Maximum labor throughput
Maximum labor throughput or maximum labor output is the highest amount of labor a shoppe or stall can use in a given amount of time. Each type of shoppe or stall has different limits for each grade of labor (basic, skilled, and expert). These maximums also control the maximum amount of reserve labor each store can have.
How labor is used
- Main article: Labor
Labor is polled automatically in a round-robin fashion from a shoppe's list of employees, filling expert labor first, then skilled labor, then basic labor. A shoppe or stall cannot use more labor hours in a real-time hour than its labor throughput for each grade of labor, and it can never use more than its basic labor throughput in combined labor. For instance, a stall with labor limits of 4 hours basic, 2 hours skilled, and 1 hour expert with an order of blue dye (which requires 2 hours skilled labor and 4 hours basic labor) could not finish the product in one hour, because only 2 hours of skilled labor and 2 hours of basic could be used that hour.
Labor throughputs
| Type | Small Stall | Medium Stall | Deluxe Stall | Basic Shoppe | Upgraded Shoppe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Labor (Maximum Labor Throughput) | |||||
| Apothecary | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Distillery | 5 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 30 |
| Estate agent | N/A | N/A | N/A | 45 | 90 |
| Furnisher | 15 | 22 | 30 | 60 | 90 |
| Iron monger | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 23 |
| Shipyard | 11 | 17 | 23 | 45 | 68 |
| Tailor | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 23 |
| Weavery | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 23 |
| Skilled Labor | |||||
| Apothecary | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| Distillery | 2 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 30 |
| Estate agent | N/A | N/A | N/A | 45 | 90 |
| Furnisher | 6 | 9 | 12 | 60 | 90 |
| Iron monger | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 23 |
| Shipyard | 5 | 7 | 10 | 45 | 68 |
| Tailor | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 23 |
| Weavery | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 23 |
| Expert Labor | |||||
| Apothecary | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| Distillery | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 30 |
| Estate agent | N/A | N/A | N/A | 45 | 90 |
| Furnisher | 2 | 4 | 9 | 60 | 90 |
| Iron monger | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 23 |
| Shipyard | 2 | 4 | 7 | 45 | 68 |
| Tailor | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 23 |
| Weavery | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 23 |
| Note: Construction sites have a maximum labor throughput of 45/hr. | |||||
Example
Imagine that a pirate manages a medium apothecary stall with three employees, and receives an order for a green dye. Green dye requires two hours of skilled labor and four hours of basic labor. The stall has a labor throughput of two skilled labor hours per real-time hour, and four basic labor hours per real-time hour.
During the first hour after the product was ordered, the game would poll the stall's staff in search of an employee who can provide skilled labor. First it would check employee A, who in this case cannot provide skilled labor. Next it would check employee B, who can provide skilled labor. One hour of offline skilled labor is provided by employee B, and then employee C is checked. Employee C can also provide skilled labor, and one of his or her labor hours is used. The stall cannot use any additional skilled labor this hour, since its labor limit for skilled labor has been reached, but the stall does not need any more skilled labor. The stall can still provide two more hours of basic labor this hour, for a total of four. Employees A and B each have another hour removed, and the dye labor is continued.
The next hour, the stall checks employee C again, picking up where it left off last hour. Employee C provides an hour of basic labor. The stall then checks employee A again, who, they discover, has used up his or her 24 hours of labor foraging. The stall passes employee A and moves to employee B, who provides the final hour of basic labor, completing the green dye.
Underutilized Labor
Occasionally due to the complex nature of the labor algorithm, it is possible for a stall to 'lose' labor. This can happen due to a stall polling a worker for labor before they actually have an hour available. The end result is that a stall with the minimum number of laborers to reach the maximum labor throughput will very often not reach the thresholds described in this article due to this 'lost' labor.
