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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 17th Aug 2010 at 9:01 PM Last edited by Phaenoh : 6th Feb 2014 at 8:21 PM.
Default The Victorian Social Class Challenge - TESTERS WANTED
Okay, this is a challenge I have been working on for the past few days. It is long and has many guidelines/rules and it might seem rather complex, but I think that once you get playing, everything will fall into place. I haven’t had a chance to test it yet though so I am sure it will have flaws and probably contradictions at times. I would really like some people to test this for me and let me know where the rules don’t work, don’t make sense or if there are any contradictions at times. I would also like suggestions for improving it. I will also be testing it over the next few weeks.

The challenge I have written consists of twenty pages and has been converted into a pdf document for simplicities sake. I know it seems like a long and complex challenge but please at least try it out. I won’t be offended if you don’t like it but I’d really like to see what other people think and hear their suggestions.

So why did I make this challenge?

Because I’m bored, pure and simple, and I have the most mundane and boring Sims playing style ever. I never try anything new. It’s a constant routine of Sims get married, have children, die, maybe go to university for four pointless years of his life. Even legacy challenges bore me and I’ve never made it past the third generation. I hardly ever leave the lot when I play Sims either. I love historical settings and I’ve tried to play games as such but even they bore me. But it’s not the game. It’s me. My game play style is booooring! I do own the Sims 3 but even that has now bored me and so I have reverted back to Sims 2 because of the expansion packs.

What I really wanted was a historical game to play but I knew I would never be able to do one off the top of my head. I need guidelines, I need rules and I need to be forced to experiment and to leave the lot. So my Victorian Social Class Challenge was born.

Some people may think my guidelines and rules are too rigid and structured, but I’ve really attempted to give as much flexibility as possible in order to add drama to the game. Actions have consequences, Sims have choices, even your own playing style will contribute to the way this challenge plays out.

So, what is the challenge?

The Victorian Social Class Challenge deals with three main social classes which have furthermore been broken down into seven sub social classes. If you would rather work with only the three main classes then simply combine each subdivision together under its main class. This challenge has been created with a historical theme in mind, preferably Victorian, but can be altered to your liking. All expansion packs have been consulted when making this challenge but the challenge may be done with any combination of expansion packs (simply ignore those rules which do not apply). Male and female roles can be reversed as you wish, however you must stick with it throughout the challenge.

Whenever the reigning monarch dies, the heir to the throne (that is, either the first born male or where there is no male, first born female) becomes the new King or Queen. With each new monarch, rules and laws are bound to change. With each new monarch you are allowed to choose a maximum of THREE laws (as in, rules – for example, you could change the taxes) only which you can change to your liking, however these new laws cannot significantly alter the class structure in any way (at least not all at once). Change happens gradually, it takes time, so you must take that into consideration (for example, if you decide to change the no women at university law, the first change could be that only women from the Nobility may attend university. Then perhaps the next monarch of the land will allow more women still to attend university). The new monarch can make life easier for your Sims or harder, the choice is up to you.

The challenge ends after 7 generations. The end goal is to see how much of the kingdom has changed since its first ruler. Is the land thriving or dying? Are the people happy and content or on the brink of revolution? Has the class system changed at all? Have families moved their way up the social ladder? Have families fallen to the bottom of the rung?

The rest of the document lays down the rules for how the society is run. Most families should abide by the rules of society (particularly the upper classes) but at the same time, your families must be given individual personalities and therefore many of the rules, consequences and decisions are slightly open ended to give you the freedom to lead individual family lives. Nothing is concrete, but do not forget that a lot of the time only those who abide by societies rules will become successful in life.

Note: This challenge cannot guarantee historical accuracy in any way, nor is it intended to.

The basis of this challenge was inspired by The Royal Kingdom Challenge over at Fanciful Sims. The bulk of this challenge has been created entirely by me but like I say, I have been inspired by – and borrowed a few – ideas from the Royal Kingdom Challenge.

There is no scoring system for this challenge – yet. I may add one in future though.

For convenience I have hosted this challenge as a pdf document at a free sharing site (it is too long to post here), so I hope you’ll be able to open it/download it. If anyone has any better suggestions for how to share this challenge please let me know.

The document is here:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/216...37-pm-519k?da=y
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Scholar
#2 Old 20th Aug 2010 at 3:37 AM
Hmm. This does look interesting - though I'll probably abandon halfway through like I do most challenges, . I may give it a shot.
Test Subject
#3 Old 20th Aug 2010 at 9:53 AM
Looks cool- my sort of thing. You've put a lot of time and effort into this
Test Subject
#4 Old 20th Aug 2010 at 11:11 AM
nice was looking for a challenge just like this to get me back into playing sims xD

Melodija.xx
Instructor
#5 Old 21st Aug 2010 at 12:13 AM
Have you seen the Victorian Population Challenge by Sebrina01 over on the challenges section of the Sims 2 BBS? That's the one I play, it's great! Check it out -- it's been out for a couple of years now.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 21st Aug 2010 at 6:55 AM
Cool guys. Let me know how you get on.

Quote: Originally posted by vllygrl
Have you seen the Victorian Population Challenge by Sebrina01 over on the challenges section of the Sims 2 BBS? That's the one I play, it's great! Check it out -- it's been out for a couple of years now.


No, I'll definitely have to look at that. Thanks.
Instructor
#7 Old 22nd Aug 2010 at 2:39 PM
You did a fantastic job at creating this challenge! It was very well thought out and I can tell you spent a lot of time putting it together. I've tried the Royal Kingdom challenge before, but got bored of it easily due there being not as many rules/guidelines. I'm going to take part in this challenge...I just eliminated a few guidelines that require certain expansion packs and I won't be able to get much custom content or hacks...so everything will be mostly maxis. But I still think this will be a fun challenge to play. I'm trying to think up of ways to create drama in my kingdom! I already have my King and Queen made, once I have all of my families finished I'll surely share their pictures with everyone.

"Somtimes the stars align." ~Dean Lowry, ABC's Pan Am. ♥ ⚓ ♥
Instructor
#8 Old 22nd Aug 2010 at 11:20 PM
You've done a good job tying history into your challenge. I like the concept of monarchy and changing rules for the village. If you use sub neighborhoods each could be ruled as a separate fief, where taxes and rules are set by the Earl of whatever. As a variation, I would create a factory town and company store where a company president takes the place of your monarch. All the homes are copies of each other; all the jobs are the same career track, most of them low tiers. After a number of generations the whole mess ends like Centralia Pennsylvania.
Lab Assistant
#9 Old 24th Aug 2010 at 12:19 AM
I like the idea of this challenge so I've been trying it out. So far I've managed to set up all my starter families, which has been quite fun, it's given me an excuse to use all of the Victorian-style CC that I've downloaded and never used. There are a few too many rules for me though, it got a bit tiring to have to keep checking the PDF to find out what I can and can't do, and some of the rules are a bit too demanding for me. After I got done everything the rules said I had to do there wasn't much time left to do stuff that I wanted to do with my sims. So I think I'm gonna cut out some of the rules and play it in a more laid back way so that I don't have to worry about so much small stuff. The overall idea seems pretty fun though. I'll post some screenshots later!
Test Subject
#10 Old 27th Aug 2010 at 11:12 AM Last edited by shadeythelegend : 28th Aug 2010 at 2:32 AM.
This sounds like a really interesting challenge! You've done a great job with the amount of time and effort you spent on it. Once I get my sims 2 sorted I'll post some pics I have a few quick questions though-

1. If the only heir to the throne is a female and she marries before she is crowned does her spouse become king? (as if they had been the proper heir in the first place)

2. Can the founding king and queen pass new laws or can it only happen after the second generation is on the throne?

3. I'm a bit confused by what is meant when you say the 'holiday must take place over an entire season'. Does this mean that you are only allowed one national holiday per season? Or is it that for example you have to keep your sims Christmas decorations up for a whole season?
Inventor
#11 Old 27th Aug 2010 at 7:41 PM Last edited by cheshirekat : 27th Aug 2010 at 8:46 PM.
I became very interested in this challenge when I read there were a lot of rules. Sorry, but almost all challenges end up doing the "marry, produce spawn, and die" rut, which I find annoying. I think a lot of rules make the gameplay interesting. I've been working on my own challenge which has a lot of rules, but haven't finished it simply because I didn't think most simmers would be interested in a challenge with a ton of rules and many restrictions on having kids. Risky woohoo would break laws and end the challenge in my game. Hehehehe.

So, I decided I just had to check out the pdf to see if someone had done a better job of presenting a challenge with a bunch of rules that people would be interested in playing. So now I am going to go read the pdf.

Interesting rules. I have questions.

What didn't make sense is the three churches and family day. Families have to spend the day together on Sunday and not leave the house. But earlier it said families must attend church. How long must the family attend church on Sunday? Or will that depend on which class the church is?

Women cannot go to a monastery. Monasteries are only for monks/men. Women should have a convent or Abbey.

Which class are the priests? There could be classes within the Monastery or Abbey. aspirant, postulate, novice, brother, etc. which could correspond with the upper, middle and lower classes.

Can the lower class survive with just one meal per day? Does juice count as a meal? Are all classes allowed to have the juicer if they have the Seasons expansion?

Some of the different clothing available for medieval sims can be used to designate class as well. The royal garb, commoner, and the rags. Would probably work better than assigning hair.

I had a bunch of other questions, but I'll have to read the pdf another time. Looks very interesting and like a lot of thought was put into it.
Test Subject
#12 Old 27th Aug 2010 at 11:11 PM
I would absolutely love to do this challenge, but I don't really want to do it to fit the Victorian theme, I want to do it in a modern town, is that ok as long as I follow the rest of the rules?

LiveJournal - For my Rainbow Legacy, Legacy, Victorial Social Class Challenge; With a Twist!, and more stuff!
DreamWidth - For downloads!
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 28th Aug 2010 at 5:14 PM
I grabbed the pdf and will start this when I'm done with my other challenge. It may be awhile though since I just installed Ambitions. Thank you!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#14 Old 3rd Sep 2010 at 6:12 PM
Quote:
You did a fantastic job at creating this challenge! It was very well thought out and I can tell you spent a lot of time putting it together. I've tried the Royal Kingdom challenge before, but got bored of it easily due there being not as many rules/guidelines. I'm going to take part in this challenge...I just eliminated a few guidelines that require certain expansion packs and I won't be able to get much custom content or hacks...so everything will be mostly maxis. But I still think this will be a fun challenge to play. I'm trying to think up of ways to create drama in my kingdom! I already have my King and Queen made, once I have all of my families finished I'll surely share their pictures with everyone.


I hope you find it interesting - please let me know how you get on.

Quote:
You've done a good job tying history into your challenge. I like the concept of monarchy and changing rules for the village. If you use sub neighborhoods each could be ruled as a separate fief, where taxes and rules are set by the Earl of whatever. As a variation, I would create a factory town and company store where a company president takes the place of your monarch. All the homes are copies of each other; all the jobs are the same career track, most of them low tiers. After a number of generations the whole mess ends like Centralia Pennsylvania.


That's a really good idea. Thanks for the ideas.

Quote:
I like the idea of this challenge so I've been trying it out. So far I've managed to set up all my starter families, which has been quite fun, it's given me an excuse to use all of the Victorian-style CC that I've downloaded and never used. There are a few too many rules for me though, it got a bit tiring to have to keep checking the PDF to find out what I can and can't do, and some of the rules are a bit too demanding for me. After I got done everything the rules said I had to do there wasn't much time left to do stuff that I wanted to do with my sims. So I think I'm gonna cut out some of the rules and play it in a more laid back way so that I don't have to worry about so much small stuff. The overall idea seems pretty fun though. I'll post some screenshots later!


No problem, whatever makes it more enjoyable for you is fine. I like strict guidelines myself but I'm sure many people find them a bit too much.

Quote:
This sounds like a really interesting challenge! You've done a great job with the amount of time and effort you spent on it. Once I get my sims 2 sorted I'll post some pics I have a few quick questions though-

1. If the only heir to the throne is a female and she marries before she is crowned does her spouse become king? (as if they had been the proper heir in the first place)

2. Can the founding king and queen pass new laws or can it only happen after the second generation is on the throne?

3. I'm a bit confused by what is meant when you say the 'holiday must take place over an entire season'. Does this mean that you are only allowed one national holiday per season? Or is it that for example you have to keep your sims Christmas decorations up for a whole season?


Thanks for the questions. I look forward to seeing the pics.

1) No, a male who marries into the Royal Family can never be king. This is why Britain does not have a King even though the Queen is married. The Queens husband is Prince Phillip because to be king would make him superior to Queen Elizabeth.

2) I never thought of that. If you'd like to pass laws as the founding King and Queen then by all means do.

3) Yeah, I meant that if you celebrate Christmas keep all the decorations up for the whole season, so it's like real life where everything is decorated for long periods of time (I've already seen Christmas decorations going up in the shops now, can you believe it!)

Quote:
I became very interested in this challenge when I read there were a lot of rules. Sorry, but almost all challenges end up doing the "marry, produce spawn, and die" rut, which I find annoying. I think a lot of rules make the gameplay interesting. I've been working on my own challenge which has a lot of rules, but haven't finished it simply because I didn't think most simmers would be interested in a challenge with a ton of rules and many restrictions on having kids. Risky woohoo would break laws and end the challenge in my game. Hehehehe.

So, I decided I just had to check out the pdf to see if someone had done a better job of presenting a challenge with a bunch of rules that people would be interested in playing. So now I am going to go read the pdf.

Interesting rules. I have questions.

What didn't make sense is the three churches and family day. Families have to spend the day together on Sunday and not leave the house. But earlier it said families must attend church. How long must the family attend church on Sunday? Or will that depend on which class the church is?

Women cannot go to a monastery. Monasteries are only for monks/men. Women should have a convent or Abbey.

Which class are the priests? There could be classes within the Monastery or Abbey. aspirant, postulate, novice, brother, etc. which could correspond with the upper, middle and lower classes.

Can the lower class survive with just one meal per day? Does juice count as a meal? Are all classes allowed to have the juicer if they have the Seasons expansion?

Some of the different clothing available for medieval sims can be used to designate class as well. The royal garb, commoner, and the rags. Would probably work better than assigning hair.

I had a bunch of other questions, but I'll have to read the pdf another time. Looks very interesting and like a lot of thought was put into it.


I hope you enjoy playing it

1) I would imagine that two hours for church in the morning would be sufficient. Did I really say you couldn't leave the house on a Sunday? I'd better check that because that's not what I meant. I quite like the idea of families taking walks together or going out together for the day. They don't have to be kept at home, they must just spend the day together.

2) Oops, totally my bad. Thanks for that - I'll have to change it.

3) Yeah, I didn't really think of that although I like the idea of the priests mingling with all classes the way they really should (although I'm sure you get some snobby priests who only like rich Sims, but that's variety for you I guess). It's up to you.

4) Yeah, I'm not sure actually because unfortunately Sims needs seem to drop pretty quickly, but I would say that juice can be drunk as much as they like really as long as it comes from their own gardens. And yes, if you'd like the juicer and can afford it, go for it (too bad there isn't a Victorian replacement!)

5) Yes, I agree. I do the same.

Thanks for the questions. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Quote:
I would absolutely love to do this challenge, but I don't really want to do it to fit the Victorian theme, I want to do it in a modern town, is that ok as long as I follow the rest of the rules?


That's completely fine - whatever makes you happy!

Quote:
I grabbed the pdf and will start this when I'm done with my other challenge. It may be awhile though since I just installed Ambitions. Thank you!


Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you about how it goes.

Thanks guys. Any more questions, shoot em!
Test Subject
#15 Old 26th Sep 2010 at 2:12 AM
This seems really interesting! I may just start this tonight and I'll most certainly put some pictures up
Lab Assistant
#16 Old 1st Oct 2010 at 3:42 PM
The PDF won't work on my computer.

Storyteller and lover of ridiculously overcomplicated plotlines. Very inactive and not especially interested in the Sims anymore (my game's been bugged out for months anyway).
Field Researcher
#17 Old 17th May 2013 at 10:16 PM
I've got a neighborhood set up and been through an entire week with everyone so far. I'm rolling the die to determine if newborns and their mothers survive birth (I'm letting the 1st pregnancy slide)
Field Researcher
#18 Old 26th May 2013 at 3:20 PM
Default DitzyEkko
I've played the challenge for about 2 weeks now and have had two young men graduate from college already

The Royal Family: The widowed Queen Regent and her only child, Princess Royal Dorotha Mullinix. The Queen Regent married Earl Lyman Gambrell (he seceded his title to marry a woman of higher status). Now Lord Lyman & Queen Regent Doretha had one child together, Lord Luther Gambrell. The Princess Royal was crowned Queen on her 18th birthday and her mother, Lord Lyman, and Lord Luther moved out.

The Noble Gambrell Family: Earl Lyman, his son widower Lord Josiah, his grandchildren Lady Margaret, Lady Dorothy, and twins Lord Brant & Lady Lysa. When Earl Lyman married the Queen Regent, Josiah became Earl of the estate. Earl Josiah arranged the marriages of his eldest daughters to Lord Marlin Applewhite and Michael Nyquist. He is currently debating on whether to marry his heir to the young Queen, which would leave him with no male heir, passing the titles and estates to his half brother, Lord Luther.

The Noble Applewhite Family: Earl Robb, his son Lord Elwood, his daughter-in-law Lady Adalaide, his grandchildren Lord Marlin & Lady Nan. Lord Elwood and Lady Adalaide have welcomed two more children (Lord Thaddeus & Lady Cat) since moving to Veronaville. Lord Marlin married Lady Margaret Gambrell before graduating university. They currently have two sons (Lord Marcus & Lord Robbert). Earl Robb died and his son inherited.

The New Money: Madame Aracelis Nyquist and her grandson Michael. Michael attended and graduated university and married Lady Dorothy Gambrell. Madame Aracelis has recently passed away.

The Upper Middle Class Professional Bouvier Family: Senor & his wife Madame Bouvier. The are considering adopting a child as they were never blessed with any.

The Lower Middle Class Birdwell Family: twin sisters Theola & Veola Birdwell. Their father was a successful businessman and the twins strive to keep his shop alive. Veola married widwower John Haworth and they had a daughter (Celina) before his death. Theola has a bastard daughter (Terra) by her sister's husband.

The Working Poor Haworth Family: John Haworth, his son James, his daughter in law Patricia, his granddaughters Susan & Mary. James and Patricia have welcomed five new children (twins Sandra & Sharon, twins Patrick & stillborn daughter, Jeffrey). James married Veola Haworth with whom he had a daughter (Celina). John died of old age. Within a year, Susan, James, Mary, Patricia, and Sandra died of disease. Sharon is the eldest living child and is acting as a parent to her young brothers.

The Working Poor...sorry my toddler is demanding my attention right now. He keeps adjusting my computer chair and asking for his turn.
Screenshots
Field Researcher
#19 Old 28th May 2013 at 4:38 AM
Default The Queen is dead...No heir!!
So my game rolled a female adult and a female child in my royal family. I made them mother and daughter, the Queen Regent and the Heir to the throne.

My young Queen was taken about 1/2 way through her 27th year of life, unmarried & no children.

Think I can have the nobles battle it out for the position or have a long lost distant relative claim her throne?!

Both ways are possible, both ways are fun
Screenshots
Test Subject
#20 Old 3rd Jun 2013 at 3:32 PM
I'm all set to do this, got my families made and my scandals ready. Just one little thing though, in your guide you say that those who can't be buried at church for whatever reason should have their grave hidden or deleted. If you delete a gravestone it can corrupt your neighborhood and cause big problems, so be careful

Awesome challenge though, having loads of fun making up their back stories.
Test Subject
#21 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 10:09 AM
The document isn't working...
Forum Resident
#22 Old 20th Apr 2017 at 10:58 AM
Happens after seven years. I was able to grab it with the Wayback Machine though, so here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q56d53hp2...llenge.pdf?dl=0
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