Thought I'd share some of my strategies for new families
Since I've been playing the Sims so long, I've developed a few simple, relatively easy ways to give your new Sims a head start when beginning their lives. 🙂
1- I make a couple, husband and wife but choose your own, as long as they're already married when I start it gives me no trouble.
2- Change your Sims' Aspirations basically at once. I go with Soul Mate, Angling Ace, Freelance Botanist, Painter Extraordinaire and The Curator to begin with. Soul Mate is really easy to start with. 🙂
3- Once a Sim accumulates 5,000 Aspiration Points, I buy a Money Tree Seed and plant it in a planter pot in my basement (to avoid any Seasons interference). Plant another tree as well, whatever you have access to is fine.
4- Once the Money Tree is mature and you can sell the fruit, take a single cutting. I recommend this because I have never tried more than 1 and I know it won't kill them, though inevitably it's irrelevant because you can plant all the harvested seeds and grow an orchard of Money Trees. 😉
5- Graft onto another tree. Once this tree becomes mature the Money Fruit will become harvestable; harvest it and plant more Money Trees.
6- I start in Willow Creek because it has the most collectibles available in walking distance as well as the tree entrance to the Sylan Glade, an awesome place to work on your fishing. Cowplant berries are pretty common and sell well, and Tree Fish are in abundance. :D
7- I swap back and forth between the 'beginner' Aspirations to gain as much AP as I can, as quickly as I can. The Painter Aspiration is excellent because the paintings almost immediately begin to generate profit, which is good income.
6- Throw out your trash can. Buy a Nanocan Touchless and stop your Sims from washing their dishes after a meal- the plates will give you $10 per each household member (including pets) every time you put them in the can. If you eschew from cooking and have your Sims eat Quick Meals, they are free and it's pure profit. :D
7- Jump on the first Romance Festival that pops up, unless it's in the winter. It has some of the most expensive flowers around and you can grow plenty of your own. ^_^
8- Buy a small Pile of Presents, you can get some excellent stuff every few hours. Who needs Winter Fest? LOL You can get a really good fridge and stove if you're lucky, and other expensive items you can sell for profit.
My current family has never worked a single day and they have nearly 1.5 million right now, after sending their 1st pair of twins into the world with 200k starter funds. I also try to get them to Selvadorada as soon as they have at least Steel Bladder and a pocketful of edible harvestables, plus a decent amount of cash to buy things from the stalls there. I harvest the Emotion Trees and plant them in my basement as well, and they are invaluable in raising skills. I generally leave Selvadorada once I've hit the Omiscan Baths and harvested there, because their skills are so low that they get hammered by all the 'natural dangers', barrier crossings and traps. I'll go back once I've harvested a good supply of berries. 🙂
I've used this formula countless times now and it never fails me, my Sims pile up money and have plenty of free time to work on skills. A quick WooHoo takes care of Fun and Social splendidly. :D
I also often buy a rocket ship ASAP because 1 trip to Explore Space fills any fun need I have and I pick up good collectibles that way too.
I hope this little formula helps some of you to start your game off with happier Sims who aren't struggling to meet needs and work right away with no skills. Happy Simming! ^_^
~Tyger <3
