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Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Sep 2015 at 5:31 PM Last edited by Best_Leopard : 21st Sep 2015 at 5:21 PM.
Default The Butler Challenge
Introduction
In this challenge, you control a sim who has been hired as a live-in servant to a wealthy and extremely eccentric family. The people in this household are very odd; they have bizarre habits, “artistic” temperaments, and can’t be bothered to take care of mundane affairs, so they’ve hired a sim to move in and handle business. As their new servant (who may be called a butler, concierge, housekeeper, or whatever strikes your fancy), this sim is tasked with keeping the family alive and happy.






Thanks for taking a look at my challenge! Please let me know what you think and, if you try it out, please share how it goes. I'll be back later to post some pictures from my game.
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Scholar
#3 Old 20th Sep 2015 at 8:19 PM
I noticed that dash of Asylum thrown in very well written challenge! I love it!

I made a challenge like this but with a Servo

"Oh look, my grandchild is now an elder. They grow up so fast. Gee, I wonder when I'll finally graduate college." Sims 2
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 20th Sep 2015 at 9:37 PM
I am in love with your challenge, even reading your post was entertaining. I have so much on my plate that I can't say if and when I will be trying it out, but it's absolutely not unoriginal, because of the social aspect. It offers so many possibilities also for those who like to document the challenges they play in a "storytelling" way, what with the butler being forbidden to interact with his masters and have a family of his own. And doesn't he just beg to fall hopelessly in love with one of the family members? Yes he does
Bookmarking for now, and thanks for posting :lovestruc , I'm waiting for the pictures now!
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Original Poster
#5 Old 21st Sep 2015 at 2:48 AM Last edited by Best_Leopard : 21st Sep 2015 at 4:47 PM.
I'm so glad you guys like my challenge! It was fun to design and write, but an awful lot of work, so thanks so much for your interest and comments. I'll definitely post some of my pictures soon.

Edit: Here they are!





Top Secret Researcher
#6 Old 21st Sep 2015 at 5:28 PM
Great start and great pictures
(David needs to make the children talk, what happened to Lars?? )
Test Subject
#7 Old 21st Sep 2015 at 7:16 PM
This challenge looks so cool I'm going to start it tonight although I take forever to design houses, so that might be as far as I get. . .
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Original Poster
#8 Old 21st Sep 2015 at 7:31 PM Last edited by Best_Leopard : 21st Sep 2015 at 9:22 PM.
Thank you, @Lili975, for reading my post. I wonder about Lars as well!

@simobsessedwillow -- It's fun to make your own house, but since I wanted to get started on the challenge without building, I'm using Oak Alley by @panmines, which I enjoy very much -- it's perfect for the Rafflehoff family. I see them as an eccentric and rather antiquated family, so the victorian objects and theme of that house are awesome. I was able to convert the attic into a nice space for David as well. There are lots of other great mansions on MTS, some of which don't even need cc. If you don't want to design the house, that's also a good way to go.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 23rd Sep 2015 at 11:46 PM Last edited by grammapat : 24th Sep 2015 at 12:59 AM.
I have ACR also, am going to use that huge OAK ALLEY Best Leopard linked to (hope there is room for a theater room and a pool room, and one simply MUST have a pool).
Not good at following directions (heh) so THIS is how it's going to go---Priscilla led a sheltered, simple life. When she became an orphan at 13, a wealthy family offered to take her in as an indentured servant. {This actually happened to my grandmother!). In those days, that was not a bad thing - it was certainly better than life on the streets. As such, she does not get paid...but if she helps herself to some "little pritties" no one will notice. After all, she doesn't intend to be a servant all her life! In her little room she studies whenever she can - girls can be smart too! And if she doesn't have a lot of skills, and friends, she won't be able to move out when she becomes an adult
Her employers EXPECT her to anticipate their needs (play catch? fix a certain meal?) {I will cheat to give her cooking skills} And I expect they will be crazy a lot...She will eat in the kitchen by herself.
The rich couple will have a daughter (who is mean to Priscilla), but if Priscilla ever lets her temper show, she surly will be fired. As Priscilla becomes a young lady, the man of the house shows an un-gentlemanly interest in her. Should she be "pleasant"? He may fire her. But if the wife finds out, she might get worse than just fired...and what if she got pregnant!

I liked that wall in your bedroom -can you tell me where you got it? Will you want to see pictures?
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Original Poster
#10 Old 24th Sep 2015 at 12:11 AM
@grammapat -- I really like your setup story, and yes I would totally love to see pictures!

I plan to post some more of mine in a couple of days. All the walls in my pics are from Oak Alley as packaged by its creator, so you'll find them in there. If you want to use that house, I recommend you check out the comments on the download, as I put a few pieces of feedback in there that you might find useful (most importantly, I found that the stair edges were flashing blue until I downloaded some files that were intended to be included). I also ended up taking out the very uppermost spiral staircase in the attic and adding a couple of walls up there to make a nice servant suite.
Mad Poster
#12 Old 24th Sep 2015 at 5:10 AM
Big Money finally is able to move his wife Lotta, and their daughter Buffy, into the biggest house in Shady Shores.

When they first moved here, they had to live in a field for a few days. His wife got busy making friends..

Buffy discovers money can't buy you happiness (she got rejected by 2 boys already)

But servant Priscilla is happy to be off the streets, even though her mom just died. The Money's are all so bad tempered, and not very bright. Can she be happy here?

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Original Poster
#13 Old 24th Sep 2015 at 4:26 PM
Awwwwww! Priscilla is so cute! :lovestruc I look forward to seeing more, @grammapat!

And thanks, @PlatinumPlumbbob! I hope you do give this a shot when you have time.
Test Subject
#14 Old 26th Sep 2015 at 10:19 AM
I have started this and played about five Sim days. I have a family of four- two adults, a teen and a child. I have ACR though, and their autonomy is WAY high so there may be more on the way. . . I made them this really weird half goth, half IKEA house so that suits their personalities quite well.

The Dad keeps wandering around in his underwear, and I've given up trying to make them all eat at reasonable times. I just make sure there's always food out and try to call them to as many meals as possible.

My servant sim is really neat, and every time I tell her to clean something she does the 'yes!' gesture that sims do when they're happy with something you tell them to do. So I guess she's in the right job. . . She managed to get the kids into private school, even though the whole time her fun was in red and she was wailing at the air while giving the poor headmaster a tour. I guess he felt sorry for her. . . XD
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Original Poster
#15 Old 26th Sep 2015 at 9:58 PM
@simobsessedwillow -- I'm glad to hear you're trying the challenge! Your family and their house sound really interesting, so I hope you'll share some pictures in the future. I have a hard time imagining a goth/Ikea house, so that's making me curious. It's funny that the dad keeps wandering around in his underwear. In my game, it's Beryl; she's constantly in her bra and panties. Whether she's wandering around the house, drinking at the bar, playing poker, at the dinner table, even having a random pillow fight in the front yard -- you name it, she's doing it while barely dressed. She's also naturally nocturnal, perhaps because her job as a professional party guest keeps her up into the late hours.

Keeping the family fed is quite a task! I know that the kids would get their hunger bars filled at school if they were low, but I really like the family to have breakfast, so I have David get up at like 4:45am to go downstairs and start cooking. I've started making some group meals ahead and putting them as leftovers in the fridge so I can serve them later. The hardest thing for me so far was toddler care, since I wasn't able to hire a nanny (some combination of my mods makes her too buggy to use).

Anyway, here's another set of pictures about David and the Rafflehoffs:


Top Secret Researcher
#16 Old 28th Sep 2015 at 8:34 PM
Yay, more pictures!
Test Subject
#17 Old 3rd Oct 2015 at 7:47 AM
Aww poor David! I really felt sorry for him getting rejected by the maid and the toddler. :'( I love your dedication to breakfast. My butler-sim just leaves food out 24/7 as much as possible to avoid any starvation. The family can afford it- it's not like they're having to scrimp or save for anything XD

Here are some pictures

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This is my butler, Eliza. She's a shy, incredibly neat Sim who seems overly happy while cleaning and groans at having to do anything else.

[IMG][/IMG]

Here, in an extremely dignified pose, is the master of the house. He is obsessed with grilled cheese (yes he may have that aspiration. . .) and because of him the family eats nothing but grilled cheese in the hopes of achieving his lifetime want. I've added the rule to my game that if one of the family sims earns a lifetime want, Eliza gets a present because they are so happy.

[IMG][/IMG]

This is Angelina, the lady of the house. She enjoys: annoying the butler, weeing herself and juggling. She's a little bit of a weird sim, to be quite honest. Almost an evil mascot level of weird personality.



This little guy is Wesley, their science-obsessed son. My theory is that he buries himself in books to hide from his. . . interesting home life. He is definitely my favourite out of all of them (although I do have a thing for nerds anyway so :/)

The eldest, Melodina, is already in college. When she comes back I'll try to get some pictures
Forum Resident
#18 Old 8th Oct 2015 at 8:35 PM
Chester Gieke needed a job quick, he doubted he had enough money left to even pay next month's rent at the boarding house. When he saw the ad for the butler job, he was overjoyed. It was good pay AND a place to live. He didn't know much about the family, just that they had recently moved to town and bought the big place on the other side of town (the rich side of town). He wasn't sure what he expected, but the family sure didn't look like what he imagined. The teen daughter (Starr) was goth with bright red hair. The dad (Jaxx) looked like a hippie and the mom (Melina), well...she was really exotic looking. Evidently, Jaxx was independently wealthy and did not work. Melina was a fortune teller and kept her job because she liked the work. They actually met when Jaxx went to her to help decide on whether to sell his company.


They gave him the tour of the house and outlined his duties. Being poor, he was a bit overwhelmed by the all the appliances in the kitchen but he was sure he could figure it out...eventually.


When they got upstairs, he met the fourth family member, Moon. For some reason, he was wearing a zombie shirt and they had pierced his ears.


They showed him the nursery. "Um, not the decor I would have gone with" he thought. He wondered if the kid had nightmares.


A few days on the job and he is getting the hang of it. Unfortunately, he did leave some bad food out and the teenager ate it. However, she didn't get sick so he didn't get in trouble (whew). About the time he started getting comfortable, Melina announced that she was pregnant. Chester is nervous, he is barely keeping all the current people fed and happy.
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