Advice for the Strangerville Story (Spoilers)
So, I've been seeing some misinformation going around in terms of how linear vs. open ended the story is in this pack, so I thought I would type up some details and advice for those who really want to tackle the story how they want to, so they know the options. Spoilers under the cut!
(Note, I am not talking about fulfilling the aspiration, but rather specifically the story itself which can be done without the aspiration.)
Now, not all of this is tested and 100% confirmed by me, more of a compilation of what I have heard and seen some other people do, and the options I noticed in my own run through.
(Note, I am not talking about fulfilling the aspiration, but rather specifically the story itself which can be done without the aspiration.)
Spoiler
First off, there are actually two main 'routes' you can play. Infected, and uninfected. The Infected route means you can talk to the mother and pretty much play around as a possessed sim, which has it's own story possibilities. You can absolutely choose to try and infect the whole town if you want to, it will just be a bit more effort and require some cleverness, as it's not as explicitly supported by the game as clearing the infection is.
Second, in order to progress the story as a uninfected Sim there are really only 2 main things you 'need', if you want your sim to remain uninfected, that are locked in HOW you get them. 1: A hazmat suit, which you need to collect spores and get the scanner for, and is only bought through the curio shop and modified with scientists 2:Vaccines, which you need to also use the scanner for.
The reason why I say 'locked in' is because the other items you need there are multiple ways to get. The keycard can be gotten through the military career and requesting it at level 5, you can also either present a dossier of evidence to a scientist or military person to try to convince them to give you one (I believe some friendship is required for this, could be wrong), or you can show the dossier of evidence to the conspiracy theorist stand and get the keycard unlocked from their secret inventory and pay 250 simoleons for it. My friend says you can also blackmail a sim for one. Depending on your sim, you can choose which option to take.
These are pretty tame differences, but I appreciate the variety we get here. You can also choose HOW to get evidence. I did a mix of bugging people and raiding the facility, and taking pics of the plant and door, so a varied mix. But you could conceivably get all evidence through bugging and never set foot in the lab, or only raid the lab and taking pictures and not bother bugging people.
The other item you will need that has multiple options to obtain is the Scanner. The scanner can only be gotten from military sims, but you can: impress them (need medium or high fitness, I believe. I had 3 skill in fitness and did not work), fight them (I imagine regular rules of winning a fight apply), bribe them (750 simoleons, if I remember right), seduce them for it (need at least a 5 skill in Charisma, as that is what I had and got it with- alongside a high friendship and a couple flirts to prep), or blackmail them for it.
Now, there is a branching route with the story for uninfected where instead of killing the Mother, you can befriend her. I need to try this more, but my guess is either charisma or repeated attempts at communication or both are needed. I still haven't succeeded, but it's drifting around that this is a possible path without infection. (This also happens if you revive the mother).
The main gist is that if you want the most linear form of the story, stick with the aspiration. But the story itself can be played a couple different ways, so if you want to explore with different options go ahead and just choose a more general aspiration for your sim!
Oh, and if you want a very specific story, you can even have a sim killed by the Mother during the fight or before it.
Second, in order to progress the story as a uninfected Sim there are really only 2 main things you 'need', if you want your sim to remain uninfected, that are locked in HOW you get them. 1: A hazmat suit, which you need to collect spores and get the scanner for, and is only bought through the curio shop and modified with scientists 2:Vaccines, which you need to also use the scanner for.
The reason why I say 'locked in' is because the other items you need there are multiple ways to get. The keycard can be gotten through the military career and requesting it at level 5, you can also either present a dossier of evidence to a scientist or military person to try to convince them to give you one (I believe some friendship is required for this, could be wrong), or you can show the dossier of evidence to the conspiracy theorist stand and get the keycard unlocked from their secret inventory and pay 250 simoleons for it. My friend says you can also blackmail a sim for one. Depending on your sim, you can choose which option to take.
These are pretty tame differences, but I appreciate the variety we get here. You can also choose HOW to get evidence. I did a mix of bugging people and raiding the facility, and taking pics of the plant and door, so a varied mix. But you could conceivably get all evidence through bugging and never set foot in the lab, or only raid the lab and taking pictures and not bother bugging people.
The other item you will need that has multiple options to obtain is the Scanner. The scanner can only be gotten from military sims, but you can: impress them (need medium or high fitness, I believe. I had 3 skill in fitness and did not work), fight them (I imagine regular rules of winning a fight apply), bribe them (750 simoleons, if I remember right), seduce them for it (need at least a 5 skill in Charisma, as that is what I had and got it with- alongside a high friendship and a couple flirts to prep), or blackmail them for it.
Now, there is a branching route with the story for uninfected where instead of killing the Mother, you can befriend her. I need to try this more, but my guess is either charisma or repeated attempts at communication or both are needed. I still haven't succeeded, but it's drifting around that this is a possible path without infection. (This also happens if you revive the mother).
The main gist is that if you want the most linear form of the story, stick with the aspiration. But the story itself can be played a couple different ways, so if you want to explore with different options go ahead and just choose a more general aspiration for your sim!
Oh, and if you want a very specific story, you can even have a sim killed by the Mother during the fight or before it.
Now, not all of this is tested and 100% confirmed by me, more of a compilation of what I have heard and seen some other people do, and the options I noticed in my own run through.
