business blockade

[slurpeefiend]

I'm newish to OFB, getting the hang of it, but having an annoying problem with sims who visit the shops.  They tend to swarm in two different places that create trouble for me.  I don't know if this is common behavior, if it's a problem with the layout of the stores, or what in the world this is.

The first place is the bathroom.  I usually have about two or three sims just standing around in the bathroom.  I've tried making them selectable in order to see if there's anything they're waiting for, but they're just standing there staring at the toilet for no reason whatsoever (maybe they're perverts or something, i don't know).  They get in the way of sims who really need or want to use the bathroom, and cause all sorts of unnecessary clogging (pun intended) in the bathroom.

The other place is right in front of the cash register.  There are usually five or six sims gathered in the vicinity of the register usually either chatting it up with each other, or parents dancing with their children.  There are often so many of them that they keep actual paying sims from getting to the register, and I'm tired of using the "bugger off" feature of the business controller to clear the area.

They have a whole store to hang out in, but always swarm to those places.  Do I need to change the layout of my stores?  Do I need to put more fun stuff in strategic places on the lot?  Or do I just have to learn to live with this?

[numaari]

Bathroom Uses You takes care of the bathroom sims, as it ejects any sims not currently USING the facilities.

As for those who mill at the front desk, try putting a video game or pinball machine near the back/middle of the lot.  For some reason the sims on my comm lots seem more attracted to them than any other object.  It keeps them out of the way, and they don't seem to get as pissed off as the sims waiting to use the dance orb.  Of course, then they'll obsess on those objects for hours and hours.  But it keeps them out of the way.

[Eggs]

I think twojeffs has a hack to kill social interactions on comm lots, and that might help the register blockage.

[cwykes]

Mine all seem to stand in front of the expresso machine and juggle or wait to juggle!  Seriously though, they don't always congregate in front of the register & bathroom.  Try a different kind of shop layout including a second bathroom and a sofa & entertainment not too close to the till.  Leaving a chair near the till for the owner just doesn't work unless you block access to it with lockable doors.   If that's whaty you are aiming at, you can make a 3 sided room with the till on the 4th side, entry by lockable door.

I've taken to a 3 bathroom standard in my latest lots 2 2x2 for the customers and a 3x2 with loo shower and expresso machine locked for family and employees. They are usually looking for comfort or fun after (or instead of) shopping.   In various lots I've played recently, they mainly head for the comfy sofa's though swings, the expresso machine, chess, hottub and hifi are popular on various lots.

[slurpeefiend]

I've taken to a 3 bathroom standard in my latest lots 2 2x2 for the customers and a 3x2 with loo shower and expresso machine locked for family and employees. They are usually looking for comfort or fun after (or instead of) shopping.   In various lots I've played recently, they mainly head for the comfy sofa's though swings, the expresso machine, chess, hottub and hifi are popular on various lots.

In my latest shop, on a 1x1 lot, I couldn't keep the bathroom clear, so I fenced off an area in the back with a toilet, urinal, and sink , and a gate on each side.

[Gwill]

Mine always congregate behind the bloody cash register.

[slurpeefiend]

Mine always congregate behind the bloody cash register.

I had that same problem for a while, but these days I keep them out from behind the counter by putting up a fence (usually velvet rope) with a gate that locks everyone out but the characters I'm playing and their employees.  Cheap and effective.

[Gwill]

I put up walls, but it doesn't keep the customers from trying to get in.

[BastDawn]

I don't allow customers to use a bathroom unless I'm charging them by the hour.  In a retail business, I want them to pay and then get out of my store so someone else with money will come in.  On my cheapest business lots, I don't even have any facilities for my business owners -- they can run the business until their plumbobs are yellow, and then it's time to close shop and head for home.  Bathrooms and break rooms are for successful business owners only.   

[slurpeefiend]

I don't allow customers to use a bathroom unless I'm charging them by the hour.  In a retail business, I want them to pay and then get out of my store so someone else with money will come in.  On my cheapest business lots, I don't even have any facilities for my business owners -- they can run the business until their plumbobs are yellow, and then it's time to close shop and head for home.  Bathrooms and break rooms are for successful business owners only.   

At first I never bothered with bathrooms the customers could use, but I had a pregnant guy (full blooded alien, point of fact) pee all over the floor and start crying.  It was obnoxious enough that I decided I should include them in all shops.

[jsalemi]

There's a couple of 'move away from the register' hacks out there -- Our own syberspunk has a 'finishatregisterfix' hack in Peasantry that makes them move away quickly when they're done paying, and Squinge has a 'moveawayfromregister' hack over on insimenator.net that keeps them from congregating around it that works fine.

I had that same problem for a while, but these days I keep them out from behind the counter by putting up a fence (usually velvet rope) with a gate that locks everyone out but the characters I'm playing and their employees.  Cheap and effective.

Thank you!  I always forget about the velvet rope acting like a fence indoors. I'll have to start using it.

[slurpeefiend]

There's a couple of 'move away from the register' hacks out there -- Our own syberspunk has a 'finishatregisterfix' hack in Peasantry that makes them move away quickly when they're done paying, and Squinge has a 'moveawayfromregister' hack over on insimenator.net that keeps them from congregating around it that works fine.

I already use Squinge's "moveawayfromregister" hack, but that only works when they're paying customers.  My big problems is with sims who are just there to hang out and stand in the way of paying customers.  Maybe I'll try syberspunk's to see if it works better.

[cwykes]

I don't think that's what finish at register does.  It was a fix for a bug I had about something with a bad reference.

Customers sometimes hang around for a bit and then go back to shopping.  you also get stars whether or not they shop, so on some lots, I just don't care if they shop or not.  Yes sure a new business you do, but after that, money is too easy to make anyway, so get the 10 stars and a manager without worrying too much and make sure the money is high at the end so your average income is high before you stop going and start calling in.

You let your sims go home?  you're too kind - I take an energiser and an expresso machine and keep them there until they can't satisfy enough wants to stay any longer. I think I did most of the 10 stars in 1 go on that pay as you go lot with trees on a hill where the reporter finally gave a BofB award to TSR challenge guy Jack.  marathon playing session though.

[rohina]

I already use Squinge's "moveawayfromregister" hack, but that only works when they're paying customers.  My big problems is with sims who are just there to hang out and stand in the way of paying customers.  Maybe I'll try syberspunk's to see if it works better.

You can use the option on the Hammer and Sickle to make them bugger off home.

[slurpeefiend]

You let your sims go home?  you're too kind - I take an energiser and an expresso machine and keep them there until they can't satisfy enough wants to stay any longer. I think I did most of the 10 stars in 1 go on that pay as you go lot with trees on a hill where the reporter finally gave a BofB award to TSR challenge guy Jack.  marathon playing session though.

At first I used a "sleep on community lots" hack and a bed in the back room to keep them there at work for days on end (mostly to keep myself from sitting through the forever-long loading screen back and forth back and forth...).  One day I thought, hey, energy static sculpture! along with a soda machine in the back room, and those 72 hour work days are a breeze!

My favorite use of the energy static sculpture is at a place I call the "Mount Awesomeville! Community College Skilling Annex" in, where else, Mt. Awesomeville!.  I built a lot with a bunch of the career rewards like the obstacle course, surgical station, medicine machine, fingerprint scanner, putting green, all the musical instruments, bookshelves, and a thinking cap that comes freshly loaded every time you show up on the lot.  There's also a bathroom with shower, cafeteria supplied by the food replicator, and plenty of room for sims to hang out.  I use it along with the community lot skilling hack to quick-skill and befriend my sims to get them ahead in their careers quickly so I can ignore them and start smartening their children.  Sometimes I take them there for two or three days at a time in order to get them ready for work the next day.  It takes a lot of the pressure of skilling my sims off of me, and has allowed me to toy around with more of the game's features than I ever did before.

[eamethyst]

You let your sims go home?  you're too kind - I take an energiser and an expresso machine and keep them there until they can't satisfy enough wants to stay any longer. I think I did most of the 10 stars in 1 go on that pay as you go lot with trees on a hill where the reporter finally gave a BofB award to TSR challenge guy Jack.  marathon playing session though.

Snapdragons and TwoJeff's Static Energy Sculpture, as mentioned by slurpeefiend.  Especially when I'm trying to satisfy the "Own 5 Top Level Businesses" LTW.  Of course in conjunction with BRU.

[syberspunk]

There's a couple of 'move away from the register' hacks out there -- Our own syberspunk has a 'finishatregisterfix' hack in Peasantry that makes them move away quickly when they're done paying <snip>

Who? What? It does that? Heh, I wasn't even aware of that. As far as I can tell, I was just going by the error log that had been posted in the Oops... forum. It was a legitimate silly little error that caused the good ol' jump bug. Also... as far as I can tell, EA Maxis actually fixed that bug, so the hack should no longer be needed. It probably wouldn't hurt to keep it in, as the code is essentially the same, but I was unaware that it speeded up things and/or helped sims move away from the register. Then again, I haven't even touched any shops yet...

Oh. I'm slow... I see that cwykes already responded...

I don't think that's what finish at register does.  It was a fix for a bug I had about something with a bad reference.

You can use the option on the Hammer and Sickle to make them bugger off home.

Psst...

There are often so many of them that they keep actual paying sims from getting to the register, and I'm tired of using the "bugger off" feature of the business controller to clear the area.

Hrm... one of these days, I'm gonna toy around with the flower shoppe. Snapdragons seem very useful and I'd prefer those over cheaty type hacks. I like the idea of a skilling annex. I think I'd like to go in and hack enable some autonomy into those career reward thingies. I think Squinge has some that are autonomy enabled, but IIRC, they are stand alone objects and not global hacks.

Anyhew, I have nothing really to offer to the thread, obviously, since I haven't played any businesses myself yet, but I might just go ahead and do that sometime soon, now.

I'm thinking of possibly doing a rotation through the Maxis EA premades. But probably only after I run the majority of my CAS made sims through Uni and get the hood "stable" in general.

Ste

[J. M. Pescado]

I think twojeffs has a hack to kill social interactions on comm lots, and that might help the register blockage.

No Pedo Stalkers from the Director's Cut is the one you're looking for. Cuts down on general community lot stalking and pedophilia behaviors.

Business Runs You and the Customer Selector will alleviate some of the congestion issues due to the fact that a "now go look for something to browse!" is appended onto the shop arrival process. Also, the targeted motive feature helps cut down on stupidity also.