Making the Freight Cost Index visible in-game

[mrgarrettscott]

The freight cost index is an invisible piece of data in-game; however, is very important and can be used for players to make decisions about what products should be centrally distributed via a warehouse and which items should be produced and sold locally.

Frozen Beef has a freight cost index of 40. On a 1-100 scale, that isn't horrible; however, considering the price of the frozen beef, it is better to have a cattle farm in each city unless the beef will be part of manufacturing another product. Now, if you have never played Capitalism Lab, how could know that it is better to raise and slaughter cattle locally over doing it in a centralized location and shipping across the Capitalism Lab world? What if you are an experienced Capitalism Lab player that hasn't grown or manufactured every product? I know where to get the data, but wouldn't it be easier to present it to the player in-game?

I propose placing the freight cost index right underneath the Necessity Index on the Product Details screen with mouse-hovering effect that explains what it is.

What say you, Capitalism Lab players?

[mrgarrettscott]

I was casually looking at Home Appliance product class in the product_types.DBF today. The dryer, the washing machine, and the dishwasher have freight cost indexes of 70, 75, and 60. That means, centralized distribution doesn't make sense because of the freight costs. The refrigerator, on the other hand, has a freight cost index of 10 and is a candidate for centralized distribution via a warehouse. Odd, right? Either way, how could I know if I didn't know where to look? And why did I know where to look? Because I had an interest in adding fruits and vegetables to Capitalism Lab before discovering the Real World Mod. So, I read up on Advance Modding - Products. Ahh, that is why shipping frozen beef across the world drives up the price so much.

I'm sure distribution cost is a factor all corporations consider. As a wholly fictional CEO of a large conglomerate, I would like a general idea of whether or not it makes sense to build five large factories in one city or 10 small/medium factories in each city. In the case of the dryer, the washing machine, and the dishwasher, the answer is clear. The fridge was a surprising outlier. Other items might warrant a closer look. Guess who ALWAYS knows what the freight cost index is? AI-controller CEOs. I'd surmise that CEO freight concern is driven by the freight cost index.

Make the freight cost index visible in-game!

[Brutus]

I was casually looking at Home Appliance product class in the product_types.DBF today. The dryer, the washing machine, and the dishwasher have freight cost indexes of 70, 75, and 60. That means, centralized distribution doesn't make sense because of the freight costs. The refrigerator, on the other hand, has a freight cost index of 10 and is a candidate for centralized distribution via a warehouse. Odd, right?

Make the freight cost index visible in-game!

Code: Select all

HOMEAPP	AIRCOND		Air Conditioner	350	0	12
HOMEAPP	REFRIGER	Refrigerator	400	0	10
HOMEAPP	WASHMACH	Washing Machine	400	0	10

I think you may be running a mod in this case, these are the default freight charges for the default home appliance products in a vanilla game. As you may notice ... there's no dishwasher or dryer in the vanilla version. This is probably mod related oversight in terms of freight charges.

[mrgarrettscott]

I was casually looking at Home Appliance product class in the product_types.DBF today. The dryer, the washing machine, and the dishwasher have freight cost indexes of 70, 75, and 60. That means, centralized distribution doesn't make sense because of the freight costs. The refrigerator, on the other hand, has a freight cost index of 10 and is a candidate for centralized distribution via a warehouse. Odd, right?

Make the freight cost index visible in-game!

Code: Select all

HOMEAPP	AIRCOND		Air Conditioner	350	0	12
HOMEAPP	REFRIGER	Refrigerator	400	0	10
HOMEAPP	WASHMACH	Washing Machine	400	0	10

I think you may be running a mod in this case, these are the default freight charges for the default home appliance products in a vanilla game. As you may notice ... there's no dishwasher or dryer in the vanilla version. This is probably mod related oversight in terms of freight charges.

Yes, it is the Real World Mod and is probably an oversight; yet, in the end, whether it was supposed to be 10 or 60, the freight cost index should be visible in-game as it provides us essential information - an approximation of freight cost in relation to the price of the product.

[David]

This is a good idea. Any suggestion about how to explain the Freight Cost Index to players in a tooltip so that they can understand it effortlessly?

[mrgarrettscott]

"Effortlessly" is going to be a challenge. I was looking at other tooltips in-game to get some ideas on that.

Use the freight cost index (1-100) to determine product distribution strategy. A high index number means the shipping cost of a product is high compared to its selling price.

This would be my basic tooltip. Here is something a bit more detailed.

Use the freight cost index (1-100) to determine whether to manufacture and distribute a product locally or by using a centralized distribution approach. A high index number means the shipping cost of a product is high compared to its selling price.

I also believe an example is necessary to fulfill the goal of effortless player understanding. So, I cut and pasted the example from the advance modding section of the website

Putting it all together:

Use the freight cost index (1-100) to determine whether to manufacture and distribute a product locally or by using a centralized distribution approach. A high index number means the shipping cost of a product is high compared to its selling price. E.g. for two products whose selling prices are both $100. The one with a freight cost index will have a higher freight cost than the other for shipping the same quantity of products.

[Hans_Lemurson]

Maybe something like:
"Freight Cost Index (FCI) shows how expensive a product is to ship long distances. The higher the FCI, the higher the freight costs are compared to the value of the product being shipped. Goods with a low FCI are good for centralized distribution, but goods with a high FCI should be produced locally where possible."

[sofrade]

I have bought the game and all the DLCs last week, and I already love every bit!

However, I'm a bit frustrated by the freight costs in business expansion; I realized that freight costs can really ruin my expansion plan, and lead to bankruptcy (especially if the set goal is to achieve market dominance in a sector).

I really believe this feature is absolutely vital for the game, because the AI has the info, but I don't. I only have the info later on, when I already am operating, and losing money.

I would like to point out these elements:
1 - Calculation : Freight cost index is not enough to have an estimate of the price. This is important when we want to beat the competition. Before importing, we I need to know all the elements that determine the price (not only the freight cost index, but maybe also the distance, etc); because, I assume, both the freight cost index and distance determine the import price and hence the cost / sales price.
2 - Display: in the UI, maybe this could be added to the product details screen, just like the necessity; when the user hovers over the icon, they get the estimated price, the freight index and the distance.

Today, I want to play but I feel trapped by this lack of information, as well as the formula to calculate this; I cannot just speculate and start expanding/importing. I really need to know if it is worth to import a product (from my factory in another city) or if I need to produce it in every city.

I really hope this feature gets into your backlog ASAP;
Thank you so much!

[David]

Please see my reply in this post: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2027&p=38135#p38135