Gas Station Simulator News

Managing your Gas Station can on occasion be exhausting. Sometimes there is just so much to do, that you’ll need help with these things. However, when you run a business, this is to be expected.

In the previous DevLog we shared and explained Employees. But of course, that is not all you can expect. There are a lot more things you need to pay attention to and take care of, because rebuilding your Gas Station is just as important as managing it. This time we will dig deeper into the management features the game has to offer.


[h2]YOUR BEST FRIEND[/h2]


Your best friend and the most useful item will be your computer located inside your Gas Station. Maybe it is not connected to the internet or the fastest piece of hardware out there, but it can still do miracles. Through this device you will be able to see and manage all the elements of your Gas Station. For example, maintaining fuel supplies, which means that you will be able to see how much fuel you have, how much you need to order and then do so.

Resupplying is only one area your computer will be crucial. Purchasing tools, ordering a garbage truck or insights into stats also happen on the computer. You will also be able to purchase decorations here and extend the area of your Gas Station with additional parking spaces or even purchase a bus station that will help you attract even more customers.


[h2]FUEL RESUPPLY[/h2]


As we briefly mentioned above, you will need to look out for your fuel supply, after all, you are running a Gas Station! People will come and leave and some of them will purchase fuel - and if you don’t have enough, well… that is never good! On your PC you can see how much fuel you have and how much you should buy. But keep in mind that it will take some time until the fuel truck arrives, so plan accordingly and ahead of time to make sure that you don’t end up without any fuel. Also, bear in mind that the prices can change and one day the price per gallon can be cheaper than the other day, or the other way around!


[h2]PRODUCT RESUPPLY[/h2]


Since you are not only running a Gas Station, but among other things also a Shop, product resupply is important. People will come wanting to purchase some refreshments or snacks for their journey. You will need to equip your Gas Station with shelves, freezers and stands for such products and then order these products to fill the shelves. Here you face a similar situation as with fuel: once you order, it will take some time until the supplies arrive. Additionally, once the delivery arrives, you’ll need to go to your Warehouse and unpack all the products. And the snacks or refreshments mentioned are just an example. There are a lot of other products you can sell in your Shop, not to mention all sorts of parts for the Workshop.

Time management is crucial here, as you cannot leave the Gas Station with customers waiting, so plan your chores accordingly, or hire someone who can give you a hand with these tasks. Nonetheless, don’t forget to pay attention as you don’t want someone to wander into your Warehouse who isn’t supposed to be there. Keep the door locked!


[h2]DECORATIONS[/h2]


As you could see in Early Days, the free prologue to the game, you can decorate your Gas Station as you please. There is plenty to choose from and you can of course purchase anything, as long as you have money for it. Decorate the front of your Gas Station and its surroundings, or decorate the inside of the Gas Station. Decorations not only make your Gas Station look good, they are also useful to attract more customers.
The amount of decorations in the full game will increase significantly compared to what you might have seen in the prologue so there is a lot to look forward to in this area.


[h2]UPGRADING YOUR BUSINESS
[/h2]


Hopefully, you didn’t think that you will be stuck inside the same looking Gas Station forever. After you earn some money, you can expand your business by adding additional facilities and services. Starting with smaller things like Toilets to larger ones like a Workshop to repair cars or a Warehouse! Each one of these can be further upgraded and thus offer more benefits. You can also upgrade the Gas Station itself which will allow for more space for shelves, customers, additional fuel pumps outside and more room for decorations. There are multiple levels of upgrades you can explore and we cannot wait until you see them on your own!


[h2]COMPUTER EMAILS[/h2]


To wrap up this DevLog, we have a small reminder. The Computer has emails with tips and tutorials on how some of the game mechanics work which can prove very helpful to some players. Apart from that, it offers some insight to the story of the game as well. If you are struggling with your business and don’t have enough funds for decorations, upgrades or resources, you can take a loan on your PC too, which can significantly help you out of this issue. There are also plenty of other things we didn’t mention in this DevLog when it comes to the management portion of the game, but we want you to discover those things on your own.

Maintaining a gas station in the middle of the desert can be exhausting, both physically and mentally. That is especially the case when your station boasts a Garage, a Warehouse and a Store as well, all of which you have to maintain and man entirely by yourself. You can't be in multiple places at the same time, as much as you'd want to, and sometimes you just need to take a moment to unwind. Those are the exact reasons Gas Station Simulator will boast a full Employee suite feature. As the name says - you are a business owner, and it is your right to hire people to do manual labour under your supervision (or not). Let's dive into the feature a little bit deeper and explain the specifics, shall we?


[h2]HIRING PROCESS
[/h2]

Employees won't just come on their own - you will need to invest time, effort and some money to make the business appealing to a potential workforce. Same as in real life, you will need to vet your list of potential workers. Select only those who are affordable and will help you do exactly what you need to do. Every employee has their own factors to consider, and the list on their resume is pretty big, so pay attention to exactly what you want said employee to achieve. The longer you are in the business, and of course the more sophisticated your gas station is, the better the candidates will come knocking at your door.


[h2]EMPLOYEE’S STATISTICS[/h2]

Each employee boasts unique statistics. Not everyone is predestined to man the cash register, or to handle the tricky workings of car engines in the garage. As mentioned before, you will have the ability to glance at all of your potential recruit's skills on their resume. In addition, once the deal is done and they begin their work, you will have to be careful. Everyone gets tired working the whole day, especially when your work is in the desert. Set reasonable work hours, don't put too much overtime unless necessary, pay your employees accordingly. With time, their skills will change, so pay attention to their progress and make your own decision if said employee is performing up to par of your expectations.



[h2]JUNIORS VS SENIORS
[/h2]

First days at any business are the worst, and much is the same for a gas station in the middle of a sun-blasted desert. Every fresh hire will struggle, some more and some less. You will have to bare these growing pains if you want to train a truly elite cadre of employees. Be prepared for more than a few bumps on that road to greatness. Even if an employee makes mistakes, fails at some of their tasks or requires a little more time off than you'd expect, consider being lenient with newbies. They will get used to the work pretty quickly, and in some time you will have your own elite senior staff at your beck and call. Just give them the chance to level their skillsets and you might be surprised how well they will perform in the end.


[h2]PAYDAY
[/h2]

The longer your employee works for you, the better they get. Patience is a virtue, but time is money, and for you the latter saying is a bit more literal. As your employees' skills increase, so do the expectations of their salary. Ultimately, this is but another decision for you to consider - increase the salary to match their expectations, or maybe throw in a little extra as encouragement? Budget too low? Consider hiring someone cheaper - maybe the work won't be as effective, but you're trying to meet metrics here, and not be a magnanimous saint of some sort. To help your decisions, you will be provided a detailed summary of your employees' statistics to monitor their performance.


[h2]EMPLOYEES’ ACCOMMODATION
[/h2]

Usually a drive to work can take about an hour tops. It's a little different when the nearest town is half a day's drive away. Your employees must live close, very close indeed. In other words, their on-station accommodations are also something for you to consider. This also comes right out of your own pocket. At the beginning, there won't be many responsibilities for you to cover, nor much space to house the people working on site. However, as you expand your gas station, so will you expand your avenues of revenue, and thus responsibilities, and thus space. It all becomes a balancing game, ever more complex as your business prospers more and more.


[h2]BRINGERS OF STRESS[/h2]

We all know the type. You misplace something, you check a product twice, or forget something from the order. Suddenly, the person looks you in the eye and in but an instant all hell breaks loose. Your employees will face similar challenges, and all of them will only serve to make them more and more stressed. And a stressed employee does little work effectively, thus leading to a spiral effect. Break them out of it with time off, or an extra payment. They deserve it, and you deserve a happy and efficient workforce in return!


In the end, it is your decision whether you wish to brave the wave of ever-increasing challenges alone or hire a cadre of workers to help with every little thing on the station. Employees offer a lot of possibilities, and as complex of a system as they might be, a great many opportunity hide within. We haven't mentioned all the secrets and complexities here to keep some surprises for the actual release, but bear in mind that there is a lot more to work with employees and you should truly act like a proper business owner when the time comes. Until next time!

We do have another broadcast coming up. In the past we took a rather serious approach to it trying to showcase much of the game and provide some insights into what’s there and what is still coming.

This time around, our social media guy Karol tries a different approach. Left to his own devices, without a script and no clear goal… No, no, it gets worse… :P

All those who had the opportunity to play Early Days, the prologue to Gas Station Simulator probably met a little guy named Dennis...

The amount of venom poured out on this defenceless young man, who only wanted to share his passion for art on the walls of your gas station, exceeded any expectations, and at the same time provided lots of memorable moments.
Thanks to the wonderful voice actress Yenni Ann, who voiced Dennis and a few other characters in our game, we can share with you some of our favorite player comments about Dennis.

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Would you like to share your comments about Dennis with us? Tag Gas Station Simulator in your posts on social media with the hashtag #MEANDENNIS

Join us over the weekend as we play the prologue to Gas Station Simulator. We will try to cover all the interesting topics and address some of the feedback we received. While we will be streaming the prologue, a lot of the information applies also to the full game, as the prologue closely resembled the beginning of the full game.

We will also have the devs follow the live-chat and try to answer all of your questions.
This time we will also put what we recorded on repeat, so you can watch it at your leisure over the weekend while we keep the chat live and pop in frequently over the entire time.