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Shop Progression

The player's shop begins as a single, fully dressed bodega unit — visually appealing from the start despite its modest footprint. Its hybrid Normcore + Cyberpunk style blends warmth (soft blues, fog, lived-in clutter) with a sci-fi edge (neon pops, layered signage). From this base, the shop expands both physically and socially through deliberate stocking choices, evolving relationships, and the acquisition of adjacent spaces along the station corridor.

Starting State

  • Compact, one-unit shop directly connected to the Office/Front Desk.
  • Fully decorated with stocked shelves, displays, and personal touches that look authentic and lived-in.
  • Soft ambient lighting, atmospheric fog/god rays, and a slightly cluttered coziness set the tone.
  • Stock is minimal — mostly basics that attract locals and casual travelers.
  • All sales run through self-checkout; in-person approaches are always narrative-driven (conversations, questions, confrontations).

Player Choice and Stock Signals

From the first day, the shop’s identity — and customer base — is shaped by what the player chooses to sell:

  • Everyday staples bring steady, low-engagement traffic.
  • Specialized, rare, or unusual goods attract more distinctive personalities who may have deeper stories.
  • These stocking choices alter the “signal” broadcast into the station community, determining who walks in and why.

Solicitors

Some regulars and notable customers act as Solicitors, offering to place their goods for sale in your shop:

  • Solicitor products are unique and unavailable from standard suppliers.
  • Each carries its own “signal tags” that can attract new types of customers.
  • Accepting their goods subtly shifts the shop’s character and the stories that arrive with it.
  • These opportunities emerge naturally from the evolving clientele — no gated “license” systems required.

Remote Opportunities — Reseller Network

As the shop’s reputation grows, the player begins receiving communication network offers (via Station Comms, PDA, or similar):

  • Traders from outside the immediate area seek a trusted reseller.
  • These offers are not tied to Patrons and are purely commercial — direct, transactional opportunities.
  • They can provide limited-run niche goods or establish ongoing supply lines.
  • This expands product variety without requiring new face-to-face characters or complex asset creation.

Physical Expansion — From Bodega to Full Row

  • The shop is part of a linear row of adjacent retail slots along a station corridor.
  • Expansion means acquiring neighboring units — extending your footprint in one direction.
  • Slots unlock over time:
    • Some via straightforward purchase or leasing.
    • Others through light “mini-drama” narrative beats with current tenants or station officials.
  • Each acquisition:
    • Extends usable floorspace.
    • Allows for more displays and customer movement.
    • Can be decorated and stocked immediately or left as flavor space.

Stages & Visual Payoffs

Growth happens in gradual, atmospheric steps.
Each stage offers a tangible visual and audio reward while increasing the shop’s presence and connection to the station environment.

Stage 1 — Lived-In Bodega

  • One-unit shop; warm and atmospheric from day one.
  • Customer base: locals and casual travelers.
  • Limited stock variety; interactions primarily conversational.

Stage 2 — Growing Stretch

  • Acquire 1–2 adjacent slots through purchase/narrative beats.
  • Shop begins to feel spacious, with customers moving between sections.
  • Early Visual Upgrade: Hallway-facing frontage long enough for glass display cases to showcase goods to foot traffic.
  • Ambient audio includes light station concourse chatter.
  • First solicitors and remote reseller offers begin adding specialty stock.

Stage 3 — Expanding Reach

  • Several slots under control; significant presence in the corridor.
  • Continuous glass frontage along hallway-facing sections.
  • Hull-side walls gain reinforced framing or small viewports, foreshadowing future vista installation.
  • Atmosphere grows denser — more displays, more varied customers, deeper audio layering mixing concourse chatter with distant port sounds.

Stage 4 — Full Row / Vista Reveal

  • All corridor slots owned; uninterrupted hull wall finally large enough for a vista window installation.
  • Late Visual Upgrade: Large exterior windows reveal ships docking and launching — adding motion, dynamic light, and ambient port audio (docking clamps, muffled thrusters, deep engine hums).
  • Customer mix is at its peak diversity, fully reflecting the player’s stocking choices over time.

Design Goals

  • Keep scope small-team friendly: one base scene using asset swaps/set dressing to convey growth.
  • All progression — physical, social, and economic — flows directly from player-controlled stock signals.
  • Use remote opportunities to expand variety without extra NPC complexity.
  • Give each expansion stage a clear narrative or visual payoff so progress feels alive and earned.
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