So what exactly triggers a reporter visit?

[cwykes]

I've been struggling since before Christmas to get a best of the best award for Jack Board in the TSR business legacy challenge.  The problem is reporters not showing up at all - well apart from the one who showed up while a baby was trying to age transition and got no service because the Jack thought the baby needed him and abandoned the reporter...  I've been wondering if the problem is the way I play - keep the store open and use energisers to keep the sims going.  Yes I know who the reporters are and they are not turning up with their clipboards.  I have had a couple as normal shoppers - no clipboard in evidence.  You can bet I watched them like a hawk. 

So what determines whether you get a reporter visit?  Is it really random or maybe sadorandom and what are the odds supposed to be?  Does it happen according to some algorithm to do with business level and time?  Do you only get one per Sim day, one per visit to the business or one in your playing session?

It would be really nice to get a message saying "I visited your store today" even if you don't get a review. 

[witch]

Now you mention it, I have a level 6 business that I've never seen the reporter in either.

[numaari]

I've been having a problem getting a reporter, too.  There is an option on the BRU to spawn one, but I couldn't find one even after I did that.  I have a level seven business that has never had a reporter visit.  (I only play one or two businesses at a time, because it's too much like RL otherwise.  I work in retail.  Yay.)

[Gwill]

As far as I can tell, my neigbourhood has just one reporter.  All my townies are custom made, so he was easy to spot as a dark skinned, red haired person in mismatched pants and t-shirt.  He's quite a frequent shopper, but he doesn't always give me reviews, and so far I haven't seen anything in particular to trigger his appearance.

The most interesting reporter visit I had was to my grilled cheese restaurant, which should only serve grilled-cheese sims, but the reporter showed up, complained about there being no tables and gave me a terrible review.  That was a completely new business, with almost no visitors.

[cwykes]

The reporters generate "as needed" to a max of 3 as far as I know and I now have 3 in my game.  Pescado says if they visit and the shop is OK, you don't hear anything about it, just when it's bad or really good.  Last time I moaned about reporters, this seemed like a possible reason, but I've been watching this shop like a hawk and haven't seen the clipboard - it's the only bit of the challeng I haven't done and it's taking way, way too long!  I really would like to know WHEN they spawn in case anything I'm doing is compounding the problem.  Sado random visits is beginning to feel very plausible to me! 

[BastDawn]

I once used the customer selector to disallow every type of sim except playables.  The reporter showed up with them (all 5 of them -- it was a new neighborhood) and promptly gave me a terrible review.  Try closing and reopening your business with a very limited range of allowed sims and see if that does it.

[rohina]

The only time I got good reviews, I was running a venue that was basically a room with a bubble blower and lots of snapdragons in it. The reporter came and stayed forever, and gave me a great review. Next time I played the lot, he came back again.

[Brynne]

I was getting reporters very frequently at my home business, always around midnight, after the store was closed. It was bizarre.

[Sagana]

> Last time I moaned about reporters, this seemed like a possible reason, but I've been watching this shop like a hawk and haven't seen the clipboard

Not seeing the clipboard doesn't mean they're not reviewing you - they only pull it out to write something down if they have something to write down. Next time you see someone that you know is a reporter, make sure you do something to increase your relationship/stars with him/her and see if that helps.

[Brynne]

Definitely don't do the "You've got something on your shirt" *doink* thing. They don't like that.

[cwykes]

> Last time I moaned about reporters, this seemed like a possible reason, but I've been watching this shop like a hawk and haven't seen the clipboard

Not seeing the clipboard doesn't mean they're not reviewing you - they only pull it out to write something down if they have something to write down. Next time you see someone that you know is a reporter, make sure you do something to increase your relationship/stars with him/her and see if that helps.

Well that is useful info! I guess that means they never visit like a normal sim but are always giving you a review? And I guess unless they whip out the clipboard the review is "Average". 

I had two visits like that and Jack was all over them - one reporter had 5 gold stars by the time he left dazzled with a pile of expensive junk and still no BofB award!  Adding those two visits to the 3 where I saw that clipboard, I've had 5 reporter visits in endless hours of play (well I might have missed 1 or 2 I suppose).  But it seems improbably low especially compared with what other people are saying.  To give you some idea of how long that is, this guy is now a millionaire with a wife, grown up daughter and two other kids.  He's had at least 3 containers of elixir and has a home business plus 3 other businesses, two are at level 10.  5 reporter visits in all that time?  Is this normal?

Maybe I'll start telling all my visitors to go home as soon as they arrive and hope a reporter turns up.  But is that how it happens?  Do they just spawn as part of the normal visitor mechanism or is it an extra, separate "time for a reporter" mechanism?

[Sagana]

Well if he had 5 gold stars, you should of had a best of the best, so maybe they do sometimes visit as regular visitors. I've just seen them come on the lot without the clipboard and then after something specifically happens (usually bad :p) take it out and start writing.

I dunno what spawns them. I thought it'd be a random roll of some sort. I do know they're NPCs and not townies so they should mostly be working (NPCs will occasionally shop or visit but it's really rare). I have no townies in my hood, but it still spawns reporters for the businesses. I keep forgetting to change their NPC costumes so they look silly.

[cwykes]

That's true Sagana - they are NPCs not townies, so they probably aren't in the set of people used to select your random shoppers.  You see NPCs like exterminators and Pizza guys walking past the shop, but not coming in unless you invite them.  I don't invite them in unless I'm desperate because they tend to turn into shoplifters - that's the "not properly greeted" thing.

If reporter visits are a separate mechanism, I'd really like to know when,what, how etc.  Partly that's just insatiable curiosity, but I really want to get Jack this BofB award without playing him for another week!  If the lack of reporters is because visits are triggered by some event that isn't happening because of the way I'm playing my shops, I really want to know!

another sign how long I've been playing this guy jack - one of the family is best friends with pretty much every sim in the hood!

[J. M. Pescado]

Nothing triggers a reporter visit. They just show up whenever the hell they feel like. Reporter appearances are sadorandom, however, so wanting one to show up reduces the chances of it happening naturally. If you REALLY want to see one, you can shiftclick on the Hammer and Sickle to summon one.

[notveryawesome]

Squinge has a gold-badge-giving + reporter-spawning + servo-recharging thingamajiggy that I use for spawning reporters and recharging servos. I don't use it for giving undeserved badges, as that's too cheaty for my taste, but it is very handy for summoning reporters, and it works every time. I've never actually used BRY, even though it's been in my Downloads folder for ages. Well, it's good to know it can summon reporters, at any rate, if I ever decide to use it.

[jrd]

I use that Squinge thing in new 'hoods, to give my newly generated townies a random spread of badges.

If you use a business, BuRY is a must-have. They're just painful otherwise.

[cwykes]

Nothing triggers a reporter visit. They just show up whenever the hell they feel like. Reporter appearances are sadorandom, however, so wanting one to show up reduces the chances of it happening naturally.

Sado random is definitely right.  I just wondered when the dice rolled, shows I know nothing about the game programming I suppose - if they are rolling all the time, then it is a truly sadorandom event, if they roll 1 hour and 5 hours (say) after you go to a business lot for example then, staying there forever is a problem, closing and opening again gives you more chance of a reporter.  If they roll all the time then that explains a reporter showing up when the business is shut, I'd have thought it was at least tied to a business being open.

Anyway I was so fed up with the whole thing yesterday that I built Jack a pay as you go lot on a hillside with trees - hottub with a great view and balcony restaurant.  Generates stars with no action on your part which is just as well because tracking sims on a hillside with trees is hopeless.  Doesn't make any money unless you up the price and hang out at the gate to dazzle though.  Anyway I just didn't bother even lloking for reporters ... and ... you guessed... best of the best just popped up.  Sadorandom in spades!

[J. M. Pescado]

Sado random is definitely right.  I just wondered when the dice rolled, shows I know nothing about the game programming I suppose - if they are rolling all the time, then it is a truly sadorandom event, if they roll 1 hour and 5 hours (say) after you go to a business lot for example then, staying there forever is a problem, closing and opening again gives you more chance of a reporter.  If they roll all the time then that explains a reporter showing up when the business is shut, I'd have thought it was at least tied to a business being open.

The dice are rolled whenever you don't particularly want them to me. The game is programmed to detect the desire to get a reporter and not send one. For instance, if your sim WANTS a good review or best of the best, the game can trivially detect this, and it reduces the chances of a reporter showing up accordingly. The reporter will then wait until those wants have cycled out before showing up. If you lock them, this greatly reduces the odds of a reporter appearing. As a rule, if your business owner is Popularity or Fortune, reporters will be considerably less frequent. If you try to repeatedly open and reclose your business either with the sign or by driving around, the game looks to see whether you're doing it to encourage or discourage reporters, and then does exactly the opposite of what you want.

Anyway I was so fed up with the whole thing yesterday that I built Jack a pay as you go lot on a hillside with trees - hottub with a great view and balcony restaurant.  Generates stars with no action on your part which is just as well because tracking sims on a hillside with trees is hopeless.  Doesn't make any money unless you up the price and hang out at the gate to dazzle though.  Anyway I just didn't bother even lloking for reporters ... and ... you guessed... best of the best just popped up.  Sadorandom in spades!

Exactly, see? The game detected that you probably weren't too interested in seeking a reporter, so it gave you one.

[syberspunk]

The dice are rolled whenever you don't particularly want them to me. The game is programmed to detect the desire to get a reporter and not send one. For instance, if your sim WANTS a good review or best of the best, the game can trivially detect this, and it reduces the chances of a reporter showing up accordingly. The reporter will then wait until those wants have cycled out before showing up. If you lock them, this greatly reduces the odds of a reporter appearing. As a rule, if your business owner is Popularity or Fortune, reporters will be considerably less frequent. If you try to repeatedly open and reclose your business either with the sign or by driving around, the game looks to see whether you're doing it to encourage or discourage reporters, and then does exactly the opposite of what you want.

<snip>

Exactly, see? The game detected that you probably weren't too interested in seeking a reporter, so it gave you one.

Buh? Are you serious? Is this like a watched pot never boils kind of thing? Either my bullshit/sarcasm detector is broken or it iis far too early in the morning for me. I thought you said the game can't really read a sim's wants. Or have I been eating my gullible oats again.

Ste

[J. M. Pescado]

Buh? Are you serious? Is this like a watched pot never boils kind of thing?

Sort of, only entirely different.

Either my bullshit/sarcasm detector is broken or it iis far too early in the morning for me. I thought you said the game can't really read a sim's wants. Or have I been eating my gullible oats again.

No, BHAVs can't read a sim's wants. The sadorandom number generator *CAN*, and this is how it is able to pick the worst case number to generate.

[notveryawesome]

Sado random is definitely right.  I just wondered when the dice rolled, shows I know nothing about the game programming I suppose - if they are rolling all the time, then it is a truly sadorandom event, if they roll 1 hour and 5 hours (say) after you go to a business lot for example then, staying there forever is a problem, closing and opening again gives you more chance of a reporter.  If they roll all the time then that explains a reporter showing up when the business is shut, I'd have thought it was at least tied to a business being open.

I routinely close and re-open my businesses anyway, except for the ones with the electrono ticket machine (after all, the goal with the ticket machine is to keep the customers there as long as possible, right?) because otherwise the customers will hang around FOREVER watching tv or whatever, even if they originally came in for a haircut. Like much of Maxian (il)logic, this is just silly. *sigh* I find myself using that phrase a lot lately.

@Jordi: I can see BRY being useful for large businesses with many employees, but most of mine are small ma-and-pa operations with no uncontrollable sims. If I ever own a megabusiness, however, I will definitely give it a try. I only wish that big red hammer and sickle weren't so damn ugly! I'm a bit of a design snob...

[cwykes]

You get stars from sims who just hang around, just not money!  You get a star from a good toilet sometimes!  So it depends what your goals are for that lot.  If you are after stars, the only problems are when the loiterers block the expresso machine, get into fights or start a hot romance with the wrong sim, just say goodbye to individual sims or close and re-open the lot.  If I'm after money or a restocking/cashier badge, I say goodbye to sims I know are broke when they show up at the door. 

Early on I asked for a "broke sims go home" hack so they don't hang around for ever when they are done shopping, but Pescado already had "no playable shoppers" that gets rid of most of the problems sims.

[J. M. Pescado]

I routinely close and re-open my businesses anyway, except for the ones with the electrono ticket machine (after all, the goal with the ticket machine is to keep the customers there as long as possible, right?) because otherwise the customers will hang around FOREVER watching tv or whatever, even if they originally came in for a haircut. Like much of Maxian (il)logic, this is just silly. *sigh* I find myself using that phrase a lot lately.

BRY has the ability to quickly open and close your business by clicking on the Hammer and Sickle, without having to interrupt someone's queue and march them to the sign (or scatter a million signs everywhere so one is always within reach).

@Jordi: I can see BRY being useful for large businesses with many employees, but most of mine are small ma-and-pa operations with no uncontrollable sims. If I ever own a megabusiness, however, I will definitely give it a try.

Businesses with no uncontrollable sims still benefit from the presence of BRY, since you can assign the owner to perform a task when the store is visited by another family, rather than having the store simply be completely nonfunctional. Also, for the business to return income after you max it out, you will need at least one employee as a manager. A reliance on family members only similarly produces a nonfunctional business, as if you run entirely on family labor, the business will not work when manned by only the single owner who will wander around cluelessly in the absence of any direction when you visit it.

I only wish that big red hammer and sickle weren't so damn ugly! I'm a bit of a design snob...

Someone has made a recolor for it to make it "transparent" so it ls not as big and red. This runs contrary to the my philosophy of making it visible in an obvious, yet inobtrusive location so it can be found when needed, though! I like it to be big, red, and obvious, so when I hang it in the breakroom it sticks out like a sore thumb and can easily be spotted to be clicked on.

Truly, it is more awesome than you.

You get stars from sims who just hang around, just not money!  You get a star from a good toilet sometimes!  So it depends what your goals are for that lot.  If you are after stars, the only problems are when the loiterers block the expresso machine, get into fights or start a hot romance with the wrong sim, just say goodbye to individual sims or close and re-open the lot.  If I'm after money or a restocking/cashier badge, I say goodbye to sims I know are broke when they show up at the door.

BRY includes "Make Bugger Off" for quickly dispersing problem customers and loiterers. BRY also will automatically banish bums by its mere presence.

The Customer Selector can also be used to control this even more, filtering out marginal-income not-quite-bums, sims by unwanted classifications for clientele-specific businesses (singles bars, gay bars, shops selling crap no playables should ever buy, businesses specifically FOR playables only, etc.).

[rohina]

Oooh. I need to get rid of noplayableshoppers and try this. I want my playables to go to the snapdragon store.

[J. M. Pescado]

I'd suggest using the Customer Selector instead, and leaving noplayableshoppers in place for performance improvement. The Customer Selector lets you set it so that customers of specific types visit some businesses but not others.