The Big News:

I have been slaving away on several projects at once – as usual… One being getting a spreadsheet template together for use as a free tracker for all of my challenges. Well, I don’t need to anymore!! Because (drumroll) … I have a partner now!

After some discussion and negotiation, I now have a partner in Crime for my Sims Challenges. Not a co-author… although there will be more collab challenges coming up in the future… but a programmer who has a WONDERFUL tracking website she designed for tracking her challenges. It’s SO cool. It’s free, and you can sign in, add your saves that you want to track, as well as track all the goals, see the rules, and even add and save pictures and information about your sims’ stories. I cannot speak more highly about this tool, and the programmer who has spent the last 8-9 months of their life getting it working from the ground up. When I first saw it, I knew right away it was something that I wanted to be a part of. Either I needed to take the time to learn how to program one of my own, or I needed to find a way to get my challenges up on this site.

Well, I’ve done it. All of my challenges are now officially “on the table”. I am updating the rules on ALL of them, sending every single one from the 1.0 version they’re in into an updated, and upgraded 2.0 version. The first one will be Timeline Adventure that will be updated on the website (and my companion tracker for now).. then I’ll update Extended NSB, and help Calendula Petals (my new partner) get it up and working on the tracking website. Once it’s ready, it’ll be linked directly from all my NSB pages, and you’ll be able to make a free account on the site and have a SUPER way to track your entire Not So Berry extended playthrough!!

After Not So Berry is up and running on the tracking website, we will be working to get Timeline Adventure up on the tracker, then, each of my other challenges individually will be also getting added. I will keep you all informed of what’s going up next, ect…. so you have a good idea of what’s coming. Actually… no, I’ll go ahead and post the priority list for updates as it stands right now: Stuff in red is updates… blue is coming collabs I’m working on… and green.. is challenge ideas that are still coming.

• Update Timeline Adventure – completed main page & gen 1-5 (so far)
• Update Extended Not So Berry – completed main page & gen 1-12 (so far)
• Finish Writing Misery2Mansions
• Update the SuperSim Tracker
• Update Save File Tracker
• Update Mermaid Legacy
• Update Master Simmer
• Update Hard Mode Decades
• Update Lunar Lineage
• Update the Apartment Switch
• Refresh 100daycreativity
• Refresh Build-A-Pack
• Refresh Flipping Lots
• Refresh Winchester
• Update All other smaller challenges
• REDOing my Plants Reference Sheet
• Finish the Update for Interactive Asylum
• Update Shell Challenges List
• Collab on a “Dance With Death” short Challenge
• Collab on a Vampires Legacy challenge that is FULL of fun DRAMA!
• Collab on a Fairie Legacy Challenge
• Write & publish a “do everything with one sim” challenge
• Write & Publish a Storyteller’s Companion Spreadsheet on my Patreon
• Write a Solo Mode for my Asylum Challenge
• Write an Add-on for the Hard Mode Decades Challenge for 1850-1890 (in the “Old West”!!)
• Finish writing my take on the “Build A World” Challenge
• Try to finish & publish my “An ImPACKtful Journey” Choose Your Own Sims Adventure Challenge
• Write & Publish an Alternative Mermaid Legacy using mods
• Write & Publish a Sims Medieval Challenge!!
• Write & Publish a Spellcaster Legacy Challenge
• Write & Publish a Ghosts! Challenge
• Write & Publish a PlantSim Challenge
• Write & Publish a Servo Challenge
• Pursue the “Peace And War Among the Occults” Challenge idea

Introducing CalendulaPetals

So, with all that being said, let me introduce my new partner, CalendulaPetals! First – some history. I was looking for a challenge to play on stream that wasn’t one of mine, and would require little setup to start.. because I wanted to get playing ASAP… and I ran across two challenges by my new friend… and the tracker they programmed. I was blown away immediately. I registered, played around with the tracker, and I literally COULD NOT STOP myself from messaging this mysterious and amazing Simmer who, seemingly, had performed the impossible: a web-based tracker for challenges that was both FREE, and super easy to use. I just had to know what language it had been programmed in, or what program, so I could put learning that language on my list of future me projects. Turns out, Calendula had spent the last 8+ months painstakingly learning and programming the entire thing by themselves in the Ruby language. Immediately, my heart sank. Not only did I know NOTHING about Ruby, I’d never even heard of it. So that would mean I’d have to start from the VERY VERY blank slate of knowing absolutely nothing.

Eventually, I dropped the idea, and settled on one of Calendula’s challenges (Townie Achievement Challenge) to play on stream.. and I figured, what the heck, I’ll message them again to let them know I would being featuring both their website and their challenge on my stream. One thing led to another… and now I can officially announce our partnership!!

CalendulaPetals

Calendula Petals (she/they) is a long time Simmer and web developer with a deep interest in data and the semantic web. They built Sims Challenge Tracker as a way to track Sims 4 Challenges, and they use it themselves to track their own games. They also wrote some of the challenges on Sims Challenge Tracker — the Urban Founder Challenge, and the Townie Achievement Challenge. They are a proud geek, gamer, parent, and spouse.

Okay, so full disclosure. One of my very best friends in the world has passed on.. and I sorta took a mental health break away from doing everything other than just recovering and finding my feet again. However, I am FULLY back.. and wanted to give a sneak peek into what I’m working on.

I am setting up some templates to make spreadsheet trackers for ALL of my challenges, not just the big ones. As soon as the templates are fully set up and working, I will be able to put together and update ALL of my existing spreadsheets, and all my challenges for the new packs they’re missing. I will be starting with the Not So Berry and moving on to Timeline Adventure, I think… then one by one through my other things, INCLUDING the Super-Sim tracker some of you seem to really enjoy!

Anyway. The plan is, all of my challenges will REMAIN FREE, and will have a free spreadsheet tracker available for you to copy and use at your discretion. (Pics below) – Missing from the pics is a “tracking and Trivia” page, which I still have to make.

BUT… THAT’S NOT ALL!! On top of the free spreadsheets I showed the starting templates for above… I will also be offering for a small fee (probably through patreon, maybe etsy as well) spreadsheets with even MORE info for you to track your sims with. These will be basically the same as the free version with the notable exception – they will have a linked, working, fully functional Sims Story page. It’s detailed, it’s gorgeous, it’s amazing, I cannot say enough about it. And not only is it amazing in it’s full form, EACH SECTION will be able to be minimized so you can reduce scrolling if you’re on later generations. I will be making a “Storyteller’s Dream” tracking version for ALL of my challenges, as well as for Super Sim, and a plain old 10 generation legacy. If enough people are interested, I may even make a sheet for longer legacies. Now, before you complain that it’s going to be paid… I’ve put so many hours of work into this, it’s not funny… and also, there will always be the free, fully functional version without the massive story tracking page(s).

I still have some arduous work to do on the templates (namely, finishing finding ALL the icons for the story page and setting up the data page… and making all of it WORK with formulas and such….), but I should be back to working on the Not So Berry updating and UPGRADING in the next couple of weeks, hopefully…. and since I’ve already done about 2/3 of the prep work for that update, the NSB update shouldn’t really take all that long at all. I hope. Anyway. Comment away, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what’s going on, and if you have any suggestions or comments.

Love, Thrall

Great NEWS!! My Patreon is officially LIVE!! https://patreon.com/IllusoryThrall

Yes, that means my Planet Zoo Spreadsheet is ready for the public as well! See here for information: https://www.patreon.com/posts/thralls-planet-8-120329459

At this time, only the general support tier ($3) and the Spreadsheet collab tier ($6) are available and live, but I will be adding a tier for custom Sims builds as soon as I have the shop for them set up. My hope is that this will REPLACE my Kofi page, so if you want to support me in ways that will get me a better percentage than Twitch will, this is where to do it!

Also of note: Nearly all of my posts will be available to Free Patreon members (i.e. you don’t need to pay for them) after any Early Access periods and once the item in question is officially published. For access to the unpublished Spreadsheets, you will need to join the Spreadsheet collab tier.

Just wanted to leave a quick note. I’ve finished testing and updating the SuperSim Tracking Spreadsheet for Lovestruck (and other packs). Link here: SuperSim Challenge Checklist Spreadsheet

In addition to this, I have just completed a spreadsheet with all lot information for all existing worlds, and places to check off and type in what you call your builds for each lot in case you’re working on a save file. Link here: Thrall’s Save File Tracking Tool

Enjoy!!

Coming from a semi-mathematic mind, and definitely one who likes to make a million lists… spreadsheeting comes pretty naturally to me. I’ve been making spreadsheets to track my Sims playthroughs for years now. It’s only occurred to me recently that other people might be interested in them, too. So here is where I will keep my growing list of googlesheet FREE spreadsheets. And yes, this list will be growing. I am actively working on at least 3 tracking spreadsheets now, although my website moving had to take precedence, but I will be getting back to them.

Super-Sim Tracking Spreadsheet
Not-So-Berry Extended Edition Spreadsheet (by EmilyBlueJaye)
Timeline Adventure Challenge Tracking Spreadsheet
Decades Family Tracking Spreadsheet (coming soon)
100 Baby Tracking Spreadsheet (coming soon)