Monthly Loss jump

[foreverska]

I played this a bit too much tonight and I'm getting better but I keep getting a deathblow on my longer running games. One month my revenue will abruptly fall to -2mil. The very next it could even be positive. Even on my best game where I had 2.1 mil in the bank this was the end of my otherwise successful company. What is this? In 10 years of game time I had never been hit that hard and on my best game I had only had a handful of months I saw more than 4k losses. I guess next time it happens I'll look at my balance sheet but maybe someone knows.

Something I found myself wanting:
My laziness would like to see a "rework" button in the modify engine menu. Like if I want a new engine for a new model year but most of the specs are spot on. Rework the engine with a slightly bigger bore and higher revving valvetrain. All I really want is to enter advanced engine builder with the selected engine's build loaded up.

Question:
I cant figure out contracts. Not sure if I'm always missing them or what but I can't figure out a button or what have you to bid on a contract. Is there a tutorial on it? Or maybe someone can explain, is a button supposed to appear somewhere to bid on a contract?

[Eric.B]

I played this a bit too much tonight and I'm getting better but I keep getting a deathblow on my longer running games. One month my revenue will abruptly fall to -2mil. The very next it could even be positive. Even on my best game where I had 2.1 mil in the bank this was the end of my otherwise successful company. What is this? In 10 years of game time I had never been hit that hard and on my best game I had only had a handful of months I saw more than 4k losses. I guess next time it happens I'll look at my balance sheet but maybe someone knows.

Most likely taxes. As soon as you see the loss in money, go to your sales book then expenses. Taxes should be listed at the bottom.

Something I found myself wanting:
My laziness would like to see a "rework" button in the modify engine menu. Like if I want a new engine for a new model year but most of the specs are spot on. Rework the engine with a slightly bigger bore and higher revving valvetrain. All I really want is to enter advanced engine builder with the selected engine's build loaded up.

The modify section of the game is getting redone for 1.18. So some changes will be coming soon.

Question:
I cant figure out contracts. Not sure if I'm always missing them or what but I can't figure out a button or what have you to bid on a contract. Is there a tutorial on it? Or maybe someone can explain, is a button supposed to appear somewhere to bid on a contract?

Contract bids are located in the phone. Any bid you submit must meet the requirements of the contract. But all selection/bidding is done in the submit contract menu in the phone.

Contracting Directions

-Every Quarter (turns: 3/6/9/12) New contracts will generate.
-Check the phone on the office desk under contracts to see if you have any contracts you can bid on
- Select component you wish to submit to the bid.
-Submit the bid
-Wait for the deadline to pass, you will recieve a memo if you have been selected.
-To check current contracts, click the Sales Book on the desk, then select contracts
-Contracted Vehicles will be pulled automatically before sales to branches.
-During war time, you can produce military contracted vehicles/engines for your HQ country in any factories located in your HQ country.

[foreverska]

Maybe it was a miss click somewhere because those were low revenue corps. No way one had 2mil in taxes. It would be nice if my bean counters could budget for taxes though. I would rather see a smaller but more consistent number every month.

I'm really getting the hang of this though. The latest game got into the 20s before it crashed unexpectedly and saved me from spending the whole night vexed by this game. lol Also thanks for the help on the contracts. I'm not sure it's my business model but still. I just hate losing a bid and being stuck with a boat engine in my lineup that doesn't fit anything. I got lucky once though and stuck a 12L V8 from a lost bid in a race car in 1910 and DOMINATED the race circuits.

Do people design a car one part at a time? I have trouble hitting certain numbers (top speed or an MPG goal). The only way I can imagine having any clue what the end numbers are would be to design it one part at a time and go into the advanced design for a car and use that to tweak the remaining parts but I'd be pissed to learn I spent 4-8mo on an unworkable part.

nitpick:
When resizing a factory it would be nice to see the progress, "X months until resizing done"

[Eric.B]

Maybe it was a miss click somewhere because those were low revenue corps. No way one had 2mil in taxes. It would be nice if my bean counters could budget for taxes though. I would rather see a smaller but more consistent number every month.

That depends, taxes are accumulative, and you only pay them on the quarters like in real life. The last filing will be for the entire year, if you over paid you get a refund, if you under paid, you pay more.

So for instance, if you're making $1.5m profits a month, that's $4.5m profits for the quarter. At a 45% tax rate, that would be 2m. If you were making less than that, then yes, it probably was something else.

Also thanks for the help on the contracts. I'm not sure it's my business model but still.

I becomes important during wartime. Unless you plan to idle your company.

I just hate losing a bid and being stuck with a boat engine in my lineup that doesn't fit anything.

I typically try to build the contract engines where they can fit multiple contracts. It allows me to bid on multiple contracts using the same component. Over a few years, specially if you can land country exclusive contracts, it'll pay off.

Do people design a car one part at a time? I have trouble hitting certain numbers (top speed or an MPG goal). The only way I can imagine having any clue what the end numbers are would be to design it one part at a time and go into the advanced design for a car and use that to tweak the remaining parts but I'd be pissed to learn I spent 4-8mo on an unworkable part.

I'm not sure, you'll have to wait for other people's comments on this.

I find my self designing parts to fit a certain idea of what I want. But never particularly for any specific stats. That being said. In 1.18 I believe I'll be working in a way to "see" what effects your designed components would have on a "generic" vehicle. That should help I think.

nitpick:
When resizing a factory it would be nice to see the progress, "X months until resizing done"

I think it shows it if you hit "Resize" again. It should also be in one of the reports. But I will make a note of it when I get back to doing worldmap/megamenu stuff.

[Frankschtaldt]

I got lucky once though and stuck a 12L V8 from a lost bid in a race car in 1910 and DOMINATED the race circuits.

Sorry to chime in with something off topic but this is awesome!
This is the kind of story that makes supercar legend

[foreverska]

If you were making less than that, then yes, it probably was something else.

Yea those companies barely broke 20 grand in profits per month. When they were profitable.

It becomes important during wartime. Unless you plan to idle your company.

This I found weird. I was expecting to be shut down by WWI but it just cut my profits in half. Then again I stumbled on a strategy where I have a giant distribution network and only use a piece of it (sometimes as low as a quarter) so when demand takes a dip I continue to sell as normal. I'm sure this cuts into profits but it requires significantly less management from me. I generally err on the side of luxury anyhow so there is supposed to be some mystique there. lol Next game I will be experimenting with controlling demand through prices though.

I typically try to build the contract engines where they can fit multiple contracts. It allows me to bid on multiple contracts using the same component. Over a few years, specially if you can land country exclusive contracts, it'll pay off.

The profit isn't high enough either though. I generally have a hard time clearing more than a couple hundred a unit even after I've made them unreliable as can be (I generally feel sorry for the poor GI's who work on my govt contract engines). Meanwhile a luxury truck on the same line could be making me a grand a piece at usually higher production rates.

In a pinch I could see using a contract but in peace time it's not my business model.

In 1.18 I believe I'll be working in a way to "see" what effects your designed components would have on a "generic" vehicle. That should help I think.

I was going to suggest this actually but didn't want to come off too pushy.

Sorry to chime in with something off topic but this is awesome!
This is the kind of story that makes supercar legend

Yea it was a slaughter house. Everyone else in the competition was still racing 100cc single cylinders that could barely do 35mph. This thing comes out big as a house doing 60mph+ and turning on a dime. I didn't even have to spend more than minimum funding on the team. 3 seasons of undefeated racing before the underlying company went underwater.

Racing history is littered with this exact story, engine shops sticking old govt contract plane or boat engines in racecars around the WWI/II era. In this instance I beat history by a few years but that's alright.