Rush Boom Turtle: Tom Chick's Sims 3 RTS Challenge
Are you hardcore enough to play The Sims 3 as a real-time strategy game?
6/9/2009 3:38 PM | 14 Comments | Page 2 of 2
So assuming you're still with me instead of role-playing a star-crossed couch potato with agoraphobia, welcome to the Tom Chick
Sims 3 RTS Challenge. I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Rush Boomturtle, created specially for this challenge. He consists entirely of negative traits. With you guiding him through the twilight of his life, how many Lifetime Happiness points can this absent-minded, clumsy, cowardly, unlucky loser acquire?
If you're up to the task, drop Mr. Boomturtle into a fresh copy of Sunset Valley and play him either until he dies, or until midnight of his 100th day of life (he's currently 74 days old). At that point, note his total number of Lifetime Happiness points. That's your score.
Mr. Rush Boomturtle
If you haven't downloaded any Sims or Lots yet, you're missing out. But here's how it works. Go
here to download Mr. Boomturtle's "Lot," which consists of him and his house (feel free to send me a friend request while you're there). Then boot up
The Sims 3, click on "New Game," and select "Sunset Valley." You'll be looking at a virgin copy of the town. Select "Move In Household," then select Boomturtle's lot from the list. Place it at 2500 Pinochle Point, the lot at the very end of the street. If you're having trouble finding Pinochle Point, it's the empty suburban development far inland, across the map from the seashore. It's a set of seven lots along a dead-end street. Mr. Boomturtle's place at No. 2500 is at the very end of the street.
The goal is simple. Do whatever it takes to earn Happiness points for Mr. Boomturtle. A few rules:
1. You have to use the naked copy of Sunset Valley as it ships with the game. No resorting to your own Sims, and no buying anything from the store. You can't get a Prius or deck him out with fancy clothes and hairstyles bought with real money. You can't drop him into Riverview. You can't surround him with rich, generous neighbors.
Pinochle Point
2. You cannot mess around with Mr. Boomturtle from the Edit Town menu. In other words, no fair merging his household with the Landsgraab household to take advantage of their money. And no using the cheat codes, of course. I'm watching you.
3. This is not a poverty challenge! You may freely use the Buy and Build modes. Amass and spend wealth. Gatsby it up as much as you can! Right off the bat, consider going into the Build mode to cut a few windows into Mr. Boomturtle's house, or buy him a few lamps. Given that Mr. Boomturtle is cowardly, he's going to have an Afraid of the Dark moodlet until you get some light into his house. You might want to put a door on the bathroom. Feel free to adjust the godawful coloring scheme or lay some nice tile. You'll see that he's not terribly happy about the naked walls. Do you dare spend your early money on wallpaper? Mr. Boomturtle isn't flush with cash.
4. You have to play "Iron Man." That is to say, no reloading if something happens that you don't like. Given Mr. Boomturtle's unfortunate collection of traits, you can expect the unexpected.
5. You can spend your Lifetime Happiness points on Lifetime Rewards, but keep in mind that you're spending your score. Given Mr. Boomturtle's limited time, I can't imagine any of the Lifetime Rewards are going to be worth the cost. But it's your call.
Your home
6. You have through Friday, June 19 to submit your final score. Save your game at midnight on Day 100 or on the occasion of Mr. Boomturtle's death. Upload it and send me a message on the
Sims 3 community site (my name there is "tomchick"). I'd love to know a bit about how you managed your score, and screenshots are always welcome, but they're not mandatory. This is not a bunch of pansy storytelling AAR silliness! This is a manly, results-oriented
Sims 3 RTS challenge.
Note that the specifics of the challenge will be largely out of your control. Your score will be a matter of fulfilling everyday Wishes, but you're going to be at the mercy of whatever Wishes come up, which will in turn be decided by how you play. Also, you can slowly accrue Happiness points by keeping Mr. Boomturtle's mood topped out, but you're probably going to score most of your points by granting him day-to-day Wishes. And there's virtually no chance that you'll achieve his Lifetime Wish of reaching Level 5 in four different careers, but feel free to try.
I'll be playing the challenge as well, but not to win (I and employees of myself are not eligible for prizes). The winner will receive a free game of his or her choice from a selection of 10 PC and console games, as well as 1000 SimsPoints to spend at the
Sims 3 store. The winner will be announced here on Tuesday, June 23.
For the sake of Mr. Boomturtle, good luck.
