turns out he has two good traits.. we’ll gamble and hope the third is good too. After that spouse hunt, I’m snagging this one before anything else goes wrong!)

Athena quickly takes a shower so she’s not so offensive… I was able to afford a bed, a shower, and an easel. Better get cracking on money making here!

Kobe doesn’t seem impressed with dinner. The best we can afford is two lousy eggrolls.

… And this is to prove that there was a second bed for him before it was bedtime. Otherwise I would have been breaking my own darn rule. LOL. Okay. Crisis averted. She was in too bad of a mood to woo him, and he was busy being upset about his haggling fail, too… so the romance angle to sleep in the same bed was SO not happening. I had to think fast and go looking for posters. Fast.

… What the heck… again??

Whew. A good night’s sleep will fix a lot of ills, apparently. First Kiss success.

Oh.. and just because I gambled on that last trait?? I got a Klepto. (Laughs miserably to myself… hopefully he steals better things than the dirty dishes my last klepto brought home from work.. maybe we can sell the stuff he brings..? Note from the future.. nope. Lots of dishes. Dirty ones.)

There’s nothing like painting to go with the smell of whatever roach poison the landlord is actually spraying for a change?

Since they’re at that stage of the relationship, I wonder if sending them to tonight’s romance festival can prompt a quick marriage.

Aww.. they’re so cute together.

“Please??”  … Yup!! Spam cute wedding pics…

And at this point, Athena was so tired she practically fell asleep on the walk back home.

I had the only one who had any energy left harvest all the flowers at the festival to sell.

What is this?!? A table?! .. Breakfast of champions. Granola and cereal. Yum?

And now.. apartment pic spam because it’s time to move!

It felt like it took forever, but it really didn’t. This is what I was able to afford at the next place. Quite a lot, actually. All of the walls and the paint and a rough outline of the furniture it will have.

It’s practically no time at all before I’m ready for pic spam again… (just lots of boring painting and Kobe going to work to earn a pittance in order to try to earn the painting easels.)

Seriously fast turnaround there. And now I take some time to do what should have been done at the end of last house.. but since I just changed the requirements and time to build them.. I had the wrong lot built.. so I bulldozed it and built my Arts Center.

I’m going to assume it works.. but I will test it later just for safety. I did upload it under #apartmentswitch because I put hours into the build.

Breakfast at the new pad. At least they’re eating real food for a change.

I take a risk and get Athena pregnant. It’s still very early in the challenge, but I really hate waiting for the kid to age up. So I’m gambling.. again. I seem to be doing that a lot this save.

Already?? Nice job.

Wow. Just Wow. This little beauty put me to a point where I’m willing to take the risk to move, even though I probably ought to save a little more money. With as much as she’s making painting, it’s going to be a non-issue. So: apartment three pic spam.

And it was late at night, so the day hadn’t even switched over.

This.. is what we’ve got. No stairs, one set of doors, a flimsy outdoor wall.. and a few pieces of furniture. Get painting guys! (it’s at about this point I start wondering why on earth I still have poor Kobe punching a time clock. It’s a virtually worthless job. Oh .. wait.. he did get the easy breezy easels.)

Paint fumes while pregnant. Can’t be healthy.. but it’s sure helping for the house. I barely have any pictures of it “in progress” because they’re making money so quickly. By the time the next set of shots happen, the house is about 80% done with furnishings, just need paintings to start getting the value up into the stratosphere. And she’s STILL waiting on the humor and hijinks festival in the second tier of the aspiration.

She looks like she’s just waiting for him to panic again.

Right on cue.

It’s… it’s a … nooboo!

“Don’t tell me.. you’re my mom?!?”

That face…. That face. I think I’m in trouble. It’s a girl. And since I promised I’d name the kid after my daughter, I did. Meet Alex. So this small sim may very well be big trouble in a little package. At least she’ll come by it honestly.

More in the next post. This one has gone on long enough! I just couldn’t quite play all the way to that toddler stage for the cuteness pic. Plus, this face was worth ending on. Best baby shot I’ve ever taken in game.

Main Apartment Switch Rules | Switch Two Rules
Switch One < | > Switch Two Part 2

Main Apartment Switch Rules | Switch Two Rules
Switch One Part 2 < | > Switch Two Part 2

Welcome back to the Nash family’s strange journey through decorating San Myshuno, or – in other words, Switch Two of the Apartment Switch challenge.

When Iris (our heir) aged up I chose the Musical Genius Aspiration. She will be switching back and forth between it and the City Native one as she works to get both.

Starting skills: (I specifically avoided skills she would be working on in Switch Two, so that I could test whether it was possible starting from basically nothing useful.)

Needs (I was careful she was high on these) and Traits:

And the dreaded Money Shot:

No funds at all, so she’s ready to go..!

Day one. Meeting any male that passes by of the marrying age. (Young Adult, of course!) This guy was an adult, but there wasn’t another young adult around at that moment.

Sleeping stinky on a bench. You’d think I was doing a Drifter Challenge! Poor Iris.

Posters! The lifeblood of the beginning of this challenge.

This guy was one of our two top candidates of Young Adults. Good traits, bad job, but the job can be changed. Problem: he’s a single dad. Now, I have nothing against single dads per se, but I just don’t have the extra funds and space to allow for an extra room at this stage of the game.

This one.. I didn’t find out about it until I tried moving him in. The OTHER top candidate.. said it right on his “job” title. “Stay at Home Dad” .. and he was single. So.. stuck without any other really good options… (long story short, the only other option at young adult that I saw got moved in only to find out he was bugged with “1 day to age up” glitch and was unable to age at all… so I went back to my beginning save and started over. The same sims were around, so I was good to go.

We ended up going for an Adult. This cutie. And yes, we’re stalking him right by the public bathrooms. Gotta stay in your home turf, there, Iris.

His stats. The job.. we’ll change.

Yep! He likes us!

The proposal in the hallway. Could you guys pick harder spots to photograph well??

In the apartment this time. As you can see, I was finally able to afford lights. When taking photos, it’s very important otherwise you just can’t see anything in the pictures. Technically, I bought the bed and the shower first.. the lights came third. Too bad I can’t keep the 20k Matt came with….

The job taken care of.. now he’s a painter.

And honey.. that’s not going to happen. Let’s try the painting one instead.

After trying to earn money with just collecting, I gave up and set Iris to painting. With a couple of traits purchased with all her spare points, she was in business, even without having a job. The reason for no job, you’ll see a bit later.

I actually was able to afford the first week’s rent without working for it for two days!

… With this. What a cute couple.

I found a place to put a table in this tiny apartment. Barely. But they seem to like it. At this point, I realize my apartment is up to value, and I’m moving on. So.. picture spam!

Obviously, I got rid of the second room wall. I just hated not having any living space to move around in, and I didn’t need the second bedroom.

Not too bad! Slower than I would have liked, but I puttered around a while before settling on painting.

This is what I was able to buy with in the second apartment with what I had after move-in.

And this… is why she has no job. She has musical skills to work on. Now that I can actually afford luxuries, like a guitar, she gets started on the City Native aspiration. (I’ve elected to learn level 3 guitar, and sing along with it to kill two birds with one stone. From the research I’ve done, it’s one of the best ways to do it. We’ll see how it works.

Trying out busking. With only level 4-5 in guitar.. she makes some decent money. Not enough to quit painting over.. but definitely does get some cash.

She collects a small following, too. Proving that I was busking because I was bored.. I finish the decor of apartment two, and am ready to move on. Pic spam:

(The very best picture I could get of the kid’s room. Sad, huh?)

I think I fit a lot in for being such a dinky apartment.

And in two days! That was fast! Based on what I was able to afford in the new place, however… the third is going to take me considerably longer. (Downstairs and upstairs pics below.)

Pretty slim pickins. Also: I moved a wall upstairs for the little painting nook. I didn’t like the shape of the bedrooms. In the downstairs, that balcony door gets moved as well…. and the kitchen arch, for that matter.

And.. anyone who watches my stories knows what this means.. if I’m taking pictures of woohoo, then it’s for a baby.

Cheers.. and really bad picture.

Matt seems happy about it.. if you don’t mind the big pause before clapping.

I moved the painting easels out to the balcony. You can’t argue with it being a gorgeous view.

This picture is for two things.. one.. Matt’s getting his paintings viewed for his aspiration… and that little blond girl? Is one of the single dad’s daughters mentioned earlier in the post. I just thought it was funny seeing her around town. Without her dad, no less.

Iris looking at her pictures. I don’t think the baby’s ready to appreciate it yet. I keep changing between aspirations on Iris.. I think she’s working mostly on the painting one at this time, but she’s got about half the music one, and .. well, still working on the City Native one. The one I actually need to complete.

We go to the Stargazer Lounge (no travel restrictions on normal, remember!) and use the bubble blowers there. While she’s there, I give Karaoke a try. Nobody’s much interested in her singing, but then she’s only level 4, she’s not very good yet.

Awww.. cuddlies on the couch. This picture just made me realize how bad that blank wall looks.

Hence.. this photo. Much better. It matches the rug. Kind-of.

She’s starting to get pretty good at this singing stuff. At least it’s not cringe-worthy anymore.

Matt trying to bring in money while his wife practices in the kitchen. He’s not very good at it, though.

Aww.. she’s really getting into it.

Why do I always try for baby in the middle of the night?? For some reason, I decide to actually follow them to the hospital.. something I very rarely do.

Matt’s still freaking out. Too funny.

The receptionist takes forever. As usual.

I’d give him that look, too, Iris. He’s just being silly at this point.

If you look closely, you can see both the bundle and the baby.. I almost got worried about twins.

But then I remembered my luck. I’m not having trouble with the challenge, therefore no twins. Meet Sarah.

Aww.. finally best friends!

Team jokers for the Humor and Hijinks festival.

Go go team Humor!

I get tired of waiting for the free fireworks, and just buy some of my own.

Whee! Sparklies!

And the finale. Our dog, however, thinks the sky is falling and runs out of the room while the fireworks go off in the GAME. Silly dog. I’ve met braver Chihuahuas. (You should see her in thunderstorms. Not even kidding.)

Then it’s on to the next adventure for City Native. The only one of three that I can do on my own without a festival or a protest going on (which may take some time…..) .. is painting a mural at the Art Center. So, just to be safe, I kick this poor girl off her mural, remove it, start one of my own.. and start taking pictures. It’s my first mural.. give me a break.. of course I pic spam!

Without help, murals take forever. Take note. It’s dark now.

And painting the nature mural got her max skill. Awesome. No wonder her paintings make so much money.

And I leave you with this. Sarah is going to be a knock-out. Look at those eyes. Love her!

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The one thing I’ve noticed as I’ve play-tested along, is that there is a big difference between “Normal” and “Extreme” .. you wouldn’t think so, but there is. Hard to explain. I think I like the easiness of normal, but the freedom to build in extreme. Guess I like both, then. LOL. Anyway. Here we go. Of note before we start, though… I’m going to do this all in one shot so I don’t have to shoot a second cover photo. Yep. Laziness at it’s best.

My Sim for this go-round is Joel Ritchie – Creative, Romantic, Cheerful and started with the “City Native” so he gets a bonus for being on his “home turf”. The aspiration was switched once I got in game to the writing aspiration.

I started out talking up the ladies that I could find in the area – since there’s no collectibles to start with usually. They’ll spawn eventually. I found a couple of prospective partners, but was still holding out for possibly finding a better mate. Eventually I found Ulrike Faust – Perfectionist, Creative, Art Lover and working as a painter. When I saw her traits combined with her job I knew I was set. Befriended her and moved her in ASAP. Only level 2 in her career, but already a level 4 in painting. NICE! Bonus: I’ve never played her before so she’s pretty much all new to me.

With her painting, him collecting (and selling paintings from the square when I remembered to), I soon had at least the basics. For me, the basics included a computer for Joel and an easel for Ulrike. Also: a bed, a cooler, and a shower/sink/toilet. Walls took another day or so.

He seems happy, at least.

It took another couple days to get married to her.. but that was okay. Lots of time was spent leveling Joel’s writing skill. I got him to level three before writing a book – I’ve never seen a children’s book that sold well from the early levels. I also made a strategic decision not to publish anything until I hit level five writing so I could sell to publisher instead of self-publishing. Another decision I keep re-thinking is not getting him a job. For now, he’s doing his “work” from home.

Chatting with the Mrs. before she goes to work.

Last minute painting before popping the easel into household inventory as well as the inspiring wall art from her work. I’ll trade them for a TV and the value will still be there. More pic spam: (I tried to make this apartment look different from the last attempts, but there’s only so much you can do in this shell, in my opinion.)

And lastly: what it looks like without the easel and artwork: (Ulrike looks confused… haha)

Well, that was fast. Time to move!

Put down the wall by the balcony so they’d actually be living in a real room indoors. Added the door that looked like it best matched the windows I can’t change. Then the initial furniture purchases. Again, I had enough to purchase the basics. Looks a bit like lawn living… but they’ll be fine. It feels a bit like I’m living in a palace compared to the last dump – despite the fact that it’s just as crappy an apartment.

The next day, after Ulrike’s job, I send her off to the museum for her aspiration (looking at paintings at the museum). That doesn’t take to long, so I send her back home, and put her back to painting.

A Masterpiece later, I have enough money to start painting/flooring. For some reason I felt the need to do that before buying new stuff or even walls. I went with a bright, cheerful paint job.. although I do change the second bedroom’s flooring before I’m done.

More skilling and days at the job for Ulrike later, I am able to afford the rest of the walls, and some columns in the kitchen. I like the way it’s turning out.

Both of them in the little “inspiration nook” in the hallway. Still quite a bit of work to do left on the apartment before we’re done… but it’s getting there.

“Hey honey? I’m pregnant!” .. “Already? Guess we better upgrade our apartment!” (Okay, so it’s not the way the conversation went. But in the next day and a half I had everything needed for this apartment, blithely forgot to take screenshots and moved them to the next one.)

Had to go back to this apartment in build mode to get the pictures I forgot.. here’s the walls cutaway.

..The deck

.. And walls up. It’s incredibly hard to get pictures inside the apartment due to the size. (Perhaps why I abandoned the effort originally) .. So I gave up trying and just used these overall shots.

Well, that was fast.

A very pregnant and mostly unclothed Ulrike (I’m constantly telling her to put some clothes on.. LOL) standing outside their new lawn-living arrangement. I had a little bit of an idea of how to make this one differently, so I set the furniture out in their “correct” spots.

Here’s the walls I finally built. The bathroom and the kitchen got their paint before I ran out of funds again.

Ulrike.. again half naked.. and introducing us to Athena. I think this will be their only nooboo, so I hope she’s at least good looking. But then.. when are toddlers NOT adorable??

The little family. Trying to earn money so they can paint the walls.

Oohh. I see paint. In more ways than one!

Ulrike gets level 10 painting.

.. Just another day as a stay at home dad and writer.

Working on yet another book…

Wow.. his skills went by so quick! That home studio trait is really nice!

A shot of the hallway from the living room. You can see the kitchen to the left and the entry way at the far end.

The dining area.

Somehow the best shot I could get of the kitchen/dining area was through the window.

Master Bedroom.

Kid’s room.. never used. I moved them when Athena was still a baby to see how moving with a baby worked.

Finished apartment. I like the way it turned out!

For some reason, halfway through this house, the “Home Studio” trait disappeared so I had to put it back. It’s a nice one to have, though. I may have to add it to the next apartment.

Moved into the next apartment just in time. Meet Athena!

Lawn living quality in a great big apartment. Building the upper floor was one of my priorities, right after buying the very basics for each sim. I guess I could have splurged and gotten them “better” basics instead of building the upstairs, but I wanted to get an idea of where everything was going to go in the house. I specifically wanted it to look different from the way EA builds it, but keep the balcony overlooking the “Great View” windows.

Off to sleep little one. Daddy has some cleanup around the house to do, it seems.

The kitchen coming together. Yes, I’ve decided to do a purple/pink theme to the house. Why? To see if I can, of course!

Athena, the independent, teaching herself on the blocks in her newly-walled-in-room. No paint yet, but that will come.

The view from the studio. I had to put it in the same spot I stuck the office in my “normal” play-through just because the view is so awesome. The studio is open to the upstairs, though, and isn’t walled off, so that’s something new.

Time for bed again. Mommy takes a break from painting now that the apartment is starting to come together.

See? It’s turning out really well. And looking like I’ll have the house done WAY before Athena grows up. Having her earlier didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

Play time with mommy on one of her days “off” of work.

More pics of the balcony down to the living room and studio. I really like the way the house turned out, even if the decor is rather “loud”.

The upstairs. Nice and bright, and fits with the rest of the house. Wait ’til you see the way the kitchen/dining turned out!

Athena, playing on her own again. She seems to really like it.

While Mom and Dad work in the studio.

Awww.. nap time! Toddlers are so cute!

The kitchen.

Joel ages up.. on the same day as Athena is due to age up. Good thing you can re-use cake!

Go Athena!

Awww!

Athena’s new “big girl” room. I used a lot of the kid’s stuff pack for this, because it’s still very new to me. And yes, I remembered the no monster lamp next to her bed!

The dining area, looking from the kitchen.

The repairs are never ending. I suppose I could just replace them.. but then what would poor Joel do all day?

Working on her Creative Aspiration

Mommy’s birthday.

Time to put that violin down..

She finished the aspiration! Onto Whiz Kid.

Playing with mom for those chess games.

Since I’ve been over 40k in house value for a while now… I built a karaoke bar. Not a very good one, mind you.. but it’s built. And I send Joel and Ulrike to check it out one night. (They’re playing the LLama game back in the corner there…)

And look who’s home with a weird outfit?

Grats on the A there, Athena…

..Which finishes up Whiz Kid. Now to do Rambunctious Scamp.

Practicing typing at her pink computer.

While mom and dad do what they do basically every day.. paint and write.

Looking from the studio towards the kitchen…

From front door past dining into the kitchen..

.. And from dining towards the living room.

The upstairs balcony outside the bedrooms.

Third aspiration complete.. and just in time, too.

Happy birthday, Athena!

What is up with the short haired girl teens in my game. Second one in a row!  Oh well, at least she’s got decent clothes. 🙂

Yup, I couldn’t handle the hair. Changed it to a ponytail to match the style of her clothes.

Sitting reading in the living room. Since she’s got the nerd brain aspiration as a teenager, she had to read three books.. this is the second.

Then we have to upgrade something (or repair it) and nothing was broken for a change… so she upgrades a toilet. Which, contrary to EA saying it helps it break less.. it still breaks just as much afterwards.

Oh, Athena, that looks so dangerous. But she lives.

New table centerpiece to do the homework with.

Both Joel and Ulrike finish their aspirations.

And Athena gets an A.

More work on handiness. At about this point, I realize she won’t be able to finish nerd brain aspiration, either.. but that’s ok, I wanted quick learner on her anyway. (Can’t own the rocket ship in an apartment. Don’t worry. I tried.)

Might as well learn to cook now.. going to need it later. As with my normal play-through, I’m trying not to skill the things she’ll need in the next Switch in this household, so as to make it a bit harder and more accurate for testing.

Such a colorful kitchen.. wonder who the cake’s for?

Oh yeah, she got this, too. Must have been a good cake.

.. Dad. Poor Joel and the last of his adulthood.

Aches and pains await!

More learning to cook..

Man looking through these pictures, all I see is that a lot of things break in this house.

See?

And again.

Ulrike strutting..

Deservedly so. Nice job on the maxed career!

Also.. wow nice masterpiece. No wonder they’re rich.

Joel’s royalties check comes in. He gets that every day. And yes, that’s how much cash they have on hand.

Ulrike’s turn.

She doesn’t seem pleased with the aging.

Before I show the final age-up… the final stats for everyone:

The house value:

And the final funds:

Hefty chunk of change there. The closest I’ve ever gotten in one generation to getting the Rosebud achievement. (Although it might have been a little closer on my house 6 drifter, if you count how much was spent on the house..)

Good bye to teenager-hood! She even made her own cake. What a good girl. See you in Switch Two, Athena!

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On to Switch Two

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As you can see from above.. the whole family has been spending time skilling.

Well.. all except for Owen. He’s still growing.

Owen all toddler-ified. Isn’t he adorable? I just love this family!

She looks like she’s got a good idea..

.. But what she’s really got is her first child aspiration complete. I set her on the path of the mental one next.

More family Skilling time. Iris and Salim are working on her mental aspiration.

Bedtime for the kids!

Breakfast and TV before school.

Iris really helps out around the house. I had a maid for a while, but it seems glitched. He spent most his time just standing around in everyone’s way. I finally fired him.

Next part of the Whiz Kid aspiration…. gotta get those guaranteed focused homework completions.

Super Mom is at it again. She’s always working on toddler skills.

Uh oh.. why did I make the kid’s bedroom bigger?

An empty bassinet.. but not for long…!

Hey honey.. I’m pregnant again.

He doesn’t look pleased.

But.. he comes around and applauds the decision.

A wide screen shot of the open-plan dining room.

Iris, finishing up her second aspiration. Now she’s an A student. Way to go, Iris!

Owen is so cute! Squee!

This pregnancy is much harder on Aspen for some reason. So sorry, girl.

One last squishing of the dragon.

And Owen grows up just in time!

…What is it with that PJ shirt?  Both kids have it.

Meet Griffin!!

Owen comes home from school all angry. Wide shot to show the entrance-way.. I like the way it looks.

I’m not sure why Aspen look so worried at Griffin growing up.

This couple makes the cutest kids, I swear.

Look.. more paint missing on the outside of an EA apartment. So annoying.

Owen gets his “A” for his Whiz Kid aspiration.

Iris ages up. Somehow I missed getting a picture of her right after aging.

Mr Grumpy Pants is home again..

Here’s Iris as all three of them are studying. Salim is writing in a Book of Life.

Oh, yeah.. at some point Salim got this from his writing income.

Which I noticed because he aged to elder.. yes I made him a pink cake. LOL

I like Iris’ PJs much better than her everyday wear.

Griffin and Mama playing.  So cute!

Owen playing chess by himself.

Way to go Owen!

Cutie having Chili for breakfast.

More homework to be done…

And time for little Griffin to age up…

What a cutie!

Here he is working on his Physical skill (Motor?) .. since we don’t exactly have room for a monkey bars.

I love this “watching movies” thing. It gives them fun while not leaving them doing it forever.

There really is a gorgeous view from the office…

Mom talking to her two little boys. (Showing that at least Griffin doesn’t have the same PJ’s as the last two have had!)

This is what Aspen does when the kids are at school. I could have had another toddler to keep her busy, but I decided three kids was enough.

And this is what Salim does. I think, actually, this was one of the last books I made him write. In the end, he was making nearly 11k per day just from writing royalties.

… He may be focused from playing chess.. but once AGAIN.. he came home angry!

The boys eating dinner. For some reason, I seem to take a lot of pictures in this eating nook. I guess I just like the way it looks.

Owen ages up…

… not so cute anymore. And what’s up with the female voice?! Man I hate that bug.

Breakfast at Nash house.

While the kids are gone to school, Aspen does her final age-up.

I think she aged very well. 🙂

These two are always sneaking off to do this sort of stuff. It’s kinda cute.. especially since they’ve pretty much run out of stuff to do while the kids are at school.

Family traffic jam in the upstairs skill area.

Breakfast. And, for a change, everyone in the same place for once.

\

Just had to throw this in here. Aspen met him the first day I played her. He’s been calling EVERY DAY to ask her to do something or other (often a date) ever since. I was expecting them to stop when he finally died. No such luck. She’s now getting texted by a ghost. *headdesk*

All the kids heading off to school at once.

Way to go, Griffin!

Salim calling to retire. I decided to let him do that for his last couple days of life. Notice the trash chute.. he called the landlord right after.

And even though we barely know the lady, she came over and fixed it right away. (Forgive the walls down, they were too close to the door for a wall up shot)

Way to go Aspen. She barely tried on this skill, only cooking what the family needed to always have the fridge stocked.

… Now it’s Griffin?

…See? This is the next day.

The day before Iris ages up. She’s going to be stuck starting with a Sad mood for the next challenge.

On a whim, I try to have Aspen demand to have Salim live another day.

.. And it WORKS?!

.. He immediately goes to have a snack. Lazy tubby sim that he is.

Owen chatting up Grim before he leaves….

Everyone’s final stats. If I missed showing that an aspiration was completed, you’ll see it here.

Final house value:

Some random house photos:

Since I forgot to show how much money they had before I went to household management.. this shows it instead. They certainly weren’t hurting for cash!  

And finishing up Switch One – the final age-up:

See you in the next switch!

Back to Part One | On To Switch Two Part 1

Main Apartment Switch Rules | Switch One Rules

Once again, I have a bunch of pictures of the apartments I came up with and the sims I was playing. So here we go:

My tester is Aspen Nash, and she wants to be a fisher-woman… so I expect to be spending a lot of time away from the home. Since I’m on Normal difficulty, travel to the other city lots isn’t restricted and I plan to take full advantage of that. My first trip was to the park before poor Aspen even had a chance to look at her new, empty, apartment. Probably for the best – it looks pretty depressing in there. Turns out I found some really nice frogs, and spent a lot of time fishing for very few catches.. but it’s always like that at the beginning. (Why did I choose fishing? – I wanted to prove it was possible to use fishing as a good money earner!) She spent her first few days at the park earning money until I had a nice little nest egg to come home and at least furnish the basics for her. I ended up rotating between coming home and “recharging” and spending time in fishing locations. Pretty soon, the apartment was ready to move on, I chose not to take three items, but I did elect to carry my two frogs per person. (That rule has since been outlawed.) The apartment is a bit drab, but what do you want for a starter worth 8-10k?

I finished the first apartment much faster on normal than on my last play test on extreme, so things are looking good for this little family. I also moved in a husband at some point during apartment one. He is a writer, which is really good for making money (and the main reason I chose that townie to move in.)

Now, I start rotating between home and fishing, allowing hubby some time to write at his new computer, and fishing while he’s working. It seems to be working out pretty well. No guesses on how I’ll fare when it’s time for them to have a kid!

I furnished the second bedroom for a toddler, but no toddler is in sight at the moment. I will be moving before it’s time to have a kid.

Notice she already completed the fishing aspiration. I’ve NEVER done it that fast.. it’s crazy how fast she was catching fish. The last fish I ended up needing was the catfish, and he’s usually really easy. The challenge is moving right along, those sturgeon really sell well and I’ve been pretty lucky getting a few of them each time I visit Sylvan Glade.

Also: here’s hubby’s info just because:

I move out with 1500 or so in funds, and into the third apartment. I will be having the heir here, so I’m glad it’s a nice big place. (Or at least it seems big after the first one.) I have about 10k to spend after moving in … So there’s an interesting wall I decide to delete.

Literally.. a wall with a door in it when you can walk around it. Silly EA. I also find a spot they forgot to paint right outside the apartment’s front door. My OCD really hates this. LOL

The funds I have give me enough for a bed, a bathroom, the step up from the basic kitchen, a basic “study” (Computer, desk, chair. hey. It’s a study if you call it one, right?), a dining room (or at least, table and chairs), and a living room with a couch and a TV. One step up from lawn living, I guess. I’m left with 24 bucks. Guess it’s time to get back to work, kids. *grin*

That’s how it started, at least. I went with a very green theme and picked Spa Day furniture. I think it turned out really nice!

Here’s where I decide to start taking more pictures… more for me than you guys.. but whatever works, right?

For money, Salim does his work and his writing, Aspen and I are off to Sylvan Glade.

Aww Aspen it can’t be THAT bad. (A moodlet solver to fish for longer without going home.) After catching a record number of sturgeon, we head back home and celebrate by trying for a baby.

First try didn’t take.. but the second one did! Yay for nooboo on the way.

With the rest of the money we made, I finish furnishing the apartment in record time and move them out to the last apartment.

Finished apartment pictures:

I took this next shot after moving, in manage worlds, proving that the apartments are staying furnished after I leave them.

On to the last apartment. With the extra I had saved I had enough .. well, so that things were better than lawn living. I also moved a few walls around and did some painting. Note that the beige change shows up after my daughter said it looked bad and over-rode my choice to a dark blue. I ended up liking it and leaving it.

Practically no lights, and almost nothing in furniture. Since it’s the middle of the night I send them to bed. Bright and early the next morning it’s back to the grind.

Salim writing..

Watching TV…

Aspen cooking.. and generally being miserable about being pregnant.

They’re not kidding about the “Great View” lot trait. It really is a great view from up here. I decide that the windows are going to be uncovered except for in the bathrooms.. because .. yeah, it’s gorgeous.

Baby time! (At this point I’m chanting “please not twins please not twins” and hubby said, nope. Triplets. … thanks.)

Turns out it’s just Iris.

Cuteness overload!!

Daddy actually getting in some parenting time. Since he’s turned into the primary bread winner, Aspen is now mostly a stay at home mom.. which works out okay now that Salim is really bringing in good money from his books.

Aww.. ! I didn’t know the moms could play with the toddlers!

All this staying home is starting to put on the pounds. I decide to make her run some of it off. (My sims always seem to end up tubby. I keep them well fed. LOL)

Iris is nearing childhood, and I’m a bit bored since the house value is complete.. so I have them try for baby again. Success!

Some quality time with Dad for Iris.

I’ve been having Aspen work on the pen pal postcard collection, and just about every day the mailbox is stuffed full of postcards to sell. The mailman must be really tired of it by now.

Meet Owen!

Right after having the baby.. Iris needs aging up. No more toddler cutie!

Wow.. she’s going to be a knockout. I think I love her already!

I almost forgot poor Aspen’s birthday.. Seriously she was probably going to age up without cake at any moment by the time I finally finished making her cake and hurriedly told her to “make a wish”. She’s now a full-fledged adult.

On to Part 2

The Apartment Switch Challenge Open For Testers

Today, I went ahead and published the first Switch for the Apartment Switch Challenge. It’s now also linked from my blog, at the left hand menu above the calendar. It’s officially open for a public testing phase… feel free to read the rules and dive right in.

If you’re playing it, I’d love to hear about it. Comment here or message me as IllusoryThrall on the Sims 4 forums and I’ll get back to you ASAP. Questions, comments, concerns.. all are welcome.

I plan to release at least every other week until all six Switches (mini-challenges) are published. I’m trying to give this Switch a little bit of a “soft” launch, without making a topic on the Sims Forums just yet… I want to see if I can get some feedback from testers before I do that, and I also want to make absolutely sure I can keep up with the publishing schedule. I’m in the final stages of testing for this first Switch, just polishing, really, (read: challenge completed and just waiting on my heirs to age up) and will be starting testing on Switch Two in the next couple of days.

EDIT: I plan to fully release Switch One to the Sims 4 forums Sunday, February 19th.