Games PC CAPITALISM II User Manual

User Manual

Contents

Chapter 1: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Minimum System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Recommended System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Requirements for Multiplayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Using the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Chapter 2: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Single Player Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Click the ENVIRONMENT tab1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Click the COMPETITORS tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Click the IMPORTS tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Click the GOALS tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Multi-Player Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Step 1: Starting a Multi-player Game WITHOUT Ubi.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Step 1: Starting a Multi-player Game WITH Ubi.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Step 2: Setting Up the Multi-player Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Chatting with Other Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Winning or Losing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Single Player Game - Campaign Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Single Player Game - Custom Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Multi-Player Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

News Features of Capitalism II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Chapter 3: Game View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

The Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Game Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Mini Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

World Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Cash & Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Profit/Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Understanding a Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Layout Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Staff Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Firm Financial Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Complex City Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Chapter 4: Firms, Units and Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Common units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Advertising Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Inventory Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Purchasing Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Sales Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Retail Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Private Labelling Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Manufacturing Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Research & Development (R&D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Starting an R&D project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Technology Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Purchasing Technology from other corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Crop Growing Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Livestock Raising Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Livestock Processing Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Mine, Oil Well and Logging Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Selling & Buying Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Putting a firm on the market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Receiving an Offer to Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Placing an Offer to Buy a Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Looking for Firms to Buy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Apartment Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Commercial Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 7

Headquarters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

HQ Unit Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Financial Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Human Resource Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Public Relations Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Investor Relations Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Chief Executive Officer Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Chief Operating Officer Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Chief Marketing Officer Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Chief Technical Officer Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Mansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Radio Station, Television Station and

Newspaper Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Firm Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

To purchase a media firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Information Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Investment Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Stock Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Chapter 5: Reports and Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Product Summary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Display Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Product Detail Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Necessity Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Product Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Changing Selling Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Prev and Next Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Go Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Firm Summary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Corporate Summary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Financial Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Stock Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Firms Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Business Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Corporate Detail Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Management Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Financial Overview and Stock Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Firms Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Graphs 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Graphs 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Income Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Dominance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Financial Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Person Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Wealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Goal Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Normal Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Campaign Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Score Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Billionaires 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Manufacturer’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Farmer’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Manager’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Chapter 6: Stock and Finances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

The Stock Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Buying and Selling to the Public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

Buying Back Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

Tender Offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Takeover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Merger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Stock Trading Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Issuing Shares and Paying Dividend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Issuing New Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Paying Dividend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Borrowing and Repaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Out of Cash and Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

CHAPTER 7: Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Overall Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Price, Quality & Brand Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Overall Rating & Product Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Calculating the Overall Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Manufactured Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Crops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Livestock Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Raw Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Brand Awareness Level and Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Increasing Brand Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Brand Loyalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Brand Loyalty Level and Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Brand Loyalty Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Brand Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Corporate Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Range Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Unique Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Media Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Advertising & Product Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Local Competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

Chapter 8: Personnel Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Hiring an Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Factors that Affect the Expected Salary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Attitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Salary Raise Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Resignation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

Layoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

Delegating Firms to your Chief Operating Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

COO’s Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124

Management Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126

Delegating Firms to a COO with Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

Delegating R&D Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Advanced Management Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Appendix A: Product Ranges of

Retail Stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Appendix B: Manufacturer’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136

Appendix C: Shortcut Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Appendix D: Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Chapter 1: Installation

Welcome!

Before you install Capitalism II, take a moment to review the Minimum and Recommended System Requirements. Your computer should meet allof the Minimum Requirements so that Capitalism II may run. If it meets or exceeds the Recommended Requirements you will find game performance greatly improved.

Minimum System Requirements

Operating system Windows®95/98/2000/ME/XP

(Windows®NT not supported)

CPU type and Pentium®II 233 MHz or speed processors of the same grade

Memory 64 MB RAM CD-ROM Speed 4x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive Hard drive space 250 MB free hard disk space Graphics card Video card with DirectX 8 compatible driver Other needs DirectX 8 compatible sound card;

Keyboard; Mouse

To install Capitalism II follow the procedures below: Before you start you must have Windows 95 (or later) installed.

1) Start your computer and wait for Windows to finish loading.

2) Insert the Capitalism II CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. If you have AutoPlay you will see the installation screen. Follow the onscreen instructions and Capitalism II will be installed on your computer.

If the installation screen does not appear, it is likely that AutoPlay is disabled. Follow these procedures:

1) Click START on the taskbar.

2) Select SETTINGS, then CONTROL PANEL.

3) Double click ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS.

4) Select INSTALL, NEXT and BROWSE.

5) Locate the program called SETUP on the CD-Rom and click OK.

The installation screen should now appear. Follow the on-screen instructions and Capitalism II will be installed on your computer.

Recommended System Requirements

Pentium 128 MB RAM

Requirements for Multiplayer

Multiplayer support (2-7 players) 56.6 Kbps or faster connections for Internet play; TCP/IP or IPX compliant network

II 350 MHz or processors of the same grade and

Using the Mouse

Capitalism II is controlled using a combination of keyboard and mouse controls. The following table is a guide to the mouse controls.

Command or Phrase Means

Left click, Select Depress the left mouse button Right click Depress the right mouse button Double click Rapidly depress the left mouse button twice

Please note that if your mouse is equipped with a scroll wheel you may use it to zoom in or out of the main city view.

Chapter 2: Getting Started

You begin Capitalism 2 at the main menu screen. From here you have 5 options:

Select either, Entrepreneur’s Campaignto

play the tutorials. The tutorials will lead you through game play basics. They are designed to be played in sequence, allowing you to maximise your learning potential.

If it is your first time playing

the game, you are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to start with Entrepreneur’s

Campaign.

Or select

Single Player Game Play against the computer Multiplayer Game Play against computer and human opponents

via a network or the Internet

Hall of Fame View the list of the best players Credits View the game credits Exit Exit to Windows

Single Player Game

Select the Single Player option from the main menu to play Single Player games. You may now choose from loading a previously saved game (LOAD), playing a CAMPAIGN,or defining a CUSTOM GAME.

Click LOAD and select a previously saved game. The game will start automatically. Click CAMPAIGN and the following screen appears.

Capitalist’s Campaignto play through specific challenges presented as individual scenarios. The scenarios are designed to be played after you have completed the Entrepreneur’s Campaign, or when you are comfortable with your knowledge of Capitalism II.

Unlike Entrepreneur’s Campaign,where you will only have access to the next scenario in the campaign when you have successfully completed the current one, Capitalist’s Campaignprovides you with a choice of 5 scenarios at a time. When you have completed any of the available 5 scenarios, a new one will become available, until all scenarios in the campaign have been revealed.

Alternatively, if you wish to have open play, click CUSTOM.Here you will be able to define some of the game parameters yourself. A series of screens will lead you through the available options. You may alter as many of the options as you like, from all to none. The first screen that you will see is shown to the right.

From the screen shot you can see that the BASIC tab is the default selection. From here you can alter your corporation’s color (as displayed in game), its logo, and the in-game portrait that will represent yourself. Click the yellow left/right arrows to cycle through the available choices.

Next choose your corporation’s name and enter your own name. You will begin the game as chairman and chief executive officer of your corporation.

You may choose a difficulty level by clicking the buttons labelled 1 to 8. 1 is the easiest and 8 is the most difficult. Modifying any of the game settings in the following tabs will define the difficulty as Custom.

Lastly, you can click the Randomizebutton to set the game settings in the tabs to random values.

Click the ENVIRONMENT tab

In the Environment screen you can:

• Define the Number of Cities that will appear in the game.

• Determine the level of Start-up Capital (or money) you and your corporation will have.

• Set the frequency of Random Events such as plagues and power black-outs.

• Set the Game Starting Year.An earlier start date will mean that some technologies will have to be researched before they are available to you.

• Decide if you wish to Allow Stock Investment. If you decide on including the stock market your corporation will be able to invest in other corporations, but it will also be open to possible takeover and merger moves from other corporations.

• You may choose whether to allow only single Retail Store Types or many. Selecting one type will result in generic departments stores that can sell any product, while selecting many types will result in more specific stores being available, such as toy and jewellery stores. Further information can be found in Chapter 4.

• Finally, you may decide if you want a Complex City Economy or not. If you decide to enable this option each city will be subject to variances in the local city economy. You may find that some cities have lower land values and labor costs, enabling you to operate more cheaply before exporting your goods to a more wealthy market. Or you may find that product demand is different than found in a neighbouring city. An

abundance of work will increase the local population causing land values to increase and traffic to become denser. All in all, the city economy will reflect the dynamics of the city as it develops.

Click the COMPETITORS tab

In the Competitors screen you can:

• Define the Number of Competitors.

• Set the level of their Start-up Capital.

• Set their economic Aggressiveness towards other corporations.

• Adjust the Expertise level for each corporation.

• Choose to be able to see your competitors’ Trade Secrets.If you select ‘yes’ you will be able to view firm layouts, product information and R&D projects.

• Alter the Competence of Local Competitors. These local stores are not corporate controlled but still influence the city market place.

Click the IMPORTS tab

In the Imports screen you may:

• Determine the number of Seaports Importing Consumer and Industrial Goods per City. The more seaports of each type in existence, the more diverse the range of products will be available at the start of the game.

• Select Constant Import Supply. If this is selected, the supply of imports will be constant as long as demand exists. Otherwise the supply may be cut of suddenly.

• Determine the Import Quality. A low import quality product should be inferior to a corporation manufactured product at the beginning of the game. Conversely, imported goods of high quality should be superior at the start of the game.

Click the GOALS tab

In the Goals screen you may set custom goals for the new game. Click the and + buttons to alter the settings. If you decide to play to any goals, you may set:

• The No. of Yearsover which the goals must be achieved.

• The Goal Score Bonus, which will be added to the player’s score if the goals are achieved.

• Values 1 to set financial goals.

• Values 2 to set corporate performance goals.

• Industries and Products to set, respectively, industrial and product dominance goals.

When you have finished customising the game click STARTand the game will begin.

Multi-Player Game

Select the Multi-Player option from the main menu to play Multi Player games. You may now choose from Play it on Ubi.com, LOADa previously saved game, or CREATE A NEW GAME.

Step 1: Starting a Multi-player Game WITHOUT Ubi.com

You should only select CREATE A NEW GAME or LOADnow if you want to start a multiplayer game playing in a local area network, via modem or cable directly, or via the Internet accessing a known TCP/IP address. If this is not the case with you, you should proceed to the manual section “Step 1: Starting a Multi-player Game WITH ubi.com” below.

If you have selected LOAD, you will be asked to select a game you previously saved in a multi-player game session.

Subsequently, you will shown to the following options:

IPX Connection for DirectPlay Join a local area network game Internet TCP/IP Connection for DirectPlay Join a local area network or

internet game Modem Connection for DirectPlay Join with another player by modem

Serial Connection for Direct Play Join with another player linked by serial cable

Left click on any of the four options and press the CONTINUE button. Now proceed to the manual section, “Step 2: Setting Up the Multi-player Game” below.

Step 1: Starting a Multi-player Game WITH ubi.com

Ubi.com provides a central lobby where Capitalism II players can meet each other online and find opponents to play with in a multi-player game.

When you select Play it on ubi.com, the game will attempt to launch the ubi.com application, which can be optionally installed to your computer during Capitalism II installation. If it is installed on your computer, the game will now close itself and let ubi.com guide you through the multiplayer game setup. On the other hand, if the ubi.com application is not installed on your computer, the ubi.com web page will be opened, providing you with information and instructions for downloading and installing ubi.com on your computer. Alternatively, you can install ubi.com from your Capitalism II CD by choosing, “Install ubi.com” from the game startup menu.

When you have successfully found online opponents in ubi.com, ubi.com will launch Capitalism II again with an attachment of all multiplayer setup information necessary for starting a multiplayer game. As soon as Capitalism II is launched, you will see the Multi-player Game menu. There you should select either CREATE A NEW GAMEor LOADa previously saved game.

If you have selected LOAD, you will be asked to select a game you previously saved in a multi-player game session.

Step 2: Setting Up the Multi-player Game

Here you will be asked to provide YOUR NAME and a SAVE GAME FILE NAME. Once you have completed these, choose CREATE to begin a new

multi player game, or JOIN to take part in an existing session. You will then be taken to the Multiplayer Game Setup screen where you can

customize the new multiplayer game and chat with other players. To chat, just type in your chat message and press ENTER to send.

When you are ready, click the READYbutton and the indicator next to your name at the top of the screen will turn from red to green. When all players’ indicators are green, the creator of this game (the player who selected CREATEinstead of JOIN in the previous screen) can now click the START button to start the game.

Chatting with Other Players

To chat with other players in a multiplayer game, either click the Chat button on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen or press the Enter key. The chat message box will be displayed at the bottom of the screen and prompt you to enter a chat message.

The message will be sent to all other players by default. There is, however, a list of buttons in different colors representing different companies controlled by other players. If you click any of them, the message will be sent to the particular player only.

Winning or Losing

The following are definitions of winning and losing in different types of games in Capitalism II.

You will lose if any of the following occurs:

• You are not able to achieve all of the goals within the given time.

• You retire without achieving all of the goals.

• Your corporation goes bankrupt.

• Your corporation has been merged into another corporation which formerly owned not less than 75% of your corporation’s shares.

• Another human player achieves all of the goals before you do.

Note: Unlike in a single player game, where you will immediately lose the game when somebody has acquired 50% or more of your corporation’s stock, in a multiplayer game you will be allowed to continue your role as CEO of your corporation even though somebody else has acquired controlling interest.

Single Player Game - Campaign Game

You will win if you achieve all of the assigned goals in the given time. You will lose if any of the following occurs:

• You are not able to achieve all of the goals within the given time.

• You retire without achieving all of the goals.

• Your corporation goes bankrupt.

• Your corporation is taken over by another corporation.

Single Player Game - Custom Game

If you have not set any goals for the game, the game will be open-ended. You will lose if your corporation goes bankrupt or if it is taken over by another corporation.

If the game has a set of specific goals, the winning and losing conditions will be the same as those in a campaign game.

Multi-Player Game

If you have not set any goals for the game, the game will be open-ended. You will lose if your corporation goes bankrupt or if it is taken over by another corporation.

If the game has a set of specific goals, you will win if any of the following occurs:

• You achieve all of the assigned goals in the given time.

You will only lose the game when another corporation has acquired 75% or more of your corporation’s stock and decides to execute a merger with your corporation. The result of this is that the entirety of your company will be consolidated into the other company, thus ousting you as CEO.

New Features of Capitalism II

For those who have played Capitalism or Capitalism Plus, the following is a highlight list of new features of Capitalism II.

• Dozens of exciting new scenarios are packed into two brand new campaigns: The Entrepreneur’s Campaign and The Capitalist’s Campaign.

• Vivid, isometric 3D graphics show off the stunning new buildings, roads, vehicles and people.

• New multiplayer games, with up to 7 players, offer intense competition against players from around the world.

• A new ability to acquire buildings from other companies. In multiplayer games you will be able to negotiate for the best prices with your human or computer opponents.

• The cities in Capitalism II are modeled with a dynamic economic system. Flourishing businesses and busy traffic will increase the area’s land values. Astute investments in the real estate market can be a path to riches.

• Take on the title of Real Estate Mogul by building apartments and commercial buildings in pricey downtown locations.

• Build a headquarters for your company and, from there, execute corporate-wide training programs. Allocate resources to public and investor relations, promoting your brand and your company’s stock.

• Build your dream mansion with the fortune that you have made in the business world.

• Quickly judge the status of your business by observing the activities of your employees and customers in the newly added interior views

• Economic systems are not only dynamic, but complex as well. Labor cost and cost of living will vary from city to city, giving you an incentive to set up production in areas of low overhead, while exporting to cities with a more wealthy consumer base.

• Now more product types than ever. Over 60 products for you to manufacture and market.

• A new streamlined interface that eases the locating of suppliers and the setting up of retail stores.

• You can now build an array of retail stores - from mega-discount stores to specialty stores; each with its distinct advantage for your business strategy.

• Rather than being forced to develop your own technology, you may now acquire it from another company. And you may sell to others the technology that you have developed yourself.

• You will now be able to fill new senior management positions. Chief Operating Officers, Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Technical Officers can help to streamline some of your day-to-day business activities.

• Expand your corporation into a true conglomerate; get ink on your fingers and take to the airwaves with your new newspapers publishers and TV and radio stations.

Chapter 3: Game View

After beginning a new game, or after loading a saved game, you are presented with an isometric view of your starting city. The view can be zoomed using your keyboard + and - keys, or with a scroll-wheel equipped mouse. Move the pointing hand icon using the mouse or keyboard cursor keys to navigate around the map.

The Toolbar

This is located at the bottom of the screen and comprises 8 sections.

Game Tools –A side bar menu opens when you click on the tool bar.

From top to bottom the menu displays:

Construction. Various types of building are available, from Retail Stores to Corporate Headquarters. See Chapter 4 for more details.

Zoom Levels. Three levels of zoom are available. Click on a magnifying glass to alter the zoom level from closest view (top glass) to farthest view (bottom glass).

These three icons link to Product Summary Report, Corporate Summary Report and Finance Summary Report respectively. These topics are discussed in Chapter 5

Headquarters. Access information regarding your corporation. More information can be found in Chapter 4

Stock Market. The Stock Market is covered in Chapter 6.

Game Options. Load or Save games. In Game Options. See details below. Game Speed. Click anywhere on the dial to alter the speed.

The game is paused when the needle is pointing to the bottom left, and running at full speed when it points to the bottom right.

Click the Game Toolsicon on the toolbar to close the menu.

In Game Options. This screen allows you to activate or deactivate game sound effects, music or the autosave feature. You may also alter the autolink (your purchasing units locate their own supplies) and internal sale features (your manufactured or farm-reared products are available for you corporation only). Select News to enter the comprehensive news section. From here you may toggle several options to control how much or how little news you are given. News items will be displayed at the bottom of the city view screen for short time. If the headline relates to the construction of a new building or the discovery of new raw materials, clicking the square to the left of the headline will reposition the city view over the source of the news.

2. Mini Map – Click the map icon on the toolbar and a small map appears. This provides important geographical and financial information to help you plan your strategy.

A window opens top right of the main game screen displaying the current city. Government buildings (See Chapter 4 for more information) are shown in grey, whilst corporation-owned buildings are shown in the corporate color. Seaports are labeled C or I depending on the type of import handled: Consumer or Industrial goods. A flashing rectangle indicates the map location of the current isometric view on the main screen. Clicking anywhere on the Mini Map will update the main display to that location.

If you have chosen a game with several cities, they can be viewed by clicking the left/right arrows adjacent to the city name at the top of the Mini Map window. Alternatively, click the down arrow to display a list by city name and click on a city to choose it.

Within the Mini Map view are several icons. These toggle various filters that are then displayed over the city view.

Buildings. Default view displaying the city buildings.

Land Values. Light-colored regions represent higher land values than

darker regions.

Profit Loss. Shows which firms are profitable and which are not. Raw Materials, Shows the location of such items as Timber, Iron and

Gold, which can be mined for use in manufacturing other goods. Links. This filter displays product, firms and corporation links within

the game. Use it in conjunction with the “Product/Firm” filter to track, for example, the sale of raw materials from your mine.

The INFO icon allows you to select whether or not the main view indicates what a building is used for (toy store, apartment building). If the option is turned off, the main screen will still display the buildings, including corporate insignia.

The “Product/Firm” filter allows for greater inspection by toggling the various buttons it contains. For example, by clicking the MYFIRM

button you can cycle through the location of all your buildings within the current city, or multiple cities if you toggle between THIS CITY/ALL CITIES. Similarly the PRODUCTS button allows you to search for specific products, for example, to see if and where a particular product is being manufactured and sold. Use FIRM to search for specific buildings (such as Retail Stores or Factories), or try CORP. for a corporate level search. Choose from a combination of buttons to refine your search. For example, choose “Retail Store” from FIRM and “Canned Soup” from PRODUCTS to see which stores are selling soup in the city. To close the Mini Map window, click the X in the top right or click the Mini Map icon on the toolbar.

3. World Map – Displays the world location of the current city (and any other playable cities). Click the World Map icon on the toolbar. To close the map view, click the toolbar again, or click the X in the top right of the map window.

4. Information – A comprehensive choice of reports and guides. Further details can be found in Chapters 5, 6 and 7.

5. Back – Return to the previous screen viewed (like a browser back button).

6. Cash & Profit – A live reading of your corporations’ current cash and profit amounts.

7. Profit/Loss – A live bar chart depicting corporate profit and loss information for the previous 6 months. The length and color of each bar relates to the nature and amount of the monthly turnover. A tall, green bar indicates large profit, whilst a short red bar indicates a small loss.

8. Date – Shows the current game month, day and year data.

Understanding a Firm

To build a firm, select the type of firm you want to build from the Construction menu (see above). Next, position the cursor over the location on the map where you want to build the firm. If the firm can be built in the selected location, you are informed about the total building cost, which includes the land and construction costs. If you think the cost is reasonable, click the Build button to start construction.

Some firms offer you choices of different sizes. The size of a firm affects 1) its setup and monthly operating cost, 2) its capacity – the quantity of products that it can stock, 3) its productivity – the rate it produces products, and 4) the number of employees each firm unit employs. You should build a larger firm if you anticipate a high demand for your products. On the other hand, if you are skeptical about the demand of your products, you should go for a smaller firm.

The land value of an area may change over time. It rises when there is an increase in traffic volume and the number of buildings in the area. Conversely, it falls when firms in the area are closing down and the volume of traffic decreases. Players will benefit from their real estate investments if the land values of their properties increase and this will be reflected in their corporate balance sheets.

The screen represents a department store selling the retail store maximum of 4 products. The top section of the screen shows the owning corporation – double click on the logo to enter the Corporate Summary screen – and two graphs depict the firm’s profit and revenue over the last 12 months. At the top right is a filter that will allow you to cycle through specific firms, products and corporations.

The next row shows photos of the products on sale. As this is an established store, all 4 slots are occupied.

The lower left section contains information relating to the currently selected unit in the Layout section to the right. In the example shown a Purchasing unit is selected.

At the left are three tabs labeled “1”, “2” and “3”. “1” is the information view which is what you are currently viewing. Clicking the “2” tab will change the view to the exterior of the firm and clicking the “3” tab will display the interior view of the firm. The interior view gives you visual cues about the productivity of your firms and the number of customers in your stores. For instance, if the employees of one of your factories are idle, it is a clear indication of the existence of a problem in your production line and you must take action to fix it immediately.

Layout Section

To the immediate left of the nine unit boxes is a column containing

five icons. These are layout library, auto link, help, firm financial

report and training, and are covered in detail below.

Setting up a Functional Unit

There are more than a dozen different functional units in the game.

Each one has a distinct function. For example, a purchasing unit is

responsible for purchasing goods, whereas a sales unit sells goods

and generates income for the firm.

The building will be immediately available for use. Click the building to ‘enter’ it. With the exception of apartment, commercial, government and media buildings, which have building specific interiors, you will see a similar screen to the one shown.

To set up a functional unit, double-click a location inside the firm where you want to begin construction. A menu prompts you to select the type of unit you want to set up. Because the different types of units have different functions, some units require more capital and workers than other units. For example, the manufacturing unit requires many more people than the inventory unit. After you set up a unit, a box displays summary information about it in the lower left of the screen. In this area, you see a picture of the unit and a group of people representing its workers. The workers in red uniforms are novice workers and the workers in blue uniforms are experienced. For details on improving worker experience level, see Worker Experience and Unit Level below.

Linking Functional Units

You can link two units together by clicking the link line between them. Once linked, they can communicate with each other and transfer goods.

The overall productivity and capacity of most units increase when their unit level is increased. All units begin at unit level 1, and certain units continue to improve until they reach the highest rating, unit level 9.

Since functional units are the essential components of a firm, if the linkages between the units are not properly established, the firm may not function as you intended.

For example, linking a purchasing unit to a sales unit enables the goods purchased by the purchasing unit to move onward to the sales unit for sale. Without the linkage, both of the units will become idle and neither will contribute to the profitability of the firm. See Chapter 4, for more detailed information about each type of unit.

Labor Cost

For simplicity, the monthly salary of each worker in the game is set at $2,000. This salary applies to all workers regardless of the nature of their jobs or their experience. The specific salary expenses of a firm are shown in the Financial Report. Please note that hiring individual officers, such as a Chief Technical Officer, will cost more than $2000 a month. These hired professionals command salaries in excess of six figures. See Chapter 4, HQ Unit Types, for information about hiring professionals.

Staff Training and Procurement of New Equipment

To the left of the layout section, there is a vertical slider labeled Training. Use it to set the spending for staff training and procuring new equipment. You can see the exact amount spent on training and equipment for the entire firm in the Financial Report.

Spending on staff training and installing new equipment greatly affects the efficiency of the workers as the functional unit improves. It is worthwhile for a firm to spend more on this area especially as one considers that there are long-term benefits to be gained.

Worker Experience and Unit Level

If an inexperienced worker is provided with proper training, the worker eventually becomes an experienced worker. You can distinguish between a novice worker and an experienced worker by looking at the uniform color. Novice workers wear red uniforms, whereas experienced workers wear blue. When all the workers in a unit become experienced, the unit will increase one level.

The rate of improvement varies for the different unit types. Improvement largely depends on the resources you allocate to train staff and upgrade new equipment. Employees who are in units with high utilization receive more experience than employees who do not work to capacity. Workers who work to their capacity will learn faster than workers who are idle. Therefore, it is not unusual to find that the rate of improvement is faster during the growth phase of the business than when the firm has leveled off in its productivity.

The unit level decreases for most units when there is change in the product handled by that unit. For example, if a manufacturing unit, which previously manufactured sport shoes, changed its production line to manufacture jeans, its unit level would immediately decrease.

Auto Link

Over the training slider, you can see the Auto Link button. If you enable

it, all of the purchasing units in the firm with broken supplies will look for the needed supplies automatically. This feature also works with layouts pasted from the layout plan library.

Help

Click the help icon to be taken to the Manager’s Guide screen. This

guide is discussed on page 100.

Layout Library

Clicking the books icon next to the layout grid accesses the library. When you enter the library you can immediately ADD the layout you have just left. Complete the description line if you wish. You may also Delete the firm’s layout with the one currently displayed in the library window. If you enter the library from either a farm or factory you will be able to use the Search filter to locate any previously stored layout plans containing the product you select. Alternatively you may use the slider below the layout plan to search through all the stored plans. If you locate a plan you wish to use, click USE and the plan is placed within your firm.

When in the farm or factory layout mode there are two further sections to assist you. These are the input and output sections. The output section lists the product outputs of the currently displayed layout plan, whilst the input section lists the products required to attain the output. A tick next to an input list item indicates that particular product is available from a local supplier.

Firm Financial Report

Click this icon to display the financial report for the firm. This report,

discussed in Chapter 5, details the income and expenditure of the firm (such as salaries paid, training expenses and sales revenue) by current month, previous month, year to date or lifetime of the firm.

Product Summary

The main screen displays the pictures of all products currently available for sale in the firm. Each product picture has several bar and line indicators on the side. These indicators tell you how good the product is compared to the market’s standard and how well the product is currently selling. An explanation of the indicator bars and lines follows.

Supply and Demand Lines

There are two vertical lines to the left of the product picture. The blue one is the supply line, and the red one is the demand line.

If the supply line is longer than the demand line, the supply of the product exceeds the demand. This implies that the profitability of the product might not yet be fully exploited. There is more capacity to meet demand and generate revenue than there is currently demand for the product.

On the other hand, if the demand line is longer than the supply line, the firm cannot supply enough goods to meet the demand. In this situation, you should increase the supply of product as soon as possible to increase revenues.

The relative size of each bar represents the importance of that aspect to the consumer. For example, consumers of the soap shown on the left are buying this particular soap because it has a high rating for brand – the size of the orange brand bar is equivalent to the

combined sizes of the yellow price and green quality bars. If the price of the soap were lowered, the likelihood is that the yellow price bar would increase in size to represent the new price attractiveness felt by the consumer. As a consequence brand and quality would become slightly less important considerations for the consumer. The important thing to remember is that the relationship of the bar sizes is an indicator of why the consumers are purchasing that particular product, irrespective of competition or necessity. You may see a situation in which two examples of a product successfully exist in the market place even though one is inferior in brand or quality to its rival. It may be the case that the inferior product is priced so aggressively low that its only selling point is its price – it will only show a yellow bar – whilst its rival displays large bars for quality and brand. An example of this is given in Product Information, below.

Studying the relative sizes of the bars can help you decide a strategy; Concentrating on improving a soap’s brand, for example, would initially be more beneficial than modifying price or improving quality.

Product Rating Bars

There is a set of two vertical bars to the right of the picture. The left one, which usually consists of differently colored portions, is the overall rating bar. Each portion represents a distinct aspect of the product and their combined rating becomes the overall rating of the product. The definitions of the colors are:

• Yellow. The product’s price attractiveness.

• Green. The product’s quality.

• Orange. The product’s brand.

Product Market Share

Next to the product rating bar, there is a red bar showing the market share of the current product in the city. When the length of the bar is close to its maximum, the product is dominating the market in the city.

Product Brand Indicator

Directly under the two bars, there is an indicator showing the corporate color of the product’s brand owner. A gray branding indicates imported products.

Product Information

When you left-click a product photo, detailed information is displayed in the lower-left section of the screen. The example below shows detailed product information. In this instance the product on sale is a bed.

The Product Information section displays:

Selling Price. The selling price of the product.

Total Cost.In a factory, this is the total cost of the raw materials used to manufacture one unit of the product, including the freight cost of the raw materials.

In a retail store, this is the purchase cost (how much the store pays the supplier) and the freight cost of the product.

In a mine, logging camp, or oil well, this is the cost of the consumption of the natural resource reserve. When a corporation buys land with a natural resource reserve, the reserve is treated as a corporate asset. Hence, when the reserve is being consumed, the devaluation of the asset is regarded as a cost to the company.

New Price. If the firm displayed belongs to your corporation, you can change the selling price of the product by setting the new selling price and then clicking the Confirm button to confirm the change of the selling price.

NOTE: There is an upper limit on the price you can set.

The graph shows information about the product. There are three buttons above the graph. Click one of these buttons to control the type of information displayed on the graph.

• P button. Shows the gross profit of the product over the past 12 months.

• R button. Shows the revenue of the product over the past 12 months.

• Q button. Shows the quantity of the product sold over the past 12

months.

Product Ratings

The section at the lower part of the Product Detail area displays important ratings about the product. They are:

• Brand. The product’s brand rating.

• Quality. The product’s quality rating.

• Price. The product’s sale price.

• Overall. The product’s overall rating.

To the right of each rating, the average rating of similar products in the city is displayed.

The example below is taken from the product detail report for the bed discussed before.

The type of bed being sold has a Brand rating of 24, a Quality of 89 and a Price of $325. These ratings result in an overall rating of 75. In

comparison, other competitors’ beds for sale in the city do not have such established branding or quality but their price is lower. As a consequence the overall rating for the competitors’ beds is only slightly lower at 71.

By looking at the Product Rating bars you can see the real difference between the two types of bed. The consumers purchasing the current firm’s beds are more concerned by the higher quality on offer – the green portion dominates the Product Rating bar. Those consumers purchasing the competitors beds are doing so because of the lower price – the yellow portion dominates the Product Rating bar. These are local variations to the concerns normally addressed by the consumer. A bed is usually rated in equal proportions against Price, Quality and Brand (the yellow, green and orange sections of the Product Rating bar in the product photograph are of approximately equal size). Such variations arise if a product displays superior attributes, in this example a much higher quality, than other types on offer.

Links to Other Reports

You can display the Product Detail Report for a specific product by doubleclicking the product picture.

Complex City Economy

Capitalism II offers the player with an optional economic simulation mode called “Complex City Economy” which provides the player the challenges of operating a business in a highly dynamic economy. Complex City Economy can be enabled or disabled in the Custom Game Setup screen’s Environment tab.

With Complex City Economy enabled, the first thing you notice is the displays of the following economic indicators in the mini-map window.

Spending Level indicates the ability and willingness of consumers to spend. A more developed city will have a higher Spending Level than a less developed one. It is also affected by the city’s economic climate, which is described below.

The demands of all products are affected by a city’s Spending Levelat different degrees. Products with a high necessity index (e.g. toothpaste) are less affected by Spending Level than those with a low necessity index (e.g. cars.) A product’s necessity indexcan be seen in the

Product Detail Report.

Salary Level indicates the labor cost of the city. One good way to increase

profitability is to set up production in areas of low labor cost, while exporting to cities with a more wealthy consumer base. Salary Level is also affected by the city’s economic climate.

Business startups will help stimulate a city’s economy and improve its economic climate. Conversely, closures of businesses will negatively affect a city’s economy and excessive business closures may drag a city into a recession. As such, if you invest aggressively in a city by building new firms, the positive effect it brings to the economy may in turn benefit all of your businesses in the city.

Economic Climate can be Boom, Prosperous, Normal, Recession or Panic. A city with a booming economy benefits all business activities with higher consumer demands (indicated by Spending Level). On the other hand, labor cost also tends to increase in the midst of a booming economy, thus increasing the cost of operating a business (indicated by Salary Level).

You should pay close attention to these economic indicators, which all vary from city to city and over time, when selecting a city in which to build a new firm. In a city in recession, businesses suffer. Building a large department store in a city with a panic economy is a recipe for financial losses and failure. To avoid this, you must keep a watchful eye on these economic indicators.

Chapter 4: Firms, Units & Buildings

A firm is any building that a corporation can operate, such as a retail store or a factory. Buildings are controlled by civilians (houses, stadiums and the like) or by the city government (such as the stock market). Usually a firm is built and operated by the same corporation, but there are exceptions. Radio and TV stations, and Newspaper Publishers begin the game under the city’s control. Corporations may buy these firms and subsequently sell them. Construction of a firm not only includes the cost of the actual structure, but a land value cost. The land value is determined by several factors, but the general rule is that construction on empty land will be cheaper than having to purchase occupied land.

Within each firm, specialized units may be built. Several units are common amongst different types of firms whilst some are firm specific. All units are placed within the Layout section of a firm. This is a 3 x 3 grid containing 9 slots. Each slot can accommodate one unit. Units may be linked to other units to provide functional groups. For example, if you connect a Manufacturing unit to a Sales unit you will be able to sell what you produce.

You may find you need to use the same layout in more than one firm. See Chapter 5, Reports and Guides, for information on using the Layout Library. The common units are discussed below whilst the more specialized units are discussed within the relevant firm text.

A firm may be available in different sizes, such as small, medium and large factories. The general rule is that for each increase in size there is a corresponding increase in the production capacity of the firm. However, the firm will cost more to build and maintain than a smaller version. The size of retail stores, mines, oil wells and logging camps are predetermined, but farms, factories, apartment and commercial buildings offer different sizes from which to choose.

An advertising unit in a firm is responsible for contacting the media (television and radio stations and newspaper publishers) and arranging advertising. The following sections describe the unit’s basic operation. For an in-depth discussion of advertising, see Advertising on page 89.

Advertising a Product

To advertise a product, do the following:

1. Link the advertising unit to a unit with a product. If you link to a sales unit, the advertising unit will advertise the product sold by the sales unit.

2. Press the Link Media Firm button to select a media firm (a television station, a radio station or a newspaper publisher) in which to advertise the product. Choose a media firm and press the Link button.

3. Set the monthly advertising expense per product by clicking on the Monthly Expense slider. A higher advertising budget means your advertisement is broadcast more frequently, which increases public awareness about your product more rapidly.

Unit Details

When an active advertising unit is highlighted, the unit detail area shows the following information.

Common units

Advertising Unit

The information shown in the advertising unit detail box is shown below:

• Monthly Spending Per Product. The amount spent advertising a product each month.

• Advertising cost (CPM). The cost to expose 1,000 members of a target audience to an advertising message.

• Rating Points. This measurement indicates the portion of potential audiences that receive messages from a specific media outlet. One rating point is equivalent to one percent of the potential audience that receives messages from a specific media outlet. It is calculated by dividing the reach by the coverage.

Set up in Retail store, factory, farm, Setup cost $5,000 Workers needed 1

In this example, the unit is linked to the local radio station. It can be seen that the advertising cost per thousand (CPM) for this particular station is $2.28 and the station enjoys Rating Points of 36.23%. The greater this figure, the greater the population reach the advertising campaign has. The gray slide bar can be manipulated to change the monthly spending per product and will affect the advertising campaign, helping to raise brand awareness of your products. Setting the bar (click and hold the left mouse button and drag the red slider to set the value) all the way to the right will saturate the city with advertising. This may have a negative effect on brand loyalty if you cannot satisfy the increase in demand.

Unit Info

The info-box of the Advertising Unit in the layout area shows the following information:

Why Retain Inventories?

There are two major operational reasons why companies retain inventories: anticipation and buffer.

Anticipation inventories

Anticipation inventories are held because you expect a future increase in demand. Rather than operate at peak capacity during one period and then shut down in a subsequent period, anticipation inventories can accumulate before a period of peak demand.

Buffer inventories

Buffer inventories protect against unexpected surges in demand. Any inventory held over and above the average demand requirement is considered buffer inventory. High buffer inventories allow companies to continue to serve customers through unexpected increases in demand.

Ratings Point – Explained above.

Monthly Advertising Expense –

Explained above.

Unit Level

Since the function of an advertising unit is to contact media outlets and arrange advertising, the unit’s experience does not affect the outcome of the advertising. Therefore, unlike most other units, the unit level of an advertising unit does not increase over time. However, your corporation may hire a Chief Marketing Officer whose expertise will improve the efficiency of your corporation’s advertising units without increasing their level. See

Headquarters later in this chapter for further guidance.

Inventory Unit

Set up in Retail store, farm, factory, mine, oil well

and logging camp Setup cost $50,000 Workers needed 1

Inventory units provide storage for large quantities of raw materials or finished goods.

Although most firms can operate without an inventory unit, it supports smooth operations for the whole firm. The inventory unit’s capacity is several times greater than other units and operating costs are several times smaller. The discussion that follows describes the Inventory Unit in detail.

Unit Details

When an inventory unit is highlighted, the unit detail area shows the following information:

Cost+Freight. The product cost and the freight cost.

Quality. The product’s quality rating.

Brand. The product’s brand rating.

Unit Level. The experience level of the unit

Stock. The quantity of the product stocked in the unit. Each cargo unit can store a certain number of product units. The number of units a cargo unit can hold varies. For some expensive products, such as automobiles, one cargo holds only a few units. For lower-cost products, such as shampoo, one cargo unit holds several thousand units. The value of each cargo unit is about the same.

Utilization. The unit’s level of productivity. Staff. Staff number represented by the figure icon.

NOTE: The color bar under the product picture shows the corporate color of the brand owner of the unit’s products.

Unit Info

The info-box of the Inventory Unit in the layout area shows the following information

Product Name. The name of the product in the inventory.

Product Stock. Explained above.

Unit Level

Because an inventory unit provides a place for storing goods, the unit’s experience does not affect the productivity of the business. Therefore, unlike most other units, the unit level of an inventory unit does not increase over time.

Purchasing Unit

Set up in Retail store, farm or factory Setup cost $50,000 Workers needed 2 or 4 (in medium to large firms)

A purchasing unit buys products from suppliers. These units are essential for retail stores, farms and factories. The following sections describe the basic operations and displays of the purchasing unit.

Purchasing a Product

Once you tell the purchasing unit which product you want to purchase, it purchases the product until the supply is no longer available.

To give the purchase unit an order, select the purchasing unit. Press the Link Supplier button and the supplier screen appears.

Alternatively, if you do not currently have any Purchasing units in store you may click the Add Product button and a new Purchasing unit will be added to your store (along with a linked Sales unit). The Select A Supplier screen will automatically open. Remember that the Add Product button will only be visible if there is sufficient layout space for setting up an additional pair of purchasing and sales units.

Now, select the product you want to purchase from a supplier by:

• Scrolling the main list until you see the product you want, or

• Use the filter lists, All Products, All Suppliers and All Cities, to refine your search. You may, for example select your corporation from the All Suppliers list in order to select a product that you are producing.

Please note that clicking Go To Supplier will take you to that particular factory or seaport. Click the back button on the toolbar to return to your retail store.

You can see from the picture above that each product entry carries specific details. The owning corporation’s logo (if any) is displayed to the left of the product picture and the corporation name is displayed in the detail box. If the product is imported, the detail box will show ‘Seaport’ and a logo will be absent. Next, the city housing the supply and the distance to the supplier is given. Remember that importing from another city will carry additional freight costs. The actual freight cost of transporting the product from the supplier’s location to the current firm’s location is also shown. The product cost, quality, brand and overall rating are displayed, allowing you to make comparisons if several suppliers offer the same product type. Finally, the current levels of supply and demand for the product are shown. Once you have found a product you wish to purchase, left click the detail box and press the Select button to start the purchasing process.

Stopping a Product Purchase

After a purchase linkage is established, the Stop Purchase button appears. Press this button to stop the current purchase.

Changing the Current Supply

To switch to a new supplier, press the Link button and select the product that you want to purchase. This is the fastest way to change the current supply, because the newly selected product is purchased immediately. You will, however, incur a loss, because the stock of the old product in the purchasing unit is discarded.

To avoid this loss, stop the purchase of the current product by pressing the Stop Purchase button and wait until its stock is cleared to the sales unit or manufacturing unit. Then, link the purchasing unit to the new supplier.

Locating the Supplier of a Purchasing Unit

You can click the “Supplier” button to display the details of the supplier. You may then click “Go to Supplier” button on the detail popup box to go to the supplier firm.

Unit Details

When you highlight an active Purchasing Unit, the unit detail area shows the following information:

Cost+Freight. The cost of the product and the freight cost.

Quality. The quality rating of the product.

Brand. The overall brand rating. This is the sum of the brand awareness rating and the brand loyalty rating.

Supply and Demand. The supply bar is blue and indicates the

product supply from the supplier. The demand bar is red and indicates the product demand from the current firm. If the supply bar is shorter than the demand bar, there is a supply shortage. Overall firm performance may be affected by the shortage and you should consider switching to a better supplier.

Unit level. The experience level of the unit Stock. This area shows the stock of the product in the unit. Each cargo

such as shampoo, one cargo unit holds several thousand units. The value of each cargo unit is about the same.

Utilization. The brown bar shows the unit’s utilization. If this bar reaches its full length, the unit is at full capacity. No more goods can be purchased, even if there is additional supply and demand. Conversely, if the unit is underutilized, its facilities and resources are not being used effectively.

Staff. Staff number represented by the figure icon

The color bar under the product picture indicates the brand owner’s corporate color.

Unit Info

The info-box of the Purchasing Unit in the layout area shows the following information:

Product Name. The product the unit is currently purchasing.

Product Stock. This area shows the stock of the product in the unit. Each cargo unit can store a certain number of product units. The number of units a cargo unit can hold varies. For some expensive products, such as automobiles, one cargo holds only a few units. For lower-cost products, such as shampoo, one cargo unit holds several thousand units. The value of each cargo unit is about the same.

Supply and Demand. The blue bar indicates the supply of the product by supplier. The red bar indicates the demand for the product from the current firm. If the supply bar is shorter than the demand bar, there is a lack of supply. Firm performance may be affected by supply problems, so keep a close watch on your suppliers.

Utilization. The orange bar shows the unit’s utilization. If this bar reaches its full length, the unit is at full capacity. No more goods can be manufactured, even if there is additional supply and demand. Conversely, if the unit is underutilized, its facilities and resources are not being used effectively.

Unit Level

The productivity and capacity of a purchasing unit increases when its unit level increases. The following table shows this relationship.

Unit Level Productivity Capacity

1 100% 100% 2 130% 125% 3 160% 175% 4 200% 200% 5 250% 250% 6 300% 300% 7 360% 375% 8 430% 437% 9 500% 500%

Sales Unit

Set up in Retail store, farm, factory, mine, oil well

and logging camp Setup cost $100,000 Workers needed 4 or 8 (in medium to large firms)

A sales unit is responsible for selling products to customers. Since sales units are the only units in a firm that generate income directly, you find them in almost every type of firm that produces goods. In the following section, the basic operations and displays of this unit are introduced.

Unit Details

When you highlight an active Sales Unit, the unit detail area shows the following information:

Cost+Freight. The cost of the product plus the freight cost.

Selling Price. The cost of the product to the customer.

Quality. The quality rating of the product. Brand. The overall brand rating. This is the sum of the brand awareness

rating and the brand loyalty rating. Supply and Demand. The blue bar indicates the supply of the product

from the current firm. The red bar indicates the demand for the product from the buyers. If the supply bar is shorter than the demand bar, there is a lack of supply. Firm performance may be affected by supply problems so keep a close watch on your suppliers.

Unit level. The experience level of the unit Stock. This area shows the stock of the product in the unit. Each cargo

unit can store a certain number of product units. The number of units a cargo unit can hold varies. For some expensive products, such as automobiles, one cargo holds only a few units. For lower-cost products, such as shampoo, one cargo unit holds several thousand units. The value of each cargo unit is about the same.

Staff. Staff number represented by the figure icon

NOTE: The color bar under the product picture represents the corporate color of the product’s brand owner.

Unit Info

The info-box of the Sales Unit in the layout area shows the following information:

Product Name. The product the unit is currently selling.

Product Stock. Explained above. Supply and Demand. Explained above. Utilization. Explained above.

Unit Level

The productivity and capacity of a sales unit increases when its unit level increases. The following table shows this relationship.

the scheduling among functional units. To increase the supply, trace the chain of supply, examine all linked units carefully, and remove any bottlenecks you find.

Unit Level Productivity Capacity

1 100% 100% 2 130% 125% 3 160% 175% 4 200% 200% 5 250% 250% 6 300% 300% 7 360% 375% 8 430% 437% 9 500% 500%

Bottleneck Diagnosis

Because sales units are the only units in a firm that generate sales revenue directly, inspecting them frequently and removing any bottlenecks usually increases the profitability of the whole firm. Refer to the following table to identify common bottlenecks:

Supply and Demand Utilization Bottleneck

Supply < demand, utilization = 100 Capacity is peak Supply > demand, utilization = 100 Capacity is peak Supply < demand, utilization < 100 Insufficient supply Supply > demand, utilization < 100 Low demand

Here are some suggested solutions: Capacity is peak. When the capacity of the sales unit is at its peak, you can

resolve this bottleneck in two ways. The first way is to set up an additional sales unit to share the workload. However, due to the limitations of layout space, you cannot do so in every case. The second way is to increase the spending on training and new equipment, which lets the unit improve its unit level and productivity faster.

Insufficient Supply. Sometimes, the cause of the problem is not obvious. It can be caused by a shortage in the product supply, capacity limitation of a purchasing or manufacturing unit, or improper linkage of units, which affects

Low Demand. There are many ways to increase demand, but all have costs. For a department store, increasing the frequency of the advertising can be an adequate short-term decision. The real driving forces of demand are price, quality, and brand; however, you should also allocate more of your budget to research and development and plan strategically to decrease the cost of your products. A long-term strategy will win out over a short-term one, if you plan ahead.

Firms

Retail Stores

To choose an appropriate location for a retail store, you must consider the following factors.

• Strength of competitors in the city. First, you should know which products you plan to sell. It is wise to build your retail store in a city section with comparatively weak competitors.

• Population of the city. The population of the city directly affects the total demand for the goods your retail store offers.

• Land cost. The land cost can vary greatly. Land in urban areas is always much more expensive than in rural areas. Similarly, land near the center of the city is more expensive than land farther away from the city center. Despite these costs, it makes sense to build a retail store near the city because this ensures a larger flow of customers.

• Transportation cost of goods from suppliers.You have to estimate the cost of transporting goods from the suppliers to your retail store. For goods with a high ratio of weight to value, try to open your retail store in a section of the city not too far away from the suppliers. Otherwise, the cost of transportation could severely affect your firm’s profitability.

• Availability of building site near the city center. Finally, the availability of a building site near the city center is an important criterion. The flow of customers reaches its maximum in the city center and decreases toward the city border. If your competitors already occupy most spaces in the city center, you will have to set up your retail store in a less advantageous location and you will be at a disadvantage from the very start.

You can set up the following units in a retail store:

• Purchasing Unit

• Inventory Unit

• Private Labeling

• Sales Unit

• Advertising Unit

Purchase units and sale units are typically the most common in retail stores. With one unit of each type, you can form a simple purchasing-sales team.

You can also set up:

• An inventory unit to stock goods and provide the retail store with merchandise when a fluctuation of supply or demand might otherwise leave the store without sufficient stock.

• An advertising unit to arrange advertising of your products on TV and Radio stations or local newspapers.

• A private labeling unit to convert products made under another brand to your own brand. The private labeling unit is detailed below.

The following table depicts the retail stores types available to build if you have chosen ‘many’ in the game settings. If you chose ‘one’ store type you will only be able to build Discount Megastores. Each store has a setup cost (for construction) and a monthly operations charge.

Retail Store Type Setup Cost Monthly Cost

Discount Megastore $1,800,000 $180,000 Department Store $1,000,000 $100,000 Supermarket $1,000,000 $100,000 Convenience Store $500,000 $50,000 Drug Store $500,000 $50,000 Apparel Store $500,000 $50,000 Automobile Outlet $1,000,000 $100,000 Hardware Store $1,000,000 $100,000 Footwear Store $500,000 $50,000 Jewelry & Watch Store $500,000 $50,000 Leather Store $500,000 $50,000 Computer Store $500,000 $50,000 Cosmetic Store $500,000 $50,000 Furniture Store $1,000,000 $100,000 Sports Store $500,000 $50,000 Toy Store $500,000 $50,000

Some stores are specialty stores and can only sell certain items. For example, a furniture store can only sell beds, chairs and sofas. Because it specializes, speciality stores will enjoy greater demand for its products than, say, an adjacent department store that may also stock the same goods. The main disadvantage of the specialist store is that if demand decreases or supply is interrupted, it is difficult or impossible to stock substitute goods. Whereas the potential range of goods available to a department store cushions the impact of any down turn in trade by allowing the firm to switch to alternate goods.

A full listing of items available to sell in each store can be found at Appendix A.

Private Labeling Unit

Set up in Department store or factory Setup cost $100,000 Workers needed 3

A private labeling unit converts products of other brands to your own brand by labeling the product with your own corporate insignia. If you are tired of manufacturing products yourself, you can label products of a less popular brand with your own brand. This saves you the trouble of managing production lines and lets you concentrate on marketing.

When to Private Label Products

Private labeling is a reasonable choice if your corporation is pursuing a corporate or range brand strategy. In this case, the private-labeled goods can be sheltered under the retailer’s brand and receive the immediate benefit of a well-established brand.

Although it seems that private labeling could put additional brand value into a product effortlessly, this tactic should be used with extreme caution. If the quality of the private-labeled product is inferior to those of the existing products in the brand family, it will damage the entire brand. Furthermore, since external suppliers manufacture the products, it is very difficult to assure that their quality will always meet your corporation’s quality standard.

Private Labeling Products

Any products directed into the private-labeling unit are relabeled immediately. Usually linking a private labeling unit between a purchasing unit and a sale unit is the easiest way to label the products from another corporation. In this arrangement of units, the purchased goods from another company are labeled with your brand and resold as if you had produced them yourself.

Unit Details

When you highlight an active Private Labeling Unit, the unit detail area shows the following information:

Brand Awareness. The brand awareness rating of the privatelabeled goods.

Brand Loyalty. The brand loyalty rating of the private-labeled goods.

Brand Rating. The overall brand rating. This is the sum of the brand awareness rating and the brand loyalty rating.

Unit level. The experience level of the unit

Stock. The quantity of the product stocked in the unit. Utilization. The unit’s level of productivity. Staff. Staff number represented by the figure icon.

Unit Info

The info-box of the Private Labeling Unit in the layout area shows the following information.

Product Name. The product being processed.

Unit Level

The productivity and capacity of a private-labeling unit increases when its unit level increases. The table below shows this relationship.

Unit Level Productivity Capacity

1 100% 100% 2 130% 125% 3 160% 175% 4 200% 200% 5 250% 250% 6 300% 300% 7 360% 375% 8 430% 437% 9 500% 500%

Factory

Factory Size Setup Cost Monthly Cost

Small $750,000 $50,000 Medium $1,500,000 $100,000 Large $2,500,000 $180,000

The types of units in a factory include:

• Purchasing Unit • Sales Unit • Inventory Unit

• Advertising Unit • Private Labeling Unit • Manufacturing

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