MURKLAND STARTER CHALLENGE

BRIEF SUMMARY

The Murkland Challenge for Sims 4 is a post-apocalyptic challenge created by Brennachan. 

Oasis Springs has been transformed to Murkland and you start with either "Dusty Boots" or a sim you've made.  Sim must have Friend of the World aspiration and one trait must be "glutton".  You can't have the klepto trait.  

You start out with the Murkland Starter lot and zero simoleons. Goal is to grow 16 trash plants from scratch and evolve to perfect trash plants, go to Granite Falls and collect ingredients to make the deodorizing cream and get your herbalism skill to level 2, complete the Friend of the World Aspiration, and Max dancing and gardening.  And by collecting and selling, save $15,000.

Of course, there are some restrictions on your way to completing this, like no electricity, water or showers, and you have to soak in the communal hot springs with other Murklanders like mutant raccoons...  But, hey, that's the fun of the challenge!

So, if you're ready to be a Murklander, go here for more information on the challenge:

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/910413/post-apocalyptic-murkland-the-starter-challenge#latest

6-BEAU WEBB - WEEK 1 - DAY IN DAY OUT

WEEK 1 - LETTER TO MANNY

Dear Manny,

It's hard to believe that I have been here a week.  To keep some sanity in my life, I decided to try and keep a routine going so that I would have something to do...some goal each day.  You know, keep busy, so that I wouldn't go CRAZY!

Each morning, I get up and collect some water.  I then boil that water in my tin water bottle. Next, I see if any trash fruit is ready to eat, and eat a piece of trash fruit.  I try to limit myself to 1 piece of trash fruit a day, so sometimes I wait and eat it at mid-day. I have been lucky and usually there is a piece of trash fruit ripe each day.

Then I wash up a bit, and go about my trash gardening duties.

After gardening, I try to explore the area for a few hours and collect some samples so I can study them further. I really don't have any scientific equipment here to really study them, so I just write down observations in my notebook.

I have even taken cuttings from some of the plants I have found and planted a few in my compost garden.  Nothing exciting to report yet.

Today I decided to explore a little further than usual.  I came upon a housing community....or what used to be one...and saw this on a bulletin board.  I can't make out the language or what it says, but it doesn't look too good.  I am going to take some more pictures on another day -- more of a close up and let you have a look at it and see if you can figure out what language this might be or what it might say.

And I have been throwing lots of rocks.  In fact, I seem to be carrying around rocks in my lab coat all the time.  So, I go to an empty house and throw rocks at it!  Ha!  Oh I have such fun!  I've never done anything like that before!  I feel .....RECKLESS and GIDDY and SCARED all at the same time!

And I wait....scared but hopeful...but no-one ever comes out.

I also try to gather some food, if I can find some. I am taking your suggestion and looking at the expiration dates.  Some are just too old.  But a few have been good. 

I found a can of weiners yesterday...now I just have to work on my cooking skill.  I seem to always set things on fire.

But, burned food never tasted so good!

When I was at the community housing area today, I saw something off in the distance.  It looked like a science lab. I am going to start early tomorrow if I am going to make it back before dark.  I will let you know...my ...f...i..n...dd....ings.  Need to chhhar....ge...up...aga.in

Your...fr...iend.....in t...ime,

Beau

7-BEAU WEBB --DAY 6 - I AM NOT ALONE

DAY 6 - LETTER TO MANNY

My dear Man...ny,

I have go..ne on a full day of explor...ing today...but....I have some...thing....impor....tant....to show....you....my batter...y  is low.....

Here is wha...t...I foun.d when I came hhhhhoommmmeee  today......some...one was....here.....

I AM NOT ALONE!

Beau

5-BEAU WEBB - DAY 3 - EXCITING DISCOVERIES

LETTER TO MANNY - DAY 3

Dear Manny,

I received your message -- Oh I am so happy that I have someone to talk to.  Since my last message, I have still not found signs of animals or people anywhere.  I am beginning to think that I am the OMEGA MAN, like Will Smith in the movie I am Legend. Have you seen it?  It's a movie about a plague that hits New York City and he is the last survivor and a scientist who is trying to find a cure for the infected.  

Is this my destiny? To find some type of cure? But, where are the infected? Maybe I need to explore some more and haven't found them yet. Do I want to find them? Oh, Manny, I have too much time to Think, Think, Think. And I am not getting any answers.

Maybe you don't even exist and this is all a dream.

But you must exist.  I am going to believe that you exist, I trust you, and that I am not going CRAZY!

First of all I must tell you two pieces of exciting news!  Well, exciting for me! 

The first is that I found a clean water source. I decided to explore around my cave home and heard a "gurgling" sound. 
I looked around and found this!  It seems to be a natural spring.  I did boil it and drank some and feel fine.  It is a lot cleaner than the other water source I found.  You remember, that icky slime water.

The other thing I found when I was exploring around the cave was a compost pile.  Ok, so that alone isn't too exciting.  

But, I decided to bury some of the garbage in the soil.

 

 I guess you could call this "trash gardening".

 

 And today, I discovered this!  I made a new plant!

I picked some of this "trash" fruit and....well...yep....you guessed it....I decided to try some.

Well, I guess it's ok.  At least I have something to eat.

So, there you go.  Two big discoveries for me.  Clean water and food!

I must re-charge my battery..now....I will write again very soon...

Your friend in time,

Beau

4-BEAU WEBB - DAY 2 - OUT OF THE CAVE

BEAU WEBB - LETTER TO MANTIRA

DAY 2

Dear Mantira er...Manny,

Words cannot express how I felt when I heard or rather read your message.  I was trapped in a cave but with my knowledge of science and some items I had in my lab coat, I blasted my way out.  So for now, at least I am not trapped in a cave anymore.  But, I still don't know where I am.

The battery I used for my Morse Code device was from my cell phone and when the cave opened, I replaced the battery in my cell phone and there -- THERE -- was your message!

My cell phone converts voice messages to text.  It is truly amazing.  Do you have such technology?

I also have a solar powered tablet. It is called a SOL. It is charged by a special solar powered charging cube.  My cell phone is also solar powered and can be charged on the same cube.  Otherwise, I would have to continue to communicate in Morse Code.  If I can get a cell signal, there must be some technology here...wherever here is.

Are you a scientist?  You are very smart to know Morse Code.  Where are you?  Are you living in this world?  I have so many questions for you.

Earlier today when it was light, I went out to explore.  I took some pictures and here is what I saw.  Maybe some of this will look familiar to you.

OBSERVATIONS:

The land is dry and dusty, almost like a desert. Barren with little plant life. Spiny succulents which look a lot like cacti, some grass-like plants, an odd tree, and lots of rocks. LOTS of rocks.  And it is HOT - really HOT!

There is water...or green slime water that smells really bad. I don't think I can drink it without boiling it first.  And I will have to find a way to filter it so I'm not drinking bits of twigs and algae. Maybe there will be a cleaner water source somewhere else. But this may be my only choice, as my water rations are running low. 

I haven't seen any animals or any people for that matter. However, there are signs of civilization, although everything seems to be either boarded up, decaying or run down.

This almost looks like a fall-out shelter or bunker.  People built these when they feared an apocalypse...you know..the end of the world.  Windows are barred and there are warning signs on the building.  This, by the way, is the building beside the cave.

And here is another dwelling on the hill.  All the windows are boarded up.  What happened here?  Was there a plague? 

 This is the house on the other side of the cave. Again, boarded up, rundown and neglected.  Was there a war?  I don't have much food, so I may have to go inside to see if there are some canned goods, or something...something that I can eat. I guess I can always roast some cactus.

This is the cave I was trapped in.  I guess it is going to be my home for now. I do not recognize this area at all.  I fear I am in another time, another place, another dimension. I am not sure.  I hope you can help, Manny.  I may be the only human here.

In answer to your question, I am not sure what type of machine I was wor...king on...My sig...nal is get..ting weak. I mus..t cccchhh...arge up now.  I h...ope you can he...lp 

Y..ou.....a...re....my only ho..pe.

Yo....ur frie..nd in t...ime
Beau

3-BEAU WEBB - DAY 1 (NIGHT) - IT'S DARK

JOURNAL ENTRY - DAY 1 (NIGHT)

It has been several hours since the explosion.

My vision is blurred and I feel a bit dazed. I must have passed out when the explosion happened or maybe I was hit by a flying piece of rock. I look down at my arm and it's red and sore.  It looks burned.  And my clothes...well, I look like a chimney sweep..they are pretty dirty and black.  And I smell AWFUL!  I definitely need a shower.

My throat is parched and I try to stand and reach for my water bottle.  Whoa!  Not so fast!  I cling to the sides of the cave to keep my balance.  I grab my water bottle and take a sip.

I look around.  There is still a smoldering fire near the entrance, and I stomp it out.

Yes, I am free of the cave. I can see the outside!  But what is out there?  It is very dark, and although I strain my eyes to see, I can't make out any shadows or shapes of buildings. I don't know what is out there or if it's dangerous. Better to rest tonight in the cave and get my bearings before I venture out into this new world.  I am hoping it will get lighter in a few hours.

I try to clean myself up a bit and think I do a pretty good job.

I place the water bottle back down and remember the message I sent in Morse Code.  I decide to see if I can get a cell phone signal and put the battery back in my phone.  It takes a few minutes to charge and then I hear the familiar *ping* of a message waiting.  I click on the message tab for visual voicemail and can't believe what I am reading!  

Someone heard my message!

2-BEAU WEBB - DAY 1 - WHERE AM I?

JOURNAL ENTRY - DAY 1

Hello....you don't know me, but my name is Beau Webb.  I am 23 years old and a science intern at Landgraab Simoleons Lab. While I was fixing one of the new machines with a wrench, a spark emitted and I was transported here to this place.  I don't know where I am in time or space, or if I will ever get back to my own time. But I am keeping a log so that if anyone ever finds me or if I get back to my time, I can tell my tale.

This is me .. (takes selfie)....

In the meantime, I must face the fact that I am alone and must do whatever I can to survive. And the thing I have to do is to find a way to get out.  I can do it, I am a scientist -- ok, well, a scientist in training. And, plus I have my trusty lab coat on.

Now, a lab coat may not seem like a great thing to you, but do you know what lab coats can hold?  And the new ones...the one like I have...so techno.

....pulls out solar flashlight....and looks around....

It appears I have been "time tunneled" into a cave.  

Knocks on wall -- Hard as rock.
Pushes against cave -- solid rock.
Licks rock...ewwww....well, I won't do that again - I guess it tastes like rock.

But wait, there are some other things that I see....

Looks like a campfire...

And some type of tarp shelter...I think someone was here before....I wonder what happened to them?  I don't see any bones...so they didn't die here.  They must have gotten out somehow.

There doesn't seem to be any water that I can see, or even food...although who knows what lurks in this cave.  

Think....THINK....what do I need to do next?  Survive....what are those key elements to survival again?  Come on, think back to those Boy Scout days...

Oh yeah, I remember now....

1. Air

2. Water

3. Food

4. Shelter

5. Defense

1.  AIR - ok so for now, I can breathe.  But, if you're in a cave with no exit, how long do I have before my oxygen runs out?
....grabs pen and paper from lab coat....and scibbles some calculations on paper....um....maybe 17 hours...but before then...the Co2 will affect my thinking.  I must practice my yoga breathing techniques and take slow breaths to conserve my oxygen.

2. WATER - ok - no water source - but I do have my water bottle that is full...

3. FOOD - well, I have some food from the cafeteria in my lab coat pocket...an apple....a cupcake...and a marshmallow...oh gee....I shouldn't have said cupcake...now I'm hungry!

4. SHELTER - it seems I can use the tarp shelter to sleep in, but no sleep now..have to work on a plan to get out, or if I sleep I will never wake up...

5. DEFENSE - don't seem to have to worry about that now, since I am trapped

I am going to add something else for my situation...

6.  COMMUNICATION - If I can't get out alone, I need to get help from someone on the outside....

Now what?  I need to work on a plan. Plan....plan...plan...what do I do?  THINK!  Yes, there are 2 important tasks that I must do.

PLAN 1. GET TO THE OUTSIDE

PLAN 2. COMMUNICATE WITH SOMEONE FROM THE OUTSIDE

I am going to think about # 1 for a bit, but I think I can do something about #2.

I already tried my cell phone and there is no signal here. So, can't call anybody.  What did people do before they had phones?  THINK!  A field phone? No, still a phone. Write letters? Right, like anyone is going to get my letter from inside a cave!  Hmmm...no cell service, no postal service....But wait, what did they do in that movie....Independence Day...they used..they used...Morse Code! That's it!  I am going to build a morse code sender.  I think I have everything I need right here in my lab coat.

ok, wait....maybe I should take inventory of what I have in my lab coat.  Here's some rock tables and I am going to place everything down and see what I have

ok...so if I take the battery out of my cell phone and attach the wires to it, and I can use that piece of tin...and....I need something flat...like a board...perfect...a piece of firewood...and then I can screw in that....where is my Swiss army knife...and then I can use the pliers and twist it so...and there you have it....ready to go...it's pretty rudimentary...but I think it will work...

I sent my S.O.S. in Morse Code. So far, I haven't received any response.  Maybe no one knows Morse Code anymore, or maybe the signal didn't go far enough. So much for putting it together with things I had in my lab coat.  Well, I can try again later.  Back to Plan 1.

PLAN 1. GET TO THE OUTSIDE

So, I am trapped in a cave...I need to find a hollow part...or some crack in the rock...goes around cave knocking on the rocks....not here....not here....FOUND IT!  Hollow...there is some space behind this rock and there is a crack in it.   Aaarrrgggg....I can't move it!  *Wipes brow*

I feel a panic attack coming on.....how will I get out....how will I get out?

THINK!  THINK!  CALM DOWN! How do you move rocks? You pull them, you push them, you BLOW THEM UP!  Yes, like the railroaders in the olden days, I am going to blow up the cave....I mean the rocks...with potassium nitrate....aka - dyno-mite!

And I have just the thing to do it with...where are those sparklers from the Geekcon Festival?  I know I had them in my lab coat somewhere...Ahh yes....here they are...

Now, if I just wedge them into this crack....and....I push some...yes....I can do that....and then I have to light them...where are my matches?  Oh please, let this work....Holds Breath and lights them all.  KABOOM!

1--BEAU WEBB - TIME TRAVELLER - S.O.S. SENT

BEAU WEBB - TIME TRAVELLER

"dit dit dit - dah dah dah - dit dit dit" S.O.S. Are you there? Can anyone hear me? I am trapped...trapped... Wait, let me start at the beginning so you understand. Yesterday...was it only yesterday...I was a young man heading off to work at the Landgraab Simoleon Labs as an apprentice scientist. The date was Friday, Jan 13, 2017. It started off as a normal work day, watering plants, collecting specimens and repairing the machines. And then it happened, just as I was turning the wrench on that new machine, a spark of some kind zapped me into a time warp...time tunnel...I am not sure what you would call it...but , well, and this may be hard for you to believe....but I am trapped, yes, trapped, somewhere in time. I don't know how I am supposed to get back to my own time, or even if I can. Please help me. You are my only hope. dit dit dit - dah dah dah - dit dit dit S.O.S."