Course of Temptation Dev Diary #62

Hello friends! How's it going?

As of Tuesday, we're on version 0.5.5f which pretty much clears up any lingering November update issues, though there are a couple more low priority fixes I've done since that aren't yet released. They'll be in the next version, whatever that ends up being.

I spent some time this week finalizing the River Rat upgrade system, including some changes to the prototype UI I showed last week.

I wanted to display the effect these upgrade choices have on demographic appeal so players can have an informed choice, but that's actually easier said than done. Simply displaying their appeal values is misleading. For example, Pool Tables have a decent amount of Sports Fan appeal, so it would look like a big positive, but they don't have as much appeal as Sports TV, so replacing them would be a net negative with that demographic.

Instead, the values shown are comparative, showing the effect of replacing the current upgrade. This is also not straightforward, as it makes it appear (in this example) that Sports Fans hate every upgrade while Geeks love every upgrade. But that's really just the effect of getting rid of Sports TVs, which have a large positive appeal for Sports Fans but negative appeal for Geeks. I will probably end up making some sort of toggle so you can see both values.

The demographic/clientele display also got a bit of a facelift. Appeal is the additive value of all your upgrades and affects what type of NPCs will tend to stop by every night.

The upgrade costs that you see do you not come out of the player's pocket — rather, they're a portion of the bar's profits set aside for that purpose, and different demographics will result in different levels of profit.

As I was doing this, I had the idea of a tradeoff. As anyone who's worked in the food service industry instinctively knows, those who can afford the most extravagant orders are often, conversely, not the best tippers. Boosting the bar's daily profits at the expense of your own personal tips, or vice versa, could be an interesting decision.

Pursuing wealthier clientele still has upside for you personally, because a lot of the special events in the bar do check an NPC's wealth level to determine how much they offer you.

In any case, bear in mind that all of these numbers are subject to change. These are just what I typed in initially and things are likely to be adjusted in playtesting.

Also, belatedly, it occurs to me which upgrade category you probably want to see the most, so let me throw that in here.

As I've covered before, you'll likely see uniform changes before getting to the management stage, because I've worked them into the bar's storyline. Cultivate a flirty or more professional atmosphere and the owner will lean into it. But once you do get to the management stage, uniforms are entirely up to you.

I also finalized the promotion system. You start as a server assigned to only two tables, then four, then six (really hectic!), followed by the bartender/supervisor stage, and then the management stage (which is still mostly bartending, but with access to the upgrade system and better pay).

Once you've unlocked a promotion, actually doing that new job is optional, so if you find you hate serving a lot of tables, don't do it! You can select any unlocked job as you clock in and just do that, but your pay will match your job level.

Finally, I've outlined and staged another round of bartender events and begun working on those. Completing these will just about double the set of bartending events, which should be pretty good. Work on these will carry on into next week, and I'll also start some playtesting.

Next week is also when I'll have to evaluate whether this will be ready for early access by the end of the month or if I'll have to pause and put together a December monthly update. I anticipate that I can get 0.6 ready for early access in time, but the other possibility is there. I'll know for sure by the time of the next dev diary.

Now it's time to write some events, so that's all for now! As always, I really appreciate your support, and you're the reason I'm able to pour so much time into developing this game. So thank you, as always, and I will see you again next week!