Virtual Resort - Spring Break aka Beach Life

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[CoconutKid]

Misc. Notes

Yep, I was wrong again. The tiny red cylinders are the trash cups -- there before any play starts. The geometric patterns are a filament of my imagination.  

Re: interpersonal relationships among staff. I notice the Cleaners seem to move in a group when they all have the same shift and no modification to their list of duties. I also note that when they aren't really busy, the animation has them engage in some horseplay. IIRC when I had several toilets, I divided my Cleaners between toilets and trash besides having different shifts, so I didn't see them working as a group.

Building Notes
Leisure and Pastimes

• Beach Furniture Shack M\2 | F\4
  • Lifeguard Tower
  • $1750
  • ~100
  • Hours: 09-18
• Beach Equipment Rental M\4 | F\2
  • Lifeguard Tower
  • $2250
  • ~50
  • Hours: 09-18
• Hotel Pool M\2 | F\4
  • Hotel
  • $4.5k
  • ~800
• Jacuzzi M\2 | F\4
  • Hotel Pool
  • $3k
  • ~250
• Fun Pool M\4 | F\2
  • Hotel Pool
  • $6k
  • ~800
• Beach Disco M\3 | F\4
  • Beach Bar
  • $3k
  • ~500
  • Hours: 21-04
• Beach Showers M\2 | F\4
  • Beach Bar
  • $750
  • ~100
  • Hours: 09-18
• Beach Event Stage adjustable
  • Beach BBQ
  • $4750
  • ~500
  • Hours: 09-18
• Windsurfing Rental equal
  • Pedalo Rental
  • $6.5k
  • ~50
  • Hours: 09-18
• Jet-Ski Rental M\4 | F\3
  • Windsurfing Rental
  • $8.5k
  • ~250
  • Hours: 09-18
• Party Boat M\5 | F\3
  • Jet-Ski Rental
  • $3k
  • ~500
  • Hours: 21-04
• Amusement Arcade M\4 | F\2
  • Cleaners Central bldg
  • $6k
  • ~1000
• Casino M\3 | F\5
  • Security Station
  • $7.5k
  • ~1000
  • Hours: 21-04
• Speed Boat Rental M\3 | F\4
  • Windsurfing Rental
  • $7.5k
  • ~250
  • Hours: 09-18
• Pedalo Rental M\2 | F\4
  • Lifeguard Tower
  • $6k
  • ~250
  • Hours: 09-18
• Fishing Trips M\4 | F\1
  • Pedalo Rental
  • $7.5k
  • ~250
  • Hours: 09-18

No particular order.

[RhiannOn]

  I gave up on one game because I forgot to place the cleaning shack until one areas of my resort was completely covered with the red cups that they throw on the ground even when there are trash cans right next to them.

  In one sandbox game the power units are constantly failing and even though I have 2 mechanics huts fully staffed and have the power generators set for inspection every 1 hour, they still break down and of course cause other buildings to lose power until they are fixed, really annoying.

I think with them dropping the trash next to the trash cans, the trash cans were already full.
Yeah, I know what you mean with the power grrr. Extra power units (if there was any room left on the island) were bloomin' expensive to build too.

[CoconutKid]

In one sandbox game the power units are constantly failing and even though I have 2 mechanics huts fully staffed and have the power generators set for inspection every 1 hour, they still break down and of course cause other buildings to lose power until they are fixed, really annoying.

... Yeah, I know what you mean with the power grrr. Extra power units (if there was any room left on the island) were bloomin' expensive to build too.

That's very interesting because it seems to indicate that some of the "script" from the parallel 'Campaign' island carries over to the sandbox on that island. I vaguely recall one that had that problem, perhaps #9 (Don't Leave Me Now --)? If so, that means "sandbox with Trolls" rather than just sandbox, don't you suppose?

GAMEPLAY NOTES

I checked a few people waiting in line to leave. Although they were happy, they had "extended 'bladder bars'". I had been pushing beer, and (obviously) haven't got the nack of correctly placing enough toilets. I wonder if fitting a toilet as-close-as-possible to the Complaints (Ticket) Booth would help send folks home with normal bladders? Otherwise, I guess I have to place more toilets closer to drinking establishments. Hopefully, the guests' sleeping rooms allow them to get a normal bladder bar.  


I think I discovered the inter-relationship of Lifeguard Towers whilst playing the Campaign #2 (If It Ain't Broke --) game. One of the challenges is to keep more than five guests from drowning themselves by day five. Those guests are crazy; they jump in the sea any time, day or night. One has to build a lot of LG Trs plus figure out how to cover 24 hours on all beaches or else micro-manage closing them.

I discovered two Trs opened and closed in concert whereas a third just across the channel at a narrow spot very close to one of the other two did not. The two were sort of at opposite ends of a clearly defined continuous beach at a distance the height of the screen at maximum zoom-out. So the rule seems to be that two or more on a clear-cut beach will open and close in unison on the cue of one of them, although distance may yet prove to be a factor too.

If you care if the guests drown themselves, getting multiple-shift coverage with single employee LG Trs is a pain in the butt. Depending on the size of the beaches -- and your confidence in your ability to tell where the dividing lines between the are -- you really have to have a minimum of two Trs per beach, and try to time the four "uncovered" hours for the most inactive hours in the middle of the night.

The placement of the Trs is sort of an interesting problem. First, it seems to me that they need to face the sea as much as possible and be pushed forward as-close-as-possible to the waterline. Depending on the length of the beach and what else you build on it, probably the best coverage for a short to medium length is one at each end; with the alternative being the two back-to-back or side-by-side at the middle (I haven't yet tried that construction). For a really long beach, I suppose a combination of end and double middle positions might be needed.

Has anyone noticed guest reaction to the Life Guards or the Towers? I opine that it would not be outlandishly hard coding for them to notice as they do other amenities. So perhaps being parsimonious with LG Trs is not good business -- even though they don't have the best interface in the game.


I haven't figured out an "easy" cheat to unlock all the buildings for a "play-on" session for a campaign island session -- if I can beat it. I really don't care to go through the fiddling in the files routine to unlock them -- just now anyway. Has anyone ever got the "type-in" cheat to work? Without all the buildings, salvaging the "original" resort is no fun -- It would be with them, I think.


I nearly forgot. Besides Toilets, I accidently discovered that guests will use the park benches available on the "Scenery" construction tab, to sit down and guzzle their drink from the outdoor bars. It takes a bit of egenuity build a small plaza for some benches very near a Beach Bar -- but it works and looks good even if the beer bellies don't. (back the beach bar and the bbq up to the edge of the sand)

[CoconutKid]

GAMEPLAY NOTES
REVISED & EXTENDED

I tried the LG Trs ideas I had by actual 'sandbox' construction and found I was half-correct. Trying to place two back to back or side by side just isn't going to work.

There are all sorts of combinations that work to get Trs to work in concert, but they are all based on distance. That distance may be on a sliding scale, but it crosses grassey banks and bodies of water. I suppose it will take a lot of experimentation to get a practical measurement. But there is hope that discovery of that distance could reduce the pain of micro-management of closures for sharks.

But I suggest that to avoid too many drown guests and too much micro-managing closing beaches (except for sharks), that players need to drastically revise their idea of how far LG Trs are effective and then figure on two Trs for one on duty LG. (by the way, on the game's 24 hour clock, zero (0) is 2400 hrs or Midnight) I opine that Trs ought alternate between shifts ending at zero and beginning at 0400. That way you may lose only a few night-time party drunks who decide to take a swim. On the other hand, you may wish to take more risk to have an overlap when the big crowd is in the water.
EDIT: My modest suggestion for testing - Use a pair of Lifeguard Towers for each beach, situating one fairly near each end; sometimes the length of the beach will justify a third at the center. Shifts:

• off\uncovered, 0 to 0400
• 1st, 0400 to 1400
• 2nd, 1400 to 0
• 3rd\overlap, 0800 to 1800

You can use the staff control list to check which LG is assigned to which Tr by clicking on the arrow after the work assignment. Still sort of a pain. Who said organizing shift work was fun? Some nerd like me, no doubt.  


Did I mention before that the island #2 Builders Yard has eight (8) rather than six (6) Builders available in both the 'Campaign' and the sandbox modes? You start with six, but you can hire two more. The same is true for island #3.

[CoconutKid]

GAMEPLAY
SUGGESTIONS 

Cleaners - It seems to me that a minimum of two buildings is required, especially if you have a sufficient number of toilet blocks, so that's ten cleaners. I suggest that four should be specialized on toilets and four, on cans & trash. The remaining two should be generalists\all to give coverage during the slack hours. Shifts:

• Toilet specialists
  • two = 0800-1800
  • two = 1200-2200
• Cans & Trash specialists
  • two = 0800-1800
  • two = 1200-2200
  • Depending on how many cans you place, more refinement might be used
• All\generalist, two = 2200-0800

.
Mechanics - I don't have a much of a handle on the numbers needed, but at least one building with five mechanics seems appropriate as a start. Different shifts seem necessary only to have someone on call for breakdowns during off hours. (If you are crazy enough to serve Smasher beer, that makes a different story.) So the shifts look similar to the old tradition:

• Regular (3 ea) = 0700-1700
• Swing (1 ea) = 1400-0
• Graveyard (1 ea) = 0-1000

A similar proportion could be used with larger numbers.

[CoconutKid]

... Did you add your own music to the game? I have the folk rocking to Paint it Black, Sash, Equador and couple of others in the evening.

Hey, I didn't mean to put you down about the music. It's a really nice feature of the game. I just haven't fiddled with any music on my PC; so it would be a big project for me to figure out all the details.

And, well, those 'tunes' are unknown to me. 

[RhiannOn]

No worries

And, well, those 'tunes' are unknown to me. 

Here's "paint it black" sung by The Rolling Stones.  The  clip is from the tv series, Tour of Duty

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/0z6fcd--354&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/0z6fcd--354&rel=1</a>

It's one of my favourite songs. 

[Khalan]

Yeah, love Paint it Black and the Rolling Stones.  And Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Eagles.

Thinking about trying to track this game down, management games are always good.

[CoconutKid]

Here is a second try at tables to try to illustrate how the various buildings 'unlock' others. It's somewhat like the "trees" in other games, but hard to illustrate since some relationships seem to be arbitrary or "gamey."

.....Hotel.&.Related..... class	.....^^^^^.....
1General Store	Souvenir Shop
1Life Guard Tower	2Beach Equipment
ditto	2Pedalo
1Cleaner	2Theme Bar #1
1Security	2Casino
1Mechanic	Water Treatment

The ¹ means only that the 'unlock' is the Hotel -- which really means nothing since it's always there. The ² means the building is on one of the other two lists\groups.

[CoconutKid]

... I suggest that to avoid too many drown guests and too much micro-managing closing beaches (except for sharks), that players need to drastically revise their idea of how far LG Towers are effective and then figure on two Towers for one on duty LG. (by the way, on the game's 24 hour clock, zero (0) is 2400 hrs or Midnight) ... EDIT: My modest suggestion for testing - Use a pair of Lifeguard Towers for each beach, situating one fairly near each end; sometimes the length of the beach will justify a third at the center. Shifts:

• off\uncovered, 0 to 0400
• 1st, 0400 to 1400
• 2nd, 1400 to 0
• 3rd\overlap, 0800 to 1800

...

I am convinced that LG Towers on one beach follow one another opening & closing -- but the problem is figuring out what is one beach. I just played a somewhat long game on island #8 (BTW the sharks don't come around often), and discovered one beach is quite long - I used four Towers on it. I also discovered that unless the underlying scenario causes it, your guests are not inclined to "moonlight" swims. So I am revising yet again my suggested:

STANDARD STAFFING
FOR LIFEGUARDS

>> All Beaches: Not covered 2000 - 0600
>> Each Beach with Multiple Towers
     > Relatively inactive end, 0600 - 1600
     > Relatively active end, 1000 - 2000
     > Intermediates, 0700 - 1700 (default)
>> Single Tower Beach: 0700 - 1700 (default)
I think this provides a framework which can be adjusted if needed. I suggest bumping the pay for LGs not on the default hours towers by $1 to make them easier to find on the list.

edit to add I noticed that the Sandbox maps include paths to connect the beaches. It seems that the "people" (both guests and staff) <<keep off the grass>> as much as possible.  

That is, they will walk only on sand or paths; which means 1} for staff, a lot of roundabout walking & 2} for guests, not being able to find some attractions. Some of the "provided" paths facilitate circumferentual movement, but some cross the island laterally -- which gave me the idea of including in the early building starts a single width path for a "Grand Promenade" down the center of the island from the Complaints Office \ Hotel. If it usefully intersects the lateral connecting paths, it works like a champ. It can be widened and lit as you progress and so makes quite an attractive feature.

  I worked on the name quite a bit. Promenade is the generic for an elaborate walking way, whilst Esplanade is the waterside version (and really not constructable in this game). They generally look like small versions of Boulevards - the vehicle equivalent - which developed from Avenues which was the special word to describe a tree lined street in a park-like setting. In any case, I think Promenade is a very fitting description of a central path in a carefree resort.