Competitor Trade Secrets - Some things that should not be revealed

You may post your suggestions about Capitalism Lab here
Post Reply
User avatar
Stylesjl
Mod Expert
Mod Expert
Posts: 888
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2023 4:01 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Has thanked: 63 times
Been thanked: 82 times

Competitor Trade Secrets - Some things that should not be revealed

Post by Stylesjl »

There are a few things I noticed in games where Show Competitor Trade Secrets are set to No.

Insurance and Banking Company info are revealed:
Insurance.png
Insurance.png (123.59 KiB) Viewed 2459 times
Bank.png
Bank.png (113.8 KiB) Viewed 2459 times
I think the following needs to be Confidential:
- Training Budget
- Staff Skill Level
- Customer Waiting Time
- Quality of Service

Note this should be for both Branches and the Headquarters.

Import Companies should not reveal what products are imported or how many slots are being used:
Import.png
Import.png (98.07 KiB) Viewed 2459 times
Shopping Malls:
I think that Market Rent and Lease Expiry should also be confidential for other companies (unless you own the mall or a tenant):
Malls.png
Malls.png (91.29 KiB) Viewed 2459 times
--
Also, should Private Companies reveal as much information as Public Companies? Public Companies are legally required to reveal information for the public shareholders. But private companies are not obligated to reveal if they have debts or their revenues/profits.
rafaeltodero
Translation Contributor
Translation Contributor
Posts: 217
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:58 pm
Has thanked: 55 times
Been thanked: 12 times

Re: Competitor Trade Secrets - Some things that should not be revealed

Post by rafaeltodero »

Stylesjl wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 11:27 am There are a few things I noticed in games where Show Competitor Trade Secrets are set to No.

Insurance and Banking Company info are revealed:
Insurance.png
Bank.png

I think the following needs to be Confidential:
- Training Budget
- Staff Skill Level
- Customer Waiting Time
- Quality of Service

Note this should be for both Branches and the Headquarters.

Import Companies should not reveal what products are imported or how many slots are being used:
Import.png

Shopping Malls:
I think that Market Rent and Lease Expiry should also be confidential for other companies (unless you own the mall or a tenant):
Malls.png

--
Also, should Private Companies reveal as much information as Public Companies? Public Companies are legally required to reveal information for the public shareholders. But private companies are not obligated to reveal if they have debts or their revenues/profits.


I agree that it may not make sense for private companies to show your information because it is "private".

Now if I want to buy a private company, how will I know if it is a profitable purchase?
How will I know if it makes sense to buy the assets it owns?

How can I analyze your income and expenses to know whether the company is worth acquiring or not?


I'm in favor of keeping it as it is. I don't think changing this will help the gameplay much.
User avatar
Stylesjl
Mod Expert
Mod Expert
Posts: 888
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2023 4:01 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Has thanked: 63 times
Been thanked: 82 times

Re: Competitor Trade Secrets - Some things that should not be revealed

Post by Stylesjl »

rafaeltodero wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 12:15 pm
Stylesjl wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 11:27 am There are a few things I noticed in games where Show Competitor Trade Secrets are set to No.

Insurance and Banking Company info are revealed:
Insurance.png
Bank.png

I think the following needs to be Confidential:
- Training Budget
- Staff Skill Level
- Customer Waiting Time
- Quality of Service

Note this should be for both Branches and the Headquarters.

Import Companies should not reveal what products are imported or how many slots are being used:
Import.png

Shopping Malls:
I think that Market Rent and Lease Expiry should also be confidential for other companies (unless you own the mall or a tenant):
Malls.png

--
Also, should Private Companies reveal as much information as Public Companies? Public Companies are legally required to reveal information for the public shareholders. But private companies are not obligated to reveal if they have debts or their revenues/profits.


I agree that it may not make sense for private companies to show your information because it is "private".

Now if I want to buy a private company, how will I know if it is a profitable purchase?
How will I know if it makes sense to buy the assets it owns?

How can I analyze your income and expenses to know whether the company is worth acquiring or not?


I'm in favor of keeping it as it is. I don't think changing this will help the gameplay much.
That is a good point - I was thinking that maybe it would be revealed upon trying to purchase them, but then a player could just pretend to purchase the company to get all the info. Yes, probably better to leave it public.
TheOscar
Level 2 user
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2023 4:01 am
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Competitor Trade Secrets - Some things that should not be revealed

Post by TheOscar »

I'm for making these items confidential, unless a company is going bankrupt and I'm considering buying it. I think the game does something similar with tech/trade secrets. Also, I don't even mind having some things hidden even when buying a failing business, its more realistic and risky which may add some fun.
User avatar
anjali
Community Contributor
Community Contributor
Posts: 441
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:00 am
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Competitor Trade Secrets - Some things that should not be revealed

Post by anjali »

i got always all details hidden by default unless i am testing some stuff, then i change the option to show secrets for testing only.
debts are also shown if secrets are not shown as any company on shares (those private companies are in-game on shares) therefore you got reporting duties the one or the other way to the authoritites unless you are in 1 of the 4 countries in the world which still got S.A. then you dont have to report and major player got a few S.A. in their company construct but luckily they dont exist in-game,
Post Reply