What's the gameplay loop?

[MoistGamer]

Hey! Got the game, its pretty fun. I feel like I'm missing something though. I did a few jobs and didn't know what to do next. More jobs? Or do I buy houses and sell them. Should I save the cash for ________?

Its not that the game is broken for me, I guess I could keep doing jobs. Its just weird, you go into the house, you have the ability to do everything they ask, it completes and you invariably make more money than you put in (thats the point of business, yes) but I feel like I'm missing some sort of risk, or time crunch, or what? Should I just put the basic furniture in, or is there any incentive to putting more expensive furniture? If it ends in higher profit every single time, why not choose one or the other every single time?

I'm just kinda standing there in my starter house wondering if I should play this game regardless of how fun it is to fix stuff and make it look nice. Is there some meta loop I'm missing? Thanks!

[Smoelfen1978]

Just make the rooms what you think is fun. Some ppl make resturants, bars, saunas, hotels, even masterchef stuff. Almost unlimted potential.
Just do what you want to do.. the money will follow eventually but do what you think is fun :D
I have ALOT of fun coming up with themes for the houses i flip. My current office is my dreamhouse so that you could do aswell :D

[MizMeow1]

The jobs are mainly there to show you game mechanics and what is available in the store. If you purchase a DLC, then there are a few more jobs in each one of those that unlock new houses and show you new items in the store as well as introduce any new mechanics available. The biggest part of the game is to buy houses, flip them, and then sell them. Just so you are aware, the game requires you to buy, flip, and sell each house once. Initially, you can only purchase each house one time. Once, though, you have purchased, flipped, and sold every house in the game (and any DLCs that you own), then all of the houses become available to purchase as often as you'd like and can afford to purchase. The only house that you won't have to sell to meet that requirement is the house your office is located in (whatever that one might be).

The game is set up so that you can flip the houses however you want. No matter what you do to them, they will sell. You'll have to decide if you want to try and sell to particular buyers or just flip and sell it to whatever buyer gives you the best offer. Personally, I worked to sell to each buyer to get the achievements. Now, though, I totally ignore them since what they want is always the same and some of their likes/dislikes go against each other and makes no sense. For instance, one of the couples (I think it is), gives you a positive comment about loving flowers when you place them in the house, but at the same time, gives you a thumbs down when you do place them. It makes no sense. Some people chose to focus on the buyers, though, with all their sales. There is no right or wrong way to do this. It is whatever you prefer.

It does make a difference what you place in the house when it comes to profit. If you put expensive items in the cheap houses, you won't get much of a profit. Common sense and experience will help with this. However, it doesn't always work out. I put a lot of luxury items in one of the expensive luxury houses and only made a profit of $5,000+ once. On many of my other houses, though, profit is often $100,000-$300,000.

You are free to fix each house however you want. You can tear down all interior walls and just have a huge room if you want. You can put walls up everywhere to make as many rooms as you want. The same with paint and decorations. Whatever you do to the house, someone will buy it. Profit, though, will vary depending on what you do to the house.

If you are having trouble deciding what to do to a house, there are some videos out there with some very gorgeous and/or interesting looks by some very talented people. I'm not one of those people. I enjoy the look of my houses, but I'm a pretty basic gal. When I flip a house, I just think about what I'd want in a house and then, depending on my mood, decorate it as I see fit. Because of this, I tend to sell to the same 2-3 buyers. However, that is OK by me at this point in the game. The thing to remember is that once the jobs are done, there is no right or wrong way to flip a house. If you are lazy (or if you get stuck with a house that doesn't work well on your system for whatever reason), you can just get rid of the trash, clean it, and get rid of any furniture/items that are broken and sell the house as is. You won't get much of a profit, but the house will sell anyway.

As I said, once you have sold each house one time, they all become available to purchase again as often as you'd like. Because of this, the game is endless. I have about 1500 hours into at this point. Flipping is really about some common sense and using the right stuff in each house. Don't spend too much in the cheaper houses. I've found that the moderate priced items do well in most houses, but that is me. Others may not agree. I don't necessarily focus on what my profit will be when I'm flipping a house. I tend to focus on what I feel like doing to it depending on my mood that day. You can get some great ideas, though, from looking through videos or photos others have uploaded if you need some ideas. Most of those go far beyond my talents, though, but that is alright. I'm enjoying the game with my limited talent.

[MoistGamer]

Originally posted by Smoelfen1978:

Just make the rooms what you think is fun. Some ppl make resturants, bars, saunas, hotels, even masterchef stuff. Almost unlimted potential.
Just do what you want to do.. the money will follow eventually but do what you think is fun :D
I have ALOT of fun coming up with themes for the houses i flip. My current office is my dreamhouse so that you could do aswell :D

Interesting - so, no limitations on the job rooms. can make em what you want. Thanks!

[MoistGamer]

Originally posted by MizMeow1:

The jobs are mainly there to show you game mechanics and what is available in the store. If you purchase a DLC, then there are a few more jobs in each one of those that unlock new houses and show you new items in the store as well as introduce any new mechanics available. The biggest part of the game is to buy houses, flip them, and then sell them. Just so you are aware, the game requires you to buy, flip, and sell each house once. Initially, you can only purchase each house one time. Once, though, you have purchased, flipped, and sold every house in the game (and any DLCs that you own), then all of the houses become available to purchase as often as you'd like and can afford to purchase. The only house that you won't have to sell to meet that requirement is the house your office is located in (whatever that one might be).

The game is set up so that you can flip the houses however you want. No matter what you do to them, they will sell. You'll have to decide if you want to try and sell to particular buyers or just flip and sell it to whatever buyer gives you the best offer. Personally, I worked to sell to each buyer to get the achievements. Now, though, I totally ignore them since what they want is always the same and some of their likes/dislikes go against each other and makes no sense. For instance, one of the couples (I think it is), gives you a positive comment about loving flowers when you place them in the house, but at the same time, gives you a thumbs down when you do place them. It makes no sense. Some people chose to focus on the buyers, though, with all their sales. There is no right or wrong way to do this. It is whatever you prefer.

It does make a difference what you place in the house when it comes to profit. If you put expensive items in the cheap houses, you won't get much of a profit. Common sense and experience will help with this. However, it doesn't always work out. I put a lot of luxury items in one of the expensive luxury houses and only made a profit of $5,000+ once. On many of my other houses, though, profit is often $100,000-$300,000.

You are free to fix each house however you want. You can tear down all interior walls and just have a huge room if you want. You can put walls up everywhere to make as many rooms as you want. The same with paint and decorations. Whatever you do to the house, someone will buy it. Profit, though, will vary depending on what you do to the house.

If you are having trouble deciding what to do to a house, there are some videos out there with some very gorgeous and/or interesting looks by some very talented people. I'm not one of those people. I enjoy the look of my houses, but I'm a pretty basic gal. When I flip a house, I just think about what I'd want in a house and then, depending on my mood, decorate it as I see fit. Because of this, I tend to sell to the same 2-3 buyers. However, that is OK by me at this point in the game. The thing to remember is that once the jobs are done, there is no right or wrong way to flip a house. If you are lazy (or if you get stuck with a house that doesn't work well on your system for whatever reason), you can just get rid of the trash, clean it, and get rid of any furniture/items that are broken and sell the house as is. You won't get much of a profit, but the house will sell anyway.

As I said, once you have sold each house one time, they all become available to purchase again as often as you'd like. Because of this, the game is endless. I have about 1500 hours into at this point. Flipping is really about some common sense and using the right stuff in each house. Don't spend too much in the cheaper houses. I've found that the moderate priced items do well in most houses, but that is me. Others may not agree. I don't necessarily focus on what my profit will be when I'm flipping a house. I tend to focus on what I feel like doing to it depending on my mood that day. You can get some great ideas, though, from looking through videos or photos others have uploaded if you need some ideas. Most of those go far beyond my talents, though, but that is alright. I'm enjoying the game with my limited talent. :csd2smile:

This was a really helpful reply, addresses almost all of my thoughts and questions. So - for example, the starter house, the tiny one. Youre saying dont go too nuts (not that you can with such little room) because it will only sell for so much anyway. So for example, why bother upgrading the bed?

This is great though, I thought it was mostly about the jobs but it seems its about using jobs for cash/learning, and turning the houses over.

[MizMeow1]

Originally posted by MoistGamer:

Originally posted by MizMeow1:

The jobs are mainly there to show you game mechanics and what is available in the store. If you purchase a DLC, then there are a few more jobs in each one of those that unlock new houses and show you new items in the store as well as introduce any new mechanics available. The biggest part of the game is to buy houses, flip them, and then sell them. Just so you are aware, the game requires you to buy, flip, and sell each house once. Initially, you can only purchase each house one time. Once, though, you have purchased, flipped, and sold every house in the game (and any DLCs that you own), then all of the houses become available to purchase as often as you'd like and can afford to purchase. The only house that you won't have to sell to meet that requirement is the house your office is located in (whatever that one might be).

The game is set up so that you can flip the houses however you want. No matter what you do to them, they will sell. You'll have to decide if you want to try and sell to particular buyers or just flip and sell it to whatever buyer gives you the best offer. Personally, I worked to sell to each buyer to get the achievements. Now, though, I totally ignore them since what they want is always the same and some of their likes/dislikes go against each other and makes no sense. For instance, one of the couples (I think it is), gives you a positive comment about loving flowers when you place them in the house, but at the same time, gives you a thumbs down when you do place them. It makes no sense. Some people chose to focus on the buyers, though, with all their sales. There is no right or wrong way to do this. It is whatever you prefer.

It does make a difference what you place in the house when it comes to profit. If you put expensive items in the cheap houses, you won't get much of a profit. Common sense and experience will help with this. However, it doesn't always work out. I put a lot of luxury items in one of the expensive luxury houses and only made a profit of $5,000+ once. On many of my other houses, though, profit is often $100,000-$300,000.

You are free to fix each house however you want. You can tear down all interior walls and just have a huge room if you want. You can put walls up everywhere to make as many rooms as you want. The same with paint and decorations. Whatever you do to the house, someone will buy it. Profit, though, will vary depending on what you do to the house.

If you are having trouble deciding what to do to a house, there are some videos out there with some very gorgeous and/or interesting looks by some very talented people. I'm not one of those people. I enjoy the look of my houses, but I'm a pretty basic gal. When I flip a house, I just think about what I'd want in a house and then, depending on my mood, decorate it as I see fit. Because of this, I tend to sell to the same 2-3 buyers. However, that is OK by me at this point in the game. The thing to remember is that once the jobs are done, there is no right or wrong way to flip a house. If you are lazy (or if you get stuck with a house that doesn't work well on your system for whatever reason), you can just get rid of the trash, clean it, and get rid of any furniture/items that are broken and sell the house as is. You won't get much of a profit, but the house will sell anyway.

As I said, once you have sold each house one time, they all become available to purchase again as often as you'd like. Because of this, the game is endless. I have about 1500 hours into at this point. Flipping is really about some common sense and using the right stuff in each house. Don't spend too much in the cheaper houses. I've found that the moderate priced items do well in most houses, but that is me. Others may not agree. I don't necessarily focus on what my profit will be when I'm flipping a house. I tend to focus on what I feel like doing to it depending on my mood that day. You can get some great ideas, though, from looking through videos or photos others have uploaded if you need some ideas. Most of those go far beyond my talents, though, but that is alright. I'm enjoying the game with my limited talent.

This was a really helpful reply, addresses almost all of my thoughts and questions. So - for example, the starter house, the tiny one. Youre saying dont go too nuts (not that you can with such little room) because it will only sell for so much anyway. So for example, why bother upgrading the bed?

This is great though, I thought it was mostly about the jobs but it seems its about using jobs for cash/learning, and turning the houses over.

The jobs, I'd say, are mostly for showing you what's in the game and how to work the game. You do earn a bit of money doing them, but they aren't your main source of income. They can come in handy (money wise) if you find that you are running low on money. However, if you don't go crazy on flipping (especially on the first houses), you'll earn more money flipping than doing a job. I don't think I've ever had to go back and do a job just to earn a bit of money. However, it's been quite awhile since I was at the beginning of the game, so it is possible that I did do that at that point.

You can certainly upgrade your initial office. In fact, if you plan on selling it, I'd recommend upgrading it. You can most certainly purchase a better bed for it. However, don't go buying the most expensive one. Just replacing a bed can help with the profit. For that house, I'd probably go for a better bed. Right now, I'm using that house as my office. I've upgraded most everything in it. However, I've made it into just an office with a small bathroom. There's no bedroom or kitchen. I've changed the windows so that they are larger and more of them. My plan, at the moment, is to move my office to one of the Pet DLC houses once I finish selling each of them once. I'll be able to sell this first tiny house, though, as it is. You don't have to make a house a house if you don't want to. In fact, some of the "houses" look to be better set up for other things.....such as an office building or a hotel. With the help of some Workshop items, I made one house into a small coffee shop. So, yes, I'd recommend upgrading your tiny office. Just don't go crazy with it. Upgrading it will help with profit. You've got to keep in mind about where the house is located. That first tiny office is as cheap as they come, so you wouldn't find it in an expensive neighborhood. Because of that, you don't want to put a $1,000 bed into it because the people looking to buy a house in the neighborhood where it would be located couldn't afford it (or wouldn't want to spend that kind of money). Whereas, if you have a house in an expensive neighborhood, the buyer's are not going to want the cheapest furniture in the house. If you put the expensive stuff in a cheap house, you won't get a good profit. The same thing goes for the cheapest stuff in an expensive house. Fortunately, none of the houses are that expensive at the begging, so you can play around a bit to start to get a feel as to what works where.

Remember, too, that you won't always get a great profit on every house. A few weeks ago, I had a house on auction. One of the buyers came in and was going to purchase it with a $250,000+ profit. Just as I was getting ready to accept the sale, the game crashed. When I reloaded it, it came right back to where I left off....at the end of the auction. However, the "profit" had changed. It was now a $5,000+ loss. I wasn't happy, but, at that point, I just wanted the house gone, so I sold it at a loss. I had plenty of money, so it wasn't going to harm me in that way. Now, this isn't likely to happen to you, but it does show that you may not always get a good profit even if you do things "right." Generally, though, upgrading items in a house will help with a profit. Again, just use some common sense.

[tatiana]

I know that your question has already been answered, but I have some things to add to what the others have said (entirely correctly btw):

Even though it is possible to make a "non-residential" property, like Smoelfen said, (in Browser houses, not in the email orders), it is hard to make a profit on it, unless you follow what I call "the key rooms" rule:

The 4 key rooms are - kitchen, living room, one bedroom and one bathroom. Without those, the buyers would complain a lot, and not pay you much. The bathroom only requires a toilet and sink; bedroom needs a bed, but some chaise-longue type sofas are tagged as beds; living room needs a sofa and a coffee table. There's a Room Requirements guide on Steam you can check. As long as you have 4 rooms in your commercial property tagged as these, the buyers will be fooled into thinking they are homes and pay you full price.

You have asked "Why bother upgrading the bed?", but there is a point in that. Judging by my experience, there seems to be a hidden algorithm controlling the sale price. If you don't change worn out furniture, or furnish rooms using only the minimum requirements for specific tags, you wouldn't get much profit.

When renovating a property, I always look up the worn piece of furniture in the tablet store, to see how much it costs when "new", then replace it with an item similar in price. The finishes and furnishings that look bright and new, don't need replacing at all.

You can increase the sale price by increasing the number of rooms in the property - converting attics and basements into bedrooms and bathrooms, using the upper half-walls to separate a large room into smaller ones. You should Never reduce the number of rooms in the property. However "living room with kitchenette" counts as 2 rooms, so you can join the living room with a kitchen. A "multifunction room" also counts as 2, (bedroom and kitchen)