Plutocracy News

[p]Hi everyone!
We often receive messages from you asking us to speed up development and release updates more frequently. Now it’s possible: we’ve launched a Patreon page.[/p][h3][/h3][p]🔧 Where the funds will go[/p][p]All contributions will be used to hire an additional programmer. This will allow us to speed up development and deliver updates more often.[/p][h3][/h3][p]🙏 Thank you for your support[/p][p]Thank you for staying with us and helping the project grow. If you’d like to support the development and help us release updates faster — join us on Patreon: [/p][p]👉 https://www.patreon.com/redwoodstudio [/p]

[p]Hello everyone! 👋
We’ve released an update with a number of fixes you reported earlier, and we’re continuing to work on the remaining issues. At the same time, we’re preparing the next major update — it will introduce presidential elections along with other changes to the political system.[/p][p]Thank you for your activity and support![/p][p][/p][h2]Patch Notes[/h2][h3]🛠️ Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed music playback issue on macOS.[/p]
• [p]Automatic expansion in old saves now works correctly.[/p]
• [p]Resolved crash caused by cross-ownership during company takeovers.[/p]
• [p]Puppet politicians now correctly appear in the controlled politicians counter in parliament chambers.[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug with the Broker agent that occurred after restarting the game.[/p]
• [p]Fixed layout issues with long company names on the stock exchange.[/p]
• [p]Resolved hover sticking on the first row in the shareholders table.[/p]
• [p]Required balance value now correctly displayed in the profit tooltip on the main panel.[/p]
• [p]Added message when a bank loan cannot be issued.[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect display of the first Capitol elections in Montana and New Mexico.[/p]
• [p]Corrected purchase percentage display for holding companies.[/p]
• [p]Fixed linking arrows from Advertising in the Banks Statistics window.[/p]
• [p]Various crash fixes.[/p]

[h3]🎨 UI Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Improved number input fields on the stock exchange and in share issuance windows.[/p]

[h3]🚧 Work in Progress[/h3]

• [p]Presidential elections.[/p]
• [p]Political system updates.[/p]
• [p]Ability to create a new company in partnership with loyal characters.[/p]

[p][/p]

[h2]Improvements and balance:[/h2]

• [p]The company's expansion has become more gradual and more costly. Also, each type of contractor is now more balanced and matches its profile. A reliable contractor builds more expensively, and sometimes longer, but without risk, an unknown contractor builds faster, cheaper, but with greater risk.[/p]
• [p]Added 45% machine translation to French (87% translated)[/p]

[p]
[/p][h2]Fixed:[/h2]

• [p]Various kinds of crashes[/p]
• [p]Error in quarter transition between Q4 1958 and Q1 1959[/p]
• [p]There was no way to filter people by those who wanted to buy weapons and cars[/p]
• [p]The cartel did not take into account the market share and did not accrue a price bonus when adding the cartel to the Holding as a supplier[/p]
• [p]"My transport companies are not taken into account under any circumstances after merger and joining to trust and cartel. Their weight in city and country is zero." Corrected, same as cartel.[/p]
• [p]The payroll fund was not updated immediately after the company's expansion[/p]
• [p]The relationship from Production Volume to Demand was not displayed in the Company Economy window[/p]
• [p]Media company icon missing from ambition[/p]
• [p]Missing text in tooltip for some agents when blocking[/p]
• [p]Some types of companies were not displayed as suppliers in the Holding[/p]
• [p]Sandbox Settings | Endless Mode setting added to game end date[/p]
• [p]Sandbox Settings | Media Company added to Starter Company selection[/p]
• [p]"You cannot take loans from loyal individuals, even if you have positive net worth or net worth and cash flow that make it eligible" - added a hint that reputation must be above 0 to take out a loan.[/p]

[p]
[/p][p]The rest of the bugs that you report, we will continue to fix, and they will be included in the next patches.[/p][p]Thank you for your activity and involvement![/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Hello everyone! [/p][p]Work on the game continues. In the near future we will release several hotfix updates, and begin work on the next update. And here is what awaits you in this update:[/p][p][/p][h2]Improvements:[/h2]

• [p]New type of company - Media (mass media)[/p]
• [p]The economic model has been changed - Research in companies has been replaced by Advertising[/p]
• [p]Added "endless play" option after 1947[/p]
• [p]Added history of voting on laws in parliament[/p]
• [p]Added filter to stop time by desired event[/p]
• [p]Added a filter to hide reorganized companies on the stock exchange[/p]
• [p]Optimization of loading windows and saving[/p]

[p] [/p][h2]Critical errors:[/h2]

• [p]Crash when closing the game during loading[/p]
• [p]Some other crashes[/p]

[p]
[/p][h2]Other errors:[/h2]

• [p]No image of new prosecutor immediately after election[/p]
• [p]After the strike ends, production volumes do not recover[/p]
• [p]The Player's influence from puppet characters is not updated after they are dismissed[/p]
• [p]Bugs in company bankruptcy[/p]
• [p]Incorrect calculation of the company's market share in finance[/p]
• [p]Same company names when trust is dissolved[/p]
• [p]Agents' dossier corrected[/p]
• [p]Corrected the date of US Senator elections when new states join[/p]
• [p]"Election window has a spelling error. Loser is incorrectly spelled Looser."[/p]
• [p]"The Market cap and Cashflow views in companies finances doesn't show actual data for those categories about company, it just keeps showing balance no matter what is selected." [/p]
• [p]"Letter sent has wrong grammar when opponent reached $1 million."[/p]

[p]
[/p][h2]Announcement[/h2][p]The next update in line will be dedicated to the political part of the game - presidential elections. Currently, the game has a parliament, laws, key state officials, but there is no president who can veto any federal law and form the executive power in the country. Without him, the US political system looks incomplete.[/p][p]Join the discussion about what the president should do in the game and how he should influence the gameplay.[/p][p]It will be interesting to read your vision and expectations from the next update, as well as to learn your opinion on the new type of companies - media. What could be improved or added?[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all for your support! [/p][p]Adding new updates to the greatly expanded functionality of the game often becomes an unpredictable task with many variables. Changes in one place entail refactoring in many other related parts. And sometimes it forces us to roll back and start literally from scratch... [/p][p]Thank you for the greatest patience and understanding![/p][p][/p][p]We continue our journey towards the full release of Plutocracy together with you![/p][p]Your support, as always, is our guiding light![/p][p]Until next time![/p]

Hello, seasoned and aspiring plutocrats!

After a long pause, I'm ready—just as promised—to share the details of the upcoming update.
We're now in the final stage before delivering it to you, and just a few days after we finish internal testing, you'll be able to download it.

So, what awaits us in the new update:

[h2]Endless Game Mode[/h2]
First, some good news for those who asked us to extend the game beyond 1947, even at the cost of losing historical accuracy and transitioning into a new era. We’ve worked on it — and now, you’ll have that option. The game will no longer be interrupted, and you’ll be able to continue playing in endless mode if you feel there just aren’t enough years in the timeline. The political system and economy will continue functioning after 1947, though without a historical vector.

[h2]Media[/h2]
And the headline feature of this update is, of course, Media Companies!
A brand-new type of company, which I previously teased.

What are they for?

Well, it’s hard to imagine a true Plutocracy — a world of politicians and big money — without the so-called Fourth Estate. The influence on the minds of readers has always been powerful, and starting from the late 19th century with the rise of mass printing, it reached dangerous levels for anyone standing in the way of media tycoons.

Want to influence election candidates? No problem!
Change public opinion on a law? Go ahead!
Destroy or revive the business reputation of a company? Just pay a visit to your media company’s editorial office!



There’s just one condition — you must own a controlling stake in the media company.

The effectiveness of influence depends on the newspaper’s circulation. The higher the circulation, the broader the reader reach — and the stronger the effect.
Don’t expect a small-town rag with limited copies to make any serious impact.

Also, keep in mind that the influence of a media company is limited to the region where its office is located. To exert influence across other states or the entire country, you’ll have to work hard — consolidating scattered companies into a media empire through familiar tools: trusts, media cartels, mergers, and acquisitions.



While editing an article, you’ll have to decide how and by whom the chosen media target will be influenced. You can opt for a soft approach — with a mild effect and minimal risk for your media company — or go aggressive, which may lead to lawsuits, financial penalties, or reputational damage.

The system also takes into account who you are targeting. Influencing a well-known public figure or a major enterprise will be significantly harder, as they are more likely to respond with a public rebuttal or even spark a scandal.

[h2]Advertising as a New Lever[/h2]
This update also brings changes to the game’s economic model.
To properly integrate the media system, we had to revise how all companies operate economically — making the role of media companies more impactful than just spreading compromising news about competitors or glorifying friendly politicians to boost their reputation and renown.



A key change: all companies will now purchase advertising from media companies instead of investing in R&D. This, in turn, will affect product pricing.
If a company's advertising investment exceeds the sector’s average, its product prices will receive a bonus markup. If it falls behind, prices will be penalized accordingly.

[h2]Integration with Holdings[/h2]
By owning a media company within your holding, you'll gain preferential advertising rates when promoting through your own media assets — effectively reducing your advertising expenses.
This opens up a new layer of strategy in market monopolization — adding another lever of pressure against competitors.



All other changes — including the many bug fixes you’ve reported to us — will be detailed once the update goes live.
We expect that to happen within the next week.

Thank you all for your concern and your dedication to the future of Plutocracy.
We continue working toward everything we’ve set out to deliver for the final version of the game — and your support keeps us inspired!

Stay tuned for more news coming soon!
___
CEO.