Script – Special Rules
The [SPECIAL RULES] section is where you build scenarios that are considerably harder than a normal game — and where you retune the rules the simulation runs on.
Game speed
Constant Game Speed=<1 to 5>
The game runs at this speed throughout and the player cannot change it.
One exception: with an AI advanced start enabled, the constant speed does not apply during the advanced start period.
AI advanced start
Years of Advanced Start for AI=<0 to 100>, [Stock Purchase Allowed]
The AI starts ahead of you. During those years, the number of firms you can build is limited.
The optional [Stock Purchase Allowed] parameter changes the default, and the default is restrictive. Without it, you cannot buy stocks during the advanced start — and neither can the AI companies buy yours.
Advanced Start for AI Limit on Building Firms=<0 to 50>
The maximum number of firms each player-controlled company may build during the advanced start. Set it to zero and you cannot build at all.
Auto save frequency
These override the default auto save interval of one year.
Auto Save Interval Days=<number>
In game days. Auto Save Interval Days=20 writes a new auto save every 20 game days.
Auto Save Interval Minutes=<number>
In real minutes.
Neither line turns auto save on. They only set the interval — auto save still happens only when the Auto Save option is enabled in the game.
Multiple auto saves
Multiple Auto Saves Interval Years=<number of years>
Unlike the other auto-save features, this one does not overwrite old files. Each save goes to a new file, so you keep a complete history of save points — and can jump back to a key decision point to try a different strategy.
The number of years can carry decimals: 2.5 means every two and a half years.
[SPECIAL RULES]
Multiple Auto Saves Interval Years=10That saves every 10 years, each under its own name — APLA_001.SAV for year 2000, APLA_002.SAV for 2010, and so on.
Executive salary modifiers
CEO Salary Modifier=<1 to 200>
COO Salary Modifier=<1 to 200>
CTO Salary Modifier=<1 to 200>
CMO Salary Modifier=<1 to 200>
The default is 100. Below it lowers the expected salary for that position, above it raises them.
COO Salary Modifier=70 makes the expected COO salary 70% of the original range; CTO Salary Modifier=130 makes it 130%.
Game rule modifiers
All of these default to 100, meaning unchanged.
| Setting | Range | What it scales |
|---|---|---|
Tech Cost Modifier |
1–1000 | Technology acquisition costs. 150 makes them 150% of normal. |
Training Effect Modifier |
1–1000 | The effect of training. 200 means staff experience rises twice as fast for the same spend. |
Factory Capacity Modifier |
50–500 | The production capacity of all factories. |
Warehouse Capacity Modifier |
50–500 | The storage capacity of all warehouses. |
Retail Cost Modifier |
50–500 | The setup and operating costs of all retail stores. |
Natural Resource Firms Capacity Modifier |
50–500 | The capacity of all mines, oil wells and logging camps. |
Factory capacity is not free. Raising it raises factory setup and operating costs to match — it changes the scale you work at, not the economics.
Warehouse capacity changes the game’s balance. Very high capacities remove the logistical challenge; very low ones make inventory management the whole problem.
Natural resources
Unlimited Natural Resources=Yes
A mine, oil well or logging camp that exhausts its reserve keeps producing rather than stopping, on a new recurring cost:
cost per unit = original cost of acquiring the site / original reserve amount
× current inflation adjustmentFewer Natural Resources=Yes
Fewer resource sites exist, so acquiring them is far more competitive.
Natural Resources Price Premium=No
Disables the price premium system for natural resources.
Branding
Fixed Brand Strategy=<Corporate Brand, Range Brand, Unique Brand>
Fixes the player corporation’s brand strategy so it cannot be changed during the game.
Corporate Brand Rating=<brand awareness>,<brand loyalty>
Sets the player’s corporate brand ratings at the start of the game.
Two caveats: a randomness of -5 to +5 is applied automatically, and the player must be on the corporate brand strategy for it to have any benefit.
Anti-exploitation game rules
Anti-exploitation Game Rules=On
Two effects:
- Mergers require direct majority ownership. Your company can only merge with a company in which it directly owns a majority of shares — so a parent cannot merge with subsidiaries held by its own first subsidiary. Only the first subsidiary can merge with the parent.
- No stock trading between your company and its subsidiaries, the same restriction the Alternative Stock Sim option imposes — which makes quick speculative profits much harder.
Every Challenge game has these rules on automatically. You do not need the line, and cannot opt out of them there.