To load game type RUN ?? followed by Return.

SOFTWARE STAR THE GAME

Software Star is a game which allows you to try your hand at becoming a Software Star by running a successful company and producing chart topping successful games. You control your company's finances, marketing, personnel and games design. There are many other features that make this a gripping addictive game.

Have you got what it takes to make it to the top? Here's your chance to find out!

THE AIM OF THE GAME

The aim of the game is to reach the Status of Software Star and stay there for as long as possible. Your months of stardom are recorded and the program sets you an initial target of 10 months of Stardom. It is also necessary to achieve the profit targets set by your Board of Directors. Please read the following playing tips while you are playing the game as they will considerably enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the game.

SOFTWARE STARDOM

Software Stardom is achieved by getting your games frequently in the top three positions in the charts. A number one hit will give you the biggest boost to your stardom rating. The public soon forget you in this game and if you do not have the game in the top three in any month your stardom rating will reduce.

SKILL LEVELS

Start playing at beginners level and progress when you feel you want a greater challenge Note that the game can become very difficult at the higher levels.

GAME DEVELOPMENT

The quality percentage of a game will affect sales - the higher the better. Therefore it is a good idea to leave a game in development for a few months to allow its quality to improve with time. After about four months development the quality improves more slowly.

REVIEWS

Note that when you launch a game you are given a note of how favourable the reviews were. The quality rating shown for the game after it has been launched may differ before it is launched. This is because reviews will affect the quality. Good ones will boost it, had ones will reduce it. After launch the quality is therefore a representation of how the public rate the game.

EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY

You may use incentives, discipline or no action at all to try and achieve excellent . productivity. No cast is incurred when using these. Higher productivity will aid sales and the development of your games.

SALES FORCE STRATEGY

There are many ways you can allocate your sales forces effort. The following tips may help you to form your own strategy. The region given the highest priority will receive a large sales boost. The region given the second priority will receive a small sales boost. The region given the third priority will receive a small sales reduction. The region given the fourth priority will receive a large sales reduction, When you allocate priorities you are modifying the effectiveness of your sales force in each region. A region which has received several sales boosts will generally achieve higher sales. Please also note that each region has a maximum and minimum effectiveness of your sales force. This means that it you always give one region the highest priority eventually the effort will he having no effect. Similarly a region which is always given the lowest priority will reach a point where it cannot get any worse. It is always possible to get sales even in a region which has the sales forces effectiveness at the lowest possible level.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

In public relations you are able to use either hype or honesty. Each one can have either a positive, negative or zero effect on your company image. Hype is however more risky and although if it works it will increase your company image considerably if it fails it will have a major damaging effect on your company image. It's up to you whether to take the gamble.

ADVERTISING BOOKINGS

Each month there is an optimum advertising level. It is higher in the winter months than the summer months. If you set your advertising at this optimum number of pages it will maximise your sales for that product. If you book more adverts than necessary your sales will not he improved any further. However, if you hook less than the optimum then your sales will he reduced.

Certain other factors should also be taken into account when deciding how many pages of advertising to book for a game:

1. The age of the game
When a game is over three months old its sales potential starts to dwindle. Therefore it is not a good idea to hook large numbers of pages of advertising for a game which is dying out.

2. Its quality.
The higher the quality of the game the higher its potential sales. Therefore it may 6e worthwhile hooking a lot of advertising for a very high quality game but perhaps not so much for a poor quality game. However, you might decide to take the risk and try and push a poor quality game by booking a large amount of advertising. It's up to you.

3. The time of year.
There is a seasonal effect in the game which you will notice strongly. Sales are much greater generally during the winter months (December, January) than in the summer Were, July). This of course matches reality in the software business. It should also affect the amount of advertising you book. Ten pages of advertising on a game in the summer is almost certain to be a complete waste of money. Whereas ten pages in say December may well lead to substantial sales. The Market Size for the month, which is displayed on the Advertising screen, will guide you when deciding how many adverts to book.

Essentially with advertising you should use your own judgement and experience to decide how many pages to book for each game.

THE CHARTS

You can follow your games' climb up the charts and you will be able to see whether you have passed the break even point on sales. Remember it is important to get your games in to the top three.

PROFIT TARGETS

Profit targets are set each year 6y your Board of Directors. It is important that you reach them. The Board of Directors will allow you to fail in reaching your profit target once for one year. If you fail the following year you will be sacked.

DELETE GAMES FROM RANGE

From time to time you will find that a game has passed its saleable life and its sales will drop to a low level. Please bear in mind that each game costs you about £2,000 per month in overheads in addition lo what you are spending on advertising. Therefore do n at keep an old game that is selling only a few units as it will lose you money.

SAVING THE GAME

You may find it useful to save the game regularly, (it takes about 25 seconds), to keep a record of your progress in case you get sacked or go bankrupt and want to restart from a previous position. To restore a saved game it is necessary to reload the program and take the A option when the program loads.

© 1984 Addictive Games Limited