Note on Localization and Language Availability
I play the game in Czech. The Czech localization is a community translation created by Czech players, and I also contributed to its development. In my experience, the Czech localization is very well made and normally works without any problems. However, after new updates and the addition of new content, it naturally takes some time before the new texts are added to the Czech translation.
As a result, in some parts of the game I encounter a combination of Czech, English, and sometimes Korean. Some of the newer parts of the game are also not fully translated into English. For example, some character descriptions still contain parts of the original Korean text.
This is a fairly significant problem for Czech players. Not every Czech player speaks English well enough, and of course most Czech players do not speak Korean at all. At the same time, inZOI is a very complex game with a large number of options and decisions. If a player does not understand the meaning of individual choices, it can be very difficult for them to configure the game correctly and make full use of its possibilities.
For this reason, during my testing I used the Czech, English, and Korean versions depending on where I needed to verify a particular name, description, or function.
Testing the Restaurant System in inZOI – Experiences, Problems and Suggestions for Improvement
Why I Decided to Test the Restaurant System
After the release of Update 0.10.0, I initially encountered very unpleasant stability problems. The game started crashing repeatedly, and the problems even occurred in a completely new game without using any mods. For several days, I therefore focused mainly on testing crashes, loading saved games, and other problems introduced by the update.
As the situation gradually began to improve, I decided to also test one of the new and, in my opinion, very interesting systems – running my own restaurant.
This time I really started from scratch. I created a completely new game, a new character specifically for this test, and a new restaurant built by me as the player. I did not want to test the restaurant in an already established game where previous events or the existing state of the character could potentially influence the results.
I wanted to test the restaurant because I find this system very appealing. Being able to create your own business, design its interior, create a menu, hire other Zoi, cook, serve customers, and gradually develop the business seems to me like something that could become a very enjoyable part of inZOI.
That is exactly why I did not want to simply abandon the restaurant after the first unsuccessful attempt. Instead, I decided to test it for several in-game days with different settings and observe how the system behaved.
The testing took place approximately from Friday to Monday.
What I Like About the Restaurant System
First of all, I would like to emphasize that I really like the idea of the restaurant system, and I believe it has a lot of potential.
I like the possibility of creating your own business and customizing its appearance. It does not have to be a large luxury restaurant – it can also be a small business with only a few tables, which I think is a very nice option for the game.
The ability to create your own menu is also interesting. The player can gradually expand the menu as their character improves their cooking skills.
The cooking itself worked during our testing.
Han was able to prepare ordered dishes, and in several cases the entire process worked correctly:
customer arrives → customer orders → food is prepared → server delivers it → customer pays.
This is important because it shows that the basic system is capable of working. The main problem is that the entire process is not reliable enough, and in some situations it comes to a complete stop.
The feedback on the restaurant’s environment was also positive. Customers rated the interior very well, and in one review a customer even said that it was very beautiful and ideal for sharing on social media.
This is why I believe the restaurant system has real potential.
What I Discovered During Testing
1. Very Low Customer Traffic
In my opinion, the biggest economic problem is the very low number of customers.
Even though a relatively large number of Zoi walk past the restaurant during the day, only very few customers actually enter during an entire business day.
On some days, only one or two customers came in.
This is a major problem with the current economy of the business. The restaurant has to pay operating fees, employee wages, and production costs, but with such low customer traffic it cannot generate enough income.
2. Customers Often Have to Wait a Very Long Time for Service
Another major problem is the actual service process.
I repeatedly saw situations where a customer entered the restaurant but nobody attended to them for a very long time.
In some cases, the employees were standing at their assigned positions even though a customer was waiting.
In other cases, the order had already been taken and the food had been prepared, but the finished food remained on the kitchen counter while the server did not deliver it to the customer for a very long time.
In one case, the customer waited so long that they became extremely dissatisfied and eventually left the restaurant.
The customer feedback correctly reflected this problem, specifically mentioning the slow service.
3. Employees Take Over Each Other’s Roles
I consider this one of the biggest problems in the entire system.
Based on my observations, employees do not consistently remain in their assigned positions.
For example, the server may start performing the host’s work, while the host starts cleaning or performing another activity.
This can create situations where:
- the server stands in the area intended for the host,
- the host needs to get to her assigned workstation but cannot because the server is standing there,
- the employee responsible for serving customers starts doing another job,
- another employee waits or simply stands idle,
- and the individual work positions end up blocking each other.
In my opinion, this is a much bigger problem than simply having slow employees.
If a Zoi has been assigned a specific role, that role should be their primary responsibility.
The Server should primarily serve customers.
The Host should primarily welcome and seat customers.
The Chef should primarily cook.
I do not think it is a good idea for employees to autonomously take over each other’s work if this means that they simultaneously abandon their own important responsibilities.
4. Employees Sometimes Do Not Finish Their Tasks
During testing, I repeatedly observed employees starting an activity and then abandoning it.
This is especially problematic when there is already a specific customer waiting for an order to be completed.
For example, the food was ready, the customer was waiting, but the server stood at the cash register or performed another activity instead of delivering the food.
The restaurant was not overloaded. In many cases there was only one customer inside.
Later, we also tested a setup where Han, as the owner, was assigned additional activities such as taking orders and assisting customers. The result was even worse – Han ran back and forth between preparing ingredients and interacting with customers, while the host and server stood idle, and two customers remained without completed service for approximately three hours.
After returning to the previous saved state, the situation changed again.
In my opinion, this indicates that the problem is not simply the number of employees, but also their autonomous decision-making and task prioritization.
5. The Restaurant Owner Should Not Be Treated as an Ordinary Employee
This is where I would suggest changing the entire principle of how the owner works.
In my opinion, the restaurant owner – the Operator – should not be required to have one specific employee role assigned to them unless the player actually wants them to perform that role.
The owner is not an ordinary employee.
The owner is the person who owns and manages the business.
Therefore, I would create a special role:
Owner / Operator
The owner should be able to:
- manage employees,
- assign them work,
- supervise the business,
- and at the same time perform any work activity that is available in their own business.
The owner should not be restricted simply because the system labels them as, for example, a Chef.
If a Chef is employed and is working properly, Han can remain the owner and focus on managing the restaurant.
But if the Chef is not working, Han should be able to go into the kitchen and cook.
If the Server is not keeping up, Han should be able to serve the customer himself.
If the Host is unavailable, he should be able to seat the customer.
If a table needs to be cleaned, he should be able to clean it.
Because it is his restaurant.
These activities do not have to be part of his normal job description. They should be a special privilege of being the owner.
6. The Owner Should Be Able to Manage Employees Directly
This is closely connected to the previous point.
In my opinion, the owner should be able to give an employee a specific instruction.
For example:
“Deliver this food to the customer.”
or:
“Serve this customer.”
or:
“Clean this table.”
During testing, we could sometimes make an employee start working only by using a negative interaction, such as scolding them.
In one case, scolding caused an employee to stop standing at the register and go to work in the kitchen. However, it also had a negative effect on Han’s mood.
Scolding should not be a substitute for normal employee management.
The owner should have a proper way to direct their employees.
7. The Owner Should Be Able to Take Over Any Employee’s Job at Any Time
This is particularly important for small businesses.
If the player has a small restaurant with two or three employees, they should be able to save the business with their own actions when necessary.
For example:
A customer is waiting. The food is ready. The server is not responding.
The owner should be able to pick up the food and deliver it to the customer.
Or:
The Chef is not working and an order is waiting.
The owner should be able to go into the kitchen and cook.
Employees should increase the capacity of the business, rather than creating a situation where the owner cannot perform an activity simply because that activity is assigned to an employee.
8. Problem Delivering Finished Food
I also encountered a separate problem that, in my opinion, is not caused only by employee behavior.
Han had finished food and tried to deliver it to a customer at their table.
However, the game repeatedly told him that the food could not be placed or used at that location.
Yet Han had successfully delivered food to the very same table earlier.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the food ended up in Han’s inventory and he eventually threw it away.
The customer subsequently left.
This means that even when:
the order works → the food is prepared → the player tries to deliver it,
the entire process can still fail at the final step.
In my opinion, this should be treated as a separate technical issue.
9. Drinks Work When an Order Is Manually Created
I also tested drinks.
The strawberry drink and mango drink were available in the menu, and when I manually initiated an order, they appeared normally in the order options. The server was then able to deliver them to the customer.
This shows that the drinks themselves and their inclusion in the menu work correctly.
The problem seems to be that customers practically never ordered them autonomously and instead, for example, went to the sink to get water.
10. Employee Recruitment Is Too Limited
I also encountered a problem with recruitment.
The choice of employees is very restricted because recruitment is limited to unemployed Zoi who are also on the owner’s friends list.
This is particularly problematic for a newly created character.
If a player creates a new character specifically for running a business, they may not initially have enough friends who are unemployed and have suitable skills.
In my opinion, it would be much more practical to also offer unemployed Zoi from the surrounding area, for example through a job listing or recruitment system.
Friends could of course remain one recruitment option, but they should not be the only source of employees.
11. Restaurant Economy
The current economy of the restaurant is, in my opinion, very problematic.
On one of the final tested days, the financial report showed:
- Total profit: + M 107
- Fixed business fee: − M 80
- Employee wages: − M 180
- Production costs: − M 91
- Total expenses: − M 351
- Final result: − M 244
The restaurant therefore did not earn enough during the entire business day even to cover its basic operating costs.
Han also had to deal with a loan and interest. During one of the tested days, he had to pay interest while the restaurant continued to consume his money.
If the business continues operating this way, the owner will gradually lose their financial resources and may eventually also risk losing their property.
I consider this a very important issue because a well-run business should be capable of supporting its owner, and successful management should allow the player to develop and expand the business further.
12. Employees Do Not Work, but Their Wages Still Have to Be Paid
This problem is closely connected to the previous point.
During testing, there were situations where employees spent a large part of their working hours simply standing, talking to each other, or performing unrelated activities.
That would not necessarily be a problem if there were no customers and the employees simply had nothing to do.
The problem occurs when a customer is waiting for service while an employee is still not performing their assigned responsibility.
The player is still paying that employee’s wages.
In my opinion, employees should provide a real benefit to the business and increase its ability to serve more customers.
What I Would Suggest Changing Based on My Experience
1. Introduce a special Owner / Operator role
The owner should not be treated as an ordinary employee with one assigned function.
The owner should have their own special role and be able to perform all work activities available in their business.
2. Keep employees in their assigned roles
The Server should remain the Server, the Host should remain the Host, and the Chef should remain the Chef.
Employees should not autonomously take over each other’s roles when this creates chaos or blocks the other employee’s workstation.
3. Introduce direct employee commands
The owner should be able to give an employee a specific task, and the employee should complete that task.
4. Allow the owner to replace any employee
If an employee is not working, is unavailable, or an unusual situation occurs, the owner should be able to take over their work.
5. Give active customer tasks a high priority
If a customer is waiting for food and the food is already prepared, delivering that food should take priority over less important autonomous activities of the employee.
6. Improve autonomous customer traffic and ordering
If a large number of Zoi are walking past the restaurant, the number of customers entering the restaurant should be significantly higher than one or two customers during an entire business day.
7. Improve service reliability
The entire chain should work reliably:
arrival → seating → ordering → preparation → delivery → payment → departure.
8. Fix problems with food delivery
If the player can place food at the same table once but cannot do so later, I believe this is a technical problem that needs to be fixed.
9. Expand employee recruitment
The ability to hire unemployed Zoi outside the owner’s friend list would make it much easier for new businesses to get started.
10. Adjust the economy according to actual business performance
The restaurant’s costs should correspond to its ability to attract customers and generate income. If a business normally receives only one or two customers per day, the current operating costs are too high for a small restaurant.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the restaurant system is a very interesting and attractive feature with a great deal of potential.
That is exactly why I did not simply stop using it after encountering the first problems. Instead, I tested it for several in-game days, tried different employee setups, and carefully observed what happened.
I like the ability to create your own restaurant, design its interior, create a menu, and gradually develop the business. The idea that a Zoi can build their own restaurant and gradually turn it into a successful business is, in my opinion, very appealing for inZOI.
However, based on my experience, the current system is not yet reliable enough for long-term operation.
The biggest problems I see are the very low customer traffic, autonomous customer behavior, employees not staying within their assigned roles, employees taking over each other’s work, insufficient ability for the owner to manage employees, the inability of the owner to reliably take over an employee’s duties, and, in some cases, technical problems when delivering orders.
Nevertheless, I definitely do not want this system to be removed or simplified. On the contrary – I would very much like to see it developed further.
In my opinion, the restaurant system has the potential to become one of the really enjoyable parts of the game. It primarily needs more reliable autonomy, better employee management, and much greater control for the owner over their own business.
I have included the most relevant screenshots, but I have additional screenshots documenting the testing process if needed. I would be happy to provide them, along with any further details or explanations.