Hi all,
I’ve been playing this game for about a week now, I’d say 30 hours max? I’m currently doing the 5 million advanced challenge, and after 2 tries managed to master it within 5 years. Not using the loan-all method, but a lucky cure for migraine which the AI didn’t research until 3 years in. This was a 1 point expedition which they completely neglected. The 100% market share and A+ drug gave me loads of money to play with, so throughout years 2-4 I could afford a research team of 20+ (after outsourcing).
Initially I thought the cure trees would be randomized, but it turns out they are pretty similar. In an earlier game (Megacure) I wrote down all active drug ranges, after finding a 3x3 level drug with a value > 1700 which resulted in a win. I made a 4x4 drug (infection, sex, blood, pain), but the game was long won by then.
My point is, the game gets progressively easier the longer you play; use of the hadron collider, sequencer or even centrifuge is completely optional. Regulatory ratings and syringes will boost even a crappy drug to A or S rating, adding 30% on something already profitable. Some drugs are more profitable than others, but anything at or over level 3 is guaranteed to make enough to research everything in a year.
I know more advanced challenges might address this (as mentioned in the vlog), and boxing drugs might result in ~35k per unit, which is awesome, but it will probably not compensate the micromanagement challenges found in earlier game stages.
Having said that, I absolutely love the game. It’s infinifactory with rollercoaster tycoon, and reminds me of a business sim I used to play when I was a teen (don’t remember the name). Having aced the game however, I’d like to see a more challenging path after the first couple of drugs, so here are some things which I haven’t fully thought through and have probably already been said:
Staff related
- Remove offshore and regulatory research trees, by the point you can afford them you can probably upgrade them instantly
- Firing scientists or explorers should have a negative effect on some rating
- Organizational costs could be added for larger teams (management fees, bureaucracy; perhaps those costs can be lowered with a research item)
- Limited supply of scientists and explorers, perhaps something the AI could compete with
- Recruitment costs for staff, i.e. hiring 10 of them at the same time should be exponentially more expensive; over time the cost would return
Misc
- Make the upgrade path for some items more obvious; for instance that the shaker can shift 2 positions at x4 and the sequencer gets all concentrations at x4 or x8
- If the cure tree is predetermined, make the AI aware of profitable paths. I’m constantly operating at 50~60% margin, they’re stuck at 23-30% without exploring new ingredients
- Planning tool, like in prison architect. This is a luxury, but before investing in a new line drawing things out might prevent some fitting issues
Anyway, I just wanted to say again, I love the game and appreciate all the work which goes into it. It’s great independent games like this which make we want to steer towards game development, instead of enterprise IT.