300 AI's, ultra nightmare mode

[shiggies713]

Just thought I'd share some tips for surviving/thriving with 300 AI's on the hardest difficulty level. I'm playing the test version on the new map.

I chose London as my hq (on the test build it has 0% corporate tax).

First thing is you should go to the safe and check out available bonds, you should be able to get one for about 1 million. Do that and either pay off your loan or use the money to build a better factory/components soon. Keep checking back for loans and public companies to buy stock of. I always buy 10 stock of every company to keep track of them.

Next check out liscences, usually on nightmare mode they will all be overpriced, but sometimes you can get some decent stuff. You need to get a nice set of cheap components available before 1904 to last you past 1908 because of inflation and increasing competition those are particularly tough years both to make cheap components and to sell cars (virtually every company in the game will have negative stock earnings in 1908 too, its tough on everyone).

Now what componets/vehicles you make can largely be up to you of course, but I usually make 2 engines to start, one for torque, one for fuel mileage, both single piston engines and keep them cheap as possible but at least 3 stars in appriopriate categories and reliability.

1 chassis big enough for both engines, decent at everything (i get it 3 1/2 - 4 stars in all categories), and cheap, less than $100, don't care if it is heavy.

then 2 gearbox, one is most effiecient (with low gear torquey, and high gear high speed), max torque inputs, 2 1/2 star comfort and cheap as possible otherwise. The other one is similar but more for fuel effiecency. I upgrade them all 1 time max before I even use them once usually, just so my vehicles are that much better then the ai's. I feel like you get more bang for your buck making cheap components and then upgrading, then building a more expensive component in the first place.

I liscence all of them out in the early years just to generate any extra income I can.

Then I plop down a tiny factory in both London and New York, 1 line each. This time I realized to try to plan vehicle designs to complete in november or december (right before awards) so they almost always win vehicle of the year and sell well. So I plan factories out for roughly 23 months of contruction or wait a bit and build cheaper ones (less tech) either way.

I made a sedan model pretty cheap, and waited for it all to complete. Note that you want to develop components even if you liscence some out to keep your reserach points going, because for example if you don't build an engine in the first year or two, it'll be a few years before you get v blocks and f valves etc.. so build components every few years regardless, cheap long development times if you have to.

For awhile I only had 2 tiny factories and 4 branches (London, Berlin, New York, Chicago) feeling out the market trying to not overextend myself as many ai's were coming into the market constantly. I eventually was able to expand in USA by virtue of my pickup truck model but competition and shipping cost were so high in Europe it stayed as only 2 branches there for about 3 years.

I made a ladder chassis, new 4 speed transmission and some new engines, a straight 4, a V4, and a straight 2 around 1904, and made all new models. Got into the phaeton and compact market as well.

Eventually after 1908, I got some new components, models, and expanded factories and branches and am rolling in money, now its 1912 and I'm selling over 3,000 units a month on nightmare and 80+ ai's have already been active. I think only 4 ai's are selling more cars then me per month, I know my market share is at least decent now, and I have an entire new lineup of components/vehicles coming out soon.

here is the save if anybody wants to try it out. http://www.filedropper.com/nightmaresave

Its still really hard and about 200 ai's have yet to appear so anything could happen I guess but at least if you try it out you'll have about 5 million in cash and branches/factories in the biggest cities with highest gdp's, and a decent lineup of cars. I've been managing everything at a district level, so for example prices in europe and usa are not quite the same (usa is way more profitable).


Also once you are well established (as I am in the save i uploaded), continue to check for loans/bonds, increase credit, watch/buy stocks, and also very important to continue to liscense components/vehicles. If you continue my save for example, it won't be long before my compact models starts tanking and not selling well, its actually costing me money.

So instead of continuing a losing adventure or even shutting down a factory, instead I look for vehicle liscense. I actually found a vehicle for $335 with a 26 rating and it is even using some of my components I liscensced to them. So I bought it up and sold it until I get my new line up of vehicles ready, which will be another 12-18 months.

[shiggies713]

also be sure to take great care in adjusting pricing to make enough profit and still sell everything the factories are producing. Its very easy to overextend yourself, be weary of new competitors coming into markets constantly.

Another key I was doing on hard mode which should work for this, eventually when you get enough money buy 51% of stock of a company, but do not attempt a merger or aquisition. Let another AI company aquire them. When they do, you'll get a massive profit usually, and most of the time it is enough to then buy the marquee they had aquired for less than you profited on the stock sale. Its like 2-3x cheaper than aquiring another company outright.

When you do this though, it is a good idea to raise prices of cars if you start selling all of their models too, or have factories about to finish so you can take advantage of those extra models they had.

[shiggies713]

edited first post extensively now that i've played on this mode more

[shiggies713]

more experience says just avoid Europe all together early in the game. London is a cesspool of competition, much better off building up in USA the first 4 years just ignore everywhere else.

Possibly even develop some components, liscense them out, and wait until you can at least build a straight block motor, cause those 1 piston and steam engines are straight doo doo.

anything more than 2 lines is too much to start with. I tried 1 model, not enough cash flow, tried 3, tried 4.... not nearly as successful as building a truck and sedan only and staying in the usa the first 4 years. Distribution and shipping cost are an absolute killer the first 10 years. I would suggest many small factories are better than few large ones especially early on.

Once you get up to like 5% world market share and a few million in the bank, its just like any other play mode, I was only a few years behind billionare status compared with my hard/100 ai save.

[shiggies713]

I actually started a new game nightmare mode/300 ai's and tried to keep it really clean and organized. It ended up working out even better than the first one. I've basically put all the AI's to bed and none of them can challenge me by 1924. Its actually become a bit too easy and mundane already;
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=896201913
(notice my marketing cost is almost nothing) lol
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=896201993
To keep it large and well organized I classify both components and vehicles with lettering and assign to certain marqees.

CX - Cargo class (trucks, vans)
CLX - Cargo luxury class (minivans, station wagons, limos, luxury sedan, etc)
LX - Luxury class (full sized sedan)
EX - Economy class (micro, compact)
ELX - Economy luxury class (phaeton, sedan)
PX - peformance class (coupe, sports etc)
PLX - Performance and luxury class (touring only)

In my particular playthrough I aquired 4 additional marquees (mostly chosen for names and logos)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=896205227
Brenelor - Minivan, station wagon, shooting brake (all CLX)
Cron - Landaulet, Limo, Towncar (all CLX)
Soaring - Sedan (ELX), Full sized sedan (LX), luxury sedan (CLX)
Deluge - Micro (EX), Compact (EX), phaeton (ELX)
Shiggs- Coupe, Coupe 2+2, Sports, Roadster, Roadster 2+2 (all PX), and touring (PLX)
Das Werks - Pickup trucks, full sized van (all CX)

I also name them all similar things so for example all the shiggs models start with "s" to keep them well organized. One of the others, Soaring, the models are "eagle" "falcon", and "eclipse" so all close alphabetically as well;
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=896206495
This helps both in organizing vehicles, but also picking components, I do the same thing with them. For my fuel effiecient engine for example, I put the EX suffix on it and so on with all of the components. Without being organized alphabetically it drives me nuts looking at the modify vehicle screen that is not organized by marquee or even year. This helps stay organized, large, and effecient.

If anyone wants it ill upload it, its far better and more organized than the other one up here.

[Refurbished Hamster]

I need to try this so that I can have a conversation about it. I keep starting regular games, and then getting bored of having too many models by like 1925.