[ Start-Up 2000 FAQ/Strategy ]
by
Ciarán Gorman
_____________________
----------------------------[ General Information ]---------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
-=Author=-
Game: Start-Up 2000
Game Platfrom: Windows/DOS
Developer: Monte Cristo
Publisher: Electronic Arts
-=FAQ=-
Type of Guide: FAQ/Strategy Guide
Version: Final
Completion: 100%
Date Started: 13:44:19 GMT, 28th April 2002
Date of last update: 21:41:30 GMT, 30th September 2003
-=Copyright=-
This FAQ is copyright CGorman (Ciarán Gorman) 2003, and may only be used for
non-profitable causes, e.g. Gamefaqs.com. If you want this FAQ, just steal it
and I will sue you, because it is to be exclusively hosted through the
internet by Gamefaqs, and no other website or affliation, except of course any
website I may own. Use of this FAQ through other mediums such as print, is
available through nogotiation. Also "Start-Up 2002" is a copyright of Monte
Cristo.
-=Disclaimer=-
This FAQ may contain spoliers, mistakes etc., but any personal loss incured
by such is understood to be of your own free will and I hold no resposibility.
I will not be held responsible for any financial decisions you may make from
this FAQ.
-=Email=-
Please email me if you have a problem, I strive to answer all valid and
decent questions, and add them to my FAQs with credit for the individual who
asked the question. But I will not answer any foolish or ignorant questions, I
do not have time for such, as I can get up to 20 emails in one day, so please
think before you email me, and check out any other FAQs for the answer, and of
course read this one fully.
________
---------------------------------[Contents]---------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
NB: For those of you using Internet Explorer 5+, by pressing CTRL and F and
entering the code, you can skip to a paticular park of the FAQ. The code
is formed by taking the number (e.g. 1.1) and adding - and the first
letter of the section (e.g. Markets, M). So to get to the Discounting
section type:
5.1 - D
4.0....................................................Researching a Prodect
4.1.....................................................Developing a Prodect
4.2........................................................Testing a Prodect
4.3......................................................Producing a Prodect
4.4........................................................Selling a Prodect
5.0.....................................................The 4 P's to Selling
5.1..............................................................Discounting
5.2...............................................................Promotions
5.3...............................................................Quantities
6.0...........................................................Finance Graphs
6.1.........................................................Getting Money: A
6.2.........................................................Getting Money: B
6.3.........................................................Getting Money: C
7.0..............................................................News Centre
7.1...........................................................Global Network
8.0.......................................Strategy Guide: Telecommunications
8.1..............................................Strategy Guide: Video Games
8.2.................................................Strategy Guide: Cyber-TV
9.0..........................................................Term Dictionary
9.1......................................................................Q&A
9.2.....................................................................Tips
9.3...........................................................Product Faults
9.4...................................................................Cheats
9.5...............................................................Other Help
10.0................................................................Farewell
____________________
----------------------------[ 1.0 - Introduction ]----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Start-Up 2000 is a good attempt from Monte Cristo to simulate a Hi-Tech start
up, a good attempt - but only for the truely die hard business simulators. The
main problem with the game is that, it can feel small and that you run out of
things to do - thats if you bother your head taking it out of the box. So my
aim is to help you realise the bit of entertainment hidden away in this -
mainly by letting you pass the first level...
Ciarán Gorman
___________________________
-------------------------[ 1.1 - Version History/Log ]------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Version: 1.0
Completion: 55%
Date/Time: 13:44:19 GMT, 28th April 2002
- Wrote the important bits, but still lacking the intense detail I hope for
in the next few updates.
Version: 0.87
Completion: 87%
Date/Time: 16:22:00 GMT, 13th July 2002
- Nice update, decided to change layout a bit and change the guides status
from a FAQ/Walkthrough to a FAQ/Stratgey guide as I am finally beginning to
think about what I write and why - unlike my newbie style two months ago,
were I jotted down the controls made 100 line fillers and no content in the
hope of looking great! Also added a lot more information.
Version: 0.99
Completion: 99%
Date/Time: 20:59:17 GMT, 19th July 2002
- An update spurred by an email! Anyways added information on the "Global
Network." Also a few pieces here and there like Q&A addition etc. I'm
almost certain I have everything covered, but just in case, I will not
declare this the final version.
Version: 0.995
Completion: 99.5%
Date/Time: 17:15:00 GMT, 23th July 2002
- Question: Will I EVER finish this FAQ? Answer: Only when it has a Full Blue
Dot. Solution: Keep improving FAQ. Well i'm hoping this to be the last
update before I declare this FAQ Final. So basicaly I am fiddling with the
strategy section and those sort.
Version: Final
Completion: 100%
Date/Time: 22:45:40 GMT, 30th July 2002
- Ok the last version contain very little new information, and this contains
none, I have no reason to add any more because the FAQ is final, finished,
complete!!!
Version: Final
Completion: 100%
Date/Time: 21:41:30 GMT, 30th October 2002
- Just a few minor changes, mainly formating.
_______________
-----------------------------[ 2.0 - Markets ]--------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
In "Start-Up 2000," there are 5 markets which you can trade in, they are as
follows:
-=North America=-
Colour/Symbol: Blue
Regions: Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Information/Notes: Despite being a hugh economic powerhouse in real life, the
states seem to be tougher in the game, they are more
competitive, require larger marketing budgets, and in
general the market has little growth in the many years you
may compete in it. A key note to remember is that price is
generally more important than technology in this market.
-=European=-
Colour/Symbol: Orange
Regions: All of Western Europe.
Information/Notes: Like the US, Europe is a tough market, favoring the large
companies with a medium price range and a decent technology
rating. Marketing budgets are also quite important here as
it is also a competitive market at the early stages of the
game.
-=Pacific=-
Colour/Symbol: Green
Regions: Japan, Austrailia, Korea, etc.
Information/Notes: Probaly the only market to be generally the same as its real
life counterpart, here technolodgy rules and money is not a
problem, you can do with a medium marketing budget as long
as you are quick to market, and have a good technology
rating. And the Asian economy seems to have a fair bit of
growth in the games time frame.
-=Emerging=-
Colour/Symbol: Yellow
Regions: Africa, China, Eastern Europe, India, South America, South East Asia
etc.
Information/Notes: My favorite market, and that of any capitalist! High prices,
low budgets, low technology and hugh volume! Send a couple
here, double the normal price and slash the shops cut - and
watch the cash come in!
-=Internet=-
Colour/Symbol: @
Region: Everywhere
Information/Notes: To succeed on the web you should charge the mean average of
all your prices here (p1+p2+p3+p4/4 = mean average) and
offer a decent cut to web retailers as well as a healthy
marketing budget etc., if you get the figures right this
can be both your biggest revenue producer (inportant for
IPO's) and also your biggest profit generator (important
for - everything!)
________________
-----------------------------[ 2.1 - Products ]-------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
During the course of the game you can sell 3 different products. They are
as follows:
-=Mobile Phones=-
Level: Easy
Information: During the course of this type of game you will sell video phones
and create applications for video phones.
-=Video Consoles=-
Level: Medium Difficulty
Information: The most fun type of game, you sell game consoles with features
like internet 56Kb modems etc. You make most money from video
game roylties.
-=Cyber-T.V=-
Level: Hard Difficulty
Information: You must complete the other two to play this, it is just
interactive TV really, no rush to get there.
_______________________
--------------------------[ 2.2 - Product Designs ]---------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Throughout the game, product designs can really be important, you can get
new features to add to your product from research. Before you start production
you can set your product design, when doing so you will be able to choose
between several different components in 4 different catogorys, differing from
product to product.
________________________
--------------------------[ 3.0 - Staff Management ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
You can hire, fire and assign staff by exiting your office and going into
your departments, try to always get the right person, i.e. don't go hiring a
$50,000 sales staff who is really lazy, try to hire a $27,000 sales staff with
a lot of logic. The following is a list of staff members and their dutie's:
-=R&D Dept.=-
= Researcher, discovers new technologies, and components, quite important if
your a tech company (which you are.)
= Developer, irons out new technologies and prepares them for the tester,
again an important role.
= Tester, you can assign any member of staff to test a product. The longer a
product is in testing, the more reliable it becomes.
-=Production Dept.=-
= All staff, work machines and pack products.
-=Marketing Dept.=-
= PR Staff, these members of staff get your name out there and manage
[P]ublic [R]elations.
= Sales Staff, these are the people who get the contracts, as you enter new
markets you can add staff to that market by duplicting a desk.
= Hotline Staff, these are your after-sales staff, if you don't have a good
number of well trained hotline staff, you will never be popular.
-=Administration Dept.=-
= Human Resources, makes sure you get the very BEST staff around, so you
should get the best possible people for this job.
= Accountants, there 100% useFUL (for once) so get good ones, they will keep
your books in order.
= Finance, will help you get a good name with the bank and keep the
investors happy.
____________________
---------------------------[ 3.1 - Staff Morale ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Staff morale is really important in this game, because good staff can leave
at the flick of a switch, so heres some counter measures:
1) Don't over work any member of staff, even if you need to, they will become
less efficent, more costly, and more anger, until they eventually leave.
2) Raise salerys on a regular basis, maybe ever 5 months or so, you don't have
to give 1,000's away, just a couple 100 dollers per employee.
3) Try to keep your coffee lounges in a good state.
4) Don't understaff departments, too few staff can place a lot of stress on
the other employees.
_______________________
--------------------------[ 3.2 - Staff Effciency ]---------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I just want to say one or two things about staff effciency, it will take
approximitly three years to double their effciency, this raises a very
important point, is'nt a person who starts with 23 going to gain 23 while a
person who starts with 40 will gain 40 - over the same time frame? Yes is the
answer, so thats why you really should do your best to get even 1 or 2
percentiale points more on each staff member you hire. The only influnce on
staff effciency growth is their morale so regular salary increases are well
justified.
____________________
---------------------------[ 3.3 - Staff Salary ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I have mentioned plenty on staff so far - except the most important thing -
the bottom line. Your staff need to be paid fairly but chances are that you
are paying over the odds. The following are a few rules I think are worth
noting:
o Your staff will always want more money and will sometimes quit if unhappy,
but remember that an employee does not soly need wages, they need security,
they will only feel this if you have a nice growing company, so if you are
bleeding money - you may be bleeding staff soon. The second thing they need
other than money is a nice work enviorment, so a nice coffee lounge is not
out of your budget.
o If you have exhasted the above options and your staff are still unhappy
despite their nice salarys, here is my method of paying for staff: When
hiring someone, look firstly at two things 1# have they got a nice attitude,
and 2# are their wages less than their efficency, e.g. efficency = 23%
wages = $22,000
From that day on keep there wages directly inline with their efficency, and
never fall behind or go ahead on that figure, they will be happy always
because they were originaly getting asalary which was not constantly getting
bigger.
_____________________________
-----------------------[ 4.0 - Researching a Prodect ]------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The first step to a product is researching the different components, I
usually recommend getting as high a standard as possible, before developing a
product.
____________________________
------------------------[ 4.1 - Developing a Prodect ]------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
After researching a new product component, design the component layout of
the particuliar item and start developing, if you want you can simply use
an already designed component from another company.
_________________________
-------------------------[ 4.2 - Testing a Prodect ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Try always to spend as long as possible testing products, because not only
doe's it increase the stated reliabilty of a product, but also can get rid of
extremely harmful glichs, which can be fatal if publicaly released, because
you will have to have a costly product recall, and dent your reputation.
___________________________
------------------------[ 4.3 - Producing a Prodect ]-------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Once the go ahead for a product has been given, the machines on the
production floor will start operating, if you don't have any, here they are:
JohnDear300C ~ The JohnDear has a severly limited production number, but is
far cheaper to buy and run. I would only use this type for
your first two years.
USGizmo1024H ~ The USGizmo is far quicker with a higher capacity, but of
course is extremely expensive to buy and run. I would never
use before i'm producing 15,000 units plus.
_________________________
--------------------------[ 4.4 - Selling a Prodect ]-------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To sell a product you need two things, A) a marketing budget, B) a sales
staff! You can also adjust the selling price for each market as you like. I
would recommend NOT to have the same price everywhere, as you can get twice
as much sold for twice the price in some markets with low competition.
There are two main methods for pricing products, number one is if its a low
quility product, you can sell cheap, whereas if its a high quility product you
can order that new gold credit card! I would usually have a high priced
product early on, as people will pay more to get the latest. Whereas at two
years in I would be selling far more cheaply to the general masses.
____________________________
-------------------------[ 5.0 - The 4 P's to Selling ]-----------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The four P's to selling are:
[1] Product: if you don't have a good product, whos going to buy it.
[2] Price: the price of a product should reflect the quility of it, but at the
beginning of the game, you don't have a hugh choice, so I
recommmend starting at around $350 - $400 range.
[3] Pipeline: your pipelines, are the stores that sell your product, they will
only stock your product if you are well known, offer a large
discount and/or have lots of promotions.
[4] Promotion: you will need to constantly have promotions to sell products,
more so in the second year.
___________________
----------------------------[ 5.1 - Discounting ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To get people to stock your product you need to give them a reason, and
that reason is profit, you can't sell a product to a store for $200 and then
tell them to sell it for $201. So thats why a -fair- discount is given. You
can have different discounts in different markets depending on the product
price. I would always have 30 - 35% discount. Although that only reflects my
beliefs.
__________________
-----------------------------[ 5.2 - Promotions ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To help sell products it is clever to have promotions, you do not directly
control promotions, but your marketing budget doe's so the more money spent on
marketing, the more promotions carried out. There are three types of
promotions, they are:
Demo Site: This is a free sample of a product, mainly involved with selling
video games.
Display Stand: This is just a stand near the entrance for only your product.
Checkout Ad: Just a simple ad at the checkout.
Poster: Well why not plaster all your retailers stores with full scale ads?
__________________
-----------------------------[ 5.3 - Quantities ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The following is a basic chart showing the different quantities you will
expect to sell during the game and the short of people you will sell to. It is
an extract from the game guide and is quite important.
More
/|\ THE TORNADO
| /\
| / \
| / \
| / \
| / \
| / \
| / \
| THE EARLY MARKET / \
| / \
| ______________ / \
| / \ / \
| / \ /
| / \/
\|/>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>TIME>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Less
Technology The Pragmatists Conservatives Skeptics
Euthusisasts Chasm
& Visionaries
During the Early Market, the product appeals essentially to technology
enthusiasts and visionaries a bit like the PC during its early days or the
internet in 1994.
After that comes a period that is dreaded by most start-ups, the Chasm.
Volumes stumble because the product has yet to be adopted by the mainstream
market. Customers are not sure which technology will become standard, are not
confident of the reliability of the product and or/find that prices are still
too high.
Companies that survive the Chasm and demonstrate sufficient manufacturing
capablities, product quality and the right prices will then benefit from the
Tornado effect: an orgy of success with tremendous voloume growth and profit
explosion. At this point a start-up needs a coherent, well-tested product and
should refrain from launching new versions too often for this will only
confuse the coustomers.
Pagmatists believe in new technologies but they want proved products,
not gadgets. They want to make sure that their investment will pay off.
The conservatives have no praticular interest in technology and will buy only
when a product has been widely accepted by the market.
The last people to buy a product are the skeptics (those, for example, who do
not yet have a computer at home). These people are usually wary of new
technologies until they have become so widespread that it is virtually
impossible to live without them.
The market will then slowly decline until the next technological
breakthrough.
______________________
--------------------------[ 6.0 - Finance Graphs ]----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are four financal charts in the game, they are as follows:
[A] Turnover/Net Earnings: this chart showns how much profit and turnover you
had in the last month.
[B] Cash Assets: this chart shows your "cash at hand."
[C] Stock Price/Stock Index: This is a chart showing your companys share price
(if you are listed on the stock market) and the stock markets points.
[D] Units Sold: This is the number of units sold.
-=Ideal Graph figures=-
The ideal state of your graphs is to have:
Turnover - high
Net Earnings - high, prferably directly porportionate to your turnover at a
constant rate or better, i.e. if your turnover is $5,000,000
and profits $500,000 at one point you will later want the
same gap (profits are a tenth of turnover) at later stages
when you are making $10,000,000 turnover and preferably
$1,000,000 profits or better. Cunfused?
Cash Assets - high
Stock Price - rising
Stock Index - rising - but not high because your stock usually follows the
index up or down, so you don't want to hit your peak straight
away unless you can deliver very good figures and shoot the
price of your stock higher and even the entire index if your big
enough!
Units Sold - high
________________________
--------------------------[ 6.1 - Getting Money: A ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are three main methods of getting finance, the first one being a
commercial bank loan. You can borrow according to your cash assets, you can
only borrow from the "Learing Bank." I would not recommend borrowing heavily
unless you *need* the cash.
________________________
--------------------------[ 6.2 - Getting Money: B ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The second way to get money is to go to your venture capitalist (VC) he
will give you money for a percentage of your company. This is a very dangerous
way of getting finance, as if you give too much of the company away, you will
lose out at an IPO, by having less of a company to sell. Nick Pyles is your
VC.
________________________
--------------------------[ 6.3 - Getting Money: C ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The thrid method of raising money is, through an IPO, it is both the
riskist, and most rewarding. You will need a monthly turnover of at least
$8,000,000 and $1,000,000 cash for fees to be listed on the stock exchange.
You can sell up to 99% of the company on the stock market, but if you sell
over 50% you are no longer the majority shareholder and can be kicked out if
you return poor results. Also you will only be able to sell the stake you
did'nt sell to the VC.
___________________
----------------------------[ 7.0 - News Centre ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The news centre is on your news terminal and is just a way of accessing
messages, from different people, along with market news and competitors. If
you pay attention to it you will be rewarded from time to time with important
news like the Asian economy is the place to be, or you should have a recall or
some other bit of news.
______________________
---------------------------[ 7.1 - Global Network ]---------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The global network provides you with information on competitor advertising,
product quility etc., it is also avialable at the news terminal. It is a very
important piece of equipment as you can see the top advertisers, best
technology prodects etc.
The following are the different statistics meanings. They can be expressed
in different markets.
-=Advertising=-
This list indicates the total advertising spend of each company in
percentaile terms.
-=Public Relations=-
This is a measure of the public relations, usually in line with other
indicators like Advertising or Facing.
-=Promotions=-
This is a measure of the different competitors promotions, it is very
important for judging your position.
-=Facing=-
Another important indicator, it is the publics overall preseption of your
company and its products.
-=Customer Service=-
Not as important as the previous two, but worth taking a note of.
-=Reliability=-
Another very important market indicator, you will value this as an important
list when starting as the first buyers of your product will want reliability.
-=Market Share=-
This is the MOST important indicator, it shows your market share in each
market.
-=Technics=-
This is your companys technology ranking, the higher the better.
__________________________________________
-----------------[ 8.0 - Strategy Guide: Telecommunications ]-----------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
-=General Wakthrough=-
Telecommunications is by far the easist product you can sell, so use it to
get a feel for the game. The first thing to do is design your product, you are
better off to buy in your components at the beginning. You won't really be
able to get a quality product for a while ...but nither will your competitors.
You can start hiring researchers in the second month, make one of your aims
battery power, as this is an important factor in this market. You can also
start to hire an administration staff in the second or third months.
By month four or five you should have something researched, be careful NOT
to add it to your product until you have at least three upgrades, you should
have those about month seven. Up until month seven, try to increase production
capacity above 20,000 units, without using USGizmo 1024H's.
At the year end you should be in ALL markets. Also at year end it is time
to launch your new product. After that you will be near enough to your goal,
an IPO.
-=Tips/Strategys=-
o Watch out for the Chasm, since this is your first market, you will not
expect it, remember if your sales fall that does not mean theres a chasm, if
both your compeitors and your sales fall then that does mean theres a chasm.
o As everyone knows Japan is the worlds telecomunnications home - so keep an
eye on that market and see how often things change, what are the prices
etc., because what happens in Japan will happen 1 year later world wide.
o Try clearing this section more than once, you will understand things better
for latter games if you do.
___________________________________
--------------------[ 8.1 - Strategy Guide: Video Games ]---------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
-=General Wakthrough=-
The video games market is far harder than the telecommunications market, so
you need to launch a very high standard product at the beginning. You can
spend your first four months, hiring staff, increasing production capacity,
researching components etc., but the big stuff won't start for a while.
Your game console probably won't sell more than 6,000 a month at the
beginning, thats until you sign a few games. The first thing you would need is
to sign a decent game, not blockbuster or trash, as you develop you will get
huge numbers of applications. Never sigh a boring game like darts2000 as this
will make your company look old fashioned and anyways you will get very few
roltitys from a boring game.
You can launch your upgraded console fully equiped with inhouse technology,
half way through the second year. After that you will be fine.
-=Tips/Strategys=-
o There is very little "real" money in selling game consoles so sell them at a
little over cost price because you will earn your fortune from game
rolyties.
o Don't go for an IPO at $8,000,000 turnover, wait for $15,000,000 in this
game because you will get far more and since your selling at cost price and
aiming to make your money from roylties, there might be a dry spell so every
penny is vital.
o I know I said that you should earn your money from rolyties and I stand by
that - just remember that the rolyties will not be big for year 1 or 2, but
after that your in the money.
________________________________
----------------------[ 8.2 - Strategy Guide: Cyber-TV ]----------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
-=General Wakthrough=-
First of all you can't play this, until you complete the other two and the
tutorial. Once you start playing you will see why, it is the hardest of them
all and requires a good manager, you.
The first thing to do, is to launch a basic product, no fancy stuff, and
see how you do, try entering as many markets early on, but focus on your home
markets and the internet.
You can build up a good regular sales for the first year, and the first
six months of the second year, but after that you MUST launch a new updated
product. Again once the second product has been launched you will easily glide
into an IPO.
-=Tips/Strategys=-
o Unlike Videophones, Cyber-TV really is a new thing so you can afford to
spend heavily on research, because with Videophones the market had already
begun to see what the it is, were as with Cyber-TV, they will want to know
a bit more, that leads me to my second point, a large public relations
budget is important.
o Like with most new products, you can charge over the odds for them, because
if a techie person walks into a shop and sees a unheard of product that is
nice and shiny, he will be running to his bank manager within the hour.
_______________________
---------------------------[ 9.0 - Term Dictionary ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The following is a quick explenation for words used in the manual, game and
this FAQ:
Pipeline = This is just basic distribution.
IPO = Initial Public Offering, this is when you launch on the stock
exchange.
Net Earnings = This is your profit after costs.
Turnover = This is the amount of money you received excluding costs.
VC = Venture Capitalist, this is the person who finances your
company at the beginning.
R&D = Research and Development.
PR = Public Relations.
The Chasm = A low point in the market.
The Tornado = The peak of the market
___________
---------------------------------[ 9.1 - Q&A ]--------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Q: The manual says theres a Tutorial Mode, but there seems to be none in my
game?
A: You probably have an older version of the game, as it is called "Try-Out,"
on some versions of the game.
Q: My marketing budget keeps changing without my conset, whats wrong?
A: When ever a new marketing staff member is added, the budget is changed to
reflect the new staff member.
Q: Why can't I float on the stock exchange.
A: You must have a MONTHLY turnover of at least $8,000,000 before floation on
the stock exchange.
Q: The sound, sound's different and is not functioning well.
A: If the sound is not playing well, check that there's at least 10 MB still
available for Windows on your hard disk (generally on the C: drive) and
close any other applications open at the same time on your computer.
Q: The game still won't install, even though I have 90 MB?
A: All space must be uncompressed.
Q: how come the game ended suddenly saying I was bankqurpt?
A: If you spend too long with negative cash assents, you will be forced out of
business and brought to court for not meeting your financiers (VC)
agreement.
Q: (The following was a real email question)
"How can I affect reliability in the global network? - sometimes it goes
up, then after a few months it goes down to zero.
A: Your reliability is determined firstly by the lenght of time you spent
testing the product, but is affected later by the fact that it is ageing,
while competitors may have launch new products far more reliabile bringing
yours down or finially you may have relaunched a product or launched a new
one. - No.1
____________
---------------------------------[ 9.2 - Tips ]-------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[1] Don't let the venture capitalists gain to much control, because if you
only have 51% left when you float on the stock exchange, you won't really
get as much as you should.
[2] Treat your employees well, they can leave very suddenly if they are
unhappy with your company.
[3] If you won't to drastically lower overheads, produce components in-house,
it can really make a product cheaper.
[4] Don't enter new markets too soon, each new market costs $1,000,000 to
enter.
______________________
----------------------------[ 9.3 - Product Faults ]--------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
So far I have not discovered any faults in this game, if you discover any
please e-mail me and I will add them.
______________
-------------------------------[ 9.4 - Cheats ]-------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I have never recommended using cheats in any game, and I'm not now, but
since this is meant to be a FULL FAQ, I will list any verified ones.
[1] More Money: When taking out a loan, ask for $666.00, and you will recieve
$5,000,000 instead, your outstanding loan will not change and your maximum
loan will remain the same. So far I have not found any side-effects.
__________________
-----------------------------[ 9.5 - Other Help ]-----------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
If this game has not solved your problems, try some of the following:
[1] The readme file, the obvious help source.
[2] The manual, again obvious.
[3] http://www.montecristogames.com may be of some use.
If you discover any other sites with information, please email them to me as
I need a few facts myself.
_________________
-----------------------------[ 10.0 - Farewell ]------------------------------
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
-=Farewell=-
Anyways, thanks again for reading this FAQ, it is important that it is of
benifit to anyone who reads it, so if you have a note, comment, suggestion,
please email me at the above address and I will try to add it as soon as
possible along with full credit as expected. Thanks
Ciarán Gorman.
-=Credits=-
o I really can't give CjayC enough credit, he really has changed my life and
many others, he has created a community of several hundred thousned
different people from all over the globe, united in one love, gaming, he
has given every one of these recognition for their work, and a place well
kept to share knowledge, thats why I'm dedicating this FAQ to CjayC a
really great person.
o The development team at Monte Cristo, although it is'nt as glamourous
making a business game, as it is making another sequel to a blockbuster
like Tomb Raider, they really have put a lot of effort into this game,
dispite the knowledge that it would probable never shift more than a few
thousned copies as opposed to several million, from a blockbuster.
o Myself, well I did write this FAQ, anyways I really find it hard to give
credit to myself, so thats why i've only given myself two lines.
o You. You are the one I wrote this for, so thanks for reading it, I really
hope it enlightened you (even a bit) to this somewhat cunfusing game.
o To all the other FAQ writers who are a constant inspriation. Thanks.
-=Contributors=-
- "theweeman" for the money cheat.
- Mario Villacorta for asking a question (marked No.1).
