Game Economy

The economy from ANNO1777 is very much like a real market economy. There are companies, shares, shareholders, stocks of raw materials and products, companies turn to advertising in order to increase sales and of course everyone relies on very good employees which pay accordingly. Markets are 100% free and the price depends on supply and demand. Everything is related to the player\’s activity. There are no companies which operate by themselves, and the employees are of course chosen between the players. All products from weapons to banking services are manufactured / supplied by companies owned and established by the players. In other words, it takes you to do that. You can continue to work at your job or you can start from only one company and in the end, have a holding consisting of dozens of companies. You will be the only one who establishes these limits.

Introduction

Before starting a discussion about economy, some details must be explained. A company can only manufacture a certain range of products. For example, iron companies manufacture iron, and iron companies manufacture the whole range of weapons. In order to manufacture a particular product, a company needs a production license. Production licenses are purchased initially from the game\’s funds, but can then be resold. Also a company needs means of production (instruments and tools) to produce goods. The means of production are produced by companies manufacturing instruments and tools and have a limited lifetime depending on their quality. The quality of products is divided into five levels, from one star to five stars. In other words, after setting up a company, you need to buy production licenses and means of production before starting your business activity. Except for a few types of companies that already have production licenses granted at the beginning, all companies will have to purchase them. Consider these mandatory costs required before opening a company.

Products

The products are divided into raw materials and by-products. By-products are weapons, houses, means of production, etc.. Raw materials do not have quality degrees. But a large part of by-products have different levels of quality which influence life duration and also power or productivity offered to the consumer. For example, a crossbow which has a quality of 3 can be used for a longer period of time than one with a level 1 quality, and the attack points offered are more. As mentioned before, in order to be manufactured, any product needs a license (know-how) bought by the producing company. We will review below each type of product. To purchase products go to page \’Products and Services\’, at the appropriate category.

Raw Materials

The raw materials are iron, wood, cotton, meat, leather and grapes. As mentioned before, these products have one single quality and the manufacturing companies already have already a production license since their foundation. Each type of product is manufactured by a particular type of company and requires a certain number of working hours. Next, we will review the characteristics of raw materials.

• Iron is one of the most important raw materials, and as well as the wood, is a component of 90% of by-products. It is used by companies producing means of production, weapons, houses and means of transportation. Iron is produced by companies manufacturing iron, using specific means of production. It does not require any other raw materials but workforce. The measuring unit is the kilogram (kg).

• Wood is also widely used, being required by companies producing houses, means of transportation, weapons and means of production. It is also a component of paper, which is another basic product of the economy. Wood is produced by companies manufacturing wood, using specific means of production. It does not require any other raw materials but workforce. The measuring unit is cubic meter (CM).

• Cotton is a component of two very important products, fabric and paper. Paper is consumed by all service companies and fabric is essential for producing means of transportation and clothes. Cotton is actively used by manufacturers of fabric and paper. Cotton is produced by the companies manufacturing cotton, using specific means of production. It does not require any other raw materials but workforce. The measuring unit is kilogram ( KG ).

• The meat and leather are basic raw materials. The meat is required by restaurants and the leather is a component of many products, from clothes to means of production. Meat and leather are produced by farms, using specific means of production. . It does not require any other raw materials but workforce. For meat, the measuring unit is kilogram. To produce 1 kg of meat requires 0.5 hours of work at 100% productivity. This means that a worker with productivity of 100% will produce 2 kg of meat in one hour. For leather, the measuring unit is square meter (MP).

• Grapes are a component of wine, which is a special product because with time and without any interventions, it becomes more valuable because of its power which it brings. Grapes are produced by companies producing grapes, using specific means of production. It does not require any other raw materials but workforce. The measuring unit is kilogram ( KG ).

Finished Products

Finished products are products which include raw materials and workforce. They can be consumed by players to increase their power or by companies such as means of production. Many of the finished products have more quality degrees, and depending on their quality, they have certain features. Remember that for each quality, the manufacturing company needs a production license. The range of finished products is mentioned below.

• Weapons – Weapons are produced by companies producing weapons. There are two types of weapons. Attack weapons and defense weapons. Attack weapons are knives, bludgeons, sword, spear, mace, ax, bow, crossbow, pistol and shotgun. Attack weapons increase the attack points owned by a player. A player can have one attack weapon of each type. Defense weapons are hand guards, shoulder guards, foot guards, boots, elbow guards, helmet, head armor, body armor, shield and breastplate. The defense weapons increase the defense points owned by a player. A player can have one attack weapon of each type. Weapons have predefined life duration. For example, a knife of level 1 can be used for 10 attacks and brings a contribution of 100 to the attack points. After their life duration expires, the weapons disappear from the player\’s inventory. All weapons have since the beginning 5 quality degrees. If the quality of the weapon is higher, its life duration is extended and the amount of attack / defense points increases. A level 5 knife can be used in 50 attacks and brings an increase of 500 to the attack points. Raw materials of weapons are iron, wood and leather.

• Clothes – clothes are produced by companies producing clothes. They are worn by citizens in order to increase power. Each garment brings an increase in power each day. Just like weapons, since the beginning they have a 5 degrees quality, and the higher categories gives them strength and contribution to the increase of power. They also have limited life duration, between 5 and 30 days, depending on quality. Fabrics and leather are the components of garments. Garments are underwear, socks, gloves, hat, shirt, pants, leather boots, jacket, coat and cape. To produce a certain garment you need a separate license for each quality.

• Means of transportation – The means of transportation are carriages and hot air balloons. Carriages are used only for moving from one region to another of the same country. Balloons are used to travel fast through the country, and also to travel in other countries. The means of transport have five degrees of quality which influence their life duration and traveling speed. A level 1 carriage will travel much slower than a level 5 one and can be used for a much less number of kilometers. Note that the life duration of means of transportation is not measured in days, but in kilometers. The means of transport are manufactured by companies producing means of transportation. The components of carriages are iron, wood and leather, and the components of hot air balloons are large quantities of fabric, wood and iron. To produce means of transportation, you need a separate license for each quality.

• Houses – Houses are the only products which do not have a fixed period of validity and can be used for an unlimited period of time. They have 5 quality degrees and for each day spent in the house a player gets between 5 and 25 points, depending on the quality of the building. The houses are produced by construction companies. Building a house requires a lot of wood (between 50 and 250 CM) and iron. Also houses are high consumers of workforce. A five-level house consumes 100 working hours at 100% productivity. Houses are connected to regions and once established in a region, they CANNOT be moved. In order to move into a house in Moldova, for example, you have to be in Moldova. Unlike the means of transportation, which once purchased, can only be rented, the houses can be rented and subsequently resold.

• Means of Production – As mentioned above, every company needs raw materials, workforce and means of production (instruments and tools) to manufacture products. Workers (workforce) use tools (means of transport) to convert raw materials into finished products. Means of production have 5 degrees of quality and have a limited lifetime depending on quality. Like in other cases, to produce means of production, you need a separate license for each quality. Life duration is measured in the quantity of finished products which are delivered. For example, a machine for iron production has a life duration of 30,000 kg of iron, which means that, after it will deliver 30 000 kg of iron, the machine can no longer be used. Depending on their quality, the equipment increase productivity. A four-level machine with a 15% increase in productivity, will deliver 15% more iron with the same cost as a level one machine. The means of production are produced by companies producing tools and require iron, wood and leather as raw material.

• Food – Food is the fastest way to restore your power. You can eat once every 6 hours. Food is produced by restaurants. It has five quality degrees and it uses meat as raw material. Depending on its quality, it gives an increase in power between 1 and 5 points.

• Lottery tickets and betting – even if we included them in the same category, the two types of tickets are produced by two different companies, but they have common characteristics. They use paper as raw material, they have only one quality, and have limited life duration on the date of the event for which they were purchased. For example, a lottery ticket will disappear from inventory after completion of the lottery. Tickets represent the right to participate in a certain event. Lottery tickets are produced by lotteries which use paper, workforce and tools for production of lottery tickets. You can buy up to 100 lottery tickets for one lottery in order to increase your chances. Betting tickets are produced by bookmakers, also using paper, workforce and tools. You can hold multiple tickets per bet.

• Wine – Each bottle of wine consumed brings an increase of power to the consumer. Wine is a particular product because it increases your ability, in time, without any other intervention. A new produced bottle gives the consumer one power point. You can drink no more than one bottle per day. After each day in which it is not consumed, the power intake of the bottle increases by 0.4 points. In other words, a bottle produced on March 1 with an initial intake to the power of one point, on March 30 it will provide 12 power points, without any other investment, and on May 30, it will bring 40 power points, i.e. like a level five house, which required 250 CM wood, 500 kg of iron and 100 hours of work. Given this, any bottle of wine at any price, will initially be on the market, sooner or later it will be sold because the price per power point will be reduced steadily until it becomes the smallest. Patience is all you need for that. Wine has only one quality and is produced by wine cellar using workforce, grapes and specific tools. Remember that wine ages during 5 months, after that the power which it offers will no longer increase.

• Bank forms – For anything that\’s got to do with money, banks use forms. There are four types of bank forms. Credit Forms, Current Account Forms, Deposit Forms and Transfer Form. For each deposit that is open at a bank, a deposit form is consumed. Similarly for each credit offered or for each open current account, the bank consumes a specific form. Transfer forms are consumed for each bank transfer made from one account to another. Banks produce forms using paper, workforce and specific tools.

• Newspapers – Newspapers are one of the most requested products. When you first read an article in a magazine, you buy a newspaper. If an article is read by 200 different players, the magazine sold 200 newspapers. Each newspaper which is bought brings a power gain between 0.2 and 1 power point, maximum 5 points per day. Unlike other products, newspapers have different quality degrees, not depending on the production license, but on the votes given to that particular article. It is a difficult concept. Suppose a publisher has 1,000 newspapers in stock. All these papers have only one quality. Suppose that the magazine has published two articles. The first item was voted by readers as a 4 star article and was voted second with one star. When reading for the first time an article, you will get 0.8 power points, corresponding to the quality degree of the article and the magazine will sell you one newspaper and it will have 999 newspapers left on stock. When first reading the second article, you will receive 0.2 power points and the newspaper will have 998 newspapers left on stock. Newspapers are produced using paper, workforce and specific tools.

• Fabrics are the components of clothes and especially of hot air balloons which consume many fabrics. Fabrics are produced by companies producing fabrics, using specific means of production. They need cotton and workforce needs to be produced. The unit is square meter (one MP).

Production Licenses

Before starting its activity, a company needs production licenses. A production license allows to the owner of the company to manufacture a certain range of products. Licenses are granted for each quality of the product. If you own a license for the production of level 2 pole axes, you cannot produce level 3 pole axes. Licenses are purchased from the game fund and can then be sold. Prices for licenses are fixed and uniform. A license for a 1 level product costs 1 EURO and for a five level product it may be purchased at the price of 5 Euro. We will briefly discuss some aspects regarding licenses.

Acquisition of licenses

You can purchase a license in two ways: directly from the game or from another company. In order to purchase a license directly from the game, go to the page of company administration, from section Licenses . You will find there a list of licenses that can be purchased directly from the game. Payment in this case is made in Euros. You can also buy licenses from companies which no longer want them. For this go to page Goods / Production Licenses. In this case, payment is made in local currency. You can hold one license for each particular product. There is NO maximum limit of the number of licenses held, but a company can purchase licenses only in the area in which it has its activity. To purchase, click on the Buy button which is near the license. Once purchased, the products\’ stock is made.

List of licenses held

Immediately after purchase, a license enters into the company stock. To see the list of licenses owned, go to the page of the Company, at the Administration heading, License section where you can find the list of licenses owned, together with the production requirements for each particular product.

Deactivating a license

By deactivating a license, the production for the associated product is stopped. To deactivate a license, go to the page of licenses (my companies / Company / administration / licenses) and click the button Deactivate. You can always reactivate your license. You can choose to deactivate licenses if, for a period, you need an increased production for other types of products.

Selling a license

If you want to permanently stop the manufacture of a product, you can sell the corresponding license. To sell a license, go to page licenses (my companies / Company / Administration / Licenses), fix a price and click the Sell button. Remember that buying and selling of licenses can only be made in local currency. WARNING: Along with the sale of the license, the stock transfer products corresponding to the new owner is made. Check before the product stock and carefully calculate your potential losses.

Companies

Companies represent the essence of economic life. In ANNO1777 there are five classes of companies: companies producing raw materials, companies producing instruments and tools, service companies, financial companies and companies producing consumer goods. Companies producing raw materials are: iron manufacturing companies, wood manufacturing companies, cotton companies, farms, vineyards, paper manufacturing companies and fabrics manufacturing companies. There is only one type of company which produces instruments and tools. Financial companies are represented by banks. Service companies are newspapers, lotteries, bookmakers, advertising agencies, trade companies and organizations. Companies producing consumer goods are the wine cellars, clothing manufacturing companies, weapon manufacturing companies and companies producing means of transportation. Except for service companies, banks and wine cellars, the management of companies is identical. Please note that absolutely all companies have certain aspects in common. There are inventories, employment, branches, and the employees turn raw materials into finished products, whether it\’s about banks or iron producing companies. Further, we will talk about the common elements of the companies, and after that we will describe the administration of certain types of companies.

Setting up Companies

Anyone can open an unlimited number of companies by paying the corresponding fee. Setting up a company requires a fee, depending on the type of company you choose. Fee is paid to the game fund. The fees for setting up a company are shown in the opening page of the company. The process is conducted in two simple steps. First step, go to My Companies page. Press the button Set up. You will be taken to the page with the types of companies available. Click on the button Open. You will need to fill in the following fields:

• Country – A company can work in only one country. You can set up a company in any country.
• Name – Company name.
• Stock Symbol – a sequence of four characters that will uniquely identify the company on stock exchange. The symbol of the country (RO, UK, U.S. …) will be put in front of these characters to get the complete stock exchange symbol. For example if you open a company in Austria for which you choose DSER symbol, the final stock exchange symbol will be ATDSER.
• Short description – A brief overview of the company and the services it provides
• Image – An image to represent the company. Minimum size is 60×60 pixels.

Once opened, the company will be visible in My Companies page.

Shares and Shareholders

A newly founded company has 1000 shares available. But just like any public company in the real world, some shares must be maintained on the market. Because of this, only 900 shares are the owner\’s. 100 shares are transferred to the game fund. The fund immediately puts them on sale, at their nominal value. For example if you set up a wood manufacturing company with 100 GOLD, you will receive 900 shares with a nominal value of 0.1 gold / share, 100 shares will go to the fund, and the Fund will place them on sale at a price of 0.1 gold per share. Nobody can own more than 90% of a company, i.e. 900 shares, 100 shares will be permanently owned by other players. Note that you can sell as much as you want of the company, but only the main shareholder has the right to administer it. Main shareholder means the shareholder with the largest stock of shares, not necessarily minimum 50%. A player could be the manager of a company by owning only 25% of shares for example, as long as no one has more in that company. You can anytime put on sale your shares at a minimum price of 0.01 gold on the stock market.

General Management of companies

As mentioned before, all companies have a common core of management. First go to My Companies page. Use the button Administration, and after that choose the tab Administration. On this page there are the administration sections. We will make a brief presentation below:

• Production & Inventory – On this page you can view the status of the means of production together with stocks of raw materials and finished products. Also here you can put products on sale.
• Jobs – On this page the available jobs are listed. Also from this page you can create new jobs. The work record shows the works performed by employees, together with the raw materials consumed and the wage received.
• Branches – On this page you can view a list of open branches. Also here you can open new outlets.
• Financial Operations – From this page you can perform basic financial operations such as investment / withdraw of money from the company and foreign exchange.
• Accounting – Here are all the company\’s financial operations in chronological order.
• Production Licenses – On this page there are production licenses, together with the necessary quantity of raw materials to manufacture each particular product. Also here you can activate or suspend licenses.
• General Settings – From this page you can change the company name or logo.

Means of Production

Instruments and tools are essential for production. Every company needs them and no company owns them since the beginning. Instruments and tools are produced by companies producing means of production and have 5 quality degrees. The higher the quality of the means of production, the higher their productivity and life duration. Remember that quality 1 means of production DO NOT increase the production. The means of production at level 2 bring an increase of 5%, 10%, 15% and 25%. In other words, you get a larger production with quality 5 instruments and tools as compared to the ones having 1 quality. What does increased productivity mean? It\’s simple: if an employee that you pay 1 EUR / HOUR produces 100 kg iron / 8 HOURS with level-1 tools, the same worker will produce 200 kg / day of iron with level 5 tools, given that his salary is NOT changed. Not only high quality equipment will dramatically increase the production, but their resistance increases with the number of stars. A level-5 machinery will produce 5 times more iron than a level one machinery until it is taken out. It is important to gradually buy high quality tools. On page Production & Inventory from the management company area, you can see the means of production situation. Initially the company will not have instruments, so they have to be bought. A warning will indicate this. Click on the Buy button and go to section Goods / Production Machinery in the main menu, select the appropriate category and buy the product. If raw material is on stock, you can start working.

Stocks of raw materials and finished products

• * Companies use raw materials for manufacturing. Raw materials from ANNO1777 are wood, iron, cotton, paper, meat and leather. A company may use up to three raw materials to manufacture finished products.
• To see the stocks of raw materials and finished products go to page Company Management, on section Inventory – My company / Administration/ Stocks. The raw material table indicates the quantity in stock and the price by which it has been purchased. Click the Buy button to go to the market.
• The table with finished materials stocks is shown below. The production price, the quantity in the warehouse and the quantity put on sale are indicated. Also in this table you can put on sale the products in stock at any price. Pay attention to the price, which should always be greater than the purchase price, plus the appropriate lump sum. Check the value of the lump sum from the country where you have your business in order to determine the right price for the products. Note that this fee is paid to the state budget after each sale.

Jobs and wages

We will briefly review below the characteristics of the jobs. To accept workers, a company must first have available workstations.

• At the beginning, the company has only one job available. You can further create an unlimited number of jobs.

• Remember that each job has to be assigned to a region. Jobs are available only in regions with which you associate them. A job associated with the region of Moldova will be available only in that region, which means that only citizens residing in that area can work on the job. You can only assign jobs in the regions where the company has opened branches.

• Only citizens of the country in which the company is open may be employed in jobs that the company offers.

• Each job may be assigned a wage. To change the wage paid for a certain job, go to page My Companies / Administration / Jobs, write the new wage in the appropriate box and click OK

• A job may be held by maximum one worker for 8 consecutive hours, then automatically the job becomes available on the market.

• At a certain point in time, a worker can become an employer only at the workplace which offers the highest wage. If for example, there are two jobs A and B available on the market, one offering 23 RON / HOUR and the other one 21 RON / HOUR, a player can be employed only in the first place. After employment, job A will become unavailable and job B will become the highest paid job.

• To see what jobs are available in the company, go to page My Companies / Administration / Jobs. On this page you can modify wages and the region in which a job is available. To disable a job, click on the X button in front of it. If the company runs without means of production or raw material stocks, the system will automatically disable all the jobs offered. To reactivate a job, press the OK button. But first make sure that the problem for which the jobs were suspended was solved. You can see in the section Events the reason for the interruption (on the top of every page there is a link to Events).

• Under the table which displays the available jobs in the company, on the left side, there is a link Create New Jobs. You can set up an unlimited number of jobs. Setting up a job costs 1 EURO

• Please note that the wage which you offer refers to a player with 100% productivity, which means that only one worker with 100% productivity, will be paid that wage. The rest of them will only receive a certain percentage given by the productivity. The wage is paid in local currency of the country where the company operates, and its value refers to payment for one hour of work. The wage offered may not be less than the minimum wage set by the government. Suppose you offer a wage of 10 EUR / HOUR in an iron producing company and that it takes one hour of work to produce 10 kg of iron. A worker with 100% productivity will work 8 hours, during which he will produce 80 kg of iron. For his work he will receive 80 RON. A worker with 80% productivity will also work 8 hours, during which he will only produce 64 kg of iron, and will receive a wage of 64 RON.

• Productivity is determined by considering the power as a percentage of the economic score. A new player has an initial economic score of 10 points. Every 24 hours the economic score automatically decreases with 1 point, and after each day\’s work, the economic score increases by 2 points. In other words, the economic score reaches 100 points after three months, or 90 CONSECUTIVE working days. But of course, a higher economic score does not mean much if the power is not as high. A 10% power and an economic score of 80 lead to a productivity of 8%. A power of 50% and an economic score of 50% means a productivity by 25%.

Branches

• For a company\’s products to be available in a region, the company needs a branch in that region. Note that a player can ONLY buy products that available in the region where he is at a certain moment in time. A player in the region of Moldova can only buy products from companies that have opened a branch in that region.

• For a company to provide jobs in a region, it needs a branch in that region and an associated job. Workplaces CANNOT be associated with regions where a company has a branch.

• A company can open one branch per region.

• In a region it can only be produced ONE type of raw material. For example, in Muntenia, only wood can be produced. The rule is valid only for raw materials. Any region can produce any type of by-product.

• On the page of Administration of the company, section Branches, you can find the list of the country\’s regions. You will also find which raw materials can be produced in a region. To open a branch, click the Open button. Opening a new branch costs 1 Euro.

Financial Operations

In one company, three types of financial operations can be carried out, which are essential for the proper conduct of business. You will find below some details about these operations. Go to page Administration of the company, on section Financial Operations

• The first type of operation is gold investment. A company has its accounts and accounting separate from that of the owners. In other words, when buying raw materials company, the money will be paid from company accounts. Initially all company balances are nil. To create jobs or branches, you need to make some investments in the company. Remember that in a company only gold can be invested or withdrawn. On page Financial Operations you can find the form with which you can make investments. Write the amount you wish to transfer to the company and press Invest. The money will immediately go into the company accounts.

• The second type of operation is withdrawing money from the company. Only gold can be withdrawn from one company. When you withdraw gold from a company, all its shareholders will be paid depending on the number of shares. A company has 1000 shares available, if you own only 750 shares, for example, and withdraw 100 GOLD, you will only receive 75 GOLD, the rest being distributed to the shareholders. Also the dividends you receive from the company represent taxable income. Taxes will be paid both to the owner and to the estate.

• The third type of operations is foreign exchange between company accounts. Since you can only invest GOLD, and wages are paid in local currency of the country in which the company is open, at a certain point in time you will have to make exchanges. On page Financial Operations, you will find the appropriate form. Write the amount in gold that you want to buy or sell and click Buy / Sell button. The exchange will be made instantly on the local FOREX market.

Accounting

As mentioned before, companies have accounts and make transactions on their own name, completely separate from the owners. On the page Administration, you will find the Accounting section where you will see all the transactions made by the company since its establishment until present, listed chronologically.

Licenses

Every company needs a license to manufacture a certain product. Licenses are granted for every quality of each product. A quality 1 gun requires a separate license, as compared to a quality 3 gun. Licenses are sold by the game and are available in unlimited number. Also, licenses are transferable and can be sold after the acquisition. On the page of Administration of the company, you will find the section Licenses. Here are listed all licenses purchased by the company. Companies which manufacture products with one single quality, such as iron or wood companies, have a license granted since its establishment and you don\’t need to buy more. Companies such as restaurants or companies producing weapons, need licenses, which can be purchased after opening.

General Settings

From the page General Settings you can make changes in respect of name, description or photo of the company. If you purchased a company from another player or simply want to change the company name, you can do it here. Remember that the stock symbol cannot be changed and will remain the same as that of its establishment.

Duties and Taxes

There are two types of taxes that a company has to pay to the estate. The first one if the Wage Tax and the second one is the lump sum (similar to the VAT from real life). Wage tax is paid automatically when a worker is employed at your company. The quantum of tax is set by the government, representing a percentage between 0% and 50%. The lump sum is set by the government for each particular product and represents a FIXED amount of money in national currency to be paid by the company after each sale.