That's not a bug. The game will generate new AI companies if the game world is deemed "Dying". IE, if you buy up all the AI companies OR if they all went bankrupt.

If memory serves me, the game generates new AI when 70% of the companies you started the game with are bankrupt or are marques.

Anyway, these new companies do not have logos, as we had a limited art budget and could not create a huge list of logos beyond the ~370 or so we made for the game.

I started the game in 1950, and I noticed companies without logos in the late 1970s / early 1980s, doesn't that seem a little early for it to run out of AI companies with logos? I think I've played a game before that started in the early 1900s and I don't recall seeing this issue as I played through the 20th century.

Originally posted by atlas:

I started the game in 1950, and I noticed companies without logos in the late 1970s / early 1980s, doesn't that seem a little early for it to run out of AI companies with logos? I think I've played a game before that started in the early 1900s and I don't recall seeing this issue as I played through the 20th century.

How many AI did you start the game with?

Base City Map with 300 AI

With the 300 AI file, over half will be bankrupt before 1950. So already, you're starting out with fewer AI, which means fewer need to go bust before the game generates new companies.

The AI in the game are inspired real life companies, as such, they have predefined founding and bankrupt dates. If you start the game before the founding date, the AI will found that company on that date. If you start the game between the founding and bankrupt date, the AI company will be active, and if you start the game after the bankrupt date, the AI company will be bankrupt. Historically, There were over a few thousand car companies in the United States alone during the brass era days. Almost all of them went bankrupt. Same is true in the game. Most of the AI are pre-WW2 companies.

Anyway, the OP isn't a bug, there just isn't any logos for dynamically generated AI companies.

Quick glance at a save game shows a 1950 start would start you with 195 possible AI. By 1980, there should be 143 possible active companies, but being the late starting year and them not building up capital reserves, you'd probable have about 60-100 of them bankrupt or marqued. Leaving you with around 200 dead companies in the game, and only 50-ish predefined AI startups in the next 45 years. That's probably enough to trigger the "dead world" function and the game creates new companies to fill the world.

Those companies don't have logos, thus why you see plain text in the stock broker.