Dear developer,
the board keeps giving me strikes, saying I shouldn't waste money on environmental initiatives. So I decided to do an evil run, only to encounter the exact same problem? I'm having a hard time progressing :(
I do really love the game! I don't know anything about the economy, and who knows what dividend is, or how you calculate stock exchange haha
so even though i kinda suck at it, thanks for making it!
Thank you so much for playing! I'm glad you're enjoying the game and I think I can get you pointed in the right direction. I'm going to try to answer without giving anything away, but if you need more help feel free to reach back out!
My quick tips for a successful run:
- Take out the largest loan available immediately. The interest payments will hurt initially but it will allow you to ramp up production much faster.
- Pay attention to what percentage of your goods are selling each quarter. If you're selling out, you should probably bump your prices up a bit. If you're selling less than 80% or so you might want to bump your prices down a bit.
- You'll almost certainly have to take some of the less scrupulous research options, the game is mean to be a bit tongue-in-cheek and does certainly push you down that path.
- Ultra Processed Foods is a really powerful research, the base revenue from it will be much higher than any of the starting items.
- Some of the dialogue from the board members might not be 100% accurate. I never spent as much time as I wanted to on the dialogue tree, so while it should always point you in the right direction, it could be a little misleading.
Understanding the board:
- Board Strikes: The board members look at a couple of things to see how you're doing. Dividends, Stock Prices, Frivolous Activity, Production Costs. Each board member weighs each item differently and has different tolerances for what they find acceptable.
- Dividends: Money that is paid out to share holders (stock owners). The Board Members want to see the dividend increasing, so one of the easiest ways to meet this need is by regularly making small increases to the dividend. Once the divided is high enough they'll no longer care to see it increased, but that number is pretty high.
- Stock Prices: In game the stock price is very simplified. Basically as long as your profit increases the stock price will increase. There are other factors at play, but the big thing if finding ways to increase profit.
- Frivolous Activity: Basically any money you spend that doesn't go directly into lowering production costs or increasing production capacity is seen as frivolous activity by the board. The easiest way to see this is the Research screen. If research is increasing costs, the board probably won't like it.
- Production Costs: The Board wants costs to go down, so this compounds with Frivolous Activity and makes it difficult to go all in on altruistic research.
I'll leave it at that for now, but please let me know if you have any other questions! Enjoy producing prophet!
Thanks so much! By getting a loan right off the bat, I don't have any trouble with the board members during the start-up.
I'm kind of embarrassed to ask for more tips, but I do need help getting past 6 quarters. Now I inevitably bankrupt the company when the loans catch up with me, as the increased production doesn't create enough revenue. Do you know anything that might help?
Glad that helped you get a bit further.
As for progressing past quarter 6. Researching Ultra Processed Foods, and Water Rights is probably the easiest way to make it past quarter 6.
Additionally focus your research on the options that are creating the most revenue for you.
Slowly increase the dividend every other or every 3rd quarter until the Board Members mood stabilizes or increases. After that only boost it if you have excess money and are worried about the Board's mood.
A Board Member won't give you strike in consecutive quarters, so use that knowledge to your advantage... Successful bribes will remove a strike!
Let me know if you need anything else. If you make it to the end, let me know what your high score is!
