Combo that should get me a '10' rating

[Taran]

I've played this game for some time now and I think I've understood everything there is to understand but to this day I did not manage to get a full '10' rating and obviously the '11' one neither. I've looked at vaious guides and always choose combos that have '+++'. I had a good time managament and a pretty good engine. Never pulish with Bugs. Still, I've never been able to reach a full '10' rating. Can someone give me some ideas or tell me how they are able to get such a rating?

[Taran]

Ah, I didn't know marketing changes the rating of a game, same with trends. I thought they were just to increase sales. Thanks!

[GrenadesAndHamm]

It's much easier in the early game to get a 9-10 in reviews.

I've had a few perfect games, but I have had a lot of 9.75 early on.

[-=Prepper_Jack=-]

Got me. Played many, many sessions, and have come to the conclusion that the game is either bugged or just badly designed. Have unlocked pretty much all hints, and followed principles on the Wiki, but even going +++ on all combos and going with optimal sliders, I frequently get 5s and 6s on games, even when I should be quite ahead in any technology race going on. Taking a random publishing contract, however, with a terrible combo - like Zombie/Adventure/Young, I managed a perfect 10 score.

Am of the opinion that this game is less of a simulation and more of a slot machine at this point, focusing on the addictive gameplay of periodic rewards than actually giving you any real control over the process.

[WalllRus]

What worked for me when getting 11/10 score is what is said on the wikia and some guides here. Your review game score is set by how much better it is than your previous best. So you need to make a game significantly better than what you have previously made in that playthrough. e.g save up 1000+ research points to train and research new features. Dont use the best grenre/topic/audience combo until your ready to make that 11/10 game.

[MEMPHIS]

When you "Finish" a game, you'll get a Tally Screen which shows you the XP you've earned. Before the XP even starts to unroll, you'll see a Design/Technology tally. Those Design/Technology tallies will pretty much tell you everything you need to know about how well your game is going to do. The Review Screen is just a fun tension builder that reiterates your Design/Technology score.

If you hit a New Record on one of the Design/Technology scores, then you're going to get a review averaging around the 8-9 range. To get the 10/10, you basically have to hit a new record on both Design and Technology, and the increase from the prior record should be substantial--depending on how far into the game you are. The 11/10 is an RNG thing that works the same as the 10/10. If you do not get the 10/10, you're going to get the 9/10, which will provide you with incredible increases in revenue.

To hit a new record, stacking all the +++ is only half the game. To get the perfect score, you have to stack all the +++ and you have to be on a newer engine from the previous time you made a game in said Genre: Action, RPG, Advenure, etc. I think you should also be on a never-before used Topic as well. The exception to that, I think, is when making Sequels--you only have to be on new technology.

Marketing plays a big part in this as well later on in the game once you've started building Medium-sized games. It plays an even bigger role when you start making Large-sized games.

In the early game, the game practically feeds you opportunities to get the 9/10. I think it's somewhat hard-coded. You should be able to hit your first big payload which will net you in the $3m range when you make your first Mature-rated game. You first need to research Target Audience. You need a Topic that is good with Mature Audiences: Sci-Fi, Horror, Vampires, Aliens, things like that. You'll be forced to release on the PC platform by that time, unless the Vega or whatever it is is out by the time you get around to doing this. G64 will be past its prime, and the other options, the Gamebro and the Ninvento score poorly with Mature Audiences. Try to hit 3D Graphics and make sure you have all the good RPG/Adventure options researched: Better Dialogues, Open World, Cutscenes, and I think there are a few more in the beginning. Build your new Engine, and the first game you make, maybe the second, if you stack all the +++ correctly and shoot for Mature, you'll get your 9/10, guaranteed. It's best if it's the first Mature game you make, because you'll get the Hype meter to go with it, which will increase the sales dramatically.

After that, it's basically the same premise, just with more stuff floating around. At any rate, that's the only time the game will feed you the win.

If you are making PC Games, stick to Strategy, RPG, Adventure, Simulation. In that order. Don't even bother with Casual or Action. Once you've made one of each genre, build a new Engine. This will be tough in the beginning, but once you get into the new building, this will be easier to do.

Don't hire employees with lots of Design/Technology. You want to focus on Speed and Research. You want them to have at least 300 in both Speed and Research. Those are your priorities. Every time you build an Engine, give your guys training in either Design or Technology. Maybe have one guy who is good at both, but I wouldn't bother. Your own avatar can do that. Every time your guys build a new engine, or basically whenever you have an opportunity, they should have greater potential to increase your Design/Techology tally via the training your provided them. If they start with low Design/Technology (about 150-200) then you can train them all the way through the game, and they will constantly get better and better.

[Chocice75]

Originally posted by MEMPHIS:

If you hit a New Record on one of the Design/Technology scores, then you're going to get a review averaging around the 8-9 range. To get the 10/10, you basically have to hit a new record on both Design and Technology

Actually, I think that's wrong.
My latest game didn't make a new record in either design or technology, but it was my second 10/10 game. It was a new topic though, which is probably why it did so well.

[Emergent]

The proportion of design to tech is huge. Check the wiki for details.

Or rather, making sure that you have the right ratio of design:tech points depending on the type of game you're making, has a very big impact to your review score.