[zenith]

I'm currently putting the finishing touches on our new Jobs code. The new code, called Careers, will be extremely different than the current "click once and forget it" job code. While it maybe foreign to most long-time players here, it will allow for more control over your character's development.

Expect the new code to be done by the end of this week or early next week. I am currently running tests on how it will behave in the long-term as the day-to-day mechanics seem ironed out.

Changes and Additions
Jobs will no longer be a passive slow improvement to stats. Careers will require players to be active to receive benefits. Activity will be in the form of spending action points (AP) in exchange for "hours worked". Hours will cost roughly 2 AP refreshes to keep each level relatively equal. Overtime hours will cost slightly more AP. Some sort of credit expenditure may be included as an alternative way to work hours.

Each hour worked provides you with an hourly wage, career points, and experience points. Each day you can work a maximum of 8 normal hours and 4 overtime hours. Overtime hours provide an hourly wages at time and a half.

There are currently 9 career choices, but this may change as we find out which ones are used and which ones are ignored.

• Engineering
  Engineering teaches how to use explosives and how to build and repair items and structures. Accuracy and Intelligence are trademarks. It is similar to the construction career, but focuses on mental ability over physical.
• Martial Arts
  Martial Arts promotes melee combat above ranged, and benefits Dexterity, Strength and Accuracy greatly.
• Military
  Military training benefits ranged combat as well as provide the ability to use military-specific equipment. Strength, resistance, and accuracy are trademarks of military experience.
• Construction
  Construction jobs provide great chances to work on physical attributes, especially strength. It also provides knowledge of how to build and bring down structures quickly through force.
• Athletics
  Athletic training provides great all-around physical training, with a premium on endurance. What this career lacks in special abilities, it counters with excellent stat gains.
• Medical
  Medical training teaches how to heal wounds, remove unwanted cyberware, and shorten hospital stays when experienced. It also provides great Intelligence training. The advanced abilities will require exceptional training to perform.
• Science
  Science training provides information on how to improve cyberware and electronics as well as creating drugs. Scientists are well-known for their Intelligence training, but their special abilities require exceptional training.
• Politics
  Politicians build their reputation faster than anyone, providing quicker access to respect-required things such as gym training bonuses. They also have the ability to persuade others and use their clout to get what others cannot.
• Manufacturing
  Manufacturing is the quickest way to gain experience in the workforce as well as one of the best paying. It also provides access to raw materials for other crimes. This is the only career that doesn't have it's special ability implemented yet. This will pertain to revamped gang crimes.

Career Ranks
Careers ranks no longer have names. Ranks are now designated with a number. The higher the number, the more money, experience, and career points you will earn for each hour worked. Different ranks may also provide special abilities. Ranks are upgraded by spending career points for a promotion, and the maximum rank in any career is equal to your work experience rating.

Career Special Abilities
Each career has its own special abilities that can be used by spending career points. Abilities available will be based on the rank, and the effectiveness of them will improve with rank. For example, as a rank 1 politician you will have the ability to negotiate lower bail amounts for inmates in jail... and this ability will improve with each rank you earn. All careers will have their own unique abilities. Some careers gain their abilities early on, while others may take several ranks to gain the first ability.

Quitting and Getting Fired
Any job can be quit without fear of penalties. However, you cannot quit a career if you have already worked an hour in that career during the current day. Once an hour is worked during the current day. you will be locked in until the next-day's refresh.

If you are inactive for 5 or more days and have an active career selected, you will be fired by your boss for poor work performance. Being fired is costly, as you will lose a rank in that career if it is above 1.

Converting Career Points into Stats
Each career will have it's own conversion rate for each stat based on that career's need. So a construction career will have a much better strength conversion rate than a medical career, but the medical career will be much better at gaining intelligence.

Conversion rates for careers do not change, but each rank earns you more points to spend. Points can be used on any attribute as you see fit. If you are in the athletic career and have earned 50 career points during the day, you can evenly spread them between all stats, save them for a promotion, or burn all 50 of them on Endurance. The choice is up to you.

Career points are specific to the career the points were earned in. So if you earn 348 career points as a politician, you cannot use those points in another career.

Quote:Example of a standard day with the new career code.

Jack Mort has a medical career rating of 4. During the day he has worked 8 full hours as well as 2 overtime hours. This work has earned him 78 career points, $319 in wages, and 197 experience points.

In a gang war he used his ability to heal a gang member 145 hit points for 7 career points, leaving him with 71 career points. He decides to spend 40 of these points on raising his intelligence by 6 dev points and the remaining 31 on accuracy to raise it 55.8 dev points.