Localizor

You can also print copies of your product yourself, which is a lot cheaper long term, but requires a lot more work from you. You'll need {H:printers}, {H:storage}, {H:conveyor belts} and {H:couriers} to transport your copies to stores. If you have all the necessary logistics, you can click the {H:Start printing} button in the {H:Your releases} window with a product selected to start a printing task. Go to build mode to see how you setup your printing logistics.

Software is sold both physically in stores and digitally online. As time progresses people will move towards digital purchases and the two platforms even out at some point. This is the copy order window. It will show you some details that affect how many copies you should order. You'll have to balance the amount you order with how many you expect to sell to avoid a loss. You can always order a few copies now and order more next month. Close the window to continue.

You can order physical copies of your products by going to your releases, selecting a product and clicking the Order copies button.

Fires start when combustible furniture breaks. The chance of combustible furniture starting a fire when they break is shown as a {H:Flammability} score in the build menu. To completely prevent fires, you should hire enough {H:Maintanence} and {H:IT-support} staff to keep your furniture from breaking. It is very important to note that {H:Elevators don't work during fires}. You should always make sure to have stairs throughout your building, so your employees can escape. In case your luck is out, you should make sure to have {H:Sprinklers} in your rooms to douse the fire faster, and {H:Fire alarms} in rooms with combustible furniture, to alert all employees in the building when a fire breaks out.

Burglaries will increase in scale and frequency as your company scales up. Your employees will call the police whenever they witnes a burglary. Sadly, the Software Inc. Police Department is slow working and bureaucratic, so don't expect to get all of your stolen property back. Instead you can try completely preventing burglaries by hiring {H:Security guards} in the {H:Staff window}. Security guards will patrol your building entrances or any rooms you assign them to and scare off would-be burglars when they get too close. You can also place security cameras strategically at building entrances and a surveillance desk, which allows one security guard to keep track of four places at once. You can hire multiple security guards to cover a 24-hour period and still skip time when only security guards are present. Press {H:Continue} to learn about fires.

With contents insurance, you'll pay a monthly fee, but get a payout to cover any furniture you lose in a fire or a burglary. The more furniture you have, the higher the premium will be. Close the insurance window when you're ready, and we'll cover how to best prevent burglaries.

{H:Beware!} Your offices are susceptible to burglaries and fires! And once the ball is rolling, there ain't no stopping it. If you want to be on the safe side, you should take preventative measures and reduce consequences. To start off, you should cover any potential loss with {H:Contents insurance}. Start by opening the {H:Insurance window}.

Your new marketing plan will appear as a work item on the right. After the first day, the work item will start filling up to indicate how much money you are spending compared to yesterday's marketing efforts. Press {H:Finish} to end the tutorial.

You can set a budget, which puts an upper limit to the spending for this marketing task. "0" means there is no limit. Increasing your marketing budget will not increase marketing efforts. You will need a lot of talented marketers to effectively use your budget. If you are happy with the team selection, press {H:OK} to start your campaign.

This is the marketing window. Marketing your product is a potentially endless money sink. The more money you use, the bigger advantage you get over competing products. Bigger software products will need more marketing to compete. Note that spending more money on marketing than your competitors will prompt them to do the same.

Marketing is crucial in Software Inc. Your products simply won't sell without marketing. You can start a marketing campaign by opening your release window, selecting a product and clicking the market button

The {H:Assembly line} data overlay will show you which printers and assemblers have been grouped by their assembly line color, which you can change by clicking the color directly in the list. The {H:Manufacturing} data overlay allows you to visualize how components will travel through your assembly lines and their current efficiency.

Note that products have to go through the {H:Final assembly} step to be shippable. Components in white boxes will not go on pallets or garage ports. When you've placed down your printers and assemblers, and connected them with conveyor belts, they will automatically be grouped into {H:assembly lines}, which you can assign tasks to and manage as a whole. Note that you can use a {H:Component recycler} to split up assembly lines that would otherwise be grouped together. Try opening the {H:Assembly lines} window now and check out the {H:Assembly line} and {H:Manufacturing} data overlays.

To setup your own manufacturing, you'll need 3 machines: •{H:Component printer} to print your components. •{H:Component assembler} to assemble your components and eventually your final product. The assembler can hold onto 20 assemblies before they are pushed through, so make sure you have enough for the amount of components you print. •{H:Component recycler} at the end of your manufacturing process, to recycle any components in unfinished assemblies, in case you have inefficiencies in your setup. Recycled components will be used for future prints, without incurring a fee. Note that any box entering an assembler or recycler, which does not belong there, will just be pushed through to the other side. You'll find them in the furnish menu.

When you select a printing task in this panel, you will get an overview of the needed components in this window as well. You can click the {H:Pop out} button and enter build mode to view the requirements while you're placing down printers and assemblers. Once you've finished inspecting the distribution window, open {H:Build mode} to see how you setup your own manufacturing plant.

The {H:manufacturing view} shows you which components need to be printed, and how they should be assembled. The top most components need to be printed and will show you how many {H:Component printers} you need, to print as many components as possible per month. These components will determine the cost to manufacture one copy of your product. The rest of the components will be assembled in {H:Component assemblers}, using the printed components, and do not incur a fee. Try opening the {H:Manufacturing window} now and check out the {H:Hardware} tab to see active hardware manufacturing jobs.

Now click the {H:Manufacturing} button to see what you'll need to manufacture this product.

Some products have to be manufactured and can't be sold digitally, like {H:phones} and {H:gaming consoles}. However, these products usually have a lower barrier to entry for market penetration, but require a high upfront investment. You'll also be able to satisfy customers more easily by adding hardware features, rather than spending years coding complex software features. Ordering hardware gets very expensive, and you'll have to setup your own manufacturing if you want to make a decent profit. Try selecting a {H:software type} and {H:category} that requires hardware manufacturing, like the {H:console operating system}

Start the tutorial by pressing the {H:Develop software} button to bring up the design document.

When you are ready, open the employees window to start managing your employees.