Official News page 2

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

by Hazed

Finally, the long wait is almost over. The new code for businesses should be going live by next weekend, barring any last minute problems rearing their ugly heads (or equivalent). Look out for an announcement on the What's New page and on the electronic noticeboard in the game to find out when it's business time.

I am currently working on an update to the Idiot's Guide which will explain exactly how businesses work, and this will be available when the code gets turned on. Meanwhile, here's a rough and ready guide to how businesses will work.

The changes start with Traders. When you have the necessary trading credits (the promotion requirements are unchanged), instead of setting up an IPO for a company, you will register a private business with the broker, Trumble, Cruikshank & Bone. You'll set the share price as before, and the money will be transferred from your personal balance to the new business. At this point, you promote to Industrialist.

Warehouses and their contents will no longer be converted to shares; now you will have to get rid of any wares before you register the business.

Once you have a business, you can pump more money into it by buying more shares. Financiers can also invest but instead of buying shares on an open market, they have to negotiate with you and put in a bid for the shares which you can accept or reject as you choose.

Apart from the difference to do with shares, running a business is the same as running a company: you build factories, they produce goods, the business makes money.

When you've run the biz for 3 cycles you can promote to Manufacturer, and this is where you now go for the initial public offering (IPO) which converts your private business into a public company.

After that, things work just the same - you run the factories but you have to worry about disaffection and shareholder rebellions. Fins can now buy any available shares without your permission.

For Financiers, the big change is that you can't just snap up shares in new businesses but can only buy with the owner's permission. This is intended to be the start of a business relationship that will last a long time, with Fins looking for those who will eventually become members of their cartel when they reach the exalted rank of Plutocrat.

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