Suggestions for Media Firms

[David]

More preliminary, non-concrete ideas for TV network, for the purpose of inviting more ideas:

One possibility:
>For content development

-you select the category of content to develop and set the budget.
-you stack up the productions – keep a pile of the productions
-each production has: a quality rating
-and its popularity rating is hard to predict.

-You may just roll out the program, if it becomes a hit, then you can make sequels or next seasons.

Drama – action
Drama – thriller
Drama – romance
Sports
News

When you have money, you just set a budget and produce the content

If you have star talent in your contracts, you can use them in the production and the quality rating will be higher.

The trend will change and if you have the right production that needs the trend, then you may have a bigger chance of having a hit.

Trend - themes:
–medieval
-futuristic
-sci-fi
-modern
-early 19 century

>each theme needs investment in building the theme sets,

And your crew’s skills in those sets will also improve over time.

A script writer and a star director’s skill on a specific trend will also improve with more practice.

Gameplay is decide which theme to invest, and recruit the right people, let them practice and improve skill and keep them.

Star director – if there is a star director, your program’s rating will be more likely to be higher.

Gameplay - like CARD GAMES – you get a stack of cards (the TV content), and based on the trend, you issue the card.

For radio and newspaper, the card concept may still work – but the card is not a single production, but a series.

Review - there will be critical review and user review of each TV program you produce.

[Naselus]

They all sound kinda micro-management heavy (especially stuff like 'card games' and the talent hiring thing). Variable content developments sound good - like products but for media - but it mustn't be too demanding for attention. I want to be able to set up a media firm to do something, and be able to leave it doing it like factories/retailers without being dragged back every year or two to make sequels.

[David]

They all sound kinda micro-management heavy (especially stuff like 'card games' and the talent hiring thing). Variable content developments sound good - like products but for media - but it mustn't be too demanding for attention. I want to be able to set up a media firm to do something, and be able to leave it doing it like factories/retailers without being dragged back every year or two to make sequels.

I believe there are many CapLab players who think the same as you do - just keep the media firms simple. In that regard, the current game mechanism of media firms seems to be doing just fine.

[Bigcat]

I believe there are many CapLab players who think the same as you do - just keep the media firms simple. In that regard, the current game mechanism of media firms seems to be doing just fine.[/quote]

TV signal transmitter and control zone

I suggest to improve the media firms function by adding new concept "Control Zone". I think the media firms should no longer to provide service on whole map, but in a limited area that I call it "Control Zone". For example, a TV Station can only provide service to 50 land lots diameter, the population of land lots will be the Max. TV watchers.
(Population in control zone) x (media rating) = (Nos. of TV watchers).

If the players want to enhance the control zone, they should build more "TV signal transmitter'". I suggest one TV signal transmitter can provide service to 30 land lots diameter; however, it will reduce the environmental quality within 10 land lots diameter. Also, it has operation cost for every TV signal transmitter and this cost is relatively high, so that we need to judge the effective of transmitter.

I suggest that TV signal transmitter should contain the information of 1) the operation cost, 2) the Population in control zone, 3) the media rating and 4) CPM.

Why should it need the control zone concept?

At this moment, there are no different in function between the building of newspaper, radio, TV stations. Moreover, it is not easy to balance the power of owning a media firm. Although, the game is increased the building cost of media firms and let it builds with freedom, it still has the space for further development.

I suggest the building cost of newsstand < radio transmitter < TV signal transmitter, but also max. Population in control zone of newsstand < radio transmitter < TV signal transmitter. The net result is that the newspaper station is the cheapest one to develop the supply network, but also lower media rating than other media firms. Therefore, it makes different between the media firms, and positioning of newsstand / transmitter also make more fun to the game player.

On the other hand, affection of environmental quality make the positioning become not easy to decide, it may reduce the demand of rental when it is too close, it can make depth to game playing.

[mrbcap]

David, your ideas for improving the media firms are excellent.
It's time indeed to add more depth to the game.
Maybe too much micro-management, but we could always do something to lessen it.
Besides you could have the ability to hire an "Executive Media Officer" to manage it for you.

[David]

David, your ideas for improving the media firms are excellent.

Glad that you like the ideas. Actually, they are brainstorm ideas from the dev team and this time I was involved in the discussions. The ideas were very rough at this stage, but I thought it would be interesting just to post them here and see how people's feedback to them is.


And it seems to me that services gameplay would need a lot of experiments in order to get it right. Perhaps it is a better approach by developing a script system that allows the user to customize service industries within a specific game design framework, and letting them experiment with different designs and settings.

In terms of the game design framework for services, perhaps we can start by discussing which the ideas mentioned up in this thread that you like the most. Then we can see if we can get them organized into a solid framework that is feasible for implementation.

[mrbcap]

And it seems to me that services gameplay would need a lot of experiments in order to get it right. Perhaps it is a better approach by developing a script system that allows the user to customize service industries within a specific game design framework, and letting them experiment with different designs and settings.

+1 Yes, this would be great.

In terms of the game design framework for services, perhaps we can start by discussing which the ideas mentioned up in this thread that you like the most. Then we can see if we can get them organized into a solid framework that is feasible for implementation.

Personally, I'd like to see implemented:
1. Financial Services (Banking, Insurance, etc.)
2. Transportation (Shipping of goods, aviation, rail transport, etc.)
In order to ship goods and transport people you need fuel, so adding refineries and gas stations to the game would be a must.
Fuel could be one of the inputs you''ll need to operate your transportation business along with other expenses such as advertising, etc.

[nemanjanv7]

I understand why a lot of people are against micromanagement in media firms, but I must say that I would like it to be a bit more complicating. I mean really, if it was so simple to run both manufacturing, retail and media industries, then every corporation in RL would have it all. So sometimes if you want those extra advantages then you have to put more effort to it.

And also a lot of corporations nowadays are strictly oriented towards services, and implementing them in this game would really make CapLab a supreme business simulation rather then just a game

Thumbs up for the team

[mrbcap]

I understand why a lot of people are against micromanagement in media firms, but I must say that I would like it to be a bit more complicating. I mean really, if it was so simple to run both manufacturing, retail and media industries, then every corporation in RL would have it all. So sometimes if you want those extra advantages then you have to put more effort to it.

I definitely agree with you. Every business type is different and should therefore have their own degree of complication and uniqueness.

[Steve]

I'd like to see using the media firms to influence the stock market, e.g. spread bad rumors about a company causing the stock price to drop.
--edit-- Of course, the opposite would be possible as well.