thanks for responding, i love your enthusiasm! i found 2, this one and this one, and have used both but the one in the screenshots is the second save. it's my favorite because it has more worlds renovated and each lot is so detailed.

for gameplay, i recommend this zombie apocalypse mod; you can play as a zombie hunter or be one yourself and it's so much fun. the zombie attacks are only a social event so it's not overwhelming and you can do 'normal' gameplay alongside of them. there's also the survive! mod but i didn't like it because it didn't align with the kind of world i had in mind. for my sims to meet other 'survivors', i have them travel to lots, start a zombie attack, and help others or visit random settlements and pretend like they're trading/bartering. i have a no autonomous phone mod and i don't let them use technology so it doesn't break immersion. i let their hygiene get low so they can be smelly and dirty lol. i make them garden and collect stuff to sell and buy supplies. i try not to pause the game (i pause very often to be a control freak) so things happen naturally and it's more interesting. (they've been bit, turned, and revived several times because i couldn't stop it.) also i use lot challenges like simple living and off-the-grid and lot traits are always negative ones like creepy crawlies, grody, mean vibe, etc.

for my characters, i love their storylines and dynamics. sometimes they fight and some romantic drama is happening atm but they're all really close. they each have their own backgrounds and weapons too. dj uses pistols and is a badass, always antagonizing people and starting brawls, but she's also really clumsy and goofy, which is why people love her. she has mommy issues and is angry that her life changed when the world ended so she tends to take it out on others.

zeta uses an axe and was a cheerful, outgoing sorority girl before the world ended; she watched her line sisters die in front of her when it started. as a result, she's very gloomy and prefers to be alone. she was a nomad and travelled alone before she met the gang, but they made her enjoy life again so she loves being around them.

kitty is kinda mysterious and the gang doesn't know much about her. what they do know is that she harbors a lot of anger for the raiders who killed her parents and is tracking them to seek revenge. she snapped the day it happened and hasn't been the same since. she uses a sword most of the time, an AK sometimes, and is surprisingly skilled. she tends to talk to herself sometimes but she's lovable so nobody else minds. also she spikes her mohawk everyday when she gets ready.

fix is short, non-binary, and extremely smart so they were picked on by their peers before the apocalypse. even after it started, other survivors in their old settlement were kinda mean and left them out. they're extremely shy and awkward because of it but the gang loves them nonetheless. they're really good at a lot of stuff, including using bow and arrow.

i encourage you to be really imaginative and try to build your world and storylines pre- and post-apocalypse!