Business Controller: Business Runs YOU!

[witch]

Hi JM. I just updated all your hacks and started playing. I wanted to hire a new employee, so I slected one that was unemployed - or so the blurb said. When I clicked to employ I got a message saying this sim is already employed.



Is this anything to do with businessusesyou?

[J. M. Pescado]

No, this is a fairly typical bug caused by garbage data in the job fields. It's harmless.

[RainbowTigress]

The bartender I described above at Club Dante would frequently get in a bind where he was simultaneously starving and dead tired.  He would try to macrocaffeinate, but he couldn't get much energy from it, and when he tried to take a plate of pork chops, the error would pop up.  I haven't played the lot again since then, though. 

Ancient Sim, I've used Inge's PYP plant before with Macrotastics, and while I haven't used it specifically with BRY, BRY uses Macrotastics.  I wouldn't think it would conflict because Macrotastics works differently in that it only kicks in when a need becomes low enough and pushes the command on the sim to do something to take care of it.  Inge's PYP in my mind would be the equivalent of using debug mode to adjust the motive bars manually to keep them at a certain level, so that Macrotastics is never called.  I am going to have to get some snapdragons in my businesses.  Does it boost everything except energy?  I've been trying TJ's energy statue on some comm lot businesses, and they work great for the family, but it doesn't do anything for employees, only selectable sims.

[Ancient Sim]

Both lots have espresso bars (with automatic baristas) but they were never sent there.  Malcolm Landgraab can't leave his alone, he does nothing whatsoever but drink coffee, but his staff were never sent to it (this is on the 1-2-3 gym).  I would imagine the reason the owner of the bordello never bothered to go drink coffee was because he was too busy trying out the woo-hoo beds, but the sales guy didn't even go to those until I set him to "Unassigned", then he did.  And no, neither of them have flamingos (forgot about those), so I will try adding some.  Doesn't explain why they weren't sent for coffee, though.  Will try the updated thingumybobs.

Oh and Rainbow, I have been shoving them up with boolprop to keep them going, but I prefer to avoid it if I can because it's just too easy.  Trouble is, I was ignoring them thinking they would be taken care of and they weren't.  What surprises me is that they didn't just walk off home.  It's all very confusing really.  When it says they are underpaid I have no idea how much to increase it by because the option to do it via "Management" has gone, so I just have to guess.  It doesn't update for quite a while, so I never know if I've got it right.  That might be down to relevantwages though, not this mod. 

[J. M. Pescado]

You need the standard espresso machines. The bars are too unreliable and couldn't be made to work in testing.

[RainbowTigress]

Ancient Sim:  Yeah, I'm like you, I know I can do that if necessary but I'd rather not.  I'd rather let BRY take care of them, but it seems that it lets their needs get too low.  And I've been using the standard espresso machine, not the espresso bar.

[J. M. Pescado]

Once BRY hands control back over to certain jobs, the sims will work that job until a motive makes them quit and they go on break.

Other jobs have custom-written algorithms to improve the way sims conduct their task at all. For instance, Sales, all the Restaurant positions, the Cashier position, the Restock position, and the Tidy position all have special Macrotastics loops to handle them, and those will be more aggressive about motive maintenance.

By and large, you shouldn't worry about it, BRY + Macros handles them just fine. So what if they get a little low? It won't kill them.

[RainbowTigress]

The problem I was having was the stupid error message that kept coming up, and the fact that the bartender would get stuck trying to caffeinate and eat that he wasn't of any use.  So I finally sent him home for awhile, then called him back.  But he was soon back in the same fix.  I've installed the patch and downloaded the updated hacks, so I'll give them a try.

[witch]

I've had good results tonight, four staff, all using terlets & coffee and food as and when. They also seem to be better at getting back to work, and their little circlular plumbobs are not getting so red and orange.

I have the 2nd patch and the updated hacks - well, updated as of about 12 hours ago.

[Ancient Sim]

By and large, you shouldn't worry about it, BRY + Macros handles them just fine. So what if they get a little low? It won't kill them.

LMAO - a totally red energy bar ain't "a little low" where I come from!!!  But yes, it did occur to me last night that it may be because I needed the standard espresso machines, so I will see to that.  Seems a bit daft to have one of those when there's a proper coffee area, but needs must and all that. 

[notovny]

I've got the second patch, and the 6/18 BRY. Lately I've noticed that, while  my Owned Restaurants run fine when I'm playing the owner on his lot,  but  if  I play one of the naieghbors and send him to that lot, no "Order" options are showing up on the server. At my restaurants  that aren't using BRY, ordering procedes as normal.

Has anyone else had this happen?

[J. M. Pescado]

I've got the second patch, and the 6/18 BRY. Lately I've noticed that, while  my Owned Restaurants run fine when I'm playing the owner on his lot,  but  if  I play one of the naieghbors and send him to that lot, no "Order" options are showing up on the server. At my restaurants  that aren't using BRY, ordering procedes as normal.

Should be fixed in new BRY/Macrotastics. You will be able to order when the Server shows up. Note that only "true" servers will continue to deliver food in the presence of selectable party.

[RainbowTigress]

Well, I'm not having the error messages pop up, but now Chase just stands there with the red ball over his head.  At first, he will try to macro caffeinate, but he'll take one sip and put the cup in the dishwasher, get another cup, take a sip, etc.  After several repetitions, he will just stand there in front of the espresso machine, frozen.  If I make him selectable, I see that his hunger and energy are way down in the red, and the BRY icon in his queue just flickers.  I try putting out some food for him, but he doesn't eat it.  Finally, I canceled the BRY icon and ordered him to eat.  He ate, then he went back to macro caffeinate, which he was then able to complete successfully.  I did have him be a sales person for a while, which worked pretty well, and he got up to a gold sales badge.  How is he supposed to deal with hunger, though?  Can he access the owner's inventory, or is he supposed to cook?  Or does there need to be food already available for him to eat?  The owner has plenty of food in his inventory, and there is a stove and fridge available.  There is also a buffet, which I know Macrotastics doesn't recognize, but it's for customers.  (I am using Inge's pay buffet.)

[J. M. Pescado]

He probably doesn't know how to cook. He SHOULD be able to pillage his inventory, though.

[RainbowTigress]

Does the food need to be in his own inventory then?  Because right now all the food is in the owner's inventory (Malcolm).  Malcolm and Marcia both have no problems accessing it.

[vilia]

Interesting issue with BRY - whenever my salesperson sim (gold badge) gets a negative reaction from a customer (black cloud over their head), they continue to push the issue by repeatedly trying to dazzle them, resulting in even more bad reactions rather than backing off and picking on someone else. The only way I can fix this is to cancel 'be salesperson' and set them to 'be restocker' or to just tell the cranky customer in question to 'bugger off'. Are there any other solutions?

[J. M. Pescado]

Interesting issue with BRY - whenever my salesperson sim (gold badge) gets a negative reaction from a customer (black cloud over their head), they continue to push the issue by repeatedly trying to dazzle them, resulting in even more bad reactions rather than backing off and picking on someone else. The only way I can fix this is to cancel 'be salesperson' and set them to 'be restocker' or to just tell the cranky customer in question to 'bugger off'. Are there any other solutions?

This is being looked into. Normally the attempts stop after rel drops to a certain point, but sometimes sims are bizarrely crabby and reject everything for no visibly apparent reason. It helps if you use the Customer Selector to designate your store's purpose so people don't show up for the wrong reasons and then just bitch and moan the entire time.

[vilia]

Ta muchly 

[Beefshank]

I've only started using this, and should probably play more before I ask a question, but I'm gonna do it anyway.    All my employee's end up stinky, and won't take a shower. Is there some object like the toilet paper roll I'm supposed to install? I have installed 2 different showers, but no luck yet. By the way, showering was probably what they were best at taking care of on their own before I installed any of this stuff. I did install all the stuff that was required, put a roll in each toilet stall, and one business controller on the bottom floor of a 2 store building. The showers are on the top floor. Maybe there should be one per floor?

thanks,
-Beefshank

[J. M. Pescado]

The TP roll operates both the showers and the terlets, so you want to arrange the showers either in the bathroom, or within the selected radius if you go to radial mode.

[jsalemi]

If the showers aren't in the same room as the toilets, you need to either add controllers for them, or widen the radius of the controller so it looks further to find them (I think it will find them on a floor above, if they're directly over the bathroom). Or, just redesign the bathroom to put the showers in there.  For a business, the dorm shower is fine -- no need to get fancy.

[Beefshank]

Ok, looks like TP in the showers then!

thanks!
-Beefshank

[RainbowTigress]

Pescado, can you explain what QC stands for and what the percentages mean in the Adjust Wage menu?

[J. M. Pescado]

Pescado, can you explain what QC stands for and what the percentages mean in the Adjust Wage menu?

QC is quit chance, the chance your employee spontaneously quits. If it is zero or negative, it means it won't happen. The two values indicate maximum and minimum chance, depending on mood. Platinum sims will have both values the same because their mood cannot fluctuate out of the maximum range.

[RainbowTigress]

Oh that makes much more sense now.  I knew you said sims could be underpaid with the relevant wages mod, but I wasn't sure how to figure the least amount of money they would accept.