Appraisal: tools, process, judgement
Appraisal is the core verb. Put the item on the inspection counter, pick a tool, compare against the genuine reference.
- Magnifying Glass: print, seals, fine scratches.
- Color Checker: colour mismatch in liquids, chems and coatings.
- Composition Spectrometer (Chemist start): compositional testing for drugs and chemicals.
- Water Testing Kit / AquaScan: water specifically.
Suggested order: packaging → markings → material → story. The more urgent the seller, the sooner you check the seal.
A fake is worth little. A fake bought at a fake price is worth plenty. You're selling information, not authenticity.
Appraisal jobs
Join the appraisal service and customers bring specific items for valuation: Cybernetic Hands early on, later Plasma Cartridges. Read the guide, judge condition, pick the right valuation, get paid. No stock, no cash tied up — the best filler income on quiet days.
Printing and relabelling: you can lie, at a price
Some printers and label equipment rewrite markings or stated quality. It looks like free profit; it's actually a reputation bet.
- Buyer knowledge varies: Upper Level buyers can miss flaws that Lower Level residents catch instantly.
- Being caught drops faction reputation, which affects inspection pressure and supply.
- Describe accurately while establishing the business; go grey only once you can absorb the hit.
Display case, attractiveness and traffic
What's in the case decides who walks in. Selling water? Show water. Need suppliers? Show materials. Want fewer inspections? Don't display contraband.
- Check the Clientele panel to see who your display currently attracts.
- Neon signs are the cheapest targeted advertising; Dr. Jackson stocks them.
- Cleaning, repairs and the powered Mirage Projector all raise attractiveness.
- Attractiveness affects volume; category affects quality. Get the right people first.
Night scavenging: trade tomorrow's traffic for today's materials
After closing, head to the Dumping Grounds. Clear your bag, bring a large container and medical supplies.
Priority: instantly sellable → feeds an existing line → valuable but bulky. Scrap Metal jumps in value once the Furnace exists.
Night trips lower next-day traffic. Worth it while shelves are empty; usually not worth it once customers queue.
Machines and power: unplugged means scrap
| Machine | Function | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace | Scrap / ore → metal ingots | High with a scrap supply |
| Water Purifier | Processes dirty water overnight | High when trading water |
| Moisture Farm | ~1,000 ml Ghostwater daily | Mid-high before a crisis |
| Bottle Printer | Makes liquid containers | Mid (saves money long term) |
| Fridge | Chills food and drinks | Mid once food scales |
| Recharger | Recharges energy cells | Mid once machines multiply |
| AgeWell | Ages wine for value | Low, mid-game |
| Mirage Projector | Extra customers | Low, surplus only |
| Blast Module | Furnace bonus: 3 → 2 ingots | Mid, once smelting scales |
Power is a hidden cost: more machines, higher nightly service fees. Some of Wild's power upgrades reduce operating cost. Keep enough charge for your own equipment before selling cells.
Factions, reputation and contacts
| Party | What you get | How to keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Wanted lists, report rewards, inspection leeway | Stay clean, report, hide contraband |
| Black Market | Contraband supply, underground exchange | Fence start; risky by design |
| Scavengers | Scrap channels, scavenging perks | Junker start; scavenge and trade |
| Joe Wild | Suppliers, upgrades, underground business | Spend favor deliberately |
| Dr. Jackson | Machines, tools, neon signs | Cash only; stock grows with progress |
Favor is a third currency: it pays no rent and buys no goods, only opportunities. Trade it for supply when you're short of materials, or buyers when you're drowning in stock — not for another machine.
Wanted lists and inspections
Security publishes wanted lists. Match a name and description, report, and you gain credits plus reputation. Lists update, and special announcements add targets such as the corrupt cadet Serpico.
But reporting isn't always optimal: some criminals are wired into underground supply, and turning them in cuts off your own supply lines.
Security can confiscate illegal stock. You lose the goods and the credits you paid. Keep contraband out of the display.
Augs: six tells and one shot
Augs are people taken over by a rogue AI in a brain implant. They queue like anyone else, but they're after two things: raw materials to build new implants, and medical supplies to install them.
The tells
| Visual | Behaviour / speech |
|---|---|
| Visible aug chip at the temple | Unnatural stillness |
| Unusual pupils | Twitching |
| Uncanny expression, a fixed too-wide grin | Outfit that doesn't match their faction |
| — | Robotic vocabulary, overly formal phrasing |
Check in order: face (chip → pupils → expression) → outfit versus faction → speech. A single tell isn't proof.
When to shoot
- The shotgun only works with a customer at the window; otherwise the game says it can't be equipped.
- Certainty comes from several tells agreeing, or from an Aug Scanner (100% confirmation).
- Don't press Call Security: Augs have hacked comms and flee before anyone arrives.
- Don't use Threaten (Aug) as a test. It's a bargaining option; on an ordinary customer it always fails and costs reputation.
Too many escapes push Aug presence to 100%. In runs that can end that way (for example with Aug Menace on), it triggers The Augmented: they break in at night, implant you, and you become a passenger in your own body.
With Aug Menace, each Aug kill pays 25% more credits. Ten kills across runs unlocks the Aug Hunter achievement.
The daily loop
- Before opening
Check the countdown, credits and calendar; set the display to today's business.
- While trading
Appraise before pricing. When a customer asks for materials or medical supplies, slow down.
- Before closing
Clear stock, collect machine output, decide nightly service toggles.
- At night
Scavenge, recharge, smelt, brew — everything overnight draws power.
- The night before rent
Get the full amount into credits; don't rely on tomorrow's sales.