by Wee » Tue Dec 20, 2016 8:48 pm
I've been following this game for a while now, and find it rather enjoyable.
Some quick thoughts:
Getting Eve to appear in the bathroom is too random, and the percentage chance seems extremely low. I'd suggest maybe having some variable that increases the chance of this event firing off as you continue your repeat visits to the bank, so that you aren't spending 15 plus days visiting the bank every hour (business hours), trying to get her to appear unsuccessfully, only to have her go to the bathroom very early on in your next game. If the "ay off part of your debt options aren't doing this already, paying off your debt should add to this 'chance of appearing in the bathroom' variable.
I've been having the 'shop inventory isn't appearing' error as well. Really the only way I've found to get out of the shop at this point is to quit and restart the game, and load the most recent autosave.
ON THAT NOTE...
Having an ingame option to restart the game, as opposed to' hit the 'x' in the right corner, then click on the .exe to restart the game', would be helpful.
The spread on Alice's stats at the beginning of the game seems a bit large. While I don't mind some variability, Alice can end up with really good stats or very bland stats, simply by the luck of the draw. To a lesser extent, this applies to Julia as well, although Alice tends to get used more in the first few days - for those that like having Alice helping out as you beat up thugs for money.
The Helloween event is a nice addition. Looking forward to an XMas followup event when the designers get to that point...
The Photoshoots are nice, but during the day my MC is rather busy with other things. As I'm not seeing any reward for these currently (is there one?), I tend to ignore this feature. Hopefully these can be integrated more fully into future builds. At the very least, a Reputation increase would be nice if this isn't already happening, but perhaps this could also help attract 'special customers', be they rich, high level, or whatever.
A fun thing to add to Alice's business suggestions dialogue tree might be to have Alice offer to design a website for you, as one of the 'tiers'. Posting the Photoshoots (above) on said website could add to your reputation. The 'regular patrons' would of course be given access to the 'hidden nekkid pics', as you ARE running a massage parlor, not a brothel (wink wink). Nekkid pics being publicly available on a Massage Parlor website would attract too much Law Enforcemet, of course... Said website might also randomly attract new working ladies, through the 'Employment' tab on your new website (said prospects would appear first thing in the morning, similar to how Julia shows up in the beginning).
Another idea might be to add a bar to your "Massage Parlor/Brothel" as one of Alice's suggestions (taking up one 'slot' on the first floor once you are given the option to build it). This would add to your reputation/attract more regulars. After the bar is online, this could open up a dialogue tree that allows you to 'Lure' the barkeep from the bar so that she can work for you...
Of course, the downside to regulars (if a 'regular patron' system was incorporated) is that a gal might become attached to a particular regular, and move on...
Private/Specialty suites/Bungalow rooms have been suggested before. Definitely a good idea IMHO (Brothels usually have 'deluxe rooms' available at a higher rate). These would help make the recently added upper floor more useful. Unoccupied suites would be available if a customer requests them, as they aren't usually 'occupied' by the ladies - they are shared by all ladies in the house on an 'as needed' basis. Examples of these would be "Hot Tub Room", "Playland Room" "Sci Fi Themed Room" etc.
The time frame of the game is rather grindy at the moment. I'd suggest maybe contracting the time frame of the game a bit (lowering the total amount needed to pay off the debt accordingly), perhaps as an additional 'at beginning of game' option, say earn $100,000 over a shorter time period to win. 120 days (or whatever the current time frame is) seems excessive to me, and adds to the 'getting bored out of your skull' factor. I tend to not play this game all the way through these days as it takes too long to finish...
Those are my thoughts for now - Keep up the good work, SimBro Team!