My Secret to Success in Software Inc. (Alpha 10): How I made my first 4+ Million (CAD) in first 2 Years

[Wenzilber]

Disclaimer: All of these are just suggestions based on my own recent experience in Alpha 10. Your own personal experience in Alpha 10 may vary. I'll just share on what strategies that I found to work out so far since coming back from a long break after the initial release of Alpha 9.

The Plan:
Create a 2D Editor as my first project to save on license fees in future projects (Games)

Character Creation and Settings:

Traits: Introvert / Optimist

Skills: Programming and Design

Specialization: 2D / 2D / 2D

Days per month: 1

Difficulty: Medium / Normal

Currency: Canadian Dollars (Why? Simple. Because why not?)


First 6 Months:

Do 2 Logistics / Embedded Contracts with at most 0.70s of Code Units and 0.00 Art Units each day.

Earnings per month: $20k to $25k

Results After 6 Months:
Total Earnings - $170k
Business Reputation - Over 2 Full Stars!!!


On July 1980:

Hire 1 Low Salary Programmer (2D), 1 Low Salary Artist (2D), and 1 Medium Salary Marketer

In all of my previous games that I hired a Low Salary Marketer, all of my first few projects failed miserably! Marketing is key, don't cheap out on it. You can do that later when making a team and have the time and resources to train them when they're young.

Project 1:

- Software Type: 2D Editor
- Select to include All Features first (this will filter out the O/S that can support it = BIG savings on License Fees)
- O/S: Select all of the filtered list from the step above
- Price: $95 (my pricing strategy has always been to round down the suggested retail price to the nearest 100 then minus 5)
- With my new team, the game suggested a release date of "Less than 1 Year"
- Design Phase: Target Quality of Outstanding
- Market/Assign Release Date: October 1981 (1 or 2 months after employees return from vacation)
- Market/Create Press Release timing: Create 1 (Text+Picture) just before starting Development Stage
- Development Phase Target: Just a few units above of suggested Code and Art Units
- If you see a message that you're heading towards bankruptcy, do a few contracts every 2 or 3 months just to stay afloat for a while. Be careful not to do contracts during the entire dev phase or you'll end up missing your target launch date!
- Review using Team just before going Beta
- Release Marketing Press when you start Beta. Create a new Press Release right after - You'll send this one out just before releasing your final product for an extra boost on fan interest.
- Market/Hype to minimize fan interest loss per month
- 3 months before launch: Market/Create Press Build Release ***edited to add 'Build' ***
- 2 months before launch: Release the 2nd Press Release. Your fan count should be in about 10k now

Product Release Info
Marketing Budget: $10k
Ordered Physical Copies: 10k units

Estimated First Month Earnings in my game: $700k

Sold Out all 10k units!

Due to a healthier bank account, I ordered 100k units and raised the Marketing Budget to $25,000 ... and the result:
Estimated Second Month Earnings in my game: $4.3 Million !!!

December 1981:
Now Move Out Your Company to a New Custom Building, Create your New Teams, and Dominate the Rest of Competition!

Future Plans on New Teams:

Change my Character's Role to Team Lead of DEV MATRIX

Hire 3 Leaders for CORE, MARKETING, and SUPPORT

Teams, Size, and Functions:

1) CORE a.k.a. FARM TEAM - Designers (8) / Programmers (18) / Artists (7). Main Functions: Contracts, Deals, and Constant Training to Max ALL Skills

2) DEV MATRIX - Actual Development Team and for Quality Reasons, this team will have just enough specialists transfered from CORE based on the Recommended Team Size depending on type of project being managed and developed

3) MARKETING - 10 (Why? Because it's a nice Round Number :) )

4) SUPPORT - 30 Low Salary Programmers. Keep a very tight budget. Always replace those who ask for raise. They'll eventually have ZERO (0) skills anyway, so why pay them a higher salary?

Thanks! Feel free to share your story and ideas! :)

[Wenzilber]

Screenshot of Accounting Books: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198028278395/screenshot/913546638424175083

[Wenzilber]

Screenshot showing the Beginner Office Layout with the Books:
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198028278395/screenshots/?appid=362620

[Minoris]

I'm just a noob with nothing much to add. I have no idea how valid those tips are, but thanks for sharing!

I was planning to follow a similar pattern, so I took some notes and changed some of my plans according to your "guide" here. Hopefully I won't totally run my first "real" business to the ground.

[Alliesaurus]

Originally posted by Minoris:

I'm just a noob with nothing much to add. I have no idea how valid those tips are, but thanks for sharing!

I was planning to follow a similar pattern, so I took some notes and changed some of my plans according to your "guide" here. Hopefully I won't totally run my first "real" business to the ground. :angryofficer:

Make sure you get a receptionist and take all hosting deals, easy money

[Oberst_Maler]

in all fairness in the current state of the game you cannot loose if you use common sense, anyhow the advise is not bad and might help someone - thanks for sharing it

[Alliesaurus]

How do you upload building layouts to steam workshops

[NY March]

Yay i got myfirst 4+ million on july 1981 xD

[NY March]

Originally posted by Wenzilber:

Disclaimer: All of these are just suggestions based on my own recent experience in Alpha 10. Your own personal experience in Alpha 10 may vary. I'll just share on what strategies that I found to work out so far since coming back from a long break after the initial release of Alpha 9.

The Plan:
Create a 2D Editor as my first project to save on license fees in future projects (Games)

Character Creation and Settings:

Traits: Introvert / Optimist

Skills: Programming and Design

Specialization: 2D / 2D / 2D

Days per month: 1

Difficulty: Medium / Normal

Currency: Canadian Dollars (Why? Simple. Because why not?)


First 6 Months:

Do 2 Logistics / Embedded Contracts with at most 0.70s of Code Units and 0.00 Art Units each day.

Earnings per month: $20k to $25k

Results After 6 Months:
Total Earnings - $170k
Business Reputation - Over 2 Full Stars!!!


On July 1980:

Hire 1 Low Salary Programmer (2D), 1 Low Salary Artist (2D), and 1 Medium Salary Marketer

In all of my previous games that I hired a Low Salary Marketer, all of my first few projects failed miserably! Marketing is key, don't cheap out on it. You can do that later when making a team and have the time and resources to train them when they're young.

Project 1:

- Software Type: 2D Editor
- Select to include All Features first (this will filter out the O/S that can support it = BIG savings on License Fees)
- O/S: Select all of the filtered list from the step above
- Price: $95 (my pricing strategy has always been to round down the suggested retail price to the nearest 100 then minus 5)
- With my new team, the game suggested a release date of "Less than 1 Year"
- Design Phase: Target Quality of Outstanding
- Market/Assign Release Date: October 1981 (1 or 2 months after employees return from vacation)
- Market/Create Press Release timing: Create 1 (Text+Picture) just before starting Development Stage
- Development Phase Target: Just a few units above of suggested Code and Art Units
- If you see a message that you're heading towards bankruptcy, do a few contracts every 2 or 3 months just to stay afloat for a while. Be careful not to do contracts during the entire dev phase or you'll end up missing your target launch date!
- Review using Team just before going Beta
- Release Marketing Press when you start Beta. Create a new Press Release right after - You'll send this one out just before releasing your final product for an extra boost on fan interest.
- Market/Hype to minimize fan interest loss per month
- 3 months before launch: Market/Create Press Build Release ***edited to add 'Build' ***
- 2 months before launch: Release the 2nd Press Release. Your fan count should be in about 10k now

Product Release Info
Marketing Budget: $10k
Ordered Physical Copies: 10k units

Estimated First Month Earnings in my game: $700k

Sold Out all 10k units!

Due to a healthier bank account, I ordered 100k units and raised the Marketing Budget to $25,000 ... and the result:
Estimated Second Month Earnings in my game: $4.3 Million !!!

December 1981:
Now Move Out Your Company to a New Custom Building, Create your New Teams, and Dominate the Rest of Competition!

Future Plans on New Teams:

Change my Character's Role to Team Lead of DEV MATRIX

Hire 3 Leaders for CORE, MARKETING, and SUPPORT

Teams, Size, and Functions:

1) CORE a.k.a. FARM TEAM - Designers (8) / Programmers (18) / Artists (7). Main Functions: Contracts, Deals, and Constant Training to Max ALL Skills

2) DEV MATRIX - Actual Development Team and for Quality Reasons, this team will have just enough specialists transfered from CORE based on the Recommended Team Size depending on type of project being managed and developed

3) MARKETING - 10 (Why? Because it's a nice Round Number :) )

4) SUPPORT - 30 Low Salary Programmers. Keep a very tight budget. Always replace those who ask for raise. They'll eventually have ZERO (0) skills anyway, so why pay them a higher salary?

Thanks! Feel free to share your story and ideas! :)

Dat ws nice.. may be bit difference, i choose programing and marketting for my first skill. Dat force me to hiring designer. But its np, it's help a lots. You can finish 1 contract in 2 days, 3 days max.

When i got 80k, i hire 1 prog, 1 marketer and start my own project. When account balance start for heading bankruptcy, just pause the project, and take the contract . Guess what. I got 20++ millions in my past 2 years for 1 product XDD

[Dracolith]

Just for you guys :D
Don't forget to put in CAD it lookd a lot better ;)
https://imgur.com/a/P95PjgV

[Denny]

i have tried 3 times but this guide doesnt work for me.

[jhughes]

I usually hire medium and not low salary employees. I also normally then make sure to edit my first 3 hired employees roles to make sure they only do the things they are good at and not 'all roles'.

Other than those changes that I would make, I could see doing it that way.

[LzDK14]

Ok, very strange guide, to stay polite...
I do understand that OP is trying to help, but OP this is not a quest(adventure, graphic novel, etc) game, each gameplay differs even if lightly, and your too specific path will not be applicable in most cases, so it's not too useful for new players. And experienced ones already have figured out all your hints or left a game...

[Oberst_Maler]

When the post was made it was surely applicable, by now not sure didnt play for 2 months but by then marketing and market recognition got even more important.

[freelancer909]

Most people play it casually. Money is no problem in the game so you can stay a small company and just play the market or get huge bored - stop playing for months then play again. The problem with this game now is no real goals or achievements.

[RnRollie]

The problem i have with most "guides" that propose to "temporarily move peons to another team as needed" is that it can lead to fistfights on the workfloor.

AFAIK the only way to avoid that is to hire Leads with Amazing team compatibility to yourself and to the other Leads, THEN move them to their own teams THEN build the teams with Great/Amazing compatibility around those Leads.
That way you'll end up with "interchangable" grunts.

A bit like creating a commune or a cult :)