Welcome to Georgetown. A city drenched in grey, where dreams are born,
blossom, and die. I'm Syfro, and I'll help you scratch out a living in this
place.
Cart Life follows the lives of three different cart vendors, each with their
own characters, stories and motivations. While much of the core gameplay
revolves around stocking your cart and selling whatever you can, the appeal of
the game lies in the vendors' lives beyond simple survival. Each of them has
goals and dreams - whether they reach them is up to you.
Cart Life does not have your conventional heroes. Each of the three
protagonists is just an ordinary person trying to find some purpose and
meaning in life. They each have strengths and weaknesses, and addictions which
can cripple them if ignored.
Melanie: Freshly divorced, Melanie has taken her daughter Laura home to
Georgetown, where they are living with Melanie's sister Rebecca. Melanie's
decided to make a fresh start here and open a coffee stand - but will it be
enough to support her and her daughter?
Strengths: Melanie is very personable, and makes friends easily. It's easier
for her to cultivate a good reputation. Also, Rebecca is kind enough to cook
for Melanie and Laura while they're staying with her.
Addiction: Melanie yearns for a meaningful relationship with her daughter.
This is typically handled by spending time with Laura; walking her home from
school and doing what she can to be a good parent. While this is not exactly
an addiction and ignoring Laura doesn't have the same kinds of practical
gameplay penalties that Vinny and Andrus suffer, it is still important to stay
on top of it.
Vinny: Vinny's been in and out of Georgetown many times over the years. He's
worked many different jobs, but hasn't settled in any of them. Now, he's come
back home to go into business for himself. It sounds so simple. Sell some
bagels and make sure the rent's paid on time. How hard could it be?
Strengths: Vinny really enjoys his coffee. While caffeinated, he moves faster,
which doesn't sound like much but can save precious time, and makes walking
between parts of the city more viable. Furthermore, he already has a cart; all
he has to do is find it.
Addiction: Vinny *really* enjoys his coffee. If Vinny goes without coffee for
too long, he'll wear himself out and move slower, which can end up costing you
time and money.
Andrus: Sometimes, you need to let everything go if you want to move forward.
Andrus has found a new life in Georgetown selling newspapers, leaving his old
life behind. Now, it's just him and his cart. But he's not lonely... not even
a little.
Strengths: Andrus can work longer hours than most people, and can go longer
without food. Furthermore, he'll eat just about anything that even resembles
food.
Addiction: Cigarettes. They're expensive, and they're bad for him, but without
them he suffers bad coughing fits, which wastes time and might drive away
customers.
==============================================================================
}-------------------------------TIME IS MONEY--------------------------------{
==============================================================================
Time stops for no man, and in Cart Life, time stops for nothing at all. Each
hour of the day takes 40 seconds of playtime, and the clock keeps ticking
during conversations, in menus, organising your cart, shopping, etc. Time is
your most valuable resource in Cart Life, and everything you do eats it up.
Finding a way to balance work, shopping and other commitments is crucial to
succeeding in Cart Life. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, you can still pause
the game by alt-tabbing.
A balance also has to be struck in conversations. Talking to people takes
time, but that's one of the best ways to spread your name around and cultivate
a good reputation. Furthermore, a lot of the characters are well-developed and
it's worth reading what they have to say - sometimes they'll even mention
something that's quite helpful to know. However, there's little sense in
asking everybody about everything. Manage your time. Stay on topic.
==============================================================================
}------------------------ADDICTION, SURIVAL AND MONEY------------------------{
==============================================================================
In addition to indulging in your addiction, you also have to make sure that
you don't burn yourself out. You'll have to monitor your hunger and
exhaustion. When these reach dangerous levels, you'll suffer handicaps such as
not being able to make proper conversation with people, and you might also
begin to suffer from ailments such as headaches, which will take more time and
money to deal with. As such, it's good to keep an eye on your meters, and you
can also benefit from putting your cart in a place where you can easily grab a
bite to eat.
There are a lot of things to spend money on in the game. Some of the
characters start with a fair amount of money, but that doesn't mean you should
spend it freely. A bit of planning and consideration early on can make a great
deal of difference. For instance, there are four different grades of coffee,
which get quite expensive. If you're playing as Melanie, you might think that
you want to load up on the highest quality coffee, as that'll let you sell
your coffee for more. While this does have some truth to it, you would have to
charge around $4 for a simple coffee to turn a profit, and that can drive away
a lot of early business. Once you've established a reputation and people are
comfortable giving you their money, then you can start to upgrade the quality
of your products.
In regards to food, most sources of food will also expect a tip - even street
vendors. Giving a 10% tip seems to make most of them happy, but whether or not
you can afford to do so is your call. Almost every piece of food you buy will
be eaten or drunk immediately; very few can be saved until later, so only buy
if you're hungry. Consider buying a few Bigwiches or Gondola Bars; they may be
expensive, but they save you a lot of time going to get food. It's also worth
mentioning that thirst does not appear to be tracked, so money spent on drinks
is money wasted (except for coffee for Vinny).
There are also many luxury items in the game which you should think hard about
before purchasing. The point of the game is to make money - do you really need
a set of extra fluffy towels?
==============================================================================
}--------------------------LOCATIONS IN GEORGETOWN---------------------------{
==============================================================================
Georgetown isn't a huge city, but it can still be difficult to navigate. When
you leave an area of the city, you'll enter the City Map which shows you the
districts and streets which are important to the game. It provides some idea
of what you'll find on those streets, but there's still a lot that isn't told.
____________________________________________________________________________
| FLORENT STREET |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Clamant/Minutiae | Offices of the | The office of the town newspaper. |
| Building | Georgetonian | You may be able to get a |
| | | subscription here. |
| |******************|************************************|
| | Brochugere Type | Purpose unclear. |
| | Foundry | |
| |******************|************************************|
| | Chisolm Memorial | Purpose unclear. |
| | Trust | |
|****************************************************************************|
| Georgetown | This is the best coffee place in town. They don't |
| Roasteria | like street vendors, and they don't like competition. |
| | Melanie's both. |
| | You can buy quite a few coffee products here, but at |
| | a fairly high price. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Jesorganique | A small supermarket full of organic ingredients and |
| | high prices. |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| COLLINS DISTRICT CENTER |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Georgetown | Alice, the resident mechanic, can make a new cart for |
| Machinery | you for the right price. She may also be able to |
| | provide other services as the game progresses. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Five Star Meats | Providing a surprisingly limited selection of meat, |
| | this is still the best place to get hot dog sausages. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Austin Braut Co. | From here, you can buy a ticket out of town and away |
| Train Depot | from everything. Is that a good idea? Only you can |
| | answer that. |
|****************************************************************************|
| The Dompactor | A fairly simple diner with a decent menu. |
| Raxby | |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| TOSHEROON PARK |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Omar's Kebabs | Omar sells some pretty good food from his stall. |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| BRENNAN BRIDGE |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Hot Dog Vendor | You can buy hot dogs here, plain, with mustard, with |
| | the lot... whatever you're hungry for, as long as |
| | it's a hot dog. |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| 13TH & NUMISMIA |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Georgetown Real | This should be the first stop for anyone interested |
| Estate | in buying a new property. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Bagel Vendor | Buy your bagels here. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Matt Hinckley's | You can buy pizza, salads and drinks here, and they |
| Flying Pizzeria | don't even expect a tip! |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| BANK HILL ACADEMY |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Bank Hill Academy | This is the main school in Georgetown. Laura goes |
| | here, and if you're playing as Melania you have to |
| | arrive between 3-4pm to walk her home from school. |
| | Your phone does remind you of this, but it only does |
| | so once it's already too late for you to get there in |
| | time. |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| DOWNTOWN |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| The Catacombs | This appears to be a nightclub, and it's closed |
| | during the day. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Hotel DeMarco Vaul | A simple hotel. Not much to do here if you've already |
| | got a place to stay. |
|****************************************************************************|
| The Big B | Bigby's Grocery. You can get a wide range of items |
| | here for a reasonable price, though not always the |
| | best price. He does sell the Bigwich, though, which |
| | is a portable meal - one of the few in the game. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Eddie's Books | You can buy comic books, fiction books and cookbooks |
| | here. Some may be more useful than others. |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| 5TH AND FRANKLIN |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Seany o'Fagan's | The local watering hole. You can get a beer, whisky, |
| | or a bag of chips here. Mostly money down the drain, |
| | but it might be a good place to meet people. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Newsagent | You can buy newspapers here, as well as tea. |
|****************************************************************************|
| Loyal Pawn | This is a place you can sell your things for some |
| | quick cash, and also buy some interesting items. |
| | Expect to get ripped off. |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| SUPERSTORE |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Superstore | This is the biggest supermarket in town, and has good |
| | prices on most items, and a wide selection. Not much |
| | to do here but shop. |
|____________________________________________________________________________|
==============================================================================
}-----------------------------------ITEMS------------------------------------{
==============================================================================
There's a lot of stores in Cart Life, and a lot of things to buy. Following is
a list of the items in the game and the best place to buy them in terms of
value for money. Some items are purchasable from multiple locations; I've only
noted the best location here. Note that these are not all the items in the
game - events and conversations may give you new items that you can't normally
buy.
____________________________________________________________________________
| COFFEE GOODS - Everything you Need to Make Coffee |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Chai Tea | Jesorganique |
| Cocoa Mix | Jesorganique |
| Coffee Machine | Jesorganique/Superstore |
| Cream | Jesorganique |
| Disposable Cups | Superstore |
| Espresso Machine | Superstore |
| Grade A Coffee | Georgetown Roasteria |
| Grade B Coffee | Georgetown Roasteria |
| Grade C Coffee | Georgetown Roasteria |
| Grade D Coffee | Superstore |
| Milk | Superstore |
| Sugar | Superstore |
| Syrup Assortment | Superstore |
| Whipped Cream | Superstore |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| BAGEL GOODS - Everything you Need to Bake Bagels |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Butter Milk | The Big B |
| Flour | Superstore (The Big B close is a second) |
| Grape Jelly | The Big B |
| Lox | Superstore |
| Paper Napkins | Superstore |
| Peanut Butter | The Big B |
| Salt | Superstore |
| Yeast | The Big B |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| HOT DOG GOODS - Everything you Need to Heat Dogs |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Chilli | Superstore |
| Hot Dog Buns | Superstore |
| Hot Dogs (Sausage) | Five Star Meats |
| Jalapenos | Superstore |
| Ketchup | The Big B |
| Mustard | The Big B |
| Paper Napkins | Superstore |
| Relish | Superstore |
| Sauerkraut | Superstore |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| MEDICINE - All Purchased at Superstore |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Apaptol | Relieves headaches, fever, muscle jitters. Ages 12+ |
| Apaptol Gel Caps | Pain relief |
| Apaptol Moon Room | Sleeping pills |
| Apaptol Sun Room | Fights fatigue/sleepiness |
| Urinary Pain Relief| Exactly what it says |
| Pain Reliever | Doesn't contain aspirin - more expensive than Apaptol |
| Multivitamin | Balances diet |
| Cough Drops | Can be unflavored or lemon tea flavor |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| MUSIC - Requires Stereo Head Unit and Speakers |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| LO.BAT CD | Loyal Pawn |
| Mat 64 CD | Loyal Pawn |
| Pocket Master CD | Loyal Pawn |
| Stereo Head Unit | Loyal Pawn |
| STU CD | Loyal Pawn |
| Thirsty CD | Loyal Pawn |
| Keyboard | Loyal Pawn |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| PORTABLE FOOD - For Meals on the Go |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Gondola Bars | Superstore |
| The Bigwich | The Big B |
| The Veggie Bigwich | The Big B |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| BOOKS - All Purchased at Eddie's Books |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Calamity Annie | Comic |
| Ping Pong! | Comic |
| Carbon | Fiction |
| Grand Slam | Fiction |
| Acro Circus | Short Fiction |
| Dragon Feet | Short Fiction |
| Scandal Rag | Short Fiction |
| Fatal Steps | One Act Play |
| Indian Lore | Lore |
| Cooking Made Clear | Cookbook |
| Coffee Made Clear | Cookbook |
| La Couer | Cookbook (Advanced French baking) |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| LUXURIES - Surely have Some Use Somewhere |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Air Freshener | Superstore |
| Aqua Ivory | Superstore |
| Black Watch | Loyal Pawn (Expensive!) |
| Digital Watch | Superstore |
| Flip Lighter | Loyal Pawn (Expensive!) |
| Kudl-E-Toy | Superstore |
| Luxury Candle | Superstore |
| Luxury Towels | Superstore |
| Voliton Robot | Superstore (Batteries not included, but...) |
| | |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| MISC - Random Stuff with Some Purpose, Surely |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Cat Vittle | Superstore |
| Multitool | Superstore |
| Old Brenny's Cigs | The Big B |
| Plastic Lighter | The Big B/Superstore |
|____________________________________________________________________________|
==============================================================================
}-------------------------------GETTING AROUND-------------------------------{
==============================================================================
You often have three ways of getting from one major city area to another.
These are:
Taxi: The fastest mode of transport, but also prohibitively expensive. I don't
recommend ever catching a taxi except in an emergency.
Bus: The bus can be cheap and quick, made even cheaper if you buy a Bus Pass
as one of the first things you do. However, the buses don't run between around
9PM to 6AM and you have to be careful when you choose to board the bus - the
button will tell you the estimated arrival time. If this is more than 20-30
minutes from the current time, you're probably better off walking. You can't
see the current time from the map screen, but you can infer it from the taxi
time.
Walking: The slowest mode of transport, but also the cheapest. Vinny might be
able to get away with walking most places as long as he's well caffeinated,
but even he would be better off with a bus pass. It's worth noting that when
walking between districts you can meet new people; usually, however, they'll
just drain your time or even your money. One important thing to note is that
walking time is not related to how far apart locations are on the map; walking
from Brennan Bridge to the school will take the same time as walking from the
Superstore to the school, all the way across town.
This document is copyright (c) 2013 by Bogdan Constantinescu, aka Syfro.
If you have a comment about the guide, something to contribute, questions you
think it should address, or would like to host this guide on your site, please
contact me at elboggerone(a.t)hotmail(d.o.t)com.
