Jane`s Hotel: Family Hero

My Review :
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A true time management game that will test your nerves.
There are a wide range of upgrades available and are very realistic in terms of effects on the customer and earning.
The game is divided into four different challenging scenarios all with ample amount of sub-levels.
Often playing becomes very difficult involving a lot of mouse clicks so that we pay attention to many customers at once.
Overall its an average game.


Information :
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Realore Studio

Want to be a fabulous entrepreneur? Expand a boutique hotel chain and provide 4-star service to eager guests. Help Jane purchase four International hotels, make upgrades, and pay off that large looming bank loan. In addition to the normal guest services, Jane can now help customers buy souvenirs and take pictures. Jane`s Hotel: Family Hero is the hospitable sequel adding a brand new twist to time management and cafe simulation games.

• Sequel to the hit game.
• Fast-paced levels.
• New guest features!

System Requirements :
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OS: Windows XP/Vista
CPU: 800 Mhz
RAM: 128 MB
DirectX: 6.0
Hard Drive:102 MB

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Hints, Strategies :
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General Tips :

Jane's hotel has four locations, with 15 levels to play in each one with a total of 60 possible levels. I say 60 possible levels because if you make your monetary goals before day 15 you can automatically advance to the next location.

At the beginning of each hotel you will be informed of how much money you will need to make in order to get to the next hotel. This amount increases with each hotel. Your initial goal will be $3,000 and it will go up as high as $10,000 for the last one.

Multi-task as much as you can, several things can be done at a time so you can run things more efficiently. It takes people a while to walk from the door to the lobby. Take that time and make a quick delivery for something that is close to you, like newspapers and coffee. By the time your new client arrives at the desk you can be back there and hand them their keys.

The rooms with locks on the door signify rooms that are occupied, doors that are open symbolize rooms that are vacant. If you find that you cannot give the keys to a customer it is because they are waiting for a clean room. If room is not clean send the maid out right away to clean it. You do not want people waiting too long since they will get angry and make you lose popularity points.

Do things in order, if Jane is taking 2 newspapers to the room and you have a request for coffee take the coffee to the client before you go back to the desk.

You can still take coffee from the machine even though it has the wrench icon on it. Make sure you send the Porter out as soon as you see it. If you let circle get all green you will not be able to get coffee until the machine is fixed.

If you fail a level or just want to replay for a higher score you will not be able to change your mind on the upgrades you've already purchased. You will have to replay with the same upgrades and furniture.

You can predict what a customer is going to ask for the moment they come out of their room. If a lady is coming out of her room and a newspaper lights up on the desk, then that's what she's going to ask for. As soon as an item is highlighted it means that it can be picked up. If you know that they are going to ask for a paper pick it up and get to the customer right away. The same goes for any item or station at the hotel.

You don't have to pick up the money from the counter as soon as customers place it there. You can wait to collect it after several people have left money on the counter. Just make sure that you pick it all up before the end of the day. If you have 5 customers who paid 10 each then when you click on the money you will have 50 all at once.

Before performing certain services make sure that other people aren't waiting for something more important. It's more important to take of dry cleaning and linen than it is to clean an empty room. That's why it's sometimes good not to give the maid too many tasks ahead of time since you cannot cancel her actions.

SCROLLING LOBBY

For those who've played the original Jane's Hotel, the answer is yes the scrolling lobby is back! but only in the last hotel. The difference between this version and the original one is that you will NOT have an arrow indicating that someone needs something on the opposite side. You have to make sure that you constantly check all sides at all times.

Since it's kind of hard on the eyes to keep going back and forth checking both sides of the lobby, there are a couple of things you can do to make it easier. Look for visual cues that indicate someone is looking for an item. An item will highlight itself once a person is requesting it or about to do so.

Your screen could be mostly focused on the left side of the screen and all of a sudden you see the telephone on the desk light up. You look within your view and you don't see anybody asking for a telephone. That means that someone out of your current view is looking for it. At that moment you will know that you need to scroll in the opposite direction.

There are certain upgrades that you can buy to make things easier as well. It seems that in this last hotel things are breaking left and right and you have to keep calling the Porter often to make repairs. As soon as you can afford it buy equipment that earns you extra money for each transaction. Most of the time those same items will also never need any repairs at all. Examples of these are the Satellite Communications phone that never needs repairs and adds an extra $10 per service.

It also seems that the maid has a lot of requests for dry cleaning and linen changes. Buy upgrades early on in that hotel that will make things easier for the maid. Get her the Chambermaid's Education so she can move a lot faster. Upgrade her vacuum cleaner so that she spends a shorter amount of time vacuuming.

If you want to buy the plants it is best to do so after level 10 since they require so much watering. The plants are somewhat of a pain but they come with 25 popularity points. They also add an extra client that will come in and spend money. Make sure that at that point you buy the maid the watering can which shortens the duration of that task. Water the plants even before the leaves start falling.

POPULARITY POINTS

In order to make more money you have to get in as many clients in as possible. Once you get them in you need to serve them quickly so you can up your popularity points. When you serve them quickly you will notice that the green meter at the bottom of the screen fills up quickly. That meter is very important because it represents how quickly you have taken care of your customers and how much tip money you will get.

If your meter is not very green, you will not get a lot of extra money in tips at the end of the day. Those last minute points could mean the difference between beating the game and not beating it. It could also be the points you need to make expert in each level.

When a customer's bubble turns all the way red it means that they got tired of waiting. When this happens you will see some small red bars that will float over to the green bar at the bottom of the screen. Those red bars represent the amount of points that have been taken away from you for making people wait. Not watering plants also has the same effect; you will notice points taken away from you when the leaves start falling.

JANE

Jane can carry 2 things in her hand at one time so try and make sure that she has two things at all times on her.

You can queue several actions in a row for Jane to perform. All you have to do is click on all the things you want done and Jane will do them in the order in which they were selected. If you want to cancel all of her queued actions all you have to do is right click.

When serving drinks, delivering phones and newspapers she can serve multiple people by clicking on a machine or item only once. Let's suppose that 3 people want a newspaper, click on the newspaper one time and then quickly click on all 3 people at once. As long as you click on all 3 before people before Jane is finished making her last delivery, everybody will have the same item.

CHAMBER MAID AND PORTER

The maid is in charge of 4 different services, vacuuming, watering the flowers, dry cleaning and changing linens. If you need to summons the maid you can just click on her picture directly instead of the icon for each individual job.

There are two icons on each corner of the screen, one for the maid and one for the porter. When their circle is orange it means that they don't have any chores to take care of. When their circle is blue, it means they are currently doing jobs and can still accept more commands.

The maid can still accept commands even if you did not click on something originally. Let's suppose you clicked on 2 rooms to be cleaned and a third one appears before you finish vacuuming those two. As long as the icon around her is blue it will accept more jobs to do, be it the same type or a different task.

She can also perform other jobs while she is out even if she was not originally commanded to do so. For example she is out vacuuming and you notice that the plants need water, you can click on the plants without clicking on the watering can and it will be queued with her duties. This can only be done while her icon is still blue, not orange. If it's orange then you need to set up a new set of tasks for her to do.

Always vacuum an occupied room first before you do a vacant one. People who are in occupied rooms should have priority over empty ones. The reason for that is that people will get tired of waiting and make you lose popularity points.

The porter is in charge of making repairs, bringing luggage, taking pictures and selling souvenirs.

Right clicking will cancel all of Jane's actions, not the maid's or the porter's actions. I tried several ways to see if I could cancel actions made by the maid or the porter but I couldn't find any. Make sure that you only schedule them only for a few steps at a time, since things that can require more urgency can come up.

UPGRADES

At the beginning of each week you will have a screen that lets you buy Upgrades and Furniture. Choosing correctly in these categories will affect your score at the end of the day. Buying furniture has to be done carefully. In some levels you want to buy things that will add extra clients and in others you want to buy things that will add popularity points.

It is not necessary to buy all the upgrades that are presented to you, just choose the ones that will be most beneficial to you. In early stages concentrate more on buying things that will add more clients to your hotel. Things like making all the workers faster can be added once you've accumulated several more clients to your hotel.

At the beginning of a scene you will see certain items flash several times. That signifies that something has been added to the scene, like new furniture and upgrades.

Upgrades that provide you with more money per services and don't need repairs are a great buy. Good examples of these are Satellite Communications, Chrome Plated Blender etc. They don't need repairs and generally add up to $10 more per service. Taking pictures and selling souvenirs are other great buys that add a significant amount of money to your sales.

Like in the original Jane's Hotel in this one you also have the flowers that need to be watered. You don't have to buy the flowers but it may be harder to beat the game without them. In most levels they come with a high number of popularity points which will help you with your score.

You CAN water the plants ahead of time in this game. In the original version you had to wait until the leaves started falling before you could water them, in here you do not. Water them often and especially at times when the maid is least busy. If you don't water your plants properly the leaves will start to fall and make you lose points in the green meter below.

The following section represents a step by step rundown of the choices I made in the game. They represent all the furniture and upgrade choices I made in all the locations. I was able to get an Expert score in all the levels following these steps ALONG with the tips I provided above. The game can be won several different ways - these are just the ones that worked for me.

CANARY ISLANDS

Your debt bank in level 1-1 is 3000 as soon as you make that much money you will advance to the next level.

Starting in level 2-1. Your goal in this chapter is to make $7,000 as soon as you make it you will move on to the next location. You will have clients that have rooms upstairs, don't forget to check them and make sure that they don't need anything.

1-4

The Royal Bungalows which will add one extra customer.

1-5

Palm Trees which add 1 extra client.

1-6

Chandeliers which also add one more client.

1-7

I bought the Pink flowers which add 2 more clients to your day

1-8

I bought the Sun Lounger

1-9 Second Sun Lounger

If your tip bar is full you should be able to earn an extra $10 in tips just for serving customers quickly.

1-10

I bought the Chrome Plated blender because it adds $10 for services and it does not require repairs. + 10 popularity points.

1-11

Green flowers will add 2 more clients +15 popularity points.

1-12

I bought the Spanish glass chandeliers, they give you +25 popularity points and

I also bought the City News paper it adds 10 popularity points.

From the upgrade section I chose the Chromium Plated watering can in order to cut down watering time.

1-13

From the upgrades menu I purchased the Turbo 4000 Vacuum Cleaner so the vacuuming would take less time.

Manager's Training so Jane could move faster.

Chambermaid's Education in order for her to move faster.

I bought the camera so that the porter can take pictures and earn an extra $5 per service. (You may want to choose something else since I never took any pictures with the camera).

ENGLAND

2-1

First day, no upgrades available.

2-2

I didn't buy anything, I want to save my money for the next round.

2-3

I bought the medieval arches since it adds one extra customer.

2-4

Purchased the wall decoration in order to bring in an extra client.

2-5

I bought the World News paper since it added $10 for each service and 10 popularity points.

2-6

Beech Wood Windsor Chair was my next purchase since it added several benefits. The customers would have 10 seconds more patience, an extra $5 per service and it also added 5 popularity points.

2-7

Florentine Crystal Chandeliers will add one extra client.

2-8

Knight's Armor was next it also adds one extra client.

2-9

Coffee M Pro-2000 makes 2 cups of coffee at the same time. It also adds $10 per service, 10 popular points and does not need fixing.

2-10

Mahogany Bureau adds 1 client and clients will wait for an extra 5 seconds. which means you have more time to get to them thus earning a bigger bonus.

2-11

Flowers add 5 popularity points and one more client.

2-12

From the upgrades menu I purchased the Turbo 4000 vacuum, it enables vacuuming to be done faster.

The Chromium Plated watering Can so it would take less time to water the plants.

Manager's Training so Jane can deliver things faster.

2-13

Antique Marble Fountain will add 1 more client.

Phone 2130 adds 10 popularity points.

Chambermaid's education so she can move faster.

2-14

Satellite Communication adds $10 per service and cannot be broken, which eliminated the porter coming over to fix it.

An Unknown Knight's Armor will add 10 popularity points.

In the Upgrades section I purchased the Digital Camera which adds $5 per service.

Porter's Education will make him move faster.

2-15

Armor of Tristan the Terrible adds $10 per service, 5 points for popularity and cannot be broken.

Mosaic Tile Floors will add one more client.

JAPAN

3-1

You have to earn $9000 to make it to your next location.

Dry Cleaning and luggage services are introduced in this hotel. The eating area is introduced as well.

3-2

Did not purchase anything.

3-3

Natural Stone Walls will add 2 more clients.

New Restaurant will add $10 for services and 15 popularity points.

3-4

Silk Upholstered Armchair will add 10 seconds of waiting, $10 for services and 10 popularity points.

3-5

Satellite Communication you get 10 popularity points and $10 extra for each service.

3-6

Coffee Machine Pro 2000, will add extra $10 per cup and 10 popularity points. This machine does not need repairs.

3-7

World News adds 10 popularity points and an extra $10 per service.

Vacuum Turbo 400 makes the vacuum work faster.

3-8

Flowers add 1 client and 10 popularity points. Make sure you stay on top of watering the plants or you

Manager's Training

3-9

Stained Oak Bureau will add 2 clients

3-10

Wool rug will add 2 clients

Japanese Fountain, guests will take pictures in front of the fountain. Adds 10 popularity points.

Chambermaid's Education

3-11

Silk Upholstered Armchair adds 10 seconds of waiting, $10 more per service and 10 popularity points.

Oak Wood Dinner Table will add 10 seconds of waiting and 10 popularity points.

Toolkit which will help the Porter make quicker repairs.

Digital Camera adds $5 more per service.

3-12

Double Japanese Fountain adds $10 more per service and 10 popularity points, does not break.

Chromium Plated Watering Can

Porter's Education

FRANCE

4-1

Your goal will be to make $10,000 in order to beat the game.

The scrolling lobby is back in this last hotel.

You do not have an arrow that shows you when somebody is waiting for a service.

You will just have to keep going back and forth to check and see if anyone needs something.

Things break often in this hotel so make sure you buy the toolkit as soon as possible.

Linens are introduced in this hotel.

Can't buy upgrades until you pass this level.

4-2

I'm going to save my money in this round so I can buy the New restaurant that does not repair in the next round.

You have to work fast in this hotel because people have unusually short fuses in this hotel.

4-3

New Restaurant will not need the Porter to fix it, it will add $10 more per service and it adds 10 popularity points. I chose the restaurant because it it out of view. At least if the phone breaks it is next to Jane thus easier to alert the Porter that the phone is broken.

Chambermaid's Education, she is too slow at this moment and she needs to be faster.

4-4

Vacuum Cleaner Turbo 4000

Porter's Education

4-5

World News $10 more per service and 10 popularity points.

4-6

Satellite Communications Adds $10 more per services and 10 popularity points.

4-7

Stained Oak Bureau will add one more client.

4-8

Gift Shop will add 20 popularity points.

Cupids will add 1 client.

4-9

French Red Velvet Curtains will add 1 client

Antique Marble Fountain will add 2 clients.

Toolkit will make the Porter fix things faster.

4-10

Beech Windsor Chair will add 5 seconds of waiting plus $10 for services.

Manager's Training

4-11

Flowers will add 1 more client and 25 popularity points.

Chromium Plated Watering Can

Natural Oak Wood Dinner Table will add 5 seconds of waiting and 10 points of popularity.

4-12

An Antique Statue, people will stand next to it to take pictures.

Digital Camera will add $5 per service.

Marble Floor will add one client.

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