Systems

This section details the underlying systems that drive gameplay, narrative, and player interaction in the shopkeeper simulation. It covers how quests, sales flows, and shop management tools interconnect to create a living, responsive station environment. Players guide the movement of stock from ordering to display, oversee customer interactions, and maintain reputation through both automated and hands-on management, while the quest system provides flexible narrative beats that ripple across the station. Supporting tools — including the Shop Terminal and personal PDA/Sideband — give players the means to track official operations, private observations, and ongoing story threads, ensuring that every decision, conversation, and display choice has meaningful impact within a cohesive, immersive system.

Quests

Quests are the engine that drive all narrative and timed events on the station — from long‑form Patron arcs to small incidents like shipment delays or a visiting celebrity. They are structured as staged timelines, but instead of rigid “missions,” they are flexible story controllers that can touch many different parts of the station’s life.

How Quests Work

Scope of a Quest

A quest can be:

What Quests Affect

Quests never “hard‑wire” themselves into other systems — instead:

Example Flow

  1. Quest: Docking Delay Mystery
    Stage 10: “Announcement Made”
  2. The Quest System moves to Stage 10 after necessary conditions are met (time of day, certain Patron visit, rumor overheard)
  3. Stage 10 Script runs:
    • Tells Station Announcements to broadcast a delay notice
    • Updates the Docking Registry with new arrival time
    • Leaves a note in the Story Ledger
    • Adds “Ore Sample” to shop storage as a gift from a prospector, or enables ordering it from suppliers going forward
  4. Station Systems and shop life change naturally as a result — quieter foot traffic, certain customers commenting — without the Quest System directly running them.

For Artists and Narrative

Design Goals

Sales Flow

The complete gameplay loop follows the journey of every product, from the moment you place an order to when it finally finds its way into a customer’s hands. It begins with selecting and purchasing stock, which is delivered to your back‑room storage. From there, you choose what to move onto your shop’s displays, arranging shelves and fixtures to meet the needs of whoever is likely to dock at the station next. Once items are on display, customers browse, select what they need, and complete their purchases, directly impacting your revenue and reputation.

Each step of this process is designed to work together seamlessly, creating a sense of immersion without bogging the game down with unnecessary complexity or technical strain. By carefully managing ordering, storage, display layout, and stock availability, you not only keep your shop running smoothly but also help shape the rhythm of daily life on the station.

Storage Inventory

Holds all owned stock not currently on display. Tracked as a logical list and visually represented in the back stock room using token props.

Displays & Display Inventories

Each shop display fixture has its own inventory list, separate from storage. Visuals change to match items assigned to that display.

Ordering & Restocking

Players replenish storage by placing orders via the terminal’s Shipment Management tool.

Customer Purchases

The point where inventory moves from display to a customer and generates revenue — and where customer satisfaction is determined.

Shop Terminal

The shop’s fixed workstation sits behind your counter, directly connected to the station’s public and commercial networks. It serves as the official face of your business — persistent, closely monitored, and fully accessible to station administration. From here, you oversee the day‑to‑day operations of the shop: tracking arriving ships, stocking for their needs, responding to official requests, and maintaining your public reputation. The terminal’s design is strictly structured and entirely transactional, with every action you take recorded as part of the permanent station log.

Docking Registry

Provides a live manifest of ships currently docked or scheduled to arrive. Displays key details to help you anticipate the type of customers and goods they may be seeking.

Station Bulletin Board

A community and news feed for the station, containing information and opportunities that can affect customer traffic or demand.

Shipment Management

Tracks the status of your ordered stock and special deliveries, helping you plan your store’s displays and respond to supply issues.

Secure Comms

A channel for official communication with key characters who cannot visit in person. Mostly used for business matters and station‑recorded correspondence.

Customer Reviews

A station‑maintained record of customer feedback specific to your shop. These reviews form part of your ongoing business profile and are viewable only through your own business tools — they are not part of a wider public directory of other shops.

Personal PDA

A pocket‑sized personal device connected to the wider station network but insulated from the shop’s official systems. It’s the private half of your life — unmonitored, informal, and shaped by curiosity rather than business need. Sideband stores your own notes, personal conversations, rumors, and details that never make it into the station’s official logs. If the Station Intranet is your desk at work, Sideband is the well‑worn notebook you carry everywhere — messy, human, and yours alone.

Story Ledger

Keeps a record of ongoing stories, gossip, and personal observations, separate from the official station record. Entries show what you’ve heard, not confirmed facts.

Private Messages

An off‑the‑record communication channel for friends, trusted customers, and contacts. These are the things people won’t send through official Secure Comms.