The de Beer Guide to Hot Dates

compiled by Paula de Beer

Restaurants have now been added to the world, and here is a basic primer on what you need to know about setting up that Hot Date with someone special.

First, read the entry in the Community News.[message=20214.18] That entry gives the official explanation from the devs.

So, what is a Hot Date? It's a new way to spend about an hour of quality personal time with someone special…

Basically, you can ask your friends and lovers to go on Hot Dates with you, and the outcome will be based partly on your relationship and your compatibility, and on the quality of the restaurant that you go to as well. But choosing the right person to go on the date with may be trickier than you think - there are a lot of things to consider, and simply asking anyone or accepting just any invitation could end up hurting you more than helping.

My first advice for dating is this: communication and planning are everything! Don't just pick times and places out of the air and begin sending invitations to all your friends to see who accepts and who doesn't.

An initial suggestion send a personal message to the other person to ask if she is free BEFORE you send her an invitation. This will avoid the pain of rejection when you find out that she has to wash her hair that night…

1. Check your calendar AND hers AND your band's as well. Each date takes about an hour, so don't overbook yourself. Don't forget that you have other appointments as well - jams, gigs and travel are all important events that you need to be aware of and schedule around. Scheduling these events one right after the other is a risky business - leave yourself AND your date some time between appointments.
2. Check your star quality. It's probably best that you and your date be of a relatively equal level - but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? If you do manage to land a Hot Date with a god of Metal, who knows what could happen? It's not your problem if you're a no-name artist out on a date with a megastar - in fact, it might help your career. But if you're the megastar dating a no-name, what will the press make of it? Remember - image is everything.
3. Check your pride. Be prepared to be rejected, especially if you're asking for a date with someone who is significantly above you in star quality. And rejection can hurt your mood - don't ask just anyone out on a date, or you could find your smooth, suave self headed for the hospital…
4. Check your cash. Dates cost money, so be sure to bring along plenty of cash to make sure that your time together is well spent…(sorry, couldn't resist). The person who sends the invitation will pay for the date.

Remember - this is all about relationships. How you handle your dates will reflect on your character and ultimately, what many people think of you. You could develop a reputation as a charming cad, a cheapskate or a cheap date. You could become a social butterfly, flitting all over the globe to be wined and dined by the elite. Or you could just make a habit of lunch with the missus and be content with your lot in life… the roleplaying possibilities are huge!

Asking someone out on a Hot Date is an Interaction. It shows at the bottom of the interaction window, and allows you to set up the place, date and time for the Hot Date you'd like to share with the person. Select the name of the restaurant you want to go to, the date and the time, and then click on the button at the bottom to send the invitation to the person.

If you send the invitation, you'll get a diary entry like this: I asked Paulus de Beer out on a date.

The person who's been invited will get a diary entry like this: Peter McGinnes asked me out on a romantic date at de Beer Garden on 3/8/2006 15:00.

To accept or decline the invitation, you'll see a message like this on your relationship page: Date invitations: Peter McGinnes on 3/8/2006 15:00 at de Beer Garden. Accept | Decline

If the invitation is accepted, the inviter gets a diary entry like this: Jippie! Paulus de Beer agreed to go on a date with me. But what am I going to wear?!?

If the invitation is declined, the inviter gets a diary entry like this: My heart is broken… Paulus de Beer declined my date invitation.

When the time for the date comes, you'll be moved to the restaurant automatically and get a diary entry like this: Went to de Beer Garden for my date with Peter McGinnes.

Once the date is done, both of you will receive a diary entry that shows how well the date went for you, like this: Peter McGinnes and I ended our terrible date at de Beer Garden.

If one person doesn't make it to the date, you'll get an entry like this: Arvid Coltorp didn't show up to our date. What a swinish bastard!

If you can't pay for your meal, you'll get an entry like this: Neither me nor XXXX could afford the bill at Jessica's ~São Paolo~ so we had to do the dishes! I feel like a dork.

Normal interactions are possible with your date while at the restaurant. You're both shown as Busy, but that won't prevent you from gettin' busy ;) - another couple managed to have a quickie while on their date, for example, and they returned to the restaurant soon after to continue the date.

There was no “menu” to order from, no special food items to buy while on the date. Both of us did buy food and beverage items from the restaurant, and we both ate some of those items while on the date. Peter ate some chocolates, and thought that the boost he received was larger than normal. He also ate a fancy meal, but believed that he got his usual boost from that. Try eating various foods and take note of the effects, both while on dates and not - perhaps some foods can be found that do have an increased boost if eaten on a date.

Peter paid for our date since he is the one who sent the invitation. As of right now, there is no diary entry that tells you how much you paid for the date. Peter tracked his cash on hand, and thinks that the bill for our date was five pounds. (see below for info on the cost of dates)

As for the relationship result of the date, each of our love bars went up some after the date was over.

The cost of the date is based on the quality AND the condition of the restaurant - the higher the quality, the higher the maximum cost of the date. The condition modifies this amount; a Perfect condition charges 100% of the quality level's cost. This amount is recorded as Various Sales in the Income ledger. For reference, a date at a Perfect/Perfect restaurant is US$1000.

Right now, there is no list of the Hot Dates scheduled at your restaurant - though it would make sense to have this added to the Locale Specials page (hint, hint to the devs)

Chef is a new job opportunity, offering a top salary of US$1500. One star in Basic Cooking is needed to become a Chef - the higher your skill, the more you help raise the quality of the restaurant.