Good morning, RS! I have a strong feeling this is already a thought you guys have pondered, but I think it would a very cool way for the citizens of Ventura to expand their business opportunities. I’m suggesting the ability to, when private businesses are able to be opened to the public, the ability to open your own “Greenhouse” or “Greenery”, where you’re able to grow your own crops from the first stages, down to the harvest. Shop owners would have the ability to choose which products they grow/sell, the prices, and the “effects” of the product when used by a customer. I suggest keeping it simple to start, and having about 3 different types of “effects”, such as slight screen sway, slight color transitions to the screen (nothing crazy, as people with vision issues may suffer a bit), and an equipment delay of ~2 seconds when using gear (slight “intoxication”).

As far as the products, I would say it would be appropriate to keep it simple, and start with a catalog of 5-10 different types of “greenery”. The effects could all be from what I listed above, and intensity/duration of the “effects” could vary, depending on the quality of soil, irrigation techniques, and lighting, etc. The effects could last anywhere from 1-3 or so minutes dependent on said factors.

Shop owners would have the ability to choose from a list of pre-determined product names (YOU guys would come up with the names for each type of the “greenery” in order to prevent abuse of this freedom becoming anything too vulgar/inappropriate). They would also have the ability to display a sample of each product, next to where the “greenery” is stored on the store floor, listing the “effects”, duration of “effects”, and the possible resell value, if flipped and sold ILLEGALLY on the black market.

Shop owners would be required to maintain an ACTIVE and LEGAL license to open for business (LEGALLY). Shop owners would be responsible for, and required to, visit the city hall that corresponds to the city they are planning on opening their business in. Aka Milano shops being opened would require you to get a permit/business license from that city hall, same for Florence. Hawthorne could fall under Milano law in this respect, as I’m fairly certain Hawthorne doesn’t have their own city hall, unless I’ve just never seen or visited it (somehow, LOL). Shop owners would have the ability to run run their shop without a license, but this would be a reason for state and federal agents to open an investigation, and possibly set up further action with fellow city higher ups, such as full-scale shop raids. This would remove the shop owner’s entire catalog of products, incur fines, prison time, and the possible revocation of their business license for a period of up to 7 real life days, dependent on the severity and discretion of the investigating bodies.

Players would have the ability to set up heists on these businesses, while shop owners hire civilians or private security, in order to help keep their shop safe during AND after shop hours. Players would be required to have a crew of 5-10 people to start a heist, in order to prevent players from wanting to open a business, as losing everything would be devastating. The shop itself would be built in such a way, where any would-be heists would REQUIRE the crew initiating it, to have a very hard to come by tool, such as a battering ram (can only be used on specific “greenery” entrances), to avoid any other aspects of gameplay being affected by a civilian having a battering ram. It would also have a maximum usage of (1) use, and cost around $10,000 to obtain from the illegal dealer. This also helps prevent constant business raids, and keep a nice, realistic flow within the game.

I understand this was a complete mouthful, and might be a bit more complex/difficult thing than I’m envisioning, but I believe this would add LOADS of interesting interactions into the game, and involves all agencies, and civilians as well. Thank you!