You start with nothing. Here's how to not stay that way.
Low Life City is a text-based multiplayer crime game. You type commands into the terminal and the city responds. The web client gives you a full dashboard — heat meter, city map, market panel, news feed — but every button just sends the same commands you'd type yourself. You arrive broke. The city doesn't care. Learn fast or stay broke.
Type look to see where you are. Type price
to see drug prices in your district. Type go <district>
to travel. Type help for the full in-game command list.
Your heat level (0–100) represents how much police attention you've attracted. Every crime raises it. It decays naturally over time — faster if you lay low. Let it run too hot and the city will make your life very short.
Above certain thresholds you may face police raids on your stash, arrest and jail time, or an avenger NPC that hunts you across the city until your heat drops.
Use laylow to skip time and decay heat faster.
Use bribe to pay cops directly (expensive but instant).
Renting a hideout and using laylowhideout gives the
best heat decay rate.
Eight drugs trade across six districts. Prices drift every 5 real-world minutes based on supply/demand modifiers. The market panel in the web client shows trend arrows (↑↓—) so you can spot opportunities at a glance. This is your primary income — master it before you start shooting.
Price philosophy by district: Industrial Zone has the cheapest prices (no police, open market). Uptown has the highest (wealthy clientele, premium markup). Harborside is cheap on supply-side drugs — it's the import hub. Arbitrage between districts is the core money-making loop.
Buy in Industrial Zone or Harborside, sell in Uptown or Downtown.
Watch the trend arrows — a drug trending ↑ will keep rising for
a few ticks. Don't carry all your cash; use stash
and your hideout to protect assets from raids.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| buy <drug> <qty> | Purchase drugs at current district prices |
| sell <drug> <qty> | Sell drugs from your inventory |
| price | View current district drug prices with trend arrows |
| inventory / inv | Check what you're carrying |
| stash | Store items in your personal stash (safe from raids) |
| unstash | Retrieve items from your stash |
| stashlist | View stash contents |
| launder | Convert dirty cash to clean cash (with a cut taken) |
| heal | Pay to recover from injuries |
Beyond trading, you can commit crimes directly. Each one raises heat and has a success chance based on your skills and the district's police presence. High risk, high reward — but get sloppy and you'll be doing time before you've made your first real score.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| rob <target> | Attempt a robbery — risky, but high reward |
| deal | Sell drugs on the street (generates heat) |
| heat | Check your current police attention level (0–100) |
| laylow | Skip time to reduce heat faster |
| bribe | Pay off cops to reduce heat (expensive) |
| train <skill> | Practice a skill: stealth, muscle, or smooth_talk |
Committing crimes in high-police districts (Downtown: 7/10, Uptown: 5/10) dramatically increases your chance of arrest. Stick to Industrial Zone (1/10) or The Flats (3/10) for lower-risk operations until you've built up your skills.
Combat is turn-based and deterministic — your weapon condition, ammo, and skill levels determine outcomes. Keep your weapons maintained or they'll jam at the worst moment. In Low Life City, the worst moment is always right now.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| hit <target> | Attack someone (starts combat) |
| flee | Attempt to escape from combat |
| equip <weapon> | Ready a weapon for combat |
| unequip | Put away your current weapon |
| weapons / gear | View your weapon inventory |
| inspect <weapon> | Check a weapon's condition and ammo |
| reload | Reload your equipped weapon |
| clean | Maintain your weapon to prevent jams |
| repair | Fix a damaged weapon |
| buyweapon | Purchase weapons from arms dealers |
| buyammo | Purchase ammunition |
| listweapons | See available weapons for purchase |
| listammo | See available ammo types |
Three factions control the city's six districts. None of them care about you when you're nobody. Your reputation with each faction affects prices, NPC dialogue, and what opportunities are available to you. Taking over a district for your faction earns ongoing bonuses — and makes you a target.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| takeover | Attempt to seize control of a district for your faction |
| faction | View your faction standing and relationships |
| territory | See which factions control which districts |
| reputation | Check your standing with various factions |
A hideout is your base of operations. Rent one, upgrade its security, stash contraband, and lay low there for enhanced heat decay. Recruit crew members to guard it while you're out. Without a hideout you're just a street-level nobody with nowhere to run.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| hideout | View your current hideout status |
| rent <tier> | Acquire a hideout: squat → apartment → warehouse → front business |
| upgrade <type> | Install upgrades: reinforced door, security system, etc. |
| stashhideout | Store items in your hideout's stash |
| unstashhideout | Retrieve items from your hideout's stash |
| laylowhideout | Rest at your hideout for enhanced heat decay |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| crew | View your crew members and their assignments |
| recruit | Recruit a new crew member |
| crewassign | Assign a crew member to a role |
| crewdismiss | Dismiss a crew member |
| crewguard | Order crew to guard your hideout |
| crewunguard | Stand down guarding crew |
The city has a living newspaper. Player actions — big scores, turf wars, arrests — get synthesized into in-fiction news bulletins by the AI. Your personal story arc tracks your milestones and generates a "story so far" chapter recap. The city remembers who you are — for better or worse.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| news | Read the latest city news bulletins |
| story | View your personal story arc and progress flags |
| hud | Refresh and display your heads-up display |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| go <district> / travel <district> | Move to another district |
| look | Survey your surroundings |
In the web client, you can click any district on the city map to travel there instantly. NPC names and exits in the terminal are also clickable — they prefill the input line so you never have to type a name twice.
▸ Social & NPC Dialogue
NPCs have persistent memory. Talk to a dealer, cop, fixer, or rival and they'll remember your history. Trust scores affect what they'll do for you. The AI narrates the conversation — but the trust score is deterministic code. Burn someone once and they don't forget.