Saturday 21 October 2006

University scholarships

I handle all scholarships manually now because I don't have a regular uni hood anymore. The money comes from the treasury. Some of these scholarships are expanded from the Maxis scholarships by Sullivan and Apple Valley, others are mine.


  • Arts & Crafts Guild Award €1,000
    • for a sim with a silver or gold badge in one of the following
      • flower arrangement
      • pottery
      • robot making
      • sewing
      • toy making
  • Bain-Gordon Communication Fellowship €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more Charisma points
    • half-tuition if sim majors in Journalism
  • Bui Engineering Award €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more Mechanical points
    • half-tuition if sim majors in Architecture, Game Design or Industrial Design
  • Hogan Award for Athletics €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more Body points
    • half-tuition if sim plays for a university sports team (Brixton Gorillas, basketball / Brixton Llamas, soccer)
  • Kim Metro Prize for Hygienics €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more Cleaning points
    • half-tuition if sim majors in a pre-med or science major
  • Leisure Time Committee Hobby Enthusiast Grant €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more hobby enthusiasm points (in any hobby)
  • London Culinary Arts Scholarship €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more Cooking points
    • half-tuition if sim majors in Culinary Arts
  • Military ROTC
    • Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program provides student a full tuition
    • Sim must serve the Wellington Armed Forces for at least four (4) years after graduation
  • Orphaned Sims Assistance Fund €1,500
    • for a sim who has no living parents
  • Phelps-Wilsonoff Billiards Prize €1,000
    • for a teen with high billiards skill
  • Quigley Visual Arts Grant €750
    • for a sim with 8 or more Creativity points
    • half-tuition if sim majors in a fine arts related major
  • Tsang Footwork Award €1,000
    • for a sim with high dancing skill
    • half-tuition if sim majors in dance-related major
  • Wellington Chamber of Commerce Fund €1,000
    • for a sim who is employed by a local business or has a silver or gold badge in one of the following
      • sales
      • restocking
      • cash register
  • Wellington Garden Club Grant €1,000
    • for a sim who has a silver or gold badge in gardening
  • Wellington Scholar's Grant
    • with a WAS score of 70 or above and an A+ at high school graduation, sim pays no tuition

Education


Basic Education


Allerdale Elementary School

  • Children ages 5-11
  • Principal Rianna Midlock

Wellington High School

  • Teens ages 12-17
  • Principal Nyah Marlowe



Higher Education

Brixton University
  • Bachelor's degree, any major (4 years)
    • €3,000 per year, €12,000 in total
    • includes housing
  • Bachelor's degree via correspondence course
    • for adults without a bachelor's degree
    • regular university admissions
    • 2 papers on each 7 subjects (skills), 14 papers in total
    • €10,000 in total or €750 per class-unit
  • Master of Architecture (2 years)
    • €5,000 per year, €10,000 in total
  • Master of Education (2 years)
    • €5,000 per year, €10,000 in total
  • Master of Laws (4 years)
    • €5,000 per year, €20,000 in total
  • Master of Psychology (2 years)
    • €5,000 per year, €10,000 in total
  • Doctor of Medicine (4 years)
    • €7,000 per year, €28,000 in total
  • Doctor of Science (4 years)
    • €7,000 per year, €28,000 in total
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (4 years)
    • €7,000 per year, €28,000 in total
University Undergraduate Student Awards
  • €5,000 for graduation, Summa Cum Laude
  • €2,500 for graduation, Magna Cum Laude
  • €1,500 for graduation, Cum Laude
  • €1,000 for graduation, regular

University Graduate Placement Program
  • GPA 3.8-4.0, placed immediately in career field of choice
  • GPA 3.5-3.7, guaranteed placement within 5 years post-graduation

Postgraduate Studies
  • Admissions
    •  see information here
  • Master of Architecture (2 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • write one novel
      • create four sketches on the drafting table
      • learn Fire Safety procedure
      • work alongside a practicing architect
  • Master of Education (2 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • during the final year of bachelor's degree the student will work at a local school as a student teacher
      • write two novels
  • Master of Laws (4 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • write four novels
      • learn Anger Management
      • work alongside a practicing lawyer
  • Master of Psychology (2 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • write two novels
      • learn Couples Counceling
      • work alongside a registered psychologist
  • Doctor of Medicine (4 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • write three novels
      • learn Physiology
      • observe practising doctors at the hospital
      • during final year work as an intern, can practise medicine but only while supervised by a qualified doctor
  • Doctor of Science (4 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • write three novels
      • learn Physiology
      • work as an assisting researcher alongside a scientist for at least 2 years
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (4 years)
    • Programme requirements:
      • write two novels
      • learn Physics
      • work as an intern supervised by a qualified veterinarian, 3rd and 4th year specialized studies on chosen field (equestrian, small animals, research)

Careers

Teen jobs

Teenagers can get a part-time job the year they turn 14.


Non-educational requirements and other rules
  • Athletic
    • the sim must reach the position of Assistant Coach (level 8) by age 40 or find new work
  • Criminal
    • getting fired means a sentence in prison
      • levels 1-3: from 6 months to 1 year
      • levels 4-5: 3 years
      • levels 6-9: 5 years
      • level 10: 10 years
  • Dance
    • the sim must reach the position of Choreographer (level 8) by age 40 or find new work
  • Law Enforcement
    • minimum height requirement for women is 5'5" (165 cm)
    • minimum height requirement for men is 5'9" (175 cm)
  • Military
    • the sim must reach the position of Senior Officer (level 7) by age 45 or find new work

Bachelor's degree (4-year degree)
  • Architecture (levels 4-6)
  • Business (levels 4-10)
  • Culinary (levels 7-10)
  • Education (levels 1-6)
  • Intelligence (levels 3-10)
  • Journalism (levels 4-10)
  • Law (levels 1-5)
  • Medicine (levels 1-4)
  • Natural Science (levels 5-10)
  • Oceanography (levels 6-10)
  • Politics (levels 5-10)
  • Science (levels 3-4)
Custom careers
  • Counceling Psychology (levels 1-3)
  • Game Development (levels 5-10)
  • Graphic Design (levels 4-10)
  • Librarian (levels 4-10)
  • Social Worker
  • Veterinarian (levels 2-5)

Advanced degree (Master's or Doctorate)
  • Architecture (levels 7-10)
    • Master of Architecture
  • Education (levels 7-10)
    • Master of Education
  • Law (levels 6-10)
    • Master of Laws
  • Medicine (levels 5-10)
    • Doctor of Medicine
  • Science (levels 5-10)
    • Doctor of Science
Custom careers
  • Counceling Psychology (levels 4-10)
    • Master of Psychology
  • Veterinarian (levels 6-10)
    • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (levels 6-10)

Please check out the main rules & regulations post for credits.

Notes:

  • I have lots of overrides for the default careers so the career levels in the sims' profiles may sound odd to you. For example the Dance career in Wellington concentrates solely on ballet and the Politics career is based on how a political career would go in Finland because it makes more sense to me. I've started adding the career level number in the profiles so you'll know how high the sim is in their career. 

Thursday 19 October 2006

Rules and Regulations

These are the current rules and regulations in Wellington. I try to keep this post up-to-date. In order to keep this post somewhat readable I have written separate posts for subjects that require long and rambling explanations.


Credits

Apple Valley / Crystal Creek / Lakeside Heights / LaQuest Beach / Laurel Crossing / Millwood / Sullivan / threadandsandpaper



Aspirations

Aspirations are assigned based on childhood wants, interests and personality. Sims get their second aspiration around ages 16-21 and it's based on their wants, interests, personality and lifetime want. Lifetime wants are kind of irrelevant for me because I don't like them to dictate the sim's life too much for two reasons. The career LTW's don't always make sense and I prefer to use other methods on choosing a career for a sim. Some non-career lifetime wants are just kind of crazy.


Careers


A detailed post about careers is here.



Education

A detailed post about education is here.



Expanded Genetics and Height

DNA

Eye-sight, freckles and hairiness are genetically inheritable features. Each sim has their own DNA which determines their need for glasses, whether they have freckles and how hairy they are. I got the inspiration from Carla who got the inspiration from Simmerville @ Sims Daily. The way DNA (at least for sims) works is explained superbly by Simmerville in their post.

Glasses

GG = needs glasses all the time
Gg = will need glasses at some point (usually when they turn 45)
gg = doesn't need glasses

Freckles

FF = two or more sets of freckles
Ff = one set of freckles
ff = no freckles

Hairiness (this affects male sims)

HH = thick facial hair, hairy body
Hh = some facial hair, some body hair
hh = little or no facial and body hair, thin eyebrows

Height

Height is inherited via eye colour. I have three height groups for adult sims (short, average and tall). A child inherits their height group from the parent (or grandparent) whose eye colour they inherit.



Family related

Adoption Fees

  • €10,000 for a baby
  • €7,500 for a toddler
  • €5,000 for a child
  • €2,500 for a teen

Birth Control
  • Neatness (5 or more neat points) adds one point.
  • Sloppiness takes away one point from the score. 
  • Outgoingness (5 or more outgoing points) adds one point.
  • Shyness takes away one point.
  • Activeness (5 or more active points) adds one point.
  • Laziness takes away one point.
  • Playfulness (5 or more playful points) takes away one point. 
  • Seriousness adds one point.
Score of 0 or more = sim is allowed to use birth control
Score of less than 0 = sim is not allowed to use birth control


Divorce Rulings €1,000


Fertility Treatment

  • For couples who have tried for a baby unsuccessfully three times and the female is over 35 but under 45
  • Costs €5,000

Ideal Family Size

  • Aspiration ACR Rank (AAR):
    • Family = 1
    • Knowledge = 2
    • Fortune = 3
    • Popularity = 4
    • Pleasure = 5
    • Romance = 6
  • Personality Dependent Score (PDS):
    • Outgoing + ( 0,5 x Nice )
  • Ideal Family Size Formula:
    • PDS / AAR = Ideal Family Size
edit Oct 10, 2015: any IFS higher than 5 will be divided by 2 (ie. IFS 11 will become 5) because none of my sims will get more than 5 children.

Marriage License €500


Additional fees for wedding venues
  • St. Mary's Church (Allerdale), ceremony - €500
  • St. Mary's Church (Allerdale), ceremony + reception, €1,000
  • Town Hall (Wellington) - €500
  • Central Park (Wellington) - €2,500
  • Little Pink Chapel (Exmoor) - €500
  • Victoria Park (Wellington) - €5,000
  • Starry Nights Function Hall (Wellington) - €3,500

Multiple Births

  • Fertility Treatments
    • IVF treatments get increased odds for multiples as follows: 45% single, 30% twins, 15% triplets, 10% quads.
  • Advanced Maternal Age
    • Advanced maternal age (over 35 years old) get increased multiple odds: 55% single, 30% twins, 10% triplets, 5% quads.
  • Generational Multiples-single case
    • If either parent to be or grandparent is a multiple: 45% single, 35% twins, 15% triplets, 5% quads.
  • Generational Multiples-multiple cases
    • If both parents to be (or grandparents, or any combination of ) are a multiple: 40% single, 40% twins, 10% triplets, 10% quads.

Maternal, Paternal and Parental Leaves

Maternal leave starts 1 month prior to due date and lasts until baby is 3 months.
Parental leave starts after maternity leave ends and lasts for 6 months. Either parent can take the parental leave.
Paternity leave is one month and can be taken any time from when the baby is born to when the baby turns 6 months old.



Finances


Bank accounts

All sims can have a bank account via Monique's computer.


Child support

Child support is handled by Monique's Child Support hack. No download link available.


Loans and mortgages

Loans and mortgages are handled via Cyjon's Loan Jar. The current interest rate is 3%.


Real estate

In real life location is a big factor in property values which means that identical houses in two different areas are most likely prized differently. Therefore I've decided to either increase or decrease the prizes of houses depending on the part of the hood they are located in. This won't affect current home owners, only future buyers.

  • Allerdale: rural area, property value -10%
  • Wellington: small town, no change to property value
  • Exmoor: city area, property value +10%


Taxes

Taxes are collected once every two years. Households will pay a percentage of their total value including cash, bank balance and lot value. The current tax rate is 5 %.

Sims can claim deductions which are:

  1. €1,500 per dependent: a child under 18, a full-time student under 22 or a non-working elder.
  2. €2,000 for farming families: farming is evaluated as culture enrichment.
  3. €1,000 for home owners.
  4. €1,000 for energy efficient houses (solar panels).
  5. €1,500 for married couples.
  6. €2,500 for business owners.
Taxes, along with other government funds, are handled by the Governor, currently Denise Cooper.



Hobbies

Hobbies are assigned to sims based on their interests. See Carla's post here.


Transportation

Driving License
  • €3,000
  • For sims of 16 years or older

Vehicles cost money to drive

Hack found here.


Taxi charges money

Hack found here.


Bus rides

Bus rides are currently free.

Monday 16 October 2006

University admissions

After trying several different ways to determine which sims are accepted into university I've finally settled on a system adapted from the systems created by Laurel Crossing, Apple Valley and Sullivan.

I use Wellington Aptitude Score (WAS) to determine acceptance into Brixton University. WAS is calculated for each sim at the age of 16 or 17 (depending on the last time I play their household before they turn 18). WAS not only determines whether a sim is accepted into university but also the amount of tuition they play.

For sims applying for postgraduate studies I use Undergraduate Aptitude Score (UAS) which is calculated after university graduation.


Undergraduate admissions


  • 40 WAS points to enroll
  • 55 WAS points for half-tuition (if not gained by a scholarship)
  • 70 WAS points and a grade of A+ at high school graduation (= Wellington Scholar's Grant), sim pays no tuition

Wellington Aptitude Score points


Hobbies
  • 1 WAS point per enthusiasm point in any hobby
  • 1 additional point for any maxed out hobbies

Skills
  • 1 WAS point per skill point in each skill
  • 1 additional point for a maxed out skill

Grades
  • 10 WAS points for an A grade
  • 5 WAS points for a B grade
  • 3 WAS points for a C grade

Badges
  • 10 WAS points for a Gold Badge
  • 5 WAS points for a Silver Badge
  • 3 WAS points for a Bronze Badge

Extra skills
  • 1 WAS point for each skill
  • Parenting, Fire Safety, Anger Management, Lifelong Happiness, Physiology and Couples Counseling

Teen jobs
  • 1 WAS point for a Level 3 teen job


Postgraduate admissions

  •  30 UAS points to enroll (this may change later)

Undergraduate Aptitude Score


Undergraduate GPA
  • 10 UAS points for 4.0
  • 5 UAS points for 3.7-3.9
  • 3 UAS points for 3.4-3.6
  • 1 UAS point for of 3.2-3.3

Entrance Examination
  • career specific skills (counting 2 skills with the highest points)
    • Master of Architecture: mechanical, logic, creativity
    • Master of Education: charisma, logic, cleaning
    • Master of Laws: charisma, logic, cleaning
    • Master of Psychology: charisma, logic
    • Doctor of Medicine: mechanical, logic, cleaning
    • Doctor of Science: cooking, logic, cleaning
  • 1 UAS point per skill point (20 UAS points is maximum)

Faculty Interview
  • 4 points per reputation stage, negative reputation results in minus points


Notes:
  • With the postgraduate admissions I tried to come up with a system that wasn't identical to the undergraduate admissions. I also emphasized the meaning of the entrance exam and interview so that students who didn't do so well in college could still have a chance to study for a Master's degree or Doctorate if they're otherwise suitable for their chosen field.