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A recent drop in productivity within Torn's industries means the city could face a period of recession in the coming months, according to an economist whose name escapes me but who almost certainly exists and has not been made up for the purposes of opening this article.
Torn chief Chedburn warned of such turbulence two weeks ago, during an announcement on planned company changes where he cautioned that "company profits may be unpredictable during this stage, bouncing up and down for a while before equilibrium." This forecast has indeed proven accurate, and while nobody could say they were not warned, many directors have nevertheless complained at Chedburn's apparent lack of consultation with company owners regarding this alteration.
Stockboy, the director of Adventure Time Sweet Shop, first noticed a 50% reduction in Sweet Shop profits on 1st July. In a thread posted regarding this drop, he and others derided the decision to make such an impactful change - details of which will be available in Tuesday's bulletin board announcement - without giving business owners a chance to prepare.
However, in the same thread, legendary businessman Tarelli responded in apparent defence of Chedburn. Tarelli, who has owned a string of successful firms, pointed out that the value of cans generated by a sweet shop special plus the relatively low stat requirements of its staff mean that such a business should easily make a profit, even considering these unknown alterations. Furthermore, he went on to say:
"A company that makes huge profits without the daily income and have actually lost very little in total income. This has been coming for a long time now you will just have to adjust. If people are spending more than there daily profits on adverts they are stupid. It [the change] is more of a nuisance than anything else as long as you stay over 7* you should be rolling in it."
It seems that this change, while obviously annoying to some business owners, merely indicates a willingness by the authorities to equalise Torn's company situation. Many of our industries are heavily oversubscribed due to an imbalanced system of perks and specials. For example, whereas a Clothing Store and a Sweet Shop both cost $1,000,000 to set up, in Torn City, there are only 18 of the former compared to 199 of the latter running at five-star level or above, as you can see from this graphic:
(Pictured: Company and employee figures for businesses 5-star and above)
What this change has done is reduce the profitability of a Sweet Shop to a level it should have been at in the first place. And, based on Tarelli's quote, it seems to have also exposed poorly run companies as a handy side effect. Chedburn's changes should, therefore, have a two-fold effect; a levelling of the playing field, and the forced optimisation of existing businesses.
Another industry which took a hit over the weekend was Oil, with Tascon of Memento Mori Oil Rig even going so far as to report a bug, so astonished was he at the downturn in productivity he witnessed. Tascon reported his rig has having produced almost zero barrels a day for the first time in its history. He was joined in consternation by fellow tycoon Hopslam, who saw his own stock levels drop by a figure between 300 to 400k. I asked Chedburn for clarification regarding this matter in terms a layman could understand, and he responded with the following.
"Stock size starts at a base amount, and can be upgraded to be 10x bigger. Oil rigs stock size was 1,000,000 (way too high) which meant there was never any point upgrading it at all, let alone to 10,000,000. Base stock size was changed to 250,000."
"However, because stock is generated before being sold this meant 250,000 / 250,000 was being generated seconds before it was sold. So if all 250,000 was sold, afterwards the company would be left with 0. Now generated stock is added before and after, so it fills up to 250k / 250k, it's then sold, for example down to 0 / 250k, then the remainder of generated stock is added afterwards, I.e. 152k / 250k."
This alteration to stock size allowance seems to be another example of the authorities' desire to even out the company situation, with Oil Rig owners having benefitted from this particular oversight for many years. Oil barons cannot, therefore, be too vexed by this amendment, since it merely rights a long-term wrong. And if anything there should be an annoyance on the part of the directors of other industries, whose own profitability was hampered in ways their rivals firms were not.
Regarding concerns over communication, it should be noted that changes to the stock room system were explicitly mentioned in point seven of Chedburn's bulletin on 19th June. The impact of these changes and the details of how they worked were not released, though, because at this point they had not been confirmed. However, it seems that even if our leader had been more specific, some directors might not have done anything differently. In regards to this, Hopslam remarked in the forums:
"Would knowing specifically when that storage decrease were to happen even matter to me or other similar directors? I don't know. I am not sure if I would have upgraded or not, and I am still contemplating how to proceed going forward."
Hopslam went on to detail his assessment of the current issue, explaining how the choice to upgrade an Oil Rigs stock room was not an easy one for someone in his position:
"Forced to upgrade above the min 250k because daily sales need to exceed 400k+ to maintain star rating. So if don't upgrade, this guarantees, stock while wipe out to 0 and will only sell up to 250k/day max. And if later decide to liquidate because of the changes, can only recoup 75% of upgrade cost + profit % thing. So have to spend at minimum 525m on upgrade that could only recoup 75% or so back, just to maintain decent level of stock and income levels in the meantime while things balance out."
The way in which companies will be affected by future changes is so far uncertain. What we do know is that business owners across the board are in for a tough few weeks, and anyone who has failed to convey this to their employees faces a fight to hold on to their best and brightest. But everyone is in the same boat, so if a firm's staff do up and leave due to future changes, they can be sure their rivals are facing the same problem.
Also, with many alterations having been explained by Chedburn as a work in progress, the perpetually aggrieved among our citizens have expressed further concern; claiming, much to everyone's amusement, that these changes are killing our city. But as usual, these people are wrong.
(Pictured: What happens when an Oil Rig director loses a few million)
The company changes, which I reiterate we were warned about, have so far required only minor amendments to be made shortly after deployment. The stock room alteration which resulted in zeroed stock levels was applied within 24 hours of complaints, and Chedburn even responded to Smokey123's request for an upgrade refund by issuing a payment in full - an upgrade Smokey123 later repurchased after reconsidering his position.
We can also be certain that many of those who have expressed dismay at these changes would not have been so angry and forthright if their profits had been influenced positively. In fact, I imagine few would have mentioned it at all, hoping to reap the rewards of error before the authorities took notice. Such an attitude is to be expected and encouraged in Torn, of course, but it also means that moderation should be applied when fortunes fail to fall your way too.
It is true that some hardworking people have had their profits reduced - in some instances to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - but Chedburn has made it clear that they will soon go up again, and perhaps even go on to exceed their original level.
"Top tier companies with medium - high size upgrades will see an increase in profits. Companies with no, or very low upgrades will see a drop. Although I expect it'll take a while until the changes are completed. Can't judge it from the first day, or even the first week."
Can anyone argue that this situation is not in any way realistic? Outside of Torn, no business represents an absolutely safe money making venture. Loopholes are exploited and closed, regulations are amended and redrafted on a corrupt politicians whim, and businesses can plummet and go bankrupt within no time at all. Torn's citizens may have relied on a level of certainty in the past, but the addition of risk to our industries and companies is more than appropriately realistic, it is required.
This focus on making the city's money-making methods fairer has invited accusations that Chedburn is turning Torn into a socialist paradise; one where all companies are equal, and the hegemony of the old guard is reduced to dust. But this assessment seems objectively untrue. Chedburn is no Bernie Sanders, and he is no Jeremy Corbyn either. I have tasted Chedburn's jam and it is not the produce of a man who wishes to renationalise the railways.
To put it simply, the forthcoming changes mean that well-run, properly upgraded companies will soon make even more profits than ever before. Companies whose directors have relied on the imbalanced system of old will no longer be able to do so. This is the plan, it seems, although things should become clearer when the full litany of upgrades have been released. But either way, patience will be necessary if these changes are to be implemented. And when all is said and done, Torn's industries will hopefully be in far better shape than they are today. And when they are, it will be thanks to a combination of insightful analysis, reactive amendments, and good old-fashioned public discourse.
Something the authorities are also hoping to invite comment on is the admission of new industries into Torn to augment the amended existing ones. This reporter, in his capacity as an advisor to the Torn Council, has been tasked with assessing which industries would be appropriate for our people based on the perks they may offer and the requirements of Torn's citizens.
What does Torn need? Which perks do citizens want? How can Torn be helped to grow through the invitation of new firms and businesses to our fair city? At present, we are blessed with Firework Stands, Meat Warehouses, Cruise Lines and Nightclubs. In future, the formation of Oil Refineries has been suggested, with Power Plants, Private Security Firms and Pharmaceutical companies also rumoured to be pitching for a license to operate in Torn City.
Each of these industries could bring a wealth of useful benefits to our people. And with both myself and the authorities keen to communicate with the public on this matter, it is clear that those beyond the committee are equally trusted to help shape the future of Torn City's business landscape.
But based on some people's reaction to the handful of changes so far, there is one particular industry which Torn City has well and truly covered by itself.
Torn chief Chedburn warned of such turbulence two weeks ago, during an announcement on planned company changes where he cautioned that "company profits may be unpredictable during this stage, bouncing up and down for a while before equilibrium." This forecast has indeed proven accurate, and while nobody could say they were not warned, many directors have nevertheless complained at Chedburn's apparent lack of consultation with company owners regarding this alteration.
Stockboy, the director of Adventure Time Sweet Shop, first noticed a 50% reduction in Sweet Shop profits on 1st July. In a thread posted regarding this drop, he and others derided the decision to make such an impactful change - details of which will be available in Tuesday's bulletin board announcement - without giving business owners a chance to prepare.
However, in the same thread, legendary businessman Tarelli responded in apparent defence of Chedburn. Tarelli, who has owned a string of successful firms, pointed out that the value of cans generated by a sweet shop special plus the relatively low stat requirements of its staff mean that such a business should easily make a profit, even considering these unknown alterations. Furthermore, he went on to say:
"A company that makes huge profits without the daily income and have actually lost very little in total income. This has been coming for a long time now you will just have to adjust. If people are spending more than there daily profits on adverts they are stupid. It [the change] is more of a nuisance than anything else as long as you stay over 7* you should be rolling in it."
It seems that this change, while obviously annoying to some business owners, merely indicates a willingness by the authorities to equalise Torn's company situation. Many of our industries are heavily oversubscribed due to an imbalanced system of perks and specials. For example, whereas a Clothing Store and a Sweet Shop both cost $1,000,000 to set up, in Torn City, there are only 18 of the former compared to 199 of the latter running at five-star level or above, as you can see from this graphic:
(Pictured: Company and employee figures for businesses 5-star and above)
What this change has done is reduce the profitability of a Sweet Shop to a level it should have been at in the first place. And, based on Tarelli's quote, it seems to have also exposed poorly run companies as a handy side effect. Chedburn's changes should, therefore, have a two-fold effect; a levelling of the playing field, and the forced optimisation of existing businesses.
Another industry which took a hit over the weekend was Oil, with Tascon of Memento Mori Oil Rig even going so far as to report a bug, so astonished was he at the downturn in productivity he witnessed. Tascon reported his rig has having produced almost zero barrels a day for the first time in its history. He was joined in consternation by fellow tycoon Hopslam, who saw his own stock levels drop by a figure between 300 to 400k. I asked Chedburn for clarification regarding this matter in terms a layman could understand, and he responded with the following.
"Stock size starts at a base amount, and can be upgraded to be 10x bigger. Oil rigs stock size was 1,000,000 (way too high) which meant there was never any point upgrading it at all, let alone to 10,000,000. Base stock size was changed to 250,000."
"However, because stock is generated before being sold this meant 250,000 / 250,000 was being generated seconds before it was sold. So if all 250,000 was sold, afterwards the company would be left with 0. Now generated stock is added before and after, so it fills up to 250k / 250k, it's then sold, for example down to 0 / 250k, then the remainder of generated stock is added afterwards, I.e. 152k / 250k."
This alteration to stock size allowance seems to be another example of the authorities' desire to even out the company situation, with Oil Rig owners having benefitted from this particular oversight for many years. Oil barons cannot, therefore, be too vexed by this amendment, since it merely rights a long-term wrong. And if anything there should be an annoyance on the part of the directors of other industries, whose own profitability was hampered in ways their rivals firms were not.
Regarding concerns over communication, it should be noted that changes to the stock room system were explicitly mentioned in point seven of Chedburn's bulletin on 19th June. The impact of these changes and the details of how they worked were not released, though, because at this point they had not been confirmed. However, it seems that even if our leader had been more specific, some directors might not have done anything differently. In regards to this, Hopslam remarked in the forums:
"Would knowing specifically when that storage decrease were to happen even matter to me or other similar directors? I don't know. I am not sure if I would have upgraded or not, and I am still contemplating how to proceed going forward."
Hopslam went on to detail his assessment of the current issue, explaining how the choice to upgrade an Oil Rigs stock room was not an easy one for someone in his position:
"Forced to upgrade above the min 250k because daily sales need to exceed 400k+ to maintain star rating. So if don't upgrade, this guarantees, stock while wipe out to 0 and will only sell up to 250k/day max. And if later decide to liquidate because of the changes, can only recoup 75% of upgrade cost + profit % thing. So have to spend at minimum 525m on upgrade that could only recoup 75% or so back, just to maintain decent level of stock and income levels in the meantime while things balance out."
The way in which companies will be affected by future changes is so far uncertain. What we do know is that business owners across the board are in for a tough few weeks, and anyone who has failed to convey this to their employees faces a fight to hold on to their best and brightest. But everyone is in the same boat, so if a firm's staff do up and leave due to future changes, they can be sure their rivals are facing the same problem.
Also, with many alterations having been explained by Chedburn as a work in progress, the perpetually aggrieved among our citizens have expressed further concern; claiming, much to everyone's amusement, that these changes are killing our city. But as usual, these people are wrong.
(Pictured: What happens when an Oil Rig director loses a few million)
The company changes, which I reiterate we were warned about, have so far required only minor amendments to be made shortly after deployment. The stock room alteration which resulted in zeroed stock levels was applied within 24 hours of complaints, and Chedburn even responded to Smokey123's request for an upgrade refund by issuing a payment in full - an upgrade Smokey123 later repurchased after reconsidering his position.
We can also be certain that many of those who have expressed dismay at these changes would not have been so angry and forthright if their profits had been influenced positively. In fact, I imagine few would have mentioned it at all, hoping to reap the rewards of error before the authorities took notice. Such an attitude is to be expected and encouraged in Torn, of course, but it also means that moderation should be applied when fortunes fail to fall your way too.
It is true that some hardworking people have had their profits reduced - in some instances to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - but Chedburn has made it clear that they will soon go up again, and perhaps even go on to exceed their original level.
"Top tier companies with medium - high size upgrades will see an increase in profits. Companies with no, or very low upgrades will see a drop. Although I expect it'll take a while until the changes are completed. Can't judge it from the first day, or even the first week."
Can anyone argue that this situation is not in any way realistic? Outside of Torn, no business represents an absolutely safe money making venture. Loopholes are exploited and closed, regulations are amended and redrafted on a corrupt politicians whim, and businesses can plummet and go bankrupt within no time at all. Torn's citizens may have relied on a level of certainty in the past, but the addition of risk to our industries and companies is more than appropriately realistic, it is required.
This focus on making the city's money-making methods fairer has invited accusations that Chedburn is turning Torn into a socialist paradise; one where all companies are equal, and the hegemony of the old guard is reduced to dust. But this assessment seems objectively untrue. Chedburn is no Bernie Sanders, and he is no Jeremy Corbyn either. I have tasted Chedburn's jam and it is not the produce of a man who wishes to renationalise the railways.
To put it simply, the forthcoming changes mean that well-run, properly upgraded companies will soon make even more profits than ever before. Companies whose directors have relied on the imbalanced system of old will no longer be able to do so. This is the plan, it seems, although things should become clearer when the full litany of upgrades have been released. But either way, patience will be necessary if these changes are to be implemented. And when all is said and done, Torn's industries will hopefully be in far better shape than they are today. And when they are, it will be thanks to a combination of insightful analysis, reactive amendments, and good old-fashioned public discourse.
Something the authorities are also hoping to invite comment on is the admission of new industries into Torn to augment the amended existing ones. This reporter, in his capacity as an advisor to the Torn Council, has been tasked with assessing which industries would be appropriate for our people based on the perks they may offer and the requirements of Torn's citizens.
What does Torn need? Which perks do citizens want? How can Torn be helped to grow through the invitation of new firms and businesses to our fair city? At present, we are blessed with Firework Stands, Meat Warehouses, Cruise Lines and Nightclubs. In future, the formation of Oil Refineries has been suggested, with Power Plants, Private Security Firms and Pharmaceutical companies also rumoured to be pitching for a license to operate in Torn City.
Each of these industries could bring a wealth of useful benefits to our people. And with both myself and the authorities keen to communicate with the public on this matter, it is clear that those beyond the committee are equally trusted to help shape the future of Torn City's business landscape.
But based on some people's reaction to the handful of changes so far, there is one particular industry which Torn City has well and truly covered by itself.
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