Round 1 Notes!

What are "Notes"?

The Notes posts will come at the end of each of the rounds. They will contain gameplay information that I wanted to share that is not part of the story itself. They are also a place for me to share answer's to questions I receive from readers during the round. So please, ask me questions!

What are "Rounds"?

So glad you asked! This story is a rotational game, which means I am going to be rotating between different households within the same save. Because they are within the same save, the households I am playing can interact with one another.

Each Round will be complete when I have played one week of each of the households that are currently in play. In Round 1 we had two households. In Round 2, we will have three households. I'm going to continue adding households until I feel I have just enough. I'm thinking we'll end up around five.

How I Select Families- The Twist!

This is the interesting part of the challenge! The households that get played each round will be DIFFERENT. We will probably end up with mostly the same ones each time. However, as the story progresses things might shift.

The first household was different. I wanted to select one premade household from Willow Creek (the first neighborhood of the game). I wanted a household that would give me the greatest chance of multiple storylines, so I went with a household that was three single young adults. After selecting them, I played them for a week.

Once the first week was done, I took a look at the external relationships of the household. What were the most significant relationships (either positive or negative)? In this case, the one that stood out the most was Summer's friend, Candy. Candy's household became our second one.

After I played Candy's house for a week, Round 1 was complete.

Summer & Liberty

I'm not preplanning these storylines. I'm letting them play out and seeing where they go. I will help them along, but I take my cues from the Sims themselves. Liberty's crush on Summer developed because on Day One, Liberty got the whim to "Flirt with Summer". I decided since that was the only desire for flirting that happened within the first few days (at least) and that it was Liberty's first whim for either of her roommates, that Liberty must have a crush on Summer. I then helped that crush along a bit throughout the story.

Setting the Stage for Round 2- Another Twist!

The Round 2 households were selected in the manner in which I intend to use in the future. I took a look at all the significant relationships from all of Round 1 and selected the households with the highest number of significant relationships to all the Round 1 households. So, anyone who had a relationship with: Summer, Liberty, Travis, Candy or Yuki.

Round 2 Households:

1. Summer, Liberty and Travis (thanks mainly to Summer's relationship with Candy)
2. Candy & Yuki (thanks mainly to Candy's relationship to Summer)
3. Jacques, Luna, Hugo and Max (thanks to Yuki who has a relationship with Hugo, and with Jacques)

In addition, I have a table of (currently) 70 different events that could happen each round. I will randomly select one each round (online die roll). Events vary drastically in severity. Here are some examples: Someone gets a divorce, someone adopts a dog, everyone goes out to eat, everyone's yards get an upgrade, a bakery opens in town, someone quits their job, etc... This serves to a) keep things interesting!, b) encourages me to explore DLC...many of the events are based on DLC packs, and c) keeps things more real by adding unexpected life events like divorce, babies, money problems and deaths.

Round 2 Event: Someone dies by a fire

(DUN DUN DAA)

And I will leave that as our conclusion to the Round 1 Notes!

Round #1: Candy & Yuki, Part 2

Start from the beginning here, or check out the links at the bottom for posts you might have missed.

Yuki had been struggling in school recently, so Candy found some time to help her with her homework. Candy has been trying to figure out how to be both a parent and a sister to Yuki.

Another night off, another night at the club for Candy.

There is no better dancer than Candy.

Seriously. Ask any Sim at the club!

She.

is.

Amazing.

People clear the dance floor and cheer. It's no wonder she likes hanging out there!

While both Candy and Summer love meeting new people, they've been spending a lot of time together at the club. They've become quite close friends.

Yuki might not be the most social gal, but she is still a teenager. Every morning, she stares into the mirror wishing for a zit to go away, or wondering if her shirt is flattering.

Neither Yuki or Candy know how to cook. The stove has only been used for Grilled Cheese. Most meals consist of cereal, pastries, peas, oatmeal and microwave chicken nuggets. Yuki is interested in learning more about cooking, but doesn't know where to start (or have the time, really).

Round #1: Candy & Yuki, Part 1

Start from the beginning here, or check out the links at the bottom for posts you might have missed.

Candy Behr is friends with Summer Holiday. Candy is a member of the Spin Masters and met Summer at a nightclub. They hit it off quickly thanks to their cheerful and outgoing personalities, as well as their love for dance!

Candy is the older sister, and sole provider, of Yuki. Yuki is an introverted teenager who loves video games.

In fact, she tends to favor games and online interactions over real life social interactions. Her only friend is Candy.

Candy works nights, and Yuki goes to school during the day. They have to take whatever opportunities they can to hang out. Yuki often does her homework at Candy's desk, while Candy practices the guitar.

Despite being a bit of a loner, Yuki is in two clubs including the Avant Gardes who gather at a local coffee house. They have a meeting room in the back of the coffee house that's nice and quiet.

Hugo is the only other teen in the Avant Gardes. Yuki likes Hugo- he's quiet and reserved like her. He also doesn't have many friends.

The meeting room is a great place to read and drink coffee...and to not interact with the other club members?

Yuki works part-time after school at HAMBURGERMAN! to help her sister pay the bills. Yuki doesn't mind it, though she knows she'd probably be able to do a better job in school if she didn't have to work. She's not going to admit that out loud to anyone, though.

On Candy's nights off, she heads to the club to meet up with her friends (like Summer), and to show off her dance moves.

Candy frequently leads the Spinmasters (Joaquin and Dominic) in some fancy group dance numbers. Their group dance routines usually attract quite an audience.

Round #1: Liberty, Summer and Travis, Part 4

Part 1 can be found here.

The roommates head back to Willow Creek to resume their work lives. Liberty was going back to being a Module Cleaner at SpaceY, Travis was doing Quality Assurance at Rainy Day Entertainment, and Summer was the Head Dishwasher at Make A Dish.

While camping, Liberty decided she wanted to become more self-sufficient. When she returned, she was inspired to read some books on DIY projects and how to fix things around the home.

This random guy showed up at the house looking for Travis. He said that he met Travis during their trip to Granite Falls. Liberty had no memory of this and was engaged in an awkward conversation with the guy when Travis started yelling from the bathroom.

How convenient! Saved by...the toilet? Indeed. Liberty was able to trade the uncomfortable conversation with the random guy for a leaky toilet- that she coincidentally just read about how to fix!

Travis was very confused about Liberty's reaction to the leaky toilet. He was annoyed by the toilet and concerned about it being fixed. Liberty, however, seemed excited?

Still Travis happily traded with her. And enjoyed a wonderful conversation with is new friend that he met camping. Liberty had met him camping as well. Thankfully, she didn't recognize her arch nemesis without his bear costume on.

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That will conclude Round 1 of the Summer, Liberty and Travis household! Up next, you will meet Candy & Yuki for their Round 1. After that, you'll get a post with "Round 1 Notes", which will hopefully clear up any questions you might have. 

As always, I love feedback!

Round #1: Liberty, Summer and Travis, Part 3

Go back to part 1 here.

We left off with Liberty telling off a creepy dude in a bear costume that was wandering around the park.

The bear is just like "Alright, alright. Lady, I'm leaving. It just takes a minute to get up from the seat in this costume."

As it turns out, camping was a wonderfully bonding experience for our house of roommates. They spent a lot of time around the campfire chatting about all sorts of things.

Travis told everyone a fantastical story while Liberty toaster marshmallows.

Summer and Liberty had some time along after Travis turned in for the night. Liberty was starting to feel a bit playful and flirtatious, and it looked like some cautious and friendly flirting might be on the horizon....

But they were interrupted by another camper...he recognized Summer from the club she went to a few nights ago. He is the bartender there. Being perpetually cheerful, Summer engaged him and conversation and Liberty decided to turn in for the evening.

The following day, Summer and Travis stayed around the campsite while Liberty went for a long hike in the forest. Liberty is very interested in the natural world and she was going out hunting for new insect and plant specimens to add to her collections. Liberty asked if they wanted to come along and help, but Summer and Travis wanted nothing to do with it.

During her travels, Liberty met a woman named Julie Adams who was fishing in lake along Liberty's path.

Another campfire, and more conversations. Travis and Liberty discussed a new geeky show they were both into, while Summer listened in.

On their final day of camping, Travis never wanted to see franks and beans again, so he made veggie burgers.  Summer's burger appears to be untouched. Leftover franks and beans?

During one of their last hangout sessions before they left, Summer sat very close to Liberty and did the classic "stretch and place your arm around someone" move. It wasn't very subtle, but Liberty was uncertain. After all, Summer was a kind, cheerful and affectionate friend. It was probably nothing...right?

Round #1: Liberty, Summer and Travis, Part 2

You can find Part 1 here.

Travis and Liberty destressed on the couch before heading off to work. Travis played games on his tablet, while Liberty read a book, of course.

Summer had a couple nights during the week free, so she went out dancing. She met some friendly and interesting people.

Summer watched and listened to a great DJ, watched some folks dance, and chatted with some members of the Spinmasters club. Summer isn't into partying that much, but she likes dancing and hanging out with interesting people.

Summer has been continuing to go to the gym in her spare time- as much for the socialization aspect as the fitness. She's met Dina and Nina (pictured) Caliente, Don Lothario (pictured in the back), Brent and Brant Hecking, and Rachael (last name?, also pictured), the gym trainer.

During this round of play, we had some great news- both Travis and Liberty got promotions!

You would think they'd look more thrilled about it. Travis seems exhausted in his new...uniform?

Summer brings out Libery's more playful side. Liberty enjoys making Summer laugh with silly jokes and funny faces.

Also, it seems as though Liberty has developed a bit of a crush on Summer. Not that she intends to share that information with anyone anytime soon.

The group decided to go on a camping trip to celebrate their promotions! They each took a couple days of vacation time, stocked up on some equipment, and headed out to Granite Falls.

As it turns out, the only thing Summer wants to cook while camping is Franks and Beans. Breakfast, lunch or dinner- if Summer is cooking, that's what you get.

Liberty got so upset when someone in a bear costume sat down to chat with them. She wasn't having it.

She mocked the bear.

And then yelled at the bear. Seriously. She was not having this bear thing. She thinks it is weird and creepy. It was strange to see such an outburst from the normally quiet Liberty, but we all have those things that get under our skin.

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And that concludes Part 2 of Summer, Liberty and Travis's Round 1. More posts are expected this week!

Round #1: Liberty, Summer and Travis, Part 1

Liberty (left), Summer (middle) and Travis (right) have just become roommates in quite a nice home in Willow Creek.

After they had moved in, and unpacked, they began to go about their new lives in Willow Creek. You could learn a lot about them from what they did next.

Travis spent his day in his room on his computer. He was brushing up his programming skills before starting his new job in the tech industry the following day. He also chatted with people online in forums and such. He did all of this while listening to talk radio.

Liberty chose to spend her day off, before starting her job as an intern at the local space center in the quiet, stillness of her room, reading.

Summer spent her day off outside...chatting with all the locals she could find. And not giving a second thought to her job tomorrow as a dishwasher (and why would she?)

Summer also went to the gym later in the day to run, and to meet more people of course.

Despite Liberty's shyness, Summer was determined to make fast friends with her new roommates. Liberty didn't seem to mind. Introverts need friends too!

Summer had a much better luck with Travis. While he likes his computer, Travis is about as outgoing as Summer. 

Travis and Liberty started work the following morning. Travis doesn't seem to be a morning person...

Summer works the evening shift, so she spent her afternoon doing a workout in the living room. Their living is very spacious, perfect for a power workout!

Travis and Liberty have begun bonding over breakfast every morning. On the particular morning shown above, they were both eating leftovers that Summer had made. Summer has become the default cook of the house. Travis had left over garden salad, and Liberty had leftover brownies. Hmm...we need to get Summer to make more breakfast-type foods to leave in the fridge for them!

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And that wraps up part #1 of Round 1 in the home of Liberty, Summer and Travis. I'm already working on two more posts about them which will be going up sometime this week. I will also include a post that tells you what "Round 1" means, hehe!

Thanks for reading. As always, comments are so loved and appreciated.