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[FIXED]Pricing/Cost suggestions
#1
After playing the game a few ingame years with a fair amount of success, i want to share some suggestions based on my gameplay for Gearcity.

First ill say ive enjoyed the game a lot so far, ive found my games interesting, complex and challenging.

I had several failed games to start off with. Once i read the tips/guides on this forum I managed to have a successful game up to 1907 so far, mainly based off Pickup Trucks in the Eastern US.
The tips in the vehicle design screen really helped in getting the right vehicles designed for the right circumstances, but i think a lot more tips could be added there.

A big part of the reason most of my first games failed is i really didnt have a solid and clear understanding of what price to set my vehicles and much more importantly, what price people would buy them at.
I ended up learning how to set price properly mainly from forum posts here.

A couple of things could help here imo
1. A suggested price number in the vehicle specs (or even in the distribution window under branch) , which could represent a % above cost that usually covers basic sales and production. (maybe 20-30%?)
2. A yes/no popup when you design a vehicle to let you know its suggested price(or cost) is above the recommended 5x capita which makes it hard to sell.

Beyond pricing, as a new player, i found it kind of confusing when reading reviews of vehicles ingame as well as general feedback during construction.
Most of it doesnt seem to reflect what ingame seems to be the average quality of vehicles at the time.

For example, im currently on East Coast USA, either the only or the majority producer of Pickup Trucks, but even though they are still popular and selling in the thousands, most are considered either "Do not buy" or "Not worth the Money" etc.
My best seller, which as of 1907 ive sold over 150,000, is considered "Not that bad".
The other two old vehicles i got from another company are considered "Avoid at all costs", which are still selling a thousand in the first case and in hundreds in the second case, per year.
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#2
The major problem is recommending a price is hard. It really depends on how you design your company and what your goals are. The computer does not know what you're trying to do. If you're aiming to move large volumes then you need lower margins. If you're trying to move very few units then you'll need higher margins. This is all dependent on you and how you run your company.

The AI does it based on how the AI company is set up, some try to do low margins high volumes, some do opposite.


The 5x per capita cap has been removed, wealth follows this graph: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...States.png
After it hits 5x per capita the amount falls lineally down to zero.




The review system needs a lot of work. I'm waiting to reach the point where I can hire an Editor/Writer before I try to fix it.


Anyway I think most of the issues you have will be addressed in the tutorials that I hope to integrate into the game in the near future. The only problem is the game sorta needs to be finished first...
"great writers are indecent people, they live unfairly, saving the best part for paper.
good human beings save the world, so that bastards like me can keep creating art, become immortal.
if you read this after I am dead it means I made it." ― Charles Bukowski
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#3
(12-12-2013, 06:23 PM)Eric.B Wrote: The major problem is recommending a price is hard. It really depends on how you design your company and what your goals are. The computer does not know what you're trying to do. If you're aiming to move large volumes then you need lower margins. If you're trying to move very few units then you'll need higher margins. This is all dependent on you and how you run your company.

The AI does it based on how the AI company is set up, some try to do low margins high volumes, some do opposite.


The 5x per capita cap has been removed, wealth follows this graph: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...States.png
After it hits 5x per capita the amount falls lineally down to zero.




The review system needs a lot of work. I'm waiting to reach the point where I can hire an Editor/Writer before I try to fix it.


Anyway I think most of the issues you have will be addressed in the tutorials that I hope to integrate into the game in the near future. The only problem is the game sorta needs to be finished first...

Thanks for the reply.
I didnt know the capita thing had been changed, thats interesting. Ill have to have a closer look at how im pricing in the future.
Its also interesting to hear the AI follows different pricing policies depending on their aim.

I agree that most of the problems i ran into could be handled through a solid tutorial system in the future. Ill be looking forward to seeing how that is handled.
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#4
(12-12-2013, 08:48 PM)Arakash Wrote:
(12-12-2013, 06:23 PM)Eric.B Wrote: The major problem is recommending a price is hard. It really depends on how you design your company and what your goals are. The computer does not know what you're trying to do. If you're aiming to move large volumes then you need lower margins. If you're trying to move very few units then you'll need higher margins. This is all dependent on you and how you run your company.

The AI does it based on how the AI company is set up, some try to do low margins high volumes, some do opposite.


The 5x per capita cap has been removed, wealth follows this graph: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...States.png
After it hits 5x per capita the amount falls lineally down to zero.




The review system needs a lot of work. I'm waiting to reach the point where I can hire an Editor/Writer before I try to fix it.


Anyway I think most of the issues you have will be addressed in the tutorials that I hope to integrate into the game in the near future. The only problem is the game sorta needs to be finished first...

Thanks for the reply.
I didnt know the capita thing had been changed, thats interesting. Ill have to have a closer look at how im pricing in the future.
Its also interesting to hear the AI follows different pricing policies depending on their aim.

I agree that most of the problems i ran into could be handled through a solid tutorial system in the future. Ill be looking forward to seeing how that is handled.

The wealth distrobution rates have been changed in 1.11 or 1.10 I forget which, you'll have to read the change logs. It's always followed that graph, it's just different after 5x per capita.

Most likely the tutorials will follow a script, you'll click a ? button on the top menus, select a topic, and fruluna will talk you through the process of doing something. The game will resume as normal...


Of course that's in theory. Implementation is a whole different thing! biggrin
"great writers are indecent people, they live unfairly, saving the best part for paper.
good human beings save the world, so that bastards like me can keep creating art, become immortal.
if you read this after I am dead it means I made it." ― Charles Bukowski
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#5
Since we've implemented a suggested price, and reviews will be rewritten, I'm marking this thread as fixed.
"great writers are indecent people, they live unfairly, saving the best part for paper.
good human beings save the world, so that bastards like me can keep creating art, become immortal.
if you read this after I am dead it means I made it." ― Charles Bukowski
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