I feel like I should definitely not run a business.
Generally I couldn't even reach the end, and this one time I did it was with far less money than I started out with.
I'm sure there are ways to make it through with better results, but I don't know what they are. It felt like the required numbers went up much faster than I could possibly train employees.
Anyway, it's very nicely made and designed. Intuitive UI and gameplay (but not so intuitive how to play well!)
Thanks for playing the game, and congratulations on your victory!
Here are some strategy hints:
- Always try to avoid having unutilized employees.
- Use experts to optimize your investment in training.
- Put experts back on their slots if you are not using them ;)
- When you're training, make sure to fill all slots with employees to make it more cost-effective, as you're paying a fee for training.
- Try to avoid using employees with a level that’s too high for the project requirements—it will reduce your income.
(Later, this situation will lead to training where less skilled employees can upskill by learning from seniors on the project ;) I haven’t implemented this mechanism yet. This should simplify the game a bit and reduce the need for heavy training investments.)
But you're right—this isn’t a typical tycoon game where you'll get rich (and sometimes bored) quickly! It's more of a simulation of running a challenging business, especially when investing in training for incoming digitalization—where change is necessary. :)
Some of the trouble I had in earlier attempts was refusing to fire employees (unless it meant going into debt) or hire outside experts, because I saw that those were things listed under optional difficulty settings. :) I did have to end up using those functions for my one victory, in the end.
I had no idea experts could be put back into their slots, since I only used them in a couple playthroughs I guess I didn't experiment much with them.
I also wasn't clear on how training worked, or rather, that the fee was the same for one slot as it was for others. I assumed that higher level employees would cost more to train than lower level ones, but didn't experiment much with that either since the high level ones were in such demand.
I did catch on that over-qualified employees reduced a project's output. What I'm not sure how to do is anticipate which levels will be needed from one turn to the next. I didn't like the idea of keeping a level 0 employee around just in case a slot for them opened up in a future project, when I could instead send them to train. (Of course I could fire them and hire a new level 0 instead, but...)
Having higher level employees increase the skills of those they work with sounds great, and would definitely have helped me a lot. What I'd really been hoping for was some sort of 'experience' system where the more projects an employee did, the more skilled they could become. Not as the same rate as dedicated training but to keep them from stagnating later on. I suppose that's counter to the theme, though! :D
