It’s time to get excited as The Sims FreePlay team have announced an update that they’ve been working on for quite a long time now – the Midtown Café! Do you love the smell of freshly brewed coffee? I don’t think I can do any work in the morning without one (or several). Well, with this new update, you will be able to manage your own café! You will be able to hire staff, upgrade equipment, and grow the café so that it becomes the most talked about establishment in the new map location – MidTown. As someone whose favourite expansion pack of all time in The Sims 2 Open for Business, any mention of being able to run something like a café immediately sparks excitement and joy. This truly sounds like an update for me and all budding entrepreneurs! So, with all of this in mind, you probably want to know how you can get started! Firstly, make sure you reach player level 27 and build the new terminal beside the Children’s Store in SimTown. Then, read on to have all of your questions answered from the official blog post! Feature Overview of Midtown Café Q – What is MidTown Café all about? A – We’ve created a new map location, called MidTown! The local council has opened a new connection to SimTown and they want a go-getting entrepreneur (that’s you!) to bring their business precinct back to life! You will manage the Full of Beans Café, serving customers and satisfying their orders with speedy service. Employ specialist staff and upgrade your café’s equipment to ensure all your customers’ needs are met. Customers will rate your service which then earns you progress. Achieve Council contractual milestone timers and be rewarded with exclusive Home Store Prizes! It may sound simple, but timing, customer wrangling and staff management are key (working in hospitality sure is tough)! You will also be able to creatively customize your café, turning MidTown from drab to fab. Q – How do I get started? A – On the SimTown map, pan to the bottom left-hand side near the Children’s Store across from the river. Build the MidTown Terminal – it’s the new gateway to the Full of Beans Café and the new precinct. The build cost is based on how many buildings you have in your town. Q – Who is Barry Ista, does he run the cafe? A – Barry will be your mentor. He’ll show you the ropes and help you every step of the way during the tutorial on how to be the best manager. Q – What sort of Customers come to the Café? A – There are two types: Walk-Ins These are regular customers that are just looking for a coffee or something to eat. They arent part of any tours (which we’ll explain more about shortly) but they do have a regular timer above their head to be served whenever they do roll in. Tourists Tourists arrive on buses in special ‘Tour Groups’ organized by the MidTown Council, who want to spread the word about their café culture. Tourists (each group is initiated by you) bring an influx of customers and are key to your progress as they award ‘Likes’ for every item request of theirs that you meet. ‘Likes’ represent your progress in Café Small Business. Check out the Information tab in the MidTown Café menu that explains all the details if you get stuck. Tour & Tourist Management Q – What types of Tourists are there and how do they affect each Shift? A – Influencers (Likes) Blue Timer above their head Award bonus Likes which give you extra progression Money Bags (Café Credits) Yellow Timer Award Bonus Tips earning you more Café Credits Impatient Tourists (Short Wait Timer) Orange Timer Have shorter timers, and unless prioritized risk Stress to your Staff Q – Tour Select: What are the differences between Easy, Challenging & Risky Tours? A – MidTown has given you Tour options to choose from. Challenging Tours have more Tourists and are more likely to have ‘Special’ tourists – Moneybags, Influencers and Impatient Tourists. Although they offer more Rewards, Tourists in harder tours have SHORTER OVERALL TIMERS. This means you must be MORE EFFICIENT when serving them to minimize stress to your Staff. Q – How many Shifts are there and how many Tours? A – In a 24-hour period, there are two Café shifts available. There are four Tours available in each Shift with a 60-minute cooldown between them. Q – So, every time I work a shift, I get a whole bunch of Tourist rewards? Is it really that simple? A – Yep, you’re right. It’s important to note that Special Tourists have their OWN individual Timers which all burn down at different rates. Make sure you earn their bonuses before their timers expire by tapping on the Sim to ‘Bump’ them to the front of the queue – for example – prevent Impatient Tourists from becoming ANGRY, receiving extra payments from the Money Bag Sims and likes from the Influencers! Staff Management Q – What should I keep in mind to best manage my Staff? A – Staff have 3 requirements to look out for: 1. Stress: During a Shift, Angry Customers cause Stress to your Staff (so send them on Breaks) 2. Happiness: For every shift worked, Staff lose Happiness (so its best to give them time off) 3. Upgrade Perks: Work enough Shifts and Staff can be sent on Training. Upgrade Perks help them perform better during a Shift: Reduce the rate Staff gain Stress Faster Action Times Faster Recovery Times on Breaks Greater Stress Tolerance (can handle more Stress Events before quitting) Q – What happens when my Staff get Stressed? A – If Customer timers expire before they reach the counter, they will cause Stress to your Staff. Staff have a Stress meter that, if filled completely, will cause them to suffer a Stress Event. A Stress Event will cause your Staff to take a Stress Break. If they suffer three Stress Events in a Shift, they will Quit at the END of the SHIFT. Q – How do I manage Staff Stress? A – Tap on a Staff Member and select, ‘Send on Break’. This will CLEAR the Stress Meter (but not Stress Events). Pick a time when your Café is not busy to send your Staff on breaks. Q – How do I manage Staff Happiness? A – Staff happiness goes down every shift, so you can give Staff time off in the Staff Management tab in the Café Menu. Q – What happens if my Staff call in Sick, or worse – Quit?! A – When your staff have a low Happiness Level or have several Stress Events, they may call in sick. When Happiness hits zero or they have maximum Stress Events, they will quit! At the end of a shift, you will always have a last chance to win them back. You can hire backup Staff. Click on the Hire tab to recruit new talent so you can progress with your shift. Q – What is a ‘Specialist’ staff member and why do I need them? Every piece of Equipment in your Café will have a Specialist. For the Coffee Machine, it is your Barista; for the Sandwich Display, it is your Sandwich Specialist etc. Only Specialists can use their Perks on their assigned Equipment (eg. A Barista can use the Sandwich Display, they just won’t earn any Perks). Q – What is a ‘Temp’ staff member? A – In the Hire tab, a Temp is a special Staff type that has all the Perks for all Equipment. They don’t get Stressed, but like all casuals, they only work one Shift. Upgrading MidTown Café Q – How do I track my progress? A – Check out the Progress Bar in the Café Main Menu by tapping the Café icon in the top left of the screen to see how your overall progress is tracking as well as the time remaining to reach the next Limited Time Prize! Q – When are the Major Milestones along the way? At each Major Milestone you’ll unlock new Equipment for your Café. Reach the Milestone before the Timer expires, and equipment is installed in your Café for free. If you fail the milestone timer, you’ll have to purchase the equipment from the Equipment tab using your own Café Credits. You need to ensure your café has the latest available equipment, because customers will start requesting Items from it! Q – What are the visual upgrades for my café? Upgrade Milestones bring awesome environmental improvements to the MidTown location: Awesome street art graffiti including our eccentric alien Osiris Extended lot size (entire concrete area can be built upon) Stylish street decorations and businesses Larger customizable area for placement of tables, stools, floors & walls. Prize Overview Q – Alright, let’s talk about the Rewards! What range of things can I earn along the way? A – Milestone Prizes reward you with a range of awesome Home Store items. The Grand Prize includes items, clothing, hairstyles and new Autonomies actions that your Sims will use in any location: Make a coffee at a Coffee Machine Wash their hands at a Sink Q – Can I customise the café layout or move equipment anywhere I want? A – To ensure that your business operates smoothly, and that your Staff can use all the equipment to serve their customers, the kitchen area is locked. Its not possible to place things in it or move or delete things in this section, but the equipment, register and food displays all can be customised with different variant options from the Equipment Tab in the business HUB! You can also decorate your café at anytime with your own flooring, wallpaper, doors, windows and table settings that you like! Q – Once I finish the feature, can my Sims from SimTown visit the café (either to work a shift, or to have a cup of coffee) at any time? A – Provided there isnt an active tour happening, Sims of all ages can visit via the Sim Tracker at any time but unfortunately, they cannot work in the café. The cafe is now yours to own and run at your own leisure! Refresh the wallpaper, redesign the décor and even renovate the layout! You can continue to earn Café Credits that can be used to purchase Home Store items for your café at a massive discount. Q – Can I bring the prizes and décor back with me to my home in SimTown? A – Yes, any prizes earned in the Small Business can be placed on your Home Lots! Continue reading...
