Noticing a bug: Training MFG unit lvl 8 100% utilization

[David]

We have just released patch v3.5.16.

Now when you apply R&D results to factories, if factories' manufacturing units will be downgraded as a result, it will display the number of levels that the unit will be downgraded on the message window.

[WilliamMGary]

We have just released patch v3.5.16.

Now when you apply R&D results to factories, if factories' manufacturing units will be downgraded as a result, it will display the number of levels that the unit will be downgraded on the message window.

David,


I have a better idea "Smart Tips" if Smart Tips is enabled when you first build a new type of firm Factories, R&D Centers, Media Firms you get a brief intro/summary which covers important facts and tidbits you should know to help you manage and run your company more effectively.

For example, for me, I would place my first R&D firm and a Smart Tip (dialog box/windows with next or whatever UI you want) appears and it explains to me what R&D is, how technology disruption works and how new tech affects the factories. When I first played Capitalism II I was forced to read the manual to understand almost anything now it seems instead of the manual and actually instead of a tutorial system games "teach" throughout the game/as the game evolves. This would be really helpful and for experienced players they can turn off smart tips.

[David]

I have a better idea "Smart Tips" if Smart Tips is enabled when you first build a new type of firm Factories, R&D Centers, Media Firms you get a brief intro/summary which covers important facts and tidbits you should know to help you manage and run your company more effectively.

For example, for me, I would place my first R&D firm and a Smart Tip (dialog box/windows with next or whatever UI you want) appears and it explains to me what R&D is, how technology disruption works and how new tech affects the factories. When I first played Capitalism II I was forced to read the manual to understand almost anything now it seems instead of the manual and actually instead of a tutorial system games "teach" throughout the game/as the game evolves. This would be really helpful and for experienced players they can turn off smart tips.

Would you please come up with an example text of smart tips for factories or R&D centers to illustrate how you envision it to work exactly?

[WilliamMGary]

I have a better idea "Smart Tips" if Smart Tips is enabled when you first build a new type of firm Factories, R&D Centers, Media Firms you get a brief intro/summary which covers important facts and tidbits you should know to help you manage and run your company more effectively.

For example, for me, I would place my first R&D firm and a Smart Tip (dialog box/windows with next or whatever UI you want) appears and it explains to me what R&D is, how technology disruption works and how new tech affects the factories. When I first played Capitalism II I was forced to read the manual to understand almost anything now it seems instead of the manual and actually instead of a tutorial system games "teach" throughout the game/as the game evolves. This would be really helpful and for experienced players they can turn off smart tips.

Would you please come up with an example text of smart tips for factories or R&D centers to illustrate how you envision it to work exactly?

Not production ready but my view would be a little white small dialog window appears when you place your first R&D center. It has max say 5 tips 1-5. Each tip gives helpful/useful information in a very condense fashion. For (terrible) example:

Text 1

R&D centers are where you research products to increase the quality of your company products. If technology disruption is enable R&D is neccessary to maintain product quality level and stay competitive

Text 2

Once the R&D research is completed you can apply the research manually or automatically. Be aware that applying R&D research could affect your MFG unit levels if the advance is significantly higher.

[David]

So you meant that a new player should still go through the tutorials and the smart tips serves as an additional guidance to the player?

[eleaza]

So you meant that a new player should still go through the tutorials and the smart tips serves as an additional guidance to the player?

I feels like "Smart tips" should still be in tutorial missions (or perhaps the later tutorials only). Current tutorials are like "lectures" in class, it's linear progression, players click and click, and it's finished. They might forget a lot of the details after the tutorial session. In learning and teaching, repeatable and constant reminders of the same lesson/tip are quite crucial for people to remember new concepts they are not familiar with. And it's better to allow players to freely explore different aspects of the game on their own paces, instead of focused linear lessons. When players encounter new or a semi-familiar situations, some tips here and there, can remind of them at that point what need to be taking care of, and let they associated the knowledge with the situations at hands.

However it will be quite a task to pick and choose the topics in Smart Tips. Too long, people lose focus, too short it might not transfer the correct message to new players. And the amount of information can not be overloading. The tips really have to be "smart", depending on different situations (some even can be disabled manually one by one, and the game learns what users already know and show other topics in the future accordingly), like under certain circumstance when a business is just started, the tips for R&D could be quite general as WilliamMGary suggested, but when there's already some R&D going on, another new R&D center built will show different advanced tips, like R&D research time. And with different game settings like with higher competitor expertise, the tips might be "AI with high expertise have research advantage, be sure to link more research units connected to catch up", or "try to win an election and build University, focused product class with competitiveness advantage can help increase research progress", etc (basic tips will still show from time to time just less frequently, this is useful if smart tips are randomly popping up with many different topics to choose from). Even like the topic in this thread, when there's a factory with R&D project finished, the tip of "manufacturing unit will level be downgraded applying new technology if you have auto apply technology option enabled" will show up.

Most strategy games with smart tips limit what players can do in an almost linear story in early game (or with limited branches of possibilities), even though they are supposed to be open world, but in early stage they actually are not. It's a simpler way of make tips easier to follow and not wandering too far. They essentially just integrated tutorials into early gameplay. Capitalism lab may not need to be this way, but better tutorial missions with several simple tutorials about interface and control early on, and then later with advanced tutorial missions using smart tips for players to explore and learn before entering custom games or challenge games certainly sounds reasonable. (And perhaps like the old time don't call tutorial missions "tutorials", but entrepreneur missions, players don't like to be reminded of being newbies. Also they might get attached to a certain world they played early on and wish to continue regardless)

[David]

Please feel free to contribute by posting the smart tips you have in mind for the game.

I will compile them and submit the list to the dev team for integrating into the game provided that the conditions for triggering the smart tips are quite straightforward to implement.

You may start a new thread titled "Smart Tips" if you like.

[eleaza]

Please feel free to contribute by posting the smart tips you have in mind for the game.

I will compile them and submit the list to the dev team for integrating into the game provided that the conditions for triggering the smart tips are quite straightforward to implement.

You may start a new thread titled "Smart Tips" if you like.

I'll do the heavy lifting, and start a topic in "Capitalism Lab - Suggestions" sub-forum titled "Player contribution to new Smart Tips mechanism"?

[David]

I'll do the heavy lifting, and start a topic in "Capitalism Lab - Suggestions" sub-forum titled "Player contribution to new Smart Tips mechanism"?

Thanks for your contribution.