Sims 2 - Castaway Stories on Origins Failed then Disk Failed in Windows 10

Last year, Origins did away with client access via password connections to the Castaway Stories.  Shortly after that, I was able to purchase a CD before the prices shot up. So I was able to play Castaway on Windows 7 with the Compatibility set to XP as long as I had the CD in the DVD/CD player. It is a bit more glitchier, (hard to imagine it could be MORE glitchy) but it worked.  

Then, I upgraded to Windows 10 (finally) only to discover that Sims 2 would no longer work on Windows 10 even with the CD.  However, I found a patch that allows the system to work with the CD as long as I follow the instructions on Pleasant Sims 

The path, of course, for the patch is a little different than the example. But, it still goes into the TSBin. The path is the approximate to Windows (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Electronic Arts > Castaway Stories > TSBin   and with the patch, I clicked on the .exe file for the game. After that, I created a new shortcut for desktop and voila, it worked!   Cindy, if you are reading this, "Thank You for the help." 

She shares other instructions that can be followed to help with graphics, etc. I have not needed to do any of them, at least not yet.  

So I'm back to playing my favorite of the Sims Games when ever I want. Yay!

Beginner's Luck on Beginner's Landing - Wanmami Island

Trying to develop the Sim family on the cheap, as in starting with the basic inexpensive lot in the Wanmami Island version?

I usually start with Beginner's Landing on the beach. I create a single Sim and place him/her on the beach front lot.  I pull all the broken plane parts into the Rewards Inventory (backpack) so that they don't depreciate in value. I don't sell the parts until I am ready to move off the island so that I know I have a lot more funds than I started with.

I build a bare bones hut from the Build Mode. A small 6 x 6  building will do ($1680 walls, $72 floor, $96 paint inside and out, $170 door, & $0 roof). Either directly on the ground, or build a nice deck out over the water, but that will need extra funds. I make sure that I have a flat area of 3 x 6 next to the hut for the tent and cooking area.

I purchase from the Sim's Story Rewards section, the hatchet for $5 for chopping wood (renews every time Sim travels to other lots on the island) and a steamer trunk for $15 for  food storage and studying.

From Barter Mode's Survival section, I purchase the fire pit for $5, the lean-to tent for $20 and the trash pit for $25. If your Sim lands on the lot during a rainy season, the $90 fire pit from the cooking section of Barter Mode is useful, since it can be lit in the rain. I also purchase the cheap mirror for $50 to hang on the wall and I select the career of Hunter because the least amount of resources are needed for developing the Hunter Career skills of Charisma, Body and Cleaning.

The ocean swimming takes care of body skill points.  After three body skill points are earned, Sim can do yoga to also build body skills indoors. Sim will need a maximum of 10 body skills to reach to highest level of that career.  Use the mirror to reach level 9 of charisma skills and the steamer trunk to earn level six for studying cleaning skills.

If you chose to build a deck over the water, like I did in my example above, it can be used for the Hunter Career Reward of an Obstacle Course that can be used to also earn body skill points. The course needs a flat surface of at least 10 x 4, but 10 x 5 is better. 

The Sim will also need to make at least five friends at various points of the Hunter's Career.

As money is being earned from the regular promotions over the next week, the Sim can begin to purchase other items like a drum for creativity skills, that can also help with social skills if left outside. Purchasing two dining chairs and a chess table builds logic skill and friends if you ask someone to join your Sim while practicing chess.

Within the first Sim week, there should be enough funds to start developing other skills, purchasing plumbing options for the hut and even get a better bed to sleep in.

When starting out bare bones like this, remember that neighbors are more likely to pick fights with each other because there's really nothing for them to do for fun, and they tend to be extremely messy. During the first week, allow a little extra time for your Sim to break up a few fights, send angry neighbors home, and pick up a lot of trash until there are enough resources for placing fun activities around the lot for those pesky social neighbors that like to hang out with your Sim.

Turn Back Hands of Time

Shipwrecked and Single doesn't give the player a lot of time to become a productive adult before turning into an elder. So most players will either go to the location where the creepy shaman was found or they have their Sim earn the Concoction Junction as a career reward being a Gatherer. Then they can concoct and drink the Life Elixir to extend their lives. This way, the Sim adult can go back to day one as an adult. As an elder, this takes the Sim back to day one as an elder.

However, if you really want to turn back the hands of time, an elder Sim can visit the Temple of Tuzu on Felicity Island, drink from the chalice to skip back a generation to become an adult again. By doing this, for example, the Chief and his wife will look much different as adults, as shown in the images below. They can then have babies (again) and start all over as adults. Unfortunately, this option is not available on Wanmami Island.

Manaves as Elders	Chalice at Temple
Fangaloka Manave and Huhana Manave as adults

Yes, Chief Fangaloka's eyebrows are blond and Huhana's hair is red under that white wig. Who Knew?

Secondary Source of Resources

One of the actions that a Sim can take is to dig in the sand.  Find a spot on your lot that allows you to dig and you can start digging up some great little trinkets. You can sell them in the Barter Mode or use them as decorations on your lot.

The other aspect of digging is that it makes the Sim tired and dirty. I have my Sim dig once each Sim day for a little extra change in their pocket without over tiring or getting extremely filthy. A find does not happen every time, but on the average, about one out of four digging tries, something will be unearthed. I even do this on the Shipwrecked and Single section, to provide extra resources before my Sim can work and even after he/she can, just to be able to purchase better household/lot provisions.

Find	Value	Example
big pond peddlers driftwood	10
big pond peddlers driftwood deluxe	15
galactic marbles	20
I clam what I clam	20
bit of vug	37
pagoda by the memories	37
play it again toucan pam	90
conch	100
infinity armed bandit starfish	200
frog of good tidings	210
treacherous luck dragon	215

Can't find any areas on your lot for digging?  You can create some.  First save the lot before attempting this. In Build Mode, open the Terrain tool and select ground cover. Two types of cover work best; Hand ground sand and Sandy grass.  You may have to put a lot in the area that you want to be able to dig. You may need spend over 40- 50 resources.  I will click the Sand cover option 10 times, then try the Sim to see if it can dig.  I keep doing this 10 at a time until I finally have a nice area for digging. Usually, right outside the front door of the house or near a pond. Another option is to leave the lot and dig at a community lot.

Renewable Resource Items

There are not a lot of ways to make money on Castaway Stories. You can sell your paintings. or you can purchase resource items that will eventually provide some resource income on a regular basis. Some lots will already have some resource items on them, so purchasing the item may not be necessary.

The most comment renewable resource is the wood pile. However, if you don't leave your lot (except to work) you may have to wait up to a "Sim" week to earn 3 more Simoleons. If you leave your lot to visit some other lot, when you come back, the wood is available again to cut.

Personlly, the most frequently renewing items are you best bet. The Bamboo, Stones and Bones are the quickest to renew without leaving the lot. Bamboo requires the Machete which will cost you 40 Simoleons. You earn a little every day. If you purchase the Machete and the plant, it will take 20 Sims days to start making a profit.On the other hand, if you purchase the Stone and the Pick Axe, it will take you a little over 62 gatherings to recoup your investment. So, it's important to think about the amount of time it will take to recover from the original expenses. I feel that the Bones are the best investment. Just about anyone living on the lot can gather them as soon as they become available (approximately every other day), and no additional tools are necessary. It will take 14 gatherings (approximately 30 Sim days) to begin to receive the profit of 15 Simoleons per gathering. Bamboo is another quite rewards investment of 6 Simoleons per day after about 20 days.

The renewable resources are also fair game on the public lots, but their refresh time frame seems slower than on the Sim's primary lot. 

Below is a table

Option	Resource Price	Renewing Sim Value	Approx. Refresh	Collected By	Tool Needed	Tool Expense	Profit after Gathering X times	Image
Woodpile	40	3	1 wk or leave lot & return	Adults/Elders	Hatchet	5	15
Bamboo	80	6	7/8 of a day	Adults/Elders	Machete	40	20
Stone	160	12	1-1/8 of a day	Adults/Elders	Pick Axe	475	62
Bones	200	15	every other day	All Except Infants & Toddlers	None	0	14
Grass (PhenoPlast)	280	7	every other day	Adults/Elders	Machete	40	46
Parts	320	29	4.5 days	Adults/Elders	None	0	14
Obsidian	400	30	6 days	Adults/Elders	Pick Axe	475	30

Careers and Rewards

It has been a spell since I last posted anything.  But I discovered that I don't have to build a career from the beginning, in order to receive a career reward. 

One of the circumstances of Sims is careers and "building" a career reputation and income. For the Castaway Sims, they have three career options; Gatherer, Hunter and Crafter. As an adult Sim reaches career level 5, he/she is awarded a valuable device/station for added benefit. The reward is the focus of this post. 

The Reward

For the Gatherer, at the career stage of Trailblazer, the Concoction Junction is the reward. 

This Junction provides potions for life changing events and also for fun. Teens can use the station but they can't use all the potions until they become adults. The potions do not have any resource value.

For the Hunter, at the career stage of Stalker, the Hyena Pace Obstacle Course is the reward.

This Course provides Fitness and Body skills. However, plan for Hygiene to quickly lower. Children and teens can also use the course. 

For the Crafter, at the career stage of Scrap Technician, the Crafter's Bench Crafting Bench is the reward. 

This Bench provides three electronic devices. One is battery powered, one is solar powered and the third requires electricity (wind-powered generator). Each device requires payment with resources to create. The devices provide Fun and in some cases can be used for Fitness and Body skills. Teens can use the bench.

Space Requirements

Some of the career rewards take up a lot of space. They can be placed on the ground or on flooring for use. The Course takes up the most space, requiring at least 3 by 9 squares to be flat. The Junction is the next largest, required at least 2 by 4 squares to be flat. The Bench is the easiest to set up, needing only 2 by 2 squares available. The least expensive option for placing the reward on the lot is to use the elevation tool and creating a flat/level space, large enough for the reward to be placed and still allow the space for the Sim to access to it.

Start in the Middle of the Career

One way to earn the reward without starting at the beginning of the career track is to have the necessary skills and friends already in place for the Sim before accepting the career. What I have discovered, over time is that sometimes having exactly the number of skills required for the career is enough, while other times, the Sim may need to have a one or two extra skill levels in place. Also, the Sim may be offered the career level 4, but after accepting, they really start at career level 5 and receive the reward. So keep that in mind when building skill levels. 

For the Gatherer career reward, have at least 2+ cooking skills, 4+ logic skills and 2+ creativity skills. Also have at least 2+ friendships outside of the family. 

For the Hunter career reward, have at least 2+ charisma skills, 5+ body skills and 1+ cleaning skills. Also have at least 2+ friendships outside of the family. 

For the Crafter career reward, have at least 4+ mechanical skills, 3+ logic skills and 1+ creativity skills. Also have at least 1+ friendship outside of the family. 

Having access to these career rewards can help make other events in life a little easier. One word of caution, don't leave your rewards on a lot if you move. You lose the reward and you are not awarded any resource compensation for them. 

Wanmami Island Real Estate Properties

Wanmami Island's 15 Lots

Moving into a Lot
Sims Family characters can move into an empty lot as long as it has enough resources. Sims can also move in to lots that have a family on it already and then the funds from that "move in" Sim will be co-mingled with the family's resources. Additionally a Sim or group of Sims can move out of a lot without moving out the entire family. Each moved out collection will receive 8,000 resources as long as the entire family does not move. When an entire family moves out of a lot, all furniture and lights that are not saved in the family "backpack" will be sold off and the proceeds of that sale becomes the overall family resources. The available lots are listed on the map above. The numbers will correspond with the lot information provided at the very bottom of this article.

All Lots provide some resources and food:
Resources = Activities on the lot that provide some funds; Branch, Bamboo Stalk, Stone, Bones, Pheno Plast Grass, Parts and Obsidian.
Food = Plants can provide some food and activities; Coffee Plant, Coconut, Banana or Papaya Trees.

Other Amenities
Ocean = Body, Bladder, Hygiene, Fun, Spear Fish
Built = Buildings exist but may require furniture and lighting
Furnished = Buildings that are partially furnished
Electric = Wind Generator
Pond = Fishing, fun, social, some allow swimming
Hot Spring = Hygiene, fun, social
Lava Pit = Nothing unless converted to pond
Marsh = Nothing unless converted to pond

Purchasing the Bare Bones Essentials: ß15 = Chest (Story Reward) PLUS ß40 = pile of leaves, fire pit & trash pit OR ß50 = Tent, fire pit & trash pit. (You can get by with this at an ocean lot. You will need bathroom facilities on an inland lot or travel some times to community lots. If you are strategic with bathroom and food needs, you can "refresh" while at work.)

Story Rewards:  You will need to have completed the Shipwrecked and Single game to have access to all the story rewards in Wanmami Neighborhoods. Depending on the renewable resources on the lot, you may need a hatchet ß5 to cut wood, a machete ß40 to cut bamboo or pheno plast grass, and/or a pick axe ß475 to gather rocks.

Convert Harsh Areas
The pit and marsh areas can be converted to water prior to moving in. While "overlooking" Wanmami Island, click on the families button (F1) without selecting a family. Find the lot and click on the Hot Property lot or the Stillwater Marsh lot. When the For Sale bubble pops open, then click on the "Enter Lot" button.

After you are in the lot (without a family) click on build mode (lower left corner the hatchet and pick axe button) select shovel (terrain) click on water drop (water), select blue water ß1 and then, with the pointer, click on the lava or marsh areas.

After you have changed the environment, click the button with 3 dots (option - ESC), click the disk icon to save the lot and then click the houses icon to return to the overview of the neighborhood.

Note - This same strategy can be used to level areas for houses or add ponds using the terrain tool prior to moving onto the lot. Performing this can end up changing the value of the lot, depending on the changes made.

Need quick resources? Raid the neighbors!  Move into a neighbor's lot while the family still lives on it, put all the household items into your character's inventory, from torches to toilets, then move out. Save the lot before returning to the neighborhood. This won't increase your worth until you return to your own lot and sell the items through the barter mode.

The guide for the map is below.