In game bars / taverns

[Kill3rkrok]

HI all,

This post will outline my experiences running in-game bars/taverns and how I think the server could improve the way it handles them.  I readily welcome any questions and/or feedback on this thread and look forward to hearing from people.

 

This is the second server I have played on, and as many people can attest both on the previous server and this server, I very much enjoy the RP that comes with opening a bar and I ensure that any bar I run is open regularly. A bar provides a great place to both RP with friend’s as well as meet new people that can open up RP opportunity and character development.

 

Opening Times

On servers, I have found that it is less about the time at which you open the bar, And more about the amount of players on the server. This is unfortunately because people can’t always be on during the night cycle of the server, therefore, are likely to go to bars that open during their playtime. I have found that around 10 – 15% of the players on the server will eventually show up and a bar can very quickly get full and become a hub for the RP on the server.

 

Something that many people get annoyed with is that the bar is shutting when they come. This is unfortunate and can be frustrating, However, in the past people have criticised me because “ The bar has only been open a few hours. “ While in the real world this is very unrealistic and a bar would most likely be open for 5 – 8 hours, on an OOC level, spending two hours of your time RPing, in my opinion, is a very good amount of time.

 

Employing people

Obviously, a bar can be run by one person standing behind a bar. However, there are a lot of opportunities to employ people. For example, at The Drunken Fool, I employ a barmaid. This does two things, it allows me to focus on my RP and talking to people if I need to. As well as providing someone with RP that actually pays them.

 

In terms of pay, I find that it is best to ensure that you strike a balance between being an RP amount of cash for the money you’re bringing in, as well as being a large enough amount to make it worth doing for the player who will be RPing the bartender. Currently, I have found a good amount is $1500 per opening plus the money they make from selling drinks. This means that the bartender is taking away around 2 – 3K an opening.

 

The drinks!

When running a bar it is very tempting to say that you serve every type of drink that a customer asks for, however, I have found that not having a drink available has the opportunity to lead to some RP situations. Two examples of this are, when the bar I ran on my previous server didn’t have a coffee machine, so I was able to make RP of going to buy one. Or on this server where there is a specific faction that is brewing moonshine and beer, and I am able to RP with them about stocking the bar.

 

 

The people

When running bars I have found there are a few different types of people who come into the bar. Now please bear in mind that both the bars I have run have a large presence of bikers due to me being a member of Devils Orphans MC.

 

The Friend is a player who has ties with either the faction running the bar or the person running the bar; they will usually come in and talk to generally RP with you. This can range from taking important stuff the generic everyday life RP. These people can be useful in situations in which you need someone to help you, whether it be tending the bar, or looking after the place while you nip out to the bank to get some cash.

 

The Faction running the bar, these are people who will be there most opening if they can and will ensure that the place is run right, they are your eyes and ears in the place and are useful when it comes to security.

 

The RPer is a person who comes to the bar looking to meet people, whether it be for personal, or business reasons. I have found that running a bar is a very good way to introduce people to your faction. A lot of the new members we gain in our faction met us through talking to us at the bar; in fact, even I joined this faction through meeting people at a bar and getting talking to them. 

 

Be wary that some of these people may be fairly new on the server and may need to be shown the ropes a little however, these are the main people in the bar and provide you with the most RP.

 

The Officer is a police officer who will come into the bar, most likely after a shift in either civvies or uniform. BEFRIEND THESE PEOPLE! They can come in very handy when it comes to the next section.

 

The last and most unfortunate section are the Trolls. It’s an unfortunate reality that people do join servers just to cause mayhem and try to ruin other people’s experiences. This is done by either making fun of people, shouting things or just straight up starting fights. However, there are ways to deal with them. A good way for a small business is to befriend theOfficers; they will be able to help out if a fight does start. Another way is to have a large presence which will discourage trolls.

 

Ways to improve:

Personally, I believe that there are only three things that could be improved upon, these are as follows:

 

The payment system for a business could be improved upon by implementing a way to pay the business rather than the person behind the bar, this could be done by adding a command that pays the buildings cash box or a separate cash register system could be implemented. This would make opening bars more profitable and encourage roleplay.

 

The vehicle bug needs to be fixed, currently, if a car is not /VPARK’ed outside of a business it is likely to spawn within the business killing people. This needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

 

The last thing is the /cad command. In my opinion, it costs too much. I am happy for the /ad command to be left at $500, however, I think that a company advert should cost less. Maybe $100.  This is due to the company most likely throwing up multiple advertisements in a short period of time.

 

For example, on an average opening, it will cost me$3500 to open. This is split into $1500 for staff and $2000 for adverts. Sounds like a lot of adverts but when you realize this will only provide me with four adverts it shows how expensive opening a bar can be. If I were to open the bar every day (Which I aim to do) it would cost me $14000 in adverts alone. This, in my opinion, discourages people from opening business due to how much they cost to open.

 

I understand the argument for discouraging people from using the /cad command for non-business advertisements, However, this could be easily vetted by admins and issuing kicks, Or bans for repeat offenders.

So there it is My thoughts and experiences of running a bar. As I said previously I strongly encourage and look forward to any feedback or questions that the community may have. This community is amazing and only getting stronger.

 

Live long and prosper young padawan!

-          Sam King

Edited November 8, 2017 by Kill3rkrok
Grammer