Capitalism Lab Version 12.0

New Features:

Custom Maps in City Economic Simulation DLC

City Economic Simulation DLC now supports importing custom regional maps, enabling players to create and load personalized terrains into the game. This feature allows for the design of maps inspired by real-world regions, such as a detailed Europe layout with varied elevations and coastlines, or entirely original landscapes. It enhances gameplay by providing greater control over terrain generation, supporting mod integration through scripting for city locations.

To implement a custom map, users can download the free Height Map Editor (HME) from hme.sourceforge.net and create a 1200×900 pixel height map, optionally starting from a BMP image. Save the file as .HME, place it in the game’s MAPS folder (accessible via the Generate Regional Map menu), and load it in Capitalism Lab to generate the terrain. A sample Europe map with a city placement script is available for download to demonstrate the process.

Full instructions are provided in the link below:

Redesigned Built-in Advertising System in Experimental DLC

The built-in advertising feature has been revamped, enabling you to advertise across multiple media firms.

Click the Built-in Advertising icon to access the new Built-in Advertising menu, as shown above.

You can link multiple media firms to the built-in advertising unit. Then click the [Back] icon at the bottom-right of the window to return to the 3×3 layout.

You can now select any product in your firm and use the advertising slider to set its monthly advertising budget. The budget is set as a percentage of your total monthly advertising budget designated in the built-in advertising interface.

For example, suppose your built-in advertising system is linked to three media firms, each with a monthly budget of $100,000, for a total of $300,000. If you set a product’s advertising budget to 20%, its monthly budget will be $60,000 ($300,000 x 20%).

This update provides a more versatile and powerful advertising system, allowing you to promote your products more effectively.

Visually Improved New Game Settings Menu

This version features a redesigned New Game Settings menu that gives the game a more modern look.

New Game Rules in Experimental DLC

A new [New Game Rules] tab is available under the Experimental DLC page in the New Game Settings menu, offering the following options:

Industry Expertise Only

When this is enabled, persons will no longer possess general skills such as retailing or manufacturing. Instead, they will specialize in a specific product class. Their industry-specific expertise will enhance not only the R&D units dedicated to their particular product class but also the manufacturing, purchasing, and sales units focused on that same product class.

For firms managed by a person with industry expertise:

1) Each expertise point the person has in a product class increases the R&D performance of that class by 1%.

2) When upgrading a manufacturing unit in that product class to a higher-level technology, the unit’s level will remain unchanged.

3) Manufacturing, purchasing, and sales units focused on that product class will have higher levels.

Example:
If a person has industry expertise in the Computer product class, all manufacturing, purchasing, and sales units related to Computer products will receive increased unit levels. This grants the character a strong competitive edge in both producing and selling computers.

Digital Age DLC Visual Upgrade

Version 12.0 introduces new building graphics for the Digital Age DLC, giving your tech empire a sharper, more immersive look.

Software Company: Now features a clean, modern design that reflects its innovation-driven role.

Internet Company: Redesigned with bold lines and digital-era styling to stand out in your cityscape.

Telecom: Updated with a solid, contemporary look that reinforces its role as a core infrastructure provider.

New Display Resolutions Support and Phasing Out the DirectDraw Option

Several new display modes have been added, including 1280×800, 1470×956, 1512×982, 1680×1050, 1720×800, and 2560×1080. With these additions, the game now supports the vast majority of modern monitor resolutions.

In earlier versions, some players depended on DirectDraw because their native screen resolution was unavailable or the in‑game text appeared too small.

Version 12.0 also adds display scaling options for 2560×1080 and 3440×1440, ensuring that all ultra‑high‑resolution modes now offer adjustable scaling.

As a result, the DirectDraw option has been removed from the Capitalism Lab launcher in version 12.0. With improved resolution coverage and built‑in scaling, the previous limitations can now be resolved without relying on DirectDraw.

If your screen resolution is not supported in version 12.0, please let us know so we can add it in a future update.

Direct Input for Prices and Numeric Fields

We have made pricing and adjustments even smoother and more precise.

You can now click directly on a product’s price field in the Firm Detail interface or Product Details report to type in an exact amount.

This upgrade also applies to many other numeric fields across the game.

Hotkey support: To edit a numeric field, press ‘/’. If the UI contains multiple numeric fields that support direct typing, press ‘.’ to edit the second one.

New Graph Hover Feature: See Exact Values Instantly

You can now hover your mouse over any point on a graph to instantly see its precise value. Supported across most graphs in the game, this feature eliminates guesswork and helps you make better-informed decisions.

Background Running

The game can now be set to continue running in the background while you use other applications on Windows.

Option: Game continues to run in the background
This option allows the game to keep running even when it is not in focus or minimized.

Option: Skip display frames when in the background
When the game is running in the background, it periodically draws a single frame while skipping several frames in between. This reduces the video processing workload and improves the game’s performance. A slider is provided to adjust the number of frames to skip.

Skip Frames When the Mouse is Idle

The “Skip Frames When the Mouse is Idle” option dramatically speeds up simulation runs at maximum game speed.

Here’s how it works:
When you’re running the game at full speed and your mouse is idle (no panning or clicking), the game no longer renders every single frame. Instead, it periodically renders just one frame while skipping several in between. This cuts down the video processing workload and lets the simulation fly through in-game years much quicker.

Capitalism Lab Performance Tests with this New Feature:
We ran tests with a demanding setup: 50 companies, 7 cities, 2 in-game years at max speed.

The results below show the amount of real time needed to complete the 2‑year run under each setting.

View / Setting 🖥️ Skip frames when mouse is idle ⏭️ Time to Run 2 Years ⏱️
Fixed on the City map view 🏙️ Disabled 🚫 1 minute 28 seconds 🕒
Viewing the City map, Information Center and Firm Details 🏙️📊🏢 Disabled 🚫 50 seconds
Fixed on the Farmer’s Guide 🌾 Disabled 🚫 32 seconds ⚡
Fixed on the City map view 🏙️ 10 frames 🎞️ 12 seconds ⚡⚡
Fixed on the City map view 🏙️ 20 frames 🎞️🎞️ 10 seconds ⚡⚡
Fixed on the City map view 🏙️ 30 frames 🎞️🎞️🎞️ 8 seconds ⚡⚡

Subsidiary News Window in Subsidiary DLC

A new Subsidiary News Window has been added to keep you updated on the latest developments regarding your subsidiaries.

You can toggle the window on or off by pressing the hotkey ‘J’ or by accessing the News Options menu using the hotkey ‘N’.

New Design for the Build Firm Menu

The the icons in the Build Firm menu have been completely redesigned for a modern, updated look. The menu will display in text mode by default, and you can switch to icon mode by clicking the Switch Mode icon below the menu.

Expanded Persons – Wealth Report

The Persons – Wealth Report has been expanded with new tabs that display each individual’s assets on separate pages, including Bank Deposits, Stocks, Bonds, and Properties.

Brand-new Firm Icon Designs

Brand-new firm icon designs now appear at the top-right corner of the Firm Details window, giving the interface a sharper, more modern look.

Added portraits and bios of influential people in the Influential 100 Chart for the City Economic Simulation DLC

The Influential 100 Chart now features vivid portraits and brief biographies, transforming each entry from a mere name into a memorable personality. This upgrade adds richer depth and a more immersive feel to your gameplay.

The image and description of the selected influential person will be shown if the game’s screen resolution mode allows enough space for displaying them.

The images are stored in the \MOD_kit\Images\Influential_People folder.

The Influential 100 database file has been updated to a new format, now including each person’s birth and death years, along with a description. This file can be found at \MOD_kit\Data\Influential_People.DBF.

MODs using the previous Influential.DBF format remain fully compatible with this version.

Gameplay Improvements

1) Improved the precision of auto inflation adjustment for content development budgets for media firms.

2) When a person is not available for hire, it will show the reason.

For example: <Person name> intends to launch his/er own company and is not interested in employment opportunities.

3) When a city goes bankrupt and receives an emergency bailout from the central government, the bailout requires the mayor to raise tax rates if the city’s expenditures exceed its revenue. (The game system will automatically implement the tax increase.)

4) You can use the following script command to customize the game so that mayors no longer resign when a city declares bankruptcy:

[CES DLC]
Force Mayor Resignation Upon City Bankruptcy=<Yes>/<No>
(Default: Yes)

5) Improved the algorithm for calculating the Location Convenience ratings of civic buildings.

6) Improved city government AI for selecting locations to build new civic buildings.

7) Gameplay balance improvements for farming:

  • The number of days it takes for sowing crops has been reduced from 30 days to 14 days.
  • The number of days it takes for harvesting crops has been reduced from 30 days to 7 days.

User Interface Improvements

A new icon indicating the availability of supply in the Farmer’s Guide.

A new icon representing employee salaries when Talent mode is enabled in Digital Age DLC.

Redesigned icon for adding software production layouts in factories.

The “Apply All” button is now represented by an icon.

“Prefer ordering from own warehouses” Slider

The COO policy “Prefer ordering from own warehouses” can now be customized with a slider.

The slider allows you to adjust the degree of preference of ordering from own warehouses. Previously, the UI for this setting was a checkbox and the degree of preference was fixed.

Additionally, the default selling prices of products in a warehouse are now set to 120% of the warehouse’s total acquisition cost, which includes both purchase prices and freight costs. This adjustment prevents warehouses from overpricing products, as seen in the previous version, where purchasing units would bypass warehouses and source directly from factories, mines, or farms.

Batch Supplier Switch Improvements

Two new options have been introduced for batch switching suppliers:

  1. Switch Supplier – Same Supplier: Apply the same supplier change to all firms that currently use the same supplier.
  2. Switch Supplier – Same Product: Apply the same supplier change to all firms that purchase the same product, regardless of the supplier.

Example:
Suppose you have 4 department stores buying jeans from two different third-party suppliers. After launching your own brand of jeans, you want all of your stores to switch to purchasing your brand instead. With the new “Switch Supplier – Same Product” option, you can make this change in one step.

In previous versions, this would have required two separate processes since the jeans were being sourced from two different suppliers. Now, the process is streamlined and more efficient.

The Corporate Details – Rankings Report Improvements

New financial metrics have been added:
• Debt to Equity Ratio
• Interest Coverage Ratio

The Corporate Details – Rankings report now shows the leader’s name for each ranking.

Experimental “High-priced Products”

A new option called “High-priced Products” has been added under the “Experimental” tab in the new game settings menu.

When this option is enabled, the game will search for the Product_Types_High_Prices.DBF file in the mod. If the file exists, the game will load it instead of the standard Product_Types.DBF.

Please see this forum post for more details.

Automated Recurring Data Export Options for the Banking and Finance DLC

Capitalism Lab players who own the Banking and Finance DLC now have powerful new tools to automate and customize the export of financial data. The latest update introduces automated recurring data exports with configurable scope and frequency — a highly requested feature that makes it easier than ever to track your empire’s performance over time, analyze trends, or integrate game data into external tools like Excel.

A new Recurring Data Export menu is now available directly from the Information Center, allowing you to set:

  • Which companies to include (scope)
  • How often the data should be exported (frequency)

For example:

  • Automatically export the financial summary of all companies once per year
  • Export income statements and balance sheets for your company and all subsidiaries every quarter

Organized Export Folders for Every Game

Each save game now has its own dedicated export directory:

<CapLab game data>\Export<Game Unique ID>

This ensures clean separation between different playthroughs, scenarios, or experiments.

You can instantly open the correct folder by clicking the Open Folder icon in the top‑left corner of the Corporations report.

The exported CSV files for Corporation Lists now include the following columns:

  • Net Worth (Total Equity)
  • Stock Price
  • Market Capitalization

Service Industry DLC Improvements

Added an “Allow More Replicates” button for duplicating a store to a shopping mall.

When this option is enabled, you can continue creating replicas of the store in other malls without needing to return to the original store and click the [Duplicate in Mall] button again.

Improved Export Companies’ handling of products with custom images.

Previously, when a product’s technology is upgraded and its image changes, players must manually re-select the new version to continue exporting.

In this version, the export company will automatically switch to the upgraded product version when available.

Manufacturer’s Guide displays Product Descriptions from MODs

If a product description is provided in the MOD, the Manufacturer’s Guide will show a product description icon. Hovering your mouse over this icon will display a popup with the product description.

To add product descriptions:

1) Create a file named Product_Desc.txt in the MOD_KIT\DATA folder.

2) Use the following format for each product:

<Product Name>
<Product Description>
~

3) Repeat the format for each additional product.

Example:
Anti-Curse Robes
These robes block all but the most powerful magical curses.
~
Baseball Cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front.
~

Note:
Each entry must be separated by a tilde ~ on a new line.

Game Settings Menu Changes

New Competitors Setting

The new setting “AI May Change Strategy” has been added to the “Competitors” page of the New Game Settings menu.

This setting controls whether AI corporations are allowed to change their strategies during growth and expansion. You can view an AI corporation’s strategy in the Corporations report.

The script command for this is:
[Competitors]
AI May Change Strategy=<Yes>/<No>

New Digital Age DLC Settings

The Digital Age DLC Settings now include two pages: [Settings] and [Advanced Settings].

On the [Settings] page,  a new option called Player Expertise has been added. It offers the following options:
• Software Only: The player’s expertise is always set to software expertise.
• Product or Software: Randomly assigns the player’s expertise to either software expertise or product expertise.

This addition allows for greater flexibility in customizing the player’s starting expertise.

The [Advanced Settings] page offers the following new options:

Will AI OS companies go IPO?
If enabled, private AI OS-focused companies may go public on the stock exchange. When set to a specific value, AI OS companies will go public after the specified number of years.

Will AI telecom companies go IPO?
If enabled, private AI telecom companies may go public on the stock exchange. When set to a specific value, AI telecom companies will go public after the specified number of years.

(In the previous versions, AI companies focused on OS and telecom will never go IPO.)

The script commands for these new options are:

[PLAYER EXPERTISE]
Player Expertise=<player expertise type>

<player expertise type> can be:
Software Only
Product Only
Product or Software

[DIGITAL AGE DLC]
AI OS Companies Go IPO=<Yes/No>
AI Telecom Companies Go IPO=<Yes/No>

Note that “AI Tech Companies Go IPO” has been replaced by “AI Software Companies Go IPO” as there are now different script commands for different types of tech companies.

New Script Commands

Script Commands under the [Header] section:

[Header]
Initial Game Speed=<0 to 5>
(Set the game speed at the start of the game.)

Goal Set=None
(Skip the dialog box of asking the player to choose a goal set in the start of the game)

Enable DLC=<DLC name>
Disable DLC=<DLC name>

<DLC name> can be:
Subsidiary DLC
City Economic Simulation DLC
Digital Age DLC
Banking and Finance DLC
Service Industry DLC
Experimental DLC

(You can add multiple lines of Enable DLC and Disable DLC in a script file)

A New Script Command for Goal Rewards and Penalties:

City Cash Change=<cash change amount in $million>, <city name>
Example:
City Cash Change=10, London
This adds $10 million to London’s cash balance when the goal is achieved.

Enhanced Script Commands

[PLAYER EXPERTISE]
Product Expertise=<product class name>,<1-100>
Software Expertise =<software class name>, <1-100>
Internet Expertise =<Internet type name>, <1-100>

You can use the keyword “random” for both the expertise type and the expertise value.

To define a range for the expertise value, you can use the format “random(, )”.

Example:
Product Expertise=random, random(30,80)
This will randomly select a product expertise (e.g., Apparel) and assign a random expertise value within the range of 30 to 80.

New Goal Script Commands

Number of dominated product classes=<number>
To achieve this goal, the player must dominate the markets for a specified number of product classes.

Monthly Product Type Retail Revenue=<product type name>, <amount>
Note that the amount is in $, not million $.
Example:
Monthly Product Type Retail Revenue=Jeans, 500000

New Screen Resolution Option

A display scaling option has been added for the 3440×1440 screen resolution.

Translation Support for Mod Descriptions

The descriptions of the mods in the mod downloader are now stored in TEXT\t_game.txt and can be translated into different languages.