Starting On Hard Difficulty

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Jackie Daytona has GearCity

24 Jul, 2020 @ 9:18am

Starting On Hard Difficulty

Haven't played in a very long time. I recently started playing again. Things are a little different.

I can't seem to get started on 'Hard'. I've been at this for hours. Every initial vehicle is a fail. I can't profit off any of them.

First I tried a luxury sedan. (In pursuit of the 'Hyper Luxury' achievement.) I made money for a few years. I developed new parts for a new generation. Then there was a big drop-off in sales. I started losing tons of money. So, I didn't have enough money to design the new model. I slowly went bankrupt.

Next I made a cheap phaeton. I had to price the cars so low that I lost money overall. Pricing them high enough to be profitable didn't work either. Not enough people would buy them at the higher price.

At last, I fell back to a "simple sedan in north america" strategy. This was probably worst of all. Even losing money on the price, no one would buy them. I sold 4/month. Lowing the price got it up to 12/month, but the company lost money overall.

So, I have to admit: I'm stumped.

Edit: Oh, I should also mention that I'm playing on the standard current build. Base city map. No mods. First game was based in Chicago, and the others in NYC. Top 25 AI on first 2, and all 300 on the last one. No additional gamestart options selected besides those listed, and 'Hard'.

Last edited by Jackie Daytona; 24 Jul, 2020 @ 9:25am

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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

Eric.B [developer] 24 Jul, 2020 @ 9:28am

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/285110/discussions/0/2291716608425370940/#c2291716608425898977

You may also want to check out the tutorial video for supply and demand. It sounds like you're not pricing your vehicles based on supply or demand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDJnuK8hvkk

Jackie Daytona has GearCity

24 Jul, 2020 @ 11:50pm

Used what you told me to do better. Thought I'd share how it went.

Originally posted by Eric.B:
You may also want to check out the tutorial video for supply and demand. It sounds like you're not pricing your vehicles based on supply or demand.

I didn't think I needed this information. I watched it anyway.

I understand the basics of supply and demand. (After 500 hours in the game, I should hope so!) I understand how it applies to the game as well. In short, you charge the highest possible prices while producing the maximum amount of product.

On normal and easy, this is simple. On hard, I couldn't make it work.

Originally posted by Eric.B:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/285110/discussions/0/2291716608425370940/#c2291716608425898977

Looking at that thread gave me some ideas on how to proceed.

Checking the 'buyer rating' was a big help. I was able to confirm my slider levels are too low. The penalty is huge on my vehicles. I think this reduced my sedan's rating by around 50%. Easy to fix in gameplay.

Also took a big hit from the fuel type. My luxury car used a steam engine. I knew this reduced sales. I didn't know it was so severe, however.

Decided to try licensing car designs to start. As opposed to sinking all my money into a first design. Going well so far. I've got a second factory. I'm still only producing other companies designs, but I'm profitable overall.

Eric.B [developer] 25 Jul, 2020 @ 12:00am

Originally posted by Jackie Daytona:
Used what you told me to do better. Thought I'd share how it went.
Originally posted by Eric.B:
You may also want to check out the tutorial video for supply and demand. It sounds like you're not pricing your vehicles based on supply or demand.
I didn't think I needed this information. I watched it anyway.

I understand the basics of supply and demand. (After 500 hours in the game, I should hope so!) I understand how it applies to the game as well. In short, you charge the highest possible prices while producing the maximum amount of product.

Sorry, when steam made profiles private by default, I lost all ability to check how much experience players had in the game.

With the more information you just provided, yes, it's easy to see why Steam and Low sliders would get you. Steam has a fuel popularity rating of around 5% in 1900 and quickly drops to 0 for the rest of the game. I believe the game warns you right before you use the design as well. And the low penalty sliders have been around for a couple of years now.

There is no way to fix either of those with pricing.

The other tutorial videos on designing Brass Era vehicles and Designing Vehicles in general are probably better fits. I assumed your problem was on the sales end and not the design end. Anyway, if you want some more tips, check them out. There are a few more things like smoothness ratings that can hurt you.

Decided to try licensing car designs to start. As opposed to sinking all my money into a first design. Going well so far. I've got a second factory. I'm still only producing other companies designs, but I'm profitable overall.

Congrats! Just remember with licensing, you're also making your competition richer/stronger. It's a double edged sword. :)

Last edited by Eric.B; 25 Jul, 2020 @ 12:01am

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GearCity > Help > Topic Details

Date Posted: 24 Jul, 2020 @ 9:18am

Posts: 3