03-10-2024, 01:16 AM
March 2024 Update
I've been playing GearCity again, and that means an update for the Executive Secretary. It is available to download here.
It should work fine with the Liberica Full JDK, Azul Full JDK, or the old Oracle Java 8 releases. However, results have been a bit iffy on my new laptop, so if you're having difficulty getting it to run, leaving a note, including which Java version you are running. The Executive Secretary could benefit from an "upgrade libraries to current versions" bounty.
That said, the Executive Secretary has learned some new tricks. These are the updates.
Licensed Components Reports
Do you fancy running a chassis, gearbox, or engine company, and letting everyone else take care of the coachwork, manufacturing, and marketing? Then this update is for you! The new "Licensed Components" reports show you who has sold the most of each type of component, and who has derived the most revenue from licensing each type.
![[Image: LicensedComponents.png]](https://ajtjp.com/software/GearCity/Downloads/Screenies/LicensedComponents.png)
Curious to play with those competitors? If you're a Feature Bounty System supporter, head over to that forum and download my newly-released "Great Lakes" map. If not, ready more about it here.
If you'd like to gain more insight about why Chevrolet is licensing so many more chassis than Dodge, you can also click on the pie chart to drill down.
![[Image: Licensed_Chassis_Detail.png]](https://ajtjp.com/software/GearCity/Downloads/Screenies/Licensed_Chassis_Detail.png)
The Secretary can't tell you all the nitty-gritty details of why that 1912 Chevy chassis is so popular, but sometimes competitors spill useful details in the names of their engines, and the price point info itself can be valuable. Maybe it was worth sending your secretary to corporate espionage school?
Unique Colors on Market Trends
One of the shortcomings of previous releases was the limited color palette. This has now been addressed. Each company/component/configuration receives its own nearly-guaranteed-to-be-unique color, within a range that should exclude colors that would blend into the background too much, and will have that color stick across consultation sessions with the Secretary. In addition, for the Layout/Cylinder report, all cylinder counts for a layout will now be within the same color family - all I's are blue, V's are red, Flats are green, and so forth.
![[Image: MarketTrends_ColorizedLayoutCylinders.png]](https://ajtjp.com/software/GearCity/Downloads/Screenies/MarketTrends_ColorizedLayoutCylinders.png)
This also extends to the Fuel Type report, which now has colors that match the pump colors at U.S. gas stations where possible - with the exception of BP, which uses non-standard colors. Gasoline is black, diesel green, E85 yellow, water blue, and everything else gets its own uniquely-assigned color.
These changes should make it easier to garner information at a glance without having to check the legend as frequently.
Smaller Updates
A few smaller updates have been made as well.
- The Company Details report (for a specific company) now takes into account bond repayments, which means that years with a bond repayment won't show as having a huge loss. It shows profit/loss, rather than cashflow gain/loss.
- For both the Company Profitability and Company Details reports, bonds that were issued and repaid in the same year no longer count as a negative expense, and thus positive profits.
- The Company Details report will no longer start at 1900 for companies founded considerable later - for example, companies founded between 1920 and 1929 will have their x axis start at 1920
- The Average Horsepower report now allows you to filter by fuel type, rather than by marque
- The Yearly Market Summary report has relegated bond info to the rightmost columns, to make profits/losses more prominent
Future Ideas
Ideas always outpace reality, but if there's demand (most likely meaning, if my company starts licensing out vehicle designs), vehicle licensing info may be added as well. Various other metrics such as the companies that have licensed the most, and the companies with the most revenue from licensing (or contracts?) are also on the cusp of reaching the front burner.
I've even recently discovered a way to potentially build a report on construction expenses, which has given me ideas about expanding the Company Details report, and perhaps generally expanding the Company Detail report to shine more light on how all these bankrupt companies coming up for auction wound up being so bankrupt. Of course, we know that your tough competition was likely a factor, but wouldn't it be nice to know more than that before you decide whether to bail out their shareholders? Did they spend all their money trying to make an E85 renaissance happen, or did they just build too many factories anticipating a sales surge in the 1930s that never materialized?
I've been playing GearCity again, and that means an update for the Executive Secretary. It is available to download here.
It should work fine with the Liberica Full JDK, Azul Full JDK, or the old Oracle Java 8 releases. However, results have been a bit iffy on my new laptop, so if you're having difficulty getting it to run, leaving a note, including which Java version you are running. The Executive Secretary could benefit from an "upgrade libraries to current versions" bounty.
That said, the Executive Secretary has learned some new tricks. These are the updates.
Licensed Components Reports
Do you fancy running a chassis, gearbox, or engine company, and letting everyone else take care of the coachwork, manufacturing, and marketing? Then this update is for you! The new "Licensed Components" reports show you who has sold the most of each type of component, and who has derived the most revenue from licensing each type.
Curious to play with those competitors? If you're a Feature Bounty System supporter, head over to that forum and download my newly-released "Great Lakes" map. If not, ready more about it here.
If you'd like to gain more insight about why Chevrolet is licensing so many more chassis than Dodge, you can also click on the pie chart to drill down.
The Secretary can't tell you all the nitty-gritty details of why that 1912 Chevy chassis is so popular, but sometimes competitors spill useful details in the names of their engines, and the price point info itself can be valuable. Maybe it was worth sending your secretary to corporate espionage school?
Unique Colors on Market Trends
One of the shortcomings of previous releases was the limited color palette. This has now been addressed. Each company/component/configuration receives its own nearly-guaranteed-to-be-unique color, within a range that should exclude colors that would blend into the background too much, and will have that color stick across consultation sessions with the Secretary. In addition, for the Layout/Cylinder report, all cylinder counts for a layout will now be within the same color family - all I's are blue, V's are red, Flats are green, and so forth.
This also extends to the Fuel Type report, which now has colors that match the pump colors at U.S. gas stations where possible - with the exception of BP, which uses non-standard colors. Gasoline is black, diesel green, E85 yellow, water blue, and everything else gets its own uniquely-assigned color.
These changes should make it easier to garner information at a glance without having to check the legend as frequently.
Smaller Updates
A few smaller updates have been made as well.
- The Company Details report (for a specific company) now takes into account bond repayments, which means that years with a bond repayment won't show as having a huge loss. It shows profit/loss, rather than cashflow gain/loss.
- For both the Company Profitability and Company Details reports, bonds that were issued and repaid in the same year no longer count as a negative expense, and thus positive profits.
- The Company Details report will no longer start at 1900 for companies founded considerable later - for example, companies founded between 1920 and 1929 will have their x axis start at 1920
- The Average Horsepower report now allows you to filter by fuel type, rather than by marque
- The Yearly Market Summary report has relegated bond info to the rightmost columns, to make profits/losses more prominent
Future Ideas
Ideas always outpace reality, but if there's demand (most likely meaning, if my company starts licensing out vehicle designs), vehicle licensing info may be added as well. Various other metrics such as the companies that have licensed the most, and the companies with the most revenue from licensing (or contracts?) are also on the cusp of reaching the front burner.
I've even recently discovered a way to potentially build a report on construction expenses, which has given me ideas about expanding the Company Details report, and perhaps generally expanding the Company Detail report to shine more light on how all these bankrupt companies coming up for auction wound up being so bankrupt. Of course, we know that your tough competition was likely a factor, but wouldn't it be nice to know more than that before you decide whether to bail out their shareholders? Did they spend all their money trying to make an E85 renaissance happen, or did they just build too many factories anticipating a sales surge in the 1930s that never materialized?