Caspin the Tropical Tramp

[Caspin]

This afternoon I decided to do something I haven't done in a while - play the Sims! I've been dabbling with building houses for a while, but it's time to actually play the game. I enjoyed the rags to riches challenge so much that I've decided to repeat the exercise in the new world 'Sunlit Tides', a veritable tropical paradise (I'll have to change her skin tone to reflect the sunburn that I would certainly suffer if I went there!). It'll also be a good way to get to know the world. So my poor simself has been uprooted once again and deposited on an unknown island. Sorry!




Last time I tried this challenge it took me three sim-weeks to get enough simoleons for a small apartment. However Sunlit Tides is a bigger world so I think this might be harder. Let's see. So far I have set up base camp (do you like my wicker postbox and bin?!) and confiscated all of my sim's money, goods and chattels. So now all she has is a woven wicker tent and her dreams of simoleons. Next up, find out if any of the surrounding coconuts are edible!




This is my location on the map. I placed the tent in an area away from other residences. The majority of commerical lots are distant, too, but hey at least the sea views are great from any location!




Day One

We started with a bit of reading in order to start the day off in a good mood!




Having taken a look at the map, I identified a park (a long way away!) with some vegetables growing in little plots. Caspin Sim set off at a fair pace. Running around in this heat isn't the best idea, better save up for the essential bicycle as a matter of urgency. The water looks so inviting!




It took several hours to run to the garden, but she was rewarded with a bunch of produce, including flame fruits. She ate a lettuce for lunch as hunger was beginning to strike. There's Daniel Pleasant sitting on a bench in the background.







The sun went down. Under cover of darkness, Caspin pinched a plate from this lady's hamper. I presumed that theft from picnic baskets would be allowed under the challenge rules. Ah picnic baskets - good enough for Yogi Bear, good enough for me.




Caspin was sleepy by now, not surprising after all that running and gardening. Being a heavy sleeper is a great advantage when you want to kip on a bench while some fool is throwing shapes. I mean really, go away Daniel, and quit your creepy dancing!




After a nap Caspin set off for a nearby fishing spot on the beach, where I noticed there was a handy fire pit. She whiled away the evening keeping warm and cosy by the fire. Nice! She also watched a wild horse on the beach but the pictures came out way too dark to post.




Day Two

When the sun came up she did some fishing and then roasted some for a tasty breakfast. Very useful, that fire pit.






Finally she was too smelly and tired to do any more work so we commenced the long run back to the tent. On the way Caspin realised that she could take advantage of the new outdoor showers to freshen up. They are quite good.




That's all for now folks.

[Minty]

Sunlit Tides is too beautiful for words (pity it's also too expensive for bank balances!). I'll resist the temptation to start a new Rags To Riches until I've finished the one I'm on (if I can stop playing Skyrim again - it's all Ollie's fault, he's a bad influence on me!)

It's the way they even redid the rabbitholes to look tropical that is so good (& so useful for anyone making tropical worlds of their own)

Outside showers are a blessing, but interesting to see how tough distance will make this one until she can get a bike.

[Caspin]

It's true, Minty, Sunlit Tides was really expensive. The prices in the Store are beyond a joke. I don't know how the youngsters who like Sims manage to afford anything. They must bug the hell out of their parents for sim points. It's fortunate for me that don't have too many other expensive vices!

Here are a few final pics to round off Day 2. Then I should go to my tent bed for some zzz.

The return of the Pleasants in honeymoon mode did not fair well under Twallan's story progression! Their marriage lasted only two days!




Minty's nemesis turned up to offer iced treats in the middle of the freaking night but Caspin was too busy sleeping to bother about it.




The first set of bills (for $26) arrived so Caspin had to run to the shop to sell the harvested vegetables and fish. A profit of just over £200 cleared away that financial burden. The shop here features rather lurid colours. It looks to me like a thatched battenburg cake!




This evening I learned that there are no showers at the swimming pool in Sunlit Tides (a bit odd, non?). Poor Caspin ran all the way there to discover this sad fact. Fortunately the gym is not much further down the road, so she was able to get washed up there. Then it was time for more fishing.

Loneliness struck and she didn't fancy calling on the recently divorced Mr D. Pleasant, so she befriended some wildlife instead. Here is Mr Cockatoo.




I should dress her up as a pirate! At least now she has a little friend. Yay!




Bed time for me. Goodnight SF!

[Ollie]

Sunlit tides looks good, I was thinking of putting my Waggoners on there, but it looks too tropical for them. BTW the youngsters could be smart enough to pirate it.

[Caspin]

When you come back out of Skyrim you should definitely check out Sunlit Tides, Ollie, it's a lovely looking island. I like the bright blue water and all the new trees. Your sims would feel as though they were on a permanent vacation!

[Caspin]

Days 5, 6 and 7

One sim-week completed! Let’s see what my sim has managed to achieve.

To begin with she spent most of her time flitting between the park with vegetable plots (to gather vegetables, steel from picnic baskets and sleep on benches) and the Hidden Fishing Spot (to fish in the well-stocked pond and cook on the fire pit). It’s not all that well “hidden” since it appears on the map. She has also been collecting seeds and rocks about the place. I have noticed that the little blue star fish in Sunlit Tides show up from far away and a few times I have headed Caspin Sim towards them in the mistaken belief that they were valuable rocks! I'm loving the colours in Sunlit Tides.







I did find a little space rock that turned out to be worth $130, plus some emeralds, a piece of silver and a piece of gold. She’s getting pretty good at fishing and is turning a good profit on the fish now. I think that fishing might be the best way to make stacks of cash, so I'm skilling up as much as possible.

Towards the end of the first week I decided to head back to the tent for a proper sleep and to set up a garden. It is time to become self-sufficient! Besides, poor Caspin kept getting hungry and didn’t really fancy eating raw garlic and onions. That’s not a way to make friends!




When the ice-cream truck turns up, it’s time to get out of the park. That thing really is everywhere! Mind you, if I lived on this island I expect I’d be eating quite a bit of ice-cream.




As we arrived back at the tent, the post lady was just delivering a bunch more bills. No more bills! She saw Caspin coming and took off at a run. There don't seem to be many cars on the roads, lots of people ride bikes or run from place to place. I would like a local bus service, that would be great.




At the Thatched Battenburg shop, we sold loads of harvested onions and garlic, plus a massive pile of fish. This netted several hundred simoleons. I’m still way behind compared to the end of a week in my last rags to riches challenge, but things have gone well considering the larger distances being covered here.

I bought a bike (wooden with a wicker seat) and matching wicker bike rack. I also wasted some simoleons putting in a bamboo fence around my little plot. It was a ridiculous way to spend the money but I felt like making it a bit more homely. There are plenty of things planted now and it’s looking OK. It'll be even better once some trees come up.







I thought this was silly - as you can see, on this tropical paradise island, I was able to catch a ‘sewer trilobite’ straight out of the clear blue ocean. Doesn’t seem right.




Finally, I found this little chinchilla. He is worth nearly $1000! He is my cash cow chinchilla!

[Minty]

Your garden is a lot better organised than mine tend to be. I was so disappointed that you can't pick up the starfish though, that would have been good.

Your chincilla is worth $1000? What does he do, crap 24 caret turds?!?!??!??!

[Caspin]

(05-09-2012 11:43 AM)Minty Wrote:  Your garden is a lot better organised than mine tend to be. I was so disappointed that you can't pick up the starfish though, that would have been good.


Your chincilla is worth $1000? What does he do, crap 24 caret turds?!?!??!??!

Thanks Minty but, as it happens, I consider this garden to be horribly disorganised because I just plonked in whichever seeds I happened to have, in no particular order. I would prefer them grouped up into nice rows. Still, it'll be fun to see what all those unknown seeds yield. Not too many limes I hope (why are there no lemons in Sims?).

I was a bit disappointed about the starfish, too. I thought that they would be from spawners and that you would be able to collect them (and sell them or put them in your fish tank) and then they could re-spawn. But no. They are decorative but that's about it.

And yes, amazing chinchilla price! Maybe I got it wrong. It was the last thing I checked before I saved and quit so I was quite sleepy and had had several glasses of nectar while playing. I intended to keep him as a pet, so my sim doesn't get quite so lonely, but then he bit her so I considered selling. I'm sure it said $900-odd but maybe it was $9, lol. I'll check on Saturday

[Caspin]

Up bright and early this morning to check on my cash chinchilla. He is worth a whopping $918!




Unfortunately Caspin will be unable to benefit from this little fellow. I guess he didn't like being in her pocket with all the vegetables! The lesson here is to exploit your pricey chinchilla at the earliest opportunity.




:mw_hmmm:

Oh well, moving on.

Week two has been filled with copious fishing practice and collecting lots of seeds and gem stones. I don't even have $1000 in ready cash yet, I'm sure I had way more by week two of the last challenge. Maybe this time I'm too busy having fun and not focussing on earning! This is my favourite fishing spot, well stocked with lots of types of fish and very pretty. Apparently this pond is an ideal place to catch alley catfish. She's just fishing with no bait, to avoid using up resources, but still seems to catch loads of fish.




All these fun activities and beautiful vistas have resulted in plenty of lifetime happiness points. I picked out Discount Diner, so now Caspin can sell all her fish and still dine in style down at the cafe. I like what they've done with the diner.




The garden is coming along nicely, with the first plants starting to produce fruit and vegetables. A ready supply of grapes, toms and lettuce should be followed by more exotic (and hopefully expensive!) produce once those special seeds get going. I have a big stack of rare seeds that I've collected but need to skill up the gardening a bit more before Caspin's got the know-how to plant them (just dig another hole like all the others and throw them in, fool!)




I met this funny coloured pooch on the beach when he was a puppy, and he often turns up in the parks. His name is Theodophilus! He is Caspin's best friend on the island. I wonder if I can persuade him to come and live in the tent?




As you can see, Theodophilus and my sim are still being stalked by you-know-what.




This morning I decided to take action and confront the thing directly. After all, happiness is a fudge popsical!




Now it is time for a big cup of RL coffee. Have a nice weekend, SF folk

[Caspin]

Weeks 2 and 3

I laughed when I saw this. My sim was very happy when she heard that the Seasons EP will be released in a few months. Yes, rain clouds will be heading your way!




OK then. Enough excitement over pixel-based precipitation. Back to the challenge. She can plant all seeds now, so all those rare and specials that we had been saving went into the ground. Up came a bunch of death flowers (worth nothing, grrr) and a money tree, which of course I had to delete. I did get one life fruit plant, though.




I've found lots of seeds in Sunlit Tides, as well as quite a lot of rocks. Not many bugs and butterflies though, which I think is odd. There were a couple of beetles in the park and these nice butterflies outside city hall, but not much else. Still, every little helps when you are still living in a tent after three sim weeks.




It takes about half the day to tend the garden around the tent, then in the afternoon Caspin goes out for fishing practice and to take a shower. A couple of times a week we cycle to the Thatched Battenburg to sell all the goodies. As you can see, the money is starting to roll in now that we have higher priced vegetables and fish to sell. By the end of Week 2, we had $1810 in cash, with a $187 cut diamond held in reserve (I do not know why I am hanging onto the diamond, I guess I just can't give up such shininess easily). At the end of Week 3, we had a whopping $7123, although $2000 of that came from maxing out gardening and fishing skills and then selling off the certificates when they arrived in the mailbox.

Caspin seems to be growing terrific numbers of onions and carrots. I feel a ragu coming on.




Since we are still pretty far from having enough money for a house, I figured we could afford to buy a few things to make her remaining tent-time a bit nicer. She enjoyed the cooking pot at the fishing hole so much that I bought her one for the garden, along with a cheap chair. Also a couple of garden torches for gardening at night. She can cook fish to eat now, instead of being on a raw food diet most of the time (the diner is a bit far to travel for every meal). Here she is earnestly roasting a pepper.




Followed by some pointless jabbing with a stick. It is very cosy sitting at the fire pit in the evening




Naturally this pleasant life couldn't continue indefinitely and so the damned burglar turned up one evening. He stole the bicycle It's critical to have a bike so I immediately bought a new one.




And finally, Caspin has found some great fishing spots, including this lovely one at the end of the road, where you can catch a lot of sharks while admiring the views