- Joined
- Oct 28, 2018
- Messages
- 227
- Thread Author
- #1
We've all been there, 60+ players on the server and only one store open.
What causes this?
Lack of manpower, enthusiasm and time.
Running a store in real life is hard, running a store in garrys mod is slightly easier, but that is to be expected seeing as its a video game
Still, we come to the conclusion that keeping a store consisting of 5 members which must also turn a profit open more often then it isn't is very very hard.
Let's not understate this, it is VERY VERY HARD. It takes up a large part of your IRL life if you want to do it, and to be honest, a lot of the time it just feels that it isn't worth it.
So I propose a solution.
The man approaches the terminal, he has work to do.
He opens the menu and looks over his options. Housing? No. He's here for work.
*click*
His SC is shown on the screen, along with every business operating in the district. Those which have an SC requirement above his measly 100SC are greyed out, as are those currently not operating. For those he can work in, the number of people currently working in them is also shown. "Let's try get a nice one" he says to himself. He clicks on a store with a lot of people currently working. "LOW SC AND RATION PAYMENT DUE TO HIGH NUMBER OF WORKERS". He sighs to himself and selects a more quiet one, Indigent 1. On the screen the brief flashes, this shows his temporary ID number and instructions from the store manager on what is expected of him. He clicks next and a final page appears. This page reminds him that he is required to arrive at the store within 5 minutes, that theft is illegal and that EVERYTHING is recorded. He clicks "I Acknowledge" and starts to head to INDINGENT 1.
He arrives at the store, the door is unlocked, as most doors in the city are. After all, no one has nothing to hide. Of course, the store manager is more equal then others, his office is locked. That's where the bulk of the stock is after all.
He walks behind the counter. Behind him is worker storage. If he inserts his Temp ID, it will unlock and he has access to the stock that the Store manager has placed within it.
On the counter is the Payment machine, if someone puts their CID upon it they can pay the store the amount they input. All he can do is see what people have payed. At no point does he ever handle money. He's a machine. He confirms the payment, walks over to the storage unit, inputs his CID, takes the item and hands it over to the customer.
30 minutes have passed (OOC), but he hasn't noticed yet. He walks over to the storage to collect stock and just as he inputs his Temp ID, the storage unit flashes red. "INVALID ID". Looks like it's quitting time. As he walks out another worker walks in behind the counter. "Good timing" he thinks to himself as he approaches the terminal to confirm his rewards.
5 SC and 25 Credits. All in a good days work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time to end the private ownership and organization of all combine regulated stores.
So what is the alternative you ask? Well, that's where the MoC and CWU come in.
Working together these two groups (with the assistance of scripts) will propel store RP into a new generation of interactivity and Roleplay.
How so? you also ask.
Well, we actually already have the bare bones of the system in the game. That's right, I'm talking about the apartment system.
By making store employment an optional workshift for which one applies for at a terminal (or by IC'ly taking to a member of the CWU), this solves the issue of the CWU being constantly pressured to run event workshifts, the issue of a lack of store members and the issue of people complaining there is no way to progress in relation to loyalist RP without events.
Now that doesn't mean every store has to become generic combine store #1-7 (although it would be nice to see at least one). There can still be "Store Mangers"
What are Store Managers?
These "Store Managers" are in essence the current store owners. They decide what kind of store they want to run (with approval from the CWU / CoB), what the name / athstetic is and can even personally hire Co-Managers (the traditional workers).
Changes for Store Managers (Previous Store Owners)
Their business is still theirs, however now they now work directly within the CWU, meaning they have more political sway. Need communication with CWU leads to develop this further.
They can still hire "Traditional Employees" but these will be classed as Co-Mangers
Now as CWU workers they have their own PDA's
Changes for CP's
CP's now have to actually check if people are working. This should be done during their patrols. They can do this because all information regarding temporary employment should be recorded within their PDA's. They also have to insure nothing is stolen by these temporary workers through random checks.
Changes for Citizens
Now they can create their own workshifts and find a place of employment (if only temporarily). This will allow for much more flexible RP
What could go wrong?
Well, I can only see at this moment one glaring issue. That of theft. But since these stores are basically ran straight by the Combine, they would suddenly care much more about such events, with perpetrators being ruthlessly hunted down by CP's for their due punishments.
Yes it may flood the market with cheap items if handled poorly upon immediate implementation, but such kinks can be ironed out through both IC means and OOC changes to rules.
How can this be implemented
This would be a great opportunity for whichever group that wins the election to have some policy RP, even if it wasn't in their original manifesto. If it's against their manifesto then we can simply state its an order given by the Sec Admin, who is sick of the high turnover rate.
NEW SCRIPTS REQUIRED / UPDATED
-TERMINAL
-STORE PAYMENT REGISTER
-WORKER STORAGE
-STORE MANGER PDA
-TERMINAL (ADDITION TO CURRENT TERMINAL)
Requires a new menu. This menu will, as described in the above story, contain the users SC at the top of the screen, followed by a series of boxes representing every store. These will be colour coded. Green is available, Orange means it already has a lot of people working in it (reduced rewards). Grey means the store has an SC requirement the player has not met and Grey means the store currently has no store manager and is empty. Upon clicking a store (either Green or Orange) they are given a temporary ID (Four Digits) which is their password for another new script. It also shows a message from the store owner. Upon clicking I accept the citizen will have 5 minutes to get to their workplace.
(An alternative to selecting the store they work for is to have it so that it's the same as the apartment system)
-STORE PAYMENT REGISTER
This is a simple device, it works as a place able POS Terminal. Anyone with a temp ID can read the transactions when interacting with it. Citizens can interact to pay an amount of their own selection. All money put onto the REGISTER will be sent to the store managers account.
-WORKER STORAGE
A cabinet that can be unlocked with a temp ID (The four Digits)
-STORE MANAGER PDA
Can be used to check who has accessed stores / Worked at the store, check transactions and hire Co-Managers (Co-Managers do not get PDA's)
Final Pros and Cons
-More stores open longer
-More things for citizens to do
-A more alive economy
-More RP opportunities
-A more immersive, state controlled employment scheme as implied by the lore of HL2
-Can still retain Store owners and current stores
-Less cohesive employees per store due to not actually being friends with owner
-People don't want randos working the the backrooms of their store (Why are you scared, you should have nothing to hide from our benefactors)
-Potential to temporarily flood economy if implemented poorly
-Dev work
ADDENDUM 1:
Stores have an SC requirement.
IE: INDINGENT may have an SC requirement of 90 compared to a Triumph Requirement of 120 and a Victory requirement of 150
What causes this?
Lack of manpower, enthusiasm and time.
Running a store in real life is hard, running a store in garrys mod is slightly easier, but that is to be expected seeing as its a video game
Still, we come to the conclusion that keeping a store consisting of 5 members which must also turn a profit open more often then it isn't is very very hard.
Let's not understate this, it is VERY VERY HARD. It takes up a large part of your IRL life if you want to do it, and to be honest, a lot of the time it just feels that it isn't worth it.
So I propose a solution.
The man approaches the terminal, he has work to do.
He opens the menu and looks over his options. Housing? No. He's here for work.
*click*
His SC is shown on the screen, along with every business operating in the district. Those which have an SC requirement above his measly 100SC are greyed out, as are those currently not operating. For those he can work in, the number of people currently working in them is also shown. "Let's try get a nice one" he says to himself. He clicks on a store with a lot of people currently working. "LOW SC AND RATION PAYMENT DUE TO HIGH NUMBER OF WORKERS". He sighs to himself and selects a more quiet one, Indigent 1. On the screen the brief flashes, this shows his temporary ID number and instructions from the store manager on what is expected of him. He clicks next and a final page appears. This page reminds him that he is required to arrive at the store within 5 minutes, that theft is illegal and that EVERYTHING is recorded. He clicks "I Acknowledge" and starts to head to INDINGENT 1.
He arrives at the store, the door is unlocked, as most doors in the city are. After all, no one has nothing to hide. Of course, the store manager is more equal then others, his office is locked. That's where the bulk of the stock is after all.
He walks behind the counter. Behind him is worker storage. If he inserts his Temp ID, it will unlock and he has access to the stock that the Store manager has placed within it.
On the counter is the Payment machine, if someone puts their CID upon it they can pay the store the amount they input. All he can do is see what people have payed. At no point does he ever handle money. He's a machine. He confirms the payment, walks over to the storage unit, inputs his CID, takes the item and hands it over to the customer.
30 minutes have passed (OOC), but he hasn't noticed yet. He walks over to the storage to collect stock and just as he inputs his Temp ID, the storage unit flashes red. "INVALID ID". Looks like it's quitting time. As he walks out another worker walks in behind the counter. "Good timing" he thinks to himself as he approaches the terminal to confirm his rewards.
5 SC and 25 Credits. All in a good days work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time to end the private ownership and organization of all combine regulated stores.
So what is the alternative you ask? Well, that's where the MoC and CWU come in.
Working together these two groups (with the assistance of scripts) will propel store RP into a new generation of interactivity and Roleplay.
How so? you also ask.
Well, we actually already have the bare bones of the system in the game. That's right, I'm talking about the apartment system.
By making store employment an optional workshift for which one applies for at a terminal (or by IC'ly taking to a member of the CWU), this solves the issue of the CWU being constantly pressured to run event workshifts, the issue of a lack of store members and the issue of people complaining there is no way to progress in relation to loyalist RP without events.
Now that doesn't mean every store has to become generic combine store #1-7 (although it would be nice to see at least one). There can still be "Store Mangers"
What are Store Managers?
These "Store Managers" are in essence the current store owners. They decide what kind of store they want to run (with approval from the CWU / CoB), what the name / athstetic is and can even personally hire Co-Managers (the traditional workers).
Changes for Store Managers (Previous Store Owners)
Their business is still theirs, however now they now work directly within the CWU, meaning they have more political sway. Need communication with CWU leads to develop this further.
They can still hire "Traditional Employees" but these will be classed as Co-Mangers
Now as CWU workers they have their own PDA's
Changes for CP's
CP's now have to actually check if people are working. This should be done during their patrols. They can do this because all information regarding temporary employment should be recorded within their PDA's. They also have to insure nothing is stolen by these temporary workers through random checks.
Changes for Citizens
Now they can create their own workshifts and find a place of employment (if only temporarily). This will allow for much more flexible RP
What could go wrong?
Well, I can only see at this moment one glaring issue. That of theft. But since these stores are basically ran straight by the Combine, they would suddenly care much more about such events, with perpetrators being ruthlessly hunted down by CP's for their due punishments.
Yes it may flood the market with cheap items if handled poorly upon immediate implementation, but such kinks can be ironed out through both IC means and OOC changes to rules.
How can this be implemented
This would be a great opportunity for whichever group that wins the election to have some policy RP, even if it wasn't in their original manifesto. If it's against their manifesto then we can simply state its an order given by the Sec Admin, who is sick of the high turnover rate.
NEW SCRIPTS REQUIRED / UPDATED
-TERMINAL
-STORE PAYMENT REGISTER
-WORKER STORAGE
-STORE MANGER PDA
-TERMINAL (ADDITION TO CURRENT TERMINAL)
Requires a new menu. This menu will, as described in the above story, contain the users SC at the top of the screen, followed by a series of boxes representing every store. These will be colour coded. Green is available, Orange means it already has a lot of people working in it (reduced rewards). Grey means the store has an SC requirement the player has not met and Grey means the store currently has no store manager and is empty. Upon clicking a store (either Green or Orange) they are given a temporary ID (Four Digits) which is their password for another new script. It also shows a message from the store owner. Upon clicking I accept the citizen will have 5 minutes to get to their workplace.
(An alternative to selecting the store they work for is to have it so that it's the same as the apartment system)
-STORE PAYMENT REGISTER
This is a simple device, it works as a place able POS Terminal. Anyone with a temp ID can read the transactions when interacting with it. Citizens can interact to pay an amount of their own selection. All money put onto the REGISTER will be sent to the store managers account.
-WORKER STORAGE
A cabinet that can be unlocked with a temp ID (The four Digits)
-STORE MANAGER PDA
Can be used to check who has accessed stores / Worked at the store, check transactions and hire Co-Managers (Co-Managers do not get PDA's)
Final Pros and Cons
-More stores open longer
-More things for citizens to do
-A more alive economy
-More RP opportunities
-A more immersive, state controlled employment scheme as implied by the lore of HL2
-Can still retain Store owners and current stores
-Less cohesive employees per store due to not actually being friends with owner
-People don't want randos working the the backrooms of their store (Why are you scared, you should have nothing to hide from our benefactors)
-Potential to temporarily flood economy if implemented poorly
-Dev work
ADDENDUM 1:
Stores have an SC requirement.
IE: INDINGENT may have an SC requirement of 90 compared to a Triumph Requirement of 120 and a Victory requirement of 150
