More Awesome Than You!

TS2: Burnination => The Podium => Topic started by: KellyQ on 2006 April 03, 16:48:34



Title: Hiring family?
Post by: KellyQ on 2006 April 03, 16:48:34
Would it be possible to make a hack where a sim that owns their own business could "hire" say, their son or daughter, (sister or brother, etc.,)  the same way you can hire any other sim? (As in click on a sim and "offer job") I have family run businesses in my game and I would like it if the kids could be "employees" and earn a wage just the same as any other employee.
Example: My sister owns her own restaurant and she has her 16 year old daughter waitress for her part-time; she is paid a wage and treated as an employee while she is working. I don't see why sim families wouldn't/shouldn't do the same.
Seperate issue, I would really like it if sims that own their own business were shown as "self-employeed" as opposed to "unemployed" in their career status. They're not shiftless layabouts, damnit!


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: FatedCircle on 2006 April 03, 17:11:40
Maybe I'm not thinking creatively enough...but wouldn't the family's wages come out of the family coffers anyways?  So it paying the family would mean the amount paid would be deducted, and then added back in, meaning they'd be right back where they started.  :-\


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: KellyQ on 2006 April 03, 17:29:26
Well yes, I had thought of this but was thinking more then the money, the point was for them to be treated as an employee where they can be assigned a specific job and you didn't have to keep directing them over and over again to "be cashier", "restock", etc., so they are more part of the business then someone who just is standing about and you have to micromanage them.
I guess I wasn't very clear....or maybe it's just a stupid idea. :-\


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: Venusy on 2006 April 03, 17:31:53
Would it be possible to make a hack where a sim that owns their own business could "hire" say, their son or daughter, (sister or brother, etc.,)  the same way you can hire any other sim? (As in click on a sim and "offer job") I have family run businesses in my game and I would like it if the kids could be "employees" and earn a wage just the same as any other employee.
Example: My sister owns her own restaurant and she has her 16 year old daughter waitress for her part-time; she is paid a wage and treated as an employee while she is working. I don't see why sim families wouldn't/shouldn't do the same.
I can sort of see how this would already work in game already. Try moving the sims you want to hire out of the family home, and then hire them. Not too sure if this would work though.

If that doesn't work, you could try getting the Easy Computer from MYL2 MTS2, and use the hire any sim option.


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: Ancient Sim on 2006 April 03, 17:34:05
Squinge already has a mod for this, I use it.  It's available here: http://www.insimenator.net/showthread.php?t=7778


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: KellyQ on 2006 April 03, 17:36:34
Oh awesome! Thanks Ancient Sim. ;D


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: shezoe on 2006 April 03, 18:46:03
Squinge already has a mod for this, I use it.  It's available here: http://www.insimenator.net/showthread.php?t=7778

i'm jealous! i downloaded this one n it WON'T work. i'm now going thru all hacks to try to find one that might be in conflict, n since i know not much about modding except what i've gleaned from everyone more awesome than me-i gotta go by "sixth sense"-lol! anyways-i'm glad to know it DOES work-juz gotta find out what's in conflict  :-\


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: shezoe on 2006 April 03, 18:50:34
I sometimes think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated His ability. - Oscar Wilde
The basis of optimism is sheer terror. - Oscar Wilde

ROFL! these quotes crack me up! Gotta love Oscar Wilde-even if he was a bit "profane"-least he was honest-yeah? lololol


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: FatedCircle on 2006 April 03, 21:36:41
Well yes, I had thought of this but was thinking more then the money, the point was for them to be treated as an employee where they can be assigned a specific job and you didn't have to keep directing them over and over again to "be cashier", "restock", etc., so they are more part of the business then someone who just is standing about and you have to micromanage them.
I guess I wasn't very clear....or maybe it's just a stupid idea. :-\

Ah, I see.  That would be nice...will have to check out that mod myself then.  :)


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: Regina on 2006 April 04, 08:11:33
It looks like Squinge's mod still has some problems, but I can think of many reasons why this is needed.  I have a family with a home business and one of the best things I've found is giving the kids on-the-job training, which is more valuable than anything they can gain with one of those stupid after school jobs.

I have another family which is just a husband and wife.  He owns three businesses and the wife helps him out with two and usually runs one on her own.  His first business is to the point where he had to hire an employee, which is fine.  The problem is, if you don't want a ton of employees, it's difficult for your sims to visit that lot for shopping because his handiest helper isn't there--unless she's hired.  Of course you can basically hire a bunch of dummy staff just to have around when your sims visit the lot, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of a 'family' business.  Additionally, all that dummy staff has to be trained in order to work efficiently and paid appropriately along the way.


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: J. M. Pescado on 2006 April 04, 16:27:48
Of course you can basically hire a bunch of dummy staff just to have around when your sims visit the lot, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of a 'family' business.  Additionally, all that dummy staff has to be trained in order to work efficiently and paid appropriately along the way.
Paid appropriately? I don't pay anyone appropriately. I don't think I have a single fairly-paid employee in my entire game. Everyone is underpaid, often ridiculously so.

The problem with hiring family members is that it has unpredictable effects when you, say, call them in.

I tend to assign family members to the tasks that don't need to be filled when the lot is visited, and use employees for only the critical functions. For instance, the lot needs a cashier to function. Without a cashier, nobody can buy anything when they visit. The lot does NOT need, when visited, a janitor, a restocker, or a salesperson, since the decision to buy objects when visiting is not dependent on a buy bar and you do not need any persuasions to do so. You just click "Add to bag" and then check out. Which needs a cashier. Restocking and clean-up is similarly unimportant since the lot will remember none of the changes or stock depletion after you leave, anyway. These functions can thus be filled by family members. Plus, non-controllables do a piss-poor job at sales, left to their own devices, anyway, and a relatively unexceptional job ranging from inefficient to obsessive-compulsive uselessness when cleaning.

Business Runs You seems to take over the sales aspect nicely, though. :)


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: KellyQ on 2006 April 04, 16:39:03
 I downloaded Squinge's hack and yes, it does have some problems. Set up a new family home business, had the dad "hire" his daughter but after he closed up shop for the day, she still had the little employee ball over her head. The only way to have her not be an "employee" was to click on the open/closed sign and "send home employees", at which point, she left the lot and her icon disappeared from the screen. I was too chicken to save with her being gone and didn't know what would happen, so I exited w/out saving. Maybe this only works on community lots, I don't know. I did read all the posts for this hack and didn't see this mentioned.

So....Pescado...where is this Business Runs You??


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: shezoe on 2006 April 04, 21:53:08
I downloaded Squinge's hack and yes, it does have some problems. Set up a new family home business, had the dad "hire" his daughter but after he closed up shop for the day, she still had the little employee ball over her head. The only way to have her not be an "employee" was to click on the open/closed sign and "send home employees", at which point, she left the lot and her icon disappeared from the screen. I was too chicken to save with her being gone and didn't know what would happen, so I exited w/out saving. Maybe this only works on community lots, I don't know. I did read all the posts for this hack and didn't see this mentioned.

So....Pescado...where is this Business Runs You??
i want to know too! i was thinking of quite a few possible conflicts between the "hire family" hack and normal family behavriors as i was wracking my brain trying to think why it wasn't working for me, and this was one of them(the sim disappearing altogether). so i gave up trying to make squinges hack work for fear that ultra strange things happening would be the logical outcome.


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: shezoe on 2006 April 04, 21:55:59
Never mind! a good thing to do is check the latest hacks on Pescado's page to see if there's a new one-lol! ::)


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: KellyQ on 2006 April 04, 22:25:44
He hadn't posted it yet when I asked (believe me, I checked first). ;D


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: jsalemi on 2006 April 04, 22:44:43
Business uses you!  and a bunch of hack updates are now posted in the FFS forum.


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: shezoe on 2006 April 04, 23:34:46
He hadn't posted it yet when I asked (believe me, I checked first). ;D
yeah-i was the one being characteristically ditzy by responding without checking (all eye rolling is for self entirely  :P )


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: Regina on 2006 April 05, 06:56:49
Of course you can basically hire a bunch of dummy staff just to have around when your sims visit the lot, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of a 'family' business.  Additionally, all that dummy staff has to be trained in order to work efficiently and paid appropriately along the way.
Paid appropriately? I don't pay anyone appropriately. I don't think I have a single fairly-paid employee in my entire game. Everyone is underpaid, often ridiculously so.

So far, I had one sim who hired one of her best friends and she worked long enough to gain a cash register skill at which point would be time to give her a raise.  I was keeping a close eye on her meter, which was still green, and was sending my sim over to give her a raise and then send her on break.  She got mad and quit.  I'm not the slave driver you are, so I don't mind giving a raise now and then, but that seemed a little extreme.  I since had them hire another sim out of my Downtownie pool and so far he's working out well.

I can definitely see your point when it comes to a store.  They become quite messy while the sims are there but do reset.  However, one draw-back I see to not having any employees is that if you don't get your sim to the object you're having them purchase in time, another sim is going to come along and grab it first.  If the owner sim has a cashier working for them, they have time to re-stock that item so your sim has another chance.

Although I've played a home business quite extensively, I'm still trying to pick up all the checks and balances of running community businesses.  I know I'm not exceptionally bright so it shouldn't be a huge surprise I haven't quite grasped all of it just yet. ;)


Title: Re: Hiring family?
Post by: J. M. Pescado on 2006 April 05, 06:59:58
I can definitely see your point when it comes to a store.  They become quite messy while the sims are there but do reset.  However, one draw-back I see to not having any employees is that if you don't get your sim to the object you're having them purchase in time, another sim is going to come along and grab it first.  If the owner sim has a cashier working for them, they have time to re-stock that item so your sim has another chance.
That never happens, because without employee sales staff, nothing sells.

Quote
Although I've played a home business quite extensively, I'm still trying to pick up all the checks and balances of running community businesses.  I know I'm not exceptionally bright so it shouldn't be a huge surprise I haven't quite grasped all of it just yet. ;)
The basic difference to the "checks and balances" of running a community business is that there are none. All the other crap you have to deal with at home is just entirely absent.