The developer's recommended first start: food and household stock, a Storage Bay and no machine to keep running.
Apprentice kit → Week one
Beginner Guide to Your First Week
Your first week decides whether the shop survives its first rent bill. The short version: start as Apprentice on Price Gouge, buy cheap and in bulk, sell to customers who ask for what you stock, scavenge at night for salvage, and keep cash back for rent on day 7. Below is each day of that week, then the traps that end runs early.
Day 7first rent bill, then every 7 days
5searches per Dumping Grounds trip
Day 6Dr. Jackson brings a Furnace
Day 24permit warning if you have none
Before the shutter opens
Perk slots open from your second run. When they do, leave the three perks that add their own losing ending for later.
Starting perks →A 20% markup on every sale, rent rising 2% at a time, a 500-Credit Business Permit and one forgiven rent payment.
Compare difficulties →Day by day
Walk-in customers are random, so your queue will differ. The visits below are the scripted ones that teach each system.
Open the shutter
- Open the shutter, then press the green button beside the recorder to call each customer in turn.
- The Mentor comes first, with notes on trading and on food, the most traded commodity on the station.
- Before you sell, open the tablet: the Interests section of the receipt lists what that customer is looking for.
- A Security officer leaves a wanted list. Press the counter button if anyone on it walks in.
- Close up, sleep in the sleeping bag and pay 5 Credits for the night's power.
Buy wholesale, scavenge at night
- The Mentor's handbook arrives with a note on wholesale: buying a seller's whole lot comes with a discount.
- He also brings a bag and bandages, which open night trips to the Dumping Grounds.
- Each trip costs you one customer the next day, and a bad search can injure you for days, so read the odds before each search.
Spot the fakes
- The Mentor brings the Hemingway cigarette guide and a magnifying glass: check the logo, the seal and the colour of every pack.
- Point out any flaw to the seller and the asking price drops.
- A wanted criminal may offer to put in a good word with a faction if you stay quiet; weigh that against the bounty.
Relabel and insure
- A labeler arrives with a note: relabel the counterfeit packs and they pass as genuine. Using it unlocks Lower Levels Special.
- Sell relabelled goods to tourists and Upper Levels customers, never to Lower Levels citizens or Security.
- Joe Wild visits for the first time and offers a nightly insurance service against theft.
Dress the window
- The Mentor introduces the display case. What you display and advertise on the neon sign decides which kind of customer comes to the door.
- Both also raise store attractiveness, which sets how many customers visit each day.
Barter and the Furnace
- New notes cover barter, where customers swap goods instead of paying, and store upgrades.
- Dr. Jackson arrives with a Furnace: an Energy Cell and two Scrap Metal or Metal Ore make one Metal Ingot overnight.
- Two ore give a high-purity ingot worth 25% more; two scrap give a low-purity one worth 15% less.
Wild's Network and rent day
- Dr. Jackson returns with Furnace modules, and Joe Wild opens his Network of upgrades, paid in Credits and Wild's Favor.
- Favor comes from Lower Levels reputation or from paying for his nightly protection; store upgrades such as Showcase Expansion I are the safest first buys.
- The Mentor explains events: when a supply is high, its price drops the next day. A premium seller now calls every week.
- Pay the rent and the first week is done.
Rent pressure
- Rent is collected every 7 days and goes up over time however well the week went.
- Falling behind lowers store attractiveness, so fewer customers come and the gap widens. Plan purchases so one unsold item cannot sink you.
- On Price Gouge and Mark Up the Landlord forgives one refused payment and adds it to the next bill. Refuse again and you are evicted.
- With no Business Permit by day 24 the Mentor warns you; permits go on sale two weeks later and enforcement follows a week after that.
Rent and permit by difficulty
| Setting | Rent rise | Permit (Credits) | Rent grace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Gouge | 2% | 500 | 1 |
| Mark Up | 5% | 1,500 | 1 |
| Thin Margins | 10% | 2,000 | None |
| Red Ink | Not listed | 3,000 | None |
Money beyond the counter
Scavenging
Night trips to the Dumping Grounds bring back salvage to sell. A normal shopkeeper gets 5 searches per visit.
Appraisal commissions
Customers pay you to assess their items. The Appraisal Board takes members from day 8 for 85 Credits on Mark Up.
Smelting
Scrap from the Dumping Grounds and from scrap sellers turns into Metal Ingots in the Furnace overnight.
Tips and tickets
Some people sell information about upcoming price changes, and a scratcher ticket can land a jackpot.
Mistakes that end first runs
Paying before inspecting
Suppliers overstate value and fakes are common. Appraise anything expensive first, because a misjudged item is your loss.
Flaunting contraband
Serious contraband or stolen goods in the display case trigger a surprise inspection, and passing an inspection after displaying contraband earns no Security reputation.
Leaving the shop unprotected
Thieves strike after closing and contraband makes you a bigger target. Wild's insurance and a security alarm service exist for exactly this.
Standing still
Rent only rises, so income has to keep growing. Add a trade or an upgrade before the bills catch up with you.
Shooting the wrong customer
Augs look like everyone else until they slip: an aug chip, odd pupils, unnatural stillness or robotic phrasing. Check before you draw.
Official announcement trailer
Watch tinyBuild's announcement trailer for Probably Stolen before your first run.