However, We At C.A.I. Believe in Second Chances - Let's Play Miss Management!
Again I wonder if Hasta la Fuego is another Office Space reference (Mostly how it ends)
Episode 7: Story Update
Video:
Well, we know she is on her way back, so the most we can honestly do is prepare ourselves. I'm sure nothing will go wrong.
Oh yeah. That's not a bad sign at all.
This one, too, I swear. Oh yeah, and 4 Days is our new 3-Star Goal. We absolutely will not need that many Days.
Let's just brace for the worst, then.
...but first, Office Makeover~
Wow. This place looks completely different than it did at the beginning of the year.
Oh, Winston, you're back!
Ah, I guess we've had a bit of a time skip. Not sure for how long, but Winston hopped out to take care of some other offices and is just now arriving again.
When did you find time to repaint and clean the carpets?
Oh, you know... I had some free weekends.
Denise, ah... doesn't have much to do outside of work, huh. Hmm.
That's great, it needs to be kept on as much as possible so the desktop CPUs stay optimally chilly!
If you say so...! I was just thinking it might be a warm spring this year...
Ohhhhhhh yes, the AC, come to mama, blast that cool air everywhere
Send any employee to the air conditioner to switch it on or off.
So, the AC. It's an office-wide relaxation point. Anyone who likes the AC gets a Moodifier to their Stress of -2, and they remain able to do anything else in the office, such as work, relax, go to the Water Cooler, anything!
On top of that, we can send ANYONE to turn this thing on or off, not just Denise. This means it can also be used as a universal tool to get Employees away from their desks without using their relaxation spot or the Water Cooler. You'll want to double-tap in that case so you don't turn it on when you don't want it, though, since Employees that dislike the AC will get about the same Moodifier, but positive at +2 at minimum. This can become difficult to manage if you aren't careful.
Aaaaand here we go, she's back.
Back from my Scandinavian cruise, and I hope you haven't been getting in trouble!
She was on her holiday for a long time considering that short time skip. Must've had a lot of vacation built up.
Hello, ma'am! Welcome to C.A.I. Can I help you?
What? Who on earth are you, miss...?
I feel like we could've done with a better introduction than admitting we don't know who this person is or why she's here, Denise. Oof.
You're back!
Wheee, did you bring me any souvenirs?
No, dear boy, but I do have some lovely photographs of the fjords. I'll be sure to show you later.
Seems these two get along rather well, at least. Good to know. Or maybe not good, considering what we've been hearing about Pearl.
...oh. Oh god. Okay, just break it to her slowly and calmly.
Do you know how to operate a facsimile machine?
Well actually, I...
That's all right, dear. Technology is not everyone's forte.
Why do I feel like we're quickly losing the opportunity to explain this gracefully?
What? I have better things to do than send faxes!
But of course, Tara walks up right behind her, and...
She's actually the new office manager.
This. This expression. This tells you everything you need to know about the sentence that was just uttered.
Also it's goddamn hilarious is what it is
I see.
It really should have gone to someone with more experience, and I'm sorry you've had to deal with it, dear!
She seems... calm, at least. If actively repressing an outburst can be considered calm.
Oh, no, that's all right, I've managed to...
In the meantime, I can help you make the right decisions.
Ah. Going with the puppet method for now to cope, I see. I'm sure this can't end horribly.
But I...
It's really no problem, I assure you!
It's Denise, not Debra!
I'm sure it is.
Haha, we're in danger
I suppose you were the one who's done all this... this...
If by redecorating, you mean making it so that it no longer looks like someone vomited confetti into the carpets, then yes, yes she did.
Yes, I've just finished patching up the back of the couch, and...
...oh yeah, how long has that couch been here? Wow.
Hm. Very well.
Where's Timothy? I can't imagine he was too happy about all this... change.
Oh god no
MAHAVIR NO
What?! What on earth do you--
Well, I never!
He seemed happy about it, really!
Denise, honey, I know you're trying to salvage this situation, but I feel like anything we say is gonna dig the hole even deeper now.
You can give me all the financial tasks until we find a replacement for Timothy.
Well, since he left, Mahavir's been...
Yeah, he's been handling it, I think. Probably pawned a task or two off on Tara, but she's not all that terrible at them, so long as she gets her drawing breaks.
Oh goddammit
It's true, Pearl, we really need help with the bookkeeping, it's a mess!
Oh, poor boy, you've been working so hard while everyone's been away!
Ah. So that's what Tara was talking about back in Episode 3.
OK! You don't need to tell me that twice!
Debra, I'll need you to fetch me some financial help books, there's a dear. Make yourself useful!
Oooh, new Training Manual type today?
I hope I don't have to be the one to say that absolutely no one in this office dislikes the smell of popcorn, so that's a nice relaxation spot, at least.
But my name's not... Debra... Is she for real, Winston?
Ohohoho, I like that take, buddy.
She's been in this company for forty years, knows how to do everything, and thinks she knows how everyone else should be doing everything, too.
Ah, I suppose that makes- wait, 40 YEARS?! Denise was picked over someone with 40 years under their belt?!
A long story we'll be privy to eventually, I'm sure.
Sometimes she gets so worked up that she can't do anything but relax by popping popcorn.
Well, I'm sure her experience will... come in handy?
Oh, sure. Handy for running all over the rest of us. Just don't let her steal your job.
Oh, my...
And with that, we kick off Season 2 with a bang. Hoo boy. This'll be a doozy to work through.
Next time, we get the office's finances back under control fromMahavir's work ethic Timothy's departure. See you then.
Video:
Well, we know she is on her way back, so the most we can honestly do is prepare ourselves. I'm sure nothing will go wrong.
Oh yeah. That's not a bad sign at all.
This one, too, I swear. Oh yeah, and 4 Days is our new 3-Star Goal. We absolutely will not need that many Days.
Let's just brace for the worst, then.
...but first, Office Makeover~
Wow. This place looks completely different than it did at the beginning of the year. Oh, Winston, you're back!Ah, I guess we've had a bit of a time skip. Not sure for how long, but Winston hopped out to take care of some other offices and is just now arriving again.
When did you find time to repaint and clean the carpets? Oh, you know... I had some free weekends.Denise, ah... doesn't have much to do outside of work, huh. Hmm.
That's great, it needs to be kept on as much as possible so the desktop CPUs stay optimally chilly! If you say so...! I was just thinking it might be a warm spring this year...Ohhhhhhh yes, the AC, come to mama, blast that cool air everywhere
Send any employee to the air conditioner to switch it on or off.So, the AC. It's an office-wide relaxation point. Anyone who likes the AC gets a Moodifier to their Stress of -2, and they remain able to do anything else in the office, such as work, relax, go to the Water Cooler, anything!
On top of that, we can send ANYONE to turn this thing on or off, not just Denise. This means it can also be used as a universal tool to get Employees away from their desks without using their relaxation spot or the Water Cooler. You'll want to double-tap in that case so you don't turn it on when you don't want it, though, since Employees that dislike the AC will get about the same Moodifier, but positive at +2 at minimum. This can become difficult to manage if you aren't careful.
Aaaaand here we go, she's back.
Back from my Scandinavian cruise, and I hope you haven't been getting in trouble!She was on her holiday for a long time considering that short time skip. Must've had a lot of vacation built up.
Hello, ma'am! Welcome to C.A.I. Can I help you? What? Who on earth are you, miss...?I feel like we could've done with a better introduction than admitting we don't know who this person is or why she's here, Denise. Oof.
You're back! Wheee, did you bring me any souvenirs? No, dear boy, but I do have some lovely photographs of the fjords. I'll be sure to show you later.Seems these two get along rather well, at least. Good to know. Or maybe not good, considering what we've been hearing about Pearl.
...oh. Oh god. Okay, just break it to her slowly and calmly.
Do you know how to operate a facsimile machine? Well actually, I... That's all right, dear. Technology is not everyone's forte.Why do I feel like we're quickly losing the opportunity to explain this gracefully?
What? I have better things to do than send faxes!But of course, Tara walks up right behind her, and...
She's actually the new office manager.This. This expression. This tells you everything you need to know about the sentence that was just uttered.
I see. It really should have gone to someone with more experience, and I'm sorry you've had to deal with it, dear!She seems... calm, at least. If actively repressing an outburst can be considered calm.
Oh, no, that's all right, I've managed to... In the meantime, I can help you make the right decisions.Ah. Going with the puppet method for now to cope, I see. I'm sure this can't end horribly.
But I... It's really no problem, I assure you! It's Denise, not Debra! I'm sure it is.Haha, we're in danger
I suppose you were the one who's done all this... this...If by redecorating, you mean making it so that it no longer looks like someone vomited confetti into the carpets, then yes, yes she did.
Yes, I've just finished patching up the back of the couch, and......oh yeah, how long has that couch been here? Wow.
Hm. Very well. Where's Timothy? I can't imagine he was too happy about all this... change.Oh god no
MAHAVIR NO
What?! What on earth do you-- Well, I never! He seemed happy about it, really!Denise, honey, I know you're trying to salvage this situation, but I feel like anything we say is gonna dig the hole even deeper now.
You can give me all the financial tasks until we find a replacement for Timothy. Well, since he left, Mahavir's been...Yeah, he's been handling it, I think. Probably pawned a task or two off on Tara, but she's not all that terrible at them, so long as she gets her drawing breaks.
Oh goddammit
It's true, Pearl, we really need help with the bookkeeping, it's a mess! Oh, poor boy, you've been working so hard while everyone's been away!Ah. So that's what Tara was talking about back in Episode 3.
OK! You don't need to tell me that twice! Debra, I'll need you to fetch me some financial help books, there's a dear. Make yourself useful!Oooh, new Training Manual type today?
I hope I don't have to be the one to say that absolutely no one in this office dislikes the smell of popcorn, so that's a nice relaxation spot, at least.
But my name's not... Debra... Is she for real, Winston?Ohohoho, I like that take, buddy.
She's been in this company for forty years, knows how to do everything, and thinks she knows how everyone else should be doing everything, too.Ah, I suppose that makes- wait, 40 YEARS?! Denise was picked over someone with 40 years under their belt?!
A long story we'll be privy to eventually, I'm sure.
Sometimes she gets so worked up that she can't do anything but relax by popping popcorn. Well, I'm sure her experience will... come in handy? Oh, sure. Handy for running all over the rest of us. Just don't let her steal your job. Oh, my...And with that, we kick off Season 2 with a bang. Hoo boy. This'll be a doozy to work through.
Next time, we get the office's finances back under control from
Last edited by LPFinale on Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Probably equally unpleasant to the senior managers. Also, by the looks of it, she is actually good at working - no sense in kicking someone upstairs if they're working well on the lower rungs!Chinely wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:07 pmPearl does seem like she sucks and would be an awful manager, but I do wonder how she avoided being promoted for 40 years.
Everywhere I've worked if you were patronising, didn't listen to people and tried to micromanage everyone else you ended up head of department in a year.
Burning out your employees is actually a valid strategy in the game, especially in the later levels. They eventually become too much of a pain to keep their stress levels down at times.
I've had to use this strategy several times when I was playing the game.
Whether or not LPFinale is going to use this strategy at some point, we'll see. I'll be really surprised and impressed if they could actually prevent this from happening.
To an extent. It will not be the intended strategy going in, but I vividly remember an Episode or two later on where it was preferable to let someone burn out, but not impossible. I'll be making every effort to not need to do that, at least, since I remember it being possible.Taiyo wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:20 amBurning out your employees is actually a valid strategy in the game, especially in the later levels. They eventually become too much of a pain to keep their stress levels down at times.
I've had to use this strategy several times when I was playing the game.
Whether or not LPFinale is going to use this strategy at some point, we'll see. I'll be really surprised and impressed if they could actually prevent this from happening.
I understand why the smell of popcorn lowers everyone's stress levels, but I've gotta say that when I worked in an office where my desk was near the kitchen area, the smell would just make me feel frustrated that I didn't have any popcorn. And it sure seems unlikely that Pearl shares hers.
Ah, I may have misspoken, it's moreso that there's no one who gets stressed out by it rather than people actually enjoying it. I guess you could say it cancels out, like you said.Ghost Car wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:33 pmI understand why the smell of popcorn lowers everyone's stress levels, but I've gotta say that when I worked in an office where my desk was near the kitchen area, the smell would just make me feel frustrated that I didn't have any popcorn. And it sure seems unlikely that Pearl shares hers.
To be a little fairer to Pearl, it sounds like she's been doing a manager's job for a very long time without being granted the official promotion (and likely pay raise) that comes with it. This happens in shitty companies a lot. The old manager will leave, the second in command will start doing their job because it's necessary for someone to do it and they're the only one who knows how, and then the company will say "well, clearly you don't need the position filled!" and then they're pretty much stuck doing more work for the same pay. And then to fill the position with some rando off the street....I can get being pissed. And intentionally snubbing that new person because of it.
Granted, she's still an old busy-body and probably frustrating to work with even under the best of circumstances, but I do have a little sympathy for her. She got fucking hosed.
Granted, she's still an old busy-body and probably frustrating to work with even under the best of circumstances, but I do have a little sympathy for her. She got fucking hosed.
Oh yeah, that reminds me of a funny story my friend was telling me. The shift manager at work was doing a lot of unofficial double duties, then they got a new manager in who was a prick. So in revenge she just immediately stopped doing all those duties and when asked why was like "Well it's not in my contract."
unfortunately Denise, the new manager, is the protagonist and so this behaviour is going to be annoying
unfortunately Denise, the new manager, is the protagonist and so this behaviour is going to be annoying
Episode 7: Gameplay Update, "Return of the Middle Manager"
Video:
Well, I think we all know what this Goal list is about to look like for the most part, give or take the Optional Goals.
Well, it looks like Mahavir's nap is getting postponed until the Optional Goals, but otherwise this makes sense.
The popcorn one is pretty much just to get you used to Pearl being there like 50% of the time to keep from exploding.
Speaking of Pearl...
Pearl is our new Stress sink Employee, straight up. Unlike Timothy, she has many skills to offer in exchange, though none of them are as good as someone specialized in their field; as I'll be sure to point out in her writeup, not all Up Arrows are created equal.
She's still damn good at filling in for any sort of work we're lacking in for short bursts of time, though it can be difficult when you want to work on a bunch of Goals at once, since aside from Mahavir using the Couch, she gets an increased Stress Moodifier for anyone doing anything, anywhere.
You may notice she has a second relaxation point, which involves smoking. This isn't relevant yet, but keep it in mind.
And here we have our new Training Manual type, the Financial Manual! There's... not much to say about it. You can improve Financial skill for a day now. Woo, I guess, if you wanna use it.
On a more interesting note, I've recently discovered I can check the code for our workflow for the Episode, both in frequency and in types. I'll begin adding that to the end slate and retroactively edit that into the previous Episodes as I find the time.
Without getting into the specifics, rest assured that Financial Tasks will take up the OVERWHELMING majority of our work today, and we'll get a new Task on our desk every 5 to 8 Seconds. The chances of it being a 2-Bar Task or a 3-Bar Task are 50-50.
This is how our Employees start Day 1 this Episode: AC running, everyone but Winston at their spots, and everyone but Pearl half-full of Stress. Those starting Stress levels will remain true for any subsequent Days.
Now, I think this is a good time to demonstrate how good the AC is, don't you?
Notice how Winston, someone who likes the AC, is calming down just as fast as Mahavir is while he's at his favorite spot, the Couch. The AC is damn good for Employees who like it. Mahavir doesn't care about the AC at all, for the record.
Oh, and notice how Tara's Stress is lowering even faster than the boys, despite being mildly annoyed at Mahavir's napping? This isn't because her Whiteboard has been made uber-powerful this Episode; it's because Tara actually likes the AC, despite it not being listed on her Dossier, likely for a lack of room with the entries for markers and being alone.
Words cannot express just how helpful having the AC around for Tara will be, considering how stressed she normally gets when she's made to talk to Mahavir, and her rather middling spread outside of Art suddenly becomes much more usable in terms of Stress. This piece of machinery will be treasured in the coming days, I assure you.
First things first, though, we grab that Financial Manual. It's not going to be that useful since we won't be having Pearl do too much work today, but it unlocks several Goals, much like Timothy's Goal for a Technical Manual, so we might as well.
Oh yeah, and I have to pop back in here because I forgot to also grab a Coffee for Pearl. They're important so she can work while keeping her Stress down as other Employees complete their Goals.
With that bought, we'll place it on Mahavir's desk to be used a second or two later on Pearl, since he's not gonna be going back to his desk any time soon with the Goals coming up.
It's talking to Tara again, counterbalanced by her having a Whiteboard Goal. That makes 4 times now. Might as well commemorate the occasion by showing off how slowly Tara gets stressed out when talking to him while the AC's on.
This'll let us take care of these Goals with so much less juggling between points in the office, which'll be lovely.
I gave Pearl that Coffee so she could finish her initial Tasks without getting any more stressed than she is right now, but it didn't really dent her Goal that much. Ah, well, she's not gonna be able to lower her Stress like this, anyway; her Popcorn gives her a Moodifier of -4, or -5 when combined with the bonus from not working, but two Employees at the Water Cooler makes +2, the AC adds another +2, and an extra bonus this Episode that adds +1 if any two Employees other than her are having a conversation at the Water Cooler makes that +5, completely zeroing out. She has to stay here just to break even.
A while later, I give Tara a break and have Winston go to the Water Cooler so Pearl can maybe get some work done on a 0-Bar and 2-Bar Task without Burning Out, with... mixed results. That are entirely my fault.
Not only do I manage to send Winston away too late, completing the Task before Pearl can touch it, I send Denise to the Water Cooler for a split second somehow. Not my finest showing this Episode, but at least Pearl's just primed to explode instead of Burnt Out.
And with that, the status quo is back to normal; Mahavir and Tara talking, Winston doing literally all of the work because he can, and Pearl remaining in a constant state of near-heart-attack at the Microwave.
Oh, and I try to get a few 0-Bar Tasks ready for Pearl, but, uhhhhhhhhhh
I can play this game I swear
This is definitely not that same exact thing happening yet again, I swear. Totally.
I turned the AC off for a bit before this so Pearl could calm down long enough to work on some Financial Tasks. It worked, but, uh... Tara's not doing so great because of it.
So now everyone watching the video gets to see this happen for a few seconds before the day ends.
And at last, just before the day ends, Mahavir and Winston meet their Goals at about the same time and calm down the others. Any new Goals to speak of from that?
Somehow, yes. At least this one's pretty darn easy to manage since only Tara cares about Mahavir goofing off, and even then just slightly.
You know the drill, got our
, greet the day, put all these Goals on the chopping block for Day 2.
Obligatory starting Stress amounts, plus noting that when an Employee has multiple Goals in progress, they stack on top of each other. It's kinda funny to me, the way it looks. "ALMOST DONE! 7/15, YEAH!"
We get Mahavir and Tara to start working on their Goals for the day, in addition to Pearl working. This should be easier now that we can leave the AC off since we've got no reason to keep in on.
...or I could turn it on for some reason to let Winston do most of the work. And yeah, Art Tasks don't give Winston enough of a Stress Moodifier to visibly bother him while the AC's running. This thing is kinda crazy.
Grabbed another Coffee for Pearl, and it'll be much better for her this time. She calms herself down by completing her Microwave Goal, and we start piling up Financial Tasks for her.
Now that I've finally turned the AC off, let's begin, shall we?
Much better. And as you might've noticed in the tailend of that gif...
...Mahavir completed his Goal, calming Pearl down in the process with the Morale Boost. Pretty great timing that I'm rather thankful for right now.
Just polishing off the last bits of the Goals here. Nothing much to see.
Financial Tasks: Done
Opportunity to Stop: Ignored
All Goals: Finally Done
Results: Satisfactory
It really does feel great shaving down a 4-Day expectation to 2 Days. I think Season 2 might be the one where this is most possible, since they don't expect as much of the player yet since they're just now beginning to ramp things up.
With all that said... next time, we run headlong into the final mechanic we need to hear about before beginning writeups. See you then.
Goal Writeup
Time Per Day: 140 Seconds
Task Types
Connecting...
Checking Status: Online
Chatroom Created
Yeesh. What a way to find out you've been hosed.
I mean, I'm not one to believe she'd make a great manager, but it does baffle me how she's not been promoted in all this time.
Oh yeah, not doubting that, just... ouch. Spending a month or so on a cruise, expecting to come back to business as usual, and then to find out the position you've been after for years has been filled? By someone with zero experience?
It makes me wish I'd kept a better grasp on my $12, yes.
It was delicious, by the way. I could taste the color of music for a few hours, but it was worth it to get my work done.
Why am I not surprised? At least that hustle money got something done, I guess.
You better believe it. See you whenever the place's tension gets so thick you could cut it with a knife?
Fine. This'll be something to see, whatever happens. It's like two rowers fighting to change course. Except one of them feels awkward about it while the other is a walking superiority complex.
...weird, but not inaccurate, I suppose. See ya.
Chatroom Closed
Video:Well, I think we all know what this Goal list is about to look like for the most part, give or take the Optional Goals.
Well, it looks like Mahavir's nap is getting postponed until the Optional Goals, but otherwise this makes sense.
Speaking of Pearl...
Pearl is our new Stress sink Employee, straight up. Unlike Timothy, she has many skills to offer in exchange, though none of them are as good as someone specialized in their field; as I'll be sure to point out in her writeup, not all Up Arrows are created equal.
She's still damn good at filling in for any sort of work we're lacking in for short bursts of time, though it can be difficult when you want to work on a bunch of Goals at once, since aside from Mahavir using the Couch, she gets an increased Stress Moodifier for anyone doing anything, anywhere.
You may notice she has a second relaxation point, which involves smoking. This isn't relevant yet, but keep it in mind.
And here we have our new Training Manual type, the Financial Manual! There's... not much to say about it. You can improve Financial skill for a day now. Woo, I guess, if you wanna use it.
On a more interesting note, I've recently discovered I can check the code for our workflow for the Episode, both in frequency and in types. I'll begin adding that to the end slate and retroactively edit that into the previous Episodes as I find the time.
Without getting into the specifics, rest assured that Financial Tasks will take up the OVERWHELMING majority of our work today, and we'll get a new Task on our desk every 5 to 8 Seconds. The chances of it being a 2-Bar Task or a 3-Bar Task are 50-50.
This is how our Employees start Day 1 this Episode: AC running, everyone but Winston at their spots, and everyone but Pearl half-full of Stress. Those starting Stress levels will remain true for any subsequent Days.
Now, I think this is a good time to demonstrate how good the AC is, don't you?
Notice how Winston, someone who likes the AC, is calming down just as fast as Mahavir is while he's at his favorite spot, the Couch. The AC is damn good for Employees who like it. Mahavir doesn't care about the AC at all, for the record.
Oh, and notice how Tara's Stress is lowering even faster than the boys, despite being mildly annoyed at Mahavir's napping? This isn't because her Whiteboard has been made uber-powerful this Episode; it's because Tara actually likes the AC, despite it not being listed on her Dossier, likely for a lack of room with the entries for markers and being alone.
Words cannot express just how helpful having the AC around for Tara will be, considering how stressed she normally gets when she's made to talk to Mahavir, and her rather middling spread outside of Art suddenly becomes much more usable in terms of Stress. This piece of machinery will be treasured in the coming days, I assure you.
First things first, though, we grab that Financial Manual. It's not going to be that useful since we won't be having Pearl do too much work today, but it unlocks several Goals, much like Timothy's Goal for a Technical Manual, so we might as well.
Oh yeah, and I have to pop back in here because I forgot to also grab a Coffee for Pearl. They're important so she can work while keeping her Stress down as other Employees complete their Goals.
With that bought, we'll place it on Mahavir's desk to be used a second or two later on Pearl, since he's not gonna be going back to his desk any time soon with the Goals coming up.
It's talking to Tara again, counterbalanced by her having a Whiteboard Goal. That makes 4 times now. Might as well commemorate the occasion by showing off how slowly Tara gets stressed out when talking to him while the AC's on.
This'll let us take care of these Goals with so much less juggling between points in the office, which'll be lovely.
I gave Pearl that Coffee so she could finish her initial Tasks without getting any more stressed than she is right now, but it didn't really dent her Goal that much. Ah, well, she's not gonna be able to lower her Stress like this, anyway; her Popcorn gives her a Moodifier of -4, or -5 when combined with the bonus from not working, but two Employees at the Water Cooler makes +2, the AC adds another +2, and an extra bonus this Episode that adds +1 if any two Employees other than her are having a conversation at the Water Cooler makes that +5, completely zeroing out. She has to stay here just to break even.
A while later, I give Tara a break and have Winston go to the Water Cooler so Pearl can maybe get some work done on a 0-Bar and 2-Bar Task without Burning Out, with... mixed results. That are entirely my fault.
Not only do I manage to send Winston away too late, completing the Task before Pearl can touch it, I send Denise to the Water Cooler for a split second somehow. Not my finest showing this Episode, but at least Pearl's just primed to explode instead of Burnt Out.
And with that, the status quo is back to normal; Mahavir and Tara talking, Winston doing literally all of the work because he can, and Pearl remaining in a constant state of near-heart-attack at the Microwave.
Oh, and I try to get a few 0-Bar Tasks ready for Pearl, but, uhhhhhhhhhh
I can play this game I swear
This is definitely not that same exact thing happening yet again, I swear. Totally.
I turned the AC off for a bit before this so Pearl could calm down long enough to work on some Financial Tasks. It worked, but, uh... Tara's not doing so great because of it.
So now everyone watching the video gets to see this happen for a few seconds before the day ends.
And at last, just before the day ends, Mahavir and Winston meet their Goals at about the same time and calm down the others. Any new Goals to speak of from that?
Somehow, yes. At least this one's pretty darn easy to manage since only Tara cares about Mahavir goofing off, and even then just slightly.
You know the drill, got our
, greet the day, put all these Goals on the chopping block for Day 2.Obligatory starting Stress amounts, plus noting that when an Employee has multiple Goals in progress, they stack on top of each other. It's kinda funny to me, the way it looks. "ALMOST DONE! 7/15, YEAH!"
We get Mahavir and Tara to start working on their Goals for the day, in addition to Pearl working. This should be easier now that we can leave the AC off since we've got no reason to keep in on.
...or I could turn it on for some reason to let Winston do most of the work. And yeah, Art Tasks don't give Winston enough of a Stress Moodifier to visibly bother him while the AC's running. This thing is kinda crazy.
Grabbed another Coffee for Pearl, and it'll be much better for her this time. She calms herself down by completing her Microwave Goal, and we start piling up Financial Tasks for her.
Now that I've finally turned the AC off, let's begin, shall we?
Much better. And as you might've noticed in the tailend of that gif...
...Mahavir completed his Goal, calming Pearl down in the process with the Morale Boost. Pretty great timing that I'm rather thankful for right now.
Just polishing off the last bits of the Goals here. Nothing much to see.
Financial Tasks: Done
Opportunity to Stop: Ignored
All Goals: Finally Done
Results: Satisfactory
It really does feel great shaving down a 4-Day expectation to 2 Days. I think Season 2 might be the one where this is most possible, since they don't expect as much of the player yet since they're just now beginning to ramp things up.
With all that said... next time, we run headlong into the final mechanic we need to hear about before beginning writeups. See you then.
Goal Writeup
Time Per Day: 140 Seconds
Task Types
Art Tasks: 8%
Financial Tasks: 69%
Technical Tasks: 23%
- 1-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 5-8 Seconds: 100%
2-Bar Tasks: 50%
3-Bar Tasks: 50%
- "Get the finances back under control by taking care of at least 15 financial tasks. (15 Financial Tasks)"
- "Relax in the kitchen snacking on microwave popcorn. (120 Seconds)"
- "Keep the AC on for a while to cool down the computer hardware. (120 Seconds)" Unlocks Optional Goal #2
- "Get a financial manual from OfficeTown. (1 Financial Manual)" Unlocks Optional Goals #1 and #3
- "Draw on the whiteboard. (90 Seconds)"
- "Chat Tara up at the water cooler. (90 Seconds)"
- "Take a nap on the couch. (45 Seconds)"
Connecting...
Checking Status: Online
Chatroom Created
Yeesh. What a way to find out you've been hosed. I mean, I'm not one to believe she'd make a great manager, but it does baffle me how she's not been promoted in all this time. Oh yeah, not doubting that, just... ouch. Spending a month or so on a cruise, expecting to come back to business as usual, and then to find out the position you've been after for years has been filled? By someone with zero experience? It makes me wish I'd kept a better grasp on my $12, yes. It was delicious, by the way. I could taste the color of music for a few hours, but it was worth it to get my work done. Why am I not surprised? At least that hustle money got something done, I guess. You better believe it. See you whenever the place's tension gets so thick you could cut it with a knife? Fine. This'll be something to see, whatever happens. It's like two rowers fighting to change course. Except one of them feels awkward about it while the other is a walking superiority complex. ...weird, but not inaccurate, I suppose. See ya.Chatroom Closed
Last edited by LPFinale on Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Since Pearl's bio says that she's "pretty good at everything (except writing)" I'm guessing that's the last task type.
Episode 8: Story Update
Video:
Well, now that Pearl's introduced herself, surely we're gonna have some kind of push for control somehow, yeah?
Yyyyyyup. Seems like it. On the bright side (or not), last Task Type, finally!
Oh dear...
Seems Denise, uh, wasn't briefed on whatever these are, eh? Not even a memo.
Winston?
That Task's just gone overdue while Denise is looking for help on how to deal with it by the way. It will continue to flash Overdue throughout the entire Intro.
That's it, that's my entire comment. I absolutely love this little detail.
You've already used up three seconds. I'm busy with this project.
Yes, I'm sure you're...
...quite busy. Yes.Not like I have any room to talk, really.
Is that a video game machine?
I'll take a dozen, please, preferably with complementary donuts.
I already installed them in all the other offices. Strictly for stress-reduction purposes, you know.
Oh... yes, I'm sure that's fine.
Where and how did you acquire enough arcade machines for every single office in this building without putting yourself in crippling debt?
Um... what do I do with purple tasks?
Oh right, you're here. I guess this time it was helpful, sort of. Kinda surprised this office never got any of these Tasks for weeks, seems like something that would be pretty common... or not, depending on whatever the hell this company does.
Oh, I see... Who does the writing?
Well, we don't have a writer right now, but we can certainly make do with our staff.
Yeah, fair point, these things have been so uncommon that I bet this is one of like, two that we'll-
What? You told them yes?!
Hoo boy.
...ah, dammit.
Well, it's only two batches, right?
OH GOD WHAT
...well, uh. Guess we won't be seeing these things disappear from our workload again. For the foreseeable future. Or ever.
Plus, there's no way I can do that kind of task.
Oh really, now?
It's my least favorite, really can't stand them.
But I thought art tasks were your least favorite?
Gonna cut in on this one, writeups are coming very shortly anyway, so I feel fine saying this is a lie, Writing Tasks are his least favorite. For... reasons.
And you know how I feel about financial tasks, so...
Then that must mean you like technical tasks, right?
Oh sure, but Winston would get mad if I did those. Right, buddy?
Ah, Winston. How well your dynamic with the rest of the office works. It's a sight to behold.
Stop flirting, you two! It's unseemly, and we have work to do...
Ah wait crap right, Writing batches, who do?
Oh no
Um... I have some... stuff to do...
Oh, child, I'm not going to bite you! You're a creative type, right?
I, uh, feel like that's not how that works.
But I... I mostly draw...
Hm. Your skill sets could use some expanding.
Pearl this isn't a stat-booster visual novel, that's not gonna work.
Okay, I guess this is happening now.
I could use a healthy dose of coddling!
But Mahavir... He could do it better than...
...hm? Wait, what don't we know here?
Oh, never mind.
Don't be ridiculous. English isn't even Mahavir's first language! You can't expect him to write in it.
Why do I feel like this is a cover-up?
What? He speaks English perfectly!
AWKWARD PAUSE
Haha, excuse me, WHAT?!
No no, very sorry Miss, my English not so good, many pardons.
We're not going to waste valuable company time arguing about this.
No no, go back, we've had a writer this whole time? And I'm privy to the code that shows he has the same Work Rate in it as everything else except a lot more Stress for it, meaning his entire issue with it is his work ethic and some weird personal grievance with his major or specifically the office's demands for Writing? ...WHAT?!
Tara, you'll learn a new marketable skill.
She has this job already, Pearl, what are you even-
Denise, take care of that task, don't just stand there like a wet kitten!
I AM VERY CONFUSED AND CONCERNED
I'll be at my desk if you need me. Oh, and Winston!
What?! Can't you see I'm trying to work?
Briefed you?! Do you really need to know about... Oh, fine, whatever!
I'm still reeling and having trouble processing this additional issue on the pile.
I just wanted to finish my new drawing today...
I hesitate to wonder if you're actually feeling bad about your tendency to grab every opportunity to play hooky incidentally screwing over Tara, but I'm listening.
So I can give you some?
Well, maybe one. Just one. And don't tell anyone else I said that, I have a reputation to preserve!
I'm not sure preserving that reputation is good for you, except with Pearl, but okay then.
I need rest to fulfill my most important duty!
Which is...?
Considering the state of the office right now, not sure that's helping as much as you think it is, buddy. Oogh. We're gonna need so much more to get through this.
Well, with Writing Tasks officially revealed, we can begin Employee Writeups in earnest. I, uh, have my work cut out for me, considering we've got 6 Employees and a general Employee Mechanics page to get through. I'd say I need some more too, but I don't drink that, so... diet soda, maybe?
Next time (after writeups are all posted), we deal with whatever the hell just happened. See you then.
Video:
Well, now that Pearl's introduced herself, surely we're gonna have some kind of push for control somehow, yeah?
Yyyyyyup. Seems like it. On the bright side (or not), last Task Type, finally!
Oh dear...Seems Denise, uh, wasn't briefed on whatever these are, eh? Not even a memo.
Winston?That Task's just gone overdue while Denise is looking for help on how to deal with it by the way. It will continue to flash Overdue throughout the entire Intro.
That's it, that's my entire comment. I absolutely love this little detail.
You've already used up three seconds. I'm busy with this project.Yes, I'm sure you're...
...quite busy. Yes.
Is that a video game machine?I'll take a dozen, please, preferably with complementary donuts.
I already installed them in all the other offices. Strictly for stress-reduction purposes, you know. Oh... yes, I'm sure that's fine.Where and how did you acquire enough arcade machines for every single office in this building without putting yourself in crippling debt?
Um... what do I do with purple tasks?Oh right, you're here. I guess this time it was helpful, sort of. Kinda surprised this office never got any of these Tasks for weeks, seems like something that would be pretty common... or not, depending on whatever the hell this company does.
Oh, I see... Who does the writing? Well, we don't have a writer right now, but we can certainly make do with our staff.Yeah, fair point, these things have been so uncommon that I bet this is one of like, two that we'll-
What? You told them yes?! Hoo boy....ah, dammit.
Well, it's only two batches, right?OH GOD WHAT
...well, uh. Guess we won't be seeing these things disappear from our workload again. For the foreseeable future. Or ever.
Plus, there's no way I can do that kind of task.Oh really, now?
It's my least favorite, really can't stand them. But I thought art tasks were your least favorite?Gonna cut in on this one, writeups are coming very shortly anyway, so I feel fine saying this is a lie, Writing Tasks are his least favorite. For... reasons.
And you know how I feel about financial tasks, so... Then that must mean you like technical tasks, right? Oh sure, but Winston would get mad if I did those. Right, buddy?Ah, Winston. How well your dynamic with the rest of the office works. It's a sight to behold.
Stop flirting, you two! It's unseemly, and we have work to do...Ah wait crap right, Writing batches, who do?
Oh no
Um... I have some... stuff to do... Oh, child, I'm not going to bite you! You're a creative type, right?I, uh, feel like that's not how that works.
But I... I mostly draw... Hm. Your skill sets could use some expanding.Pearl this isn't a stat-booster visual novel, that's not gonna work.
Okay, I guess this is happening now.
I could use a healthy dose of coddling! But Mahavir... He could do it better than......hm? Wait, what don't we know here?
Oh, never mind. Don't be ridiculous. English isn't even Mahavir's first language! You can't expect him to write in it.Why do I feel like this is a cover-up?
What? He speaks English perfectly!Haha, excuse me, WHAT?!
No no, very sorry Miss, my English not so good, many pardons. We're not going to waste valuable company time arguing about this.No no, go back, we've had a writer this whole time? And I'm privy to the code that shows he has the same Work Rate in it as everything else except a lot more Stress for it, meaning his entire issue with it is his work ethic and some weird personal grievance with his major or specifically the office's demands for Writing? ...WHAT?!
Tara, you'll learn a new marketable skill.She has this job already, Pearl, what are you even-
Denise, take care of that task, don't just stand there like a wet kitten!I AM VERY CONFUSED AND CONCERNED
I'll be at my desk if you need me. Oh, and Winston! What?! Can't you see I'm trying to work? Briefed you?! Do you really need to know about... Oh, fine, whatever!I'm still reeling and having trouble processing this additional issue on the pile.
I just wanted to finish my new drawing today...I hesitate to wonder if you're actually feeling bad about your tendency to grab every opportunity to play hooky incidentally screwing over Tara, but I'm listening.
So I can give you some? Well, maybe one. Just one. And don't tell anyone else I said that, I have a reputation to preserve!I'm not sure preserving that reputation is good for you, except with Pearl, but okay then.
I need rest to fulfill my most important duty! Which is...?Considering the state of the office right now, not sure that's helping as much as you think it is, buddy. Oogh. We're gonna need so much more
to get through this.Well, with Writing Tasks officially revealed, we can begin Employee Writeups in earnest. I, uh, have my work cut out for me, considering we've got 6 Employees and a general Employee Mechanics page to get through. I'd say I need some more
too, but I don't drink that, so... diet soda, maybe?Next time (after writeups are all posted), we deal with whatever the hell just happened. See you then.
Last edited by LPFinale on Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mahavir just becomes more and more of an asshole with every update. And the fact Pearl can't see it is...
You don't need to use your money, if you have access to your company's. You can get most of the arcade internals separately and mix it with rest of your hardware purchases. The only problem is the case, but you can always say "hey, look I can get us an arcade machine THAT cheap, it is a good stress reliever and cost almost nothing". When you get your case, fill it with hadware aquired at step 1.
I WANT TO KNOW PEARL AND MAHAVIR'S LAST NAMES RIGHT NOW.
If Mahavir has a writing degree from Harvard and only has one dot then that just shows how bad his work ethic is.
Would probably explain why he has a dot for all task types, he's doing just the bare minimum to coast by.DelilahFlowers wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 2:22 pmIf Mahavir has a writing degree from Harvard and only has one dot then that just shows how bad his work ethic is.
I think I'll be trying to separate them into their own posts, but now that I think about it, it's probably for the best that they all go up at once (the ones we need to catch up on, anyways). Getting notifications for the thread only to discover it's yet another writeup would get rather tiring by the end of this catchup process.
I'll get to work on writing all of them, then upload them at roughly the same time in a batch. This may take a while, but it should hopefully work out.
I also second a writeup post for all of them, with a writeup post each for new characters.
You could also append the writeups to updates, if you wanted to space them out. Post an update, post a write up at the same time.
Employee Mechanics Writeup
The Employees in Miss Management have a lot going on behind the scenes. To be clear, you don't need to know all of it to play the game properly; that's the beauty of the game. However, knowing all of this helps a LOT with optimizing and the like, so of course we're gonna go over it.
Stress and Burning Out
Stress, simply put, is what you'll be managing throughout the entire game. Employees gain it when they perform any kind of work or another Employee does something they dislike. To be more technical, things they like and dislike adjust their Moodifier, which is their set value of Stress Per Second.
They can get rid of it by going to a place they like to relax, spending time at the Water Cooler (a general relaxation point for all Employees, though some Employees dislike others being at the Water Cooler, too), or just doing nothing while nothing else is bothering them; if an Employee isn't doing any work and isn't at a relaxation point, their Moodifier is set to -1 at base, lowering their accumulated Stress by 1 per second. If they're at the Water Cooler, their Moodifier is set to -2. The various character-specific relaxation points have custom values, sometimes changing per Episode.
Interestingly, there are two global relaxation points, the Air Conditioner and the Radio. Unlike most office mechanics, these can be turned on and off by any Employee, not just Denise. When turned on, these will adjust the Moodifiers of Employees who like them by -2, a rather significant boon considering it stacks on top of the global bonus of -1 for doing nothing, in addition to being able to work while the AC/Radio bonus is applied. Conversely, Employees who dislike them will have their Moodifier adjusted by +2 or more (depending on the Episode) whenever these are on, though unless there are other factors stressing them, this is a net reduction in the office's overall Stress (again, because of the -1 global bonus for doing nothing), assuming there's an equal number of Employees who like and dislike whichever one you have.
Stress is measured from 0 to 100; visually, the Stress meter of each Employee has a buffer that makes it look empty or full while they're still gaining Stress, roughly in the 1-5 and 95-99 ranges. The meter fully disappears if their Stress is equal to 0. Employees will enter a Danger state that overrides all their animations besides walking (since their legs are animated separately), which I think is around 80 Stress; I'm unsure of the exact point.
If their Stress reaches 100, they Burn Out, being forced to go home for the Day. They'll be back at the start of the next Day, but any Goals they're involved with (have their face on the Goal or are required to talk with the Goal-maker) will be put on hold, unable to be worked on for the rest of the Day. Additionally, some Goals require that nobody Burn Out until they're completed, resetting their progress; thankfully, this only occurs with One Day Rush Goals, so their progress would be reset if the Day ended before completing them, anyway. Denise is a special case, though; if she Burns Out, the Day ends, and all progress on Goals is immediately reset to the start of the Day she Burnt Out on. If you're going for a 3-Star Rating, which requires you complete all Goals within a certain number of Days, you may as well reset your attempt if you let this happen.
Also, some of the Burn Out sprites are kinda hilarious.
Tasks and Work Mechanics
Tasks are the busywork that's constantly flooding into our office throughout the day. If they spend a certain length of time in the office without being worked on, they'll become Overdue; Employees need to work on them or Denise will become stressed (which eventually resets any progress we've made that day), but in return, we get some petty cash to spend on items, discussed later, for each Task we finish. The way Overdue Tasks affect Denise will be expanded upon in her writeup.
Tasks come in three different sizes: Small, Medium, and Large, according to the code, but I like referring to them by the number of bars on their little wi-fi meter graphic instead (2-Bar Task, 3-Bar Task, 4-Bar Task). Needless to say, the larger a Task is when it first arrives in the office, the longer it takes to complete and the more petty cash we earn from it. Simply put, and discussed in more detail in a moment, 2-Bar Tasks are 25 Work Units, 3-Bars are 35, and 4-Bars are 45.
For ease of calculation in an example, if an Employee had a Work Rate of 5 and a Moodifier of +2 for Financial Tasks and worked on a 2-Bar Task, since they'd take 5 Seconds to finish it (25 Work Units / 5 Work Rate = 5 Seconds), they'd gain 10 Stress (5 Seconds x 2 Moodifier = 10 Stress).
Though for the record, even though the above situation looks pretty good from a Stress perspective (and it is), the way Tasks make their way into the office, Task Bursts, makes completing them quickly more and more important as the game goes on. Essentially, each Day begins with one of the Task Bursts set for the Episode; each Task Burst spews out a certain number of Tasks (size and type frequencies are custom-made for each Episode, as well) and set a delay for the next Task Burst by a certain number of Seconds, often in a range so you're kept on your toes. An example Task Burst would be something like: "1-Task Burst, applies Delay of 5-8 Seconds." Needless to say, the quantity of Tasks that come in on each Burst and the frequency of the Bursts will increase as we progress. The amount of Tasks that come in later on becomes, quite frankly, terrifying.
As a reminder, the way items like Coffee and Training Manuals work directly impact an Employee's Work Rate; Coffee outright doubles it for 15 seconds, and Training Manuals boost the base Work Rate of their respective Task Type by 2 (Disclaimer: Work Rate gain on Task Types is also individual, 2 is just the most common by far). And yes, these stack properly, so an Employee with a base 7 Work Rate who gains 2 from a Manual, totaling 9 Work Rate, would have an effective 18 Work Rate while under the effects of Coffee. Coffee's goddamn insane. It's $3. Use it.
Oftentimes, Tasks will try to challenge you in Goals by either doing an insane amount of work on a specific Employee or playing against Type, so be wary of that and aware of the options available to you, especially since you'll have ample funding from the average Task Sizes by the time those challenges get serious to just go nuts with whichever items you want to strategize with. Even if you normally feel comfortable without them, you may need them eventually, so get some practice early on. It'll pay off in the long run when your back's to the wall during some of the game's endgame challenges!
The Employees in Miss Management have a lot going on behind the scenes. To be clear, you don't need to know all of it to play the game properly; that's the beauty of the game. However, knowing all of this helps a LOT with optimizing and the like, so of course we're gonna go over it.
Stress and Burning Out
Stress, simply put, is what you'll be managing throughout the entire game. Employees gain it when they perform any kind of work or another Employee does something they dislike. To be more technical, things they like and dislike adjust their Moodifier, which is their set value of Stress Per Second.
They can get rid of it by going to a place they like to relax, spending time at the Water Cooler (a general relaxation point for all Employees, though some Employees dislike others being at the Water Cooler, too), or just doing nothing while nothing else is bothering them; if an Employee isn't doing any work and isn't at a relaxation point, their Moodifier is set to -1 at base, lowering their accumulated Stress by 1 per second. If they're at the Water Cooler, their Moodifier is set to -2. The various character-specific relaxation points have custom values, sometimes changing per Episode.
Interestingly, there are two global relaxation points, the Air Conditioner and the Radio. Unlike most office mechanics, these can be turned on and off by any Employee, not just Denise. When turned on, these will adjust the Moodifiers of Employees who like them by -2, a rather significant boon considering it stacks on top of the global bonus of -1 for doing nothing, in addition to being able to work while the AC/Radio bonus is applied. Conversely, Employees who dislike them will have their Moodifier adjusted by +2 or more (depending on the Episode) whenever these are on, though unless there are other factors stressing them, this is a net reduction in the office's overall Stress (again, because of the -1 global bonus for doing nothing), assuming there's an equal number of Employees who like and dislike whichever one you have.
Stress is measured from 0 to 100; visually, the Stress meter of each Employee has a buffer that makes it look empty or full while they're still gaining Stress, roughly in the 1-5 and 95-99 ranges. The meter fully disappears if their Stress is equal to 0. Employees will enter a Danger state that overrides all their animations besides walking (since their legs are animated separately), which I think is around 80 Stress; I'm unsure of the exact point.
If their Stress reaches 100, they Burn Out, being forced to go home for the Day. They'll be back at the start of the next Day, but any Goals they're involved with (have their face on the Goal or are required to talk with the Goal-maker) will be put on hold, unable to be worked on for the rest of the Day. Additionally, some Goals require that nobody Burn Out until they're completed, resetting their progress; thankfully, this only occurs with One Day Rush Goals, so their progress would be reset if the Day ended before completing them, anyway. Denise is a special case, though; if she Burns Out, the Day ends, and all progress on Goals is immediately reset to the start of the Day she Burnt Out on. If you're going for a 3-Star Rating, which requires you complete all Goals within a certain number of Days, you may as well reset your attempt if you let this happen.
Also, some of the Burn Out sprites are kinda hilarious.
Tasks and Work Mechanics
Tasks are the busywork that's constantly flooding into our office throughout the day. If they spend a certain length of time in the office without being worked on, they'll become Overdue; Employees need to work on them or Denise will become stressed (which eventually resets any progress we've made that day), but in return, we get some petty cash to spend on items, discussed later, for each Task we finish. The way Overdue Tasks affect Denise will be expanded upon in her writeup.
Tasks come in three different sizes: Small, Medium, and Large, according to the code, but I like referring to them by the number of bars on their little wi-fi meter graphic instead (2-Bar Task, 3-Bar Task, 4-Bar Task). Needless to say, the larger a Task is when it first arrives in the office, the longer it takes to complete and the more petty cash we earn from it. Simply put, and discussed in more detail in a moment, 2-Bar Tasks are 25 Work Units, 3-Bars are 35, and 4-Bars are 45.
- 2-Bar Tasks, aka Small Tasks; 25 Work Units, 10 Seconds until Overdue, earns $1 of petty cash
- 3-Bar Tasks, aka Medium Tasks; 35 Work Units, 15 Seconds until Overdue, earns $2 of petty cash
4-Bar Tasks, aka Large Tasks; 45 Work Units, 15 Seconds until Overdue, earns $3 of petty cash
For ease of calculation in an example, if an Employee had a Work Rate of 5 and a Moodifier of +2 for Financial Tasks and worked on a 2-Bar Task, since they'd take 5 Seconds to finish it (25 Work Units / 5 Work Rate = 5 Seconds), they'd gain 10 Stress (5 Seconds x 2 Moodifier = 10 Stress).
Though for the record, even though the above situation looks pretty good from a Stress perspective (and it is), the way Tasks make their way into the office, Task Bursts, makes completing them quickly more and more important as the game goes on. Essentially, each Day begins with one of the Task Bursts set for the Episode; each Task Burst spews out a certain number of Tasks (size and type frequencies are custom-made for each Episode, as well) and set a delay for the next Task Burst by a certain number of Seconds, often in a range so you're kept on your toes. An example Task Burst would be something like: "1-Task Burst, applies Delay of 5-8 Seconds." Needless to say, the quantity of Tasks that come in on each Burst and the frequency of the Bursts will increase as we progress. The amount of Tasks that come in later on becomes, quite frankly, terrifying.
As a reminder, the way items like Coffee and Training Manuals work directly impact an Employee's Work Rate; Coffee outright doubles it for 15 seconds, and Training Manuals boost the base Work Rate of their respective Task Type by 2 (Disclaimer: Work Rate gain on Task Types is also individual, 2 is just the most common by far). And yes, these stack properly, so an Employee with a base 7 Work Rate who gains 2 from a Manual, totaling 9 Work Rate, would have an effective 18 Work Rate while under the effects of Coffee. Coffee's goddamn insane. It's $3. Use it.
Oftentimes, Tasks will try to challenge you in Goals by either doing an insane amount of work on a specific Employee or playing against Type, so be wary of that and aware of the options available to you, especially since you'll have ample funding from the average Task Sizes by the time those challenges get serious to just go nuts with whichever items you want to strategize with. Even if you normally feel comfortable without them, you may need them eventually, so get some practice early on. It'll pay off in the long run when your back's to the wall during some of the game's endgame challenges!
Denise Writeup
Overdue Task Stress
Number of Overdue Tasks
Likes/Dislikes Summary
Denise is a unique case among the Employees; she can only gain Stress from Tasks being Overdue, and she can only reduce her Stress by having them worked on or going to the Water Cooler, but that won't help much unless those Overdue Tasks are already on someone's desk, waiting to be worked on. If I'm reading this one variable in the code correctly, she also has her Stress reduced by 2.5 when a formerly Overdue Task is completed. On another note, Denise can't use Donuts, but she does have her own Stress Reduction item eventually. It's... kinda bad, so I won't be discussing it here.
Denise also doesn't benefit from the global -1 Moodifier for not doing work; after all, she's always on the job, since her job literally amounts to being a gofer with authority. On the bright side, she has her own Moodifier of -3 whenever no Tasks are Overdue, which helps her calm down very quickly when the situation's under control (and is part of why her own Stress Reduction item is much worse than the Donut).
Denise rarely, if ever, has Goals of her own, but she makes it her mission to help others complete theirs, all while making sure the work gets done. You could say she's the source of the Morale Boost, if you wanted to inject some flavor into that.
Keep in mind that while Overdue Tasks stop scaling as hard when you get to 4+ Overdue, that also means it's more difficult to get Denise to stop gaining Stress as quickly until you dip below 3 Overdue Tasks in the office; while leaving 1 or 2 Overdue Tasks in the office can be a pretty valid strategy for a while, any more than that will cause the situation to quickly spiral out of control unless you act fast.
General Summary
Denise is always going to be great; she's the only one who can carry tasks, order Employees to move, and buy/distribute items to Employees and herself. She also has a special sort of item that helps her much, much better than her Stress Reduction item, and at a cheaper price, but that'll also be saved until it becomes available for the Items writeup; it's best seen rather than heard of.
I'm really not sure what else to say here. Denise will always be with you, she's the protagonist with the special power of lift paper stack like feather. There's no availability issues or issues working with other Employees since her Stress mechanics are outside of everyone's activities, so if anything, other Employees can be judged by how well they alleviate things for her, rather than the other way around.
Burn Out Sprite
Overdue Task Stress
Number of Overdue Tasks
- None Overdue: -3 Moodifier
- 1 Overdue: +1 Moodifier
- 2 Overdue: +2 Moodifier
- 3 Overdue: +3 Moodifier
- 4 Overdue: +3.5 Moodifier
- 5 Overdue: +4 Moodifier
- 6 Overdue: +4.25 Moodifier
- 7 Overdue: +4.5 Moodifier
Likes/Dislikes Summary
Denise is a unique case among the Employees; she can only gain Stress from Tasks being Overdue, and she can only reduce her Stress by having them worked on or going to the Water Cooler, but that won't help much unless those Overdue Tasks are already on someone's desk, waiting to be worked on. If I'm reading this one variable in the code correctly, she also has her Stress reduced by 2.5 when a formerly Overdue Task is completed. On another note, Denise can't use Donuts, but she does have her own Stress Reduction item eventually. It's... kinda bad, so I won't be discussing it here.
Denise also doesn't benefit from the global -1 Moodifier for not doing work; after all, she's always on the job, since her job literally amounts to being a gofer with authority. On the bright side, she has her own Moodifier of -3 whenever no Tasks are Overdue, which helps her calm down very quickly when the situation's under control (and is part of why her own Stress Reduction item is much worse than the Donut).
Denise rarely, if ever, has Goals of her own, but she makes it her mission to help others complete theirs, all while making sure the work gets done. You could say she's the source of the Morale Boost, if you wanted to inject some flavor into that.
Keep in mind that while Overdue Tasks stop scaling as hard when you get to 4+ Overdue, that also means it's more difficult to get Denise to stop gaining Stress as quickly until you dip below 3 Overdue Tasks in the office; while leaving 1 or 2 Overdue Tasks in the office can be a pretty valid strategy for a while, any more than that will cause the situation to quickly spiral out of control unless you act fast.
General Summary
Denise is always going to be great; she's the only one who can carry tasks, order Employees to move, and buy/distribute items to Employees and herself. She also has a special sort of item that helps her much, much better than her Stress Reduction item, and at a cheaper price, but that'll also be saved until it becomes available for the Items writeup; it's best seen rather than heard of.
I'm really not sure what else to say here. Denise will always be with you, she's the protagonist with the special power of lift paper stack like feather. There's no availability issues or issues working with other Employees since her Stress mechanics are outside of everyone's activities, so if anything, other Employees can be judged by how well they alleviate things for her, rather than the other way around.
Burn Out Sprite